Practice

It is a dark, rainy night in the polluted streets of New York City. The year is 1956 and it is the end of the summer, it is also the end for someone on this shady street. A man has been murdered and left in the street, it is my job to get to the bottom of this case. I arrive on scene to find that my partner and a few police officers have responded to the call also. [[Speak To Police Officer]] [[Speak To Partner]]

My partner is busy looking at the body of the victim so I'll leave him be for now. I should go speak to one of the police officers on duty. "Hey Alan, what do you have so far?" Alan replies, "Victim is male, 27 years old. He was stabbed in the chest and stomach multiple times. But there is a trail of blood leading from the alley over there. A few people in the diner right here heard the man scream, we kept them here for questioning and accounts of what happened." Another knife killing, why is this occurring so frequently lately? "Thanks, appreciate it." [[Go To Partner]]

I walk up to my partner who is examining the body,"How is the night treating you Mac?" Mac looks up from the body, "Oh you know, same as every other night. Started off good, talking to a dame in the bar while sipping my scotch. Then this crock of shit pops up. You talk to the other officers about what's going on?" I say back, "Yeah, I did. Case is similar to the last few murders." "Been a real shit show these past few weeks, huh? With all the murders, robberys and drug busts, hopefully the end of this summer brings a slow to all of it." Can't argue with that, Mac has been looking more stressed and agitated this summer. But he'll get through it. "Hopefully, but hopes don't tend to come true here in this town. At least we got each other, right Mac?" "Damn straight, couldn't ask for a better partner. Want to go take a peak at the alley where this blood trail leads?" "Yeah, let's check it out." [[In The Alley]]

I walk over to the police officer after talking to Mac. "What are the details you got so far Alan?" Alan responds, "Victim is a 27 year-old male, stabbed multiple times in the chest and stomach. There is a group of people inside this diner that heard a man scream, we kept them in there for questioning. Blood trail leads from the body to the alley." "Alright, thanks for the info." I say to the officer. Better go check back on my partner and take a look at that alley. [[In The Alley]]

Mac and I walk into the empty alley that is lined with trash bags and a dumpster towards the end of it. It's dark and damp like much of the city, but what makes this different than the rest is the blood trail. But the blood trail is already beginning to fade from the rain. "Looks like he got a fair distance away despite being stabbed all those times huh," I say to Mac. Mac replies, "Wouldn't say fair, but I get what you are saying. I was thinking that he managed to stumble a bit out of the alley before falling down to the ground in the street." "It's just odd that he could make it to the street before collapsing with those kind of injuries," I say to Mac. Is that a footprint leading the other direction of the alley? Could the murderer still be close? [[Follow Foot Tracks]] [[Don't Follow Foot Tracks]]

Mac says, "I suppose we should follow these foot tracks now so the rain doesn't wash it away." I reply, "Alright, let's go." Mac and I are following the footsteps now. As they slowly fade away, we hear clattering towards the end of the alley. Suddenly, a hooded person pops out of nowhere with a knife. "Look out!" I yell to Mac. [[Push Mac To The Side]] [[Draw gun]]

Mac says, "I suppose we should follow these foot tracks now so the rain doesn't wash it away." "I don't think we should, talking to the people in the diner would be more important I think," I reply. "Alright, if you say so," Mac says. I can tell he's slight agitated about this but I have a bad feeling about this alley. [[Go Speak To People In Diner]]

Mac and I go to speak with the people in the diner. Most people seem kind of shook up but there is a general consensus. No one saw or heard a car drive off, nor did they see a person running down the street in either direction. That means that someone should absolutely be in that alley. "Let's go check out that alley again," Mac says to me. [[Go Back To Alley]]

I decide to push Mac away and as I do, the blade pierces me then the person runs away from the alley. "What the hell was that?! Come on, stay with me. You're going to be fine," he says to me. But I can tell, things won't be fine. I try to tell Mac to run after them, but nothing comes out. Just my shallow breathing and with that, my last breath... What could I have done differently...

I draw my service weapon to protect Mac and I. I yell for the person to stop but I'm too late though. Mac is stabbed on the floor while I shot the criminal too late. "OFFICER DOWN!!! Shit Mac, you're going to be alright," I say trying to comfort him. Mac coughs up some blood when he lets out a few words, "You and I both know that I'm not going to be alright. Don't worry, better me than you." He laughs while his body goes limp. Jesus, my partner is gone. My best friend is gone. What the hell could I have done differently?

Mac and I are back in the alley, this time with guns drawn just in case. We walk down the alley; where the footsteps once lead, now washed away. As we are about to round the corner, we hear a clatter when suddenly a person lunges right at us with a knife. Before the person can stab one of us, Mac shoots the man in the leg and leads the person to drop. I say to him, "Damn, that was close one." "I know, I couldn't risk either one of us getting stabbed," he says calmly. "I'll call him a medic then we can take him in for questioning. Thanks Mac," I reply. He smiles and says, "No problem, anytime."