Tales From the Badge - An After Midnight Chase

I don't know what's up with 2:00 a.m. Is it a universal law, that if some bad thing's going to happen, it's going to wait until 2:00 in the morning?

When the phone rings, it's never good. When you're a cop's wife, and someone knocks on your door, it's terrible.

I'm paranoid about the time, and working on a phobia. Over the years, Hell came knocking after midnight, more times than I can count. Remembering this one makes me shiver.

You've seen cop chases on TV, right? What is missing, is the adrenalin and nausea. Heart pounding in the chest, stomach cramping, and a strong desire to pee. Some do, and don't even realize it until later. Cop's never talk about it outside their circles. What's wet pants among friends?

Lynn didn't do it this night, and I don't know that he ever did. Cops always laughed about the possibility of it saying "I nearly peed my pants..." everytime they told a tale. This was a night, that if Lynn was going to have that kind of an accident, it would have been well understood.

Lynn always hated pursuits. His normal trick, was to get close enough to get their tag number, and if it was possible, he'd go home and wait for them there. He never wanted to chase someone to their death, or hurt someone else because of the chase. A cop has to learn to control their rush of adrenalin. It's better to pee your pants or throw up, then to kill someone.

Now, that's not to say that the chase of the bad guy doesn't give a cop a "rush." Oh, it does. He loved the hunt. He just preferred to be smart and let everyone stay alive, if possible. If he could outsmart the bad guy during the hunt, all the more "fun."

This particular night, there was a full moon. Lynn's not superstitious, until it comes to full moons. He says they're crazy nights, that's just the facts. A full moon is not just a sailor's warning, cops beware the glare as well.

It's odd, how you wake up and the day begins, or the sun sets and it ends, and we are none the wiser as to what's ahead. Who knows that the turn of a corner will be their last? Or, to enter a store will cost them their life? Or, just going to work, could be the end?

Our day began like most, Lynn sleeping during the day, visiting with me and our baby in the early evening, getting ready for work in the night. I cleaned house in the night, watched TV and went to bed. Until 2:00a.m., when all Hell broke loose. The chase began. (click those words)