GONE WITH THE GUN

EPISODE 41

14th March, 2015.

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Wafi was in his car when he got the call. It was 9:42pm on Saturday. He was about to drive to go see his parents. He got the call from a private number. At first he didn't want to answer the call but when he did, he was happy he did. The caller sounded sure of what she was saying. She said she spotted a black van pulling into a warehouse in Birdview Avenue. She told Wafi that she couldn't tell what the men were up to but she knew it was nothing good.

Wafi knew Birdview Avenue very well. He could already guess the warehouse. It was one he had observed at length during a stake out. He had suspected that it was being used by a drug syndicate for storage. He had tried to obtain a search warrant a couple of times but it kept being denied by the City Judge who insisted that Wafi did not have enough reason to be awarded a search Warrant. When he sought the help of the Deputy Police Chief, he too allied with the judge. Wafi didn't understand them both. He suspected foul play but kept his suspicions to himself. He had stopped his stake out and had accepted defeat until this night.

The call he just got now was the kick he needed. The first thought in his mind was to drive to the warehouse and see for himself. He knew the police chief might get angry if he barges into the warehouse without a warrant. And that whatever evidence he finds might be rendered invalid for lack of a search warrant. On a second thought, he decided to call the Deputy Police Chief and tell him. It was a long process trying to go to the judge for a warrant. He might lose the men before he even gets a chance to see the judge.

Wafi drove towards Birdview Avenue. He placed a call to the dispatcher asking to speak to Deputy Chief Wilson. To his surprise, Deputy Chief Wilson gave him a go ahead and also asked him to be careful. Deputy Chief Wilson told him that back up was on the way and warned again that he should be careful. Wafi drove on. Certain that this would be the day his hunt for the drug lord will start bearing good fruits.

As he drove into Birdview Avenue, his energy was so high. He parked away from the suspected warehouse. He knew he had to wait for back up but he also wanted not to lose this opportunity. He got off the car and walked stealthily towards the building. Everywhere was dark except for a street light at the far end of the Avenue.

Wafi had gotten to the warehouse. He stood before the huge draw down door and waited. He listened for any kind of sound that might come from within the warehouse. It was utterly quiet. He touched the door to see if it was locked. It wasn't. He lowered his hand and pulled the door up slightly, taking care not to make a sound. He was going in.

He lay on the floor and rolled into the building. It was dark in there too. The only beam of light in there was from the street light outside. It had slipped through the high window of the warehouse, giving just a very small illumination to the warehouse. Wafi had wanted to put on the flashlight that he had strapped on his waist but he decided not to. He would have to make do with the very little light. He was standing now. He took out his gun, held it with both hands and pointed it in front of him.

He walked carefully into the warehouse. There were a lot of boxes stacked high up to the ceiling. Wafi guessed they might contain cocaine. He carefully took down one of the boxes and opened it. It was exactly what he suspected. There were close to 25 packs of cocaine in the box. Wafi quickly did the arithmetics in his head. Each pack of cocaine would be worth around 7,000 dollars. They were about 3,000 boxes in the warehouse. That would mean that he was standing in a warehouse containing about 525million dollars worth of cocaine. Wafi gulped at the thought.

He couldn't hear any sound except for that of his pounding heart. There seemed to be no one in the warehouse. Maybe the
woman that called him was not sure what she saw. Or maybe he came too late and the men had already left.
 
Wafi was disappointed. This meant that his hopes had been crashed. He had to go back. As Wafi was about to turn, he noticed a human shadow behind him. He turned swiftly towards the figure and just then, he heard a gunshot. A bullet breezed pass his left eye. It gave him a cut on his skin and his earlobe. The sound of the shot rang in his ears making him lose balance. Wafi staggered a little and then dove for cover. He hid behind a stack of boxes, trying to regain his composure, his hand on his left ear.

This was it. Someone was there. The woman was right after all. Wafi still sat hidden. He hadn't seen the persons face, but from the shadow, he could tell it was a man. Wafi stood up still using the boxes as a cover. He could see another stack of boxes on his left side. He dove to that one and took cover. His gun was by his chest as he looked left and right for the shooter. He heard a sound. It was that of approaching footsteps. Wafi's heart was pounding harder now. He swiftly turned to shoot towards the approaching footstep but the man was quicker.

He kicked the gun off Wafi's hand and sent a jaw shattering blow to his face. Wafi was stunned. He tried to throw a punch at the man but he got a hard kick on his chest that sent him through a stack of boxes and then to the floor. The man pointed his gun to Wafi who was trying to get up. He cocked it.

For that moment, Wafi became a four year old boy again. He remembered that day when a man had pointed a gun at him. Or was it just an imagination. It was blurry and he wasn't even sure if he was the one. Maybe he wasn't the kid. But it felt so real. He felt himself starting to whimper. He had his eyes closed as he waited for the man to shoot him. Wafis mind was running fast. He remembered his mum and dad. They had adopted him and since treated him like their own son. He remembered his mentor, retired Detective Frudo. He remembered his only friend Cinn. He should have treated him better. Well, this was his last day. Tears ran down his cheeks. He was about to die. Why was the man wasting time? He thought.
 
"I am sorry mate but I have to do this" Wafi heard the man say.

Wafi was kneeling as he waited. He heard a gunshot and his heart jumped with fear. He thought he had been shot but rather he heard footsteps getting away from him.

He opened his eyes to see the man that was just about to shoot him, running away.

"Are you alright friend?" Wafi heard a voice say. He recognized the voice. It was Cinn's. 

Wafi saw him walking towards him with a pistol in hand. Cinn was smiling. He bent down and gave Wafi a hand, helping him to stand up.

"Did you see the way he ran away like a mouse? I should have shot him on the head instead of scaring him away like that." Cinn said with a grin.

Wafi was still dumfounded. He was thinking what could have made Cinn to come here. Who was the man that tried to shoot him? Who was the woman that called him earlier?
 
Cinn walked him outside the building just as a police car pulled into the Avenue. Two cops got off the car and headed towards Wafi. 

I"nspector Wafi, we were asked to come here as back up. What is the situation?" One of the cops said to Wafi.

The other cop helped him into his car where he sat.
 
"Did you guys see a man driving or running away as you drove here?"
Wafi asked. 

"No we didn't," said the first cop. He had a towel on Wafi's ear to clean the blood. The other cop was on the phone with the station explaining the situation. 

"This is the part I go." Cinn said to Wafi as he walked to his Aston Martin. He got into the Aston Martin and turned it around swiftly. He pulled the car around and said to the cop who called the station.

Tell the Deputy Chief that I deserve a medal. I saved a cop. I saved the law."

Cinn drove away fast. 

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