Off Of Desk Duty

"Andrews! My office, noon!" Lt. Hazel barked. Sighing, I looked at the clock. Ten-thirty. Hmm. 1

The bullpen snickered as I shifted piles of paperwork on my desk. The last time Hazel had told me to meet him in his office, I was nearly fired and had pretty much begged for desk duty. I could live with that; I couldn't live with being fired from police work. 2

But, I didn't regret the choice at all. I still got the perp and stopped him from hurting any more teenage girls.3

He preyed on them, using them for drugs. And I had gone undercover, unauthorized, to catch him. And I did, getting in trouble. Do not pass go, and do not ignore your boss's instructions anymore. 4

I admit, it was quite dangerous. I had gone in with no backup and was lucky that the girl had survived, even though her throat got slit. That was the main reason for the controversy regarding my job.5

For the next several hours, I pondered on my predicament as I filled out paperwork. When noon came, I headed up to Hazel's office and knocked. 6

"Well, Jaime Andrews, today is your lucky day," he boomed in his usual tones. Through the window I could see the other officers making bets. 7

"And why's that sir?" I asked. 8

"You get regular duty again. Your first assignment is the Hammerstein case." Hazel sipped from his coffee mug.9

"The one with the lawyer?" I asked, mentally taking notes.10

"Yes. He's having a party tonight. Rumor has it, it's gonna be a drug party." Hazel paused and smirked. "You get to go undercover."11

"Really? Where is this party?" I asked, as the details were set.12

~~~13

At the huge mansion on Third Street, I entered the bathroom. For the millionth time, I cringed at my image in the mirror, standing in a purple, knee-length dress I had to wear to the party tonight. It hung off me like a potato sack and covered my curvy features. The only thing it was good for was hiding my holster strap attached securely to my thigh. When I signed up for this job, wearing trash was not in the agenda.14

And the dress would get in the way when the time came to apprehend Mr. Hammerstein. God, this was going to be an interesting night.15

Returning to the party, the lights were off. A black light was on as people were dancing to the music, and Hammerstein was handing something out to guests. I couldn't see what it was, so I approached, alerting my partners. 16

"Suspicious dealings. Moving in." A buzz came over the radio as they replied.17

"Roger that. Careful Andrews."18

I was close enough to see that Hammerstein was giving out pills, handfuls at a time. I couldn't tell what kind of pills, but it wasn't Advil.19

He saw me, smiled, and offered a handful to me. Tempted though I was to say "Fuck off," I didn't. "I've gotta drive later. Wouldn't look good in my system if you catch my drift."20

He chuckled. "Yeah. I caught you, babe. But how about some fun before you leave?"21

At that instant, I pulled the gun from between my legs. I pointed it at him and alerted my colleagues.22

"Good job, Andrews," someone said.