Evie and Kim looked at each other as Tom issued out the assignment. Both of them smiled a little. Kim shook her head somewhat in disbelief and Evie just shrugged back in response. The idea that there were both soon to be at least elbow deep in ice cream was amusing to them. Evie had no doubt that had they been back in LA, there would have been one or two officers who would have volunteered to accompany them but perhaps because no-one really knew each other, the SDPD officers said nothing and if they were thinking about seeing such a prospect they didn't show it.
Once everyone was briefed, warrants distributed and watches synchronized, they all broke into their three teams and headed in different directions across the City. There were no squad cars; no black and whites. Everyone was in an unmarked car. One by one the cars pulled up at various places within a block of the three locations. As each car arrived, text messages were sent to Tom. With Kim and Evie there were three other cars, each having two SWAT officers in them. Each officer had their own small firearm - a sig or a baretta or a glock. But they also each carried a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub machine gun. For this particular operation, there was no hidden snipers. Even if it the raids didn't go perfectly, no-one envisaged that snipers would be beneficial.
As they drove to the location, Evie and Kim talked through how they wanted to do the initial take down. No-one knew them in San Diego. That gave them an advantage. Who would suspect two women walking into an ice cream parlour of being cops? If they walked in, pretending to be customers, as soon as Tom gave the word, the take down could happen within minutes; the SWAT guys ready to go in the back and stop anyone making a quick exit once Evie and Kim announced themselves. Once they arrived, Evie waited for the SWAT officers to take up their positions hidden at the rear of the store. She checked her watch. 58 minutes passed. Kim sent a text to Tom letting him know they are ready and then she and Evie climbed out of their car and walked across the street. By the time they walked into the shop, Kim was telling Evie about a guy she had met at a nightclub she had been to the previous evening. Evie was listening intently; gasping and giggling in all the right places and asking questions about what they guy was like. The guy behind the counter looked up as they walked in and then looked again, this time taking his time to look both women up and down. He stood up a little straighter. He was 18, maybe 20. Long hair and about two days worth of scruff. He asked what he could get them. Kim looked at him, smiled and then leaned against the counter.
"I don't know. What have you got that's tempting?" Evie looked at the kid with the same smile. He looked from one woman to the next, somewhat tongue-tied. At that moment both the woman felt their cell phones buzz in their pants pocket and within a second, there was a loud crash from the rear of the store accompanied by shouting. The guy in the front of the store suddenly span around and looked towards the rear, frozen for a moment as he tried to work out what the noise was... what it meant. In that moment, both Evie and Kim pulled their own weapons and regained the kid's attention.
"I think you should just stay right where you are." Kim said as she tipped the muzzle of the gun up quickly once, twice, indicating for the kid to put his hands up. As he did so Evie slowly moved her way behind the counter, and retrieved a S&W .22
"Do you get robbed often then?" Evie asked questioning why an ice cream seller would need to be armed. The kid said nothing. A SWAT officer suddenly appeared through the door which lead to the rear of the store and told them that everything was secured out back. Evie indicated for the kid to walk out the back, and once Kim had dropped the lock on the front door the two of them followed. Two men were stood against one wall, both cuffed. One was in his early 20s whilst the other was in his 40s at least.
"He was on his way out of the door with those." one of the SWAT officer said pointing to a number of files stuffed with papers which were sitting on a table. "According to the ID in his wallet, his name is Alberto Gomez." Evie walked over to the table and started to look through the papers.
"These are accounts." She looked at the man and smiled a little. "You're Vega's book keeper, aren't you."
"Don't know what youre talking about. I was just paid to pick them up."
"And take them where?" Kim asked.
"I forget... and I want a lawyer" Kim laughed and shook her head. "Yeah... 'cause that's always the action of an innocent man. Okay... read them their rights and take them back to the station." Four of the SWAT officer led the three men out of the door. Two other remained behind for the search.
