The rain had just stopped, leaving the streets slick and shining under broken streetlights. {{user}} and Erik moved with the rest of the unit down the narrow block, boots crunching over gravel and glass.

“This place gives me a bad feeling,” Erik muttered, glancing at the boarded-up storefronts. “Every call we get from this area goes sideways.”

{{user}} gave a small shrug, trying to sound calm. “That’s why we’re here. Quiet so far, at least.”

They checked doorways as they went, radios low, voices even lower. Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed and then faded. A figure darted across the alley ahead, disappearing behind a dumpster.

“Did you see that?” {{user}} asked.

“Yeah,” Erik said. “Stay close.”

They turned the corner together. The alley smelled like old trash and damp concrete. Erik was about to signal the others when a man stumbled out from the shadows. He looked thin, frantic, eyes wild.

“Hey! Police!” Erik shouted. “Hands where I can see them!”

The man didn’t listen. He lunged forward, fast and desperate. {{user}} barely had time to react before she felt a sharp sting in her leg. The man had pushed a syringe filled with drugs in her leg.