Scott Andrews stood by a window inside the sheriff's office and watched Antwan Dixon pile into his momma's car with his fat friend right behind him. He could just make out the silhouette of Michelle Lewis in the darkness, but her body language implied she was massively pissed. She wasn't the only one. Scott was in the middle of his Beggs hunt when Roland Spencer called him up all panicked. Word travels fast among the black people in Pickett County. The small, tight-knit community that passed secrets and rumors among themselves was derogatorily called the GNW, the Ghetto News Wire, by the sheriff's department.

Roland heard on the GNW about Antwan's arrest within an hour of it happening. Not even Scott knew about it, his car radio turned down to prevent distractions. Roland seemed downright hysterical about the fact that "his boy" was getting banged up by the sheriff's department. He wanted Scott to intervene and smooth it all out. He was about to tell Roland to go fuck himself when Billy Brown's voice came on the line and told Scott to do it. Roland Spencer was a parasite, but he couldn't say no to Billy.

"What was that, Major?"

Scott turned away from the window. Sherry Calhoun stood with her hands on her hips. There was a look of annoyance in her eyes as she waited for Scott's reply. He came in just as she was about to fuck Antwan over, get him to admit the weed was his and get the boy in major trouble. He just shrugged and turned back to the window. All he could see of Michelle Lewis' car were taillights.

"It was weed, Sherry. They weren't smoking crack or committing armed robbery. They were two kids with a bag of weed. Stupid kids doing something stupid. Just leave it at that."

"All due respect, sir, I was trying to teach that boy something. All you know about Antwan Dixon is that he plays basketball really well. To you, he's just another black face you see around Norman. My uncle Henry coaches him and that boy has a major attitude problem. He hangs out with that scumbag Roland Spencer and thinks that because he can ball he can get away with anything. And you know what you just did, Major? You proved him right. He ain't gonna learn anything except that it all works out for him and that he can do what he wants."

Scott sniffed and hiked his gun belt up higher.

"You done, Sherry?"

Scott could tell she was holding back something. Some retort or comment that she thought better of saying. "I guess I am."

"Then get back in your car and get back to patrolling."

She turned on her heels and walked off down the hall. Scott watched her go. She wasn't a bad cop, she was just new. She needed to learn how they did things here. She had yet to figure out you couldn't change the world with just a gun and a badge. That was something Scott learned the hard way a long time ago.

He was back in his office when his phone rang. Not his official phone he used for work and personal calls, but the little flip phone that only a handful of people had the number to.

"Yeah?" He asked as he answered.

"Come to Ray's," Jed's gruff voice said over the line. "And be quick about it, motherfucker."

The line went dead. Scott closed the phone with force and fumed in his chair. Yeah, you sure as shit couldn't change the world here in this godforsaken county.