The President’s Son

 by: Miguel Sanchez

© 2009-2015 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 74 

“I wonder what it was she tried to pass off?” Bennie asked.

“It was a poor excuse for a birth certificate.” A voice answered.

We looked to see who was there and to my surprise, it was Ben. “Is all quiet with the world?”

Ben smiled. “I don’t know about the world but it’s quiet here.”

“Dad, why did Grandma try to pass a fake birth certificate?”

“So she could get the judge to say she was your mother.”

“No way she’s my mother.”

Ben came in and sat down on the bed then Bennie took his place on Ben’s lap and wrapped his arms around his neck for a cuddle. “I know that son and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her.”

Bennie looked at his dad. “What about when you’re with Chris, do you still miss her?”

“Of course son. She was my first love and the mother of my child. Nothing can ever change that and I wouldn’t want it to be any different.”

I had to wipe my eyes because even though I’d never met Ben’s wife, but she has a special place in my heart because she brought Bennie into the world. I can’t imagine what my life would be like had I not met him.”

Gloria rang the bell for lunch and we had her Mexican hamburgers and fries.

After we ate, I was ready to spend a quiet afternoon with my lover. I had just slipped into bed and wrapped my arms around Bennie when my cell rang. Bennie gave me a look as I reached for it. “Mason.”

“Ace, I hope I’m not disturbing you.” The voice said.

“No Ed, you’re not.” I answered. “What’s up?”

“I got a request from the US Marshalls, for an agent with a K9.”

“What for?” I asked.

“To assist them serving arrest warrants.” Ed replied.

“With all the Marshalls they have they need outside help?”

“This is a big operation. They have more warrants than they can handle so they’re getting help from other agencies.”

“Sure, serving warrants might be fun. Tonka hasn’t had a good workout lately. What time and where?”

“Be at their field office at 0600 ready to roll.”

“Alright Ed, I’ll be there.”

Ed ended the call and Bennie was glaring at me. “This wasn’t my idea baby. We’re Federal Agents and at times we assist each other.”

Bennie calmed down and cuddled against me. “Hope Tonka can get a good workout.”

“I do too love. He needs to keep his skills sharp also, just like we do.”

The rest of the day was uneventful.

Bennie had fallen asleep on me so after the news, I turned the television off and cuddled close for a good night’s sleep.

At 0500 the alarm went off so I shut it off and got ready for my day. I had taken a shower last night so I didn’t need to take one. I quickly got dressed then I went down to the dining room so I could have my coffee.

I had fixed my coffee when Gloria came in with breakfast. “Morning Señor Ace.”

“Good morning Gloria. Thank you for having breakfast for me.”

“I can’t let you go off without food in your stomach.”

By now I should know Gloria will have a meal for me before I leave the residence. As soon as I finished my meal, I had to get going so I got Tonka, let him do his business then we took off heading to the US Marshall’s office.

Since it was early, traffic was very light and I made it with time to spare. I got Tonka out and went inside.

A Marshall came out and froze in his tracks. “Can I help you?”

I showed him my credentials then said, “Special Agent Rich Mason and Tonka. We’re here to assist you serving warrants.”

“That dog is a K9?” He asked.

“He sure is,” I replied. “He’s made some pretty large busts.”

“Oh yeah,” The Marshall said.

Just then another Marshall came in and Tonka started whining. I led him over to the agent. “What is it boy? Huh, seek.”

Tonka started checking him then he sat and looked at his leg pocket. I reached over and searched him and found a tiny packet of marijuana.

The other agent was standing there with his mouth hanging open. “Man, he’s something.”

I was smiling because Tonka just proved his worth. “Yeah, he’s a great partner.”

At 6AM, we broke into teams and headed out to try and serve some warrants. I put Tonka into the Hummer and took off with my team.

We found a place to pull over then we set up a plan for the day. The lead Marshall handed me a warrant. “This guy will be our first stop this morning.”

I looked it over. “Damn, we’ve been after this guy for months.”

The Marshall looked at me. “Can you fill us in Agent Mason?”

“Sure.” I started. “We’ve been after him for conspiracy to manufacture US currency. He was caught once with a counterfeit $20.00 and the agent arrested him then he made bail. Since then he’s been flying under our radar.”

We took off to get Larry Ring and try to shut him down. As we got closer to his place, I saw the agents start to flip their flashing lights on. “Hey guys, don’t announce yourself.”

