the story. Gus and his boss, Lieutenant Dwayne Brown, were treating Toni and me to an early birthday lunch. I was a week away from turning the big three-oh.
“That’s right,” Dwayne agreed. “Thirty-five yards-that’s why God invented sniper rifles with big scopes.”
“How long did you have?” Gus asked.
“Two seconds,” Toni said.
“Holy crap,” Gus said. “Takes me longer than that to move my coat back just to reach my gun.”
“We didn’t have to draw,” Toni said. “We got to start from low ready.”
“Still,” Dwayne said, shaking his head. “That’s crazy fast for that distance.”
Dwayne heads up the SPD’s Special Investigations Unit, and Gus is his partner and assistant. They work a variety of cases-mostly those that SPD brass deems politically sensitive. Dwayne and Gus make an unlikely pair. Dwayne’s a forty-something, good-looking black man with more than twenty years on the Seattle force. He’s a sharp professional. The fact that he’s naturally smooth in front of a television camera makes him a good representative for the police department in touchy situations. I’ve known him for six years-we used to work together from time to time when I was with the U.S. Army Sixth Military Police Group (CID) stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma. Dwayne was a detective at the time, and we found ourselves assigned to the same cases on four or five occasions. Although the years had caused Dwayne to become a little less lean than he used to be, he was still an impressive figure, not to mention a very slick dresser.
Gus-now Gus was a different story. Toni and I had met Gus last summer when we worked on the disappearance case of Gina Fiore. Like me, Gus served in the army as a grunt before going into law enforcement. He was with the First Infantry in Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq in the early ’90s. Dwayne and Gus are a picture in contrasts. Dwayne is refined and classy-looking. Gus usually looks a little disheveled-he'll never be accused of being either refined or classy, no matter how hard he tries. And, more than most, he’s completely smitten with Toni.
“And you went first?” Gus said to Toni.
“Yep.”
“And you hit the target?”
“In the chin. Just below actually-in the neck. A seven-point shot.”
Dwayne whistled. “That’s damn good,” he said. “Damn nice shooting with a handgun at long range. You beat the clock?”
“One point eight seven.”
“Son of a bitch,” he said. “That’s awesome. You shoot what-a Glock, right?”
“Glock 23,” she said.
“That’s the.40-cal?”
“Yep.”
Dwayne held up his hand, and Toni happily high-fived him. “Damn good shooting,” he said again. He turned to me. “And you?”
“I went next.”
“No shit. I figured that out all by myself. What happened when you went next?”
I didn’t say anything. Finally, Toni stepped in. “What happened is deadeye here raised his gun and fired in almost the exact same motion. Hit the target right between the friggin’ eyes. One point zero four seconds.”
“From thirty five yards?” Gus said with appreciation. “Head shot-right between the eyes, no less-from thirty- five yards? In one second?”
“One point zero four from beep to boom,” Toni said. She shook her head. “I knew I was screwed when I missed the center mass ten ring. I left him an opening.” She glanced at me. “He doesn’t need much.”
“Well,” I said, “I wouldn’t exactly call your shot a miss. Your guy wasn’t walking away.”
“Yeah, but I liked the way you rubbed it in. You could have played it safe and shot center mass for a relatively easy ten. But noooo. Instead, you pop the target right between the eyes. Show-off.”
“Damn,” Gus said.
“Well,” Dwayne said, setting his Coke down, “I don’t know about you, Gus, but I feel much safer knowing that these two sharpshooters are around. Bad guy’d be a fool to take us on now.”
“Let’s hope it never comes to that,” I said. “I sure don’t want to have to shoot anyone.” I meant it. I had enough of that in Afghanistan and Iraq to last a lifetime.
“True,” Gus said. “Still-better to be able to shoot and not have to than to have to shoot and not be able to. Here’s to sharpshooters!”
None of us were drinking alcohol, but we still touched glasses.
“And you want to know the really amazing thing?” Gus said.
“What’s that?” Dwayne answered.
“This hot-shit shooting is coming from a guy who’s nearly thirty years old!”
Dwayne and Toni laughed. “That’s right!” Dwayne said. “Next thing you know, you’ll be needing glasses- bifocals even. Happy birthday next week.”
“Hear, hear!” Gus added.
We clinked glasses again.
“Thank you, guys,” I said. “I feel older already.”
“Yeah,” Dwayne said. “’Bout time you settled down.”
I smiled.
“Damn straight,” Gus said. “Clock’s tickin’.” He looked at Toni, then back at me. “Speakin’ of which, now that the two of you are together. .”
“Something that makes me very happy, I might add,” Dwayne said.
“Me, too,” Gus added. “Although you know my door’s always open, darlin’,” he said to Toni, “’case this guy here does you wrong.”
“Good,” Toni said. She looked at me and smiled. “I may have to hold you to that.”
“Right,” Gus said. “Anyway, now that the two of you are together, what’s next? Any plans?”
I shrugged. “I’m happy,” I said. I turned to Toni. “Real happy. You happy?”
“Not counting you outshooting me? Again?” she said. “Other than that, yeah, I’m happy.” She leaned over and kissed me. I get a little light-headed whenever she does this. People always look at Toni-men and women. But when she kisses me, or even holds my hand, then they look at me, too. And then they must say, “I don’t get it.” I admit, it’s a pretty heady experience. I kissed her back, and then I turned to Gus.
“There,” I said. “See? We’re both happy.”
“I can see that,” he said.
“Plans will take care of themselves,” Toni said. She smiled at Gus. “But I appreciate the offer of a safety net.”
Gus beamed.
“Guess we’re all happy, then,” Dwayne said.
I thought about it and realized I’d never been happier-not even close. Toni and I had “crossed over” from friends to something much more than friends the previous Saint Patrick’s Day when I was laid up in the hospital with a concussion. Up until that point, we’d been classmates, and then friends, and then working associates. And the four years up to that point had definitely been hands-off between us, out of respect for the doctrine of separation of work and romance. That’s the way I was taught in the army.
Of course, all that changed on Saint Paddy’s Day. Something about lying in a hospital bed-coming to grips with your own mortality-makes you understand what’s important and what’s not in your life. Lying there, hooked up to all those machines, a light had suddenly gone on, and I had realized then that Toni was the most important thing in my life. Being mortal, I didn’t necessarily have unlimited time to get my ass in gear and let her know. I realized then that my own “no fraternizing” rule was bullshit, and it was going to cost me the best thing I’d ever known. Thank God I came to my senses and broke free. Life is short, and it’s best not to waste time.
So Toni and I may have been hands-off before then, but we’ve damn sure been hands-on ever since. I glanced at her. She looked back and smiled-a real heart-melting, reserved-only-for-me smile that made my heart flutter. Yeah, I was happy. I was damn happy.
But the question of plans was an interesting one. What
