Young policeman

East Timor stood on the street near a cherry blossom tree. Pinkish petals flew from the branches and were carried away by the wind. The bright sun shone, illuminating everything below. Timor waved his hand in front of his face and then to the side, looking at the sky. He lowered his head. Despite the pleasant atmosphere, the cheerful voices, and the warmth, he felt a little sad. He felt lonely and empty. Sighing, he looked around, then walked back. People were talking to each other, not noticing anything, someone was running along the sidewalk with joyful shouts, but for Timor everything was quiet. «An ordinary, boring day. I'm tired,» he thought, looking at the gray pebbles on the path. He stopped and looked around with indifference. His gaze fell on three people. A man was saying something to young two, apparently students. He waved his hand, as if anxiously, beckoning them to follow him, then walked straight ahead. The two looked at each other and followed him. Timor sensed something, something he didn't like. He decided to follow the man. He followed quietly, hiding in the crowd. The man led the two to an alley, then disappeared. Timor ran there. He began to look around. It was quiet, not even footsteps could be heard. «Something's wrong here. Why do I feel something wrong?» Timor decided to leave the alley. He became increasingly worried. A feeling of unease wouldn't leave him. He walked down the street past the houses. He heard screams. Someone was panicking, calling for help, but then everything went silent. «What did that man do?!», the different-eyed man thought sharply, turning to the left. Some people also heard these screams and began to talk to each other. Timor could have done the same, but he had no one to go with, and his soul told him to look for those guys. He ran to search. People looked at him in bewilderment. Timor turned left and ran toward the road. He saw a crowd of about 20 people looking toward the black car. Timor ran there and, standing in front of the crowd, saw the two guys sitting in the car. Their hands and feet were tied. The man stood nearby, holding a gun in his right hand, aimed at the head of one of the two, the tall, slender, "sunny" guy. "What are you doing?! Stop!" someone from the crowd shouted. Timor didn't take his eyes off the trembling victims. "We need to call the police!" someone else said. "Just try to move, I'll shoot!" the man said loudly and confidently. "Do you even realize who you're trying to kill?!" someone shouted again, then another shouted: "Let them go!" "I'll let them go... but not alive," the man smiled. Timor couldn't believe that everything that was happening wasn't a dream. He started thinking about what to do. "Ugh, hold on, idiot, the police are coming!" the "sunny one" shouted, turning to the maniac. "I doubt the cops will make it in time," the man looked at him with a sadistic smile. Timor turned his gaze to the other guy. He was red and white and seemed more frightened than his friend. People started screaming, panicking or angry. The man's finger was on the trigger. Timor stood in complete shock. The maniac continued threatening the people and kept his finger on the trigger. The odd-eyed man looked at the victims again. Pity and worry for them began to fill his soul, and trembling gradually began to spread throughout his body. He felt anger and clenched his hands. He suddenly took off and ran toward the maniac. People gasped, and some shouted something after him. The maniac pulled the trigger and a shot rang out. Timor deftly dodged the bullet and continued running toward the man. He punched him in the face and grabbed his gun. He ran to the car. With quick movements, he began to untie the rope. He freed the "sunny one." "Save your friend, I'll hold him back! the different-eyed man said confidently and fearlessly." The rescued guy nodded and began to untie the red-white one. Meanwhile, Timor pointed the barrel of the gun at the maniac. "Hands up, or I'll shoot!" he shouted. "Y-You, bastard." the enemy said, raising his hands. Police sirens sounded, and a few seconds later, cars pulled up. Police officers emerged. Two of them grabbed the criminal and handcuffed him. Timor lowered the gun in slightly shock. Two other police officers approached him. "You can't take that risk! Fighting an armed human without preparation was extremely stupid, and besides, you're not the victim." "Yes, you're not a police officer, an agent, or a participant in the "Quick Action". You should have at least thought about it. It was obvious blackmail and provocation!" Timor lowered his head guiltily. He just wanted to help, but for some reason they scolded him, and rudely at that. He’s not a professional in their eyes. However, one of the rescued