Breaking Protocol, page 4
Four…. Fuck, I can’t believe this has to happen.
Three… The kid looks like the might give up… don’t make me do this.
Two… Bret, do not move. DO NOT MOVE…
One….
Bret spun around and stuck his forearm into the kid’s face, Alex aimed and fired - this time at his now exposed torso. As the skinhead fell to the ground he pulled the trigger on his revolver.
Bret spun around again, this time towards Alex. Teeth clenched, face pinched in a grimace of pain and agony, he fell to the ground grabbing his thigh. Alex raced towards Bret and assessed the injury.
“FUUUUUCK!” He yelled and sucked air through his teeth.
“Oh my god Bret, I’m so sorry. Help is on the way man… just hang tight.”
Alex shoved her hand onto the pulsating wound on his thigh, pushing with all her might to make the bleeding stop. Hot, sticky blood oozed through her fingers and sweat dripped furiously from her forehead. Seeing all the blood pour from her partner, she knew this limited amount of pressure wouldn’t be enough to slow the bleeding.
She reluctantly let go of his leg for a moment, jumped up, and began tearing at her shirt to get it untucked. Once loose, she grabbed at her undershirt, and yanked hard until she ripped the front flap of her tank top off. She wadded the material into a white ball, and dropped back down to Bret’s bullet wound – pushing this time with both hands and all of her weight. Bret cried out in pain, but the blood didn’t ooze around her fingers or around the wadded cloth.
“Fuck… Where the fuck are the EMTs?”
What seemed like an eternity went by, and then Alex heard the ambulance pull up behind her and the EMTs jump out. She turned to her partner and said, “Hey buddy… you’re looking good… we’ve got help now.” Bret’s eyes were closed, his face was strangely gray, and it was dotted with sweat and blood.
The EMTs rushed over, pulling at Alex to look her over. She waved them off and they immediately started to work on Bret. As soon as they stabilized his wound, they rolled him onto the gurney and pushed him into the back of the ambulance.
Several other cops had arrived and had taken charge of getting the Coroner’s office over to the scene to deal with the skinhead. One squatted in front of Alex, “Hey Connolly. You alright? What the hell happened here?”
Alex stared into space… and recounted the entire situation to the young cop. She sat there, long after the cop had finished taking notes. Another cop came over – Lisa, the police shrink.
“Alex, do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No. I want to go to the hospital.”
“Alright, I’ll drive you.”
“I can drive myself.”
“Actually, your police vehicle has been ruled a crime scene, so you do need a ride.” She paused briefly waiting for comment, “Come on, let’s go see how Bret’s doing.”
Alex and Lisa made it to the hospital just as Bret’s wife walked in. “Carla, I’m so sorry. Bret’s so tough, he’s gonna make it,” Alex assured her.
Carla hugged Alex fiercely, “He’s my rock, he’s just gotta make it. You’re going to stay with me, right?”
“You couldn’t drag me away,” Alex promised.
Four hours later, they got the news that Bret had made it out of surgery. The bullet had nicked his femoral artery, but the doctors were able to fix the problem.
Lisa put her hand on Alex’s back, “It’s because of your quick thinking and the EMT response time that he’s going to be okay.”
Alex glanced sideways at Lisa ‘the feel good lady’, walked over to Carla, and gave her a bear hug. “I’m so fucking glad he’s okay. Do you need anything? Can I do anything?”
Carla patted Alex on the arm, “You’ve done everything you could do. Thank you, Alex. Do you want to come visit Bret real quick with me?”
“I’d love that.”
After standing in Bret’s hospital room for a few minutes, staring at Bret’s calm, expressionless form, Alex excused herself and made her way to the exit.
“Alex! Wait… You need to talk about this.”
Greeeaaaaaat… the head shrinker….
“No, I really don’t. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“You’re not coming in tomorrow.”
“Oh, right. Monday then.”
“No, Alex. Your partner was shot. You killed someone. You are on leave until you are deemed ready to return to work.”
“Fuck… Fine. When is our first appointment?”
“Next week, let’s do Wednesday, first thing. Take some time.”
Oh shut the fuck up….
Idle Hands
Alex woke for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night and looked at the clock; 4:45 AM.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck….
Every time she fell asleep, she saw the whole scene again. The gun to Bret’s head. His signal to shoot the skinhead. His inevitable countdown. The recoil from her pistol as she let one go. The skinhead getting hit in the chest and the bark of his revolver. Bret falling in agony after he had been shot. Alex’s hands on Bret’s leg, and the hot, dark red blood oozing through her fingers. Bret’s face - gaunt, gray, and sweaty. Every time she looked up, no ambulance was there. No extra police. The skinhead suddenly hovering over Alex and Bret, gun raised, and firing into Alex’s chest. Once, twice, three times… Alex falling to the ground, looking up at the sky, buildings all around, and hearing a woman calling her name.
