Chapter 247: Training Day
Honestly, watching that footage gave Ron a sore neck. He was certain the poor officer's neck wouldn't heal for at least a week.
While Haley's weight was average for a woman, the impact of gravity from such a height must have been significant.
"This footage is incredibly blurry. How can we be sure it was Haley?" Mitchell continued stubbornly.
The officer, not even in the mood to respond, glared at him and continued watching the screen. Before the video finished playing, Haley rose from the crushed cop, caught by the officer recording the scene.
"Don't hurt me, I'm just a student. My name is Haley Dunphy," Haley cried out in fear. Despite the camera's low resolution, the woman's face was clearly visible.
It was definitely Haley.
Claire, bewildered, pulled a wad of cash from her purse and started fanning herself. "It's so hot in here!"
Ron covered his face in embarrassment.
What was Claire thinking? When I mentioned money could fix things, I was just joking, and she took it literally?
"Claire, stop." Ron held down Claire's hand, took out his federal ID, and discreetly showed it to the police. "You two go sit over there and relax. I'll handle this."
Underage drinking itself is a minor offense. Normally, after being caught, you simply post bail and get released, and the university isn't even notified.
But Haley's case was different. She had assaulted a police officer. Although it was unintentional, this action meant she would face at least fifty hours of community service and a report to the school.
She could even face expulsion.
Claire, of course, realized the potential trouble, which led her to make such an unwise move, openly trying to bribe an officer in public.
However, what would be considered a major problem for ordinary people was quickly resolved by Ron. He made just two phone calls and the matter was handled quietly.
The police department agreed not to treat Haley's case as assault, instead giving her a two-week suspension along with the other students caught drinking. However, the condition was that Haley must participate in a police ride-along program during the suspension and submit a reflection essay of no less than a thousand words at the end.
"Thank you, Ron. If it weren't for you, Haley would have been expelled," Claire said as she drove. "Oh my God, it was so hard to find a decent university willing to accept her in the first place. If she gets expelled again, she won't be able to go to college anywhere."
"Don't mention it. Like I said, these are just minor issues."
Phil said with some concern, "But I'm still worried about letting Haley participate in that ride-along program at the Fresno station. She just injured an officer there, and they might not treat her well."
"Don't worry, that's easily fixed. I can talk to Agent Hobbs and have him arrange Haley's program with the LAPD instead. It happens to be training week for new police officers soon. I heard that the FBI plans to use this opportunity for some positive publicity and can even include Haley in their community outreach."
"Training week? What's that?"
"It's standard procedure in law enforcement," Ron explained while eating his stack of pancakes. "Usually when rookies who have just graduated from the police academy report for duty, they're paired with a veteran officer to familiarize themselves with the beat and proper procedures. The FBI, DEA, and even our IRS all have similar traditions. If the FBI requests cooperation, the local police department will definitely agree."
"Cool!" Phil was still a little worried: "Will she be in any danger?"
"Of course not. Do you think those veteran cops are pushovers? They're elite professionals. Although they're not quite at my level, they're more than capable of protecting one college student. Besides, under normal circumstances, training week is just about helping newcomers get familiar with the work environment. Nobody throws rookies into the deep end right away. If you're still worried, I can personally oversee it. I already promised Hobbs I'd help train one of their new recruits anyway."
At this point, Ron's tone became slightly strained.
He had good reason to be concerned. Fiona's younger brother, Ian—the third Gallagher kid—wanted to be a soldier. He'd tried enlisting before but was rejected due to his bipolar disorder. So he'd settled on his backup plan: becoming a police officer.
But for some reason, Ron always felt that the way Ian looked at him was... unusual. It wasn't the normal way one guy looks at another guy, but more like the way Fiona sometimes looked at him.
It was full of admiration, but also a little shy, which made Ron uncomfortable. But considering the Gallaghers' dysfunctional father Frank, a little eccentricity seemed par for the course.
Ron just felt it was best not to be alone with Ian if he could help it.
For Fiona's sake, Ron had gotten Ian into the police academy, and he was one of the new recruits starting this week. But in exchange, Ron had to agree to Hobbs' request to help train the rookie.
While the IRS and FBI had different missions, Ron could do everything the FBI could do, and better.
"Really? That's fantastic! Thank you so much, Ron," Claire said gratefully. Ron glanced at the excited Haley in the backseat and felt a headache coming on.
Ian and Haley—am I really running a daycare center here?
But there was nothing he could do about it, since they were all family. Truth be told, after spending so much time with Dom's crew, Ron was starting to develop his own sense of family loyalty.
Five days later, on the first day of training week, Ron asked Ian to meet him at Mel's Diner on Sunset Boulevard.
"Good morning, Ron." Ian greeted Ron stiffly and sat down obediently in the chair across from him. Ron didn't say anything, just stared at his phone while watching Ian out of the corner of his eye.
It wasn't until Ian began to look around nervously that Ron slowly spoke. "Call me 'sir.'"
"What?" Ian was startled by Ron's sudden voice.
"I said, call me 'sir' when we're working." Ron put down his phone and stared at Ian sharply. "Stand up and do it again!"
"Yes, sir." Ian stood up, walked outside the diner, came back in, and stood in front of Ron at attention like he was still trying to get into the military: "Good morning, sir."
"Sit down." Ron nodded with satisfaction. "Do you know why I asked you to meet me here?"
Ian shook his head. Ron continued, "Because this area has one of the biggest drug distribution networks in Los Angeles..."
(End of this chapter)
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