To no one’s surprise, the station was just as chaotic as the day before when Jacob walked in. Officers rushed about in a mass of movement as they continued their fruitless investigation into the Invite Cards, the sound of a thousand conversations hitting him like a wall. Jacob had little time acclimate however, as he was immediately called into the Station Chief’s office. There were 6 other Officers crammed into the small space already, waiting on him. The chief sighed as he entered, then gestured at the door. Another one of the officers shut it, and the chief began their briefing.
“We’ve had a break in one of the production facility cases.” The chief wasted no time in telling them why they were there “Undercover officers had been in the facility for over a month, but with the invite insanity the facility appears to have gotten sloppy, leaving enought concrete evidence to finally do a bust.”
“What kind of case is it, and what are we looking for?” One of the older Officers spoke up. Officer Wazowski; before the Invite Cards he had been on illegal matches, busting warehouses downtown that got too loose with the rules. Since the Invite Cards, he had been placed on the team monitoring card forgeries. A slightly more important job than Jacob’s in the archives; he was surprised to see that the officer had been pulled in.
“Up until now standard stuff. Corporate secrets, sabotage, workplace violations.” The chief waved her hand “Nothing unexpected. We think that they’ve used the Invite cards as a smokescreen to step things up. Last night three box trucks came in unscheduled. Automated delivery says they contained scrap vehicle parts, but the truck weight was nearly double what that would entail when they passed one of our surveillance scanners. Our suspicion is weapons, likely for organized crime. We won’t know for sure until you gather the evidence.”
The chief grabbed a stack of folders and began to hand them to each officer. When he got his Jacob noticed the folder was significantly thicker than those he usually received, with numerous documents and field reports of evidence. The undercover officers had been thorough, as usual. This was a proper raid, made auspicious only due to the coincidental timing.
“This is a standard smash and grab.” The chief continued “You’ll be coordinating with City Watch, who will provide the brute force. Your job is to oversee evidence collection, and secure anything especially valuable. We’ve already pulled out our undercover officers, so they won’t be in the way. The facilitry shouldn’t have any idea that you’re coming. Your assignments are in your folders. Wazowski, Olivier, stay here. The rest of you go suit up.”
The other five officers filtered out of the room, moving quickly to the station’s armory. They would likely be getting issued specialized battle decks and extra sidearms, as well as an extra equip deck just for securement and arrests. The door closed behind them as they left, and the chief looked at the two officers for a moment before sitting back into her chair.
“Wazowski, Olivier, you’ve both met.” The two officers nodded, and she continued “Olivier it’s my understanding you’re gunning for a frontline role at some point, yes?”
“Yes ma’am.” Jacob responded, attempting to look serious.
“Now’s your chance to see how we do it.” The Station Chief looked at Wazowski “I’m assigning the kid as your second for this one, but don’t feel like you have to babysit him.”
“Isn’t he a little new for this?” Wazowksi replied skeptically.
“His grandfather was in class 1. He can handle it.”
Wazowski nodded, glancing at Jacob briefly. Jacob could tell he was being assessed in that moment differently. Jacob stared down the older officer, projecting confidence. The Officer grunted.
“Works for me.” Wazowski looked back at the chief “Anything else special about the case?”
“If we can nail this group, we can start moving our way up through the others. Maybe even get into one of the card companies. Bag and tag everything.”
“Understood.” Wasowski turned to Jacob “Alright kid, you’re with me. Try not to get in the way.”
Wazowski opened the door and walked out. Jacob raised an eyebrow at the chief, who shrugged in response. He moved quickly to follow Wazowski out of the chief’s office, heading straight towards the station Armory.
*****
The back of the Agency van was stuffy as the 7 Officers sat in it, waiting for it to reach the production facility. Jacob fiddled lightly with his gear, double and triple checking the straps that held his battle vest and holsters in place. Being an Officer’s double was a rookie position, but it was still important. You were more than just an Agency shadow, observing how things were done. You were the leading Officer’s only backup, and often times the most heavily armed member of the team . That was especially true today, as Jacob had been issued not one but three arrest decks - specialized decks of snare cards designed to hold and bind individuals - as well as two additional sidearms, three hidden knives, and a standard issue Agency rifle - with the firearms all having corresponding magazines of non-lethal charges. There had been a time when the weaponization of the Agency had been a major public concern, but the cards had made all but the most extreme of those complaints go away. Some conspiracy nuts on the terminal boards still argued against it, saying the Agency allowed organized crime to happen in order to justify it’s armament. Either way, Jacob was heavily armed and instructed to use them - a fact he wasn’t at all comfortable with.
