>>6307415>>6307416>>6307431>>6307509>>6307515"Indoor, we only have the one cup of coffee and it isn't gonna keep me warm enough to put up with the wind."
"Hah! Sissy." Hawthorne chuckles.
"Smart." You correct.
"That too. You'll have plenty of time to sweat and freeze your balls off in the future. Better to take the breaks when you have the choice. I remember being on patrol during the blizzard back in '02."
"There was a blizzard in '02?"
"You woulda been too young, or maybe you had already left the city. You'd remember it or your folks would at least. Something to do with 'Mr. Freeze' and some gizmo he'd put together. It all got handled within a day or two but I still had my beat."
"Wow, they really still had you go out?"
"Y'know who loves shit like that, son? The power outages, the blizzards, the flooding? Looters and shitheels. Back when Loeb ran things he'd keep everyone home, in the station, or parked up. Let the animals run free and then we'd be stuck running clean up and chasing after fellas with a head start."
"So I guess that means it was Gordon who got everyone back out."
"Right on the money. It wasn't a popular choice, few Watch Commanders refused to enforce the new policy. So he let em go. Few more officers on the lower end also refused. He cut them too."
"Damn."
"Mhm. But that's what set Gordon apart, he had integrity, when the numbers were thin he covered some of those blocks himself. Another lesson to take with you if you wanna move up; never ask anything you wouldn't do yourself and if you can do it yourself? Do it so they know."
"The Commissioner is something else." You say quietly.
"Yes he is."
=====
You finish the dregs of your coffee as Hawthorne pulls up to a large gate emblazoned with a stylish W on the front. He lowers his window and leans out to speak into a small intercom with a glass dome jutting from the front. He taps the red button and a low single tone plays.
"Good evening." An accented voice comes through, sounds British.
"Evening. Sergeant Hawthorne and Officer DeLucia, GCPD. I'm leading up the detail for Mr. Wayne tonight."
"Of course, if you would be so kind as to produce identification. Badges and ID's."
Hawthorne grumbles but pulls his badge and wallet free. You don't wait for instruction and join him, handing over yours as he leans out of the window and displays each badge and card to the dome. A few seconds pass and as you tuck your wallet away you hear the intercom come to life again.
