The next morning, the recruits gathered in the courtyard.

‘I want to congratulate all of you,’ said the head trainer with a proud tone to his voice. ‘You have passed the fitness part of this programme.’

The recruits applauded themselves. Arville stared angrily at Eugene.

‘Today we begin the real work of an enforcer,’ said the head trainer as he slowly moved his head to look at the faces of all the recruits. ‘We will teach the fundamentals, and you must demonstrate that you can perform them. Otherwise, there is no point progressing any further.’

For the next two months, the trainers taught the recruits the most fundamental skills needed to be an enforcer. They were shown how to safely arrest and disarm dangerous suspects. They were taught how to interrogate suspects and how to engage with victims. They were shown how to navigate a crime scene and collect evidence.

The two months ended with a series of simple tasks. All twenty recruits passed the tasks without any problem.

For the following three months, the head trainer taught the recruits the advanced skills required to be a commander or Head Enforcer. This included how to analyse evidence, recognise patterns, assess risk, conduct preventive measures, read suspects and victims body language, create character profiles, understand possible motives, bait suspects, collaborate with other departments, and make overall judgements on cases.

The day after the final session, the recruits gathered in the courtyard.

‘The bulk of the course is complete,’ said the head trainer as he paced in front of the recruits. ‘However, you have not been truly challenged yet. Now let’s finish our journey to determine who goes on to lead and who goes on to follow.’

Eugene became visibly excited.

‘Now everyone spread out,’ said the head trainer.

The recruits spread themselves out across the courtyard. The other trainers also entered the courtyard. The trainers walked up behind the recruits and blindfolded them.

The trainers began to walk around and in-between the recruits. They tapped some on the shoulder and whispered into the ears of others. This went on for around ten minutes.

‘You now may remove your blindfolds,’ announced the head trainer. ‘You have three days to complete this task.’

‘Excuse me!’ shouted a recruit. ‘What task? I don’t understand.’

‘Then you better start understanding, or you’re not going to be a Head Enforcer,’ replied the head trainer firmly as he and the other trainers left the courtyard.

‘I’m heading to the hot tub,’ chuckled Arville as he swaggered off. ‘The rest of you can stand around looking dumb if you want.’

Eugene looked around at all the other recruits. He was trying to read their expressions and their body language. Most of them looked confused. However, recruit Eric had positioned himself in the corner of the courtyard. He appeared to be observing the other recruits as well.

The recruits gradually left the courtyard. Eugene made his way up to the second floor. From here, he could observe the courtyard. Eric was the last to leave the courtyard. Eugene watched him leave the courtyard from the opposite side to the others.

‘Hey, Eugene!’ shouted a recruit. ‘Do you want to join us? We’re going to play a cool virtual reality game.’

‘The game has already begun, and there’s nothing virtual about it, friend,’ replied Eugene.

‘So you’re coming?’ asked the recruit.

‘Yeah, sure, why not?’ replied Eugene as he followed the other recruit to the room where they kept the virtual reality headsets.

They put their headsets on, and the game started. After being eliminated early from the game, Eugene pulled off his headset. He quickly looked around the room. It appeared someone had left the game even sooner than he had.

Eugene left the room. He looked down into the internal courtyard. Two recruits were playing basketball.

Eugene headed up to the recruits sleeping quarters. He walked past each room, listening to hear if anyone was inside any of them. He heard someone rummaging around in one room. Eugene walked to the end of the corridor and hid. Recruit Rupert came out of the room from where he had heard the noise coming from. Eugene knew that this room had not been assigned to Rupert.

‘Suspect number three,’ said Eugene to himself.

Eugene made his way down to the canteen. Two recruits were sitting at a table eating chocolate cake.

‘An early meal, eh!’ said Eugene as he approached them. ‘Are you planning on skipping lunch?’

‘Well, it’s mashed potato and leek pie today,’ said one of the recruits. ‘We prefer chocolate cake.’

Eugene glanced up at a sign that read, ‘Leek Pie and Mash’.

‘I see,’ replied Eugene as he walked past them while maintaining eye contact.

An hour later, the recruits gathered in the canteen for lunch. Eugene was jabbing his leek pie with his fork when Arville rushed in. He was wearing a towel around his waist.

‘I’ve been robbed!’ he shouted. ‘Some nutbag stole my clothes.’

Eugene jumped out of his seat and walked towards Arville. ‘Stole your clothes, eh,’ said Eugene as he raised his eyebrows. ‘Were they ripped straight off your body, friend?’

