Chapter One

 

“Sergeant Click, we have a problem.”  Police Detective Sergeant Richard Click, better known as Rick Click, stood stiffly in front of the desk and silently watched Assistant Chief of Police, Thomas Benito look at the papers in front of him. “This is serious shit, Sergeant. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Nothing, Chief,” Click said. “Not until I know what the hell you’re talking about, sir.”

“This report,” the beefy man said, looking over his half glasses. “This report was turned in by Lieutenant Miller. He accuses you of insubordination by failing to obey his order. Dammit, Rick, this is not the time to get cute with me. I may be the only friend you have left in this department.” He paused, sighed and took a deep breath. “At least among the supervisors. What happened out there?”

“The emergency services unit was called out to a hostage situation,” Rick said in a monotone.  “I was on a roof overlooking the courtyard from five floors up. Miller chose the spot and it wasn’t good because of a steep angle and a gusty wind from the west. The suspect had a woman and a twelve-year-old boy as hostages, and they were inside one of the lower units. Miller was my spotter. Nearly two hours into the situation, the suspect came out. Miller called the shot and I didn’t take the shot, Tom.”

“Rick, you’ve been the best, and the most consistent marksman we have. Why didn’t you take the shot?”

“Simple,” Rick said. “Dumb-ass Miller called the wrong target. If I had taken the shot he called, I would have shot a twelve-year-old boy. Just for the record, Assistant Chief Benito, if you, the chief of police, or even the mayor, had called that shot, I would have refused to take it.  Does that report happen to mention that I did manage to locate the suspect and take him down? Does it say anything about a successful conclusion to a potentially deadly end for the woman or the boy? I’ll bet it doesn’t mention the fact that Miller was out of control and was jabbering a mile a minute in my earphones. Does it say that Miller was screaming for me to shoot the wrong person? ”

“What do you mean; Lieutenant Miller called the shot wrong?” Benito asked, taking his reading glasses off and laying them on the desk.

“What part of called the wrong shot has you baffled, Chief?” Rick asked. “He called the target as wearing a red shirt. The suspect was wearing a black shirt. Miller ordered me to pop a cap on a kid, Tom. I told him to kiss off, changed the scope’s magnification and panned the courtyard until I found a man nearly a foot taller than the kid with the red shirt. My target had a gun aimed at the woman’s head. Miller is stupid and should be fired,” Rick snapped. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “Oh, I’m not fooling myself, Chief. I know that Miller is the golden boy of the department. I’m well aware that he’s on a fast track directly to the office of chief of police and will be the chief of police just as soon as his uncle John gets some more graft and is ready to step down.  Hell, everybody knows that.” Rick’s face was now red with anger and frustration, “I also know that what I tell you won’t go any further up the line. You’ll sit on my explanation and…”

“Don’t you dare!” Benito yelled, slapping his hand down on the desk with a loud bang while leaping to his feet. “Don’t you dare accuse me of yielding to the brass. I’ve managed to keep your ass out of trouble for nearly ten years, but frankly, Rick, I’m tired of pulling your chestnuts out of the fire.  I don’t know what happened out there, but you screwed up… either in fact or by your attitude, and you can damned well take your medicine. You’ll get three days without pay and a written reprimand. I’ll try to smooth… don’t stand there shaking your head at me, damn you.  This isn’t my idea. It’s directly from the Chief.”

“Well, there you go,” Rick said. “A fair and impartial trial and then hang the guilty bastard, huh?  Not this time, Tom. Not this time.” He laid his gun and badge case on the desk. “You can give these to the Chief and tell him he can shove them up his fat ass.”

“Rick, don’t be stupid,” Benito said. “Take the reprimand. Hunker down until this mess blows over.”

“No,” Rick said. “In the first place, Alvin Miller would make my life miserable. He’ll be a captain in a couple of months, then an assistant chief a few months after that and when his uncle reaches retirement age, which will be less than a year from now, Ol’ Alvin will be the new Chief of Police and I’ll be walking a beat somewhere to hell and gone. I’ve worked too hard coming up through the ranks. I busted my ass to make detective. No, Chief, I think I’ll haul ass while I still can.”

Assistant Chief Benito slumped back into his chair. “Maybe that’s the best thing for you to do.” The Assistant Chief sat silent for a moment.  “This whole thing stinks to high heaven.” He breathed a large sigh. “What are you going to do for your daily bread, Rick? I have a little saved up for a boat when I retire. You’re welcome to it.”

“No thanks, Tom.  I’m all right moneywise for a while. I’ve been thinking that I’d go into private investigations. I’m a licensed PI and I have a carry permit.  I’ve done a little moonlighting over the past few years and I’m pretty good.”

“You can kiss that carry permit goodbye,” Benito said dryly. “No way will this department let you keep it and I won’t be able to help you.”

Rick Click smiled for the first time since entering the office. “This department doesn’t have a damned thing to say about it. I have a permit from the State. I doubt that anybody here has enough clout to get my state permit lifted. I first thought I might go south. Maybe all the way to Key West, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to stick around and wait for Alvin Miller to step on his dick.”

“What you better hope is that he doesn’t step on yours,” Benito said. He slowly shook his head. “Rick, you really do need to step lightly. Alvin Miller can make a lot of trouble for you and I’m not in any position to help you much. Not anymore because too many things have changed. Why don’t you check out Key West, or Timbuktu?  Anywhere but here.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that,” Rick said. “Look, Tom, thanks for all you’ve done for me in the past. I remember that first day as a green rookie I climbed in the patrol car with you. You’ve always been there for me, Tom. Wow, how green I was, huh?”

“Oh yes,” the assistant chief said laughing. “You thought you were God’s gift to law enforcement. Boy, what a hot shot you were. I didn’t think you would even make it through probation, let alone make it all the way to detective first grade with sergeant’s stripes. You did good; Rick.  I hate to see it end like this.”

“Me, too, Tom,” Rick said holding out his hand. “Thanks again, partner. I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Yeah, send me a postcard from Key West,” the man said as Rick Click closed the office door. “Me and you both know you ain’t leaving town, you contrary bastard,” he said softly, looking at the holstered pistol and gold badge lying on the desk. Then he started cursing so loudly his secretary stuck her head in the door to see what the problem was. He told her it was all right.