Chapter 4 – The Hot-Headed Sergeant Teaches a Lesson
The Western Division was only a twenty-minute drive from Beverly Hills; Sean Horace, behind the wheel, had already reached the intersection of South San Vicente and Hauser Boulevard with Erin Gresham beside him, waiting for the light to turn green.
While Sean waited patiently, a standard forty-five-seat yellow Type-C school bus rolled up behind them.
Painted along its side in white letters: "Los Angeles Unified School District."
The driver hit the brakes, pulling up even with Sean's Audi; both vehicles idled at the red light.
Mid-bus, a teenager named Jason listlessly scrolled through his phone, flicking the screen as his Angry Birds demolished pig fortresses.
The instant the bus stopped, his friend sitting beside him elbowed his ribs.
"Dude, check it out! Hot blonde at two o'clock!"
The shout sparked instant chaos inside the bus—like throwing chum to sharks.
Spotting the attractive blonde woman in the car next to them, the teenage boys started catcalling and whistling.
"Yo, beautiful—can I get your number?"
"Damn, girl! You single?"
"Hey baby, let me take you out!"
Teenage hormones mixed with pack mentality never ends well.
The bus was packed with high school kids from some local public school. They knew the woman was completely out of their league, but talk is cheap and consequences felt distant.
Jason pocketed his phone and, swept up in the peer pressure, joined the chorus:
"I got a car—wanna ditch that old dude and ride with me? I'll show you a good time!"
Sean heard the obnoxious comments aimed at Erin and calmly rolled up his window to spare her the worst of it.
Erin stayed silent; she knew any response would only encourage them and make things worse.
Sean glanced over at her: "You okay?"
Erin's jaw was tight with anger, but she maintained her composure. "I'm fine—just some immature kids showing off for their friends." As an adult and a professional, she kept her cool.
Sean said nothing more, simply waiting for the green light while deciding his next move.
While he planned his response, the system that had stayed dormant for three chapters suddenly activated.
Side Quest: "Teach These Punks Some Respect!"
Briefing: Your partner was harassed by juvenile delinquents—are you going to let that slide?
As a sworn officer of the law, it's your duty to educate these kids about respect and consequences before they end up in the system!
Note: These kids need to learn that actions have consequences.
Reward: $3,200
Threat Assessment: Minor—two subjects carrying pocket knives
Consequences: Minimal (System provides cover)
When the light turned green, Sean eased forward alongside the bus; the teenagers kept jeering and making crude gestures—probably showing off because a cop had an attractive woman riding shotgun.
Just past the intersection, Sean executed a textbook traffic stop—clearly he'd done this hundreds of times.
Without a word, he activated his emergency flashers, gestured for the bus to pull over, and stepped out of the vehicle.
Today he carried his Wilson Combat EDC X9, a high-end 9mm with a double-stack magazine. Retail price: $3,200.
Fifteen rounds in the magazine, one in the chamber if needed.
Match-grade accuracy, combat reliability, and a price tag that made most cops wince.
It was his personal firearm—bought with his own money, not department issue.
Why draw his weapon? Because sometimes words aren't enough, and a visual reminder of consequences speaks volumes.
He wasn't planning to shoot anyone—but these kids needed to understand that being disrespectful to women, especially to a police officer, wasn't consequence-free.
As he opened his door, he hit the central lock, preventing Erin from following immediately.
"Los Angeles Police! Pull the bus over—now!"
The back-row troublemakers saw the plainclothes cop with the gun and badge and knew they'd screwed up badly.
Their swagger evaporated instantly; even the kid who'd been yelling about taking Erin for a ride went dead silent.
Erin watched, stunned—this man she'd just met was going to bat for her after some crude catcalls from teenagers.
But sentiment could wait; she needed to stop him before this situation escalated into a formal incident report.
While she fumbled with the locked door, Sean reached the bus entrance and rapped on the glass with his badge, motioning for the driver to open up.
"Cut the engine and open the door!"
The bus driver saw the bearded plainclothes officer with a gun and badge and quickly calculated his options. Running would definitely get him in deep trouble.
"Man, they don't pay me enough for this," the driver muttered under his breath and hit the door release.
The hydraulic door hissed open. "Is there a problem, officer?" the driver asked nervously.
"Not with you. Stay put," Sean ordered, stepping aboard.
The bus had that distinctive teenage smell—a mix of body spray, sweat, cheap cologne, and fast food.
The loudest students now stared out the windows, sneaking nervous glances at Sean and his sidearm.
Thanks to the system's threat assessment, the main troublemakers were highlighted in his vision—low actual threat level, just stupid kids making bad choices.
