Gunfights, explosions, over a hundred bodies—
Even in America, that kind of thing is enough to cause a major uproar.
The complaint lines at the precinct should have been ringing off the hook, protestors slamming public safety should have been marching in the streets, and social media should have been flooded with think pieces on how "America is going to hell."
But the next day, aside from a few small ripples in narrow circles, all news of it vanished, fast and completely.
Before dawn, every corpse in the park had disappeared. Even the bloodstains were scrubbed so clean you could not tell anything had happened.
The reason was simple—CTU had stepped in.
That morning, as Rorschach reached the precinct doors, he scrolled through his phone, frowning.
He still did not have the whole picture. His head was spinning.
It was one thing for the files in Gus's safe about his past crimes to suddenly vanish. But after that much noise last night, there was not a single media report?
He rubbed his chin, staring in confusion at the same old CPD building.
Screw it.
Go in, see how things feel. If anything's off, bolt.
The chief said he'd cover him anyway.
Inside, he walked fast, not even stopping to greet colleagues, heading straight for the chief's office.
He knocked twice and did not wait for an answer before pushing the door open.
"Chief, I need to—"
The words stuck in his throat.
In front of the desk, a man in a suit was chatting and laughing with Griffin.
"Uh… sorry to interrupt."
A little awkward, Rorschach nodded and started to back out.
A deep, steady voice stopped him.
"Rorschach Butcher."
The man in the suit said calmly, "Impressive work. Those hundred‑plus traffickers last night—took them all out by yourself, did you?"
Rorschach turned slowly. "And you are?"
The man stood, came around the desk, and held out his hand with a smile. "Jack Bauer, Operations Director at CTU. And Ginny's father."
Rorschach blinked, then forced a smile. "Heard a lot about you."
"Haha, same here. Ginny's brought your name up at least ten times."
Jack's grin broadened—but to Rorschach, that smile looked a hundred times more dangerous than Gus's ever had.
A few minutes later, Rorschach sat up straight in his chair, facing a tag‑team grilling from two men in their fifties.
"So, because of a bare‑knuckle match, you ended up on the Salamancas' radar. After you killed the hitmen they sent, you played them off against Gus and sparked a feud between the two crews."
"Then, after an informant tipped you about the sit‑down, you headed to the park alone and boxed them in?"
Rorschach nodded. "That's how it went."
Jack folded his arms. "Good. One more thing. Since you knew the time and place of the meeting, why not call in your fellow officers and hit them together? Why solo it?"
Rorschach shrugged, answer ready. "Two reasons. One, both sides had moles in the department. If I'd reported it, they would've had a warning inside ten minutes."
"Two, I wasn't planning on a massacre. It was just a negotiation. No product, no cash on site. I just wanted evidence, something to tie them to future charges."
"If they hadn't started shooting first—and if they hadn't spotted me—I wouldn't have had to hit back."
Jack glanced at Griffin. The chief said nothing, just dipped his chin.
Jack had already made up his mind. A hint of amusement touched his mouth. "Took out nearly two hundred blood‑soaked dealers on your own. You think you're Rambo?"
"It wasn't that many. They'd already shredded each other by the time I started shooting," Rorschach coughed lightly. "I only dropped sixty or seventy. I'll lay it out clearly in my report."
Jack shook his head. "Forget the report. DOJ has already classified this as a counterterrorism operation. All the files are sealed."
"Counterterrorism?" Rorschach stared. "Thought it was just a turf war between dealers."
Jack smiled faintly. "If they're after you regular cops, then sure—it's a dealer shootout. They come after my people, that's terrorism."
He nodded to Griffin, then gave Rorschach a long look and walked out.
Watching his back, Rorschach clicked his tongue silently.
The guy was a bit theatrical—but Ginny's old man definitely had presence.
"At CTU the director's technically the AG, so even though Ginny's dad is just Ops Director, his standing there is basically equal to a chief's," Griffin said with a smile. "You got lucky this time. Ginny gave him a heads up about Chicago in advance."
"You should've seen it last night. The second Jack heard traffickers were targeting his little girl, he pulled four CTU teams out of their bunks."
"Christ, they don't bring that much firepower for Bin Laden."
Pieces clicked together in Rorschach's head. No wonder the park never hit the system. Everything had been locked down.
"But I really didn't see it at first," the chief added, almost casually. "You started killing with a gun at thirteen—and your first target was a notorious dealer."
Rorschach's head snapped up. He met Griffin's half‑smiling eyes. "Chief, you mean you…"
"Haha, don't overthink it, kid. From now on, just do your job."
He tossed a book across the desk: Introduction to Policing. "Memorize it. With the way things are, you're not making rank on big cases alone. You want stripes, you'd better pass those exams. Or were you planning to ride a patrol car forever?"
Rorschach flipped through the pages and felt a headache building. Cramming was the last thing he wanted to do.
Even so, he nodded in thanks. From his first day, the chief had been covering for him. Now he had just wiped out the biggest threat hanging over his head.
"Actually, Chief, I came in today to ask for a few more days off."
He told Griffin about Carl.
They had already lost two days, mostly because the Irish brothers had not yet found the car hauling the kid.
He had decided it was time to go himself. Another day, and Carl might be sold on again.
Griffin's face hardened as he listened. He signed off a full week of field time without blinking, then added, "But since you still don't have a location on that plate, charging out there right now won't help. You can leave in a bit."
"Huh? Something more urgent?" Rorschach frowned.
"Today's eval day for the rookies. Do that before you go."
"Eval?" His eyebrows lifted.
That was right. Today he had to score Ginny's performance on her probation.
(End of Chapter)
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