OPERATIONAL MANUAL: 'COLD CASE' PROTOCOLS

If you are reading this paper under the dim streetlamp, it means you are still conscious. The bottle of Scotch in your hand is almost empty. That is good. You need to sedate yourself.

Take a breath. Do you smell the night air? It smells like rain mixed with expensive cigar smoke. Do you feel the weight of the Gold Badge in your coat pocket?

But that ache in your right knee. That is the gunshot wound from fifteen years ago. It was a bullet from the man you call "The Midnight Killer." That man is dead. You sent him to the electric chair. This city is safe because of you. You are a hero.

But your watch shows 11:40 PM.

In twenty minutes, this world will blackout. The universe is about to hit "Factory Reset." You are about to be thrown back to January 1st, twenty years ago.

All your medals of valor, all the front-page headlines, and all the respect of the people will vanish. You will be young again. You will be a rookie cop again. Follow these six steps if you do not want to put a bullet in your own head when you wake up tomorrow.

STEP 1: DO NOT TOUCH THE GOLD BADGE

Your first instinct is to hold your Commissioner's badge one last time. You are proud of that rank. It took you twenty years to climb to the top.

DO NOT TOUCH IT. Let it go cold in your pocket.

I know you feel like a King. Every gangster in this city fears your name. Even the Mayor bows to you. But listen to me. Tomorrow morning, you have no power.

In the timeline of twenty years ago, you are just a rookie beat cop patrolling on foot. You are the cop who gets yelled at by the Sergeant. Your salary is low. Your rental house leaks. When you wake up tomorrow morning in that smelly patrol car, you cannot give orders. You have to take them.

If you hold that badge now, you will feel like a King who has been exiled tomorrow. You will feel humiliated. Forget the rank. Tonight we are not the Boss. We are the Savior.

STEP 2: PREPARE FOR THE HUNGER

Step into the public restroom for a moment. Look at the broken mirror. Your face is full of wrinkles now. Your hair is white. But your eyes are sharp. You have been clean from alcohol for ten years.

Now touch your stomach. Say goodbye to this peace.

Because tomorrow morning, you are going to wake up in your old body. The body from twenty years ago is young and strong. Your knee does not hurt. You can sprint to chase a suspect. BUT back then, you were a drunk.

You were a corrupt cop who took bribes from nightclubs. You drank on duty. Tomorrow morning, you are going to wake up with a hellish hangover. Your hands will shake as you try to hold your gun. Your head will spin.

You have to fight that urge. You have to be a clean cop starting from day one. Do not be the garbage you used to be.

STEP 3: LEAVE THE RETIREMENT PARTY AND LEAVE JACK

Look inside the hall. Do you see Jack? Your old partner. He is giving a speech for your retirement. He is the Chief of Detectives now. He is a good man. He is a good father.

In this timeline, Jack is safe. He lives happily. But the truth is bitter. Tomorrow morning, Jack is a dirty cop.

Twenty years ago, Jack was taking money from the drug cartels. He was the one who taught you how to be corrupt. And most importantly, in the original timeline, Jack dies next week because he tried to cheat the cartel.

When you see Jack tomorrow morning, he will ask you to take a bribe. He will laugh at you if you talk about justice. You have to face the face of your best friend who is about to die.

Do not try to save Jack. He cannot be saved. Focus on the main mission.

STEP 4: DO NOT LOOK FOR SARAH AT HOME

Okay. This is the part that hurts the most. Look at the empty chair next to you. Your wife, Sarah, should be there. But Sarah has been dead for twenty years. She was the first victim of "The Midnight Killer." Her body will be found at exactly 12:05 AM tonight in the alley behind the movie theater.

That is why you pressed the Reset button, isn't it? You do not want to be the Commissioner. You want to be the husband who saves his wife.

Listen to me. DO NOT GO HOME.

When you wake up tomorrow in the past at 11:30 PM, your instinct will tell you to run home and hug her. DO NOT DO IT. At that time, Sarah had already left the house. She was angry because you were drunk and punched the wall. She ran out to go to the movies alone.

If you go home, you will find an empty house. And while you are looking for her at home, the killer is waiting for her in the dark alley. You will be too late again. You will fail again.

STEP 5: ENDURE THE TREMORS (11:58 PM)

You should be standing in the alley behind the Roxy Theater by now. Standing in the heavy rain. This is the spot. This is where Sarah died in the original timeline.

Your body will start to feel wrong. The pain in your knee will suddenly vanish. The wrinkles on your hands will disappear. But your throat will burn with a crazy thirst for alcohol.

Do not panic. The crowd in the Square is counting down to the New Year.

"TEN! NINE! EIGHT!"

Grip your gun. It will change from a modern Glock to an old Service Revolver. Close your eyes. You will feel the world spin upside down.

Repeat this sentence in your head:

"I am not a Commissioner. I am a Rookie. I have one job tonight. One life."

STEP 6: WAKE UP (THE WAR ZONE)

When you open your eyes, the rain is still falling. But the smell is different. There is no smell of blood yet. You are young. You are strong. But you are a little drunk.

First Action: Slap your own face. Hard. Sober up instantly. Check your watch. 12:01 AM.

Sarah will walk into this alley in four minutes. The killer, "The Midnight Killer," is behind the large dumpster in front of you. He is sharpening his knife. He does not know you are there because in the original history, you were passed out drunk in your car.

FINAL MISSION: Do not shout. Do not call for backup. This killer will not stop if you arrest him. He will escape like he did before. This time, we are not playing by the law book.

Draw your Revolver. Walk slowly in the rain. Aim it directly at the head of the man behind the dumpster.

Pull the trigger. BANG.

Change history. Save Sarah. Be a killer cop if you have to, as long as your wife lives tonight.

Now throw this paper away. The killer is starting to move.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROOKIE.

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