Back Alley Cop Read online

  Adam wasn’t looking forward to going back to work, but when he did he noticed that the desks of both Eddie’s and Vinnie’s were conspicuously empty. It seemed as if everything had changed, even the atmosphere. It made him wonder if it had all been a dream. Had his relationship with Eddie really happened? He’d learned a lot about Eddie Scarlett since he’d known him. He’d learned that he was a bad housekeeper, and a nosy, hard-charging cop that had been shot and wounded over a dozen times, and knocked unconscious more times than he could count. He disobeyed his Chief’s orders on a regular basis, and did things his own way, but he still came out smelling like a rose. He could also sense trouble better than any hound dog, and if you crossed him, he could—well, that was only one of the reasons why his street name was Demon.

  * * * *

  Eddie was exhausted. The chief had given both him and Vinnie some time off after their grueling experience so they could get some rest before the next round of undercover assignments came up, and managed to help them slip away.

  Now, as Eddie relaxed in his apartment, he thought back to as long ago as he could remember, and knew he had been many men, but he had to be many men to make his life work. It happened when he joined the NYPD, and he began his undercover assignments. He went from being an average Joe with nothing more on his mind than what to have for dinner, to the hard-nosed cop who changed his persona like the average man changed his clothes.

  It was their fault. The slugs on the street. And as long as they were out there he would keep taking life or death chances in foggy neighborhoods, dirty alleyways, dark city streets, and in every dirty cavity in the city. They were the ones responsible for pulling him out of his warm bed and onto the streets of this dangerous concrete jungle, the worst being those who committed hate crimes. Crimes against women, gays, children, and the elderly. And as long as he stayed on the search for them, he would continue to ask himself the same question.

  When do people stop hating?

  While asking himself that question, suddenly there came a knock on the door.

  “Oh, go away,” Eddie said, exhausted.

  But the knocking continued.

  Finally, he clicked the TV off, managed to get to the door, and once again was looking into a pair of baby blue eyes he hadn’t seen in a while.

  “What the hell are you doing here? I’m still on hiatus, you know.”

  “I thought when you left the UC residence you were back among the living.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t come there looking for me.”

  “I would have, but they wouldn’t tell me where it was. Said it was top secret.”

  “That hasn’t stopped you before. All right, out with it, what do you want?”

  “My God, you look like death warmed over. Are you all right?”

  “I will be if people will stop knocking on my door. Goodbye,” he said, and slammed the door in his face. After turning away, he heard the door open, and Adam came in. Turning back to him, he said, “Did you not get the message? Go home. Stay out of my life. You’re not wanted.”

  “Is that right? I don’t believe it. I still have those baby blues, and the red knit shirt, and red socks. I seem to remember you liked those.”

  “That was another guy. He’s not here.”

  “Eddie, let’s stop this, and get down to brass tacks. What’s the problem here? Why don’t you want me around?”

  “Why?” Eddie said, looking right into his eyes. “I don’t like people who lie to me.”

  “Lie? When did I lie?”

  “It was the same as a lie. When I found out you were filthy rich, I thought, so what? But now I know why. Why didn’t you tell me that you owned KingStar?”

  “I don’t own the company. My sister, Ada, is the CEO of KingStar. Me? I’m just her good-for-nothing younger brother that she wants to whip into shape so I can take over KingStar when she has to step down. I show up when I want to, and sometimes I even go abroad—like Sweden.”

  “Yeah, that reminds me. If you didn’t turn yourself into a woman, what did you go there for?”

  “Sweden does other things too, you know. Everything’s not a sex change operation there. I went to Stockholm to see Doctor Otto Schembre. He has a top-of-the-line dermatology practice there.”

  “You went all the way to Sweden for a fuckin’ skin rash? My God, we have good skin doctors here, too.”

  “I told you, I’m a good-for-nothing younger brother that would rather do anything than be cooped up in an office all day, and that’s what I have to do if I’m in town. So, I go abroad a lot just to keep from having to act like an adult.”

