A NEW DAY

The day was March 8, 2009. It was a quiet day in Ryuukaikyou City, the capital of a country called the Ryuukaikyou Islands. It was a former colony of first the British, then the Dutch, and finally, the Japanese. It gained independence in 1942 after a revolt by the locals over Japanese involvement in World War 2. The country was an odd mix of European, American, and Japanese culture, and it was common for people to speak up to 3 languages: Japanese, English, and Dutch.

At a bakery in the city, the calm was soon shattered when a man entered wielding a shotgun. He shouted in English, "Alright, everybody on the floor! Nobody fucking move!"

An employee hit a silent panic button, alerting Ryuukaikyou City Police Dispatch. Immediately, 3 cars were dispatched. Across the street, a Fire Department Arson a Investigator had been out buying some groceries in his personal vehicle, a red Toyota pickup with lights and sirens for when he was needed while not on duty as a firefighter, when he heard the commotion himself. He ran out and grabbed his own service weapon, a revolver, and got behind his front car door. He radioed police, announcing his presence.

A police cruiser son pulled up. "Hey Ted," the arson investigator said to the lone officer in the cruiser. "This guy just came out. Don't shoot him right away. There's people behind him." (A/N: All casual conversations in this scene are in English. All conversations over the radio and to the suspect are in Japanese.)

"Thanks for telling me, Ryuu," Ted replied. As he did, another car pulled up. Ted then said, "Sir, put the gun down!" He did nothing.

A blind-haired officer stepped out of the 2nd car. "Hey, Ted," the officer said. "Any idea what we're up against?"

"Well, Oliver, we got a suspect with a shotgun outside the store, as you can see. We can't shoot him without running the risk of hitting a civilian in the bakery."

"Alright then." Oliver then turned to the suspect. "C'mon, just put the gun down and I won't have to hurt you. I don't want to shoot you, but if you don't put that gun down, I will have to." The suspect then checked if the gun was loaded. He then took aim from a car outside. "That's it. If you do not drop that gun in 5 seconds, I will shoot!"

The suspect replied by shooting Oliver in the face. He screamed, "Agh shit!" Ted and Ryuu then opened fire on the suspect, who fired back once again. Then, Ted fired one last shot at the suspect.

The .50 calibre Desert Eagle bullet struck his head, blowing part of it off and killing the suspect instantly. (A/N: At this time, Ted was a Captain. In the RCPD, all officers ranked Sergeant carry the M9 Beretta, while all Corporals (Lowest Rank) carry Walther PPK pistols. Lieutenants carry the M1911, and Captains and above carry the Desert Eagle. Arson Investigators and Fire Marshals carry .22 snub-nose Revolvers.) Ted then ran alongside Ryuu to Oliver's aide. Ryuu radioed the Fire Department Telegraph Office to send an Engine and an Ambulance for help, as the left side of Oliver's face had been hit.

The date was May 1, 2014. Ted was to begin a new assignment in the PD as a member of the Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Also, her younger sister, Teto Kasane, was to begin her first shift as a police officer. Ted had been on the force since he was 20. Now he was 32. His sister was 22. Their father had retired as a Commander for Zone 1 in 2011 at the age of 60.

As for Ryuu Utatane of the RCFD, he had been fighting fires for 22 years and was 45 years old. By now, he was a Captain, as he had been for 7 years. He lead Rescue 1-1, the busiest company in the city. His son, Piko, was still in the academy, but would soon graduate.

Oliver lost his left eye in the shooting, but returned to the police department. Initially, he was a guard in the evidence locker, but he was then offered a spot on the Specialized Response Team, their equivalent of SWAT. Currently, he is 26 and is one of the most accurate shots on the SRT.

Ted's first assignment was a suspected Arson in District 4, better known as Utatown in English. It was a poor neighborhood. Crime was rampant, and 5 of the 8 line of duty deaths of police officers in the last 20 years in the city had occurred there. In regards to the case, firefighters had been rung out for a structure fire and found a burned body and a knife implanted into it. The building also had burn patterns on the walls and floors concurrent with an accelerant being used.

