by A. E. Via
Nothing Special IV
Published By: Via Star Wings Books
Copyright © May 2015
Edited By: Ally Editorial Services
Cover Art By: Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art
Formatting & Illustrations By: Fancy Pants Formatting
http://www.fancypantsformatting.com
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
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Chapter One
Michael’s wanted to roll his eyes and sigh so bad that his temples throbbed as the sweat ran down his flushed skin. So instead of disrespecting his father he stabbed at his eggs before shoving fork full into his mouth.
“You listening to me son. Don’t think I don’t see you fuming over there. Do you forget I’m a detective too?”
How the hell can I forget? You remind me every moment you can.
“You ain’t been a detective but for five damn minutes so don’t start acting like you so high and mighty just because you work for a man named God.”
Michael’s sat up straighter in the plastic booth at the mention of one of his Lieutenants. No one talked bad about them to him, he wouldn’t allow it. Lieutenant Godfrey – known as God – and his partner Lieutenant Day, ran the best narcotics task force in Atlanta, Georgia. Working for them had been a goal of his since he’d graduated college. Michaels’ came from a long line of law enforcement. When he didn’t join the police academy straight out of high school like most of the Michaels’ in his family, instead opting to go to college first, everyone thought he was rebelling against their tradition. His master’s in psychology helped him make detective ten years faster than his father and grandfather had. He was only thirty-two and was a detective on the most decorated and highly regarded task force on the East Coast. Although, he’d gotten his Lieutenant’s attention by charging head first into one of their battles and putting his life on the line to save one of God’s men, he still had aced that detective’s exam because of his education, and his father hated that.
“Besides. Why the hell is he hiring on so many gay detectives. Everyone’s calling them the fairy squad.” His dad scoffed.
“Oh yeah. Who’s calling us that?” Michaels’ snapped, dropping his fork on his plate.
“A few of the guys.”
“Well tell them to say it to our face.”
Michaels’ dad smirked at him from behind his coffee mug and he immediately felt like an ass. He let his father bait him again. There was no fucking way that anyone was saying that about his team and meaning it. They were the ones that made the big arrest. They were the ones cleaning up the streets, they were the ones that were called when someone needed back up. They’d saved many asses on many forces across the district. God and Day were owed so many favors that they couldn’t keep up.
“Dad, I gotta’ go. I have a strategy meeting at nine.”
“What are you working on?”
Michaels ran his hand through his short dirty blonde hair. He hadn’t put any gel in it today so it just fell where it wanted. He hated when his dad asked for details. He’d been on God and Day’s task force for three years now, and his dad still asked him questions he wasn’t permitted to answer. “You know I can’t tell you that, dad.”
His father’s face turned an unsettling shade of rose. He was the Major of Zone One, certainly not used to being told he wasn’t privy to certain information. But regardless. Michaels had orders, and under no circumstance was he to disclose information on their cases to anyone that was granted specific permission by his Lieutenants. Departments had leaks, informants, undercover agents that weren’t afraid to use classified information to advance their own agenda or their own cases.
Michaels’ father’s zone had the best homicide department and God would have Michaels’ head on a stake if he found out he was sharing information with another zone. One wrong word or one slip of pertinent information could result in one of their cases going cold because word had leaked out.
“You can’t! What the hell you mean you can’t?” His father yanked his wallet out and slammed a couple twenties on the table. “You ever heard of professional courtesy, Austin. Not to mention I’m your goddamn father. But I guess that doesn’t matter.” The young waitress quickly picked up the half empty plates and scurried off not making eye contact since his father’s voice had risen to an embarrassing level.
“Dad. A lot of the information regarding our cases are classified. Very few people know who we’re targeting and when we’ll strike. God and Day do that on purpose. To eliminate our suspects getting tipped off.” Michaels’ voice was calm, hopping his dad would follow suit.
“Do you think I’d tip off your goddamn suspect? Austin. Jacob. Michaels. You are on thin ice, boy.” His father growled, standing to leave. His starch black uniform with gold enhancements was pressed to perfection and hung majestically on his fit frame. Michaels was built just like all the men in their family. Duty fit. Good height, just enough to tower over the average man. Broad, defined back and thick arms. Thighs that were muscular but lean enough to chase and catch a suspect.
Michaels hurried to catch up to his distinguished father. When he did, his dad looked him up and down, shaking his head, his lip turned up in disgust. “Four years at Duke, graduated in the top ten percent of your class. You had some of the highest scores in your police academy class.” His father stopped in front of his shiny black Cadillac and faced him head on. “Not to mention you’re a goddamn Michaels, and look at yourself.”
Michaels didn’t dare drop his head, he wasn’t ashamed. He was in his jeans, had a black and white graphics t-shirt showing under his open Atlanta Braves jersey. His backwards ball cap said that he was most likely on his way to watch a game rather than to an elite task force team meeting. “Dad, I’m going out in the field later. I’m undercover. Have you forgot what you used to look like when you were the most respected homicide detective before you got stuck behind a desk and forced to kiss bureaucratic ass?”
