by Xyla Turner
Kat sighed and said, “Vic, when I heard that a cop was shot and in critical condition over the radio, my heart immediately sank. I prayed to God it wasn’t you and then two more cops came in and I prayed even harder. I was a wreck, my stomach was in knots and when I saw you, I completely forgot how mad I was at you for calling me ignorant. Okay?” She raised an eyebrow and said, “So, am I okay with that? No. It bothers me but Vic, I know why you put on that uniform every day and I swear to God, I’m glad that I know why you do and that you do because it has restored my faith in humanity. You’ve done that for me. That everybody in the world is not these evil people out to get you. I’m glad there is someone looking out for me and the DaShawn’s of the world. I’m happy about that. So, I know you got to do what you got to do. So, if you go to SWAT, I’ll still be happy and proud of you, because I know there’ll be a guy on there that cares about the humans of the world. Who genuinely wants to help people and won’t fold when others around him are not the same way. Will my heart drop sometimes? Yes. Will I worry? Yes. But I’m proud of you, honey. You follow your heart and I trust that. Do you know how happy I was to honestly tell my brother that you are different? Do you know what a difference that made in his life, who has harbored hatred for decades? I’m proud.”
My eyes searched hers as she finished and the emotion that was locked inside of our little bubble ran over because I picked her up and kissed her hard, right there.
Fuck what anyone said.
Whoever was looking.
Through the hoots and whistles.
I kissed my lady long and hard for at least a couple of stops.
It was her and me and that was all that mattered.
I was the proud one.
Chapter Fifteen
Under
KAT
“So, you and Vic are serious?” D’asia asked.
I laughed as we found ourselves in the same class again for another semester but this time as speakers.
“Yeah, it’s serious. We have keys to each other’s apartment and now he’s talking about me moving in with him.” I had confided in her before the class started. “Just talk for now.”
“Would you?” She said in hushed tones.
“Yeah, why not?” I asked.
“Well, y’all are not married and what if things go wrong?” Her eyes were huge.
“Girl, let me tell you what one of my friends told me. That man, Ryan, will defy his own fucking mother and anyone else that acts like they have a problem with you. Believe me, you moving in with him will only solidify what you guys already have. You practically live there now.”
She nodded her head and said, “Shit, you’re right. I guess I was just, I don’t know, worried about the fact that we were still, on paper, very separate.”
“You want to get married?” I asked her.
“Well, yeah but I think he wants to do other things first.”
“Have you talked to him yet about this?” I asked.
“We talked a while ago, but nothing recently.” She noted.
“Well, you should speak to him about this.”
“You’re right.” D’asia admitted.
"Yeah, I'm right." I laughed.
"Be modest, why don't you." D’asia’s head reared back.
We laughed.
"I guess I've also been trying not to rock the boat lately with him. He's had some shit come his way and its blow after blow."
"He's a detective now, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, but this isn’t with his job per se. He found out his mom was messing around with one of the younger police officers. Ryan hit the fucking roof. He said a younger man was one thing, but an officer that was on her ship. He lost it. Told his mom, she needed to get her priorities straight and to transfer his ass, or do something."
"Goddamn," I laughed. "That's some drama-filled bullshit."
"Exactly!" D'asia nodded. "That's not it. His old partner, Sal, might be dirty. He called him in the middle of the night wanting him to bring some money to a pier. Ryan told him that it had better be a practical joke and hung up. Come to find out, he hears from some other guys that he came to work with a bandage wrapped around his entire hand. They have him on administrative leave but he's missing a finger. The only gang that does that sort of shit is Pope's."
"Shit, Pope still around?" I asked.
"Oh yeah and now his sons are helping to run the business. I learned all of this from the kids at UNITE. Get to know 'em and they'll tell you anything."
"What is Ryan going to do?" I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t really know. He’s still trying to figure the best way to go about it.”
Damn.
All of that was some major bullshit and if I were Ryan, I would have been triple pissed that he felt the need to involve him in his shit.
Shaking my head, I said, “Yeah, when he asks me, I’m moving in with Vic. Tell Ryan to get a mover, too.”
D’asia looked at me and we both burst out laughing. I was so glad that I had a friend like her. She would tell me the truth, set you straight and we could laugh.
When the class finally began, I started off by telling my story, then D’asia talked about UNITE and what her law firm started doing to bridge the gap in the judicial system. The room was very diverse, which I was certain would lead to great questions. The crazy part was when both Ryan and Vic showed up in the class, I could have simply died because I told his ass not to come, but I should have known.
Vic was in uniform and Ryan was in slacks, shirts and a jacket with his badge on the waist.
Professor Hillman acknowledged them and then opened up the floor for questions.
“Yeah, my question is, since your unarmed father was killed by the police, how can you stand there and say you support the police?” A young, Hispanic student asked.
