Putting a call into Sergeant Swanson, it had taken Steve only a few minutes to reorganize their search party and get several black and whites lined up to help look for their suspect. Day three was quickly approaching; meaning, time was running out fast.
He hadn't liked the idea of leaving Mike in the office and leading the search party for their illusive man alone, but all things considered, it was their only chance.
Swinging the chartreuse Galaxy northwest onto Columbus, Steve couldn't shake the eerie feeling of being watched. Something about their latest manhunt happening just a few blocks from his apartment gave him the chills, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself that it could only be a strange coincidence.
Although it was the middle of the afternoon, traffic was surprisingly dense and the bone-chilling cold coming off the bay hadn't let up one bit. If anything, it seemed as though temperatures were dropping the closer he came to the Stockton Square, as they'd called it back in Vice.
The hilly five block area between Kearney, Grant, Stockton, Powell and Mason had long been a troublesome area for gangs, drug dealers and prostitution. At one point in the city's history, many of the once luxurious Victorian houses dropped significantly in value, allowing for low income residents and loan sharks to take over the area, causing it to fall into a deep state of disarray.
The proximity to the Embarcadero with its many access ports to the Asian drug market only furthered the problem.
He'd spend a minute in the office cross referencing their R&I file of known addresses of abandoned houses against the city block perimeter Murray had given him. As expected, about twenty-some of the buildings fell into the general search pattern.
Steve knew well enough that even though it sounded simple, Albert Mulligan had already proven to be far from easy to track down.
"Unit 2 Charley-7 to Inspectors 8-1B, please respond."
Reaching for the police radio to his right while keeping a close eye on the traffic ahead, Steve slowed down the unmarked vehicle ahead of an upcoming red light.
"This is Inspectors 8-1B, go ahead 2 Charley 7."
"Inspector Keller, all units are here and on standby awaiting your orders. What is your ETA?"
Glancing across the impressive assortment of Asian restaurants around the intersection at Broadway and Columbus, Steve checked his watch for a moment, before pressing the receiver button again.
"ETA is 5 minutes out. Go ahead and start your search on Stockton and Lombard, northwest corner of the Stockton Deli Market. I will touch base as soon as I get there."
"10-4 Inspectors 8-1B"
As the radio on the other end fell silent again, Steve couldn't help but feel the anxiety build up within. Perhaps Albert was quite aware by now that he was being hunted down and began to adjust his behavior accordingly. And quite possibly, the elaborate mouse trap Steve had organized with the unis wouldn't be good enough to catch him.
But he had to try nonetheless.
If only he could silence the nagging voice in the back of his mind that questioned whether or not he was the trap, or the mouse.