3
2
Nov 30th
Dear Nic
k,
Well,
it’s been a few weeks since I last wrote you. Hoping that your posting in Ramadi is
going okay and that the insur
gents ar
en’t making too muc
h of a nuisance of themselves on your
daily ops.
Back at home
, things ar
e going from bad to w
orse. Gang violence has r
eached a level
we’ve not seen since the cr
ackhouse w
ars of the early nineties — and not just in the rough
neighborhoods,
either
. The gangs seem to be or
ganizing themselves with almost r
eligious fer
vor.
I don’t say this lightly
, but it feels lik
e the city is at w
ar with itself
, and if something isn’t done
soon,
we’re
going to lose the city to the Bur
ners — a g
roup of psyc
ho-terrorist r
evolutionaries.
Thing is,
with the sons of the city o
verseas,
fighting a w
ar that seems lik
e it’s hell-bent
on nothing
, us old-timers ar
e left fighting for the fr
eedom of the city
. We need our toughest young
men bac
k. Guys lik
e you with combat e
xperience might not ha
ve been the first c
hoice a couple
years bac
k. But right no
w the Mayor and the Chief of Police ar
e planning to tak
e the fight to
the gangs.
We gotta meet these bastar
ds head on,
on their ter
ms. “Soft”
policing don’t w
ork
with these animals. Hot lead,
flash bangs and good old-fashioned brutality is the only language
they understand.
A “Zero
Tolerance”
task for
ce of tooled-up cops seems lik
e the only w
ay to rid
the city of this cancer
. If the Mayor gets his w
ay, we’
re gonna be r
eady to hit bac
k by the end of
next month.
I don’t w
ant to sound lik
e a brok
en recor
d but the Masons ha
ve alw
ays been city cops
and, while I kno
w you made your decision and ha
ve made the Marine Corps your life
, maybe no
w
you should be r
ethinking wher
e your lo
yalties lie
. To the city and folks that nurtur
ed you or to
those suits in
Washington who seem mor
e inter
ested in lining their poc
kets than anything else
.
I’ll say no mor
e but you w
ouldn’t r
ecognize our neighborhood — it’
s gone to hell,
and I need to
get bac
k on shift in a couple of hours. Bac
k in the ey
e of the stor
m again,
trying to get mor
e intel
on these Bur
ner assholes.
Anyw
ay, son,
I’ll say so long no
w — will you write me soon and tell me what you think?
Maybe staying in the Corps feels lik
e the right thing to do car
eer-wise
, but your family and your
city need you no
w.
Love,
Jack
JACK’S PLEA
DEATH-0-GRAM
1 December
Dear Nick,
I hoped I'd never have to send this message - but
things have changed in a big way since you headed out
on your latest tour. Your father was out on patrol
yesterday as normal. He and Steve Zuchero had just
arrived in their patrol car to investigate a warehouse
break-in, when a gang surrounded the car, smashed in the
windows and molotoved it. Your dad didn't stand a chance
- Zuchero managed to escape on foot but couldn't do
anything to save Jack. Not only did they let him burn,
but they held off the Emergency Services and back-up
with handguns as he fried.
Nick, I know that me and your dad used to rib you for
the choices you've made over the years, but hear me out.
Right now, this new unit I'm heading up, name of T-Zero,
needs men like you, who've seen the horror of war.
With my connections, graduating the Police Academy is
a formality. Just get your ass back here for Jack's
funeral and maybe you can help take the battle to these
bastards!!
With deepest condolences,
Adam Wolf
uc xbx final.qxd 5/22/06 2:18 PM Page 2
