AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Istare at the scene on the television in horror, my heart pounding in my chest. The sirens howl. Police officers scurry and the paramedics take care of the frightened children of the local daycare. They’re all so young, no older than five years old, some of them mere infants. My throat goes dry as I assess the crying faces and hear the news reporter describe the attack.
A boy entered the daycare, he was only about thirteen. He claimed he was there to pick up his sibling, but when they asked for his ID, he pulled out a gun and shot the woman. Alerted by the shots, the teachers acted quickly enough to barricade their classrooms and hide the children. No lives were lost, thank God, but many of the children were petrified by the loud gunshots as he fired dozens of rounds into the walls and ceiling.
My blood runs cold in my veins, furious and petrified. Tory is on her way to pick up our son from his daycare in the wake of the news. We’d contemplated sending him to that very daycare, only choosing not to out of sheer luck. If we had, I’d be dealing with this nightmare. My son would have been in the line of gunfire. He’s not even four yet.
I take in the look of frantic parents being interviewed. I have to do something. I can’t sit here watching the news and do nothing. It’s already been confirmed the boy had been recruited into a local gang. It’s unclear if the gang asked him to do this or if he came up with the idea himself. It’s clear children are too young to be around such violence.
At that age, they think of real guns the same way they think of video games. They don’t realize the chaos they can create. That’s what makes them dangerous. For some, once they see how terrified they can make people, it goes to their heads. The gangs in this town could be creating an entire generation of violent psychopaths. I won’t stand for it for one more second.
I type out a text to Tory to let her know where I’m going. I hop on my bike, bound for the daycare. I get as far as I can before I encounter the large crowd held back by police tape. I park my bike and make my way through the crowd. I get as close to the tape as I can. I see a cop I know, one who hates me. That’s perfect. He’ll call in the chief of police for backup. That’s who I’m after.
As I suspect, the young officer stops and points his gun at me. I raise my hands in surrender as he radios the chief of police. The stout, serious man walks out a few minutes later from inside the daycare. He smirks when he sees me, arms up while his officer has his gun trained on me.
“At ease, officer,” he says to the young man. “Remind me to go over proper protocol,” I hear him grunt into the man’s ear as he passes by. “Seer, to what do I owe the displeasure?”
“We need to talk,” I tell him in a hushed tone. If anyone were to see us speaking, it wouldn’t bode well for us. “This is getting out of hand.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he seethes, keeping up appearances. “I think we need to have a conversation downtown,” he says louder, putting me in cuffs and leading me to his squad car.
I hear the sound of gasps around me, likely people who are buying into our little drama. This is how Chief Miller and I usually have our chats. Since I took over as Prez, I’ve been very conscious of building a good relationship with him. Pocus hates the police more than anyone, but I’ve learned during my tenure that they can be helpful for the right price.
As soon as I’m in the car, he undoes my cuffs. I relax against the backseat of his cruiser. We drive through the city in silence, and I contemplate the events of the day. This conversation would go differently if any of those children had died. I only breathe a sigh of relief nothing happened to them.
When we arrive at the station, he opens my door and marches me out, walking me through the offices and barking at his inferiors that he isn’t to be disturbed. He sits me down in front of his desk and collapses into his seat, burdened.
“I don’t know what the hell to do, Seer,” he admits, sounding defeated. He opens the bottom drawer of his desk and retrieves a small bottle of amber liquid and two shot glasses. He pours two shots, offering me one, but I decline. He swallows down both in quick succession. “What the hell do you do when your perp is in grade school?”
“You find the people who put him up to it,” I tell him firmly. “You know this isn’t a good look for either of us. The reputation of your department is on the line if you can’t end this epidemic.”
“Your club will always be under scrutiny as long as other gangs are,” he concludes.
“That’s the least of my worries,” I tell him truthfully. “I have a son. He’s almost four, and my wife and I considered that daycare. How long will it be until someone attacks his daycare? How many years until someone from a rival gang approaches him to do one small job? I’m not losing my child, Chief.”
He looks at me, seemingly with new eyes, and nods. “As much as I feel for you, Seer, and I really do, what do you expect me to do? I’m already stretched thin as it is.”
“That’s why I’m offering my help,” I tell him. “On the downlow, of course. No one can know I was here or that we had this conversation.”
A small, tentative smile creeps onto his face. “I feel like I’m making a deal with the devil.” He laughs.
“Ditto,” I confirm. “So, what can I do? Give me a job.”
“I don’t need more bodies,” he tells me, and I look at him curiously, not understanding.
“I have a full force at my disposal, but it does me no good. What I need is an inside man in your world.”
“Use me,” I say without hesitation.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you’re a civilian. I would need to put in one of my own, someone trained in combat and on my payroll.”
I hadn’t considered this. It was one thing for me to help the chief, but what would my men think if we had the enemy among our ranks? They could never know. It would be my secret to bear.
“It’ll be a hard sell. And it’s not like we’re recruiting these days. What are my men going to think if some random green kid shows up at our home offering to join?”
“You’ll figure out how to make it work,” he says confidently. “What you want to know is how to work me.”
I smirk. He’s a much smarter man I’d given credit for.
“I want full immunity for my men. You have my word they aren’t involved in any way, and that will be enough for you. And I need your word that we won’t experience surprise raids.”