“I support the good police. I support what the police stood for, serving and protecting their community. Just like I support my hospital’s mission to save lives. However, there are doctors who don’t adhere to that train of thought and they do not get my support. They should be held accountable just like the police officers. They shouldn’t wear the badge and they shouldn’t be acquitted of murder.”
He seemed settled by my answer and nodded his head.
Professor Hillman spoke, “Next question for our presenters.”
One white woman in the back, raised her hand and said, “So, what’s the purpose of black lives matter? Shouldn’t all lives matter? You said you marched with that organization called Methods and they killed these police officers that you claim to support. That was black lives matter, so what’s the purpose?”
D’asia made a coughing noise and I took a breath before answering.
“You seem to have a lot of questions. I’ll try to answer them individually because they are very different. The purpose of black lives matter is to bring recognition to the fact that they haven’t mattered. So, the simplest way I can explain it is, if we were all in this room learning online with headsets but you don’t have a pair, right? What’s your name?”
“Candice.”
“So, we’re learning and you’re not. So you say, wait, Candace matters but we all continue to learn with our headsets because we’re good and you’re not. So, when we all lift one headset from our ears and say, “We all matter.” You’re looking like I apparently don’t, because while everyone else is learning, you are unable to partake. You can use the same analogy with eating. No one is saying that one life doesn’t matter above another, but the statement, black lives matters, is stating that because it is apparent that they do not matter to the authority figures, then that needs to be addressed. Your other statement about the Methods. They’ve been in existence for over seven years now and if you look at their history, it has been nonviolent. We may go to jail for standing up for our civil liberties, but it is never violent and no harm has ever been committed against the police. So, very much like the statement I just made with the last question. One man deci
ded to shoot police and he happened to be at the Methods movement at the time, does not mean he acted on the Methods behalf. Just like, when one cop abuses his power, doesn’t mean the entire force of police is corrupt. Believe me, it took me awhile to get this. I had some help.”
I smiled at Vic.
“I had a lot of help,” I continued. “So, the violent and unfortunate acts of that one man was not the movement and it shouldn’t be associated with it either. However, the media will spin things the best way to get a reaction. What that man did was senseless and that is not what we stand for. Never has been.”
The woman replied, “So, one way you go about solving the problem is holding up major streets. What does that do?”
“It gets people’s attention.” I answered quickly. “Let me be clear and I don’t mean to be offensive, but let’s bring it home. Let’s just say, your child was shot and killed on his way home, God forbid. You, as a mother, want to know what happened to your child. Your family is going to want to know. Your community wants to know. People are treating it like business as usual. Oh, it looked like he might have been retrieving a gun. The cop is new or your child was a wise ass and didn’t get his registration fast enough. All of these are everyday occurrences that do not end in death. You are given no answers and nothing happens to your child’s killer. What do you do, Candice? This is my thing; we Americans worry about our own and act like we can’t have any empathy for anyone else. If this is happening in the black community, it should still be an American community problem. Just like when things happen in the Hispanic community, or Polish, Jewish, and Anglo-Saxon community. We should all be able to come together and sympathize and support. All this division keeps us divided. This is not a black versus white thing. This is a right versus wrong.”
The questioner nodded her head and sat down with her brows pushed together. There were a few more questions about UNITE and D’asia answered what she could and if there were specific questions, she directed to Ryan, as the founder of the organization.
Despite the room’s belief in black, blue or white lives matters, they all seemed to agree, UNITE was a great program to bridge the gap that was necessary.
Professor Hillman thanked all of us and we stayed after class in case anyone had any more questions.
When we were about to leave, Vic pulled me into him and said, “Proud of you, sweetheart.”
“Thanks.” I nodded my head.
“Y’all want to get some late-night IHOP?” D’asia asked.
Vic looked at me and I shrugged. We both knew what type of late-night hopping we wanted to do but it was few and far between when we all got to just hang out.
“We’re in,” Vic said as we walked to our vehicles.
The parking lot was fairly lit and it was approaching ten o’clock. As we were about to split off, a car came screeching around the corner at massive speeds, which put all of us on alert, as the on-duty Vic pulled me behind him and drew his gun and Ryan pushed D’asia behind as he crouched down to get his ankle backup.
From my angle, all I saw was a long, automatic gun pointed out of the window but towards the ground. Vic and Ryan had their weapons drawn, while they covered us.
A car door opened and something big fell out.
Well, someone.
Then the car screeched away.
The next words I heard was Ryan’s and he yelled, “Sal?”
Vic kept his gun drawn and with his free arm, secured me behind his back. He was searching the area and after a few moments he asked, “Y’all alright?”
“Yeah,” D’asia and I said at the same time.
Before we could even get out a breath after answering him, a man with a hoodie was running full-speed towards us. Vic and Ryan lifted their guns again and then the man slowed down with his hands in the air.
“Shit!” He yelled and stopped in front of Sal.
“Hands up!” Vic yelled, and instructed me, “Kat, get over there with D’asia.”
“Get ‘em up,” Ryan yelled as he pointed for us to hide behind the truck.
