D-Day The Ultimate Warrior

It was Sunday morning and Sergeant Rollins was still comfortably stretched out under his blankets when the flash of light being switched on next to him told him that Mary, his wife, was awake. He slowly zoomed in to the real world and as he rolled over, he found his wife staring at him. Twenty years of marriage and she was still able to make him feel the same sense of wonder as he had experienced that very first night he had seen her as a rookie on the Los Angeles SWAT unit.

"Morning, sleepy head," she said, smiling at him.

"Good morning."

"Happy birthday."

"Mmmm. Do not remind me, please."

"Happy birthday, Daddy," said a small voice.

"We made you breakfast," said another small voice. "Mommy said that we could." And with that the two small bodies and their sweet voices left the bedroom.

Twenty minutes after his shower, Rollins went down the stairs to find that his family was waiting for him, with the kitchen table set with a most inviting breakfast. Immediately when they saw him, they broke out into a song, 'Happy birthday to you', and he waited until they finished before he wiped his tears away. "You guys are the best," he said.

Just then the doorbell rang. Justin, his second youngest son, ran and answered the door. He was greeted by Thomas, Stan, Victor, Michael and Marcus, Rollins' special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team.

"Where is the birthday boy?" Stan asked as they all entered the house, bearing gifts. Just then, all their phones beeped, a bad sign.

"Sergeant Rollins. Yes sir, I understand, I'm on my way." He turned to his family with the apologetic look they had all gotten to know so well. "I'm sorry guys."

His wife just smiled. "Go save the world, superman. We will still be here when you come back."

He went upstairs, changed into his uniform and got into the special bulletproof Discovery 4 Full House he had received last year as part of SWAT's recognition of his 25 years with the team. It was this part of the job that Sergeant Rollins hated the most, the unexpected calls that always took him away from his family. Twenty minutes later he entered the underground parking of the Los Angeles Police Department.

When he got upstairs, everyone was already in the debriefing room. Captain Rodgers was standing in front with three other men who Sergeant Rollins had worked with before – Special Agent Sanchez and Special Agent Montez of the DEA, and Agent Williams from the FBI. This told Rollins that his day was about to take a turn for the worse.

Just then, Captain Rodgers said, "Thank you, Sergeant Rollins and team for finally gracing us with your presence." The whole room burst out in laughter. This was one of the things that Sergeant Rollins liked about Captain Rodgers, the man always knew how to make everyone laugh.

"Now that Sergeant Rollins and his team are present, I will hand over to Special Agent Sanchez. I'm sorry for those of you who were called in on your day off," said the sorrowful voice of the DEA agent. "The DEA and the FBI have been running a joint investigation into the drug cartel and human trafficking ring that has recently plagued this city. We now have a fair understanding of who is who in this ring. Unfortunately, as we all feared, this is not the work of one deranged human or a gang. In fact, this is a competition between the gangs."

Just then, a large screen turned on and an organogram filled the screen. "At the top, we have the El Diablos. They are estimated to be in charge of about 65% of the drugs that hit the streets every week. We were able to put a man on the inside and he tells us that at the top, there is a man who goes by the name Angelica. He is the top dog of the El Diablos, and he rules with an iron fist. Do not let this man's name fool you. He is the most ruthless drug lord in the area. As far as we have established thus far, he is personally responsible for 30 deaths in the past few months and over 100 disappearances. Next after him, we have Nicky, he is Angelica's most trusted lieutenant. Up until three years ago, Nicky was a nobody in the El Diablos. Then he took out some big shot in a rival gang, and has since become the second most dangerous person in the El Diablos gang. Over the past year, the El Diablos have expanded their business from having concentrated on drugs to now also include human trafficking. Over 3000 teenage girls have disappeared in the past six months alone, and we have reason to believe that Angelica and his gang are behind it all. I will now hand over to Agent Williams of the FBI."

Suddenly, the screen changed again and some stats replaced the organogram.

