The Protectors: Vigilante Justice (Vigilante Cops Book 1)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Officer James, would you tell us what first drew your attention to young Mr. Terrance while on patrol which caused you to stop him?”

  “Officer Bradwick and I have arrested Jimmy Terrance before on drug charges in nearly the exact same spot. He was coming out of a crack house we have had under scrutiny since his last arrest. Knowing he was underage and exiting a known drug haven we stopped him before he drove away,” Ellie recited with credible delivery. “He did aid us in gaining entry to the house by revealing the password at our request. He also told Officer Bradwick and me how many people he had seen in the house.”

  “They singled out our son,” Janice Terrance argued. “These officers had no right to harass Jimmy out of the blue, simply because he happened to be in a certain part of Oakland. The judge-”

  “Ms. Terrance… please,” Donaldson interrupted, gesturing for her patience. He opened the inner conference room door behind the Terrances. “Dr. Morrison, would you come in please?”

  Julie Morrison, dressed in a dark tweed two piece business dress ensemble walked in. She sat down next to Ellie.

  “Dr. Morrison, have you seen this young man before?” Donaldson indicated Terrance.

  “Yes. I was riding along on patrol with Officers’ Bradwick and James when they arrested him. He had in his possession a knapsack of illegal drugs.”

  “And who might you be?” Councilman Stennis asked caustically.

  “I’m Dr. Julie Morrison, a psychologist working for Alameda County.”

  “So you’re an employee of the police department,” Victor Terrance pointed out with knowing expression.

  “Not at all, Sir. I provide unbiased psychological assessments of officers before they are returned to patrol, following an officer involved shooting, or other traumatic incident in the line of duty. I was observing Officer Bradwick in the field following a shooting incident where he and Officer James rescued three kidnapped children.”

  The sour looks across the table confirmed Dr. Morrison’s input was not good news. With the possibility of having everything thrown out from Jimmy Terrance’s apprehension and beyond turning into a lost cause, Victor and Janice exchanged questioning looks. They then turned to Councilman Stennis. He nodded at them dejectedly.

  “What can we do?” Victor Terrance asked DA Gravitts after the DA thanked Dr. Morrison and escorted her out of the conference room.

  “We know your two sons have been working together distributing drugs to teenagers at Holy Names High School,” Gravitts answered. “I want them to make detailed confessions, including the names of kids they sold to as well as corroborating the guilt of these dealers who supplied them the drugs. They are not innocents here. Now that our cards are on the table, I don’t want to hear anymore nonsense about harassment. The video should have been enough. Instead of expressing outrage toward your respective sons after viewing it, you three adults concentrated on looking for a technical way to have the arrest thrown out. I could demand they be tried as adults for felony drug dealing on a school grounds.”

  “And the alternative?” Janice Terrance requested with subdued manner.

  “A thousand hours of community service and biweekly drug testing, including random testing at our whim, and on demand, until they reach twenty-one years of age, all at your expense,” DA Gravitts stated, holding up a dismissive hand when shock registered on the lawyers’ side of the conference table. “This is not up for debate. The only reason I’m offering any break is because of Jimmy’s help on scene which Officer James attested to. The records will be expunged if they live up to their end of the agreement. Shall I have the agreements brought in for you to sign… or not?”

  “Can we have a day to think this over?” Janice Terrance asked.

  “No.”

  “Very well then,” Victor Terrance agreed. “Bring the papers in.”

  “Afterwards, my secretary will record your sons’ confessions and the facts I’ve asked for,” Gravitts said. “Councilman Stennis, please accompany me and Officers Bradwick, James, and Donaldson into my office for a moment.”

  Stennis shook his head negatively at Victor Terrance before following Gravitts and the other police officers. Gravitts gave his secretary directions outside his inner office before leading the way behind closed doors. He faced Stennis without fanfare, holding up the memory disc from Ellie’s camera.

  “I think you know what this is, Councilman. If you ever pull a stunt like this again you better make sure you’re not on camera, because I will prosecute you. It is not blackmail, Sir, when an Oakland police officer records official dealings with a public servant. Do I make myself clear, Councilman?”

  Stennis nodded without speaking.

