by A. J. Downey
“Sweet,” Narcos declared and I went back to my sightless staring out the gauzy curtains at the city street below. We were less than seven blocks from the courthouse, in a dumpy old Radisson that was about a decade late for any kind of upgrade. The decor still mostly out of the eighties. It was clean, however, and the bed seemed like it would be comfortable enough from when I sat on it.
We were in a suite, so there was a small living room area in addition to the bedroom, giving me a modicum of privacy from the rough cut undercover detectives if I so wished it. They’d apparently volunteered for this detail, although I had to believe that it was more that Tony had asked it of them.
“You’re bugging the shit out of me, princess. Come sit down,” Narcos called out and I turned around again.
“Leave her alone, Narc. She’s having a rough day, or can’t you tell?”
“Eh, Youngblood’s gonna be fine, it ain’t his first rodeo. Now seriously, c’mere and sit down, play a round of cards, try and take your mind off it.”
I sighed and went over. I’d left my high heels by the window and instead padded across the tired but still serviceable carpet in my stocking feet.
“Atta girl,” Narcos said dryly.
“You always such a condescending ass?” I asked and Driller choked on the sip of Coke he’d taken out of the red and silver can.
Narcos laughed, “Usually.”
“Well knock it off, it’s annoying and thoroughly unwelcoming and unattractive.”
“Well shit, howdy! Listen to you!”
“She’s right, man. Reel it in,” Driller said.
I sighed and closed my eyes and apologized, “Sorry.”
“Nah, you do you, sweetheart,” Driller said.
“What’re you playing, anyways?”
“Game called Spite and Malice. It’s a two player or I’d deal you in.”
“How does it work?” I asked.
The guys exchanged a look and Narcos gave a nod and said, “Okay, alright, so each player gets a stack of twenty cards each, these are your play off piles. Then you get five cards to your hand and…” he explained while I tried valiantly to follow along, my nerves slowly blackening and curling, frying to a crisp with every tick of the second hand on the clock above us.
By the time he was done explaining the rules of the game and the two of them showed me by example how to play, Driller’s phone decided to vibrate nearly off the table. The sudden sound had me nearly jumping out of my skin and he picked it up, looking over the screen.
“Food, go grab it,” he ordered and Narcos got up, saluting Driller and going to the room’s door. We sat in silence for half a heartbeat and Driller said, “You’re gonna have to forgive my partner. He’s been under for so long that every time he comes back up for air like this, it’s like he doesn’t know how to come back from it all the way…”
“Isn’t that a sign that he should probably quit?” I asked.
Driller nodded slowly and said, “Yeah. Yeah it probably is, but if you knew how much time and effort we had wrapped up in this investigation, you probably wouldn’t be so quick to judge on that.”
“Probably not,” I agreed and pushed to my feet. I wandered back over to the window and looked down to the street, watching the roofs of cars pass by, eyeing the crowns of people’s heads, all of them oblivious that anyone was up here watching.
What I wouldn’t give to be anonymous like any one of them again…
“Should stop worrying, it’s not going to help them catch the bad guy any faster,” he said and scraped up the cards, stacking the two decks they were using together in a big pile and setting it aside.
We stared at each other for what must have been several minutes, neither speaking, neither breaking our gaze first. The door opened and Narcos ducked in with a couple of takeout bags with three Styrofoam takeout clamshells in them each.
“A lot of food for three people,” I observed and the two of them exchanged a look and started laughing.
“You’ve never seen us eat,” Narcos said and set them down at the table, “Now will you please get away from that window. You’re making me jumpy.”
“Why?”
“Undercover narcotics, remember?”
I frowned, “I don’t follow.”
“Snipers,” Driller explained, untying the top of one bag. I turned back to the window startled and backed away from it.
“Doubt we have to worry about ‘em in your case,” Narcos said, “But better safe than sorry.”
I frowned and still restless, went back to the table to eat. The men went through the bags and found some of the thick paper plates and packs of napkins and cutlery in the bottom of one. They dished up and I waited, seeing as I wasn’t really hungry in the first place.
When they began to eat, I helped myself, Narcos stabbing his fork in the direction of one of the containers, “Grab a crab bomb while they’re still warm.”
“Do it,” Driller said around a mouthful of greens, “Reflash makes some of the best damn crab cakes in Maryland.”
I took one as instructed and tried it. It really was the best I’d ever tasted, and weirdly, just like that, it was as if peace had been made… I didn’t understand it, and I honestly didn’t want to. I just wanted the time to pass by and for Tony to call and for everything to be okay, again… except I knew it wouldn’t. Things would never, ever, really be totally okay again but it had the potential to come close.
“You know it ain’t his first rodeo, right?” Driller asked.
“What? Oh, I know,” I said when I’d fully caught up to what he’d said.
“Ain’t gonna be his last, either, chick. Best get used to this feeling.”
I nodded and sucked it up, because I had to. They were right, this wouldn’t be the last time I was stuck somewhere worrying about him, but this would be the worst time. Why would this be the worst? Because I was the reason he was out there and in some kind of danger. That’s what made this somehow worse.
