Bad Day in Queen's Landing - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chris turned off the TV and shook his head; another Sunday night movie about another cop with issues.  Where were the stories about the cops or law enforcement agents that did their job without having some kind of personal demon that they had overcome?  Where were the stories of the good men that did their job because they were supposed to?  Where were the stories about the men that felt they were supposed to make a difference where they lived, so that’s where, and why, they served?

Chris got up and walked across the living room to his kitchen.  He looked in the fridge for something cold to drink.  He settled on a glass of ice tea.  LaCompt County had only become wet a few weeks ago, but Chris had no intention of going wet with it.  He didn’t like the new law, but his job was to uphold the law, not enforce what he wanted, or what he thought was right.  Not like his deputy, Cal.  Chris shook his head.  There were days he wondered why he made Cal his deputy.  Chris and Cal Shelby had gone to high school together.  Cal had been a couple of grades in front of Chris.  They had been friends in high school, and Chris thought he knew Cal, but he had been more wrong than he ever thought possible. 

Chris looked down at the file on his kitchen table.  He had spent weeks gathering information.  He had begun suspecting things months ago, but he never dreamed what he had found.  The only question was to take care of things publicly, or privately.  

Chris thought he heard something and lifted his head.  He was sure he heard tires on the gravel outside.  He walked to the large living room window and lifted the curtain to peer out.  It was dark outside, but he thought he saw the silhouette of a SUV.  Chris dropped the curtain and retreated back to the kitchen.  He kept his service weapon on top of the fridge, but he was heading toward the gun cabinet that held rifles and his shotgun.  He opened the case and grabbed the shotgun.  The SUV resembled Cal’s, but Cal hadn’t been out to Chris’s in months.  He grabbed the rifle and shotgun and headed back into the living room.  He laid the rifle down and slowly lifted the curtain.  Chris felt his heart leap into his chest.  He was seeing shapes everywhere on his land.  There had to be at least 20 men outside, all armed.  Chris saw the first muzzle flash and shot the shotgun in response.  He felt something rip into his shoulder, thigh, and his side.  He fell to the ground.  He tried to reach for his rifle and found he couldn’t.  The front door kicked open, and the last thing Chris saw was the muzzle fire of the weapon the man was holding. 

The man stepped over Chris’s body, walked into the kitchen and found the file lying on the kitchen table.  He flipped through it for a second.  Satisfied, he took the file and headed back outside.  He stopped before he headed out the door, turned, and fired one more shot into the body of the local sheriff.  The men all got into their SUVs and drove off into the night.