I can see you (waitin' down the hall from me)

Chapter 1

   A ruthless criminal, could he really be that difficult to catch? Would this case be too much for Officer Brookstone? Or would it be the thing he needs to be promoted? These were questions that kept Cole awake at night, although he should be getting rest before finding his hidden gem.  The criminal had avoided every cop trying to figure out who he was. He never left a single print, nor clue around the crime scene. No witness ever saw him, cameras never caught a single photo of him, and the crook had stayed hidden from the police, not committing crimes for a few months. Until recently. Thats what really confused Cole, the criminal revealed his face on a blury camera a few days after Cole had his graduation from the police academy broadcasted on the News. The cameras caught sight of the criminal's brown hair and amber eyes, although you couldn't see the bottom of his face, you could tell the criminal was smirking underneath the cloth mask as he took what he came for, a diamond necklace. Clearly the criminal thought he could try making it easier for the new cop. He liked messing with the detectives on his case, he's made some quit the force all together. But Cole would catch the criminal, he had to, he needed to prove himself. To everyone.
The sound of his phone broke Cole from his trance. He answered expecting some random fact about Jay's (Cole's best friend since grade school) new hyperfixation.

   "Hey, whats up?" Cole asked, starting the conversation.

  "Cole! Cole! Holy crabs!! Have you checked the news??" Jay began frantically, "The-the criminal!!"
That peaked Cole's attention, he took the TV remote and clicked the News on. There he was--the criminal. He had a mask covering the bottem half of his face, but you could clearly see the scar across his left amber coloured eye. The creased limes under his eyes showed he was smiling beneath the cloth mask. What is he doing? Cole thought, staring closely at the attractive criminal's face. He turned the Tv up while placing Jay on speaker mode. The criminal turned the screen over to the tied and gagged news reporters.

   "Sorry about that," The crook's deep voice chuckled, swiftly moving the camera back to his face, seemingly trying to prove that the reporters were ok and not in danger. "Hey Brookstone, are you ready for it?" the criminal winked as the camera went static, shutting off the News, suddenly the lights in Cole's apartment shut off as well. Blackouts were comman this time of year, but it couldn't be a coincidence after what the criminal said.

   "Haha... Cole, what was that?" Jay asked. Cole took a minute to regain his composue. What did the criminal mean? Did he cause the blackout? Shutting off the Tv, Cole put the phone closer to his lips, "I don't know." The lights turned back on as quickly as they shut off.

   The department was buzzing with energy as Cole walked in. There were a few curious looks at him, especially knowing that the criminal had said his name specifically. The mind games were already starting. Cole moved towards his bleak desk, setting his black bag to the ground beside a cabinet. He got to work checking emails, reports, and anything related to the infamous criminal.

   "Brookstone, meet me in my office, please?" Sergeant Julien said. He was also one of Cole's closer friends, meeting in the academy and working in the same precinct helped bring them together. Cole swiftly left his desk and went to Zane's office.

   "We have reason to believe that the crook is staying at a warehouse on the other side of town," Zane began to debrief. "Would you like to assemble a team to head over there? If so take Lloyd, Pythor, and a few others with you."

   Maybe Cole would catch the criminal faster than he thought. "Yes, I'll get right to it," Cole said with a nod.

   The team headed to the warehouse after getting everything they needed to storm the abandoned building. Pythor and Lloyd stayed close behind Cole as he led them in. They were met with a surprise seeing every wall in the one story building torn down to create a large room with nothing but a box atop a table. If the criminal was there, they wouldn't be able to miss him. Cole's team cautiously moved over to the table in the middle of the large room.

   "What is this?" Cole muttered. He reached over to inspect the box. Before he could feel the cardboard, the box popped open. Cole flinched back as a grey gas was released from the container. Lloyd was the first to fall after the drowsiness hit them. Cole began to reach over to catch Lloyd, but was unsuccessful as the drowsiness took over him as well.
After who knows how long, Cole began to regain consciousness. Through his blurry vision, a dark shadow reached over him to brush Cole's ebony hair from his face. Cold metal was placed in his dark hands. The dark shadow was gone and so was Cole's consciousness.

   Lloyd shook Cole awake. The gas knocking him out first was helpful in him being the first to wake. Cole shuffled and his eyes fluttered open.

   "Are you okay?" he asked Lloyd.

  "Yea, my head sorta hurts from falling though, what about you?" Lloyd said, helping Cole to sit upwards. Cole nodded while lifting his right hand to push his hair from his face. He stopped noticing the metal once again. The faint memory of a dark shadow looming over him appeared in his head. Cole brought his hand down to his lap, opening his dark palm.

   "Whats that?" Lloyd asked, noticing Cole's widened eyes and shorter breaths. The diamond necklace. It was in Cole's hand, along with a folded up note.

   "It's... The diamond necklace," Cole stuttered out. He faced Lloyd's shocked expression as the rest of the team began to wake. After checking how everyone else was, Cole told them what he had received. Cole placed the necklace into an evidence bag and pocketed the note. His team moved into the car and drove back to the precinct while talking about their theories.

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