Ruxs walked with confidence alongside his partner. He was used to people looking at them with disdain, some with admiration, but mostly with attitude. Green flipped off one of the vice detectives when he let the door hit his arm instead letting them walk through before he came out, like a courteous person would have.

The smug detective looked back at them. “I wouldn’t be so self-assured today if I were you two —”

“You’re not. So shut the fuck up.” Ruxs cut him off.

“I’m glad too. Because your lieutenants have been in the captain’s office for the past hour. You guys made the news again.” The bastard shook his head as if he pitied them. “Think they said that the cyclist was in critical condition and something about injuries on the MARTA too. Pfft. You guys really are fuck-ups.”

Ruxs frowned as the detective sauntered off, leaving them standing there, a little less than eager to go to their office. “That’s bullshit.”

“Tell me about it. I barely tapped that fuckin’ bus. They probably didn’t yell injury until they found out I was a cop. Damnit.” Green ran his hand through his short dark hair. He knew it was probably sticking up all over the place now.

They made their way past the bullpen and through the glass doors marked “Narcotics Task Force: Lieutenant Cashel Godfrey, Lieutenant Leonidis Day, Sergeant Corbin Sydney.” There were only a few of the guys in the office and Ruxs took an uneasy breath. The two IT detectives looked up at them and smiled.

“What’s up fellas? Where is everyone?” Ruxs plopped down in his chair, kicking his boots up onto his desk. Green sat down at his desk that was pushed up to face Ruxs’ and mimicked his movement.

The detectives pointed outside their unit towards the captain’s office. “The bosses are in there. Syn and Ro are downstairs questioning the two hustlers you guys brought in last night. Everyone else is on assignment.”

Green looked over at Ruxs, probably thinking the same thing he was. At least they had some damn good information for God and Day when they come out of the captain’s office. It just might save them from another intense lecture. There was nothing God loved more than good intel that could lead to a big arrest.

Detective Vicki Seasel came in with her arms full of files and began to sort them on God and Day’s large desks. Ruxs cocked his head to the side as she leaned over in her tight black slacks. She wore her long brown hair pulled up on top of her head and secured by some interesting looking chopsticks. She was beautiful and brilliant. But since she was shot in a raid last year, she was no longer eligible to be in the field, so she was God and Day’s personal assistant. She was still an exceptionally smart detective and had a keen eye. She’d earned the guys’ respect a long time ago. She could hold her own up against them and she wasn’t afraid to get up in anyone’s face. Needless to say, Day adored her, so no one better disrespect her.

“Green, Ruxs. Don’t stray too far. God and Day want to have a meeting at four today. Be here and don’t be late.” She took Day’s coffee mug off his desk and turned to leave.

“Hey Vick. Can you order those cold cut platters for the meeting, like you did last week?” Ruxs gave her his charming smile. Vicki looked at him with disgust and his smile fell completely flat.

“I don’t need your goddamn dinner order. You think I’m here to serve you Ruxs? Huh?” Vicki’s voice elevated and Ruxs looked officially chastised, especially when Day walked back in just as she was spinning to leave.

Day kissed her on the cheek. “How’s your day going, baby?”

She turned and sneered at Ruxs. “Fine. Until ten seconds ago. I’ll be back with your coffee, Leo.”

Day opened the door, smiling at her as she went by. “I’ll take care of him.” He winked, and of course that was all it took for Vicki to start smiling again.

Ruxs and Green watched Day move about in the office, not bothering to even look in their direction. It was unnerving to say the least. It was like the calm before the storm. The door to the office flew open, hitting the desk behind it so hard, Ruxs was amazed the damn glass didn’t shatter. God. The storm was here. The IT guys turned away from their many monitors and waited for the show to begin. Even a few of the officers in the bullpen rose up from their desk to look through the glass that separated their offices. Ruxs had an urge to close all the blinds. Nosey fuckers.

God leveled a hard look at them that had him and Green both yanking their boots off their desk and sitting up straight. God’s long hair was pulled back in its usual tight ponytail. His gold badge hung from his neck sitting right between his two holstered chrome and gold Desert Eagles. His green eyes gleamed with fury. Fuck, he was really mad. He pointed at them while closing the large distance between them in five long strides.

“You two. What’s your fuckin’ job titles?” God’s voice was deep and when he yelled, it sounded like thunder. “Speak the fuck up! What’s your job title?”

Ruxs mumbled, “Tactical extract —”

God slammed his huge hands on their desk before Ruxs could finish, sending a few papers flying onto the floor. “That’s right! Tactical Extraction Specialist!” God’s voice boomed in his deep Southern accent as he towered over them and Ruxs felt extremely uncomfortable sitting there. He wasn’t in danger per se. God would never put his hands on anyone, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t invoke fear. He continued. “What’s your fuckin’ job description?”

