Chapter 5: No One Dislikes Gossip

John, looking sad, recounted his day's experience. That morning during patrol, he responded to a domestic dispute call. Upon arrival, he found a couple with a huge size difference arguing. The 120-kilogram husband confided in John that his petite wife, who appeared to weigh no more than 50 kilograms, was abusing him.

Amused, John calmed the husband and didn't think much of it, leaving after a simple mediation.

However, in the afternoon, John and his training officer, Talia Bishop, received another call from the same address. They arrived just in time to see the seemingly delicate wife stabbing her burly husband in the neck with an ice pick. By the time they subdued her, the husband had died from blood loss.

John was visibly shaken. "I held his neck, but there was nothing I could do. I just felt his life slipping away, even though we had just talked not long ago."

"I thought I was prepared for this, but clearly, I wasn't."

Jack put an arm around John's shoulders and smiled, "I thought you might feel guilty for not helping or blame yourself for his death. If that were the case, I'd have to give you a lot of comforting advice and convince you it wasn't your fault."

"I'm glad you don't feel that way. I lost my parents while I was in a coma and woke up days later. So, all I can say is, let time heal everything."

John gratefully hugged Jack's shoulders tightly.

"Buddy, thanks. Sometimes you make me feel like I'm talking to an old friend, not someone just three years older than my son."

Jack cast a peculiar glance at the two girls.

"Is this old guy trying to take advantage of me?" The girls laughed heartily.

"What about you?" Jack pointed his beer bottle at Lucy. "How was your first day? Did Officer Bradford give you a hard time?"

Caught off guard, Lucy hesitated, looking conflicted before finally speaking. "Officer Bradford doesn't seem to be targeting me on purpose. I think he's a soft-hearted person."

Hannah nodded. "He is tough on the outside but kind inside. If you think he's being hard on you, it's only because he doesn't want to let any unqualified rookies slip through. Being a street patrol officer in Los Angeles is very dangerous; lacking skills can cost you your life."

"So, Lucy, how did you find out he's a good person? You looked so resentful this morning." Jack smirked mischievously.

Lucy hesitated for a long time before speaking uncertainly. "I'm not sure if this is private, but I hope it doesn't go beyond us four."

"We swear." Everyone loves gossip, and the three others raised their fingers in unison.

"Today, while arresting a street dealer, we encountered a female vagrant who was clearly an addict. Bradford talked to her briefly, then gave her all the cash he had. When we got back in the car, I asked him about it, and he said she was his wife who had been missing for over a year. He looked very sad."

"Oh my God," Hannah gasped, covering her mouth. "That must be Isabella."

Seeing everyone's eyes on her, Hannah continued, "Tim Bradford's wife is named Isabella. She was an undercover DEA agent who became addicted during a mission and left home over a year ago."

She warned Lucy seriously, "If Tim doesn't bring it up, don't mention it. The whole precinct has been discreetly helping look for Isabella, but Tim thinks he's kept it a secret."

Lucy nodded earnestly, and everyone turned to Jack, who was examining his beer bottle.

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" Jack pretended to be clueless.

"Don't you think you should share your day? We all did," Lucy said, slapping the table.

Jack sighed. "Angela threatened me not to tell anyone unless you buy the next round."

"Miss, four more Budweisers," John immediately called to the nearby waitress.

Jack took a sip and began, "Today, we arrested a pair of lesbians..."

"And Angela sprayed an entire can of disinfectant, then threatened to kill me if I told anyone."

John and Lucy laughed uproariously, while Hannah grabbed Jack's neck, eyes gleaming with menace. "You're already calling her Angela? You two are getting close."

Jack hurriedly signaled Hannah to mind the setting and protested, "Didn't you say it was inconvenient with our schedules and told me to get close to Angela so she could teach me shooting? Now I have to prepare breakfast for two and lunch for three every day."

Exchanging a glance with John, Lucy asked, intrigued, "So, what's the relationship between you two?"

Jack quickly raised his hand to clarify, "Hannah and I were friends before. Now she's my landlord, and I cook for her in exchange for rent."

"Hmph!" Hannah gave him a disdainful look.

"LAPD doesn't allow workplace romances. If it happens, one person must transfer to another department or precinct, and rookies might even be fired. But I'm already applying to the FBI. Once I leave LAPD, I'll pursue Jack. He's mine; I like him."

Jack choked on his drink, missing John and Lucy's instant crestfallen expressions.

After the gathering, Hannah finally noticed the awkward atmosphere at the end and asked Jack in the passenger seat, "Are John and Lucy...?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, they got together in the last two months of the academy, thinking they'd be fine after graduation. But Zoe chose them both for Wilshire."

Hannah wrinkled her cute nose and muttered, "Why is there always such an age gap?"

Jack scratched his head, not daring to respond.

After a moment of silence, Jack broke the awkwardness.

"I saw Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall's names on the police department's honor wall today. Do you know them?"

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