A/N: For those of you who don't know, Blue Force was a police simulator computer game designed by Jim Walls, the same man who designed the first three Police Quest games, which were also police simulators. The main difference is that Blue Force was made and distributed by Tsunami Media instead of Sierra On-Line. I don't own any of these characters or the game; I'm just trying to retell the story of Blue Force with a few creative liberties thrown in.

There are several cop themes and songs that I think can go well with this story. If you have any of them on a device, try listening to one or more of them while reading this fanfiction:

Theme from Miami Vice
Theme from Starsky & Hutch
Theme from Hawaii Five-O (classic)
Theme from Jake & McCabe
Theme from CHiPs
Theme from L.A. Confidential
Theme from Maniac Cop
Theme from Magnum P.I.
It's Probably Me (from Lethal Weapon 3)
Summer in the City (from Die Hard)

Blue Force had a sort of '80s/'90s cop movie feel to it, and that's why I recommend these themes and songs to anyone who reads this story. It can make Blue Force feel like a living game as well as Police Quest's spiritual successor.

Introduction

May 15, 1984

It seemed to be an ordinary day in Tony's Lounge at Jackson Beach. The bartender was busy, people were drinking at it, and a few people were playing games like Tapper, pool, and shuffleboard. At one table sat a couple of men. One was dressed in a dark suit, while the other wore a casual white sweatshirt and dark pants. The casually dressed man had long, brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard.

The suited man opened his briefcase and put a floppy disk on the table, pushing it toward the bearded man. The bearded man took the disk. Then the suited man closed and picked up his briefcase, got up and walked over to the bar. The bearded man remained alone at the table for a minute or so.

Suddenly, two men, one white and one black, stepped into the bar and walked up to his table. To his surprise and alarm, the men both produced police badges and identified themselves as Detectives John Ryan and Lyle Jamison, and they started to question him about something. Wanting no part of this, or perhaps being complicit in some sort of crime, he splashed his beer in their faces, distracting them for a few seconds. That was enough for him to make his escape.

The bearded man got onto his motorcycle parked outside the lounge and drove away at speed. Detectives Ryan and Jamison followed him in their unmarked, tan pick-up truck, though not before Ryan noticed that the bearded man had dropped his floppy disk on the ground, and grabbed it. They gave chase throughout the city streets for about five minutes. Then the perpetrator turned his bike into a side road too narrow for the truck to follow them in. Ryan, who was behind the wheel, turned around to attempt to cut him off by another way, but another, larger truck got in their way at the first intersection they came to. Ryan and Jamison were frustrated, and Ryan hit the steering wheel. The suspect had escaped.

May 18, 1984

Late that night, as John Ryan and his family were trying to get some sleep, a man who looked remarkably like the bearded suspect from three days ago came to their house and snuck in through an open window. The man walked into the computer room, where John Ryan was doing something in his underwear, and shot him once in cold blood, killing him. Then he walked into one of the next rooms, and there were two more lethal gunshots. He then escaped into the night…

Some days after this, there was a police memorial service for Officer John Ryan and his equally deceased wife, Jackie Ryan, another victim of that prowler. Most of the people, including the other police, stood solemnly and stoically. Off to the side of the police couple's caskets sat a boy, their young son, Jake Ryan, and his late-middle-aged grandmother on the father's side, Francis Ryan, or "Grandma Frannie," as she liked to be called. Both of them were crying their hearts out for their father/son and mother/daughter-in-law, respectively.

As the honorable farewells to John and Jackie ended, one of the cops folded up the American flag that lay on John's casket and offered it to Jake. The boy took it gratefully, and at that moment, he made a vow, "I swear that one day, I'll become a policeman just like dad was, and make him and mom proud by showing the scum of this town that the cops are in charge, not the crooks! I swear it, dad!" He started to cry again. Grandma Frannie stood by his side and comforted him.

The Jackson Beach Police Captain knelt in front of Jake and looked into his watery eyes. "Jake Ryan," he said, "you have just made a choice that no cop father could be more proud of, and I'm certain that you'll make just as fine a cop as he did. There is no greater challenge or honor than to be one of America's three first responders, an EMT, a firefighter, or a police officer, and when you succeed, I think the whole nation will be grateful to have had a policeman like you." He stood up and saluted the boy.

Jake responded with a sharp salute of his own. "Thank you, Captain, sir," he said, managing a small smile despite his tears.

"And one more thing, Jake," the Captain said, kneeling down in front of him again, "I would appreciate it if you and your new legal guardian, Francis Ryan, would keep and preserve your father's old police badge. It'll help remind you of what he was and how he stood up for the goodness of Jackson Beach and its citizens, and upheld the law in every situation he ever faced."

Jake looked at him. "I don't think anything could make me forget my father, sir," said Jake, "But thank you again. I'm sure Grandma won't mind if we keep it in her house, will you, Grandma Frannie?"

She smiled. "Of course not, Jake. I would have gladly asked for it myself had the Captain not brought it up."

The Captain handed Jake the badge. "Good luck, Jake. We're all rooting for you in the police force."

Jake nodded, looking grateful for everything. He would show the whole world, if he had to, that he could be a good cop just like his dad.