  “I believe you have papers to sign with your son then.” Gravitts waited until the furious Stennis left the office before turning to the police officers. “Unlike the parents in the other room, I believe you three may have saved those boys’ lives. I won’t pretend to know how deep the Councilman’s animosity toward you three will be after this, but I would suggest no further contact unless absolutely necessary. I’m glad you brought this to me, Ben.”

  “Thanks for your help, Sir.” Donaldson shook Gravitts’ hand. “C’mon you two gold bricks, the street awaits.”

  Gravitts laughed and shook hands with Connor and Ellie on their way out of his office.

  “That went well for a change,” Ellie commented.

  “Remember what the DA said,” Donaldson cautioned. “Stennis will keep his head down for the time being. Don’t kid yourselves. Between him and the Terrance kid’s parents you have three enemies not to be taken lightly.”

  “We’ll be careful,” Connor said as he and Ellie split off from Donaldson at the outer door. “Thanks for your help. That was a nice touch dropping the Doc on them.”

  “Yeah, that was sweet,” Donaldson agreed. “Stay sharp.”

  “Okay, so what do you think Stennis will do to us now,” Ellie asked Connor as Donaldson walked away from them. “Did you see his face? Good Lord, I thought his eyeballs were going to pop right out of his skull in the DA’s office.”

  “He has his son to worry about for the time being,” Connor replied. “We have to-”

  Connor’s cell phone vibrated in his belt. He took it out and read the text message. “We have a domestic on Ransom.”

  “The Camachos?”

  “That would be my guess. I’m not much on deciphering what holds people together in a marriage, but why the hell does Jorge stay with her? Their two girls are grown and out of the house, thank God.”

  “No time to worry about that. We need to get over there before Fanny kills him,” Ellie said, hurrying in front of Connor. “Maybe we should call Luis and Jason.”

  “Good idea.” Connor speed dialed their cohorts. “Hey, Luis, can you… oh, you did… okay… yeah, we’ll take the back up whenever you get free of the accident. Thanks.” Connor hung up. “They have a hit and run on High Street, El. The ambulance just arrived for the little girl who got hit. She’s going to be okay but they’re gathering info from the witnesses on scene so they can get a lead on the driver who hit her. They already heard about the domestic call. They’ll back us up as soon as possible.”

  Ellie nodded without turning. She nearly ran into Dr. Morrison anyway as Julie came out of the office door two steps in front of Ellie.

  “Sorry Jules, we have to run,” Ellie said without stopping.

  “Thanks for giving us a hand in the meeting.” Connor gave Morrison a small wave as he followed Ellie.

  Morrison, her high heels clicking as she caught up to Connor, tried to keep pace without bumping into others in the corridor. “Connor! Can I go along? I heard on my receiver it’s a domestic call. I’m-”

  Connor took Morrison’s arm, helping her as they sped through the building to the elevator. Inside the elevator, Ellie pushed the floor button and smiled at Morrison.

  “You little bugger, you.” Ellie chuckled, reaching over to tug Julie’s jacket. “Look at
you… listenin’ in on the police band. Connor will tell you. This is not a call you want to be on, Jules.”

  “Ellie’s right,” Connor confirmed as they reached street level and the door opened.

  “I can help. I’m writing a paper on domestic abuse,” Julie pleaded, starting to lose ground. “You owe me.”

  This brought the two partners to an abrupt halt with their squad car only twenty feet away. Ellie sighed as she looked for guidance from Connor but got none. Ellie waved Julie along.

  “C’mon, Jules, but remember what happened when you didn’t follow our directions last time.”

  Morrison blushed. “I don’t appreciate that getting out all over the department.”

  Connor opened the back squad car door for her. “We told no one, Julie.”

  “You forget who else was there, Jules.” Ellie slid into the driver’s seat, looking back at Julie while Connor jogged around to the passenger side after closing Julie’s door. “We had Arvizo and Ladd with us. Those two would carry tales on their own mothers. I only mention it because Fanny Camacho is dangerous. She’s over six feet tall and weighs about two-fifty.”

