I felt the sun on my back as I came to from my sleep. I opened my eyes slowly to see I fell asleep in my office again. My computer screen was still on, I hate when it falls asleep so I skipped that setting, it's not my electric bill to pay anyway. It was nine in the morning, I should have been working about two hours ago but I overslept. At least I'm not late coming in. I sat up, my back was sore from sleeping slumped over my desk.
I sighed.
My papers were crinkled from sleeping on them. They're not in too bad of shape though. I got to work straightening them out as well as putting them back in order.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty~"
"I'm already awake", I said without looking to see who it was because I already knew.
"This is your third night in a row sleeping here you know."
"I just get caught up with things Josh."
He sighed.
"Yeah I know. Here...I got you some coffee. Looks like you need it."
He came over and placed the cup on my desk.
Josh is my right hand officer and also my lifelong best friend. We grew up together since we were little, we are like brothers. I've gone through so much, I can't imagine not having him by my side. As we got older though, I learned that he couldn't always be there for me. He has his own life and I have mine. Being a detective makes things hard as well and so I had to learn to shoulder things alone. He didn't like that so he pretty much forced me to take him as his partner. Our Captain didn't want favoritism between us since I'm also a lead officer of cases and such but I never favortized him when we are working. He has never let me down not once.
"Ready for today", he asked.
"Yes and no. It feels like yesterday when we gave that press conference about the latest drug bust. I was hoping another one wasn't going to spring up. I don't know what the deal is with the crime rates, it's out of control."
"You're right. It wasn't like this when we were kids. You think there's one main person in charge of them all."
"I feel like that would be too easy but...it's a possibility. If we look back at all the records and data we have, the crime rates went up dramatically about 10 years ago. The big cities are usually the ones with high crime rates but Greenwaters remained the safest. 10 years ago was when businesses really started taking off here. People were starting to move in because the other cities were getting overpopulated. People just wanted to start over."
"Too bad that those cases did not tie into each other. There was no singular person they could find that had a connection with the different crime organizations. Many of them just moved here because other crime organizations took control of the main cities."
"We just have to keep doing what we are doing. Strike hard and take them down", I said.
"So ruthless Tyler."
I rolled my eyes.
"Anyway, I heard the other officers are pretty confident about the house we are going to take down today. They feel like those guys are definitely doing drugs there. Maybe producing them too along with selling. They're working on that warrant but I'm sure those idiots will do something to make us go after them without one."
"Yeah. We just make them a little nervous with our appearance", I said.
"When are we leaving?"
"We can leave any time but maybe noon is best. People will be out on lunch breaks as well as those who will be buying. The officers who watched that house over the past few weeks reported activity from around ten in the morning to around two in the afternoon and then more activity at night. There's more activity at night of course but the darkness will be against us. Also, they won't expect us to bust them during the day."
"That should give us some extra time to see if we will get that warrant, just in case, you know?"
"Yeah."
I started rubbing the tiredness from my eyes.
"You okay", Josh asked.
"Just tired."
He looked at me a bit longer and wanted to say more but didn't push it. This job is tiring always especially my position. Crime doesn't sleep. I know I can't take on all the cases even though I want to. I usually take on big cases since I'm the top detective not only in our apartment but in the city of Greenwaters. There are days I stay up without any sleep and I literally pass out from exhaustion. Not a healthy way to go but I can't help it, I'm a workaholic. Thank goodness I have Josh. He doesn't have to do all of the extra work he does. While he is a lead officer, he goes way beyond that, pretty much at my level.
"Let me handle some things while you rest some more, okay?"
"It's paperwork, you hate paperwork."
"Ah well I can just...make some of it disappear and-"
"You're not touching anything. I'll just do it later."
He pouted.
"You're so mean Tyler."
I let out another long sigh.
It was finally time to start the drug bust. We ended up getting the warrant like we hoped.
"So you think this will end up with a chase. I haven't chased down anyone in a while."
"I'm not looking forward to it", I said.
"Oh come on. You were the star runner back in the day."
"I'm not old", I said grumpily.
"I remember my old wrestling days as well. High school was awesome! All the girls and stuff."
"You barely passed because you were all in the girls...literally."
He laughed weakly.
"Ah yeah..."
I finished putting on my uniform and checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked perfect before I left. We have a locker room but I just keep my stuff in my office since I have the space for it and it's easier for me to access it.
"Hey, your coffee", Josh said as he shoved it in my hand.
"Oh yeah...I forgot. Let's get going."
A few minutes later we pulled up to the house. I always check my surroundings to get familiar with it a little. As I looked around I spotted a high school across the street.
"We have to be careful with that school. If a suspect flees that way, we could be in trouble since school is in session, especially now since they should be having lunch", I said.
"I know. We'll just lead them the other way or call off if the area is too hot."
"I would hate if anyone gets dragged into this."
"Same here", he said.
We sat around for a while longer, waiting for the right kind of activity.
"Look", Josh said.
I looked to where he was pointing. A guy came out of the house and then stood out in the yard. He looked around as if he was looking for someone. A few minutes later a car pulled up, two guys came out. We watched closely as the guy from the house pulled out something from his pocket.
"There we go", Josh said.
"As soon as they hand the money over we get out."
We watched carefully as the guys talked it over before handing over the money.
"Now", I said.
We quickly got out the car, gun drawn.
"Get down now!"
Josh and I crossed the street to approach them. All three of them dropped their things to put their hands in the air.
"I said down on the ground now!"
"I'm calling for backup", Josh said.
They aren't getting on the ground right away and can run any moment.
"I'll go after the one that runs, you stay with whoever stays behind", I said.
"Got it."
