As one of the Baltimore Police Department's highest-ranking officials, he often worked long hours, even if his hours were far steadier than most officers and detectives. Still, Downs had gone the last two days without seeing his wife awake; he had spent the better part of the past day stuck in meetings: poring over crime stats, closure rates, budget reports... another round of potential layoffs and a hiring freeze thanks to yet another funding slash courtesy of Annapolis. One meeting even touched on the subject of the vigilante Bounty, but no one in the Bishop -- the nickname given to the BPD's overall headquarters downtown -- seemed to think that was a priority. Normally, Downs would've disagreed, but once news broke of the teenager who was killed just north of downtown and details began trickling in, Downs knew something more important had come. And if his worst fears were right, this had a chance to send the entire city into a tailspin once more. But to this point, there was nothing more that could be done.