Alex decided going back to sleep wasn’t going to happen. So, she pulled on some shorts, socks, a sweat wicking shirt, and some running shoes.
Time to work off the doughnuts.
She stretched for ten minutes, took a quick drink of water, and bounced out the door. Five AM and barely thinking about being light. She was alone on the streets of the city. She sucked in the cool air and enjoyed the quiet. She ran around the harbor, down the steps to the water, and sat in the sand on the beach. She looked out on the horizon, and waited for the eventual sunrise.
As the sun peeked over the ocean, she decided she would head back to the house, grab a quick shower and go see how Bret was doing.
Fifty minutes later, coffees in hand, she entered the hospital. She stopped by the front desk to find out what room Bret had been moved to. The grumpy looking front desk clerk clicked a few buttons on his keyboard, looked up at her apathetically and said, “Room 321.”
Alex made it to the third floor and stood, staring at the numbers on the door.
3...2…1.. Shit.
Her eyes glazed over as she went through the scenario again. This time without the three shots in the chest from the dead skinhead.
“Alex?”
Alex blinked her daymare out of her eyes and realized the door had been opened.
How long have I been staring at Carla?
“Hey Carla… Coffee?” Alex offered raising the untouched second cup of coffee in her left hand.
“Bless you. Come in…”
“How’s he doing?”
“It was a long night, but he looks better… don’t you think his coloring is better?”
Alex followed Carla into the room. Bret did look better, he wasn’t all sweaty, though his skin still had a bit of gray pallor to it. Carla walked around the bed and motioned for Alex to take a place at his bedside.
“You can talk to him… he hasn’t woken up again since I first came in, but at least you can win every conversation.” Carla said with a wink.
Alex shuffled up to the bed… and was suddenly at a loss for words.
Instead of saying anything, she put her hand over his hand gave him a quick squeeze, then sat in the chair next to the bed, and waited.
Carla and Alex stayed like that for about thirty minutes - comfortable silence in an uncomfortable situation.
A nurse popped her head in, looking far too cheery for 7AM… “And how are we feeling this morning?”
She walked around the room with her clipboard, chattering about the weather, doing her best impression of a chipmunk. Alex shot a side-eyed, “OMG DOES SHE EVER STOP TALKING?” look at Carla and she sniggered.
“You know, you spend way too much time with my Bret, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were his kid. That look was pure Bret,” Carla said once the nurse left the room.
“Ha! You know, he’s not my father, but he’s one of my best friends.”
“Girl, you need to get out more.”
Ain’t that the truth…
Alex sucked in deep breath through her nose, raised her eyebrows, shook her head a little, and let it out a knowing sigh.
“So, I heard that there were some serious fireworks between you and some dark-haired damsel in distress.”
Alex felt herself turn red, “Bret and his big mouth…”
“Y’all best not be bad mouthing me right now,” a dry-mouthed, weak voice chimed in.
“Bret, you son of a…. Telling everyone my business,” Alex said standing over him holding up her right fist as if to give him a swift punch in the chops. “How you feeling?” Alex asked smiling down at her frail looking partner.
“Like I been shot.” He said and cracked a smile.
Both the ladies laughed at that. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
Seems like my badass partner is gonna be just fine.
“Well, I should be going. Carla, do you need me to do anything for you today? Can I call anyone for you?”
“No baby… you go have your Sunday. My sister is watching our herd and I’ll hold down the fort here.”
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, Alex took her leave of them, suddenly cheered that Bret woke up while she was there.
When Alex got home, she spent the rest of the morning reading news, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and making notes on articles that she read about Senator Johnson.
What a fucking donkey.
She heard her cell phone chirp for the twentieth time that morning.
Mandi, no doubt.
She decided to give in and check her messages.
Ten missed calls. Fifteen unread messages. Five hundred seventy-three unread emails. Junk mail, it’s an inbox killer.
She scrolled through the missed calls. There had been seven from Mandi, two from mom, and one from an unknown number.
On the messages side of things, she had twelve from Mandi.
Jesus, give it a rest. I’m not interested. It was a mistake!!
Two from mom.
** You never called me back about your brother coming **
** Are you going to be free? **
And one, from the same unknown number…
** Alex... Detective Connolly… this is Kara. Please give me a call when you get this, I think I’ve found something… interesting. x **
Alex started to reply, fumbled her phone, and it clattered on the floor. She laughed at herself as she noticed that her heart was racing and her palms had immediately become clammy.
