Mirror Images

This morning I was riding solo....My old detective friend from the academy and from special forces, Detective Josh Harris had called for my help....We had served in the Marines in the Middle East together..and had both entered the police academy at around the same time...Both of us for very different reasons...but both of us would tell anybody that asked....because we felt it was a good idea at the time..

We both graduated the same day and hit the mean streets first as patrolmen and now as Detectives...Like me, Josh  had worked, Vice, Narcotics and Robbery....While I moved on to Special Victims Unit..He moved on to Special Investigations...

Like me...he was a Cyborg...I had a surgically repaired left eye that enabled me to see for miles or incredibly up close.. He had a surgically repaired right ear that allowed him to hear the faintest whisper...miles away....

 Josh was Gay....He came out of the closet when we were on the verge of graduating from the academy....I never knew and no one ever suspected...He was as rough and as tough as any straight cop or man I'd ever seen in my life...and the times we spent talking, more like arguing about Football, Basketball ,Boxing and everything else...made me wonder if he wasn't pulling my leg at first...but he wasn't....His sexual preference meant nothing to me at all...He was still good people....

So when he called me this morning and said he could use my assistance...How could I refuse?

''What you got Josh?" I said as I approached..

"I got two suspects Nate...both armed...Wanted for a Robbery-Homicide a week ago...We traced them to here...I can hear one of them on the phone to the boss man now...My partner is coming from around the corner...He can uh, uh hear their thoughts...." he said.

''Whoa wait a minute Josh...Your partner is a telepathic mutant?" I asked smiling..

''Yeah man, uh nobody knows about it but me...Can you uh keep that on the low?" he asked.

I laughed....

"Man you won't believe this...but so is mine...She's a telepathic mutant ...Oh My god, this is too much..." I laughed...

''So you know huh?  It took some getting used to and I was gonna bail...but he uh ruh turned out to be a good partner...good instincts...We work well together.." said Josh..

''Same here." I said. ''She's the best partner I ever had.And you know me Josh..I like working a case alone." I said.

Both Josh and I looked at each other when I said that...Like we had both discovered some universal truth...

Just then, his partner came from around the corner...

"It's go time...They're getting ready to come out of there...and they've packed up." he said..."They're in room 341." he said...

"Bobby..This is Detective Nate Nellis....We were in the Academy together and Special Forces...Nate this is my partner..Bobby Stone." he said..

"Pleased to meet you." I said.

"Your partner is like me, She can read thoughts and feel emotions too huh?" he said..

"Huh? Oh you uh read my mind...Yes ,she is..."I said nervously...

''No..I uh heard the back end of your conversation...

''You were thinking about her huh?" he said...

''Uh what? Uh Yeah.." I said.Now he was reading my mind.

"Not just that she's pretty ....but that you want to protect her...You don't want her in harms way...She's more than just another cop to you isn't she?  I can hear it in your thoughts. That's why you didn't invite her to a potential shoot out right" he said...

He was a little too intrusive in my thoughts...

Just then...I saw their two suspects emerging from the building...Both armed with Uzis....From what I had zeroed in on..They had Hollow point bullets in their jackets...Oh Hell...It had just got real..I thought...

" Josh, there are your boys...They on the move..." I said, relieved that this conversation had been halted...

II-

Josh yelled at the two men..

''POLICE..FREEZE!! " he said.

Both men ducked down and pulled out automatic weapons and began shooting...

We all ran for cover.

The bullets were peircing the windows of nearby parked cars and denting them...

''Jesus Josh ...you didn't bring back up?" I said as bulletts whizzed over my head..

''Man this was supposed to be an easy pick up....I didn't count on this...I got cars comin..."he said..As we both took turns returning fire..

"Give em some gas baby!" he yelled as he and I returned fire..

People were screaming and running and taking cover as a full tilt gunbattle between Josh, me and the two goons was in full effect...

''Man this was supposed to be an easy pick up....I didn't count on this." said Josh again as we both returned their fire..

''A lot of good that does us now.." I said...

Josh looked at me and laughed, reloaded and returned their fire...

"Just like old times eh Nate?" he laughed..