We blacked out and parked up the street from his house. We got out and I checked my weapon then put Tonka’s vest on him. We walked up then I banged on the door. “Federal agent’s with a warrant.”

We gave him proper time to open the door then we opened it for him.

After busting the door, we waited to see what he would do next and we found out. “I wouldn’t come in here. I have a gun.”

The Marshall looked at me. “Is that supposed to scare us?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. I stepped in and took a quick look around. To the left was an opening that led to the living room. I thought I saw his feet hanging over the end of the sofa so I had an idea where he was.

I carefully looked around then made our entry plan. I was about to make entry when I heard him yell. “Don’t come in here, I gotta gun.”

I told the team not to lock and load just yet then I took my weapon out and had three agents with me. We quietly entered then I motioned for the agents to lock and load their shotguns. They pulled the slide back then loaded a shell into the receiver. At that, I saw a head slowly raise up then he felt my pistol against the side of his head. “Ah, ah, ah now. Don’t make any sudden moves. We have guns too.”

He slowly raised his hands then said, “Don’t shoot.”

We got him cuffed and searched and found a small .22 caliber pistol. “Is this the gun you had?” I asked laughing.

He just sat there not saying a thing. “Take him out of here and start to search the place from top to bottom.”

I went outside with the Marshalls and the suspect while the team searched the house. We’d been out there for a good three hours then one of the agents came out and walked over. “Sorry Agent Mason, there is nothing in there.”

I couldn’t believe what I heard. I knew this guy had counterfeit currency in there. “Come on Marshall, there has to be money in there.”

“If there is, he’s got it well hidden.”

“I’m not about to let it stay hidden if I have to tear this house apart board by board.”

We walked back inside and I heard the search in progress. “OK, show me where you’ve searched.”

He showed me every place they went through but nothing was found. I started thinking. There had to be some place they missed but where. The other agents came out and shook their heads. All this ticked me off when I stomped my foot on the floor.

I felt the floor vibrate. Agent Wells looked at me. “Do that again.”

So I stomped my foot again and the same thing happened.

“That floor is hollow.” Wells said.

It hit me. “Not hollow, there is a basement in here.”

“If there is, the door is well hidden.”

I started looking at the walls. “There has to be a door in here somewhere.”

We started knocking on the walls. I came to a place that looked out of place. I knocked on it and it didn’t sound like sheetrock. I carefully felt the board and found a hole that had been covered with joint tape. I took my knife out and started cutting around the edge of the board. I sent one of the agents outside to bring me a crowbar. As soon as he brought it to me, I pried the plywood off. “I knew it.” I said as steps were revealed leading down to the basement.

We carefully went down and started searching the basement. One of the agents flipped on the lights and it looked too neat to be a basement. Everything was on a shelf or hanging on the wall.

Wells was in the middle of the basement slowly turning around in circles. I went up to him. “Have you lost your mind?”

He walked over to a metal shelf and kicked it. “No, something’s not right here.”

I grabbed the upright and pulled and it started to move. “Wells, give me a hand.” I said and between the two of us, we managed to pull the shelf and attached door out of the way. “Bingo,” I said looking at the boxes stacked inside.

“Damn, we hit pay dirt.” Wells said as he followed me inside.

There were medium sized boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. I got on my phone and told the Operation leader we needed a truck at our location. I walked over to Ring. “You thought you were pretty smart, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean Agent.” He replied.

“Well, you can just sit here and watch as we bring out your hidden boxes.”

Ring’s face lost all its color when he heard my statement. I saw a large truck stop beside us. “Did someone order a truck?” 

“I sure did.” I started. “I hope there are hand trucks on there because we’re going to need them.”

It took us another three hours to bring up all of the boxes he had stacked in that hidden room. Before we could stack the boxes in the truck, we had to seal them with evidence tape. The final count was four hundred and fifty six boxes. We had no idea what was inside each box but when we got them back to the Marshall’s office, we could open them and do a complete inventory.

We stuck Ring into the Marshall’s transport vehicle then we headed back to the office for another long evening. On the way back, I called the residence to let Bennie know I had a long night ahead of me and to let Gloria know I probably wouldn’t be there for dinner. “Baby, is this what being an agent is about?”

“Welcome to my world love.” I started. “We don’t have a 9 to 5 job. We’re here for the duration, no matter how long it takes.”

“What did you do today?” Bennie asked.

