Page 59 of Wild Oblivion

"How are you doing?" he finally asked.

My brow knitted with confusion. It was an unusual question coming from Daniels. "I'm doing great. Never better."

"You guys have been going at a pretty good clip for a long time now."

"Well, if people would stop doing bad stuff, maybe we could take a break."

"I know that bombing at Sonic Temple hit close to home. Seems like this guy is gunning for you."

"Wouldn't be the first time.”

"You guys could have easily been inside that building doing a sound check when the bomb exploded.”

"True.”

"By the nature of your lifestyle, you guys are pretty exposed at certain times. Now I'm not asking you to change anything about the way you live your lives. But I want you to stay frosty. Don't get complacent."

"Trust me, I won't."

"I will deny I ever said this, but I don't want to attend either of your funerals.”

I smiled. "I think that pretty much goes for all of us."

We had grown to be one big family, with Daniels at the head of it.

"Maybe I'm just getting old. I can’t really keep up with all this new technology. Artificial this, quantum that. I miss the good old days when crime was simpler. Now everything is a multilayered scam. Everyone’s on the take. You don’t know who to trust.”

“Is there something going on in the department I should know about?”

He didn’t answer right away. With a sigh, he said, "Sometimes I wonder what the point of it all is. At the end of the day, we’re just bailing water on the Titanic.”

"We're still afloat," I said.

"And it's taking everything we've got to stay that way." He exhaled another breath. "Some days I think I just want to go fishing and let it be somebody else's problem."

My eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Sounds like you need a vacation.”

"The thought has crossed my mind.”

I'm not sure he was talking about a temporary vacation either.

"I can't do this forever. Someday this town’s gonna need a new sheriff.”

"You’re not thinking about…" I didn't even want to say it.

"I'm just putting a bug in your ear.”

I stared at him for a moment. "You want me to run for sheriff when you retire?"

"You got your shit squared away. You’ve got more than enough resources to fund the campaign. Everybody loves you, especially the camera. You’re a local hero. I can think of no better person to take over the reins once I ride off into the sunset."

I cringed. "I don't know. That's not really my style. I'm the tip of the spear. I'm an instrument. Point me in a direction, and I'll execute. Dealing with bureaucracies and politics…” I shook my head. “That’s not my thing."

The sheriff shrugged. "Fair enough. Just something to think about.”

"Tell me you’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” I said in a hopeful tone. "You'd miss all this.”

"I’d miss it like a hemorrhoid."