Free The Way of Things by Tony Milano Page B

now silent neighborhood. John's neighbors had called the police
and they arrived to see John on the ground holding his family,
there was blood everywhere, the house was peppered with bullet
holes. John was a wreck, shock had set in and it took three
paramedics to get John to let go of the bodies.
    It took a month for the department shrink to
let John get back to work, he was complaining, but John knew he was
not ready to be back at work. He could not get the screams of his
family out of his head. Still, he had to do something other than
just sit alone staring at the walls. Through some of his
connections in the Asian Task force he found out that Chenglei
Chung was the Triad boss that had put a contract on John's family,
in a show of power to get John to back off. John was angry, but he
was also broken. He was not acting like his normal self, he started
drinking heavily and getting into fights with complete strangers,
well, at least the drinking was new.
    Some detectives in the department tried to
help him out of this hole he was digging, but he was in too deep
already, money had come up missing and all fingers pointed at John.
The sad part was he could not even remember if he had taken it. He
knew his time was short so he decided to resign, instead of getting
removed from the force in shame. Soon after, he felt that he had to
get away from the memories, a change had to be made. He decided on
a move to New York City. No real reason for New York, no more
thought went in to it then a dart hitting a map on the wall. It was
okay he thought, maybe he could lose himself in the city that never
sleeps. That was the plan at least. It did not take long and John
was back on the force, this time in New York City.
    "You still here John?" John snapped back to
reality. "Yea, I'm here." He glanced at his new partner who had
been talking the whole time. "I was just thinking, but I'm back
now. So, Tommy you married?" John looked at Tommy trying to see
into his soul. Who was this kid? He came out of nowhere and now
here he is, sitting in the same car as the best detective the force
has seen in years. This kid must be some kind of a Hotshot. "Nope,
you?" Tommy looked sincere with his question. Could he be the only
person in the department that has not heard the story? Hard to
believe, but still he looked sincere. "Never had time for that."
John was lying through his teeth. Tommy did not flinch. Was this
kid playing some sick game or was he the last honest man in New
York? "I hear you....How much longer?" Tommy was young and
impatient. Two things that can get you killed when you are not
expecting it. "Anytime now" John really meant to say soon, but that
was too optimistic for John. "How long have you been chasing this
guy?" Tommy had just finished his coffee and was ready to get
moving. This stakeout was taking too long for Tommy. But this was
John's gig, Tommy would have to wait. "Six weeks....I already lost
one partner to Chung." John was being honest, a rarity for him. "I
heard about that." Tommy was not backing down. "You should know, I
asked to be your partner." That got John's attention. John looked
at Tommy, he saw his soul staring back. John smiled with approval.
All he could think was Hotshot.
    And John was right. His new partner that
seemed to come out of nowhere was a Hotshot by all accounts. Tommy
James was a college quarterback that was bored with throwing
passes, so he decided to join the police force. He was ambitious,
he made detective in just over a year. He was quick on the gun,
fast on his feet and he knew how to work the system to get what he
wanted. In his short time on the force he had racked up a healthy
arrest record and had made friends with all the right people in the
Glass Castle. The Glass Castle was the tongue-in-cheek name that
the working stiffs used when referring to the Commissioner or
anyone else sitting a desk and speaking at parades. Tommy's star
was shinning bright and he was an unstoppable force that could