"As you all know, the past two weeks have been filled with many mysterious disappearances. Fifty to be exact. Now we have reason to believe that the El Diablos have recently gotten into business with this man," Agent Williams pointed to the screen and a large picture of a Mexican man, covered in tattoos, came on the screen.

"His name is San Tiago. He is among the world's most wanted human traffickers. He is personally responsible for the disappearance of over 2000 people in the past six months alone. Up until recently, he had been mainly operating out of Mexico. In fact, it is fair to say that up until recently, he owned Mexico. He came to our attention about six weeks ago when the DEA spotted him meeting with Angelica. If this turns out to be what we expect has been happening already, ladies and gentleman, then I can tell you now, and this is not an exaggeration, that our jobs will become 1000 times more difficult and our safety is not guaranteed, if we do not take action now, then the city will soon erupt in flames." "This guy is no joke. He is an extremely dangerous plague that must not be allowed to infect this city or any other city in the world. A mountainous task lays ahead of us, ladies and gentlemen." Agent Williams stepped back and Captain Rodgers came up to the podium.

"Our job from now on is to make sure that this city does not fall into the wrong hands. SWAT is taking over the investigation. Ladies and gentlemen, although these are already tough times, we must always ensure that the city remains calm. Therefore, under no circumstances are we to divulge any of the information we just heard to anyone. Stay safe when you are out there and doing your job. Oh, and before we all leave, I would like to point out that today, one of our own turns 45, so let's show Sergeant Rollins some love."

Everyone in the room turned and they all clapped their hands and cheered. Rollins could see some blood lust from his fellow SWAT officers. Since the beginning of time, it had been one of the SWAT's traditions that on their birthdays, each and every officer would have to run the gauntlet at the SWAT headquarters.

This year, Sergeant Rollins was to run the obstacle course, while other officers tried to either tackle him, Taser him or throw slime balls at him. Last but not least, the toughest thing would be to run through the legs of every SWAT officer while being beaten. More than 100 officers parading down your back. This was the day that every rookie officer looked forward to, because it was the one day of the year they got to act out their revenge on their senior officers for all the tough drills they were put under.

As Sergeant Rollins eventually finished his 100-men gauntlet and had been lifted on the shoulders of his fellow officers, he reflected on his time at SWAT. SWAT had always been a home away from home. When he first enrolled, at the age of 20, he had already been through a lot in his life. His father had been killed while serving in Iraq, and his mother had died a slow and painful death caused by cancer. From his very first day on the job, he had felt like being part of a family, and to some extent he had been part of a family, especially in his first SWAT team, which had been led by the current commander of SWAT, Commander Higgerson.

As he stood there in front of his second family, Rollins remembered his first-ever SWAT call-out. He had been extremely nervous. The call came while they were on patrol. "Bravo team, we have a reported call of a bank robbery, units in need of immediate backup."

Immediately they had sped off to the bank. Upon arrival, the first thing Rollins caught sight of was the officer who had been hit. Without thinking, he immediately dashed to the officer's side, shooting six shots blindly to where he thought shots were coming from, without stopping to look who he had hit, and pulled the officer back to the SWAT van. Then he had followed the rest of his team inside the bank and just started shooting again.

It was only after the whole ordeal had finished that he realised that he had been shot twice, once in the leg and once in his side. When he saw his wounds, his whole body just went numb and the next thing he knew, he woke up in a hospital bed with all his fellow SWAT officers looking down on him. Commander Higgerson, who had then still been Sergeant Higgerson, looked at him, and with a smile on his face, said, "Welcome to SWAT." It turned out that during his heroics, Sergeant Rollins had not only saved the life of a fellow officer, he had also taken down four of the robbers and potentially saved Higgerson as well. From that day onwards, Higgerson had become very fond of Rollins and he became more than just a mentor to Rollins, he became a brother.

As he looked down at his fellow officers who were demanding a speech, Rollins caught the eye of Commander Higgerson, and he knew that he too was thinking of that very first day when Rollins had saved Higgerson's life. "Speech, speech, speech," the crowd demanded. Rollins looked at everyone.