“I’ll tell you about it when I get back tonight.” I said as we arrived at the office. “I have to go love.”

“Love you baby.” Bennie said before I ended the call.

The truck backed into a bay then the door was closed so no one could see in then we began to unload the boxes.

The lead Marshall came out and gasped. “My god, what did you find?”

“If my intel is correct, those boxes are filled with counterfeit money.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope, the Secret Service has been after this guy for months since he failed to show up for his trial on possession of counterfeit money.”

“Our hats are off to the Marshall’s Service for finding this guy.”

The truck backed up to a dock and they started offloading the boxes. I saw this then stepped in. “Hold it.”

“What’s wrong Agent Mason?”

Do you have a secured area where these boxes are going?”

“Uh, we can make one.”

“Not good enough.” I said.

“It’s the best we can do.”

“I don’t want to do this but I have no choice. The Secret Service is taking control of this case along with the evidence.”

“Now hold on.”

“What? I asked. “This originally was our case until the guy didn’t show up in court. So we still have jurisdiction.”

“I’ll have to speak to your superior.”

I took my cell phone out and called Ed. “Director Miller’s office.”

“This is Special Agent Mason, I need to speak to the Director.”

“He’s on another call.”

“Alright, please have him call me ASAP. This is urgent.”

I ended the call and looked at the Marshall. “The Director was on another call. He’ll call me back as soon as he is free.”

“So what are we to do in the mean time?”

“For the time being, those boxes will have to stay on the truck. Get some men to stand guard until we’ve come up with a plan.”

“How long is this going to take?”

Just then, my cell rang. “Mason.”

“Ace, it’s Ed, what’s going on?”

“We caught up with Larry Ring and arrested him. While doing a search of his residence, we hit the mother load. There are over four hundred boxes with what I suspect is loaded with counterfeit currency.”

“Have you confirmed this?”

“Not yet,” I started. “I didn’t want to open the boxes in the back of the truck on the public street with no security in place.”

“Good thinking.” Ed answered. “Now what’s the problem?”

“The Marshall’s don’t have a secured area to store these boxes. So I told them the Secret Service was taking control of the evidence since it was our case from the start until Ring didn’t show up in court.”

“Let me speak to the Marshall.”

I handed the phone to the lead Marshall. “Marshall Raines speaking.”

“Marshall Raines, this is Ed Miller, Director of the Secret Service.”

“Director, are you going to let your agent take control of this case?”

“Do you have the facilities and man power to prosecute this case?”

The line went quiet. “Director Miller, we can make a secure room to store these boxes.”

“You can make one?” Ed asked.

“Yes Director. We normally don’t have the need for a large secured room.”

“Well, we do.” Ed returned. “We’re used to handling cases involving counterfeit money. Can you get that truck over to our headquarters?”

“Yes Director, we can get it over to your headquarters but it’ll take a few minutes.”

“Will you need people to escort the truck?” Ed asked.

“Yes, I can have Marshalls escort the truck and put a man in the cab with the driver.”

“Let Agent Mason take point. His vehicle is bullet proof and he has his K9 with him.”

“Alright Director, we’ll be on our way in a few minutes.”

“I’ll have men ready to take possession of the evidence,” Ed replied as he ended the call.

“Agent Mason, let’s go. Your director is waiting.”

I got into the Hummer and took the lead as we headed over to our office. It only took us fifteen minutes to make it over there. The truck backed up to the dock then the driver got out as Secret Service agents came out to stand guard. I parked in an agent’s slot then walked around to the loading dock. I thought a Marshall was going to faint when he saw the men in black standing there with automatic weapons. “Who the hell are those guys?” the Marshall asked.

I saw Dylan come over. “What’s in the truck, gold?”

“That would be nice but no, it’s a load of evidence.”

“Evidence?” Dylan asked.

“Yep, we hit the jackpot when we found Larry Ring.”

“The guy that passed the phony twenties?”

“That’s him.”

The Marshall came over. “Is the Secret Service using Ninja’s now?”

“Not quite but it gets the desired effect. This is Special Agent Dylan Masters. He’s the agent in charge of our Counter Assault Team.”

“What’s your position Agent Mason?”

“Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Presidential Security Detail,” I answered.

“So why are you out here arresting bad guys?” The Marshall asked.

“I’m also a working Agent. I have cases to handle too.”

