WANTED TO SEE IT, I DECIDED TO PUT IT UP WITH PERMISSION FROM MY PARTNER. SO HERE GOES! ITS KINDA LONG BUT PLS DO ENJOYCriminal Projects
Tom Orth & Femi Jegede
Nicole Garcia was sitting in her law class, tapping her perfectly manicured fingers against the table, listening to the professor drone on and on about the importance of their work. Twisting her golden brown hair around her finger, she waited with rapidly decreasing patience for the rambling professor to announce their final project, where they would be able to go into the real world and study an actual case. She had been waiting for the project since it had been announced in the middle of the year; she felt like if she had to wait even one more minute for the professor to announce it she would explode. Finally, just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he cleared his throat and announced, “Today you will be starting your final project. It will be up to you to find a real police case, either past or present, and write a detailed report on it. You will have two weeks to complete this, starting today. Class dismissed.” Grinning with excitement, Nicole stood up, and began walking to the door, when one of her friends caught up with her. “Hey, Nicky! Wait up!” Her friend Sarah came running towards her and asked, “Do you know what you’re doing for your project? I was going to head down to the library to look up old cases, do you want to come?” “No, I’m planning on doing a current case. You can come down to the police station with me if you want.” Nicky replied, secretly hoping her friend would say no. “Um, no thanks.” Sarah said, much to Nicky’s relief, “I think an old case would be a lot easier. I’ll, um, see you later I guess.” As her friend walked off, Nicky jogged to her car, eagerly anticipating the real-life experience that would come from the project.Arriving at the police station, Nicky parked her car and walked inside. A fat man with a small moustache was working the front desk, and when Nicky approached he tiredly asked, “Yes? Can I help you?” Clearing her throat, Nicky began “Yes, I’m a law student, and-” “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can help you”, the man interrupted, “this is a police station, not a school.” “You didn’t let me finish.” Nicky said angrily “I’m a law student, and I was wondering if you had any cases that I could observe, or if I might be able to tag along with one of your detectives.” The fat man behind the desk scoffed. “Look, lady, I don’t know what TV shows you’ve been watching, but you can’t just tag along with a detective. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’m extremely busy.” Swallowing feelings of anger and disappointment, Nicky turned and started walking towards the exit. She had almost left the building, when suddenly another officer stopped her. “Hey, I heard you asking about open cases. Maybe it’s none of my business, but my partner just quit the force. His… well, his wife and kid were killed, and he left the force…” The officer suddenly looked guilty, like he shouldn’t be talking about it. “Please,” Nicky said, “if there’s anything I can do…” The officer thought for a moment, then, clearing his throat, continued. “He’s been trying to solve the case on his own, but he hasn’t had any luck. It’s an older case, but it’s still open, and if you’re interested…” Nicky smiled, and replied, “Yes, thank you, I am. Do you know where I can find him?” Jotting down the information, the officer handed her a sheet of paper. Thanking him, Nicky turned to leave, and as she exited the building, she began to smile. She had a case.
Walter Sharp had once been a happy man. He had a good job, a loving wife, and a young son. If you had seen him a mere two years ago, you would have seen a man in his prime, a man with a bright future, a man who was genuinely pleased with life. However, looking at him now, Nicky saw a somewhat dirty man, a man who was carrying a few extra pounds, a man who smelled strongly of alcohol. When she had first pulled into the grimy neighbourhood, she had almost turned right back around, thinking she had to be in the wrong place. Surely a man who had been a police officer for years couldn’t live in a place like this. A second glance at the piece of paper with the address and her GPS assured her she had come to the right house, and so, hiding her valuables in the glove compartment, Nicky stepped out of her car and onto the dirty sidewalk.
Sitting up groggily, Walter Sharp squeezed his temples, the pounding in his head so hard that he could swear he heard it. When the banging continued, Walter realized he DID hear it; someone was knocking on his door. Sitting up with a groan, he shuffled listlessly to the door, and after undoing the series of locks pulled it open. Squinting through the sunlight, he saw a young woman standing at his doorstep, staring at him with a look of disbelief. “Yeah? What do you want?” he asked gruffly. The woman looked taken aback for a second, and then replied “Hello, Mr. Sharp? My name is Nicole Garcia, I’m a law student. I’m looking for an open case for a project at school, and your old partner sent me to you.” Walter stared at her for a moment, and then slowly said, “Well, if Rick sent you, you can’t be all bad. But I work alone; I don’t need some kid getting in my way. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to find some other way to finish your homework.” He began to shut the door, but the woman stuck her foot in it, and said loudly “Please, Mr. Sharp! I can help you! I can-” “Alright, alright!” Walter yelled, “You can come in, just keep it down!” Opening the door again, the woman walked in, and after quickly surveying the room, sat down on a relatively clean chair in a corner, and began to talk.
