We eventually gave it up after about four hours. It was starting to get dark anyway and I told Zion I would pick her up from her barbecue at dark or so. “Alright, well call me if you stumble upon anything else.”
“I sure will,” Al said. “And hey, today was fun. We should get you on the force.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m not really that good at following orders or rules. I’m too much like the bad guy.”
“Nah, you’re just an asshole. But you’re our kind of asshole.”
I laughed and walked away.
As I drove to the barbecue I found myself thinking about what Al had said. I’d considered being a cop before, but I knew that it would remind me far too much of the military. I wasn’t ready to make that kind of a leap or commitment. It wasn’t me. I’ve always been too much into my own thing, my own schedule. It was this that really gave me the most trouble when I was in the military. I hated the rules, the regulations and the chain of command. But I loved the physicality of everything that we were doing. I loved how we rose at dawn to break a big sweat with a long run. I loved the conditioning aspects, the hand to hand training, the weapons training, and the fact that I felt like I was really making a difference during basic training and even afterwards when I was smack dab in the middle of a war.
I missed it, but eventually I realized I was stifling there and I had to make my own way in the world. I’d done that. And I’d done it well.
It was too late for me to learn new tricks or to start a new career. But the offer was always enticing every single time Al made it because I knew I could make a difference. I knew I could help and improve the police force with my skills and knowledge.
But the powers that be would never really let that happen. I knew that. It was pretty silly to think otherwise even for a second that I would ever be able to change their minds or their way of thinking. That was the way it was everywhere. Too many people in positions of power had to be right at the cost of the common good. That was what was wrong with the world today.
We gave the wrong people too much power.
Chapter 9
Zion
A loud splash to my right caught my attention. It was so loud it sounded like a bomb blast in my ear. It felt so close I could have sworn I had stepped on a landmine. The reverberation from the concussion rocked me and I couldn’t help being startled enough to leap back. The drink in my hand almost dropped and I struggled to hold onto it. I had to grab it with my other hand to keep it steady enough to not spill everywhere.
I staggered backwards in shock. I felt like I was shivering all over now.
“Are you ok?” Chelsea asked.
I looked over at her. I realized that I was still shaking. I looked towards the pool beside me and the two guys who had just cannonballed at the same exact time right beside us. A bunch of water shot up in the air and drenched several of us sitting close by. We all gave them dirty looks but they were too drunk and having too much fun to really care. I tried not to get bent out of shape about it, but I’d had too much stress in my life lately to let it just roll off me.
I sighed heavily and paced back and forth. I felt like hell. Chelsea was still waiting for an answer. She and a few of our other friends, Lana and Darcy were watching me. They both looked a bit dumbfounded. I sighed and shrugged at them.
“Hey,” I said. “How’s it going?”
“Are you alright?”
I nodded. “Yeah, just startled me. I’m fine,” I assured Chelsea once again. There was nothing to worry about. She would see that.
I took a sip of my drink and tried to relax and prove to everyone there that I was fine. I was having a fun time at the party, but I was not having as much fun as I should have been. I’d done a good job of fooling everyone I thought. At least I hoped that was the case.
“You are a bit jumpy today,” Chelsea said a bit quieter.
“Fuck. Is it showing that badly?”
“Only to me because I know you so well. But it’s to be expected. How are you doing? Really?”
“Well, I’m doing as good as can be expected.” It was almost dark, about the time I told Bill I’d want picked up. So far Chelsea hadn’t had time to stop playing hostess long enough to really talk with me until now.