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CHAPTER SIX
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HICKS
I stood outside waiting for Falco to pull up in the cruiser. I didn’t have to wait long. I hopped into the passenger seat when he pulled up.
“You gonna live?” he jibed, smiling.
“Yeah, unfortunately for you,” I shot back.
“Captain wants to see us,” he said.
“I heard,” I told him. “Shawna gave me the heads up. The perps told Brady that you fired your gun at them and then they screamed police brutality.”
“Who’s Brady?” Falco asked.
“One of the backup officers,” I replied. “He’s a real prick.”
He was too, and he hated me. Andy Brady was my former partner. I rode with him for about three months before I started fucking him—big mistake. We were a thing for less than a month before shit started getting complicated. I broke it off. In addition to being a weak-assed cop, he was a horrible lay. Neither one of those things worked for me. However, he carried a torch for me and it pissed him off when I told him to hit the road. He’s been gunning for me ever since.
“We haven’t even filed a report yet,” Falco noted.
“Yeah, I know, but you know how sensitive things are with the police these days. Someone shouts police brutality and everyone’s ears perk.”
"Maybe I should just own up to the warning shot," he said. "It's my first day. Maybe they'll give me a pass."
I shook my head, "Not Captain Paulson. You saved my ass, Falco. I'm not about to let you get smacked down for some technicality."
“What do we do?” he asked.
“We keep to the plan,” I said. “Have you replaced the bullet in your service firearm yet?”
Falco nodded.
“Good. We'll stop at Office Depot and pick up a can of compressed air, as planned. We’ll pay cash. We'll spray out your firearm thoroughly, inside and out. We stick to what we said. We heard a car backfiring and . . .”
“And I saw the perp resisting arrest,” he continued. “I know the drill.”
I smiled. I liked this guy already, more than I should.
Forty-five minutes later, we were both sitting in Captain Paulson’s office with the door closed.
“I’ll make this quick,” I said. “You two made a nice collar. Not bad for your first day.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Falco replied.
“Hicks,” he said. “The commander tells me he ordered you to wait for backup, but you proceeded anyway.”
“That’s right, Captain,” I replied. “I observed one of the suspects through the window, holding a woman and brandishing a gun. I felt like the situation called for immediate action.”
“I see. A couple of other things have popped up. First, both perps in custody claimed you fired your service weapon at them, Falco.”
“That’s not true, Captain Paulson,” I interjected. “A car backfired. It was a coincidence. It was a big car, maybe a truck.”
“I asked Falco,” the captain barked, shutting me down. “According to the perps, and to the manager of the restaurant, Hicks was inside when the shot went off.”
“I was heading out the door,” I replied, ignoring his remark, “I came out of the building just a second after the car backfired. If Falco had fired a warning shot he would not have had time to re-holster his weapon. He did not fire the shot, Captain.”
“Let me see your weapon, Falco,” the captain said.
Falco unholstered his service firearm, checked to make sure the safety was on, and handed the weapon to the captain. Paulson ejected the round in the chamber and pulled the clip, sniffing the barrel and clip chamber. Seeming to be satisfied he sat the gun on his desk.
“Car backfire, huh?” he remarked. “Quite the coincidence.”
“A wild coincidence,” Falco agreed.
“Pretty convenient,” he smirked. “I will have to hold onto the weapon for now. Let’s move on, shall we? Hicks, you fucked that perp up pretty good.”
“You mean the one who grabbed me from behind, threatened to kill me and held me captive with a gun to my face?” I replied. “That perp?”
“The man told Brady he had given himself up,” the captain said.
“Captain, if I may,” Falco began. “I was standing right there. I commanded the suspect to surrender and to drop his weapon, but he didn’t relinquish his weapon right away. The perp had already threatened to shoot Officer Hicks several times and appeared highly volatile. In my opinion, Hicks used force to disarm the perp, yes, but the situation was dangerous. In a similar situation, I would have done the same. In fact, her actions very likely saved the man’s life. If she was not able to disarm the suspect, I was very prepared to shoot him. Hicks used appropriate force.”
“Appropriate force?” Paulson said. “That included a kick to the ribs?”
“The perp was resisting even on the ground,” I said. “My life was in danger.”
Captain Paulson looked at them both, “That’s your story, then?”
“It’s what happened, Captain,” I said.
“This is your first day together?” Paulson said. “Just make sure your stories are straight in your reports, which I will expect on my desk before you leave tonight. This might draw some heat. I want all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed—got it?”
“We've got it, Captain,” I said.
Falco nodded.
“Ok, you two get the fuck outta here.”
Falco and I stood to leave.
“Hey, you two,” Paulson called out as we opened the door to leave.
“Yes, Captain,” I replied.
“Good collar, both of you,” he said.