“You try hooking in to the hotel Wi-Fi?” Driller asked and I shook my head.
“It’s pretty good.”
“I figured you wouldn’t want me using electronics.”
“Not to post to social media and shit where you are, but you got Netflix or some shit on your phone, right?” Narcos said.
“Yes, I mean I have it on my tablet.”
“Good deal, fire it up, see if there’s something the three of us can deal with. It’ll help kill time.”
“Okay.”
So that’s what we ended up doing, huddling around the table watching episodes of Penny Dreadful on my too-small screen in order to while away the hours, until my constant worry wouldn’t have me sit still anymore, at which point I locked myself into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. I blow dried my hair when I got out, which always took forever, but gave me something to at least do.
When I stepped out, the guys laughed at something on the screen and I said, “I’m going to try and go to bed.”
“Probably a good idea,” Driller agreed. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Yeah,” Narcos nodded, looking me over in one of Tony’s shirts. I don’t know why I’d selected it over any of my actual pajamas, but I had, and now I felt a bit exposed.
“Night,” Driller grunted.
“Want the tablet back?” Narcos asked.
“No, you guys keep watching.”
“Thanks.”
“Welcome,” and with that I went and crawled into the king sized bed to stare at the ceiling wondering, why hadn’t he called?
Chapter 25
Tony
“Our guy is in the lobby,” came over the earpiece jammed in my ear.
“Don’t move until he does, prosecutor’s office wants this air tight,” I said into the cuff of my blazer’s sleeve. I was lead on this, for better or worse, and I was nervous.
“You’re doing fine,” Yvonne said, patting my arm in the enclosed space of the b
ack of the SUV. We were pulling up to the hotel and she pulled her floppy hat down a little further over her eyes. Her dark wig spilling down her back and the big sunglasses obscuring things even more. With the trench coat she had on, she looked like Carmen San Diego but still, I had to agree with Driller. A little make up to make her pale skin tone a little more olive and she was just about the spitting image of my Chrissy.
“Okay, we’re pulling up to the curb now, be ready,” I ordered.
Our driver, another detective from the 12th, pulled up smoothly in the roundabout drive to the hotel. The media was already pressing in at all sides with uniforms holding them back, and I popped open the back door of the SUV in front of the twin sliding glass doors leading into the hotel.
I got out first, back to the camera flashes, a pair of aviator sunglasses on my face to deal with the bright lights. Yvonne slid out awkwardly behind me, her arm in a sling, and I helped her down. She huddled convincingly, shying away from the shouting reporters and I heard her say, “God, how does she put up with it?” just loud enough for me to hear.
“I don’t know,” I answered, and hustled her into the atrium, past the first set of doors; a couple of uniforms closing ranks behind us, to keep the reporters at bay.
We marched purposefully through the next set of doors and that’s basically when the shit hit the fan. When violence erupts, everyone thinks that things slow down, and that it feels like you have all the time in the world to respond, but that’s bullshit. We heard the shout, saw him come in from our left and he was just suddenly there, gun pointed at Yvonne.
My gun was out, there was a metric ton of shouting, and just about every plain clothes officer and Yvonne had one pointed at the dude. Sure enough, he’d made a play, and I was looking at the same guy we’d chased in the hospital, gray hoodie under black leather jacket, he stared at us wild eyed, way too much white showing around them, gun shaking like a leaf in his hands, as Yvonne and I moved as a practiced unit turning, him falling right into play, so that his back was to the front desk and ours was at the base of the broad staircase.
We had ballistic vests on, the reporters crowding the entryway outside the glass doors didn’t. We hadn’t thought the guy would make a play right there in the lobby, in front of so many witnesses, but then again, we hadn’t gambled on how frustrated and angry Chrissy’s eluding him up to this point had made him.
Where did he get the fucking piece!?
That was my first thought, even though my mouth was following procedure screaming “ICPD! Down! Put the weapon down!”
“She’s gotta die!” he screamed back, “You don’t understand!”
At which point Yvonne whipped the hat and the wig off of her head and the guy froze.
“No, no, no, no, NO!” he screamed, spittle flying from his lips, wild eyes gone even wilder. “You can’t take this from me!”
Now the world slowed, he raised his gun with purpose and a surge of adrenaline hit me, “No!” I screamed but it was drowned out by a cacophony of gunfire, my own weapon belching smoke and flame as I pulled the trigger to save not just myself, but Yvonne next to me, but I didn’t want to do it. I don’t think any of us did, still… talk about clear and present danger.
Dude’s chest erupted in arcs of rich, dark, red and he lifted clean off his feet, up and arched back before he slammed to the white tiled floor. I went forward automatically, Yvonne moving with me on his opposite side.
I kicked the Ruger out and away from his body, and it went skittering across the tile where it was stopped precisely under another officer’s boot. I didn’t pay attention much beyond knowing the weapon was secure, dropping to my knee beside the guy. I checked for a pulse and he still had it.
