"Now get out!"
Following this scream, a man stepped out of the Commissioner's office, and a file was also thrown out at him, which hit him directly in his chest.
"And listen, Walters! This is your last warning. I am giving you an ultimatum of one month– if you can't improve your performance, I will suspend you from field duty and put your ass on a desk job! Do you understand?"
Dave Walters nodded as he took the file and zipped up his police jacket, after being scolded by his supervisor for his low arrest record.
The entire precinct was happy with their quarter yearly report, but Dave wanted to leave early so that he could spend the rest of his evening in a pub, drowning his sadness in cheap beer.
Just as he reached for the door, a group of his colleagues surrounded him, smirking and taunting.
"Hey, Dave, leaving so soon? Please tell us, do you have an appointment with the President?"
"Or are you leaving early because you want to go somewhere important… oh! Right, are you late to your girlfriend's wedding?"
"So, buddy! Do you have a hot date for your girlfriend's wedding, or are you just going alone like a desperate creep?"
Another one of them asked with a smirk.
"Guys, come on-"
One of his colleagues, Peter, tried to intervene, but someone else quickly spoke up,
"Yeah, come on! What if our buddy Dave is just trying to find a new job by catering at the wedding?"
"Actually, you know what? That's a great idea! Because I heard your arrest record is so low, that even the criminals are starting to pity you. Maybe you really should consider a new career – if you don't like catering, how about a florist?"
"I think your girlfriend's new husband will give you a good review also, I heard she marrying a millionaire!"
A third officer, with a smirk playing on his face, added,
"Wow, Walters, your girlfriend has really upgraded in life! She went from having a loser as her boyfriend to a millionaire as her husband, in just one week!"
"She did find a sugar daddy really quick, don't you think?"
"Well, if I was in her place, I would be looking for better options since the first day of my relationship with Walters!"
These taunts not only reminded Dave of his professional shortcomings, but they were a direct assault on his personal life.
For a few minutes, he was completely shocked, not knowing how to respond or what to say.
Peter felt sympathy for him, as the two of them had been in the same training camp.
"Okay, enough! Now knock it off! You have already said too much, now leave him alone."
Saying this, he put one hand on Dave's shoulder and led him outside, saying,
"You don't need to pay attention to them, they are just in the habit of finding a target for their frustration. So don't let their words affect you, okay?"
Dave nodded, feeling grateful to Peter. He finally broke his silence,
"Thank you for standing up for me, I really appreciate it."
"Of course! That's what friends are for. And listen, if you ever feel like sharing your burden, then I'm here. Now, I think I should go, my wife and kids must be waiting. Can I drop you off somewhere?"
Dave just shook his head in a 'no' and turned in the other direction, pulling out a cigarette to distract himself from his thoughts.
The old scars which he had barely managed to cover up, had become fresh again; and he remembered the betrayal he had been given by Julia, his girlfriend of five years.
They had been in a relationship since college, and she was the love of his life. She had promised to be by his side through thick and thin, and for five years, they were very happy together… or so he thought.
Because the day he proposed to her, after spending months arranging the perfect proposal and selecting the perfect ring… that was the day he saw another side of his lovely girlfriend.
In his memory, the events of that evening were stuck in a loop, and he kept replaying every detail as he took long drags from his cigarette.
He could see her in his memory, as she stepped into the garden which he had decorated with roses and fairy lights. And her expression was completely different than what he had imagined!
Instead of looking happy, she looked absolutely humiliated. Still, he decided to go down on one knee and propose, thinking that maybe she was just surprised and didn't know how to control her shock.
But the moment he asked her, "Will you marry me?" She had started screaming at him.
Not only did she reject his proposal, but she threw the bouquet of red roses that she was holding in her hands.
Her words were still fresh in his mind,
"Do you really think I will spend my life with you! How delusional can you be? For a woman of my level, it would be a shame to call myself your wife!"
"But… I thought you love-"
"Love? Hah! Listen, you have got the completely wrong idea. It was nice when you pampered me and brought me gifts, and I also talked to you to entertain myself. You know, like a good hobby to pass my time! But never in a hundred years was I going to marry a loser like you!"
