Chapter 20: The Vangelico Aftermath

[A/N: Just a reminder, I'm applying the scenario for the "Smart" approach to the Vangelico heist for the purposes of this story.]

Emergency Staging Center
Carcer Way
Rockford Hills
90 Minutes Later

Approximately $4,000,000 in high-end jewels had successfully been stolen from Vangelico Jewelers on Portola Drive. Multiple suspects, who were apparently disguised as Bugstars exterminators, had make the take after introducing a gaseous sedative into the store's ventilation system. After taking their desired loot, they apparently escaped on dirt bikes before one of the suspects crashed into the wall of a concrete overpass and was mortally wounded. The remaining suspects rammed several pursuing LSPD vehicles along the Los Santos River before finally, and successfully, making their escape.

An hour and a half later, Sergeant Harrison, Officer Fostenberg, Captain Gilligan, and the LSPD Tactical Unit were all on scene with the fire department and their Hazardous Materials team. They were situated around a collapsible table underneath a large white emergency tent that had been established as the impromptu joint LSPD/LSFD staging center on Carcer Way, not far from the robbery scene.

"What do we know so far, Sergeant Harrison?" Gilligan asked.

"Approximately three male suspects entered the store with Bugstars coveralls and gas masks on", Harrison explained, "They smashed open all the jewelry cases with their guns and took a crap load of high-end jewels."

"What was the final take?" Tactical Unit Officer Rodney Zhao asked.

In response to this, Harrison sighed with considerable apprehension. "Approximately four million in jewels", he explained, "Store management says that pretty much every piece from their latest imported collection was taken."

A surprised Gilligan wiped her face. "Holy shit", she said, "And they somehow introduced a gaseous chemical into the air conditioning beforehand, right?"

"Yes ma'am" Officer Fostenberg cut in, "Anna Barakova from the Crime Lab is inside the store now with the HAZMAT team. They're collecting air samples to try and identify which specific compound was used."

A lightbulb abruptly went off in Captain Gilligan's head. "Wait a minute", she said, "Bugstars coveralls. Wasn't there an alert put out on a stolen Bugstars van earlier today?"

Catching on to her insinuation, Harrison nodded. "Oh yeah", he replied, "That's right. I authorized the alert myself this morning. Officer Ronson put it out over the wire just after eight-thirty, I think."

Tactical Unit Officer Dave Brandon then cut in. "I just heard over the radio that some South-Central officers recovered a van matching the description of the Bugstars vehicle", he said.

"No kidding", Harrison replied, "Where'd they find it?"

"It was apparently dumped in South Los Santos", Brandon explained, "Next to the LS River spillway. They're towing it to the impound garage in Davis now, according to Dispatch."

"Cool", Harrison said, "That's one check off our list, I guess. Brandon, could you do me a favor and call Sergeant Michaels down at South-Central PD, please? Tell him that we'll need that Bugstars van dusted for prints and checked for trace evidence as soon as possible."

Brandon nodded as he took out his cell phone. "Yes sir", he said, "I'll go do that now."

"Thank you", Harrison replied just as Officer Brandon walked away to complete his assigned task.

Just then, Harrison's radio chirped to life. "Crime Lab Portable to HQ-Sergeant-One", Anna Barakova's voice said from the radio, "Troy, do you copy?"

Harrison keyed the radio mic on his handset. "HQ-Sergeant-One to Crime Lab", he said into the radio, "I copy. What's up, Anna? Over."

"Hey Troy", Anna replied from the radio, "We're up on the roof of the store now. Looks like someone chucked a nitrous oxide canister into the ventilation system. Over."

"That's probably what our perps used to knock everybody out", Harrison said into the radio, "Were your air sample tests able to figure anything out? Over."

"Affirmative", Anna said from the radio, "The air inside the store tested positive for therapeutic traces of nitrous oxide. Nothing any heavier than what a dentist would give someone before pulling a tooth, though. Over."

"Nice work, Anna" Harrison said into the radio, "Anything else? Over."

"Yeah", Anna replied from the radio, "A few things. First, the air samples also picked up traces of a weird chemical formula that none of us here at the lab are familiar with. I'll put in an analysis request with our local FBI lab. Also, the label on the canister we found just now says that it's the official property of Humane Labs. Over."

Harrison sighed in realization before keying his mic once again. "Copy that", he said into the radio, "Come on back down from the roof and I'll fill you in further once you get back to the staging area. Over."

"Ten-Four", Anna replied from the radio, "Crime Lab Portable out."

"What is it, Troy?" Captain Gilligan asked, having overheard the radio exchange between him and Anna.

"The thing is, Cap" Harrison began to explain, "The alert about the stolen Bugstars van wasn't the only alert that I authorized Ronson to put out this morning. A Humane Labs panel truck got jacked on the Los Santos Freeway not long after that first van was jacked from Elysian Island. The panel truck was carrying some kind of HAZMAT cargo on board, so I passed off the information to the FBI."

