Felix came into the station that morning, hand pressed to his back, walking with a slight stagger.
When he turned a corner, he spotted Mark—and his grin widened. His posture straightened, chest out, the ache apparently gone.
"Well, well. Look who's hobbling around like an old man. What happened—already worn out at your age?"
Mark rolled his eyes so hard they nearly stuck, forcing himself upright. "Cut it out. I've been here a while, just resting in my car. Saw you hobbling in from across the lot."
Felix's shoulders slumped instantly. One wounded man meeting another—neither had the right to laugh.
"What happened to you?"
Mark sighed. "The DA's office, same as you. I was in the Austin op too—other side of the street from you. Thought I'd be on admin leave for a couple of weeks, so I told Jessica we could take a trip to Miami. She was over the moon, filed for vacation right away. Her time-off got approved. And mine? Ended. I'm back on shift."
The two shared a long-suffering sigh.
They were about to head in when they spotted Frank coming down the hall, also clutching his back and groaning.
Felix and Mark's spines straightened on reflex, the smirks back in place.
"Well, well. Look who's hobbling around like an old man. Already worn out?"
Frank didn't even glance at them. "Trying for a third kid. Gotta put in the work at night."
The two exchanged a glance, then turned away in unspoken agreement—not picking that fight.
Inside, the desk sergeant, Linda, told them to change and head to the main briefing room. There was an operation today.
Felix felt instantly better. He changed quickly and walked in to find the room already packed—definitely a major action. He and the other two found seats.
A few minutes later, Deputy Chief Robin entered with Cole Simmons from the Asian Gangs Unit, Jason Villa from the Marijuana Task Force, and several sergeants.
After the obligatory courtesies, Simmons started.
"Good morning, gentlemen. You all know we recently intercepted a gang member in Temple City jurisdiction—a distributor for the 'Asian Boyz' gang, name of Christian Chen.
We believe he's part of a larger network. After coordination at the command level, we're launching a joint op today. The Gang Unit and Marijuana Task Force will handle surveillance, intel, and support. Temple City Station will be the primary arrest team.
We've monitored Christian Chen's residence and movements, checked his digital communications, and intercepted every parcel he's shipped. We confirmed he's distributing marijuana in significant volume. From there, after considerable work, we identified the organisation behind him.
Jason, walk us through it."
Villa stepped forward.
"Christian Chen works online, finding buyers and mailing product. His supplier is Jin Kai Chen, 51, Chinese male. We observed him regularly visiting Christian's address in a Mercedes van. The van reeked of marijuana—safe to say it's a transport vehicle. He also handled the cash from Christian's sales.
Following the van, we tracked it to a residence in El Monte belonging to Zhen Da He, 33, Chinese male. His financial records show large cash deposits and irregular transfers. We believe he's the ringleader.
From his accounts, we identified several small-scale indoor grow sites in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and Irwindale. Community officers confirmed the locations after knocking under the pretext of neighbour complaints—seven growers, all Chinese, male and female, aged forty to sixty. Based on water and power usage, we estimate around one thousand plants.
That's smaller than expected, so we dug further into the accounts and found heavy ties to an illegal grow in Antelope Valley. We also identified armed couriers—Shi Hu Mo, Xiu Zhao Liao, Wei Xing Zhou, among others.
The group also launders money through chains of self-service vending and laundromats, and Zhen Da He frequently travels to Las Vegas, likely another laundering channel. There's also a connection to Chinese underground banks.
Today's mission: arrest Christian Chen, Jin Kai Chen, and Zhen Da He, and shut down the indoor grow sites. The Antelope Valley site will wait until interrogations confirm evidence, at which point the Bureau will coordinate a larger raid."
Robin took over.
"These suspects may be armed and dangerous. Stay sharp. Assignments:
Carles, your team has Christian Chen.Collis, you take Zhen Da He.Green, Willie, Anderson—hit the grow sites.
Jin Kai Chen is currently on the freeway; the Bureau will handle him.
We have Bureau support—if anything escalates, SEB's Special Weapons Team will deploy. Air Support is standing by with an AS350B2 'AStar' helicopter, with another available if needed.
Let's get it done. Clear?"
"Clear!"
"Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Felix leaned toward Carles. "Why aren't we taking the boss?"
"Can't have all the fun. Just do the job."
Felix didn't mind—he knew a boss dead meant the trail ended. Foot soldiers were easier to replace; their deaths didn't matter much.
They rechecked gear, filled any gaps from the supply room, and rolled out—dozens of patrol units streaming from the station. Just the sight of it was enough to get the blood moving.
Felix's unit took position near Christian Chen's place, linking up with the surveillance team.
"He's inside," the surveillance officer said over the radio. "But I wouldn't recommend going in blind. We don't know what kind of defensive weapons he's got. If he's got a shotgun or rifle inside, it could get ugly fast."