"Twenty-five years ago, I joined SWAT, just a clueless kid with nowhere to go. I had no family, and I had no one who cared for me. I had no idea what I was joining. I had no idea the amount of danger I was about to face as a SWAT officer. We often see the worst side of humans imaginable. We go through things that can never be expressed in words. We put our lives on the line every day. What we do, we do it alone. There are only five other people out there with you, and you have to trust that those people will have your back when the worst comes to the worst. We often take these people for granted who come out on calls with us. Often, we are asked by the media why we chose to work in such a difficult job, whether it is easy to trust your work mates with your life. The truth is that these people are more than just my work mates. To me, these people are family. Each and every one of you today here is family. I just want to say that I appreciate being part of this family and that no matter what, I will never want to be part of another career. What we do, the things we see, the people we save, all that cannot be done without each and every one of you."

Rollins looked at everyone in the room and just for a second, everyone looked as though they were about to break into tears. Instead, someone turned the sound system on and the party continued for hours.

When Rollins parked the car in his garage later than night, he could not help but feel a sudden sense of doom in the quiet of the night. Somewhere out there, the El Diablos were planning their next steps, their next attack or deal, and he, Rollins, was going to do everything in his power to make sure that those plans came to nothing.

It was now 11:30 pm, which meant that everyone in the house was now fast asleep. He slowly tiptoed around the kitchen and up the stairs, not wanting to make any noise or wake his sleeping family. He checked in on his kids first, they were all fast asleep, unaware of the dread looming in the outside world. Then he walked slowly into his bedroom, and saw his wife sleeping. He cautiously removed his uniform, and after a quick trip to the bathroom, he got into bed.

"Everything fine at work?" Mary asked.

"Mmmmm. Sorry I woke you," he said quietly.

"It's okay." And with that, they both drifted off to sleep.

It was three in the morning when next Sergeant Rollins' phone rang.

"Yes," said a drowsy Rollins, trying to wake up properly. "I'll be right there," he said.

Thirty minutes later, he was walking into the SWAT headquarters. Commander Higgerson was already there. "What happened, Commander?" Rollins asked.

"It started off as a heist, but ended up with two officers being shot. One dead, one critical."

This was always the most heart-breaking moment of the job. The feeling of one of your own going down. "What about the perps? Any idea who they are?" asked Thomas.

"Yeah, they are low ranking foot soldiers of the El Diablos," said Stan, who had just walked in.

"What was the target?" asked Rollins.

"A local bank. But here is the funny part, they did not come in asking for money. They came in asking for an employee, Natasha Wilks," Stan answered.

"Well, why would the El Diablos be looking for a bank employee?" asked Rollins.

"We do not know yet, but we have put out a call on her and we have six officers sitting outside her house, just in case she or any of the El Diablos show up," said Commander Higgerson.

"She will not show up," said Natalie, SWAT's number one tech geek. "She got on a flight bound for Mexico about six hours ago."

"Okay, I will notify Mexican law enforcements, she might be working with El Diablos. Rollins, you and your team gear up. We need to find out exactly who this woman is, and then we can figure out why they are looking for her. Kick down as many doors as it takes, I want results."

"Yes sir," they all replied.

"Deacon," Higgerson was now speaking to the SWAT sergeant. "You and your team gear up and go check out the bank. The rest of us will dig up what we can find out about this Natasha Wilks. Be careful though, the El Diablos might be in the area, so watch your backs. Pick your fights."

Ten minutes later, Rollins and his team were on the road.

"This is Bravo Leader to command."

"Go ahead Bravo Leader," came the response.

"What's our ETA?" asked Rollins.

"You are just around the corner, it's the house with a pink gate and blue roof."

"Rodger that command, standby."

"Standing by."

A few minutes later, they had parked across the street. "Boss, I got movement in the house," Thomas said.

"Okay, Thomas, you and Stan take the rear. Victor, you are with me in the front. Michael and Marcus, you watch the street."

"This is Bravo Leader to command."

"Go ahead," came the response.

"We have movement in the house, we are now engaging."

