Soul Sucker
Pizza and Perps

John Miller’s POV

Manhattan Apartment

Saturday, December 3, 2022

I was riding an emotional high as we took a taxi from the dojo to the Manhattan pizza place near my apartment we’d picked for dinner. Not only had I won my ranking fight convincingly, but my girls were there to watch me. Heather was sitting between us in the back seat and giving ‘Daddy’ her critique of my fight. I smiled as much as my sore jaw allowed while Mary watched in amusement. “You keep dropping your right hand when you move to your right,” she told me. “He tagged you four or five times with his left hand. If he lands a solid left hook, it would be lights out.”

“You’re right, Coach,” I replied. “I was doing it on purpose, though.”

“Why?”

“To draw him closer,” I said. “He’s a brawler, and his technique is sloppy. You have to step close to use the hook. If you miss, it leaves you open to the counterpunch. If you can focus his attack in one place, you can be ready for him.”

Heather didn’t like my strategy. “Why don’t I see the professional fighters do that?”

“Sometimes they do, but they are good enough to get the hand up just before the punch arrives. And sometimes, a fighter will fake an injury to get his opponent to do something stupid. You’re always thinking in a fight, and you don’t last long with poor defense. The coaches will see it on tape and teach the fighters to take advantage of it.”

We made it to the Italian restaurant and ordered. We had a booth near the back, and I sat facing the entrance with Mary on my left side. They had video games in the corner near the front pick-up counter, so I handed Heather a few dollars while we waited for the food. “You didn’t have to do that,” Mary said as she ran off.

“I wanted to talk to you about what she said at the fight.”

Mary looked worried. “I didn’t ask her to call you Daddy. It makes me nervous.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little early? We haven’t defined our relationship yet, and I’m worried about her getting attached to you if we don’t work out.”

“I love you, Mary. I love Heather. When she yelled that to me, my heart felt like it would burst with pride. I’ll never be her father, and I’ll tell her that. I can’t replace him, but I’d like to be a Dad for her.”

She took a sip of water and gathered her thoughts. “I see how she looks at you, John.”

I smiled. “The way I look at you, but without the lustful thoughts?” That got her to crack up. “You’re the one who is uncomfortable with the definition of our relationship. I’m trying not to scare you off.”

I put my arm around her, and she leaned into my shoulder. “I don’t scare easily, John Miller.”

My Spidey senses started going off as she snuggled into me. Two men had just come in wearing surgical masks and watch caps. They looked around the place before one moved to the register. He was holding a knife in his hand, hiding it under his arm as he walked forward. “Mary, call 911 quietly. Tell them a robbery is in progress,” I said.

“What are you going to do?”

“Protect Heather. Keep the phone out of sight.” I slid out of the booth and walked between the tables towards the entrance. Heather was playing Big Buck Hunter and oblivious to what was happening behind her. I’d made it halfway when things went to shit.

The guy at the door locked it, then took out a sawed-off shotgun. “THIS IS A ROBBERY,” he yelled. “PUT YOUR WALLETS AND MONEY IN THE BAG, AND NO ONE GETS HURT.”

The knife guy knocked the girl at the counter down, then started tossing money from the register into a bag. I sat down at an empty table and looked to comply. I took my wallet out with my left hand, holding it on the table, and kept my Glock out of sight in my right hand. It didn’t matter that I had a gun; I was alone against two men, and this situation could go bad fast. The best play was to comply and wait for the cavalry to arrive.

I didn’t make eye contact with the knife guy. I just tossed my wallet into the bag as he held it out. Shotgun guy was the bigger threat, and he was twenty feet away. I couldn’t see Heather over the counter, but I hoped she was out of sight and safe.

It had been several minutes since the 911 call, and time was running out on these idiots. Knife guy was still going table to table collecting wallets. He was five booths from the register when they should have been long gone. “Gone in 60 Seconds” is not just a movie; it was a rule to live by. I saw the flashing blue lights outside as several squad cars pulled up. “SHIT! It’s the cops!”

And that is where everything went to shit. Shotgun guy lifted his gun and pointed it towards the window, blasting the glass with his first shot. “GET DOWN,” I yelled as I brought my weapon up. I fired three rounds into his back as the cops outside returned fire. Knife guy turned around to find me pointing my pistol at him. “DROP IT,” I said.

He dropped the bag and the gun.

“CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! SHOOTER IS DOWN! OFFICER INSIDE!” I looked at the second robber and told him to get on his knees. I put my Glock on the table as teams of officers moved to the door.

By the time they made entry, I was on my knees with my hands on my head. “DADDY,” I heard as Heather ran my way.

“Sit down and be still,” I told her as the cops swarmed inside. I got pushed to the ground and handcuffed, but the witness statements and finding my identification got them back off.

I was relieved to hear no one got seriously hurt. The cashier had cuts on her arm from falling glass, and an older woman had to go to the hospital with chest pains. The window had scattered the buckshot, but a second blast might have hit a cop.

Heather was upset they wouldn’t let her talk to me, but Mary took her away. They were waiting outside when the detectives led me out. “I have to go to the station,” I told them as I handed over my keys. “Go back to my apartment and watch the fight. I’ll be there when I can.”

