The Cop House

[Erinland]

Redclay Hiwassee slammed his fist down on the bar, his jaw set. The bartender glanced at him warily, then refilled his glass. Red was not angry with the clown, he had in fact, gotten pretty good service. He was mad now, because of his sister. He had criss-crossed the entire town, looking for her. Shops, restaurants, public places. She wasn't anywhere. What did he have to do to track her down? Was she even still here? It had been quite a few months since he'd last seen her. Maybe she had left. He didn't want to do it, but it seemed his last option was to go straight to the police station, a place he avoided at all costs.

He threw down the money he owed and slunk out, pouting about having to look for her at the cop house. He cruised the sidewalk in bare feet, torn holey jeans, and a dirty grey tank. He recieved glances, but from the look on his face, he was not one to be messed with, and no one did.

It was not easy for him to walk around in Cysro. When he was younger, it had been easy, he was just like any other kid. But being a shifter, and living fully wolf for so long, had turned him, sort of wild. He was certainly wild looking, and his long black hair was tangled and dirty. His skin was a reddish tan, partly because of his cherokee heritage and partly because he lived outside. Several girls looked at him for longer than most, probably because of his large muscles. Red didn't care one way or the other.

After a few hours he made it to the police building. He growled again at the thought of going in. He would make one last attempt to avoid it. He walked around to the back.

[Erinland]

"Good boy, Rubix! Up!"

Moon Ross clapped her hands as her canine partner, Rubix, went up and over the wall obstacle and thudded back down. She had been working to get him to do it without hesitaton, and this time, he had none.

"Good boy!" She crooned, roughly rubbing his sides. The german shepherd wagged happily and jumped up to lick her. He still had alot to learn, but he was coming along great. At first Moon hadn't been sure she wanted to be a K-9 cop, but now she felt it was going to be very rewarding.

Suddenly the dog growled.

"what is it?" Moon asked him, rubbing his chest.

The dog was looking toward the gate. The whole back of the police station had been turned into a training yard for the new K-9 units, and Moon let Rubix go, knowing he wouldn't go over the chainlink fence unless she told him to. The dog rocketed out of her arms and straight to the fence, barking maniacly. She looked up to see a man coming around the building. It was odd for Rubix to go so berserk over a person that was not wearing the special dog-bite padding. He was always a very friendly dog. The dog was certainly a puzzle. She looked closer at the man, his red skin, dirty tank, and tangled hair . . .

"RED!"

It was Red. She ran over to the fence, shushing Rubix.

"Rubix, SIT." The dog obeyed, but kept a wary eye on the intruder, a low growl rumbling in him every now and then.

"Red! Are you okay, I mean, where have you been? It's great to see you!"


"I been around." He said, eyeing the dog. "I've been walking around this whole damn town looking for you."

"Well I'm right here."

"What's the mutt for?"

"I'm a cop, Red. I got promoted. This is my canine partner, Rubix."

The dog rumbled.

"I don't know why he's acting this way, he usually likes people."

Redclay shrugged.

[Erinland]

Redclay knew exactly why the dog was growling so viciously. He eyed it, making it growl even louder. People had absolutely no idea that shifter's walked among them, they had no way of knowing. Dogs on the other hand, knew quite well what he was. They sensed it or smelled it. Most went the other direction with their tails between their legs. He had to hand it to this dog, though, it had guts. He wondered if he could communicate with a dog if he were in wolf form. He'd spoken to wolves plenty of times, but he'd never tried talking to a dog. He figured it'd be like trying to talk with a toddler. Pointless and futile.

"Well, how long will you be in town?" Moon said, jerking him back to the conversation.

"I dunno." He said.

"Geez, Red, you're as exciting as ever," Moon muttered sarcastically. "You wanna go eat somewhere?"

"Nah, I ain't dressed for anything like that. Look, I'm just checkin in on you, you doin' okay?" Red asked. He cared for his sister, she was the only family he had. But he hated town, and he hated staying there for very long, even if it was just a visit.

"I'm doing just fine. You look acceptable, shirt and shoes are all you need to get service." She laughed, and Red allowed himself to smile a little.

"What about you? Are you fine?" She came through the gate, leaving the mutt inside the fence. She came up to him, and his shoulders stiffened as she hugged him. She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know why you worry about me, I worry about you. I suppose we worry about each other."

Red shrugged.

"Please Red, don't get too emotional," Moon joked again. "C'mon," She said, walking toward the parking lot. "you're going to get a bite with me, no matter how you look."

[Erinland]

Moon was opening her squad car door when her radio went off.

"~Squaud Car seven, we have a 314 in progress on 39th and Corocco, we have a situation, back up requested~"

314. That was a car theft. Apparently the theif was still in the car, and making trouble. She turned to Red.

"Oh, Red, I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Yeah, I heard. I'll see ya."

