Sunday, May 1, 2005

   Nougat: Origins (Chapter X)
Nougat exited his car in the damp parking lot outside the station. It had been almost a month since he last came to the precinct with his bag and uniform since the drug bust, and the precinct looked perhaps even larger than it did when he first arrived the year before. Upon entering, the weight in the air sank even more heavily - despite missing out on weeks of paychecks, work was not somewhere he wanted to be that day.

The sullened constable made his way up the stairs and towards the lunch room. Henry had called the night before and had told Nougat to meet him there before they got ready for their shift. Being the time of day it was, most officers about to go on duty had already eaten before coming to work, so the lunch room was a little more empty than usual - in turn, it also seemed a whole lot bigger.

"I got ya coffee," Henry said upon seeing his partner's face for the first time after all the previous weeks. "One sugar, no cream, right?" Nougat nodded.
"Yeah, cream just rubs me the wrong way . . . I don't touch the stuff unless I have to." Both officers smiled in greeting as the less experienced of the two sat down at the table. After Henry slid over the cup of coffee and a plain bagel and more properly greeting the other man, he just stared over at Nougat until the other man couldn't take it any longer. "Alright, now you're creepin' me out, man," he said as he shook his head and waved away any imaginary curses the other officer may have just sent to him; both men's efforts only led to a joint bout of more laughing.

"Now that you're back to normal somewhat," Henry began, "how've you been the past while?" Nougat took a sip of his coffee and leaned back.
"Ahh . . . I gotta tell ya, television during the day bites," he remarked, his efforts being rewarded with another smile from the other constable. "But yeah, I've been alright. Bored and still kinda pissed at myself for a buncha reasons, but I'll live."
"Mmm," Henry responded, "well, I can't imagine that a suspension is an especially enjoyable time regardless."
"I can vouch for that, yeah . . ."

"And how about you?" Nougat asked back. "How're you healing up?"
"Oh, you mean this?" Henry responded while lifting his arm and pointing at the upper half of it. "Ah, the guy was a horrible shot . . . 'sgonna take a helluva lot more than just some bullet to take away my arm!" After speaking Henry went on to flex his arm a few times while grunting in what was supposed to be a masculine way. Nougat just laughed and shook his head.

Nougat had gotten through half of his bagel while discussing basically pointless banter about who was being stupid about what, or whatever. By the time a fifth awkward silence hit their conversation, he knew he had to ask.
"We still haven't heard anything from Flint yet, have we?"

Henry's smile changed. For the better part of the meeting he had been smiling wide and comfortingly. He knew the question was going to come at some point, and he was ready to ease its coming as best he could. From happy and false, his smile shifted into one that was of complete sincerety, and the constable shook his head.
"They had people searching the area for over a week after everything happened . . . still nothing, it looks like." Nougat closed his eyes and nodded.
"I figured as much, yeah . . ."

Nougat suddenly felt a sudden feeling dare to overwhelm him, and clenched his teeth hard for a moment before continuing to speak.
"So now that he's pretty much off duty here on in, what does that do to us?" he asked.
"Well, long story short, the squad's breaking up," Henry answered. "Though Ruth was acting sergeant, she's still technically a couple years away from really being allowed a promotion and stuff . . . our force's policy and all." Nougat let out a slow breath and dropped his hands into his lap - dropped where he could clench and crack at them without the other officer noticing.
"Heh, well that sucks . . ." he said quietly. "So where do we go?"
"We," Henry explained, "get to go to Sergeant Mulligan's squad. The rest are here and there . . . . . yeah, I think stupid Kathy and Mars' got sent to Sergeant Shannon, Ruth and Twix went to . . . Sergeant Orlando . . ."
"Oh, Joe?" Nougat interrupted, recognising the last name.
"Yeah, that guy . . . I think him and Flint were buddies back in the olden days, kinda . . ."
"Mm . . . what about Roch?" Henry chuckled for a moment as he recollected.
"Roch caught the odd straw . . . again . . . . . . I think he went to Sergeant Tigger." Nougat half-snorted into his coffee as he listened.
"What?! Oh, that poor bastard . . . Sergeant Alex Tigger . . . . ."
"Hah, I know," Henry replied, "but, Tig's pretty good at that movie game, so I guess he'll be okay . . ."

The quick brevity of learing everyone's new assignment ended when Nougat remembered that it meant they were all splitting up now. The officer shook his head and tried to ignore the issue.
"We should go suit up now, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, we'd better head down . . ."

As the two constables made their way through the precinct, another cold silence broke between them.
"Oh!" Henry recalled suddenly. "Since the squad's all going in different directions, we're all going to the pub tonight . . . y'know, one last hurrah and all that."
"I'm out," Nougat answered immediately. Henry stopped walking, completely off guard.
"What?"

"Come on, man," Nougat said, turning around to face his partner while they stood in the hallway, "there's no way in hell I can look those guys in the face after all the crap I caused . . ."
"Oh shut up," Henry fired back, "they . . . we don't blame you one bit for any of what happened out there." Nougat smirked in disbelief.
"Henry, ya don't need to butter me up . . . whether you guys all hold ill will against me or not, I don't care. Fact is . . . . . ah, it doesn't matter anymore . . ."

Henry stood, a complete loss of words overtaking him. He simply did not have anything to say to Nougat. The young constable moved up to his partner and slapped him lightly on the cheek.
"Hey, we still need to go work, man," he said. Henry dropped his head and smiled before nodding along. "And hey, keep tabs on the other guys for me . . . . . I don't know when, but I'll find Flint . . . . . after that, I'll buy the first round when we get that drink . . . . ."


[One more chapter to go! Even though that was clearly an excellent way to end a story, ya know I just love the epilogues . . . . . if anyone noticed, I themed the names of the sergeants a bit as homages to THAT's own Prima Puellarum Trium! Hehe, me loves those girls . . . . . alright, see ya in two.]
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