The truck shuddered to a halt, and there were two knocks at the back of the door. The Officer closest to the door nodded at Jacob, who lightly raised his rifle. The Officers opened it, and Jacob relaxed when he saw a City Watch officer in casual clothes. The City Watch was a larger man with a bushy mustache, who wore mirrored sunglasses on his face. His badge hung from a chain around his neck, and he looked like every stereotype of a City Catch cop Jacob had ever seen on television. He wondered in that moment whether the stereotype existed because of an abundance of cops who looked like it, or whether this City Watch officer was purposefully trying to appear like the stereotype.
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“You folks look like you’re about to go to war.” The City Watch’s voice was gruff , and as he spoke Jacob noticed he was chewing gum. Definitely mimicking the stereotype. Jacob cringed internally. “Aint this a bit much?”
“Can’t be too careful.” Wazowski said. He nodded at the Agency Officer closest to the door, who climbed out of the truck. The rest of them followed, finding themselves in a back alley near the facility but just out of sight. A grouping of 30-40 City Watch officers was clustered near their vehicle; according to the briefing there would be at least 5 more plainclothes officers stationed around the building, with card snipers on the roofs nearby.
“How do they not notice this many officers just around the corner?” Jacob quietly asked Wakowski as they climbed out “Don’t they have security?”
“Most companies have grown complacent.” Wazowski’s tone was dry as he responded “If they care at all. For many it’s less expensive to pay the fine than avoid being caught.”
“Let’s hope that we find enough evidence to make this expensive.” Jacob shrugged his battle vest into place, finding it even less comfortable standing than sitting. The vest was slightly too big for him, designed for officers with more muscle and years in the field. Wazowski grunted in response and walked towards the head City Watch Officer, a middle aged man with close cropped hair and a massive scar across his cheek. The man was drinking a coffee while a subordinate went over several files in a folder. Jacob assumed it was last minute additions to the operation they were about to carry out. The man saw the Agency Officers approaching and gestured at the subordinate. They closed the folder and stopped talking, just as Wazowski and Jacob reached them.
“City Watch Sergeant Gibbs.” The older man reached out a hand, and Wazowski shook it.
“CEA Officer Wazowski.” Wazowski let go of the Sergeant’s hand and gestured at Jacob “This is Officer Olivier, he’s going to be my second for this one.”
Jacob nodded at the Sergeant, who nodded back.
“Any movement since this morning?” Wazowski asked. Another city watch subordinate appeared with two coffees, offering them to the Agency Officers. Wazowski took one, and Jacob adjusted his rifle so that it hung better on his shoulder before using his left hand to grab his own. The coffee was overly hot and bitter, but welcome.
“None.” the sergeant replied brisquely “It’s the damnedest thing too. Facility like this shoulda had people coming and going, but it’s been nearly silent. We can hear the workers inside, but they somehow don’t seem to have noticed us. We’ve spotted none of their security patrols, and the trucks that rolled in yesterday are still in the dock.”
“That is strange.” Wazowski sighed “The must have known we were coming and fled, this may all be a giant goose chase.”
“That or they’ve prepped for a siege.” the Sergeant replied “I’ve had my men suit up for maximum resistance just in case.”
Wazowski nodded “Make sure they use non-lethals. Whatever and whoever we find in there, we need them in to close the case.”
“Understood.” The sergeant waved over to one of the City Watch officers. “Ramirez, gather the squad leaders.”
City Watch Officer Ramirez nodded, and jogged away. It took less than a minute for him to come back with 5 other officers, all of whom wore sidearms and multiple City Watch Arrest and Evidence decks at their waists. The men gathered in a semicircle around Wazowski and Jacob, looking at the two Agency officers expectantly. Jacob noticed one of the City Watch men was armed as heavily as he was, a man he assumed was leading the mandatory standard tactics team. Those teams were the equivalent of Jacob’s role for the Agency in this operation, providing conventional weapon and arrest support to supplement the card casters in the raid. Cards were good but took a second or two to equip; a gas round was quicker.
