SONNY AND KEITH'S COP GAME

Once upon a time, Sonny Bonds woke up, washed up, had breakfast, and went to work. There he said to his favorite partner, Keith Robinson, "Today I will ticket all the minor bad guys and arrest all the major bad guys!"

Then Keith said, "I challenge you, Sonny, to a game, to see which one of us can make more arrests and tickets today!"

Sonny said, "You're on!"

So they got into their patrol cars and turned the cars on, and soon enough, they were on their way. As they separately drove down the streets they looked for minor bad guys to ticket and major bad guys to arrest.

Sonny saw a woman run a red light, so he turned on his sirens and pulled her over. Then he gave her a ticket and sent her on her way. A little while later, he saw a car driving too slowly in the fast lane. He pulled the driver over and gave him a ticket, too. Other drivers cheered for him.

"Thank you, people," said Sonny modestly, "but there's still work to be done. Not all of today's lawbreakers have been caught yet."

Sonny got back in his car and looked for more bad guys to ticket or arrest.

Keith, meanwhile, gave a ticket to another speeder. Then he saw yet another speeder, but he turned out to be an undercover cop on assignment, so Keith excused him from getting a ticket.

The people were amazed by his intelligence as a cop.

Sonny pulled over a man and arrested him for drinking and driving, taking him to jail. And then, he did it again. And again. More cheers came from the appreciative public.

Keith pulled over a bad guy who had grass in his car. Off to jail with him, too. Then, he encountered another bad guy with grass. He, too, was arrested and taken to jail.

Keith was called to back-up Sonny who was arresting a bad guy with coke and a loaded gun. After the bad guy was locked in Sonny's car, they passed notes on their progress in the game.

"Looks like I'm a little ahead of you, Sonny," said Keith with a grin.

Sonny grinned back. "Don't be so sure, Keith," he replied. They got back in their cars and were on their way.

Later, they both found more people with bad drugs in the City Park. Together, they arrested them both, and took them to jail.

"How many bad guys do you think there are left, Sonny?" asked Keith.

"I'd say about five more," said Sonny, "Whoever gets three or more of them wins the game."

"Just wait, Sonny," said Keith, "I'll beat you yet!"

"Oh, no, you won't!" said Sonny slyly.

So they got back in their cars. Sonny drove to the airport. There weren't any bad guys there. Keith drove to Oak Tree Mall. There weren't any bad guys there. Sonny drove to Cotton Cove. No bad guys there, either. Keith drove to Wino Willy's. No bad guys there, either. Sonny drove to Carol's Caffeine Castle. Nobody bad there, either. Keith drove to Jefferson High School. Nobody bad there, either. Sonny drove to the Hotel/Casino Delphoria. Still no bad guys. Keith drove to The Snuggler's Inn. Still no bad guys. They both tried Carol's Caffeine Castle and Wino Willy's again, together. They came up empty. They checked out the City Park again. They came up dry.

Sad, they started to return to the police station, and call it a draw. But on their way, they passed the hotel/casino again, and found not five, but six, bad guys with guns.

"Let's get 'em!" said Sonny. They got out of their cars and aimed their guns at the bad guys.

"Halt! Police officers!" they shouted. Then, as the bad guys opened fire, Sonny and Keith returned fire. Sonny shot three of the bad guys, and Keith shot the other three.

But suddenly, there was a seventh bad guy. So they both tried to shoot him. He went down, and Sonny and Keith weren't sure which one of them killed him.

"I got him!" said Sonny.

"No, I got him!" said Keith, "I shot first!"

"But I'm the straighter shooter!" said Sonny.

"No, you're not," said Keith, "You're always behind on your shooting scores at the firing range!"

"Let's take this back to Captain Hall," said Sonny, "He can straighten this out!"

So they returned to the police station, where Captain Fletcher Hall pronounced Sonny the winner of their game by one man.

"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Keith. "We both shot that last bad guy!"

"Officer Bonds shot Jessie Bains twice, and accurately," said the Captain, "That shows he's an elite shooter, Officer Robinson."

"YES!" said Sonny, jumping in the air. "I win!"

"Okay, so you win," admitted Keith, "Now that the game's over, can we go back to being partners and friends, Sonny?"

"Of course, Keith," said Sonny generously, and shook his hand. "Best day of my life!"

Keith grinned a crooked grin. "Best day of your life, so far."

So Sonny drove home, got back in bed and slept peacefully, knowing that there were no more bad guys, minor or major, left to ticket, arrest, or shoot.

THE END