Bab 2: CHAPTER 1: One Night in LA
2065
Los Angeles, California - United States
There was silence in a small yet cozy studio apartment in downtown Los Angeles, the darkness engulfing the small and modest living space. The street lights and the moonlight outside peered through the blinds of the windows, some of the light beaming into the studio apartment slicing through the darkness. A young woman laid asleep under the white and black sheets and black blanket of the full sized bed against the plain white wall, the woman tossing and turning. She mumbled softly as she kept tossing and turning, her long hair becoming uneven and messy with each time she tossed herself and buried her face in the soft, black pillow. Her mumbling became louder and louder, her words becoming much clearer.
"Please..." she uttered under her soft, warm breath. "Please..." She continued to move about in her asleep and utter and mumble in her sleep. "Please stay... Please stay..." Her struggle to sleep went on until an audible knock came to her door. The knock caused her to gasp, sitting up in her bed and breathing heavily. She looked at her alarm clock that sat on the nightstand next to her bed, her blue eyes laying eyes on the time: forty six minutes after midnight. She grabbed it, rubbing her eyes with her other hand as another knock came to her door. The woman sat the alarm clock down gently on her nightstand next to the lamp.
"I'm coming." the light tanned woman grogily said aloud, throwing the sheets and blanket off of herself and setting food on the cold wooden flooring. Her soft, small bare feet began to slowly glide along the wooden floor until she reached the door. With a slow reach and turn of the lock and knob, she opened the door to see a tall man towering over her at the front door. She looked up at the man, his well-cut hair as black as the night sky outside, his complexion smooth yet partially obstructed by a thick black beard. His arms were folded in front of him and he raised his eyebrows at the tired woman.
"Sorry for waking you, chica..." he softly told her. "Having trouble sleeping?"
"Yeah..." she replied, the woman looking down at herself and fixing her white t-shirt and pajama pants. "Just... Just not ready to officially start my first week at the unit."
"Ana, we all started like that in SWAT." He assured her, patting her gently on her shoulder with his large, beefy hand. "The legendary Enrique Lemone was once a skittish noob such as yourself." Jasmine offered a grogy chuckle at his over-enthusiastic and conceited moment, shaking her head before fixing her long, dark brown hair.
"What's so damn funny?" he asked playfully, huffing at her.
"It's just that you're just too much... and I just freakin' met you." Ana joked. Enrique chuckled before Ana looked back into her room and back at him, Ana lowering her head a little. "So... what brought you to my apartment to interupt my much needed beauty sleep?" Enrique shuffled about a bit before taking out his phone, looking at it and nodding then putting it back into his pocket and sighing.
"May I come in?" He asked her. "Would be easier to talk to you inside."
"Uh... sure... I guess." She appeared confused, stepping aside and turning on the lights inside with the flick of a light switch. Enrique walked inside and walked himself the small white couch that sat in front of the end of the full sized bed. He leaned back in his seat and sighed again. Ana closed and locked the door, rubbing her eyes and sitting down next to him.
"So... what's this about?" She asked him. "If this is about the-"
"It isn't about the poker game yesterday..." Enrique interuppted her, smirking and chuckling. "The Sergeant is just a terrible loser... Don't ever tell him I said that."
"Your secret is safe with me." Ana gently replied.
"No... this is about what might happen your first day." Enrique told her, Ana nodding slowly and deciding to remain quiet to listen to him rather than say anything. "SWAT isn't easy... I'm sure you already know... but, a lot is gonna ride on you being good at the job. I know you've been through the training and the courses and you did well, however, it's gonna be a lot different when things actually get dangerous... when the guns, the stakes and the risks get real." Ana nodded, becoming nervous at the thought of the expectations being had of her on her first day.
"I know you're gonna do a damn good job, chica... a really damn good one." He told her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Just know that everyone from the Captain down to the other guys like you will be expecting the best from you." Again, Ana simply nodded and listened to him. She lightly smiled.
"I'll keep that in mind, Enrique... Thanks."
"I'm thinking your nickname is gonna be Shortstop." Enrique joked, Ana slapping his shoulder rather hardly. He yelped in slight pain and moved his hand away from her shoulder, scooting away from her on the couch.
"OW!!!! What was that for?!"
"For being a Grade-A asshole." she quiped, Enrique shaking his head and laughing. He leaned over the side of the couch, trying to dodge another swipe of Ana's hand towards his shoulder.
"Can't hit shit, Shorty, hehehehe!"
Sudddenly, Enrique's phone rang. Ana stopped trying to slap his shoulder, sitting there and looking at her friend as he took out his phone and looked at the caller. It read: "Captain". He looked at Ana then back at his phone before clearing his throat and answering it.
"Captain?"
"All hands on deck, Enrique." the deep, raspy voice of the unit Captain said, catching Enrique off guard. He looked to Ana as he continued to talk. "Consider the weekend cancelled... we got a serious call."
"Yes, Captain." Enrique replied, nodding his head. "What about-"
"What about the rookie? Yes, even her." the Captain told him immediately. "When I say all hands on deck, I mean all hands on deck."
"Understood, sir."
"You'll be briefed, albeit shortly, at Headquarters. Get going." The Captain hung up on him, leaving Enrique disappointed. He looked to Ana and sighed.
"So?" Ana asked him. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Today's your real first day, Ana..." he told her upfront, Ana's expression slowly changing from one of curiosity to shock and fear. Her heart began to race, her breathing becoming a bit deeper. "We got a call... said it's a big one and we gotta get down to the station, now." He quickly got up, offering a hand to Ana, who took it and stood herself up slowly from the couch. The two stared at each other, Ana feeling all of her anxiety for her first day hit her hard like a freight train. Enrique looked back at his phone, seeing several texts from his fellow SWAT officers; messages like 'WTF' and 'This is some bullshit' filled his lock screen. He looked back at Ana, staring into her eyes.
"I know you're scared." Enrique said, breaking the silence in the room. "You'll never know when you get called into action and you never know what's gonna happen... but sometimes, you know you're gonna do the best job you can possibly do, no matter what. Alright?" Ana nodded, looking down at her feet. "Get yourself dressed... I'll drive you." Ana nodded before Enrique began to leave the studio apartment, unlocking the door and looking back at her after opening the door. Ana remained standing there, watching him leave.
"I'll wait in the car." Enrique told her before closing the door. Ana was left to her lonesome in the room, her anxiety and nervousness beginning to impact her already. Her body shook uncontrollably as she shuffled herself towards her small closet to dress herself in some decent clothes. After a quick change into a pair of jeans and socks, she threw on a leather jacket and put on a pair of sneakers before grabbing her keys, her ID, her purse and phone. She turned off the lights in her studio apartment and closed and locked the door. Ana rushed herself through the brightly lit halls of her apartment building, taking the elevator all the way down to the ground floor and rushing out to find Enrique waiting for her in the street in front of the entrance, already in his black sports car with the passenger door wide open. Ana rushed into the car, closing the door quick and buckling in her seatbelt.
"Hang on." Enrique told her. "It's gonna be fast..." Before Ana could respond, he floored the gass pedal and sped off into the night through the lit streets of Los Angeles. Smoke was left in their wake as he sped through the darkness, the sound of his roaring engines echoing through the streets as he navigated Ana to the HQ.
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone