Influence

The cold air as he stepped out of the room made the Senior Agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Sabine Division gasp. The cold air helped him recover somewhat from his slight drowsiness.

He patted his cheeks a few times, wrapped his clothes tighter, complained a little about the weather, and then walked toward the car parked by the roadside.

The Female Agent following behind him had also drunk some alcohol, and her face was flushed. The cold air coming in her face quickly cooled down her burning cheeks.

"You drive!" the male detective said before getting into the passenger seat.

The Female Agent obediently sat in the driver's seat, inserted the key into the lock, and started the car. She was very silent, or rather, very focused, but the male detective sitting in the passenger seat could sense that she had something on her mind.

After the car slowly started moving and drove out of the community, he pursed his lips and asked, "You think I did something wrong?"

The Female Agent didn't speak, shook her head, and continued to stare at the road in front of her, but the male detective knew he had guessed correctly.

"You think we shouldn't have been so close to Lin Qi, shouldn't have drunk with him, shouldn't have done this..." He choked up a bit, then found a word to describe what he wanted to say, "Shouldn't have left so mercenarily, right?"

Although the Female Agent did not speak, her expression said it all. The male detective sighed, "When I first started out, I was just like you. I always thought I would be the nemesis of evil, that I would catch all criminals, and that nothing could stop me."

"But do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

The Female Agent's attention was drawn to him. Just then, they passed an intersection, and the red light made them stop. The Female Agent shook her head, "I don't know."

The male detective looked out the window at the sky and sighed, "Only by staying alive and keeping our jobs can we have a chance to uphold justice."

"You think Lin Qi is just an ordinary businessman, but he's not. He has a very good relationship with Mark, a very good relationship with the mayor, and he was even invited to the president's inauguration celebration."

"Most importantly, he's very rich. Do you know the value of money?"

The red lights outside the window began to flash. The Female Agent bit her lip and shook her head.

The male detective scoffed, "You know it, but you don't want to face it."

"He can easily make us lose our jobs. For people like us, doing this kind of work, it's definitely not a fun thing to lose our identity."

"Perfect timing. In the next few days, you'll get an example that shows you that some things are nothing in the eyes of some people..."

"I did this not just to protect myself!"

Meanwhile, the backup officers who had confirmed the alarm was false began returning to their posts, but the officers who went to Vera's house to conduct the search were told to go straight back to the Police Station, where the work would be handed over to others.

This kind of thing doesn't happen often, but it is possible. And in the whole incident, the police were just assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in their search; they were not the main actors.

The policewoman who had humiliated Vera had just stepped out of the car when the precinct chief's assistant appeared before her and informed her that the chief wanted her to come over.

In the Federal, the police force consists of a local Police Station and numerous police precincts. The local Police Station does not handle routine policing work and is more focused on administrative tasks.

Police precincts are the frontline Police Station, responsible for the majority of policing work.

Each precinct has a precinct chief as the highest- Chief in charge of daily operations, so junior officers see the chief every day, even though he is just the chief of a police precinct.

The policewoman straightened her appearance outside the chief's office, even tucking in her stomach to avoid looking "bloated".

During this period, a view has emerged in society that the police force is ineffective because they are too fat and too lazy. This is actually a criticism of the police's disappointing performance during the general strike, and an emotional outburst.

However, this has also become a problem for the police.

After knocking on the door and receiving the chief's permission, the policewoman entered the office.

The branch chief glanced at her and put down his work, but didn't speak immediately. He stared at her for a moment before saying in a calm, emotionless tone, "Someone complained that you were rude and unreasonable during law enforcement, and a fast food restaurant complained to us that you asked them for an extra cup of sweetened orange juice and an extra beef patty every time you bought a meal there. Is that true?"

When the precinct chief finished speaking, the policewoman's face showed disbelief. Such tyrannical and unreasonable law enforcement... If this were taken as a standard of conduct, then all the police officers in the entire Federal police system would fail to meet the chief's requirements in this regard.