“Why, you dumb motherfucker?” I demanded angrily and he turned his head, choking, Yvonne screaming to call a bus, another voice, indistinguishable from the ringing in my ears, but clear enough to know it was on the radio, barking orders.
The fucker on the ground bleeding out said, “Made you do it… nothing left anyways.”
Shit.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Yvonne muttered and sat back on her heels.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
“Get a bus! Somebody get that bus right now!”
“Start, CPR,” she stripped off the coat and pressed it to his chest and we started giving CPR the best we could, but it was futile. Angel was one of the responding paramedics and took over, shining a light in the guy’s eyes while his partner set up the new machine that did compressions for you.
“No good,” Angel said. “Get him up on the gurney anyways. As far as those reporters know this guy still has a heartbeat and he doesn’t need to die on the evening news.”
They hustled smoothly, just as if the guy was still breathing, not even missing a beat and I grunted, “Thanks. He has a family, somewhere…” remembering what the first letter had said.
“No problem, Youngblood.”
They hustled him out and took off with him, the siren wailing off into the distance. I’d stood up and stared at all that blood on the floor.
Wasn’t the first dead body I’d seen. Just the first one I’d made that way.
“Investigators are on the way,” Yvonne said and I nodded.
“Anyone wants their PBA reps, that’s their right, but this was a clean shoot,” I called. Still, I knew I was calling mine. It was time for all of us to cover our asses.
It was going to be a long night full of paperwork for all of us.
***
I rapped out the code knock on the door to the room that held my woman for real something like way too many hours later. She only had about three hours left before her court appearance and I wasn’t about to let her go that alone. I could maybe catch an hour or so with her before we had to get up and ready for the day… still, after Narcos and Driller let me in, and I caught sight of her through the open bedroom door, my body had other ideas about things than sleeping.
“You alright?” Driller asked.
“Yeah,” I muttered, eyes glued to her shape beneath the covers just about twelve feet away or so.
Narcos huffed a sardonic laugh, “I did the same thing after I killed my first guy.”
That tore my gaze away from her, and I looked up at him frowning, “What?” I demanded.
“Fucked. Found the nearest bitch willing to put out and kept her under me for a day or two.”
“Charming,” Driller said smiling, “but also, a natural reaction. Just do us a favor and close the door.”
I scowled at the both of them but Narcos stopped me with a hand on my shoulder, “Neither of us are making light of the fact you just had to kill a man, brother. I’m just a dick and don’t know how to put things… All I’m saying is doing something life-affirming afterwards is a normal thing.”
He gave me a little shake back and forth and pushed me toward Chrissy. Driller said, “She doesn’t know, we didn’t tell her. We didn’t want her to worry any more than she was, but don’t get it twisted, bro… she’s worried. Didn’t think you’d call but still, figured the not knowing was better than telling her you’d traded bullets with the perp.
I shook my head, “He didn’t get a shot off, but there was no question. Investigation is still ongoing but we all know better. It’ll be declared good. There’s plenty of video footage of it. Media was right outside rolling on the whole thing.”
“Good, that’s good,” Driller nodded.
“Yeah, at least they were good for something,” Narcos agreed darkly.
“You sure you’re okay, brother?” Driller asked and I nodded.
“I’ll be okay, man. Already have my appointment booked with the department shrink.”
“Yeah, the modified desk duty is a bitch,” Narcos complained. “Leaves you too much time to think about it.”
I nodded. That was honestly my biggest fear at this point, that I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it.
“Thanks guys,” I said one more time and the han
d fell away from my shoulder. I went into the room with Chrissy and closed the door behind me. I stood at the foot of the bed for a long time, just looking at her.
She was on her back, left arm lying across her stomach, on the blankets which had been pulled to her chest. Her long dark hair fanned out behind her head along the pillow. Her face was turned towards the window and the bluish light from the cityscape outside fell across her features turning her already angelic features, slack with sleep, into something downright ethereal.
She was beautiful in that way that made my chest squeeze down tight, and after the ugly that’d gone down at the Hyatt, her beauty damn near brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t deny that I was in love with her. Not to myself, and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to figure out a way to cement her as a permanent piece of my life.
I carefully and quietly stripped down and pulled the blankets away from her, climbing into the bed. She startled awake, drawing a deep and even breath as her dark eyes flew open and she turned, adjusting her body so that I could more easily access her, she reached for me and I nudged her knees apart with my own. She parted her thighs willingly and drew me down to her.
“I was so worried,” she breathed and kissed me and I didn’t want to speak. I didn’t want to tell her what I’d done, just yet.
She wrapped her legs around my hips and my cock nestled against her bare sex. She moaned into my mouth, a light breathy sound and writhed slightly, sliding her body up and down against mine.
We kissed and dry humped like a couple of teenagers in the back seat of the car for who knows how long. All I can say is it was an amazing feeling, and there wasn’t anything dry about her when I went to slip inside of her.
I broke the kiss and made sure she was looking at me when I did it, telling her exactly how I felt, telling her, “I love you,” as I sank into her slowly.