Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:42 pm
The police station of the West Forest precinct rarely rose above a dull hum, and this was no clearer than on a Sunday morning like this one. The windows were open, taking in the crisp air, keyboards clattered slightly at the completion of paperwork, and officers and secretaries chatted while sipping their morning espresso.
Outside, Mark Pratt pulled into a parking space and hurriedly got out of the car. The offensive lineman was in his fourth year as a pro, and had been a teammate and friend of the likes of Taurus Wright and Robbie Hahn, all starting in the league within a few years of each other and showing each other the ropes. Pratt ultimately was traded to the Quinniville Aces, but remained in touch with many of his teammates. It was the obvious call for Robbie Hahn to make.
Now, Pratt was freaking out, only knowing that Taurus was okay and no one else had been hurt, but having no idea of how this had actually happened. He burst into the police station, the heavy steps of the lineman interrupting the tranquil mood and startling the officer at the front desk. who nonetheless smiled and asked, "Good morning, how can I help you?"
"I'm here to pick up someone here," Mark said with worry. He leaned in and said a bit more quietly, "Taurus Wright?"
"Ryan, I got this," said an older officer in the bullpen, who walked out to the reception area. "Mark, thanks for coming. I'm Deputy Dave Saunders. Walk with me, alright?"
Mark nodded, and Saunders opened a door to a separate hallway, which they began to slowly walk down. "Now, I thought Taurus had called someone else?"
"Yes, Robbie Hahn. The national team left for Buffalostan less than an hour ago."
"Got it, got it... well, I've got to say, Taurus is incredibly lucky. I found him up by one of the overlooks just off Route 2. He was dozing off just outside his car. I woke him up and he was clearly drunk, he had an open bottle with him. Now, he wasn't operating while impaired then. I don't know how he got to the overlook, I think it's very likely he drove there impaired, but I can't prove that, and even if he did, no one got hurt, so everyone's very fortunate in this situation."
"That's good. What's he being charged with?"
"Nothing, we did not arrest him, we detained him. I cited him for public intoxication, but because he was just sleeping and not doing anything, that's an infraction, and because he was still impaired, he spent the night here. He still has to pay the impound fee for his car, but since you're here to pick him up, he is free to go."
They finished their walk to a separate set of holding rooms, which were not jail cells, rather rooms with beds where the department would keep people out of danger. They approached Taurus' cell and Saunders opened the door. Mark was happy to see him, and on some level relieved to see Taurus in his own clothes rather than prisoner's garb and cuffs. He hugged his former teammate and said, "You ok?"
"Yeah," Taurus replied. "Sorry."
"Let's get out of here." The two players and Saunders walked down the other side of the hallway, stopping by the front desk again. The officer Ryan handed Saunders a small bag of items collected from Taurus, who received them. Saunders stood there, opting not to lecture the quarterback any further, instead simply saying, "Have a nice day, gentlemen."
"Thanks," they replied. Outside, Taurus got in the passenger seat and Pratt started driving. He passed the sign for the impound lot. Taurus replied, "Mark, my car's in there."
"I'll get your car later," Mark replied.
"Where are we going?"
"The airport."
Taurus stared at him. "There's no way I can play now, Mark. No way Newman will let me."
"Ok, first of all, you do want to play, right? I know it's been a tough season, but this is what you've been working for."
Taurus thought a minute, before saying, "Yeah," not entirely sure if that was true.
"Well, you're a leader now, Taurus. I know it's new, I know it's different, but that's the truth and you've got to deal with it. That means taking initiative. Maybe Newman won't play you, but I know if you don't try to meet the team there right now, you'll have no chance, and you won't play for them ever again. If you show him you want it, you have a chance, right?
"Right, I suppose."
"And second of all," and Mark now turned his head slightly to stare at Taurus as much as he could while keeping his eyes on the road, "I don't really give a shit if you don't play. Hell, you probably don't deserve to. Whatever you were doing last night, it was so selfish of you. The night before your team goes to try and win a championship and you pull that? What were you thinking?"
"Thanks, man."
"Come on, I know you know that was stupid. The point is, you can't fix this by being more selfish, or staying home and pitying yourself. You need to be with the team, you've got to think of them. Even if you don't play a single snap, you owe it to them to support them the whole way, because this isn't going to be easy at all."
Taurus sat there in silence for a few moments. "Yeah, alright."
A few more moments passed. Mark asked, fearfully, "What the hell's going on, man? How did we get here?"
Taurus shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know when it started, I feel like this all snuck up on me."
"Alright, well, I think you want to take this trip. If that's true, let's do that first. After that, we're going to figure all of this out."
"Okay." Taurus smiled. "Thanks."
They pulled up to the airport. Unbeknownst to the quarterback, Mark Pratt, Robbie Hahn, and Kevin Alés had been in contact over the last hour - Hahn and Alés from the plane - and Alés had called in a favor to get ahold of a private jet. In all likelihood, Taurus would arrive at the Heartland Frontier around the same time as his teammates. After that, what would happen was anyone's guess.
