Page 12 of Concealed

I expect more of the same today.

“Do you prefer to drive?” I ask, as Chris and I head towards a parked squad car.

“Nah, rookie boy can chauffeur me around town.”

“I’ve been a cop for six years,” I remind him.

“Only about twenty years less than me. Rookie.”

“Touché.”

I haven’t had the chance to explore Sunnyville, so I don’t mind taking the wheel and getting my bearings. If there are any secret shortcuts I need to know, I’m sure Chris will enlighten me.

“I’m a no BS kind of guy,” Chris tells me, as I pull onto the road. “As straight a shooter as you’ll meet around here. Let’s just get it over with, and you can tell me why you’re here.”

Okay, then.

“Cole’s Notes is that I beat the shit out of a pedo who I found raping his nine-year-old daughter on what was supposed to be a routine call. Before that, I also beat the shit out of another pedo, and before that, I was accused – and cleared – about my necessary use of lethal force. I guess you could say Internal Affairs saw a bit of a pattern.”

“So, you’ve got a temper,” Chris decides.

My hands clench on the wheel. “The shooting was justified.”

“And the pedos?”

“Brought me back to a bad place. But I can keep my shit under control. I know this is my last stop, last chance for redemption.”

Sunnyville is the quintessential beach town straight from the movies you’ve seen a thousand times. There are plenty of tourists in the summer pumping money into the economy – and I’m sure extra alcohol and testosterone into our shifts – but I imagine the pace trickles into the slow lane during the off-season when tourists are back to work.

“Then we won’t have a problem,” Chris says, and something about his vibe makes me believe him. “I need to know that you can focus on the job. It’s not like Sunnyville is comparable to LA, but we still get some tough cases that require discretion rather than fists.”

“Got it.”

Part of me is glad to have the conversation over with, and the other part of me is sick of being crucified over the past. I can’t change it – nor would I – and being stuck here is punishment enough.

Besides, no one ever remembers what I’ve accomplished. My dad always reminds me that I’m only as good as my last interaction or, in my case, my last headline, and he’s unfortunately right. That’s all the public remembers, and I was scrutinized extra hard because of my dad’s prominent role in the city.

He’s a man who really cares about public perception. He sure as shit doesn’t want me hurting his re-election chances, another reason I’ve been banished from his kingdom.

Out of sight, out of mind.

“Hey,” Chris says. “I’m not trying to bust your balls. We’ve all had our challenges in this job and perps who especially get under our skin. Look, I’m on my fourth wife, so no matter what you do, you’re ahead of me.”

I laugh. “Thanks, Wallace.”

I’m scanning and processing our environment like a computer as we drive, noting the couples who are yelling at each other on patios, the boys who are shoving each other on the boardwalk, and the long line-ups of families waiting for deep friend food and ice cream outside the local establishments.

“There’s a new task force trying to take down a local human trafficking ring,” Chris tells me, as I watch a group of sunburned college-age guys approach bikini-clad girls tanning on the beach.

My attention turns to Chris as adrenaline immediately starts buzzing through my veins. Where there’s trafficking, there are sex crimes and usually underage ones.

“And despite your past – actually, because of it – I think you’d be perfect for the team,” Chris continues. “Show the fuckers that you can do exactly what they think you can’t.”

I’m officially excited about the future of my work life for the first time since arriving here. It’s not like I want there to be a need for a task force to take down this specific breed of asshole.

But so long as they continue to breathe, I want to be part of what keeps them up at night and then be the one who locks them up for good.

Kicking the shit out of them will be relegated to my dreams this time around.

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