“Alright everyone, these are Officers Wazowski and Olivier with the CEA, they’re our point for this one.” The men listened closely as the sergeant addressed them. City Watch units tended to vary in discipline, but when it came time for the rare raid they sent the best they could afford. Jacob only hoped the lower level officers echoed that discipline. “Give them your utmost attention, they’ve got some special instructions.”
“Thank you.” Wazowski nodded at the Sergeant, then looked at the men around him “As you all know, the Agency has had officers in this facility for several months. For most of that time it was a pretty standard case; workplace violations, illegal sales, corporate sabotage, same stuff we read about on the back page of the newspaper. They used the same cover tactics as everyone else, paid their fines, buried their evidence. Past few days though our Officers have noticed they’ve been getting sloppy. The facility has ramped up its new shipments, shipments we need to secure.
This operation needs to be thorough and clean. Bag and tag everything, cuff everyone, no casualties, no accidents. Station Chief and members of the Prosecutors office have taken a personal interest, and if they’re smuggling what we think they’re smuggling then we might finally have enough evidence to put a few of these corporate sleaze lords away for a long time. Prosecutors have given the green light to allow us to go after the large companies if we find enough evidence here, so a lot is riding on this one. Pay attention, and don’t miss anything.”
Wazowski looked at Jacob after he finished “Anything for Standard Tactics?”
Jacob cleared his throat in surprise after being thrown into the spotlight. There was a light look of amusement in Wazowski’s expression; Jacob could tell he was being tested.
“We’re going in blind, but that doesn’t mean we’re going in stupid.” Jacob said confidently “Non-lethals only, but don’t let anyone get past you. There are a couple hundred workers in that facility; we need to question all of them. You know what you’re doing and why you’re here; don’t get sloppy.”
Wazowski nodded in approval “That about sums it up gentlemen. Break out your squads and get into position. We move in five minutes.”
The men grunted their agreements, and headed off to gather their officers. Wazowski nodded at the Sergeant, then looked at Jacob. He gestured towards where the other Agency officers were waiting, and they moved to join them.
“Nice speech Olivier.” One of the Agency officers teased as they returned to the group “Practice it in front of the bathroom mirror?”
“Didn’t have time” Jacob grinned “I was too busy practicing my Shakespeare in the Park routine. To be, or not to be…”
Jacob adopted an overly dramatic tone as he recited the line, and the officers chuckled.
“Alright, alright, very funny.” Wazowski cut in. “You all know where to be. Make sure the Watch doesn’t make a mess out of this one, and the first round’ll be on me later.”
The officers laughed in approval and moved to join their City Watch units. Jacob glanced towards the corner where he knew the Facility was, just one block over. The mood was jovial and confident, but something felt off to him. He couldn’t put a finger on what. Wazowski noticed his expression, and turned to him.
“What’s in your head Olivier.” Wazowski lowered voice.
“Something’s off.” Jacob replied “I have a bad feeling about this one.”
“Yeah.” Wazowski responded quietly. “Me too.”
This chapter was fun to write for a variety of reasons; one of which was it allowed me to flesh out slightly the law enforcement environment of this world. We don’t see the City Watch very often throughout this story, as the scope of their duties is largely outside of what I want to write. City Watch serve as basic beat cops in this universe; they replace the basic cops whose job it is to patrol smaller cities and regions. Almost all of this series revolves around the jurisdiction of the Card Enforcement Agency, who are in charge of investigation and enforcement of all card related crimes. Earlier in chapter 7 we had a brief mention of the Federal Investigative Service; those agents serve as the analogue for the FBI in the real world - investigating non-card related crimes that cross state lines and hit a federal level. There are quite a few other agencies and enforcement branches throughout the world - including a few international ones - but the scope of their work is unfortunately outside the story being told in book 1. If you want more, I am running a poll to determine in future books what organizations I fold into the story more; I look forward to seeing the results and any comments of additional ideas you all might add!
And of course, trust in the cards
What Law Enforcement Agency would you like to see more of in future books, and learn more about?
