Mischief

Chapter One

A/N I have no real knowledge on how police investigations work or anything really revolving around that. So, anything that is written here is (probably) not factually correct. 

This fic has some quite heavy topics like murder, drugs, sex, human trafficking and r*pe (not described, only referenced/insinuated and talked about), so MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING. 

-Monday 8:10 am- Derek 

It's a cold, drizzly Monday morning, and I'm sitting at my desk. It's been slow since I came in, and only one other deputy, myself, and the sheriff are on. It being slow has given us a chance to relax for a bit and to finish off some paperwork. Maybe. 

Well, it is a slow morning until the sheriff leaves his office with a file in hand. He doesn't make a sound as he approaches me, having a some-what constipated look on his face. 

"How's your morning been so far?" I ask him. 

He sighs and drops the file down in front of me. "We've got a suspicious activity case," he says, his constipated look changing into a full-blown frown. "Got a call about a local private club." 

"Private club?" I ask, brows furrowing. 

"Psst."

The sheriff and I turn to look at Scott, the other deputy, who's grinning. "We're going to a strip club."

I sigh and roll my eyes, spinning back around to open the file. "We'll get started on this right now sir."

The sheriff nods and manages a half-hearted smile. "Thank you Deputy Hale." He pats my shoulder before walking back into his office. 

Once I'm sure Sheriff is definitely out of ear shot, I turn back around to Scott. "What's the deal with the sheriff this morning?" 

Scott sighs and rolls over to me in his office chair, leaning on the edge of my desk. "Sheriff has a history with strip clubs and brothels."

I frown. "History?" 

"His son, Mieczyslaw, went missing a few years back, just days before his eighteenth. Sheriff's convinced that he was sold to a brothel or some sort of sex club or ring. He's never really been able to come to terms with M's disappearance. None of us have, he was the only real pure light in our lives." 

I lean back in my chair, letting out a breath. "Shit. I knew he had a son, but I had no idea about what happened to him."

Scott nods, tapping the desk lightly. "Yeah. So, that's why he takes sex crimes very seriously - like, more so than any morally-sound person. It can get pretty intense sometimes." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, y'know, like when co-workers try to avoid dealing with sexual abuse cases, or even discredit them. It pisses him off, so practically every case like that goes to him. I'm actually surprised he gave us this case, specifically you, but I'm totally tagging along. Guess he trusts you to do this case justice."

My chest swells with pride. I've only been a deputy for a few months, so it really is a confidence boost to know my boss trusts me with cases that are important to him. 

"Well," I say, standing up and grabbing the file, "we're going to do this case justice then." I use my index and middle finger to gesture to Scott to follow me. "If there's so much as a hint that this establishment is bad, we'll take them down."

Scott's expression changes from a morose one to a completely menacing one. "Hell yeah. C'mon Der, let's shut this joint down!" 

We grab our uniform jackets and head out to our assigned police vehicle and punch in the address, heading off to the location.