Sunny's Side of the Street

Police Detective Montes made his way over to the older gentleman in the back of the populate bar, sitting at a booth with a dim bulb.  Montes carefully approached the down-trotted fellow. 

“Is this seat taken?” Montes sternly asked as he sat down anyways, not waiting for an answer, but simply asked to act “polite”

“What do you want,” said the older man, with a grizzly deep voice. The bass in his voice made it almost inaudible to understand what he said. 

“I’m just here to get some wisdom. I work with the NYPD…” Montes trailed off as the cocking of the hammer on a handgun clicked loud enough to be heard by the detective. From his analysis, it likely was below the table.

“I don’t want to talk to any dirty pig, especially in my drinking hole,” he blurted out, in a low-stern tone. 

“I am not here to arrest you. We have you on the deactivated suspect list. I am here because I need information about how the ‘life’ was”.

“Are you turning?”

“No, oh God no, I’m still a cop…” said Montes as he quickly scrambled to find a way to lighten the mood, “... a pig. Still a pig.”

The stern face began to give way to a smirk of amusement, as the older man re-positioned himself, placing the pistol in his lap. “Now you are seeing from my perspective” chuckled the man.

Grinning himself, Montes slowly began to relax as he could detect the tension in the booth dissipate. Feeling a chance to engage more in conversation, Montes asked, “So why do they call you Sunny?” 

Sadden by that name, Sunny shuttered slightly, looking down into his half drunk glass of Whiskey. The rugged looking man seemed to be staring at this glass for a minute in pure silence. Only the ambiance of the bar music and patrons filled the space. Suddenly, Sunny knocked back the rest of the Whiskey. He did not wince, looked over to his left, and nodded at the bar tender. She acknowledged the subtle nod. The woman turned around, taking the Johnny Walker off the shelf, and pouring a full glass of the liquor into a water stained glass. She came out from the bar, strolled over and replaced the empty glass of Sunny’s with the newly poured one. Again, a slight nod of acknowledgement from Sunny is all that was said between the two. 

The loud booming voice thundered the booth as Sunny spoke. “They called me Sunny, because of how bright the muzzle flash was from my gun.” 

“Oh, that makes sense,” agreed Montes eagerly, finally having Sunny loosen his jaw. 

Almost with a new found excitement, Sunny leaned in, placing his pistol carefully on the table. “This is the beaut’ here. I modified the muzzle to allow for more of the flash to show. I had to make my mark more intimidating than the others. You know, no one takes orders and gives respect to some soft Nancy, but if I can back what I am saying, then people are more inclined to listen. ”

Montes quickly pulled out his notepad, and began to furiously write down the wisdom Sunny freely bestowed.

In a startled gesture, Sunny grumbled, “What the hell do you think you are doing.” Noticing the NYPD Detective had not heard him, Sunny swiped the notepad from the detective, quickly skimming through the page. 

Increasingly growing upset with every note read, Sunny threw the notepad to another nearby booth. 

In a disgruntled tone, Montes commented, “what did you do that for?”

“YOU ARE GOING UNDERCOVER! Why would you waste your life and morality for that!”

“It's part of my assignment, and honestly, I am a little excited. I get to see the ‘life’ from the inside, while doing some good for the city as well, putting bad guys behind bars.”

“Listen, there is no such thing as good or bad in the ‘life’. There is no choice either. If you are asked to do something, it is yes, not no. No gets you killed. No is what makes your tongue become a necktie that you wear to your own funeral. No is what makes them cut your balls off, and hang them on your mother’s door knob. NO MAKES SUNNY COME TO YOUR....” exclaimed Sunny, as he cut himself off. 

A sudden onset of silence between the bar’s patrons occurred as everyone witnessed Sunny leaned over the table, pistol pointed at Montes. Sunny snapped back from his flashback. He quickly took note of what had happened, and where his gun was pointed. He slowly sat back down in the booth, putting his pistol back into his jacket. 

Montes sat there in shock, with the starry eyed excitement he walked in with, completely gone at the monster that was known as Sunny Valdez came out. He saw a man in that moment completely become hell incarnate. The destruction and desolation at his hand’s screamed from his eyes.

Drinking half of the fresh glass of Johnny Walker, Sunny closed his eyes, breathed slowly, and seemed to relax again. His fiery eyes seemed to subside to the medicine of the drink.

Everyone seemed to go back to their own conversations as the apparent violence to ensue was stifled by Mr. Walker’s concoction. In a sense of relief from the fiery flare of a flashback, Sunny asked, “Kid, let me tell you something. Do you have someone you love? You have a girl?”

“Yes, we have been together for five years.”

“You married her yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Can you live your life without her?”

“No,” Montes muddled.

“Do you have kids?”

“Two kids.”

“This is what you ‘ought to do. Go marry your girl, love her. Go hug your kids, tell them you love them, and don’t let go. Go back to your precinct, and turn down the assignment. Walk the beat, work cases, stay at the desk, I don’t care, but do not, I say, do not work undercover in the life. It's not worth it, life is too short for trading your family for the excitement of your curiosity.” Sunny said.

He pushed himself up from the booth, downing the other half of whiskey on his way up. Sunny pulled out a hundred dollar bill from his jacket, and placed it under the glass for the bartender. He turned to glance at the state of the detective. Seeing the discouraged looking Montes making eye contact back in terror of what was said. This made Sunny feel compelled to ease the burden of Montes.

 Sunny let out a sigh, and began to utter his parting wisdom to Montes. “I went undercover thirty years ago. I lost everything I loved, and took everything people loved. I started on the right side, but the life, for whatever reason, turns everything wicked, no matter the intentions.  There are some things you can learn to let go and forget, and other things that I don’t even think God can forgive.” 

With a reassuring hand on Montes’ shoulder, Sunny continued, “I don’t want that for anyone, not even my worst enemy. Please kid, choose wisely, and learn from my mistakes.”