"And that's all I know."

The police officer in front of him nodded along as he typed something on a tablet. "Alright, so just to recap – you were both asleep in your home when these three broke in. Your… girlfriend?"

"Roommate," Eric hurriedly amended.

The officer eyed him incredulously, but nodded nonetheless. "Your roommate ended up taking them out using her military training, which would explain the extent of their injuries, I suppose."

The cop's brow furrowed. "Doesn't explain why one of those guys is claiming she, quote, 'threw him at me like she was pitching a baseball.' Got an explanation for that one?"

Eric shrugged. "Guy's clearly a tweaker. Can you really believe anything they say?" He shook his head. "Anyway, that's all I know. Like I said, I was asleep at the time; I only really caught the tail end of it, after it was already mostly over."

The officer nodded, then looked over to Rebecca. "And you? Got anything you want to add?"

She looked at Eric, and he cleared his throat. "We think it best to wait for legal representation before continuing this conversation."

"Alright. I take it you've already called them?"

"Yeah, they should be pulling up any-"

Just before he could finish his sentence, two black SUVs with tinted windows pulled up just behind the line of police cars. As Eric watched, the doors flew open on them, and two men dressed in familiar-looking suits stepped out, along with Rosa, to his surprise. Together, the three of them marched over to where he was, stopping just short of the police officer, who eyed them with surprise.

"Legal counsel, I take it?"

"Of a sort," the man with the receding hairline said. He turned to Eric, then motioned with his head for them to leave. "You two get lost. We'll take it from here."

Eric wanted to question the man, namely about what him and his partner planned to do, but a quick look at Rosa and a shake of her head silenced him. He pursed his lips, but said nothing, instead again taking Rebecca by the hand and leading her away, all while Rosa flanked them from behind.

"What the hell did you do?" she hissed under her breath as they marched back to the front patio of the house.

"What did I do?" Eric echoed. "Why are you trying to blame me for this? I'm the one whose house got broken into!"

"Because I know she didn't do anything wrong, and that leaves you."

"How about you blame the idiots who thought they'd get a quick-and-easy payday if they broke in and shook us down for what's in her bank account? They're the reason this entire thing happened anyway."

Rosa let out an irritated sigh, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "You got a smoke?" she suddenly asked.

"I thought you were trying to quit," Eric said, even as he reached into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter.

"Yeah, well, that idea's been shot to pieces for at least a few days now." He offered her a cigarette, which she accepted and allowed him to light before taking a long drag from it. "Fuck me… you're going to be the death of me, Eric. The only question is whether it's from stress or lung cancer."

"Thanks, I try." Eric lit up a smoke of his own and joined her, the two of them saying nothing for a bit as they tried to calm their nerves. Eventually, Eric broke the silence.

"So, what's going to happen now?" he asked.

"I'll tell you what's going to happen," Rosa replied. "This entire thing is going to disappear like it never existed, with nothing to prove it even happened aside from the broken window, the cleaning up you'll have to do, and the three perps who are all going to be catching only the vaguest of vague charges."

"So you're not prosecuting them?"

"Oh, no, we are, I'm sure," Rosa assured him. "It's just that it's going to come in the form of a plea deal they'd all be very wise to accept in exchange for keeping their mouths shut, because the alternative is disappearing in the middle of the night."

Eric let out a breath. "And us? What's going to happen to us?"

"Nothing at all."

He stared at her in surprise, and she just shrugged. "This one's pretty clear-cut, even without our intervention. Even if it were to see the inside of a courtroom, there's not a jury alive that would convict based on the facts. I mean, come on – three druggies armed with weapons break into the home of two veterans in the middle of the night, and get the hurt put on them in exchange? Talk about a prosecutor's worst nightmare."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"So then what do you all plan to do to help?"

"The facts are on your side," Rosa pointed out. "All we're going to do is tip the scales just enough to make sure it stays out of the legal system entirely. We'll do a little sweet-talking to the district attorney, make sure he understands that this case is a losing one for him. Believe me, by the time we're done, the file for this one is going to end up being very lost, never to be seen again."

Eric breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Rosa."

She let out a grunt, flicking the cigarette stub out of her mouth and onto the pavement, then grinding it beneath her heel. "Don't thank me, I'm just the messenger. Government's doing most of the work on this one; it's above my pay grade, otherwise." She looked over to Rebecca, her expression softening. "How you holding up? Everything okay?"

