Disclaimer: Strong content and language. Reader discretion is advised!
******
The clock hit midnight. Right after they finished getting ready in the hotel rooms and ate their complimentary sandwich, on the go, Hicks called to say the operation was at a halt, awaiting for the NYC detectives for the green light. Hondo, Tan, Deacon, Luca, Thomas and Stevenson were instructed to gather in the conference room, awaiting instructions. Between yawns, uneasy pacing, light stretching and loads of coffee, the officers tried to keep awake. After four hours, they were all restless!
"I really hate this waiting game!" Hondo complained, quietly.
Deacon nodded. Tan added "Worst of all is losing our cellphones. I didn't have a chance to call Bonnie. I mean - at least I gave her a heads up an with an audio text but -I wanted to call!" He complained.
"Me neither. I just texted." Hondo agreed.
Luca and Stevenson nodded quietly, while Deacon continued to stare at the floor. Truth is he'd been pretty quiet since this afternoon. He wasn't even able to down the entire sandwich offered by the hotel. He sat by the window, staring down and fidgeting with his fingers.
"Hey Dea!" Hondo called approaching him.
Deacon raised his glare at Hondo, who stood leaning against the wall, hands on his pockets. He was given a black t-shirt and black jeans, which he sported with his work boots. Deacon was offered the same shirt but blue denims.
"What's up with you? Been pretty quiet."
Deacon took a deep breath. "I can't help but to think about the footage and my boy in it."
Previously....
"So, guys! I made some calls and it seems the four main suspects have been going on and about LA for quite some time. NYC has them arriving last Tuesday, and they have been pretty active. Check this!" Tan said, coming in with tablet in hand.
He clicked on his screen and three images popped up in the main screen in Eagle room at HQ, where Luca and Deacon met with him to discuss their findings. Deacon had urged the guys to work through surveillance for any piece of information they could gather while Hondo was out. They had been going through logs and information records provided by the lieutenant in charge of the operation, without much luck.
The three images showed the four suspects in three different locations.
"Wait!" Luca snapped, pointing at one of the pictures. "I know this place. I ran up to these guys. I remember."
"You did?" Tan asked frowning.
"Yeah. I was going to have lunch there on Saturday and accidentally hit their car door with mine coming off my truck. No wonder why they were kinda jumpy. They must've seen my badge." Luca signaled to his waist.
"Did you see anything weird?" Tan asked
"Did you see them with a woman or a kid?" Deacon asked
"Um..." Luca said, stopping to think. "No. I didn't." he frowned trying to remember. "Now that I think about it, maybe it was a blessing Dana didn't show up after all."
"Dana? The lady from the hospital?" Deacon asked surprised.
"Yeah." he answered nodding slowly
"You two going out?" Tan asked curiously, stopping what he was doing to stare at him.
"We're talking, but... she's still coping with her father passing away after the quake." Luca lamented
While they continued their chit chat, Deacon stared at the second picture, in which the men were seen in a parking lot of a mega store. The camera angle showed them from afar, mounting something in the back, while two of them stared at three figures in the distance. He kept trying to decipher the three shadows because they were oddly familiar.
"Tan!" he finally called out, making the other officers wrap up their conversation. Eyes glued to "When was this taken?"
"Uh...let me check" Tan said focusing on the tablet. "A little over a week ago...Thursday.. Early in the morning, maybe 6-ish. Sorry, the numbering is so blurry!"
"Oh my God!" Deacon lamented, as he stood frozen staring at the screen, eyes popping out.
"What's wrong?" Luca said noticing Deacon's terrified look.
"The three figures in the distance. I think one of them is my boy." Deacon answered and immediately covered his mouth.
"Who? Matthew or Sammy?" Luca said, stepping next to him.
"Yeah, Matt. I remember Connor picked him up really early last week after we had a small conversation in the dining room. I texted him something a couple of minutes after he left and he replied that they were stopping at that store for last minute things."
"But...how do you know it's him?" Tan asked
"The figure approaching has a vest, like the ones employees wear. Matt later told me he and Calvin met with Marv, who was working an early shift. The guy in the vest must be him."
"What happened with Calvin?" Hondo said joining the group unexpectedly. All three jumped startled as they weren't expecting him for at least another hour. All three turned to him with frightened expressions. "Why are y'all looking at me like that?" he immediately snapped, frowning.
