The tension in the air was palpable.
It always is, but it’s worse when the weather is so unbearably hot and the air is thick with humidity.
Twelve police officers circled around a slick suited detective in a vacant parking lot discussing their entry strategy.
At twenty minutes before 5AM, the hope was that the target would be asleep, along with anybody else who might be inside the condo.
What’s inside the condo?
You’re sure about the target?
Yes.
Drugs?
Yes.
Guns?
Yes.
Kids.
Yes.
People other than the target?
Yes.
Anything else?
Dogs. The target has a couple of huge dogs. Rottweillers I think.
The snitch has told them all that he knows.
He’s a drug addict, yes, but he’s been reliable in the past. He gets paid for information, but the information is always good.
The snitch says that the target plans to kill a rival drug dealer later in the day because he thinks the rival shot at him two weeks before, right on the very lot where the officers are planning this raid. There is a search warrant, ostensibly procured for drugs, but saving a huge group of teens and young adults from expanding a violent feud beyond where it is right now is the real purpose.
It’s curbing the violence, if you will.
Big Lou is already holding the steel. His two big hands are gripping two steel handles welded onto a one hundred plus pound steel cylinder.
Lou will bust the door down on the first strike as he always does.
JT and Grease will go in first, followed by Rick, Johnny and Fritz.
Lou will stay at the front door with another officer and the others will all take positions in the backyard and under the side windows. They’ll corral the runners or jumpers, if there are any.
JT and Grease have been partners for seven years. They ride in the same car every single shift.
They’ve been the first ones through the door together many times before.
They know each other and trust one another with their lives.
On this day, JT has forgone wearing his bullet proof vest because of the heat. Had he known the boys would recruit he and Grease for a search warrant, he’d have brought it to work this shift.
The vest will do him no good sitting on the floor in his walk-in closet.
That’s the image JT sees as he’s the first officer through the door.
Lou has busted the door wide open on the first strike, as he always does, and JT sees a television set on and two people sitting on a couch staring at it mindlessly.
His eyes are suddenly alerted to a man moving in the far corner of the living room. He is half in a closet and half leaning out. He recognizes the man as the target.
The right side of the target’s body is exposed, while his left half is hidden behind the wall of a coat closet.
In the target’s right hand is a gun.
“GUN!”
“GUUUN!!!!”
JT isn’t sure who is yelling gun, but it should be him. He was the first one in and saw it, but he can’t take his eyes off of it to focus. He’s having a fit with tunnel vision.
Everything seems in slow motion when his brain finally clicks, snapping him to again. Before he’s all the way mentally back on this planet, back in the living room where he should be focused, his mind shows him that vest he should be wearing one more time.
The mental image of the vest laying on the carpeted floor of his closet makes him mutter, “Fuck” to himself, not loudly, but loud enough that the target hears him.
The target turns the gun towards JT, but Grease was already acting.
Grease has his vest on this day, ironically, because JT made him wear it. He instinctively ran in front of JT.
The target fires two or three shots, with several officers firing right back, almost instantaneously.
The target was struck multiple times; he lays dying on the scene, right there in his closet.
JT has fallen to the floor and is waiting for pain to engulf his body and the white light to shine on him, leading him to his next destination.
After a couple of moments, no light had shone and no pain was burning through his body anywhere.
JT rolled over and watched as all the other officers were busy containing the scene and clearing the house of other people.
Everybody was on their feet except Grease.
He had heard Grease shout out in pain, but JT was waiting to be hit with his own bullet and wasn’t fully aware what was going on with Grease.
JT saw an indention in Grease’s vest. The bullet didn’t go through, so maybe Grease just had the wind knocked out of himself from the force of the bullet.
JT rolled Grease over and was sickened by the amount of blood he saw. It had been hidden by Grease’s body and JT knew there wouldn’t be time to wait.
JT and Lou carried their brother to JT’s car and they raced him to the hospital.
JT and Lou carried Grease into the hospital with the help of some hospital staffers waiting at the door, all the way to the surgery table.
JT sat in a chair and replayed the scene in this head. Everything happened so fast.
“He took those bullets for you, JT.” Lou said as though he could read JT’s thoughts. “Those bullets were meant for you.”
The doctor returned to the waiting area and didn’t mince any words telling JT that his partner and friend was dead.
“The second bullet got him in the heart, JT. There was nothing…nothing that could be done.”
JT was crying before the doctor said bullet. He thought of his own kids and how they almost lost their daddy. The kids would be devastated at the loss of Grease, but at least they still had a father in their lives.
Grease didn’t have any kids, but he was still young enough that he could have someday. He didn’t date or have any hobbies either.
