At 2:17 a.m., a 911 call came in from a 7-year-old girl whose mother had failed to return home. The moment officers entered the pitch-black apartment,

"Officer Marcus!"

Maya looked up from her drawing, her eyes brightening. She immediately slid off the bed, holding up the sheet of paper with two hands. "Look. I drew your police car. But I gave it rocket boosters so you can get to people faster."

Marcus knelt down on one knee, taking the paper with both hands and studying it with total seriousness. "Those rocket boosters are standard issue, Maya. Most people just don't see them because they’re invisible."

Elena laughed softly from the bed, the sound light and clear. "Thank you, Marcus. For everything. Miller came by this morning. He said his leg is fine, just a sprain."

"Miller’s too stubborn to admit when he’s hurt," Marcus said, setting the drawing on the bedside table. He pulled a small, silver object from his pocket. It was an official junior officer’s badge, polished until it mirrored the ceiling lights. He held it out to Maya.

"You know, Maya, being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared," Marcus told her, keeping his voice gentle. "It means you do what needs to be done even when the lights are off and you're terrified. You protected your brother. You remembered every single instruction your mom gave you. That makes you the finest officer I've seen in ten years on the job."

Maya took the badge, her fingers tracing the eagle stamped into the metal. A slow, proud smile spread across her face. She pinned it directly to the front of her sweatshirt.

"Does this mean I have to go to work tomorrow?" she asked.

"No," Marcus smiled. "It means your only job now is to be a kid. To play in the sun, go to the park, and let your mom worry about the doors."

Elena reached out, her fingers closing gently over Marcus’s wrist. "The Marshals said a transport van is arriving at six o'clock tonight. We don't get to say goodbye to anyone else. We can't even take our old photo albums."

"You don't need the old albums, Elena," Marcus said, meeting her eyes. "You have the children. Everything that matters is sitting in this room."

Elena looked down at Toby, who let out a soft snore in his crib, then at Maya, who was already inspecting her new badge in the bathroom mirror.

"They told me we might be sent somewhere west," Elena whispered, her voice tinged with both sorrow and a fierce, blossoming hope. "Somewhere with mountains. Toby has never seen a real mountain."