AllFreeNovel
Share Us
4
Ari
“Hey Sloane,” I answer my buzzing phone the following night.
“Hey Ari, just checking on you. I was tied up last night and couldn’t come out to work with you,” he says sounding distraught.
“That’s not like you, man. You’re slipping,” I begin, breaking Sloane’s balls since he’s always busting mine. “Where were you, Sloane? You call me with all of this bitching about me not letting you know when I work; then, last night when I call you because I’m about to work I don’t get an answer, so who’s the one that’s slacking now?” I ask, playfully sarcastic.
“Sorry, I couldn’t be out there last night. I was working up an arrest on the Northside, and it was sticky with an officer-involved shooting.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s the officer?”
“Me,” he said gravely.
“Damn, what happened?”
“This guy was doing an armed robbery of a gas station I just happened to be at. When I walked into the store, I saw him waving his gun around in the back. I took out my gun and shot him because he was threatening to kill everyone in the place because they didn’t have a lot of money. He wouldn’t follow commands, and—”
“Did he survive?” I almost hated to ask.
“Yes, but someone videoed the shooting and now it’s all on social media. The higher-ups had me at headquarters all day working on the paperwork, so it could be an open and closed situation when it comes to my reasoning for doing what I did.” He sounds nervous.
“Sorry, you have to go through that. None of us want to be involved in a shooting, but it comes with the territory,” I reassure him.
“You know me better than anyone else, Yan. With us both being fresh out of college and around the same age when we came into the agency a few years ago, we have grown together. Through our talks, I have an appreciation for the plight of blacks, Latinos and other races when it comes to police shootings. What they are saying about me is wrong. I don’t deserve to be talked about as if I’m an animal, just because I was trying to save lives,” he says, his voice weakening.
“Well, Sloane, I haven’t even checked social media, but I do know you will guard any man with your last breath. At the same time, you will put a bullet hole in any man who’s doing a criminal activity and threatening the lives of others. So, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about it. Your name will be cleared in the end,” I say to console him. This whole situation is messed up, so I don’t know what else to say.
“It’s easy to say not to worry about it, but man, oh, man, seeing my name go through the mud is hard.”
“Well, I’ll speak up for you, Sloane.”
“Will you do that for me, Yan?”
“Of course, I will,” I tell him. “And, you’re not missing much on the trafficking case. I think they’re hiding out because they’ve been tipped off. I haven’t seen any of those girls I was suspicious of out since I asked them some questions about who they work for,” I update Sloan.
“I was worried about you last night when I couldn’t make it.”
Sloane is such a protector. Even with all that he has going on with the shooting and social media slander, he’s still worried about me.
“It’s okay. I didn’t get into much because it started raining and no one else came by. Just thy guy from the other night, but it started raining before we could get to the next level.”
“Good, because I worry about you. I don’t know what I would do if something happens to you,” he says, his voice cracking once again.
“I know you worry, but I have been telling you since I started that just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t handle the men I deal with. I always think of a way to entrap them before I slap the cuffs on them. If I can’t do that, there’s a bullet for anyone who gets out of line,” I explain.
“I’m sure you have your ways of handling it without bullets,” Sloane says, his voice lowering an octave.
“Yeah, and they fall for them every time,” I brag, laughing.
He laughs along with me. His laughter is a beautiful sound after the misery he’s just shared with me.
“I’m at home and staying in tonight, big guy, so you don’t have to worry about me. I’m going to watch Netflix until I fall asleep. Tomorrow, I’ll see if I can locate those girls by talking to some of the new ones out there. They were tight-lipped at first, but after being out there a month, I think I’m gaining some of their trust.”
“You’re good at what you do, Ari.”
“Thanks, Sloane.”
