The sergeant spotted a girl with a pink backpack standing in the middle of the rainy street, but the moment she noticed the officer, she dropped the bag and fled.
Patrolling the city center as he had for years, the police sergeant moved slowly through the unusually empty evening streets, the relentless rain keeping most people indoors. The patrol cars headlights illuminated the occasional passerby hurrying home under umbrellas. His instincts told him rainy nights often brought surprises.
At an intersection, something caught his eyea lone girl standing motionless on the road like a forgotten toy, her slight frame wrapped in a gray cloak, the bright pink backpack stark against it. Suspicion flared, and he pulled over.
“Hey!” he called, stepping into the rain. His voice echoed in the quiet. The girl flinched, turned toward himthen bolted.
“Stop!” He gave chase, watching as she suddenly ripped off the backpack and flung it onto the wet pavement before vanishing into a dark alley.
He picked it up, immediately feeling its unusual weight despite the soaked fabric. Unzipping it, his breath caught.
Inside were neatly wrapped bundlesclear bags of amphetamine, portioned for sale. But worse lay beneath: a stack of forged childrens passports, SIM cards, and a flash drive. Ice ran down his spine. Drug trafficking paired with fake IDs for kids? This was no small-time operation.
Scanning the empty street, he clenched the bag tighter. This wasnt just a lost child in the rainhed stumbled onto something far darker.