His father’s glare was enough to make him back off. “How dare you insult me or my position?”
Michaels looked his father in the eye. “I apologize, sir. That was disrespectful and completely out of line.”
“You’re damn right it was.”
Michaels sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just don’t know what the hell I have to do to make you proud.”
His dad looked at him with sad eyes before placing his strong hands on both of his shoulders, turning him to face him. “I am proud of you, son. Everyday. I just -” A soft sigh escaped his father before he continued. “I just don’t want you limiting yourself. You have the potential to lead, son. It’s in your blood. Following God and Day is not going to put you in that position. You’re the leader, not the follower.”
“I can make sergeant, lieutenant and any other rank as long as I continue to be a good cop. Working with them, I’m able to finally sho
w what I’m capable of. So many departments have stuck up lieutenants that are so afraid of rules and regulations that they’re barely able to let their detectives make the arrest. I just want to be able to show what I can do and God and Day let me do that.”
“Like dropkicking a man through a window.” He saw the amusing glint in his father’s eye.
“Yeah. Like that.” Michaels laughed. The story of their last bust when he’d taking down three men, one of them he’d kicked through a window had circulated pretty fast. His father laughed with him, patting his cheek.
“I damn proud of you, son. I’m just being a father I guess.”
“I’m good dad. Really. I’m happy with what I do. The guys are great, I trust them and they trust me. We do good work together.”
“You do, son. I can’t dispute that. I didn’t mean to insult you either.”
“I know.”
His father turned to get in his car. “I’ll see you at the house tomorrow night, right?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, for poker. I told you last week, son. I’m having a few of the guys over. Umm. Aaron will be there too. He’s joined us now.”
Great. “I remember now. Sure I’ll be there.” Don’t have anything else to fucking do on a Friday night.
“Good to hear.” His father started his car and let the window down. “Be safe out there today. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Michaels nodded and tapped the hood of the car as his father eased his luxury vehicle from the curb.
Chapter Two
Michaels was leaning back in one of the large chairs in their meeting room. Although their large department was inside the Zone 3 precinct they almost felt like a separate entity. Michaels looked out the large glass partitions at the hustle and bustle of the precinct’s bullpen while God and Day’s Sergeant went over their plan to take down a marijuana and small arms dealer named The Kid and his entire organization.
“This is the last time this bastard slips through the cracks.” Syn said. His voice was calm as usual but the intensity of his dark eyes said that he was fired up just like the rest of them. “We’ve had Jones and Marrietty on the inside for six months, it’s time. The next deal will go down on Monday at the old shoe factory in Mechanicsville. God wants to do a simulated run through on Sunday.”
“Why?” Detective Green asked.
Michaels smirked. Detective Green and his partner/boyfriend Detective Ruxsberg were both at their desk looking through some of the surveillance photos while simultaneously listening to Syn. They’re the enforcers. They carried out God and Day’s orders on the streets. Bad asses in their own right. But they were big ass trouble-makers too. Always in the hot seat because they were one hundred percent, shoot-first-questions-later-balls-of-steel-batshit-crazy. They worked together as one psycho team because no one else wanted to get caught up in their ridiculousness. Including Michaels.
“Why? Because I said so.” God said entering the room with his partner close behind him. His voice was deep enough to make a man’s chest rumble. When he yelled it was like thunder rolling through you. He was their commander and his rules were to be followed or else the consequences were dire. He came and stood beside Syn. His 6 foot 4 height, stern jaw, and piercing green eyes wasn’t what made him scary. It was the power he harnessed behind his gold Lieutenant badge. Twenty brilliant, strong men at his ready at all times. A mayor and captain that backed him with anything he needed. And the best part of God was his partner that made them both unstoppable.
Day stood next to him. “We want this to go smoothly, Green. No mistakes, no room for error. The DEA has went after The Kid before, remember, and the bastard got off on a technicality, because someone fucked up in collecting the evidence. Well now we’ve been assigned to take them down, and we don’t fuck up.”
Several ‘fuck yeahs’ and fist-bumping was made before the large group settled down enough for Day to continue. “Now. Marietty and Jones are still inside. We got a message that some guns are going to be delivered to the drop off tomorrow but the drugs won’t be in until Monday. We want it all, not just the drugs.”
God nodded his head agreeing with Day. “So we’re gonna send out the enforcers to play it up around town that we’re interested in the new activity going on on the East Side so hopefully The Kid feels comfortable that God isn’t on his tail and doesn’t feel the need to switch up anything at the last minute.” With those words God and Day left leaving their Sergeant to handle the details.
