Chapter 13
During the first two weeks of active duty we behaved like model rookies, reporting for work early and getting on with the job without complaining, until today. Brandon was fed up at being restricted to either routine ride along assignments with the more experienced officers or boring paperwork. It was not what we’d been trained for and we needed a case to sink our teeth into. Mitch could see how frustrated we were getting and thankfully this was all about to change. It was Friday afternoon and as things were starting to wind down for the weekend I thought I’d put my feet up on the chair and rest. Not a good idea as DA Logan entered the precinct at that very same moment.
‘Comfortable officer Hunter?’ she asked.
Damn it, there’s nothing worse than being caught with your feet up on the job and I spun round quickly to get on with my work. The chemistry between the DA and Mitch was obvious to everyone, apart from Mitch. I watched as she walked past Mitch to the coffee machine and glanced back to see if he’d noticed. Molly had tried to encourage her Dad to start dating again but, for all we knew, he may already have a girlfriend, so we kept our noses out of his business.
‘Now cut that out Molly this is a work place,’ said Mitch as Molly nodded at him to go speak to the DA.
‘Morning Lieutenant,’ said the DA.
‘Good morning your highness,’ Mitch replied sarcastically.
‘We’ve got important business to discuss,’ said the DA.
They headed to the ops room for a private discussion and soon after Mitch stuck his head out the door to ask Luis to join them.
‘More secret discussions,’ said Josh as he sat down at the desk next to me and drank precinct coffee. Yuck!
‘This might be it, our first case,’ said Brandon with excitement.
‘Anything’s got to be better than doing paperwork,’ I groaned as butterflies started to fly round in my stomach.
‘Mitch, I think we have our first assignment for the Teen Cops,’ said the DA as she explained the details to Luis and Mitch. ‘There have been several recent carjackings at the Long Valley College campus and the problem needs to be addressed right away. I can’t have the parents turning into vigilantes, thinking the police aren’t interested. More importantly a number of the students come from wealthy homes and their parents have donated very generously to the police charity fund over the years,’ said the DA as she emphasised the importance of the case.
At that moment Josh walked slowly past the meeting room trying to listen to what was being discussed, but couldn’t hear much.
‘Well, what are they saying?’ I asked.
‘All I heard was something about a local college and cars being stolen,’ said Josh.
‘Sounds like your kind of job Josh,’ Brandon added.
‘Funny,’ said Josh.
The meeting continued for a good thirty minutes before Chief Kelly was called to join them. Suddenly without warning, the meeting room door burst open, so we quickly put our heads down to pretend we were working. Mitch smiled as he walked over to invite us to join the meeting. Our eyes lit up with excitement. DA Logan explained the situation and why she felt the Teen Cops were the ideal candidates for the assignment.
‘Something to sink your teeth into, should be nothing too dangerous,’ she said which were famous last words.
‘We‘re ready, Mam,’ said Josh, not really sure how to address the DA.
‘I know, but I want you all to be very careful as this is your first case,’ Mitch said, adding his words of caution.
‘Because the carjackings have usually been taking place at night, the college students are too afraid to venture out after eight o’clock and we have to put a stop to this,’ said the DA as she slammed her hand down on the table. I was impressed.
‘We have formulated an outline plan and Mitch will explain the details,’ she added.
‘Luis will book the band to play at the college concert music festival, which starts next week. It’s the ideal cover for you guys and prior to the concert you’ll be enrolled as temporary students, living on campus to investigate the case. Accommodation will be arranged for you and cover stories provided before we leave for Long Valley. You shouldn’t have any problems fitting in with the rest of the students and it might even give you a chance to catch up with your studies,’ Mitch said with a grin.
‘Cool, I finally get to go to college,’ said Brandon.
‘We don’t have to attend classes, right?’ Josh asked.
‘Yes I’m afraid you do Josh,’ Mitch replied.
‘I suppose we’ll need fake ID’s?’ I enquired.
‘Yes Scott and I know just the person for the job. Luis can provide you with the necessary cover names after the meeting,’ Mitch replied as he looked at me.
All I needed was a laptop and some assistance from my good friend Mr Photoshop. It would actually feel quite strange creating fake ID’s for the right reasons and not just to gain entrance to a bar for alcohol. I suppose there’s a first for everything and I knew Dad would be proud. Mitch handed each of us a case file to read.
‘Make sure you study this during the weekend,’ he ordered.
We nodded knowing full well that we wouldn’t bother reading it until Monday morning. Hey it’s the weekend and time for some fun.
‘Good luck to you all and make this assignment a real success,’ said the chief clasping his hands in a victory style as he left the meeting.
No pressure then, I thought. DA Logan, Luis and Mitch continued to discuss the finer details and to prepare our cover stories while we got back to work. The mission itself was scheduled to start at 0600 hours Monday morning, so any late night Sunday fun was out for us.
As soon as our shift had finished we got changed, left our uniforms in the lockers and headed home. Luis insisted the band practised over the weekend and that we help him pack the equipment in the van Sunday night, ready for the early start on Monday. Would there be any time left to squeeze in some fun?
Josh had found a local amusement arcade during one of his jogs and after I’d dragged everyone to my new favourite coffee bar, we headed there. Luis accompanied us as always and bought pizza at Chico’s on the way home. This helped to release some of the tension we were feeling about the case.
Sunday night soon came around and it felt like we’d had very little time to relax. Right now everyone was busy either packing or trying to chill. I included a few colourful shirts for the week ahead as I’d been saving these for just such an occasion. It might help to brighten things up around the campus.
‘Brandon I doubt we’ll need the shotguns,’ said Jordan as Brandon carried two shotguns from the weapons lockup to the van.
‘You never know Jordan,’ Brandon replied as he secured the weapons inside the vans secret compartment.
Once the van was packed with all the bands equipment it was time for a late evening swim. I ran straight for the pool first, stripping off to my underwear on the way. It took a few minutes for the others to ‘stop being so boring,’ and join me.
‘Where’s your party spirit?’ I asked as I careered down the slide, but there were no witty replies and I guessed everyone was feeling nervous about the case. It was 2200 before we left the pool, dried off and got ready for bed. As I headed for my room I noticed Molly sitting out alone on the balcony with a blanket wrapped around her,
‘Mind if I join you?’ I asked.
‘Not at all,’ Molly replied as she pulled the blanket tighter round her to warm up.
We sat talking for a while about her childhood and how different life might have been if her mother was still alive. Molly had been brought up by a string of nannies because Mitch had been away for long periods of time serving for his country. At least now Molly could be much closer to her father, albeit under strange circumstances. My childhood was very different, having been raised for most of it in Silicon Valley with the other IT brats and look how I turned out. OK apart from the stint in jail, I wasn’t so bad. But then again I’m no shrink.
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It was almost midnight and Luis walked round the house to remind us it was time to get some sleep. I hugged Molly goodnight before going downstairs to turn off all the lights. I stopped for a moment by the pool and took a deep breath to relax. On my way back upstairs I shouted out goodnight to everyone like the Waltons used to do and received a unified reply.
‘GOODNIGHT SCOTT BOY.’
I had to laugh.