Ace took a second to process what the woman on the line had just said. Police department?
"Hello? May I help you?"
"Uhh, yeah. I was looking for a friend of mine. He left me this number?"
"Okay, well what's your friend's name, sir?"
"Teddy Sadler." Oh god, what the hell had he gotten himself into now? Ace waited while the woman punched a few keys on her computer.
"Yes, well he was brought in last night. He's waiting to make bail."
"Geez...okay, thanks." Ace hung up the phone and told his curious mom he'd be back later as he hopped into this car. When Ace got to the station he walked up to the front desk and made all the arrangements to get Teddy out, writing them a check for his bail. "Man, he really owes me for this one..." One of the officers went back to get Teddy from holding, but quickly returned empty-handed.
"Maureen? Which cell was that boy assigned to?" The woman at the front desk punched in some keys on her computer again.
"Cell F-32."
"What?! Who the hell brought him in?"
"Officer Tanner, sir."
"Goddamnit!! Get Tanner in here now!" The officer stormed back through the door to the cells, mumbling various obscenities under his breath. He'd have to have "the talk" with Tanner again.
Ace walked back up to the desk. "What was that all about?"
The woman looked over at him. "Well, that's back with the regular prisoners. If he's really back there he probably didn't have a very good night. They like to mess with the new prisoners, especially the young ones. I hope it's just a typo." After a few minutes the officer returned once again, this time with a rather roughed-up looking Teddy.
"Damn. What the hell happened to you?" Before Teddy could say anything the officer from last night walked in, having recieved his summons from the Captain. He knew what was coming, but it was well worth it when he saw the effects of the previous night on his young captive.
"Goddamnit Tanner how many times do I have to tell you to follow the proper procedures when you bring a prisoner in? Who the hell made you judge, jury, and executioner?? You can't go around passing judgement on everyone who walks through that door, you understand me?" The police captain directed Tanner into his office, continuing with his long-winded lecture the whole way.
Ace opened his mouth to comment, but was quickly interrupted by Teddy, "Can we just go now?" Ace nodded as they left the station and got into his car. After a few minutes of silence Ace just couldn't take it anymore.
"So are you gonna tell me what happened, or am I gonna hafta drag it out of you?" Ace grew more impatient as Teddy refused to answer anything. "You're a real piece of work, ya know that?"
"Look, if its about the money I'll pay you back as soon as I can, ok?"
"It's not about the damn money Teddy, I just wanted to know what the hell happened last night. Whether or not you want to believe it you're my friend and I actually care. Paying me back would just be a plus." Ace smiled, trying to cheer him up a bit. It didn't seem to be working. He'd reached Teddy's apartment and parked his car.
"Well I don't want to talk about it. Thanks for the ride though." Teddy quickly got out before Ace could convince him to stay. Ace really needed to get ahold of Sweetheart and let her know what all was going on. He doubted she knew her father had gone this far in keeping them apart. If she only knew, maybe she could make things right again and put a stop to all this nonsense her father had started before it really got out of hand. He decided to have Starlight call her this afternoon, her parents couldn't possibly object to one of her best friends calling her after all.
