UNDERCOVER

Prologue

"You got a golden ticket as a Rookie. Now, that's never happened before in the history of the department." a stern-faced, brown-skinned woman with a buzz cut sat crosslegged on her desk facing Ansel. By the side stood a Sergeant with his back to the wall, his eyes curiously studying the simple-looking man in front of him. It was as if he was struggling to understand how such a simple person could get a golden ticket in the Police Department.

"Now you have an opportunity in front of you. I would advise you to use it wisely. Let me know what you decide tomorrow, given what you have been through, I suggest you take the rest of the day off."

"Yes Ma'am," Ansel replied, still in shock at meeting this woman again and as his Captain.

****

"Undercover? Rookie, are you sure that's your final decision? If you are trying to be cool because you've seen a lot of movies, I'm afraid you have another thing coming for you" The captain wore a surprised look as she faced Ansel again in the office.

"Yes, Ma'am, I'm positive," Ansel replied with a nod.

The Captain's face slowly expanded into a smile that soon turned into laughter, "Ho ho ho I'm going to love hearing about how your trainers break you"

The Sergeant could easily see into the Captain's prejudice. He quickly explained, his expression earnest as he stared hard at Ansel, "Boot, what the Captain is trying to say is that you have spent too long in the Army and too little in the police to be able to handle undercover work"

Ansel glanced around confusedly between the Captain and Sergeant.

"I'm afraid I don't follow"

Sighing the Sergeant took a step forward to explain, gesturing with his hands as he did. "The military and the police work very differently. In the Army, you were taught to follow orders, whereas in the Police, you have to be proactive and mostly operate at your discretion. And while in the army, the other side is always shooting at you, seeking to kill you; in the streets, the people you meet as a cop are mostly your neighbors who are just having a bad day or made a bad decision or a mistake or are even clueless about what they are doing. Worse still you can't shoot your way out of these situations. Your job as a cop is not to take out enemy combatants but to deescalate any situation while protecting the lives of even those shooting at you".

"I understand that Sir. We were taught all of that at the Academy" Ansel nodded, his frown expression his confusion.

"Well, undercover work takes the whole discretion and independent thinking thing to a new level," the Sergeant's expression hardened.

"I think I can handle it, Sir," Ansel replied with a shrug.

"How long you spent in the Army huh? Seven years? And that's after boot camp for what? Roughly eight months? You think you can just turn off all your muscle memory and instinct with a switch?" The sergeant was starting to get impatient as he put a leg forward in annoyance.

"That's enough Sergeant. Officer Ansel, you earned that golden ticket. If this is what you want, this is what you get, the department will train you for it" the Captain spoke up at this time, her tone serious without any of the previous amusement as she stared at Ansel waiting for his reply, though somewhere in her eyes, Ansel could swear he saw malice.

"This is what I want, Ma'am," Ansel replied promptly, straightening himself with his chest out.

The Captain raised her brows at him and sighed while the Sergeant shook his head. Ansel was still a soldier.

****

"Alright, this is your first dive. I wish it were under different circumstances, but we have no choice. Now, if you are not up for it, we can pull the plug right now." The young blonde man sitting across from Ansel stared at him for a response before continuing after seeing a nod.

"Good. So this isn't your usual undercover dive, you will be going in deep this time. It will require a lot of patience and endurance but I'm sure you'll pull through. You are one of my best students."

"Okay, you remember what you need to do?" he asked.

"Yes Sir, identify all players in the Acorn Region"

"Correct. Listen, I know it's a tall ask, but the drug trade in the Acorn Region has raised concerns upstairs, and we don't have much to go on, so we have to get this right. Remind me the core rules of undercover work"

Ansel nodded and replied, his tone gentler than a few months ago at the Captain's office. Every time he thought about her, his mind would drift to that night they spent together and then the dreadful morning when he realized she was the Captain at the station he was assigned.

"A UC cannot victimize or murder anyone, actively participate in crime..."

"Ehhhh ..." the blonde interrupted. "Scratch that, we got the go from the court, you can actively participate in a crime as long as said crime does not violate the other rules. It's a deep dive, remember?"

"Umm yes" Ansel nodded, making a mental note.

"Okay, so, you are allowed to defend yourself from others. However, you are not on patrol, so assault, robbery, or any crime that has nothing to do with your objective is none of your business. And lastly, whenever you think it's too dangerous for you, you pull the plug alright?"

"Yes, Sir," Ansel replied softly with a nod.

"Good, you report every day, but if you cannot submit your report daily, you submit them all once in seven days. If we do not hear from you in seven days, every cop in the Acorn Region will be searching for you, so unless you are dying, please do not forget the welfare check. I'm going to need your badge and standard weapon. In return, you get this. The serials have been scratched off, but the weapon is documented and registered, so no cop with a brain will hook you for it. You might meet a fool though, in which case we'll unfortunately let it run and have it be part of your background."

"That's about it, any questions?"

"No Sir"

"Very good, you're expected to fend for yourself, cash, a place to stay, clothes, food and all. Criminal style, only hit the marked locations or it'll actually be a crime and uh, I'll cuff you" The blonde smiled teasingly at Ansel who was getting ready to get out of the car with only the things with him, his new weapon and a necklace he refused to turn in among his persona effects.

"Good luck, Officer," the blonde waved as the car drove away, leaving Ansel wondering how and when he got down.