"Atlantic City?" Lennie said suspiciously.
"Hey, I know how much you hate going to Jersey. So I'll take Cordova with me," Ed Green volunteered with a grin.
"I'm afraid Lennie has to go, Detective Green. Not only is the suspect there, but he's entered in a pool tournament."
"Bring the perp back and keep Green out of trouble, Lennie," Van Buren ordered.
"Eight ball in the corner pocket."
The audience gasped as the cue ball banked off three rails sinking the eight ball.
Lennie cuffed and "mirandized" his opponent, then collected a broke Ed from a poker table - mission accomplished.
NYC Earthquake
Lennie trudged towards the 2-7. Cars were useless on the crumbled streets. Manhattan had suffered a massive earthquake only imaginable in the worst nightmares. The electrical outages, subway accidents, natural gas explosions and un-fightable fires immobilized the city.
Beneath Lennie's overcoat he wore his blues, because he thought he'd be useful walking the beat, unless someone realized that his ribs were a lot like the streets.
"Lennie, thank God you're alive," Anita said, giving him a hug.
"I was before you hugged me," he wheezed out.
"You're hurt!" she exclaimed.
"Nah, just some cracked ribs, so what's my assignment today?"
Expecting A Disaster
'Well,' Lennie thought as he adjusted his tie, 'this evening sure has disaster written all over it.'
Serena had asked him to the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". Unfortunately, as he'd just told Ed, he didn't have any plans, but did love to watch disaster movies on a big screen, so he could hardly turn her down.
He wondered, 'what's she expect from me? After all I'm twice her age.'
Her dress answered his question. He swallowed hard as she led him to the back row of the theatre. All he could think was, 'thank God my daughter isn't blonde.'
Drenched
Lennie and Mike came in looking half drowned. They'd gotten caught in a downpour without raincoats or umbrellas. Initially, they reminded Anita of pouting schoolboys, but then Lennie shook his head, getting everything on their desks and everyone nearby wet, after that she couldn't help but think of puppy dogs.
She reached into her gym bag for a towel.
"Here, dry off before you annoy anyone else," she said, dropping it on him.
"Thanks," Lennie said. He gave her one of his rare but beautiful smiles, then began drying his hair.
Anita thought she could get addicted to that smile.
Betty's Son
It happened again. She'd seen him. Spoken to him. God, he was so what, what was it. He wasn't handsome. No woman would call Lennie handsome, but there was something. When she was with him whatever it was, made her lose her resolve to tell him. When she had been his young impressionable partner, she'd lost more than her resolve; she'd lost her heart. Although married with two young sons she fell deeply in love with him. It was ironic really; she broke it off for her sons' sakes, but she could never seem to tell him about his son.
Top or Bottom
It was late August, Lennie and Ed had caught a case that seemed to be taking them to every cheap 3rd floor walk up in Manhattan. Then, to top it off, the A/C in their motor pool car went out. So by the time they got back to the precinct they were soaked in sweat.
"Usually, the only time I get this sweaty, I'm in bed and there's a woman beneath me," Lennie said as he came in the squad room.
"Really, well I'm afraid you'll have to settle for one above you," Lt. Van Buren said with a smirk.
Even the Queen
Ed tried not to be obvious as he watched her. All his years as a detective should have taught him how to do surveillance without arousing the mark's suspicions. But she had years of training too, and a woman's intuition. Did she feel his eyes on her? Perhaps she'd finally realized that her behavior had raised concerns among them. She'd acted strangely those last few days, but so had - God couldn't he even think his name without the ache of missing him. Suddenly she caught his eye and smiled wanly at him. Even the Queen of cool loses it sometimes.