The Crime System

The Breaking Point

All eyes turned to Luke as he pointed at himself. "I'm not feeling well, so I'm taking a personal day. You all can enjoy your stakeout without me."

His words instantly made the entire office deathly silent. The group of investigators who were ready to start working all froze in place, staring at him in disbelief. Luke could see in their eyes that they thought he must have lost his mind. Captain Jake Sheldon was the head of the Special Crimes Unit. The investigation plan had already been set in motion, yet here he was, suddenly asking for the day off? Not only that, but to say it so brazenly - how stupid could he be?

Luke knew that even if it really was some kind of emergency, there was no need to bother Captain Jake about it; usually just letting a Section Chief know would suffice. To ask for leave from the Captain himself as he had done was like slapping him in the face. And of course, hearing his disrespectful tone, Captain Jake's expression darkened immediately.

"Hey..." Vice Captain Vincent Parker jumped at the opportunity. He tilted his head and yelled, "Luke Sullivan, have you lost it? Looks like that detective badge has gone to your head. Don't you see everyone's working overtime to catch this thief?! How can you even look at yourself in the mirror?"

With Vice Captain Vincent's words, other investigators also began jeering at Luke, pointing fingers in disgust. Captain Jake only shook his head in annoyance before turning and leaving the room.

"See that?" With the captain gone, Vice Captain Vincent became even more arrogant. Pointing a finger at Luke, he laughed coldly, "Luke Sullivan, you're just being pathetic now. Asking for a day off just because you're feeling under the weather? What's wrong? Got cramps? Need someone to buy you some Midol?"

Vice Captain Vincent's words became increasingly crude. The office rang with laughter at his taunts.

But suddenly, among the laughter, Luke grabbed a mug full of coffee and hurled it straight at Vincent's head! Vincent was caught off guard by the projectile and quickly raised his arm to block it, but even though he deflected the mug, the scalding coffee splashed all over him.

The mug shattered as it hit the ground.

"Luke, have you gone insane?!" Vincent's rage exploded. He was about to point at Luke and start lecturing when Luke charged at him; like a wild animal, he roared and rammed straight into Vincent with his shoulder, sending the lieutenant flying backward.

Vincent's back crashed hard into the whiteboard, sending it rolling across the room.

"Back off, pig!" Luke pointed right at Vincent and cursed wildly, "Vincent, I've had enough of your crap! Who the hell do you think you are? Didn't you say you wanted coffee? Had enough yet?"

Luke's sudden outburst stunned all the investigators around him. No one expected it. The usually mild-mannered Luke, how had he become so violent?

"Luke, you maniac!" As the lieutenant of the Special Crimes Unit, how could Vincent tolerate such disrespect? His face was bright red as he got to his feet again, ready to throw down.

Yet Luke was the strongest fighter around; he had little to fear as he stepped forward, ready for the brawl.

By this time, other investigators could no longer stand by and watch. They all quickly stepped forward to stop the escalating situation. However, everyone only wanted to please the lieutenant, trying to restrain Luke while letting him get in a few shots to save face.

Yet against their expectations, Luke's strength was incredible. With just a sweep of his arm, the investigators, who were all in good shape, went flying to the side. Someone even crashed into a cubicle, sending a computer monitor crashing to the floor.

Within moments, the office was in chaos. Even Section Chief Priscillia stepped forward to try to defuse the situation. Bella Lane hurried toward Luke instead.

"You idiots!" Luke roared, pointing at the crowd, "All the times you've pushed me around, I remember everything! I'm warning you now, if anyone still has the nerve to mess with me after today, don't blame me for what happens!"

His violent words had Bella frozen in fear. All the investigators were completely confused. No one could figure out why the previously gentle and meek Luke Sullivan had become so wild.

"Luke Sullivan!" Vincent's lips trembled with rage. "You, you can kiss your career goodbye!"

"Who gives a damn?!" Luke's eyes bulged as he shouted back in contempt, "This is the Special Crimes Unit? What a joke! Me being a cop, I can't even face myself in the mirror!"

Finishing his outburst, Luke pushed up his sleeves, even whistling a tune as he made his way out of the office. As he left, he deliberately slammed the security door harder than necessary, making the entire office shake.

Only after he had been gone for some time did someone dare to speak out weakly, "Did Sullivan lose his mind? What kind of cop insults his own badge?"

"Yeah! He was so quiet before, what happened to him? Almost like some kind of gangster!"

"Luke... Sullivan..." Vice Captain Vincent was shaking with anger. He gritted his teeth as he yelled, "You! Just you wait!"