Got Your Six

Chapter 18

Calvin

I stare at the letter from Gavin as my patrol car sits idly on the side of the street. I've kept it with me at all times ever since I first found it. The last thing I want is for someone else to find it and start asking me questions I don't feel like answering. Gavin might have meant for the letter to tease me about killing my brother, but every time I look at it, it serves as motivation to seek justice for Cameron. I stare at the thick black letters for a moment longer before sliding the folded up envelope back into my pocket. I've got important matters to attend to.
It's two a.m. when I step out of my patrol car and make my way up the sidewalk towards Manny's house. The moonlight is the only thing preventing it from being pitch black outside. I would use a flashlight, but I don't want anyone to see me coming, and I don't want any neighbors to see me here either. I know Captain Bennett wouldn't be happy with me being here, which is why I can't let him find out. I'm not here on official police business. I'm here for personal reasons, to seek my own version of justice.
The only source of light emitting from the house is the soft glow of the doorbell. I press the button and listen to the high pitched ding coming from inside. After a few minutes, there's still no movement from inside the house. I glance around the neighborhood, making sure no one is peeking out their windows or going for a walk in the middle of the night. I've seen it before in sketchy neighborhoods like this, but tonight the street is silent. There's no movement except for the light wind blowing through the trees. I turn my attention back to the door and use my police knock that's sure to wake up anyone inside.
My heart is pounding with anticipation. It only takes a few seconds after my knock for a light to turn on through an upstairs window. I take a quick look around to ensure none of the neighbors woke up because of it. Everything is still silent, good. A second light turns on in the house and I ready myself for what's to come next. Another light turns on, this one right on the other side of the door. I hear the deadbolt retract and then the door swings open, revealing a woman standing on the other side.
"Can I help you?" She asks groggily and slightly annoyed.
I'm sure that's just because she sees that it's a cop who's woken her up. She's a few inches shorter than me with dark brown hair and wearing a baggy t-shirt with sweatpants.
"Where's Manny?" I say in a low voice, getting straight to the point.
"He's not here," she says, clearly annoyed, and then begins to close the door.
"Can I come in?" I ask, not giving her an option as I shove my foot into the doorway.
"What are you doing? No, you can't!" She says loudly, still trying to shut the door unsuccessfully.
I slip inside and let the door close behind me. "I wouldn't want to wake the neighbors," I tell her. "I just have a few questions I want to ask you."
"Get the fuck out of my house! I didn't do shit!" The woman says aggressively.
"I just want to know where Manny is," I assure her.
"I told you, he's not here. Now get out of my damn house." Her hair is waving around as she jerks her head from side to side.
"Yeah, you said that already. I want to know where he is." My voice is getting more serious with every word as my patience begins to run thin.
"Fuck you pig, I ain't telling you shit," she spits out with a disgusted look displayed towards me.
"Okay, let's do this the hard way then," I say, taking a step towards her and retrieving the handcuffs from their case on my belt. "You're under arrest for aiding a criminal and..." I begin, grabbing her wrist and turning her around.
"I didn't do shit!" She yells as she tries to break free from my grasp. "Get the fuck off me!"
"...interfering with a police investigation..." My grasp tightens as she wiggles her body and begins kicking in every direction. "...and pissing me off."
"You can't do this!" She yells.
I catch one of her kicks and swing her leg out, sending her body to the floor as I pin her down and secure the handcuffs around her wrists. "I'll do whatever the fuck I need to do," I spit out, feeling that mysterious darkness seep into my head again.
I pick her up by the arm and drag her up the stairs to where I saw the first light turn on. She continues to yell and object to what's happening but I ignore her, searching for one thing in particular. Her phone is laying on her nightstand, plugged into the charger.
"What are you doing? You can't touch that! You've got no right!" She screams as I reach down and pluck her phone off of the charger, sliding it into my pocket.
"Time to go," I say into her ear, taking her back through the house to the front door, shutting off every light on the way.
"You can't arrest me! I didn't do anything, you fucking pig!" She screams as I walk her to my car.
"Shut the fuck up, you're gonna wake the neighbors, how disrespectful," I say in a deep hushed voice.
