Joe had lowered into the driver’s seat when he paused upon hearing a scream from somewhere nearby. Brian had pulled out of his parking spot and was lingering in the lot, waiting for Joe to follow. When he saw the cop rise out of his car and stare off into the night as though a shadow had looked at him funny, Brian tossed his head back, rolled his eyes, and breathed a long sigh. “Jesus Christ, trouble already?” he thought aloud.<br/><br/>Resting his right hand on his gun, Joe popped its buckle and drew it from its holster as he started for the alley next to the restaurant. What was with the alleys now days? This would have been his second incident within a 24hrs period. Joe defensively pressed his back against the wall of Denny’s as he tried to listen and estimate how many guys were in the alley and if anyone was hurt. The scuffle had grown quiet, and fearing for the worst, Joe pivoted around the corner with his gun aimed at the first person he saw. Instead of shouting an interjection, his eyes lowered to the men that were curled up like sick dogs at the feet of a lone woman.<br/><br/>Brian’s heavy footsteps came trudging up behind him as he glanced to the men and exclaimed, “Holy shit!” He then looked at the mysterious woman. “You beat all these thugs by yourself?”<br/><br/>Joe lowered his gun as his brows pinched together with suspicion. “Of course, she did,” he answered. “Let’s cuff these guys and put them in the back.” As Brian removed two hand cuffs from the compartment on the back of his belt, he stooped down and began cuffing two of the gangsters. Joe removed his handcuffs and stooped before the last man and cuffed him. “You must be a good fighter taking on three, grown, men alone. I suppose you won’t mind coming with me back to the station for some mild questioning? I didn’t exactly see the incident, so I can’t say if these men were in the wrong and you were innocent, or if you were just looking to cause trouble. If you’re clean, then we’ll just let you go.”