The Archangel Drones by Joe Nobody Read Free Book Online

the video from your device. Now please hand it over, or I’ll be forced to arrest you for obstructing justice and interfering with a law enforcement officer.”
    “How long will you have my phone?” Chip asked.
    “No more than a few days, sir.”
    “Okay, tell you what. Let me back up my calendar and contacts, and then you can have it.”
    Jim wasn’t ready for that. It was impossible to keep up with the damn technology, and he had no idea what the man in front of him was implying. Not knowing what else to say, he finally asked, “How long will it take you to copy that information?”
    “Here,” replied Chip, holding up the device. “It’s just a couple of buttons and…. Boom… there goes a copy of everything, straight up to the cloud.”
    Jim, realizing he’d been had, lunged for the phone, but again, Chip pulled away. In the scuffle, the device plummeted to the ground and then was crushed under the boot of a policeman as he helped subdue the homeowner.
    A few minutes later, in front of his neighbors, friends, and horrified wife, Chip was escorted to a squad car in handcuffs, charged with resisting, hindering an investigation, disobeying a police officer, and a laundry list of lesser charges. All of those paled in comparison to what would end up on Jacob’s arrest record and police report.

    He was trying to stay awake until Jacob made it home. Heady evening aside, Gabe wasn’t accustomed to late night excursions. The rush associated with a fancy restaurant accompanied by conversation with the nationally known, college coach had worn off, and now he wanted nothing more than to hear the hum of Jacob’s car as it pulled into the driveway.
    He’d decided to go ahead and get ready for bed, performing his usual teeth brushing and washing routine in preparation for a short night’s rest. It was all worth it , he mused, sitting on the edge of the bed. All of Jacob’s hard work has paid in spades, and I’m so proud of him I could almost burst .
    Gabe’s heart jumped when his cell phone rang, his fatherly concerns immediately overriding his daydream of Jacob’s NBA debut. The need for Jacob to drive Manny home at such a late hour initiated ten different parental nightmares to stream through his sleep-deprived mind before he answered.
    After exchanging a worried look with his wife, he glanced at the number on the smartphone’s display. The caller ID allowed him to exhale for a moment. It was Manny’s mother, probably a courtesy call advising him that Jacob had just dropped off their daughter.
    “Hello.”
    The voice on the other end was in a panic. “Mr. Chase, this is Amanda. Something’s gone very wrong over here… the police… Chip has been arrested… Jacob, too… I don’t know what….”
    Gabe shot off the edge of the bed, spinning to throw a look of concern at his wife. “Settle down, Amanda, please. Go slow. Take a couple of deep breaths. Tell me what’s wrong.”
    Amanda started crying again, blurting out the sentences between sobbing inhalations. “The police were here, a lot of them. They were pulling Jacob over and must have thought he was a robber or something. They had their guns out and your son on the ground. Chip went out to see what was going on, and got into a fight with one of the cops. They took my husband and your son to jail.”
    “Okay… it will be okay, Amanda. Walk me through this; everything will be fine. Which police? Do you know what kind of cops they were?” While Gabe had never been in any trouble with the law, he knew there were several different departments with jurisdiction over the surrounding area.
    “I don’t know!” she cried. “They threw Chip down on the driveway, and there is blood on the concrete where he landed. I could hear Jacob screaming in pain… like they were torturing him or something.”
    None of it made any sense to Gabe; his first conclusion was that Amanda was near a breakdown and not rational. He knew Chip, and the man wasn’t a hothead