The rehab center is nothing short than a sacred paradise from the outside eye. It is built in a gothic revival style, similar to great universities parents eagerly boast if their children are accepted. The crushing irony is that anyone behind these walls is no one to boast, just a long kept secret.
The very heart of the center is the Garden of Eden with no walls or ceiling. The grass is a perfect green alongside several fountains adjoined by expressionless statues. A round of benches are parked by a few steps. Some seated by patients taking in the morning sun.
Tim sits on his own. But not alone. Isabel sits at the far opposite end.
The first few moments of this impossible meeting were positive with a few exchanges of words and a brief embrace he desperately wanted to be longer.
She took the lead to speak. But he could not pay attention to what she is saying, instead he takes in on how she appears.
She was still underweight. Her clothes hung so loosely it almost hid her figure if it were not for her frail face. The darkness of her eyes remains hollow deep under the skin, making her gaze almost mimic the same dilated eyes he remembers from her days on drugs. But she did not fidget or shake from withdrawal.
She smiles sweetly as he remembers. Her eyes look to him, even though she keeps a good space away from him. But within seconds, her smile disappears, which brings his focus back to her words.
"Thank you again for coming. I just thought you at least deserved to see how far I've been since I was brought here."
Tim's hand flinched with the reflex to touch her. But clenches it into a ball to stop himself.
"Of course. I'm proud of you for getting clean. The fact you're only getting better is all that matters."
Isabel's head dips down. Her hands come together on her lap. Tim follows her move and sees her fingers begin to nervously fiddle.
"I called you to see me because..because this will be the last time I want you to come here."
She bravely tilts her head back up.
The once stoic husband she always knew who she famously witnessed cry only once at their wedding looked absolutely defeated. He could not hold back the disappointment of her decision.
He no longer wanted to respect their quiet boundary. He moved an inch closer to reach for her.
Isabel blocks him by raising her open hands. He immediately remains in place. He is crushed that she almost looks frightened by him.
"B-But you're getting clean. It's going to be over soon. You're still my wife, babe. This is all I've ever wanted for you, so we can start over."
Her eyes welled up with tears. She shook her head. As hard as this was for her, she holds her focus on him.
"I'm still always going to be an addict, Tim. I have to live with this forever," she exclaimed. "I will never guarantee I won't relapse and leave you again. You don't deserve that. Not anymore."
The line is broken. Tim captures Isabel into his arms and pulls her forward to him. She does not respond to his touch. She remains a lifeless doll.
Tears stream down from Tim's eyes. He grips to her body in hopes she would respond differently. Her warm tears roll onto the crook of his neck. He shakes his head over and over again.
"Sir…sir…" a man's voice echoes in the air.
Tim looks around to see where the voice is coming from. Almost like the voice of God.
Isabel is in a numb state. She does not react to the mysterious man's voice as if she cannot hear it at all.
"Sir..We're here," the man continues.
Tim pulls back, holding Isabel by her shoulders. He looks into her expressionless face. No more of her kind smile. No more of a look of guilt. She was truly gone.
"Sir," the man's voice echoes a final time.
In one blink, Tim wakes up inside his police shop, sitting opposite his new rookie, John Nolan, in the driver seat. It was all a dream.
Tim rolls his eyes to see Nolan perked up with a friendly smile. His smile rose deeper to his eyes, despite receiving a deathly cold glare from his T.O.
To Tim's disappointment, no matter how much he presses the rookie with his foul mood and lack of space for errors, Nolan's persistence to be the eager rookie is unmoved.
Tim opens his door and exits the shop. Nolan hovers over Tim's side with his head bent.
"Do I follow you, sir?"
"What do you think you should do, boot?" Tim barks back.
He slams the door shut before Nolan can let another word in.
Outside is a dingy bar surrounded by rough-looking patrons from bikers to paroled felons - a few Tim recognizes by name.
Tim eyes a group of bikers like a hawk. A dangerous smile creeps up to his lips. He starts his way to his chosen victims.
Nolan is cautious of the scene as he follows Tim by his tail. He goes as far to double check his body cam is fully on. He slowly takes in on what angle his T.O. is up to for the next part of the training.
Amongst the group of bikers, the biggest one who is twice as taller and heavier in weight steps forward. He folds his hands close to his heavy stomach, purposely displaying his right hand, each finger wearing an unmatching set of rings - each one thick and engraved in sharp texture.
"Can we help you, officer," the big biker asked innocently.
Tim's smile eerily grew bigger. To everyone's surprise, he turns his body cam off.
"Turn your camera off, boot," Tim commanded. His eyes remained forward at the big biker.