Entering the apartment, Nicky was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of whisky and cigarettes. Trying to keep a look of disgust off her face, she sat down in a small wicker chair in the corner, as the dishevelled man in front of her shut the door and lumbered over to the bed, sitting with a thud. She waited to make sure she had his attention, and then started to talk. “Mr. Sharp, my name is Nicole Garcia, I’m a law student-” “Yeah, yeah”, he interrupted, “You said that before. What exactly is it you want from me?” “Mr. Sharp, if you would please let me finish!” Nicky exclaimed. The man looked surprised, then said apologetically, “Sorry. Go ahead, continue.” Taking a breath, Nicky started again. “I’m a law student at the local university, and I need to observe a case for a project. I was at the police station, and your old partner told me that you had been trying to solve the case of your family’s death, but weren’t making any progress. So, I’ve come to offer my help, if you want it.” The man stared at her for a minute, as if he was trying to figure out if she was for real or not. He said nothing for what felt like an eternity to Nicky, and then sighed “Look, if you’re going to help me, you’d better know the whole story.” He took a deep breath, and began.
“I was a detective here in town, working a Vice case against one of the leading drug lords. Nobody knew who this guy was; he kept his hands out of the dirty work, and didn’t let any of his lackeys know who they were really working for. I had been working the case for months, and I guess I was starting to get a bit too close for comfort. I started getting threatening letters, and when I ignored those, he sent one of his goons to scare me of the case. He told me… He told me that if I didn’t back off, he would hurt me, and everyone I loved. But I was too close; I couldn’t let him get away, not now. So I ignored him, and kept up my investigation.” Walter sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “Two days later, when I was waiting on a stakeout, I got a call. There had been a car bomb on my wife’s SUV. She was taking my son to school. They… they both died in the explosion.” He sat there, waiting for the woman to take it all in. He didn’t know why he had told her his story; he hadn’t really talked to anyone about it since it happened. He looked up to see her with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Mr. Sharp… I’m so sorry…” Walter stood up and walked to the window, continuing his story. “Afterwards, I couldn’t cope. I quit the force, and started taking private cases, trying to track down the bastard that killed my. I’ve gotten closer over the years, but I still haven’t found any solid proof about who he actually is.” He turned and looked at her, and said very seriously “Look, this is a dangerous case. If you tag along, I can’t guarantee that you won’t get hurt. But, if you want to come… well, you’re welcome to.” The woman walked over to him, and told him “Yes, I’m interested. When can we start?” “I’ve got nothing right now, but I’m working on a lead. I’ll call you when I figure something out.” She nodded “Alright. I’ll see you then, Mr. Sharp.” “Walter,” he said as she walked out, “my name is Walter.” “My friends call my Nicky. I’ll see you later, Walter.”
Two days later, Nicky received a text. “Hey, it’s Sharp. I’ve got something; meet me at my place.” Arriving back at Walter’s apartment half an hour later, Nicky found herself being laughed at by the clearly amused man. “THAT’S what you’re wearing? I told you I have a lead on the case, and you come wearing this?” She was wearing a lemon green boyfriend t-shirt, a grey jacket, neon green leggings and grey boots with heels. “What? This is fashion.” Nicky said, trying to defend herself. “Besides, look at you; a trench coat? The 40’s were a long time ago, y’know.” Walter’s smile quickly faded, being replaced by a look of mock hurt. “Hey, THIS is a classic. You don’t see coats like this anymore.” “For good reason…” Nicky muttered under her breath. Walter squinted at her, then said “Anyways, back to my lead. I think I’ve finally tracked down the guy who threatened me before. He’s living in some slummy apartment downtown. I don’t know how long he’s staying there, so we’ve got to go now. Hopefully you’ll be okay dressed like that…” “I’ll be fine, thank you very much.” Nicky said, “Now come on, let’s get going.” She took four steps down the sidewalk before stumbling over a crack, leaving Walter doubled over at his door laughing.
