Chapter 2

The young cop's stomach churned with excitement. He had been summoned to the chief of police's office, and it had to be for something good, it just had to!

He quickly went over his appearance in the hall mirror. He and the chief were on friendly terms, but it never hurt to look neat. He was tall and lanky, and although he was twenty-two, he still looked surprisingly youthful. His skin was smooth, and incredibly fair. He had to be extremely careful about being in the sun too long. His blond hair was parted in the center, with bushy bangs, and trimmed semi-short in the back. His official police cap sat squarely on his head. Forest green in color, it was a short, round hat with a black brim. He wore a long-sleeved, white shirt, and a vest the same color as his hat. He wore his police badge over his heart. It was the color of gold, and had three triangles etched onto its polished surface. Someone had once told him what they were, but he had since forgotten. Down the left side of the vest ran an intricate pattern of golden vines. A sturdy leather belt around his waist carried his essential police equipment: a gun, radio, billy club, and handcuffs. His gun was situated on his left hip, as he was a south paw. His pants, their green matching the rest of his outfit, hung straight and looked, he thought, rather professional. Down each side ran embroidery that matched his vest. Plain leather shoes finished off the ensemble.

Looking back up, he studied his face for a moment. His two most striking features were his eyes and his ears. His eyes were a deep, clear blue, and he had been told by several people that his eyes were the most amazing ones they had ever seen. He turned his head to get a better look at his ears. They were definitely not normal, for they were pointed on the top. He had always wondered about them, but his father had never told him. His father… He closed his eyes and bowed his head, a look of sorrow on his face. His thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by a jab to the ribs.

"Hey, Link!"

He spun around to see his best friend Marco Carter. Marco was short and stocky, with dark brown skin and black curly hair. Almost an exact physical opposite from Link. They wore the same uniform, however.

"The boss is ready to see you now," Marco continued.

"Yeah?" Link answered, a question in his eyes.

Marco chuckled quietly. "Don't worry about it, man, the boss is super happy. Hey, you might even be in for a promotion!"

Link's mouth dropped open. "A promotion?! You really think so?"

Marco punched him lightly in the arm. "Sure, man! Good luck in there, buddy."

Link smiled nervously. "Thanks." Then he took a deep breath and stepped into the office. It was fairly roomy, but only lit by two small lamps on the chief's desk. He said the dark helped him concentrate, but the truth was that the fluorescent lights gave him a headache.

"Hey, Link! Good to see you!" the chief said cheerily, rising from his chair behind the desk. Chief of police Ralph Nicholson was definitely middle-aged, although no crisis was in sight. The top of his head was balding, but the rest of his hair was a deep, rich brown. He was slightly overweight, probably from sitting behind a desk too much. His intense brown eyes looked out at Link.

Sitting back down, he continued. "Please, have a seat." After a slight pause he added, "Oh, and you can turn on the lights if you want.

"Thank you, sir," Link replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs set in a semi-circle around the office. He left the lights off, however. He knew how painful a headache could be.

The chief smiled. "I've called you here to congratulate you for your excellent work in our last drug bust. Without your quick thinking and courage, things would not have gone as well as they did. Because of you, we caught every last one of those crooks!"

Link blushed. "Thank you sir, but I was just doing my job."

The chief chuckled. "Oh, Link, everyone knows you have the most potential out of everybody here, myself included. You're a better cop than I ever was."

Link's blush deepened, and he lowered his head in embarrassment. Suddenly, he was glad of the dim lighting.

The chief stood up, and slowly walked over to Link. "Anyway, Link, what I'm trying to say is: Congratulations… detective!"

Link jerked his head up to see the chief with a badge in his hand. "Oh, thank you, sir!" Link leapt up, throwing his arms around the chief. After a moment, he realized what he was doing, and quickly dropped his arms and took a step back, nearly tripping over his chair. The blush returned to his face as his gaze fell to the floor. He hid his hands behind his back as he mumbled an apology. "Um, sorry, sir…"

The chief laughed as he handed the badge to Link. "Don't worry about it. When I got my first promotion, I was so happy I could've hugged a criminal!"

He suddenly sobered and put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Link… your father would be proud of you."

Link stood up a little straighter and met the chief's gaze. "Thank you, sir."

The chief smiled a little and patted Link's shoulder. Then he led him to the door, saying, "Hey, I bet you want to celebrate, so take the rest of the day off! See you here tomorrow at eight 'o clock sharp for you first assignment."

"Thanks, chief, see you tomorrow!" Link called back as he walked out the door.

Link waited at the precinct until noon, when he met Marco at their regular diner to tell him the good news.

Marco clapped Link on the back. "That's great, man! Congrats!"

Link grinned. "Thanks!" But then he realized something and his face fell. "But what about you?"

Marco shrugged, still smiling. "Hey, don't worry about me, man. Somebody's gotta be the low man on the totem pole. And besides, we'll still see each other, right?" He elbowed Link's arm.

Link smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, sure."

He would have stayed with Marco the rest of the day, but Marco made him leave.

"After all," Marco reasoned, "When do us cops ever really get any time off?"