Guardian of the Heart

Guardian of the Heart: Part Six

**** Guardian of the Heart ****

Part Six.

Christian rubbed at his aching eyes, fighting hard against the need for rest. He glanced from the file in his hand to the picture on his desk, stared at the two men in uniform grinning wickedly up at him. The man on the left held a boyish innocence that seemed alien to Christian now. He hardly recognized himself, when he had been in fact been that blond haired, dark eyed youth mere weeks before.

Too much had happened since then. He wasn’t the same man anymore.

Christian swallowed past the lump in his throat as he turned his focus towards the other man in the picture. His dark hair was disheveled, his shocking blue eyes full of intelligence and sharp humor. He’d thrown his arm carelessly around his friend, a drink in one hand and test scores in the other.

They’d both been accepted into the police academy that night.

“Shouldn’t have made him study,” Christian muttered darkly. “Better he had failed than…” He looked back at the file, at the black and white image of Logan. The shot was less than a ghost of the picture on the desk. Logan’s face, eyes closed, skin pale. The backdrop was nothing more than a slab of icy metal.

“Damn it!” Christian threw the file hard against the wall, dropping down into his chair as papers drifted silently to the floor around him. Jerking the bottom desk drawer open, he pulled the whiskey out and downed a swig straight from the bottle. The Captain had seen him bring it in, but he’d said nothing more than, “I’m sorry,” before turning away.

“Be sorry for me,” he scoffed, taking another drink. “He shouldn’t be sorry for me!” He took another. “He should pity whatever gutless son of a bitch did this!” The bottle began to protest his tightening grip. Christian set it down and shoved away from his desk.

"I'll find whoever did this to you, Logan… I swear it on my life."

'Good to know.'

Christian’s gun was in his hand before he’d really even thought to draw it. He turned his back to the wall as his eyes shifted - all seeing - around the dimly lit station.

"Who's there!" he demanded.

'Easy, brother.'

The gun nearly fell from his hand; Christian tightened his grip, but he couldn't keep from shaking as he recognized the voice. "L... Logan?"

'It's me, Chris. Calm down, please. I don't have much time.'

Christian’s eyes fell to the bottle as he realized the voice was coming from within. He hadn’t downed that much… Just enough to dull the pain…

‘Damn it, Christian! You aren’t drunk! Now listen to me.’

Thoughts raced through Christian’s mind, many of which were not his own. Reality seemed to swim before him as he struggled to retain his sanity.

Logan’s voice seemed to sigh. ‘You haven’t gone crazy either, but if you’re going to check yourself into a psych ward, at least wait until after I’m done with you.’

Christian collapsed against the wall, crumpled to the floor. “What do you want from me…?”

Logan was silent a moment, then, without any thought on Christian’s part, his body was moving across the station and towards the maps on the far wall. His finger dropped down onto a small green patch that read Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest.

“And what the hell am I supposed to do there?” Christian demanded, his training getting the better of him as he sensed a case being presented.

Logan was already hauling Chris’ body out the door and towards his squad car. “Rhea’s in danger.”