On the streets of... #10

So that was my first shift as a detective. Minus the boring parts and the toilet brakes, but I assumed nobody wants to hear about those. If you do, please seek help.

I love being a cop. Well, most of the time. And not even a guy like Gregory Rourke was enough to change that, however hard he might have tried. No night shifts or the ever-looming promise of violent death could change it. I lived for this job, it was pretty much all I ever wanted to do.

That being said, in the last hour I must have checked my watch on approximately 200 times, then exactly at four o'clock I jumped to my feet, said bye to Rourke and not listening to what he had to say (for which I knew I will pay tomorrow), I stormed out. This was probably the first time ever in my career that I left in time.

Which, of course, meant that I got stuck in the peak traffic and spent an hour on the bus. Might as well just stay in the precinct, really. Or I could have walked: even that would have been faster. Hell, crawling on my stomach would have been. Living in a metropolis is so much fun…

First, I stopped at Insomnia. Insomnia was the name of the non-stop coffee shop and deli in our building. We spent a significant amount of our time there, not to mention money. I mean, a paramedic and two cops? We cooked on holidays, at best. Otherwise, we lived on pizza or on whatever the coffee shop had on its menu. Laila used to work there during med school, that's how we got the apartment upstairs: one of the regulars moved to the countryside and because she liked Laila, she offered the place for her. A move she probably lived to regret, seeing our rather loose approach to keeping the place intact.

Anyway, I stopped to grab a coffee and ran into Carlos. He was sitting in one of the big, soft armchairs in our corner with a big cup of coffee in front of him on the table.

The Insomnia had two parts: one with booths, plastic floor, laminated menus and ketchup bottles on the tables, giving that classic diner vibe. The other half was as different as it gets, there was even a single step of a stair between them to set them apart. This higher part looked like a cosy living room with a hardwood floor, comfortable and old furniture, dark red walls and warm, yellow lights. College kids liked to sit here, reading a book or debating politics while wearing scarves even in warm weather. They loved chai latte and avocado toast and gave me dirty looks every time I showed up in uniform.

Ordered a cappuccino and went to sit with Carlos. No college kids were around this time.

'Sup, man?' he asked, looking up. He was reading a case file, a juicy one at that. Sure, he got the good stuff and I can run after fireball-trowing idiots. Just my luck.

'Long day,' I sighed, as I sank into an armchair. 'And I won the night shift lottery,' I added, then told him about the vampire girl.

‘Dude, that’s heavy,’ Carlos said. ‘I mean, the whole thing is just wrong on so many levels…’

‘Yeah, and naturally, I’m in the thick of it,’ I complained.

'Sucks to be you,' he grinned.

'Yeah, fuck you, dude. How is your drug case?'

'We've found a runner who wants out. He would tell everything he knows but he wants protection, so Carvelli went to abuse the DA for a deal.'

'How is he, by the way? Carvelli, I mean.'

Carlos shrugged.

'He is okay, I guess. Not a big talker. He seems to be a pretty decent cop, though. Yours? Seemed a bit of an asshole at the morning briefing.'

‘He is… Rough around the edges,’ I said slowly. ‘Pretty rude and condescending, too. But looks like he knows the trade. I don’t know, we’ll see.’

Carlos nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

'How big of a catch is this?' I asked tapping the case file on the table.

'Hard to tell. Might be just a minor player with a little stock to sell, might be someone big. Our man said his boss is a big dog, but he might have been exaggerating so he’d get that deal he wants. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be on a date now?'

'Soon. What are you gonna do tonight?'

'Ordering a pizza, watching the new Mandalorian without you bombarding us with details and trivia nobody cares about and then we are gonna do it in every room.'

'Lovely,' I nodded. 'Remind me to close my door before I leave…'

'Doesn't matter, I'm a sorcerer,' he said with a grin.

'You are also an asshole,' I murmured.

'No doubt. Anyway, you realise that your girl is the daughter of our new boss, right?' he was all serious now. His face became weird without the usual grin.

'Yeah, it might have come up…' I said, not too enthusiastically.

'Then I have to ask: have you lost your goddamn mind? There is no way, no chance, not in a million years that this will end well for you. Not only she is way out of your league, but you will fuck this up, you know you will, and when you do, her daddy will make you pay.'

It's important to support and encourage your friends in times of need.

'I hear you, I really do,' I said. 'But listen to my side here. She is really, really hot.'

'That she is,' Carlos nodded. 'God Almighty, that she is. Still, though, it would be really smart for you not to get involved.'

Remember what I told you about being smart, right? That shit is just not for me.