When Opportunity Knocks - 3. Chapter 3

Jett’s adrenaline was pumping as he ran with Bruce, the dog’s nose nearly flush to the ground. He was ahead of Jett by the full length of his twenty foot lead. Jett wished he could run as fast as his four-legged partner. Bruce was on the trail of a perp who had kidnapped his ex-girlfriend’s little girl. He had abandoned his car and taken off on foot through residential neighborhoods and then into the adjacent state park. The child was only three and the ex-boyfriend was a convicted felon with a track record a mile long, and a tendency toward violence. They weren’t sure whether or not he was armed so the situation was dangerous. They knew that the perp had gotten at least a forty minute head start, but Jett was banking on him getting tired out quickly carrying a thirty-something pound child. They had been on his trail for a half hour and Jett hoped they were catching up. Bruce showed no signs of stopping so Jett knew without a doubt he was still on the trail.

He and Bruce moved at a brisk pace and Jett picked up the sound of the State Police helicopter overhead. The trees were still obscuring the view from above, but Jett knew that they were tracking Bruce’s GPS signal that was embedded in his Kevlar vest. It would’ve been nice if the trees had already lost their leaves, but most of them still hadn’t started to turn yet.

Ten minutes later Jett saw a flash of bright color moving up ahead. The little girl had been reported as wearing a bright pink sweatshirt and jeans. Jett hoped it was a flash of sweatshirt he saw. Bruce started pulling harder on the lead, a clear indication they were close. He pulled the dog back and hit the button on his radio, letting the command center know that they were closing in.

Jett wanted the element of surprise to be their advantage and he gave Bruce the command to go quiet. The dog stuck close to Jett as they made their way closer to where he had seen the glimpse of pink. As they came to the top of a small incline Bruce dropped down to a crouch. Jett reached down and unhooked his lead, quickly rolling it up and tucking into the back of his utility belt. Bruce wouldn’t leave his side unless commanded to. He then unsnapped the latch that kept his Glock in his holster and silently pulled the weapon out and flicked off the safety.

Together they made their way as quietly as possible until Jett caught sight of them up ahead. The perp had stopped momentarily to catch his breath. He was still holding onto the child and Jett couldn’t see her face. He really wished the guy would put the girl down, but knew that it probably wasn’t going to happen. He slowly maneuvered closer, keeping himself and Bruce out of the line of the man’s sight.

While he was trying to decide between two different approaches and before he could settle on one the choice was taken out of his hands when the perp heard the sounds of ATVs approaching at the same time Jett did.

Now that backup was closing in Jett raised his weapon and brought himself into position before shouting “Put the child down! I will release my dog if you do not put the child down!”

The perp swung around and immediately reached for his pocket. Having no other choice Jett issued a clipped command,” Bruce. Go!”

The dog sprung forward and bolted toward the man and as his arm swung around, now holding a gun, Bruce leaped into the air and in the next instant his jaws locked onto the arm holding the gun. The child slipped to the ground and immediately started to cry. Jett raced over, holstered his weapon and quickly grabbed the man’s free arm, snapped a cuff on it then grabbed his other arm which was still attached to Bruce’s teeth. “Bruce, back.” he said firmly. As soon as the dog’s jaw released Jett secured the other hand with the cuff. The perp was now laying prone, both hands cuffed behind him, unable to go anywhere.

Jett turned to the sobbing little girl. Physically she seemed fine so Jett knelt down in front of her. “Hey Sweetheart. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you anymore.” The little girl flew into Jett’s arms and he scooped her up, letting her bury her face in his neck. Her sobs started to abate as four officers on ATV’s arrived. Two of them immediately took charge of the perp laying on the ground, reading him his rights.

Jett tried to hand the little girl to one of the other officers whom he knew had EMT training, but she clung to him like a little monkey. Jett knelt down and set the girl’s feet on the ground.

“What’s your name Sweetie?” he asked gently, even though he knew it from their earlier briefing.

“M-m-maya,” she sniffled.

“Hi Maya. I’m Officer Jett and this is Bruce. Do you like dogs?”

Maya nodded.

“I think Bruce might need a hug. Do you think you might be able to give him one?” Jett asked her.

Maya’s eyes went as big as saucers as he looked at the huge dog. She was wary, and rightly so. She had just seen Bruce take down a full grown man and Jett knew she must still be scared.

“He won’t hurt you Maya. Don’t tell my boss, but he’s really a big ol’ softie. Watch,” Jett reached out and scratched Bruce behind his ears the way he liked. The big tail started swinging from side to side and his tongue lolled out the side of his muzzle, giving him a goofy look.

Bruce sat perfectly still as Maya’s hand tentatively reached out to touch him. She snatched her hand back and then reached out again when the dog still didn’t move. This time she buried her little fingers in the thick ruff on the side of his neck. Then she giggled when Bruce tilted his head, one of his ears flopping over. She stepped up and threw both arms around his neck and squeezed.