"Well... I guess we start with what's already out front and then we move onto whatever is in there." Evie pointed towards the freezers which ran down one wall. She put her weapon away and slipped her jacket off, leaving it on the table next to the files. Kim did the same and the two of them headed back out to the front of the store to start their search there. It didn't take long before they started pulling cellophane-wrapped packets of white powder from the bottom of the tubs of ice cream.
Once everyone was briefed, warrants distributed and watches synchronized, they all broke into their three teams and headed in different directions across the City. There were no squad cars; no black and whites. Everyone was in an unmarked car. One by one the cars pulled up at various places within a block of the three locations. As each car arrived, text messages were sent to Tom. With Kim and Evie there were three other cars, each having two SWAT officers in them. Each officer had their own small firearm - a sig or a baretta or a glock. But they also each carried a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub machine gun. For this particular operation, there was no hidden snipers. Even if it the raids didn't go perfectly, no-one envisaged that snipers would be beneficial.
As they drove to the location, Evie and Kim talked through how they wanted to do the initial take down. No-one knew them in San Diego. That gave them an advantage. Who would suspect two women walking into an ice cream parlour of being cops? If they walked in, pretending to be customers, as soon as Tom gave the word, the take down could happen within minutes; the SWAT guys ready to go in the back and stop anyone making a quick exit once Evie and Kim announced themselves. Once they arrived, Evie waited for the SWAT officers to take up their positions hidden at the rear of the store. She checked her watch. 58 minutes passed. Kim sent a text to Tom letting him know they are ready and then she and Evie climbed out of their car and walked across the street. By the time they walked into the shop, Kim was telling Evie about a guy she had met at a nightclub she had been to the previous evening. Evie was listening intently; gasping and giggling in all the right places and asking questions about what they guy was like. The guy behind the counter looked up as they walked in and then looked again, this time taking his time to look both women up and down. He stood up a little straighter. He was 18, maybe 20. Long hair and about two days worth of scruff. He asked what he could get them. Kim looked at him, smiled and then leaned against the counter.
"I don't know. What have you got that's tempting?" Evie looked at the kid with the same smile. He looked from one woman to the next, somewhat tongue-tied. At that moment both the woman felt their cell phones buzz in their pants pocket and within a second, there was a loud crash from the rear of the store accompanied by shouting. The guy in the front of the store suddenly span around and looked towards the rear, frozen for a moment as he tried to work out what the noise was... what it meant. In that moment, both Evie and Kim pulled their own weapons and regained the kid's attention.
"I think you should just stay right where you are." Kim said as she tipped the muzzle of the gun up quickly once, twice, indicating for the kid to put his hands up. As he did so Evie slowly moved her way behind the counter, and retrieved a S&W .22
"Do you get robbed often then?" Evie asked questioning why an ice cream seller would need to be armed. The kid said nothing. A SWAT officer suddenly appeared through the door which lead to the rear of the store and told them that everything was secured out back. Evie indicated for the kid to walk out the back, and once Kim had dropped the lock on the front door the two of them followed. Two men were stood against one wall, both cuffed. One was in his early 20s whilst the other was in his 40s at least.
"He was on his way out of the door with those." one of the SWAT officer said pointing to a number of files stuffed with papers which were sitting on a table. "According to the ID in his wallet, his name is Alberto Gomez." Evie walked over to the table and started to look through the papers.
"These are accounts." She looked at the man and smiled a little. "You're Vega's book keeper, aren't you."
"Don't know what youre talking about. I was just paid to pick them up."
"And take them where?" Kim asked.
"I forget... and I want a lawyer" Kim laughed and shook her head. "Yeah... 'cause that's always the action of an innocent man. Okay... read them their rights and take them back to the station." Four of the SWAT officer led the three men out of the door. Two other remained behind for the search.
"Well... I guess we start with what's already out front and then we move onto whatever is in there." Evie pointed towards the freezers which ran down one wall. She put her weapon away and slipped her jacket off, leaving it on the table next to the files. Kim did the same and the two of them headed back out to the front of the store to start their search there. It didn't take long before they started pulling cellophane-wrapped packets of white powder from the bottom of the tubs of ice cream.