Chapter 2. Gifts to the Cops

Jones Carl

The sun had risen and stretched its golden fingers ever outwards into the sky, the flower of the sky warming the day and inviting in a new beginning. It was a beautiful day for the cops but not for the captured robbers.

The 84th Precinct officers of the law were basking in the glow of the beautiful day the sun had ushered in. Staring at the handcuffed suspects wouldn’t do them any good. The two robbers handcuffed to the barricade matched the description of the gang of robbers that had been terrorizing New York City. They were dressed in similar attire, but the cops still had doubts about whether they were the right suspects. They murmured and grumbled amongst themselves.

A while ago, the officers had just arrived at their department to report for duty, only to find two unconscious suspects matching the description of the gang of robbers they had been chasing for a while.

The squealing of tires interrupted their argument. When they turned to look, they saw a black car rolling into the parking lot in front of the 84th Precinct, pulling over without parking well in one of the parking spaces. Out of the car stepped a decent, well-shaven man dressed in a black suit. He removed his sunglasses and hastily walked to the barricade without even closing the door of his car.

“That must be Detective Jones,” they said.

“I said it’s him,” said one of the officers, his gaze drawn to the well-shaved man dressed in a black suit.

“What happened here?” Detective Jones narrowed his gaze on the two unconscious suspects handcuffed to the barricade. He placed both hands on his waist, exposing his 9mm strap around him and his badge next to it.

“Not quite sure what happened here, Detective,” said one of the officers.

“Perhaps I know what happened.” Detective Jones smirked to himself. He glanced around and spoke with certainty. “Officers, we now have in custody members of the gang of robbers terrorizing the city.”

The rest of the officers stared at each other with disbelief written on their faces, wondering who might have been behind the capture of the members of the gang of robbers. Their thoughts went deep; after all, this wasn’t the end. The two captured suspects were not the only gang members they had been chasing for a while now.

After Detective Jones observed the handcuffs, he recognized them as his own. There was no doubt now that this was the handiwork of Lacey Williams. He had given her these handcuffs on her 21st birthday. There was a red dot on the cuffs that he had scribed before giving them to Miss Williams.

“Officers, lock them up!” he sneered.

Detective Jones walked back to his car. He dug out his cell phone from the inside pocket of his black suit and dialed some digits. He put the phone next to his ear and patiently waited for Lacey to answer. He leaned on the bonnet of his car, shaking his head at the caller’s tone.

Lacey picked up. “Hey, Detective, you got my gifts?” Lacey said on the other side before Detective Jones could even say ‘hello.’

Before Detective Jones could say “Yes,” Lacey interrupted, yelling in the background of the call. He could hear her yelling in the background as if someone had just pissed her off. The yelling wasn’t directed at him, though. She was yelling at her younger siblings, Jack and Clara.

After a few seconds, she put the phone back next to her ear and apologized for her manners on the call.

“I understand, but you have to go easy with them. They’re just kids, you know,” Detective Jones advised. He emitted a long-deep audible breath, expressing relief. “I got your gifts, and you should stop calling me detective.”

Lacey smirked to herself. “What, then, should I be calling you?”

“I’ve told you, you can always call me Carl.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but...”

“There’s no but. It just makes me feel at home with you as a friend. Calling me detective makes me...”

Lacey cut him off. She already knew what Detective Jones was going to say, so she decided to help him finish his popular phrase. “...makes me feel like an outsider and a stranger to you.” She made a soft sigh of relief. “I know. I will try to call you Carl.”

“One more thing, you don’t have to be playing vigilante. It’s not safe.”

Lacey smirked under her breath and spoke in a soothing voice. “We’ve been through this before, and no matter what you say, it’s not going to make me stop. You know my reasons for this. Please, don’t force me to stop.”

Detective Jones knew her more than the rest of the cops in the 84th Precinct. He was the only one besides Lacey’s family that knew of her identity as a wolf, but he had promised to keep her identity a secret. He had been a very good friend to her family before her parents and elder brother were murdered. Detective Jones understood how she felt about keeping her city safe and her younger siblings.

He inhaled and exhaled sharply. “Alright then, but be careful,” he said. He didn’t like the idea of Lacey playing vigilante. She should be focused on her studies. There was no stopping her, though. He had tried in the past as a friend to get her to stop, but she was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to him, at least not until she found out who was behind the gang of robbers terrorizing her city.

“One more thing...” Lacey said on the other side. “Let me not look for you today.”

“How can I forget your birthday party tonight? Of course, I will be there.”

“Alright, see you later then.”

“Stay out of trouble.”

Lacey smirked to herself. “You too.”

Detective Jones hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket. The next thing for him to do was to interrogate the two suspects and probably find out more information about their group. He had vowed to help put down the gang of robbers and make them pay for their crimes, especially for the murder of his friend’s parents and elder brother. Today was going to be a hectic day, after all.