chapter word count: 702 (oops)

noir heart: fifty-seven

J-Gun screams in agony and collapses backwards to the ground, both hands shooting up to his face to try and stem the torrent of blood from his nose. The woman he was hitting on promptly squeaks and makes a hurried exit, but his friend Beanie Hat on the other hand quickly dives into his pants to retrieve the gun. Except Jack is a lot quicker, and his Glock has already been drawn from its holster and is pointed at the friend's head before the silver .22 revolver even leaves the saggy elastic hem of his black tracksuit pants.

"Ah-ah-ah." Jack says, and he thumbs the safety off to prove a point. Beanie Hat's face goes white, and he slowly moves his hands into the air whilst staring fearfully at the steady Glock. "Drop the piece, two fingers, then get the fuck out of here," Jack continues, "or my trigger finger starts getting itchy."

Beanie Hat quickly obliges, dropping the revolver onto the floor before sprinting in the same direction as the girl. Of course, leaving J-Gun alone - so much for loyalty. "Oh man," J-Gun cries, trying to hold back the crimson flowing down his face, "you broke my fucking nose!"

Holstering the Glock, Jack adopt his best impression of dismay and kneels down to the whimpering dealer while his newly free hand dives into his other blazer pocket. "Oh, I am so sorry," he fake-gasps, "let me see if I can do anything for you!"

There's a sickening crunch, and J-Gun shrieks as Jack holds his nose with the latex-gloved hand, pinches, and jerks his hand to straighten the fracture. Sure, he's actually helping the dealer, but there's a method to Jack's madness - as he wipes his hand across the flowing blood before peeling off the glove and sticking it into another mandatory item all detectives should carry: an evidence bag - he also plucks a few hairs and tosses them in too

"The hell was - oh God, that hurts - the hell was that for, man?" J-Gun whines.

"The punch?" Jack says as he zips the plastic bag shut, "That was for me. You see, I know all about your little gig selling meth to high school kids. They're just kids, trying to find their way in the world and not end up like you, and there you are selling something that will ruin their lives. I really, really hate scumbags that prey on kids...and normally, I'd arrest them. But you? I'm doing something different."

Jack straightens his tie and re-adjusts the blazer's lapels as he pauses for dramatic effect - judging by the lack of J-Gun's whining and writhing, he's listening intently. "From now on, if you or any of your friends ever set foot within five hundred feet of any school - high, elementary or fucking kindergarten - if I even hear a rumour of you dealing to kids again," he pauses again and holds up the bloody glove, half-smirking to counteract the fire in his eyes, "this little piece of evidence will find its way into a nice crime scene. I'm thinking murder, so instead of ten years for possession with intent to distribute that you'll probably serve two of before you're let out on good behaviour, at which point you'll go right back to dealing to kids again, you'll get twenty-five to life being a plaything for Big John. Got it?"

J-Gun gapes. "You'd plant evidence, stitch me up?"

"To protect innocent kids from shitbags like you? You're damn right." Jack snarls. "So, do we understand each other?"

J-Gun nods vigorously, wincing as the pain in his nose reasserts itself. Standing up, Jack tells him to scoot - which he does, and rather quickly at that - before pocketing the bag and returning to his Impala. Sure, planting evidence is breaking the law, making a mockery of everything he's supposed to stand for and lending credence to everyone else's opinion, but to protect children from the darkness in which he dwells and sees every day?

No contest.

jack isn't your average cop. his sense of right and wrong doesn't always sync with the law. Could it be what Elsa sees in him? Maybe. Speaking of Elsa, if I can figure out something, she'll be up next. If not, another Jack one with a bit of a jump.

colormeaya: only if he knows about it :P he really is trying to take Jack down. more will be revealed about that. edgarallansnow: ta-da. Arrest him, sure, but Jack wants to make sure he never does it again.

special thanks to: jpbake, stefalove, oninoko, doomstone, colormeaya, hornedgoddess, scottydog, edgarallansnow and littletimothy for reviewing!