Fat and stupid

As far as description of the scenery goes, for as much as it matters that is, I was patrolling the streets of manhattan. It was during the 70's mind you, we had no fancy cellphones to get any of that precious "proof" that they so much desire. Yes, I shot a man. But not without reason. They say all criminals know each other. It was during the year of my 15th year anniversary as a cop. And although we had invented umbrella's by that time, the corps preferred us to be soaking wet while stalking the streets during rainy nights. And it was such a night on the day of my 15th anniversary as a cop. I felt the water drooling down my hair, drowning my shirt in a liquid that came from the heavens themselves. And it was windy too! But I never even considered to protect myself from the elements. Because I wasn't cold you see? I had a duty after all. The sense of justice kept me as warm as I needed to be. I had to keep you and the rest of New York's population safe from thievery and other kinds scum. The moonlit streets of New York were mostly empty though. And in order to be as alert as possible of even the slightest sound, I did not patrol in my car, but I walked. For hours I strolled down the big apple's streets. I saw no pedestrians. A few cars hissed by and their screeching tires tore through puddles of water, causing it to splash up violently. At first I felt deserted. Night shifts tend to bussy in big cities, yet I could find not a single soul. I looked and looked, and no sign of life, let alone signs of crime where to be seen. And when I got around a corner and found myself next to my car I realised I had been patrolling in circles. I had checked every nook and cranny of every single ally in the area. The city was asleep I concluded.

It was after that realisation that I thought of something my grandmother always used to warn me about. The common knowledge that one risks to suffer a cold if you stay outside too long when it's wet and windy. When this hit me I felt concerned. Where I to get sick I could not fight crime. I glimpsed at my car, 3 colored balloons were tied to the radio's antenna. Courtesy of colleagues at the NYPD. Yet we were not allowed to have umbrella's.

I then looked up and raised my hand to protect my face from thick droplets of water. The kind that could cuts you if you stand still long enough. I felt small before the towers of skyscrapers around me. A few light shone bright behind the windows of apartments above. And atop of the 3rd tallest building one block away I spotted a shack. There came laugher and suchlike noises from inside. A window opened and the light that shone from it convinced me that it was warm and very hospital in there. And having my granny's -pardon me- my grandmother's wisdom in mind I figured that it was better to reside in such a fine establishment, rather than getting sick and having to restrain from fighting crime for several days. I wondered whether it was wise for me to take a break. It was an extraordinary peaceful night, and nothing might happen after all.New York could not risk missing me in case the following nights where to be even half as quiet. Thus I made the decision to allow myself the pleasure and walked up to the building that housed the shack. On the ground floor I saw no way to enter however. The structure was square. There was an entrance to a hotel on one side, and a butcher's shop around the corner. Both were closed and appeared dark when I peeked through the displays. Regular folks may had given up after such a setback. But as a proud member of the NYPD determination was one of my stronger feats. So I took a deep breath, raised my chest and straightened my shoulders. Proudly I explored the alley beside the butcher's shop. But found nothing there besides a few trash cans and several tiny windows. This did not discourage me though. And my patience was soon rewarded when I went around another corner and found a long, lóng ladder. It lead all the way up to the roof. It required quite a bit of stamina and endurance to scale it all the way to the top. But I managed and soon stood before on of the greatest views of the NY skyline. The shack appeared to be much bigger than it had seemed from the ground. The laughing noises grew louder once I got closer to the entrance. I opened a set saloon doors and stepped inside a bar. At first I was blinded by the light after being outside in the dark for so long. It was good to be outside of the weather. But that feeling didn't linger long. Once I looked around I noticed how it had grown quiet. Everyone in the bar turned around from their booth and was staring at me with a anticipating but fearful expression. I acted like I didn't notice and walked up to the bartender. I figured that one drink wouldn't hurt and ordered a whisky. And once I had laid down my hat on the counter the people around me relaxed and returned to their conversations.