EMPIRE: Imperial Police
Page 30
“You won’t. Right now I have no inspectors. I’ve already told the guy who was vacationing that I’d be accepting his early retirement come this Monday, and while it took a bit of strong-arming, he finally agreed. Peabody was head of investigations under the previous regime, but not only did I oust him from taking over the Sintaran headquarters, he’s been busted down to sergeant. And I don’t mean just sergeant; I mean sergeant investigator. That came down from Consul Saaret, and Peabody wasn’t at all happy about it, but he admits there’s some trust to be earned back, there.”
“Wait,” Ashton said. “Did you poach any of the guys here at ICPD?”
“Other than you? No. They have a tight-knit group, and they’re needed here, in any case. I’m hoping, given what we’re trying to put together, the new IPD Headquarters and the ICPD will work together, instead of at cross purposes, from now on. And that’s one reason why I want you as my top detective.”
“Oh shit,” Ashton whispered. “Lee, I’m not ready for that.”
“That’s not what we’ve seen,” Peterson declared. “Nor what Kurt Walder saw, either.”
“I’m not asking you to head up the Investigations division, son,” Carter said. “I’m asking you to be my top, most trusted, detective. Right now, you’ll be reporting directly to me until we find someone who can step into that leadership role in Investigations. We’re rebuilding, basically from the ground up.”
“What, um,” Ashton broke off.
“What-what?” Carter asked, confused.
“He’s wondering about Cally Ames,” Peterson told her husband.
“Oh, that. It won’t be a problem,” Carter said. “She and I have talked, and she’s decided to stay here, so she can still work with you on cross-department things, but there isn’t any risk of someone getting accused of nepotism. Especially if the two of you get married.”
“Oh!” Ashton exclaimed, flushing despite himself. “We, uh, we haven’t even…”
“Then what are you waiting for, silly?” Peterson asked with a huge grin. She elbowed him lightly. “That woman is not only a great catch, she’s nuts about you.”
“I, er…” Ashton broke off, and a grinning Carter nudged his wife in turn.
“Hush, Maia,” he said. “The boy – the man has his own timetable on that. Let him do it his way.”
“I’m just sayin’,” Peterson said with a shrug.
“Yes, well, that’s none of our business at this moment,” Carter noted. “We’re still talking police business, here, not advising Nick on his personal life. And to that end, Nick, do you need to think about my offer?”
Ashton, at a loss for words, shot a questioning glance at Peterson.
“Nope, it ain’t a problem, kiddo,” she said, interpreting that look. “You came to us to stay safe, and we kept you safe, knowing you might go back when the time came – assuming it ever did. I’d say the time is here, and we’re proud one of ours is going to help rebuild the division and the department, and do it right.”
Ashton nodded.
“You said you talked to Cally,” Ashton said then. “Did she have a problem…?”
“She’s so proud of you she could about bust,” Carter said with a smile. “She seemed to think you should do it.”
“Then…pending my talking to her myself…I think you have a tentative yes, Chief Carter,” Ashton declared.
“That’s what I hoped I’d hear,” Carter said, relaxing.
They were back at the Laughing Cat, in the little corner booth, screened off from the rest of the backmost back room.
“So did you accept Chief Carter’s offer?” Cally asked, after the waiter departed with their order.
“I said I wanted to talk to you about it, but yes, I tentatively accepted,” Nick told her.
“Why did you even need to talk to me?”
“Well, we’re kind of a couple now,” he pointed out. “And I figured, if I’m gonna do something that big, I needed to at least verify with you personally that you’re okay with it.”
“I’m okay with it. In fact, I’m so proud of you I can hardly stand it.”
“Aw.”
They were silent for a few moments, sipping their drinks.
“Listen, Cally…” Nick began.
“Yes, Nick?”
“You know…I really missed you while I was on Catalonia.”
“I missed you, too.”
“And if I go back to IPD, and you stay here, we won’t see each other every day anymore.”
“True. But no, Nick, I’m not transferring with you. My place is here, at least for now.”
“I know. That wasn’t what I was gonna ask.”
“What, then?”
“I was going to ask you to marry me. I think that would be a really good thing all around. Besides, I…”
His voice cracked, and he broke off. Cally smiled.
“Finish it,” she said softly.
“…I love you, Cally.”
“I love you, too, Nick Ashton. And yes, I’ll marry you.”
She got up and moved around the table to his side, where she leaned into him and kissed him.
He slipped his arms around her and kissed back.
They never even noticed when George, with a huge smile on his face, brought their food to the table.
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Author Notes
I want to thank the usual suspects, plus some, here. There's beta readers Evelyn Zinn and Dr. James K. Woosley; they always help me catch any wupsies in the course of the writing. Rich has his own readers as well; I don't know you all like he does, but believe me, I appreciate you all.
Additional thanks go to: Robert R. Murphy MD, Dave Martin, Susan Powers, Pat Viebey, Karen Calvert, Jon Glenn, Jolie Lachance, Bob Buelow, Joe McKeel, Richard D. Cartwright, Dan Hollifield, Scott Kuntzelman, and the other denizens of Lady Osborn's Pub on Facebook, for helping me come up with henchman and other bad-guy names!
A very special thanks goes to Richard Weyand, who trusts me with his characters and his universe. I've tried hard to do well by him on that. I love both of his series, so this is fun for me, too.
Stephanie Osborn
April 2020
Huntsville, AL