Jesus. She can do that to me in text?? I feel like an idiot.
She picked up her phone and saved the unknown number as K, knowing being in private contact with someone related to a case was a not kosher.
She clicked into her missed call log, hesitated, and then pressed the letter K.
It rang twice, and then Kara’s voice was on the other end of the phone. Alex hesitated. She wasn’t actually allowed to work right now. She was technically on leave.
“Alex? Are you there?” Kara inquired.
“Eh- Yeah. I’m here. Can you hear me?”
Good cover.
“Yes, listen, I am about to step into a meeting, but could you meet me downtown at O’Connor’s at about 5:30 tonight? I have a meeting with one of the independent contractors, and I want to give you what I’ve found so far.”
Alex hesitated, she really should pass this on to whoever is covering her desk.
Who the fuck am I kidding? I’m not passing on Kara.
“Yeah, absolutely. See you then.”
They hung up and Alex glanced at the time.
1 PM…. jeeezus… this is going to be the longest four and half hours ever…
The Devil’s Playthings
O’Connor’s was packed and louder than normal. Being a Sunday, there were plenty of football games on the screens, jersey’s on the patrons, and buckets of beer on every table. Alex made her way to the bar and ordered a beer. A loud cheer rang out and Alex turned to see “TOUCHDOWN” on the screen.
Amazingly enough, the Raiders are doing well this year.
Alex felt a small. warm hand touch her lower back. She turned her head slightly and Kara was looking up at her. Alex flashed her a genuine smile and said quietly, “Hey.”
Wow, she’s almost too beautiful.
“Hey. I have a booth over in the corner.” Kara said indicating which corner with the tilt of her head.
Alex noticed Kara was carrying a small, dark brown, leather attaché case in her hand, and didn’t miss the fact that she hadn’t removed her other hand from Alex’s lower back the entire journey to the booth. Once at the table, Kara motioned to the waitress and asked her to bring them a couple of menus and whatever Alex was drinking.
“Are you hungry?” Kara asked, “Because I’m famished.”
“Yeah, actually.”
“Great, they make excellent Bangers and Mash.”
“Mmm…. that sounds good. And since they come with your recommendation, I’ll give ‘em a try.”
You’re so waif like, I can’t imagine you ever eating anything larger than a side salad.
The waitress came back with Kara’s drink and took their orders.
Another boisterous explosion of cheers broke out, and Alex saw the many fist bumps, high fives, and smiles that accompanied a good play. She also noticed a large man sporting a Broncos jersey wasn’t really looking at the tv, nor was he whooping it up with his fellow fans. Instead, he seemed to be pretty interested in their table.
Of course, he might just be a hater… Or staring at the sexy lady on my right.
Alex took a sip of her beer and decided to keep one eye on the guy.
“So, this is a very loud bar… I’m not sure what you want to share, but this might not be the best place for it,” Alex said.
“That’s okay, I was starving, and I think we can just huddle a little closer,” Kara said playfully and then took a swig of her drink. “I’ll show you what I have after we eat. If I don’t eat, I might die.”
“Fine by me,” Alex smiled, wolf-like.
“Ooooo… there you go again, be careful with that smile Detective Connolly, it’s pretty dangerous.”
“HA! Deal.”
The waitress showed up again, this time with a basket of bread. They both grabbed at the same piece of bread, briefly touching fingers.
Fire. Screw heat. Her touch is like fire.
Alex smiled, Kara blushed.
“So, tell me something about yourself… I need something to distract me from all the tension.” Alex said.
“Okay, I can do that, but you will have to reciprocate.”
“I can do that.” Alex said with a reassuring nod.
“Alright,” Kara said counting off on her hand as she spoke, “I grew up in the city. I’ve traveled extensively. Went to medical school at Harvard, graduated with honors.” Kara did a little theater-like bow, “Annnnnd… I have shared three things, your turn.”
“Mmmmkay. I grew up in the country - the mountains of New Hampshire to be more specific. I have not traveled extensively. And I graduated, with honors, from Suffolk with a law degree.”
“Really? Interesting. And why are you on the police force?” Kara asked chin in hand.
“Ah. Well, I tried being a lawyer, then I realized I hated lawyers. I thought I could use what I know to help people in a different way. Besides, I really like getting out of the office. Paperwork sucks.”
Kara chuckled, “I can respect that. But a police officer, it’s so dangerous.”
“Yeah. It is.” Alex’s face went slack and she started thinking about the day prior.
