Code Blue (The Case That Went South)

Chapter 6: The Driver

  I sat at my desk, typing incident reports. I leaned back in my chair, my phone buzzed. I grabbed it from my pocket and checked it.

Indigo: I need you to pick up the next member of the team. I sent Don to go by the station and get you. I can't risk another car chase so you have to walk to your destination. All of the information you need is with Don.

I stood up and placed my phone back in my pocket. "Where are you going Nova, you don't get off for another few hours," Moon said as he stood beside me. "I'm meeting someone," I said. "For your cold case mission,". "Yeah," I said. There was a knock on the door, Moon and I turned. Donahue stood at the door tapping his wrist. "I have to go, I'll see you later," I said as I ran out the door. "Where are we going," I asked. "To a race car tournament," Donahue said. "What kind of person will we find there," I asked. "Beats me," he said as we walked. "So, where did you stay last night," I asked. He looked down at me before looking back forward. "The owner of a motel saw me sleeping outside on the ground. She felt bad for me and let me stay in one of her rooms for free but that was a one-night deal. I'll drift around until I find a place. Indigo is supposed to be setting me up in a room in HQ but until then I'll be moving around,". "Oh," I said as I looked down at the ground. "Don, why did you get put in the ward," I asked as I looked up. "I would rather not talk about it," he said. We stood in front of a gate, the sound of cars and cheering fans arose. "Could I see some ID,". I grabbed my badge and flashed it for him. "What about him," the security guard asked. "He's with me, we're working on a case,". The security guard nodded and opened the gate.

We walked inside, and Auli waved at us. "Hi, how are you," she asked as she hugged me. "I'm fine," I said as I broke the hug. Auli and Sakura turned to Donahue. "You look completely different without your beard,". "It feels weird too," he said as he looked at all the cars. "Who are we looking for," I asked. "A guy by the name of Rory Miranda. He's a professional race car driver here and he's famous," Sakura said as she showed us a photo. "So, how are we going to speak to him? He will have lots of security," I asked. "We break into his room," Donahue said. "That's a great idea, that way we'll be alone without anyone noticing us," Sakura said. "No, are you two trying to get arrested," I said. Donahue leaned over to me. "Are you going to arrest us,". "No," I said. "Then we're fine, if we do get arrested you could plead our case," Donahue said as he playfully punched my arm.

 He and Sakura walked away and Auli stood beside me. "He makes me so mad," I grunted. I stomped behind them both and Auli followed closely behind. We peered from behind a gate at fans swarming a door. "That's his room, we need a distraction to get the people away from his room," Donahue said. He turned to me with a smirk on his face. "Okay fine, I'll be the distraction," I said as I began walking away. "Let's go," Sakura said as she and Donahue walked into the crowd. I stood behind the crowd of people until I saw Sakura thumbs in. "Oh my gosh, I just saw Rory Miranda go that way," I shouted. All the people turned to me and began running past me.

I looked around and saw Sakura picking the lock to the door. It clicked and she opened the door, we all walked inside. Sakura closed the door and we all looked around the room, there were scattered magazines, helmets, and trophies everywhere. "This guy needs to clean his room," Auli said as she picked up a magazine. "Hopefully we don't have to wait too long," I said as I leaned against the wall. "We shouldn't, I heard the fans talking about how he's coming back to his room soon," Donahue said as he stood beside the door. The knob to the door began to turn, and we all hid as the guy from the photo walked in. 

He took off his helmet and threw it on the ground. Donahue grabbed Rory putting him into a headlock with one hand over his mouth. "If you scream, I will snap your neck," he whispered. Rory nodded and Don took his hand off of his mouth. "Why are you in my room, how did you get in here," he asked. "I picked the lock, it was fairly easy," Sakura said. "Are you here to arrest me," he asked. "No, I'm not going to arrest you. We wanted to talk to you about a proposition," I said. "What kind,". "Have you ever heard of the name Indigo Winters,". "Yeah, my dad used to talk about someone by that name. He used to drive his car when I was kid,". "So that's how you're connected, your father was Indigo's father's driver," I said. "We will be solving a case that involves your father, Indigo sent us here personally to get you," I said. "The racing season is ending and today is my last race so I'm in," Rory said.

There was a knock at the door. "Rory, your fans are out here waiting for you, who are you in there talking to,". Rory turned to us and then stood up. He ushered for us to hide as he walked to the door opening it. "Rory what are you doing in here," a man asked. "Steve, I was just relaxing after a long day,". "Let me come in," Steve said. I had to think fast or our cover would be blown, I took off my pocket shirt, leaving me in a tank top. I took off my badge and gun, handing them to Auli to keep safe. "Rory!," I shouted as I walked to the door. I looked at the man and then at Rory, he was confused but went with it. "Hi, you must be his manager Steve, Rory has told me a lot about you,". "You brought a girl to your room," Steve said. Uh yea," Rory said as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "We were just messing around," he said as he flashed a not-so-convincing smile. "Just get ready, I need you to sign these autographs," Steve said as he walked away. Rory closed the door and sighed. "Thank you so much,". "It's my job," I said as I grabbed my things from Auli. "You should get going, your adoring fans are waiting outside," Auli said as she stood up. "Yea, I'll meet you all outside the gate," he said as he walked out of the room.

"For a famous person, he gets flustered very quickly," Sakura said. I finished buttoning up my shirt and walked to the door. We snuck out of the room, and a group of people surrounded Rory. Two security guards saw us exiting his room. "Intruders stop," they shouted. Donahue grabbed my hand as we started running. A security guard was right behind us, Donahue pulled me into a storage closet and closed the door quickly. "Donahue, why did you run," I whispered. He covered my mouth with his hand as we waited for the guard to walk by. I looked up at him, his shadow towered over me. There wasn't much room inside of the closet, I tried to move my leg but I ended up just pressing myself closer to Donahue.

 I could tell he was as uncomfortable as I was now that I was practically leaning my head on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, it was fast like he had just gotten scared. Donahue reached over to open the door, our faces were so close now and I didn't know what to do. He opened the door and we both fell out on the floor. I opened my eyes and saw Donahue with his arms around me. He opened his eyes and he realized what he was doing. He quickly took his arms from around me and I stood up. He fixed everything back in the closet and closed the door. I made sure the way was clear and we snuck to the outside of the gate.

We walked over to Auli and Sakura as they stood waiting. "What took you two so long," Sakura asked. "We got held up," I said. Rory walked over, he held some keys in his hands. The sound of a car unlocking sounded, we all looked and saw a gray convertible waiting on the side of the street. "I like your car," Sakura said. "Thank you, I just got this," he said as he opened the driver's side door. Donahue got into the passenger side and all the girls got into the back. Rory drove off, we got back to the IAA building, we stood in the hallways. 

Indigo stood with another guy beside him. The guy flashed a smile at me as Indigo talked. "While you all were gone, I gathered the last member of our team. Everyone, this is Romeo and he's a thief,".