Restoration

Chapter 62

"Do you have the green pencil?" Lila asks Oliver. He passes it to her as the two of them draw, stretched out side by side on the rug in Grace's apartment. Grace hands Nyla a mug of fresh coffee. "I really appreciate you coming over."

"I love bringing Lila to see Oliver. They have a great time together. But that's not why you wanted me to come, is it?" Nyla questions.

"No, it isn't," Grace admits.

"Is this about Nolan?" Nyla presses. "Because if it is, I'm not getting into that. We have enough problems out on the street right now. Honestly, he doesn't need to cope with any more of yours."

"It's not about Nolan. It's about Oliver and me. I want to take him someplace safer for both of us. And with so many places desperate for doctors right now, I can do it. I just want to settle somewhere that isn't right in the middle of the drug war. I figured if anyone would know where we should go, it's you."

Nyla's mouth gapes in disbelief. "You think you can get away from drugs? Maybe on the moon. As overdoses go, most states are worse than California. At least we have drug courts. The cartel is making a move on L.A. right now. Things are bad. I know I don't have to tell you that. But there are no safe places as far as opiates are concerned. And I'll bet you already knew that too, Doctor. So what are you looking for, someone to give you permission to run? I can't do that.

"Problems have a way of following you," Nyla continues. "Believe me. I found that out the hard way. I'm making a stand here to try to put my life back together. You can figure out where you're going to make yours, but don't fool yourself into thinking it's going to be easy anywhere. Nothing is easy. We both have to live with that."

Grace gazes at the two kids on the carpet. "Oliver is finally starting to be happy here. He loves his art classes, and he and Lila are really getting along. I hate to mess that up."

"Then don't." Nyla lowers her voice. "Any more threats from your ex?"

"The restraining order seems to be keeping him at a distance. My lawyer is working on a supervised visitation agreement. Eric wasn't always a jerk. I think Oliver misses him or at least misses having a dad, especially since I'm not seeing John anymore. I really screwed that up."

"I've done more than my share of screwing up a relationship," Nyla admits. "But it's my responsibility to make sure Nolan survives learning to be a cop. And after what Serj Derian tried to do to him, he lost a lot of time. He needs every minute of training he can get, and distractions won't help. And on top of that, he's got to get a handle on coping with the increased drug activity."

"He's not the only one, but I get the message. Thanks for the honesty, Harper."

Nyla shakes her head. "That's something I haven't heard too often in the past couple of years. Lila has school in the morning. I need to get her home. Good luck, Grace."

"Good luck to you too, Nyla."


Looking more dour than usual, Grey takes his place at the front of the roll call room. "You're all aware of what happened in Minneapolis. Demonstrations against police violence are spreading across the country, and Los Angeles is no exception. While we aren't expecting any violent activity at the one scheduled in Griffith Park today, we have to be prepared to defuse any conflicts. The last thing we need is viral video portraying the L.A.P.D. as stormtroopers.

"For those of you who will be assigned to crowd control, I expect utmost restraint. Unless you're preventing an actual crime, it's hands off. Don't get in anyone's face. Think twice and then think again before reaching for any weapon, even pepper spray, then think a third time. Make every effort to open a dialogue, and if you can't do that, shut up and listen. You might learn something."

Grey eyes several older officers in the back of the room. "You won't make any points by arresting demonstrators. You'll lose them. And if anything you do escalates the situation, you'll have to justify your actions to me – and the captain.

"Now, for those of you who will still be on regular patrol, don't assume that it will be business as usual. Whether people are demonstrating or not, they're on edge. That may mean making moves they wouldn't normally make. So keep your eyes open for interactions that might spark hostilities and put a lid on them before they get out of hand. And remember, just your presence could touch off a confrontation, so watch your butts out there."


"Stay alert, Boot," Harper orders. "What about this area could make it a hotspot?"

"Two diverse neighborhoods bordering on each other," John notes.

Nyla shakes her head. "Forget the sugarcoating, Nolan. You have a black neighborhood butting up against a white neighborhood. The black neighborhood is poorer with worse schools and higher unemployment. And the white folks are scared of anyone with a dark face who strays over the line, especially with what's going on. Where are we now?"

"The white neighborhood, but the black neighborhood is practically across the street."

"Gold star, Boot."

John points to a car stopped beside a bus stop where an African-American man is standing. "What's going on there? That car shouldn't be blocking the bus stop. It should pull up to the light."

Harper pulls the shop behind the stopped car. "Check it out, Nolan, but watch your ass."

Nolan strolls up to the car. The white driver's side window is already down. "Is there a problem, Sir? Can I help you?"

"No problem, Officer," the man claims, his eyes darting downward. "We were just having a conversation."

Nolan spies a shotgun across the driver's lap, the barrel pointed toward the driver's door. "Put your right hand on your head and use your left to give me that gun, Sir."

"I wasn't doing anything wrong," the driver insists.

"Just give me the gun, Sir," Nolan repeats, as Harper approaches, her own weapon drawn.

"If I touch the gun, that black cop's going to shoot me," the driver protests.

"Like you were gonna shoot me," the man at the bus stop interjects.

Nolan fights to keep his tone conciliatory as he maintains eye contact with the driver. "No one is shooting anyone if you give me the gun. With your left hand, now."

The driver hesitantly obeys.

"Out of the car, on the ground, face down," Harper orders.

The driver looks at Nolan. "Do it!" the rookie commands. The man emerges from the car, slowly lowering himself to the concrete. Nolan cuffs him.

Harper turns to the man at the bus stop. "What was going on?"

"I just got off my shift at the pizzeria. I start the dough at 2 a.m. I was waiting for the bus to go home. I wait here every day. That asshole owns the brake and muffler shop across the street. He sees me all the time. He knows I catch the bus. But today, he points the gun at me and wants to know if I'm here set fire to his place."

"Is that true?" Nolan asks the man on the ground.

"My business is all I have. With all the looting and burning his kind are doing, I was just protecting it," the suspect argues. "That's not a crime."

"Threatening someone with a gun is," Nolan informs him. "You're under arrest."

A/N The event portrayed here is based on something that actually happened near where I live, not long after George Floyd was killed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Fifty people demonstrated against the incident. The auto shop is boarded up now, with the owner in trouble. If he hadn't been so paranoid, he'd probably still have people coming in for service. Just stupid!