11 10. Please Turn In Your Gun

It's Captain Rogers. A cop who has 30 years experience on the job.

"Captain, what's taking you guys so long to try to get in?" Jack asks. He's the youngest on the team but he always speaks like he's an equal to all the old guys.

"Because that man has no demands. Doesn't talk to us. Too many people are in the house."

"Sneaking in?" Jack suggests, because that's what he wants to do.

"This new damn house is 'open-concept' so we can't get in without being compromised. Or without agitating that man." Captain Rogers frowns.

"What's that guy's background? A retired veteran?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"I have the sixth sense."

"You probably heard it on the radio from someone else. Probably Bob." Captain Rogers shakes his head.

"You mean the incredible Bob the records-keeping guy at the records department?"

"Yes. Bob the records-keeping guy. He radios us in about some cases sometimes."

"Yeah, you're right, Captain. It was Bob who told me that."

"Well, then. So here you go. We just have to wait until the veteran decides to talk." Captain Rogers shakes his head again.

"Captain, just let me go in." Jack takes a step.

"No."

"Fine." Jack backs away, and decides that he will sneak in when Captain is not watching.

Which is exactly what he is doing now. He sees there's a backyard, and no news camera are over there. But there are some bystanders.

He walks over there, whistling, hands in his pockets. He then pretends he is inspecting the water pipes outside, and the chimney.

He scans the premises and sees that no one is paying attention to him now, so he quickly wiggles the back window, which, he believes is the window to the kitchen. It is not locked. So he pushes it open. He cuts the screen off with his pocket knife. He hikes up one leg on the window sill and slides himself in. His foot lands into a kitchen sink first. He can see the veteran man is just sitting in the living room, with all his hostages.

Jack doesn't think anyone notices him. He also thinks he's about to solve this stand-off situation.

But he doesn't know someone is watching him, standing by the side of the street.

Jack quietly walks past the peninsular kitchen counter. He slowly raises his handgun up, and aims at the veteran. Fortunately, the veteran is not holding anyone in his hands or anything.

"Bang!"

The veteran's right arm is shot. The veteran shouts out loud.

"Ahhhhh!" Then all the people in the house scream as well.

"Drop your weapon, sir," Jack demands, still aiming his gun at the veteran.

"You crazy? Who are you?" A hostage shouts.

Another hostage yells, "Are you even a cop!? You're going to get us killed!"

"Shhh," Jack doesn't even look at them, "I will fire again, Sir." Jack warns the veteran.

The veteran is bleeding, his blood is visibly spreading from his arm to shoulder and to his elbow.

Suddenly, Jack takes one giant step and then kicks the handgun out of the veteran's hand.

"Bang!" The handgun fires itself as it drops to the floor.

"Alright," Jack says, and he takes his handcuffs out, "You are under arrest now. I don't memorize the Miranda rights, but something like, you have the right to remain silence, so, you don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"Seriously? You can't just say that!" Another hostage says, he then glances at his fellow hostages.

"What kind of cop are you? You don't know Miranda rights?"

"Are you going to help untie us?" A hostage says, she is whining in fear.

"No. I'm not. I'm here for this man," Jack points at the veteran who just held these people as hostage for more than 9 hours since last night.

Jack then leans over to the veteran and speaks quietly to him as he walks him out of the door, "Don't tell them, but I think your hostages are super annoying." Jack laughs, trying to see if the veteran laughs, too.

The veteran isn't laughing. The veteran is about 30 or 40 years old. Probably one of those veterans who were sent on tours to the Middle East. 

Jack continues to joke:

"Man, you have better patience than mine to not kill the hostages. You sat with them for 9 hours. Whoooof. You are tough. Thank you for your service. I mean the service here, babysitting these young people."

The veteran looks back at him. His face is surprised after he hears Jack's comments.

Once they are standing in the front yard of the house, all the police force members are dumbfounded.

"Jack?" One officer finally utters a word. No one knows Jack went inside the house.

"Jack Wolf! In my car! Now!" Captain Rogers shouts immediately. He is very ticked off right now.

Jack turns the veteran over to another police officer. Jack shrugs, "Why am I even in trouble for this. I got him out, didn't I?"

He knows he's going to get a bunch of lectures.  Such as:

You can't act on your own! You are always acting however you want.

You were already told not to get in the house and you still did. You are always disobeying orders!

You fired a gun. Was that justifiable? You can't fire a shot like that.

Oh he doesn't care. Whatever.

*** *** ***

Jack is put on administrative leave, or, suspended, for two weeks. The police chief Chris Scanavino wants to sort out responsibility. The police chief Chris Scanavino is actually not a bad person to work with. He knows Jack is always in trouble, but he also knows Jack is trying to do his job. Nothing too excessive. And Jack never hurts any civilian.

Jack just hurts the perpetrators.

Jack has one time beaten a perpetrator to death in an alley before Jack was even a detective. That almost cost Jack his job.

But Chris Scanavino helps him out. He vouches for Jack that Jack had to do it because the perpetrator was running away and was posing threats to others.

Chris then puts him on the special investigation team, which usually is a team investigating crimes that are far more complicated, and their cases need a lot of questioning and gathering evidence. Chris thinks, by putting Jack in this position, Jack would be in less trouble. Jack would learn to use logics rather than impulses.  But it doesn't seem to work.  Jack is in trouble again.

Jack is now being called to the Police Chief's office.

"Have a seat," Chris Scanavino offers, but he is standing up.

"Thanks, Chief."

"So, you can't go on like this. I think you've got potential, I think you are a good cop. But, people can easily file complaints against you. Which, people have been filing complaints."

"Sorry, Chief." Jack scratches head quickly.

"I think I'm going to have you work on something a little less aggressive. A little more good old fashion detective work."

"I have been doing good old fashion detective work. How else do you think I found a way to get into the house? By inspecting the surrounding. I just didn't have a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes."

"That's not the definition of detective work." Chris finally sits down, and he laughs.

"Well, if you're talking about my way of taking action physically, I don't think it's fair to criticize me for that. Even Sherlock Holmes fight bad guys, too."

"Yeah, and he fell into waterfalls after he fought his opponent physically." Chris looks at Jack.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I think I'm going to take your gun away."

Jack is shocked. He is finally fired. Even Chris can't take him anymore. Jack stands up. He doesn't want to argue. He turns in his gun and his badge.

"But you keep your badge," Chris pushes the badge back to him.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not firing you. You just don't get to use the gun now. I'm going to put you in police records department for a bit, and then, I'll have you intern at other departments where you only get to use your brain." Chris smiles.

"Well, that's just silly. I'm good at shooting. You're taking away my biggest strength."

"No, I'm letting you practice your other strength."