Vice Squad: LA 1985

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"Silver," says the man sitting across from me, his eyes flashing with deep hatred. "Do you know why I called you in here?"
"With you, boss, could be anything," I mutter, lighting my cigarette. "It gets hard to tell after a while."
The chief's nostrils flare. "We've been working this Yamamoto case for months now. We were all ready to bust into the facility where we thought the coke was being produced. You were heading up the team. It was about to be the biggest bust in years, the sting op that was going to turn the city around. LA was going to go from the rich dope-fiend haven the upstate precincts think we are to the utopia free from corporate corruption that I know LAPD can make it."
He looks furious, his glare meant to pierce me.
"And then you have to go and ruin everything. You turn the team around to attack one of the Cowboys' cokehouses instead."
I breathe out a cloud of smoke in his face. "With respect, boss, the Cowboys were one of the biggest gangs in the city. They were responsible for half the homicides in the last month. Now, thanks to me, they're gone forever."
The chief narrows his eyes. "And don't forget they were Yamamoto's rivals."
"Don't worry," I mutter. "I didn't forget."
"Another move like this and you'll be off the force. Personal choice has got no place in police work. Either you follow orders or you don't do anything."
"Look, Silver," the chief says, putting his hand to his brow. "I don't think you're a bad cop. But the way things have been going lately, I can only assume something's going on between you and Yamamoto. I'm moving you off Vice Squad A."
I sit up straight. "Chief, wait. You can't take me off my squad, where the hell am I gonna go?"
"VS-B," he says, and I laugh. "B are a joke. It's what, four guys?" The chief looks exasperated. "I'm not joking, Silver. You're head of Vice Squad B until I can be certain you're not taking bribes or anything similar." I stand up.
"Now get out of my office, Silver. Don't mess this up too."
As I step out of the police station into the rainy Los Angeles night, I take a good long drag. The truth is that I am doing business with Yamamoto. Nothing criminal, but the guy's got a bit of a pass in my book. Thankfully nobody who knows me knows why.
Vice Squad B is around the back of the precinct building. I should probably head there to get acquainted with the team, but then again, there's a Cadillac out front that's got my name on it, literally. The sun's gone down, which means downtown is livening up around now.