They had to understand that they were dealing with potential or actual criminals. They couldn't treat these people like a hotel receptionist with a standard smile and a slangy, condescending tone, asking, "Have you committed a crime, sir?" or "Would you like to surrender and accept our treatment, sir?" They had to use force to intimidate these people.

Therefore, most complaints about police conduct do not cause trouble for officers; at most, they are asked to submit a report explaining the specific situation in order to appease the media.

As for the fast food restaurant, what the branch chief said was true, but these were not things she strongly requested. She just hoped that, considering that she only bought a two-person meal each time, they would give her something else as a gift.

Isn't this a normal situation? Even ordinary people would have this thought.

The sweetened orange juice and extra beef patty were offered voluntarily and had little to do with her; moreover, as far as she knew, most police officers who bought fast food there received an extra glass of juice or coffee.

Just as the policewoman was about to argue, the chief waved his hand, not giving her a chance to speak. "Alright, I can tell from your expression that these things are true. Hand over your badge and service weapon. The Discipline Department will investigate this matter."

"If there are no problems, you will come back, but if there are problems..." The director paused slightly here, "I hope you will take the initiative to explain."

The policewoman wanted to defend herself, but the chief still didn't give her a chance. "Badge, gun, and remember to close the door when you leave!"

The policewoman, filled with resentment and anger that she didn't know who to vent it on, placed her badge and service pistol on the chief's desk, then slammed the door shut and left.

The bureau chief looked at the door, which was still shaking slightly, and sighed softly.

There was no real complaint; it was just an excuse. The people at the fast food restaurant wouldn't be stupid enough to complain about a police officer over an extra cup of cheap orange juice and an even cheaper beef patty every time.

What truly compelled him to do this was a phone call from the local Police Chief, who essentially told him that she had offended someone and that it would be best for her to temporarily leave work and let things cool down before making any further plans.

The policewoman returned home sulking and didn't leave her room for two days. Even her husband and children asked her if something had happened, but she didn't say anything.

She didn't want her problems to affect her family's lives or make them worry about her.

The very next afternoon, she suddenly received a call from her child's school, asking them to come over.

The policewoman's husband also has his own job; he is an ordinary worker who has been finding it difficult to find work lately. So, instead of taking leave, he asked the policewoman to go to the school alone.

She had visited her child's school before, and people always looked at her with fear and avoidance when she wore her police uniform. But this time she wasn't wearing a police uniform; she was just wearing ordinary clothes.

As soon as she entered the principal's office, she saw her child, a cute little boy in his early teens. He was in tears, his expression constantly shifting between stubbornness and the grievance of seeing his loved ones, and he even cried out loud.

The policewoman sat down in the chair with some difficulty; the chair was too small, and she could hardly fit her large buttocks into it.

"... Madam, your son has been stealing from others at school..."

Before the principal could finish speaking, the policewoman's son shouted, "That's not true! I didn't!"

The principal simply looked at the two people coldly, then continued, "I don't intend to call the police, but I hope you can take your child home and explain to him that he can come back whenever I deem it appropriate..."

The policewoman walked home with a slightly bewildered yet mischievous look on her face, a child who almost never made such a mistake.

As a police officer, her son has a clear sense of right and wrong, and he certainly wouldn't do that, but his classmates, teachers, and principal all say he did, leaving her unsure of who to believe.

Just as the mother and son silently returned home, she unexpectedly saw her husband's shoes at the door. It was still far from time to get off work, and her husband should have been at work.

She walked into the Living Room and immediately saw her husband sitting on the sofa, looking dejected and exhausted, holding a bottle of wine in his hand, clearly in a drunken state.

Perhaps seeing his wife, the man suddenly burst into tears. Between sobs, wiping away his tears, he cried, "They fired me! I've worked for them for almost ten years! They fired me without any reason..."

The woman stared blankly at her son and husband, not knowing what had happened. In an instant, her whole life had changed and become a mess.

She saw herself in the standing mirror beside her, and looking at the blankness on her face, she suddenly seemed to understand why she had encountered these things.

The author actually proofreads the manuscript after each piece of writing, but unfortunately, there really isn't a single mistake to be found...