"Would you just relax and calm down first!"
She grabbed her notebooks from her desk and shoved them in her box.
"How can I?"
He looked at her, completely bewildered.
She hated how the world of the rich and powerful operated. Police officers in her district were permanently silenced by money, forever turning a blind eye to the truth and justice. She could not continue working in such an environment.
Her colleagues always told her that she looked for trouble but was seeking justice and refusing to turn a blind eye to the truth in criminal cases 'trouble'? The other police officers watched her as she walked back and forth, shoving her belongings in the box she had found lying in her house.
"Get out of my way, please."
He moved aside as he watched her pack the rest of her stuff. Actually, Astoria believed that it was about time she resigned. She was barely hanging in there with all the injustice she had been witnessing in this police station, especially because of Cosmo X.
Every single Cosmo X company court case had the same end result. All the cops knew that the company tested humans with their products and that those 'test subjects' always dropped dead in the end with no trace left of them.
'They cannot even arrest the company chairman because he has the police, prosecutors, and the government at the palm of his hand. Heck, no one has ever seen the chairman's face!'
Trash like him who feed on the weak and poor do not deserve to live such a luxurious life. Since she was trying to help the weak and poor, she was being reassigned to the Violent Crimes Unit all the way in Beadville, which was a five-hour drive from here.
"Why don't you just move to the Violent Crimes Unit? Resigning is a bit extreme, don't you think?" he asked her, begging her to rethink her choice.
She sighed and internally admitted that resigning because of her reassignment to the Violent Crimes Unit in Beadville was a bit extreme. Still, she was doing this out of anger, and she definitely was not regretting it one bit. Well, at least not yet. The main reason she was reassigned was because she finally found concrete evidence on the deaths of the people used as lab rats by Cosmo X while investigating the company.
Before she could rush to tell her team captain, she was assaulted in her house in, might she add, broad daylight! Was she not livid? Was she not on the verge of exploding in anger? She was currently experiencing a wide range of emotions.
I mean, first of all, Cosmo X sent their men to assault, steal, and destroy the evidence she had been digging up for the past nine months. Secondly, they damaged her house, which was also partly her fault because she fought back by smashing a pot plant on one of the men's heads. She made sure to leave her mark on at least one of those crooked men.
After all, she was known as the best fighter in her division. Well, now it's her former division since she was resigning. Anyway, after trying to chase those men who had destroyed everything she had worked so hard to find, she, unfortunately, lost them. She decided to inform her team captain, and you will not believe what he told her.
"I was this close," she told her team captain, Mr. Rogers, as she ran her fingers through her black hair.
Her pale milky skin aching from all the fighting and running she did yesterday.
"But they sent their men after me and destroyed all the evidence I had been working so damn hard to collect!"
"This should tell you to stop," he said, shaking his head.
"Stop? You want me to stop and have more innocent people die?" she asked, completely surprised and taken aback by his vindictive yet straightforward statement.
"You know that Cosmo X has so much power and connections. Besides, it's not like they only test their products on people. They also test animals," he simply said as he walked towards the coffee machine, took a cup, poured himself coffee, and sat leisurely on his chair, his eyes fixated on the cup in his hands.
"So, are you telling me that because they also test animals, that makes it okay?"
At that moment, she wanted to punch someone, even him.
"I'm just saying that the people go there voluntarily. There is no proof that Cosmo X forces them, so just let it go. Look, I know that you are finding this frustrating. We all are, but you have seen how hopeless it is to fight that company. I mean, look at you. You're covered in bruises and look like a mess. If you go any further, you won't just be assaulted next time," he said, looking at her dead in the eye.
"The company could kill you, Astoria."
'Nonsense. This whole thing is just absurd,' she thought.
"Anyway, the chief will not accept your resignation," he continued.
She pouted and walked towards the Chief's Office, knocked, and was told to enter. She explained the situation to him, and do you know what he told her? Actually, she should have known that he was also a chess piece belonging to Cosmo X. He was a mere pawn who would turn a blind eye to their evil, unlawful actions.
The Chief told her that she should let Cosmo X go, reconsider her resignation, and instead accept being reassigned to the Violent Crimes Unit. He said she caused too much trouble for the Major Crimes Unit anyway and that this was a wonderful and great opportunity for her to gain experience in another unit in a different place. He called it a 'fresh start'.
'What utter nonsense.'
"Ria, I know you're upset. I understand that, but this really isn't the way to go about it," Officer Stanley, or as she called him, Stan, said when she returned to her desk.
She sighed and gave him a weary smile. Stan was just as upset as she was at what was done to her. They both had passed the police academy exam together and were assigned to the Major Crimes Unit three years ago.
Time sure did fly. She was 19 years old back then, the youngest to be placed in the Major Crimes Unit. She was, and still is, known as a troublemaker because she always causes a major scene when it comes to fighting and catching criminals.
When they tried to fight back and escape, she would fight back twice as hard and block any means of escape. Due to her fighting skills, the criminals always ended up in hospital before being taken in for interrogation due to minor injuries. This caused her to be deemed the troublemaker of the Major Crimes Unit.
"I am glad he did not accept your resignation," he said.
Stan took her box, which she carried in her arms into his as they walked out of the police station to her car.
"It would be a crime to waste your golden potential."
She rolled her green eyes as he put her box in the boot of her car. Walking towards the driver's seat, she sat down and started the engine, putting on a wry smile as she looked at Stan.
"You know they nicknamed you Miss Justice Troublemaker here, right?" he asked her.
She nodded, not really affected by that nickname. Ironically, she actually loved it.
"Looks like I'm off to Beadville today, Stan."
Stan nodded, closed her door, and smiled a sad smile.
"Call me as soon as you arrive. Although you will be moving, something tells me you are not giving up on Cosmo X."
Of course, she was not giving up on taking down Cosmo X and every stakeholder involved in that unlawful company.
She grinned.
"You know me so well."