When Nicky had gotten into the seat beside him, Walter started his car, and started heading towards the man’s apartment. It had been a long time since he had gotten a lead like this; hopefully it would pan out. Twenty minutes later, they arrived outside the run-down building. Looking out the window, Walter marvelled on how the condition this building was in made his apartment look like a five-star hotel. “Well, here it is.” He said, “You can stay in the car if you want; I’m not sure how this is going to turn out.” Nicky gave him a stubborn look, and said “No way. If I’m observing this case, I can’t ‘stay in the car’. I’m coming.” She awkwardly stepped out of the car in her heels, and then, with a look of triumph, ran over to Walter, who was pounding on the door. After a minute or two, they heard locks sliding from the other side of the door, and it creaked open, stopping when the chain on the other side pulled tight. A weasely looking man peered back out at them. “Hello?” he said, “What do you want?” “That’s the guy!” Walter whispered to Nicky. “Hi, I’m Walter Sharp. We’ve met before. I think maybe we have something to talk about.” The man squinted at Walter, trying to put a face to the name. Suddenly, a look of recognition dawned on the weasely man’s face. “Oh SHIT!” he exclaimed, running from the door, towards the back of the building. Walter shoulder-checked the door, tearing the chain off the wall, and took off running after man, shouting to Nicky “Come on, we’ve gotta catch him!” Nicky, however, went running off in a different direction. Walter had no time to consider where it was she was going; he had to start running after the man. Running through the back of the building, he found himself on a crowded sidewalk. Pushing his way through the crowds, he saw the man running across the street, narrowly avoiding traffic. Walter swore, and took off running across the street. The man noticed Walter behind him, and tipped a nearby fruit stand, hoping to slow him down. Walter jumped over the fruit stand, and tore down the sidewalk after him, following into the man into the store he had ducked into. The man was knocking over shelves, carts, anything he could to slow his pursuer down. It worked; Walter tripped over a knocked over cart. The man thought he was home free. Turning the corner, he kept his brisk pace up, even though the man chasing him was far behind. Grinning, he slowed down, and turned the corner. Suddenly, he saw a woman swinging a large purse at his face, and the world went dark.
“…can’t believe you stopped him with a purse…” the man heard, finally coming to. He tried to stand up, and panicked when he found himself restrained to a small chair. “And you said that fashion would slow me down”, he heard a woman say, “Without me, you would have lost your lead.” “Yeah, I guess I- Oh look, our guest is awake.” The same man that had been chasing him walked over, inspecting his driver’s licence. “Well, good morning, Randal” the man said spitefully. “You and me, we need to have a little talk.” Struggling, Randal yelled, “I don’t know nothing. Let… me… go!” Suddenly, pain bloomed across Randal’s face. The man had hit him, hard. “Come on now, Randal, I think you know plenty.” The man said, massaging his fist, “For example, who was it you were working for two years ago?” Randal started considering his options. His captor looked angry, and Randal didn’t think he was above killing him. BUT, he KNEW that if he ratted out his boss, he was dead, it was as simple as that. “I’m not telling you a thing.” Randal spat, “Anything you can do, he can do a hundred times worse.” The man gave him a vicious grin. “Oh Randal,” he said sweetly, “I wouldn’t be to sure about that…”
Fifteen minutes into the interrogation, Nicky had left the room. Walter had started beating the man she had stopped, and while she knew he deserved it, she just couldn’t watch anymore. Another ten minutes passed, and Sharp left the small room they had brought the man to. “Come on,” he said gruffly, “We’re done here.” “But what about him?” Nicky asked. “Oh, I don’t think he’s going anywhere.” He replied. Nicky looked at the room for a minute, and then ran to catch up with Walter. “So, did you find anything out?” “Yeah,” Walter said, grinning, “Turns out ol’ Randal knew a lot more than he let on. I’ve got a name and an address; I’m going to check it out tonight.” Nicky nodded. “Ok, when do I meet you?” Walter sighed, and then turned to look at her. “Look, Nicole… I don’t think you should come with me on this one. This isn’t some game; we could both wind up being killed.” Nicky looked shocked, and then furiously replied “Look, Mr. Sharp, without me you would have lost him, and then you would be no closer to solving this case. You need me, and I’m coming with you, end of discussion.” Walter sighed, and then said “Fine. But if things get too dangerous, I need you to get out of there, alright?” Nicky nodded, and without saying another word, they both got into the car and drove away.
That night, while eating dinner at her sister’s house, Nicky decided to come clean with what she had been doing the past week. She trusted that her sister could keep this to herself; then had always been close. And so she told her everything; she told her about Walter, about his family’s murder, about the man they had interrogated, and about their plans to get at the drug kingpin. When she had finished, her sister was staring at her, wide-eyed and mouth agape. “Nicky!” she exclaimed, “You can’t do this! You’re going to get yourself killed!” “I know what I’m doing!” Nicky yelled, “I told you because I trust you. Can I trust you? Are you going to keep this to yourself?” Her sister sighed, and then said, “Yes, I promise. But you need to watch out for yourself; I’m pretty sure you kidnapped that man, and this Walter character doesn’t exactly sound stable.” Nicky smiled, and told her “Don’t worry. He’s not so bad when you get to know him.”