It took an hour to get a lawyer and another two hours to give my sworn statement. It’s usually a bad idea to shoot a bad guy in the back, but when he’s firing at fellow officers? It’s in defense of others and was a righteous shoot.

The police released me but kept my Glock in evidence. The NYPD was solidly on my side, and cops up to the rank of Captain had thanked me for putting the asshole down before he could hit anyone. The District Attorney of Manhattan hates cops, and the victim was black. My lawyer said he might file charges anyway if he gets enough political pressure.

I was exhausted when Patrol dropped me in front of my apartment. Mary buzzed me in, and the girls were waiting at the door in their pajamas when I exited the elevator. Heather ran to me and hugged me around the waist. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I said as I picked her up, her legs going around my waist. “How are the fights?”

“I was waiting for you,” she replied. Mary kissed me as I went inside, and we ended up on the couch, one girl tucked into each side and talking about the night. “Why didn’t you stop the bad guys when they came in?”

“Remember when I talked to you about how knowing how to fight doesn’t mean you have to fight?” She nodded. “Your Mom was the real hero. She called 911 and kept them on the line.”

“But you have a gun,” she said.

“I have a pistol, and one of the bad guys had a shotgun. Another had a knife, and there were innocent people around. I can replace my driver’s license and my credit cards. I can’t replace you or your Mom.” I squeezed them both into my side. “Firing my weapon was the LAST option. Fighting should always be the last option because people can get hurt, even when you do everything right.”

“But you shot the guy.”

“I did, Heather, but only because he was shooting at other people. I would have let them walk away if they hadn’t started shooting.”

She didn’t look convinced. “But you were a cop! You arrest bad guys!”

“I was a cop, and not in New York. I acted to protect others, even though it cost me a night with my girls and a lawyer’s bill.” I didn't mention that I was vulnerable to lawsuits as a private citizen. I looked into her eyes. “I couldn’t see you from where I was sitting, so tell me what you did.”

“I sat behind the counter and held onto the woman at the register,” she replied. “I didn’t even help.”

“You stayed out of the way and safe, Heather. That’s what Mom and I wanted you to do. You did fine until you ran towards me when the police arrived. You should have stayed hidden until Mom came to get you.” My stomach picked that time to growl. “Did you guys eat?”

Mary nodded. “Our pizzas had just come out when the robbery happened. The owner gave them to us for free. I’ll heat some for you.”

We started Fight Night on the television while Mary made popcorn and my dinner. Heather fell asleep after four fights; we tucked her in on the couch, then Mary pulled me into the only private place in my apartment.

The bathroom.

She was in my arms as soon as the door closed. “I was so worried,” she said in between kisses. “Make love to me. I need you so bad,” she said into my ear.

It didn’t take long before the clothes were off. I lifted Mary onto the vanity top, finding her wet and ready as she stroked me to hardness. She moaned as I pushed into her, slowly splitting her apart until I was fully seated. She was so warm and tight that I almost came when she did.

I stayed in place, kissing her hard while playing with her nipples and waiting for the arousal peak to pass. When I was sure I wouldn’t embarrass myself, I started to move with a slow, long-stroking rhythm. “God, John, you feel so good,” she said as she clung to me.

“I love you, Mary.” She started urging me to go faster, first using slight movements of her hips, then with her heels behind my butt. I stuffed a towel in her mouth to keep her quiet as I pounded her through another orgasm. She wrapped her arms around me and held on for dear life as I grabbed her butt for leverage. On her next peak, she screamed into the towel as I held her hips and came deep inside her. I stayed there as her mind returned to the world, holding her close as her body stopped shaking. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“We didn’t use a condom,” I said as I turned on the sink to wet a washcloth.

“I didn’t even think about it,” she confessed. “It’s not the right time of my cycle. We should be fine.”

“We should be more careful,” I replied. “I don’t want your Dad tapping a shotgun on the floor during the wedding march.”

She laughed and hit my shoulder. “Check on Heather while I take a shower.” I snuck in one last kiss, then closed the door behind me.

Heather was still dead to the world. I sat at the dinette and turned on my phone, finding it had blown up with messages. Some of my friends had recognized me in the news story, though the NYPD had not released my name. Terry was one of them, and he’d called me five times and left seven text messages. I called him back first. “What’s up, buddy?”

“Jesus Christ, you can’t just get pizza and a coke, then go home?”

He wasn’t kidding. I’d been in seven shootings while on the Boston Police, three of which were fatalities. “I tried, boss.”

“Is it true you shot the guy in the back?”

“He was shooting at police in the front.”

Terry let out a breath. “The wackos are going to love this. It makes this next decision easy for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“George Hendersen fell off a ladder hanging Christmas lights last night and hurt his back. Now he can’t fly to Denver for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s course starting Monday. You’re going in his place.”

“Wait a minute, that’s a week-long course!”

“I know. A week in Aspen would suck, and it will get you out of here until this shooting thing blows over. I can swap the course and hotel registration, but you get your flights and a rental car.”

“I’ll take care of things.” I hung up and responded to a few messages before Mary came out wearing only a towel. She looked at Heather, then handed me a condom as she sauntered by. She got to the bed and dropped the towel before tossing back the covers.

I was naked and sliding back inside her seconds later. Quietly, of course.

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