‘They were taken while I was in the hot tub,’ replied Arville in a slightly annoyed tone.

‘Broke into your locker, did they?’ asked Eugene, who was now standing in front of Arville.

‘I left them in the changing room,’ replied Arville as he looked around at the other recruits who had now resumed eating their food.

Eugene patted Arville’s dry towel. ‘Did you forget to put water in your hot tub?’ asked Eugene as he tilted his head back to look Arville in the eyes.

‘What the hell is your problem?’ said Arville in a slightly raised voice. ‘It’s wet on the inside. Now get away from me, you pervert.’

Eugene grabbed the towel and tugged it off Arville. Arville gasped as he stood in front of everyone in his tight white underpants.

The recruits in the canteen burst out laughing.

‘It’s dry, and so are you,’ remarked Eugene as he stared intently at Arville, who now appeared slightly panicked.

‘Calm down, everyone!’ shouted the head trainer. ‘It appears a crime, or maybe a series of crimes, has been committed. The first job of an enforcer is to prevent crime. You have all failed. Instead, you thought it was a good idea to play games, eat cake, and even laze in a hot tub.’

The head trainer looked at Arville and shook his head. ‘Now we need to determine the nature of the crime,’ said the head trainer as he turned to the rest of the recruits. ‘All of you will assemble in the courtyard in half an hour. We will discuss what you’ll do next.’

The head trainer turned around and left the canteen.

‘You’ve made a really dumb mistake,’ said Arville as he grabbed Eugene by the collar.

‘Mistake, I think not,’ replied Eugene. ‘Showing up late and missing out on the gravy, that’s what I call a mistake.’

Arville released Eugene and then stormed off.

Half an hour later in the courtyard.

‘It appears we have a thief among us,’ said the head trainer as he began to pace up and down. ‘Several items have been stolen from recruits’ rooms. These include slippers, watches, electric toothbrushes, and pyjamas.’

‘Let’s check the camera footage and test for fingerprints and DNA,’ called out a recruit.

‘That is a good approach, but we’re not doing that,’ replied the head trainer. ‘No technology for this task. We’re going to use old-fashioned detective skills. You have two and a half days to find the lost items and the culprit. We will reconvene here at six tonight.’

‘It was Arville!’ shouted out a recruit.

‘Shut up or I’ll punch you,’ shouted back Arville.

Eugene went up to the spa suite. There was someone on the front desk. Eugene approached.

‘Excuse me, friend,’ said Eugene ‘Did anyone come up here today?’

‘Yes, one of the recruits,’ replied the receptionist. ‘He was awful. He refused to wear a swimsuit. He didn’t wait for me to turn the hot tub on. He then bashed it repeatedly until it wouldn’t work anyway.’

‘Do you know anything about his clothes?’ asked Eugene.

‘He threw them on the changing room floor like he owned the place,’ replied the receptionist. ‘I had them moved to a locker. I wanted to tell him, but he had a mad temper tantrum.’

‘I figured as much,’ said Eugene as his eyes comically darted from side to side. ‘What time did he arrive, and what time did he leave?’

‘He arrived around eleven thirty and left just before twelve,’ replied the receptionist.

‘The plot thickens,’ said Eugene as he started bouncing around energetically. ‘I need to ask you for the clothes. They’re evidence in the case I’m investigating.’

‘Oh, absolutely,’ said the receptionist excitedly. ‘I love real crime. I’ll have them bagged for you.’

‘Spot on,’ replied Eugene. ‘I think you’d make a better enforcer than this lot I’m training with.’

‘I’ve always dreamed of being an enforcer, but I was rejected,’ said the receptionist as she led Eugene to the locker where she had placed Arville’s clothes. ‘Apparently my grades weren’t high enough.’

‘I recommend looking into your representative’s social media page,’ said Eugene as he watched the receptionist open the locker. Eugene also noticed the prominently placed large signs that read, ‘All clothes must be kept in lockers’.

The receptionist pulled out Arville’s clothes. While she was doing so, an electric toothbrush fell out of the trouser pocket and onto the floor.

Eugene quickly bent down and picked it up. The electric toothbrush was labelled ‘Eric’.

‘The golden Sape has just laid an egg,’ chuckled Eugene as he watched the receptionist put Arville’s clothes into a bag.

At 6 p.m., the recruits assembled in the courtyard.

‘What have we found out so far?’ asked the head trainer.

‘I’ve recovered most of the items,’ called out Arville triumphantly as he held up a bag. ‘The culprit dumped them in the main tip. Collection day is tomorrow. If it wasn’t for me, they’d all be lost forever.’

