Part 1 – The Rundown
2016, Big Bend National Park I-1934, Prison Bus Warden Michael Talbot walked down the pathway of the Mobile Prison transport, "Get a good look out the side of your window gentlemen," he said as he walked down the pathway, "It'll be the last view of this country you'll get for a while."
"Ah shut up," Mexican/American bank robber Mike Rogers said as he struggled against the chains that held his arms above his head.
"Try it again," Talbot said as he tapped the bars, "Go on."
Rogers shoved himself toward Talbot who chuckled, then looked into one cell to see a twenty-eight year old Caucasian/Japanese male, his hands were tied above his head, his left arm was heavily burned and scared, and his hair had grown down to his shoulders, needless after three years in prison.
"Why hello there detective," he said, "Mako right?"
Mako looked up at the officer, "You better secure that weapon officer," Mako said, "You never know when someone is going to take it from you."
"It makes me proud to see Dirty Cops on my bus," Talbot said, "Reminds me that the systems sometimes works. Have a good trip Samurai."
Mako looked over at the landscape go by, it had been three years ago that day he was on his first case as a plain-clothes detective.
2013, Atlantic City, New Jersey…
"Come on Mako you know you're nervous," Mako's partner Tahno said as he and Mako walked through the hallway of the Twelve Days inn not seven blocks from the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
"Fuck you," Mako said, jokingly, "I'm fine."
There was the sound of people yelling, he then turned towards Tahno, and pointed at the door they were supposed to report to.
Tahno went into his holster, and retrieved his firearm, a full-sized Beretta Px4 with a nickle-plated slide, magazine-release, slide-release, and lever.
Mako's side arm was a Sig Sauer P226 Equinox with Rosewood grips, chrome-plated magazine-release, trigger, slide-release, safety, lever, and finally with an attached compact laser-sight.
"Hey," he said, "After this let's get lunch."
"Sure," Mako said, "Know a decent burger stand around the corner."
"How about I pick the place?" Tahno asked.
"Fuck that noise," Mako said, "I know what you like, and my mouth isn't touching that shit."
"Shh," Tahno said as he motioned toward the door.
Mako nodded, and knocked on the door, "ACPD," he exclaimed, "Open the door!"
"Fuck," someone on the other side of the door exclaimed, "Cops! Hide the shit!"
"I said open the door!" Mako exclaimed.
Tahno gave Mako the nod, and in one move he booted the door-knob, breaking it off, and round-house kicked the door-in.
Tahno entered the room ahead of Mako who raised his Px4, "ACPD," he exclaimed as he started covering the room to see two men stuffing money and cocaine into a small chest, "Let me see your hands!"
They raised their hands as one of them held a package of coke in his hand, Mako entered behind him, raising his P226, "Alright," Mako said as he kept his pistol trained on the one holding the cocaine package, "Hands on your heads."
The man dropped the package, and let it clatter at his feet.
Mako walked up to one of the men, and started patting him down, finding a Glock 26 holstered in the waistband of his pants.
He then tossed the weapon onto the floor, away from the crew, and cuffed the man.
As he went to slap the cuffs on another, there was a knock from inside the bathroom, Mako then grabbed the man by the back of his head, "What's in there?" He asked.
"In where?" He asked.
Mako slammed the man into the wall, "Don't fuck with me," Mako said, "What's in the bathroom?"
There was the sound of a machine gun going off, and the door was pepper-boxed with holes.
Mako, Tahno, and the men dove onto the floor as more holes came poking through the wood.
Mako looked at Tahno and knew they were thinking the same thing.
Mako rolled to the side of the room, while Tahno rolled to a little alcove that shared a side-wall with the bathroom as the shooter apparently ran out of bullets because the bullets stopped flying, they both sprung to their feet, and emptied their magazines into the room.
The door just fell forward, and landing on top of the door was a five-foot-nine Caucasian male carrying a standard IMI Uzi with a fifty-round magazine.
As he reached down to pick it up, one of the men kicked it away from his hand, and nailed him in the side of the head with his knee.
Three men secured Tahno as the other jumped on top of Mako, right before he could do anything, Mako jabbed him in the side of the throat, sending him to the floor.
Mako quickly jumped over the man, and grabbed him around the neck, "Release him or I'll snap his neck!" He exclaimed.
As they released Tahno, one of them reached into his pocket, and pulled out what Mako knew was a double-tap two-shot handgun.
Mako dropped to one knee, and scooped up the Uzi, "Gun," he exclaimed as he pushed the man he was holding into his friends, and emptied the final magazine into them.
