Cop To Mafia

CHAPTER 2 – Who the hell I am?

CHAPTER 2 – Who the hell am I?

Cherry’s POV

“According to the information we have gathered from all the secret sources over the last few months, the Viper gang is having a meeting tomorrow.” Chief was explaining about our target in the Hawk-Six meeting room.

This room was allocated to only the six of us from the Washington PD. No other unauthorized personnel were allowed in the room, other than the six of us. We have been working together for the last five years.

I joined the police because I hated injustice and it was the only way I could serve my country and my people. From time to time, we were assigned operations related to terrorists and the mafia. We were a small team, but the missions and information we gathered were top secret.

Recently we received a new target and it was related to the famous mafia gang, Viper. Their septic venom had seeped into almost every country in the world and they were a big pain in the a**. Most countries wanted to eliminate them, but even countries enriched with military talents and weapons couldn’t do anything against them. What made it worse was that the Viper gang were like ghosts. No one could see them nor catch them.

When we got the case of the Viper gang, we swore under the flag of the United States of America and the Washington Police Department that we would give the bastards hell. In fact, previously, we wanted to initiate a few attacks on them, but at the last moment their destinations changed and we couldn’t execute our plans.

“Any guesses on where they are going to meet up this time?” I drank a sip of water from my water bottle and looked at the chief for an answer. He was looking through his square-framed spectacles at the file in his hands. The room turned eerily silent. Only the sound of the swinging air-conditioner was breaking the calmness of the room.

“We are blind, Boss!” Finally, John’s voice broke the silence. He was our third-in-command. I was the second-in-command of the team while John was below me. He was ten years older than me, married, and had two kids.

“Fine, I’ll brief you. They are planning to set up their meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.” The projector displayed Google Maps and then focused on the island of Sri Lanka, before zooming in on Colombo city.

“Okay. But where?” I questioned curiously. Only our chief was supplemented with the information at that time. The rest of us sat around the meeting room like blind people and kept asking questions from time to time.

“I will send a message to your personal mobiles tonight. This time, every single piece of information is top secret, even my hands are tied. I can’t reveal the exact location of the meeting, even if it is with my team,” Chief replied.

“But, our mobiles can also be tracked and, if we want, we can still pass the information to another party,” Kade, the fourth-in-seniority, finally voiced out.

“True. That’s why, this time, these are given to you until the mission is completed.” Chief threw some pager-like devices on the table. When he was done, there were five on the table and we began picking them up, one by one.

“You can use these pagers until the mission is completed. From now onwards, you have to use these pagers to message and contact the relevant parties. Your mobiles and everything else will be taken into the custody of the Washington PD until the mission concludes.” The rest of the team suddenly grew restless, everyone except me.

“How are we going to contact our homes and families without our personal mobiles?” John asked, his eyebrows narrowed in worry.

“As soon as this meeting is over, you can make a call to them and inform them that until the day after tomorrow, you are not allowed to speak or interact with any outsiders,” the Chief instructed, his face contorted with seriousness.

“What about….”

“The security of your homes. Yes, I know that you are all worried about that. We have already sent six security teams to your homes. Don’t worry, they will be on guard as civilians until you return home.” Chief sat on the chair, threw the file he was holding onto the table, and sighed.

“Any questions?” he asked. The team looked at each other’s faces and they shook their heads in denial.

“I hope everything is clear on this. Dismissed!” We stood up from our chairs and left the room, one after the other. I was the last one to leave the room, but before I did, I stopped at my steps.

“May I have a word with you, Chief?” I inquired, approaching him.

“I knew that you had a doubt, Cherry. Go ahead,” he replied, removing his spectacles.

“Why is there tougher security this time? Even until the last moment, we wouldn’t be told the location of their meeting,” I stated, curiosity laced in my voice.

“Cherry, you have worked here for more than five years. You know how much effort we have put into getting into a square with this Viper gang. Everything is set to capture them and we can’t take any risks. The top superiors need this to be finished this time. That’s why these precautions are being taken and…” he paused.

“And what, Chief?” I knew that if he paused while speaking, that meant that it was something serious.

