You train for years to keep it professional.
Keep emotion out of it. Follow the steps. Do the job.
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But no one trains you for this.
The call came in just after lunch—disturbance reported on Ashgrove Lane. It didn’t register at first. Just another name. Another address. I pulled on my vest like I’ve done a hundred times before, hopped in the van, and headed out with Rob, my partner.
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But when we pulled up… my stomach sank.
There he was.
Leighton.
Same grin on his face. Same old swagger. But this time, it wasn’t the carefree, reckless attitude I remembered. This time, there was something darker in his eyes. Something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Leighton was my cousin. My older cousin, by four years. We grew up together, spent summers at Grandma’s house, playing hide and seek in the backyard, running around causing trouble. Back then, he was the kind of person who everyone thought was invincible. But that was before the drugs, before the arrests, before he disappeared for years, only to pop back into our lives like nothing had ever happened.
I hadn’t seen him in years. We lost touch after he was caught selling stolen goods and got himself into some serious trouble. I’d heard about his run-ins with the law, but I’d always assumed he’d grown up, gotten better. I mean, everyone hoped he would.
But here he was, standing in front of the police van, arms crossed, acting like he owned the place. And I was supposed to arrest him.
“Leighton,” I said, trying to keep my voice even, professional. “What are you doing here?”
He looked over at me, eyes narrowing. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, huh? You’re actually going to arrest me, cuz?”
I could feel Rob shifting beside me, his gaze flickering between me and Leighton. This wasn’t just another routine stop. This was personal. And it wasn’t supposed to be.
I stepped out of the van, trying to steady myself. “We’ve got a report of a disturbance. You’re the one causing it?”
He chuckled, but there was nothing light about it. “Disturbance? I’m just minding my business. Maybe you should go and find out who’s really causing the problem.”
I looked past him. The scene wasn’t chaotic—no signs of a violent altercation, no screaming or broken windows. But something felt off. And there was no way I could back down now.
“Leighton,” I said, my voice firmer. “I need you to step aside. You’re not helping yourself.”
He didn’t move. Instead, he leaned in slightly, his voice dropping low. “You think I’m the one who’s messed up, don’t you? You think I’m just a screw-up, like everyone says. But let me tell you something, Marcus.” He paused, giving me a knowing look. “I’m not the only one with blood on my hands. You’re just too blind to see it.”
My heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t just a challenge. That was a warning. And I didn’t understand it yet.
“Leighton, just cooperate,” Rob said, trying to keep things from escalating further.
But Leighton’s eyes darted to Rob, and then back at me. “Cooperate? You think that’s gonna fix this? You think arresting me is going to change anything?”
He stepped forward, his gaze locked on mine. “I’m not your criminal, Marcus. Not anymore. I’m not the one you should be chasing.”
The words hung in the air, thick and heavy. My mind raced. There was something more to this, something deeper than what I could see. But I couldn’t let myself get distracted.
“Step aside, Leighton,” I said, more forcefully this time.
He hesitated for a moment. Then, with a smirk, he raised his hands. “Alright, alright. But you’ll figure it out eventually, Marcus. Maybe you’ll see the truth before it’s too late.”
The tension in the air was palpable as we cuffed him and led him to the van. My heart was still pounding in my chest, the weight of the situation pressing down on me. This wasn’t just an arrest. It wasn’t just a job anymore. It was personal. And the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn’t going away.
Back at the station, I handed over the paperwork and sat down to debrief. But I couldn’t focus. My mind kept going back to his words. What did he mean? Was he trying to guilt-trip me, or was there something more I wasn’t seeing?
The next few days were a blur. Leighton’s hearing was scheduled, and I had to testify. But it wasn’t just a routine case anymore. As the investigation unfolded, we learned that Leighton had been involved in something much bigger than a simple altercation. His name was linked to a local drug ring, one that had been operating under the radar for years.
But it wasn’t just his involvement that shook me—it was the connections. As I dug deeper into the case, I started uncovering evidence that suggested there were other people in my family involved. People I never would have suspected. My uncle, my aunt, even my own father, were somehow connected to this mess. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The very people I’d trusted the most, the ones I had always believed were innocent, were part of this web of deceit.
The more I dug, the more I realized that Leighton wasn’t the only one with blood on his hands. There were others, too. And I was in the middle of it all.
I went back to the evidence, piecing things together, trying to make sense of what I had found. The documents, the phone records, the transactions—everything pointed to a much larger operation than I had originally thought.
I took the evidence to my supervisor, unsure of what to expect. Would they believe me? Would they even care?
But when I laid it all out, my supervisor looked at me with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. “Marcus, this is… this is huge. You’ve uncovered something we didn’t even know was happening.”
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “I had to do something. I couldn’t just let it slide.”
“We’re going to have to go through everything carefully. This could bring down more than just Leighton. It could bring down some of the most influential people in the city.”
As the investigation continued, we discovered that Leighton had been right. There were people in my family—people I had trusted—who had been involved in illegal activities for years. The betrayal stung harder than I expected. But as the truth came to light, it became clear that this wasn’t just about Leighton anymore. It was about protecting the people who hadn’t been caught in the web, the ones who had no idea what was happening behind closed doors.
In the end, the case broke wide open. With Leighton’s help, and the evidence we had gathered, we were able to take down the entire operation. The authorities arrested multiple key players, including members of my own family. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t without its challenges. But it was necessary.
And for me, it was a moment of realization. Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to stand up against the people you love, to acknowledge the truth—even when it’s painful. But in the end, doing what’s right is more important than protecting the ones who’ve wronged you.
The karmic twist? As the dust settled, I found out that Leighton had been working with us all along. He had been using his position to feed us information, to take down the drug ring from within. It wasn’t just about his own redemption; it was about saving others. His involvement wasn’t just an accident—it was part of the plan.
It was a humbling reminder that sometimes, people who seem lost, who seem beyond saving, can be the ones who ultimately help you find the truth.
So, if you’re facing a tough decision, or you find yourself questioning the people around you, remember this: doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. Trust the process, even when it’s hard. You never know how things will turn out, or who might be there to help you in ways you never expected.