  “You know what you need? You need someone to take you in hand and give you a good spa…” Realizing what he was about to say, his words faded, and he turned his back. “Get out of here.”

  “A good spanking? It seems that I’ve had a few of those, and it didn’t seem to do any good at all.”

  “I’m not getting mixed up with any spoiled brat, so do what I said, and get out!”

  Suddenly the phone rang, and Eddie reached for it. “Yeah, Eddie Scarlett here.” He stood there listening for a moment, and then said, “I’ll be right there.” He grabbed his jacket. “I’ll expect you to be gone when I get back.”

  “Who was it?”

  “None of your business.”

  “It was a job, wasn’t it?” Panic and fear filled Adam’s eyes. “What kind of job? A dangerous job?” He ran over to Eddie. “No! Don’t go. I won’t let you.”

  “What do you have to do with it? It’s my work. I have to go.”

  “Eddie, you’re on hiatus, for God’s sake.”

  “It seems it’s over.”

  “No, tell them you’re sick. You’ve got a fever…something.”

  Eddie stopped, and hesitated for a moment. “Adam, I’m a cop. These are terrorists that have plans to blow up the friggin’ United Nations building. I have to go in there and pretend to be one of them, get all the information I can, and then close in when the time is right.”

  “Eddie, this has to be the work of a gang. Gangs are dangerous. Like any gang, you’ll have to prove you’re one of them by…I don’t know…taking drugs…killing someone. If they don’t know you, this is the way they tell whether you’re undercover or not. They know that if you’re a straight arrow you won’t do anything like that. And if they suspect you’re not who you say you are…my God, they’ll kill you, Eddie. Please don’t go.”

  Eddie looked down at Adam’s hands that were desperately grasping his jacket, and pulled them off, but before he could get away, Adam grabbed him and kissed him.

  “What the hell…” His words faded when he looked into Adam’s blue eyes and saw fear, and something else. Was that—my God, was that love?

  “Looks like the Demon’s got you by the balls, Adam.”

  “No. No,” Adam insisted, breaking his hold and walking away. “I’m fuckin’ rich, remember? I can’t be tied down. You can fuck me, beat me, but you’ll never keep me. I’m a wind. I go where I want. I’m here one minute, gone the next. You’ll never tame me, not in a million years.”

  “When are you going to grow up, Adam? When are you going to attach yourself to a star and ride it until the end?”

  “A rugged, over-the-hill undercover cop, a star?” Adam snickered. “You do think a lot of yourself, don’t you? Face it, Eddie, there’s no way to tame me, no way to destroy me. You’ll be the first to go. You keep going undercover and one day it’ll be the end for you, and when that day comes I’ll be on my way while wiping the dust of yesterday off my feet.”

  “Why, you little twerp.”

  Suddenly Eddie reached down, caught Adam’s jeans by the waistband, jerked him forward, and brutally ripped at the zipper.

  *

  Before Adam had time to register what Eddie was doing, he found himself on the couch, Eddie’s head over his cock, hot and warm.

  “Holy shit!” Adam yelled.

 
; It took every bit of self-control Adam had to keep from crying out like a wolf worshipping the moon. And still Eddie drew and pulled on his cock with his hot mouth while Adam squirmed, his chest rising and falling. Finally, Eddie reached over and began to massage Adam’s balls as he continued to suck him like a ravenous animal. Adam couldn’t help it. He threw his head back and moaned. With that, Eddie moved his mouth, and then began to lap at the tip of his cock as pre-come bubbled out of it.

  Adam couldn’t take it. He grabbed a fistful of Eddie’s thick hair and pushed his head back over his throbbing flesh, forcing him down.

  Eddie began to pump harder, moaning and grunting over Adam as he continued to fondle his balls.