He was a good cop though. He was JT’s partner and his friend, and in the end, his savior. He took those bullets meant for JT by jumping in the air on purpose, right in the path of those bullets.
Later on at JT’s house, Lou told JT’s wife all about how JT had started to trip when Grease saw the target, ran, and then jumped up to take those bullets.
Lou was telling JT’s wife the story as she sobbed on the couch clutching Grease’s favorite tennis ball, the whole time staring blankly at the dog crate that Grease would never sleep in again.
don of all trades 
Don, I’m sitting in a coffee shop on the coast outside Dublin scaring all the poor Irish families who are watching that crazy American bawling her eyes out. Just wanted you to know.
Haha, poor Barb…giving Americans a bad name all over Ireland! Geez!
Wow. What an amazing piece of writing. I’m so used to your funny posts, this one totally caught me off guard. Well done, my friend! Well done!
Thanks, Terrye! I’m trying to share more of myself than fat people jokes and child bashing, though those are still fun too! lol.
Oh wow, Don. Well done. Partners like Grease are very special indeed.
I always wanted to be a canine officer, but it just never fit at the right time. The bonds between the handler and the dog are really special, generally. Thanks!
One of my father’s friends was a retired detective and had a few retired police dogs over the years. The coolest one was the Shepherd that only took commands in German.
I believe our department dogs are trained using Dutch commands. lol. A lot of them retire and then live with their handlers family for the rest of their lives.
Great story Don. Loved it.
Thank you, tric! You’re a sucker for a dog story, aren’t you? *crosses fingers hoping to have freshly impressed a certain someone!* lol.
I cannot be smooched unlike some of your other ladies!
oh man!! you got me in the heart. completely overwhelmed.
awe, thank you, ICM! That means a lot to me.
Well, done, Don. I felt a few emotions while reading this, and that is the mark of a good writer.
Thank you, TD, I really appreciate that from you.
You’re very welcome.
I bow to you, Don, on this chilly Saturday morning, for bringing the world this story of heroism and friendship and the meaning of a true partnership. RIP Grease, in doggie heaven, playing with a tennis ball, happily thinking of the day he saved JT and his family from a different life-altering sorrow.
Thanks, Mark. It was fun to write. I was inspired by a true story…they practically write themselves.
Nothing more loyal and devoted than a dog. Loved this.
Except for my old fart of a dog. Lol. Thanks, cookie!
Very powerful.
Thanks, Paul. I appreciate it.
You suck, Don. I loved it, but crying before noon is just not acceptable.
Lol! Thanks, Mama, I really do suck! It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?
😥 very sad. Valiant dog.
Thank you ma’aam. I love canine officers. They’re great.
Fabulous story, inspired ending. Is it based on a true story or fiction? Either way, you should send it to a magazine.
It was inspired by a canine dog killed in NC recently, but the story of how it happened is completely made up, if that makes sense.
Absolutely it does! Inspired…..
Wow. You’ve got talent. I was right there and was not expecting that ending, at all.
Awe, thank you Kristi, my friend. I appreciate that. I wasn’t sure whether the ending was too obvious or not, so I’m glad to hear it was a surprise to at least one blonde woman in Virginia. Lol.
How dare you?!? 😦 Poor little guy. Those dogs are amazing.
Lol, are you mad that I interjected a dog in a Caturday post?? Love the canine officers, yup!
well written….
Thanks, Clay. I appreciate the comment.
Chilling and powerful — I was riveted all the way through. Incredible piece!
Awe, thanks, Darcy! I appreciate the great comment.
This one hurts. Bullets and words can both hurt. Well told/shared, Don.
Thank you. sadly, it was inspired by a real incident.These dogs sometimes lose their lives in the service of man. Sad.
Damn you’re good. Great writing. Fantastic story. More please!
Thank you! That really makes me happy. I’m trying to share more “serious” content and fictional stories so here’s hoping!
Wow. True story?
Damnnn you’re good at relaying these and knocking us all for six.
Thanks, Lizzi! Is knocking us all for six American football talk or what? The story is all made up, but I was inspired by a dog who was shot and killed last week (not a dog in my department or even my state, just something I read).
I have NO idea what American football talk consists of.
Stories work better when they’re based in real life and you can tap into the emotions surrounding them. Sad about the dog though.
Beautifully told!
Thank you, Rachel; I appreciate it! Did you get your big ass rims fixed?
Nope. Still have the ugly-ass rims on there. We are trying to get our dealership to put the old tires and rims back on and buy us a new tire and new rim, because the tires were under warranty. But they are giving us the run around, of course.
