AU!APH - The Decision

Today had been an especially trying day. It wasn't even midday and my head was throbbing madly, already.

"Inspector Beilschmidt?"

I looked up from the piles of paperwork in front of me, at the officer in front of me. He looked nervous, for some reason, and I motioned for him to come in.

He handed me a piece of paper, which I quickly skimmed. I could feel my pounding headache worsening when I read the message that had just come in from the Intelligence Bureau.

"Call in Kiku and Feliciano – immediately."

~*~

Kiku sat precariously at the edge of the seat, as he always did. In sharp contrast, Feliciano leaned back on his chair precariously, his legs resting on my desk. Sometimes...the contrast still managed to take me by surprise, ever so slightly.
"This is what we've just been told – an unknown 'assignment', as they've been referring to it, is supposed to be coming in to the US. People from various countries are involved, so it will be hard to trace back and-"
"USA? The United States?" Kiku interrupted.
"Veee...so, are we going there?" I mentally counted down from five, in order to not punch Feliciano right there and then. Why must he be so trying, at times?

"Yes" I continued. "The United States. The trafficking circles are getting bigger, and bigger, involving more people. The mote multi-national it gets, the harder it is for us to pin them down."
"So…" Kiku picked up from where I'd left previously. "…if we manage to catch this assignment red-handed, then we might be able to trace back and at least eliminate a few kingpins in a couple of countries, at least, before they scramble again?"

I nodded. "Yes, that is what I was thinking. Apparently, there're around 50 people being trafficked in this assignment." Kiku's eyebrows rose in surprise, and Feliciano mouthed a wordless 'whoa'. "It is imperative that we catch them."

"Shouldn't we ask Alfred for help, Ludwig?" Kiku asked, and I shook my head. "Not yet, Kiku. We are a special unit, dedicated to controlling the intolerable crime of human trafficking – the smaller we keep the group, the better, I think. The US police system is large, and information can easily leak. I would leave it to just us."

"They're apparently landing in Baltimore?" Kiku questioned, reading the information. "That's on the East side of the country...very close to the capital, and within reasonable distance from New York City." That was the best thing about Kiku – his razor-sharp mind. He never forgot anything he read or saw – a perfect specimen of an 'eidetic memory'. He was often the 'brains' behind most operations, and his technical know-how often helped me majorly with my planning.

"So we ARE going to America, right? I've always wanted to go there, vee!" Feliciano leant over to see the message I'd received better. Sometimes, I really wondered why he'd been sent onto this team (which made me think about the state of the Italian forces), and why they even bothered to keep him. However, I couldn't argue against the fact that he was a master of disguise, indeed, and he certainly did have a way with the ladies, which proved to be immensely helpful, at times.

"Yes, Feliciano. We're leaving for the United States. They plan to be there in seven days, and I'd like for us to have as much time there as possible, because we will need some of the local force once we're there. We'll be leaving in two hours, so please meet me at the airport in no less than an hour. And as for firearms, carry them on yourself."
"What about once we land there? Aren't they very strict?" That might've been the most useful thing Feliciano asked all week – no, all month!

"Feliciano" I took a deep breath, and continued. "We're an international special unit force – we have the licence to fire if we are attacked, and we have a huge responsibility on our head.

~x~

Before I slipped my gun into its place, on my shoulder holster, I gave it one fleeting glance. Such a small thing, yet it could change so much. How many people had died with the one in my hands? Around 30, if I wasn't mistaken. And every time I was forced to pull the trigger, there seemed to be some hesitation.
Putting it simply, we had been trained to kill. We had been taught that there should be no remorse or mercy if the slightest thing was at stake. But...unexplainably, it still affected us. I knew Kiku still detested in using his issued pistol, and Feliciano always used an empty magazine, and carried a loaded one somewhere else, which he'd always say, was 'the last resort.'

However, when you know that the person cowering in front of you has 34 charges pressed against him, including murder, extortion, kidnapping, arms trafficking, rape, bank robberies and last, but not the least, human trafficking, it made pulling the trigger easier. It was as if the worst people would unleash the worst in us.

No, the problem wasn't killing the people – the problem was deciding whether we ought to kill him or not.