  It felt so intense, so incredible, so amazing. Arching his back, Adam cried out, his body trembling as it filled with so much want and passion that he nearly passed out. But Eddie was unmerciful. He pumped harder, and Adam could feel the pressure of an orgasm building. He trembled, climbing higher and higher, until he finally felt the explosion leave his body. Then after a booming cry to heaven, he slumped, exhausted.

  As Eddie leaned forward over his sluggish body, he licked Adam’s ear, and said, “You’re welcome.”

  “You conceited basta…” Adam’s words faded when he saw Eddie get up, and put on his jacket. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “To the precinct. I’m an undercover cop with a job to do. I believe you can find your way out.”

  “Didn’t anything I said have any effect on you?”

  “Oh, sure. I’ll never forget…now what was it,” Eddie began, lifting his voice in a ridiculous sing-song mocking effect. “I’m a wind, here one minute, and gone the next. You’ll never tame me…”

  “Bastard. Go on, get out there, get killed. No one cares.” When the door slammed shut suddenly Adam broke down in tears. “He’s gonna die, I just know it.”

  * * * *

  Adam walked through a neighborhood that seemed to shimmer as if in a dream.

  He looked around, his wild imagination showing him violently graphitized neighborhoods that had ugly hoods of every kind peeking out of shadows, around corners, all with knives, guns, and all looking to kill Eddie Scarlett.

  Even in his sleep a spear of icy fear slithered down his spine, and he lunged up from his bed in a cold sweat.

  He jumped up and began pacing, determined not to go to sleep again, so he forced himself to stay awake by staying glued to the TV news to catch any kind of word regarding the United Nations Building—but nothing.

  He couldn’t stay still, he just couldn’t. He had to find out what he could about Eddie, so he began going to the precinct and asking questions to anyone who would talk to him.

  And then the strangest thing happened. He got a visit from Vinnie Torrio. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’m here to see you. To try and talk some sense into you. First of all, stay away from the precinct asking questions. There’s nothing there that concerns you, especially the undercover operation that’s going on right now.”

  “You mean that United Nations thing?”

  “United Nations thing? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “The undercover thing that Eddie’s into right now.”

  “He’s not doing anything at the United Nations building.”

  “He’s not? But that’s what he told…my God, he lied to me.”

  “Of course he did. You were asking too many questions. He couldn’t tell you the truth, but he had to tell you something to shut you up.”

  “What the hell do you know about any of this?”

  “I’m his friggin’ partner, and we work well together, Eddie, and I. Don’t ask me anything else. I’m not allowed to discuss it with you, but I can tell you to stay away from the precinct. If you keep asking questions something is bound to slip, and you’ll endanger his life.”

  “But if he’s in trouble…”

  “Adam, Eddie can take care of himself. It’s his job. As a man on the street he can do anything he wants, but when he’s on a job he’s not Eddie Scarlett anymore, he’s someone else. Got it? Is that clear enough? If you want to keep Eddie safe, don’t try and find out where he is. When it’s over he’ll come back to you.”

  “Or not.”

  “Or not,” Vinnie confirmed.

  “You are a jerk, Vinnie.”

  “Look, I know you care about him, but you saw how he was at KingStar. He wasn’t Eddie Scarlett, he was Joe King. Remember joking? Joe King? It was a code name, the key word that he used to connect with me. What you saw him doing during the day was nothing. The real work goes on under wraps, down in the dirt, while everyone else is somewhere else not giving him a second thought. Adam, he’s a professional undercover agent, and if you want him dead, just go right on ahead and make a pest of yourself until you learn the truth.”

  “But it’s hard to just sit still, and wait. I’m so worried about him. If there’s anything I can do…”

  Adam, my God, don’t you understand? If you think for a minute you’re helping him by landing in the big middle of all this, think again. The last thing in the world he wants to see right now, is you. If that happens the truth of who he is will come out, and not only will Eddie be dead, it’ll be your finger that pulled the trigger, or your hand wielding the blade of the knife that stabs him in the heart. Do you want that on your conscience? In trying to protect you, he’ll expose himself to the enemy, and it’ll ruin everything. If you care about him don’t make it any harder for him than it already is.”

