"Perfect timing. Just the girl I wanted to see. " "Officer Vincent. " "Sergeant, what's going on? " Wade Corbin seized a fistful of Alice Vincent's hair as the other officers restrained her. Regulation says you got to look professional. Guess I'll help you out. "Get your hands off me. " Corbin opened the scissors and made the first cut.
Snip after snip, Alice's hair dropped to the floor. "See? Doesn't that look better already? " "Now maybe someone will mistake you for a real officer. " What Corbin and his accomplices didn't know was that the woman they were humiliating wasn't destined to quit. She was destined to become the captain who would sign every one of their termination papers. Alice Vincent loved this uniform.
She had wanted to wear it since she was 12 years old. Now she was 24 and it was hers. 6 months on the force. 6 months of proving herself. Shift after shift.
Her shift was ending. The sun was going down outside the precinct windows. Alice walked toward the breakroom, tired but happy, ready to grab her bag and head home. She pushed the door open. Sergeant Wade Corbin was standing right there blocking her path.
He was smiling, but it wasn't a nice smile. It was the kind of smile a cat gives a mouse. He had scissors in his hand. "There she is," Corbin said. "Officer Vincent, just the girl I wanted to see. " Alice felt something cold move through her stomach.
She glanced past him. Officer Toby Gordon stood by the lockers. Phone already up, already recording, filming her like she was a show. "What's going on? " Alice asked. Her voice stayed steady.
She wouldn't let it shake. "Just a little department tradition," Corbin said. "Every rookie gets it. " "Nothing personal. " Before she could step back, hands grabbed her from behind. "Strong hands, Officer Raymond Miller. " He locked her arms tight against her sides, lifting her slightly off her feet. "Let go of me," Alice said sharp and clear.
"Right now. " "Relax," Miller said in her ear, laughing. "It's a joke. Can't you take a joke? " Corbin stepped closer. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of her locks, twisting them around his fist like he was holding a rope. This isn't regulation, Corbin said like he was reading her a rule from a manual hair like this.