Mark looked at Taurus one last time. "Look, I gave you the speech and all of that, but you really don't have to do this if you're not ready. So... you ready?"
Taurus nodded, sure this time. "Yeah."
Outside, Mark Pratt pulled into a parking space and hurriedly got out of the car. The offensive lineman was in his fourth year as a pro, and had been a teammate and friend of the likes of Taurus Wright and Robbie Hahn, all starting in the league within a few years of each other and showing each other the ropes. Pratt ultimately was traded to the Quinniville Aces, but remained in touch with many of his teammates. It was the obvious call for Robbie Hahn to make.
Now, Pratt was freaking out, only knowing that Taurus was okay and no one else had been hurt, but having no idea of how this had actually happened. He burst into the police station, the heavy steps of the lineman interrupting the tranquil mood and startling the officer at the front desk. who nonetheless smiled and asked, "Good morning, how can I help you?"
"I'm here to pick up someone here," Mark said with worry. He leaned in and said a bit more quietly, "Taurus Wright?"
"Ryan, I got this," said an older officer in the bullpen, who walked out to the reception area. "Mark, thanks for coming. I'm Deputy Dave Saunders. Walk with me, alright?"
Mark nodded, and Saunders opened a door to a separate hallway, which they began to slowly walk down. "Now, I thought Taurus had called someone else?"
"Yes, Robbie Hahn. The national team left for Buffalostan less than an hour ago."
"Got it, got it... well, I've got to say, Taurus is incredibly lucky. I found him up by one of the overlooks just off Route 2. He was dozing off just outside his car. I woke him up and he was clearly drunk, he had an open bottle with him. Now, he wasn't operating while impaired then. I don't know how he got to the overlook, I think it's very likely he drove there impaired, but I can't prove that, and even if he did, no one got hurt, so everyone's very fortunate in this situation."
"That's good. What's he being charged with?"
"Nothing, we did not arrest him, we detained him. I cited him for public intoxication, but because he was just sleeping and not doing anything, that's an infraction, and because he was still impaired, he spent the night here. He still has to pay the impound fee for his car, but since you're here to pick him up, he is free to go."
They finished their walk to a separate set of holding rooms, which were not jail cells, rather rooms with beds where the department would keep people out of danger. They approached Taurus' cell and Saunders opened the door. Mark was happy to see him, and on some level relieved to see Taurus in his own clothes rather than prisoner's garb and cuffs. He hugged his former teammate and said, "You ok?"
"Yeah," Taurus replied. "Sorry."
"Let's get out of here." The two players and Saunders walked down the other side of the hallway, stopping by the front desk again. The officer Ryan handed Saunders a small bag of items collected from Taurus, who received them. Saunders stood there, opting not to lecture the quarterback any further, instead simply saying, "Have a nice day, gentlemen."
"Thanks," they replied. Outside, Taurus got in the passenger seat and Pratt started driving. He passed the sign for the impound lot. Taurus replied, "Mark, my car's in there."
"I'll get your car later," Mark replied.
"Where are we going?"
"The airport."
Taurus stared at him. "There's no way I can play now, Mark. No way Newman will let me."
"Ok, first of all, you do want to play, right? I know it's been a tough season, but this is what you've been working for."
Taurus thought a minute, before saying, "Yeah," not entirely sure if that was true.
"Well, you're a leader now, Taurus. I know it's new, I know it's different, but that's the truth and you've got to deal with it. That means taking initiative. Maybe Newman won't play you, but I know if you don't try to meet the team there right now, you'll have no chance, and you won't play for them ever again. If you show him you want it, you have a chance, right?
"Right, I suppose."
"And second of all," and Mark now turned his head slightly to stare at Taurus as much as he could while keeping his eyes on the road, "I don't really give a shit if you don't play. Hell, you probably don't deserve to. Whatever you were doing last night, it was so selfish of you. The night before your team goes to try and win a championship and you pull that? What were you thinking?"
"Thanks, man."
"Come on, I know you know that was stupid. The point is, you can't fix this by being more selfish, or staying home and pitying yourself. You need to be with the team, you've got to think of them. Even if you don't play a single snap, you owe it to them to support them the whole way, because this isn't going to be easy at all."
Taurus sat there in silence for a few moments. "Yeah, alright."
A few more moments passed. Mark asked, fearfully, "What the hell's going on, man? How did we get here?"
Taurus shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know when it started, I feel like this all snuck up on me."
"Alright, well, I think you want to take this trip. If that's true, let's do that first. After that, we're going to figure all of this out."
"Okay." Taurus smiled. "Thanks."
They pulled up to the airport. Unbeknownst to the quarterback, Mark Pratt, Robbie Hahn, and Kevin Alés had been in contact over the last hour - Hahn and Alés from the plane - and Alés had called in a favor to get ahold of a private jet. In all likelihood, Taurus would arrive at the Heartland Frontier around the same time as his teammates. After that, what would happen was anyone's guess.
Mark looked at Taurus one last time. "Look, I gave you the speech and all of that, but you really don't have to do this if you're not ready. So... you ready?"
Taurus nodded, sure this time. "Yeah."