Nolan eyes the group of bikers growing excited by this. They each size each other up, but it is obvious Nolan and Tim are outnumbered and vulnerable.
Tim's smile vanished.
"NOW, BOOT!" Tim shouted.
Nolan obediently turns off his body camera. He readies his hand close to his holster. He no longer trusts his T.O.'s unorthodox approach to his training will teach him anything to be a better cop, let alone a live one.
"This is my offer. If you beat me, you get away with beating a cop without any consequences for once. But if I beat you, I will personally take you back where you belong."
The big biker does not think for a second. His gang behind him make space for the two, including Nolan away from his determined T.O.
The two men clash together with their fists up. All the pent up anger Tim felt since this morning rushed through his veins. He took the first punch across the big biker's cheek. It hardly left a dent on the man, but Tim was almost smiling to himself from the satisfaction.
Tim's victory was cut short when the big biker managed to strike back twice on each cheek, almost bringing him down before Tim dodged his aim. The aim from the rings left one of his cheeks inflamed with blood.
Nolan nervously watches his T.O. violate several laws he cannot completely remember without his notes. His hand twitches near his body cam.
Five minutes felt like an hour. Tim could no longer fend for himself. The final punch from the big biker brings him down to the ground.
Nolan makes a move to Tim's rescue. With all his might, he pushes the big biker off Tim. But the gang of bikers restrain the rookie and separate him from the fight.
The big biker quickly recovers and gathers to his feet. He sizes up Tim still on the ground, not ready for his next move.
"Police! Stand down!" Angela shouted.
Tim turned to her voice. She is ten feet away with her gun pointed at the big biker. Her unmoving sternness plastered on her face briefly softened to disappointment when she met his eyes.
The big biker went to his knees with his arms lazily up. Angela restrains him in a tight grip and cuffs his wrists. Her rookie collects him for her.
She lends Tim her hand. He looks the other way. The quick rush of adrenaline was gone, now what was left was pure shame. He cannot face her. He stands back up and slowly walks back to his shop.
~ Grey excused Tim to be sent home. Despite Tim's usual resistance to press on when it comes to his job, he quietly accepted.
Most officers are on call, Tim took the opportunity of brief solitude into the men's shower room.
He sat still on the bench, facing his locker. It was the first time all the aches and pains were coming back to him all at once, reminding him just hours ago he almost died.
A square bandage is taped to one of his cheeks. The center seeps with fresh blood. He can feel the fresh bruising on his chest ache from every small movement.
The filth from his soiled uniform was itching him to quickly be apart from it. But his mind will not let him - it is an appropriate punishment to put himself on for what he has done.
From a quick glance, the once composed Tim Bradford looked lost and ashamed.
His short moment of peace was broken when Nolan entered the scene. The Rookie took his steps with great caution. The second Tim heard him approach, he returned his composure back to his true self.
"What do you want now, boot?" Tim demanded.
He rose to his feet and opened his locker. He began to unbutton his shirt.
Nolan's eyes glue to Tim's back. He was no longer waiting with his usual grin, in hopes to win over his notoriously tough T.O. Instead, he was blatantly angry.
"What I want, sir, is a final say between us," Nolan said.
Tim paused. His hands froze in place over a shirt button still sealed.
"Today was nothing different from all the other days since you started my training. I am trying to follow your lead as your rookie. But you have single-handedly continued to endanger both of us, and act in a way that I do not want to follow if I pass this stage of my training."
The shame began to feel heavy for Tim. He almost broke out of his shell if it were not for him turning away from Nolan.
"As far as you're concerned, I did not mention in the full report what happened today, just like all the other incidents."
Tim turned around. He was ready to protest. Any violation of the sacred rules, he will not have it. But Nolan took a step further with more courage, he raised his hand.
"This will be my last time. You have proved to me you cannot stand me, but also your position as my T.O. I don't have much time, sir. The next time we see each other again, I hope I don't regret my decision."
Nolan did not wait for a reply. He took his leave.
Tim slammed his locker shut. He collapsed back on the bench. He was suddenly almost breathless as if his airway was cut off. He bent down and cradled his head with both his hands.
He breathed in and out slowly. His eyes closed shut.
Aside from the darkness, his vision could not spare the cruelty of holding the image of Isabel looking at him with the same numbness as his dream.
~ Tim steps out freshly showered and back in his spare outfit. He threw his hood over his head past his eyes. With his gaze low, he quickly started his way to the exit before anyone saw him.
His eyes caught the glass walls of the briefing room. Handful of photos are taped to the wall. Grey stands by for Officer Nyla Harper to speak on the podium.
Tim's curiosity gets the best of him. He was embarrassed to show his peers he was being sent home early. The rumors of his disruptive behavior have high potential to spread by now. But he could not resist.