When Ted first arrived in the CSIU's truck, he said to Ryuu, "So the firefighters found the body with a knife in it huh? Sounds like whoever did this did it on impulse if they were that sloppy." (A/N: All conversations here are in English.)

"Well," Ryuu replied. "They could just be stupid, like that one robber who tried to hold up a store in downtown with a knife but forgot to cut eyeholes in his mask and ended up stabbing himself in the arm. Or that one guy who shot and killed a man in an argument but forgot to realize he did it outside of a police station."

"Heh, I remember the first one. I think the guy was drunk, because when we got him, he was rambling on in slurred Dutch about how the government "didn't give a fucking moose shit about the poor" or something."

The 2 then looked at the body. Another member of the CSIU team took several pictures of the body and the crime scene as Ted began helping several Arson Investigators load the body onto a stretcher and into an Ambulance. Ted then climbed aboard the Ambulance as it drove to the Police Headquarters non-emergency. Ryuu stayed behind and began preparing to bring a sniffer dog into the building.

At Station 1-1 of the fire department, the 4-12 shift there, sans Ryuu, prepared to begin. (A/N: Fire stations are organized by having the first number be the district number and the second being the station number.) Another firefighter from the 12-8 shift, Charles McCormick, would cover for Ryuu until 5:30. It was currently 3:49.

2 young, yellow-haired firefighters from the next shift then arrived. Their names were Rin and Len Kagamine. Twins who joined the academy together, they were 22 and had been on the job for a year. Rin took the ALS Paramedic/Firefighter route, working on Engine 1-1, the paramedic engine of District 1. (A/N: All districts have at least 1 ALS Ambulance and 1 Paramedic Engine. Everybody else is BLS, except for the District Chiefs.) Len took the Rescueman route, working on Rescue 1-1. The 2 were complete opposites. Rin was more cautious and organized. She also wore full brown and yellow-white bunker gear. Len, on the other hand, was adventurous and sometimes careless. Unlike Rin, he opted to buy his own black and gold yellow turnout gear, wearing hip boots and a 3/4 coat. Mostly, old-timers like Ryuu wore these, but Len chose them after seeing other firefighters wearing them.

Rin said, "Hey everyone, we're here!" (A/N: All conversations here are in Japanese.)

"Hey, Rin-san," a blue-haired firefighter named Kaito Shion replied. He was 28 and had been in the department for 5 years. He was the Tillerman of Truck 1-1 for the upcoming shift. "Hear about the huge fire yesterday morning at the dockyards in District 3? That went to 6 freaking alarms."

"Hell yes we did," Len replied. "Too bad it wasn't on our shift. Rescue 1-1 and Special Hazards 1-1 got called there, right?"

As they talked, the station bells rang out, ringing box number 121. Then, a firefighter in the telegraph receiving room, nicknamed the Joker Box, yelled out, "1-19-4, Western's 15 Amiko Street! Engine 1-1 and Ambulance 1-1 go! Charlie!" In the Joker Box, a dispatcher's voice told those listening the information on the call. The firefighter then walked out and handed out some notes of the call he had took while information was relayed over the radio to Engine 1-1's Lieutenant. Other firefighters slid down the poles as other firefighters upstairs repeated what the firefighters downstairs heard.

Within 85 seconds of the bells, both units were running out the door, sirens screaming.

Meanwhile, at the Telegraph Office on the 2nd floor of the Public Safety Communications building, built in 1886, a blue-haired girl walked alongside a brown-haired girl to the office, where they would begin their 4-12 shift. The first one, Miku Hatsune, was a R.O., or a radio operator. They took 119 calls rerouted to them from the 119 receiving centre on the 3rd floor and also communicated with stations and units over the radio. The second one, Meiko Sakine, was a T.O., or a Telegraph Operator. They received Street Box calls and transmitted messages to stations by telegraph. They also set off the station bells through a selective transmitter.

"Hey, Miku-san," Meiko said. "How long you've been working here?" (Japanese)

"Well," Miku replied. "I'm 23, and I've been here since I was 18, so 5 years. You're 28, and you've been here for 9 years."

