Chapter 36: Aftermath (Please Continue Reading)

Suddenly, a rush of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed behind him.

“Hey, buddy, I’m with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department—one of us!” Oxy shouted.

He was genuinely afraid someone might accidentally pull the trigger, but fortunately nothing of the sort happened. Two men came over and firmly clamped his arms, preventing any unnecessary movement.

The sergeant in charge approached, sizing Oxy up from head to toe. “I’m Sergeant Green. This is just a necessary safety procedure. Once we verify your identity, we’ll let you go, buddy. Hope you understand.”

Oxy had no choice but to accept his fate. “My badge is in my right pants pocket.”

Green fished it out, glanced at it, and handed it to a nearby officer. “Go check this.”

Meanwhile, the other officers rushed into the gas station. Regardless of whether the people on the ground were dead or alive, they cuffed them first, then frisked them, and called for ambulances.

Several attendants remained at the toll booth, forced out at gunpoint by the police. They were made to kneel in a line, faces full of terror, as each was searched and questioned to confirm their identity.

Soon, the officer who went to verify Oxy’s identity returned. “No problem—he’s definitely with L.A. County Sheriff’s.”

Green nodded, signaled for Oxy to be released, and handed back the badge. “Sorry, buddy. There are just too many deputies in L.A. County. No one can remember all the faces. Nothing we can do.”

Oxy nodded, took back his badge, and handed over his equipment. “There’s a registered spare SIG P320 in my patrol car, in the armrest compartment.”

Green took the equipment Oxy offered, his expression oddly curious. “You’re awfully practiced at this, buddy.”

“Well, do it enough times and you get used to it.”

A nearby officer whispered something into Green’s ear.

Green suddenly understood. “So you’re the Barbarian. I know you—Barbarian Oxy. Just couldn’t match the face to the name. You know how it is, we think all Asians look alike. Didn’t expect you’d make such a stir again so soon.” He pointed to the gas station.

You’re the barbarian, you’re all barbarians, and frankly, you white folks all look alike to me.

Oxy sighed helplessly. “I just came to refuel—didn’t even manage that. By the way, my car’s out of gas, so I’ll need to fill up before I can drive off.”

“No need, buddy. Your patrol car took at least a dozen rounds. It’s definitely out of commission. Wait for the tow truck.”

This was a practically new car—barely driven, and now they’d riddled it with bullets. Well, serves them right!

Several ambulances arrived, sirens wailing. Paramedics piled out, carrying stretchers for the wounded. Only one person lying on the ground was loaded up; the others didn’t make it.

Several attendants were injured; when the paramedics tried to take them, they fiercely resisted, eventually dragged onto the ambulances by force. Their expressions were worse than death.

“Buddy, you’re in Carlisle’s unit, right? How’s it going? If you’re not happy there, you can join my team. I’m super nice—everyone knows it.” Green’s eyes gleamed as he tried to poach Oxy.

“Thanks for the offer, Sergeant, but I’m comfortable under Sergeant Carlisle for now—no plans to change units.” Oxy firmly refused. He’d just become a full officer and hadn’t suffered any unfair treatment; switching teams now, even with little workplace experience, he knew would be inappropriate.

Green looked a little disappointed. “Alright then, but if you ever want to transfer, you come to me. I like tough guys like you.”

Just then, the forensic team arrived. Green exchanged a few words with them, and they got to work: marking down where the deceased had fallen, collecting shell casings, noting bullet impacts—busy and thorough.

Green came over again. “You can’t touch anything at the scene now. I’ll have an officer take you back to the station—you’ll probably have to spend the night there.”

Oxy nodded, got into a patrol car, and returned to the station. The place was in chaos, but Oxy, the cause of it all, was oddly idle. Mia, the night shift receptionist, handed him a stack of reports to fill out.

How he discovered the situation, details of the engagement, how many rounds were fired—everything. Oxy gritted his teeth and filled them out.

Then he quickly ducked into the break room to hide. It was his first time in the station’s night shift lounge, but he left immediately.

The stench was overwhelming—feet, sweat, body odor, it was as bad as a gas chamber.

He had no choice but to sleep on a bench in the locker room. It was a bit hard, but manageable. Before long, he drifted off.

While Oxy slept, others were wide awake.

His team leader Carlisle, Deputy Chief Robin, Chief Mesa, legal from headquarters, the district attorney’s office, and even city hall were roused to deal with the gas station shootout through the night.

“Oxy, stop sleeping! Get up! You really know how to pick your spot!”

Oxy opened his eyes to find Carlisle’s broad face looming over him, greasy with heavy dark circles and bloodshot eyes.

“How did you end up like this? Pulled an all-nighter?”

Carlisle shot him an exasperated look. “Thanks to you, I was called in overnight—been busy all night. You, on the other hand, slept soundly.”

“Not that soundly—it was too hard, gave me a headache.”

“Headache, huh? If you don’t pass the review later, you’ll have plenty of time for headaches. Come on.”

Still confused, Oxy was dragged up by Carlisle, pushed into the showers to wash his face, brush his teeth, and shower, then changed into a fresh uniform, looking sharp and refreshed.

Carlisle then led him into a large conference room, where a row of tables and chairs were set up, stacked with seven or eight piles of documents. Oxy tried to glance at them, but Carlisle slapped him on the back and hurried him to a seat facing the others.

After a moment, a group of people filed in. Carlisle introduced them: Chief Mesa, Deputy Chief Robin, old acquaintance Sem from Internal Affairs, Assistant District Attorney Jose Hernandez (who appeared in chapter 30), Eddie Hernandez from Major Crimes, Cole Simmons from the Asian Gang Task Force, Jason Vera from the Narcotics Division’s marijuana and controlled substances unit, and Sergeant Green.

Oxy stood at attention, saluting. He didn’t remember all their names—just surprised so many people had gathered.

Carlisle glared at him, signaling not to worry about it and to handle the review properly.

Once they were seated, Deputy Chief Robin spoke. “Regarding last night’s incident on Barlette Street, where ‘Barlette Street’ attacked ‘Lomas 13’ at the gas station, Officer Oxy responded in time and neutralized the suspects. The internal review begins now.”

Jose from the DA’s office and Sem from Internal Affairs said nothing.

Oxy felt confident—things were already framed so positively, how could it go wrong?

Carlisle turned on the projector, playing dashcam footage from Oxy’s patrol car and body cam footage from his chest.