1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 26 FOP
Theodore gave Wenner a clear answer on Friday.

Although the FOP sounded like a shadow government or an illegal organization, he decided to join it to satisfy his curiosity and to win the July Agreement.

Wenner seemed to have anticipated this, and after get off work, he took him straight to Old Gun Bar.

As usual, the blind and lame bar owner hugged Wenner and patted each other's backs loudly.

After they parted, the owner shoved Theodore in dissatisfaction, complaining that he had never come to the bar again.

Wenner whispered a few words in his ear, and the boss smiled and nodded at Theodore, leading them toward the storeroom.

After the three of them went inside the storage room, the owner closed and locked the door from the outside.

The storage room was spacious, but the lights were off; once the door was closed, it was immediately plunged into darkness.

A mysterious aura wafted over us.

Wenner turned on his flashlight and led the two inside, stopping in front of the innermost wall. He moved a shelf aside, revealing a hidden door.

Theodore looked around and saw that Wenner and Bernie had serious expressions, with a hint of piety in their seriousness.

Wenner pushed open the hidden door to the storage room, and a damp, musty smell wafted out, revealing a narrow staircase.

This used to be a wine cellar.

Theodore guessed.

At the bottom of the stairs, twelve detectives wearing bronze badges were already standing around the rusty oil drums. When Theodore entered, they all banged on the metal cabinet with their batons.

"This is the fraternity's 'gun salute' to newcomers."

Bernie, standing behind him, quietly introduced him.

The thirteenth detective stepped forward, wearing a silver badge, and handed the velvet tray he was carrying to Wenner.

Theodore was somewhat taken aback.

This man is Chief Widek!
Wenner seemed oblivious to the astonishment on his face as he approached him with the tray.

“Theodore Dixon.” The bronze badge on the tray gleamed with a blood-rust-like light under the kerosene lamp. Wenner’s voice was unusually solemn, which, combined with the atmosphere, gave the room a sacred feel.

"Fuel, exemption, eternal rest—three privileges in exchange for never betraying the Brotherhood."

boom!
The twelve detectives pounded on the metal cabinet in unison, repeating their oath.

Bernie suddenly grabbed Theodore's shoulder and whispered a reminder: "Just say 'I accept,' don't ask how the funeral allowance works... nobody here wants to use that stuff ahead of time."

Theodore did as he was told, and Wenner took out a bronze badge from the tray and put it on him.

He looked down at it; the bronze badge was inscribed with "Guardians of Order" and "Loyal Brotherhood." The main body of the badge was a combination of a fire, a hammer, and a coffin.

Theodore accepted the FOP oath, donned the badge, and the solemn atmosphere in the basement vanished.

The twelve witnesses who participated in the ceremony came up to hug him and welcome him to the ceremony.

Chief Widke patted him on the shoulder, praising him for being young and promising.

"Keep up the good work, young man. FOP never mistreats its own people."

"Chief Widek said with a smile."

Theodore glanced at Wenner without saying a word, thinking to himself that his attitude towards Wenner was hardly one of 'not treating his own people badly'.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that both Wenner and Kahor were FOP Silver Medal members, and he felt relieved.

…………

FOP is not what Theodore imagined.

As for what Theodore imagined FOP to be like, he himself couldn't say for sure. In short, the real FOP was different from what he imagined.

Theodore's initiation ceremony was attended directly by Director Widek, and it's said that he would have come if Kahor hadn't been injured and hospitalized.

But if we're talking about taking it seriously, the other twelve police officers either live nearby or are on duty patrolling in the area. Moreover, after the initiation ceremony, there was no celebration party or wild banquet; the sixteen men simply emerged from the cellar and were treated to a round of drinks by the owner of Old Gun Bar.

Then those who were supposed to patrol continued patrolling, and those who were supposed to go off duty hurried home.

Everyone hugged him and patted his arm when they left, making them seem much closer.

Theodore didn't even know what these people were called, and many of them were people he was meeting for the first time.

Widek and Wenner stayed at the Old Gun Bar, seemingly intending to have a long talk with the owner all night.

Theodore was taken by Bernie to visit Del Rio Funeral Home.

According to Bernie, this is something every new member goes through.

Del Rio Funeral Home is an FOP-designated funeral home. The funeral home is not large, and the atmosphere inside is somewhat somber.

Bernie sat with him in the small chapel in front for a while, and before leaving, he told Theodore, "Remember to send two packs of cigarettes to the funeral home every week, and they'll dress you up as if you were alive...it's the rule."

As he spoke, he took out two packs of cigarettes and walked through the back door of the church.

Theodore followed him, wandering around the funeral home until they reached the incinerator.

Bernie placed the cigarette on the windowsill and introduced Theodore to the old man inside who was applying makeup to a corpse: "This is my partner, he just joined today."

The old man glanced back at Theodore, then continued working, asking, "What material do you like?"

Theodore: "Huh?"

"Pine, oak, mahogany, walnut, maple? Or metal?"

Theodore shook his head. "No, thank you, but I don't think I'll need it for the time being."

The old man looked up at him and sneered, "I hope you can still tell me what material you want when you need it."

Bernie was a little unhappy and hurriedly left with Theodore.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber as the two emerged from the funeral home.

Bernie was still driving. To forget what happened at the funeral home, Bernie said, "Luke has a case he wants you to take a look at."

Luke is a homicide detective, bald, burly, and a whole size bigger than Bernie. He's a cheerful guy who loves to sing in the office. Unfortunately, he's tone-deaf, yet he always looks completely absorbed in the music.

“And Vicki, Finch, Joseph, Richie… they all want your help.” He gestured with his hands, “asking if you can talk to ghosts or something.”

Theodore was somewhat surprised. "How come I didn't know? If they wanted my help, they could have just asked me directly. Besides, it's not about communicating with ghosts; it's just a skill that can be learned and trained."

Bernie ignored the second half of the sentence and exaggeratedly shouted, "Come on! Do you know you've only been in the homicide squad for a month?"

Theodore nodded.

"You've only been here a month, and you've already solved six cases! Six! Dude! Don't you have some kind of misconception about your own abilities?"

“Our case-solving rate has remained low this year. We already don’t have enough cases to write on one board. At your current rate of solving cases, we’ll probably have to go to the archives to retrieve cases from previous years very soon.”

He was referring to the 'red board' in the main office, which was almost full when Theodore arrived. If it weren't for him solving six cases in a row... actually, it was just barely full.

Cases involving prostitutes are not counted.

Theodore shook his head, not basking in Bernie's praise.

He was well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of profiling alone, and the cases he had encountered since joining the homicide squad were not actually suitable for profiling.

Using profiling to solve a case is a last resort. If the crime scene is well preserved, fingerprints and other evidence can easily solve the case.

Theodore sighed and said to Bernie, "If they really want to solve cases, they should protect the crime scenes better in the future. That way, they won't need my help and they can solve cases on their own."

Bernie couldn't quite understand the connection between the two, but after several cases, he vaguely sensed that Theodore seemed to solve cases faster when the crime scene was well preserved.

Is it really that big of an impact?

(End of this chapter)