Jett nearly laughed out loud at the expression on the dog’s face. He swore that if Bruce could talk he would probably be saying something to the effect of ‘The shit I do to make you look good’.

When Maya pulled away Bruce’s massive tongue came out and swiped up the entire side of that cute little face, eliciting a screech of laughter. Thankful that she wasn’t quite so frightened anymore Jett said to her “This is my friend Officer Kevin. Can he take a quick look at you to make sure you don’t have any ouchies?”

Maya nodded and Kevin was able to give her a quick once over. When he was done he gave a quick thumbs up, indicating that there was nothing that needed immediate attention. They would transfer her to an ambulance once they were out of the woods so the hospital could give her a more thorough exam.

Luckily they were less than a quarter mile from an access road and Jett walked out with Bruce, back on his lead,on one hand, and he carried Maya with his other arm. Four State Police cars were waiting for them as they emerged from the woods as well as an ambulance. One of the paramedics took Maya from Jett and another walked over to where two other officers were guarding their perp to check out his arm, making sure that Bruce’s strong jaws hadn’t caused any injuries. Jett glanced over as the paramedic stood behind the guy and pulled up the sleeve of the filthy sweatshirt he wore. Jett could see the red marks from Bruce’s teeth, but there was no blood. The bastard would most likely sport a nice bruise which would serve him right.

Jett waited while Maya was placed in the ambulance and the perp was put into the back of a patrol vehicle. He and Bruce caught a ride back to his SUV in another patrol car. Jett reached into the front and took out a ragged pull toy that was Bruce’s reward for a job well done.

Bruce immediately latched onto the toy and shook his big head, whipping the toy from side to side. He tossed it up in the air and pounced on it when it hit the ground. Jett reached down and grabbed one end, playing tug-of-war for several minutes.

Jett glanced at the time and seeing that it was almost 11:00am he sent a quick text to Kyle to see if this would be the day they could finally get together for lunch. Tuesday and Wednesday hadn’t worked out, Kyle had emergency surgeries come up both days. He smiled when Kyle shot back that he had one more patient and should be free in about forty-five minutes.

'I'll be there within an hour or so,' he texted back. He still needed to check in with dispatch. There was a Thai place not far from Kyle’s clinic so he took a few minutes to pull up the menu and place an order online. He got a couple of lunch combos and a few appetizers, not sure exactly what Kyle liked. He did know that he liked Thai because he had mentioned the restaurant when they were getting to know each other.

Jett opened the back door of the SUV and Bruce hopped up, his toy still clutched in his teeth. He picked up his radio and called in to dispatch, letting them know he would be out of service for the next two hours. After lunch he needed to complete his incident report so it could be filed.

He heard the rumble of the ATV’s returning. Kevin stopped by his truck and congratulated him on the successful capture.

“By the way Anderson, you’ve got toddler snot all over your neck and collar.” Kevin snickered as he revved the ATV and drove off toward the big trailer that had just arrived.

Jett looked in the mirror and sure enough, Maya had leaked boogers all over the side of his neck and the top of his shoulder. Gross. He grabbed a few disinfectant wipes and swiped at the mess. He managed to get it off his neck, but only succeeded in smearing the goo into his shirt even more. Oh well, he’d just have to deal with it. He didn’t want to take the time to drive back to the barracks to get a clean shirt from his locker. It was twenty minutes out of his way and he’d much rather spend the time with Kyle, snot or no snot. He didn’t think Kyle would mind, after all doesn’t he deal with dog slobber everyday?

Forty-five minutes later his order was ready when he walked in. He gave the girl at the register his debit card and was promptly handed an aromatic bag. Ten minutes later he was walking in the front door of Kyle’s vet clinic, food in one hand, Bruce’s leash in the other.

The lobby was spacious, standard waiting room chairs lined two walls. There was no one currently waiting as the clinic closed for lunch from 12pm to 1pm. The receptionist at the front desk glanced up from her computer screen. She recognized them from Bruce’s last visit and greeted them both warmly. Jett had always liked the friendly attitude that Kyle’s staff had always exhibited.

“Hi Chelsea," Jett greeted her, thankful there was a nametag on her shirt. “I’m here to see Kyle. I brought lunch for us.” Jett couldn’t help the wide grin that was plastered on his face.

Chelsea smiled, “You can go on back. His office is at the end of the hallway on the left. He said you’d be coming by.”

Jett and Bruce walked down the long hallway lined with individual exam rooms on each side. At the far end was a door marked “Office”. Jett rapped his knuckles and heard an immediate ‘woof’ from the other side. Bruce’s tail started swooshing just a bit.