Five, four, three….
“Hey, you okay?” Kara asked, touching Alex’s hand in concern. “You kind of spaced off.”
“Oh.” Throat clear, “Yeah, sorry. It’s been a really messed up week. My partner was shot yesterday.”
Kara’s face paled. “You mean… the detective from the other night?”
“Yeah. He pulled through okay. He even gave me a little crap this morning, so that’s a good sign. I just… I keep seeing it. The whole scene. I know I could’ve done something differently.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and to ensure that the tears she felt burning in her eyes didn’t fall and disappeared instead.
“I’m so sorry.” Kara said rubbing the top of Alex’s hand.
“Kara, my situation is barely anything compared to what yours is… if anyone is sorry, it’s me. I was an ass the other night. I have no excuse. I can’t believe you’re even talking to me right now.”
Alex grabbed her beer and took another drink. With the bottle to her lips still, she spied the Broncos fan looking at the monitor with his game.
Maybe I was wrong. Seems to be into the game now. Just a looky-loo.
The waitress came over with their food. And for a solid ten minutes all conversation stopped and both women focused completely on their food. Alex looked up and saw that Kara was keeping up with her military style of eating by shoveling food into her mouth as quickly as possible.
“I can’t remember the last time I ate…” Alex said.
“I can, I ate a banana this morning...what was I thinking – just a banana?!” Kara shook her head and looked at her almost naked plate. “Wow, I am just flying through this,” She paused and took a drink, “I’m going to sleep so well tonight.”
Alex looked at her, smiled, bobbed her head a couple times in agreement.
I hope I can sleep tonight.
A few minutes later, they huddled closer and started talking about what Kara had found.
“Well, it took me forever to figure out which company we used to conduct the environmental impact studies.”
“Shouldn’t that information be readily available from whoever your company paid to do the study?”
Three… The kid looks like the might give up… don’t make me do this.
Two… Bret, do not move. DO NOT MOVE…
One….
Bret spun around and stuck his forearm into the kid’s face, Alex aimed and fired - this time at his now exposed torso. As the skinhead fell to the ground he pulled the trigger on his revolver.
Bret spun around again, this time towards Alex. Teeth clenched, face pinched in a grimace of pain and agony, he fell to the ground grabbing his thigh. Alex raced towards Bret and assessed the injury.
“FUUUUUCK!” He yelled and sucked air through his teeth.
“Oh my god Bret, I’m so sorry. Help is on the way man… just hang tight.”
Alex shoved her hand onto the pulsating wound on his thigh, pushing with all her might to make the bleeding stop. Hot, sticky blood oozed through her fingers and sweat dripped furiously from her forehead. Seeing all the blood pour from her partner, she knew this limited amount of pressure wouldn’t be enough to slow the bleeding.
She reluctantly let go of his leg for a moment, jumped up, and began tearing at her shirt to get it untucked. Once loose, she grabbed at her undershirt, and yanked hard until she ripped the front flap of her tank top off. She wadded the material into a white ball, and dropped back down to Bret’s bullet wound – pushing this time with both hands and all of her weight. Bret cried out in pain, but the blood didn’t ooze around her fingers or around the wadded cloth.
“Fuck… Where the fuck are the EMTs?”
What seemed like an eternity went by, and then Alex heard the ambulance pull up behind her and the EMTs jump out. She turned to her partner and said, “Hey buddy… you’re looking good… we’ve got help now.” Bret’s eyes were closed, his face was strangely gray, and it was dotted with sweat and blood.
The EMTs rushed over, pulling at Alex to look her over. She waved them off and they immediately started to work on Bret. As soon as they stabilized his wound, they rolled him onto the gurney and pushed him into the back of the ambulance.
Several other cops had arrived and had taken charge of getting the Coroner’s office over to the scene to deal with the skinhead. One squatted in front of Alex, “Hey Connolly. You alright? What the hell happened here?”
Alex stared into space… and recounted the entire situation to the young cop. She sat there, long after the cop had finished taking notes. Another cop came over – Lisa, the police shrink.
“Alex, do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No. I want to go to the hospital.”
“Alright, I’ll drive you.”
“I can drive myself.”
“Actually, your police vehicle has been ruled a crime scene, so you do need a ride.” She paused briefly waiting for comment, “Come on, let’s go see how Bret’s doing.”
Alex and Lisa made it to the hospital just as Bret’s wife walked in. “Carla, I’m so sorry. Bret’s so tough, he’s gonna make it,” Alex assured her.
Carla hugged Alex fiercely, “He’s my rock, he’s just gotta make it. You’re going to stay with me, right?”
