- 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟺 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟾 -
- 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚜, 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 -
- 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚘𝚗 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎 -
- 𝟷𝟶:𝟹𝟶 𝙿𝙼 -
"ALRIGHT, WE'RE HERE!" Booker announced, flashing a roguish smile as he parked the car. Danika glanced out the window and was nearly blinded by the colorful neon lights decorating the building across the street. She squinted, shielding her dark eyes as best she could while trying to decipher the pink, luminescent sign at the top of the venue.
"The Neon Rose Lounge?" Tom shot Booker a cynical glance after reading the sign aloud. "You really think this is the best place to take a girl?"
It wasn't lost on Danika where they were. After the trio had effectively washed their hands of the Westside High investigation, they had all clambered into Booker's car. Exhausted and ready to destress, Danika had expected Booker to take them all home. Though that had initially seemed to be the plan, as soon he turned the key in the ignition, a mischievous glint shimmered in his eye. "Hey, how about we go somewhere to take the edge off? I know a great spot to unwind,"
Neither Tom or Danika objected. Maybe because they were both so mentally drained from their day that they simply didn't think much of Booker's sly smile. Or perhaps because neither of them were actually opposed to a bit of fun after wrapping up such a messy case. Whatever the reason, the two officers stayed silent as Booker drove down streets lined with buildings advertising sex shops and flashing signs that read 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' It was no surprise to Danika that Booker's idea of 'a great spot to unwind' was smack dab in the middle of the red light district. Least of all that the painfully bright building they were parked in front of was so obviously a strip club.
Booker only grinned in response to Tom's side eye, and Danika watched as the dour officer simply shook his head at him with nothing more than an exasperated huff passing his lips. It was a recurring sight between the two officers that Danika had seen a lot the past few days— and clearly one that Tom had grown tired of.
"What can I say, I like giving you a jolt!" Said Booker, elbowing Tom in the arm. "Besides, Dani here isn't old enough to drink yet. Strip clubs are 18 and up," he explained, unbuckling his seatbelt and abruptly exiting the car. "Let's get a move on!" With the slam of his car door, Tom and Danika were briefly left alone.
"You're not 21?" Tom questioned, turning around to face the younger officer.
"My birthday's in April," she shrugged, and the conversation met an awkward end as neither could think of what to say next. Luckily, Booker had the perfect timing. Her door swung open, and he offered her his hand.
"After you, babe." She slid her hand into his grasp and let him guide her out of the car. Tom followed suit, making sure to display how unamused he was with the whole situation with the heavy-handed slam of the car door before they all made their way inside.
Danika had never been to a strip club before, but she didn't need any other comparison to know that this place was the textbook definition of a dive. A nameless classic rock tune blared from the speakers a little too loudly, the space smelled of stale cigarettes and booze, and the floors were so sticky her foot nearly slipped out of her Jordans. Despite the loud riffs of the guitars coming from the speakers, it did little to drown out the excited howls of men in the audience as the dancer on stage twisted her body on a pole in ways Danika could hardly comprehend.
Booker found them a table close to the stage. They had much too clear a view of the woman performing for Danika's liking, but she figured Tom and Booker would get a bang for their buck. Though, hopefully not literally.
Booker pulled out a chair from the table and gestured for Danika to sit down. "Quite the gentleman, Book," Tom scoffed, taking the seat on Danika's left. "You sure know where to take a girl for a good time,"
"C'mon, don't be such a square, Hamburger—we're celebrating!" Booker laughed, plopping down in the seat on Danika's right. "We managed to crack this case and this'll be the last time I'll have to suffer through your company for a while." Danika's ears perked up at that.
"You're leaving?" She asked, curious as to why Booker hadn't said anything earlier. "Did Fuller chew you out?"
After Danika had gotten Tracy to confess the true nature of her attack, the three officers agreed that no matter what, they had to report what they knew to Fuller. Like Judy had said, it would only look bad on all of them if this case went unsolved. The downside of clearing their department's reputation, however, came at the cost of disrespecting Tracy's wishes.
The battered teen wanted this whole thing to be buried, swept under the rug, and prayed that her humiliation would disappear with it. But once they reported back to the station with what they knew, that would only make things worse. With the frenzy the media had made out of this case, Tracy choosing not to report her attackers would only bring more scrutiny her way. The only way the teen would know any peace at all was if she finally spoke up.
"We need to get her to press charges," Tom declared, knowing how quickly the situation could go south without Danika even needing to argue her case. The two officers locked eyes and, while Danika had come to expect the heat of annoyance and scrutiny whenever Tom looked down at her, this time was different. Now, as their eyes met, his gaze was filled with what Danika could only describe as understanding. They were of the same mind and, with a nod of his head, he put his trust in Danika to get the job done.
