The operation

Waking up as usual, i spent a normal morning getting ready for work. Still not fully used to having decent food to eat in the morning, or showering with cold water voluntarily, i got in my car and drove off for work.

Looking outside the car windows, there were much less pedestrians than usual, even with it being early in the morning. Apparently a pretty bad heatwave has hit us, and we are going to be sweating a bit at 35°C/95°F.

Finally, arriving at work, Ronald was already inside holding a coffee and chatting with some others. Seeing that it was 5 minutes early, i still decided to check what sarge has for us in store. Ronald excused himself upon seeing me wave at him, then with the usual morning greetings we headed into Smith's office. 

Seeing that the man had dark circles under his eyes and that the amount of paper on his desk had doubled i felt pity for him. Partially because there was a good chance that my activity two days had stirred up some hornets nest, like causing more fighting than usual to break out between the crime organisations. And because of the odd chance i would get to investigate my own handiwork. Ha! 

Looking up with a tired expression, he simply handed us a folder before going back to filling out paperwork, occasionally lowering his head as if he's about to pass out. As we headed out of the office, he said: "Wait..." 

Pausing our steps, we turned back to look at Smith. Usually it was very serious if he talked to us about more than just the case, or if he stopped us like this. 

"Do you remember the two people you arrested in the very high profile manner by carrying their wounded bodies on your shoulder in the middle of the day?" Smith said, vaguely sounding irritated. 

"Yes?" replied the two of us at the same time. 

"They're gone." Smith said while frowning. 

"...HUH?!" Taking a second to process what he said, i nearly shouted that in fright. 

"What the hell kind of legal team do they have to be out before ev-" i replied, still shocked. Not everyone would have lawyers that could get them out of shit this deep. Moreso, i doubt even Kingpins lawyers could get them out that quickly. 

It turned out however, that my conclusion is wrong. 

"They're not legally out dumbass, they're just gone from jail. Someone bailed them out and now they're free men again.", he continued. "This means they either had very valuable intel or good connections, and more so than that... They saw your face." 

"You're saying..." Ronald's expression turned grave by now. 

"That's right, you two may be in extreme danger. Be very careful the following few days and if you see anything suspicious, instantly report it. As i don't have a good excuse to pull you from duty, i can't do it even if i want to." getting up to this point, he froze for a second as if thinking. Then, he continued:

"Don't even trust other cops however, as this network of corruption has been woven into the police department itself. It's not just here where the underworlds fingers reach, but other police departments as well. Again, be careful you two." 

"Got it." 

"Understood." 

Having left Smiths office, both of us sat down on a nearby bench to think about the warning. Smith being an old fogey in the department gave his words much weight, so both of us were going to be very careful in the following days. 

Opening the case, we both started reading, and over time our expression changed to one of doubt. 

The case itself was pretty normal, a new gang that dealt with illegal arms has showed up in Midwood. Having a new gang show up wasn't anything new in the crime filled New York. 

Yet this one was different, as we were to stakeout their place. Considering the timing of this being only slightly after the two crooks got out of jail, it smelled like an ambush from the get go. 

Smith probably knew something was wrong as well, so he gave us that warning specifically. Maybe he was even pressured into giving this case to us by someome. Either way, this smelled like trouble. 

Leaving the station we got into the car to discuss the specifics. Right now there were almost no people you could trust. 

"Who do you think could've put enough pressure onto Smith to get us this assigned?" Ronald asked with a frown on his face. 

"Whoever it is, they're probably up high if they can assign something like this by circumventing the usual procedures. Knowing that this is going to be an ambush, try contacting whoever you think is trustworthy ahead of time, your network is bigger than mine after all. "

"Got it, give me twenty minutes to send everyone a message or call them, so they know if we need backup." 

Ten minutes later, we set off towards Midwood. Seeing the building we are supposed to stake out, i broke into a cold sweat. It was a beautiful three floor mansion, with a clean white wall, a well maintained maze and a fence the height of a man surrounding its entire perimeter. 

At least fifty million! A damn mansion in the middle of New York! Is Kingpin himself planning to set an ambush for us or what?! 

Driving past the mansion, we parked two blocks away. 

"Got a plan yet? I was-" Ronald was about to speak.

Yet there was a car that suddenly stopped next to our parked one. As soon as the windows were lowered, i saw the gleam of gun barrels sticking out.

"Down!" i said desperately, ducking as well to avoid the gunfire. 

"Ah?! Shit!" luckily, Ronald was quick enough. 

Just as we got down, bullets started raining from the other car. 

After three seconds that felt like an eternity, with hundreds of bullets having whizzed above our heads, they stopped to reload. Grabbing my revolver i was getting ready for them to approach the car. 

Yet as luck would have it, i heard a click behind me. Feeling the cold barrel on the back of my neck, i froze on the spot. 

"Out." came a monotone voice from behind. 

Contemplating my chance of killing the other person, i gave up shortly afterwards, feeling the gun barrel press against my neck further. Getting out of the car, we both had our faces covered by a sack, and then our hands tied tightly, before we were taken away. 

Before we were thrown into a van of some sort, we were disarmed and checked for any concealed weapons. 

Not knowing where we're going with a sack over our heads was a deeply unnerving experience, with only the occasional noise from outside accompanying the sounds of the vans motor. After what felt like a roughly fifteen minute drive, the van stopped, with the people that captured us got off. Faintly hearing the voices from the outside, i tried my hardest to hear what they were saying, either to get a clue about the location or, honestly, anything that could be useful. 

Sadly, i couldn't really make out anything they said, and i didn't have much more time to try eavesdropping either. The van doors opened, and with it faint light seeped back into the dark van. Someone grabbed my tied hands and started leading me somewhere. 

While walking, i noticed the smell of the sea, and very faintly heard sea gulls in the distance. Being escorted like that further and further somewhere, knowing that there was a good chance i was dead meat if i moved without my gun, i did the only thing i could : hope for a miracle or for them to mistake... Which wasn't really that different than a miracle.