“He jumped you.” That he had, but the fight was still a fight.
“I know.” I laughed a bit and hoped it didn’t sound as forced as it probably did. “It’s all just kinda to review all that mess.” The whole month of August just weren’t a stellar moment in my peace officer career. All of it, except maybe Ramon going off like he had, was my own darned fault. “My guess is they want you there, at this review board, since you witnessed that fight.” And other things likely. But it wouldn’t get that far. I’d just tell them what all happened, admit it, explain it and Kabe’d just get sent on home. That’s what happened in ninety-percent of my criminal cases. Everyone shows up for the party, the guy realizes it’s all pretty serious as those twelve folks start filing in, then pleads and all of us get sent home. It had to happen that way for a POST hearing, I couldn’t see it different. I wouldn’t let the free fall my life was on pull Kabe off the face of the cliff.
Kabe still looked suspicious. “Don’t they have the court records?”
“It was justice court.” That I actually managed a real laugh at. “There weren’t no transcripts or nothing about what was said.” The judge had been right nice back then, dropping a misdemeanor for public fighting down to an infraction for disturbing the peace. “So don’t worry nothing about it.” I threw every bit of confidence I could muster behind that sentence.
“Dude.” Like he suspected I weren’t telling him the whole story, Kabe sucked in his breath. “It’s a hearing, what do you mean don’t worry?”
I couldn’t let him get on that track…’cause if it bugged at him, then he would bug at me and I’d start getting all jumpy. “It’s just to review the discipline I’ve already gotten.” That equaled the honest truth without fudging nothing. “You know, I told you, getting suspended, dropped a grade in pay, lost a year of seniority…all that stuff.”
“Why do they want to review it…” He shook his head and rolled his eyes to the sky, “and who the fuck are
they?
”
“The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.” We all—deputies, cops and correction officers—just called it POST for short. Depending on who you were talking to and why, POST could mean the folks who cleared you to start training or the classes we took to keep up our certification or a thousand other things. I gave Kabe the most basic of their jurisdictional functions to explain it to him. “They’re who says if you can enter the academy—you know reviewing records and stuff. They review every administrative discipline in the state.”
“Why?” I could see him starting to ease up on the suspicion…not by much, but a little.
“‘Cause Utah is a whole bunch of little tiny departments.” Salt Lake City, State Corrections and the State Troopers numbered in the hundreds of law enforcement personnel. Most other jurisdictions in the State could count the number of sworn officers on both hands. “Ninety percent of them don’t have their own Internal Affairs division to look into officers that might have had issues…so the State created the POST Council.” Back in ‘83, POST and the State realized a lot of stuff got swept under the carpet at small departments, so they went on and created the Council. Sorta the State’s way of double checking things. “If I got a ticket for speeding, POST would look into it. Since it all got kinda messy, with Ramon being so hateful about, you know, us and what that means, I’m sure they just want to get the story straight.”
Kabe stared over my shoulder for a while, not talking to me. When he did finally meet my eyes, I almost couldn’t look him direct. He chewed on his bottom lip a bit. “You know the last time I was in courtroom, it did not go all that great for me.”
“Don’t worry none.” There weren’t no reason for him to worry. There couldn’t be no reason for him to worry. I didn’t want him to have to worry. “I’m
certain
they won’t really need you.” I’d do anything to keep him from having to suffer. “I’ll just tell ‘em what happened, they’ll look at the discipline I got and see it’s pretty fair.” If I admitted it all, basically plead no contest, they shouldn’t need to hear from no one else.
Defensive, for me not him, Kabe growled, “I don’t think it was fair, it was fucking harsh.”
“I think it was fair.” Lord knows I could have been fired for it. Lot simpler for everyone in the department if they’d done so…’cept me. “Sheriff Simple thinks it was fair. I screwed up, but I took my medicine.” And I’d do it again. Weren’t right that anyone else take the heat meant for me.
Kabe kept poking, “Are you sure?”
“Boy,” I jammed my thumbs through my duty belt and stared him down like I might someone who tried to throw me a line, “why wouldn’t I be sure?”
After a kick at some ice in the lot, Kabe swallowed and asked, “So this is just a formality?”
Finally, I seemed to have gotten through to him. “Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.” I reassured both of us. “It ain’t for you to worry over.” Had to wonder why they didn’t just send me a consent decree outlining POST’s position and my punishment, but probably because it had all gotten so messy they wanted to hear it outta my mouth to get it straight.