''Yeah...Don't you owe me twenty bucks?  Now is a good time to pay me back." I said..

 Josh looked at me and laughed and returned their fire...He ducked down and I returned their fire and reloaded...

His partner...Bobby ran behind a poll, reloaded and fired two times....hitting the first man and dropping him...

Josh and I fired at the second man who continued to spray the streets....

Bobby fired again....All he needed...The second man threw his gun up in the air and fell to the ground...

Both suspects were dead on the scene...

I turned around and looked at Bobby..

"Damnnn! Good shootin Tex...Thanks!" I said laughing...

Bobby laughed..

"Hahahahahaha...No probem..."

Then to my surprise...He walked over to Josh and kissed him in the lips...

"You okay babes?" he asked...

"Yeah man..I'm good..."said Josh...who returned his kiss...

I was stunned....Knowing something and then seein it is two different things.

Josh looked at me...he smiled sheepishly...

"That's our other little secret Nate....We uh are kind of involved.....Nobody knows about us...I'd appreciate it if you uh kept what you saw a secret..I called on you because I knew you were that kind of stand up guy."said Josh...

Bobby looked at me...

"Oh Nate perfectly understands Josh in a way you wouldn't believe..." said Bobby, who looked at me and winked.

III-

My partner, Detective Monica Talbert showed up with several uniformed officers who secured the scene..She ran over to me and uncharacteristically hugged me..

"Why didn't you call me?  Don't go off on something like this again without me.." she said.

''I didn't think this was going to be that big a deal and besides...I didn't want you in harms way." I said.

Josh and Bobby walked over to us...

"Monica...These are some friends of mine...Detectives, Josh Harris...We were in Special Forces and the Academy together and Detective Bobby Stone, the man who saved our lives today." I joked...

Bobby and Monica looked at each other....Strangely....

''Wow,Imagine that...You're the only other Telepathic mutant I know of on the force..." she says...

"Only my partner knows ,I'm not out....about being a mutant or being Gay." he said.

"My partner is the only one who knows about me too...So we have that in common." she said.

"Ohh we have more than that in common girlfriend....You're in love with your partner, just like I'm in love with mine...When he thought about you just before our rowdy dow here...I could hear it in his thoughts.." he said.

Monica smiled and looked at me momentarily....

"So you two are....an item?" she asked..changing the subject and looking at Josh...

"As much as you two are...Nate loves you deeply Monica and you love him too....And Josh and I are the same way about each other and nobody knows...We keep a real low pro..." he said.

"Wow....I never would have guessed.." she said.

"Nobody would ." he said.

Josh looked at me...

"She's pretty Nate...Nicely done.....Nate...Didn't you get married?" he asked..

"I'm divorced...It's been a year and a half now...I have a son...He was born after the divorce.."I said.

"Wow...Sorry...But you got a nice girl here...And she's Homicide...I'm impressed Nate...You moved up nicely...Well Thanks for helping us catch these two dirt bags...They've robbed and killed four people...They've been fencing the stuff out to a major playa...We'll be getting him soon..." said Josh..."Nice meeting you Detective Talbert..Take good care of my boy." he said.

Monica smiled and put her arms around me...

"Wow ,look at us...Mirror Images.." she said.

''Indeed" said Bobby Stone, smiling..."Nice meeting the both of you." he said.

IV-

As we flew towards Monica's apartment...She held my hand and rubbed it softly....

I smiled...

"Which one of us do you think will get caught first?" I said..

''Probably us...Nobody knows that either one of them is gay... No one will suspect them..You and me...A Man and a Woman??? People will automatically suspect that we have something going on." she said.

"What's the worse that could happen?" I asked...

"We'd be paired with other partners...We might get suspended...I don't think Lou would suspend us...He'd just force us to work with other partners.." she said.

"I don't really want to work with another partner other than you.." I said.

''Awwwww, You are so sweet...Me neither..So we just have to be careful...." she said.

"Yeah careful.." I said.

I had never felt such elation..such a jolt of life...I wanted to shout to the world how I felt about her...but I could not do that and risk us being split up....and thus...our secret had to be kept a secret...but one day....
ahh one day!

(CONCLUSION NEXT)