Page 97 of Bazooka
“Team two, ready,” Maddox confirmed.
“Okay, we’re going in on one, two…”
At three, I barged into the building with my gun raised high, followed by a dozen police officers. Adam and Maddox covered the other two entrances until we all met in the middle of a huge storage room.
“Hands where we can see them! Don’t move!” My colleagues warned the stunned guards with machine guns, but there were too many of us and too few of them. Why? Mendoza didn’t see us coming.
The funny thing was that he could only blame himself for what happened. When his goons jumped me in that back alley, one of them lost a lighter. That lighter led us to the establishment called Bubba’s Bar and Grill. One of its patrons was suspicious, and after a quick check with Marcello, he turned out to be Mendoza’s liaison in Grangetown. After we made him talk, he led us to this storage where we seized a huge shipment of weapons. It was the biggest bust in the history of the Loser’s Division, and more importantly, without a shot being fired. Hopefully, it conveyed my message to Mendoza: I was here to stay.
“Excellent job, men!” Chief Bibb commended us after we’d returned to the station. “If this doesn’t get some of you out of the LD, I don’t know what will.”
“We still have a job to finish,” I stated. “I will not rest until I find Mendoza and put him behind bars.”
“Right you are,” Chief Bibb murmured. “What about the Luz situation? Is everything under control?”
“There’s been a few changes,” I replied. “After Mendoza’s threat, I moved Luz to Jordan’s place. General Zablonsky hired a bodyguard who is keeping an eye on him from a distance. So yes, the situation is under control.”
“Under control?” Adam said after we left the chief’s office. “Are you sure about that?”
“I can keep Luz in check,” I said, sounding unconvincing even to my own ears.
Adam chuckled. “If you say so but let me tell you something. I can see this situation between you and Luz unfolding in two ways. You will either kill him because he will drive you crazy…”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Or?”
“Or you will wake up one morning with a wedding band on your finger.”
Jesus.
“You ready, losers?” Jordan bellowed. “It’s movie night.”
I frowned in confusion. “What’s that? A new mission?”
“Chill, Bazooka,” Adam replied, laughing. “It’s just a night when we all go to this weirdo’s place. Basically, it’s an excuse to get trashed and blow off some steam, although occasionally we watch a movie. Everyone’s going. You?”
“Don’t even think about refusing, Bazooka,” Jordan threatened. “Luz will kill me if you don’t show up. He will be so happy to see you, man.”
Yeah, my problem exactly. My other problem was that I would be equally happy to see him. Why? Because living withoutLuz after you lived with Luz was akin to missing a limb. My apartment wasn’t just quiet; it was eerily silent. It wasn’t just empty but deserted. The unoccupied bed, vacant rooms, unnatural silence with no beginning or end. His bedroom…my bedroom, dammit… was still as he left it. His bed unmade, his clothes scattered all over the place, his makeup of whatever the hell it was that he’d left on the nightstand. His scent wouldn’t leave the room, no matter how much I aired it, which was little to none because I missed the little brat. The only thing I did in his absence was return the curtain rod to its place. Oh, and I fixed the ugly statue Luz had bought. I reattached its penis with glue (I took it out of the trash can after he threw it away, because I felt guilty). After I glued it, I hid it in the nightstand drawer because it was too ugly to look at.
So, yeah, I went to Jordan’s goddamn party. When I arrived there after a quick trip home to freshen up, everyone was already there. And by everyone, I meant Adam, Patricia, Jordan, and, to my surprise, Maddox. Chief Bibb was invited too but refused to attend because “it will probably give me a reason to fire you all”.
I said hello to everyone before heading to the kitchen, following the scent of trouble and… chocolate? When I came inside, Luz spun around, wide-eyed and panicked. He had flour all over his shirt, and some of it found its way into his hair. Or maybe it was icing sugar.
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he grumbled, looking displeased. “You were supposed to stay with the others.”
His full lips pouted out, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I expected a warmer welcome,” I said, walking up to him.
A flush appeared on his cheeks, and he ducked his head. Aw, so cute. He had a few modes, actually. The angry kitten mode. The adorable puppy mode. All the cute animals, really. And then, of course, there was Luz, the destroyer of worlds, mode.
“You smell like marzipan,” I said, leaning in and inhaling the sweet scent.
“I’m not presentable,” he muttered sulkily. “Why did you have to see me like this?”
“You’re cute.”
My words made his stunned gaze shift to my face. So what? Hewascute.
