Hi there,

I had some fun placing Renee and Frei in a different role for this week’s episode and I hope you enjoy.

As always, please excuse the typos,

Big Smiles,

Jody

A New Assignment

Act 3 Scene 7

Renee folded her arms as she braced herself against the blustery wind. She was glad to be out of Worthington’s clothes but she wasn’t so happy that Frei had sent her to run an errand for Abby. She didn’t get why Abby couldn’t tail a suspect herself or send one of her team to do it but Frei had said that Abby was coordinating the police raiding Gem’s property.

“Black, I know you are not a police officer but you are slow,” Frei muttered into her earpiece. “I have been asked for directions several times. I dislike being polite.”

Renee smirked then checked the radio on her chest which was crackling away like Aeron was trying to use it. “You were the one who decided we should help Abby.”

“I needed her to use staff Derek Lavelle would not recognize as FBI. She needed to negotiate with the local force.” Frei grunted under her breath about darting Gem being quicker. “You need to move your vehicle.”

“I can park where I like,” a male voice shot back.

“Not if you want your tires in one piece,” Frei snarled in a tone she used with recruits.

“Excuse me?” the guy didn’t sound impressed.

“Give him a ticket, Urs.” Renee continued to watch from her patrol point. The local police force were trying to prevent people littering the urban park. Someone kept leaving their garden waste near the benches and such hard unrelenting criminals needed to be taken to the station to be told just to hire a gardener like all the other gated community households.

“Move your pathetic attempt at an automobile or I will remove your tires.” Frei was great with the general public.

“Remove my tires? You can’t do that… You can’t.” He didn’t sound to sure.

“Are you challenging my ability to do my duty?” Frei sounded incredibly polite and able to keep calm.

“Abby will heckle if the force calls her and complains that you stole people’s tires.” Renee rolled her eyes but it was mild relief for her boredom. She gone through military college and then served as an officer. She ordered other people to patrol.

“I’m not… officer,” the guy said sounding like he was a recruit.

“Then, do as you’re told and move it.” Frei had her full General Frankenfrei voice on—as Aeron called it.

Renee chuckled then nodded to a lady walking past with her dog. It was one of those toy breeds with no nose. It wagged its tail at its owner then snarled at Renee.

“I can see he’s friendly,” she said in a polite tone to the lady. “Very… cute.”

“Thank you. He’s so obedient,” the lady said as the dog clung to the lead with its teeth. “He’s just in a mood because I forgot to put his favorite sweater on.”

Renee just smiled. Abby had wanted a toy dog and Renee had brought home the huskies because she was not being seen with a tiny dog. She hadn’t expected Abby to be so unable to deal with them though. By the time the huskies were eight months old, they were pinning Abby to the door when she got home from work.

“Oi,” Frei yelled at someone. “You want to be arrested?”

Renee yawned. Hopefully the local police were doing more than arresting Gem for unauthorized garden waste disposal.

“You must be new,” an elderly gentleman said as he strolled by with a large greyhound.

“What makes you say that?” Renee asked as the greyhound trotted up to say hello.

“Your uniform still has the creases ironed in the right place,” he said with a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling up like he was trying not to chuckle.

“Ex-military, Sir,” Renee said hearing the warmth in her voice. He reminded her of her paternal grandfather with his build. As though he’d been beefy and muscular when he was young and probably still was strong but the muscles had that softness to them.  

“You were in the military?” he asked with shock in his eyes. “Why did you join them?” He held up his hand. “I mean, you’re far too pretty to be playing with guns.”

Renee raised an eyebrow. “There were a lot prettier guys than me.”

He stroked his dog who sniffed at Renee’s hand. “Ah, you joined to chase a boy. Must have been a handsome one.”

“Yup, I couldn’t help myself.” Renee tried not to roll her eyes or wince as Frei yelled at another poor passerby in her earpiece.

“Well, hopefully he married you then?” the gentleman was trying to be friendly and interested.

“Nope, he kissed me and shoved me into a river.” Renee shrugged. “But when I catch up with him, I’ll be sure to tell him your thoughts.”

The gentleman studied her then crinkled up his eyebrows which were grey and then wandered off.

“Black, why are people so unobservant?” Frei muttered and there was a clattering sound. “It says, do not park outside the exit.”

“Do you want me to answer or just ignore you?” Renee nodded to a younger lady walking a Beagle puppy. “I’m trying to concentrate on my suspects.”

“Emergency vehicles cannot get out of their depot.” Frei sounded as though she was going to move the car herself. “I am going to talk to the station staff.”

“I’m trying to decide whether to frisk the toy dog, the beagle puppy or the greyhound.” Renee rubbed over her equipment belt. “Or just to tell Abby to do her own job and stop sending us on errands.”

“Black, I am trying to find personnel. They are not responsive to my entry.” Frei was going to give them some training and Renee was sure it might include assault courses.

The young lady with Beagle stopped to talk to the elderly man as the toy dog dangling from the lead snarled and snapped at them from distance.

“What service are they?” Renee checked the park bench in case someone had dumped mown grass while she’d glazed over.

“Paramedics,” Frei grunted and clunked something. “They are eating.”

“They get breaks sometimes.” Renee sighed as the young lady walked around the far edge of the park with the elderly man. There was a whole stretch of perfectly trimmed green for the dogs to play on but they were stuck following their owners on leads.

“Do you know whose car is outside your depot?” Frei asked someone.

