To Protect And Serve
September 14, 2007 by silvercharm
To Protect And Serve, by silvercharm, September 10, 2007
http://forums.vancouver.craigslist.org/?ID=71969311
The fresh air felt so good as I stepped past the automatic doors and into the night, momentarily clearing my mind. The first thing I saw was the unmarked Jeep, dark in colour, perhaps black or blue or purple. The bright flashing lights from its dashboard area mixed with the yellow street lamps of the breezeway, bathing everything in a strange and unfriendly glow.
At first I didn’t associate the Jeep to my own affairs, lost in thought and anxiety. “Is this your vehicle, sir?” A tall stocky man dressed in dark clothing and wearing what appeared to be an official vest of some sort had been standing on the roadway, and walked briskly towards me as I approached my car.
“Yes, it is. What’s the matter, is something wrong?”
“Yes, something’s wrong, sir. It’s an abandoned vehicle and its going to be impounded.”
I hesitated slightly before flinging the suitcases into the trunk. “What? What do you mean, abandoned? And who are you, anyway? Airport security?”I’m the Chief of Security here. I’m with the R.C. M.P.” He glanced quickly down at some identification tag hanging from his neck.“Oh, okay.” There were no insignias of our country’s police force anywhere on his clothing, and I wanted to ask to see some proof, but was dissuaded by his gruff manner.“You see the flashing red lights? This is serious; you’ve left your car sitting here, and gone off on your merry way. It’s parked illegally and will be impounded.”“Oh come on, I was only gone a few minutes. I was dropping off my girlfriend but she missed her flight. Otherwise I would’ve been right back, like, in less than a minute or whatever. So we had to change her flight. I made sure she was okay, but it looked like it was going to be a while. So I came back to move the car.”
“Are you not paying attention? I just told you this car has been abandoned, and you’ve broken the law. I don’t really care what’s going on for you right now, or where your girlfriend is. By leaving your car here, you’re jeopardizing everyone’s security, and taking up space, which other people need to do what they need to do.”
“Well I’m sorry. But it’s not abandoned! I left it here for a few minutes, and now I’m back to move it, what’s the big problem here? There’s hardly anyone here.”
This did nothing to lighten his mood. He didn’t seem interested in reason. He came closer, finally stopping about three feet away.
“What did I just say to you? Have you not been listening? Do you understand what I’ve just told you; that you’ve broken the law, jeopardized safety, and now your car is going to be towed? This is a high security area here, and you think you can just carry on like the laws don’t apply to you?”
“Yeah, I heard you. It was going to be only a minute or two, but then we missed the flight. It’s my fault she missed the flight, actually.”
“So that’s your excuse? You’re just going to stand there and tell me you’re above the law?”
“No, that’s not what I said. Where does it say this is a high security area, anyway? What are you talking about?”, and I gestured to the parking signs.
“Do you want me to read to you what the signs say? Can you read?”
“Yes, I can read. You’re only supposed to drop people off, and that’s it.”
“No, that’s not what the signs say at all. Do you have a driver’s licence? I’m going to have to see it.”
“What? What for?”
“Well if you have a driver’s licence, and you appear to speak English, then surely you know what those signs say.”
I fished my licence out from my wallet and passed it to him.
“And this is your car? It’s registered to you, on your name?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And you still reside at this same address?”
“Yes, for about two years now. Look, what are we doing here? I’d like to move my car, and get back in there, and see what’s happened to my girlfriend.”
“I beg your pardon? Your car is being impounded, there’s a tow truck on the way, right now. Do you understand that?”
“Yes I understand that, but why? What for? Where’s the problem here? That mini-van up there is still sitting there, it was here when i got here, and it hasn’t moved either. And there’s almost no one else here. I’m not inconveniencing anyone, so I don’t see where the problem is.”
“Look, I’m the police officer here, okay? The problem is you. You saw the signs, but deliberately decided to do your own thing and disregard the law. This is serious here pal, and it’s time you realized that.”
“What do you mean, serious? Why are you picking on me? If it was busy here, like it usually is, I wouldn’t have left it here.”
“Well you did, didn’t you? You say you understand, but I don’t think it’s really getting through to you. What do the signs say? These ones.” He motioned for me to step closer to the curb and waited for my response, mocking me with a look as if I was a child.