"The suspects from the case - we're trying to sketch out a pattern by figuring out where they've been and potential victims. Did Calvin go out to a megastore last week, when he was staying with you?" Luca said.
"Yeah, he told me all about it. Said he and Matthew spoke with Marv there. Why?"
"Do you remember what he was wearing?" Luca asked
"Um-" he paused for a second to think. "I mean, he left pretty quickly, but I think he had his black hoody jacket on, the one with-"
"White on the sleeves." Deacon finished
"Yeah, how did you know?" Hondo frowned confused, staring Deacon down.
"Because our perps were staring at them!" Deacon said dryly, eyes glued to the screen
Huh? thought Hondo.
Moments earlier...
WHOOOOSHHHH WHOOOSSSSHHHHH
The cold breeze swirled through the space, lowering the temperature, as the two bodies rested on the bed. The place looked as if it had been struck by a huge tornado: a total disaster! Darkness, clothes everywhere, tools and things all over the floor and the smell of trees decorated the entire bus. Serenity, quietness, darkness...
Groan. Her eyelids were as heavy as a fat man's stump. She felt the cold breeze ove he bare chest as she tried to stretch her back. Pain.
CRACK CRACK
Her whole spine was trying to re calibrate as she felt every bone moving back to its place. Darn! Her lungs felt heavy, as if she had been breathing fast for a long period of time. Her throat was bone dry, but the surface she was lying on was very damp.
Zzzzz
She heard his light snore as she turned he head towards the sound. Street laid face down on the bed, body completely exposed.
When she finally opened her eyes, she realized it was very late and cold. She yawn loudly, trying to sit up. Her fingers were sticky and her bottom sore, but she was able to slowly come to a sitting position. She took a look around but...there wasn't much to see. The place was pitch black and a total mess.
Groan. Yawn. She felt the bed moving slightly as she turned to the man beside her, who by now had both eyes half opened and was looking at her. She grabbed the plaid from the floor and slowly put it on.
"Yeah, it definitely looks better on you!" he said resting his head on the pillow.
She grinned, and took a lance at him. "Yeah"
"I saw you checking out my ass!" he said with a smirk, sitting up and grabbing some underwear from the floor.
"I was not!" she snapped, playfully slapping his shoulder.
"Sure"
She tucked on the shirt, attempting to close the buttons, when she felt Street pull her backwards towards him. He kissed the back of her neck and she then turned her head and kissed his lips. He slipped his hands inside of the shirt and gently rubbed her abdomen as they continued to share slow, passionate displays of affection.
She pulled back slowly, rubbing the tip of her nose with his.
"I love how tense you get...I can tell by your abs." he whispered playfully
"Yeah, usually happens when you get close with your...um...massive" clears he throat" abs. " she finished with a smirk as Street couldn't hold back a light giggle.
"Abs? Really?" he whispered, raising an eyebrow.
She moved her hands on his chest and gently grabbed his face. They looked into each other's eyes for some seconds, just admiring the purity of the moment. For the first time in a long time she felt safe to be herself. She had put in practice what the doctor had recommended for a long time: let yourself enjoy one second, just one, in his arms. She was beginning to discover her one true haven: his arms!
WHOOOSSSHHHH
"Ugh!" she shivered feeling the cold breeze twirl around the room, penetrating he exposed body.
Street also reacted to the sudden coldness. "Cold!"
Chris frowned, then turned to the small window by the hall, right above the sink. "Did you set up the security system?"
"Are you kidding? You barely gave me time to react. You know? Going for my massive" clears throat, "abs!" he finished with a smirk.
"Street, we're in the middle of nowhere, pitch black and you're telling me you only locked the door?" She asked desperately
"Yeah, kinda." He said shrugging.
She sighed, closed up two buttons of the shirt and made her way out of bed. "We gotta do the trip part of this road tip, you know?" she said jokingly, as she grabbed some clothes from her bag.
"Do we?" Street asked confused. Then followed it with a light giggle.
She shook her head and started picking up things from the floor. He immediately made his way out of bed, swerved around her, heading to the bathroom. Chris immediately reacted rushing to the bathroom herself. They giggled as they met in the door, both getting stuck.
