"You're taking me in?... But why? I'm sorry that I wasn't thinking straight when I parked... That was because I was desperate to save this poor puppy's life. Otherwise, it would have probably been run over by a car..." Amani pleaded as she followed behind the police officer who went to his cruiser to say something she didn't understand into his police radio
"Please listen to me, officer! You cannot take me in, please! I have a job to do! I have somewhere I have to be right now that is very important to my existence! Please try and understand me!..." Amani explained and pleaded on and on but it was as if she was talking to a brick wall as the police officer's face shows no emotion.
"Okay, am I under arrest for saving the dog's life?... Are you arresting me officer because if I'm not under arrest then I don't see why I should go with you, sir! I told you I had to save the poor dog's life! I'm sure there is... No! I know for a fact that there is something in the law somewhere that excuses this sort of traffic offense. Saving a life should be an excuse for a traffic offense right... I know it's a puppy's life but it's still a life!... So it's either you arrest me or let me go!" Amani declared with confidence
"Okay, ma'am! You're under arrest for misdemeanor and reckless endangerment... You can call your lawyer when you get to the station."
Amani's heart thudded hard then and nearly stop beating. Her face lost its colors when she heard what the police officer said about arresting her.
If she was not under arrest before then why did he say she would follow him to the station? Was it just to question her?...' She wondered. and now that she has successfully gotten him pissed and herself arrested because she couldn't stop her mouth from flapping, what next...?'
'What next, except for the fact that your life is about to come to an end and you're about to be homeless and jobless... unless you act fast!" A voice said in her head.
'Oh yeah? Act fast on what exactly?... Kick the police officer in the nuts and make a run for it?...' Another voice asked?
For a moment, Amani thought about that possibility and even pictured the police officer holding his jewel while rolling around on the ground in pain.
She giggled when she thought of how funny that would be. Even though she would have loved to kick the heartless officer in the nuts for real, she knew she couldn't because she would be in jail so fast her head wouldn't know what happen
The police officer gave Amani a strange look and couldn't help but wonder if she was going crazy when he saw her give a short laugh. 'Where's the amusement in getting arrested?' He wondered to himself as he lead her into the police cruiser
Amani entered the cruiser and realization hit her with a bang. Then she became really scared.
"I'm screwed!..." She whispered to herself.
She leaned back on the chair with her eyes closed and wondered about how she always managed to attract unnecessary trouble to herself all the time. How could I get arrested today of all days when I was about to carry the most important job in the history of Pinnacle News!?
'If you fuck this up Amani, then you will be sorry! I will make sure that you never get a job in California ever again. It's back to Cape May where you came from!.' The boss's voice came to hunt her
Then she remembered Percy who hated her for just no reason and was eagerly waiting for her to fail and her heart sank. She felt dejected as if her whole world was crashing down around her.
She knew she couldn't afford to let herself be charged to court because apart from the fact that she couldn't afford a lawyer, her boss might get wind of the case and it's bye-bye to her career then.
She must think of a way to get herself out of this mess... 'Think Amani! Think of something!' She urged herself to no avail. Right then, she found thinking difficult, her brain felt numb and useless to her at the moment.
They arrived at the police station and Amani walked as if she was a zombie with Fluffy ball clutched in her arms for dear life. Despite earning herself the name 'trouble magnet' Amani has never been arrested before and has also never had any business entering inside a police station. The only thing she understood in the process was her right to a phone call, something she has seen done numerous times on TV.
They walked down a hall and the police officer led Amani into a room and left her there. She looked around the room, apart from the wide window that was tightly shut, probably to keep prisoners in, it didn't look like a holding cell to her. Maybe a small meeting room she thought, noting the table at the center of the room and the three chairs that surrounded it
The police officer saw the fear on Amani's face and felt guilty to have arrested her. Even though she indeed committed a traffic offense, he could still let her go with just a warning, after all, she did save a life, even if it was a dog's life.
But he couldn't let her go because she acted carelessly, and the person that was also involved in the matter was Leonardo, who insisted on suing her because he was injured and his properties destroyed in the process because of her carelessness.
The police officer's name was Lieutenant Nicholas Xander. He was a detective, whose duties involved investigating serious crimes, such as assaults, robberies, and homicides, not arresting traffic offenders. He only came to the scene as a favor to his cousin Leonardo, who didn't want anybody else involved in the case.
'Who knows what she did to get him angry this much.' Nicholas wondered since Leonardo has not explained anything to him yet
"I'll take the dog..." Nicholas came back into the room and stretched his arms to collect Fluffy ball from Amani. He was not surprised though when she held the dog away, her eyes that were filled with fear before became hostile towards him.
"Why do you want to take him away from me?... I found him fair and square, even got arrested for him, so no I'm afraid I won't release him to you, sir! He's my dog now, mine!" She said, her face set in determination.
Nicholas rolled his eyes at her, behind his dark Ray-Ban shades. 'How could she forget about her situation and get all fierce and protective over a dog she found just moments ago on the street?' He wondered.
"It needs to be fed and..."
"He, officer, not it! A living and breathing organism by the name Fluffy!" She corrected
"Oh, my bad then!..." Nicholas replied. His eyes that were hiding behind the Ray-Ban showed amusement that was not visible to her, wondering how fast she could get emotional and give a name to a dog that the owner might decide to claim back at any moment
"I just wanna feed it... I mean him. I just want to get him something to eat" Nicholas said sincerely, finally convincing Amani enough to hand Fluffy over to him.
He was about to live with fluffy when her voice that was fierce and strong some moment ago softly stopped him in his tracks.
"Excuse me, officer?..."
"Yes ma'am..."
"Uhmm... I..." Amani, who didn't know what to say, stuttered for a while before she decided to blurt it all out.
"I don't know much about this stuff... What misdemeanor means or anything like that... but am I going to be charged to court for it? I just saved a life for goodness sake, doesn't that count for anything!? And even though I unknowingly caused a small traffic build-up, there was no accident and nobody was injured and... I really can't afford a lawyer right now and I can't afford to lose my job because that would surely happen if my boss got wind of this..." She paused for a while before looking away from him
"I-I can't afford to lose my job, please..." She begged and Nicholas came back. He brought a chair and placed it in front of her.
"Miss Parker, I think you should have a lawyer here... If you couldn't afford one then the state would provide one for you. The reason is for you to understand the situation you are in.
Because contrary to what you think, when you suddenly parked your car and dashed out of it the way you did, somebody got injured and his property, a laptop worth four hundred thousand dollars was broken.