Marcia smiled. Romeo had never asked her for anything. This could be her time to shut him down, to break his will, to make him transfer to another a station just so she could have the satisfaction of watching him go. Never again would she have to hear, “What a nice guy Tony is” or “That Tony Romeo, he’s a regular hero, the kind of cop we need in this city…” People seemed to just naturally like him, and that bothered Marcia. Cops should strike fear in the hearts of criminals—they shouldn’t be the type of person that you wanted to buy a drink and shoot the shit with. If only she could knock that goddamn halo off his head...
On the other hand, she mused, there was no guarantee he would transfer. Actually, there was a good chance this wouldn’t be the thing that would break him at all. Marcia had been late before, and each time, Romeo had bitten his lip and taken his lumps like a good boy scout. Maybe because he had a family to take care of, a good school district for his kid, friends in the force, a high rank and a steady income. There was no such thing as a rebel with a cause. He was well-liked here, that was for sure— in fact, maybe that was even better. If Romeo owed her a favor, it was definitely more than just Romeo owing her a favor. Through him, she would have access to other individuals; the sorts of people with power who would never trust her on their own, but who often let their guard down around this “harmless” rookie cop. If she could manipulate Romeo, who else, in turn, would be under her control?
“Okay, Romeo, I guess you can go. You’ve done enough here.”
He blinked. He hadn’t expected her to say yes. “Wait…really? You’re pulling my leg.”
“No, go ahead, you earned it. Just remember…” she smiled, revealing a small line of neat white teeth, “Have a Merry Christmas.”