Free Jackie's Week by M.M. Wilshire

month."
    "Oh no."
    "Yeh."
    "It never stops, does it, Johnson?"
    "Nope."
    "So what do you tell yourself?"
    "I tell myself somebody has to hold the line.
Otherwise you have anarchy."
    "Johnson," she said, "if you had a cop
protecting me, we never saw him."
    "He was there. I told you he was
discreet."
    "Well, I’ll have to take your word, I
guess."
    "Do you want me to have him sneak up behind
you and buzz you the next time you’re out?"
    "No. Definitely not." She decided it best not
to mention the other protection arrangements now in place.
    "My man tells me you have a bodyguard,"
Johnson said. "Tall guy, with a braid and a large knife."
    "Oh shit, Johnson. I was going to tell
you."
    At Johnson’s suggestion, they walked
themselves and the dog the short block to Van Nuys Boulevard and
grabbed a booth inside a local stir-fry joint. A short, leathery,
impossibly old Asian man came to take their order.
    "We’ll have the special, Charlie," Johnson
said. "And a couple of large ice teas."
    "I see you know everybody in here by
name."
    "I don’t know that guy. I just call ‘em all
Charlie."
    "From when you were in Vietnam."
    Johnson nodded.
    "You bigot. He’s probably a valiant Hmong who
fought on your side."
    "True," he said. "But now he’s over here and
his teenage sons are draped with bling and pushing meth."
    "Ouch. A cop’s world view. Let’s change the
subject. I hope I like what you just ordered for me."
    "Trust me—it’s a beef and mango stir fry.
They slice a steak real thin and fry it up with lots of fresh
mango, ginger and garlic."
    "You ever been to Taxco?"
    "Nope. What is it?"
    "A Mexican place down the street. Donna and I
have been hanging out there for years. Next time, we’ll go there. I
once took a business client there for lunch, a Mexican guy, and he
cried. He said the tamales were the way his grandmother used to
make them."
    "It’s a date then," he said. "Jackie, I
almost hate to bring this up, but the lineup is set for 2 o’clock.
You’re going through with it, right?"
    "No," she said. "You’ll have to postpone it.
I started seeing a shrink yesterday. That’s one of the issues we
are going to discuss this afternoon. Right now, she thinks I’m not
ready."
    "Okay," he said.
    "That’s it? You’re not going to swat me with
a phone book being a no-show?"
    "Nope. I had a feeling you weren’t ready. So
let’s just enjoy our lunch."
    "Thank you for that."
    Charlie brought the large ice teas and Jackie
took a sip. "Mmm. Jasmine. It’s good." She took another sip. "So
tell me. We’ve talked off and on for the past six months, but I
don’t really know much about you. Have you been a cop all your
life?"
    "I joined the Department shortly after I
returned from my big Asian vacation. I was 20 years old and full of
piss and vinegar."
    "You wanted to save the world? To protect and
serve?"
    "No. I wanted to be able to beat the crap out
of people I don't like and never have to look for a job ever
again."
    "Job security. Now there’s an original idea.
You’re full of surprises. Take this dog thing."
    "I like dogs. I worked with a dog in Vietnam,
and did the same for the department when I was younger, but now I’m
too old and fat. The guys who work with the dogs start at 5 a.m.
They have a lieutenant and four sergeants above them and they all
have to sit down and eat nails together every morning."
    The plate lunches arrived, piled high with
rice and covered overall with a thick, savory sauce. They both took
up chopsticks, which each wielded expertly. Jackie plunged a
healthy amount of the mixture into her mouth. "Mmm." For awhile
they ate without talking, the quality of the food arresting any
function but that of consuming greedily the savory concoction.
    "So what’s it like being a K-9 cop and
siccing your dog on people," she said.
    "It feels good. And if by people you mean
felons, you of all people must be aware that felons aren’t people.
They’re humanoid trigger pullers."
    "Heinz seems very polite. He