two suddenly blocked him with his hand. That sunny guy. "Hey, he saved us! It's stupid to blame him for the risks. He was a good guy for showing courage and not letting us get killed." The guy put his hand on Timor's shoulder. "And he didn't fight, he just punched him. He's alive, not even a scratch! Leave him alone unless you have a compelling reason." He crossed his arms with a displeased face. "Okay. It's your business." "Youngsters don't know seriousness, but that's your opinion." The police turned and left. The rescued guy turned to East, who was very surprised. "You're very brave. Thank you for saving me," the older man said with a smile on his face. Timor smiled sheepishly. He hadn't expected protection or praise. Sunny ran to his friend, and the two began discussing something. Timor couldn't hear them, but he was pleased. Although there was some of that emptiness in my soul, some tiny pieces were filled by this event, this excitement and risk. Yes, he or someone else could have gotten hurt because of his abruptness, but everyone was alive and unharmed, which made Timor feel good. He decided to go to his home. Fortunately, no one stopped him with complaints or other comments, but he understood perfectly well that there was no escape from this after the news and rumors. He reached a small private house and came closer. He reached into the pocket of his red and black windbreaker and felt for his keys, then took them out and used them to open the door. Home, sweet home. And in this sweet and familiar house the guy won’t fall asleep because of the impressions that have accumulated over the past 10 minutes of that situation. Well, that's exactly what happened. When it was time for bed, he lay silently and stared at the ceiling. He was dreaming of something. Ah, that with his reflexes and fearlessness, he could become someone. "Maybe I could become a policeman? Or I could go boxing, but that's boring." Timor lay on his side. "But still… the first option is worse. I don't want my actions to be perceived as reckless." - the guy closed his eyes. "Probably, something in my life will work out." And with that thought, he began to fall asleep. The next morning arrived. Timor woke up from his alarm clock and shuddered. His gaze was sleepy, but his soul was awake. He turned off the alarm clock and got out of bed, then left the room. The house was partially two-story, so he had to go down the stairs to go to the bathroom. After his morning routine, getting himself in order and having breakfast, he went outside. This time he was overwhelmed with feelings like never before. Something was burning, my head was filled with different thoughts, my eyes were almost sparkling. He reached the place where he had been looking at the sky and feeling sad. He stood in the same place where there was a noticeable crack, but the guy noticed that it was slightly filled with pebbles, as if covering it. «Wow, they finally decided to fix it?» the different-eyed man smiled. "Ahem, ahem, excuse me." Timor tensed. It was the voice of that sunny guy, but why did he approach him? The Eastern guy turned around in surprise. He was convinced that he was not mistaken, and this surprised him and made him tense even more. In front of him, besides the sunny guy, there was also the red-white one. Both were wearing police uniforms, but without their caps, although there was excitement even without them. "Oh, it's you again. Uh... did I do something?" the younger one pointed his finger at himself. "No, sir," the yellow-eyed one smiled. "My name is Philippines, and this is my friend Indonesia. We both wanted to invite you to join the organization 'Quick Action.'" "What?" Timor's eyes flashed with surprise. "is that... that organization, right?" "Yes. Maybe you should try it. With your actions, you can go far," the two-colored one said. "We rarely see people like you. We're not lying, this is how it is" the Philippines waved his hand. "So... d'you want?" the elder one's gaze, bright and filled with hope and curiosity, pierced the surprised and East's confused gaze. "I... but I won’t be judged for my actions? It's just that yesterday-..." "No, what r u sayin'?" the sunny one interrupted. "No ordinary police force works there. It's for the gifted, of whom there're few. Any action can be justified, as long as it's within the law." Timor nodded, smiled, and said: "I agree." Indonesia clapped his hands joyfully. His smile widened a little. "Great. Then come with us." - Indonesia turned around and waved his hand. Philippines giggled and looked at Timor again, then showed with his gaze that no need to be afraid to follow him and Indonesia. Timor quietly exhaled and followed them. They walked, and the strip of cherry blossoms ended; the path was no longer