“Ah, mister Hopper, please sit down.”  Chief Lovelace gestures to an uncomfortable looking chair. 

“Good morning sir!”  As he sits down Atticus wonders if the high protein breakfast was such a good idea; it’s feels heavy, and ready to escape at the first wrong word.

“Mister Hopper, here at the SCPD we deal mainly with public disturbances, petty theft, and a stupid amount of traffic citations.  Really; you wouldn’t believe how many cars drive right through pedestrians and just keep going.”  Lovelace sighs.  “For the most part Newcrest is a good city, a new city where everyone is behaving themselves until they settle in and get bored.  But we still get the occasional missing persons or murder case.  Are you prepared to deal with those when the time comes?  It’s not easy dealing with what we have to see and do.”

“I-”  Atticus stops to mull over his answer.  “Sir, I joined the force to protect and serve… everyone.  My father had a criminal record when he met my mother, but she showed him that he could be more, and helped him turn his life around.  She got him a good job working alongside her, and he’s been making money honestly ever since.  I didn’t join simply to enforce the rules and beat up the bad guys.  I think sometimes the bad guys need help too.  And I’m not sure if I said that right, but basically I wouldn’t be in your office today if I wasn’t ready to do what… whatever needs doing.”  He frowns, wincing inside at the last bit. 

Lovelace stares at him inscrutably for a moment.  “Alright then.  I’m going to go over a few things in here, then you’re going to find Sergeant Lebearski and she’ll fill you in on everything else.” 

Well that wasn’t so bad…