In the dark room of Sush’s apartment, the red strips displaying the time on her bedside alarm clock showed 3:16 AM when the sound of her ringtone blared through the room, jostling her awake. Phones were never turned off in this profession, especially not if they were chiefs or deputies. They were paid at a laughable wage to work at fixed hours and be reachable at all hours.

Swiping to answer the call without checking the caller identification, she hid under the covers with her eyes closed while the caller spoke.

A security breach. In the east. EAST.

She didn’t choose to stay in the west because she’d enjoy taking...