notevendarkyet | mind_the_muse: May topics: Vigilante

A self-appointed doer of justice

*locked from anyone who'd get her into trouble over this, thank you*

Where is the boundary, really?

I am an appointed - sworn - officer of the law. In the city of Chicago. And I do my job. Well.

But that's no longer really enough. Not against the things that we at Special Investigations get to face.

Trolls. Vampires. Werewolves. There aren't regulations on how to deal with a loup-garou. (Hell. If it wasn't for Dresden, I don't know how many of us would have even survived trying to deal with that one.) Cleaning up the stuff after Fallen angels have been through the city can't be sorted into the available sections on the report forms. (Trust me, we're trying.) The government of the city, or the state even, hasn't heard of the Accords that seem to be sometimes regulating the behavior of these creatures. (Hah, that's not even law. More like a tenuous contract. Not too-well observed either.)

But there are dangers here that the citizens I'm responsible for need to be protected from. So I'm taking the spirit of my oath and doing my bloody best to uphold it. But the letter...

Don't get me wrong. I know the laws. I know the regulations. I know the backdoors in the loopholes of the stuff that pertains to my work. And they aren't enough.

They aren't enough to make sure the big bad things - and I mean, big, bad things things that go bump - don't go bump into the kid down the street. Or the sweet old lady next door. Or the cute guy you ride on the bus with.

If I follow the rules, strictly, the sweet old lady may end up with her head torn off. The cute guy's body may suddenly end up possessed by a body snatcher, say, and the kid's flesh might be chewed up by a ghoul.

And I've gotta stop that. I've gotta help, I can't stand in the sidelines, know that the fight is happening and keep clear of it. I can't. 'cause imperfect as the police are, people trust us. I've done what needed to be done - and got demoted as a result. And I'd do it again.

But see where the catch is? I'm breaking the rules. At times, well, the laws. No, those we're fighting most definitely don't regard Chicago laws as binding - from what I see, they don't regard human laws as binding! - but I am bound by them. And I take it upon myself to execute the spirit of them.

Every time I have to not go by the rules, it... costs me. One little chip in my belief that I'm doing the right thing, the right way. One little sliver from the wall between a cop and a vigilante. And it's gotten pretty thin already.

Mind you, the people I work with, at SI? They totally get it. None of them objects, hell, they support me. They chip in alongside me to make sure that when the spooky comes in, despite the fact that the department budget won't cover it, we can still make Dresden's time worth it. They get what we're fighting here. They're as good at fiddling with reports as they need to be. They don't judge me for what I must do. They will cover for me, as much as that's possible.

But I am joining the fight. Apart from my partner, apart from my department. Apart from the explicit responsibilities I've been given. Oh, I know it must be done. I know it's still an obligation, I feel that.

But when do I step from one - an officer of the law - into the other - self-appointed doer of justice?

I haven't a clue. And I don't like that.

I just like the alternative - do nothing - much less.

So on I go. And help me, God.

Muse: Karrin Murphy
Fandom: The Dresden Files (novels)
Word count: 641