He could still hear her mocking laughter, as she brutally crushed his heart under her heels.
"And look at that ring! It's cheap, just like you! Can you imagine how humiliated I will be in front of my friends, if I show it to them! Oh, you can just sell it and use the money to get some treatment, because you are completely insane to even think that I will say yes to you!"
On recalling her bitter words, Dave felt a pang of hurt and betrayal in his heart. The more he thought about her actions, the more angry he felt!
Because just after breaking his heart so brutally, she had announced her engagement to Noah Stone, one of the wealthy businessmen of the city who was known to be a playboy!
And today, after only ten days of breaking up with him, she was getting married at the Plaza Hotel.
As if this was not enough, that witch had actually sent wedding invitations to their entire precinct, only to humiliate Dave further.
What kind of evil plans did that greedy woman have?
Just as he was about to crush the cigarette under his shoe to extinguish it, he heard a strange voice echoing around in his head.
[Ding! Congratulations on activating the Criminal Capturing System. Would you like to bind the system?]
At first, Dave was frozen in shock, and the next moment, he panicked and turned around in a complete circle, observing his surroundings with a sharp gaze.
But he was standing at a secluded spot near the parking lot, and there was not a single soul present there at that moment.
So where did that sound come from?
A system?
Wasn't that something only found in novels and games?
But he was sure that this was his real life, and definitely not a game.
Of course, it wasn't a dream… although, he had definitely heard the voice of a lady in his head… so could he really be the chosen one?
[Ding! Would you like to bind the Criminal Capturing System?]
Before he could think anything else, the voice popped up again, snapping him out of his confusion.
At the end, he decided to try his luck.
"Yes, bind it now."
[System binding successful!]
[Congratulations, host, on binding the system. You have received a Newcomer's Gift x1. Would you like to open the Newcomer's Gift now?]Without giving him much time to process what was happening, another message arrived in his mind. At the same time, there was a warm feeling coursing through his entire body, making his hairs stand on end. It was like… a supernatural force was connecting with every molecule of his body and mind. Although he had his doubts about what was going on, Dave had a feeling, almost like an instinct… that this would definitely not be harmful to him.After all, he might not know all the benefits yet, but he couldn't see any dangers in this. This is when he remembered the question about the gift, and he shrugged, thinking in his mind, "Sure, let's open the gift. Why not?"To his surprise, the system responded to his thoughts as well, and the female voice echoed;[Congratulations! You have unlocked one item: Hidden Criminal Search!]By now, Dave was getting more
The receptionist seemed quite shocked and a little scared to hear that there was a high-profile criminal in their hotel. So she stepped back, wisely deciding not to question them after that point.Dave confidently led his colleagues to the elevator, and some questions began to appear in their mind… Most of them were suspicious about what Dave's real motives were, because even though the receptionist had not asked them for any documents, they couldn't exactly arrest anyone without a warrant!It seemed like he was being vague on purpose. Was it his plan to take advantage of his position and his authority to ruin Julia's wedding?As they reached the fifth floor and Dave started to walk towards the ballroom doors, one of the officers decided to speak up;"Walters, just be honest. Are you just trying to interrupt their ceremony because you want revenge!?"Because of the courage of one person, everyone else also suddenly felt bold enough to speak up."Yeah, we decided to come with you as y
On hearing Dave's bold claim that he was not there for her, Julia felt like someone had poured gasoline all over her and set her on fire.During the five years of their relationship, he used to dote on her completely, rushing to fulfill her every need before the words left her mouth, and praising her endlessly. And now, all of a sudden he was calling her self- obsessed? What did he mean, he wasn't here for her? "What is the meaning of this? You dare to show up at MY WEDDING, and then claim that it's not about me? Then, who is it about? Are you here to celebrate your fucking birthday–""I am here on important business."The guests, who were concerned till now, were slowly getting more and more intrigued by the drama. At first, they were scared and concerned about what was going to happen, but now they felt like this was turning out to be quite an unexpectedly entertaining ex- boyfriend drama. "In the movies, the hero always makes an entry at the last moment, and takes the heroine w
