Chapter 2

Three Days Later

Kurt sighed as he looked out the window of the cruiser watching Dave take down the radar stand they used in their speed trap. This section of the highway was always a good place to set up for speeders and together they had issued scores of tickets. While Dave was packing up the equipment Kurt was dutifully filling out the report sheet. Next thing on the agenda was lunch and Kurt was really looking forward to it; anything to break the tedium of the day.

This was their third day together and already the partnership seemed to stretch out like a prison term. It wasn't because David was aggressive or even mean to him during their time together, it was just they did not talk - at all. For a cop, most of the time spent on traffic patrol duty was waiting for something to happen and it tended to be extremely boring. So being with a partner who wasn't a conversationalist made the day seem even longer. Because Captain Beiste liked assign the newer cops to a variety of different partners to gain experience, Kurt had worked with several cops during in his relatively short time on the force and had done enough traffic duty to thoroughly hate it. Most cops hated the boredom of traffic control and even the most hard-boiled conservative officers would pass the time conversing with him and telling him about their families or interests, yet with Dave, he barely got one word answers.

Kurt spent the first day fuming, thinking that Dave was giving him the silent treatment - until he realised that it wasn't anger at Kurt or bad feelings on Dave's part, but shyness and nervousness that made him so quiet. Kurt tried to draw him out in conversation but Dave seemed so self-conscious that it became painful for both of them to carry out even the simplest of conversations. Kurt resigned himself to endure the silence until Dave could somehow grow to be more comfortable with him.

When interacting with the public, Kurt saw another side of Dave again. David was always conscientious and polite with citizens no matter what stupid excuses they had for their traffic errors. He was witty and patient and the older ladies loved him. It was fun to see him go beet red when the elderly ladies called him a cutie or handsome. He would shoot Kurt a bashful look and roll his eyes and then look back at the woman with a huge smile. The one positive thing about Dave was that he was a good cop; there was no doubt about that. He was thorough, paid close attention to detail, and was obviously dedicated to the job, all qualities that Kurt admired in a cop. He hated being partnered with slackers and cops with sloppy procedures and Dave certainly did not fit in that category.

Still he was a hard man to figure out, and Kurt could not understand why Dave had been such an asshole to him, constantly making little jibes and comments about his homosexuality. Dave usually started picking on him in front of his "buddies" a small group of older cops who were just as homophobic as Dave. Kurt had noticed that Dave rarely made fun of him when they were alone. In fact Dave usually bolted out of the vicinity so as not to be near Kurt. Kurt had always put it down to Dave being afraid of catching "the Gay" from him. But after spending some time with him Kurt had realised it was the fear of having to converse with him that drove the larger man away.

Kurt sighed again. He shouldn't have let Dave get to him the other day, and he shouldn't have hit him despite the initial satisfaction he got has his fist crunched into Dave's lip. Normally the juvenile activities of Dave and his cronies slid off like water off a duck's back, but since his upsetting break up with Blaine his emotions were like a raw open wound. He just didn't have the patience for idiot pranks like Tinkerbell stickers stuck onto the front of his locker. Tinkerbell, of all the stupid nicknames, they couldn't come up with something this century? Kurt fumed. Of course not everybody called him Tinkerbell, it was just Dave and his friends. Actually that wasn't true. Dave called him Fancy or Fancy pants. He couldn't recall Dave ever calling him Tinkerbell. So perhaps it wasn't Dave that put those stickers on his locker after all.

Dave glanced at Fancy as he walked towards the cruiser. Kurt looked bored and Dave wished again that he could at least talk to him without getting all tongue-tied. Still, spending all day with Kurt wasn't as bad as he had feared. He wasn't getting the instant physical reaction he usually got in the vicinity of Kurt – well not that much anyways. Sometimes when he glanced over at Kurt or if they stood side by side talking to a motorist and their arms brushed, he would feel a bolt of desire that manifested itself in his pants but he always managed to conceal it. He had expected Fancy to be all Divaish and snarky, putting him down all the time and acting superior like he did back at the station, but Kurt was always professional and courteous. The first day he was a little cool towards Dave but after that he was patient and understanding and tried to find common interests for both of them to discuss. Dave was no help what so ever, his since brain went to mush whenever he spoke with Kurt.

