First Kill Read Online Free PDF Page A

telling me not to speak with food in my mouth. Jesus, Lido, we’re the fucking Odd Couple .”
    They were still laughing when a call came over the radio. “Time to get busy,” Lido said after hearing the report of screams heard .
    “Great,” Stokes complained. “Just when I need to take a dump.”
    Lido threw the car in gear and sped away from the curb. “We’re closest.”
    “Yeah, yeah, okay. I’ll hold it in.” Stokes replied back to Central that they were on their way.
    ~~~
    The small construction lot near 11th Avenue was pitch black. Stokes aimed a beacon at the lot and searched for activity. “Looks like a fresh teardown. You hear anyone screaming, Lido? I don’t hear … Wait.” He refocused the light. “There’s a body on the ground.”
    The police cruiser came to a stop. Stokes got out of the car holding a Maglite and his service automatic. The lot was filled with debris, a dumpster, and a tractor. The chain-link fence meant to secure the area had been cut. Something crunched beneath his shoe as he approached the fence. He looked down and saw a crushed glass bong. “I love this job,” he muttered. He used the Maglite to scan the lot through the fence and then squeezed through the opening. Lido was right behind him.
    “Just another junkie,” Stokes said. He continued to scan the construction lot while Lido attended to the vagrant.
    “He’s still alive,” Lido said. “Looks like an OD.”
    “Shit, Gus, guys like these—it’s not an overdose, it’s his usual dose. I wish I could drift through the day in a continuous stupor like one of these guys. Opiates and sedatives—this is his status quo. Cold as fuck out here, and this guy’s on the ground taking a catnap.”
    “Hey, man, wake up. Come on, get up!” Lido shook the vagrant. “Rise and shine—come on.” He slapped his cheeks lightly. “Come on. Come on.” He checked the vagrant’s pupils and then monitored the second hand on his watch. “He’s breathing very slowly.”
    “I’ll call for a bus.”
    “Yeah, do that, but I don’t think he’ll make it. His lips are blue. He’s at about seven breaths per minute.” Lido jumped up and raced back toward the police cruiser.
    “Shit,” Stokes said unhappily. “No, not the Narcan. Not the fucking Narcan.” He called for medical assistance.
    ~~~
    He sat behind the dumpster with a single muscular arm lashed around her like a boa constrictor—his free hand was over her mouth as blood ran over her stomach, staining her blue dress. He tightened his grip around her until she could barely breathe. She tried to break away but was weak from blood loss.
    ~~~
    Lido squeezed through the fence carrying the Overdose Prevention Rescue Kit.
    “Hey! You ever do this before?” Stokes barked.
    “No, but I’ve been trained.”
    “I’ll do it,” Stokes insisted. He rolled the vagrant on his side, checked his air passage, then laid him on his back and tilted his head. “You can’t just slam it in,” he said, warning and instructing at the same time. “You’ve got to push it in slowly.” He opened the kit and readied the syringe. “You owe me, Lido. Remember this when you’re hanging out with the suits.”
    He slid the vagrant’s sleeve up and hit him with the syringe. He had his finger on the plunger when the sound of a guttural moan filled the air. “ Shit , the hell was that?” His finger twitched, and he accidentally slammed the full dose of Narcan. The vagrant’s mouth suddenly opened, and he emitted a prolonged and frightening gasp—it sounded as if he had returned from the dead. He sat up abruptly and heaved. Stokes jumped to his feet just as a dark figure sprang from behind the dumpster and burst forward, knocking Lido to the ground. The dark figure swiped at Stokes with a knife as he raced by. Stokes clutched his throat and collapsed backward on top of the vagrant.
    “Shit!” the vagrant shrieked. “Get him the fuck off of me.” He heaved again. “Who fucked up my