The hooded man turned to survey his surroundings, and said, “It’s me.”
He took off the hood and it was Reggie from the hospital.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?” Vic asked with his gun still drawn.
“I’m under,” he whispered. “Heard they were coming for Sal and tried to intervene but it was too fucking late.”
He bent down to check out the guy on the ground. Vic’s index and middle finger touched Sal’s neck and he shook his head.
“Is he alright?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, but this is some fucked up shit.” Reggie kept shaking his head.
“What the fuck is going on?” Ryan put his gun away. “We have to call this shit in. He’s missing another goddamn finger?”
Vic put his gun away and asked, “How under?”
Reggie looked at him and said, “Deep.”
“Shit.” Vic whistled. “Okay, we’ll call it in but you got to get the fuck outta here.”
“Yeah, your women. They can’t…”
“They won’t.” Ryan interjected. “They’re solid.”
Reggie nodded.
“What’s he into?” Ryan asked.
“Lots of shit. Got himself in some trouble and I’ve been trying to keep him out, but he seems to be fucking up even more now that you’re no longer his partner. I think you kept him straight. Real shit. He’s about to expire. Ain’t much I can do.” He nodded to Vic. “Call it in man, I got to go.”
Reggie put his hood back on and jogged off into the dark part of the lot.
“What’s happening?” D’asia whispered.
“Girl, all I know is that Sal’s face was bruised beyond recognition and he’s missing two fingers. Reggie just ran off and Vic is on his police radio, calling it all in.”
Ryan turned the corner and immediately picked D’asia up.
“Sorry, baby.” He pulled her into his arms.
I followed them from around the car and Vic called me over to him as he stepped away from Sal.
“Kat?”
“Kat?” Vic called for the second time.
“Huh,” I finally replied.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” He pulled me into him and said, “I got you.”
It wasn’t clear why my tear ducks started to fill but I nodded my head and tried to bury it in his chest.
Several moments later, the lights and sirens started to fill the parking lot.
“You don’t mention Reggie,” Vic whispered.
“Okay.”
Ryan must have told D’asia the same thing because she was nodding her head and saying ‘okay’ as well.
“He’s under and it needs to remain that way. Long story short, he’s in deep and we don’t know who to trust, so only a few know. Got it.”
“Yeah, I got it, Vic.”
He kissed my forehead and then we started our process of giving our statements, waiting for the ambulance to take Sal. Ryan went with him and we drove D’asia home, so she could be with Zee.
By the time we got home, Vic poured himself a shot and leaned against the kitchen counter.
“You alright?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around his middle.
“Kat, I’m done.” He was shaking his head. “This shit is out of hand. I mean, what the fuck just happened tonight?”
“I’m sorry, Vic.” My head rested on his chest. “This has to be hard.”
“Fuck!”
I could almost hear the heartbreak in his voice at the realities of some of his brothers. It was heartbreaking.
“Let’s go to bed, okay? You can sleep on it but don’t make any rash decisions.”
Pulling away, I grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom. Slowly, I undressed him and then myself and we turned on the game and we both aimlessly watched the screen.
“If I asked you something now,” he interrupted the drowned out commentators. “Would you freak out?”
“What do you mean
?” I pulled my head from his shoulder since we were both sitting against the headboard.
“This is premature, but I need to know.” He asked.
“Vic, don’t make any rash decisions, okay?” I repeated.
“Sweetheart, this isn’t rash. I’ve been thinking about both of these things for a while. I am going to go and sign up for the SWAT team. They’ve tried to recruit me a few times and I've never taken the bait, but it's time to make some changes. But what I want to know is about us?”
“Oh, okay. What's up?” My heart started to beat a bit faster.
Vic pulled me into his lap, so I was straddling him as my knees dug into the bed.
“Need to know where you stand with us?” He asked.
“In regards to what specifically?”
“Our life, journey, future. Us.”
Whew!
For some reason, I knew this was a moment of reckoning. More serious than I thought I'd ever have to be. On some level, I was okay with life and my career. Dating happened once in a blue moon and then came this force to be reckoned with. Vic just simply barged into my life, on my couch and made himself at home and in the process, challenged me on so many levels.
“Well, Mr. Ritter.” I leveled my eyes on him. “This is what I know. I love you and trust you. That's what I know. What I know about you is that you have a plan. One that will put my best interest at heart and take care of us. So, with that being said, what's your plan?”
He laughed and said, “Shit, you know me too well.”
“Well, go on.” I urged him.
Vic nodded and said, “I want you to move in with me. Then I want us to get married and have kids. We can raise them in the city or buy a house in the suburbs. I want to go to SWAT because the action is short and can be far between. Then maybe a desk job and take UNITE to another level in various cities around the globe. Ryan and I have already discussed this. They both go hand-in-hand.”
His eyes remained on mine while those big hands roamed the sides of my body and settled on my ass.
The man was serious. I knew he had a plan but I didn't know that was his plan.