A-Team Anthology: The Aces in The Whole

[Thrash Lovelocke]

Police Chief Adam Samarov, Deputy Chief Regina Nichols, Lieutenant Samir al-Jaziri, Lieutenant Collin Callus and Forensics Chief Doctor Jaydon Burnham sat in the main conference room of Greater Babylon’s police department and carried on unimportant but entertaining social conversations as they prepared to finish the last point of business they had decided on undertaking before some of them finished their shift and the others began theirs. Samarov, clasping his mighty hands together and leaning over the table, he cleared his throat and spoke, “Alright, folks, I know none of us want to be stuck in here any longer than we have to be, so what’s say we get right to business?”

“We were waiting for you to stop drooling on the donuts, Adam,” Collin remarked humorously. The others snorted with laughter and Samir came close to spitting out his water.

Adam gave a tongue-in-cheek expression towards Lieutenant Callus and nodded. “Alright, Collin. I’ll keep that in mind when we’re weighing you for your next physical.” The others gave uproarious laughter. “Now, in all seriousness, I want to address Sergeant Gearhardt’s request to assemble a special team on the K9 branch focused on the animal-related crimes in our community. I know we have a unanimous opinion on it being a good idea, given the recent status of animals seeking citizenship. However, Ralph has stated that he is too close to everyone on the K9 squads. So, he wants us to be the voices of reason and pick his… A-Team.”

“I love it when a plan comes together,” Collin snorted.

Regina shook her head and retorted, “Especially since it’s such a rare occurrence for you.”

Once more, Adam took over the conversation. This time he did so with the intent to keep their attention. “I’m sure we can all agree that there are a few K9 officers that we want to include on this A-Team. First, I would like to recommend Fido Byron. He’s smart, patient, disciplined and aware. If there’s anyone on the K9 squads who will be smart at handling hostage situations, it will be him.”

“He already has the built-in respect of the community, as well. As a puppy, he pioneered the Good Old Dogs Club as a movement of social reform for the local canines. It was a shame to see it fall into the state it was in when he came to the academy,” Samir said. “I, for one, agree with putting Fido on the team.” The decision seemed unanimous as Collin, Jaydon and Regina all pitched in with agreeing hums of approval.

Next to speak was Regina. She picked a page of notes she had from her pile and turned it around so her colleagues could see it. “One of the main functions of our K9 unit, historically speaking, has been tracking. I still maintain that Kevin Beauregard is the best tracker we’ve got. This group wouldn’t be complete without him.”

For the first time since the conversation began, Collin had a serious face and shook his head. “I don’t know. Kevin’s a practical zealot in terms of physical discipline but when it comes to self-control saying he comes up a bit short is generous.”

“I’m with Lieutenant Callus,” Jaydon interjected, “Kevin’s too explosive.”

Adam nodded but Regina defended her position. “He may be quick to act but I think that’s a good thing. Whatever this A-Team ends up being, it’ll have to have some level of action-readiness about it. You can have all the careful thinkers you want, but someone’s got to lead the charge eventually.” With this logic, Samir seemed convinced and gave a sound of agreement for Regina’s point. Collin and Jaydon still had a feeling of doubt in their minds but Regina’s argument had convinced Adam to side with her and it established Kevin’s place in the group.

Now, it was Samir’s turn to make a suggestion. He pulled out his notes and passed them around to the others. There was a general hum of preconceived approval at the idea. “I figured I would not have to do a lot of convincing. Brackenwell and Lindberg are some of the best interrogators the department has got and they are practically the right and left halves of one brain. With a duo who works in tandem as well as they do, I figure we’d be stupid not to have them together.”

It was true that none of the others felt a need to argue with the twin recommendations by Samir. With Mungo and Fox established in the team, Collin Callus prepared to make his suggestion. “Well, you guys, I have to admit I’m not entirely sure what you’ll think of my thoughts but I want you to hear me out. There’s a rookie we just took on. Fido’s told me good things about him. His name’s Cobalt Raknison and he’s got a nose that’s almost as strong as Beauregard’s. He might be a rookie, but we have to consider that this A-Team won’t last forever, so I think it’s good to have a younger dog out there to learn and help train the future ones.”

“Personality and dedication only make so much of an officer, Lieutenant Callus,” Regina countered with a hint of sadness. “I do agree with you that we need a younger officer, but a lot of his psychological analyses indicate that he’s too hyperactive for the responsibilities that will be put on this team.”

Samir winced. “I hate to say it, but I’m with Deputy Chief Nichols. I met Officer Raknison a few days ago and I don’t know how much faith I have in his level-headedness. If we visit the idea of expanding in a few years, we can consider him again, but I don’t really know about it yet.”

For a second, neither Adam nor Jaydon gave an opinion and Regina and Samir quietly exchanged their thoughts on Cobalt and his eagerness. After a long deliberation with his own thoughts, Adam finally spoke. “Well, Regina, it’s like you said with Kevin, though. There will be some action-heavy moments and the especially active ones will carry those times. I think Raknison will be good for the team in that regard.”

