William E. Lopez
Approx 1,675 words
©2002 by W. E. Lopez
Two cops, paired as partners by their Captain,
learn about each other’s troubled past.
RAMROD
By
W. E. Lopez
The watch commander held his hand up to signal for quiet before dismissing his shift. “One roster change before you hit the streets; Hall and Sturgiss will ride together in Unit 27. That’s it, fellas, let’s get out there and keep the city safe!”
Roger Hall stood and stepped outside the briefing room while the other men and women filed out. There were no friendly remarks of “Hi, Rog, how ya doing buddy? Congratulations on the new partner.” Roger had grown accustomed to being disliked by many of his fellow officers. He fell in step with Bob Sturgiss and they continued down to the parking area to sign for their unit. “Tough luck, kid,” Hall told Sturgiss. I know you didn’t ask for this assignment. The Captain is just replacing Espinoza with you.”
“I don’t mind,” the rookie said. “You might be the one regretting the change in the duty roster.”
“I’ll admit, I’ve heard some things, but I don’t put any credence in gossip. Ask me again in a week or two, after I’ve had some time to see how you work, and I’ll give you my honest opinion.”
In the underground garage, Hall signed for the vehicle and inventoried the equipment in the trunk of the squad, then tossed the keys to Sturgiss.
“You want me to drive?” the kid asked.
“You been on the force for six months now. If you’ve kept your eyes open, you should know which roads head north and which roads head east. You won’t get us lost, will you?”
“No, sir!” the kid said, opening the drivers side and slipping behind the wheel.
When they reached street level the kid made a right and headed for the Signal Hill district where Unit 27 had a sixty-block patrol area. “Who do you favor in the series?” Hall asked by way of conversation. It was 1979 and Pittsburg had won a close victory over Baltimore the evening before.
“I used to favor the Pirates,” Sturgiss replied. “But I didn’t think they’d stand a chance against the Orioles this year, not until that pinch-hit single Sanguillen made in the ninth, last night. It was a squeaker but Pittsburg pulled it out three to two. I guess now that I live in Los Angeles, I’ll become a Dodgers fan. Who are you cheering for?”
“Me?” Hall glanced out the window, “I never pay ‘em no mind. Last week I couldn’t have named the teams that were playing. I just wanted to see if you followed sports because of what I’ve heard.”
The kid suddenly pulled to the right and the tires squealed as he stopped in a vacant space near a fire hydrant. “Heard what?”
“Look kid, I’m a live and let live person. You do your thing and I’ll do mine. I know your boyfriend is an interior decorator, and that don’t mean jack to me, as long as you don’t go putting no moves on me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Roger Ramrod. The word’s out on you too. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’d like to have you for a lover. I can tell which way a person leans, and we don’t work the same side of the street, so you’re off limits to me, just the same as your buddy’s wife would be to you. Some lines you don’t cross.”
“Okay, okay, I just wanted to be sure you knew where I stand. I never could figure out why a man would want to be with another man instead of a woman, but I guess it’s none of my business.”
“You can take that to the bank, Roger. You keep my personal life separate from the job, and we’ll get along fine. I left Ohio for personal reasons, not because I expected the shopping to be better in Lala land.”
“A fight with a lover?” Roger asked nonchalantly. He didn’t really care; he was just making conversation with his new partner.
“Not even close… it was a personal thing. My National Guard unit was called out to respond at Kent State. When the shooting started, I didn’t know what to do, but I was sure the right thing was not to be shooting at unarmed students. I didn’t even want to shoot over their heads for fear someone might be hurt many blocks away.”
“I’ll buy that, Sturgiss. It was a mistake to call out the National Guard for a police action. Soldiers are trained to ‘kill or capture by means of fire and maneuver,’ not respond to student demonstrations. You did the right thing as far as I’m concerned. No one should want to take a human life, especially no one in this job. Okay, we’ll let it drop.” Hall stuck out his hand, “Clean start?” he asked.
