Rangers Apprentice AU-Police Force

Episode 6 Part 3 The Impossible Mission

As the officers entered the house, the sound of raised voices increased so drastically, that Will found himself briefly wishing he had not left the wad of cotton back in the unit. His ears were beginning to ring, and he thought of how much worse it must feel for his partner, with a head cold that he had refused to tend to through the day.

In the living room, a man and a woman were in what appeared to be a face off. Will took them both in and quickly noted the descriptions of a man of medium build, somewhere in his thirties, wearing a business suit and sporting a groomed moustache. The wife was a little shorter, blonde, and had a slight china-doll feature about her face. But there was nothing delicate or fragile about the way she was waving a skillet in one hand. On the coffee table were arranged a strange array of pots, pans, and other utensils that Will was entirely unfamiliar with. Above them, the husband waved his hands with large, expressive gestures.

Both were so absorbed in what they were doing, that they failed to notice the approaching officers. Clearing his throat several times, Halt suddenly seemed to realize it would require too much of his voice and gave up his attempt, nodding his head in a gesture that meant Will should handle getting their attention. 

 With one eye on the frying pan, Will advanced.

"And I say that I can! But it's never good enough for you, just admit it! You can't stand anything that I do, you're always a critic!"

"Well that is my job!" The man roared. "Maybe I'm just very good at it-something you'd be the last to admit."

"Oh! Why you-"

Both broke off as Will suddenly grabbed up a nearby cooking pan and thumped it with his baton. Dimly wondering why there were so many pans in the kitchen, he became painfully aware that both husband and wife were looking at him with confusion. Stepping forward, Halt was his professional best, addressing the couple in husky tones that seemed to hide the fact it came from a raw throat.

"Excuse me, but we received a call because of the noise. Are you both aware that you're disturbing the neighbors?"

 "Oh, sorry officer. We really didn't think about it being that loud-was it really?" 

Will blinked. What was going on here? Both of them seemed slightly embarrassed, but at the same time he thought he detected an oddly placed look of pleased interest. Halt seemed just as stumped. His eyebrows lowered as he replied, "Yes. If this is a continual occurrence, you could even get a citation for disturbing the peace."

 "Would you listen to that!" The man whistled, his eye brow raising just slightly. "I didn't know we had it in us."

 Halt had clearly had enough of this cryptic conversation. With a sigh, he rested his hands on his belt and asked, "What seems to be the trouble? Surely it's something you two could talk out, instead of yelling?"

 "Trouble?" Her eyes widening, the wife suddenly giggled. "Did you hear, darling?" she asked, and Will picked up a slight burr in her tones. "We seem to be on the list of domestic cases!"

  "Well I don't know what else you would call it," Halt growled. "I have a mind to write you a warning unless you do a little explaining. If You please?"

With sidelong looks, the couple turned together and the husband smiled. "I'm very sorry you both had to come all this way; uh, you see, my wife and I both love to cook but in different ways; you see?"

When he saw both of their blank expressions, he seemed to begin to understand the situation for the first time, as a pink flush spread over his face. "Uh, well I am a food critique for a well-known business, and she is a baker in another company. That's how we met," he explained.