Got Your Six

Chapter 9

Calvin

I notice Cameron's car as soon as I pull into the parking lot. I'm not so much bothered by the fact that he beat me here, I'm more curious as to how long he's actually been here. I stroll into the building just ten minutes before two o'clock, greet Anna at the front desk, and then walk through the door into the bullpen. Cameron is sitting in the Captain's office and I walk right past my desk to see what they're talking about.
"Ah, good timing, we're just about to go over the plan for tonight," Captain Bennett says to me as soon as I reach the doorway. "Have a seat."
I plant myself in the seat next to Cameron who just looks at me with raised eyebrows. There's not a single ounce of nervousness in him, or if there is, he's not showing it.
"Glad you could join us," Cameron says jokingly.
"How long have you been here?" I ask him, but before he has a chance to answer, Captain Bennett speaks up.
"Okay, tonight is a big deal. I've been waiting for my chance to take this guy down for a long time. That being said, let's make sure everything goes according to plan, I don't want any mistakes tonight," Captain Bennett is looking right at Cameron when he says this.
Obviously I know what I'm doing, this isn't my first bust, but we're counting on Cameron to not spook our suspect before the timing is right. If he makes even the slightest mistake, it could ruin everything.
"Cameron, you're going to have to drive your own car down to the site. You can't ride with us otherwise you'll be standing there with no car when Gavin pulls up and that will tip him off right away," Captain Bennett informs him.
"Right, of course," Cameron says as if they'd just talked about this before I got here.
For all I know, they could've talked about this before I got here. There's no way for me to know. They always seem to be having secret conversations without me. I'm sure Captain Bennett just wants to make sure Cameron knows exactly what he's doing to ensure we get to arrest Gavin tonight, but it doesn't change the fact that I still feel like they're hiding something from me.
Captain Bennett shifts his attention to me before he continues talking. "I'll be coming along for this, of course, but I want to have an extra officer with us just incase Gavin brings anyone with him. So, that's why I'm bringing Officer Gonzales with us as well. I've already briefed him earlier on how it's all going down."
I look out of the office at Gonzales, who seems to be typing up some report on his computer. I've worked with him the most out of any of the other officers, so I'm kind of glad the Captain chose him to tag along instead of someone else.
"This isn't happening until ten thirty. Why are we here so early?" I ask the Captain blatantly.
Normally for this kind of thing we'd show up just a couple hours before, gear up, and then go take down our target. That is, if we weren't already on shift, which I haven't been on Friday's as of late.
"Cameron hasn't done this before. I want you to take him to your desk and role play with him. You act as Gavin and make sure he won't slip up and say something that'll tip him off," the Captain instructs me. "Absolutely nothing can go wrong tonight."
I feel as if I've been training Cameron all week for this, but I suppose a few more hours couldn't hurt. Especially if the Captain is ordering it, that doesn't leave me much of a choice.
"I'll get everyone something to eat for dinner and then I want to go scout the location ahead of time before we gear up," Captain Bennett glances down at his desk, as if he's thinking about what else to tell us. "That's all I've got for you right now, go make sure he's ready for tonight," Captain says to me as if Cameron isn't sitting right beside me.
We both get up from our seats at the same time and leave Captain Bennett alone in his office.
"We've gone over this a hundred times this week," I tell Cameron, who's getting situated in the seat beside my desk. "You know what you're doing right?"
"I've got it, I'm not going to fuck this up," he assures me.
Regardless of his answer, we proceed to role play a few times simply because Captain Bennett ordered us to. Cameron's not wrong, I don't notice him say anything that I think would tip off Gavin tonight. So, we eventually quit role playing. After all, you can only go over the same situation so many times.
I resort to working on a few reports that I have yet to finish up by the end of the week while Cameron decides to waste the next few hours by scrolling through his phone. Without having his own desk, he's sort of stuck with me until the Captain decides to offer him a job. As long as that's still on the table. I guess we'll just have to see how tonight goes.
The Captain brings in a couple pizza's from the local pizza joint down the street around seven thirty. I guess when he said he was going to get food for everyone, he meant everyone involved in tonights sting operation because there's only enough to feed Gonzales, Cameron, and I. The three of us sit in the break room scarfing down the pizza in silence. I guess the Captain must have his own food because he didn't grab any pizza before he disappeared back into his office.
He returns to the break room as soon as we toss the empty pizza boxes into the trash. As if he sensed that we were finished.
"All right, let's go scout out our location for tonight," Captain Bennett orders us. Then, seeing Cameron get up from his seat he says, "You'll have to say here, we can't risk having anyone spot you with us before tonight."
Cameron sits back down and pulls out his phone, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he has to stay behind for this one. The rest of us make our way out to the parking lot and get into an unmarked patrol car. Gonzales takes the driver's seat while the Captain takes shotgun, leaving me with the cramped backseat.
Our location is only a couple minutes down the road, nearly a straight shot from the station. Ironically, the park is right next to the foundry, where Cameron and Gavin first met. I wonder if that's why Cameron suggested this spot. Then I shake the thought, deciding it doesn't matter. There's always sketchy stuff going down at this park. We always spot vehicles here after hours but they're quick to hurry off at the first sight of a police car.
