Sarina Maxine

Tyler (Chapter 11)

"Whoa Tyler", Josh said as he ran over to me.

"You okay", he asked.

He felt my head.

"Yeah...I'm...fine."

"You're not. He's experiencing exhaustion", Remmy said.

"Just sit down for now. You've burned yourself out", Josh said.

He helped me over to my chair where I took a seat.

"We can always do this later Tyler, your health is way more important", Miles said.

I shook my head slowly.

"No...I'm alright. I just needed to sit. This is important."

"Okay...lets hear it", Remmy said.

"Let's start from the beginning. We know that the group is called Cosen but we are unsure if it means anything. We also did not know the members other than the ones who do the direct selling which are the ones we've arrested. After the interrogations, we've learned members direct back to higher-ranking members. They usually meet the higher-ranking members in person in order to get the items they need to sell or the items are sent to them. How they are sent, we do not know. The reason for the different methods is unknown but it doesn't seem like the members who are of a higher rank are doing it to stay hidden. Those members who are of higher rank said they report to someone else and those individuals hold a high rank with high power and also...they interact with the leader of the organization. When asked if these higher-ranking members have seen the leader, the answer is unknown."

"So we have some kind of ranking system they use, most likely military-style", Josh said.

"Yes, that's how the other crime organizations operate. The higher you get the fewer members there are for the leader to interact with. That way they can have eyes on who they interact with so if anything, they can take them out if they have to. That means those of a lower rank, can number from a few hundred to possibly thousands. Also, from the suspects, we learned that they all don't sell the same things. The higher-ranking members assign to them what they will be selling or what task they will be doing."

"If different members are selling different things or doing different things, wouldn't that get confusing", Miles said.

"Actually, it's not that confusing. As I talk about it, it's hard to follow and so that's why I mapped it out. Josh could you wheel over my whiteboard?"

"I can't believe you have such an old thing. You do know smart boards are in--"

"Shut up! It still works just fine."

"Hey, at least it's not a chalkboard", Remmy said.

I have her a look.

Josh wheeled over the board for all of us to see.

"At the top I have the Crime Boss under him would be what I call Sub Boss(s). They might be in charge of what's being sold or any operations. Under the Sub Boss(s) are the Levels, I went up to level three. L3's are more experience, obtaining orders directly under the Sub Bosses and most likely making contact with them. L2's are in charge of their own gangs so we can also call them Gang Leaders. Obviously they are in charge of their individual gangs, the ones we put a stop to. They can range from different ages and the gang size can range from different numbers. The reason why they get involved in crime organizations is simple: safety from other gangs and so they won't be forced to leave their territory or worse. Under Gang Leaders are their Recruiters/Dealers. They recruit and do all the gang leaders' dirty work. At the very bottom are the Newbies which are the kids, 17 and younger. They are the easiest to be recruited as they are naïve, thinking the gang life is cool. They sell as well but are the least threatening as they lack experience with weapons."

"Wow, it's like you actually sat down and gathered all of this from one of the members", Josh said.

"I know, right", Remmy said.

"This is just a guess but I feel like it's pretty close."

"If that's the case, this operation is massive like the captain said", Miles said.

"Yeah. This also ties in with other gangs. It makes sense because they would do whatever it takes to keep their turf", Josh said.

"We need to start apprehending more Gang Leaders, they would know about Cosen since they would have made a deal with them", I said.

"That's going to be hard since they are well protected by their members", Remmy said.

"I know. We are going to need help from all departments in the area."

"What if this goes farther than Greenwaters or Illinois even? What if it's all across the country", Josh asked.

"As scary as that is, I believe that's the reality of it. Right now we start small and soon, once we know all about them, that's when we make a move, targeting the Crime Boss."

It's easier said than done but I won't stop. None of us will. Whoever is a threat to our country is our enemy. There will be no sympathy, no mercy.