Ace went to the truck and watched them unload it. Agents were taking boxes and stacking them onto pallets then they were taken inside and put into the secured evidence room. Men from the Counterfeit Division would be assigned to count the cash in the boxes. Once the truck was unloaded, the boxes were counted and compared to the inventory sheet written by the US Marshalls.

The count was confirmed then I signed for the load. He watched as the pallets were put into the evidence room then closed and locked the door.

Once that was finished, I left the office and returned to the residence. I knew this case was going to take a long time so I would just wait until the Counterfeiting Team completed their investigation.

I went up to Bennie’s room and saw him on his laptop with his head set on. I sat down beside him and he was surprised to see me. “I thought you said you’d be late.”

I leaned over and kissed him. “I did but I managed to get done early. Are you complaining?” I asked as I stood up.

He reached up and pulled me by the arm. “I didn’t say that. Get in here and cuddle with me.”

I saw a tent under the covers so I had an idea what was happening. I got up and started getting out of my clothes. As soon as I was naked, I slipped into the bed with Bennie. I didn’t realize how tired I was but when my head hit the pillow, I was out.

The next morning my cell woke me. “Mason.”

“Agent Mason, I have a search warrant for you.”

“I don’t understand.” I answered.

“When you seized the funny money, it dawned on me that we didn’t find a printing press so I want to a judge and got a search warrant so you can tear the house apart to find it.”

“Do you have personnel that can assist in the search?”

“I can give you six Marshalls.”

“I’ll round up some Agents so we can find it. This would be the nail in his coffin if we can find it.”

I got up and grabbed a quick shower then went out to the dining room. Ben was having his coffee. “Morning Ace.”

“Morning sir, you’re up early today.”

“I got wind of a protest.”

“A protest?” I replied. “Who is protesting?”

“Students,” Ben answered.

“Oh great! I have to re-search a house we were at yesterday. We’re looking for a printing press. If we find it, we’ll have a large truck coming down the street. I don’t need the road blocked.”

“If they refuse to move, arrest them.”

“How many people are we looking at?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“We can have the uniforms assist us.”

Ben nodded his head. Just then Bennie joined us as Gloria brought in breakfast. After I ate, I got ready to head out. Pete came up to stay with Bennie since I was taking Tonka with me. I headed directly to the house and when we arrived, Agents and Marshalls were already there searching.

I met up with one of the Agents. “So far, it’s been a waste of time.”

“Keep at it. You never know when you’ll hit the mother lode.”

Just then a hole opened up beside the house. We ran over to see what was happening. Two doors opened and a Marshall climbed out. He looked up at me. “Pay dirt.”

I followed him down into another basement. I looked and there had to be at least three inches of water so I went back to the Hummer and put on a pair of boots. I flapped over to the steps then slowly went into the basement. “Hey, where are you?” I shouted.

He came out of a small door. “In here, do you have a flashlight?”

I turned the light on and stepped into the room.

“Holy shit,” I shouted as I walked over to the machine. “How the hell did he manage to get this in here?”

“Very carefully,” the Marshall said with a smile on his face.

“Smart ass,” I shot back, grinning. “Now, figure out how we’re going to get this out of here.”

He started looking around and saw a crack in a wall. “Hey, over here.”

I went over and looked. “This isn’t a weight bearing wall.”

“He picked up a sledge hammer and swung it. “Nope, it was crudely put up too.

He knocked a hole in it. “I know how to get this out. We need loading ramps like the Air Force uses on its big cargo planes. They can handle massive amounts of weight.”

“Great, where are we going to get them?”

That was a good question. I didn’t leave on the best of terms so asking to borrow loading ramps is out of the question. I walked back to the truck and looked in the back to see what was in there. I was in luck, there were about thirty standard portable ramps in there. My only question was how much weight could they handle. I climbed up and looked at one and there was a label on it. Maximum weight, ten thousand pounds. ‘It might work,’ I thought. The next issue was the weight of the press. We looked for a label and there was one but it was worn out and hard to read. The Marshall said, “Gross weight seventy five thousand pounds.”

‘How are we going to get this onto the loading ramps?’ I got out of the truck and walked around the front of it then saw a winch. ‘This might work, but how to get it onto the ramps?’

After several hours of hard work, we managed to get it out and onto the truck. I called Ed and told him what we had and he arranged a place where we could securely store it.

After offloading it, I returned to the residence. I was on my way there when I got a call. “Mason.”

“Ace, it’s Dusty.”

“Hey man, what’s up? I’m on my way back to the residence.”

