Arlen gestured for everyone to gather around him, a friendly smile in his eyes as he did so. They all did so, Ravi included, though he stayed at the very end of the group.
"This would not do at all." Arlen began.
Lisa was confused, "What would not do, Captain?
"This situation." He spread his hands rather dramatically, "This is February, we have Ten more months." He clapped his hand once, "Everyone let us aim for top 10 for ten this year."
His smile might be magical but it could not charm everything away, Tom coughed so hard that Sarah had to pat his back.
"Top 100, you mean."
Arlen shook his head, those clear blue eyes were sincere and serious.
Ravi had to bite his lips to stop himself from laughing out loud but his shoulders still shook. He can not help but recall this amusement all year. Top 10. If they arrest all the criminals in Davenport, they could not still reach the top 100.
Davenport was just a big town, north of Avalon. It was nothing special, there were more than two thousand towns as big as it and not counting cities, states, and the Capital.
It was not just Ravi, Sarah took a deep breath, as a bead of sweat dropped down her chin but she remained calm. She had a child so she knew how to deal with mad and ludicrous comments.
"That is a great goal, how about we start small, walk first, and then jump? I suggest Top 1000 and then we go from there."
"Top 1000 sounds good," Tom said.
"I have been dreaming of reaching it." Draco hurriedly echoed after Tom.
"I would upload it on Stream so my fans can also cheer for me. 1000 votes every day for me to reach the Top 1000." Lisa said.
Ravi's lips twitched and he watched the Arlen who looked both bewildered and betrayed. That expression. "We would put up a poster for motivation. Top 1000 it is." He said.
He was cornered by his team so early and yet he could not do a single then, "We will aim for Top 1000 this year, Top 100 January next year, and Top 10 June." After leaving his words, he hurried outside the room as if he were afraid that they might stop his declaration.
Everyone looked at each other.
"Top 1000, I am not sure we will get there in the next five years. There are 5000 names there.' Tom looked even older than his fifties as he slumped in his seat.
Draco gave Sarah a sharp glare, "You should have started from the Top 5000 before rushing to the Top 1000."
"Officer Brown, You were just nodding to everything the Captain said, are you a lizard? Nod, nod, nod."
Draco could not fight Lisa when she was most agitated and his partner's gentle nature made her a hard rock to verbally spar with, Tom was older so Draco's gaze fell on the next best thing, Ravi.
"We will put up a poster for motivation. Is that all you have to say?"
Ravi said his both fists up and mocked, "Fighting."
Draco was speechless, "You…You."
"It is time for lunch break, I will start my patrol immediately after. Lisa met me at the noodle shop once it was 1 p.m." He walked to the book on Tom's desk and sighed out, He had no intention to return after 4 p.m. Lisa can drive the police car back. He packed all his things in a bag, his power bank and his lamp had fully charged and they would last at least two days.
Tom had returned to his desk but he did not say anything when Ravi signed out, they covered for each other like that which was a plus for Ravi but he doubted that their little cover-ups would still continue with the new addition to the team.
Ravu walked left for a minute, before turning right, there was a small stall by the side. The stall was painted in blue and red color, extremely noticeable and it had a friendly vibe. A dog was barking happily at the door.
The moment it saw Ravi, the happy whimpers turned into whimpers as its black fur stood on end, the ears flattened against its head and its gray eyes stared at Ravi.
"Ravi! I thought it must be you. Coco, are you shy again? Go in, boy, Go in." The middle-aged woman patted the dog's head and it rushed into the stall.
It was not shy. It was afraid of him. Animals were generally afraid of him, Ravi had learned that the hard way. When he had gotten enough points, he asked for the resurrection of his beloved pet. He rubbed his head to push that particular memory away. Maybe they could see it, sense the amount of people he had killed.
"I heard your new Captain is very handsome." Leiyu, the owner of the noodle store said with a smirk. There were five other people in the stall but they were all eating so she slid into the seat in front of him.
Ravi revealed a shocked expression. Gossip traveled quickly but he did not know they flew. Was it Lisa, had she already spread everything to the whole world?
Leiyu laughed, "I did not know it was possible for you to reveal that expression. Haha. He got lost in the morning so I directed him. I almost sent my daughter to file a case at the station today." She said laughing, she stood up, "Your regular?"
Ravi nodded, Leiyu had a young daughter who was in her early twenties, she was pretty, that adorable kind of beauty, and Leiyu wanted her to get a boyfriend. It was the reason that she had approached Ravi in the first place.
"Your Dan dan noodles are served." Leiyu said with a smile and then winked, "I added extra pork for you."
She did not whisper it and soon, her other customers heard it.
"You are giving the young handsome officer extra pork. What about me? I have been coming here every day for thirty years and I have not gotten a single extra green onion." Everyone laughed, some of them teasing Leiyu good-naturedly.
This was one side of humanity.
Ravi looked at his food and picked up his chopsticks. The peanut oil was fried along the chili, covering the noodles like a red blood sauce. The moment he took a bite, his tongue got slightly numb but the deliciousness of the noodles made him continue slurping.
When he dropped the empty bowl, his pink lips had already turned red.
"One cup of milk tea." He added.