Miku said hello to the other dispatchers as several calls came in for numerous incidents over the 14 districts. She then unpacked her stuff and walked to the shift commander's office to report for duty.

At 4:25, the CSIU began investigating the items recovered from the arson, including the body and the knife. The fire probably burned away most of the fingerprints, so dusting them was pointless. Since it was a small case, only 3 people, including Ted, worked on the items.

First, Ted took photos of the body while a lab technician took skin samples to identify who the body was. Then, Ted swabbed the body for any traces of accelerants.

"His face is unrecognisable," Ted said. "We better find a match with those skin samples." (English)

At 4:28, Teto had been riding on patrol in her car in Zone 1 for 22 minutes. This was her first shift on the job. Accompanying her in another car was her friend, Defoko Utane, another first-timer whose brother, Defosuke, was a member of the Special Victims Team in the RCPD, which dealt with the most horrid crimes in society, sexual violence.

As Teto was driving along the busy thoroughfare of Takami Avenue, she noticed a car that was going 80 Kilometres Per Hour in a 65 KPH zone. She immediately turned on her lights and sirens and said over the outside PA, "Pull over now, Black Toyota!" (Japanese)

The car refused, so she sped up and announced over the radio, "Car 1-5 to dispatch, I'm in pursuit of a Black Toyota, license plate ASHB-4737-HYDP, on Takami Avenue in Zone 1. The car was doing 80 KPH in a 65 zone. Send me another car for assistance."

"10-4, Car 1-5," Dispatch replied. "Car 1-6, head to Car 1-5's location and assist." Teto realized that that car was Defoko's car.

By 4:31, Defoko had reached Teto, and the 2 were in hot pursuit. The Zone Commander also said that he would join up later on as well. The 3 cars were speeding down the streets at nearly 100 Miles per Hour.

Then, at 4:35, the Toyota smashed into a storefront. Teto got out, drew her gun, and shouted, "OUT OF THE DAMN CAR! NOW! GET OUT NOW!" The wounded suspect then got out, weakly put his hands up, and then collapsed to the ground in searing pain. Defoko ran over and then checked on the suspect. She then radioed the fire department for assistance, as the suspect had a deep gash on his back among other cuts and gashes.

Rin had been relaxing at the station's rest room upstairs with the other firefighters when the bells rang out Box 116. Then, a voice from below shouted up, "ENGINE 1-1, AMBULANCE 1-1, AMBULANCE 1-2. TRUCK 1-1, AND RESCUE 1-1 GO TO A CAR ACCIDENT AT 1-15-6!" (Japanese)

Rin, Len, Kaito, and the others all slid done the nearest fire pole to their rigs. Rin put on her bunker pants while Len pulled up his boots and buckled his coat. Another firefighter named Luka Megurine who worked as Engine 1-1's Lieutenant put on her bunker gear and said, "C'mon, run faster!" She was 27 and had worked for 6 years.

Then, they were off. Len sat in the back part of the walk-in heavy rescue that Rescue 1-1 ran. Rin rode in the back of her engine as well. Kaito steered from the tiller cab of the truck.

When they arrived 2 minutes later, several police cars had showed up and cordoned off the street. Teto said to Rin, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a long time."

"Hey, it's you," Rin said. "Teto-san! How's it going?"

"Well, this is my first day on the job. Looks like I had one I will never forget."

"Hey, Teto-san," Defoko said. "I found some weird shit in the guy's car. There's some empty gas cans in here, as well as a lighter. I think we should call your brother up for assistance."

Rin then walked over to the ambulance and saw Nero Akita, a paramedic aboard Ambulance 1-1, load up the suspect, escorted by a police officer, onto the ambulance. As she did, Truck 1-1's captain, Joseph Whittaker, decided to return Truck 1-1 and Rescue 1-1 to quarters now that the patient was out of the car. He said out loud, "Everybody on the Truck and the Rescue, pack up and get back in your units. We're going back to quarters."

Len grudgingly walked back to the rescue, having spent just 5 minutes on scene, and waved goodbye to Rin.