“Man, there are a huge group of protesters in the street. Uniforms are doing their best to disperse them but it’s slow going.”

‘Just what I need,’ I thought.

“Alright, I’ll be on the lookout for them,” I said then ended the call.

I made the turn onto the street leading to the back gate and it was a sea of humanity. I grabbed the microphone to the outside loud speaker. “This is the Secret Service, you are illegally blocking the road. Clear the road at once or risk being arrested.”

Uniforms were out trying to disperse the crowd but were not having much success. I pulled the Hummer over and got out with Tonka. Tonka stayed by my side as I walked up the street. I decided to try something. “Tonka, speak.”

He started barking as we walked past the protestors. One of them saw the dog and wanted no part of him. “Hey man, I surrender; don’t shoot.”

“I don’t intend on shooting but my dog here is hungry so unless you want to become a snack, move it.”

He disappeared along with many of the group. I reached down and petted Tonka. “Good job buddy.”

He looked up at me and his tail started wagging full force. I returned to the Hummer and headed for the gate. Once again I was met with a sea of protesters blocking my way. Once again I got out with Tonka. I was about to head over to them when I got a message from the Crow’s Nest. “Gun.”

“Who, where?” I asked.

“At your 11 o’clock.”

I turned and saw the man with the gun. I drew mine out and approached him cautiously. I was close enough to see the end of the barrel when I heard a voice yell. “Don’t shoot.”

I had no intention of shooting. I told the agent in the nest to hold his fire as I got closer to the suspect. “Hand me the weapon.”

“Now why would I do that? So you can just shoot me like a dog?”

“I have no intention of shooting you. You’re blocking the entrance to the White House and you’ll have to move.

“So we’re not allowed to protest?”

“You may protest but you can’t block the street or entrances to places of business.”

“Why not? They haven’t done a thing to keep you cops from abusing us poor blacks.”

“You haven’t been reading the newspaper. President Jacobs has done a lot to stop the things that have been happening. Now, hand me the weapon.”

He looked down and I saw the pistol start to lower so I eased my hand out to take it. I went to grasp it when he raised his head and hand then fired. I dropped to my knee as Tonka came over. “That prick just shot me.”

He turned to face the White House and he pointed the gun towards the residence. The agent in the Crow’s Nest had the green light so he took him out.

All hell was about to break loose until Tonka sounded off. Everybody backed off and the secret service started yelling at them to back up then Dusty arrived. Dusty tried to reach down and tried to take control of Tonka but Tonka snapped at him.

“Tonka down,” I said.

Tonka began licking my face once he realized I was alive. Dusty reached over to take Tonka and this time my dog went with him.

By now the White House was on lockdown. Bennie heard the lockdown and tried to leave his room but Pete had him stay put until he could find out what was going on. Pete went out into the dining room and called Dusty. “Dusty what’s going on?”

“Ace has been shot.” Dusty said.

“What?” Pete shouted. “What do I tell Bennie?”

“For right now don’t say anything.” Dusty answered.

“You know that’s not going to sit well.”

By now uniforms had the crowd under control. An ambulance had arrived and Ace was put onto a stretcher. Ace looked at Tonka. “Stay.”

Tonka began to whine and pull on the lead to get to Ace. It was all Dusty could do to control the dog.

While this was happening, Bennie was watching the goings on out his window. He went out into the hall and shouted, “Pete, where are you?”

He stepped out of the dining room and hurried to my baby. “I’m right here buddy.”

“Why was Ace loaded into an ambulance?” Bennie asked.

Pete tried to avoid the question but Bennie was having none of it. “I don’t know Bennie.” Pete answered.

“Bull shit,” Bennie screamed. “You know just about everything that goes on here. Now answer my question or will I have to call my dad?” Bennie yelled as Johnny entered the residence.

Bennie looked at Johnny and asked his question again. Johnny was in a no win situation. “Alright man, sit down and I’ll explain it.”

Johnny went over and sat beside Bennie. “Ace was shot. Now, relax he’ll be fine. It was only a .22 round and it got him in the shoulder.”

“Oh My God,” Bennie yelled “And just when were you going to tell me? Ace is my husband, in case you forgot.”

Just then Ben came into the residence. “What’s all the yelling about?”

Bennie jumped up and ran over to Ben. “Dad, Ace was shot and no one told me about it.”