That night, Walter called her, sounding somewhat frantic. “Turn on the news. Channel four.” She did, and gasped when she saw Randal on television. “I guess they found Randy a bit sooner than I would have hoped.” Walter told her. “The police are looking for the people who did it, but I don’t think he’s going to be in the talking mood for a while yet.” Nicky was still in shock. The man she had helped kidnap had been found, and the police were looking for suspects. She was a suspect, even if they didn’t know it yet. “All this means is that we have to move fast.” Walter told her, “I’ve already been to the house; he’s throwing a party tonight, lots of guests. And guess who’s gonna crash it?”
Nicky showed up at his house around 10:00pm, dragging a large suitcase behind her. “What’s in the bag?” Sharp asked her, shutting the door. “Clothes” she told him, “If we’re sneaking into a party, we can’t have you looking like you’re from a black and white detective movie.” Sharp scowled, but reluctantly agreed to let her pick out new clothes for him. She settled on a plain black suit, insisting it made him look dangerous, and that he would fit in fine at the party. He changed, and the two of them left for the party, both feeling unsure about what the evening would bring.
They pulled up to the large house 45 minutes later. Cars were parked along the sidewalk, and they could hear the music blaring from the street. “We’re probably going to be searched at the door,” Walter said, turning to face Nicky, “So that means we’ll have to go in unarmed.” Nicky nodded, taking the small handgun Walter had given her out of her purse and putting it in the glove box. “Let me do the talking,” Nicky told him, “I think I can be a little more… persuasive than you.” “Fine,” Walter replied, “But I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” Grinning, Nicky chuckled “Oh, don’t worry. This isn’t the first party I’ve snuck into…”
Approaching the bouncer, Nicky turned to Walter and told him to keep quiet, and follow her lead. They got to the door, and Nicky walked up to the guard. In a much-practiced voice that was obviously intended to charm, she looked the guard in the eye and said “Hello, I’m Mario Santino. Is there anyway you could let me and my bodyguard,” she paused, licking her lip, “Come in?” Walter groaned inwardly, sure they were about to be given the boot, when, to his surprise, the bouncer stepped aside and said “Go right ahead, Ms. Santino. Enjoy the party.” Giggling, Nicky grabbed Walter and walked through the door, and into the party.
“I’m going to look for a way upstairs” Walter yelled, trying to make sure Nicky heard him over the music, “Try to stay out of trouble.” He walked of, hoping she wouldn’t draw too much attention to herself, and surveyed the room. Two guards were standing at the stairs, keeping the guests on the main level. Damn, he thought, I’m gonna have to find a way around them. He scanned the room for any potential patsies, and, spotting a clearly drunk man in a corner, began to hatch a plan. Yeah, he thought, that just might work.
Nicky approached the drunken man Walter had pointed out and, after waiting a few seconds, began to scream. One of the guards from the stairs ran over, and asked, “Miss! What’s the matter?” Conjuring up some tears, Nicky cried, “He… he touched me!” and pointed at the drunk. Grabbing the man by the arm, the guard growled “ Alright buddy, yer outta here!” The drunk, determined to prove his innocence, pulled away from the guard and started towards Nicky, slurring, “H-hey! Bitch is lyin’! I din’t go near her!” “Can I get a hand here?” the first guard called, and the second came running to his assistance. Stairs suddenly unguarded, Nicky signalled to Walter, and he quickly slipped up the stairs.
Nicky anxiously waited for Walter’s return, and after a minute he came back down, motioning for her to head to the door. Once they were outside and back at the car, Nicky asked “Well? Did you find anything?” Pulling a file folder out from under his jacket, Walter replied, “Did I find anything? I found everything! Dummy corporations, fronts, offshore accounts… our friend here was a meticulous bookkeeper. This is enough to put him away for a long time, and once they have this, the police will launch a full investigation. This bastard isn’t getting out for a long time.” He sighed, and said, “Look, I don’t know how to thank you. I couldn’t have done this without your help.” Nicky smiled, and told him, “Don’t worry about it, I was glad to help.” Nodding, Walter started the car, and they drove back home.
One week later, Nicky turned on the news to see the man she had helped catch being escorted out of a court in handcuffs. Smiling, she shut off the television and went to get ready for class. She knew one thing; this was one project she was sure to ace.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT AND THANKS FOR READING
HEY! CAN ANYBODY IDENTIFY WHO MY PERSONALLY MADE UP PROTAGONIST CHARACTER IS?
1 comment:
thanks. i will :)
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