Enemy in Blue Read Online Free PDF Page B

lifted his foot from Eduardo's face. Cruz looked at Eduardo and it seemed like his jaw wasn't attached anymore. Eduardo's cries were guttural, muddled.
    The cop moved to Eduardo's back and started kicking him in the kidneys. Cruz couldn't take anymore of it and he yelled out, “Stop it please! He isn't doing anything!”
    The cop didn't even pause. Between kicks he said, “You spics are here, that's enough.”
    Cruz looked back at Eduardo whose eyes were rolling back into his head. He had vomited all over the ground in front of him. Cruz could smell that Eduardo had shit and pissed his pants.
    “ You're killing him!” The tears streamed down Cruz's face. He desperately wanted to get up and rip the cop apart. He sobbed on the ground and started to claw his way over to Eduardo.
    “ Get the hell away unless you want to be next, shithead.” Cruz ignored him and threw his body over Eduardo as best as possible. He felt kicks start to rain down on his side. A rib cracked. But he wasn't going to move.
    Cruz heard the voice of the other cop, “Fuck, that's enough.”
    The cop who had been beating the boys stopped. “You think these putas learned their lesson?”
    “ Yeah man, enough's enough.”
    Cruz's head dropped on Eduardo's shoulder. Short, strained breaths came from Eduardo's broken mouth. He had stopped crying, and seemed to be unconscious. Cruz closed his eyes again and passed out.
     

N I N E
    _________________________________________________
     
    I t was two days since the incident and Max was living like he was the criminal. Every loud noise made him jump. Every cross stare had him questioning what that person may know. He avoided contact with everyone.
    Max went to his living room window and contemplated who he could contact for help, for support. Anyone who could listen really. He was still very close with his father, seemingly more so as he got older and his father's wisdom became apparent. However, this wasn't the situation to drag friends and family into. Max knew they may be in danger even without him voluntarily getting them involved.
    As he absentmindedly perused the mail and other junk on his kitchen table, he flipped over a business card that read:
    Sandra Gutierrez
    Broadcast Journalist, Channel 9 News
    He remembered this woman. She was the striking woman who was supposedly hunting for a bathroom. Max flipped the business card around in his hand while he thought about how he could use her. She could be exactly the help he needed.
    * * * *
    Martinez and Williams pulled up to Martinez's house. He saw his wife standing at the front door.
    “ Oh shit, what's this about?” Martinez groaned.
    “ Looks like you done something wrong ese, ” Williams sneered. It always irritated Martinez when Williams used Spanish slang against him.
    Martinez got out of the car and screamed out to his wife, “ Que paso mujer?” His wife kept staring him down, hands on hips and eyebrows on fire.
    “ What happened? How about that loco racist sergeant of yours calling to ask how I was doing? And his equally racist cabron Tomko called your wife, Williams. What the hell did you two bastards do now?”
    Martinez felt a ball of fury rise from his gut. He turned to look at Williams who seemed unaffected, like he was expecting this.
    “ What'd you think man?” Williams asked. “You had to know those punks would pull out all the stops to get that drive back.”
    “ Man, they're threatening our families! Screw them! We don't even know what's on the drive.”
    “ Doesn't matter what's on there. Perception trumps reality,” Williams said. “They ain't gonna stop until you give them the drive or you do something with it.”
    “ Look, let's go check out your house, just to make sure,” Martinez said.
    “ All right, man.”
    “ Hey mujer , you remember where the gun is and how to use it?” Martinez asked his wife.
    “ You know it.”
    * * * *
    Tomko and Lindsey walked up the driveway to Williams' home. The sun was just