Rebecca looked like she wanted to nod, but hesitated, then turned back to Eric. "You stopped me."

Eric blinked, confused, but after a moment, the memories came flooding back, and his eyes widened. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I did."

"Why?"

"Because the fight was over. There was no need to keep going."

"The rules of engagement-"

"We're civilians now, there are no rules of engagement anymore." His expression softened. "You did what you had to do, Rebecca. No more and no less."

"I could have done more," she confessed. "They could have hurt you. They could still hurt someone else."

"You did more than enough," Eric assured her. He motioned to himself. "See? I'm not hurt. And those guys aren't going to see the outside world again for some time, now. Most importantly, nobody died tonight. That's a victory in and of itself. Understand?"

Slowly, she nodded. "...May I go back inside?"

Eric looked over to Rosa, who shrugged. His brow furrowed, but he looked back to Rebecca regardless and gave her a nod.

"Go ahead," he told her. "I'll be inside in a minute. I'm sure we're just about done here, anyway."

She let out a soft exhale, then stepped back inside the house, closing the door behind her. Eric watched her go, then turned back to Rosa.

"Anything else you needed from us?"

"Just one thing," she noted, curiosity leaking into her tone. "You just called her Rebecca."

"I did."

"I don't think you've ever done that before, have you?"

"I haven't."

"So why start now?"

"Truthfully? I don't know. It just felt right, I guess." He let out a wide yawn, then turned and began to step back into the house. "I'm gonna get breakfast started. You want anything?"

"Just coffee, thanks. I'll be outside if you need me."

Eric gave her a wave, then stepped back inside the house and headed for the kitchen. As he did so, he noticed the door to Rebecca's room was shut, and the lights were off. The sight of it made him frown, and for a moment, he considered knocking and trying to speak with her, but ultimately thought better of it. If she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her.

With his mind made up, Eric stepped into the kitchen and got the coffee started. He pulled out a mug for Rosa, and after a moment's hesitation, one for himself as well.

He didn't usually drink coffee these days, but something told him he was going to need it today.

***

The police left after another hour, by the time the sun had started to crest over the horizon. By the time they'd gone, Rosa was the only one left.

"You're sure you don't need me here any longer?" she asked.

"Positive," Eric told her. "Go home."

"You're not just trying to get rid of me, are you?"

"Well, then you explain why you should stay."

"Peace of mind. What's it to you, anyway? You trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm trying to get you to go get some rest," Eric insisted. "Seriously. Even the bags under your eyes have bags."

"You've been awake for even longer than I have," she pointed out. "And you were woken up in a much worse way than I was, too."

"I was in the military, I'm used to it, even after being out for as long as I've been. You're not."

"But-"

"Rosa," he interrupted. "I appreciate you wanting to stick around, but seriously, go home and get some rest. We've got it under control here."

Rosa bit her lip. "She hasn't left her room yet."

"She's probably asleep. Don't be so quick to assume the worst with her."

"That's funny coming from you. She must be rubbing off on you at this point."

Eric shrugged. "What can I say? I'm starting to like her."

Rosa crossed her arms. "Well, what if I don't want to leave yet? What then?"

"I'll call the cops and report you for trespassing."

"After a breaking-and-entering call just a few hours ago? They'd have your ass for that one."

He sighed tiredly. "Look, if you want to stay, please at least do me a favor and get a little sleep. You can crash on my couch if you want… hell, you can take my bed for a few hours if you'd like; I'm not tired in the slightest, and I need to clean up inside, anyway."

"Your bed?" she shuddered. "I hate to think about how long it's been since you washed your sheets…"

"I am a responsible homeowner," he retorted. "Seriously, I insist. At the very least, take the couch, then."

Rosa hesitated, then let out a tired sigh. "...Fine, you win. But if it smells like shit in there, I'm gonna be mad."

Eric waved her off. She stepped past him and moved down the hall into his room, then closed the door behind her. Eric watched her go before letting out a sigh and stepping into the living room, then sinking into a chair and staring at the TV. This early in the morning, there was nothing to watch except the news, and naturally, they had nothing to say about the break-in at his house. Somehow, he wasn't surprised.

Idly, he turned to look at the floor, which was still covered in bloodstains and shards of broken glass. He stared at it for just a moment before turning back to Rebecca's room, where the door was still tightly shut and it was still silent. Another sigh escaped him, and he closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

Somehow, things just kept getting even more complicated with every passing day