27: Man Down (Jane Haddix)

Jane Haddix stood up from her desk and looked through the glass door of her office. She saw a sea of blue uniforms—far more than usual, and probably more than were on duty—clustered around a television set.

She silently opened the door and found a place where she could observe. The other officers were watching a news broadcast.

“The dust is starting to clear,” the reporter said. “It looks like—yes! It's down! The monstrosity is down!”

A cheer went through the station house; every voice in the room contributing...except one. Haddix was too busy thinking about what it was like before the Cowboy showed up. Back when the police were expected to handle everything...and they could. When the biggest threats were the gangs...and the Poolhall Gang hadn't started using powers yet.

“I can't see the Cowboy yet, but it does all our hearts good to know that he has stepped up once again when the city needed him...”

Not that you asked us for help, Haddix thought. To be fair, maybe a twenty-foot-tall alien monster wasn't the best test of the police force. But it was also the kind of thing they wouldn't have to deal with if this were a normal city. Normal cities also didn't have people like Hooligan or Clockwise or the Black Hats...

She knew she wasn't being fair, but it wasn't a fair situation. In her time as chief of police, Haddix had seen the BCPD go from one of the best in the country to obsolete and complacent. They were still highly trained, but they hadn't had a real test in years. They just expected the hick in the stupid hat to do everything for them.

“Hold on, I'm just getting word that...oh...oh, no...Tracy, can you get a shot of this?” The news camera focused on some EMTs picking through the rubble, and a man lying on the ground. What energy there had been in the room quickly vanished.

“Early reports state tell us that the Cowboy is seriously injured, bleeding heavily, and may not--” The reporter's voice cracked. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, it's just...please, not this...”

Jane Haddix looked around the station house, and saw disbelief and despair on the faces of her fellow officers. One of the rookies looked like he was about to cry.

“What does this mean?” one of them whispered. Finally, Haddix spoke up.

“It means you're going to have to learn how to be cops again,” she said dryly. “Get back to work.”