Syn quickly issued the orders for surveillance and the other men got busy with their specialty. They had demolitions experts, weapons, tactical, intelligence, IT and more. All the men on their team the best in their field. Michaels had accreditations in marksmanship so he was a sniper but God often had him doing surveillance and field work with the enforcers since his degree was in psychology he had a knack for getting guys to talk.
“Michaels you’ll be with Green and Ruxs today. Shake a few guys down for information on what’s been coming in on the East side. Make sure it’s enough that word gets back to The Kid that God’s not sniffing around him.”
“You got it.” Michaels went to his desk and unlocked his bottom drawer. He pulled out his two 9mm weapons and tucked them in the small of his back, switching out the 22. He gathered a few more weapons and locked his station back up.
“Alright lets go pretty boy, we ain’t got all day.” Ruxs joked. Michaels flicked him off, as he jogged to catch up to Green. He didn’t know why he was being called pretty when Ruxs looked like a goddamn model. His look was always trendy. Some type of rock band t-shirt and denim jeans. His pale green eyes and dark stubble on his face, made an erotic combination. Green had a sexy look as well with that neatly trimmed goatee and dangerous tribal art tattoos up his neck. It was no wonder those guys were all over each other. They made one hell of a hot couple.
On their way past the break room, Michaels peered in and saw God standing extremely close to Day whispering something to him while Day fixed one of his numerous cups of coffee he’d have throughout the day. They were the epitome of professional but the love they had for each other couldn’t always be concealed. It was no secret that several of the guys on their team was gay, including their Sergeant. Syn was partnered with Furi, a mechanic that had his own garage. He also did most of their work on their police vehicles. He was definitely one of the coolest guys Michaels had ever met. He sometimes found himself wondering if he’d find someone that could handle what he did for a living. Could stomach the dangerous raids, the long nights, the grueling hours.
When day welcomed Michaels onto the task force, he’d promised them that he could do the job, he could handle it and he meant it. But damn if he wasn’t lonely. Obviously since Ruxs and Green were a couple, his Lieutenants didn’t mind them pairing up with each other, as long as they did their jobs, but there was only a couple other guys in their unit that was gay and single but Michaels wasn’t interested in them. He couldn’t imagine dating someone he worked with every single day. Michaels liked his space too. He tucked all that wishing shit to the back of his mind and focused on his job.
As they walked through the bullpen, he gave a head nod to a few of the other officers. Some looked on them with admiration, and some with disgust. Pfft. Whatever. He hopped in the back seat of Green’s truck settling in for the ride. He wished he hadn’t seen Ruxs brush his hand along Green’s thigh but he had. Damnit. Maybe he’d go to Burks’ this weekend and quench some of the fire that’s been burning in him. Hell if he didn’t hate ‘one-offs’ but a man had needs.
Michaels adjusted his cock before climbing out the backseat. They were at a typical hangout for a few of the players that ran the East Side. Although they weren’t there to get these guys this time, it was only a matter of time before God really did tire of them and want them off his streets.
Michaels ran his hand through his chestnut hair before placing his cap back on. He made sure the safety was off on his weapons before turning to an already grinn
ing Ruxs. Damn these guys lived for this crazy shit. “Alright guys. Try not to get me shot at this time.”
“I make no promises.” Ruxs smirked.
They walked into the dim pool hall several head turning to look at them. There were rows of pool tables in the center of the room and multiple arcade and pinball machines on the outer walls. A long dark bar was almost as long as the building was flush up against the far side. There was a DJ stand right next to the door but no one was up there, the music blasting through the surround sound speakers was coming from a jukebox on the other side of the door.
Green shoved the large contraption to the side and yanked the power cord out of the socket. The music died abruptly gathering everyone else’s attention. The bartender put his hand on hip glairing over at them. A huge sonofabitch that had to be one of the bouncers walked over to them, his bald head glistening in certain areas as it caught the light of the few windows. His fist balled at his side. Just their fucking luck. This guy looked new. The regular bouncers knew who they were.
He advanced faster, his steps more determined. He definitely wasn’t coming to talk to them. He was coming to prove something. The bartender yelled at him to wait but he simply threw up a meaty hand and kept approaching. Michaels pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing this wasn’t going to be pretty.
“That’s a big dude, babe.” Green chuckled.
“Ya’ don’t say.” Ruxs smirked back.
Good lord.
When the man was just a little more than an arm’s length away Ruxs brought his heavy boot up with a quick snap and caught the man dead center in his balls. The sound he made was a mix of a startled grunt and a harpies’ cry. It was sad is what it was. He clamped his knees together and dropped down to the floor eyes watering from the pain. Ruxs definitely hit him hard enough that he wasn’t getting up for the duration they’d be there.
“Excuse us, will ya’.” Green chuckled. Pushing the guy over with barely a flick of his wrist as they walked by. They were almost to the middle of the room, when Green yelled out. “Alright, God wants to know what the fuck is going on on the East -”