Sturgiss didn’t immediately accept the offer of friendship. “Not so fast, Hall, you know where I stand, now how about my pound of flesh? Why do the other cops say you can’t be trusted, that you’ve got a ramrod up your ass?”
“You mean Espinoza? Why didn’t I cover for him? What about the Blue Wall? Why did I turn him into the rat squad instead of just asking for a new partner?” Hall paused a few seconds to think. “Put us back in traffic, will you? It’s a long story and we’ve still got a beat to patrol.”
Sturgiss glanced behind him and then pulled Unit 27 away from the curb, just behind a beat up pickup with a gardener’s tools in the back.
“It was 1968 and I was a squad leader in ‘Nam. I was getting short, too. Forty-two days and a wake up then I’d catch that seven-oh-quick back to the world. It was wet and muddy out in the jungle and I was told to take my squad and check the valley just east of the company route of march, the company commander was no shave-tail and wanted to be sure we wouldn’t be ambushed from behind as the rest of the company headed for the landing zone where we would be picked up. You should know that my unit operated by spending four weeks in the boonies, getting resupplied once each week, then being extracted to a rear area for some slack time, which mainly meant cleaning weapons and more bull-shit training.
“Like I said, I was a two-digit midget and I wasn’t too anxious to take my seven men and go hunting for Charlie. I took them about half a click, that’s 500 meters for you civilians, into the jungle where we had a clear view of the valley and I told ‘em to break for chow. I didn’t completely ignore my job, I put two men on OP with binoculars and we traded off so each man could eat. After an hour I took them back to the company and the old man headed the whole company out for the LZ.”
Sturgiss slowed and made a left on Brea. The tactical radio kept up a muted chatter in the background, never loud enough to be annoying, but loud enough so either officer could hear it easily, unless one of those cars with the booming stereos and ghetto blasters pulled along side of them. Hall hated those vehicles and had to restrain sudden impulses of violence every time he heard one.
“We’d been moving for about twenty minutes when Chuck hit us. They came from the valley my squad had been sent to check. Evidently they saw us but we missed them.
“They used typical VC tactics, a quick-strike ambush then withdraw before we could call arty or air against them. The company had eleven killed, six from my squad, and eight more wounded.”
“God, that’s rough, Hall! But like you said, you were short. I can understand you not wanting to get yourself killed so close to the end of your tour.”
“That’s what I told myself, Sturgiss, but it doesn’t excuse what I did. I failed to adequately complete my mission and I lied to my CO when I said the valley was clear. Men died because of me. My entire squad was killed. People back in the world put their faith in me to protect their husbands and sons and brothers, and I goofed-off on the job.
“But I lived. I’ve never been a religious person, I’m still not, but I think maybe God kept me alive to suffer the rest of my life for what I did. And that’s why I won’t allow myself to take the easy way out, ever again.
“I could have backed up Espinoza. We confiscated a kilo and a half of crack when we busted that dealer in March. I could have looked the other way while he put $3,000 in cash in his pocket and another $12,000 worth of dope didn’t make it to the evidence locker. We still had plenty to put the man away for a good long time. I could have backed him up, but I didn’t.”
“What you’re saying,” Sturgiss said, “is you’ll cover my ass as long as I play by the rules?”
“You can depend on it, buddy. I’ll be right with you when ever we go through a door. I’ll be covering your back when you’re looking the other way, and I know you’ll be covering mine. But you’ve got to know the rest of the department ain’t gonna trust no partner of mine the way they trust each other.”
The light ahead turned yellow, and then red and Sturgiss pulled to a stop. They sat there as traffic crossed in front of them. It seemed forever before Sturgiss spoke.
“You know, Hall, I think I can live with that.” He stuck out his hand. “Perhaps your rules are better than theirs. Ask me again in a week or two, after I’ve had some time to see how you work. Maybe then I can give you an honest opinion.”
Roger Hall accepted the handshake. A bargain had been struck, for the time being at least.