Kyle opened the door and Jett’s breath hitched at the sight of the cute vet. He wore black scrub bottoms and a milk chocolate scrub top with black paw prints scattered on it. The clinic’s logo was embroidered on one side of his chest and ‘Dr. Kyle’ on the other. The chocolaty brown color of his shirt set off his hazel colored eyes. Kyle’s eyes reminded him of a round bottle of Remy Martin XO Excellence that his siblings had given him when he graduated from the Police Academy. That had been the smoothest cognac he had ever drank and he thought that he could get lost in those same colored eyes that were now locked with his. Rosie was at his side and her tail seemed to wag at the speed of light upon seeing her new friends. Bruce still was in working mode and ignored Rosie for the most part. His tail did twitch a bit.

“Hi. Come on in. Wow! That smells delicious!” Kyle stood on his toes to give Jett a quick kiss. “Let’s go to the conference room. We can spread out a bit in there.”

Jett took in Kyle’s office as the man led him to an adjacent door across the room. The office wasn’t huge, but there was enough room for a large solid oak desk with two chairs in front of it. Across the room the wall housed three bookcases side by side that reached nearly to the ceiling. The wall behind the desk had a double window and on the walls on either side were framed diplomas of all the Benton men who had been a part of the clinic.

The conference room was far from a luxurious boardroom of a Fortune 500 company. There was an old maple table that could seat eight, maybe ten if you squeezed some folding chairs in. There was a counter along the far wall with a sink, coffee maker and old fax machine looking rather forlorn. Cabinets were mounted above the counter and Kyle opened one and grabbed some paper plates and napkins. The restaurant had provided plastic utensils. Jett set the food on the table and then washed his hands. He started unpacking the food while Kyle washed his.

Jett noticed Kyle staring at him as he dried his hands and threw the paper towel away.

“You look a little rough around the edges there, Officer. Rough morning?”

“You could say that. Let’s get our food and sit and I’ll fill you in on the ‘Adventures of Jett and Bruce.’”

Once they were seated Jett recounted the events of Maya’s kidnapping and the subsequent chase and recovery.

“Ahhh, that explains the slobber all over your uniform. For a moment there I thought Bruce might be having issues that would need to be checked out.”

Jett chuckled. “Yeah, with our lunch time being limited, I didn’t want to waste time going all the way back to the barracks to change. I’ll grab a clean shirt when I head back after lunch to file my report.”

“Well, your morning was definitely more exciting than mine. Other than several routine exams, my most complicated patient was a cat that got into a jar of jalapenos. Cats don’t normally eat them. The smell is usually enough to send the message that 'hey, it might not be a good idea to eat that'. Butterbutt didn’t get the memo. He looked like a cartoon cat. Wheezing, drooling, crying, licking everything in sight to try to get the taste out of his mouth. The not-so-bright feline ate at least a dozen slices before the burning got to be too much.” Kyle shook his head before continuing. “Luckily he’s going to be alright. The peppers aren’t toxic, but the owner might want to put him and his litter box in their garage for the night. That kitty’s ass is going to be shooting flames later.” Kyle laughed and Jett followed suit just picturing it.

Jett couldn’t help but look at Kyle the entire time they ate their food. He never realized how sexy eating could be.

All too soon it was time for Jett and Bruce to head out. They made plans for the upcoming weekend, not setting anything into stone just yet. The forecasters were still trying to make up their minds as to what the weather was going to do.

Kyle told Jett not to mind the leftovers, he’d take care of cleaning up. That was fine as Jett really did need to get back to the barracks and get his paperwork done. He gave a short, clipped whistle. Bruce came immediately to his side and sat patiently while his leash was attached to his collar.

“I’ll text you later about this weekend, OK?” Jett asked as he leaned down to kiss Kyle.

Kyle’s lips were soft and he tasted just a little spicy. Jett could get used to that. It took him nearly a half hour to get back to the barracks, the afternoon traffic had started to pick up. It took another hour and a half to fill out the necessary paperwork for the earlier chase and apprehension and Jett got out a little later than usual.

Once home, he went through his usual routine. Bruce was by himself in the backyard. Kim’s car was gone so Tater was probably with her. She took him pretty much everywhere. For all of her complaining about him not listening, he really was well trained. He was a certified emotional support dog. The only time he didn’t listen was when he was with Bruce.

Jett made a sandwich, grabbed a beer and his phone and settled into his usual chair on the deck. He knew Kyle was still working. The clinic was open until 8pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays and this week was Kyle’s turn to work the later shift. He rotated with his father and two other vets on staff so they each only had to cover the later hours once a month. Kyle had told him that they normally only had three vets on staff, but his Dad was planning on fully retiring by the end of the year so over the summer they had hired another vet to complete the staff.

