Giving in to Him~

Chapter 23

Rick parked the car and got out, taking a minute to look at the building that now stood in front of him. It had been a long time since he'd been back. He wasn't sure how he actually felt about being back. The building held so many bad memories for him and he usually tried his best to stay away.

Shaking off the past, he squared his shoulders, straightened his back, and headed towards the front door. Once inside, he flashed his credentials and let them pat him down. It was all routine, but it still made his skin crawl as the memories tried to push their way out.

The stress of the situation weighed heavily on Rick's shoulders as he expertly wound his way through the white hallways that seemed to snake around and overlap with each other in a maze of certain confusion. But he still remembered these halls like they were part of his own body and before he knew it, he was standing outside of Marshall's office.

Even though he wasn't going to wait for a response, he knocked lightly anyway as he let himself in. His eyes wandered as he took in the office space spread out before him. Two work spaces occupied the room and Rick remembered that Marshall shared an office with another guy.

Rick's eyes drifted and settled on Marshall's desk, zoning in on the still steaming cup of coffee that was sitting and waiting for him. He definitely owed Mitchell.

Sitting down and making himself comfortable, he took hold of the hot cup of coffee, taking a sip. The coffee was good. It was rich, aromatic, and was obviously a higher end coffee. A memory of drinking coffee with Jennifer just that morning jilted Rick and he felt his heart clench.

Before he could drown in the sea of morbid thoughts and images that were sure to come, Marshall strolled into the office and sat down at his desk. He was the first to speak.

"Two of our men are in the field already and they found Joey's car. I am waiting for them to call in." As if on cue, the machine against the wall crackled and hissed.

"This is Tango. We have visual."

Rick felt his heart stutter as the words reached his ears. As soon as his brain caught up, his heart took off, racing down the track towards the finish line as fast as it could go. His breaths became slightly shallower and he had to focus on relaxing his body as he waited for more news.

"This is Alpha. I read you. Confirm the status of the targets."

Rick felt his breath hitch and lodge in his throat, making it hard to take in air. Without thinking, he leaned in towards the machine, waiting for the response.

"Two targets are in site. They stopped to eat."

He slowly released the breath he was holding and tried to settle back into his chair. He needed to relax; this tension was not helping him to think at all.

"Okay, keep on em', and keep a distance. We have a murder on track record here."

"Copy Alpha,"

His words stirred something in Rick and in that moment, everything shifted. He felt more centered, more focused as Marshall's words shook him up and put him back together again. He felt that familiar sense of determination and fearlessness coil in his stomach, pulling at all parts of his body. He felt it seep through his entire system and he was reminded of his time with his team. This was how he always felt as he mentally prepared himself for each mission. After a few moments of silence, Marshall spoke again.

"Report, Tango."

"Applying the device now, Alpha."

"Device? Tracker?" Rick asked.

Marshall silently nodded towards Rick, waiting for the men to finish and report back.

"Device installed."

"Okay, stay close, we're on our way."

"Got it. Tango out."

"We?" Rick asked.

"Yes we,"

"No Marshall, I appreciate you helping out but this is as far as you go. I do this on my own."

"Rick-"

"I said no! This is why I got out, I don't work well with others, just give me their coordinates, and let me get the hell out of here."

"Look, I don't know what it is with this girl, but I understand you're obsessed with her and you want her safe, but doing this on your own, is not the smart way to go!"

"Marshall! She is with a murderer right now having lunch, you think I'm going to stand here and argue!"

"Relax! He's not going to hurt her anytime soon. His M.O. is befriending them, gaining their trust for a few days, then he does his thing-"

"You're on thin ice-"

"I mean to say she's safe for now."

"I'm still going alone."

"Fine, at least.. at least take a new car,"

"I'm not taking one of their cars, I'm out-"

"Not theirs, mine. You're driving the beat up car ain't gonna help you and they'll recognize you right away."

"What do you have for me."

"Armada. Nissan. SUV. Family car, tinted windows, fake plates that get by a police car, you'll be good."

Rick's mind took a second to think it over. "Fine."

Rick followed Marshall down to the basement where he tossed him a set of keys.

"Have her back whenever you feel like it,"

"Are you sure about this,"

"No, but you are so take it, I got three more just like it if you hurt it anyway."

"Stay by the phone, I'll need more info along the way."

"Got it, I programmed their coordinates into the GPS from the computer, you're good to go."

"Thanks Marshall," Rick gave his old friend and partner one hug before climbing into the SUV.

Driving towards the coordinates Marshal sent his GPS gave Rick the quiet and time he needed to calm down and think about what he was going to do when he got to them. He considered a few things, he could shoot him, fight him, choke him out- but what he really wanted was to make him suffer. Maybe cut off his fingers off one at a time, and then his toes. Those violent thoughts kept him calm during the drive, he just wanted to be by her side already. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing right now.