Behind the Badge

Chapter One: Just Don't Get Shot

Emilia

"So this is the locker room, I'm sure Adelaide already gave your your key and lock. Everybody usually stores their uniforms in their locker and changes before and after work. Feel free to do whatever but please remember if you bring the uniform home to wash any and all stains out. On Sundays, our cleaners take the uniforms to get washed." Lieutenant Klein continues to regurgitate information at me. I had been here for over three hours and haven't even gotten past paperwork and a tour. As we continued down the hall, he showed me a few more rooms for eating and the bathrooms. "And this is the camera room for the station. Here we have all the footage from all the security cameras on the property and the cars at this station." This room was covered wall to wall in monitors. There were two men in uniform sitting at a desk with at least 10 monitors on it, typing away. "You won't be in here very often unless something happens right outside, which it does believe it or not. People love to commit crime right in front of the pd."

"Got that right! We had a guy try to stab one of our cars the other week. Right in front of the camera, too. " one of the men chimed in. His beard was so thick, it covered up the whole shape of his face. The other one chuckled and his beer belly started to shake. Yes, this is what I pictured when the words "America's finest" came to mind.

As we continued through the station, the Lt. continued to babble on about procedures and policies. We made our way to the desks in the back and he stopped at an empty one. "And this beauty is yours, number 64. The last guy who sat here ended up getting shot his first day."

My jaw dropped and I looked at him wide eyed. "Shot?"

He chuckled, "yeah, tried to rush a robber and got himself shot. Had to spend 3 months in the ICU and is just relearning to walk." He continued to laugh and shook his head. When he realized I was still in shock, he cleared his throat, "but don't worry about that, as long as you follow your trainer's instructions, you should make it well past your first day."

"Thanks." I feigned a smile. Putting my bag and coffee on my desk, I scanned the area around me.

"Well, get comfy and sit for a minute. Smith should be in soon to get you started." The Lt. patted the desk and turned around to walk away.

It was quiet, not many people at their desks. Those who were here were filling out paperwork or tapping away at their computers. I looked at the desk across from mine, assuming it belonged to my trainer. Everything was exactly where it should be, not a pen or paper out of place. A single picture frame was on the left side of the desk and a baseball in a case on the right. I scanned the room to make sure no one was looking and lightly picked up the picture frame. Turning it around, I saw a woman and two kids. The kids looked exactly alike, twins probably. Brown straight hair, light brown eyes, chubby little faces. They couldn't be more than 4 years old. The woman was tall, had long auburn hair and looked like a model. Was this his family? I tried to imagine what he'd look like based off of them. Tall, dark and handsome is all that came to mind. He had to be in his early 30s at most, this woman didn't look more than 25. What kind of model marries an old officer, right? Well, I guess if he's got a good pension and money to spare, it's not a far jump.

"Peeping is still a crime." A gruff voice came from behind me. Startled, I fumbled the frame in my hand until I got a hold of it and clutched it to my chest, turning around. Tall, dark and handsome was right on the money. "Can I have that back?" His eyebrows raised, holding out his hand. I nervously chuckled and slowly put the frame in his palm. He walked over to his desk and placed the frame exactly where I grabbed it from, then sat in his chair to face me. "Joziah Smith."

He was taller than most men, I would've been an ant standing next to him. His eyes were dark green and had a hint of sadness to them. His hair was blonde but pushed back in a backwards baseball cap. His arms were muscular but his body was lean, he exuded
military. His cheekbones were prominent and his jawline sharp, dusted with a 5 o'clock shadow that brought the whole package together. His teeth were perfect and his lips looked soft and kissable. But the biggest thing that caught my eye was a scar going from his right eyebrow to his ear, partially hidden by the hair escaping his hat.