‘Good work, Arville,’ commented the head trainer. ‘What items remain unaccounted for?’

‘My clothes!’ said Arville, angrily. ‘I bet the sicko is keeping them as a souvenir.’

‘I’ve recovered your clothes,’ called out Eugene. ‘They were in a locker at the spa.’

‘That’s what I call a confession!’ shouted Arville. ‘That’s as clear-cut as you can get.’

‘I also have this,’ said Eugene as he held up the electric toothbrush.

‘It was found with your clothes,’ said the receptionist as she walked onto the courtyard.

‘He stole my clothes and the toothbrush,’ shouted Arville. ‘It’s obviously him.’

‘This morning was disappointing, but this afternoon fills me with intrigue,’ said the head trainer. ‘You may go for dinner. We have gourmet jackfruit burgers tonight.’

‘Would it be okay if I had my electric toothbrush back?’ asked recruit Eric. ‘I have sensitive gums.’

‘Sorry, I need to keep it as evidence for now,’ replied the head trainer.

‘You should buy a new one,’ shouted Arville. ‘I wouldn’t trust what that pervert has been doing with it.’

Eugene pointed at his eyes and then to Arville while nodding his head.

After dinner, Eugene approached the head trainer.

‘May I inspect the recovered items?’ asked Eugene.

‘Certainly, but I’ll need to supervise you,’ said the head trainer. ‘After all, it appears some consider you a prime suspect.’

Eugene followed the head trainer back to his office.

The head trainer laid out all the items on the floor.

‘The bag is a bin liner,’ said Eugene as he looked up at the head trainer. ‘These bin liners are used in the canteen.’

‘I can’t help; I’m only here to observe you,’ said the head trainer as he nodded his head.

Eugene scanned the items taken from the bin liner carefully with his eyes; nothing in particular stood out to him. Then he looked at the electric toothbrush. He gently rubbed the bristles with his finger and then looked at the label. Eugene looked at the head trainer and smiled broadly.

After breakfast, the next morning, the recruits assembled in the courtyard. The head trainer and two other trainers were in the courtyard with a box.

‘We had an interesting and, I believe, productive first day of this task,’ said the head trainer as he paced proudly in front of the recruits. ‘Today, I’m giving all of you a chance to solve this case right now. If you want to, you can write the name of the culprit on a piece of paper, sign it, and then insert it into this box. If you do so, the task is over for you. No changing your mind if we encounter new evidence. However, if you have the right culprit now, you will receive more points than someone who has the right culprit tomorrow or the day after. If you’re confident, take the risk. If not, continue investigating.’

‘It’s so damn obvious!’ shouted Arville. ‘Give me a pen and paper. I’m cashing in for a quick win.’

A trainer handed Arville a pen and paper. Arville scribbled down a name, signed it, and then he strutted towards the box. Just before he inserted his paper in the box, he smiled at Eugene.

Several more recruits raised their hands. The trainers began handing out more paper and pens. Eugene watched them carefully. More and more hands were raised. Finally, Eugene raised his hand. Within five minutes, every recruit had placed a piece of paper in the box.

‘Wow!’ exclaimed the head trainer. ‘Looks like this task has ended early.’

‘Let’s see if any of you has discovered the culprit,’ said the head trainer as he put his hand in the box to pull out the pieces of paper. He handed the pieces of paper to the trainer next to him. The trainer confirmed the names.

‘We have a clear difference of opinion,’ said the head trainer. ‘Eleven recruits think it was Arville. Six recruits think it was Eugene. Two recruits think it was Eric. The culprit has identified himself, but he has not been included in the tally.’

The recruits looked a little surprised. Arville was now looking a little less confident.

‘Now it’s time to make your case,’ said the head trainer as he pointed at a recruit. ‘Tell me why you claim Arville is the culprit.’

‘Arville lied about going straight to the hot tub,’ said the recruit confidently. ‘Instead, he went to the canteen. This was witnessed by the canteen worker on duty.’

The canteen worker was standing at the edge of the courtyard waving to the head trainer. The head trainer nodded in acknowledgement.

‘He took a bin liner, just like the one containing the stolen belongings he claimed he found in the skip. According to the canteen worker, he was stuffing the bin liner with a variety of leftover pastries from breakfast.’

‘Guilty as charged!’ shouted Arville. ‘These pastries are fabulous.’

