Empty Pockets, Heavy heart

7:45! 

Ravi increased his footsteps when he heard that low subwoofer voice, "Wait!"

Ravi ignored him.

"I am talking to you!" There was an imposing aura now to the friendly voice earlier. The man was in his late twenties, probably a team leader in one of the companies around Davenport.

Ravi hurriedly came to a stop so as not to slam against the man in front of him. The golden-haired man looked down at him, the smile that was on his face had faded. He was taller than him, Ravi noted. He hated that.

"You are blocking my path. I would be late for work." Ravi said, looking up at the man. He suddenly wanted to manipulate his atoms, make himself taller, and bigger but he did not. Instead, he settled for a glare, conveying his displeasure through his eyes.

The man did not lower his gaze as other people would, he in fact met it, his blue eyes burning, "Are you not a police officer, You are obligated to help the netizens of Avalon." His voice had a righteous undertone to it.

Ravi frowned. Help! Obligated! Those words made his stomach turn and not in a good way. He stepped forward but the man did not step backward. Don't get angry. Don't get angry in public. This is a foolish netizen who does not know anything, control yourself.

Ravi took a deep breath. His emotions were like a snake around his body, tightly coiled, no one could make him lose it. Not even this righteous fool.

"It is 7:46 a.m. My shift starts at 8 a.m. Right now, I am an ordinary netizen. I am not obligated to do anything. Excuse me." He all but spat the words out with a glaring cold bite to them. 

His tone was so harsh that the tall, handsome man moved a step behind. First clenched his fist and then unclenched it but he was not intimidated. His tone still had that light friendly air to it , "It is called being a decent human being."

"No, thank you. There were seventeen people there. Please preach your rhetoric to them. I am running late." With that, he pushed the man and walked right past him. 

He increased his speed every minute but yet, when he stood in front of the white building with a huge signboard, Davenport Police Bureau, it was 8:04a.m. He was late.

His 100 dollars is gone. 100 dollars would buy him groceries for at least a week. If that golden-haired man was in trouble and he ignored him, it would not be wickedness but karma.

He climbed the stairs and opened the large door to the Bureau. 

It has been three years since he started working here, not by choice though. Avalon had a national policy, once you turn 18, you are required to serve the country by joining the military for 2 years or to join the Police force or prison force for 4 years.

Ravi thought that he could bypass it but when he found he could not do anything without that National identity card, he hurried to join the police force. Out of the three it was the best, and the pay was also good. 15000 dollars a year with appropriate leave.

"Sergeant Smith, West is 5 minutes late. It is his third infraction, don't play any games, and forgive him. Quickly write it in, 100 dollars deduction, Nothing less." Draco Brown shouted from his booth as he leaned back, carelessly playing a game with his phone. He had a haircut today, he probably couldn't wait to impress the new Captain.

The police bureau in Davenport was a small one and his team had not had a new Captain in a long time. The last Captain, Myers, had transferred to the much bigger, nearby city when her husband got a job there. It has been six months and their team has not had any strict supervision. Ravi loved it so much.

He walked to his booth and started setting up his chargers when he heard Sarah's Voice, "It is just five minutes, Sergeant, just overlook it." Her voice was gentle and there was a smile on her face as she pleaded on his behalf.

"Hey! That is against the rules, Adams. Why should he be excused when he practically lives in Davenport, I am coming from Alstria and yet I arrived on time."

There was a short silence in the entrance office of the Police Bureau after Draco spoke. Even Ravi, who couldn't be more less concerned, paused connecting his lamp to the charger and looked at Draco. The reason was simple, in this small police bureau, Draco was the highest ranked Mutant, he was a level 2 Mutant and his superpower was extreme speed, running from his house to work would take him tops ten minutes. Not to mention that he lived at Selin, a small district at the very entrance of Alstria, near Davenport.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Draco asked as he stopped playing his game to see three pairs of eyes fixed on him.

Sergeant Tom was the one who broke the silence and sighed, "I will write it in, Draco, go get two piles of paper from the resource department."

Draco sighed but he still stood up and vanished, leaving scattered papers around his booth.

"He should stop doing that. I have told him several times." Tom walked towards Ravi, a secretive smile on his face. "So, is it ready? The wine. Did you bring any?" He stretched his neck as he peered around the table to search for the wine.

Ravi shook his head, "Two more weeks." He then pulled out the document that he was working on last night.

Tom sniffed, "I know the scent of wine. You are lying, West. It is ready." He licked his tongue when he recalled the taste of the grape wine that Zane had brought by the other time. "Let's have a deal. If you give me a cup, two cups, I will forget about you coming late today. Come on, nobody would know."

There was a clearing of the throat in the booth next to Draco's booth and Tom laughed awkwardly, "I forget about your ears sometimes, Miss Adam." He gestured to Ravi that they would continue the conversation later but Ravi pretended not to see him. He could lose 100 dollars but he definitely could not lose this wine that he just made. He ignored the sergeant until he grumbled and left his booth.

Minutes later, The door opened and a beautiful young woman in a police uniform walked in, she was holding a stick with her phone placed on it, "That would be all lovelies. I am already late for work. We will chat later while eating." She paused and looked in the direction of Ravi, "I know. I know, I promised to show you the face of our bureau beauty but I do not have the guts now. Give me one more week, I will definitely convince him, don't worry when you see his face, all the wait would be worth it, He is just exquisite." She drawled and laughed, "Alright, bye!!!"

"Ravi…"

"No!" Ravi said, shutting down her question before she even asked it. No way.