"Copy that Bravo Leader."

With that they all moved in. Rollins slowly opened the front door. The two perps were oblivious to their arrival and were busy searching through the cupboards in Natasha's kitchen.

"LAPD SWAT! Do not move." The two perps turned around and immediately opened fire, while they ran towards the back door.

"Shots fired, repeat, shots fired." Unfortunately for the two perps, they ran straight into Thomas and Stan.

"Drop the weapons," Stan shouted. The two perps were so taken aback that they did as they were told.

"Ahh, we have a Lucas and Solovan Hernandez," said Thomas, as he tossed the IDs of the two perps over to Rollins.

"Okay, I am only going to ask you this once. Who sent you?" asked Rollins. Just then, the six officers Higgerson had informed them about ran into the house with their weapons drawn. "Everything okay?" asked one of them.

"Yah, everything is fine. We are just about to have a conversation with our two new friends here," said Rollins.

"So, one more time, who are you and who sent you?" Rollins asked the two perps.

"I thought you said that you are only going to ask once?" replied one of the two perps with a sneer on his face.

"Oh, you got jokes. Okay funny man. This is Bravo Leader to Commander. We need you to run two names through the system. A Lucas and Solovan Hernandez."

"Copy that Bravo Leader, standby."

"Thomas, you and Stan go upstairs and see what you can find. We will continue the job that our two friends were busy with, down here."

After a few minutes, Rollins' radio sparked. "Bravo Leader, we have results on that search. Lucas Hernandez, wanted for breaking and entering, grand theft and assault. Solovan Hernandez, wanted for breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon, sale and distribution of drugs, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of drugs, kidnapping and murder."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Okay, so it seems like today is your lucky day gentlemen," Rollins said, walking back to the two perps. "You see I just got off the radio with my commander, and it turns out that you two have put up quite a reputation for yourselves, and it turns out that you might never get to see daylight again. Unless, of course, you cooperate with me. The choice is yours."

They both looked at each other as though they were deep in conversation. "Okay, Okay, we will talk. We were sent by Angelica and before you ask, no we are not part of the El Diablos. What happened is we were called by Angelica late last night. He said he wanted to see us."

"And you agreed?" asked Rollins.

"Look man, when Angelica says he wants to see you, you do not ask any questions. So anyway, we get there and he simply says he has a job for us. He says that he will pay us each 100 grand if we find out where this Natasha chick disappeared to."

"So, you are telling me a random stranger calls you up and tells you to break into another stranger's house and you agree, just like that?" Rollins said, looking straight into their eyes.

"Look man, when Angelica asks you to do something, you don't ask any questions unless you want to die. Plus, he offered us 100 grand."

"Okay. Sit tight boys, your transport is just about to arrive."

Just then Thomas and Stan came back into the room. "There is nothing, no sign of that woman or any hint about where she went," Thomas said.

"Okay, let's pack it up here and go back to HQ," Rollins said.

One hour later Rollins walked into Higgerson's office. "Any word on the wounded officer?" he asked his mentor.

"He will pull through. Luckily, the bullets missed all major organs," Commander Higgerson said. "What's up with you, Dave?" The commander could always tell when there was something on Rollins' mind.

"Nothing, just thinking. You know, yesterday when I got home, I couldn't help feeling on edge, as if something was about to happen."

"Dave, you could never deceive me, so just spit it out."

"This is the beginning of a war, isn't it, this thing with Angelica? This is just the beginning, the beginning...and lives will be lost, isn't it?"

"I wish I could tell you no, but I would be doing you a grave injustice. Dave, you are right to be concerned or even scared. Fear just shows that we are all human. The truth is that a thing like this is gonna cost us many lives, but we are going to do all we can to make sure that for every one of us who goes down, at least 10 of them will go down." Higgerson looked at his protégé.

"You know, what makes this thing very tough is the fact that there is Mary and the kids. I cannot help but think that it could easily be them among those stats," Rollins admitted to his mentor.

