Unarmed

Chapter 16

Lucas' POV

I glance at the clock to see that it's 9:30. An hour and a half to go then I can go home to my beautiful girlfriend.

314. My radio goes off. We have a suspected drug deal going on at the corner of Rainor Drive and Pendant Avenue. Suspect has been described as a young, black male. About 17 years old. 6 feet. 3 inches. Officers be advised. Anyone in the area?

I look at my GPS and I'm exactly a block away.

"Copy," I say into my radio. "This is Stevenson. I'm going down Rainor. I'll assess and call for backup as needed. Kale, are you in the area?"

"Copy," Klae says a moment later. "I'm about 15 minutes away."

I put down my radio and drive towards the intersection. There's a gas station and looking closer, I see two men, both in black shirts talking through the driver's side window of a blacked out SUV. I pull into the parking lot and immediately, the SUV takes off. The two guys stand like deer in headlights as I get out of my car.

"What you need officer?" the younger of the two guys asks me. He looks to be about 17, cleanly shaven and tall. The other man is about 25 and looks a little rougher around the edges.

"Watch your tone," I say. I already know these black kids are up to no good. "I.D.s?"

"Sir, are we being apprehended?" the older man asks.

"No," I say. "But if you're going to be doing drug deals, I will need to apprehend both of you."

"So I can leave?" the older man asks.

"Have a seat on the curb," I say to him. The older man sits and the younger one seems to be getting more antsy.

"So, you have I.D.?" I ask the kid again.

"The eff you need my I.D. for?"

"Sir." I rest my hand on my holster in an attempt to show my authority. "I need your I.D. and I need it now. You'll be under arrest if you do not cooperate."

"Man, screw you." The teenager spits on my face then turns around. "Let's go Ace."

The "Ace" guy doesn't move but looks back and forth between me and his friend.

"Sir," I say wiping the spit off my face and drawing my taser. "You are now under arrest for assaulting an officer. If you do not turn back, I will tase you."

The teen turns around and flips both his middle fingers at me. When he turns to walk away, I pull the trigger on my taser. Instead of falling to the ground, the kid only spazzes a little. He rips the wires from the taser off his shirt then lunges towards me. As he's running at me, I don't think to pull out my pepper spray or even tase him again.

I pull out my gun and fire three shots.

"This is Deputy Stevenson," I say frantically into my radio. "Shots fired at the Shell gas station on Rainor and Pendant. Request for immediate backup."

Life goes into a blur. In front of me is a dying teenager, gasping his last breaths. There are three bullet holes in his chest and he's lying in a pool of his own blood. To my right, his friend Ace is shaking uncontrollably. The gas station owner has a phone clutched to his ear and there are at least five people who were previously pumping gas beginning to crowd around. I try to open my mouth but nothing comes out.

In what feels like a million years later, my shoulder is being grasped by a strong hand. I turn to see Officer Kale mouthing words at me. I'm trying to make out what he's saying but I can't hear anything. All I hear is the sound of gun shots replaying over and over again. I look around to see five other cop cars pull up including Chief Tatum's. They've cleared the crowd, taped off the gas station and are now interviewing Ace, the gas station worker and a few bystanders.