ONE
Jack
I was sitting at my desk with my feet up, legs crossed, leaning back on my reclining office chair. My expensive crocodile skin boots shone as I studied them, reflecting the harsh light illuminating the Police Department's main office area.
I’d been told the crocodile skin was sustainably farmed by the guy I’d bought the shoes from, but I couldn’t really care less. They were hot as hell, and that’s what mattered.
I was still studying my new boots when a beat cop knocked sarcastically on my desk, grinning at me.
I looked up, slightly glad to be awoken from my bored reverie.
“Storm. How’s things with you, bro?” he said, frowning at my boots as he spoke.
“Those real?” he added.
I glared at him. “‘Course they’re real, Lucas. What do you take me for, some sort of tight ass?”
He laughed. I’d known Lucas since before the Police Academy, when we’d both been drinking buddies. We didn’t go to school together, but knew each other through mutual friends in our small, close knit hometown. He was used to my dry humor.
I crossed my hands behind my head and sighed absently.
“What you got for me, Lucas boy? Better be good. Can’t you see I’m busy, man?”
I kept a straight face as he laughed again.
“Listen, I know you’ve been taken off the case you were on with your partner. Ain’t no shame in twiddling your thumbs between cases, bro. How is Kale? He holding up alright?” He frowned with genuine concern.
Kale was my partner, and we had worked together on the case that made us both detective. He’d taken a bullet during a shootout on our first big detective case, looking into a local illegal prostitution ring. We’d gotten close to taking the operation down when we were spotted by two armed thugs while snooping around an old warehouse.
We both got bullets sprayed at us, he got two in the chest, one in the shoulder and one in the thigh. His vest saved his life, but he was still recovering from the other two bullets. None of the bullets went near me. Lucky, I guess.
One of those rounds had been near fatal, but I’d shot the two gangsters pinning us down by popping out from solid cover, inviting them to show their heads. They obliged. I killed them both coolly with headshots. They’d fired first, after all.
Until the ambulance arrived I’d kept him alive with rudimentary first aid, combined with shouting threats of what I’d do to him if he fucking died on me. He was out for a few months at least, but we all knew the psychological scars might take a while longer to heal than the bullet wounds. It was an unspoken rule that most who’d been shot or seen their colleague shot knew all too well.
I snapped out of the flashback, looking up at Lucas.
“He’s tough. He’ll live, but I don’t know how he’s taken it, y’know. Haven’t been round to see him since he left the hospital, figured he needs time with his family.”
I picked up a mug of coffee from the table in front of me, studying the contents.
“I’m gonna go see him this weekend, take him some flowers or something. Maybe sneak in a cold brew or two.”
“Sounds like a good plan. Glad to hear he’s pulling through, Storm.” Lucas nodded sincerely.
“Anyways, got something that will cheer you up.” Lucas beamed at me proudly, white teeth showing behind his tanned skin.
Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed evidence bag, waving it at me. There was a smaller bag inside it, with what looked like a small amount of crystal meth.
“Bit early for that. You know I don’t tweak before at least 3pm, bro.”
He snorted. “Look at it closer.”
My new boots thudded on the floor as I leaned forward to inspect the contents of the bag he was holding. It was a small amount, maybe an eighth of an ounce, so I had to lean across the desk on my elbows to get a good look.
I whistled.
“No shit. Thought this stuff had pretty much disappeared now?” The crystals were clear, much clearer than low grade street meth. They had a yellow tint to them, and a slight blue hue when looked at closely.
“Thing is, it had. I got this off a guy earlier today. I saw him leaning into a car that was driving around, you know. He thought he’d go into a side alley for a little smoke.” Lucas shrugged.
“Booked him, but he wouldn’t talk. Wouldn’t say a damn word, said he was scared shitless. Isn’t enough there for us to really do anything. First offence. So we let him off with a caution.”
Lucas passed the bag to me and sat on my desk, turning to face me.
“This isn’t the only batch that’s been grabbed recently, Jack. There’s more of it appearing, driving the small-time dealers out. There’ve been shootings, disappearances. Seems like…” He drifted off, a concerned look on his face.
“Yeah. Seems like the O’Rourkes are back. But that’s not possible,” I said, my mind racing.
