United States Of Apocalypse Read Online Free PDF

you?”
    “Who’s being racist now?”
    “Shut the fuck up, Mike. I had to chase your ass all over the damn city. Now I have to drag your ass back. I am not a happy man.”
    “Is it because you can’t pump the blood high enough to oxygenate that giant melon of yours?”
    Tynes shook Mike a couple of times just for effect.
    “I had a pretty decent beat until your honky ass showed up. Sure, I had my troublemakers, but I don’t know, I guess they just weren’t as resilient as you. No matter how many times I try to uproot you, you keep coming back. Like a fucking weed on my prized lawn.”
    “You’re a cop; you don’t have a lawn. Not in the city. Not unless you take a little on the side. Is that what this is all about? I’m not giving you your little piece of pie?”
    “Yeah, I can’t even begin to decide what I would do with ten percent of your take. Shit, two dollars and twenty cents. I could get a half-cup of coffee.”
    “Who said anything about ten percent? More like three. That’s the going rate for corrupt cops.”
    Tynes smacked Mike in the back of the head hard enough that his teeth clacked together.
    “Hey, someone pull out their fucking phone and film this shit, will you! A cop is beating me in broad daylight!”
    People streamed by on their own way. Off to work, some to home, others to illicit affairs and wrongdoings. And like most New Yorkers, none made more than a cursory glance at the policeman and his prisoner.
    “You’ve been here long enough to know that no one gives a shit, Mike.”
    A street vendor was just opening up his stall on the corner of Forty-Second and Broadway. Lights blazed from forty-foot displays hawking everything from video games to soda.
    “Hey man, want a drink? I’m dying of thirst. I’ll buy, it’s the least I can do. The money is in my front left pocket.”
    Tynes hadn’t realized it until Mike said something, but right this very moment, his mouth felt like the Sahara desert during a sandstorm.
    “This a trick?”
    “Yeah, I have a mousetrap in my pocket. What the hell, man?”
    “Any needles?”
    “Weren’t you supposed to frisk me when you cheated and shot me?”
    “I did while your teeth were still chattering and you were doing the worm, but I want to make sure.”
    “No hard drugs here, man. I like the occasional joint and beer, but that’s it. Come on, grab the money and get us some drinks. I’ve got that taste in my mouth like I licked the prongs of a nine-volt battery and left it there.”
    “Done that often?”
    Mike shrugged.
    Tynes grabbed the money. “This is a loan. I left my wallet in my car.”
    “Sure, sure. I’ve said that on dates before. Works like a charm.”
    “This isn’t a date.”
    “Then why is your hand in my pants?”
    Tynes quickly withdrew with a wadded up twenty. “I don’t like you very much.”
    Mike looked down the street wondering if he could beat feet. The judge had told him if he graced the floor of his courtroom again, he would be spending some time as a guest of the city.
    “I see what you see, so don’t even bother.” Tynes roughly grabbed Mike’s shoulder and drove him into the front of the cart.
    “Hey man, is this how you treat all your dates?”
    “Shut up. Two waters, please.” The cop had turned to the cart attendant. The man, like most of the vendors throughout the city, was of Middle Eastern descent. Nothing new there, but Tynes got an uneasy feeling from how many times the man looked at his watch as the transaction happened.
    “Waiting for something, buddy?” Tynes asked, fishing for answers.
    “Go now,” the man said brusquely.
    “Wow, he doesn’t like you either. You ever think about working on your disposition?”
    “Shut up, Mike,” Tynes said as he pulled him away.
    “Um…how about some water?”
    “Something’s wrong here. Did you see that man? He was nervous, and he kept looking at his watch.”
    “Officer Tynes, I hate to tell you this, but you’re a pretty intimidating