Adventure in the World of Crimes

2.7 War on Drugs

"You're taking illegal drugs!?" Warren exclaimed, his eyes bulging in surprise as he looked at the cubicle where a huge pack of drugs which probably cost more than millions was broken covering the tiled floor white, while the officer who clumsily dropped it was looking at him and the other officers on his back in horror.

"What? No! We didn't know this, he just happened to find it, right?"

"Yes, yes! There's no way we would use these." One agreed and added, pushing past Warren to gather the drugs in one side, not of course without nudging the officer at fault on his stomach.

"Then where are these came from and why are these hidden here?" He asked with a heavily furrowed bro, he was not believing any of their lies. These were the evidence he was looking for, and he couldn't wait how they would slip their excuses out in a more believing way.

"What's taking you so long?"

Their attention shifted to Deputy Director Sergio who had just came in the bathroom with a curious gaze, his eyes landed on the white thing on the floor, his eyes mirrored the same expression as the other officers inside, horror and nervousness, his face became pale as he looked at Warren in fear.

He's making it obvious. Warren snorted mentally.

"W-why is that there?" was the first thing that came from his mouth when he gathered his self back. "I mean, why is that even there in the first place?"

"Sir, we... uhh."

"This should be reported, sir. If normal people were being arrested and banned for using this, so must be the police, even more. Your men were using illegal drugs. This shouldn't be tolerated." Warren uttered with firmness and grave gravity.

He heard Sergio Carpio chortled, looking at him amusingly. "I see what the old man has mold you to be with just a few weeks of working with him. I like it." It sounded more like a sarcastic remark especially with the kind of smile he was giving him. "But you should lessen your suspicion on us, precisely like how Theodore viewed us. To be clear, Officer Warren, these are probably from the convicts who always hide their stones somewhere especially when we do inspections. You shouldn't come up with a notion when you have no evidence that they are the ones using it at all, that's slander."

"If that so, you should prove to me that these are from the prisoners then. If not, I will tell this to Senior Merit to have you be investigated and tested." Warren pressed, challenging them further. He saw how the Deputy Director's jaw clenched at his remark, he looked like he wanted to curse him because of his persistence in pursuing the subject when all they want was to drop it and proceed on the job.

The officers looked at the Deputy Director, waiting for his answer, well they know what will be his answer anyway, there was nothing they should be afraid of after all.

"Fine." He breathed out, smirking at him. "But you should apologize to me and my men if we proved it, and also tell your old senior about having the wrong belief about us."

Warren nodded, "Sure, sir. If that you'll be able to prove yourself. I know these inmates, they were not problematic, and even friendly to us."

The officers laughed loudly, the four walls of the comfort room was being filled with their ugly, unpleasant laugh.

"Seems like you don't know anything at all, Valore. I've been with these prisoners for so many years, and there are being added to the 'family' each day, and I knew now their antics." He cockily replied, taunting Warren's noviceship and already flexing of his relationship with the inmates that he thought he already knew the deepest of their personality when in fact he didn't know even a percentage of their lives.

"Just do what you need to do, sir."

Deputy Director Sergio Carpio tutted, then he looked at Warren without anything but a pissed off expression. "Sure."

They all went out. There was no worry on their faces, it's like they were so sure of the outcome, and that alone bothered and confused Warren. It was not the look they showed earlier when he found out about the drugs on the toilet flush, they were shocked and the fear was evident, but it was the complete opposite of what they're showing now.

"Inspection!" One officer shouted in a long, echoing, intimidating voice as soon as they get in the hallway where the prison was, and it was also the time chaos ensued.

The prisoners panicked, they all stood up and ran here and there, as if fishes rained with salt. He could also hear them asking why tonight and why they didn't tell them beforehand.

"Line up! Hands in the air!"

Warren moved to the back as the officers inside walked past him, carrying a small bat that inflicting fear as they continuously hit it lightly on their palms. However, he stood there watching as the men wearing orange tees lined up, facing the wall, hands held up to their nape, each cell had two or three officers going in and commencing the inspection. There were also officers on the second floor doing the same thing.

Deputy Director Sergio was supervising, but he never failed to give Warren a teasing smirk every chance he got and it annoyed everything out of his system that he just wanted to rip his lips off of his face.

Instead of getting more annoyed, he just looked around, walking to the second cell on the left where he usually went for a talk. The leader of the cell, a kind man named Ernesto Buenaventura, who was currently mourning his dead son, looked over his shoulder, nodding at him as soon as their eyes met but were instantly broke when the officer tapped his shoulder and asked him to remove his clothes which what was what they usually do in inspections.

As time went by, he was growing relaxed. The course of action from inspecting their body changed to inspecting the cell itself, and so far, there were no drugs seen yet, to Warren's relief.

But maybe it was only to play on him for a moment, a very awful way to make him realize that he was wrong, he expected too much on them, and only based his judgment by the way they talk to him and how they treat him. He didn't know, everyone had bad sides somewhere within them. His heart dropped along with the lump on his throat as one officer searching on the last cell on the right, holding an unzipped blue covered pillow, announced a certain thing to everyone.

"I found drugs! Check their pillow covers!"

Warren froze, looking at Sergio Carpio who looked much confusingly happier that they actually found drugs in their cells, instead of getting disappointed that the inmates were using drugs behind their backs. His face looked like he was saying that he won, and he got away from his, yet again, almost involvement of another issue in regards to illegal drugs which could lead to the termination of his job.

The event turned completely unfavored of Warren's side, as time passed by, the number of small packs of drugs were being discovered. The notification of every pack found was making him paler and disheartened, and it was obvious on his frowning and blank stares. It was, even a lot more on the second floor, almost every cell had it, hiding it on the pit of their things just not to be found but still failed miserably.

"So," Deputy Director Sergio began, dusting off his hand then put it on his waist as he snorted and looked at Warren. "Aren't these enough proof to prove ourselves, officer?"

Almost two more packs, as big as those hidden in the toilet flush, was put together on the long white metallic table of the interview room. The four officers he was with in the comfort room, Sergio Carpio, and he were the only ones inside, and all of them were looking down on him as if humiliating his previous cocky attitude towards them because he thought he knew better.

"Cat got your tongue, Valore? You weren't like this earlier." The officer with a beard, sharp, dark eyes, and shoulder-length hair, remarked. His voice taunting with a chortle earning a supportive laugh from the other men.

He remained speechless, only looking at the mountain of illegal stones before him as the comments and insults were going in and out of his ear. He needed to have a comeback reply, so he needed his source of strength. Luckily, there's a small pack in his back pocket, taking it out, opening it, and stuffing it all in his mouth, devouring it like a starving lion, he gained a weird look from the four people watching him.

"Are you sure you wanted to get him, sir? He's weirder than the last officer we were with before." One officer on the left of Deputy Director Sergio whispered to him, but they still all heard it loud and clear.

"Shut your mouth." Sergio Carpio snapped to him, then looking back at Warren. "May we please receive your apology now, officer Valore?"

"Okay." He said, nonchalantly. He swallowed the rest of his gummy bear and pocketed its plastic. "I'm sorry for accusing you of using drugs."

Their smiles widen, wider than a lucky man who had won a lottery. Sergio Carpio let out a throaty laugh, "We're good-"

"But I hope you know how irresponsible you are for letting these drugs enter the prison without your knowledge, and you even feel happy about it. Somehow, this has to reach Senior Merit's awareness and have him judge you if you're really worthy of being cleared from his suspicions or not, because, for me, you're still reckless."

He left the room and went back to his seat, feeling contented from his rebuttal.

All thanks to his precious source of strength.