15
I slept like shit; I tossed and turned. I couldn’t get comfortable or shake the unease that the night had created. When three am rolled around, and someone pounded on my door, I wasn’t shaken from a fitful sleep. I rolled out of bed like I was expecting them to bust into my apartment. I had my pistol in my hand and leveled at the bedroom door. It became obvious when another round of pounds rained down on my door that no one was busting in.
I got up and pulled on a pair of shorts. I kept my pistol close, and I went to the door. I peered out the peephole and spotted Ricky. He didn’t look armed, but I wasn’t taking his innocent appearance for face value. I opened the door slowly and kept a cautious aim at him with my gun. He saw me and slowly raised his hands, palms up.
“Paranoid?” He asked carefully.
“Don’t think I have a good reason to be?”
“Oh no,” he grinned. “You do. But, c’mon brother, I’m not armed. Cop or not, we’re still brothers. You know that right?”
“I had a gun pointed at my head,” I told him. “Brothers don’t do that to one another.”
“Cole is kind of dramatic over shit like this,” he put a hand to his chest. “Not me, I see the brilliance that saved your ass.”
I lowered my gun and motioned him in, “Everyone know?”
He shook his head, “Wilson is keeping it on a need to know basis. So, no not everyone is privy to it. As far as I’m aware only Wilson, Ted, Cole, Freddie, and I know,” he closed the door behind him. “How often do you have to wear the wire? Do you have it on now?”
I snorted and shook my head, the only thing I had on was basketball shorts. “Not taping that shit to my dick, sorry,” I said lightly as I waved a hand at my state of undress. I walked to the couch and sat down heavily. “I have to supply at least eight hours of time with it on a day.”
“You spend that time at the shop?” He looked interested. “You didn’t wear it that night?”
I shook my head, feeling the restlessness start to catch up with me. “No.”
“The girl that was here with Wilson and them… she your girl?”
I didn’t even know, so I answered honestly: “She’s my partner.”
“Fraternization?”
“What?”
“Obviously you tapped that,” he came to sit beside me on the couch. “That’s one of the reasons you were doing the bare minimum, right? You said it was girl issues before. Now unless that was just an excuse, you’re breaking a rule already by fucking your partner.”
I stared at him for a few heart beats, trying to figure out just what he was getting at.
When Ricky noticed my confusion, he just shrugged it off: “You’ll figure it out when you get some sleep. Just remember. Once all this is over, all said and done, you and your girl have to go back to being partners. If your CO finds out how close you guy there’s a good chance you won’t be partners anymore. Roger?”
I nodded because this was something I already knew. Having another man point it out wasn’t something I liked to swallow.
“What do you suggest?” I asked, looking for another perspective.
“Ride this out,” he smirked at me a little. “Like all things, you ride it out as long as you have to. Then you make a decision. Is being a part of the five-o something you want or is being free better?”
“You’re telling me to quit being a cop?”
“I’m telling you to keep your options open and think about what really makes you happy,” he released a sigh. “I came here so late because I had work and research to do.” He scratched his jaw as he seemed to think about some things. “Are you worth all this trouble?”
“Taking me out would be more trouble,” I point out tiredly.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he shrugged. “But that’s not the point, right? Why bother with you?”
“Why’d Wilson tap you?” I turned the question around. “Why are you in the Brotherhood? Why is there a Brotherhood for that matter?”
I could’ve kept going, but he waved his hands for me to stop. “That’s enough man. I get it. You’re here due to orders, I can respect that. Tomorrow after your shift, we’ll do the first part of pointing the fingers at the Aces. You don’t have a weak stomach do you?”
That confused me. “Am I going to be back to scrubbing the kitchen?”
“I don’t think Cindy would object to that, but naw man. Just do me a solid and skip breakfast in the morning. Make sure you have your wire on and ready for it,” he stood and went to my door. “Get some sleep. Hopefully, your acting skills are good.” He paused after he opened the door, “If Wilson was going to give the command to kill you, you’d be dead by now. Don’t let it keep you up anymore.”
Then he walked out, like all of this wasn’t a big deal.
I found myself wondering what Ricky did for the club. He didn’t work at the shop, he was only filling in now to help with the cleanup from the drive by. Other than that he kind of just hung out, though he was there for the original confrontation with the Aces. But now, I was starting to worry about just what he did and how it would involve me.