Psalm 37: 39 – 40.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
For a moment Kate froze, but seconds later, she decided to take action.
Kate turned and rummaged in her overnight bag, pulling her gun from it. She wished she had thought to bring a jacket, because she didn’t want to waste time dressing. She went back down the stairs in just her pajama pants and tank top. She pulled on her sneakers, having left them with Helen’s shoe collection by the front door, and then she pulled the front door open and slipped out into the night.
The air was cold, and goose bumps erupted up and down Kate’s arms. The cop car was there, the engine running, a small but steady plume of exhaust coming from the tailpipe. Kate crept to the car, bending at the waist so no one would see her from her house as she came up along the driver’s side.
“Officer Coy,” she called, as she neared the driver’s side window. The glass was up, and the cop sitting beyond, his head down a bit. Kate thought he had fallen asleep, though he didn’t wake when she used two knuckles to knock on the window. She tried the door handle, found the door unlocked, and pulled it open. The slight movement of the car made the officer shift, and he came spilling sideways out of the car.
Kate jumped, knowing right away that the cop was hurt. She heard a gun fire and looked up to see a masked figure on her porch.
Kate thought fast. She pushed the injured Officer Coy into his car and then hopped in as well. It was awkward because he was still half in the driver’s seat, and half in the passenger, but Kate pulled the door shut and threw the car into drive. The masked figure came from the porch after her, but after she had driven a block away, she didn’t see him anymore. She turned around quickly, suddenly thinking of Helen. She raced back to Helen’s house, skidding to a stop with the tires squealing.
Kate leaped out, hand on her gun, and raced for Helen’s door. She banged through it, and raced up the stairs. The elderly lady was coming out of her room, unharmed.
“What is with all the racket?” Helen asked, and Kate shooed her back into her room.
“Shut and lock the door,” Kate said before turning and racing back outside to the police car. Kate grabbed the radio and pressed the button on the side.
“Dispatch, officer down, civilian calling for help,” she said, thinking it prudent to call herself a civilian for speed and clarity.
“What’s your location?” the dispatch woman asked, her voice tense and urgent.
Kate at once gave her address.
“Copy that, are you in any immediate danger?”
“Possibly,” Kate replied.
“Cars are on their way; what’s the situation with the downed officer?”
“He’s been hit with a blunt object, I think,” Kate said, looking down at Officer Coy.
“The nearest car is two minutes away,” the dispatcher said, and indeed Kate could hear a siren blaring in the distance, and growing louder.
“I hear them,” Kate said.
The first cop car pulled quickly to a stop in the middle of the street.
“Hands where we can see them!” one of the two cops, a woman in her forties, screamed.
Kate lifted her hands into the air while she sat in the car, forgetting she had a gun. The cop noticed straight away and drew her own.
“Put the gun down!” she screamed and Kate let it fall to the pavement outside of the car.
“Get out of the car,” the other cop said. He came forward, kicked the gun away, and then put his hand on Kate’s arm and pulled her out of the car.
“Did you call this in?” he asked her, his tone somewhat apologetic.
“Yes,” Kate said. “Do you have an ambulance coming?”
“Yes,” the cop said, and then he let Kate go. The female cop came forward and took Kate by the arm, pulling her away from the scene of the crime. She opened up the passenger side rear door of her cruiser and had Kate sit in it, with her legs still outside. And then for the first time out of many that night, Kate spoke to a police officer about what had happened.
A cop went up to get Helen, and when the police were finally done with her, Helen took Kate back into her home, where Kate finally fell asleep.