While they explained the facts of the situation to Mrs. Edwards, disappointment shadowed her face when she learned that this unfortunate event was just the result of a petty argument. At first, Mrs. Edwards was understandably on Tracy's side. For the sake of her daughter's emotional health, she was willing to walk away from this—but Danika wouldn't let her. Tracy was still a minor and, rape or not, she had been a victim of a viscous and brutal attack.
"The girls who did this still go to that school, Mrs. Edwards. None of us will be able to guarantee Tracy's safety if you don't do anything." Danika watched as Mrs. Edwards considered her words. The stress of choosing between her daughter's safety and her daughter's trust weighed heavily on her shoulders, but eventually, the former outweighed the latter. It took a little while, but Mrs. Edwards managed to coax Tracy out of bed, and the two of them followed the group of officers down to the police station.
Danika leaned against the wall of the chapel beside Tom, the two watching from the sidelines as Tracy gave her statement to an officer on duty. Booker, on the other hand, had been called into Fuller's office upon their arrival. Danika assumed he was simply giving Fuller the rundown of how they managed to close the case, but now she knew it was much more serious than that.
"Well, since someone decided to blow my cover, Fuller thought it was best I head back to Internal Affairs tomorrow. Avoid any more drama." He looked over at Tom, and the other officer did a poor job of masking his satisfaction at the news.
"I'll say that's something worth celebrating," Tom agreed nonchalantly, but his crooked smile told them all he was probably jumping for joy on the inside.
"You know it's no bed of roses working with you either, Hanson," Booker scoffed before standing up. "I'll go get us some drinks. Dani, what's your poison?"
"Um... beer?" She said doubtfully, her cheeks burning at her lack of experience. "I-I don't really drink,"
"Yeah, I can tell." An amused chuckle escaped Booker's mouth. He patted Danika on the head, and the rookie officer did her best not to frown or pout. He'd already made her feel childish. "I'll be right back," Booker headed towards the bar and, once again, Tom and Danika were left alone.
She glanced over at the other officer, but quickly shifted focus elsewhere when their eyes actually met. Despite only knowing Tom for just about three days, the blood between them had already gone bad. She figured it would be best for everyone if she just ignored him. The air around them was always awkward, and almost every conversation they tried to have met a tumultuous and bitter end. Even if she wanted to attempt to clear the air between them, a strip club wasn't exactly the nicest setting to cleanse it.
She folded her hands together in her lap and focused her attention on the dancer on the stage. She was twirling around on the pole, gyrating against it and teasing the hoard of whistling men as she threatened to remove the last few layers of skimpy clothing she had on. The lights on the stage were a mix of purples and pinks, shining down on the woman and making her look both erotic and eerily ethereal as she moved her body to the raucous rhythm of the guitar riffs.
Danika watched as if it were the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen, only glancing away when the performer snatched off her bra. Her eyes lowered to the sea of men throwing money onto the stage, heckling her with suggestive catcalls that made Danika want to gag. It wasn't an appealing sight, but she'd silently endure it as long as it meant not having to focus on the man beside her.
"Hey... you sure you wanna be here?" Tom asked, his eyes having been on Danika the entire time. Watching her, he couldn't say she looked the most comfortable. It was almost funny to see her right now, dressed in her colorful jumpsuit, her shoulders squared and her hands clasped tightly together under the table as she watched the girl on stage with a scrunched up face that she probably wasn't even aware she was making. It was clear as day that this wasn't her scene, and unless she had any vying interest in women (which Tom doubted), he could understand why she was uncomfortable.
"I'm chillin', Tom..." She insisted without even a passing glance at him, but her discomfort was written all over her face. Tom sat for a moment, willing to let the conversation die there and then, but the advice of his shrink rang loudly in his head. He shouldn't let heavy things linger without trying to deal with them. So, unfortunately for Tom, it was time to clear the air.
"It's, uh, pretty typical for a guy like Booker to bring us here, right?" He asked, attempting to make small talk.
"Booker's just..." She shook her head slightly as she thought over her words. "He just thinks it's fun to make people uncomfortable," she rationalized, finally turning her head to look at Tom.
"Believe me, I picked up on that," he assured her. He'd gotten a first hand lesson in Booker's etiquette. "You like that he's having fun with you right now?"
She shook her head. "No. But I'm not gonna let it get to me." Spending her Wednesday night out at a strip club when she would much rather be curled up sleeping on Judy's couch wasn't ideal, but she didn't hate it. She understood that in his own heinous way, Booker was just a jokester. He probably got off on seeing how people reacted to his weird stunts and off-color behavior—and Tom probably gave him the best of all. He was an ass, for sure, but relatively harmless in Danika's eyes. "You know, you two probably would've gelled better if you didn't make it so easy for him to get a rise out of you,"
"Noted," Tom curtly dismissed, not having the energy to argue how much of an egomaniac he thought Booker was to another one of his admirers. However, there was something else he needed to say "... You did really good with Tracy tonight, Richards." He complimented. "Fuller'll probably put you on another case in no time,"
Danika rolled her lips. "Pfft. As if. Not unless Doctor Janisse convinces him I'm not a nutcase anymore!"