“Are you sure?” I sorta guessed he’d ask at least one more time.
“Do I look worried?” I knew I didn’t because there was no way I’d let myself. “No. So put a sock in it.”
Now that grin of his went a might wicked. He stepped up close and teased. “You going to gag me in public?”
I almost shuddered at that proposition. “No.” I licked my upper lip, tasting my own interest in the sudden beads of sweat there. “But I could if we went on home.”
He barked out a laugh and fished for his keys. “Bet I can beat you to your place,” he taunted as he yanked the door and jumped into his truck. Boy knew mine was parked on the back side of the lot. I started running. I might still be able to at least match him and his worn out old truck.
I walked in the door to my place just after Kabe. Couldn’t believe he’d beat me home. Knew he was there since his truck blocked half of where I usually parked and he’d left the front door wide open. I’d have to blister his hide for that…squirrels sure didn’t need to profit off him running up my heating oil bill.
Didn’t get a chance to say much of nothing. “Fuck, have you ever read one of these things?” Kabe looked up as I swung the door shut behind me. He sat with his butt propped on the arm of the couch reading the subpoena. His lips were smashed together in a thin line and he tapped the edge of the empty manila envelope against his leg.
My shotgun slung over my shoulder, I walked on past him to the small gun safe under the stairs. I’d never owned one before, but with Kabe around…well he wasn’t supposed to be in possession of firearms. So if’n they were locked up and I had the combo then there weren’t no way he possessed them. See, I used to just leave my shotgun and service weapons in the trunk of my patrol car, but a deputy over in Kane County lost all his arms when somebody broke into his vehicle while he was sleeping. I started bringing ‘em inside after I heard about that. Kept my hunting rifles and all the ammo in the safe too. Darn thing cost me close to three hundred bucks. Weren’t the best one on the market, but heck I didn’t need it to survive a nuclear bomb or nothing.
While I stowed my sidearm and the shotgun, Kabe read out, in a snippy little bureaucrat’s voice, “The People of The State of Utah Send Greetings to: Kabe Varghese.” With a snort Kabe rolled his eyes. “Greetings my ass.” Then he continued, “WE COMMAND YOU that all and singular, business and excuses being laid aside, you appear and attend before: The Peace Officer Standards and Training Council…” He came up behind me and waved the paper in front of my face until I smacked his hand aside. “Where’d they steal that language from? The first draft of the Bible? Excuses being laid aside, shit.”
I slammed the safe shut, spun the lock and stood. “That’s what happens when you let a bunch of white-shoe lawyers get their hands on writing things.” Court documents always used three times the words any normal person needed to say the same thing. “It’s just to make it seem formal. It ain’t nothing.” I unbuckled my big duty belt—with the holster, cuff case, flashlight and other junk hung off it—and slid it on top of the gun safe.
Kabe read over the sheet again. “Seriously though, dude, this doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“Would you quit bugging about it?” I walked away, shucking my coat. “It ain’t nothing.” Figured if I repeated it enough he might just believe me. Didn’t necessarily believe it myself.
Kabe dogged my steps. “But it’s a subpoena.” Why wouldn’t the boy let it go? “It’s got to be serious if they’re subpoenaing me. They even got the sheriff to serve it.”
“Look, no.” I hung my jacket on the pegs on the wall near the front door. “They want to make sure you got it, that it didn’t get lost in the mail or nothing.” Had to take a few deep breaths to make that sentence go down right. Then I turned around and even managed a smile. “That’s all that is. Don’t think on it like all that. Trust me, it ain’t nothing. Don’t worry.”
“Aren’t you worried?”
I jammed my hands in my pants’ pockets. “Naw.”
Kabe crossed his arms over his chest, cocked his hip and hit me with a glare stolen from one of those reality shows on the gay satellite channel he liked to watch. “Not at all?”
Lord, I had to give him something or he’d never quit pestering. “Okay, yeah,” I tried to keep the real worry out of my voice, “but not enough to, like, lose any sleep over.” Although I cain’t say the whole thing didn’t consume my thoughts when my eyes were open. “It’s about as routine as a review like this could be.”