"Stop right there, son. Thinking like that is very dangerous and it will cost you. You need to think and believe that the Lord will keep them safe away from this."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Natalie came into the office. "Natasha Wilkins has been found. She was found by a local police unit Mexico City, in an abandoned building with her throat slit."

"Damn it, there goes our only lead, all we had right now that could have helped us to find out what their plan is," said Rollins.

"Yah, but we now know that she was definitely not working with the El Diablo or the San Tiago."

"Maybe she was and they turned on her?" They were now all standing in front of the debriefing desk. "Alpha Leader to command."

"Go ahead, Alpha Leader. What do you have?"

"We found out that our girl, Natasha, had not come to work since two weeks ago. Manager says that Natasha was last seen serving a customer who appeared to be Mexican. I am sending you a picture," said Deacon.

"Apparently, this guy had been there to speak to Natasha at least eight times in the past month and that customer never stayed for longer than five minutes. This changed though the last time he came to see Natasha. According to her colleagues, our guy was angry about something. They did not know what it was about though, but they said that they had to call security to get him out. Shortly after that, Natasha also left, saying she was not feeling well, and she did not come back the next day. Actually, they never saw her again."

"And our mystery Mexican guy is Vincent Garcia, no prior records, moved to L.A. about a year ago. He works at a local accounting firm," said Natalie.

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. What on earth does this accountant Have to do with that bank teller Natasha, and what do they have in common with a guy like Angelica?" asked Higgerson.

"I'd say we go and find out. Let's ask this guy," said Rollins. Wanting to summon Garcia to the HQ for questioning, Rollins drove over to the accounting firm where he worked.

"Vincent Garcia, I want to question you with regard to your interactions with a certain Natasha Wilkins. Where can we talk in private?" Rollins and Garcia walked to the front of the accounting firm's building.

"Now let me see your hands," said Rollins. But as soon as Garcia saw that he was going to be in trouble, he tried to bolt. "Aww, come on man, do I really have to chase you?" asked Rollins. "Nah, I will not catch that guy if he really tries to get away." He then aimed for Garcia's knees and took a shot.

"Damn it, dude, you just shot me," said Garcia.

"Unless you want me to shoot you again, you will start telling me what I want to know," said Rollins.

"Damn it, dude. I'm bleeding."

This time, it was Thomas who spoke. "Boss, this guy is not going to speak here, let's take him back to HQ. I'm pretty sure once he's seen the inside of his nice little cell, he will want to be more cooperative."

Garcia piped up, "I know my rights, I am not saying anything without my lawyer present."

"Oh okay, tough guy, let's go."

alf an hour later, a short burly man barged into the SWAT headquarters, demanding to see his client. "Gentlemen, my name Martin Netherfield. I am the lawyer for Mr Vincent Garcia. Now, unless my client is being charged with a crime, I suggest that you release him immediately, with many apologies for the injuries he has suffered and for which you are responsible."

"Mr Netherfield, unfortunately that will not happen. Mr Garcia will stay in custody until I have all the information I require from him. You are obviously most welcome to sit in on his questioning. If he insists on keeping quiet, I will book him for impeding an ongoing investigation, and he will be investigated as an accomplice to the murder of Miss Natasha Wilkins."

Just then Garcia looked up and lost his innocent boy look. "Wait a bit, Nat is dead?" he asked and was clearly shocked.

"Yes, Mr Garcia, she was found dead in Mexico earlier today."

"No, that can't be."

"Mr Garcia, when was the last time you saw and spoke to Miss Wilkins?" Rollins asked.

"Two days ago. She told me that they had figured it out and that she was no longer safe."

"Who had figured what out?"

"For the past six months, Nat had been helping me. Six months ago, Angelica came to me and asked me to be his new accountant. He said that he needed a lot of funds and he wanted a very smart man to help him get it."

Vincent Garcia was now on the verge of tears. "So, I went to Natasha and she has been helping me move some funds from her clients. She really did not want to do it, but Angelica talked her into it. Two weeks ago, when I went to see her at the bank, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She said that her clients had started asking a lot of questions. So, when she called me two days ago, she said that one of her clients had figured out what she had done, and that he was going to report her and have her arrested. I then urgently contacted Angelica, and he said that he would take care of it. That was the last time I spoke to either Angelica or Natasha."

