It was quiet on the comfortable, familiar streets of Virginia City. Not strange, it was 5.30 in the morning, most people would still be sleeping. The sun was just coming out and the only place open at the moment was the VC version of Starbucks. His ears were listening to some Guns 'n Roses while his mind could hear the greetings of the people he met on the street. As he jogged by them he was looking around and saw most curtains closed. He knew the streets he was running through like the back of his hand, he was born and raised in this town. He knew the families and the families knew him.
About 5 minutes later he ran straight into the station. The locker room was in the basement, walking down the stairs he saw he was not the first one in. The showers on the right were running with just cold water yet again. It had been like that the entire week, and maybe even longer. He only started his new job a week ago, quite the difference from his previous job as a sniper with the marines. So far, so good, it had been uneventful so far, but there was still hope. Finishing in the shower he walked out with a towel around his waist. Aside from the towel he was just wearing his necklace with a bullet dankling from the end of it. He only took it off at night, and even that was something he actuall didn't want to do. It was his good luck charm and in his eyes it saved him from certain death.
He dried himself and got dressed with the clothes in his locker. His necklace disappeared underneath the blue shirt. After his pants he got to the most annoying part, his tie. After lunch he usually removed it, but until then it just looks better. While looking in the mirror he could see how the tie was mocking him. One end under the other, turn it around, putting it in the hole it created and pulling it down. The end result looked more like a noose than a proper knot, but it was the best that would come out of it today. The last thing to remove from his locker was his gun. A bit smaller than the weapon he was used to, but it would do for small town America.
He walked up the stairs and looked at the board to see the duties for today. He sighed with relieve when he saw he was supposed to be on patrol again. He had done the desk duty twice, but that wasn't really his deal. On patrol there was actually some stuff he could do, if only it was making sure the kids didn't skip school and Mrs Lieber could cross the road without getting run over. That was the fun part of the job, the part that made him feel like he was doing something. He received a different kind of gratitude than he received as a marine. It was a safer job and more importantly one where he did not have to be as far away from his sister. Since the death of her husband she had a difficult time, especially balancing the working life with her motherhood. Josh did all he could to make it a bit easier for her.
Josh stepped out of the station and took one of the bikes with on patrol. He would go to the outer skirts of town to keep an eye on things there. Peter's get-and-go, a little supermarket, was located there. Since the place was robbed just over a month ago Josh made it his business to go in every once in a while to let old Peter know someone's looking out for him. The morning went quick, and after seeing Peter he took care of a noise complaint and a school kid falling from his bike. The kid was in Jason's baseball team, and since Josh just started coaching them he knew his parents and where they lived. As he cycled next to him it seemed his skills on a bike were not that advanced. As Josh guided him home he had to steady the boys steering wheel every once in a while. Finally at th house he told his mother it would be better if she would drive with him for the first few days, jsut so the kid would be a bit more used to other traffic and such.
As he drove off again the mother waved at him. "Thank you officer, and have fun at the reunion tonight." Josh smiled and waved back. Somehow everyone knew about this reunion, and most people seemed to be excited themselves. Josh himself was not so sure. He looked forward to seeing his friends, but he was not looking forward between an awkward interaction with his high school girlfriend, Ava. They hadn't fought when they broke up, not really, but some words were spoken and a lot of tears were shed. He was still convinced he did the right thing, but he also thought he should have ended it differently. Tonight he will see if there is still anything worth saving.