Back at the police headquarters, Ted got the call over the radio. He quickly said, "Everybody on the CSI team, we're going to 1-15-6." After 3 minutes of responding, they arrived. "Alright, grab those cans and I'll take the lighter." (English)

Teto said to Ted, "Brother, I found out the suspect's identity. He's 26 years old and his name is Tomeo Kino. He was jailed for 7 months back in 2012 for a burglary, and in 2010, he was found not guilty of participating in an armed robbery with a knife." (Japanese)

Ted replied, "Interesting. Does he know of a guy named Robert Goodman?"

At 4:50, Miku was working the radio, chatting with other units and relaying as much info as she could to firefighters. It was a stressful but rewarding job.

"Engine 1-1 to Telegraph," Luka said over the radio. (Japanese)

"Medic Engine 1-1," Miku replied.

"We're 10-8. We'll be returning to quarters with Ambulance 1-2."

"10-4, Medic Engine 1-1."

"Ambulance 1-1 to Telegraph, K."

"Ambulance 1-1."

"We're going to Ryuukaikyou General, BLS, K."

"10-4, Ambulance 1-2, what's the status on the patient?"

"We have a 26-year-old male, serious injuries, possibly broken ribcage and a broken right leg. We'll be escorted by 2 patrol cars, K."

"10-4, Ambulance 1-2." Miku then heard the Emergency phone ring, indicating that a 119 call had been rerouted to them by the 119 centre. She picked it up and said, "Dispatcher 3R6, Ryuukaikyou City Fire Department Telegraph Office, what's your emergency?" (Japanese)

"I'd like to report a fire across from my house." (English)

"Alright, what's your house's block address and street address?"

"156 12th Street, 4-12-6."

"Do you know the address of the place across from you?"

"Not exactly, I know it's block 11, though."

"Alright, what do you see, sir?"

"I see a bunch of smoke from the top floor of a 4-floor apartment building."

"Alright then, what's your callback number?"

"9356-6784."

"Alright, we'll dispatch the fire department." Miku then shouted to Meiko, "We got a fire at Box 4011, unknown location! Send a Still Response to it!" (Japanese)

Meiko replied, "Got it." She then wrote the box down and walked to District 4's telegraph board. She tapped the box out to Station 4-1 three times, activating the bells at those stations. At the same time, Miku switched her radio to District 4's frequency and hit the Fire Warble tone before saying, "Telegraph Office, striking Box 422 in District 4 for a reported structure fire, exact location unknown, it is across from 156 12th Street, 4-12-6, for Medic Engine 4-1 and Truck 4-1. Contact Telegraph if a working fire is present." Since an Engine carried 8 crew and a Truck carried 10, 18 firefighters would be responding to the fire. At the same time as that, Miku hit send on a rip-and-go sheet with the details of the fire that she had written out while she took the call. It would be printed out at Station 4-1.

"Station 4-1 received," the radio squawked back.

"10-4, Station 4-1."

At 5:06, the bells rang out at Station 1-1 once again, striking Box 132 for Engine 1-3 at Station 1-2 and Ambulance 1-1 for a medical call. At the same time, Len, Rin, Luka, Kaito, and Ryuu were all discussing the day's events at dinner. Ryuu had come back early, allowing McCormick to go back home.

"My son Piko's really doing well in the academy," Ryuu said. "He's even got a girlfriend now." (English)

"That's cute," Kaito said. "What's her name?"

"Miki Fuse," Ryuu replied. "She's another recruit. Her father's on the city council."

"You mean Shinzo Fuse," Len said. "That guy? I'll tell ya, he's our only friend on that council. Everyone else wants to cut us to ribbons."

"You're preaching to the choir, Len-kun," Rin said. She jokingly added honorifics, despite the conversation being in English.

"You are," Joe Whittaker said. "I can't believe the city council wants to cut the Hose Wagons from Engine Companies and reduce them to just 4 guys. Sure, many other departments operate like that, but they're not us, dammit."

(To be continued in Act 1, Part 2. Each Act will have 3 parts and will cover a day or two in the life. Usually, a case will be solved in 2-3 acts.)