  “We get a call to break the Camachos up about every couple weeks,” Connor added as Ellie started the squad car and drove smoothly out of the parking garage. “By the time we get there, Jorge Camacho is usually fighting a losing battle for his life. Fanny has three inches and a hundred pounds on him. Ellie schooled her once so she usually calms down when we get on scene.”

  “Schooled her?”

  Ellie laughed. “Fanny thought she’d take a shot at me. I knocked her ass out. I broke one of my knuckles but it was worth it.”

  “That was a beautiful right cross, swung from the heels. We had separated them. I was talking to Jorge when Fanny threw a wild left at Ellie’s head. Ellie ducked and nailed her with a right flush on the temple. Fanny went down like a pole-axed deer.”

  “Jorge immediately runs over, all upset, grabbing onto Fanny and calling her name,” Ellie said disgustedly.

  “Jorge never fights back,” Connor explained. “He wards her off until Fanny gets too tired to continue. We only get called when the fight ends up outside, and the neighbors begin to worry about Jorge’s survival.”

  “It sounds horrible,” Dr. Morrison remarked. “Why does he stay with her?”

  “He’s nuts,” Ellie stated. “Sometimes, it is what it is, Jules.”

  “Ahhhh… love.” Connor sighed, leaning back as Ellie laughed.

  “I take it you two are not very sympathetic to this couple’s arrangement. Can I get out of the car?”

  “We’ll have to let you know when we get there. Ellie takes lead on this. I’m backup.”

  Chapter 6

  Domestic Dispute

  They rode in silence for a time. As they neared Ransom Avenue, Ellie added a danger they could not rule out.

  “Connor thinks one of these days we’ll get to their house and there’ll be a gun battle going on. You can’t trust them not to turn the guns on us so we’re real careful around them. Okay, here we go.”

  Ellie turned left on Ransom Avenue, coming to a screeching halt as she passed a telephone pole on the left. The largest woman Julie had ever seen, wearing a huge pink tank top and shorts had a small in comparison man pinned to the pole. Sweat poured down the woman’s pale face. Her lank brown hair lay plastered wetly around her cheeks. The man clung gamely to the woman’s wrists, his knees bent slightly under the pressure. Ransom Avenue was deserted as if the inhabitants were in hiding. Julie cringed back against the seat, all thought of leaving the squad car’s safety fleeing in the face of Fanny Camacho’s rage. Ellie left the driver’s seat with stun gun and mace in hand, while Connor jogged around behind the combatants to the right.

  “Let him go, Fanny!” Ellie yelled at the woman from three feet away. “I will zap your ass if you don’t let Jorge go right now! I’ll put so much damn juice through your butt you’ll smell like barbeque for a week!”

  Fanny’s arms lost some of their rigidity. She glanced at Ellie. Jorge took advantage of the reprieve, twisting down to his right and out of Fanny’s grasp. Connor pulled the gasping man over behind him.

  “What’s the problem, Fanny?” Ellie watched Fanny’s heaving form closely as she bent over at the waist, hands on knees, her pendulous breasts nearly tearing free of the tank top.

  “I…I put on my new outfit… and…and the bastard told me I looked like… one of the pink elephants in ‘Dumbo’.”

  A tortured laugh broke free of Ellie’s clenched lips as she struggled to hold it in. Fanny’s head jerked up. With a low growl she charged Ellie. Ellie let off an arc into the charging woman but had to let go of the trigger or get zapped herself. Fanny bore her down to the yard. Fanny’s body jerked reflexively from the shock while all breath exploded out from Ellie’s mouth in a huge grunting bark. Connor ran over and pulled the massive woman off Ellie - but not before Julie watched in horror as Ellie’s hands and feet twitched helplessly under Fanny, nearly her whole body obscured from sight. Julie got out and ran over to Ellie as Connor released Fanny into Jorge’s arms. Julie grabbed Ellie’s hand in both hers.

  “Ellie! Ellie… are you okay?”

  Ellie gasped for air in weak ragged breaths, her arms and legs moving spasmodically. Jason Ladd and Luis Arvizo ran up onto the lawn, having just arrived on scene, hands on their weapon grips. Arvizo slipped the cell-phone he had been holding after arriving into his jacket.

