Oceanside Chronicles – PD: Season 4, Episode 2

Jan. 11, 2016
A foot chase ensues when squad members interrupt an armed robbery in progress. When the bad guy is caught and searched, he’s found to be carrying quite a few improvised weapons. A list is made to use as a Roll Call presentation.

It was another one of those “quiet” evening shifts that no one would talk about. The squad was in full force, dressed for the colder weather, but no one was wearing a parka.  It was one of those interesting philosophical debates the squad members would have with other officers on the agency.  Eddie knew that sometimes parkas had to be worn. The cold demanded it.  He also knew that they could interfere with smooth and quick access to an officer’s firearm, so he discouraged them.  Instead he supported layered clothing, insulated underwear, sweaters, etc. Virginia was a state (a Commonwealth actually) that saw all four seasons and there were certainly some winter days/nights that got cold; sometimes down into the single digits.  With proper planning, though, the squad managed to stay warm and functional while rarely wearing a coat.  Some wore the issued Elbeco “Crossover” jackets, insulated and lined ones at that, but not those parkas.

Max and Sean had been almost as quiet inside the cruiser as the city was outside of it.  The cold dampened down outside activities almost better than rain did.  Being on the Atlantic coast as it was, Oceanside’s cold winter days and nights had a bite to them that no one could quite identify.  Max had decided that it was the humidity mixed with the cold that was described as “biting.”  After all, frozen micro-particles had to sting when the wind drove them against your skin, right?  Maybe; maybe not. But it was as good an explanation as any other.

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While the squad was on the street, and before he could go out to join them, Eddie had a couple things to check with “the head shed;” another name for the headquarters division – the Chief’s office and all those who directly reported to him.  Eddie needed some clarification on an upcoming assignments and wanted to catch the “Director, Patrol” before he left for the day.  One wing of the station housed all of the Director offices along a single hallway that led, at the end, to the Chief’s office; the inner most sanctum of the head shed.

As Eddie opened the door to the head shed hallway, he almost ran into another man coming out.  The two recognized each other after the startlement of almost running into each other – literally.

“Hey, Saul,” said Eddie in a friendly voice, “how’s the world inside the head shed?”

“You know how it is,” replied the man.  “The air pressure in this particular hallway goes up because the egos take up most of the room.”

Eddie laughed.  “I’d remind you,” he said, “that YOU work in this hallway.”

“Tell me about it,” replied Saul, sounding almost dejected.  Sergeant Saul Panadopolus was the “Director, Communications & Records.”  The position had recently been vacated by a lieutenant who finally retired and when Saul was slotted over, he also went to the top of the list for promotion to LT.  Rumor had it he’d get the bar pinned on in the next month or so. In the meantime he was fighting to push the agency into the technological age; something his predecessor had aggressively avoided. Given that Saul and Eddie had gone through the academy together, it seemed clear to Eddie that Saul’s career was on a fast track. Saul didn’t necessarily agree but wasn’t about to complain either; not about his rank or pay – just about the state of his division.

“Sounds like you need a vacation,” said Eddie seriously.

“Not so much,” replied Saul, trying to sound a little more upbeat.  “I’ve just been fighting with the Deputy Chief about the state of our software and storage systems for record keeping.  It’s been neglected far too long and I think we need to do some updating.  Like everything else, the first argument I hear is ‘there’s no budget for that.’  I KNOW what we can do and how but I have to jump through all the proposal and bid hoops before the Chief will look at it.”

“Isn’t that the right way to do it?” asked Eddie, sounding as confused as he genuinely was.

“Yeah, it is,” admitted Saul, “but there’s one company that is blowing the others away in storage options and cost.  These guys… a company called Quantum… offer more than one storage option and their costs for data storage, from the research I’ve done, can be as much as 75% or more lower than the competition.  I understand the proposal and bid process and why we do it, but when the best option is THAT obvious, I don’t know why we wouldn’t just write the Needs & Requirements statement so that Quantum ends up identified as the sole source.”

“Well,” said Eddie cheerfully, “I’m sure you’ll get it figured out and squared away… otherwise you wouldn’t be itching for those bars to get pinned on.”

Saul laughed and jokingly asked, “Would you rather have them?”

“The paycheck,” Eddie said, as he shook Saul’s hands and went through the doors into the head shed hallway.  “The paycheck ONLY.”

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With Max driving, Sean sat on the passenger side, sometimes checking a tag on the car’s mobile data terminal (MDT) but most of the time just watching the scenery.  

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Read the rest of this exciting episode as part of the e-book now available in Kindle format on Amazon. See it on Amazon.

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