Dave thought back to the first day he saw Hummel. Dave had already been at the station a few months when Kurt strolled into the locker room looking to stow his stuff and change into his uniform. His jeans looked like they were painted on and his sweater was loose and baggy yet clung to parts of his torso in a very tantalizing way. Dave was instantly drawn to him and worse, could feel the attraction affecting his pelvic area. In fact he had to turn away and pretend to be very interested in the stuff in his own locker so as NOT to watch the new guy undress and to hide his growing problem. He felt himself go red as he heard the snickers and the titters from some of the other guys knowing they were laughing at the new gay guy. Dave wasn't an idiot, he knew that homophobia was alive and well in the station despite the proactive measures Chief Beiste had taken to stop it. All she did was to drive it deeper underground.

As the days passed, he heard all kinds of whispered jokes and sneers directed at Kurt. He was sure Kurt had heard them as well but he just kept his nose in the air and refused to acknowledge them.

In the beginning Dave wasn't actually mean to Kurt, he just tried to avoid him so he didn't have to suffer the embarrassing physical reactions he usually had when around the enticing man. Dave was impressed as hell with him and more than a little smitten with Kurt Hummel. Kurt initially tried to make friends with him since they were both new rookies but Dave was so self-conscious and shy around him that his brain would seize up and no words would come out. Dave usually just bolted away from Kurt too overcome by the beautiful man's presence to have a conversation with him. Kurt gradually stopped trying to be friends and actually started to grow cold and snarky towards him. Not surprising really since he probably assumed Dave was standoffish and rude. Hummel gradually gravitated to the women officers Mercedes, Santana and Quinn and detectives Puckerman and Abrams and made friends with them instead.

The tormenting of Kurt Hummel started after Dave saw him and his boyfriend Blaine together at a police picnic. Blaine was a fireman but was just as stylish and trendy as Kurt was. They looked like a fashion plate when standing side by side – the perfect couple. Of course Kurt would have a gorgeous boyfriend. He wouldn't want a chubby, unfashionable, hairy bear like Dave. Jealousy started to eat at Dave as he watched the perfect couple preen and coo under the adulation of the police wives and police women. Dave started drinking heavily that afternoon and his mood grew blacker as he realised just how far out of reach Kurt actually was. When a friendly football game started up, Dave joined in making sure he was on the opposing team to Blaine and Kurt. It was supposed to be touch football, but anytime he saw Blaine with the ball he tackled him as hard as he could. Both Blaine and Kurt yelled at him and complained, especially after one tackle that almost dislocated Blaine's shoulder. It was decided by everyone participating, that Dave should maybe cool off on the sidelines and not play anymore which suited Dave fine since he was already successful in showing Kurt's little shit boyfriend what he thought of him.

What he found on the sidelines was tactic approval by several of the older more experienced police officers. He suddenly found himself being nurtured and befriended by the more homophobic members of the police force like Azimio, Strando, Franklin and Cooper. He hated himself for it, but he liked their approval. Like most rookies, he admired the older cops and wanted their praise whatever it was, because it affirmed that he was worthwhile and had value for existing and even if that respect was conditional, Dave craved it. So like a good little stooge, he started to badger and make fun of Kurt at work to keep their acceptance. Ironically, it was effortless for Dave to make fun of Kurt. While he could not find the words to converse with Kurt before because he was so self-conscious, he could easily come up with insults and gibes in his bully persona. It was like he was another person, not stupid, not-up-to-scratch-Dave but smartass and clever Dave. He knew it was juvenile and petty and wrong but the jealousy, unrequited feelings and fear of discovery drove him on. Not that Fancy didn't give back as good as he got, if fact many times Dave left their altercations with his ego feeling just as bruised and bloodied as if they were in a real fight. Kurt's police friends were just as cold to him as Kurt was and many other officers wanted to stay neutral and not get involved so they ignored him. It made it even more imperative to fit in with the small group of conservative cops that befriended him, even though he secretly disagreed with pretty much everything they believed in.

Dave rubbed his lower lip where Kurt had sucker punched him. Though his lip was now its normal size, he could still feel the bruising. At the time he hadn't realised how upset Kurt was getting until the surprise blow and could only assume it had more to do with that asshole Blaine cheating on him with fellow fire fighter Sebastian, than with the stickers on the locker.

Dave coloured, thinking back to the day of the fight and how badly he had handled the situation.

