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𝕺fficer John Petras had been having a fairly normal night. He'd broken up a barfight, brought his dinner from the local McDonalds and was now sitting in his car, happily chewing away on a Big Mac and taking sips from a large coffee to help him get through the remainder of his patrol.
Every so often the radio buzzed, but it was never anything that needed his assistance, so he enjoyed the peace and quiet. It was slightly unusual, due to it being a Saturday night and all, but John didn't question it.
Taking another fry, John tossed it in the air, before catching it in his mouth, a large dorky smile plastering across his face. He still had the talent!
Looking around, John checked to see whether anyone had seen him, before leaning back and taking another sip from his coffee. When he went to grab his burger, he scowled as he found that he'd already eaten it, grabbing his trash and heading for the nearest bin.
Scrunching it up into a tiny ball, he shoved it into the bin, before pausing at the sound of rustling. Looking around, John's eyes furrowed as he searched for the reason for the sound. He was hoping that it wasn't another raccoon.
They were nasty little buggers and one of the other officers down at the station had been taken to the hospital to have rabies shots after being bitten by one. It had led to a lot of laughs, and John didn't need to have his nickname change to Raccoon-bite John or something stupid. He'd never live it down.
"Who's there?" He called quickly, looking down the dark alleyway. "I swear, if it's another raccoon, I will not be happy."
He must have muttered that louder than he thought, because there was a startled squeak and two hands shot up from behind a bin.
"Don't shoot me! I'm not a raccoon." John's eyebrows crashed together as he hesitantly advanced into the alley. "Promise."
"Hey, kid." The arms disappeared behind the bin as the boy seemed to realise that he'd actually been caught. "I can see you."
There was a muffled curse, which caused John to chuckle.
"Come on, out from behind the bin." The boy cursed again, before finally appearing from behind the bin.
John hadn't been sure of what to expect, but it definitely wasn't this. The boy, who looked to only be around nine or ten, was covered in mud and grime, that coated his body in a thick layer. His clothes were ripped, showing scabs on his body and he seemed a little too thin for it to be healthy.
His blue eyes were wide, fear clear in them as John sent him a hesitant smile.
"I'm Officer John Petras. Can I have your name?" John crouched in front of the boy, keeping the easy going smile on his face as he tried to remember what training he had for this. The boy hesitated, before finally relenting.
