SUMMARY: After a shootout with armed criminals, Jason Ellis wakes in a hospital to find a gorgeous blonde who mysteriously walks away without saying a thing. After his recovery, Jason employs the mysterious blonde to help him find who set him up. Little does this honest cop know that he just made a deal with the most notorious mafia boss in Chicago. Can he find the justice he seeks, or will this shifty blonde bring out his inner darkness...

Chicago

October, 2014

The city seemed almost surreal in the morning. The buildings rising above the horizon as if they were reaching for the gods. Below all of the sounds of the city seemed to be buzzing at a million miles an hour. A man was red - faced and screaming at a hot dog vendor over his ruined hot dog order, a woman was trying to drag her crying son down the street to God knows where for who knows what. Car horns blasted as profanities were screamed various drivers.

He hated this city.

But it was Jason's sworn duty to protect and serve all of it's 2.8 million citizens, assholes or not, from the crime that lurked in its streets. He pulled out his Galaxy S4 from his pocket and unlocked it. He scrolled through the apps until he came across his photo gallery. He opened it and began to scroll through the pictures, landing on a particular one of him and his girlfriend this past summer. It was at Six Flags Great America in front of The BATMAN ride. Jason had on a white Nike brand Chicago Bears t-shirt that was soaked with sweat around his neck. He had one hand in the pocket of his khaki cargo shorts, while his right foot with a Nike shoe on it crossed over his left and landed on its toe. His face was also sweaty, but most of it was covered by his reflective aviators. The bandana on his head was a bright interpretation of the American Flag. He was smiling and stood with his arm around the shoulder of a beautiful girl that stood to his right. She stood slightly shorter than him and had one of her arms around his waist with the other on her hip. She wore a blue tank top that hung low on her chest and was soaked. Her auburn hair was styled in twin braids that spilled over her shoulders and down her front. She had one of her hands on her black athletic shorts that exposed her toned, tanned legs that ran all the way down to her tennis shoes. He sat there and looked at the picture, longing for his shift to be over so he could rush back to his apartment to see her. He wanted to feel her smooth skin and to feel her lips against his as they sat on the couch and watched a movie. He hoped she would bite her lip like she always did when she was-

"Look alive, mothafucka!"

Jason quickly locked his phone as his partner, Kristoff Bjorgman, climbed into the Chevy Tahoe police cruiser with two Egg McMuffins and a coffee. He passed one of the sandwiches to Jason and unwrapped the one in his hand as they began to chow down on the cheap sandwiches and terrible coffee coffee. Jason finished and sat in silence for a few seconds before he opened his phone and looked at the same picture of he and Anna. A heavy sigh from Jason followed, and Kristoff turned to see his partner looking at his gallery.

"You thinkin' 'bout her?"

"Yeah," Jason replied. As he locked the phone again and slid it down into his pocket. "I just want to get home and hold her. Tell I love her. I'm thinking about doing it, Kris. After all this time, I finally think I have the nuts to do it." Kristoff only scrunched his face in confusion and Jason held up his hand and pointed to his ring finger. Kristoff seemed to get it as he swallowed his sandwich.

"About damn time!", he said.

"Shut the hell up! As far as I know, you're still working on gettin' outta the friend-zone with that redhead chick, Ariel," Jason replied, a slight southern accent on his tongue.

"Annyyywayyy...How long have you been together?"

" 'Bout six months now."

"You two ever have any problems?"

Before Jason could answer, the radio crackled.

"Unit 38, do you copy, over?"

Jason grabbed the black radio mic and pressed the key.

"This is 38, go ahead."

"Unit 38, there is a 10-71 (shooting) in progress at South Loop Elementary. Numerous calls have come from inside. 10-53 (victim down) is confirmed, over."

Jason turned the key and the engine roared to life. He flipped on his sirens and peeled out of the parking space leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. He pulled out into traffic and was already reaching fifty when he called back to dispatch.

"Dispatch this is 38. We are 10-76 (En route) responding Code 3. ETA is seven minutes, over."

"10-4"

The car careened down streets, narrowly avoiding a car as it tried to run a red light. Jason continued to fly down the road as the speedometer climbed to seventy. As he made the tight turn on to West 14th Street, the back end of the car kicked around and slammed into a light-post. Jason ignored the shattered glass, Kristoff's screaming, and the pain in his own left arm. All that was on his mind was the safety of the children of that school. Although he had never had kids, Jason had always felt protective over them and tried to protect them just a little more. They were so precious, and always so innocent, especially around cops.

The car flew up street. He saw there were already windows shot out and blood splattered in some cases. He turned the wheel hard left and turned to his partner.

"Hold on!" he shouted.

