March 1928

The year 1928 and the man a fresh-faced Sterling who had just entered the academy straight out of high school. He always had a fascination with the law; his earliest memory was of himself lassoing his helpless younger brother and placing him in "jail" which happened to be the closet. It was a perfect match in his mind; he had been born to do this, and it would be the best time of his life, and it was, at least for a while. The academy wasn't a breeze, but it wasn't difficult for Sterling since he began preparing since the age of 13. He knew he never was going to be the best beat cop or the one you wanted beside you out in the streets, but he could hold his own. His real talent came at the office working late at night when it was just him, his thoughts and copious amounts of caffeine.

Word got around quick that if you had any case that hit a dead end or just stumped you, just bring it to Sal's new partner. Sal was what one would describe as a bit of a rogue cop. Upper management loathed him for not doing things the right way, but most of their anger came from the fact that no matter how much they wanted him gone they wouldn't dare. Sal may have been unorthodox in his approach to the job, but it worked, the guy was a damn hero in the eyes of the people of Irondequoit. The day he put on a badge was the day organized crime in the town, and its surrounding areas began a slow decline. There wasn't a month that would pass without a major drug bust being in the papers and about seven times out of ten it would be Sal hailed as the man that brought the dealers in.

August 1929

As the prisons filled and the streets appeared to be safe, the department began to focus on more run of the mill police work. A year after receiving his badge the precinct threw a small celebration for Sterling, a great night it was, but it was also the beginning of the end. Sterling awoke the next morning to find some rookie cop banging on his door. He didn't know if he was still asleep, or the boys down at the station were ribbing him but it quickly set in that this was no joke nor was he having a nightmare. Sal was dead, gunned down by the pier.

He stumbled upon a deal that quickly went south, at least that's what the chief said to reporter's during his press conference mere hours after the body was discovered. None of it felt real to Sterling, but he understood the hazards that came with the occupation. Sal may have been an ass at work, but he was a faithful husband and loving father at home. He left behind a loving wife and three wonderful and bright daughters aged 2, 6 and 13. The funeral was what you would expect for an officer of his caliber; the Times was even there to cover the story of the fallen hero.

No one missed the ceremony, every single member of town hall was there even the candidates for positions up for election were there to curry goodwill with the public, fucking heartless sharks didn't even know a single thing about the man. After the funeral Sterling went up the hill to sit under the oak tree overlooking the graveyard to collect his thoughts. While calming his nerves with a smoke, he bummed from the mayor the widow approached him with a folded flag in one hand and a manilla folder in the other. She told Sterling she didn't know what her husband was working on but he thought it was worth his life. She handed the folder to Sterling and looked down the hill at the cluster of officers conversing near their vehicles. The last thing she said before leaving was to make sure he brought the sons of bitches down for what they did, for what they took from her family.

It wasn't a deal gone sour that ended Sal; it was that he got too close to the truth. While the entire town of Irondequoit including the precinct were happy to go along with the impression that organized crime had been vanquished, Sal wasn't. It was all too convenient in his eyes, that before he could bring in those at the top, it all just vanished. Sterling couldn't believe the files in the folder handed to him. Sal managed to keep tabs on every single person at the station and even a few key people at town hall. There was even a short file on Sterling, all it said was "good kid, not involved.". Most of the records were short as it wasn't a widespread problem. Instead, it was a top heavy problem.

The chief and the treasurer for the town were the two at the top according to what Sal had observed. A few offices were their primary muscle and some aides close to the mayor to make sure the mayor was known the wiser to their operation. The real problem was that half of the detectives were on their payroll. Crime hadn't been eliminated at all; it was just being ignored for hefty bonus'. On the back of the last file was a sticky note addressed to me

I've kept you in the dark on my work for your own safety but all I have done can't be lost with my death. I don't know if they're on to me but what I do know is my time here will come to a close soon. Don't believe the lies they'll tell you about my demise, it will be by their hands. My family will be safe, don't worry about them. Just worry about bringing justice to those responsible. Good luck.

December 1929

The situation only worsened as time went on, it seemed as if every day they managed to recruit more and more officers to be apart of their organization. The chief even began to lay the groundwork for a plan to ensure the current town treasurer won the upcoming election for mayor; they weren't satisfied with what they already had, they wanted the entire town to bow to them. That made the months of constant surveillance difficult for Sterling as there was no one he could trust, he was all alone. A night owl and a morning bird all in one was what he became, every single moment awake was spent on the case. He neglected his work, his family and even himself. He was a shell of the optimistic young man that first joined the force; jaded towards the life he once loved.

When the time came to act upon the intelligence Sterling had gathered he first met with Sal's family to give them the entire story. The widow broke into tears once reminded she lost her partner in life for no other reason than the greed of others and the obsession with power among those atop the organization. The plan wasn't entirely thought through even she could see that. Walking into the chief's office and holding him at gunpoint surrounded by those in his pockets wasn't precisely a situation you wanted to be in if you wanted to make it out alive and maybe that's what Sterling wanted at the time. The widow returned with a business card offering a nanny service. Sterling stared at the card then looked to the widow in a state of confusion. She motioned for him to flip the card over. On the back was the number of an individual that would help him in his endeavor for justice, a senior official with the bureau's New York office.

New Year's Eve 1929

It all went so quick that the only thing Sterling could remember was his first contact with the FBI and the night of the raid. Back when he first called the number given to him, Sterling was initially ridiculed for what he told them about what he discovered. He wouldn't have believed it either if he were on the receiving end of the call; an entire town in the palm of the hand of a few select individuals was too far fetched for them until Sterling dropped by the next day to give them six loaded boxes full of incriminating evidence. From that moment it felt as if things were flying by a million miles an hour. A few short weeks later Sterling was in a bulletproof vest helping surround the local school's gymnasium as the main culprits were holding a fundraiser to help run the treasurer's bid for mayor next month. Two hours before it turned to the new year dozens of federal agents stormed the building quickly subduing most inside. The raid was such a success that only one shot was fired. As soon as the agents began to yell "FBI!, FBI!" the chief unholstered his service pistol, placed it under his chin and proceeded to paint the white table cloth and the clothes of anyone in his vicinity red.

New Year's Day 1930

The news quickly spread that half of those in any position of power were corrupted, thankfully the agents were faster than the news and managed to round up the vast majority of those involved in any way. A few slipped through the cracks, but most of them were small cogs in the machine. The feckless mayor vowed that he would do everything he could to ensure the men responsible would never see another day as free men and that those that willfully participated would see freedom but not until they could no longer fully enjoy it. A ceremony was held later that day to honor the brave agents that partook in the raid and to bestow the highest medal an officer could receive upon Sterling. The latter never came to fruition as minutes before the mayor took the stage Sterling handed him his badge. The life of a lawman was no longer for him. His dream died the moment he realized there were few differences between those on either side of the law one of which being pay. His town was no longer safe for him either for those that escaped would surely look for vengeance against the man that turned their life upside down. Sterling said his goodbyes to his loved ones and set off to NYC to start his life anew.