He had learned through the grape vine that Kurt had dumped his cheating boyfriend. This was Dave's chance to move in and woo Kurt. Dave knew it was going to be an uphill battle since up until now he had been a class A jerk to Kurt. Still he wanted to give it his best shot. He decided to come clean with Kurt and explain why he behaved so badly, hoping that Kurt would forgive him and give him a chance to redeem himself.

Dave had arrived early to work the day excited, yet fretting about how exactly he would approach Kurt when he was normally too shy to speak to him. He found Azimio in the change room, carefully applying stickers to Fancy's locker.

"Tinkerbell stickers? Seriously?" Dave asked as he went to his own locker. "Kind of juvenile, don't you think? Captain Beiste won't too pleased either."

"If it pisses off Hummel like I think it will. It will be worth it," Azimio answered, making a rather pleasing collage of the Disney character on Kurt's locker. Dave grimaced and considered challenging Azimio but reluctantly let him be. He went for his morning coffee instead.

When he came back to the change room to get into his uniform, Amizio was long gone. Dave had his back to the door, putting on his pants when Kurt came in and spotted his locker.

Dave felt a furious hard poke to his shoulder and he turned around to see an angry Kurt glaring at him.

"I want a word with you Hamhock!" Kurt spat out.

Dave picked the wrong time to say something flirty (well what he thought sounded flirty anyways).

Dave smirked at him and said, "You want a word with me Fancy pants? Isn't that just an excuse so you can come over here and peek at my junk?"

"What is it with you straight guys? You always assume that because I'm gay that I'm interested in you. Well I'm not! You're not my type! I don't dig on chubby guys who sweat too much and will start balding by the time they're thirty!"

Dave sucked in his breath at the vehemence of Kurt's outburst. He was really hurt and instantly realised what a fool he was thinking he had a chance in hell with Kurt Hummel.

"What the fuck Hummel? What's got your panties tied up in knots! Is it that time of the month?" Dave snarled back.

"Tinkerbell stickers on my locker? How fucking juvenile, even for you!" Kurt accused.

"I didn't do it!" Dave protested.

"You are the only one in here Karofsky!"

"Outstanding police skills you got there Hummel! You'll make a great detective! Would it be out of the realms of your imagination to think that perhaps maybe someone else came in here, put up the stickers and left the room?" Dave retorted sarcastically.

"You had motive, opportunity and you're a fucking homophobic asshole!" Kurt shouted back counting his reasons dramatically on his fingers.

The shouting had brought in other officers who came to watch the commotion. Dave looked around and felt all their stares boring into him. Azimio the real culprit was standing there laughing at him along with his other supposed friends Strando, Cooper and Franklin. He felt like the butt of a really bad joke. All the other cops hanging around, watching made him very self-conscious and anxious. He wished he was anywhere else but here. He turned looked back at Kurt and saw the contempt and superiority in his expression. Judging the way the diminutive man was looking at him, Kurt thought he was just some crap on the bottom of his shoe. It was all so unfair! The pain and anguish of having his hopes and dreams dashed made him angry and want to lash out.

"Yeah! Well I'd rather be an asshole than a stuck up, limp wristed fairy boy!" He no sooner got the words out of his mouth when Kurt's fist replaced them. The fight was on!

Dave sighed rubbing his wounded lip again. He had to work harder and at least try and become friends with Kurt and repair some of the damage or both their future careers would look bleak.

Dave reached the car, stowed his equipment in the car's trunk, summoned up his courage and then jumped in the car behind the steering wheel.

"Hey Fancy, uh - Hummel - I mean Kurt. Do you mind if we eat at this place called the Lebanese Kitchen? It's Middle Eastern food."

"Okay. I've been there before. It's quite nice. " Kurt replied quietly, hoping the shock of Dave saying three whole sentences to him wasn't showing on his face. So far, he was the one to suggest where they eat and Dave would just nod and go with it.

They arrived at the small little eatery and it was bustling. One thing about being a cop, you quickly found out where the cheap but good restaurants were in the city and this one was well known to cops and city workers all over. While they were in line to give their order Kurt listened to the news on the tiny portable radio that was on the counter. The big story on the news recently was the gang of criminals that everyone (including the gang) called the Robbing Hoods. They were called that because they blatantly stole from the rich (the top 1%) to give to the poor (the 99%). Of course the regular man on the street loved them as much as the politicians and capitalists hated them. The gang started by hacking into certain bank accounts and then dispersed monies in small quantities over a large group of charities. They had recently graduated to actually physically robbing banks, financial institutions and private homes of the ultra-rich. They were a self-professed politically motivated group that knew how to use the media to get their message across. They were very smart and obviously professional and despite the long rap sheet of successful heists, the police force had no leads on who they were.

