How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life. – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Two a.m. Full moon. A deadend street. Inside Magic Miler, Barker Ajax slept deeply yet aware.
Suddenly, he snapped awake. For three months he’d expected this night. Adrenalin pulsated to the beat of the flashing red light outside. Either we’re getting rousted or it’s Disco Time.
A brutally invasive beam of light poked through gaps in the curtains. Barker sat up, tensed, took three deep breaths, and waited. He patted the big dog gently, calming his gutterally growling companion.
“COME OUT OF THERE!,” boomed a man’s voice. “VENICE POLICE.”
“Okay,” Barker was already fully dressed. “I’d like to get some shoes on first.”
“Go ahead,” the voice thundered.
Whoever it was, he’d set himself up to the front right of the van.
Barker slipped a large switchblade into his pocket and stepped out into the night, carefully placing himself between the now snarling dog and the intruder.
The uniformed patrol officer was a giant of a man. Big son of a bitch. He seemed to tower over Barker.
The first thing Barker did was look at the cop’s ID badge. It’s a rule of the street. Get a name before the brutality starts.
“PERRY.”
Officer Perry’s right hand was resting on his holster. He wasn’t looking at Barker, his eyes were trained on the threatening canine.
“Keep a handle on that dog!,” the cop said, in an uneven voice.
“Yessir,” Barker agreed. Unhappy about being awakened, the dog needed to bite something.
“It’s against the law to park overnight on city property,” the cop said, finally looking at Barker. “You can’t sleep here. Do you understand?”
“Yessir,” Barker said. “Grrr,” the dog added.
About then tensions eased. All parties knew nobody was going to get hurt. At least not tonight. At least not now.
“I’m just coming on duty,” Officer Perry said, moving his hand from his pistol. “Since this is my sector, and I know you’re here, you can stay the rest of the night.”
“I appreciate that, officer.”
“But you better be moving on in the morning.”
Right about then Barker noticed he was looking down at the man. Officer Perry was maybe five inches shorter than Barker. And twenty pounds lighter.
“This is new one for me,” the young cop said. “I’ve never had to roust someone parked overnight before. Most folks, they just park at Kash ‘n Karry. Kash ‘n Karry don’t care. They’re open twenty-four hours anyway.”
“Guess I’ve still got a lot to learn,” Barker offered. “Never thought to do that.”
“That’s an awfully big dog,” Officer Perry confided, shaking his head.
“I didn’t know about him when I told you to get out of your vehicle. Caught me by surprise.
“You really had me going there.”
Unable to sleep, Barker Ajax and The Black Gang took a walk in the moonlight.