“You know that all our plans related to the Viper gang previously have failed. I strongly believe that there is a traitor among us!” My eyes went wide with disbelief and the smile on my face disappeared.

“Come on, Chief. We are family! None of us here are traitors. We have served our people and country well. You are aware of the number of times we have put our lives in danger to save civilians. This is a serious accusation, Chief!” The gravity of my voice echoed through the soundproof room.

“I know that, Cherry, but this is not a decision I have taken by myself. The superiors of the Washington PD are also involved in this,” the Chief responded and exhaled sharply.

“Anyway, I hope everything will be fine after tomorrow,” I said and turned to leave.

“All the details will be sent to your pager within two hours, Cherry. Until then, call your family and prepare yourself for the battle,” the Chief instructed with authority. I nodded in acknowledgment and exited the room.

“Ma’am, this way please.” As soon as I stepped out of the meeting room, an officer from the IT department greeted me. I dutifully followed him to a new room. The room was spacious, equipped with all the basic requirements, particularly a bed, a bathroom, a small writing table, bright lights, and air-conditioning.

“Ma’am, you can make a call from this mobile phone but it will be in front of me, besides, everything will be recorded on the phone.” He handed over the mobile phone and stood in a corner of the room. I exhaled out loud and dialed my home number. It rang for a few seconds and then my mom answered.

“Hey, Mom,” I greeted her with a cheerful voice.

“Cherry, honey, are you on the way?” she asked with a warm tone.

“Mom, I won’t come home until the day after tomorrow,” I said.

“Why is that, Cherry? What’s the matter? Are you all right, sweetie?” Her warm voice turned restless.

“Mom, it’s because of a mission we have to complete tomorrow. I can’t share the details with you. I don’t have the authority to do it. Actually, we don't even know where we are going, Mom.” I sighed to myself.

“Are you okay, Cherry? You sound tired. Are you stressed, baby?” Among the three of us, she was most concerned about me. I always reminded her not to worry about me, but being a mom was a different character, with a whole lot of responsibilities to handle in that position.

“I am stressed, Mom, and I am restless. I…. I just….”

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s okay. I know that you will do great. I will prepare your favorite dinner the day after tomorrow.” Mom’s restless voice slowly turned normal, livelier even.

“Anyway, Mom, is Dad there?” I asked, eager to speak to him as well.

“He went to buy some groceries. I will ask him to give you a call, Cherry,” Mom replied.

“No, Mom. My mobile phone has been taken away by the PD. They will return it to us the day after tomorrow. This is all just safety precautions,” I explained.

“Your voice is different today, Cherry. Don’t be restless, baby.” Her comfort made my lips pout in some sort of sadness.

“I feel strange, Mom. I don’t know. I just want to go there and hug all of you.” A lump started to form in my throat and I gulped it down hard before biting my lips to hold back my teary voice.

“Oh come on, where’s my brave girl today? Cherry, don’t be upset, baby. It’s only just for a few days. After that, you take some time off and stay home for a week,” Mom said with reassurance.

“I have to get prepared now, Mom. I’ll talk to you later, but I am not sure if I can. Give my regards to Dad, Sam, and Jenny.” I let out a sharp exhale to compose myself, for my voice was becoming heavy. I knew that if I continued talking to her, I would start crying.

“Take care, sweetheart. Love you!” she conveyed, making my lips quiver.

“Love you too, Mom.” I didn’t want to hold on to the phone any longer. If I did, I would have wanted to keep talking, just to hear her sweet voice.

I ended the call and returned the mobile phone to the officer.

The next day

“This is the location. We are going as civilians. This is an abandoned building near the slums of Colombo. The land was recently purchased by a private owner. Most likely it belongs to the Viper gang indirectly. I’ve also checked the owner’s details; they are all fake.” Chief started briefing more details during our flight to Sri Lanka via a private jet.

“Does the Sri Lankan government know about this?” I asked.

“No. This is a covert mission, so keep a low profile. If we inform them, the information may reach the wrong hands as well,” the Chief replied, shaking his head.

“All right, Boss. What time are we planning to reach the building?” Slade voiced out.