"Man, I wish I was a detective now working this case." Kurt sighed thinking aloud.

David happy over his sucess earlier suggesting the restaurant, took the plunge and responded,"I thought you wanted into homicide? Even if you were a detective you wouldn't be on the case because they haven't seriously harmed a single person in their raids and they have even made a public promise not to kill anyone."

Kurt whipped around to David startled by the fact that Dave was actually trying to start a conversation with him. "It's only a matter of time." Kurt answered trying to downplay the fact they were talking, "somewhere along the line some hot head, either in their gang or in security will use a gun or some other weapon and somebody will die. It's not what I'd like personally," Kurt added so he didn't sound blood thirsty, "it's just how these things end."

Dave nodded and after a while continued the conversation hesitantly, "They've actually helped out quite a number of people. Charities helping the poor like food banks and shelters are receiving large anonymous donations regularly. It's driving the forensic accountants crazy trying to trace the money. So far they can't decide if the donations are from wealthy benefactors or from the robberies. But, you're probably right, sooner or later it's going to end badly," Dave sighed. "I just wish that they could actually get away with it."

Kurt was quite surprised at Dave's admission and even wondered if it was some kind of trap to get him to say something out of line. He replied cautiously, "they may have good intentions but they are breaking the law or at least taking the law in their own hands. It's wrong."

"I know," agreed Dave, "I just wish it was different for them."

Kurt wondered again what was going on with Dave. How could he be so different – compassionate and polite out on patrol and secretly rooting for a gang of robbers with good intentions, yet be such a homophobic jerk to him in the station? It didn't make sense.

"I'll have the Chicken Shawarma." Kurt ordered when his turn came up and paid the guy at the cash register.

"Hi Dave, do you want the Falafel plate or Pita?" The guy behind the counter asked with a smile.

"I'll have the plate, Simar. Thanks!" Dave replied smiling back. "I'm kinda a regular around here." Dave explained to Kurt when he saw Fancy's surprised face.

"I can see that." remarked Kurt. He gave Dave a small smile that made his heart flutter.

Soon they had their orders and found a table. Kurt loved the Shawarmas that they served at this restaurant but he only had them once and a while. He was positive they were loaded with calories, what dish this tasty could not be. It was also incredibly messy and if you weren't careful the stuff inside the pita would end up on your lap. There was no way to eat it without looking like a pig. After a few big bites he paused and watched Dave almost daintily dine on his Falafel plate. That was another thing that surprised Kurt. For a big guy, Dave was quite graceful and had impeccable eating habits. Kurt had assumed that Dave was the kind of guy that could eat a side of cow in one sitting. Come to think of it, over the three days of eating Kurt had never seen a piece of meat pass through Dave's lips.

Kurt could have slapped himself; he finally understood the reason behind Dave's nick name.

"Bugs Bunny!"

"What?" Dave questioned.

"I just figured out why the guys at the station call you Bugs, it's short for Bugs Bunny. I swear the guys at work come up with the lamest nick names ever! I suppose you're named Bugs because you are a vegetarian and therefore eat rabbit food."

Dave smiled, "Well why did you think they called me Bugs? Because of my long ears and my buck teeth?"

"I thought it was because of your big fluffy tail!" Kurt joked back.

Dave had just taken a bite of food and immediately choked on it. He gasped for breath and coughed and spluttered and grabbed his drink to wash the food down.

"Sorry I shocked you." Kurt said visibly becoming cooler towards Dave.

"No, no it's fine." Dave wheezed, horrified that he had over reacted. He had to think up something fast or he would lose the tenuous truce they had. "I was just mortified that you think my fluffy tail's BIG."

Kurt actually chuckled. "It's not 'huge' big. It's 'nice' big."

Dave smiled, happy that he saved the situation. He was feeling more confident. "Ah hah! I've got you to admit that you have been checking out my ass!"

Kurt smirked and shrugged, "I have to check out every guy's ass. It is a prerequisite to being gay. At least that's what you straight guys think isn't it?"