That was a really boring story.
Lol. Well, I’m an attorney so if you want to sue Jules, we can take her for all the cookies she owns!! Bwahahahahaha! But no, we love her.
Damn.
Damn indeed my friend. Thanks.
This is really good, totally dug it. Loved the style of writing. Gripping stuff, my friend – excellent fiction.
Thanks, Trent, I appreciate it. It was fun to write. I was inspired by a real incident and easy to write.
You have a pretty natural manner of writing. Thanks for posting this – I miss reading fiction in the blogosphere, everyone is always talking about their lives and whatnot. My life is dull, so I just make shit up.
Gah, that was a good post. I’m all verklempt now.
Oh no, a verklempt Hoosier!! Thanks, Joey, I really appreciate the nice comment.
Reblogged this on Barb Taub and commented:
Don usually writes some of the funniest posts on the web. This is not one of them. Don’s an amazing guy –father, attorney, police officer, and writer. This story shows that the total Don shares with us really is so much more than the sum of all those parts.
Thanks again, Barb! I appreciate it.
~sigh~ More snot, more tears on the keyboard. Well done, Don. You definitely have a gift for writing.
hahahaha, gross, Cheryl, but I love it! thank you for the great compliment.
Once again you take us into another world… keep our eyes peeled on your words as they paint the scenes with a richness that captivates our attention. Wow. Apparently you weren’t drinkin’ your bud light while writing this one! 😉
Lol, no Bud Light Limes, Christine. I wrote it Friday night when I got home from work at midnight. It was inspired by a dog killed in NC last week. I don’t think the incident played out like this necessarily, it’s just my story, completely made up but based on my experience, if that makes sense.
Wow. That was beautiful!
Thank you, LMW, I appreciate that from you.
OH MY. well written and true. I have known police dogs and this piece honours them, Thank you
Thank you! A police dog killed last week (not in my area) inspired this post.
Oh yikes, we might be quite close to brothers in arm here buddy. This was a tough one to read, Don 😦
Yeah, I hate to kill off the dog, but it was inspired by a real incident last week so…what can ya do?! Thanks for the comment.
Reblogged this on A.J.Capper and commented:
A great story, written about cops by a cop. A must read and I’m so happy to share.
Thank you AJ! I appreciate it.
Wow 😦
Wow that I wrote a post that made no mention of drinking beer? Lol.
No…wow…that was a beautiful heartbreaking story. Silly….now go get me a beer. Oh and pretzels too!
Wow! I didn’t see it coming–not all of it. I got a kick out of Barb’s comment which I saw first 😀 .
I felt like I was there. I was married to a cop and he worked in narcotics for a while. Some of his buddies got shot. Thanks for this. – Amy 🙂
Barb is always great with the comments. Narcotics is rough. I use to go in on search warrants when we weren’t required to wear our vests. It’s a much better way to do things nowadays. Everyone is at least wearing their vests.
She is a hoot 😀 . It’s all a challenging job because you never know what will happen–there are some real crazies here. Glad you remained safe..and vests being mandatory is a good thing. I enjoyed the read. 🙂
Woah. You almost got me bawling. Don, you’ve got this fiction writing shit DOWN.
Thank you, Nadia, that means a lot to me. There was inspiration from a real dog being killed last week and most of the details of the warrant entry were based on my own experiences, so it was pretty easy to write this time.
You write fiction?
How come I didn’t know this?
Dang. This is what happens when you’re completely self absorbed. I love fiction blogs.
And cops. And dogs.
Awesome.
Hahaha, you self absorbed, bitch! Lol. No, that’s not nice, Don.
I write whatever I guess. This one was inspired by a police dog killed last week but I made the story up. And I’m a little surprised that you love cops. I’m glad to hear that. You’re very intriguing, you know that?
My dad was a cop.
He died when I was little, and we’re all just looking for Daddy, ya know?
Plus, I love Law and Order.
Ah, I see. I’ve never seen law and order, but I bet i’d have loved having a beer with your dad.
I wish you could. He was supposedly the nicest guy on the planet.
You gaves me chills. Very moving. Very touching.
You are amazingly quiet? This one must have hit close to home. So sorry to hear about the loss of this hero.
Juju
Thank you, Juju. I was inspired by a dog killed last week, but he wasn’t a dog in my area. the story is based mostly on my own recollection of serving search warrants back when we could do it without wearing our vests, which wasn’t very smart in hindsight.
Great work, I loved it! Great insight into the workings of the police dept, too. Full length book in the works? Hope so.