Thomas Kennedy, Julia's father, stepped on the stage, ready to deal with whoever had the guts to spoil his daughter's wedding ceremony."Dave Walters! Is this a joke? You know damn well that you can't abuse your authority in this way!""Daddy!" Julia suddenly ran towards her father, clutching his arm with a pitiful expression. She whined,"Daddy, he is just jealous because he is a loser whom I dumped! And now, he wants to take revenge from me by embarrassing our family in front of all our guests!"Thomas glared at Dave, and if he could shoot missiles through his eyes, Dave would already be on his journey to the afterlife. Seeing that Julia's family was getting riled up, Noah also decided to open his mouth, even though he was already getting anxious. "Yes… yes! How can you expect us to believe that this is not an attempt to punish me for marrying Julia? I haven't done anything, so on what grounds are you arresting me?"Without even giving Dave a chance to speak, Thomas began to bera
Julia was stunned to hear his stern scolding, as he always used to speak to her in a soft tone. But had he just asked her to shut up?! She was dumbfounded, wondering how the hell he had changed this much in just seconds! Meanwhile, Noah's fists were clenched in anger, and if he hadn't been handcuffed, he would have shut her up with a tight slap! Instead of feeling apologetic that he was in all this mess because of her, this girl was running her mouth to get him in more trouble?! "How dare you speak to my daughter like that?!" Before anyone could do anything, Thomas roared out. "Just be honest, have you been deceiving us all along? What have you done, answer me!" Noah was guiltily biting the inside of his cheek without saying anything. It wasn't just that he was embarrassed in front of everyone, but he also didn't want to say too much and get himself more tangled up in the web. But Dave was smiling sarcastically, understanding his thoughts. Even if Noah tried his best to hide
Dave came back to the present moment when he heard the screech of brakes of the police jeep, only to realize that they had arrived at the precinct.Feeling proud, he got down and escorted Noah out of the jeep, only to be greeted by his colleagues."I guess Dave finally opened his arrest record with a bang, huh?""Getting a high profile criminal and getting his revenge, now that's something else!""Yeah man, I guess all he needed to jump into action was a little push from our side!"By this time, they had entered the precinct, and Dave was enjoying the attention and flattery quite a bit.He handed Noah Stone over to one of the constables and instructed him to put him in lock- up."He is an A- list criminal from the auction theft, who managed to escape from prison. Lock him up for now, and we will be getting the statements from people tomorrow morning.""Yes sir!"The constable saluted him and led Noah inside, who felt even more humiliated, being dragged around like cattle."Leave me, y
Dave was feeling like everything he had done today, had amounted to nothing in the end.Before he could feel any worse about his fate, his phone began to ring. But the moment he saw his sister's name on the screen, he knew he had to compose himself.He never wanted to show his negative emotions or concerns in front of her, as he didn't want her to worry about him. "Hello?""Brother?" Her shaky voice echoed through the phone speakers, as if she was scared of something."Morgan? What's wrong?""Brother… can you please come and pick me up? I am near our school, just please come quickly…""Okay, I'll be there in no time. I'm just coming, don't be scared, okay? Whatever it is, I'll take care of it. "Saying this, he didn't even wait for a reply before he climbed behind the steering wheel of the police jeep and sped off to Claren High School, leaving his colleagues in confusion about what just happened.He didn't have much trouble in spotting them; as soon as he turned the jeep towards the
Tears started streaming down Morgan's face as she said,"I called you because I want to help my friend… but I don't want anything to happen to you!""Oh, Morgan… nothing is going to happen to me, just trust me. I know exactly how to handle such people. You trust your brother, don't you?"Morgan nodded even though her face was covered with tears, and Dave continued;"Then, be a good girl and listen to me carefully. Take your friend and go to my apartment, you already have the keys, right? Good. Neither of you are supposed to go to school until I tell you it is safe to, okay?And don't let your mind wander even for a second, I'm going to be perfectly fine, and so are you two. Understood? If anything happens, just call me."As soon as the girls' disappeared from Dave's sight, his anger returned with ten times the previous intensity. Yesterday, he had seen with his own eyes how the person on the most wanted list had gotten a chance to humiliate him in the police station, while his teamma