littered with fallen, delicate pink petals, but a clear road. The sounds of the city were already clearly audible: the honking of cars, the sound of some starting up and driving, and the louder voices of busy people, ordinary citizens, coming from various directions. Timor looked around, not forgetting, of course, to spy on him to see if he was lagging behind. Finally, the older two led him to a building that resembled a police station. Indonesia approached the glass doors. There was thr terminal nearby. Red-White pulled something out of his pocket and touched it to the terminal, after which the doors opened and he ran inside. Sunny, grabbing Timor's hand, also went inside. The younger one became a little worried. The doors closed. It was almost silent inside, voices could be heard somewhere in a distant office. Indonesia and the Philippines headed to that office. Timor, pulling himself together, followed them. Red-White knocked on the door 6 times and then opened it. There were 9 people in the room: three on the left, three on the right, one near the exit, one next to the table, and one at the table, obviously being the main one here. Timor felt a tension deep inside. "Asean, this is the guy we told you about." Indonesia pointed his hands at Timor, smiling. "He's the one who saved us." "Yeah." he nodded. "Oh, but we didn't ask him his name." sunny guy smiled awkwardly. "Really? Alright then." The elder one got up from the table. Timor tried to hide his excitement. "So, can you introduce yourself?" The youngest nodded, closing his eyes, then looked at Asean. "My name is East Timor. I'm 23 years old. However, I didn't actually save these two members of your organization, but rather lowered their chances of getting hurt." "Liar." Indonesia smiled. "Oh, how serious." Suddenly, a tricolor guy with a white star standing on the right side said. "Myan, it's early." the red-and-yellow guy standing next to him covered his friend's mouth with his hand. "Continue." he smiled. Asean began to speak: "Well, I want to thank you for trying to save me. That's why you're here right now, but I think you already know. Timor nodded. He felt his heart beating with excitement at the wrong time. "There're 10 members in our organization so far, except for me. So that you can figure it out well, I'll tell you who's who," the elder continued. "You should already know these two, because they should've introduced themselves. Indonesia and the Philippines. Next're Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand." Asean pointed his finger at the three to the left of East Timor, Indonesia and Philippines, deliberately moving his finger from one to the other separately. This made it easy for mismatched to remember who was introduced. "This is Brunei" - Asean pointed his finger at the guy standing by the table. "You've already heard the name of one, thank you, Vietnam." Asean shifted his gaze to the red one with the yellow star, who smiled with an awkward smile. Timor looked at him with a questioning look, then looked at Myanmar. "And I'm Laos!" suddenly, a guy passed away next to Vietnam and Myanmar. "Ahem, sorry, I couldn't wait." The tricolor smiled. "But since I have already started, I will finish it fairly. That guy at the door, that's Cambodia." "Yeah, Kampuchea, damn it." the guy crossed his arms. "But I hope you'll remember us." he smiled, turning his gaze to the worried Timor. "Well... I did it anyway." Timor spread his arms wide, smiling. "Ah, 'I did'! Well, didn't I tell you that there are still divisions for positions?" Indonesia asked, to which Timor responded with silence and a puzzled look. "No? Well, now you know. "Indo, be serious." Singapore said with slight displeasure, crossing his arms. "Okay, sorry. "'Positions'...? What positions?" Timor turned to Asean, who explained: "There're three positions here, depending on your skills: the first is an investigator or detective, the second is a policeman, and the third is a watcher. "Ah... I see." Timor lowered his head. "And the role of a policeman is more suitable for you, since, according to Indo and Phili, you have a good reaction. Well, we'll have to learn that in practice. Asean folded his hands on the table. "In the meantime, I can enroll you as a student." Timor smiled and nodded again. He no longer felt stress, but was confident and calm. He felt like he was at home. Indonesia patted him on the head. "Well done, Timor! You're so brave." "Oh? I was just concentrating. But... 23... is that not too little for such an organization?" "Young people have better minds," Indonesia said. "Well... that's what Singa said, and he wasn't lying. Timor looked at Singapore in surprise. Singapore looked away and said: "I hope I'll be the same with you. «I hope...» Timor looked away.