"One last question Mr Garcia, did Angelica ever mention what his big plan was? Did he ever let it slip what he would need the money for?"

"No, he never mentioned anything to me. He just told me that he needed lots and lots of money fast."

"Thank you, Mr Garcia." Rollins left the interrogation room, while Netherfield and Garcia were accompanied out by an officer who instructed Garcia to hold himself available for further questioning and not to leave town. Rollins was met outside by Stan who had been listening in on the interrogation.

"So, what do you think, Stan?" Rollins asked. "Either he is one hell of a liar, which I doubt, or we were right and Angelica is way more ahead with his plan than we all thought."

"Yah, but what could Angelica possibly be planning that would need such a lot of money and so fast?"

"I really have no clue, but whatever it is, odds are we will not like it at all."

It was now eight in the evening and since no other lead had come up, they were all free to go home and call it a day. As Rollins entered the changing rooms, he saw his whole team sitting in there. "That was one heck of a day, guys, good work out there."

"Umm, yoh, Dave," said Marcus, looking at Rollins. "What chances do we have of closing this thing off with none of our blood shed?"

Rollins looked around the changing rooms, and at that moment, he realised that his team was just as scared as he was. "Look gents, I am not going to lie to you and tell you that everything is going to be all hunky dorey, because it's not. Truth is I do not know. My gut tells me that this is going to erupt into an all-out gang war. A war with lives lost on both sides. I know you guys are scared, you have every right to be, because I am too. What we need to do is make sure that the fear we feel right now is not a distraction, but rather a reason for us to go all out and make sure we get this thing finished. Hey, look at me." Everyone on his team looked at him. "Remember what I told you guys when you joined up. SWAT is not a workplace, it's a family. I meant what I said. For as long I am still here, I will do everything I can to make sure that you guys get to go home every night." He continued to look each of his mates in the eyes. "After all, this is what we built. We are SWAT. We do not back down from a challenge. We are badass." They all continued to look at him. He could tell that the following months were going to take a toll on his team, and he just had to make sure that he was there for them.

Later that night, he sat in his home office with his laptop switched on. "Tell me about it," Mary said behind him. She could always tell when the day had been too much for Rollins.

"Had a tough day, lost an officer." Mary knew how deeply Rollins cared for his fellow officers. She had gotten to know him pretty well over the years.

"Mmm, there is something else you're not telling me, Dave." She started to slowly massage his shoulders. Immediately he felt some of the tension ease off.

"Well, it's going to be some very difficult months ahead of us. A lot of challenges, and the guys and girls are about to be tested like they have never been tested before."

She knew that SWAT was his life, but sometimes she just wished he had chosen another career for himself. She knew there were a lot of dangers he faced that he did not tell her anything about, and although she was also grateful for it, it was the one thing that always contributed to her anxiety. Whenever he got that call early in the morning, she knew that could be the last time she would see him. She turned his seat around and looked deep into his eyes. Out of nowhere, the tears starting streaming down his face.

"Shhh, shhh," she tried to console him. "It's okay, hey honey, it's going to be okay. Maybe you should book a session with Doctor Benson." He looked at her and just nodded. Dr Benson was the SWAT departmental psychologist. SWAT officers often saw or experienced something when they were out on a call that would shake them. Dr Benson was always there to make sure that the officers' mental health was well taken care of. Slowly, she took her husband's arm and guided him to their bedroom, were they lay in each other's arms, until sleep finally caught up with them.

