A Hot Mess - 2. Chapter 2 – Units and Equations

“We run a very tight ship here. I, Detective Smith, Officer Sawyer, Officer Edmunds and now you Officer Johnson, we are the core of the Homicide investigations team.”

Jason had called a meeting of his unit to introduce the new member. They were all standing in his office which was not very different from Tom’s. If anything there was more clutter and the whiteboards were covered with writings and pictures.

“We obviously work closely with other divisions, but this team here, we are a family and it’s our job to ensure every perpetrator of homicide in this county is brought to account for their actions.”

So far Johnson had behaved. He was listening intently and seemed inclined to make the best impression on his colleagues. This was not a particularly hard bunch to please but occupation had made them more inclined to mistrust than trust. Mallory Smith was a caramel skinned tough as nails detective who had worked twenty years in the department. She was a mother of two and damn good at her job. Officers Sawyer and Edmunds, both white and both seemingly in their twenties gave off vibes of being really bored but Travis was not fooled by it. These were basically efficient men who likely shifted gears when supplied with a challenge and a cup of coffee.

Jason continued with his initial orientation, “In my absence Det. Smith calls the shots.”

“I bet she does that in your presence too.” Travis’ personality finally showed up. He had said it in good faith but the steely silence his joke received informed him that it had fallen flat. Mallory gave him a very obvious head to toe once over as if to say, ‘which tree has this one dropped from?’ The Bored Twins seemed to have been injected with some life and eyed ‘this Johnson guy’ with new interest. Jason ignored the comment and addressed Det. Smith.

“Mallory, would you do me a favor and help get the space next to your desk cleared for Officer Johnson? He’s going to work with me, but seeing that I am going on my leave in two days it would be great if you could show him the ropes.”

“But I…” Travis began, but held his tongue when Jason gave his ‘don’t fuck with me’ stare.

Rest of the meeting went in discussing statuses of the two ongoing investigations. One was a case of domestic violence where a man was accused of killing his wife. They had found his fingerprints on the knife and he had confessed during the interrogation. To Johnson that sounded like a routine case. Smith was investigating one involving a seemingly random shooting in a club brawl three months earlier where one girl had died. The shooter had done the runner. Apparently he had been caught in California and was being transported back to be brought in front of a judge.

“Do you think we have enough to keep him in custody?” Jason asked Mallory.

“I’ve started rounding up key eye witnesses. Positive identification should be. Post that I think we’ll crack him in interrogation. ”

Jason nodded. “He’s a seventeen year old kid isn’t he?”

“So you’ll make him a deal if he pleads guilty?” Travis interjected here.

“We won’t make it. He’ll be eligible for it.” Mallory supplied.

“Seems to me it would just be an easy way to close the case, shouldn’t we try and get him the maximum punishment to discourage others?”

Mallory turned to Jason who in turn was eyeing the new officer with a neutral expression. What he was not revealing was that Travis’ hard stance had taken him by surprise. When he felt Detective Smith’s eyes he quickly took charge,

“I’m okay with your plan Smith. Just see to it that we have him nailed before the interrogation.”

“Will do, Sergeant,” Mallory replied.

“Alright, let’s start rolling.” As people began to disperse, Jason pointed to Travis, “Officer Johnson, can you stay back for a minute. I need to discuss something with you.”

Travis got the distinct impression that he was in trouble. “Yes, Sergeant.”

Jason waited for the door to close. “Officer, do you know why I asked you to stay back?”

“I don’t exactly,” Jason answered cautiously, “but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“What you did just now was impertinent. If you had a suggestion for Det. Smith, you should have discussed it with her first before bringing it up in front of me. What you did was undermining her judgment. You’d not make friends here with that kind of behavior.”

“Is it necessary to make friends?” Travis was trying not to sulk.

“Did you not hear me earlier? We are a team, a family. If we don’t get along, we cannot do our jobs. It takes team work to do well here. No one can operate alone and expect to succeed. Things don’t get done that way. Not here at least.” Jason pressed his point.

“Well, Sergeant Scott you might have a slightly tough time with me. People don’t generally like me.”

“Then that’s something you are going to have to work on.”

Travis nodded, and then went silent. His stare unsettled Jason who broke their eye contact to dismiss him with a “That’d be all. Go and talk to Smith and ask her how you can get your desk set up.”

“Thank you Sergeant.” Travis turned to leave. Before he stepped out, with his hand on the door knob he stopped. “Sergeant” Jason who had picked up a paper to read, looked up, “I really do intend to do you proud. I will try to change myself. ”

Jason was not inclined to give a verbal response so he nodded.

“I, I also wanted to say that I am an admirer of your work.” Now Jason was intrigued. “How you solved the Joshua Martin case was, I studied it. I really hope to learn a lot from you.”

Jason observed his youngest subordinate closely for signs of flattery. He found none. Also gone was the flirtatious tone from earlier. As if to underscore it, Travis himself acknowledged. “Earlier, what I had said when we met.” He did not flinch while referring to openly ogling his boss, “I can keep my personal feelings from interfering with my work. You’ll not get…”

Before Travis could go any further with this line of conversation he was stopped with a raised hand from Jason.

“Officer, you need not elaborate any further on your personal feelings. I am certain you’d do your job well. As for your admiration, I would much rather have you ‘respect’ mine and my team’s work. Like I said earlier, no one can operate alone and succeed. It applies in my case as well.”

Travis was surprised that his sincere appreciation had earned him a lecture on teamwork and respect. He respected Jason alright, but he was also hot for him. Could he help that?

“Can I ask you something, Sergeant? Would you have said the same thing to me if I were a girl?”

“Now you’re being impudent.”

“Not intentionally. I’ve seen how policemen look at their female colleagues when they dress a little feminine. Should I behave differently because I’m Gay?”

Jason considered how he should answer that.

“Officer, in the workplace, it is my job to enforce professionalism and decorum. And the rules are the same regardless of sexual orientation. In fact you’ll not find another police department in this country more tolerant than ours. Keep that in mind before you jump into activism. We’re here to do a job, that’s solving cases. Let’s not lose focus here.”

Jason saw Travis’ chin go up.

“And while we’re talking, let me clarify. You have been placed in my charge because apparently you need to be taught how to work with other people.”

“By not speaking my mind?”

“Yes, if you have nothing valuable to say. Or if it is not the time and the place for saying it.”

Travis had wanted to make a good impression on his boss and it seems all he had done was antagonize the Sergeant. He refrained from arguing further and nodded in acknowledgment of the piece of advice he had received.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll work on when and where to open my mouth.”

Jason looked up sharply to check if this was another innuendo laden reply. The two men locked eyes - older one trying to intimidate, younger one playing it cool.

“Do I have the permission to leave, sir?” Travis asked in a his coldest voice.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”