---
Los Angeles – 5:42 AM – Mid-Wilshire Division
The second morning hit different.
The rain was gone, replaced by the golden blur of a rising sun. It bathed the city in soft firelight, turning even the worn concrete of the station into something romantic. Alice Hartwell stood on the edge of the parking lot, watching it like it might tell her a secret.
“You meditate now?”
The voice pulled her back. Deep. Rough. Familiar.
Tim Bradford.
He stood next to the cruiser, arms crossed, sunglasses on despite the hour. That vest fit him like second skin — all discipline, all edges. She could smell the faint trace of coffee and leather as he approached.
“No,” Alice said softly. “Just watching the world before it starts yelling.”
Bradford grunted, unlocking the cruiser with a click.
“You’re early,” he added.
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Good. Then you won’t miss anything when things go sideways.”
She slid into the passenger seat and looked over.
“And here I thought you were warming up to me.”
Bradford snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up, Rookie Rabbit.”
She smiled as they pulled out onto the road.
Call me what you want, she thought. I’m still here.
---
8:16 AM – Officer Exchange Exercise
“New exercise,” Sergeant Grey announced at roll call. “Each rookie will ride with a different training officer today. New perspective. New pressure.”
Bradford barely reacted. Alice’s eyes flicked to his.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll miss you.”
He didn’t smile. But something shifted in his jaw.
She was assigned to Angela Lopez.
---
Ride-Along with Lopez – 9:00 AM
Angela Lopez was sharp — eyes like razors, movements like dance steps.
“I’ve heard about you,” Lopez said as they cruised through Hollywood.
“Oh?” Alice asked, watching the blur of murals and pawn shops.
“Bradford says you think too much and follow your gut.”
Alice tilted her head. “Sounds like he’s been thinking about me.”
Lopez raised an eyebrow. “He also said you’ll probably get yourself killed by month three.”
“Sweet,” Alice said with a grin. “He’s growing fond of me.”
Their first call was a potential overdose — a young woman collapsed behind a liquor store. While Lopez interviewed witnesses, Alice knelt by the body, spotting a track mark and a scar that didn’t match the others.
“She’s not a user,” Alice said softly. “This was forced.”
Lopez looked up. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen forced injections before. In a different war.”
Angela studied her. “You’re not just weird, are you?”
Alice smiled gently. “Not even a little.”
---
Meanwhile – Bradford & Nolan
Tim Bradford drove with Nolan in the passenger seat, and it felt like wearing a shoe on the wrong foot.
“Your rookie’s got a reputation,” Nolan offered.
“Yeah?” Tim asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“She’s different. Thinks outside the box. Talks like she’s narrating a novel.”
Tim exhaled. “She’s not LAPD material.”
“Or maybe you just don’t know how to handle someone who isn’t afraid of you.”
Bradford shot him a glare.
Nolan raised his hands. “Just saying, man. She’s smart. And she’s not trying to prove anything.”
Tim went quiet. Then said, “That’s what worries me.”
---
1:12 PM – Traffic Stop Gone Sideways
Alice and Lopez pulled over a black Dodge Charger for speeding. Everything looked routine — until the passenger ran.
Without waiting, Alice sprinted after him.
“Dammit,” Lopez muttered, following.
The chase cut through alleys and across a basketball court. Alice was fast — fluid, like she belonged between shadows. The suspect tried to scale a fence, but she caught him by the ankle, yanking him down hard.
He hit the pavement and tried to swing. She ducked, landed a clean punch to the ribs, and pinned his wrists with perfect control.
Lopez caught up, panting. “Jesus.”
Alice stood, brushing dirt off her sleeves. “Sorry. He looked like he had somewhere to be.”
“Yeah. Jail.”
Lopez stared at her.
“Didn’t even pull your weapon.”
Alice looked down at her hands. “I don’t shoot people unless I’ve looked them in the eyes first.”
---
3:45 PM – Back at the Station
Shift change buzz filled the air. Alice returned to her locker, covered in dirt and bruises, and found a folded note tucked into the corner of her duffel.
It was a page torn from the daily briefing sheet. In neat, all-caps handwriting:
> “TRY NOT TO DIE TOMORROW. — T”
She smiled like a girl in love with thunderstorms.
---
Next Morning – 6:03 AM – Back With Bradford
“Welcome back,” Tim muttered, sliding behind the wheel.
“I see you missed me,” Alice replied.
He ignored her tone but glanced sideways.
“Lopez says you’re good. Quick. Stupid brave.”
Alice buckled her belt. “She’s sweet.”
“Still reckless.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
Bradford looked at her long and hard.
“Why are you really here?” he asked.
Alice turned to the window. “I lost someone.”
Tim blinked.
She kept talking — not for pity, just truth.
“My brother. Last year. OD. I was overseas when it happened. He didn’t call me. I didn’t come home in time.”
Tim didn’t say anything. But something in him cracked.
“Joining the force won’t bring him back,” he said after a while.
“I know,” she whispered. “But maybe it’ll keep someone else’s brother alive.”
For the first time, he didn’t have a comeback.
Just silence.
And that was more intimate than anything else.
---
8:22 AM – “The Switch” – Partner Rotation
As part of a department-wide exercise, rookies were to train each other for the day. Alice was temporarily partnered with Chen. Bradford was forced to work with Nolan again.
“You look like someone shot your dog,” Lucy teased Tim as he passed her.
“He’s just mad his dream girl’s with me now,” Alice called after him.
Tim turned back. “Keep her alive.”
Alice grinned. “I’m more worried about you.”
---
12:12 PM – Apartment Break-In
Alice and Lucy responded to a burglary call. A teenager had broken into his own home after being locked out — or so he claimed.
Alice noticed the shaky hands, the bruised knuckles, the missing laptop.
“Call for backup,” she said softly.
The kid tried to run.
Chen went wide. Alice cut him off and tackled him into a laundry cart, rolling across the hallway in a heap of sheets and bruises.
“You okay?” Lucy gasped, hauling her up.
Alice brushed lint off her vest. “Do I look okay?”
“You look like someone’s weird dream.”
Alice smiled.
“I get that a lot.”
---
6:30 PM – Sunset at the Station
Tim stood outside the precinct, leaning against his cruiser as the sun dipped below the skyline.
Alice exited, wiping blood off her arm with a gauze pad.
“You look like you got in a fight with a towel rack,” he muttered.
“Laundry cart, actually.”
“Chen survive?”
“Barely.”
He stared at her.
Then, without warning, he pulled something from his pocket.
A small silver rabbit’s foot keychain.
Alice blinked.
“What’s this?”
“Found it at a pawn shop. Figured it suited you.”
She took it carefully.
“I thought you didn’t like sentiment.”
“I don’t,” he said gruffly. “But apparently you’re cursed, and I’d prefer you alive.”
She smiled, eyes soft.
“Thanks, Wolf.”
He froze.
Then, finally… he smiled.
Just a little.
---