He hurled the car against the chain-link fence of the school yard and plowed through it. The front windshield shattered and Jason let go of the wheel to hold his lacerated face. He tried to correct his mistake, but the car went into a slide and slammed trunk first int a huge oak tree. The good news that came out of all the destruction was that the car had slid onto the playground and was sitting broadsided with the passenger side facing the school, which was less than forty yards away. All of a sudden, a window busted out from the school and a spray of gunfire erupted.

"Shit!" Kristoff shouted as he scrambled out behind Jason through the driver side door. Bullets pinged off of the sides of the SUV and glass shattered everywhere. Jason drew his Colt Python revolver and leaned over the hood and laid down three rounds of suppression fire. As he fired, he saw numerous children laying dead or dying in their own blood. He almost threw up but was brought back to reality when a bullet whizzed right by his ear. He ducked down and contemplated his next move as his partner loaded his shotgun. Kristoff stood and fired at the school through the driver side and passenger window. He ducked after two shots and reloaded.

Jason grabbed his radio and keyed the mic. "Calling all units within the vicinity of West Fourteenth. There are officers here under heavy fire with numerous 10-53s for juveniles. Assistance is required but be aware, the situation is 10-29h (severe hazard). Over."

Not even the radio crackled with any static waiting for a response. It was if the mic had died, but he checked and saw it was on.

What the hell?

There was a loud crash as Jason sprung up with his weapon drawn and pointed at the back door that had been kicked open. A grown man was wearing a ski mask and combat pants with boots and holding a gun at a little girl with dirty blonde hair standing there screaming and crying for mercy. Jason's heart stopped for two seconds as he unhesitatingly moved out from behind the vehicle, and pulled the hammer back on his revolver. The man pulled the little girl's hair tighter and chambered a round in his own weapon. Jason stopped moving, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!", he screamed.

"Fuck this city!" was the only reply he got.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion.

The finger on the trigger twitched just enough to pull the lever back and discharge the weapon. The screaming stop almost instantly. A quick splatter of blood spurted from the girl's head as the thug released her hair. She fell, eyes closed, to the ground a lifeless heap. Her whole life, that boy she hoped to meet one day, the family she wanted to start, the job she would want to have, all ended with a single shot. As she lay on the ground, Jason watched as the blood poured from her head and dirtied her blouse and skirt. Her hair went from dirty blonde to blood red as her face grew paler by the second. All Jason could manage was a scream.

Another shot rang out.

Jason felt a electrifying pain in his left collarbone as he screamed and fell to the ground.

No. No, this can't be happening. Anna, I need to get home to Anna!

He grabbed at his chest, but found that the bullet had struck his vest and he wasn't dead. Relived at his new found knowledge he turned his attention to the criminal with the firearm standing in front of him. He lifted his weapon at the assailant, who was now targeting his shotgun-wielding partner, and fired twice. The thug twitched and fell to the ground as a bullet ricocheted off of the pavement at Jason's feet. A second and third thug had appeared in the door and were firing at the officers with handguns and automatic rifles. Jason scrambled to his feet and opened for on the suspects, killing one and putting the other on the ground, motionless in the doorway.. He turned to his partner who was shocked at the fast killing spree that had just occurred as he walked around to meet his partner.

"You alright?" Kristoff shouted, his shotgun slung over his shoulder.

Jason turned to face his partner that ran toward him as he reloaded his revolver. He looked up at him with eyes that seemed to plead with him. "Kris, you don't tell Anna about a damn thing that happened here. You hear me? Not a goddamned th-"

BOOM!

"AGHH!" Jason fell to his back as he gripped at his side, trying to rip the pain straight from his side. At his new angle, he could clearly see the third gunman with his Glock pistol out aimed at where he was once standing. Now aimed at Kristoff, he fired once but missed his target, the bullet pinging off of the police car. This mistake gave Bjorgmann enough time to draw his weapon and gun down the lone shooter. After at least five gunshots, the victim fell. This time lifeless. Kristoff now knelt before his bleeding partner, whose breathing had become quite shallow. He ripped open his uniform, and removed his vest from the spot of question. He grabbed the mic on his shoulder and practically shouted the hurried message over to dispatch.

"Emergency! Emergency! We have an officer down at South Loop Elementary! I repeat, we have an officer down! I need medical assistance immediately!"

Not caring about any possible response from the department, he went back to applying force to the gunshot wound. The bullet had hit Jason just below his left armpit. Where his vest didn't protect him. He started to shush him and reassure his safety.

"Hey, hey! Stay with me here. C'mon man! You gotta stay awake and...go home to Anna. Remember? You want to tell her you love her. You can't do that if you're dead, right? So stay with me."

Blackness seemed to creep in around the sides of Jason's eyes and his eyelids began to flutter shut. The sound of sirens could be made out in the distance, but they were still minutes away. Kristoff's voice became muffled even more and his eyes were now about to close. The last image running through his head was the image of he and Anna in front of the BATMAN.

Anna, wherever you are, this end honey. I'm sorry I can't be there for you anymore

"I love you Anna."