Before I’d made detective, I’d worked undercover on a special assignment to take down a bigtime drug operation. Me and my partner Kale had been called in to work on the case undercover, following direct recommendation straight from our Captain. Our Lieutenant had later said the Captain had wanted us fast tracked to detective, to shake things up a bit in the department.
It was well known that a few of the old boys in the department had agreements with the main dealers in town, taking bribes and coercing them to keep to their designated turf and to not cause too much trouble.
The drug operation we’d infiltrated was run by the O’Rourkes, a biker gang that had rolled into town one day out of nowhere and had set up with the biggest meth operation we’d ever seen. They took every corner, killed or recruited every small-time dealer in the area. They had eventually made a few deals with some detectives, but the Captain was under pressure to shut the gang down. The O’Rourkes were making national news, and the publicity gave our town a bad name.
Soon enough after the biker gang had arrived, the streets were flooded with almost 80% pure meth. The town’s youth were hooked not long after.
“This ain’t no Heisenberg shit.” Lucas said. “But it’s almost 80% pure, a shade off 78.” He pointed a finger at the bag I was still studying intently. “Rest of the other stuff we got is the same quality. Exactly the same quality. Someone’s trying to get back into the game.”
“Well, unless they’re running it from prison or from beyond the grave it ain’t the old O’Rourkes,” I said absently, deep in thought.
We had infiltrated the gang successfully, but to do so I’d done some stuff I wasn’t proud of. Coercion, giving and taking bribes to grease the palms of police informers, drug dealing and taking, recruiting new police informers by intimidation and even assault, manipulating and planting evidence… the list went on.
But eventually the clean detectives working the case built up enough evidence to take down the whole operation. Three of the gang leaders were shot, resisting arrest. Two were behind bars, almost indefinitely.
The rest of the gang had been given various sentences and had been split up and sent to jails across the country. They had been strongly advised to avoid making contact with any of their previous “associates” when the day finally came when they walked free.
“So it’s either a new operation,” I said, ticking the possibilities off on my fingers as I stared into the middle distance. “Or it could be an old batch that’s been found. Or could be we didn’t get everyone before that was involved in the operation. Or, there are some O’Rourkes we never knew about in the first place.”
I drummed my fingers on my desk as my brain started sifting through the possibilities.
“Well, listen. I’ll get you the names of the guys who found the other stuff. We both know this ain’t enough for a case yet, but you ain’t busy anyway, right? So you could look into it, if you found the time. That’s all I’m saying. Help a brother out, you know?” Lucas leaned over and patted me on the shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks Lucas. I appreciate it. Hell, if this works out and I get another big bust under my belt, maybe I’ll bring you some flowers too!” I winked at him.
“I don’t swing that way, bro.” He paused thoughtfully. “But fuck it, bring me a bottle of Cuervo Gold and I’ll do anything you want!”
We both laughed.
“When you gonna make Detective, Lucas? We could use someone like you ‘round here. You know the streets. Got contacts, and you ain’t no moron. God knows we’re short on numbers here, too.” I looked around. Only half the desks were occupied. Half of those were occupied by old detectives who were a little too comfortable. And fat. And half of those old guys were corrupt as fuck.
“When I get the time I’m gonna go for Detective. Maria thinks I got the brains, the way I help out the kids with homework.” He sighed. “But four young ones at home don’t leave me with much time.”
He looked away, wistfully. “But when they’re at college I’ll still be in my forties. I’ll have plenty of time to put my mind to it then.”
Maria was Lucas’s wife, who’d been his childhood sweetheart. They’d married as soon as they could, and she had their first kid about six months later.
I looked at Lucas. I could tell he was exhausted, but was trying his best not to show it. Dark rings were beginning to form under his eyes.
“Listen carefully, alright. Because for once I’m not joking. When you’re ready, come see me. I might even be Lieutenant. I’ll help you out.” I looked at him seriously.
I raised my eyebrows when he laughed at me good naturedly.
“Jack if you ain’t Captain by then, I don’t know what’s going on in this place,” He grinned.
He turned and walked away, swaggering as he walked. He turned back to me as he headed to the exit.
“Yo, Storm. Let’s grab a beer Friday?” He stopped, raising his arm in a gesture of feigned irritation.“Maria’s Mom is over for the weekend. Gonna need a few beers in me to deal with that damn ice queen.”
I smiled, nodding. “You’re on.” I pointed a finger at him, frowning. “But you’re paying this time!”