"Thanks for that," Tahno said as he picked up his weapon.
"No problem," Mako said as he held up the Uzi, "This is some serious hardware," Tahno looked at the gun, "MARS laser-sight, heavy barrel, fully-automatic, and a fifty-round magazine."
"Yea," Tahno said, "That's military-grade hardware."
"I'm calling it in," Mako said as he pulled out his radio, "Command this is Unit 14: Code 34s. We got all suspects down, a regular pharmacy of narcotics, and some heavy hardware."
"Copy 14," Dispatch said, "We'll send uniform officers to your location."
"Copy that." Mako said as he placed the Uzi on the ground.
"Hey guys," someone said as the door opened, "I got tired of Burgers, so I got some food from the walk."
Mako picked up his P226, reloaded the magazine as he aimed it at the door, and hit the slide-release, "ACPD," he exclaimed, "Don't move!"
The man threw the food in Mako's face, the milk-shake and soda hitting him in the face and arm, the slice of pizza covering his pants leg in tomato sauce, and one of the deep-fried pickles exploding and sloshing him in pickle juice as he ran.
"Mako, after him!" Tahno said as Mako wiped the milk-shake off his face.
Mako ran after the man that covered him in food, and saw him right before he slid down the fire-escape ladder.
Mako took the shorter route, and went back first into a full dumpster.
As the man jumped off the final ladder, Mako leapt out of the dumpster, and tackled the man to the ground.
The man nailed Mako on the side of the head, sending him to the ground, wresteling his way out of Mako's grasp.
Mako stood up, and holstered his P226 as the man took a swing at him.
Mako deflected the blow, and delivered a round-house kick to the man's jaw, sending him to the ground.
He sprung to his feet, and ran at him, tackling him to the ground, and managed to grab hold of a spring-loaded switchblade.
As he swiped at Mako, he missed but cut him across the forehead, as he went in for another stab, Tahno came around the corner in his 2013 Ford Fusion, the suspect turned to look, allowing Mako to kick him backwards, and spring backwards to his feet.
The suspect tried to jump over the car, but his timing was off, and his foot caught on the car's front grill, bounced head-first into the wind-screen, rolled over the hood, denting it, got his foot caught in the spoiler, and went face-first into the asphalt.
"You good," Tahno asked as he got out of the car.
"Yea," Mako said as he brushed some blood of his forehead, "Asshole got me with his knife."
Tahno walked around to the back of his car to see the suspect sprawled across the pavement, his foot still over the back of the car's spoiler.
"Call it in?" Tahno asked.
"This one's on you partner." Mako said.
Tahno pulled out his radio, "Unit 14, code 10-45b subject hit by car," Tahno said, "Need paramedics to my location."
"10-4 14," Dispatch said, "Paramedics are on the way."
"Think this is going to make the news?" Mako asked.
"Yep," Tahno said, "And believe me when I say that our boss loves a press-conference."
Tahno was more right than Mako knew, that night when Mako came home to his grandmother and brother, Bolin his boss, ACPD head of Special Investigations, Amon was on the news.
Mako entered the house which was a small three-bedroom house on North New Jersey Avenue, "Welcome back," Mako's grandmother, Yin said as she looked up and saw her grandson a mess, his hair was hanging down and sticky, his jeans had some kind of red stain on them, his shirt had a yellow stain on the right arm, "Rough day?"
"Something like that," Mako said as he dropped a to-go bag on the table, "I brought home dinner."
"Where are you going?" Yin asked.
"To get changed," Mako said, "I've got milkshake and soda all over my face and in my hair, I got mustard on my shirt and vest, and pizza sauce on my pants."
"Hey bro," Bolin said as he entered, "What happened to you?"
"Don't ask," Mako said, "Dinner's on the table."
Bolin was an ACPD SWAT Sniper who had the highest recorded accuracy rating of the entire force, both him and Mako had lived with their grandmother since they were young, their parents were killed in the crossfire of a gang war, the men that killed their parents were gunned down by ACPD officers many years after their deaths.
Their grandmother, Yin did her best when they were young children to keep them out of the gang life, and it paid off: Mako had graduated from Harvard University at twenty two with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, and graduated from the Atlantic City Police Academy six months later at the head of his class.
Bolin graduated from High School, and went straight into the Police Academy after Mako had graduated, despite Mako and Yin's suggestion that he go to college.
So Mako discovered a hotel room full of cocaine and a pumped-up weapon, what happens next?