Just then, Johnny walked into the residence. Johnny was tasked with filling Ben in on Ace getting shot. While this was going on, Bennie ran down to his room grabbing his wallet and keys then slipped into the elevator. He ran out to his car and took off. He peeled out making a large cloud of dust. The guard at the back gate didn’t see an agent with him so he didn’t open the back gate. All this did was piss Bennie off even more than he already was.

Captain Langford pulled behind Bennie and went to the driver’s side window. “Look Captain, my husband is in the hospital, now let me out.”

The Captain shook his head. Bennie laid on the horn just as Pete came up. “Bennie, where are you going?”

“To the hospital damn it, now let me out NOW!”

“I can’t unless I go with you.” Pete answered.

“Fine, now get in here.”

Pete got in then the back gate was opened. Bennie peeled out and took off for the hospital. “Slow down Bennie,” Pete admonished.

Bennie started driving like he had some sense.

Over at the hospital, I was wheeled in as a gaggle of reporters were shoving microphones in our faces. “Hold it,” I said. “Now, I have a bullet in me and you’re worried about your news spot. NOW GET OUT!” I yelled.

Just then I saw someone in a black outfit and realized who it was. “Dylan, is that you?”

He came up beside me and smiled. “Man, can’t you stay out of trouble?”

“Gee thanks,” I said. “I thought you were my friend.”

“I am buddy. Look, Ed is goanna be mad as hell when he learns you’ve been shot.”

“This wasn’t my fault. That punk brat shot me after I told him to hand me his weapon.”

“Yeah and the sniper took him out too.”

“Oh shit, that preacher Al Harper will be shooting his mouth off.”

“Shooting my mouth off agent?” A voice said.

Dillon kept the man at bay by blocking his way to the gurney. “That’s what I said reverend. Every time you make a speech, riots start. Now hear this, if one starts here, I’ll see to it you’re arrested and charged.”

“So the Federal Government is trying to chain down the black man?”

“Not at all.” I replied. “I’m here to enforce the law and I don’t give a damn what color the person is.”

“It’s a shame the one who shot that poor black child can’t say that.”

“Is that so?” I asked knowing more about the agent than he did.

“It is Agent. The shooter is still alive and a black child is dead; these things have to stop.”

About that time, Dr. Phillips came in. He looked at the reverend and said, “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to leave. Agent Masters, please escort him out of here.”

Dillon escorted Reverend Harper out of the area as reporters tried to charge him to get a statement but the other members of the counter assault team prevented it.

Dr. Phillips took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves. “Ace, why is it I’m always seeing you in here?”

“Aw, come on Doc, it’s not like I did this on purpose; it’s my job.”

Outside in the parking lot, Bennie was finding a place to park. He found a spot then when he stepped outside, he bolted for the Emergency Room. He went running to the registration desk. “Ma’am can you tell me where I can find Special Agent Mason?”

“Are you family?” The woman asked.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Bennie replied.

“What relation are you to him?” She asked.

“I happen to be his husband.”

“Oh great, a couple of fags. He’s in treatment and you’ll just have to wait.”

Pete had caught up with Bennie and heard what the snotty woman said. “Look lady, where is Agent Mason?”

“And just who are you?”

Pete slammed his credentials on the desk. “I happen to be with the Secret Service. Now, where is he?”

“Treatment room one.” She answered.

“Thank you, come on Bennie.” Pete said as the two of them headed towards the treatment area. Pete spotted an agent standing guard by the door so he showed him his credentials. As soon as Bennie entered the room, he ran to my bedside. “Oh baby, how’d you manage this?”

“It wasn’t my fault love. I was about to take a weapon from a suspect when he just shot me.”

“Relax Bennie,” Dr. Phillips said. “It’s just a flesh wound.

Dr. Phillips turned and showed Bennie the bullet then dropped it into a specimen cup. “Ace I’m going to have to put a stitch in there and I’ll need to numb it first.

Dr. Phillips started to inject the numbing medicine into my shoulder. “Shit Doc, this stings.”

Bennie grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t be a baby love.”

“I’m not, it burns like fire,” I said.

“As soon as the burning stops, the area is numb then I can sew it closed,” the doctor replied.

Dr. Phillips put two stitches in my shoulder then washed his hands.

“Hey Doc, when can I go home?” I asked.

“I don’t know if I can trust you there.”

Doc, let my love come home, please,” Bennie whined. “I’ll keep him out of trouble.”

“Who will keep you out of trouble?” The doc asked.

To be continued...