Walking down the aisle, he addressed them directly:
"All right, gentlemen. Five seconds ago you all had a lot to say. Cat's got your tongues now?"
"Let me explain something to you. That woman you were harassing? She's a Los Angeles Police Officer. A sworn peace officer. And even if she wasn't, that kind of disrespectful garbage isn't how real men behave."
Erin climbed aboard to find Sean delivering a stern lecture to the now-silent teenagers.
He pointed at the kid who'd suggested Erin "ditch the old dude"—a lanky seventeen-year-old wearing a Lakers jersey.
"You. What's your name?"
The kid swallowed hard. "J-Jason, sir."
"Jason what?"
"Jason Martinez, sir."
Sean nodded. "Jason Martinez. You want to explain to me and to Officer Gresham here why you thought talking to her like that was appropriate?"
Jason's hands were shaking. "I—I don't know, sir. I'm sorry. We were just messing around."
"Just messing around," Sean repeated flatly. "Let me tell you what 'just messing around' gets you in the real world, Jason. Sexual harassment charges. Restraining orders. A criminal record that follows you to every job interview for the rest of your life."
He let that sink in, then continued.
"You see this badge? You know what it means? It means I've seen kids just like you end up in county lockup because they thought catcalling women was 'just messing around.' It means I've knocked on parents' doors at two in the morning to tell them their son is in the hospital because he ran his mouth to the wrong person."
The entire bus was silent now. Even the driver was listening.
Sean holstered his weapon and crossed his arms.
"Here's what's going to happen. Each of you who participated in harassing Officer Gresham is going to apologize to her. Out loud. Right now. And then you're going to think very carefully about whether 'just messing around' is worth throwing away your future."
He pointed at Jason. "You first. Stand up."
Jason shakily got to his feet, nearly dropping his phone.
"Face Officer Gresham and apologize. And make it sincere, because if I think you're being a smartass, we're taking a field trip to the station and calling all your parents."
Jason turned to face Erin, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Officer Gresham, I'm really sorry for what I said. It was disrespectful and wrong. I wasn't thinking. I'm really, really sorry."
Erin, still processing the entire situation, nodded curtly. "Apology accepted. Don't let it happen again."
Sean pointed to the next kid. "You're up."
One by one, six teenagers apologized to Erin—some mumbling, some genuinely contrite, all thoroughly terrified.
When the last one finished, Sean addressed the entire bus.
"Let me make something crystal clear. The next time any of you decides to harass a woman—any woman, police officer or not—you better pray it's me who shows up to deal with it, because I'm actually going to educate you instead of arresting you."
"The streets of Los Angeles aren't kind to punks who don't know how to respect others. You keep running your mouths like that, eventually you'll say it to someone who doesn't carry a badge—someone who'll put you in the hospital instead of teaching you a lesson."
He pulled out a business card and handed it to Jason.
"This has the number for the Western Division youth outreach program. You want to turn your life around, make better choices? Call that number. We've got mentorship programs, job training, sports leagues—all free."
Sean stepped back toward the exit.
"Driver, they're all yours. Get these kids to school."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, officer."
As Sean stepped off the bus, Erin followed quickly behind him.
The bus door closed and the vehicle pulled back into traffic, noticeably quieter than before.
Back at the Audi, Sean unlocked the doors and climbed in.
Erin got in the passenger seat, staring at him in disbelief.
"What the hell was that?"
Sean started the engine. "That was me teaching some kids that actions have consequences before they end up learning it in county lockup."
"You pulled your gun!"
"I never pointed it at anyone. I never threatened anyone. I made a traffic stop, identified myself as law enforcement, and gave those kids a wake-up call they desperately needed."
Erin shook her head, somewhere between impressed and horrified.
"That was... incredibly reckless. And also kind of amazing. But mostly reckless."
Sean grinned. "Welcome to the Western Division, rookie. Around here, we actually give a damn about keeping kids out of gangs and prisons. Sometimes that means scaring them straight before they do something really stupid."
He pulled back into traffic.
"Now, about that Italian food..."
System Notification:
Quest Complete: "Teach These Punks Some Respect!"
Reward: $3,200 deposited
Bonus Objective Achieved: Provided community resource information
Additional Reward: +500
New Total: $3,700
Erin was still processing what just happened.
"Does... does that kind of thing happen often with you?"
Sean shrugged. "Define 'often.' Once a week? Twice a month? Depends on how stupid people are feeling that day."
"Jesus Christ. What have I gotten myself into?"
"An education in real-world policing," Sean said cheerfully. "David ran everything by the book. I run things by the spirit of the law. You'll learn the difference."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
But despite her words, Erin was smiling slightly.
Maybe this partnership would be more interesting than she'd thought.
(To be continued...)
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