Page 8 of Daddy's Oath
The other officer—the golden nametag on his chest read SANCHEZ—knelt down and checked on the downed, groaning man. Talking into the radio velcroed onto his shoulder, he said, “Station two, I need EMTs on the pier. Near the balloon-pop game. One injury. Suggest they bring a stretcher.”
Ace grinned at Officer Cooper. “As we were talking about before you got here, I didn’t hit the guy that hard. I mean, it was hard enough for a pansy-ass like him. But he thought he was a big man, slipping benzos in his date’s drink.”
“Oh, shit,” the cop said.
“Uh-huh,” Ace said.
“And then, heaccidentallydrank it himself,” Athena explained. “Something tells me he isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.”
Officer Sanchez stood, smiling at her. “And something tells me you are.”
Athena just smiled and shrugged. “He’s lucky Ace clocked him in the jaw. I was about to drive my foot into his little pecker.”
The officers both pulled out latex gloves from their pockets, put them on, and knelt down to inspect the man.
“He’s breathing normally. Just out cold,” Sanchez observed.
“But look what we have here,” Cooper added, holding up a small vial he’d pulled from the guy’s pocket. He shook it and the small amount of liquid still inside sloshed. “I have a feeling I know what test results will say about this.”
“It’ll confirm why he’s incapacitated,” Ace said. “See. It wasn’t because I hit him.”
Cooper cleared his throat and stood. “You know he still has rights. Even if he is a piece of crap.”
Ace shrugged. “I was defending her.”
“True,” Cooper said. “And that’s why I’m not going to take you in. And I doubt the DA will press charges. Wouldn’t stick.”
“Damn right it wouldn’t stick!” Ace told him. “I know California law. I have the right to use reasonable force to protect myself and a loved one. In this case, Athena.” He jerked his head toward his friend. “The force must be proportional to the perceived threat. Which it was. He was trying to drug her. I stepped in. End of story.”
“Everything is legal here,” Jack added. “No harm, no foul.”
“I actually agree,” Sanchez said. “Just remember suspects have rights, too. You haven’t been away from the force so long that you’ve forgotten that. Have you?”
Jack and Ace exchanged exaggerated glances.
Looking back at the cops, Ace said, “What are you getting at?”
Sanchez cleared his throat. Cooper stepped closer. “There have been reports of some vigilantes operating around here. Notjust in Santa Monica. But all over Los Angeles. You all wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Us?” Ace said. He turned his focus to Matteo. “You ever heard anything about that? Vigilantes and such?”
“Not a thing,” Matteo replied.
“What about you?” Ace asked Isaiah.
Isaiah shook his head. “Sounds like some comic book shit to me. Not real life.”
Cooper laughed. “Comic book shit, huh?”
“That’s right,” Isaiah said.
The two cops studied the ex-law-officers until a moment later, three EMTs hurried onto the scene, rolling a stretcher.
One of the first responders—a blond woman of about thirty—said, “Please clear the area.”
Officer Cooper stepped out of the way while telling her, “He’s a suspect. He’ll be in custody after he receives medical treatment. He’s been searched. No weapons.”
“Roger that,” the paramedic said.
