In the evening that followed, Frank got himself ready for his shift ahead.
With some music on, playing in the background, and a burning cigarette resting in an ashtray, he was in his room, putting on the final touches to his uniform.
Carrying the police cap in his hand, he walked back into the living room, where he took the final few pulls of his cigarette before crushing it into nothing. When he looked at the time, he realised he was running slightly behind schedule. So, doing a brief pat-down of his uniform, he checked to see if he had brought everything. Grabbing a box of cigarettes and a fresh pack of gum, he was ready to head out.
Locking the door behind him and speeding down the steps, he reached the main road within seconds. There was no rain tonight. He was glad for it.
By the car park of the building, he saw Maurice's cruiser, waiting for him. Quickly rushing to it and sitting inside, he saw his colleague on his phone, scrolling through his social media feed.
"Fuck... sorry for the wait.".
"Hm, what?" Maurice responded, looking up from his phone. "Don't you worry. I literally just got here".
"Alright... I was running a bit late... Hope the protests won't be as bad tonight.".
Maurice nodded his head, putting his phone away before he reversed the car. "Hopefully so... I did hear that the protests in Aides are slowly cooling down.".
"That's good, I suppose...".
"Depends on how you look at it," Maurice replied. "People are showing their discontent through the protests.".
"Which they have every right to do," Frank said. "However, the few times Aides had protests, they very soon took a turn into riots, rallies even. Let's hope the same won't happen now.".
"It shouldn't," Maurice said, driving off. "Talks of this new virus, PET, or whatever it's called, it's taking over all the tabloids. People are getting scared they might contract it.".
"Another safety hazard against the protests," Frank remarked.
"I suppose so...".
The drive to the police station was filled with silence, the radio frequently tuning in and out, reporting all the different, ongoing situations around Sileaux.
Driving toward the edge of town, due to the way the protest was unfolding, it didn't take them long to find a place to park, step outside, and make their way to the middle of the unrest.
Being back in the crowd reminded Frank of the previous. Although, comparably, tonight seemed to be more peaceful.
There were still a lot of people, many of them blowing whistles, frequently saying chants, most of which Frank managed to hear through his window over the last few days.
People would greet the two officers as they walked through the streets, smaller kids looking up at both Frank and Maurice.
One of the boys who passed them had a toy police car in his hand, swinging it back and forth in the air, making Frank smile merely before he looked at Maurice. "Future colleague of ours right there.".
"Reminds me of my younger son," Maurice replied. "He wants to be a police officer, just like his father, when he grows up.".
"Lucky us, we already have enough to replace us when we retire.".
Maurice laughed at Frank's remark. "We still have a long way until then.".
They continued walking through the crowd. And the more Frank looked around him, the more he was surprised at the demographic that was present. It wasn't only young people who were protesting, but also the older population. The closer they got to the town centre, the more obvious this became.
Right at the square, the two police officers caught a glimpse of a crowd surrounding the town's main monument. The air carried a voice that spoke through a megaphone, discussing freedom and how the truth would prevail, eventually. The voices changed frequently, as all the speakers had the opportunity to express themselves. Reading various poems and lines from different songs. Reciting powerful short stories and giving talks on what it means to be unified as the people of Iarterre.
Both Maurice and Frank found themselves listening to some of the things said. Reaching the end of one of the speeches, just like the rest of the crowd, the two officers applauded the spokesperson.
"With so many people here, we're all unified by one thing," Maurice started. "Being from Iarterre.".
Frank nodded his head. "Well said, my friend. Well said.".
Continuing to patrol the streets, the two officers made their way further from the centre until they were met with another police patrol.
"How's it going, fellas?" a young woman spoke
"Good, good," Frank replied. "How are you doing, Officer?".
"Can't complain. Got much going on?".
"Nah, seems like it's going to be a quiet night," Maurice said next.
"Some good stuff happening tonight, too, all the talks. Great initiative," the policewoman's partner said.
"Oh yeah, big time. A great sense of unity.".
A few more pleasantries were exchanged between the two patrols before they both went on their separate ways.
Not long after, Frank and Maurice found themselves slowly strolling behind two middle-aged women.
"There's more infected than they're letting on," Frank just about managed to make one of the women's words. "Why else would all of these people be out and about?".
Frank felt a slight squeeze in his chest. He looked around him. All the people who were present. Who were protesting. 'People talk, regardless of plausibility...' he thought to himself.
"My Henry was sent to a hospital in Aides," The woman on the left said, catching Frank's attention. "He's still not back. Haven't heard a word of him, and it's been nearly a week.".
"That's what I'm saying," the woman beside her said next. "They're hiding something... But I'm sure he'll be back very soon—". In that, she turned her head around, as if noticing the two men behind her. "O-oh, sorry...". At that, they both moved aside to let Maurice and Frank pass through.
But even with them walking ahead, their conversation stuck with Frank. It made him clench his hands into fists. A second later, he dug into his pocket for the box of cigarettes, extracting one before lighting its tip on fire. Taking a pull and blowing a cloud of smoke through his lips, he put the cigarette back in his mouth.
"Smoking is not good for you," Maurice said, his words implied merely as a friendly suggestion.
"Yeah, I know..." Frank replied. He wanted to quit smoking.
'I know a good programme, if you like. It will help you quit smoking. For good' one of his friends always said.
However, for him to truly quit, he knew, better than anyone that he had to change his profession. His source of stress.
Frank picked up smoking as a stress-relief.
"I used to smoke too," Maurice spoke up again. "The job can take a bite out of you.".
Taking another pull of his smoke, Frank nodded in agreement. "You got that right.". Then, looking back toward Maurice, he spoke up again, "Wait... you used to?".
"Yeah, ever since wifey got pregnant again, I decided to put a stop to it. Haven't picked up another cigarette ever since.".
"So, like... you just... stopped?".
"Well... I chose to do something other than smoking. I worked out more intensely to power through the need to smoke," Maurice said. "Like all addictions, it's very hard to quit.".
"I'd have to quit my job if I were to quit smoking.". Frank's words slightly took Maurice back. But before he could formulate a response, a young woman ran to them both.
"I'm sorry, are you both police officers??".
"Yes," Maurice replied. "Is everything alright?".
"N-not really," she began. "There's an unconscious woman in an alleyway not too far from here. Can you please help?".
"Of course," Frank said, dropping his cigarette before stepping on it. "Show us the way to the alleyway.".
Within minutes, they turned into a narrow, darkened footpath, and before them stood a few people, in a small circle. Seconds later, they were to see what it was that the group surrounded—a downed body.
One foot contained a high-heeled shoe, while the other didn't.
Seeing such a sight, it reminded Frank of the man they saw not too long ago, who passed out from excessive alcohol intake.
However, the closer both he and Maurice got to the still body, the more Frank realised that this was nothing like that—here, on the body, blood was seen.
"Alright, we'll have to ask everyone to move away from the body.".
"Maurice, there's blood..." Frank commented, confirming his finding before taking a closer look at the body. Her top was half bloodied, all the blood seeming to come from her neck—a bite wound.
"I'll call into the station for back up, you make sure no one moves or touches anything," Maurice started. "I'm afraid we might have a crime scene on our hands.".