low whup-whup-whup of an LAPD
helicopter flashing through the frame, here and gone.

LAPD radio transmissions crackle like static electricity
around a dirty clapboard bungalow that looks like the
puckered asshole of Eagle Rock.

A man's terrified voice screams invisibly from the house --

                     MALIK'S VOICE
           I'm gonna kill this dog!  You make my
           wife talk to me or I'm gonna shoot this
           fuckin' dog!

A five-member SWAT tactical team app