Defense of Our Way of Life: Chapter 1 – The Enemy of Civilization is its Civilians

Chapter 1 – The Enemy of Civilization is its Civilians

“Officer Xander Storge. Are you ready?” our SIB contact asks over our radio.

“Yes, sir,” I say, radioing back.

I’m armed with my standard pistol and have a regular policeman’s loadout with pepper spray, taser, extra ammo, and cuffs, and I’m wearing basic body armor and boots. Right now, my squad is sitting in our black police truck, waiting for our contact in the Secret Intelligence Bureau, or SIB, to give us the go-ahead to arrest the suspects we’re after.

“Sergeant Kurtis Thomas?”

“Roger,” Kurtis says.

Our squad leader, Kurtis, wears a helmet, body armor, armor on his shoulders, arms, and legs, and uses an old-school revolver, powerful enough to take a man’s arm from his body.

“Corporal Cole Belmont?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” Cole says.

Cole, a veteran of the Great War, is dressed head to toe in blue-and-black armor like a modern knight. He’s wielding a submachine gun and a bulletproof riot shield.

“Detective Max Marlowe?”

“Do we really need this checkup before deploying?” Max asks.

Unlike the rest of us, Max is dressed up in his usual detective outfit with a long coat, dress shirt, pants, shoes, and tie. He’s armed with a throwing knife in one hand and a standard pistol like mine, but slightly smaller so he can conceal it.

“Yes, Detective Max. I need to know that you’re all here and ready. We cannot mess this up.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Max says dismissively.

“Stay focused, Max. We’ll get through this, and things will go back to business as usual after,” Kurtis says.

“Will it? We’re attacking a group of Slavic criminals for trying to influence the country in their favor?”

“Trying to rig the election of our mayor and governor is a serious offense that can land them in jail for the rest of their lives.”

“What about the rumors that the Vorfahren are doing the same? Why aren’t we going after them?”

“Because the SIB has actual intelligence that the Slavs are doing it, whereas there’s no evidence that the Vorfahren are doing the same.”

“I have actual intelligence that they are.”

“Are you talking about the people from the ‘Family’? We can’t always rely on your friends, especially when we have to work together with the SIB.”

“What? You don’t trust me, Kurtis? I thought you grew past your biases toward the men of honor.”

“I have, and I trust that the information your friends got is good. I don’t even like doing this favor that feels like preferring one political party over another, but the SIB wants to work with the police to get rid of a pressing threat to the country, so we have to address this first. We can bring up the next one later to them after this is finished.”

“Besides, the Slavs are worse than the Vorfahren,” Cole says. “At least the Vorfahren value order and tradition. All the Slavs want to do is use the government as a weapon against their enemies and enrich themselves and their backers with the excuse that they’re helping the poor and middle class. It’s all a load of crap.”

“No politics on the job, Cole. This is a job of black-and-white justice, not arguing over political ideologies that are two sides of the same coin. We’re going to go in there once we get the go-ahead, kick some ass, and bring some criminal scum to justice. Am I right, boys?” Kurtis says.

“Yes, sir,” Cole, Max, and I say.

“Damn right I am.”

“You’re clear to go, Angel’s Trumpet. The suspects are all in the same building, and our agents are covering the exits,” our SIB contact says.

“Roger,” Kurtis says.

Our squad heads to the suspects' location: an indoor marketplace filled with vendors selling food, drinks, toys, clothes, and collectables. The people in the marketplace move aside and greet us as we move through the area until we get to the back area. Entering it, we see workers who tell us we shouldn’t be back here.

Kurtis shows his badge and says, “We have a reason to be here. Please, do not get in our way.”

“Put the gun down!” Max yells at someone behind us.

Cole raises his submachine gun and riot shield up, and yells the same thing, while Kurtis and I raise our guns toward the other workers, who have now raised their guns at us. We try to get everyone to lower their guns, but they don’t, forcing us to shoot first.

“Engaging suspects! Keep an eye on the exits!” Kurtis radios over to the SIB.

“My guys are engaging them as well! Get that evidence before anything happens to it and take those suspects in alive,” the SIB contact says.

“You hear that, Cole?”

“It’s not wrong or illegal to kill them in self-defense, especially in this scenario,” Cole says.

“Alive, Cole! Take them in alive!”

I try to do as we’re told and shoot at the suspects’ arms, legs, and lower bodies. My squad and I break into each room, finding mostly products for the marketplace; however, there is one door that contains guns, knives, bats, and crowbars, and another hides a basement door. Going into the basement, we find more suspects, who try and fail to shoot at us. There, we find the fake voting ballots, lists of names, and voting machines that look tampered with.

“We found and secured the evidence,” Kurtis says.

