Meyer and I turned in our resignations on the same day. My captain gave me hell up one side and down the other. We were responsible for a hugely impressive case clearance rate and he didn’t want that to go away. But in the end there was nothing he could do.
Halfway through my two week notice I was summoned to the chief’s office. The fucking chief of police. I’d never even met him. The admin led me into his office. Meyer was there. I looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders.
“So,” the chief said.
We said nothing.
“My two best detectives, partners, and you’re quitting at the same time. How come?”
“Spend more time with the family, sir,” I said.
“Same,” Meyer said.
“Ah,” the chief said. “Okay. How’s the wound healing, Johnny?”
I stared at him, trying to keep my cool. I’d gone back to work as soon as I was strong enough to stay upright and able to move my arm semi-normally. Nobody knew I’d been shot outside of people I trusted and one doctor.
“Come again, sir?”
“You know, where you were shot rescuing the Morrisons. Healing nicely?”
I stared at Meyer, who stared back at me, and we both turned to stare at the chief. There was nothing much I could say.
“I have a bit of a network outside the department, Johnny. You’ve come up on my radar a couple of times in the past. You seem to believe that you have the right to mete out justice upon those that the system can’t reach, and to jump in and help people that the cops can’t help, or can’t help fast enough. Now you’ve sucked Meyer into your little game.”
I said nothing.
“Did it start when you killed Carlos Santos, or did you do things before that which escaped my attention?”
I said nothing.
“And how is your lovely niece? Are you two still having sex?”
“Why am I not in jail?” I said.
“Because you haven’t done anything wrong,” the chief said. You’re rich, but you kept working for me and did a damned fine job. If you stayed here you’d be a deputy chief inside of five years. You’ve killed people on the side, but only people who needed killing and ones we couldn’t get to. You’re like this self-guided weapon I get to watch go into action when everything else fails.
“And I don’t care who you sleep with. I haven’t seen Dawn but people tell me that you love her and take care of her. That’s nobody’s business but yours and hers. And your other women’s, of course.”
Was there anything he didn’t know?
“Anyway, your lifestyle is still somewhat tame compared to Mr. Barker’s. Oh, speaking of which… Come on in, gentlemen,” he said.
Barker and Morrison walked into the office.
“Shit,” I said. “I trusted you guys.”
“And you should,” the chief said. “These men have been my friends for years. Richard has made me quite rich. Thomas has given the department tactical simulation training software that’s improved my officers’ combat readiness across the board. They’ve kept me informed of your activities because they knew I’d support you and help you if I could.”
“Sorry, Johnny,” Barker said. “I had loyalties to the chief before you and I met.”
“I understand,” I said.
“I owe you my life, and my wife’s life,” Morrison said. “This is a shitty way to repay you.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t think the chief is going to slap handcuffs on me. But he does still need to make his point.”
The chief looked at me. “True,” he said. “I want you to work for me.”
“We have been,” Meyer said.
“I mean after you leave the department. I want you to convince Buddy Magellas and his wife to quit, too. I think the four of you should open a private security firm, or a private investigation firm, or something that will make a nice cover for what you’ll really be doing.”
“Which is?”
“My weapon of last resort. My long lance. The people who can take over and make justice happen when the department can’t, or when the courts fail.”
I thought about that for a while. “How often would we be doing this?”
“Not often,” the chief said. “And of course you could refuse any given case. In fact, I don’t want you to think that I’m holding anything over your head and forcing you to say yes. You’ve already done enough for the city. If you want, I’ll take your badges today and you can go on your merry ways and we’ll never talk again.”
I thought some more. A private detective agency would let me keep working with Meyer, as much or as little as we wanted to. And Buddy would go crazy if he didn’t have at least a little combat patrol work to do.
“I’m not sure that Buddy and Jen have enough money for him to quit,” I said.
“I have some ideas about that,” Richard said.
I looked at Meyer. He nodded slightly. I looked back at the chief.
“Okay,” I said. “We’re your boys.”
“Splendid,” he said. He pressed a button on his desk. There was a light knock on the door.
“Come in,” the chief said, and the door opened and two women rolled in a table covered with huge amounts of food. It looked Jewish deli-ish. Meyer looked like he was going to start drooling. One of the women started pouring red wine.
“Join me for lunch?” the chief said.
“Why not?” I said. We each grabbed food and wine and sat at the chief’s conference table. I selected a Reuben sandwich, potato salad, a pickle, and wine. Meyer had lox and a beer.
“What shall we talk about?” the chief said.
Richard looked at me. “My wife wants to have sex with you,” he said.
I choked on my Reuben sandwich.
Barker rolled his eyes. “Welcome to my world, Richard,” he said.