A/N: This story is based off of a suggested scene between Sonny, his girlfriend Marie, and his friend, ex-cop Jack Cobb, in The Police Quest Casebook, under Police Quest 2. I might write a sequel for it sometime in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own Police Quest. I'm just enjoying playing around with the games' stories.

Suffering in Silence: Jack Cobb

It had been almost a year since the arrest of Jessie Hiram Bains and the end of his drug cartel in the city of Lytton. Officer Sonny Bonds, his old girlfriend from high school, former prostitute Marie Wilkans, and Bains' former accomplices, Woodrow Roberts and Donald Colby, had gotten him convicted through their convincing testimony of the Death Angel's illegal gambling and drug trafficking activities. Now, Bains was serving a ninety-seven year prison sentence without hope of parole in a distant prison, while Roberts and Colby were on probation after their sentences were suspended.

And on this particular day, Sonny and Marie were visiting Sonny's old friend and former police officer, Jack Cobb, and his brother Joshua.

"How has it been going, Jack?" Sonny asked his friend. "You look like you've been feeling a little bit better than you did a year ago."

"Yeah, maybe," muttered Jack, "I've had a lot of time to heal, all right. And I still very much appreciate you stopping those scumbag dope-pushers, especially that damned 'Death Angel' who started it all. But with my poor Kathy gone, my wife divorced from me and my having to give up my career to protect what's left of my family, I feel like the worst horror story of my life is still happening to me."

"Really?" said Sonny, "I thought you were mostly over that. You and Joshua did say that you would feel better when the criminals who hurt your family were themselves suffering."

"I know I did," sighed Jack, "I know. And for the most part, we were right. Bains is where he belongs now, although I was a little disappointed that that bullet you fired into his belly didn't kill him. The main reason I tolerate that fact is because he was successfully convicted of every known crime he committed. And frankly, I think that Colby bastard got more than he deserved when his sentence was suspended just for offering testimony to Bains' trial. He should be in prison, too. Oh, why do things always happen the way they do?" he wailed.

"Easy, Jack, easy," said Sonny, "You've barely started to escape the mess you once were and accept the loss. Nobody wants you to become a basket case all over again."

"Easy for you to say, Sonny," said Jack, frowning, "You don't even have your own family or children, and you haven't lost anyone whom you really care about! I lost a child and a wife! How could you possibly know what I'm feeling?"

Marie reached out one of her hands to Jack. Jack flinched. "Don't touch me!" he snapped.

"Please, Jack," she implored him, "Sonny may know how you feel better than you think. And even if he doesn't, I certainly know what it's like to suffer in silence."

Jack looked at her through glazed eyes. "And what do you know, Marie? You don't have a family, either."

"But Jack, life was never truly good for me when I grew up," Marie said kindly, "And besides, you don't know me any better than I know you. Usually, I couldn't even look people in the eyes when I went to high school. Even Sonny couldn't get my direct attention for some time. And I wanted to be a stewardess, but my social skills were so bad, as well as my ability to learn the bigger details of the job, meant that I flunked stewardess school. And at the time, nobody was there for me while I suffered. Even my parents and Sonny weren't there for me at the time. That's why I went into hooking. The abuse I felt meant I could not get anything better to do in my life. At least you had your brother Joshua when you lost Kathy and your wife. I had nobody, at least until I finally mustered up the courage to beg Sonny to help me out of my awful old life. And Sonny saved me from jail, too, when I fell into 'Operation Trick Trap.' He saved me, just like he eased your pain with Bains' arrest."

Marie leaned over and hugged Jack. "And Sonny is still trying to do everything he can to help both of us out as we both recover from the tragedies of our pasts. Even if we can never understand your pain the same way you do, that doesn't mean we don't suffer. And it doesn't mean that we don't love you. You're a very good man, Jack, and we want you to know how much we believe that."

"Absolutely, Jack," said Sonny, "Both of us care for you greatly. And don't worry; I'll never let Jessie Bains get near you or any of your family again, and I'll be keeping an eye on Colby, to make sure he doesn't get back into the business of drug dealing again, also."

Marie gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. For a few moments, nothing further really happened. Then, finally, Jack started to put a small smile on his face.

"You're right, Marie," he replied, "You're both right. Sometimes I get so caught up in my pain over little Kathy that I forget that there are other people who suffer too in the world. Sonny, I'm sorry I got mad at you. I think you did the right thing to bring Marie with you when you came over here. Thank you both." He hugged each of them back.

"Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, Officer Bonds and Ms. Wilkans," said Joshua suddenly, who had just stepped into the room, "but I have to help Jack get to therapy again. I'm as glad as he is that you two can support him in his time of need, but he also needs his professional therapy with his psychologist."

"Yes, of course," Marie said. "We'll be seeing you, Jack."

"Goodbye, Jack," said Sonny.

"I'll be seeing you both," Jack waved to them. "Oh, by the way," he said, "One thing I haven't failed to notice is that you two seem to have a thing for each other. I hope that you guys have better luck than I did."

Sonny blushed, about ready to deny his feelings for Marie, but Marie promptly said, "I'm sure everything will be fine, Jack. Sonny and I are hot for each other." She grinned.

"Marie!" Sonny said, playfully pretending to be pissed off at her.

"Come on Jack, we really have to go," said Joshua as patiently as he could.

"Yes, I know, Joshua," said Jack. "And Sonny," he said one more time, "I heard a rumor about how that thug Bains may be brought back to Lytton City Jail soon for a retrial. If it's true, I hope you can put him away for good this time."

"Thanks, Jack," said Sonny, "But you'd better watch yourself, too. Things always get nasty in Lytton when the Death Angel is one of the subjects on the news."

"Don't I know it," remarked Jack.

So saying, Sonny and Marie returned to their car, a "sensible," compact model Marie had convinced Sonny to trade his sports car in for, and went home, while Joshua drove his brother, Jack, to a psychologist's office, unaware that Sonny and Marie's lives were about to become as painful as those of the Cobb family.