CHARACTER VIEWS DO NOT REPRESENT MY OWN. Please be civil in the comment section.
Everything happened so quickly. Chairs scraped back, officers yelled orders, forcefully pushing people to the ground if they hadn't already and people began swearing loudly in outrage.
James pulled me down, grabbing my elbow as I quickly dumped my plate into the sink, laying on the floor uncomfortably. I didn't know what was happening or why the police were barging in here unannounced, breaking open the front door.
"Are you deaf?!" Whoever barked sounded familiar and I glanced up. I had met Chief Scott Michaels very briefly in the police station when Dad went missing. Seth had almost been intolerable that day and I went down to the station, desperately inquiring for information to appease my brother when Chief Michaels was walking out of his office. He noticed how distressed I was and reassured me that they were doing everything they could to look for Dad.
Chief Michaels looked to be around 48 years of age. He had thinning grey-black hair and thick eyebrows that hung down over his dark mud-brown eyes. He was a tall man and currently he was glaring at Charlie.
"Hey, man, let me turn--"
"I said, get down!"
"And I'm telling you to wait. I'm not having this house burnt down because of you." Stubbornly, his jaw set, Charlie set the frying pan aside, twisting the knob and turning off the gas cooker.
Chief Michaels whipped out his gun, jamming it into Charlie's chest. He spat, his face similar to a bulldog. "Get down, son."
"I'm going, father." Charlie couldn't help but retort mockingly, dropping to his knees.
"Is there a reason you've decided to visit us, Chief? It's great to see your face again but you've got to stop kicking down our doors." Cole remarked icily from where he was on the floor besides Jess.
"Search the house," Chief Michaels commanded to his men who scurried off, nodding. "Mosley, Rodgers, search them."
"Oh, I'm not having those fat bastards touch me," Jess wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Chief Michaels stomped over to her, bending down in her face and snapped. "Start with this one first."
Cole got up, his face set darkly. "How about you tell me why you're here before you lay a hand on anyone. Start recording, Irvin."
Irvin held up his phone directly at Chief Michaels. "I'm already on it."
"We've got intelligence that there's been an activity of illegal substance use in this premise."
"Same intelligence you got last month? That turned out to be bullshit, didn't it?"
"I wouldn't advice you to point that camera at me, son," Chief Michaels warningly glowered at Irvin.
"Is that a threat, I hear, sir?" Irvin asked, feigning innocence. "I'm fearing for my life."
"Get up," Mosley or Rodgers demanded at Doriano.
"I'm wearing a t-shirt and boxers. What exactly am I supposed to be hiding and where?" Doriano said tiredly, rolling his eyes. He held out his arms, snapping. "Mind where you put those hands. Last time one of you freaks copped a feel of my cock."
"Watch your tongue, boy."
"I'm a thirty-three years old man. That badge doesn't make you blind, does it?" Doriano narrowed his eyes as the police officer patted down his legs.
It was at that moment Chief Michaels locked gazes onto mine; he squinted his eyes as if he was trying to remember where he'd seen me before, realisation came and he asked. "What are you doing here?"
Almost everyone turned to look at me and I gave a small awkward shrug. "I was having breakfast."
"Until someone interrupted," Irvin said.
"You can get up," Chief Michaels was a lot nicer to me than he was to anyone in the room, the glare slipping off his face. "I wouldn't think you'd have drugs on you, would you?"
"I don't think so. You can search me if you like, though." I felt uncomfortable and out of place and pulled my dress down lower.
"White privilege," Daniel scoffed in disgust.
"Rich white privilege," Irvin corrected.
Chief Michaels spun around to shoot them both a glower. "Would you like me to take you both down to the station? Antisocial behaviour is, at the very least, a night in the cells."
Behind the Chief's back, Cole shook his head discreetly at Irvin and Daniel, an icy look in his dark eyes.
"Sir?" A police officer called, stopping at the door to the kitchen. "We've searched the rooms, there's not much there but it looks clean."
"You really shouldn't be trusting this source of intelligence, Scott. How many times is it going to let you down?" Cole held his arms out as one of the police officers began patting him his body.
"I want this room searched now!" Chief Michaels grew an furious red. Marching over to the fridge, he yanked the door open and began throwing out packets of frozen food and dropping juices on to the floor messily; food spilled.
"Watch what you're doing!" The girl with the dreadlocks yelled, moving away even as the cranberry juice lid popped open and splashed her.
"You should check inside the bacon, your imaginary drugs might be in there," James informed the officer who had finished searching him. He said it so sincerely and convincingly the officer looked doubtful, glancing at the food before Chief Michaels screamed at him to stop being an idiot.
Cole stood silently, his jaw firmly set and his eyes alight with flames of wrath as Chief Michaels and the rest of the officers trashed the kitchen. "Satisfied?" He said quietly, his arms crossed across his chest.
"You're a sneaky man, aren't you, King?"
"No. You're just paranoid. I'm a law-abiding citizen, why can't you accept that?"
"A criminal never changes. You'll always be the lowest of the lows, corrupting and ruining society for your selfish ways."
"You sound like my sociology teacher, sir," Irvin said earnestly even as he grinned in delight. "But real criminals aren't the ones in jail. Real criminals are your higher-up bosses, the ones in suits and the ones you'll never see."
"What was that?" Chief Michaels barged his way over to Irvin, rage twisting his features. "Are you trying to be funny, son?!"
"Nah, I'm just telling the truth. Criminals aren't the ones you wrongly imprison. They're the ones causing death and hardship of millions because they and their greedy fucking fathers before them steal wealth and then pay filth to workers they manipulate and work to illness and death."