Since the vote now fell to the hard-hearted Jaydon Burnham, Collin largely began to surrender any hope he had of getting his initial candidate through this committee. As such, he began to pull out his second page of notes. “I like him,” Jaydon said, prompting surprised looks from the others. “I’m serious. He strikes me as an impressionable kind of dog. Give him a few weeks on assignment with the others and I think Raknison will be able to hang well with Brackenwell, Lindberg and even Byron.”

It took a minute for the others to recover from their shock at Jaydon’s moment of open-mindedness. The forensics chief was quick to turn to his own notes and cleared his throat. Adam nodded slightly as if to remind himself where he was. “Right. Forensics Chief Burnham has his recommendation from his department. It will definitely be useful to have one member of it on this team of ours. Jaydon, who do you recommend?”

“Due to his experience and knowledge of anatomy, I want to recommend Terrence Townsend. He’s a very smart and well-versed individual. He will be useful to the team.”

As was common for him, Jaydon’s general feeling of superiority made the others uncomfortable. His own experience in the field of forensics was only brought about by long hours dedicated to the practice of memorization and this was a fact he enjoyed imparting to others, even if in subtle ways. For this reason, it took the other officers in the room a moment to consider his proposition with an objective eye. Collin, being the most amicable of them, voiced his opinion first. “Townsend is great with evidence, we know that. However, we have to consider something we haven’t before. Now, his anatomical knowledge has to span just beyond humans, cats and dogs as was required before. I’m not trying to discredit his work, but he only meets the base requirements. Whoever we put on this team should probably have some knowledge working with birds, rodents, reptiles or at least some of the options as far as the woodland denizens go since they are now, even if partially, under the protective jurisdiction of our K9 division.”

There was a murmur of agreement on this point from the others and even Jaydon felt a slight twinge of humility at the revelation. “I apologize for not having considered this. I request we put this meeting on hold until I can determine another candidate for the position.”

“There’s no need,” Adam interrupted. Jaydon stifled a frown at this as he knew what was about to be said. “Atalia di Romania. She is the first ever non-human to earn a degree in forensic anatomy and she did so from an Ivy League school. I know she has experience with many different types of bodies and skeletons and her analytical skills are every bit as proficient as Townsend’s.”

Jaydon gave Adama a very unhappy expression. “With all due respect, Chief Samarov, Dr. di Romania is under my jurisdiction and I would like to keep her in the lab.”

A static tension filled the room causing Samir and Collin to adopt an air of uncomfortable reservation. Regina wore her feelings more tangibly and folded her arms with impatience evident on her face. Adam responded with a level-headed authority that can only be credited to those masters of their position with many years of adapting to the innumerable students of the world who attempted to prematurely surpass their mentor. “I acknowledge that Dr. di Romania is a valuable asset to your department, Dr. Burnham, but even you must admit her range of skills are better suited to the whole process. If she was given the opportunity to view the scene of the crime on a regular basis, I believe we would find her eyes and deduction far more to our advantage than confining her to the autopsy tables in the lab.”

Jaydon breathed in heavily but sighed before he said something which he knew would shatter his argument. He recovered his disposition and spoke again. “Be that as it may, I think her relative lack of field experience still makes her less of a viable candidate than several others I might recommend.”

“Perhaps, Dr. Burnham, but it would benefit her own experience as well as ours to allow her time in the field,” Adam responded.

“I won’t allow it,” Jaydon insisted. The tense silence that followed this comment was felt so tangibly by the others that it was oppressive against their lungs how grievous the taboos were Jaydon was committing against the hierarchy of the Greater Babylon Police Department.

Adam shifted only slightly so as to indicate that he was quickly losing patience with this argument. “It is out of your hands until this committee either agrees or disagrees with you now, Dr. Burnham.”

Standing and pushing his chair away slightly, Jaydon slammed a fist against the table. “Dr. di Romania is under my jurisdiction, Chief Samarov!”

“And you are under mine, Jaydon, now sit down or leave this room!” And he gestured affirmingly to the door they had all entered what now felt like much longer ago than it truly was. After Jaydon had taken several moments to calm himself, he opted for the former of the two options and pulled his chair back to his place at the conference table. He did not offer any apology aside from what was now a welcome silence from him and Adam looked over the other members of the committee. “Does anyone else object to the inclusion of Atalia di Romania on the A-Team for the K9 unit?”

Regina and Collin both shook their heads and wrote Atalia’s name onto their notes. Samir tapped his pencil against his chin for a moment and then said, “I do agree with one of Dr. Burnham’s points. Dr. di Romania is relatively inexperienced in field work. I think, perhaps, we should at least keep her on a sort of… probation to see how well she adapts to it. If she shows promise on the learning curve outside of the books and set-in-stone facts, we keep her on. However, if she stagnates, we hear alternate suggestions from Dr. Burnham on other members of the forensics K9s to join the A-Team in her place.” This condition was met with support from all others, including Jaydon, and Atalia’s place on the team was now established.

