Vain City (Pt. 5)

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Hello, guys! If you missed the previous parts of this series, you can find them here: Vain City Parts: one, two, three, four

Bashir wondered why the commissioner wanted to see him in his office. Ever since their first encounter which turned out to be a show of shame for him, he had always done his best to avoid the presence of the annoyingly dutiful commissioner. Well, this time around, he was not going to be embarrassed that easily again. If push came to shove, he would give his captious boss a piece of his mind. Facing the door of the commissioner's office, he checked to see if the collar of his uniform was properly worn, then he let out a breath of anxiety before handling the knob.

"Sir, you requested to see me," he said, saluting as he entered into the office.

"Yes, Supol. Have a seat, please," the commissioner said. "Uh, Supol, I know you and I didn't exactly get off on the right foot, but I've come to realise that if I'm to accomplish my mission here, there's need for us to work together. And you know, the faster I get to complete this mission, the faster I'm out of your hair"

Bashir nodded in agreement, relieved that he had not been called for a reprimand this time. He didn't say anything, the commissioner obviously had more to say.

"So, judging by your experience in this city so far, I'm thinking you must already have one or two leads as to who are criminal masterminds here, especially in the area of drug trafficking," the commissioner said, pausing for the superintendent to say something.

Bashir felt glad to hear that the commissioner was asking that. It was an opportunity for him.

"Actually, sir, there's a lead we've been trying to track down before your arrival," Bashir began. "We believe he's the head of organized crime and in charge of heroin trafficking."

"Who might that be?" Asked the commissioner, in a tone of curiosity.

"He goes by the name Zacky. Not much is known about him at presently but most of the street drug dealers we've arrested and interrogated say he's their supplier."

"Oh, I see. And who is the detective leading the investigation?"

"Sergeant John who's head of Narcotics and my personal assistant, Corporal Yusuf."

"Good. I shall get more debriefing from them. That'll be all for now, thank you, Supol."

"Don't mention, sir. Just doing my job," said Bashir as he got up to leave.

"Um, Supol," Mustafa called back his attention. "Bodey Deen, is there anything I should know about him?"

"Oh, Mr Bodey runs the largest businesses in town, restaurants, the water factory, and others. He is an big supporter of the department too," Bashir responded.

"Alright. Thanks for that."

"If that'll be all, sir -"

"Yes, superintendent," said Mustafa, granting him the permission to exit himself.

Mustafa knew he had an intriguing case before him. But one step at a time, he was getting to the bottom of it. The spying mission which he sent Ibrahim on had confirmed that Bashir along with his orderly, Yusuf, was indeed involved in some clandestine dealings. Also, his little conversation with Bashir earlier suggested that Sergeant John might be dirty too. Gradually, he was making headway in his investigation, but he still needed enough proof. So he placed Ibrahim on another spying mission but this time around, he was to keep an eye on Yusuf. He needed know where the duffel bag was coming from.

That evening, at a reasonable distance, Ibrahim trailed the police vehicle conveying Yusuf to a secluded part of the city. He had to make sure he was undetected. That was the whole point of the mission, after all.

It was a dirt road that led to Bodey's warehouse so there were no streetlights. As Yusuf drove, he glanced at the driving mirror at certain intervals like he always did, making sure he was not being followed. All seemed to be the usual until he noticed a beam of light in the dark night far behind him. That must have been a vehicle's headlight. He hit the brakes, stopping the car as he got down to make certain.

"Shit!" Ibrahim cussed, realising he had been spotted. He put the car in reverse gear and began to back up.

Yusuf, having verified it was indeed a vehicle following him, jumped into his own car, putting it in reverse gear as well. Whoever that was, he couldn't let him go.

To be continued.