‘He took the bin liner up to his room,’ said the recruit. ‘Then he removed the pastries. He then went on to enter everyone’s room and stole various items. He obviously took a liking to the electric toothbrush, so he kept it on him. He hid the bin liner with the stolen items in his room. He went up to the spa suite to dump his clothes, knowing that they would be moved to a locker. He then ran down to the canteen, claiming to be the victim so no one would suspect him of being the culprit. However, he did not anticipate Eugene removing his towel, revealing he had not been in the hot tub at all. Hence, exposing his lies.’

‘What a load of unsubstantiated nonsense,’ laughed Arville aloud. ‘You’d make a terrible Head Enforcer.’

‘Would anyone like to add to this?’ asked the head trainer

‘Yes, I have something to say,’ called out a recruit named Carlos. ‘Bertram and I were also in the canteen. We can tell you that Eugene visited the canteen as well.’

‘How many recruits visited the canteen between breakfast and lunch that day?’ the head trainer asked the canteen worker.

‘Only four,’ replied the canteen worker. ‘Arville, Eugene, Bertram, and Carlos.’

‘I would like to add that I was with Carlos the whole time and that the bin liner found had no remnants of the pastries in it,’ added Bertram. ‘Considering how flaky they are, it is highly unlikely the bin liner taken by Arville is the one used to steal the items.’

‘I still have that bin liner in my room,’ chuckled Arville.

Several recruits sighed.

‘The culprit is Eugene,’ called out Carlos confidently. ‘He seemed to know what was going on from the start. He was also best placed to plant the electric toothbrush in Arville’s belongings. After all, he was the one who produced it.’

‘This is getting interesting,’ replied the head trainer. ‘Would anyone else like to add anything?’

‘I’d like to say something, sir,’ said Eugene as he stepped forward.

‘Go ahead,’ said the head trainer.

‘The bin liner in question did not come from the canteen, my friends,’ said Eugene as he started to pace in front of the other recruits. ‘This bin liner came from the storeroom. It never made it to the canteen.’

‘How would you know that, genius?’ called out a recruit in a sarcastic tone.

‘I found this in the storeroom,’ said Eugene as he held up a roll of bin liners. ‘It’s missing the first bin liner. The missing bin liner is the one we have here. Feel the edges. Only one end has a perforated edge. Any bin liner taken from the canteen would have two perforated edges because the new rolls are opened before breakfast.’

‘Ouch, that puts a hole in your thinking,’ remarked the head trainer as he ran his fingers along the sides of the bin liner. ‘Now tell us about your suspect,’ insisted the head trainer as he looked at Eugene, who was still pacing.

‘I am convinced the culprit is Eric,’ said Eugene as he stopped in front of Eric and stared directly at him.

Eric tried as hard as possible to avoid eye contact with Eugene.

‘Let me explain,’ said Eugene as he continued to stare at Eric. ‘Eric was the last to leave the courtyard. He seemed particularly interested in where everyone was going. When he did leave, he left in a different direction to the others. He headed in the direction of the storeroom.’

‘That’s interesting, but it doesn’t prove anything,’ said the head trainer.

‘A little later, I saw Rupert leave someone else’s room,’ said Eugene as he abruptly turned his head to face Rupert. ‘It wasn’t until after dinner that I found out that it was Eric’s room.’

‘Eric said I could borrow his electric toothbrush if I used his spare head,’ replied Rupert. ‘Since it was stolen, I could not find it.’

‘Fascinating stuff, but this doesn’t prove Eric’s guilt in any way,’ said the head trainer, sounding a little disappointed.

‘To the contrary, Eric looks like the victim,’ said Eugene as he turned abruptly to look at Eric.

‘I am the victim,’ said Eric, smiling nervously. ‘Look at how my poor gums have suffered.’

‘Yet somehow, you thought hard bristles would solve your problem,’ said Eugene firmly. ‘You wanted the electric toothbrush back. You were scared we would find something that might incriminate you. You did it in such a way to reaffirm your victimhood.’

‘No, that’s not true,’ replied Eric, sounding flustered. ‘I’m the victim.’

‘Then why is the label on your electric toothbrush not water resistant?’ asked Eugene.

‘Okay!’ replied Eric, sounding incredibly stressed. ‘I only just put the label on. I didn’t know it wasn’t water resistant.’

‘Haha!’ chuckled the head trainer. ‘It looks like you have him on the ropes. However, how do you explain how the toothbrush ended up with Arville?’

‘That’s simple, sir,’ replied Eugene as he sharply turned to face Arville. ‘Eric handed the electric toothbrush to Arville.’

‘That’s absurd!’ cried out Arville. ‘I’m not an accomplice to this crime.’