"Well I guess it's a bit of damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you check out our asses, we're scared that you'll jump us but if you don't check out our asses we're insulted that you think we're not good enough."

"Oh the workings of the hetero male mind. I don't think I'll ever understand it." Kurt mused smiling. They went back to their lunches in companionable silence.

After a while Kurt started the conversation again, "It's very commendable to be vegetarian. "What made you stop eating meat?"

"I saw this documentary on animals we feed on and it was worse than a slasher-horror-snuff film. I actually threw up and swore off all meat after I watched it."

Dave had just surprised Kurt yet again with his sensitivity. Kurt actually reached across the table and patted Dave's hand. "Good for you Dave! I wish I had your will power. I wouldn't even be able to watch a film like that. I'd rather be blind and ignorant and continue eating meat." Dave just sat and stared at Kurt's hand on his. Kurt quickly pulled it away realising how familiar he was being.

"Too bad the other guys don't see it that way." Dave said trying to ignore the tingling in his hand that lingered after being touched by Kurt Hummel. "It took you three days to figure out I'm a vegetarian and even then you're okay with it. As soon as I partner with any other guy and have lunch, they notice right away I don't order any meat and they immediately make fun of me. I don't dare mention the documentary and my reaction 'cause they'd think I'm a wuss. I just tell them I don't eat meat for health reasons."

"You lie?"

"Yeah I lie, not that they truly accept the health reason excuse. You haven't heard them. As soon as they realise I'm vegetarian they immediately get all defensive and tell me they are proud of being a meat eater and that I had better not try and convert them. They try and shove meat on my plate or under my nose and urge me to eat it, trying to convert me back to meat-eating. They are always making snide comments and they demand that I explain myself and when I do, they accuse me of being political."

Dave was interrupted by Kurt laughing out loud. He hated being laughed at so he retorted heatedly. "Yeah it's real funny - haha! I'm not stupid; I can see the parallels between the reaction I get for being a vegetarian and the reaction you get for being gay. It's still a big problem for me so pardon me for complaining!"

"Well, you got to admit it IS ironic and pretty funny. And you're not complaining so much as you're whining. If you were gay, you might have some idea what it`s really like to be discriminated against," Kurt remarked casually.

This response only made David angrier. "Yeah, well it's alright for you! You look gay, you act gay and you talk gay. The guys, they take one look at you and they expect you to be gay. There's no surprise. And you're obviously comfortable with yourself. You might get annoyed at the gibes but they don't touch you and the guys recognise that. They might still tease you but I know for a fact they have a growing, grudging respect for you. I don't look like a vegetarian. I look like I should be gnawing on raw bones, not celery, so it surprises the guys and upsets them. They don't like it when things aren't black and white. I fit into a grey area." Kurt tried to interject but Dave doggedly continued.

"You know what the first comment I usually get when I finally admit I'm a vegetarian? I get 'I expect this kind of thing from Hummel, not from you.' See? You're free to do what the hell you want because they accept that you are gay and expect you to be different!"

"Do you have any idea what it cost me to be free?" Kurt yelled back, just as angry as Dave. "I had to endure years of bullying in high school. No one took me seriously when I first joined up as a police cadet. When I started in training I had to be twice as good as all of the other guys. Yeah I've developed a thick skin over the years and don't give a shit about what other people think of me, but that's only because I had to. It was either sink or swim - do or die. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings because I don't sympathize with your - oh so terrible situation, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't even compare!"

Dave leaped up from the table, and glared down at Kurt. For a second Kurt was sure Dave was going to hit him. Instead Dave just shouted, "The fuck you know! You think you know irony? I wasn't really talking about being a vegetarian! I was trying to tell you that I'm..."

All talking abruptly stopped and all eyes in the restaurant swiveled in his direction. Dave flushed red and muttered "I'm not hungry anymore. I'm waiting outside in the car for you," and then he stormed out of the restaurant.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kurt muttered under his breath as Dave rushed out. He tried to continue eating his Shwarma but he had lost his appetite. He sat there fuming for a long time not wanting to join David in the car.

Kurt looked out the restaurant window glaring at Dave who was sitting in the patrol car. Even from here Kurt could see that he was tense by the way he was gripping the steering wheel.

