Dissociative Psyche ✦ J. Riley | ✓ [book 2]

14~ The Only Time a Man Can be Brave

"Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?' 'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him." 

~ George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones

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Weeks had passed, and thing had become quiet -- much to everybody's relief. Tensions were still running high, with protests being stationed outside the precinct and the courthouse. And every officer was equipped with a body cam, a hope to keep conflict down between the police and bystanders.

And Jake? Lex kept good on his word about desk duty. While Lex, Dave, and other officers were breaking their necks trying to find their third player, Jake was having to deal with press, sending out equipment orders, and filing report, after report, after report...

But nobody was threatening him... at least.

Jenna was back at school, keeping her GPA up as much as she could while at the same time, struggling to immerse herself into her new life in witness protection. The shrine on the campus had began to dwindle, but the pictures and mementos were still there. Jenna was just grateful that the protest group had taken their sermon elsewhere and not in the broad space of the campus courtyard. 

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"And he shoots..." Dave wound up his arm and threw a crumpled note at the trash can. It rounded the rim before it plopped in, "And Kowalski scores again!" he then turned to Jake, "You owe me another ten, Jake,"

But Jake wasn't listening, he was focused on the scribbles he was making with his pen while supposed to be writing out progress reports. Dave, feeling a bit annoyed, took a scrap piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it at Jake's head. The sudden bounce off his head made Jake jump and spin around.

"Earth to Officer Riley! This is Houston radioing you back in," Dave called, "Do you copy?"

"Yeah, yeah, I copy," he muttered back.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" he asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged back. Dave gave him a sideways glance.

"That's bull. You've been moping around like Eeyore for two weeks," he said, "And if I've noticed it, Jenna's bound to have noticed it," 

She had, he knew she had. She just didn't want to say anything. Yes, being at home at five was a nice shift; no more all-nighters cooped up in a van on stake outs, or bashing in doors with his shoulders -- which couldn't have been good for his muscles, and most importantly: nobody had tried to take a shot at him. 

But being out in the field, where all the action was; that was where Jake belonged. It was like trying to keep a wild stallion in a pen and train him to do circus tricks. It almost never worked, and Jake wasn't eager to become part of the statistic that did. 

"She's noticed it, she's just... she knows how to handle it better," he replied.

"What about the kid?"

 Jake sighed, "Yeah, he knows too," 

Quentin had tried to distract him from it all; getting Jake to teach him new tricks to be better in basketball, or practicing his curveball at the park. Jake enjoyed those moments, they were moments he would truly cherish for the rest of his life, but right now, none it seemed to matter, so long as he felt the inclination that someone was always watching them. 

Dave huffed and stood up, leaning over Jake's desk, "I know it sucks, but you and I both know that this the best circumstance for you and your family right now. That drive-by was a warning. Next time, who knows what they got planned," he said.