The Brotherhood That Binds Us Who: Sergeant Jane Rusten and her partner, Lieutenant Joel Kulseth. Where: Tooling around Austin in their cruiser. When: March 3, 2019, afternoon-ish. What: Tying up loose ends on an old co-worker's case, doling out some sage advice, and trying to avoid stalking charges.
Walking this high road are warriors from an olden time Curse on this land and the days far behind us Dragons we’ve slain, rescued many maidens fair No man ever dared break our stride Or the brotherhood that binds us
Jane slapped the top of the police cruiser, her body halfway out the driver's side window, and called to her partner walking out of the door to the where they were parked outside the Capitol.
"Yo, Kulseth, while we're still young!" Joel was, by far, the best partner Jane had ever had in her nearly ten years of service and she only had to drive 700 miles and wade through thousands upon thousands of the flesh-eating undead to find him. "I mean, it's too late for you, Father Time, but I still have a chance, here!"
She can't help but bust his balls. Jane knows he can take it; it's one of the best parts of their partnership. Besides, they both know he's in better shape than officers half his age. Even though the salt is creeping in the pepper at his temples, there's no one she'd rather have watching her back than Joel.
Since their coworker, Theodore Laberenz, decided to hightail it back to his family in East Jabip or Northern Bumblefuck or wherever it was where pretty boy Detective families lived, the station had divided up his open cases. She and Kulseth were looking to wrap up a missing person's report of one of the outlying loners not fit for shelter living who had set up shop somewhere outside of what used to be McKinney Falls State Park. Jane was under the assumption that being on his own out in the middle of the woods, Harold "Harry" P. Nealson had become brunch for a lucky zombie that had happened upon him. However, a file had been opened by his friend (another winner named Frank Pepper) so, until they had concrete proof that he was either alive or had been digested and converted into walker shit, they had a duty to investigate.