“Er… no?” an older woman didn’t sound too pleased to see Frei. “Why you asking me?”

“They are blocking your exit,” Frei said like the woman needed to run an assault course.

“I guess they are,” the woman said like she didn’t really care. “They’ll move if we need them to.”

“How will you get them to move if you are called if you do not know who the car belongs to?” Frei was in investigation mode.

Renee shook her head to herself. Frei sounded ready to have Jessie run a check.

“I would like you to run this plate,” Frei said into the earpiece.

“Sure, Mom, but I thought you were doing police patrol?” Jessie asked while munching.

“I am. They are blocking an emergency vehicle exit.” Frei said it in the same way she would have during an assignment.

“Okay… but you have a radio for that, Mom,” Jessie said in teenager tone. “They will kinda wonder where you got the details from if it’s not on their records.”

Renee checked her bench again. No sneaky grass had dumped itself.

“Mom, the car belongs to the mayor,” Jessie said with a snort. “You want to get the mayor’s car towed?”

“I dislike public servants who abuse their position,” Frei said as if she was on the move.

“Stop!” the elderly gentleman yelled.

Renee looked up. A girl with a knife slit the Beagle’s lead, grabbed the bottom and sprinted off as the young lady shrieked. “Urs, ditch your traffic duties. I need you to flank a suspect.”

“Black, if they are running away with their garden waste, then you have fixed the problem.” Frei was clearly set on yelling at the mayor.

Renee sprinted across the field, ignoring the fact that she must look far more like CIG then police. “Urs, they stole a puppy.”

“Location.” Frei might have been icy but she was soft like Aeron when it came to furry creatures.

“Mom, I have control of the cameras, you need to head straight down the block and take a left.” Jessie loved small furries too.

“Noted,” Frei stated.

Renee sprinted by the elderly gentleman and the young lady who was frantically trying to give chase.

“I’m on it, Ma’am,” Renee shot as she ran past. “You just wait in the park for me.”

The lady slowed, tears dribbling down her cheeks. “Please, he’s only young.”

The girl tried to drag the beagle through the gate but it was yelping and trying to run back to its owner.

“Let the dog go,” Renee called as she rounded on the gate.

The girl turned, saw her and pulled her knife.

“I have a gun, kid,” Renee muttered. “Let the dog go.”

The girl tried to yank the dog again but he yelped and pulled against her. She glanced at Renee closing on her and ditched the lead and ran.

“Suspect is without beagle,” Renee fired into her earpiece, caught the lead as the beagle tried to dodge her, slowed and sank to her haunches. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take you back to your mom, okay?”

The beagle sniffed her outstretched hand and then let her ruffle his short fur.

“Mom, take a left,” Jessie fired.

Renee led the puppy through the park to his tearful owner. “He fought her off.”

The beagle darted forward and into his owner’s arms as she kissed him on his head.

“Mom, she’s getting into a van,” Jessie said.

“Color?” Frei asked sounding as though she was strolling.

“Blue.” Jessie sounded like she was sprinting.

Renee glanced over at the bench which had a rotund older lady leaning over and shaking something out of a bag. “My suspect is dumping her cut-offs.” She smiled at the owner of the beagle who beamed up at her. “I need to catch someone.”

“The van is heading toward you,” Jessie said, panting.

Bam.

Bam.

Renee sprinted across the park. “Please tell me you’re not discharging your weapon in public.”

“They don’t need wheels,” Frei muttered back.

“Ma’am,” Renee said as she caught up to her hardened suspect who was pulling out the rest of the garden waste.

The woman turned and jumped then gripped her chest then hid her bag behind her back.

“Ma’am, you are prohibited from dumping here.” Renee slowed and put her hands on her hips.

“I… I was… feeding the… er… ducks.” Clearly the woman was a serial offender with that kind of watertight story.

“Uh huh,” Renee said then eyed the woman’s blouse. She had an ID lanyard around her neck… for the town council. “I guess you parked over by the medical depot too?”

The woman glanced around. “Do you have surveillance on me? How do you know?”

Renee tried for a patient smile. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to dump waste when you’re the mayor…” She frowned. “And didn’t you request the police watch the park?”

The woman sighed and placed the bag in her pocket. “I was hoping that Steve would be in charge.” She wrinkled up her mouth. “He has been calling me to give me updates… It was to keep him calling.”

“Ma’am, if you like the guy, just ask him out.” Renee tried not to roll her eyes.

“Says you, Black,” Frei muttered as something clanged. “You have the right not to be an idiot because otherwise I will dart you.”

The mayor gave Renee a bashful smile. “I’d like to. I think he finds it exciting. I actually pay for the park department to clean up the cuttings…” She shrugged.

“Just ask him out. It saves me paperwork.” Renee waved at the grass. “And quit parking across the medical depot.”

“Ma’am,” the mayor said with a cheeky smile. “Thank you.”

Renee waved it off then smiled as the elderly gentleman saluted her from across the park. She nodded back and headed in Frei’s direction. “Did you dart them?”

“They attempted to struggle,” Frei said as though she wasn’t impressed. “They have several puppies in this vehicle.”

Renee felt a breeze tickle her and smiled. “You can’t dart them too, Urs.”

“They are far quicker and cuter,” Frei sounded warm and sappy. “No nibbling.”

Renee leaned her face up to the breeze and smiled. Aeron would have been just as sappy. She kissed her St. Christopher’s and wandered down the street. Saving puppies was well worth doing police patrol for.