2 Short Story

Introduction

Hi! I am Trey, Alex’s backup though I have never experienced a time that she needed it.

I grew up in the greater Minneapolis area. I did well scholastically, lettered in basketball, football and wrestling but my passion was skateboarding.  It was a passion that had me skateboarding through the Mall of America throughout the winter months and it was there that I met Lindsey

I watched as a beautiful long-haired blue-eyed blonde demonstrated a boardslide on one handrail, did a fifty-fifty grind on the next handrail then finished with a hand plant followed by a small twirl in front of me.  Her smile melted me. Her eyes seemed to look into my soul and her challenge to keep up with her has lasted my lifetime. She still challenges me to be all I was meant to be.  For the remainder of my high school senior year the two of us met at the mall every weekend. We became mall celebrities and had a following throughout every weekend during that winter and early spring.

I graduated roughly in the middle of my high school class. Lindsey was much smarter than I and graduated as one of the top ten students in her high school and got a scholarship to the University of Minnesota.  Meanwhile, I had several sport scholarship offers, but I had no idea what I wanted to study and just focusing on sports was not something I looked forward to

My mother was disappointed and worried when I came home and let her know that I planned to go into the Marine Corps.  It was during boot camp that my talent with a rifle became apparent. I demonstrated an uncanny ability to hit my targets from known distances, unknown distances, multiple angles, and pitches. I was selected to become a sniper and was trained on several rifle types. Then I was trained to be a hard target. That meantmastering the ability to conceal myself in all situations. I ate up the training as if it was the best steak dinner on the menu. 

I had found a purpose that had eluded me until that training.

I was sent to Iraq where the training made a huge difference but still fell short of what the reality of on the ground conflict had to serve. I likened it to a steak dinner prepared with shoe leather. During one intense engagement I watched as some of my brothers were killed. I single handedly eliminated the attackers but was wounded in the process. I felt guilty for having lived while so many in my platoon were killed. I was sent to a hospital in Germany to have the bullet removed from my shoulder. After a relatively long recovery time and the expiration of my enlistment I was sent back to Minneapolis. I was ready to see if there was more to my life than being able to kill someone.

Lindsey and my mother were both there to greet me. My heart swelled as I took in Lindsey’s beauty. Her embrace seemed to finish my healing.  She was studying for the bar exam but said that she did not have the passion she needed to excel in that field.  A few months later we were married, and we celebrated my being hired by the Minneapolis Police Department’s detective unit.

I wish I could say that I then lived happily ever after but that was not the case. A few months after my return I had an appointment with a VA therapist and I shared the fact that I was having flash backs, having startled responses to loud bangs, and having difficulty sleeping. She diagnosed me as experiencing PTSD and recommend additional therapy sessions.

Soon after Lindsey let me know that I was to be a father. I decided to suck it up and stay in control of my mind. But I added having a few drinks each evening to settle me down. I thought I was doing well. I brought Lindsey and my new son, Nolan, home from the hospital and things got better for me.

Then I got on a case where a father killed his entire family. This individual was an Army veteran that had a similar back story to mine. He had mistaken his family for people attacking him and he had responded in a lethal manner.

I went home, got totally drunk and the following day let Lindsey know that I had to find a job that was not as intense as what I faced in my current role as the lead detective of my team. I needed to go to a smaller organization in a smaller city.

My Chief of Detective boss let me know that his friend in Cincinnati was looking for a back up detective. When I looked up the greater Cincinnati population it was sixty percent that of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Additionally, I would be a back up not the lead detective on my team.  Those two facts attracted me.  I discussed the opportunity with Lindsey, and she agreed with me that it might be a better situation.

I did a phone interview with a Chief Johnson and was invited to come for a face-to-face meeting with he and the person who would be the lead detective of the team.

When I arrived and got out of the cab, the much smaller size of the Police Station immediately made me feel better.

The much smaller reception area felt welcoming and felt much warmer than the one in Minneapolis. The receptionist let me know that I was expected and asked her assistant to escort me to the Chief’s office.

When I entered the office Chief Johnson came around the desk and shook my hand. He then introduced Alex Evercrest.  At six foot four inches I was a few inches taller than the Chief but when Alex stood up, smiled and shook my hand, I realized that I was at least a foot taller than her.