“Well, they say ‘no parking’, and also ‘no stopping’, and that’s it. There’s nothing here which says “high security” or anything like that.”
“You missed this one, what does that say?”
“It says ‘drop off area only, absolutely no stopping’.
“Very good. So you do know what the signs say, but still decided to ignore them, and do as you please. What’s the matter with you, anyway? Why do you think they’re there? In case of bombs or acts of terrorism.”
“Well, I came back, and still it’s not busy here, I don’t see the harm here. What am I supposed to do, drop off someone like they’re a piece of meat, or a suitcase?”
“What you’re supposed to do, is obey the law. What, haven’t you heard about terrorism, and the incidents in Scotland?” He stepped right up to my face again, now not more than two feet away. “Don’t you think I should be suspicious of a car left here like this? I was about to call in the dog squad, to check for explosives.”
“Explosives, no I haven’t heard about any of it. We’ve been on holiday, off in the bush. We haven’t heard any news whatsoever. Where we were, you can’t even get a cell phone signal.”
“Well, that’s too bad, but that’s not my concern, is it? You must’ve heard something. And if you didn’t, you should have, you’re an adult.”
‘I’m sorry, but we haven’t heard a thing about any bombings, or anything.”
“You don’t seem very sorry to me. It looks like you couldn’t care less. And you know what you did, so that’s the bottom line.”
He shook his head and began walking back to his black Jeep.
“Hey, so what is this, what’s going on now?”
“What’s going on now? What’s going to happen is I’m going to run your licence and registration, and we’re going to wait for the tow truck. They’ve already been alerted, and should be here any minute.”
“What? Why can’t you just give me a ticket, or something, and let me move my car, so I can get back in there? Why tow it? I don’t see the point.”
He spun about and walked quickly towards me, his eyes angry and his face supercharged with intensity.
“Look, I might’ve let you off with a ticket before, and sent you on your way, but I really don’t like your attitude. You don’t care, and you’re not sorry either. You just don’t get it; this is serious. It’s just me this and I that. The world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.”
“What? What are you talking about? I don’t understand what the big deal is. This is a waste of time.”
“A waste of time? You’ve got to be joking, right? Stop being so argumentative and emotional.”
“No, I’m not getting emotional.”
“Yes, you are. You’re getting louder and louder, and talking in circles. You’re not listening to me. I’ve made up my mind, you’re getting towed.”
“I don’t believe this, this is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? You’re the one who’s ridiculous. You know what? You’re going to get yourself arrested. Now how would that look, huh? This girlfriend you talk about, who hasn’t shown up. I doubt there is one. You’re full of it.”
“No I’m not. She missed her plane and has to re-book or something. What do you mean arrested? What for? This is stupid, a waste of time. Why tow the car? By now I could’ve parked the car, and that’s it.”
“You know what? Now you’re threatening. You’re going to be arrested. Just one more word, one more. I don’t care. It’s up to you. Do you want to spend the night in jail? How would that look? Would that be better, impress your girlfriend?”
“No of course not. She wouldn’t like that at all.”
“I don’t think she would either. Unless you want to be arrested. Do you want to? Should I just put the cuffs on you right now? Just one more word, and that’s it. It’s up to you.”
“Okay, fine, whatever.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m sorry if I got a bit worked up. It’s been a long day, and I didn’t expect to miss that plane.”
“Well that’s good then. So you might as well relax and we’ll just wait for the tow truck.”
“What about the luggage? How is she going to catch her plane in the morning?”
“I don’t know. You should’ve thought of that before.”
He stared at me with utter contempt, a slight sneer on his lips. He stood and waited for me to say something, even raising his eyebrows, as if expecting me to up the ante again. Then he turned away and strode back to his car.
I didn’t know what to make of it, and wondered aloud whether this is some sort of a nightmare.
There seemed to be nothing left to do but wait. He seemed serious about arresting me. On what charge I didn’t know. I looked at the open hatch, with the suitcases still piled up haphazardly, wondering to do next next.
Sitting on the curb didn’t seem right, nor did getting into my car and sitting behind the wheel. He wasn’t going to get away with this. But right now I just wanted to catch my breath. I plunked myself down in the trunk of the hatchback, and sat on one of the suitcases, facing the concrete and glass terminal and the dark SUV, with its flashing red lights. And the man who said he was a police officer sitting inside.