He was well into cleaning up his emails when he heard Kim’s slider open and a streak of black and white went flying by. He smiled with amusement as Tater ploughed into Bruce’s bulk. In a flash the two of them were play-wrestling in the grass.

Kim came out a few minutes later with a glass of wine in hand. She looked a little frazzled, but Jett merely greeted her “Hey Kim.”

Kim gave him a tired smile, “Hey Jett, you good?”

“Yep, could’ve been a port-a-potty tip over, but it ended up being a gold star.” Jett filled her in on some of the details of his day.

Of course she focused on lunch with Kyle rather than the foot chase, wanting to know every little detail.

Jett could see that she was trying to get her mind off of something and he knew he probably shouldn’t pry, but Kim had been such a good friend this past year, he couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Kim, I may be overstepping here, but is something bothering you that you want to talk about? I might not be able to do anything, but I can listen.”

Kim looked out over the darkening meadow stretched out behind their fence before turning to him, “I do have a lot on my mind. I’m not at a place yet where I can share it, but it’s not because I don’t trust you Jett. There are things in my past that I’ve tried to put behind me that just don’t want to die. Every time I feel like I’ve gotten further away I look and see that they’re right on my heels again.”

“I’m sorry. Just keep in mind that I’m here if you need me. Bruce too.” Jett smiled as he watched the big goof pounce on his little buddy.

“Jett, I’ve felt safe for the past year. Ever since you and Bruce moved in. I hope to Hell that I don’t ever need the two of you in your professional capacity, but it’s comforting to know that you’re here,” Kim told him.

Jett was smart. He could read between the lines. He knew that Kim was concerned for her safety. Whatever it was that she was running from, it had teeth. Jett made a vow to do his damnedest to not let it bite her. Not knowing what it was however, that was an issue.

Jett decided to push, just a little. “Kim, how come I never get to hear about any of your dates?”

Kim snorted. “It’s because I don’t have any.”

“Why not? You’re pretty and smart. You’re fun to be around. There has to be someone out there who can see that.”

Kim sighed, “Jett, I had the choice of being able to fall in love taken from me. I didn’t have a chance to have my first crush, to experience puppy love, to have my heart broken. I didn’t have the chance to figure out if I was straight or gay or somewhere in between. Trust me, I’ve had therapy. My brain and emotions have been picked apart many times over the years. I know what love is. I grew up in a loving family. I have two parents who love me, two brothers who love me. I love them back. I just can’t relate to them the way they want me to. I see things for what they are. My parents love me because I’m their daughter. My brothers love me because I’m their sibling. It’s an obligation, something that’s taught to us from the day we’re born. Have you ever wondered if your family would be able to love you if you have been born into another family?”

Kim looked at Jett directly before continuing. “Look at my friend Joyce, the writer. She has a brother that she tolerates. She’s told me before that if she wasn’t related to him then she would never associate with him. He’s not the type of person she would be friends with. She loves him as a brother, because she’s supposed to, but she really doesn’t even like him.”

Jett bit his bottom lip, a habit of his when he was thinking deeply. Slowly he nodded in agreement. “I get it. One of my fellow officers hates family gatherings because he has nothing in common with anyone, especially his parents. I can see that whatever happened in your past is affecting you even now. I hope that you can find what you need, whatever it may be. I may be a bit overly optimistic when it comes to love, but I’d like to think that there’s someone out there for each of us. Someone who’s energy matches our own.”

“Do you think that might be Kyle?” she asked seriously.

“I think I’d like to find out. Right now all I know is that I like being around him. He fits me so far,” Jett answered honestly.

“Then that’s all that matters. Whether or not I find a way to let love in again? It’s a moot point. I’ve come to terms with where I am in my life. I’ve got Tater. He gives me unconditional love. That’s all I can handle at this moment. Your friendship? That’s another level of love I can handle. You make it easy Jett. You concentrate on discovering what you and Kyle might have. I’ll be alright.” The conviction in Kim’s voice was pretty damn convincing.

“OK, I won’t meddle anymore. And for what it’s worth, your friendship is really important to me. If someday you decide to share your past I’ll listen. If you don’t? I’ll still listen,” he promised.

“On that note, I’m going to take my sorry ass in the house where it’s warm. We won’t get too many more nights to sit out here I’m thinking. You should bring Kyle along one of these nights. I’d love to meet him.”

“I will. We’re getting together this weekend, I just don’t know what exactly we’re doing yet, play it by ear most likely.”

“Whatever works for you two. G’night Jett.” Kim smiled and opened her slider. She knew Tater would only come when Bruce did so she didn’t even bother calling him.

“G’night Kim,” He replied and then gave a short whistle. “Come Bruce!”

Bruce loped across the yard, Tater running at his heels.

Another day in the books, tomorrow only a few hours away.