---
5:55 AM – Mid-Wilshire Division
The day started with the taste of metal in the air.
That was how Alice knew something was wrong — not the call, not the briefing, not even the odd way Tim avoided eye contact as they loaded their gear.
It was the static.
The kind of feeling she used to get before a firefight.
Like the world was holding its breath.
---
6:18 AM – Briefing Room
Sergeant Grey’s tone was clipped.
“We’ve got a manhunt in progress. Suspect is Marcus Vero — 38, wanted for a double homicide and suspected in multiple arms deals. Armed, dangerous, and unpredictable. He ditched his car near East Hollywood, fled on foot. We’ve got air units overhead and patrol on the ground.”
Alice scanned the printout.
The photo showed a thick-set man with dark eyes and a military buzzcut.
“I know this guy,” she murmured.
Tim glanced at her.
“I met him in Army medical. He wasn’t a soldier — he was cargo. Shrapnel wounds. Took six hours to stabilize. He bit a nurse. They shipped him out for psych eval.”
Tim frowned. “He knows your face?”
“He might.”
“Then you don’t go in alone.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Since when do I ever?”
His voice dropped. “Since you became someone I can't afford to lose.”
She didn’t respond.
But her fingers brushed his.
Just once.
---
7:02 AM – East Hollywood, Alley Grid Search
Alice and Tim cleared alley after alley with careful precision. Street by street. Dumpster to fire escape. No sign of Marcus Vero.
Then Alice’s phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She frowned.
Opened the message.
> “Didn’t think I’d see you again, Doc. You patch me up just to try and put me down? That’s cold.
— M.”
Her blood iced.
She turned to Tim, holding up her screen.
He took one look and cursed under his breath.
“He’s watching.”
---
7:15 AM – Command Center, Onsite Van
Grey reviewed the message with clenched teeth. “We’ve got a direct threat. Hartwell, you’re priority protection until we contain him.”
Alice folded her arms. “Sir, I’m a better asset in the field.”
“You’re not bait.”
“I didn’t say I’d be bait. But I’m not sitting this out.”
Tim, to his credit, didn’t argue. He just stepped beside her. “She’s right.”
Grey sighed. “Then stay in pairs. No exceptions.”
As they left the van, Tim muttered under his breath, “You’ve got a talent for drawing sociopaths.”
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Rabbit Hearts & Bulletproof Vests || Tim Bradford??
FanfictionAlice Hartwell never wanted to be a hero - just someone who could run toward the chaos and still feel the world's poetry through it. But when she joins the LAPD as a rookie and is paired with the infamously hard-edged Tim Bradford, she finds herself...
