Flashover Pt. 08

"You could always stop," he teased.

"That's crazy talk!"

He chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm wearing a vest."

"Good."

Movement caught his eye and he glanced up in time to see Chips slowly cruise past in their black, 2014, Chevy Tahoe.

The Brunswick PD had confiscated the vehicle a few years prior when they found fifty pounds of cocaine in it. Bill Horton, the chief at the time, had kept the car for department use as part of the forfeiture from the bust, and now it served as their undercover drug car.

"I have to go," Sean said. "We're about to try to make our buy. I'll call you when we're done."

I've got action, Chips' voice said from the walkie in the passenger seat.

"Okay. Don't forget. Bye," Maggie replied, and then was gone.

He tossed his phone into the passenger seat and slipped his car into gear. He wanted to be ready to move when Chips gave the word.

I'm looking for something, Chips said.

What? another voice responded.

I heard I could get some stuff around here.

What kind of stuff?

Word was pretty much anything I wanted. You got molly?

I haven't seen you around before. You a cop?

Chips chuckled. Yeah... the head of the fuckin' State Police. Do I look like a fuckin' cop?

The twelves are busting our ass. Can't be too careful.

Fine. If you haven't got anything then I'll find somebody else. Thanks man.

Wait! Who sent you?

Nobody sent me. I'm in Raleigh on some business and there's this bitch in the class I want to loosen up a little, if you know what I mean. I figure a little molly will do the trick. I did some asking around. Word is Tilley is the place to get what you need. Seems the word is wrong. Peace brother.

What'cha paying?

What's the going rate? I want powder.

No powder. Caps. Hundred.

Fuck you! Chips snarled. I ain't puttin' no Franklin down for no cap. I'll take two for fifty, but it better be the good shit.

Sean ground his teeth. "Come on, Chips, stop screwing around," he muttered, his hands flexing on the steering wheel.

There was a long pause. You got the Franklin?

Right here.

I'll do three for the Franklin, but that's my best deal. It's good shit. Top quality. A point hit, guaranteed.

Or my money back, huh? Chips teased. Where's your supply coming from?

What's it to you?

Because some bad shit is coming down from up North. You haven't heard?

Yeah, that's what I hear too. This is local supply, out of South Carolina.

Okay. Let me see the stuff.

Let's see the cash first.

There was the sound of movement. Okay. We have a deal. What's your name brother? Chips asked as there was the sound of hands slapping together.

They call me Sticks. If you need any more, you come on back. I cut deals for regulars.

Maybe I'll do that, but I'm in Raleigh for only a few more days. It's my lucky day that I found...

Sean didn't hear the rest of what Chips was saying. 'My lucky day' was their go signal, and Chips was stalling to give his backup time to arrive. He matted the throttle and flipped on his headlamps and strobes, his car bellowing as it leapt from his parking place. When he popped out on Main Street, he could see two more sets of lights approaching, leaving no place to run. Caswell was a bit faster than Sean or Donner, and was already getting out of his car, his weapon out, as Sean banged to a stop. Donner was only moments behind Sean as they exited their cars, their own weapons hot.

"Brunswick Police Department! Down on the ground! Down on the ground!" Caswell was shouting as he approached in a crouch, his weapon out in front of him. Sean and Will were approaching from the sides, their weapons also at the ready as they closed the noose.

Sean assisted Caswell and Donner until they had control of the situation, then he hauled Chips out of the car, not wanting to burn him. They might want to do this again. "You're under arrest for possession," Sean snarled, snapping on cuffs, but leaving them loose.

"You okay?" he asked quietly as he removed the cuffs and then opened the rear door of his car for Chips. Chips would sit there and look guilty until the other three were gone, and then he'd take the Tahoe back to the station.

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

"Why were you messing around?"

"The guy was nervous. If I'd bit on the first deal, he'd have known something was up and would've backed off."

Sean grimaced then nodded. Chips was probably right. "Get any video?"

Chips grinned. "Had him smiling for the camera."

Sean nodded. "Good job, Officer Langley, but damn. Cybercrime isn't nearly as nerve wracking as this."

Chips' grin widened. "Okay, next time you can do the buy."