She began by thanking me for my service and sharing that she was proud to shake the hand of a Medal of Honor recipient. She immediately looked taller, and her firm handshake let me know that she was not intimidated by my height.

The Chief looked a me and asked if I was willing to be Alex’s partner and backup. I smiled and jokingly replied that I would be glad to stand in front of her to shield her if she needed it.

Alex smiled and replied that I could back her up and shoot over her at anyone mistakenly thinking they could out gun the two of them. She then asked if I was as good with a hand gun as I was with my sniper’s rifle.

It felt great to know that she had done her home and it was clear to me that she was going to make a great partner. I let her know that I was good with my hand gun but not as good as I was with my snipers rifle.

She then asked if I was ready for the last part of the interview that would take place at the gun range.

The Chief smiled and suggested that the two of them follow him. As we walked toward the back of the building, it was clear that two of the men that had been sitting at their desks were following behind me. When we all go on the elevator the Chief introduced Bill and Travis his lead detective team.

When we got off the elevator the first thing that caught my attention was a target that had the name Travis shot into it with a single hole dead center. I asked whether that was a real target. The Chief smiled and replied that it was real.

Once we got to the shooting station, Alex handed me her weapon and said that I should be the first to shoot and asked if I needed a few shots to warm up. I looked at the weapon, which was very close to the one I had been issued but I figured I should take a couple of warm up shots. Two of my shots hit the center but the third one went just outside of center.

The range master handed me a clean target, took the weapon, and put in bullets. He gave me the weapon back, smiled and wished me good luck in taking the seventeen shots the gun held. I took my time and slowly decimated the center, but a few shots fell outside the center and one just outside the center ring.  It was the best I had done all year.

The range master took the weapon, cleaned the barrel, reloaded the magazine, and handed the weapon to Alex.

I wondered why Alex hesitated for a moment and was surprised when she asked if she could empty her weapon twice as part of the interview.  The question surprised me. I had no idea why she wanted permission to reload and fire more than the one round that the weapon held.  I just nodded and said that would be fine.

She then began to slowly shoot at the target. I thought at first she was missing the bulls eye but then the letters of my name took shape. To say I was amazed would be an understatement. She emptied her weapon, put a second full magazine into the weapon, finished my name, and then put a smiley face in the bull’s eye. She pulled in the target and handed it to me saying it was her gift to her new partner.

The Chief smiled and asked whether I was ready to be on a winning team.

There was no doubt in my mind. The thought that went through my mind as I looked from the target to her was, “I wish you could have been in the field with me to help save the brothers I lost.”

The Range master asked if he could have the target. I shook my head and said that I wanted to take it back to Minneapolis to show the folks I worked with but I would bring it back so it could be put next to Travis’s target.

I followed the Chief and Alex back to his office where I signed my service agreement.

Lindsey and I moved to Cincinnati where Alex welcomed us by having a picnic at Cincinnati’s River Front Park. That welcome won Lindsey over as we watched Nolan having a great time.

Little did I know the intensity that being Alex’s back up would entail. I had no clue the impact she would have on my well being or the improvement of my married life. What hit home for me was the day that Nolan began calling her, “Aunt Alex.” She had won his heart. That sealed my devotion to her.

She became a part of my family. Little did I know at the time that she would help me become a sober individual, that she would risk her life to save mine and hunt down the individuals responsible for almost killing me.

Looking back, I now realize that being a detective in Minneapolis had been rather dull as compared to backing up Alex. The difference has been Alex’s approach to life. She refuses to yield to barriers that would stop her from bringing the wrong doer to stand in front of the judge and have a jury decide guilt or innocence. This approach is built on her foundation of treating others as she wishes to be treated. Those who have interpreted her approach as a weakness discovered too late that she is a woman whose will and determination is harder than a diamond.

The one thing that I can say with certainty is that I will not only be there to back her up, but I will also shield her if she ever needs shielding.

If you look at my picture, You should notice the black that seems to be pushed back away from me. That is the result that my association with Alex. My world has turned green and the shadows of in my mind grow dimmer with each passing day.

I am Trey, Alex’s backup and I invite you to backup both of us as we travel our journey on to our way to destiny.