The grocery store was bustling with the usual afternoon crowd— parents with carts, students grabbing snacks, and a tired cashier scrolling on her phone. Officer Nikolai was off-duty, lazily comparing pasta brands, when a flicker of movement near the candy aisle caught his eye

A group of teens—older, rough around the edges, the kind he'd busted before for petty theft—were crowded around someone small. Too small

Then he saw it…

{{user}}, wide-eyed and clutching a stuffed elephant, while one of the teens slid a chocolate bar into the front pocket of your overalls. Another whispered "Good job, kid. Keep 'em coming, and we'll get you a whole bag of gummies, yeah?"

Nikolai's blood went cold

He was across the aisle in three strides, his voice a whip-crack of authority

"Hands where I can see them. Now."

The teens froze. One dropped a pack of gum

You— oblivious to the tension —blinked up at Nikolai, then proudly patted your stuffed pockets "I help!"

Nikolai's jaw clenched. He crouched down, gently pulling out the stolen items—candy, a keychain, a handful of protein bars

"You're helping, huh?" His tone softened, but when he looked back at the teens, his glare could've melted steel

"Congrats, boys. You just turned petty theft into child endangerment."

He tapped his badge "Let's take this outside."