“It’s the end of the world as we know it…” The radio wakes me up, blaring in my ears. “What the fuck?” I mutter, hitting it three times, until it finally shuts off.

I slowly open my eyes and then every shitty fucking memory starts to flood back into my brain. All the things we said to each other last night. Vi… My Vi. Gone for good.

I know I fucked up, but I don’t understand why she turns off all of the time. It’s like one second she’s into me, and the next, she hates my guts. I really don’t get it. But still, I shouldn’t have pressured her into anything. If she didn’t want to be close to me, I should understand. Women generally have their reasons. I’ve lived long enough to know that.

Anyway, it’s probably for the best. This whole week is going to be huge for the department and I’m going to need to keep my head straight. I can’t keep letting women fuck with my thought process. I’ll end up losing my job.

I glance over at the dresser in my closet. On the top is the woman’s pantyhose from the first crime scene. We know now that there’s a women involved and she’s one of the bank robbers. Who knows, maybe she’s the top girl in all of this. I laugh to myself as I walk up to the piece of fabric.

It would be funny, I start to think wildly, if the girl involved was Vi. Virginia, the bank robber. That would be good. I mean, she’s tough enough. Still, I can’t imagine her holding a pistol, while telling everyone to get on the ground. I shake off the thought because it’s too imaginary. The woman who did this is hiding away, no doubt.

She’s not stupid. Hence, the reason why she split up from the men. She knew there was something weird going on between them. The one constant in all of this is the lack of loyalty. Well, that’s how criminals tend to behave. It’s a selfish sport, really. And when the going gets tough, we see friends selling each other out all of the time. It’s pathetic.

I get to the station in a hurry. I want this plea deal done and signed. He’s got 24 hours left on it, but I want him to know the consequences. This is a big fucking decision, alright.

“He’s still mulling everything over,” Adam says, looking concerned. “He keeps saying he needs a lawyer. It never ends with this guy.”

“A lawyer? Is he completely ignorant? The man robbed two banks and got caught red handed, with the cash in his hands. There’s no way a lawyer is going to get him less time,” I tell him.

“He says his family’s got money. Says they have a family lawyer ready,” he tells me.

“Shit,” I sigh, eying the coffee in the corner of the room. I walk over and pour myself a cup and think for a second. I need to wake up before I make any decisions. “Well, does his story check out? Who’s his family?”

Adam frowns. “You know the Olington’s?” he asks me.

“The tire people? Olington fucking tires?” I nearly spit out my coffee.

“They do everything auto-related now,” Adam informs me.

“Yeah, big fucking deal. They’ve got a small franchise,” I say. “So what?”

“His direct family owns the company,” he says. “They’ve got a pretty damn good defense team over there.”

“And they’re used to handling cases like these?” I ask. “Give me a fucking break.”

He shrugs. “They’re used to the court circuit. They’ve got a lot of friends in this town. You know how far a couple of friends can get you in this city,” he says. “I wouldn’t shrug any of this off. It’s not sounding too good.”

“A bank robber!” I scream, slamming my coffee mug against the wall. It shatters and coffee splatters across the paint. Everyone is staring at me. “A fucking bank robber! This is ludicrous. This is…”

“Calm down, sir,” Adam says. Then, he lowers his voice and brings me over to the opposite corner of the room, waving at everyone to let everybody know that everything is okay. “Between you and me, the department is getting worried about you. They’re starting to say things.”

“What kind of things? I’ve been with this department before you even knew you wanted to be a cop. How could they turn their backs on me?” I ask, with malice.

“I didn’t say I was saying anything,” he says. “I just wanted to let you know because I am on your side. I want you to handle this case, but you can’t be having anymore outbursts like that or people are going to say some shit.”

“Alright. Point taken,” I calm myself down. “What do you think we should do?”

“We keep pressuring him. We start to ask deeper questions,” he says.

“Alright. Well, I’m going in,” I tell him, walking ahead. I open the door and Adam follows me in, sighing loudly.

“Good morning, Elroy,” I say. “How’s our favorite guy at the station doing today?”

“I’m not talking to you.” He’s defiant already. I nearly turn red.

“I hear you, man. I heard you had a change of heart,” I say. “But I need to ask you. Why?”

“Because I’m no fool. I know who I am. I know what I’m worth. And that’s the biggest weapon I have right now. Knowing that I can get out without ratting out my friends can at least help me sleep at night,” he says.

“That’s admirable. Real admirable,” I laugh. “It doesn’t change the fact that we have you on tape admitting guilt to a federal crime. You can’t escape that, brother. I’m sorry. You’re going to prison.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he says, crossing his arms.

He’s called our bluff, which is highly unusual. Usually, a criminal plays his role well. He knows he’s been caught and he takes the damn deal. But this guy has a small amount of power in this town, and in small towns, that means a lot. I need to start asking more poignant questions. I need to get the rest of the people involved. Once they’re all here, they’ll surely turn on each other.

“Where’s the girl?” I ask him, straight up with no games attached. “Where is she?”

“Who said there was a girl? No girl can rob a bank, man,” he says.

“We chased down a female on a motorcycle,” Adam says. “We know that there’s one male and one female. Don’t bullshit us on that, Elroy.”

“Alright, there’s a woman. Fine. I won’t say anything about that, except for the fact that she’s smart. She’s already outsmarted all of you fools,” he says.

This hits me. I don’t know why, but it does. It means that she’s up to something big. I’m just not sure what that big thing is yet. “Outsmarted us? How?” I ask him.

“I ain’t saying shit, man,” he smiles.

“What the fuck are you saying, Elroy?” I ask again. “How is she outsmarting us? Where did she go? What is she up to?”

“Fuck you.” He spits with full force at my face.

Of course, I fucking lose it. I dive across the table, in an attempt to choke him out. Adam has to come in and defend me, while also defending that criminal. It’s all fucking messy and at the end of it, the whole squadron rushes in to break up the fight.

The captain walks in, no sooner than two seconds after, and screams, “Marshall! You’re off the case. Get the hell out of this interrogation room and collect your things.”

“Sir, he attacked me,” I say. “He spit directly at me. You saw him.”

“Suspension. Three days. Get your things, Marshall. Did you fucking hear me?” he says, all in front of the criminal.

“Get your things, Marshall,” Elroy laughs.

I make one last struggle to get the guy, but it’s no use. They’ve got me held fucking down.

“Alright,” I say. “Let me go. I’m getting my shit and going home.”

The whole thing makes me sick.