[Story] Last Great Adventure

Ahnaf Abdullah - 'Last Great Adventure' - Ungraded by Ahmede Hussain
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The Narcotics department of the NYPD had recently found great leads and information on the secret major drug cartel reigning over the city. Sgt. Detective Gregory Cross was overseeing a very promising stakeout together with his comrades, Detectives Javier and Franklin.

While sitting in the red coloured van, famous in the force for surveillance and counter-espionage, Franklin sparked up a conversation. 'So..., this your last Narcotics raid, huh Greg?'

Gregory winced as he sat down back on his chair 'Hey, the old guys must make way for the new. And my sore back and aching bones are only gonna be a depreciating asset for the team.'

Javier piped up from the back: 'Man, I don't care what you say, you were the best. And the NYPD ain't gonna find one better than you in 10 years.'

Giggling, he responded 'That warms my heart, Javi. Hopefully, there won't be any drugs in the city to deal with by then.'

In the middle of their conversation, Franklin was quietly observing a black Subaru striding into the dark alley. This grabbed everyone's attention. Two guys got out of the car and escorted a shady European with a black bowling hat, a mince, buff-looking right hand closely following behind.

Franklin mischievously smiled, whispering, 'Jackpot! We found the queen bee in the nest. Tell everyone to initiate the raid.'

Moving as gracefully as ninjas in the dark night, Gregory rallied up the 21-man battalion and stormed the hideout.

The battalion was greeted by bright, buzzing, fluorescent tube lights and a balaclava-donning squadron armed with automatics rifles camouflaged by desks with drug-making chemistry apparatus.

It was hard to hear anything above the din caused by the ruffians. A thick brushfire of bullets blasted the cops into hiding behind pillars, under the cabinets.

Gregory whispered to Franklin, 'Hey, throw a flashbang out on the doorway in 5 seconds, and tell Javi to aim for the guy on the left with his shotgun.'

Franklin raised an eyebrow but immediately told Javier on radio to aim at the gunman guarding the ajar door. He had seen an astonishing amount of cases where Gregory's bizarre tactics saved the day.

Cross' dash across the floor preceded the flashbang, at which point the gunman was outmanoeuvred by Javier's quick shooting skills.

Through the doorway, Greg only had a split-second to take in everything he saw: Men loading suitcases into a van and the European with two armed guards.

Gregory Cross immediately shot and immobilized the two guards. What happened next was all a blur. The European druglord was caught, and all the gunmen, employees and drug-traders in the building were subdued.

Later that night, champagne bottles were being opened and cakes were being cut, in the celebration of Gregory Cross' last and successful drug trafficking case.