"You're thinking that the two incidents are connected", Gilligan said as she apparently put two and two together in her head.

Harrison nodded. "Looks that way now", he candidly replied, "That's for damn sure."

Anna soon climbed off the ladder that led to Vangelico's roof, briefly stopping by the HAZMAT team's decontamination area to shed herself of the protective white neoprene suit she had been wearing and take a quick decontamination shower. With her hair now wet from the cold water and dressed in a white muscle shirt, disposable pants, and disposable green shoe booties, she arrived underneath the tent and came up beside Harrison. "You rang?" she inquired.

Noticing her unusual look, Harrison briefly chuckled. "I did", he replied, "Yeah. I wanted to make sure you were aware of something before you submitted that lab analysis request with the Bureau."

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"Something tells me the people at the FBI made have already gotten a heads-up", Harrison began to explain, "You said that the canister you guys found said 'Humane Labs' on it, correct?"

"Yep", Anna replied, "I've got a tech sealing it up and getting it ready to transport as we speak."

"Okay", Harrison said, "I'd like it sent to a chemist who can hopefully ID the foreign compounds that you guys found. I'm thinking that the stuff that was used to gas those people inside the store was part of the same cargo that was pulled off a stolen Humane Labs truck. The truck was reported stolen earlier today."

"…And that facility, as well as every vehicle in their fleet, are funded by federal dollars", Anna chimed in, "Making analysis of the canister contents squarely within FBI jurisdiction."

"That's all well and good, guys" Gilligan interjected, "But I think we should also be concerned about the store patrons who were affected by the nitrous oxide. How many people were knocked out when all this went down?"

"The count's holding firm at five, ma'am" Officer Fostenberg explained, "The ER staff at Mount Zonah says that they're all relatively stable, but they all seem to be experiencing fevers, chills, hives, wheezing, and breathing difficulties."

"All of which are the most common signs of unregulated exposure to nitrous oxide", Harrison said. He then looked to Anna Barakova. "Anna", he continued, "I'm going to need a few things."

"Name them", Anna replied without reservation.

"First", Harrison began, "I want that canister and your air analysis reports rushed to the FBI's chemistry laboratory here in town. They should rush their analysis of those unfamiliar compounds and make the ER staff at Mount Zonah aware of what exactly they are so they can treat people properly."

"Got it", Anna said.

"Second", Harrison continued, "I'm assuming your techs are still inside the store collecting evidence?"

"They are", Anna confirmed.

"Okay", Harrison said, "I want every piece of broken glass, every bit of garbage from the garbage cans, and every damn loose drop of urine from the toilets sent to our lab. We need to ID these robbers."

"Yes sir", Anna said, "I'll get right on all that." She then abruptly left the tent to start working on her assigned tasks.

"Thank you", Harrison said before turning to the rest of the people at the table. "The rest of you", he continued, "I want a canvas of all the pawn shops in both Los Santos and Blaine County, be they legitimately licensed shops or sketchy makeshift rat holes. If those clowns are trying to liquidate four million dollars in stolen jewels, somebody around here's definitely going to know about it. Any questions?"

"Do we know anything about the suspect who crashed his dirt bike while making his getaway?" Fostenberg asked.

"Yes", Gilligan replied, "I asked a patrol officer to ink a set of his fingerprints at the ER. He's a forty-two-year-old white male by the name of Norm Richards. He has a pretty badly broken collarbone and an even worse fracture to the front of his skull. The doctors aren't yet sure whether or not he'll make it."

"What else do we know about him?" Harrison asked.

"No local record here in Los Santos or anywhere else in San Andreas", Gilligan continued, "but he has served time in his home state of Oklahoma for armed robbery and car theft."

"Oklahoma, huh?" Harrison inquired.

"Yeah", Gilligan said, "His record states that he was born and raised in a small town there called Broken Bow. By the looks of things, he never left Oklahoma until he was released from prison a year and a half ago. He sounds like a gun-for-hire to me."

"Agreed", Harrison said before addressing everyone as a whole once again "Okay", he went on, "I think that's all for now, everybody. Let's start hitting those pawn shops. If you guys get a hit on anything, call me on my cell or raise me on the radio."

With that, everyone shuffled out of the Emergency Staging Center, with Sergeant Harrison and Officer Fostenberg at the forefront. The pair was in the process of heading back to their police cruiser when Harrison suddenly realized that he had stepped on something.

As such, he lifted his left foot and removed a smushed cigarette butt that had gotten stuck in the treads of his boot. "Oh crap", he muttered.

"I know", Fostenberg said, "Littering's illegal for a reason, right?" The young officer smirked.

Harrison nodded in response to his young partner's flippant comment while still staring at the cigarette, at which point he noted that this specific brand of cigarette was a Redwood Selects. This triggered the memory of when he saw Michael De Santa smoking just that exact brand of cigarette by his pool when he visited his house that day.

"Son of a bitch", Harrison said under his breath.