Cole sighed deeply even as a few people cheered on Irvin as he was slammed against the wall, his phone crushed under a boot as his arms were twisted behind his back and he was arrested. "Let that serve a warning to the rest of you thinking of being smart," Chief Michaels shot the stink eye to everyone in the room. "Come on, let's go."
"What?" I said in disbelief. For a second panic seized me and I thought he was arresting me.
Impatience clouded his features and he said. "I'll give you a lift home."
"Don't intimidate her to leave with you," Cole stepped forward, his mouth pressed into a hard line.
"I can take you home, Shay," Doriano said, shooting me a look to agree with him.
"I didn't realise she couldn't speak for herself," Chief Michaels said sourly.
"If it's fine with you, I'm going to stay here." I should've left but I had to sort things with Doriano first and judging from the tense shoulders in the room I could tell there would be more than a few steaming ears if I left with the police. The hostility between the two groups was suffocating and crackling with undiluted hatred. James was helping me find my father; I couldn't get on their bad side.
"Do you think your father would appreciate --"
I pulled down my eyebrows, giving Michaels a weird look. "What has he got to do with anything? You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine here."
He grumbled for a second, his gaze sliding to each person in the room before he waved his hand in the air. "We're leaving."
Like sheep, the police officers piled after him. "No need to apologise for ruining our breakfast," Daniel called out sarcastically.
"Someone shut that boy up," Cole gripped the bridge of his nose in frustration. Doriano slapped a hand to Daniel's mouth. "Adrian, go after them, make sure they're gone."
Adrian, a guy with shirtless sleeves, a scruffy brown beard and too many piercings nodded, heading out of the door.
James rested a hand on my shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, finally feeling my heart slow down, the tension leaving the room reluctantly. "Yeah, that was ... weird."
Adrian came back into the room. "They're gone, boss. Irvin too."
"That dumb-ass Irvin can never keep his mouth shut, can he?" Cole said in aggravation. "Someone fetch the dumb bastard tomorrow, will you? And punch the little shit for me."
"This bacon is stuck to the pan," Charlie grumbled like a disgruntled bear. "Freaking fantastic."
"Let's all get dressed, go to Millie's if you're still hungry and someone call a fucking cleaning company, get this shit tidied up," Cole kicked a smushed half loaf of bread away from him and conversation exploded into the room, everyone moving about, ignoring their wasted and cold breakfast.
"We need to have a talk," Doriano said to me in determination.
I groaned to James. "Maybe I should've left with the police."
"You would've been shot the next time you were seen if you did. It's a good thing you didn't, doesn't make you look suspicious. But Cole will be --"
"I need to talk to you." Cole was suddenly at my side, his hand wrapped tightly around my arm as he dragged me from the room.
"I can walk, you know!" I tried yanking myself away but he continued treating me like an animal, uncaring.
He only relented in his hold when we were in the quiet and bare front room. With his menacing eyes and his sharp jaw jutting out from his face, he demanded. "How do you know him?"
"Chief Michaels? He was helping in Dad's case." I took a slight step back, wanting my own personal space.
"The chief was helping in your father's missing persons case?" Cole narrowed his gaze in a way that said he didn't believe me.
"Yes," I held his gaze, nodding. "If you don't believe me it's not really my problem."
"No," Cole stepped up to me, his voice low. "It really is your problem because if I don't believe you, I will hold a gun to your head and blast your fucking brains out."
"He didn't lead the case but he did help when I went to go to the station to ask where they were with the case." I added, feeling intimidation creep up on me. The prospect of dying wasn't appealing in the slightest and Cole was terrifying in every aspect.
"And where were they with the case?"
"Obviously not very far otherwise I wouldn't be standing here having this pleasant conversation with you."
He searched my eyes for truth and something must've reached out to him because seconds later, he nodded in satisfaction. "You can go have your talk with Doriano now."
"Great," I sighed deeply.
****
"Swallow."
"What you should've only been doing last night."
"Daniel, please leave." I raised the glass of water to my mouth, swallowing with the morning after pills.
Doriano grasped my jaw, gaze intent. "Open your mouth. Let me see."
"You're too paranoid. How many times do I have to tell you I don't want your children? Argh," I held up my tongue as the man peered in. It was not comfortable in the slightest.
"Okay, now do you remember what I've told you?"
"Kill me now," I mouthed at James who gave me a small grin.
"Are you listening to me?"
"Yes! Can I leave now?"
"I suppose so," Doriano said doubtfully, passing me the box of emergency contraception pills.
"I hope you didn't get this off the black market or something," I frowned as I inspected the box.
He looked offended I could suggest such a thing. "Of course not! Do you think I'd do that to a potentially pregnant woman? Chances are, if I did, the baby would be born but with some defect."
"We get all medicine from a hospital, you don't need to worry about that." James assured.
"You could come to my home and stay with me," Doriano offered hesitantly, looking like he already regretted opening his mouth.
Horrified, I shook my head. "You nag and scream way too much. Thanks but never in a millions. I'm going home before something else happens and I'm brought down to my knees again."
"Wouldn't be the first time, would it, huh?!"
"Shut up, Daniel!" Doriano and I yelled at the same time. We locked gazes, grimacing and then swiftly walked in opposite directions, him heading to the kitchen and me trying not to look like I was running, out of the house.
It was a great moment walking to my car, breathing in the fresh air with the memories of the interrupted morning behind me.
CHARACTER VIEWS DO NOT REPRESENT MY OWN. Please be civil in the comment section.