Marshall hit the brakes of the SUV, Lawson almost hitting his head on the dashboard, even with the seatbelt on. Struggling to open his eyes, Lawson rubbed them, blinking a few times. “Where in the ever-loving name of all that is holy are we? And where did you learn to drive, kiddo? Holy crap. You’ve almost killed us more than once.”

“Not even close!” Marshall yelled back. “If you’d drive some of the two-thousand-plus miles, I wouldn’t be so tired that we almost crashed, would I?” An empty cup of coffee sat in the cupholder between the two men. Marshall threw it at Lawson, hitting his shoulder.

Through sleepy-crusted eyes, Detective Lawson glared at his young partner. Part of the Portland Police, the two men drove back to Iowa after babysitting Floyd Patterson for a month. Maybe more. Lawson had trouble sleeping these days, and time zone changes weren’t helping. He stretched, picked up the cup off the floorboard, stared at it for a second, blinking a few times, then Lawson hucked it so hard Marshall slammed on the brakes, bringing the SUV to a standstill from 35 MPH. The cup hit Marshall in the middle of his forehead, not a bad shot for a middle-aged man inside an SUV. It was good that these Portland cops were on a two-lane blacktop in Montana on the edge of the North Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Marshall noted that they passed four cars in the last three hours. Both men were exhausted after their detail with Patterson. The old dairy farmer was dull and couldn’t talk his way out of a paper bag. At least, that’s what Marshall thought. Lawson thought the old guy had a solemness about him, a peaceful quiet that made his partner nervous. Then again, Lawson had played bodyguard to a witness in a different case, years before Marshall would graduate from the academy. She was pretty in a plain Jane way, simple, very little makeup, but not what kids would later term ‘basic.’ And this woman could talk – at length about NOTHING. It drove him crazy trying to get a word in edgewise. So, Patterson’s peaceful quiet was nothing less than appreciated by Lawson.

“What the heck, man?” Marshall smacked him square in the shoulder. “Dude? Seriously? In my face?” Marshall flipped down the sun visor and peeked in the makeup mirror. “You left a nice little red mark, Lawson. Thanks a lot!” He slammed the visor shut, putting his foot on the gas pedal hard enough to leave black marks on the pavement, squealing the tires. Marshall snickered to himself.

“For being such a crack shot, you sure didn’t get me all the good, did you?”

The tires squealed again, this time Marshall hitting the brakes hard enough to cause Lawson to hit his head on the dash. Marshall threw the shifter in park and shut off the SUV. “That’s it, Lawson. You can drive!” He threw the keys at Lawson thinking this time he might nail him. But Lawson caught the keys right before they hit him square in the nose. Marshall jumped out of the truck, cussing, kicking, and punching the air. Lawson stretched, unclicked his seatbelt, opened the door, and walked around the SUV to where Marshall was still beating the air and cursing out his partner.

“Why do you gotta be like that?” Marshall asked the older cop. “You are always getting under my skin, and it doesn’t take much for you to do it!” Another expletive left his lips.

Lawson patted the kid on the shoulder. “Listen, kiddo. I get it. This job is frustrating enough. The last thing you need is to let the littlest things get to you. So, here’s a trick for you – don’t let it.” He nodded toward the SUV. “Let’s get going, kid. I’ll drive for a while.”

“How do you do that?” Marshall asked, walking around to the passenger side of the SUV.

“Do what, exactly?” Lawson said, climbing into the Escalade. “Not let everything get to me?”

“Yeah. It’s like you’ve seen it all before. Like you know what’s coming before it happens.”

Lawson laughed, putting the key in the ignition. “If only it were that easy,” Lawson smirked, winking at Marshall. “Patience. Relax and wait. That’s why older detectives live longer than younger ones, like you. A few seconds of hesitation can either end your life or save it. Most often, it will make the difference between shooting an innocent person and having to explain yourself to Internal Affairs.” Lawson pulled out his sunglasses and put the truck in drive. “I’ve had that experience a few times. I’d prefer it not to happen again. That’s how I learned patience. I hope you won’t have to experience the pain of their inquiry, but if you do, stay calm, relax, and keep telling yourself you did your best given the circumstances. Most of the time, that works. But if not?” Lawson shrugged.

Marshall put his feet in the same spot where Lawson hit his head. “Portland has no jurisdiction in Iowa, so why go back?”

Lawson wondered if having a wife and kids would be like this. Nonstop questions. Some of which might make sense. But most of them? Not at all. “That EPA agent is crossing Rin Zaterelli’s cash flow. Do you really think that he’s going to let that slide? With some of his most lucrative cash businesses failing because of our work? Do you think that dude isn’t going after her when he finds out she could crash the plastics factory? You do know that factory isn’t really building anything, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, all those pieces of plastic they keep sending to Iowa are not building anything. They put them together in Iowa and then shipped them to a few places in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Those factories break them down, clean them up, and send them back. Different boxes. Different shipping labels. And different pieces so no one knows that they aren’t making anything. Those orders are all fake, all in cash – for the most part. And now the EPA is looking into contamination because of plastics. Not that the plastics are dangerous. But the residuals from manufacturing them COULD BE. If the EPA finds out that the water isn’t being contaminated then the plant has no issues – or do they? Without contamination, they aren’t making what they are suspected of creating.”

Marshall got quiet for a minute, something Lawson appreciated. He really needed a cup of coffee. No matter how comfortable the seats were, sleeping in the SUV was less than ideal. Both men needed a bed and food, and at this point, it didn’t matter if it was McDonald’s or Burger King. “Wait. So EPA woman’s life is in danger?”

Lawson yawned and nodded yes. “It’s highly likely that Emulsion Plastics is also aware of the fraudulent activity. At the very least, I would say the high-level executives know. Maybe not the middle managers. But the higher-ups, for sure.”

Marshall leaned his seat back. “Wake me when we get there, Dad.”

Lawson smiled, shaking his head. “Should be about 3 P.M., give or take. Depends on how many times we stop.”
“Then don’t stop,” Marshall sighed. “Pee in this,” he tossed him an empty 16-ounce bottle of Coke. “We ain’t got time to mess around.” He turned away from him, rolling into a fetal position. Two minutes later, Lawson heard snoring from the truck’s passenger side.

“Nighty-night, kid.”