Early the next morning, Rollins had to face a new day and new challenges.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, we can start," said Commander Higgerson, once everyone had settled down. "Yesterday, we found out that the El Diablos are indeed planning something big. We do not know any of the details yet, but what we do know is that it has already cost a young officer his life. It is always a sad day when one of our own goes down. That being said, I know most of you have spoken to SWAT leaders or your watch commander regarding how this investigation will continue. After much consideration, and discussions with the safety panel, we have reached a decision. The safety of our officers, whether SWAT or Metro, is our biggest concern going forward. It is because of these concerns that we have decided that no patrol unit or SWAT team is to respond to any call without sufficient backup. From now on, every call can only be attended to if there are at least six other patrol units within a one-mile radius or at least two SWAT teams. That being said, we are going to be demanding more time for patrol from each and every one of you. Our number one goal still remains the safety of the citizens of this great city. Random stop and search measures will be conducted, and any citizen found in the possession of any illegal substance or object should be brought in immediately. Officer Nathan died serving and protecting this great city, so let us make sure that he did not die in vain. We are going to be give out a press release later in the day, informing the public of the recent events."

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is not an exaggeration when I say that our city is under siege. We must ensure that our city does not fall into the wrong hands. Let's show those criminals that want to take it exactly what the LAPD is made off. Thank you. You are all dismissed."

Officer Nathan's body, laid out in a coffin that was draped with the American flag, was rolled through the LAPD buildings one more time. As his body passed them, each officer placed a pin on the coffin and saluted Officer Nathan one last time. When his coffin finally reached the funeral van outside, the police band started playing the national anthem, while the coffin, bearing Officer Nathan's body, was loaded into the van and slowly driven away.

Later that day, Commander Higgerson and Captain Rodgers stood outside the LAPD and were about to address the media. Over ten reporters were standing there, all waiting for the speech.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Commander Higgerson of the LAPD SWAT. We come before you today bearing sad news. Yesterday, the LAPD lost a young police officer who had been reporting to a bank robbery, when shots were fired. Unfortunately, Officer Nathan was shot and killed on the scene, while his partner was rushed to hospital in a critical condition. I am told that the remaining officer did survive the surgery and is due to make a full recovery. Over the past few months, we have seen more and more officers being killed while on duty. We as the LAPD are here to say that enough is enough. We will be putting in place very stringent measures for the safety of our officers, as well as for you, the public. One of these measures will be the introduction of random stop and search measures. It is our job as your law enforcement to make sure that every citizen of this great city is protected from crime, violence and harmful substances. That being said, anyone who is found to be possession of any illegal substances, mainly cocaine, ecstasy, heroine, marijuana or any other drug, or found to be in the possession of any illegal firearm or other weapon, will be arrested and liable for a 30,000 dollar fine and/or five years imprisonment. More police units will also be deployed to patrol the streets on a daily basis. Our officers have been ordered to act in a reasonable and sensible manner, and to use the appropriate amount of force when apprehending civilians on the street. With that said, I must ask that the public to continue to cooperate with law enforcement. Tough times are ahead of us, while we try to purge this city from crime and criminals, and we ask that the public not only cooperate with us but stay patient with us. The only way that we are going to master the next few months is if we work with one another and not against each other. Thank you. I will now open the floor to some questions."

"Commander, you say that tough times are ahead. Would you mind telling us exactly what lies ahead?"

"Thank you for your question. The LAPD has been tasked to take over the investigation into the human trafficking that has recently plagued our city. I am here today to ask our citizens to cooperate with our officers and stay strong as a community."

"Commander, you say that the LAPD is saying enough is enough when it comes to the violence against officers. Is this a sign that the LAPD is going to be more aggressive when dealing with suspects?"

"The LAPD's motto has always been to serve and protect our citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve. That will not change. However, our officers are being told to use the appropriate amount of force they think necessary when apprehending suspects. We do not want our officers to be aggressive or to harass any citizen. On the other hand, if there is a grave threat to their lives, then the officers have been instructed to use lethal force."

"One last question. Commander Higgerson. You say that the LAPD have launched an investigation into a human trafficking ring. Are there any leads you can share with us at the moment?"

"We are currently running down some leads. Unfortunately, and I am sure you understand how sensitive all information is, I cannot divulge the details as yet. Okay, thank you for your time." With those last words, the Commander returned to the LAPD SWAT headquarters.