"They sent you to him too?" Tom asked, surprised to hear they'd sent Danika to his shrink for such a minor infraction. Her lips curled into an unimpressed pout.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you basically tell everyone I'm too incompetent to do my job, Tom!" Tom didn't need to be reminded of the role he played in her being removed from the Tracy Edwards case. He still needed to wash the shirt she ruined when she drenched him in coffee.
"I'm pretty sure throwing coffee on me in a squad room full of officers did that!" Tom meant for that to come out as more of a lighthearted quip, but the silent side eye Danika shot him told him he'd missed the mark. "... If it makes you feel any better, I'm gonna be spending a few more hours with him too, starting tomorrow."
After Tom's little "episode" of breaking into Booker's apartment and blowing his cover in front of everyone in Fuller's office, Tom had not only been taken off the case, but had a voicemail from Doctor Janisse waiting for him when he got home. He was now set to see him twice a week, starting tomorrow, for as long as the psychiatrist saw fit.
"I guess we're both a couple of nutcases," he mused dryly. Slowly, the intensity of Danika's glare lessened.
"... I guess that explains why we were both buggin' this week," she smirked, before adding: "Or maybe you're just a dick!" She laughed. Tom grinned, and he figured now was as good a time as any to do what he'd intended to yesterday.
"Listen... I'm sorry for laying into you so hard yesterday. I know I made a real idiot of myself during this case," He apologized, chuckling awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "And I, uh, figured if I could apologize to Booker, I can apologize to you,"
"You apologized to Booker?" Danika's mouth fell open. With the way Tom had treated them the last few days, she figured he'd rather pull out his front teeth than apologize. Tom pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. Even if his apology to Booker only consisted of a brief (and nearly inaudible) 'sorry,' it was still a strike to his ego that he took no pride in recounting.
"Unfortunately, I've got a lot of kissing up to do,"
"Yeah, you definitely showed your ass this week!" She snorted, bursting into a fit of giggles as she recalled everything Judy had complained to her about Tom earlier.
"Yeah, I guess so," he reluctantly agreed, his cheeks burning red as she continued to laugh at his expense. Tom cleared his throat and turned away from Danika, watching the topless dancer without any real desire in his eyes. It was Danika's turn to stare at him now, her eyes trailing over his square jawline and rose tinted cheeks. It was almost incomprehensible to her that the man she had watched antagonize everyone the last couple of days could even manage to look sheepish.
"You know, you're almost cute when you're not being an ass," she remarked. Tom chortled at the statement.
"Would you be surprised to know you're not the first girl to tell me that?" Tom had heard that sentiment in one way or another from a number of girls Doug had tried setting him up with this year. Each outing ended the same, with either him or his chosen date walking out on the other after getting fed up with one another. None of those ladies ever missed the chance to throw that backhanded compliment in Tom's face.
"Oh, not at all! You're, like, a major dipstick!" She laughed with her whole body, her shoulders shaking, her giggles loud and unfettered. She hid her mouth behind her hand, trying to retain a bit of femininity by hiding exactly how far her smile could stretch. But Tom saw her wide eyes shrink into narrow slits, and knew she was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Despite the fact that she was laughing at his expense, his utter lack of charm and manners, he didn't really mind it. Instead, a warmth flooded his chest as he watched her. He was proud, he guessed, that in some roundabout way he'd been the one—not Booker—to get the newbie officer out of her funk.
"... How about we just start over?" Tom suggested, scooting his seat closer to Danika and offering his hand. "Hey there, I'm officer Tom Hanson,"
"God, you are so corny!" Danika continued to laugh, surprised that she was managing to have a good time around the same man who'd made her feel like such a failure only a day before.
"Yeah, well that's something else you can make fun of me for," he smiled softly. "You gonna introduce yourself, or not?" Danika tried to get a hold of her giggles, and once she was settled, she took Tom's hand in hers and shook it firmly.
"Hi, Tom, I'm officer Danika Richards. Nice to meet you!" She smiled at him, and Tom was glad to see the light from their first meeting had returned to her eyes.
Suddenly, the lights on the stage began to dim, and the riff of the guitars from the song on the stereos came to an end. The dancer began to collect the loose dollar bills spread out on the stage floor as a few of the men sitting around the stage gave her some final farewell whistles and cheers.
"Thank god," Danika muttered when she saw the dancer hurry backstage with her money. She could use a break from the rabid howls of the men, no matter how brief.
