Case Files of the Magic Police, Fiction Sketch

Part I [Preliminary Material For A ‘Magic Is Among Us’ Plot]

Part II

So, magic is real. We all do it. We just call it luck, or a gift, or diligence.

As for my job? People suck.

Yes, yes. Good people exist. I know that, theoretically. It’s just that law enforcement tends to see people at their lowest point. Either perpetrators, or victims, or victims of a shitty situation that turned them into perpetrators.

It can mess with your head.

Okay, let me try again.

As for my job? People are people. Crime is crime. The intent is the same, only the methods change. Whether the illegal activity is magic or mundane, you ask the same question, Qui bono? Who benefits?

So far, so standard. Then, is the person using magic to achieve these nefarious ends? If they are, is it a conscious effort? You don’t need magic police in the first two instances. We only come in when criminals are knowingly grabbing hold of the levers of the universe and given them a tug.

It is said that crimes are committed for love or money. Well, 90% of magic crimes are committed for gain. Magic takes time and planning and steady application to task. Think bank robbery or art heist. Not compatible with spontaneous crimes of passion.

Magic is not fireballs and levitation and making things appear. That’s stage magic, and damn hard to do well. But I digress.

Magic is persuasion. Magic crime is the dice coming up sixes just a little too often. Magic crime is the guard being just that little bit inattentive on a particular night. Magic crime is the thumb on the scale of life.

What the difference between actually magic and people being persuasive dirtbags? It’s not always easy to tell.

~~~ curtain ~~~