Different Opinions (Part 2)

Wearing her white sleeveless blouse tucked in black wide pants, Olivia walked towards Megan. Her heels were making sounds on the concrete pathway catching the attention of the people around her.

But not Megan. Not because she didn't hear her coming but because she knew that it was her coming.

Olivia sat on the bench beside Megan and placed the coffee and the paper bag with cinnamon rolls in between them.

Megan looked at the coffee and paper bag. She returned the cap of the bottle and said, "Thanks. Bonneville's case was already closed so you won't get anything,"

Olivia, who was already used to Megan's cold demeanor, chuckled. "I know. I am not here for that,"

Megan wiped her face with a white towel and looked at Olivia. She raised a brow as if waiting for her to continue. "You know Franklin Amudsen, right?" Olivia said, making Megan frown. "The one who raped his neighbor's daughter and then killed her parents,"

Megan looked away and leaned back. She rested both her elbows on the backrest of the bench and watched the people who were passing by. "Yeah. He made a contract with a bail bondsman. They bailed him out but he didn't make an appearance at the arraignment. Now bounty hunters and police were searching for him. He is on the most wanted list," She said. Then she turned her head to look at Olivia. She added, "That's all the information I could give because I am not the one handling the case,"

Olivia was disappointed because she was hoping that Megan was the one who was handling that case. "Oh, that's alright," She said.

"If I hear anything related to him, I'll let you know," Megan said, which instantly uplifted Olivia's mood. "Great, thanks!" Olivia said and smiled at her.

Megan smiled faintly then continued watching the people around them. She glanced in Olivia's direction and asked, "Is that your next assignment?"

"Actually, no," Olivia instantly replied.

Megan looked at her with a deep frown on her face. She knew that Olivia was a very inquisitive person and would not be surprised if one day, she would be in trouble because of her inquisitiveness. And right now, she has a feeling that Olivia is about to chase trouble, "Then what are you up to?" Megan asked suspiciously.

Olivia turned her body so that she was facing Megan. She pulled a folder from her bag and handed it to Megan. Her eyes showed eagerness as she asked, "You are the one who handled these cases, right?"

Megan narrowed her eyes at Olivia suspiciously before she opened the folder and slowly scanned what was written in it. Once done, she slowly looked up at Olivia and closed the folder. "Yeah. And they were all solved and closed," She said as she handed back the folder to Olivia.

Olivia nodded her head. "Yeah, but did you notice any similarities between these cases?" She asked.

Megan continued staring at Olivia suspiciously. If Olivia noticed the suspicion in Megan's eyes, she ignored it. "Their victims were women and children," Megan said indifferently.

Olivia's eyes widened and her lips broke into a huge smile. She was elated that she and Megan are in the same line of thought. Or so she assumed. Olivia nodded her head and said, "You are right! But I noticed something else," Olivia opened the folder again and pointed at the papers inside. "They all went missing for a couple of months and then, later on, found dead somewhere, and looks like they were tortured," She said but Megan only glanced at what she was pointing.

Megan crossed her arms in her chest and said, "Straight to the point, Liv,"

"I think there is a vigilante out there who is targeting criminals who committed crimes against women and children," Olivia said straightforwardly.

Megan stared at her for a moment and raised a brow. "You think," She repeated Olivia's first words.

Olivia nodded her head and closed the folder and put it back inside her bag. "Yeah, I just needed concrete evidence to prove that my theory is right but I have a strong feeling that I am right about this,"

Megan looked at Olivia as if she had gone mad and said, "You are going to find that vigilante,"

"Yes," Olivia replied without second thoughts.

"Then what are you going to do once you find him or her?" Megan asked. Though she looked indifferent, Olivia knew that Megan was curious. She has been working with her for years now to get to know her.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal. "Of course, I am going to expose them. I am going to write about them on our website or maybe, I will make my own website that will only talk about vigilantes,"

Megan's body relaxed and then tilted her head to face the sky and closed her eyes. She said, "If you found him or her, introduce me to him or her,"

Olivia frowned. "Why?" She asked with curiosity.

"Because I want to commend him or her and maybe, join forces with them," Megan said without opening her eyes.

Olivia was dumbfounded. "You are not against vigilantes?" She asked with perplexity. She couldn't believe that she would hear those words from Megan, an official law enforcer.

Megan opened her eyes and slowly turned her head to look at her. "No," She said.

Olivia became even more curious. "Why? You are a police officer. Shouldn't you be on the side of the law? Those vigilantes were working against crime in a way that was against the law," Olivia tried to keep her voice low so that no one would hear what she was saying. They were in a public place and if people accidentally heard them talking about vigilantes, they might misinterpret it and the last thing she needs is to be the cause of the spread of fake news.

Though fake news is the last thing she would want to create.

Megan finally straightened her body and faced her. Her face turned stern as if she was about to teach a kid a lesson. "Liv, you know that the law and our justice system are flawed. A rich man could commit murder but could still manage to find a way to get out of it. A poor man could steal a piece of candy but could be sentenced to life imprisonment. You know why?"

Olivia didn't answer because she already knew why. So, Megan took her silence as a message for her to continue. "Because of the system," Megan said.

"But there are laws that were supposed to establish standards, maintain order, and protect liberties and rights. Those criminals also have the right to defend themselves. To equal justice. But those vigilantes are taking their rights away from them," Olivia retorted back.

But Megan's retort made her speechless. "And what about the rights of their victims?" Megan asked.

Instead of answering Megan's question, Olivia voiced her idea. "Meg, vigilantism is not as good as the movies make it seem. It is dangerous. They are putting the law in their hands. They are undertaking the law enforcement…they are undertaking you,"

Megan nodded her head. Then she answered. "It just proves that the system is flawed and inadequate," Megan paused and looked around. When she saw that there were no people close enough to hear them, she continued. "Vigilantism will not exist if the system was doing what it was meant to be doing. Liv, I have apprehended a lot of criminals in the past only for them to be released after a couple of days because the system says they are not guilty even though for me and to the eyes of the public and the evidence says that they were guilty,"

Megan looked at Olivia to check if she was listening. Then she continued, "You don't know how much I wanted to put the law in my hands every time I see them walk away from the station with a smug look on their faces. But I can't because I am in a position that was supposed to enforce the law. The vigilantes may be breaking the law but they were helping the community in an unconventional way,"

Olivia remained silent while Megan took that chance to continue, "Liv, I will not force you to change your idea about vigilantism. I will not stop you if you want to investigate and expose them. And if you find out that they are taking it too far, that they started to accuse innocent people or they had taken the place of the official law enforcement, then you can count me in hunting them down,"

Olivia was relieved to hear that despite their different ideas and opinion, just like Matthew, Megan still got her back. And she could only be thankful for that. "Thanks, Meg," She smiled.

"For now, I only need to find out if my theory is correct. If there really is a vigilante out there. If I found out that I am right, I will dig deeper to check if they had taken it too far or had accused innocent people," She said because she doesn't want Megan to think that she is being irrational and impulsive.

Megan smiled and nodded her head. "Okay," She said, and then she continued watching the people.

"But will you help me?" Olivia asked eagerly. It was the very reason why she called Megan and decided to meet her.

Megan glanced at her and said, "Depends on what kind of help you need from me,"

"The reports about the cases I showed you earlier," Olivia said, hoping that Megan wouldn't find her request to be too much or crossing the line. But she was relieved when she saw her nod her head.

"Okay, I'll send it to you once I get back home," Megan said.