The moon hung low over the rooftops as the police station remained unusually lively for this late hour. Most officers were off-duty, and the building was mostly dark except for the brightly lit first floor, where a handful of patrol cars with flashing lights were parked. The air was filled with the noise of arguments and chatter.
The waiting room, which connected to the common office area, was far from empty. It was filled with a mix of people standing or sitting, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
A middle-aged officer sat at his desk, his expression sour as he surveyed the noisy scene. Being on-call and stuck with overtime wasn't ideal, especially with a case like this.
He glanced again at the blank report sheet in front of him. The case type read: Traffic Incident with Multiple Involved Parties.
"So." The middle-aged officer tapped his pen on the desk with visible frustration. He turned his attention to the young man sitting across from him, "Student, when that Route 69 bus came toward you… it suddenly stopped?"
"Yes, sir." The young man, clearly a high school student, nodded earnestly.
Although it was not the first time the officer had asked this question, nor was it the first time he heard such an answer, after confirming it again, the middle-aged officer still felt exasperated in his heart.
"Really?" His tone was tinged with disbelief.
"Really."
Around them, the key participants in the incident were busy giving their statements to other officers. A few passengers had volunteered to stay as witnesses.
Under the solemn gaze of the police emblem hanging on the wall, the young man looked nervous but unwavering, his eyes firm as if he were telling the absolute truth.
"Young man, think carefully. We're talking about a two-meter-tall bus, not exactly easy to maneuver."
"I'm not lying, sir..."
The officer sighed heavily and set his pen down.
Thankfully, the incident had resulted in no injuries, so the investigation was wrapping up quickly. The officer glanced at his half-filled report and massaged his temples, looking utterly defeated.
At the center of the chaos was, of course, Logan, sitting upright and doing his best to project the image of an innocent bystander.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Diane had already finished their interviews, smiling politely under the friendly demeanor of their respective officers.
'Damn it, why do they treat girls so kindly and so leniently?'
Bang!
A loud, angry slam of a desk startled the room, "Are you going to cooperate or not?!"
Logan's eyes darted toward the commotion. It's another statement session, and clearly, someone had it worse than him.
"Officer! I'm cooperating! I swear I'm cooperating!" The balding man under fire was the bus driver, visibly sweating under the officer's intimidating glare.
"This is your idea of cooperating?" The younger officer waved his notepad like a weapon, his expression one of utter disbelief, "You're telling me the bus was stopped by someone's bare hands? Bare hands?! What is this, a Hollywood blockbuster?"
"Officer, I swear, it was that high school student..."
"Yeah, right. A high schooler ran up, stood still, stretched out their hand, and the bus stopped! Why not say he's Superman while you're at it, huh?"
"T-that's not what I meant, Officer. There's something off about all this..."
The driver stammered, trying to explain himself. The officer, clearly fed up with the nonsensical narrative, slammed the desk again, "The only thing off here is you! Tell me the truth… were you driving recklessly?"
The driver quickly stood up, sweating even more as he vehemently denied the accusation. At one point, his eyes met Logan's for a fleeting moment. Seeing the bus driver's aggrieved look, Logan awkwardly looked away instantly.
The driver's record was clean, and Logan knew he wasn't at fault. But considering how things had played out, the man was now in the middle of an unavoidable mess. Still, Logan consoled himself with the thought that he had prevented the driver from facing a potentially life-altering tragedy. For now, guilt would have to take a backseat.
The middle-aged officer in charge of Logan let out another weary sigh and turned his attention back to him, "Alright, young man, you heard all that, didn't you? For the sake of the record, you need to be objective and precise about what happened. We'll be cross-checking everything with footage from the traffic cameras at the intersection."
Logan nodded obediently with serious expression.
Seeing this, middle-aged officer's eyes lit up and they ran through the process one more time. Everything flowed smoothly until they hit the critical moment of the incident. And yet, the same answers surfaced, in the same predictable fashion.
Finally, the officer's patience wore thin, "Why, when the bus was coming toward you, did you decide to raise your hands and try to stop it?"
The question was sharp, almost an indirect way of asking if he'd lost his mind. Logan scratched his face awkwardly and replied succinctly, "I wanted to give it a shot."
"..."
"Who knows, maybe we could be saved. Besides, the bus did stop..." The young man muttered softly.
The officer's lips twitched. He couldn't argue against that logic. While the driver claimed there was a superhero involved, this kid had actually acted like one.
Outside the window, dark clouds drifted across the moon. Time ticked on as passengers gave varying accounts, each adding a piece to the puzzle.
The officer noticed his coffee had been replaced at some point. Rubbing his temples, he observed the harmless-looking eighteen-year-old in front of him.
Logan's youthful idealism and impulsive behavior weren't hard to understand, as he was still young.
'A simple accident actually caused such trouble.' The officer sighed and, shaking his head, brought the gavel down figuratively, stamping the statement paper with finality.
[Case closed, for now.]
"But who can prove that the bus stopped purely because of its brakes? That after the driver applied them, kinetic energy dissipated just enough for it to halt right in front of you?"
Another officer couldn't resist one last question, though it was more rhetorical than practical. After all, the data from the surveillance footage and calculations suggested the event was improbable, yet not entirely impossible.
The bus had been traveling within the regulated speed limit, with room for minor discrepancies.
"I can."
A clear, calm voice cut through the room. All eyes turned to Olivia, who was seated quietly, exuding an air of composed confidence. She raised her hand without hesitation. "I can prove it."
Logan turned to her, studying her expression seriously.
The decisiveness of her declaration left the room in a brief silence. Beside her, Diane, who had been quietly observing, glanced between Olivia and Logan. After a moment of hesitation, she raised her hand as well, "I… I can prove it too."
…
For Logan, this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the police station. The parents of the high schoolers involved were quickly notified and arrived in a rush, just as the statements were wrapping up.
The idea of someone stopping a bus with their bare hands was absurd. Coupled with the unclear nighttime surveillance footage and the driver's nervous insistence that he had adhered to operational regulations, Logan's hastily concocted explanation of a 'fate-driven brake' became the only viable narrative.
People tend to believe what they want to believe.
Reflecting on his actions at the time, Logan realized there hadn't been much choice. The situation had unfolded too quickly for a detailed plan.
Trying to push Olivia and the boy aside would have required too much movement. Like punching instead of slashing during a high-speed action, simplicity had prevailed. After all, running and cutting apples simultaneously isn't exactly practical.
As Logan stepped out of the police station, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. The scolding and worry from his parents that would follow seemed minor in comparison.
The arrival of the parents was anything but calm. There was a flurry of noise and tension before the building finally quieted down. Logan's parents were acquainted with Diane's, so the two families exchanged sighs of relief and a few words of gratitude before heading home together.
Car lights receded into the distance, with a black sedan disappearing around a street corner. Logan glanced in that direction… it was the way Olivia had left. Her parents hadn't shown up, but an over-the-top driver and lawyer had come instead.
Reaching into his pocket, Logan retrieved a slip of paper that Olivia had discreetly handed him before leaving.
He unfolded it, and upon reading it, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
Written on the paper were the words: 'You're welcome, Superman.'