  “All right, I understand, but isn’t there anything at all I can do?”

  “Yes there is. Just stay away and stop stirring up a lot of dirt that can only hurt Eddie. If that dirt happens to get to the wrong person, it’s goodbye Eddie. If you stop now, and let him do his job, before you know it, you’ll see him come through that door as good as new.”

  “I know what you’re saying, but you just don’t understand how I feel.”

  “I don’t understand? Let me tell you something. I love Eddie too. We’ve been working together for about two years, and I fell in love with him the first time I ever saw him, but for some reason he can’t see me. Maybe my eyes are not blue enough, or maybe it’s because I don’t like red, or my name isn’t Adam. Hell, I don’t know. Back when I was at KingStar I had heard that Joe wasn’t going to participate in that little undercover caper, and I was disappointed. That meant that I would have to work with some joker that didn’t know half of what Eddie did. But I had to accept it, especially when I heard it was because of Eddie’s health. I think it was because the chief was concerned that he needed a rest, or something like that, so when he did show up I was more than a little surprised. Anyway, when he introduced himself to me as Joe King I knew things had changed. Let me tell you, I was glad. But then he started asking about you. I didn’t know why he kept asking about you, but every time he did I felt a stab of jealousy that cut into me like a knife. The day I groped him in the coffee room wasn’t only a show, I meant it. And when he poured that coffee down over my head…” he snickered “…that was priceless, and unexpected. Eddie is famous for doing things like that. He’s so fuckin’ unpredictable. So don’t tell me I don’t understand. I do.”

  *

  Vinnie’s confession made Adam speechless. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He felt as if he was seeing Vinnie for the first time as competition for the man he loved. This caused him to feel a big stab of envy because of the fact that these two men were in the same business, and could discuss things that he and Eddie never could. He felt a twinge of sadness, but to hide it, he played the creep, and said, “You? You think he’d look twice at you? Not on your best day.”

  “You piece of crud, if it wasn’t for trying to protect Eddie I’d let them blast you into the next county. Just so you know, I’ll still take him away from you if I can, and if you pull something that puts Eddie’s life in danger, I’m coming after you, so
don’t get too comfortable.” He opened the door, and said, “I’m out of here.”

  Chapter 7

  TIME had no meaning for Adam.

  He thought of nothing but what Vinnie had told him, the words echoing over and over in his head until he thought he’d go crazy. If Vinnie was right, he had no choice but to wait, and pray that Eddie would be home soon. He didn’t even go home anymore. He lived in Eddie’s house, leaving the TV on, flipping between the news channels, hoping for some breaking news.

  Now, as he sat down to a sandwich and began to eat, he looked up when he heard a news anchor come on and announce that some big kingpin of the underworld had been killed. He quickly put the sandwich down, hurried into the living room, grabbed the remote and turned it up and listened as the reporter was interviewing the Chief of Police.

  “What can you tell us about him, Chief? Who was this…this…superman that did such a heroic job in bringing the entire drug cartel down?”

  “I’m sorry, but for his own protection we have to keep his name on our top secret list at this time.”

  “Chief,” the reporter said, “we understand that, but isn’t there anything at all you can tell us? An alias that he used, anything. I mean, the whole gang is in jail, and since he’s not using the name now, and he’s in hiding…”

  The chief looked thoughtful. “No, I’m sorry, but my boys are the best in the business, and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their lives in any way. Maybe one day when all this is over it will come out, but this is not that day. Sorry. I hope you all understand.”

  The incredible news shocked the whole city, especially when the chief continued, telling the exciting story of how this mysterious figure had covertly infiltrated the gang, and brought them down. He even gave a list of names that included a couple of VIPs, and one that was even killed during gunplay, but Eddie’s name, or his alias, was not among them.

  It was a media explosion that blasted the TV news all the rest of the day, but the only thing it meant to Adam was that it was over, and Eddie was that much closer to coming home.