It was a simple case of mistaken identity. That and trusting the good uniform while having no trust at all in the bad. Both of them are dangerous. But for Paul on this cloudy spring day it was a life changer.

"All I did was pick up an orange. What's wrong about that?" Paul asked the officer.

"Normally nothing. But this man here says he's seen you stealing fruit every day this week."

"That's crazy! I'm on work detail! Do you know how hard I had to work just to get this small amount of freedom? And now I'm getting shit for cleaning something up?"

"Yep. I can't trust criminals. And you're a criminal. That's just the way it is. I've been burned by trusting people too much in the past and I won't let it happen again. Now get your hands on the car so I can pat you down and take you back to the prison."

Of course Paul listened. There was nothing else for him to do.

The marine who pointed him out simply looked around to see that nobody was watching, picked up a piece of fruit, and ate it while walkind down the street.