He cautiously enters the room, staring at the floor until he sits in the spare chair next to Angela.
"The Chemist is still centered down in Santa Barbara. That is the sanctuary for her special concoction of thioxene. This is now the main source of drug trafficking unlike any other kind," Nyla continues.
Tim eyes the candid photos taped on the walls. They are taped in the center in no particular order. Sloppy circles drawn by a red marker marks two specific photos.
A headshot of a middle aged woman looks to be barking orders to her right. The name NINA CHEN "Madame Chen" is marked on the bottom of the photo. The second photo is a young woman walking down a street, fearlessly staring directly at the camera. Underneath marks LUCY CHEN "The Chemist."
Tim eyes the photo of the Chemist. At first glance, he was surprised to see how young she was and strangely harmless. The very appearance of the notorious drug supplier was nothing as he imagined apart from the usual soulless tweakers with missing teeth.
"According to my CIs, some of her guards are starting to get sloppy. As we speak, she is in the look out for replacements. That will be our new angle to find the right UC to get close to Chen and find a way to stop this running supply once and for all. If we are successful, Madame Chen is nothing without her special supply. We take down The Chemist, the rest is a domino effect."
~ Clocking out early is a rare treat for anyone. It was the opposite for Tim. His whole routine remained consistent on the dot, but today threw him off. Being at home was practically a place to sleep and reset before starting all over at the station.
He counted each hour but did not take an option to rest. He cleaned his house, even the parts of the house that did not need to be cleaned.
It was still daylight. If his only option is to obediently head home, he might as well break the rules even further.
He went for a run down to the closest liquor store.
He passes all the aisles and stops at the freezing aisle. He takes a quick glance at his options of beer. His phone begins to ring. He hesitates to see Angela's name on the screen. By its final ring, he finally picks it up.
"Took you long enough to answer," she says.
He sighs. His eyes mindlessly go over his option of beer. They did not carry the one he wanted. But after today, any of these will do.
"Unlike me, you're still on your shift. If this is not an emergency, I am hanging up now."
"Oh it is definitely an emergency, but mostly for me. I just texted you a list of snacks I want. And no, they are not options for you to choose from. I want them all."
He looks down at his phone and a notification of her text appears on cue. He only takes a glimpse of the list, not reading word for word but having a general idea the list was down to at least seven bullet points.
"If I know you better you're in the same liquor store that actually sells edible goodies approximate to your house. On a good night, their taquitos taste the best after lunch hour. Don't be stingy with the sauce. I'll be there no less than 10 minutes."
She clicks the call off before he gets another word in. He closes the fridge and starts from the items that are packaged.
The door burst open. The clicking of heels and pounds of a heavier footfall follow as it shuts closed. Tim glances from afar to see a young girl in a tight revealing dress with a much older man behind her who looked to be at least 20 years her junior.
Her arms folded across her chest and looked straight to the floor while the man pushed her from the back to move faster. Tim follows them heading to the fridge section in the back.
The man opens the fridge and hovers over each row. He picks a stack of beer and drops it into the girl's hand. She keeps a few feet away from him, still refusing to keep her head up.
"If I buy this, the deal is you have to drink every drop till I tell you to stop. If you really want me not to tell her, it's gonna cost you," he growls like an animal.
He moves on to the next aisle. The way his eyes are dilated and practically scavenging in the stores easily gives away he is high. Before the girl can take another step, Tim leans in behind her.
"Are you ok?" He whispers.
She turns to him with her eyes up. The bold expression she carried was now gone. She practically melted to be asked for help, but she slowly shook her head.
"Do you feel unsafe with him? If you do, I can help you."
This time she shook her head in a start. It crushed Tim to see the girl to be more terrified of him. She turned back around but was in for a rude awakening. The man stood before her. His maddening eyes molded into a terrifying look of rage.
"Just when I turn my back for a second, you're already hustling for your next meal ticket? I knew you were a shameless ho. But not this shameless."
He snatches the stack of beer from her hand. Then grabs a handful of her hair. She yelps in pain. He drags her down the aisle, gripping tighter to her hair the more she tries to pull away from him.
Tim calmly approaches the counter and puts down a twenty dollar bill on the counter. For a brief second, the cashier meets his eye and only gives him a quick nod as he collects the bill.
Tim goes up to the man. The young girl is in tears as her trembling hands grab to his large wrists.
"Let her go. Now," Tim commanded.
The man looked at Tim up and down. In comparison, Tim was in another round against an opponent who was twice as big as his own. The man threw his head back and cackled.
"Or what? You think you can stop me?!"
