Those Beyond the Wall (The Space Between Worlds #2)

by Micaiah Johnson

This is what every feel-good story about these fucks misses. Yeah, there are nice people in enforcement, but it’s not about numbers, it’s about policy and policy always sides with the assholes. The ones they call bad are the ones who actually follow orders and department culture. Every nice thing the other guy does is an aberration that people use as an example of why they should exist. I remember the city getting all smiles over a story of an enforcement officer who found an Ashtowner—not a runner, just an exiled civilian—in the city and gave them a blanket and some hot cocoa. People praised the uniform for doing something that wasn’t policy, wasn’t even common. But policy never changed, so the kid was kicked back out into the desert to starve. Kind officers are just the exceptions that ensure the rule goes on.