Prologue: II

“Then don't go back to O.G. You two are young boys with your whole lives ahead of you. Don't waste your lives doing his dirty work. You're either going to end up in jail, or dead before you're thirty.” Gabe advised.

“Or we could end up filthy rich with lots of ice and bitches.” The other boy smirked. “Now, this is the last time we'll ask nicely. Where's the money?”

“Gabe? Is everything alright?” Came Ruth's worried voice from inside.

“Yeah. Yeah! I'm fine!” Gabe shouted.

“You better give it to us, or we'll involve your wife.” The boys threatened.

“How much do I owe you?” Gabe asked.

“Two hundred bucks.” One said.

“I don't have it on me.” Gabe said.

Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Gabe fell to the floor, blood oozing from the bullet wound in his chest.

“Damn! Bro, what'd you do that for?” The boy with the bat asked, alarmed.

“I don't fucking know! I was just playing around with the trigger. I didn't mean to fire!” The other said with tears in his eyes.

“C'mon, let's get out of here.”

*   *   *

When Ruth heard the gun shot, she rushed to the sitting room and saw Gabe's collapsed form bleeding all over the carpet.

She bent over him and checked his pulse. She noticed it was barely there. She rushed to the nearest phone and called 911.

Jo followed her mummy to the sitting room, only to see her daddy on the floor, with blood everywhere. Her mummy was crying as she told her daddy to be strong. Jo quietly watched, a little confused at what was going on. After a while, a white and red van pulled up, and strangers came down from it and took her daddy's body.

She rushed up to her mummy, “Mummy, are you going to let this strangers take Daddy away? What if we never see him again?”

Her mummy cried and hugged her tightly, “Don't worry, we will.” 

Later that night, Ruth received a call from the hospital. Gabe had been dead on arrival. She quietly set down the phone and cried herself to sleep.

*   *   *

Ranem Police Department

Precinct 10

Fifteen years later

Lieutenant Ted Baines hated giving the speech he was about to, but it was a necessity. He consoled himself with the fact that it was only done once a year, when the precinct received new recruits who had just graduated from the academy.

He looked at the eager rookies, almost bursting with élan at the prospect of upholding the law and shook his head. A year later, most of them would hate their jobs, of that he was certain.

As his name suggested, Ted Baines resembled a teddy bear with his huge paunch and benign facial features. But his voice was a wonder to hear, a rich baritone that served to relax or to frighten, depending on the kind of mood he was in.

“Okay! Listen up, rookies! You all have successfully graduated from the police academy, but don't think that makes you ready for police work, 'cause it doesn't. The only thing that makes you ready for police work, is ... police work.” He paused to glare at his audience, and was glad to see they were taking his speech seriously. Some were even writing things down.

“Now, let me explain to you all how you all will be distributed among the twelve blocks of our very own Ranem city.” He said as he turned on a power point presentation.

“The city block with most officers is Gulden, while the city block with the least officers is Odton.” 

He saw disgruntled expressions on some of the faces of the rookies, but only one of them was brave enough to talk.

“But Sir, Gulden has a crime rate of thirteen percent which is relatively small compared to that of Odton which is a whooping eighty-five percent.” The clean shaven rookie said.

“Your point being?” Ted asked, looking bored.

The rookie blushed but continued, “Sir, I think we need more officers in Odton, not in Gulden.”

Ted Baines yawned, “That's your two cents, boy. You see, Gulden is home to the rich citizens, who donate generously to our department. The mayor wants us to keep them safe. Meanwhile, Odton is filled with criminals and other such lowlives. Did you know that there are more than a hundred gangs in that block alone? Why do you think Odton is also called Ganghaven, a name they relish? We generally leave them alone because the gangs fight and destroy each other, making our work easier. It's the way of things around here, and that's not going to change any time soon. Understood?” 

The rookies shouted a resounding “Yes Sir!”, although most of them weren't happy with what the lieutenant said.

“Good! Now get your asses out of here! I've got work to do.” He bellowed at them.