  “Holy shit, Connor! What happened to Ellie?” Jason asked. “All we saw was Fanny spread-eagled over her. Should I call for an ambulance?”

  “No…” Ellie gasped, fumbling around with her left hand for the stun gun she’d dropped.

  “Lie still, El,” Connor told his partner. He was reluctant to leave Fanny. The big woman was on her hands and knees, already shaking off the stun gun charge, while Jorge had his hand comfortingly on her back.

  “The… hell… I… will,” Ellie snarled, tearing free of Julie’s hands and pin-wheeling toward Fanny. Her left hand shot forward before Connor could react. Ellie triggered an extended crackling burst into Fanny’s exposed arm, dropping the woman to her stomach. The burst launched a startled Jorge into a sprawling heap, his concerned contact with his wife proving inadvertently painful when Ellie zapped her.

  Connor caught Ellie’s wrist in time to prevent a third burst.

  “Let me go, Connor! I’m going to do her until smoke comes out her damn ears!”

  Arvizo cuffed the still twitching Fanny, struggling with every fiber of his being not to start howling in laughter. Jason Ladd turned away, small hissing grunts of restrained amusement escaping every few seconds as he helped Jorge Camacho into a seated position. Connor easily lifted Ellie to her feet. He slapped the dirt off his partner’s uniform with his right hand while warily holding onto Ellie’s stun gun armed left wrist.

  “Are…are you okay, Ellie?” Julie asked hesitantly as she helped Connor dust Ellie off. “I thought she killed you for a moment there.”

  “I’m okay.” Ellie allowed Connor to take the stun gun. “Another second under Fanny and I would have looked like the coyote after the roadrunner drops a boulder on him.”

  “Sorry, El, I didn’t see it coming.”

  “Me either! It was the damn pink elephant remark.” Ellie shook her head. “She does look like a damn pink elephant.”

  “Don’t arrest her… please,” Jorge called out. “She’ll kill me when she gets out.”

  “Fanny’s going into lockup while I make up my mind whether to charge her for assault,” Ellie told him. “Pack your things and get the hell out of there, you moron.”

  “I…I can’t. I love her,” Jorge said, looking down at his feet.

  “Let’s wrap this up before I throw another shot into both of them,” Ellie said through clenched teeth. “Want us to put Fanny in with you, Jules, so you can ask her a few questions?”

  “No!” Julie yelped.

  Ellie smiled for the fir
st time. “Good choice.”

  “Jas, can you take Fanny in for us?” Connor asked.

  “Sure, but you’ll have to help get her into the car.”

  “Let’s ease her up into a seated position.” Connor supported Fanny’s shoulders while Ladd and Arvizo rolled her over. Connor propped the woman up until she started to moan. “C’mon, Fanny, wake up. We need to get you onto your feet.”

  “Wha…what happened?” Fanny asked groggily, her head swaying.

  “You attacked me!” Ellie shouted, heading over with determination. “Get your fat ass up before I get Mr. Sparky out to help!”

  “Don’t…” Fanny pleaded, twisting with Connor’s help so she could get on her knees and then to her feet. She looked down at Ellie’s face in fear. “Don’t let her zap me again!”

  “You’re riding with Officers Ladd and Arvizo,” Connor told her as he corralled Jorge Camacho with one arm.

  “I’m sorry, honey… I didn’t mean to-”

  “Oh shut up!” Ellie ordered Jorge. “Not another word out of you! Get the hell in your house!”

  The startled Jorge did as he was told. Jason and Luis helped Fanny into the backseat of their squad car.

  “Damn Connor,” Ellie complained, tentatively prodding her chest area gingerly, “I think she cracked one of my ribs.”

  “We better get you an x-ray, El. Can you guys read Fanny her rights and put her in holding until we get back from the hospital?”

  “Sure,” Luis agreed. “Take care, Ellie.”

  “I hope it’s not cracked, Ellie,” Jason added with a wave. “Don’t worry. We won’t say a word about what happened.”

  “Mum’s the word,” Luis called out, driving away after Jason was inside the car.

  “Shit, it’ll be all over the East Bay before we get back from the hospital,” Ellie muttered, glaring at the squad car speeding away.

  “I think I’m done on the ride alongs,” Julie said.