The parking lot is designed sort of like a roundabout, if roundabouts had parking spaces in them. When you drive in, you're supposed to keep to the right. The road takes you around a small island of trees and shrubs and then it opens up to two rows of parking on the other side. There's a big stage for concerts and such on the right side of the parking lot and a small park on the opposite side, next to the entrance.
"I want us staged on the back row, around the middle," Captain Bennett says, signaling to the other side of the island.
"Shouldn't we be in a position to block the exit?" I ask him, knowing that's what we normally do in these types of situations. There's only two rows of parking, both on the same side of the island, which doesn't leave us too much to choose from. There's another parking lot right outside the park, mostly for the foundry workers to park in, but from there we wouldn't be able to see much of anything. Thus, we wouldn't be able to step in when we need to without being seen ahead of time.
"In that case, we'd be blocking the entrance too. Besides, I don't want us to be spotted as soon as he gets here," Captain Bennett says, looking around at the vacant parking lot.
There's only one other vehicle parked here, but there's no one in sight. The park has a trail that runs through it, making it a popular place for people to go on walks and bike rides.
"We'll have Cameron stage his car closest to the entrance," Captain Bennett tells us. "And Gonzales, I want you sitting on the hill with a rifle. It's right next to the entrance, but by tonight you'll be disguised by the darkness as long as you lay flat. You should be ready to take a shot if he tries to escape. Just taking out his tires should be enough for us to catch him. I want to make sure he's in good enough shape after this to sit in a cell the rest of his life."
I look out the window, looking at the hill Captain Bennett is referencing. It runs along the length of the trial, deep into the woods. If the woods were closer to the road, I'd say that'd be a better spot for him to conceal himself.
"Anyway, I've seen enough. We'll get everyone's positions more narrowed down when we come to set up tonight. Let's head back to the station and get ready," Captain says, which triggers Gonzales to drive the vehicle around the parking lot in a full circle and out the same way we came in.
Cameron is still sitting in the break room on his phone when we get back. Though, he emerges as soon as he sees us walk in. He joins the three of us just in time to hear the Captain say, "Let's gear up." Then he follows us all to the locker room.
Captain, Gonzales, and I open our lockers and begin dawning our vests and pistol belts. Meanwhile, Cameron sits on the bench in the center of the room, awkwardly looking around.
"So... am I getting a vest?" He asks questionably.
"That would look too bulky under your clothes. Can't wear anything that's going to tip him off," Gonzales informs him.
I wish I could give him a vest. Hell, I'd give him my own vest if it were up to me. Anything to make sure nothing happens to him. But Gonzales is right, wearing a vest would make him look bulky. It doesn't help that he used to work with Gavin, plus they just saw each other at the beginning of the week. Gavin would definitely know something was up if Cameron showed up looking like he just beefed up that much in five days. Maybe without having their little meeting earlier this week a vest might've been an option, but now it's out of the question.
"Come with me, Cameron. I'll go get you set up with your mic," says Captain Bennett, being the first one to have all his gear on.
"I need a mic for this too?" Cameron asks.
"It'll make it easier for us to know when to step in and take him down," Captain Bennett tells him. "We need to get you some money too," then he leads him out of the room, leaving Gonzales and myself to finish getting ready.
"You nervous?" Gonzales asks me.
"Yeah, but not for myself," I admit.
"I'm sure your brother will do fine. Didn't you say he was in the military?" Gonzales clips his belt and slides his pistol into its holster.
"Yeah, not anymore, but he was," I inform him. "He's been out for about a year now."
"Well, he might not have done this exact kind of thing before but he's got similar training. It'll all be good man, quit worrying so much," Gonzales says and then pats me on the back before heading out to the bullpen.
I slide my weapon into my holster and then make a stop at the bathroom. Best not to have to go right in the middle of the bust. By the time I get out to the bullpen, the rest of the crew is waiting for me. Cameron is wearing black jeans with a deep blue pullover hoodie. Probably the baggiest clothes I've ever seen him wear. Better for concealing the mic I guess.
"Okay, we're all ready?" Captain Bennett asks, shifting his gaze between all three of us.
The three of us agree in unison and wait for the Captain to give his next order. I glance at the clock that shows it's nearing nine forty-five and find it crazy how fast time has flown by today. If it keeps going that way, this night will be over in a flash and then I can crawl into bed and finally relax.
"This is a very high stakes situation. This isn't your normal drug bust," the Captain begins.
Of course it's not normal, if it were, my brother would not be here with us.
"We're dealing with the ring leader tonight, our town's biggest drug lord. We can't afford any mistakes tonight," he continues, looking straight at Cameron when he says this. "We'll be taking the unmarked SUV. Cameron, you follow right behind us on the way there. I'll show you where to stage your car once we get there."
Cameron nods his head in acknowledgment as Gonzales and I listen quietly, as we always do in situations like this. I unconsciously wipe my hands on my pant legs. My palms always seem to get sweaty whenever I get nervous. Normally, I wouldn't be nervous at all in a situation like this. It's just that fact that I have to worry about myself and my brother tonight that has me a bit on edge. It's a good thing I grabbed my gloves out of my locker when we were gearing up. The last thing I need is to drop my weapon because my hands were too slippery.
"Anyone got anything for me before we head out?" Asks the Captain.
We all stay silent, shaking our heads, ready to get on with our mission already.
"All right then," Captain Bennett says, leading the way out of the station. "Let's go get this bastard."