I shouldn't have mentioned the neighbors because she begins screaming for help. I open the back door to the patrol vehicle and stuff her inside, quickly shutting it again to muffle her screams. Before getting in the drivers seat, I take one last look around to make sure no one is watching. The street is still completely dark, there's not a single light on in anyones house. I get in behind the wheel and start the vehicle, getting us away from her house as quickly as possible, ignoring her screams from the back seat.
"We're here," I say loud enough for her to hear over her own screams.
She hasn't quieted down one bit for the entire drive, which only amounted to about ten minutes. I step out of the vehicle, listening to the low hum of the foundry down the road. I haven't been here since the incident. The images come flooding into my head. I can almost hear the screams and the sounds of gunshots echoing through my ears. I shake my head, forcing all the bad memories aside. I have to stay focused if I'm going to get anywhere with this.
"Get out," I tell the woman I suspect to be Manny's girlfriend.
Before she has a chance to react, I grab her arm, pulling her to the front of the vehicle.
"Help!" She screams as soon as she's out of the vehicle. "Somebody help me!"
"Shut up, there's no one out here to hear you," I inform her. "Now, don't make this worse and try to run. I can promise you, you won't get away."
I release the cuff off of her left hand, keeping a firm grip on her arm. After sliding the cuffs through the push bumper of the vehicle, I wrap it around her wrist again, locking her in place. The handcuffs are in front of her now, which isn't ideal, but she's secured to the vehicle which means she's not going anywhere without my say so. My hand slides into my pocket, retrieving her phone. The screen wakes up with a single tap and prompts me for a passcode.
"Type it in," I order her, placing the phone next to her cuffed hands.
She stares at me, not moving a muscle, not wanting to listen to someone she calls a 'pig'.
"I'm not asking," I tell her, patting the gun hanging on my hip.
The woman lets out a sigh and keys in the numbers '0-5-2-6'. The phone responds to the code by opening up to its home screen, showing off a picture of the woman standing next to Manny. 
"Mean anything?" I ask, not really caring to hear the answer.
"Manny and I's anniversary," she says, disgusted that I even asked. "Asshole," she mutters, which I assume is directed towards me and not Manny.
My fingers roam across the screen until I spot the 'Contacts' app and open it up. The 'My Contact' tab appears right at the top, giving me the name of the woman I've taken into my custody: Olivia Cortez. I glance up at her as she stares at me with disgust.
"What are you doing?" She asks, unable to see the screen of her own phone.
"We're just going to set up a little meet and greet with your boyfriend," I say sarcastically, scrolling down on the screen until I find the name 'Manny'.
I click on the contact and watch the screen begin counting the seconds of the call while it dials the number.
"Don't do anything stupid," I say, placing my free hand over my gun. "Tell him to come meet you at Riverfront Park and that's it, don't say anything else."
"Hello?" A groggy voice I assume is Manny comes through the speaker.
I've never actually heard him talk. His voice sounds higher pitched than I would've thought. His mugshot makes him look a bit intimidating but his voice doesn't seem to match his tough guy persona.
"Hey, I need you to come meet me at Riverfront park," Olivia says, staring at me while she talks into the phone.
"What?" Manny asks, pausing for a moment. "Why?"
Olivia looks at me while she tries to figure out what to say next. I shake my head, warning her not to say anything that will give anything away.
"Just come here quick please. I need your help," she tells him.
Before Manny has a chance to say anything else, I pull the phone away from Olivia's face and click the little red circle, ending the call.
"I'm impressed," I say, looking at her with raised eyebrows. I had fully expected her to try and alert him about my presence in some way. Not like he won't figure it out as soon as he gets here, but by then it'll be too late. All I care about is that he shows up, alone.
"Fuck you," she mutters back.
My hand begins to vibrate as the phone begins to blast its ringtone. Manny is attempting to call back, I'm sure his girlfriend's strange request has got him a bit worried. Let him worry, maybe he'll get here quicker. I silence the phone and slip it back into my pocket, flashing Olivia a sly grin.
