“I’ll be gentle,” the cop said. “Turn around.”
Stone turned, and the man slipped the thing on him. “Zip it up,” he said.
The garment overlapped, like a double-breasted jacket, giving double protection for most of the important internal organs.
“A perfect fit,” the cop said. “You’ll take it.”
“Gee, thanks,” Stone said.
“Now sit down; I’ve got to fit you with the earpiece.”
“The what?”
The cop held out his hand, and a small bit of soft plastic lay in his palm with a wire protruding from it.
“People will be able to see that,” Stone said. “Bad people.”
“Nah,” the cop said. “It fits too far down in your ear canal. The wire has a hook on the end; that’s how you get it out: You hook the end of the wire in right here and just pull it out. My advice is, don’t lose the wire.” He turned Stone’s head to one side, stuck the device into his right ear, removed the hook, and handed it to Stone.
“How do you turn it on?”
“It’s on all the time. The battery is good for ten days.”
“What do you do after ten days?”
“If you’re still alive, I’ll bring you a new one.”
“Joan!” Stone shouted. “Bring me your makeup mirror!”
Joan came into the room with the mirror and handed it to him. “Cute underwear,” she said.
“Oh, shut up.” Stone held the mirror in position to look at his ear. “Can you see anything in my ear?”
She took back the mirror. “Yeah, daylight from the other side.” She went back to her office.
“Nice lady,” the cop said.
“Not always,” Stone replied. “Take my advice and stay away from her.”
“I heard that!” Joan yelled from her office.
“They heard it downtown,” the cop said, tapping his ear. He pulled out a vibrating cell phone. “Yeah? Good deal.” He closed the phone. “Like I said, they heard that downtown.”
“How do I get the fucking thing out?” Stone asked.
“Use the little wire with the little hook on the end.”
Stone began rooting around in his ear with the wire. “What am I supposed to hook it onto?”
“There’s a little plastic loop. I showed you, remember?”
Stone made contact and extracted the earpiece.
“It’s a good idea to wear it awhile, get used to it,” the cop said. He took the thing from Stone and reinserted it. “By the way, if you put a phone to that ear, downtown can hear both ends of the conversation, and they can speak to you.”
“That’s just great,” Stone said without enthusiasm. “It’s time for you to go away now.”
“Enjoy your badge, vest, and bug,” the man said, and with a little wave, he left.