That my weekend was over, I realized only on Monday morning, when I came into the department and heard the roar of Commissioner Miles from far away. This time he wasn't rioting at Team 1, but at Team 2, banging his baseball bat on their desks, knocking their laptops off the table, and yelling over and over, "This is unbelievable what kind of brainwashed idiots work at this department!"

When Al noticed me, he dragged me with him to our desks. "Stay away from him, I think he's losing his mind again." He told me in a whisper.

"What happened?" I asked, shocked and confused. And I didn't even have to play that.

"Apparently two of Team 2 screwed up over the weekend and released a suspect Miles had been after for a long time. No reason given."

"How can that? That''s not possible."

"Anything goes here. You'll see that in time. I think we on Team 3 are the only ones who really want to do something about crime in this town."

"What do you mean?" I really listened when he told me that. Could that be a clue?

"Well, you heard about the rumors on TV or some other media, right? Miles has come to believe that bribes are flowing here, too."

"I see. But he doesn't have any evidence that it's so, does he?"

"I don't think so. I'm not sure. To be honest, I've been working here for two years now, and yes, admittedly, I thought for a long time that Miles was taking bribes, too. But then I realized that he's very different than I previously thought he was. He may be an asshole most of the time, but he's an honest and fair asshole."

"I see." That's as far as I got, because Al and I were assigned our first case together. We had to go to a shoplifting case downtown. The manager of the stationery store had caught a teenager stealing.

When Al and I got there, we didn't expect to find a scared 13 year old stealing two writing pads and a pencil. When we asked him why he was stealing these items and not asking his parents to buy them for him and for what he needed them, he said, "I need them for school. My dad lost his job and my mom can't work because she's expecting a baby. We don't have enough money for it."

I felt sorry for the kid. Because the things he had stolen weren't even expensive. The manager refrained from pressing a report when he heard why he stole and also because the boy was honestly apologetic. The manager even felt so sorry for the boy that he gave him several writing pads, pencils, and a few other things. "If you need anything else, just come back here and ask me." He said to the boy.

I was very touched that this man did this for the boy. He then told Al and me, that he could bill this as donations and that he just felt sorry for the boy.

We then also had to move on to our next assignment. Domestic Violence. A husband had been drunk and beating his wife. The neighbors heard her screams and then called the police. When we arrived, the apartment door was ajar. We went in, called for the wife, but received no response.

When we then entered the bedroom, we saw the woman lying lifeless on the bed. Her eyes were wide open and tears were still visible. Her husband had obviously strangled her. Because on her neck we saw clear strangulation marks. Now it is a homicide case.

After telling the homicide investigators everything we knew, we were off to another call. This time it was property damage at a gym. One of the customers went crazy after being denied access to a class specifically for women.He angrily threw dumbbells around, damaging several pieces of expensive exercise equipment.

We arrested the man and took him to the station. Miles took over his interrogation, because we had to move on again. We had to go to an accident. Two cars crashed into each other after one driver cut off the other's right of way. We took pictures of both vehicles, recorded their statements, and then moved on to another accident.

This time a cyclist was injured who did not obey the traffic rules, went through a red light and was struck by a car. The cyclist was only slightly injured, his bike was completely wrecked. The car of the accident victim was scratched on the driver's side and a dent was in the door. Again, we photographed everything and recorded their statements. We then took the cyclist to the hospital for a thorough examination, and then returned to the department.

After we had finished writing our reports about our operations on Monday, we could call it a day. I was really happy about that, because I was totally tired.

When I had taken a shower and eaten something at home, I asked myself how I was supposed to get evidence when I would always be on the road. It is nice not to be only in the office and to have a task. But, how am I supposed to see when bribes are handed over once again?

I asked myself that question over and over again in the days that followed, because all week long we were only in the office when we got there in the morning, or on late shift, at noon, and later when we wrote our reports and called it a day.

Commissioner Miles continues to treat me like air most of the time. And when he does pay attention to me, it's only to yell at me again. Al told me not to worry about it and just stay above it. He also told me that Miles would always need a long time before he would let someone get close to him or accept him. He said it took him a whole 4 months!

I felt sick when I heard that, because I don't really want to have to investigate undercover as a fake police officer for 4 months. And most of all I don't want to be yelled at every day for 4 months like in a boot camp, just because Miles is in a bad mood or has forgotten in what volume a normal person talks.

In my training as a special agent, we had an instructor who was really tough and also yelled a lot. But unlike Miles, he was nothing more than a wild house cat. Miles is a wild tiger. And me? I am definitely a lion. But unfortunately I can't show it to Miles. I would love to show him what I can do! But maybe I'll get a chance to do that when I leave this police station.