Before the man could look at his pathetic opponent, a fist hit straight to his right cheek. The blow forced him to let go of the girl, tending to his poor cheek.
The girl fell to the ground. She crawled towards where Tim was.
Tim wasted no time. He kicked the man in the shins as he dropped to his knees. The man grunted in pain as Tim took one arm at time to restrain them on his back.
Out of habit, he reached for his handcuffs that were not there, neither was the rest of his police belt. He grabbed both wrists and squeezed tightly.
He was ready to announce the man's rights until a flash of light beamed through the glass door entrance. He looked up to see the driver step out of the car and run inside.
He almost lost focus. The driver is Lucy Chen herself.
The young girl picked herself up from the floor. And ran towards Lucy in open arms as a lost daughter would to a worrying mother. Lucy held the girl tightly. Her eyes closed as she breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Fuck," the man grunted. He shamefully lowered his head as if it was enough to hide himself.
When Lucy's eyes opened, they look straight to the man Tim is still holding in restraint. They were the gaze of fire that even Tim would not want to be at the receiving end of it.
"I'm so sorry. But he said if I did everything he asked then he wouldn't tell you. I'm so stupid. I'm so sorry," the girl whimpered into Lucy's shirt.
Lucy soothed the girl, rubbing her exposed back in circles. But she looked fiercely at the man.
"You're safe now. Did he do anything else to you I need to know about?"
To both Tim and Lucy's relief, the girl shook her head no.
Lucy let the girl go and marched her way to the man. The man still refused to look at her. He now looked terrified.
"I don't give second chances to anyone for a reason. You're done. If you ever show your face to me or Tamara, I will finish you myself."
Tim's mind is racing at this opportunity. To his bet, Angela will be here any minute now. He had two of the biggest criminals to himself in one room. It was almost too easy.
He let the man go and eyed for any red and blue lights from outside. Lucy hardly acknowledged Tim. She was so lost in showing her disappointment to her henchman now whimpering on the floor.
"You need to leave. Now," he says.
Lucy blinks out of focus. She looks up to Tim in confusion.
Tim wastes no time. He throws the back of Lucy's hood over her head and heads towards Tamara. He gently puts his hand to the small of her back and ushers her out the door.
Lucy's anger turns to Tim as the two step out.
"Hey! You get your hands off her!" she barks back.
Tamara is too vulnerable to fight off Tim. The hood from Lucy's head falls back down. Tim picks her hood back on her head. He leans close to her with determination in his eyes.
"I know who you are. You need to leave right now if you don't want to wake your lawyer up."
Lucy's face falls when she sees a police shop pull into the parking lot. She collects Tamara back in her arms and takes her to her car.
Tim follows from behind. He peeks from behind his shoulder and sees Angela exit her car and head inside.
Lucy unlocks the car. She is taken aback to see Tim open the door for Tamara. The poor girl is so shaken she enters without protest.
Tim shuts the door. He can feel the adrenaline rush as Lucy pins him down with a cold glare. He doesn't know how Isabel does this right on the spot after every one sting operation to another.
The next few seconds is his only chance to play this right. He walks beside Lucy as they get to the driver's side. He opens the door for her.
"Who the fuck do you work for?" she asked.
"It's not that hard to keep tabs with the police," he said with a confident grin.
He turns his phone on and is relieved to see the police radio app is still on his phone. He has been testing the accuracy of this app since day one of his training with Nolan. He presents to Lucy that was enough for her to believe him.
She climbs inside and buckles in her seatbelt. She returns her gaze at him, just as cold and untrusting.
"What do you want out of this?"
"I hear you need a clean-up with your crew. I am up for the job if that offer still stands. Figured it's nothing like a resume to throw in there."
She grabs the door and shuts it closed herself. She starts the car and pulls out.
Tim watches her drive away. He was holding the smile right up to the point her car disappeared from sight.
He slowly started his way back inside the liquor store. His heart was racing. Out of all the cases he put himself, to the most benign to the deadliest situations, this one took the cake.
He is far more experienced being in the dark when it comes to undercover. Never knowing if they will be caught or alive as each day passes. But tonight marked a twist. He was going to experience what it really is like out in this dark field that took Isabel away from him.
Inside, he finds Angela kneeing the man who assaulted Tamara down on the floor. He is handcuffed behind his back.
"Guess you didn't exactly clock out," she says with a wide grin.
Her smile vanishes when she sees Tim uneasy.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
"You're a fucking cop!" the man screamed.
Angela knees him deeper on the back. He yelps in pain and bites his lip closed.
"You take care of this. I think I need some more time away from work after all."
He places a couple bills he thinks is enough to cover Angela's snack on the counter. He turns around with another word and begins to run out the door.