The worst part of getting injured was the healing process, weeks and sometimes even months of not being able, or allowed, to do certain things: hobbling around, having to use the wrong hand, or realising what you needed was in the top cupboard and you couldn’t lift your arm that high without risking tearing your stitches. Injuries made everything more difficult, from getting washed and dressed in the morning, to keeping the apartment tidy, doing laundry, washing dishes… It also meant being stuck on desk duty, because a cop who couldn’t run, or drive, or load his own service weapon, never mind fire it, was useless on the streets.

What being injured didn’t get a cop out of was testifying at a trial, unless the cop in question was still in hospital.

Ryo shifted uncomfortably in the witness box, cursing his bad luck at getting stabbed less than a week before the start of a major trial where his testimony was essential to the prosecution.

“Detective Maclean? Are you able to continue?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Ryo was determined to get through this even if it killed him.

“Maybe the trial should have been postponed until your injuries were fully healed. We can take a recess if you need to.”

The judge was being so considerate it made Ryo wonder how bad he must look. Then again, he’d been injured saving the life of an important witness in another trial, and the incident had made the front page of what seemed like every newspaper in the country, so anyone who kept up with the news knew who he was.

“No, I’m fine, Your Honor, it’s just a bit difficult to sit without falling off the bench.” He couldn’t lean back because of where he’d been stabbed.

“Very well, we’ll continue.”

Ryo nodded. “Thank you, Your Honor.” Ignoring his physical discomfort, and the way perching on the edge of the bench was making his whole body hurt, he focussed on the matter at hand; he wasn’t about to let a murderer get away with his crimes, not if he could help it.

His injuries would heal given time, which he had plenty of, and patience, which he was fast running out of. There might be a lot of things he couldn’t do right now, including tying his own damn tie, but he could do his part in making sure justice was served.


The End