"Take a right at the light, we need to check down at the apartments."

"Does anything exciting ever happen around here, Drake?"

Drake laughed out loud. "Fresh out of the academy and you want action. Yes, we get our share of exciting." He rubbed the back of his head, remembering the last exciting incident.

"Like what? What kind of stuff happens around here? So far tonight, we have made two traffic stops and questioned a guy walking down the street in the middle of the night. That just doesn't qualify as exciting in my book."

Drake looked out the window of the patrol car for a moment. The rookie was right, it was a quiet night. "Things can get pretty hectic around here, but for the last few weeks we have had it easy."

The new police officer turned into an apartment complex, circled around the parking lot and stopped. "Why?"

"They still show videos at the academy, of how things might go wrong in the blink of an eye?"

The rookie nodded.

"I thought so. It was many years ago now, but they might still use it. One of our officers, well she's a detective now, was in an altercation with a drunk driver and a hunting knife."

The younger man slapped the steering wheel and laughed. "Yes, that was so funny, well, after the fact I mean. Poor guy didn't know what hit him after she head butted him, went down hard."

"Yeah, well, she kind of attracts situations, so to speak. There is never a dull moment when she's around, this detective." Drake rubbed the back of his head again. "She's due back to work in the morning, so, who knows, we might have something interesting happen before too long."

"What do you mean, due back?" He put the car in drive and slowly drove through the complex again, heading toward the road.

"She's been out on medical leave. Work related injury, so it's been quiet around here for the last eight weeks."

The rookie turned out onto the road after a silver sedan passed them. The car did not use a turn signal or stop for a stop sign. The inexperienced officer looked at Drake.

"Turn on your lights and pull him over, Robert. You wanted action, here you go. Remember, just because it's a traffic stop doesn't mean it will go smoothly."

"Yes, sir." Robert reached over and turned on the blue lights and squelched his siren. The car kept driving. He squelched the siren again and the car slowed down.

"Just keep up with him, he might be waiting for a parking lot or better light."

Robert kept pace with the slow moving sedan, watching the driver for any suspicious movements. The driver kept both hands on the wheel, faced front. After a glance in the rear view mirror, the car pulled over into the grass and stopped. The patrol car stopped behind him.

Leaving the door open, Robert carefully walked up to the driver's door. He kept one hand on his gun and held a flashlight on the other. As he approached, he noticed the blood on the door of the car. Looking through the open window, Robert noticed the young man behind the wheel covered in blood. He quickly motioned for Drake to assist him.

Slightly aggravated about having to assist in an easy traffic stop, Drake walked up to Robert and started to say something, but stopped short upon seeing the blood on the car and the suspect.

"Son, is everything alright?"

The young man behind the wheel looked down at himself, as if seeing the blood for the first time. "Oh, God, what happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. Sit there, I'll be right back," Drake spoke to the driver. He turned to Robert, "Watch him."

Drake went to the back of the patrol car and retrieved a pair of rubber gloves from the trunk. He walked back to the suspect as he put them on. "Are you hurt?"

The boy looked down at himself again, shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"Do you have a license? How old are you?"

"No license, sir. I'm only fifteen, I don't even have a permit yet."

"Okay, can you tell me why you're driving around in the early morning hours without a license or a permit?"

The boy shook his head.

"Did you steal this car?"

Another head shake. "It's my mom's."

"And you're not hurt?"

"I don't think so."

Drake opened the driver's door fully, taking a step back and gave the boy room to get out. "I want you to get out of the car and put your hands on the back window here. I'm not arresting you, but I am putting handcuffs on to protect us both, just in case."

The boy let go of the steering wheel for the first time since he stopped, his hands shaking. He slowly unlatched his seatbelt and stepped out of the car, immediately turning toward it and placing his hands on the window in front of him. Drake placed one hand on his back and patted him down with the other.

"Do you have any weapons or drugs on you?"

"No, sir," the boy replied, hanging his head in front of him.

"Robert, cuff him and put him in the back of the car."

Robert took Drake's place behind the boy. He handcuffed him and led him to the patrol car. With practiced ease, he helped the boy into the car. "What's your name, kid?"

"Trevor, Trevor Fallows."

Robert shut the door and then went back to where Drake stood talking on his radio.

"Yes, sir. We'll wait here for the tow truck and then bring the kid in. He's covered in blood, but I didn't see any visible injuries on him. Acts like he doesn't remember what happened or why he's covered in blood."

"His name is Trevor Fallows," Robert whispered to Drake while they waited for a response on the radio.

"Good enough. Car is registered to a Marian Fallows, we are calling her now. Wrecker is on it's way, when it gets there, bring the boy in. Did you get his name?"

"Trevor Fallows, must be Marian's son. He said it was his mother's car."

Drake pulled the keys from the ignition and shut the driver's door. He looked at Robert who was watching him intently.

"This exciting enough for you?"