‘No, you could have prevented the crime, but you chose not to,’ said Eugene as he walked towards Arville. ‘Instead, you preferred to take credit for solving this crime. You took the electric toothbrush off Eric to incriminate yourself. You bumped into him when you were returning to your room with your bin liner full of pastries.’

Arville smiled at Eugene.

‘Later that day, you suspiciously found the other items to draw more attention to yourself,’ continued Eugene. ‘If everyone thinks that you committed the crime, they are not going to suspect Eric. Especially since he looks like the victim.’

‘Fancy talk!’ said Arville. ‘You’re a complete moron.’

‘Then why do you believe Eric is the culprit?’ asked Eugene as he poked Arville in the chest.

The head trainer looked at the signature on the other piece of paper accusing Eric. ‘He’s right,’ said the head trainer. ‘Arville is the other accuser. This is consistent with your line of thinking, Eugene.’

‘That’s because Eugene is right about one thing!’ shouted Arville. ‘I witnessed Eric stealing from the rooms. I was going to report him after I had relaxed in the hot tub. Eric must have noticed me. Therefore, to remove suspicion from himself, he planted his electric toothbrush on my clothes while I was in the hot tub.’

‘Funny, eh,’ said Eugene as he raised both his eyebrows. ‘You didn’t report Eric. You acted like you didn’t know what happened to your clothes.’

‘No one else went up to the spa,’ added the receptionist. ‘You must have had the electric toothbrush on you when you arrived. How could that have happened?’

‘Oh, come on!’ shouted Arville. ‘Are you going to trust this idiot? She clearly has a grudge against me.’

‘I may not like you, sir,’ said the receptionist as she angrily folded her arms. ‘But I do have my integrity.’

‘Okay, that’ll do,’ said the head trainer. ‘Can anyone else account for Eric’s whereabouts yesterday morning?’

All the recruits gently shook their heads.

‘Eric, tell us the truth,’ demanded the head trainer. ‘Are you the culprit?’

‘Yes, sir,’ replied Eric, sounding sheepish. ‘A trainer tapped me on the shoulder and told me I had to steal from the other recruits.’

‘I believe he also told you not to get caught,’ added the head trainer. ‘To be a good enforcer, you need to be able to think like a criminal. A day later you have been caught. You need to do better.’

Eric nodded as he glanced at Arville, who was staring at him.

‘Now tell me, whose account of what happened is more accurate, Arville’s or Eugene’s?’ asked the head trainer.

Eric looked nervously at Arville, who was rubbing his fist, and then he looked at the head trainer and said, ‘Arville’s account is more accurate. I knew he saw me, so I followed him up to the spa suite. I managed to stealthily sneak past the receptionist and enter the changing room where I saw Arville’s clothes. I slipped the electric toothbrush into his trouser pocket.’

‘I win! I win!’ shouted Arville triumphantly.

‘Congratulations, Arville,’ said the head trainer. ‘However, you did not prevent the crime from happening. Therefore, I will not give you the maximum points.’

‘Good effort and work, Eugene,’ said the head trainer as he turned to face Eugene. ‘You deserve credit for catching the culprit. You may not have been correct on all the details, but unlike some, you conducted yourself with true dignity. I am awarding you the same number of points as Arville.’

‘That’s a load of Sape shit!’ shouted Arville. ‘You always favour this retard.’

‘Since we finished this task early, you’ve been given the next three days off,’ shouted the head trainer as he stared angrily at Arville. ‘On Monday, we will begin the final task. You will enter a virtual simulation where you will need to solve a murder case.’

The recruits collected their stolen items and then re-entered the building. The head trainer approached Eugene.

‘Brilliant detective work, Eugene,’ said the head trainer as he patted Eugene on the back. ‘You’re proving to be a tier above the rest.’

‘I’m very eager to break the tie with Arville, sir,’ said Eugene as he raised his left arm up while pointing his index finger in the air.

‘That’s only because of luck and some dirty play,’ remarked the head trainer. ‘I’m sure you picked up on their body language.’

‘Shaking fists and nervous glances,’ replied Eugene. ‘That’s textbook suspicious behaviour.’

The head trainer smiled as he rubbed Eugene’s head.

End of Part Two. Continue this story in Part Three.

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Images were created with the help of Bing Image Creator

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Sapien Loop Short Stories

Sapien Loop short stories explore the adventures of some of the characters from the Sapien Loop series. These stories are intended to reveal more about individual characters and the events that have helped shape them.

Currently, two books from the series have been published on Amazon; see links below:

• Sapien Loop: End of an Era
• Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time

All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.

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