Ruxs and Green looked back and forth between each other. It was a bullshit title along with a bullshit job description. Everyone knew it. God and Day made it up so that Ruxs and Green could get on the task force. The only skill they’d mastered was hand-to-hand combat. They weren’t IT, special weapons, demolitions, or psych, like Ro and Day. Their specialty was beating the shit out of people. That kept God from having to be on the streets all the time. He’d send them to do the extractions. Drug dealers and addicts didn’t always come willingly. They were good at it. But their positions still had to be justified – taxpayers’ dollars well spent and all that crap.

“Tactical! Tactical!” God shouted. “Means carefully planned, so that it’s done with subtlety and finesse.” God yanked the file that was in Day’s hand and opened it. “Not running through the streets like a crazy person! Barreling over a man on a bike and almost killing him. Slamming into a city bus full of people. Damn near killing an old lady! And for what? For some strung-out, unreliable crack head informant! Goddamnit!”

Day stepped closer and put a calming hand on God’s back. The man looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. Ruxs and Green had been in the hot seat so many times that they no longer bothered to argue. They just let their LTs have their rant, then they went back out on the streets. Because honestly, out of the twenty men on their task force they were the ones that secured the information, so without them there wouldn’t be shit to bust.

“Come on guys. You know it ain’t easy chasing a damn crack head. I don’t know where the fuck they get that damn speed from. Shit.” Green shrugged.

Ruxs heard a deep chuckle come from the door. Syn walked in looking amused at their conversation. Their sergeant was one of the most laid back but somehow ridiculously stern guys he’d ever met. He had no problem handling the task force with a demanding ease. He was their lieutenants’ right hand man and a badass himself. Everyone’s attention turned back to God when he yelled out again.

“Thirty-thousand goddamn dollars. That’s how much you dumb fucks just cost my department.” God slammed the file on their desk and looked at them with an angry, glowing green stare. “It better be fuckin’ worth it. Speak!”

Ruxs didn’t hesitate. He knew what they had was going to really pique God and Day’s interest. “Chainz is getting ready to bring in some serious weight in the next few weeks. He’s dealing with some foreign contacts that will be accompanying the shipment.”

Green sat up closer, finishing Ruxs thought.

“Get this shit. He’s bringing it to Clev Ave., thinking there won’t be any heat watching those houses.”

Ruxs was shaking his head, knowing that God’s ire was settling fast at the thought of making that kind of a huge bust. Finally taking down one of the major drug kings in Atlanta and a few potential foreign drug smugglers. Fuck yeah. This would make National news.

“How sure do you think this informant was?” Syn asked.

Ruxs spoke confidently. “He looked shook. Said that the neighborhood wasn’t feeling this type of activity. It’s like they want Chainz to get stopped on this one. Tommy Tee looked dead serious when he told us. Said that a few of Chainz’s main carriers been trying to pull back on this deal… like they didn’t want to be a part of it.”

God was stroking his goatee and looking at Day – doing that silent talking shit that they always did. Day shook his head yes as if God had actually spoken and turned to Syn. “Syn get on that. Let’s see what pans out.” God and Day walked out of the office, more than likely going to run this by the captain.

Syn walked over to the IT detectives and put his hand on each one’s shoulder. “Fellas. Need you to pull up all the houses Chainz has on Cleveland Ave. Try to see if he’s had any renovations done on them, he’s gonna need to bury the weight. Store it in a way that it can’t be damaged. You can’t leave coke and heroin just sitting in a living room for days. Got to have a regulated climate. Check for repairs or new ventilation installations done on any of the houses.”

“Think we can get eyes in there now?” Green asked.

“No. We still don’t have enough for a warrant. Not even a sneak and peek. Not just with the word of a junkie.” Syn propped himself up on Green’s desk. His dark eyes focused on him. “You said Tommy looked afraid.”

Both he and Green nodded their heads.

“Said that maybe his own crew wanted Chainz stopped.” Syn smirked at them. “Poke around and see just who might actually want Chainz stopped. Maybe one of his key players is willing to roll on him.”

Ruxs and Green both stood up. Time to go back to work.

“Do what you guys do.” Syn leveled his own strict glare on them. Everyone knew the sergeant didn’t take no shorts either. He could come down on them just as hard as the LTs. “Just do it with a lot more tact fellas. Got me? You’re the guys that don’t exist, doing the things that didn’t happen, on the orders that nobody gave.”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.