Time slipped away since my last post! Hope all are having a wonderful Spring (Fall is you are south!). Thank you for your kind support.
Chapter 8
Meanwhile...
Rudy and Mike continued to chat, talking about family and specifically Jeannie. The college coed was Rudy's goddaughter and the Captain was nearly as proud of her as her own father.
"I'm assuming Jeannie doesn't know about any of this, right?" Rudy asked as he relaxed on the sofa, fingering the beer label.
"No. I never lie to Jeannie, but...there are a whole slew of things I never told her. She would worry herself crazy if she knew half of it. I can't risk her deciding to come home for a quick visit and get behind in her studies," Mike answered.
"I understand. I feel the same way about my kids. The less they know, the better." The Captain smirked. "Maybe when I retire, I'll write a book," he added.
Mike focused on Rudy to see if he could read something further into that last remark. "Is there something you aren't telling me, Rudy?" Mike asked directly.
"What? Me, no. What are you talking about?" Rudy repositioned.
"Retirement. Have you made any firm decisions yet?"
Rudy sighed. "Well, I do think about it. I've been a cop for over thirty years. My kids are grown and finally living their own lives. Soon, God willing, we'll have grandchildren and maybe that will be the time to make my exit," Rudy thought.
"You've certainly earned it. You and Marge should get some travel in," Mike added as he raised his bottle as a toast.
"You know, Michael, I became an adult during the Great Depression and then I joined the Navy right after Pearl Harbor. I did my duty, came home and joined the force. Never in those years was there even an opportunity to have more than a week off at a time, let alone take a proper vacation. We'd better do that while Marge and I are still young enough to enjoy it," Rudy concluded. "What about you? When does the Great Mike Stone call it a day?"
Mike stared at the floor after hearing the question. "Rudy, my story is quite a bit different. Jeannie is still in college and I'm still that anchor for her. I can't imagine her coming home with me gallivanting elsewhere."
"She could join you wherever you are. Home is where the heart is, after all!" Rudy countered.
"You've been either reading too many greeting cards or watching too many soaps!" Mike smirked.
"What I'm saying is that you could have her join you while you're on holiday. Go to Hawaii, Mexico, Florida - whatever is your fancy. She'd love it and I know she'd be relieved that you are no longer in the line of fire," Rudy said.
"But with Helen gone..." Mike began.
"Helen was a lovely woman and a fine wife and mother for you and Jeannie. I know you miss her everyday. But Mike, maybe it's time you find someone else. Perhaps you'll be able to find a travel companion or someone to spend your golden years."
Mike chuckled. "As the young people say, 'that's not my scene'. Can you see me getting back into the whole dating thing? No sir - those days are well past."
"I'm not saying that you need to hit the singles bars like the youngsters do now. You just need to meet a nice lady - someone that you're attracted to and can be friends with. The rest will come naturally," Rudy suggested.
"Well, thank you, Miss Lonelyheart!" Mike thought for a moment. "Say, why all this interest in my love life anyway? Do you think it's time I call it a day with the department? Do you know something I don't know? It's the investigation, isn't it?" Mike asked in a sudden panic.
"Aw, cool your jets, Mike. Can't two old friends talk about something other than shop? No, I think you have more life in you as far as the job goes. Hell, you're my best man. If I had to handpick a successor, it'd be you. You know that!"
Mike nodded appreciatively. "Then what? There's something more to this."
"Mike, I just worry about you. There's too much stress - and after awhile, it just takes a toll. I know, because I feel it, too."
Mike looked over to his long time friend and could see the fatigue on his face. Rudy continued, "Every move we make, the press is all over us. City Hall is all over us and so is Internal Affairs. We face cold hard calculating killers, jilted lovers who kill out of passion and simple idiots and thugs every day. Some days it's just like the old west - a gun fight in the streets - and after awhile I get tired of it."
"But what if there isn't a gun?" Mike asked quietly, concerned about his current predicament.
"Then they all have a field day! They don't understand the risks we face. If a guy looks like he has a gun, we don't always have the luxury to debate the matter! Sometimes these people are out of their heads, either mentally or emotionally. Sometimes they're loaded to the gills," Rudy growled, "and sometimes they are just hell bent to die. In some cases, death by cop is what they set out to do."
Mike nodded wearily. "We all face it, Rudy. You, me, Roy... We have years of facing risks and danger. It never changes."
Rudy agreed. "It changes, all right. It's become worse and I think you know that. Why, when I think of the next generation coming up," he began. "As a beat cop, the days of neighborhood patrol with a night stick are over. The young guys today - imagine what it will be like for them thirty years from now. Imagine the number of guns they'll be facing!"
Mike nodded again. "I can see Steve and Bill doing what we're doing now - sitting together and having a beer then. What do you think they'll be saying?"
Rudy thought to himself and then chuckled. "They'll be saying, remember those two old farts we used to work for? They're the ones who had it easy!"
Mike laughed and joined in, "Those old coots wouldn't last day in our world now..."
Rudy replied gruffly, "I'm a card carrying coot, that's for sure, but I can take Keller or Tanner to the mat any day. Don't get me wrong, they're good kids, but young people today are too soft."
"That's what we wanted, though, didn't we? So they didn't have to be like us. They have more choices than we did and didn't have to go through hell and back to get them."
"True," Rudy agreed as he heard two car doors slam. He leaned back and moved the curtain to see if Mike had visitors. "Speaking of the youngsters, look who's coming our way."
Mike got up and peered through the window. He smiled when he saw Steve coming up the steps and caught a glimpse of Norm nodding at the cop sitting in the unmarked car guarding Mike's house. Both Steve and Norm were relaxed and smiling. It warmed Mike's heart to see the pair, especially his young partner. He walked over to the door and opened it, greeting both men as they continued their way up to the top steps of Mike's walkway.
"Do these steps ever end?" Norm muttered under his breath several feet behind Steve.
"Welcome, welcome," Mike greeted as he stood in the doorway.
Just then a dark older model Chevy came roaring down De Haro Street. On the passenger side, the window lowered and all that Mike saw as a gun. The next few minutes played out like eternity as Mike heard the gun shots and watched his colleagues hit the ground.