“I don’t know if I could be calm if I—”
Before he could finish, I jumped in, “Drop it.” Every tug of his worry sent my brain into a tail spin. “It ain’t nothing,” I insisted. “If I ain’t worried then your gnawing on that bone will make me.”
A wicked gleam flashed in his forest colored eyes as he stretched. “What if I don’t want to drop it?”
“What?”
“Make me.” The tease in his voice sent my pulse racing between my legs.
I leaned on into his body, slipping my palms around to cup his butt. “You want me to make you?”
My boy already sprouted wood. “You promised to gag me…” he rubbed up against me, “in public even.”
“You’re so bad.” I had to taste him. Ran my tongue up along his throat. Good Lord, sweat and anticipation, that heady mix just wrapped my senses all up.
“I know and you love it.” Kabe tilted his head back so I could get more contact. His hands ran up on over my arms. “Come on, big, bad, Deputy Joe, restrain me.”
I snickered. “You’re gonna make me laugh acting all like that.”
Kabe reached up and pinched my ear. “Hey, if sex isn’t fun, why bother fucking?” I could feel his laughter against my chest.
Starting to walk us backwards on through the room and hopefully up the stairs without bodily damage, I mumbled it against his skin. “You got a point there.”
I can tell you, it weren’t easy getting up the steps all wrapped up in each other and trying to shuck our clothes at the same time. Unbuttoned my shirt and wrassled myself out of the sleeves while still kissing him. Had to break it off for just a bit when Kabe yanked his t-shirt over his head. About that point, I started licking his chest.
Kabe laughed and kinda bunched up on himself. Must have found a ticklish place. When I went for it again, Kabe ducked and ran up the rest of the stairs. As I followed, hot on his heels, I tugged my web belt out of the loops of my uniform slacks. Folded it up and smacked it against my hand. Didn’t make quite the satisfying crack that leather would, but it served to egg us both on.
Kabe turned as I hit the top landing. Then he grinned and flopped, backwards, on the bed. He kicked off his shoes and just waited.
“What are you doing?” I stood there, slapping the end of my belt against my thigh.
Kabe folded his hands behind his head. “I think I do too much of the work around here.” Like he was all pleased with himself, he grinned. “Your turn.”
Folded my arms across my chest. “My turn?” Boy was getting right uppity on me.
“Yeah.” Darn, he looked smug. “I’m going to lay back and get fucked.”
I stepped up next to the bed. “You are, are you?”
Running his foot up along the inside of my leg, he teased. “It’s what you’re good for you know.” Then he pressed his foot right into my junk. “Pounding the shit outta me and all I’ve got to do is moan and groan a little.”
“That right?” Caught his leg at the knee and yanked him. Kabe slid to where his butt came off the edge of the bed. I reached down, popped the button on his jeans then grabbed the pockets. Pulled his pants down, let them drop around his ankles. I reached down, grabbed his arm and hauled him off the bed.
Kabe slammed up against me, not quite standing, and struggled to get his feet under him. “What?” He mouthed the word right up against my chest.
As I stepped back a ways, I pulled him along with me. “Come here, you.” Kabe kinda stumbled around until he got his feet untangled from his jeans. “Pick your shorts up off the floor,” I ordered. Let him go long enough for him to grab his glorified jock strap outta the pile. When he stood up, I held out my hand. “Give ‘em here.”
Almost like Kabe was sizing up my motives, he slowly held them out. “Why?”
I grabbed them. “‘Cause you talk too much.”
“Wha—”
That only got about half past his lips before I shoved his jock in his mouth. Then I slung one arm behind him and pulled him up tight against me, locking his arms with one against my elbow and the other caught by my fist. I took my web belt and strung the tang back through the buckle. Weren’t all that easy one handed and with Kabe squished against me, but I managed well enough. “Time to teach you some manners.” I slipped the loop of the belt over one wrist and then pulled his arms together. Use my other hand to get his other wrist under the webbing. With a tug, I snugged it all down.
I kept an old kitchen chair up in my room for when I needed to sit and get my boots off. Snaked my foot behind one leg and pulled it from against the wall. “Think you’re gonna be all cute and pushy, today, didn’t you?” Hung onto Kabe by the loose end of the belt, his body sandwiched in the crook of my arm. Used my other hand to get my own pants all undone. “Seems like you need a lesson in being polite,” I growled as I shoved my pants off my butt. When I sat down on the chair, Kabe almost fell on top of me.