The White Line

THE STREETS OF L.A.

"Where the hell is he," I ask Michael while he hides behind a desk. Michael was one of the first members on the force, he is a bit of a hothead and he doesn't always go by the book. He is a determined guy who likes to go off record. "I don't know, how about you look over and see if he's there. I'm sure he won't see you," Michael says sarcastically. He could be a prick when he wants to be. I peek over as I see the door slowly open. "When you guys see the lights turn on...," Ray says before getting interrupted by the lights. Ray's real name is Rashaad but he prefers to be called Ray. He is an amazing cop who has to deal with racial discrimination because he is an African American. Civilians which do discriminate makes his job much harder. As we begin to jump up, we see Brandon standing in the door way. Brandon was the first member of our unit and we look up to him because he's not only a great leader but a wonderful friend who puts our problems before his. We all scream happy birthday and he drops his keys in fright and reaches for his gun until he realizes it's us and yells,"What is wrong with y'all, y'all know I hate surprises!" We all start laughing and the party begins. As I grab a slice of the cake, Aioke starts playing the piano. Aioke is our dispatch, he is a mute but he's one of the greatest dispatchers I've ever known. He uses a voice recorder which has his girlfriend's voice to contact us. "I heard better music than that," Sam mumbled under his breath. Sam was a dick most of the time and I haven't heard anything good about him from anyone. "Is Aioke always choking on something? Is that why he can't talk," Jay jokingly asks Katheryn. Jay always makes unnecessary jokes that aren't funny and he always apologizes afterwards but I could tell he never meant it once. Katheryn pulls out her baton and hits Jay in the knee as hard as she can. Katheryn is Michael's wife and she is not one to be messed with. As long as you respect her and the people around her, she won't hurt you. Jeremy walks in as Jay falls to the ground in pain. Jeremy is our C.S.I. specialist and I always wonder how he is able to withstand looking at all the gore. If anyone could solve a case, it's Jeremy. As we all look on as Jay rolls around, Toby and Nick run to him and see if he's alright. Toby and Nick are the only two detectives in our unit. Toby is a good man, but recently he's been distancing himself more which is kinda strange. Nick is stubborn and likes to argue over almost everything even if he's not right. Kendra had heard what Jay had mumbled just like Katheryn and she yelled,"Why are you guys helping him, did you hear what he said?!" Kendra was a family person and they're all she can think about. She's the most loving woman I know. They both look at her and gave her the dirtiest look you could give a person. Kayla puts her arm in front of Kendra before she could run at them. Kayla doesn't mind conflict but she does know when a fight is about to go too far. Jacob gives a thumbs up towards Kayla. Jacob inspires us all to stay optimistic in the darkest of times. Jacob is always the good cop and he is able to lower the tensity in a room. As the room gets more calm, Cristian cracks a joke which makes everyone laugh. Cristian is a charming person who is able to talk his way through situations. "When are we eating the cake," I asked. Last but not least, there's me. The rest of the squad call me the friendliest and the least threatening which I hate. The whole unit also makes jokes about my love life which is very irritating but I don't let it get to me too much. I'm also the youngest in the whole department so everyone thinks I'm just a kid. Everyone in the room begins to stare at me and Michael says,"Right about now." Katheryn and Kayla bring the cake in and we all begin to sing happy birthday while Aioke plays the piano. There are rarely nights we get to relax so we usually try to make them last as long as we can. After awhile we make a toast to Brandon until someone's glass shattered, and frozen in place is Kendra. Jay walks up to her and asks if she wants to go out for a walk. Kendra looks at him and agrees to walk with him. As they walk out, Jeremy picks up the glass and throws it into the garbage. "What did you do to her," Brandon asks Sam. "You think I did something? Sam did this, Sam did that. Fuck all of this and all of you," Sam says as he storms out the room. "I'll go talk to him," Toby says before Jake grabs his arm to stop him. Toby pulls away from Jake and runs after Sam. Toby and Sam were best friends since birth so it makes sense why he cares about him so much. To me, everyone in the force is like another family. I feel like I'm at home here. A couple hours pass and everyone begins to go home. The only other person that is still here is Aioke. "You want me to drive you home Aioke?" Aioke pulls out his voice recorder and plays back a recording saying,"No I'll just stay here, I'll see you tomorrow." I grinned then waved bye to him. I walked down the stairs and out the building towards my black and bronze lined 1964 Ford Mustang. I drove out the parking lot and began my journey home. On the way home I decided to stop at the telephone booth to see to check up on them. Somehow they answered even though it's like two in the morning. "Hey mom, hey papa...how are you guys doing...yeah I'm doing great...nothing I was just checking up with you guys...alright...love you too...goodbye." I'm tired as hell, maybe I shouldn't be driving but I made it this far. I get in the car and I immediately pass out.