The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 273 Target Vehicle
I have to say is.

This scene is indeed very special.

Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating subtle ripples, Eric's arrival instantly became the focus of the entire night market.

He walked into the locker room like a star player who had just scored the decisive point, naturally attracting all attention and discussion; the entire space's attention was focused on him.

"I wish I had come later."

Eric gave a brief nod to the looks he was getting and walked to the dining area.

It was the peak time for late-night snacking, and the place was packed.

"Eric! Over here!"

Upon hearing Darren's voice, Eric looked over and saw that Will and his group had already taken over a table and even reserved a spot for him.

Eric nodded, pointed to the food cart inside, and walked over to observe it.

I didn't see Lei, so he's probably either on break or on the day shift.

But Eric saw Manny and his partner Ron from the North Hollywood Police Department, who had helped him investigate the Rusty Iron Harbor gang incident.

Looking at it this way, you can see that everyone here is a Police Officer III+1 senior patrol officer.

Eric greeted everyone one by one before walking to the food cart to order.

"Emilio, the usual! A steak burrito, extra hot sauce, and a bowl of Mexican soup."

Despite having just experienced a scene with extremely poor visuals, it did not affect Eric's appetite.

Emilio replied, "Alright! Coming right away, Officer Stevens."

Eric smiled, took out his wallet, counted out the money he had just paid plus the debt he owed, and handed it to Trent, the boy who was helping him.

"Hey! Trent, count them, everything should be settled this time. Don't let Sera nag me again."

Trent took the banknotes, grinned, revealing two tiger teeth: "Don't worry, Officer Stevens! Sheila said that you paid off your debts the quickest, so quickly that she didn't even have a chance to grumble about you."

"What are you saying?" Eric asked helplessly, pointing to Trent, who was chuckling.

Upon hearing his wife's name, Emilio grinned sheepishly and placed the packed food on a plate, handing it to her.

The piping hot burritos were wrapped tightly in tin foil, while the bowl of rich Mexican soup was served in a sturdy paper bowl, with steam rising slightly from the rim of the lid.

Eric smiled and nodded to take it, but Emilio then tossed him a small bag of golden-brown, crispy tortilla chips.

"Officer Stevens, this is for you."

"Thanks." Eric smiled and nodded, not refusing to turn and walk towards Will with the plate.

These old buddies had been waiting impatiently for a long time, but after he sat down, they couldn't help but complain.

"How does it feel to walk the red carpet, Mr. Star?" Darren asked with a smile.

Eric simply ignored him, saying as he ate, "Even you guys couldn't find the target vehicle?"

"No."

Weston shrugged and said, "I've contacted several informants, but there's still no news."

"I asked other colleagues, but they didn't find anything either."

Will shook his head: "I suspect the guy sensed something was wrong and ran away."

“No!” Eric said.

"The fact that he came to Los Angeles shows that his goal is very clear and he won't leave Los Angeles so soon."

Darren chimed in, "You're more quick-witted than us, so what ideas do you have?"

“We have no choice but to keep searching,” Eric said decisively, swallowing his food. “However, we need to broaden our search area; we can’t just focus on places like motels.”

This guy's a retired soldier, he's tactically savvy. He won't just choose the obvious hiding spots. Let's divide the work.

Will and the others exchanged glances and immediately understood what Eric meant.

Instead of aimlessly searching and relying on luck, it's better to have a strategic approach to casting a wide net.

“OK!” Will said first. “You decide how to divide it. Anyway, without you, we wouldn’t get involved in this.”

Eric took a bite of his burrito, chewing as he quickly planned in his mind, first glancing at Will, who had the widest network of connections:
"Will, can you contact all your informants at the freight stations, long-distance bus stations, and those shady used car repair shops?"

A militarily trained person might try to get their hands on an inconspicuous new car as quickly as possible, or leave through underground channels. The Impala he stole was too conspicuous; he'd definitely want to get rid of it.

Will nodded: "Yes!"

"Darren."

Eric then turned to Darren, who was most familiar with the city's geography; the guy was able to slack off because he knew all the locations and terrain.

"You should focus on checking apartment buildings that are under renovation or have just been completed and are not yet occupied, as well as abandoned factories, especially those with basements or large warehouses."
There are also more secluded private garages that are rented out weekly or monthly.

These places are more secluded than motels, allowing for vehicle abandonment and providing better cover and tactical depth, which suits his background.

Darren said, "OK, I do have a few target areas that meet the criteria."

“Weston,” Eric said to Weston finally.
"You use the computer system to cross-reference all reported cases of vehicle theft or burglary in the past week."

A person in hiding definitely needs supplies; let's see if we can find any clues that might overlap with their movements.

“Okay.” Weston had no objection either.

Will said, "So what about you?"

Eric stuffed the last bite of the burrito into his mouth, clapped his hands, and laughed.

"Me? I'm the unlucky one. I'll just have to try my luck and keep patrolling the area north of Lincoln Avenue, especially the more secluded side streets and alleys around the motels, to see if I can bump into the target."

Will and the others gave a thumbs up, got up and left one after another. The division of labor was clear, the strategy was clear, and it was time to take action.

Weston's last words were: "I actually think you'll find it before we do, so don't forget about us then."

“Okay.” Eric chuckled, watching them leave with the rookies under his command. After finishing his meal, he casually cleaned up the food scraps, threw them into a trash can on the street, and slowly walked towards his police car.

"10-L-11, Code 7 completed, resume patrol."

Dispatch Center: "Received, 10-L-11."

Upon hearing the reply, Eric drove away from where he was, heading to patrol the complex area north of Lincoln Avenue, as planned.

If he still hasn't found the job after the division of labor, he'll go to the West Coast Wolf Clan biker gang and ask acquaintances in other branches for help.

Anyway, this Level 1 wanted criminal is definitely going to be caught, unless he hasn't left Los Angeles yet.

Of course, such areas with complex crowds inevitably receive police assignments.

Eric was handling a series of police cases, including driving away homeless people who had invaded his private property, a bar fight, domestic violence, and taking a drunk man to sober up.

At 3:30 a.m., Darren finally brought some good news.

"10-L-11, this is 10-A-16, private channel, please reply."

At that moment, Eric had just come out of the sobering-up center. Hearing the call, he immediately opened the door, got into the driver's seat, and switched to the private channel they always used.

"10-L-11 received, Darren, have you found anything?"

Darren's voice was low, tinged with excitement at having found his target: "Buddy, I found the car! It's in that abandoned warehouse area of ​​the old Union Textile Factory to the north."

(End of this chapter)