“She’s from a Brooklyn precinct, Nilman,” Perky informed the other cop with a grin. “You know how they can get there, not often graced with the presence of cindercorns and what-else we got kickin’ around here.”
A sympathetic sound came from every cop in the cubicle farm, along with several condolences for my suffering.
“Don’t worry, Detective McMarin,” Nilman said, winking at me. “We’ll take good care of you here. Our precinct is the best, and I’m not saying that because Chief Bailey is willing to make us coffee when we do a good job. Good luck with your cases, though. If you need any help, just ask. Having helped them move the filing boxes into your office, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
ChapterThree
I got sucker punchedby an archangel and woke up on a couch in the shared office of the Chief Quinns, who engaged in a lively argument over the schedule. Chief Bailey Quinn had returned to her human form, and she sat on her husband’s desk with her arms crossed over her chest.
Sitting up, I yawned and tried to piece together the circumstances leading up to the archangel giving me a whack to the gut I’d never forget. “Is it normal for angels to punch people?”
My question halted the dispute, and Chief Bailey Quinn grinned at me. “That’s my fault, I’m afraid. I specified no halos and no smitings, but I neglected to tell him no assault or ambushes. Apparently, he claims he was doing you a favor by making sure you were knocked out for his work. Honestly, he probably was doing you a favor, so I’m ignoring it. Holy fire hurts like hell, and angels lack regard for human pain tolerance.”
“I didn’t even get a diagnosis. I got a punch to the gut. I mean, that is not a complaint, but it’s unexpected.”
“Angels are assholes. You’ll get used to it. He had other things to do, but he wanted to clear an owed debt, so he did so. A little warning would have been nice, but I guess he noticed Sam behind you so you wouldn’t hit the floor hard.”
Samuel waved from his position behind his desk. “Polycystic ovary syndrome due to faulty hormonal production. That’s something I could have handled, but Sariel informed me he has addressed any and all other health issues to make certain the debt was paid in full. We’ve been looking over your work performance records, and I suspect you’ll be happy enough without having to go to the doctors as frequently.”
No kidding. I discovered my purse on the floor near the couch, and I checked my phone to discover I’d lost four hours of my day. “Did I even get to see my office? I can’t remember.”
“You did,” Bailey informed me. “Sariel warned me you’d have some memory issues, and he told me to tell you not to worry about it. Holy fire tends to short circuit humans for a while. I’ll show you to your office so you can get settled.”
Samuel cleared his throat.
“What now?” the woman complained.
“Why don’t you make her one of your magical cups of coffee while I show her to her office? At the same time, you can make yourself a cup, as you’re about five minutes from crashing out from your first cup.”
“I am not going to crash out from a single cup of coffee. I can survive a while without my next cup of coffee. But I will go make McMarin a cup.” Bailey slid off the desk and left, whistling a merry tune as she went.
“Don’t mind her. Do you want to be called McMarin or something else?”
“I have a first name?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
“According to your badge, it’s Josefina,” the chief informed me. “I have trained my wife to use my first name sometimes, but if you hear her wailing Quinn, she’s talking about me.” He rose to his feet and headed to the door. “Expect Bailey to pass out on your couch. She’s stubborn, she’s tired, and she refuses to admit she’s tired. I’ll remove her when we head home, as my grandfather has informed me she will be down and out for the rest of the night. The freedom got to her.”
I chuckled at the thought of the cindercorn being defeated by something as simple as a single cup of coffee after not having any for months. Getting to my feet, I slung my purse strap over my shoulder and followed the chief into the hallway. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Samuel, sir.”
“You’re no trouble. It’s not the first time a new officer in our precinct has ended up on the couch after getting smote by an angel. We take care of our own here, and I have a list of angels who owe me favors a mile long, as they come to the chiefs to handle touchier situations with humans. I have the angels patch up my cops to clear out the debts, so if they can come to me, they do. They enjoy doing good for humanity despite the rules generally barring them from participating in random acts of kindness. You’ll get used to it.”
I would? “How will time off and salary work here?” In an effort to maintain the casual atmosphere, I forced myself to drop the sir.
To my astonishment, I didn’t spontaneously combust or descend directly to some hell.
“I’m having your paid time off reset, as those days should be for rest and relaxation, not trying to get a medical diagnosis. I already discussed it with the commissioner. Your starting salary will be average level for third grade detectives with an unplanned transfer bonus. You’ll get to negotiate your salary at the end of the year when we’re doing the budget. Normally, we’d do the negotiation immediately upon promotion, but I needed you yesterday, and the commissioner gave me some leeway with your bonus. Part of your bonus is a relocation package if you live more than an hour from our precinct. Oh, and that’s with traffic at rush hour.”
I stared at the man, wondering when he had lost his mind. “Whodoesn’tlive more than an hour from here during rush hour?”
“Everyone except myself, my wife, and Perkins; we’re terrorizing Queens right now, although we’re going to need to get a bigger place, yet again, due to the number of children and others underfoot.”
My current apartment gave me a two hour commute on a bad day to get to Brooklyn, and I expected closer to three hours to get to Manhattan.
Would my new salary allow me to live somewhere closer? I supposed I could have moved closer to Brooklyn on my pre-promotion salary, but I hadn’t had the time needed to search for a new place to live. I decided I would deal with my living arrangements sometime after I came to terms with having a new job at a new precinct.
“Others?” I asked.
“My wife adopted an entire species of… honestly, I have no idea what they are. They look like mice, but they’re sentient, and they’ve outgrown the basement of our place. My wife wants more kids, and we agreed we’d adopt as many as we have, so we’re going to end up with at least two more kids. Add in our rescue wolves, and our current property in Queens isn’t going to cut it for much longer. This is driving me crazy because we just moved. I underestimated my wife’s interest in an entire herd of children. I need to stop underestimating my wife.”