"Oh no, you don't! You're staying in town until we go out and eat! Promise!" She watched Red, her face angry. She tapped her foot. She watched his face change from resentment to compliance.

"Ugh, Fine."

"Good! I'll see you when I'm done. Here, Take my cell phone, I'll call you." Moon handed him her phone, which he looked at awkwardly and put into his pocket. He nodded, and she smiled at her brother. She wondered if she should load up Rubix for this, but she didn't know how he could help with a car theft.

"~SERGENT ROSS!~" Her Radio coughed. "~DOG OR NOT, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE, YOU'RE THE CLOSEST CAR!~"

"Gotta go," She said, and jumped into the driver's seat. The location was not very far and Moon made it there within a few minutes. She pulled up and jumped out to find herself next to Sgt. Eddie Fogarty.

"What's going on?" She asked, trying to make sense of what she saw. Eddie's lips were pushed together, his mustache covering his top lip.

"Some freak show, Brown, stole a car and drove it off without knowing there was a kid inside. In a car seat. Now he's locked the doors, says if we come any closer, he'll shoot the kid. Did I mention he's got a gun?"

Moon's mouth fell open, trying to figure out how to resolve this tense situation. Eddie turned suddenly, covering his ear to hear orders from the Chief. He turned back to Moon.

"Chief says take 'em down."

Moon, Eddie and several other cops who had arrived, drew together.

"I have an idea Eddie," Moon said, and in a few moments, explained to them. They nodded. Sgt. Fogarty was the only one to draw his firearm, and he silently made his way to the right, while Moon approached the car.

"Mr. Brown?" She called to the suspect, who looked franticly out of the windsheild. "That is your name, right? Graham Brown?" The suspect did not repsond. "Mr. Brown, my name is Moon Ross, i'm a police officer. We're here to help you. I know you don't want to hurt anybody, so why don't you give us your gun, and we'll take care of everything."

Brown was listening intently through the car windows. His eyes were glued on Moon. Suddenly, he nodded. He picked up the toddler, who was crying, in one arm and his gun in the other. He opened the car door and stepped out.

"That's it, just hand it over, Graham, it'll be okay." Moon reached out to him. Brown lifted the baby to her.

Suddenly, A loud shot rang out. Brown fell to the ground and Moon rushed forward to catch the child, who bawled. Moon lifted the baby, who had blood on his tiny shirt. It was Brown's blood. He lay in a heap on the pavement, dead, his gun several feet away. Moon reeled toward Sgt. Fogarty.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" She screeched. "HE WAS SURRENDERING! THERE WAS NO NEED TO KILL HIM!" Her eyes watered.

Eddie was stone cold. He grabbed her shoulder.

"HE WAS GOING TOWARD YOU. HE WAS A DANGER TO THE CHILD, ROSS. A danger to society, we've done our jobs here today. Get a grip." Eddie took the baby from her and began calling at the rookies to radio EMS. He turned back to her for a second.
"I made a choice."

Moon stood in the road as the EMS workers arrived and pushed her aside. She blinked over and over, trying to wash the scene from her eyes, with tears.


Moon
Redclay
~radio~
Eddie

[Erinland]

Redclay shuffled out onto the sidewalk. He'd been waiting around in a cafe long enough. He made his way back to the police station, grumbling to himself. Moon was so annoying. As he approached the building, he could see Moon's car had not yet come back, but her dog still barked at him from the fence. He got closer and looked through the chain link.

"Mutt." He said.

"Wolf!"

Redclay was startled and looked around quickly. No one was there. He realized the dog had growled at him, and he'd understood it.

"Bad," the German shepherd growled. "wolf,"

It was simplistic. But they were words. Redclay sneered. Dumb dog.

He walked past the dog and into the office. A fat woman sat at a desk that was placed at the front door. She glared at him as he walked in.

"Can I help you?" She said, looking disapprovingly at his shabby clothes.

"Yeah," Redclay muttered. He pulled out the cell phone Moon had given him. "Give this to Moon Ross when she comes back in. It's hers, she let me borrow it."

The woman looked suspicious but Red didn't care. He turned and went out.

He jogged through town on the side walks, until he got to the highway. He walked for a while, watching the cars pass. That was one thing he did miss about human life: Cars. He had loved cars when he was young and had dreamed of owning a Mach 1 Mustang. But thats all it was, a dream. He admired a few that passed as he walked, and then after a while, turned, and made his way toward the dense trees that lined the highway. Once concealed by foliage, he let the wolf body ripple down his spine and contort his arms and legs. He rolled his large furred neck, releasing the kinks. He had taken his clothes and bundled them up, and now took them in his jaws. He looked back once at the city, then turned and sauntered through the trees on his big paws, to return once again to Saltren territory.