"Babe" she called, between giggles, "I gotta go! You can just pee behind a tree, I can't!" she complained, still giggling.
Street immediately froze, mouth wide opened, eyes popping out. She didn't notice right away, so she sprinted inside the bathroom. She turned and stopped when she realized his expression. "What?"
Slowly his frowned turned into a smile, as he said "You called me babe."
She smiled shyly, bowing her head. She lifted her gaze and bit her lip with a grin.
"I'll go out." he said softly, while retrieving, still shocked.
She stood there, motionless, as she herself was also shocked and proud. The therapist was right: baby steps. Slowly. She needed to heal, but it wasn't going to be overnight. Trust within oneself takes time and a lot of patience. Maybe some nature too!
Some minutes went by, when she heard the door of the bus open and steps approaching.
"Aaahhh, much better!" he said letting out a loud sigh.
"I don't know about you but my bladder was about to burst!"
"Tell me about it! I think that was the longest pee I've had in my life. Geez!" he said as she giggled.
GUUUUUUSSSSHHHH
He heard the sound of the shower full on. A cloud of steam came out of the half closed door, as he heard her scuffling in the shower.
I'll make her some breakfast for dinner. I'm in the mood for sweet pancakes! he thought as he began to take out utensils and pans.
"Hey babe, did you ever finish that book you were reading this morning?"
"What do you think? I heard the first paragraph like four times. Ended up giving up!" she sighed loudly, "I have a huge ginormous meeting in two days and I don't know half of the sh*t I'm supposed to say!" she paused, resting her forehead on the wall. "I'm never getting the job!"
She closed her eyes and felt the hot water coming down her neck and into ever crevice in her body, soothing the bites, light contusions and sores. Some seconds went by. She noticed a heavy silence in the camper. She frowned, shut the water and listened. She heard some sounds from outside of the shower, near the kitchen and assumed Street was preparing food.
"Hey, Street?" she called.
"Yeah?" she heard from afar.
"I need to check my email and office stuff, but my ohine doesn'tget any strong signal here. You got strong bars? Do you mind if I use your cell?" she asked loud enough for him to hear.
She couldn't see him, but if she did, she would've noticed that he suddenly showed a smile and raised an eyebrow. He stopped his plans, turned off the burner and turned to the bathroom.
"Um...my hands are a mess, so...I can hand it and you check." She heard him say
"Ok." she agreed.
She grabbed the thin curtain and placed one foot out of the shower, to extend her hand farther out.
"Hand it over!" she called.
After some seconds, she heard him approaching so she stepped even further out. Half of her arm was pretty much sticking out of the bathroom by now! She felt his hand grab hers and move it down his underwear.
"Feel anything strong?" he playfully asked, while firmly gripping hers.
"Woah!" she sighed immediately, as her fingers gripped the strongest part of his body at the moment. "Wow! Ok?"
"You know? Coz it's pretty massive" clears throat, "abs! Of course!" he said with a playful smile as he let go of her hand to grab her neck. He pulled her closer to him and entangled his tongue with hers, provoking her to suddenly forget how to breath properly! Her breathing became compromised, as she let go of the curtains and went to place her free arm around his neck.
Suddenly and before her arm could rest on his shoulder, he pulled himself back quickly. She frowned and pulled completely off of him as she saw an angry frown on his face. She was completely thrown off guard! Suddenly, he grabbed her by the arm, turned her body around and thrust her against the wall.
BOOM
"You're under arrest!" he declared as he pinned both arms back with his body and went for his handcuffs with his left hand.
CLICK CLACK
GASP
She couldn't believe it. He locked the metal rings around her wrists. She stood completely in disbelief. What the hell just happened?
"On what charges?" she demanded
"For being a bad b*tch!" he whispered in her ear.
"What'd you call me?" she demanded, still not believing the turn of events. Her wet body was now freezing! Between the water covering her body and the cold breeze, she was beginning to shiver lightly.
She felt his immobilized hand slid down her waist, as the other went to her hair. He pulled her hair violently back, yanking her neck.
"Ahhh...son of a b*tch!" she complained as she felt his fingers dig into the skin of her bare buttocks, pushing her unto the wall, as his teeth sunk into her neck. He pushed his body forward, squshing hers into the wall...