After this stressful and sometimes chaotic week was behind me, I wanted to go to the bar on the weekend and see if I could meet Xiao Zhan there again. But unfortunately I am on call and have to spend my nights at the police station.

This morning I received a call from my father, once again he wanted to remind me not to look for my brother on my own. Honestly, I don't plan on doing that. Sure I'd like to see him and kick his butt, but I'm not going to look for him myself.

The really interesting thing, though, is just coming up. I thought for a moment that my undercover mission was in danger. Because when I came home today and Shiyan was sitting alone in the living room and told me he had been waiting for me and needed to talk to me, I felt strange.

I sat down with him and he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Listen, I don't know what your mission is or what agency you work for, but you should be more careful."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, barely hiding my surprise.

"I'm talking about the fact that you're an agent of some agency, and I'm sure you want to find out if there's any truth to the rumors that the police officers in the Yiling Police Station are taking bribes."

"Where from..."

"Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Won Shiyan and I'm an undercover investigator with the DEA. My mission is to find evidence of drug trafficking by Wen Rouhan and his clan. Unfortunately, it's not very easy. Especially not with Jong as my partner, who knows nothing about my mission. I know you are undercover. I've been watching you and your behavior doesn't fit a young police officer fresh out of the police academy. At first I was still unsure, but then your best friend came here. Sunday morning? Really? Plus, I saw his badge when he came out of the bathroom and adjusted his trousers."

"Oh damn..."

"Yibo, I promise I'll keep this to myself. But you should really be more careful. Don't let your people come here anymore. Act a little more insecure. Ask Jong once in a while if he can help you, as an already experienced police officer, then he won't notice anything."

"Okay, I'll try. Thanks for keeping it to yourself."

"I hope you keep my secret too."

"Yes, of course."

"Tell me, what agency do you work for?"

"It's a free agency."

"What does that mean?"

"It means an agency for everyone, working independently of the state. Anyone who needs us, whether individuals or companies, but also the state, can contact us."

"So no matter who, they can hire you?"

"That's right. For example, if a rich businessman's child is kidnapped and asked for ransom, the businessman can turn to us and we'll put our best teams on it. But people who have little money can also turn to us. It doesn't matter, we help everyone."

"Wow. I was also supposed to become a special agent back then and had even gotten a training contract. But then I broke my leg in an accident and the contract became null and void. Although the fracture healed without any problems."

"Mhhh, maybe you should apply to us sometime. Just in case, the DEA doesn't appeal to you anymore. We have a lot of former soldiers, police officers and other experienced agents with us."

"Do you think I'd have a chance with you guys?"

"I don't know. If you applied and were shortlisted, you would have to pass several tests. You would then, if you do well and they want you, get training tailored to you. The trainers would then decide which department you might fit into and HR would transfer you there."

"Sounds like not just anyone could apply to you guys."

"Well, a few basic requirements have to be there. Your IQ should be high, you have to be physically fit, good at hand-to-hand combat, and you should also be skilled in handling weapons. Everything else is trained."

"Was it the same for you?"

"I had a proper and very long training as a special agent. I was recruited by the Agency. But like I said, if you feel up to it, go ahead and apply."

"I might actually do that. Could you help me with that?"

"Sure. I can make the contact for you, and if you want, we can train together on our free time. I can help you get ready for the tests."

"That would be great."

"Mhm. Only what do we tell Jong? Won't that make him more suspicious?"

"Definitely. Maybe we should involve him. We tell him, because of the high crime rate here, we want to train more and get fitter, so that in case of emergency, we can defend ourselves."

"Okay, good. We'll do that. And in return for my help, maybe you can do me a favor."

"Sure, what?"

"Meng Yao is believed to be working for Wen Rouhan. My big brother was or is in a relationship with Meng Yao and ran away with him overnight a few years ago. I want to see my brother again. I want to know if he let Meng Yao drag him into crime with him."

"Okay, so first of all. Yes, Meng Yao works for Wen Rouhan. However, he is just a small fish, a messenger, nothing more. What's your brother's name?"

"Wang Hai Kuan."

"Mhhh, I don't know the name. But I'll try to find out for you if he and Meng Yao are still together."

"That would be really great. Thank you."

"Mhm, I'd love to. I hope for your sake that he hasn't been dragged into crime by Meng Yao."

"I honestly can't imagine it. My mother is a chief prosecutor and my father is a special agent."

"Well, that doesn't have to mean anything. But I think it's rather out of the question. Since your brother's name never came up. If he worked for Wen Rouhan or any of his children, we would have known by now."

"Good to know." I replied with relief. I know it doesn't immediately mean my brother has nothing to do with them. But if his name was never mentioned, that's a good sign for me.

I have to get ready for my on-call duty now, and I hope I have time next weekend and can go to the bar. Maybe I'll see Zhan again then. I would be very happy about that.