Patrol car number fifteen slowly turned off the main drag and onto the quiet, or seemly quiet streets of the seedy Black Chapel district. This jungle of roughly eight city blocks was a neighborhood you'd want to avoid in the daytime, after dark, it was downright dangerous. The two officers in the car were tense, their heads on a swivel. The stale smell of cheap coffee, mixed with onions from their quick fast food dinner and the more acrid smell of Officer Daniels pack a day habit made the atmosphere in the car rather oppressive.
“Why are we on this beat again?” Officer Mayer's grumbled, peering down a dark ally as they drove by, noticing the slight movement at it's end- some of the druggies lost to their high, or some of the working girls trying to catch a moment of rest before finding another john- but nothing worth him getting out of the patrol car for. Officer Daniels glanced over before putting his eyes back on the road,
“Because the department is trying to safe face- budget cuts mean we can't do shit out here. But the captain wants us to at least do a drive through to show concerned citizens that we're at least trying- it's a smoke screen kid. We can't do shit anymore- hell it's gotten so bad out here I heard the local pimp has organized his own neighborhood watch. You know we're on the ropes when the people we're trying to put away are doing our jobs.” there was a strong note of bitterness to his voice, and one couldn't blame him, too many years on a weakening force had sapped Daniels of his enthusiasm. He was simply putting up face to make it look like they could do something about the Black Chapel district, he sighed and turned, heading back towards the main road- time to drive through another broken neighborhood.
As the patrol cars taillights faded, the street seemed to come back to life. Front porch lights on the houses switched back on, the front door to the abandoned house on the corner where the working girls brought Johns cracked open. The owner of the corner store flipped his sign from “closed” to “open and turned back on his harsh florescent lights, and the little neon sign that told the nights lottery jackpot- $235,000,00 to be exact.
“Okay everybody- pigs are gone. You can com out now.” His voice was hoarse as a old crow and his closely cut black hair was tinged with frost. “All clear- either buy your stuff or get out.” He chuckled and headed behind the counter to ring out the few patrons who were caught in the store when the warning came down the block about the patrol car. He looked up when the door's tiny bell jingled, a tall thin man had entered, hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head to shade his face, but the old store owner knew, and smiled.
“Hey there Luke, I haven't seen you around in weeks, was beginning to think you finally overdosed on those damn gummy bears and died.” Luke's shoulders shook as he made a sound not unlike a flooded car engine struggling to start. “Damn boy was that a laugh? You got a cold or something?” the storekeeper didn't expect much for an answer- the younger man wasn't much for talking. Luke shook his head and headed down one of the store aisles, he was on a mission, the goal of which became clear when he put a packet of Gummy bears and a bottle of water on the counter, The old man laughed and rang him up,
“Hell Luke you're the only brother on the block who's addicted to these gummy things like one of the kids.” Luke shrugged again in a helpless way and put his purchases in his backpack, nestling them amid the seven cans of spray paint that were currently living in there- he had a busy night ahead of him.
A knight in shining armor is a warrior who has never had their metal truly tested
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