"You guys having fun without me?" Booker teased when he finally returned to the table, drinks in hand. He placed a glass of beer in front of each of them before sitting down. "Bottoms up!" He clinked his glass against Danika's, and Danika did the same to Tom. Both of the men took long, thoughtful drinks from their glasses, while Danika only took a tiny sip of hers. Even though she was finally managing to get along with her partners tonight, she couldn't relax enough to drink in a space filled with men.
The silence in the bar was short lived. The lights on the stage gradually returned to full brightness, and a new song began to blow from the speakers. Instead of an incomprehensible rock song like before, the sounds in the air were now filled with synthesized beats that defined the genre of electronic pop. Not only that, but the tune was one that Danika instantly recognized.
"Oh, I love this song," Danika squealed, rocking along to the opening beat of the song "Sex Shooter" by the group 'Apollonia 6.' The song was featured in one of Danika's favorite movies, Purple Rain, a film that released when she was a teenager and starred the pop icon Prince. "I wore this album out when I was a kid! Me and my friend learned every step to this song!" She recalled fondly, remembering the countless weekends spent rehearsing and acting out scenes from the movie with Dominique and her little brother (who they reluctantly dragged into it). Her VHS copy of the movie was in poor shape, the film strips thoroughly worn down from repeated viewings where the two girls dreamily pretended they were the object of The Purple One's affection.
"Maybe you should get up there then, Dani," Booker purred, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "I'd pay you good money,"
"You can go ahead and report him to HR for that, Richards," Tom scoffed.
"Come on, Tommy, you know you'd throw in a few bucks!" He joked, but Tom was less than impressed.
"I got a question for you, Booker. Do you act like a creep because it's fun to act like a creep, or because you really are one?"
"Let me answer that with a great joke I know," Booker replied with a sly smile. "A polack, a jew, and a Puerto Rican are on a cruise ship—"
"Alright, alright everybody," The DJ's voice erupted over the loudspeakers, drowning out the setup to Booker's colorful joke. "You might need to put on some sunglasses for our next girl because she knows how to shine!"
"Oh, I love this girl," Booker announced, reaching over to pat Tom on the shoulder. "She oughta give you a jolt, Hanson."
"Everybody make some noise for Diamond!" The DJ hollered, and the crowd of men came back to life as the next dancer strutted onto the stage. The first thing Danika noticed was how different this woman was from the first dancer. Instead of getting right to action and jumping on the pole like Danika had expected, this dancer took her time. She sauntered out on stage, slow and confident. All the men's eyes were drawn to her, not just because of her skimpy two piece outfit that hardly covered her behind, but because this girl sparkled from head to toe.
She had on shiny, silver stiletto high heels that did wonders emphasizing her long, tan legs. And her costume, consisting of a mini-skirt and halter top, were both covered in hundreds of tiny rhinestones. The purple stage lights had the girl shining like a gem, and Danika had to squint anytime she glanced up at the stage. Unfortunately for her, this strip club seemed to be the perfect setting for her astigmatism to thrive.
She kept her gaze lowered, watching her shiny shoes strut around the stage, moving in a circle as the men whistled and egged her on. She circled the stage like molasses, but she must've looked good doing it, as handfuls of dollars began to litter the stage floor. Eventually, those silver stilettos were pointed in their direction. Particularly, in front of Booker. Danika glanced at him and saw that he was staring at the dancer, locking eyes with her and flashing her a coy smile. Danika wouldn't be surprised if Booker was a favorite client.
The dancer lowered herself to his level, at first sitting on knees but then stretching out onto all fours, her breasts almost popping out of her top as she attempted to entice Booker. Watching the scene play out, Danika's stomach dropped. It wasn't for any reason she expected, like when the dancer leisurely began pulling her top over her head right in front of them. Or from the sight of Booker nearly salivating as he fished out a stack of bills from his wallet.
It was because with the dancer stretched out in front of them, the bedazzlements of her costume were obscured from the stage lights. As the dancer popped her top off over her head, the crowd roared with excitement. Booker tossed a few bills on stage, and as she moved to collect them, she and Danika locked eyes.
The dancer's actions came to a brief halt, and as her face began to pale, Danika could clearly see that the stripper Diamond was no other than her old friend, Dominique.
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A/N: Dominique's finally here! It took a while for her to enter the story again, but better late than never. Next case is much more chill (and shorter) than the first 8 chapters. more time of the jump street gang outside of work and getting to know Nika more (minus Ioki, but it'll be explained).
also i decided to give Tracy a resolution because the episode the first case was based on did not! and that pissed me off lol. I had longer scenes giving Tracy a proper ending, but decided to just summarize it in a few paragraphs since it would've made the chapter way longer and I wanted to focus on Tom and Danika for a bit.
Anyway, thanks for reading as always.
Pls remember to vote and comment I love to hear your thoughts ✨