Tuesday, October 6th, 2026
Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Virginia
2:00 am
Silence surrounds the night; the air has a cold heart. No cars are roaming the streets or a person in sight. All of the stores are closed. The nearby neighbors are sound asleep. The sidewalks are filled with trash. Feral cats are fiddling around with the litter. Some cars are on the curb, including a Charlottesville Police Dodge Charger. Flashing lights of red, white, and blue are not on.
Two Caucasian male Police officers are inside the car.
Officer Chris Hudson—who is twenty-nine years of age—worked with Charlottesville police for two years. His hair is ginger, he is heavyweight, and he hates being called or referred to as ginger.
Officer Brian Bowers—who is thirty-eight years of age—worked for the station for a decade. He won numerous Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and Foundation
VACP
awards. Some of those awards include Valor, Lifesaving, and Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement
OCLE
. His hair is brown, he has an average-sized body with some bulky muscles, and he is happily married to Ashley Bowers. He is also raising Andy Bowers, who is five-years-old.
Officers Bowers and Hudson have been partners for over a month. Their job is to watch over Albemarle County at night because it is known for murders and suspicious behaviors.
Officers Bowers and Hudson are inside the car, listening to the radio for reports.
Chris yawns heavily.
Chris, who is sitting in the passenger's seat, feeling drowsy. His baggy eyes are heavy as he is resisting slumber. Brian is helming the driver's seat. He is drinking a latte macchiato he bought from Starbucks to keep him awake. He takes a couple of sips from his coffee cup. He then hears a loud snore and snorts coming from beside him.
He witnesses his partner falling asleep with his head leaning on the window. He snickers quietly as he thinks of a comical method to rouse him up. He puts his latte macchiato in the cupholder. He grabs the control box and activates the air horn.
The raucous sound startles Chris, which made him let out a high-pitched shriek.
Brian is dying of laughter; Chris is irritated that his partner rudely awakened him. He adjusts his posture and turns his head to face him.
"What the hell was that for?" he frustratingly asks.
Brian is still laughing, but he calms himself down to answer his question.
"Look... I know it's two in the morning, and you are exhausted. I am weary as well, but we have a job to accomplish." he answers.
"That's the problem; it's two in the morning! I want to go back home, lay down on the bed next to my girlfriend, snuggle her, and drift off to sleep. Not be stuck with you in the dark and witnessing nothing." he says in an annoyed tone.
"Grow up! It's not the end of the world. You will see your girlfriend again and sleep on the bed. But we got direct orders to watch this area." he retorts.
"Look at the window and tell me what do you see?" he asks.
Brian looks at the window to check what is outside.
"Do you see anything?" he asks.
"Well... I see stores that are closed. I also see feral cats searching for food. Lastly, I see a lot of trash on the floor." he observes.
"Did you see any suspicious behavior or a person in sight?" he solicits him.
Brian stops looking at the window, facing his partner again.
"No," he replies.
"See... That proves my point that this job is a load of shit! Who thought that this was a good idea? We're the police! There are more thrilling jobs that we could effectuate than neighborhood watch." he explains.
Brian feels that his partner is exasperating him, so he puts him in his place.
"Look here; you ginger hair fuck! We had a direct order from the commissioner himself, and I am not going to disobey him. So you better stop this attitude or else-"
Chris interrupts him.
"Or else what? Just because you have all these awards and the state of Virginia loves to jerk you off, that doesn't mean you will treat me like a child. Also, do not disrespect gingers; we are delicate creatures." he stands up to him.
"You are so pathetic and foolish! I got these awards not because I am the best, but I risk my life every day to save others. Yeah, you may have saved lives as well, but you haven't worked twice as hard as I did. So you better shut the fuck up, show respect, and do your job as you were told." he gets irritated.
They stop looking at each other, continuing to watch for any suspicious behavior.
The feral cats on the street are fighting each other for food. Until they scurry off, hearing loud footsteps approaching. Chris notices that the cats are not on the road anymore. So he grabs his binoculars to get a more detailed look at what is going on. He sees nothing so far but does not give up. Eventually, he sees black shoes approaching in the distance. He puts down the binoculars and notifies Brian. He tugs on his shoulder.
"What is it this time?" he asks while feeling annoyed.
"I-I see black shoes from afar," he says nervously.
"Black shoes? That's it? Do you see anything else?" he asks while giving him the side-eye.
Chris looks at the binoculars again. The footsteps are slowly getting closer. He could identify that it's a mysterious person. He puts it down on his lap and informs him.
"I saw a person outside!" he appraise him.
"A person? What type of person? What is that person wearing?" he curiously asks.
He uses the binoculars again to check.
"Umm... I can't tell. It seems like this person is wearing all black clothing." he responds.
"All black?" he asks to make sure.
"Yes... All black!" he replies.
"Put down those binoculars and grab your flashlight. Let's see who is roaming around the street at night," he orders him.
"Aren't you going to use the radio to inform the dispatcher?" he reminds him.
Brian grabs the radio and informs the dispatcher.
"Bowers to the station."
Beep
"Station to Bowers."
Beep
"I got a 10-44; a suspicious person wearing all black is approaching the area."
Beep
"Copy. Is the person carrying a weapon?"
Beep
Brian looks at Chris to signal if the person has any weapons. Chris uses the binoculars to check; he saw no weapons. He puts it down and nods his head, "no."
"No. It doesn't seem like the person is carrying any weapons."
Beep
"Do you need any backup, or you got it under control?"
Beep
"I got it under control, thank you. Over and out."
Beep
"Take care. Over and out."
Beep
Brian puts down the radio.
"Alright... Let's go!" he tells him.
Brian takes out the key from the ignition. He grabs his flashlight, opens the door, and leaves the car. Chris put the binoculars back where he first found it. He holds a flashlight. He opens the door and leaves the vehicle. Since Brian forgot to close the door, he has to lock them both. He catches up with Brian. They both turn on their flashlights; what they saw caught them off guard.