The anticipation is killing me as I wait for Manny to show up. Olivia has finally quieted down. I think she finally realized this isn't official police business and has given up on yelling for help. It takes nearly twenty minutes before I finally spot a pair of headlights coming down the road. Olivia perks up at the sight of it.
"Don't get too excited," I warn her. "You only get let go after I get what I'm looking for."
"He won't let you take him willingly," Olivia says with the same attitude she's had all night.
"He's not the one I want," I say quietly.
Olivia looks at me with confusion as I focus my attention on the vehicle pulling into the parking lot. It's a deep blue mustang, with an exhaust loud enough to let everyone know he's arrived. The car stops about twenty feet away, the engine humming in a low tune. My hand unconsciously lowers to my holster, removing the weapon inside and holding it behind my leg. Manny leaves the car running as he steps out and takes a few steps towards us. His figure is silhouetted by the headlights beaming behind him.
"What the fuck is this?" Manny says over the hum of his vehicle.
"I'm not gonna waste my time with any bullshit," I say, taking a step towards him and moving my gun into his view. "Where's Gavin?"
Manny lets out a single laugh. "Who the fuck are you?"
I can feel the rage inside me boiling up, ready to snap at any moment. "I'm the one who's going to make your life hell if you don't tell me exactly what I wanna know."
Manny looks past me at his girlfriend, trying to read her expression to see how serious the situation is. "You can't do anything. I didn't do anything wrong, officer," he says in a calm voice.
Suddenly, the rage inside me snaps and I quickly close the distance between myself and Manny, pinning him down on the hood of his own car. I can feel the vibration of the engine beneath his hood. "Didn't do anything?" I mutter into his face. "You're an accomplice to murder! You're lucky I don't put you down myself!" My pistol is jammed into his side, in a similar way that it went down with Johnny at the funeral home.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't kill nobody!" Manny shouts, struggling to get out of my grasp.
"But you know who did. So, where is he? Tell me where Gavin is and you can go. Sell him out and you go free. That's quite the deal," I say, tightening my hold. My left forearm pressing hard against his chest.
Manny stares at me for a moment, pondering the outcome of either scenario he choses to go through with. Sell out Gavin, go free. Stay loyal, and who knows what happens next. His eyebrows narrow as he looks right into my eyes and says, "Fuck you."
That unknown darkness seeps back in and takes over, moving my pistol to the side of his head. "I'm only going to ask you one last time. Where, the fuck, is Gavin?"
I stare into his eyes as he shows no emotion except for anger. Pissed off that some random cop has got him pinned down on his own car and is now holding a gun to his head. Would I actually pull the trigger if it came down to it? Could I pull the trigger on an unarmed man? I've never been in this type of situation before. I've also never felt a darkness inside me such as this before. It feels powerful. I feel in control. I feel unstoppable.
There's a powerful thud on the back of my head that makes my vision go fuzzy. Manny places his hands on my chest and shoves hard, sending me tumbling to the ground. I try to see what's going on, what's happening, but my vision hasn't come back into focus yet. As I try to stand up, a foot connects with my abdomen, sending me back down to the cold concrete.
"No! Let's go!" I hear Olivia's voice call out.
There's the sound of metal hitting the ground beside me and then two car doors closing. They're getting away. I want to chase them but my head is pounding, restricting me from making any controlled movements. Manny's engine roars down the street, leaving me lying in the parking lot. By the time my vision comes back into focus, the sound of his engine has faded into the night.
My eyes focus on the gun lying on the ground beside me. I slide it back into my holster and attempt to stand up. Everything is still spinning slowly around me, sending my body crashing down to the ground again. I lift my hand to the back of my head and then bring it into my eyesight. There's no blood but I can already feel it beginning to swell.
I attempt to stand back up, waiting for everything to stop spinning before I walk back to my patrol car. The handcuffs are hanging from the push bumper, a bobby pin still stuck in one of the cuffs. I take it out, throwing it to the ground in frustration as I put the handcuffs back into their case. Manny might've gotten away but I'm sure he'll go running straight to Gavin. And who knows, maybe I spooked Manny enough to entice Gavin to make a move. All I need is for him to show his face somewhere so I can find out where he is. Once he does that, I can put an end to this.
I can put an end to him.