“Good work, boys. Mine are heading in to retrieve it and look it over,” our SIB contact says.

“Are we seriously not going to handle any of this?” Cole asks.

“No. Let the SIB and whoever they chose handle this. We have our own part of the job to deal with.”

Before we leave the basement, we make sure all the suspects are secure.

One of the Slavic suspects says, “We’re only doing this because the Vorfahren are rigging the election in their favor! You better make sure they don’t get away with it either!”

I tell him, “We won’t. I promise you.”

The suspect seems to trust me and doesn’t resist arrest or say anything else. My squad and I leave, go back to our office to drop off our armor and weapons, change into casual clothing, and go out to dinner after a job well done. We eat at the usual Mediterranean restaurant that Max’s friends own. Astorre, well-dressed restaurant owner and leader of this city’s men of honor, stands by our table and helps serve our dinner. He wears a fedora, a striped suit, a dress shirt, a tie, pants, and shoes typical of a man of honor.

“It’s always good to see our city’s protectors here. How was work today? I heard you snagged some scum that was interfering with our honored elections,” Astorre says.

“You heard right, but we didn’t get everyone who is trying to rig the election,” Kurtis says.

“Oh? I heard every criminal at the marketplace was snagged.”

“You know what I mean. The other political party of criminals is still up to something with our election.”

“I know. I already have my contacts working on that. I know you don’t-”

“Thank you.”

“Huh? I thought you wanted the police to handle matters like that.”

“Not in this situation when our hands are tied by the SIB.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Kurtis?” Max asks.

“I’m going to need your friends more than ever, Max. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. It still feels like a dream to me.”

“Then wake up and get your friends and you to work. We need to find out what the two foreign political parties are doing to influence the election and the country to change it in their favor.”

Astore says, “The Vorfahren have been slowing down ever since they saw that their Slavic opponent’s choice for office has been taken out of the race. They seem to only want to play dirty when they think the Slavs are a threat. Beyond that, they’re playing the long game, trying to get people on their side by talking to them, making videos, influencing our culture through art, and trying to be charitable to the poor and middle class.”

“So, they’re a non-issue?” I ask.

“As long as the Slavs are a non-issue. They want to make it seem like they’re on our side and we’re the ones who are two sides of the same coin rather than them and the Slavs.”

“Focus on the Slavs then. I trust them less than the Vorfahren anyway,” Cole says.

“I agree, and let us know what you find,” Kurtis says.

“Yes, sir. Oh, and I’ll do my best to keep an eye on the SIB as well. They have a history of being infiltrated by foreign influences,” Astorre says before leaving the table.

Some officers enter the restaurant and approach our table.

“Is there something we can help you with?” I ask.

“Nah, I just wanted to see if the rumors were true. You really are in with those vigilante criminals, aren’t you? Those so-called men of honor?” one of the cops asks.

“Excuse me?”

“We’re not talking to you, kid. We’re talking to Kurtis,” the other cop says.

“Please, give your fellow officer some respect,” Kurtis says as he stands up. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re talking about you working with criminals. We get using insiders to help you catch bigger fish, but the people you’re working with are still committing crimes. Care to explain yourself?”

Several servers with Mediterranean desserts and coffee approach the officers, with Astorre leading them.

Astore bows his head, raises it, then says, “Welcome, officers. As a token of appreciation for your service to our city, can we interest you in-”

The officers push aside the food and coffee that the waiters are carrying, causing a mess and bringing the attention of everyone in the restaurant to us.

“We don’t need your bribes, criminal scum. We-”

Kurtis steps in front of the officers and says, “You better have evidence to back up your claims. An officer of the law doesn’t judge anyone without solid evidence.”

“You know what these people do, Kurtis. You should know better than anyone how they kill and manipulate the country for their benefit.”

“Do you remember the vigilante threat to our city called For the People? Those people attacked the people you’re accusing of being criminals, and these people threw themselves into danger for their family and friends. No one who is out for themselves puts their lives on the line for others.”

“It’s still vigilantism.”

“It’s not illegal or immoral. Do you think they were just doing it for show? Do you think selfish people with bad intentions put themselves in front of a gun for their neighbors? Do officers cause trouble for people they suspect to be criminals without a warrant?”

“No…”

“Damn right. So, get out of here and don’t come back unless you have a good reason to.”

The officers leave the restaurant, and Kurtis starts helping clean up the mess they left behind. Max, Cole, and I are astonished by Kurtis’ defense of Astorre and his people. Even Astorre is shocked, but he quickly joins Kurtis in cleaning up. They go back and forth about who should be cleaning up, not the other person. I start helping, followed by Max and Cole. Once the mess is cleaned, we leave a generous tip and then leave the restaurant.