Syn was baffled when all three men burst out laughing. Syn didn’t know what was so funny. Or maybe the Captain was on the take too, and they were laughing at the end of Syn’s career as a Detective. Fuck.
Captain put his hands up in a placating manner. “Okay, you made your point, Detective. You’re clean. Let’s have a seat and we’ll talk about this rationally.”
“With all due respect. Fuck you, Sir,” Syn spat at the Captain.
Ice cold fear shot down Syn’s back at the angry glare the Captain shot his way before the regal man spoke through clenched teeth, “I understand you are upset Detective Sydney, but unless you want to know what an old school ass-whipping feels like, then you better wipe that self-righteous look off your face, change your tone, and remember that you are speaking to a superior officer. A superior that will only give you one final order to sit your ass down and show some fucking respect, or not only will I take your shield but I’ll have your ass in front of the Commissioner’s Disciplinary Board faster than you can ask why.
Syn tiredly ran his hand over his beard stubble and dropped down in one of the four uncomfortable chairs in the Captain’s office, trying not to wince at the pain in his lower back. Day and God slowly did the same.
The Captain settled back behind his desk and pushed a button on his desk phone. “Send in Detective Sealing.”
“Yes, Sir,” a female voice responded.
Syn was still on alert and made sure he was watching God and Day out of the corner of his eye. He heard the door open and immediately recognized the suspect from the house they’d just kicked-in, except the man had a badge and a holstered weapon on his belt. He had a mark on his jaw – obviously from Ronowski’s punch. Speaking of the bastard, Ronowski came in right behind him.
The Captain let the two men close the door before he spoke again, "Detective Sydney, this is Detective Sealing. You may recognize him as Goose. He is the training officer on God and Day’s task force. He’s a golden glove champion and a martial arts expert, so he can take a punch. What you just went through was a test of your strength, your courage, and most of all your morals. Everything that this task force requires. From what I've seen here, you passed with flying colors. I don’t think Day could be any happier, since he specifically chose you over the other three hundred candidates.”
Syn turned and saw Day throw him a wink, making Syn roll his eyes.
“I didn’t pick you because you come from a long line of cops. I chose you because you’re the real deal. Your record and commendations speak for themselves. I only just saw that you got balls of steel too.”
Syn blinked and tried to control his rapidly beating heart. It hadn’t quite registered yet that his career might not be over. “So that whole set up was a fake? The file and everything.”
Day nodded his head, yes.
“Motherfucker,” Syn whispered. “That’s an awful lot to go through to test someone’s loyalty to their job, don’t you think?”
“No,” Detective Sealing spoke up. “You are going to be seizing millions of dollars Sydney, more money than you’ve ever seen. We looked into your finances. While you’re not in debt, you’re not rich either. We needed to be sure you can’t be persuaded to keep some of that money, and who better to convince you than your own superiors? A new recruit may balk at stealing evidence if another officer tried to tempt them, but if your own Lieutenants are on board, then they may feel it's safe to go along with it. Believe me Detective Sydney, not everyone has passed my simulation. Not only did you refuse the money, but you refused the position, physically attacked your superiors, and wanted to go to Internal Affairs. I think it’s safe to say we made the right choice.”
“I made the right choice,” Day said smugly.
“Whatever,” God grumbled while still holding his swollen nose.
“Fuck. Are you serious? He hit you, God?” Ronowski grinned.
“Shut the fuck up, Ro,” God swore. “Well we’re not going to throw you a damn party and kiss your ass all night for doing the right thing. Do you want the position or not?” God stared at Syn.
Syn looked at Day, God and Ronowski before turning his own smart-ass grin on them. “Depends. Is being gay a requirement too?”
“No. But being an asshole is ... and you’ve got that in spades. So what’s it gonna be fuckface?” Day quickly threw back.
Syn stood and held his hand out to God. God gripped his palm in an extra firm grip and Syn increased the pressure to match it while looking directly into those threatening green eyes. He dropped his gaze down to God’s nose. “You might want to get that looked at, it’s swelling pretty bad.” Syn prodded the big man and God dropped his hand roughly, turning his evil gaze to Day as the man laughed at his lover's expense. Syn looked each man in the eye before he threw on his coat and headed to the office door, yanking it open.