With the argument of the forensics member behind them, Adam moved on. “Now, I think it would be smart for this A-Team to have a legal consultant just in case anything unexpected should arise. I sorted through every human lawyer from here to Indianapolis but none of them seem keen on the idea of working with our K9s.” Collin gave an annoyed sigh as he felt the assignment would fall to him to find one. He was relieved to hear Adam continue. “We are in luck, though, because Mayor O’Malley gave me a recommendation straight from the Babylon County courthouse: Mrs. Sirapha Rousseau. Normally, I’d open the floor to all of you for questions or concerns but Mrs. Rousseau is just about everything we could ask for. First of all, she’s already developed a reputation as someone who’s good at handling the press. Second, she has pioneered new steps into the justice system for both domesticated and feral animals to be tried and processed with equal treatment to humans. Thirdly, she is a perfect fit because she’s a golden retriever and fits in with our all-dog team. And finally, she’s the only being, human or otherwise, who did not say ‘no’ when offered the job.” This closing point brought a small laugh from the others, with the exception of Jaydon who was still in bad spirits. “So, to put it short, Sirapha Rousseau will be serving as our legal consultant for the A-Team.” Adam sorted his notes back together and looked around. “Are there any questions, concerns, further recommendations or comments?” Nobody spoke up. “Very well, then. I will leave this assortment on Sergeant Ralph Gearhardt’s desk and then I’m going home. I bid you all goodnight.”

Just as everyone else was starting to stand, Regina skimmed through her notes one last time and her sights settled on one that she had shoved towards the back. She felt her mind rush with the contemplation of regret if she did not address this unspoken subject. Sighing, she spoke up. “Hold on!” The others all froze and looked at her. “I do have… one last recommendation I would like to make.”

Collin and Samir returned to their seats and Jaydon, clearly desiring to be far away from any of his present colleagues, leaned over the back of his chair. Adam took his seat as well and turned to a blank sheet of paper. “What do you have, Mrs. Nichols?”

Although she felt the need to address it, her words caught in her throat as she felt a creeping feeling that this suggestion would not be at all well-received. She took a deep breath and produced her notes, placing them in the middle of the table. “I think we should consider one of our other rookies: Macabre ars Goetia.”

Silence ensued but it was not of tense disagreement. Rather, it was the type of silence that accompanied an odd revelation that was produced seemingly from thin air. After a long time of nothing being said and no action being taken, Collin reached to the back of his notes and produced another copy of the same document. After seeing his, Samir produced the same and was shortly joined by Adam. Even Jaydon revealed he had a copy of the document. The five of them stared down at the sheets of paper for a long moment and Collin was the one to break the silence. “It doesn’t make any sense. He has no chemistry with the other K9s.”

“We know he makes several of the local pets uncomfortable,” Adam added.

“He insists on being allowed to bring his violin to work,” Samir continued.

“He never takes off his mask and we can’t find a breed match for his DNA,” Jaydon said with a sigh of frustration.

Regina shook her head in disbelief. “But he graduated from the academy quicker than any K9 we’ve ever trained. Not even Fido Byron came close to his learning curve. He adapts quickly, handles himself effortlessly and… I can’t explain it, but something about him just feels…”

“Unnatural?” Samir concluded. Regina nodded. “I can’t explain it either.”

The five officers, each a well-accomplished individual in their years of service and each having earned great wisdom throughout said years, sat in quiet contemplation as if trying to place their finger on an inevitable reason to make this idea invalid. Each of them felt some odd and unknowable tug to reject the idea but none of them could agree to voice it. Whether it was by the odd nature of human curiosity or by the will of whatever roundabout rationality they collectively deciphered for themselves, they all concluded he was right for the team. “So, we agree to add Macabre ars Goetia on?”

A unanimous nod was all that could be given from the catatonic meditation of the other members of the committee. Slowly, they began to tear themselves away from their increasingly pointless thoughts and their nods became more vigorous and assured. Eventually, Regina, Collin and Samir were vocalizing their support. Even Jaydon established his resolve with a half-whispered “Aye.”

Satisfied that they had done their job well and that their collective rationale would be for the benefit of the GBPD, Deputy Chief Regina Nichols, Forensics Chief Dr. Jaydon Burnham, Lieutenant Collin Callus and Lieutenant Samir al-Jaziri turned their attention back to Chief Adam Samarov. The great man picked his copy of the documents up and nodded slowly. “Ralph Gearhardt, Fido Byron, Cobalt Raknison, Atalia di Romania, Mungo Brackenwell, Fox Lindberg, Sirapha Rousseau, Kevin Beauregard and Macabre ars Goetia,” he said with a confident smile. After taking a last moment to cycle through the names once more in his mind, he looked back to his colleagues. “Tell your departments, gentlemen. On Monday, we assemble the A-Team.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really do like what I have read so far! I have a feeling this is gonna be a really great story!