"Settle down. Find a seat. First up, I'd like to congratulate Officer Jackson West on the fine pinch last night. No crook is safe from Officer West, not even his landlord." Grey says and cops start clapping while Grey hands West a form
"Letter of commendation?" West asks
"Change of address form. Your apartment is now considered a "house of ill repute" - and under asset seizure. We need your new address by tomorrow, even if it's Mama's house. All right. This sharp-dressed man in the doorway is Detective Nick Armstrong. He'll be in the field after hours for your detecting needs. Yes, Officer Lopez?" Grey asks after seeing my hand being raised
"Detective Armstrong, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "patrol friendly" and 10 is "making us guard a cleared crime scene in the pouring rain 'cause you get "a power trip off of it," where do you stand?" I ask
"Lopez." Grey says
"No, it's all right, Sarge. I appreciate a direct question. A lot of cops take off the uniform, they put on the suit. Suddenly, they think they're better than the officers in this room. I'm not one of them. Patrol is where it all happens. It's fast, honest, pure, raw. 85% of all crimes are solved at the patrol level. So, the way I see it, I am here to help you, not the other way around. And if that doesn't win you over, I have five dozen of the finest donuts in the break room. That's all I'm saying." Armstrong says
"Detective, you think you can buy us with donuts?" Smitty says
"Absolutely not. Maybe rent you, though." Armstrong says
****
West and I are loading up our shop.
"Sergeant Grey is setting me up to fail. You see that, right?" West asks
"No. I really don't." I tell him
"Come on, there's no way I'm gonna find someplace to live in one day." West says
"Not with that attitude." I tell him
"Seven to ten days would be a reasonable amount of time." West says
"It's at the sergeant's discretion." I say
"Just like sticking me back in long sleeves was at his discretion. You know, I know two guys from the academy who both got 80s, and they're both in short sleeves. Why's he penalizing me?" West asks
"You know, I think I liked you better when you were a coward. You complained less." I tell him
****
I pull up outside the unit that West was talking to Smitty in.
"Boot! I told you to meet me at the shop!" I yell to West
Smitty said something else to him and I have to yell out to him again.
"Let's go!" I yell
****
"Good move, pulling me away from Smitty's RV. He just dropped the rent a hundred bucks. Yeah, my dad always said the only true negotiating power is the ability to walk away." West said checking his texts
"Smitty's Shangri-La is where cops go to die." I tell him
"That's one way of looking at it. And the other is that it's freedom, model of efficiency. No commute, cheap rent." West says
"You can spin it all you want. Doesn't change the fact that it's another step in the wrong direction. Why not just move back in with your folks while you look for a place?" I ask him
"Talk about the wrong direction." West says
"'Cause you haven't told your dad about your test score?" I ask him
"No." West says then sees my look and says "All right, fine. Fine. I'll stay at home tonight, but only 'cause it'll get Smitty to knock down the rent even more."
"Just like that, we're back where we started." I tell him
****
Me and a team of cops have surrounded Winch's place.
"LAPD! Probation search! Open up!" I yell and West breaks down the door with a battering ram and we pour in
"Bruno Winch! LAPD!" John yells
"Clear! - Clear!" I yell clearing rooms
"Clear. - Clear! Clear." Other cops yell after clearing rooms
****
"You doing okay?" I ask West
"Fine." West says
"I know what's bothering you. Seven Year Glitch." I tell him
"Sorry. Seven Year what?" West asks
"Glitch. The most dangerous time for a cop happens every seven years, like clockwork. It's when most of us lose the passion, grow complacent, disillusioned. I went through it myself." I tell him
"Okay, well I mean, I've only been on for six months." West says
"You're not a regular rookie. You've been gung-ho since you were a kid. And now you're glitching early." I tell him
"Okay, well, how do I fix my glitch? How'd you fix yours?" West asks
"Well first I was a T.O. then became a detective then went back to being a T.O. for personal reasons . Changed my routine and I challenged myself." I tell him
"Well, I am challenging myself. Me not being all in, all the time, is me changing my routine. But you know, I can I can put all that on hold for six more months, embrace my inner slacker after you're free of me." He says but sounded like he barely had any defense up
"I'm not asking you that -" I was saying till he interrupted me
"I know. But it's the right thing." West says
****
Marilyn Christian is being questioned by me and West.
"Mrs. Christian, I know you think you're protecting him, but what your husband is doing is wrong." I say to her and she looks stubbornly away
"Look, ma'am, right now, you can't see beyond this moment. Neither can your husband. Making those men pay for what they did is all he cares about. I know just a little about what it's like to be obsessed with something at the expense of everything else. And trust me, it will not change the way you feel. Look, your son is gone, and what your husband is doing will destroy both of you. I know it's too late to save Jeff, but if you can tell us where Matt is you might not lose your husband." West says
****
Chen is walking out after the shift and I catch up with her.
"Hey, headed home?" I ask her
"Yeah." Lucy says
"You live alone, right?" I ask
"Yeah. First time ever. No roommates. It's heaven. Why?" Chen asks
YOU ARE READING
The Rookie // Wesley Evers Fanfic
ActionI am thinking about editing this book when I am done so it is not the same lines from the show but I don't know if it will be any more different then what I have already changed in the chapters I have written right now. I will delete this at some po...