Dave sat in the car and dragged one hand through his hair and stared at his other white knuckled hand as it gripped the steering wheel. I can't believe I almost told him my secret! Dave sighed, what do you mean, you idiot! You did tell him! Kurt's no fool. He'll figure it out soon enough and then what will you do? Dave was scared and worried over what Kurt's reaction would be. If Kurt realises Dave's secret, what with the animosity that keeps flaring up between them, he might just out him to his friends. Or worse, what if he figures out what Dave's real feelings are towards him and laughs? That was truly Dave's biggest fear. Kurt laughing at him for even daring to dream that someday they would be together.

Meanwhile in the restaurant Kurt sat in silence still angry over their lunchtime conversation. 'You look gay, you act gay and you talk gay.' What a friggin' homophobe! Kurt fumed. Yeah I'm a bit obvious - deal with it! Kurt thought about the rest of the conversation and started to calm down. I admit the rest of the stuff Karofsky said was almost a compliment though a back-handed one. It almost sounded like he was envious of me. But what the hell did he mean when he said he wasn't just talking about being a vegetarian? Did I miss something? As far as I know we were discussing the similarities between being gay and vegetarian when he freaked out and said I`m trying to tell you that I`m ..." The answer hit Kurt like a ton of bricks. Suddenly it all made sense, Dave was a closeted gay man. Since the guys reacted so strongly to him being a vegetarian he was too scared to tell them he was gay. Even the fact that Dave picked on him when he was around the homophobes but was shy when they were alone made sense. Dave picked on him because he'd rather be viewed as homophobic (and stay popular with his intolerant friends), than be seen as gay even if it meant getting in trouble with the Chief.

Kurt knew he had to talk this out with Dave somehow, only it was kind of tricky. How do you get an obvious closet case like Dave to admit something like this? And what if he was wrong? He might end up on the wrong side of a fist from a raging homophobe. Well one way or another he was going to get to the bottom of this little conundrum. Kurt quickly gathered up the remains of his lunch and tossed it in the bin. He then walked to the police car, opened the door and slid into the passenger's side of the seat. Dave got on the radio and called in that they were on duty again, without looking at Kurt. The dispatcher asked them to patrol the highway, so Dave pulled out of the parking lot and merged in with the traffic.

"Karofsky – " Kurt was cut off by the dispatcher coming back on the radio and directing them to check out a fender bender that just happened on one of the service roads.

"What Fancy?" Dave asked after the dispatcher gave them their task.

"It can wait till later." Kurt said. There was no point in getting into an emotive issue like sexual orientation with a guy who was either a closeted gay or a homophobe while on duty.

They eventually found the accident on the service road and they pulled up behind the two vehicles. From their point of view, the accident didn't look very bad at all. As the dispatcher had said, it was just a fender bender. It was hard to tell by the position of the two SUV's that were involved, who was at fault and that was probably why it was called in. The owners of the vehicles were still sitting in the UVs instead of standing outside inspecting the damage, which was slightly unusual but not abnormal. Kurt checked the licence plates of the vehicles anyways and told Dave that neither one was flagged for anything.

"How on earth did they manage to crash into each other on this practically deserted road?" Kurt asked warily.

"Are you getting weird feeling about this too?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, my spidey senses are tingling." Kurt said in all seriousness.

Dave chuckled "Well let's stay alert. I'll take the vehicle furthest away and you take the one closest to us. Let's keep each other sight while we take their statements."

"Let`s hop to it - Bugs!" Kurt joked.

"Gee! I haven`t heard that one before." Dave grumbled indignantly, secretly thrilled that he finally broke the ice with Fancy.

They stepped out of the car and approached the vehicles slowly. Kurt stopped at the one SUV and looked in the driver's window. He couldn't see the driver's face because the guy was bent over away from him rummaging around in the glove compartment on the passenger side. While he waited for the driver to find his papers he watched his partner as he approached the other vehicle. Suddenly the passenger door slid open behind Dave and a hand popped out holding an object and tasered him. He just crumpled to the floor.

"Dave!" Kurt shouted and started to draw his gun. It was already too late because every muscle in his seized up as he was jolted by a taser himself. He slumped to the ground rigid and shaking, unable to control his body. He saw a hand with cloth coming towards him in his peripheral vision; it covered his mouth and nose. The sweet sickly scent of something on the cloth overwhelmed him and he blacked out.