Hmmm, You’d buy that book? Or at least wait until it showed up in the library and borrow it? I’d like to try my hand at a book, but it seems like a lot of work.
Nah, it’s not like work. Work you get paid for. Also there’s no one to tell you when its due by. You can just breeze along doing it when ever you want. Like a blog. I’m doing a ‘Dickens’ and serializing my book on my blog.(Boy have I ever lost a LOT of readers! har!) Add a little to it each day. It’s fun.
Oh my God, don’t do this to me.
Seriously good writing though.
One of my cop brothers was an Army ranger beforehand and had a Belgian Malanoise (sp?) overseas with him– the dog recently “retired” and lives with them now. It’s a terrifying looking beast but he certainly loves his tennis balls. This made me think of him.
All of our dogs are trained with tennis ball play time as their reward. They love it! Thanks for the great comment, Aussa, I appreciate it.
Got this same story in an email. Looked it up on “Snopes” and turns-out to be totally bogus!
Hmmm, I’d be interested in reading the emailed story, especially if it’s the same. I just made this up Friday night. There is no assertion that it’s a true story here. It’s inspired by a dog who was killed last week, but the events of how this played out are all my own little fantasy. Sorry if there was any confusion about that.
Riveting outstanding post, Don. Will definitely share this one with my son, the someday to-be police officer.
Thank you, ma’am! Pretty soon he’s going to yell at you to quit sending him crap from that donofalltrades! Lol.
Seriously, you need to start issuing mascara alerts. I’m wearing it today…or I was. I hate the way this ended, but not all endings are happy. As sad as it makes me though, I love the way you wrote it. Well done, and I’m sorry if there was a factual story behind this fictional one. That’s a super super sad day.
Hahaha, mascara! Sorry, ma’am, I will do that in the future, I swear. It’s a sad ending and police humans feel deeply hurt when police canines die too. It hurts. Thank you for reading though. Don’t forget to check the pool filters or whatever they’re called. Skimmers?
Don,
You have layers, my friend. Well done.
Superbly written.
Oh, like Trident gum! Thanks, Hook, I really appreciate it my friend.
Oh so sad. Great writing and story telling here. Don.
Thank you, Rachael, I appreciate that.
Just got a little somethin’ in my eye here, Don. Don’t worry; I’ll be all right after a while.
Oh no, did little man hurl something into your eye?? He’s a rascal, that one! Thanks, buddy!
Oh my. I just kept thinking “No! You need that vest!” … never saw that ending coming. You’re a crafty storyteller, Don.
Awe, thanks, Jen! I used to be one of many guys who didn’t wear a vest. It was pretty stupid in hind sight. They’re mandatory now, which is probably a good thing. lol.
Hey, you totally surprised me with the whole tennis ball and dog crate plot twist – cool! Great story, maybe a book is in the making here?
Hahaha, thank you, Claudia! A book? I wish. Maybe someday I’ll research the idea. It seems fun but very much a lot of work.
Great story, Don. It was written so vividly that I thought it must be a true story, and I am relieved that it wasn’t. (Though, I’m still sad that it was inspired by the real loss of a dog. For all my cat person ways, I know that they would never take a bullet for me. The connection between a dog and his owner/trainer/handler is something above and beyond.)
I pictured a police cat and I sort of chuckled. Lol. the dogs are great and fiercely loyal to their handler. Other police officers are fair game to be bitten too, if they get too close. some will let you pet them and are very friendly though. They’re all different personalities.
What a story! I was in tears at the end. I’m glad to know it wasn’t true, although I’m sad about the dog it was inspired by. The bond between humans and their dogs is amazing – we have 3 and I know they would protect me no matter what.
Thank you! My 12 year old lab would so not get up to protect me, unless I had meat in my hand or something. The mutt on the other hand…she would at least bark. I love her for that. They’re good mates to have on your side for many reasons.
Great job! Animals are amazing. Even though they drive us crazy. Good story, and I loved reading it.
They totally do drive us crazy! Ugh!!! Lol.
Thank you, Meredith, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! That makes me happy to hear.
Awww. You called me by my real name. 🙂
Whoa, didn’t know you had this in you. Impressive Don. This could be a scene in a movie. I almost shed a tear but then I remembered the story was about two cops…you almost got me 🙂
Talent, I could even feel the metaphors.
Lol, you’re stupit still!!! Cop hater!
Thanks for almost shedding a tear though, Girl Ryan. I’m touched that we almost got to the soft part of your heart. One day!
Perhaps, ur getting closer
And by cops I meant cop dog 😉 ps why do the dogs always die? Why?!
Well, all dogs go to heaven, right? So there’s that.