"Taylor...Taylor!" The voice of the police chief woke me from a light nap. I had been out all night partying, did not really get any sleep.
Snickers and chuckles filled the room as I sat up straight, running my fingers through my hair.
I cleared my throat, "Uh, sorry sir, I uh...yeah, here..." I said completely embarrassed.
Chief Flanagan gave me an annoyed look, while shifting his feet behind the podium. "Ya know Taylor, if you decide to go out the night before, the least you could do is get home in time so you can be physically and mentally prepared for roll call..."
Again, the laughs amongst my fellow officers, I sunk further into the chair.
"Yes sir..." was all I could muster, giving a soft cough, waving off the fact I had been called out.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you our new officer. He's a transfer from district nineteen, been with the force about twelve years..."
As I listened to the commander, my mind wandered to the bird I had over my house. Such a looker she was; gorgeous brunette with long brown legs and a body to die for.
'Shit, why I am not at home right now?'
Since she did not want to leave and I was drunk as shit, I allowed her to stay in my apartment. Besides, I felt I knew her since we had been dating about two months. Renee is her name, beautiful gal that is intelligent, funny, and sensible. My emotions for her were high at this point, I felt as though I had found my soul mate.
"TAYLOR, WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM!" Flanagan's scream of my surname scared the living daylights out of me.
"Sorry sir, you were sayin'?" I knew I was in for it; George was a former drill sergeant.
"Taylor, what is the reason as to why you cannot pay attention?"
'I've got a lovely woman with a tight ass waiting for me...'
"Sir, forgive me, I was thinking if I had left my stove on or not." I lied, knowing that I had not even touched the thing in like three days.
"Humph, well that might be somethin' you'd want to check on, eh?" Seemingly, he bought it since his face softened after I was done.
"Erm yeah, if you don't mind, let me just call home to my girl, she can check for me."
George moved his feet once more while gripping onto the wood in front of him. "Yeah, yeah, sure you do that...and while you're at it Taylor, why don't you hang out at your desk, you're on paper duty today. I'm not sure you're fit to go out and fight crime after enjoying yourself last night."
'Fuck...'
Once more, laughter filled the room. "Yes, sir, um, thanks..." I said slipping more into my seat.
"Now, any more of you have things you want to check on? We have a lot of rookies that would love to switch places with you vets and go out into the field instead of walking the beat or being filing papers."
At the conclusion of his statement, not a single word was heard in the room.
"Alrighty then, let's move on shall we? As I was saying, Taylor, I really would have liked you to show the new guy around but since you are on desk duty, I'll allow him to go out with McFadden today."
Agreeing with him, I nodded. I was exhausted. The last thing I needed to do was go out catching criminals when I was not completely prepared.
"Fantastic Taylor thanks for paying attention this time. Captain Nigel Mathewson, welcome to the district seventy-seven, we are honored to have you here."
When he was done, a tall, slender man got up from the seat directly in front of him. Earlier when I stepped in, I noticed the guy but I did not pay him any mind, I was still in a daze.
"Allo, all...good to meet you..." he said in an accent similar to my own.
'Shit on me, another Brit...'
"Everyone, please come up and introduce yourselves to Captain Mathewson. He is in the commander-in-training program with only six months to go. So far, he's gone through it with flying colors, but in order to pass, he had to come through our district, the toughest in the city."
Flanagan put his hand on Mathewson's shoulder as if he was his long lost son.
'Maybe Mathewson was his replacement.'
"Alright ladies and gents, as per usual the problem areas and special assignments are on the board. Be careful out there, go get em'. Say hello to Nigel on your way out."
As everyone got up from their seats, I had just finished texting Renee. Although the stove was not on, I wanted to know if something else was burning at my place: her.
"Taylor, everything alright at your apartment, son?" Flanagan walked in front of me just as the naughty words from Renee flashed on my screen.
"Uh, yeah, sir, everything is good, really, she turned off the thing after I left." Yeah, sure, she did, the fire between her thighs was still hot, and I wished I could stay there to extinguish it.
"That's good, Taylor. Like I said, try staying home some nights. You need to get married, then you'll slow down. Aren't you tired of being a playboy at the age of thirty-six?"
Hearing that I chuckled, "No sir, there is always another party and since I'm not dead yet, might as well try makin' them all before I'm not able to anymore."
The relationship that I had with George was casual; I felt I could tell him anything. In front of the force, he kept a stern demeanor, not showing me any favoritism, but when we were alone talking was when he became like a father figure to me. That setup materialized when I lost my last partner in the line of duty.
While we continued to chat, Mathewson stepped over on my right.
"Allo mate, what part of the country would you be from," he said holding out his hand.
Slowly, I stood, extending my palm in his direction. "Allo chum, from Castle Bromwich, actually, Taylor, Michael Taylor is the name." "Ah brill, I'm from Birmingham, Nigel Mathewson, it's a pleasure...," he said gripping my hand tightly.
As we exchanged smiles, I noticed the pretty face in front of me. Nigel had the looks of an actor or musician, very attractive.
'How is anyone going to take this man seriously?'
Nigel's hair was a little long for the police force, the ends of his strands were barely touching his shoulders, the colors, and a mixture of blond and brown. How he got away with that was beyond me however, Flanagan did mention that he had been a cop a little over a decade so, special favors, I supposed.
"Same here Mathewson, how long you been in the states?" I said, peering into his brown eyes.
"Ah about twenty-two years, I love it here in the big city," Nigel said taking a seat on the one I was occupying a while ago.
"Nigel, you should get going now. I'm sure McFadden is looking for you." Chief pat him on the back reminding him he had no time to get into deep conversation.
"Humph, yeah, I better run then," he said bouncing right back up, holding out his hand.
"Good to meet you again my man, I shall see you when I return..."
"Yeah, you will. Maybe we'll get a chance to chit-chat after, eh, be careful out there."
"Indeed, see you later Michael, bye Chief..." Nigel trotted out the room, closing the door behind him.
'Nice fellow...'
"Well Michael, you should get to your desk so you can take some of that work off Lache'. He'll be happy to know that he can do something else..." George hit my back, as I was moving towards the entrance.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said going out the door.