Sean snickered and shook his head as he closed his door. Unlike a marked cruiser, Chips could open the rear doors of his car from the inside. He looked back at Donner and Caswell as they lined the three men up and bent them over the hood of Donner's cruiser before patting them down. They were going to need Fish for transportation. It was going to be a busy night at the station. Their first customers for the new software. While Fish, Caswell, and Donner processed their guests, Chips changed back into his uniform and Sean used the camera and light box to take pictures of the drugs and cash that they'd taken into evidence. He also downloaded the video from the camera. They had Sticks dead to rights, the video clearly showing his face and money being exchanged for drugs.

Brunswick had no facilities for holding prisoners overnight, so after reviewing the video, Sean called the Siouan County Sheriff's Department to come get their guests. County would charge the city for the transportation, but that was better than having three-quarters of his officers tied up and out of town transporting prisoners. By the time the men were processed and County had arrived to take them away, it was almost midnight. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He picked up his phone and selected Maggie's cell number from the contacts list.

You up? he typed, and then pressed send. He didn't want to call her in case she was already asleep.

She didn't answer immediately. He was walking out to his car when the Jetson's doorbell sounded, announcing the arrival of a text.

Sort of.

He grinned. Even her text sounded sleepy. He'd probably woken her up anyway.

Done. Nobody shot. Going home. Call you tomorrow? he typed after sitting down in his car.

Okay. Wish you were here.

Me too.

Night, she responded, and added a canted lips emoji at the end.

Sleep well, he replied, but didn't bother with an emoji. They weren't his thing. He waited a moment, but when no other text arrived he started his car. As he drove home, he mused over the night's work. One or two more nights like this should send the message loud and clear that Tilley was taking back their town. They still had a long way to go, but tonight was a start. They'd have to wait a few weeks before they tried to do another undercover buy. The dealers were going to be nervous, suspicious, and unwilling to sell to anyone new for a while, but that was okay too. Drying up their customer base worked almost as well as throwing them in jail. When Garland and Tyrell hit the streets, he would probably add one to the Fisher and Langley team, and add the other to the Limbrose and Tilden team, but assign them to patrol Tilley exclusively. As he added officers, they'd be able to patrol more of Tilley and further tighten the screws down on the criminal elements. In a year, hopefully, Tilley would be rid of the worst of its drug problem and the crime that went with it.

Then the town could focus on rebuilding and attracting businesses to provide the jobs the town needed. But it all started with them. They had to keep the pressure on and make the area safe enough for businesses to want to move there. He pulled to a stop at his apartment. The first few businesses to take a chance and move into Tilley were going to be risking a lot, but if it worked, they'd be there to reap all the rewards, having time to establish themselves with little to no competition as the town fought its way back.

He opened his door and Marmalade was there. "You've already eaten, you greedy thing!" he fussed as he carefully nudged the cat out of the way.

Marmalade rushed to his food cabinet, paused with his front feet on the door, then scampered to Sean's bed. It was the same routine whenever he entered the door, no matter the time or when Marmalade had eaten last.

As he prepared for bed, he thought about what else they could do to speed the recovery process. Once commerce returned, and people were out and about, the dealing and violence would further disappear. The underground liked to work in the shadows and out of sight of the public. He turned out the bathroom light and tumbled into bed with a tired groan. He pulled Maggie's pillow close and breathed deep, enjoying her lingering scent of vanilla and apples.

He lay in the darkness, waiting for sleep to take him. Tonight was a good night. A dealer, two thugs, and about fifteen-thousand dollars' worth of cash and drugs had been taken off the street. That'll put a crimp in Tilley's drug trade. It was a slam dunk conviction too. The video Chips collected left no questions over who or what happened. It was too bad Clicks didn't have a hidden camera on when Juno was paying him to burn down Barns' buildings. That'd be another slam dunk conviction.

It'd been two days since he'd spoken to Juno and he'd been wracking his brain over a way to bring Harvey to heel for what he'd done, but he kept coming up empty. He was reasonably sure Juno was his man, but he had nothing to hang a case on. All he had was the testimony of a very unreliable witness, and no motive he could determine. He sighed as he began to slip into sleep. It was annoying to know, or at the very least suspect, who the guilty party was and not be able to prove it. If he couldn't pin the deed on Juno, then he couldn't. Even Sherlock Holmes struck out once in a while.