Josh repeated what I said, to get on the ground. One younger guy looked really nervous, the one selling. He looked at me and then bolted, I was on his tail. He was fast but so was I. I haven't ran much since high school but it doesn't mean I'm out of shape. I workout often.
"Stop! Get on the ground now!"
He didn't listen. He suddenly made a sharp turn to cross the street and ran onto the school grounds.
"Shit!"
Worst of all the students were outside having lunch and we were heading straight for them. I had no idea if this kid had a gun on him. I had to stop him. I dug deep to run faster, I managed to put my gun away, I didn't want to scare the students. It's not like an officer running after someone makes it less scary than having a gun out.
Come on. Get tired. Something damn it!
He suddenly stopped.
"ON THE GROUND NOW!"
That got the students' attention. Some just stood there staring while others ran inside. I didn't have time to pay attention to them.
"I'm not going to say it again, I will shoot. On the ground now!"
I pulled out my gun again. I had to make a choice. Non-lethal methods are what I use first but what if I miss, what if it doesn't work? He's just too close for me to mess up. I can't take the chance of this kid hurting these students. It comes to a point when you have to sacrifice one to save many.
I watched him carefully. He still wasn't complying. He slowly moved his hands to his pockets. Most officers would shoot now but I just froze because...he was a kid. I've shot guys before, I even killed before but I'm just freezing up today. I never shot at someone so young. I don't want to because I have a feeling he is a victim too, he needs help.
"Come on...I don't want to shoot you. Please. Listen to me."
He turned around slowly.
"I'll just get locked up! I'll get tossed away! You guys don't care! Just kill me, I have nothing to look forward to anyway!"
"Yes you do. You're young, you can change."
"Bullshit! It's a lie and you know it!"
"It's not a lie! Just...just trust me okay. I'll put down my gun and you do yours."
I placed my gun down first. He continued to reach in his pockets and then he pulled it out.
"Come on. Just place it down, okay."
He shook his head.
"They'll kill my family if I get arrested. I need to make my mark. A gang member needs to make his mark or die."
"They don't care about you. They will replace you, that's not something to be loyal to. You have to believe me."
"Yeah...maybe you're right but...I'm...I'm in deep."
He looked at me and then turned quickly, running right to the school.
"NO!"
I quickly picked up my gun and was after him. I fired a round and then another, warning shots but he didn't stop.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
I aimed at him for my next shot. The students all fled. Good.
I fired. Once and then again until he fell. I stopped. I was out of breath. Not by the running but by the adrenaline. These gangs, they just...mess with their heads, they use these kids like pawns. They get what they want until one dies or gets arrested and then replace them with more kids. It's disgusting!
I had to check on him.
I forced myself to move. When I got to him I could see that he was still alive. I'm a great shot but this time I missed. Thank god I did.
I slowly turned him onto his back, he looked at me.
"You're going to be alright", I said.
I took his gun away and then started first aid. I saw that I got him in the leg but nowhere vital. I started applying pressure to stop the bleeding.
He winced.
"Sorry."
"They...they talked about...using kids...from here", he said.
"For their gang. Are they working in this school?"
"I...I don't know...I just heard some talk..."
I already know kids use drugs, they did when I went to school. If we could catch the one selling, they could lead us up to the gang leaders to put an end to this mess.
"You can help us stop this you know. This is your chance to turn your life around", I said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. We will protect you, no one will find out you're working for us. I know you don't like this life, you can help stop it. This is the way to protect your family, not the gang life."
He looked away for a moment to think. Most of these kids wouldn't trust an officer. These gangs brainwash them. They make them hate us for no good reasons, that's what gets them killed. It infuriates me.
"I...I'll do it...when do we start..."
I was surprised at first by his quick response and then I chuckled.
"Soon. Right now just focus on getting better."
"Oh...yeah...I'm...I'm really sorry for this. I wasn't going to hurt anyone...m-maybe myself but...I...I was being stupid."
"I understand. I do, I knew you weren't like them. Sorry for shooting you."
"I deserved it...I'll have a cool story to tell...I got shot in the leg!"
"You live to tell that...move on from this and have a family or something, okay?"
"Okay."
"Hey Tyler, you alright?"
Josh came over along with paramedics to take over for the kid.
"Yeah I am. Had no choice to shoot, luckily I got him in the leg. I couldn't do it...he's not a bad kid. He just made a really dumb move."
"I know. You made the right call."
"You think the captain will get mad. I did hesitate, I put the students at risk."
"If he doesn't ask, he doesn't have to know. No one died. That's all that matters", he said.
"Yeah...I guess so."
"We got the other two guys under arrest along with some others we found in the house. They had a basement where they were growing all kinds of stuff as well as packaging it like we thought. It's a lot down there, I call this a big success! More than what we expected."
"Yeah...that's great...", I said, not matching his excitement.
Josh placed his hand on my shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
I shook my head.
"Just a sudden mood change. You go ahead and take over for me...I just...I need to walk a bit to clear my head."
"No problem."
He pat my shoulder once more before letting me be.
I looked around to see other officers at work. The school was on lockdown until the scene was safe. I kept on walking, keeping a steady slow pace. The kid got me thinking...of my brother. That's why I couldn't kill him.
Being caught in that position to possibly kill that kid caused me to freeze up. I'm still shaken up by it even though he will be okay. I can take an adult's life if I have to but not a kid.
I kept on walking until I came across a tree to sit under, I took a deep breath to try and relax. I was feeling stressed and anxious about all of this. I dug around in my pocket, a cigarette is what I turn to when I need to calm myself down although it's one of the worst things to get into, I don't recommend it. I don't feel too guilty though because it's been about a month since I last smoked.
"You know there's no smoking allowed on school grounds."
I looked up to see a student looking down at me. I glared at her.
"What are you going to do about it?"