“As usual, bad people will always be active during the night. According to the information we received, they will start gathering there after 9 p.m.,” the Chief answered.

After a long flight, we eventually arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka. We made our way to the hotel, went to our respective rooms, and then regrouped in the Chief’s room to check our weapons. When we had everything ready, it was time for the mission. Oddly, I felt more restless than usual, like any other day. I had done many covert operations before, but this time, it felt like there was a danger looming.

“Take your position, keep a low profile and eliminate the target!” the Chief ordered through the Bluetooth earpiece. Luckily, we brought along our night vision glasses because the building was swallowed by darkness.

“They have arrived,” Slade alerted through the earpiece.

“Cherry, they are heading to your floor.” I was on the third floor, hiding my body behind a group of barrels.

“Copy that, Boss,” I whispered. Soon, I heard their footsteps arriving on my floor.

“Boss, everyone is here,” I heard a man’s voice say, probably referring to the bigger fish that had just arrived.

“Is everything set for the meeting? What about the weapons deal?” the man I assumed was the boss asked the other man.

“Everything is perfect, Boss. Only your signature and permission are needed to proceed.” Their footsteps grew louder as they walked by, beside me.

“No one initiates an attack until I give my signal!” I heard the Chief’s voice in my ear.

“Copy that!” everyone acknowledged through the Bluetooth earpiece.

“Adam, you record their deal. They are heading to the fifth floor,” Chief informed him.

“I will, Chief,” Adam whispered from the other side.

We waited there for about half an hour. Then, suddenly, I heard a gunshot.

“Chief, they know we are here! Cherry, they are heading to your floor!” Adam’s shaky voice was heard through the earpiece and then his connection was lost.

“Adam! Adam!” Chief yelled, but there was no answer from Adam.

“Chief, they are attacking us!” I heard the others yell and then a deafening shower of gunshots began.

We started to fire back with all our might, running and changing our location as we opened fire to multiple targets. All of a sudden, when I least expected it, a punch landed on my face, knocking my Bluetooth earpiece and night vision glasses to the ground.

Shit, f**k! I cursed the darkness that blinded me. I held my gun tightly and started shooting towards the direction of the source of my punch.

“Cherry! Don’t move!” I heard the Chief calling out from behind me. I turned towards him but I couldn’t see anything because of the darkness that surrounded us.

“What are you…..”

In a blink of an eye, two gunshots were heard in the dark building. He had shot me. The one I trusted the most shot me right in my chest. I felt the bullets drilling through my ribcage and heading deeply towards my heart. My whole body immediately went numb, accompanied by a sharp pain in my heart that soon paralyzed my arms, causing the gun I was holding to fall to the ground.

“Oh no! Boss, what did you do?” The rest of the team came running towards me. I heard their footsteps rushing to where I was on the ground. I couldn’t utter a single word. Tears soon started to roll out from my eyes and kiss the dusty floor of the shadowy building.

“I…I didn’t…”

“Boss, why did you shoot her?” the rest of the team yelled out.

“Somebody call for an ambulance! F**k! We are in a foreign country too. Contact the headquarters immediately!” My blood soon covered the ground of the dark and dusty building.

Within seconds, I started to feel my soul tearing apart from my body.

My family! I couldn’t hug them one last time. I couldn’t talk to Dad and tell him how much I loved him. I couldn’t hug my siblings and bicker with them meaninglessly.

With my last ounce of life, I tried to make sense of what had happened. I was in disbelief that the Chief himself was the traitor in the team!

I gulped for one last time. Soon I started to see a white light above me before my soul was ripped out of my body and dragged to a dark tunnel!

I was dead!

No, wait! I still feel my heart beating!

My heart started to leap with excitement. Was it all just a dream?

I slowly opened my eyes to find that I was in a hospital room. I roamed my eyes to scan my surroundings.

“How are you feeling now, Ms. Evie?” I heard someone say. I tilted my head slightly to see that it was a doctor beside me.

I smiled at him weakly. But, before I could say anything, my mind was hit by a bolt of lightning with the name I had just heard.

Evie? Who the hell is that?