Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Day 122 - The Missing Agent

 The Missing Agent
 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 
Kaylee woke up five minutes earlier than the day before, which was five minutes earlier than the day before that, which seemingly went on and on like that for weeks now. If this kept up, pretty soon she would be waking up before she went to bed the night before. She had been partnered with Office Declan and everyday he arrived before she was ready. They were foot patrol, walking the streets half the day and sitting in a police booth near the highway the other half. It didn’t seem like the type of assignment that required that level of dedication and attention to detail, but Declan was a stickler, so Kaylee matched his poise. Or at least attempted to. After the first few days, she swore she would be ready before he got there, no matter how early it meant she had to wake up. So far, she had continually failed.
Today, Kaylee had woken with the sun, performed her morning meditation and preparations. Water was on the stove boiling for hard boiled eggs and the kettle was steaming and her coffee was just about ready. Clothed and ready, she was a minute maybe two away from leaving the house, and no sign of Declan out the window. Kaylee smiled a satisfied smile, thinking that today would be her first victory, when the knock came at the door. She smiled when she answered the door, but they both knew it was less than sincere.
Declan and Kaylee began their day like any other day, on foot patrol. But soon they veered off and he led her several blocks away to a neighborhood that wasn’t normally theirs. It was odd, but Declan liked to throw in little tests and changes each day to keep her on her toes and add to her training. She figured there would be a lesson here that could be applied to the rest of their day.
“Tell me what you know about the Dragon Claw.”
Kaylee didn’t know anything about the Dragon Claw. She could feel her cheeks warming as she tried to fight off an embarrassed blush.
“It sounds like a gang.”
“Good. But are you guessing or do you know something?”
“Guessing.”
“That’s alright. Take a look around, and tell me what you see.”
It was a busy neighborhood full of street vendors and little shops. Old Town was the pinnacle of urban decay. Graffiti covered store walls. Trash littered the streets. Buildings were run down, with rusted metal, mold and broken plaster.
What was he asking for, she wondered. Workers, travelers, tourists. Food vendors. Beggars. People in the street. It was chaotic, but it all seemed pretty normal. People, cars, traffic and plenty of noise.
“Old Town? Underdeveloped. Poverty stricken. A lot of sad and desperate people.”
“There was a murder yesterday.”
“You sure? I didn't hear--”
“Right over there.”
Declan pointed and Kaylee followed his gaze across the street. She didn’t see any evidence of a struggle, let alone a murder.
“There was no police report. No files recorded. No body recovered.”
“If there’s no body, then how can you know it happened?”
Declan pointed to the graffiti on a building wall.
“Do you see it?”
Kaylee stared for a moment; it wasn’t clear at first. There was nothing there but gang tags overlapping other tags and images. But the longer she stared, the more it came into focus. Lines from several different images all came together to reveal a hidden image – the outline of a dragon claw. And then she saw the number in chaos of color – Seven.
She turned to Declan and nodded.
“When I was a kid, there was a different gang on each street. It seemed like every month meant a fight between different factions. The Dragon Claw changed all that. There was a meeting and the major crime families carved up the map, established their territories. They made rules to live by, trying to coexistence. The families incorporated. Businesses run by the criminals for criminals. And the Dragon Claw is their fist. Their private army, created to keep the peace. Highly trained and extremely deadly.”
Officer Kaylee looked around at the various gang signs on the street corners, looking for other clues. She turned back to Declan.
“How could you know any of this?”
“Because... I used to be one of them.”
Kaylee stepped back, shocked.
“Why are you telling me? I don’t… I don’t know--”
“I’ve been watching. Testing you. Researching you. You’re honest, you’re talented, and there’s nothing in your past to indicate you’re corrupt. My past is in the past. I’m putting together a team. It will be dangerous. But if we survive, it will make your career. I’m going to take them down, one by one, until there is nothing left. And I’m asking you if you want in, if you want to be my partner.”
Kaylee stared at him, nervous, but she already knew what her answer would be.

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