SOS - Talia Bishop

THE ROUNDUP - Leave

Jason stirred in bed, slowly waking up to the scent of heavy floral perfume and the lingering taste of bitter aperol on the back of his tongue. Last night was a complete blur, but at least he didn't wake up with a headache like all the times before. And by all the times he meant three.

He stood up, careful not to wake Talia, before picking up his phone from the nightstand. It's five in the morning. Groaning, he opened up one of the drawers in his bedroom and took out a pack of antacids, in case Talia has a heartburn once she wakes up. He cautiously placed the bag of antacids and a cup of water on the side of the bed, then walked in the shower to cleanse himself.

After he finished, he walked back to his bedroom with a toothbrush between his teeth and a towel around his shoulder, only to see Talia awake, drinking from the glass of water he got earlier.

"Oh, you're awake."

"You sing in your shower. It's awfully loud."

Jason chuckled, "Well, sorry. You should probably also take a shower. I'll prepare some clean clothes for you and get your dirty ones from last night into the laundry machine."

"Thanks," she stood up from the bed, and Jason looked away, trying to make himself look busy by picking up their clothes scattered on the floor. As soon as he heard the bathroom door shut and the shower start, he tossed the laundry into the machine and went to make breakfast.

.

.

"Alright settle down, settle down. Listen, everyone knows what today is, and I just want to say that Team Bradford is gonna dominate once again."

Angela shouted from the back, "Yeah. Not this year, blondie."

Jason laughed, "You're going down, man!"

Sergeant Grey walked in, and Tim hurriedly sat back down in his seat.

"Alright. Settle down. Don't think I didn't see you up in my spot, Bradford. So, I am aware that today is the day where our TO units compete for most arrests. Under no circumstance does the department endorse this. Meaning I don't want to hear about your points or strategy. Am I clear, Officer Bradford?"

"Yes, sir. This job isn't about winning. It's about good policing and teamwork."

"Which is basically what the competition is about," Jason added.

"You have anything to say, Officer Cain?"

"No, sir. I love my job."

Sergeant Grey shot him a look, "Good. Now get to work."

.

.

"So, The Roundup? Are you—"

"7 points for a felony arrest. 3 points for a misdemeanor. Any questions?"

Victoria pursed her lips, "I uh, no sir. How are you planning to do this?"

"We just get as many arrests as possible. Easier than going around targeting felons," Jason said, getting in the shop.

"7-Adam-13, vehicle on fire. MacArthur Park. Code 3, respond."

"It's our lucky day."

.

They parked on the other side of the road from the disaster. A bright red Prius, engulfed in smoke and flames, was burning down right in front of them. Jason ordered Victoria to get a fire extinguisher from the back of the car and she does as told.

"Stay away from the flame," Jason alerted the civilians beside, "Stay back from the flame." He walked towards a woman standing close to the car, "What's going on? Ma'am, did you do this?"