“You couldn’t drag me away,” Alex promised.
Four hours later, they got the news that Bret had made it out of surgery. The bullet had nicked his femoral artery, but the doctors were able to fix the problem.
Lisa put her hand on Alex’s back, “It’s because of your quick thinking and the EMT response time that he’s going to be okay.”
Alex glanced sideways at Lisa ‘the feel good lady’, walked over to Carla, and gave her a bear hug. “I’m so fucking glad he’s okay. Do you need anything? Can I do anything?”
Carla patted Alex on the arm, “You’ve done everything you could do. Thank you, Alex. Do you want to come visit Bret real quick with me?”
“I’d love that.”
After standing in Bret’s hospital room for a few minutes, staring at Bret’s calm, expressionless form, Alex excused herself and made her way to the exit.
“Alex! Wait… You need to talk about this.”
Greeeaaaaaat… the head shrinker….
“No, I really don’t. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“You’re not coming in tomorrow.”
“Oh, right. Monday then.”
“No, Alex. Your partner was shot. You killed someone. You are on leave until you are deemed ready to return to work.”
“Fuck… Fine. When is our first appointment?”
“Next week, let’s do Wednesday, first thing. Take some time.”
Oh shut the fuck up….
Idle Hands
Alex woke for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night and looked at the clock; 4:45 AM.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck….
Every time she fell asleep, she saw the whole scene again. The gun to Bret’s head. His signal to shoot the skinhead. His inevitable countdown. The recoil from her pistol as she let one go. The skinhead getting hit in the chest and the bark of his revolver. Bret falling in agony after he had been shot. Alex’s hands on Bret’s leg, and the hot, dark red blood oozing through her fingers. Bret’s face - gaunt, gray, and sweaty. Every time she looked up, no ambulance was there. No extra police. The skinhead suddenly hovering over Alex and Bret, gun raised, and firing into Alex’s chest. Once, twice, three times… Alex falling to the ground, looking up at the sky, buildings all around, and hearing a woman calling her name.
Alex decided going back to sleep wasn’t going to happen. So, she pulled on some shorts, socks, a sweat wicking shirt, and some running shoes.
Time to work off the doughnuts.
She stretched for ten minutes, took a quick drink of water, and bounced out the door. Five AM and barely thinking about being light. She was alone on the streets of the city. She sucked in the cool air and enjoyed the quiet. She ran around the harbor, down the steps to the water, and sat in the sand on the beach. She looked out on the horizon, and waited for the eventual sunrise.
As the sun peeked over the ocean, she decided she would head back to the house, grab a quick shower and go see how Bret was doing.
Fifty minutes later, coffees in hand, she entered the hospital. She stopped by the front desk to find out what room Bret had been moved to. The grumpy looking front desk clerk clicked a few buttons on his keyboard, looked up at her apathetically and said, “Room 321.”
Alex made it to the third floor and stood, staring at the numbers on the door.
3...2…1.. Shit.
Her eyes glazed over as she went through the scenario again. This time without the three shots in the chest from the dead skinhead.
“Alex?”
Alex blinked her daymare out of her eyes and realized the door had been opened.
How long have I been staring at Carla?
“Hey Carla… Coffee?” Alex offered raising the untouched second cup of coffee in her left hand.
“Bless you. Come in…”
“How’s he doing?”
“It was a long night, but he looks better… don’t you think his coloring is better?”
Alex followed Carla into the room. Bret did look better, he wasn’t all sweaty, though his skin still had a bit of gray pallor to it. Carla walked around the bed and motioned for Alex to take a place at his bedside.
“You can talk to him… he hasn’t woken up again since I first came in, but at least you can win every conversation.” Carla said with a wink.
Alex shuffled up to the bed… and was suddenly at a loss for words.
Instead of saying anything, she put her hand over his hand gave him a quick squeeze, then sat in the chair next to the bed, and waited.
Carla and Alex stayed like that for about thirty minutes - comfortable silence in an uncomfortable situation.
A nurse popped her head in, looking far too cheery for 7AM… “And how are we feeling this morning?”
She walked around the room with her clipboard, chattering about the weather, doing her best impression of a chipmunk. Alex shot a side-eyed, “OMG DOES SHE EVER STOP TALKING?” look at Carla and she sniggered.
“You know, you spend way too much time with my Bret, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were his kid. That look was pure Bret,” Carla said once the nurse left the room.
“Ha! You know, he’s not my father, but he’s one of my best friends.”
“Girl, you need to get out more.”
Ain’t that the truth…
Alex sucked in deep breath through her nose, raised her eyebrows, shook her head a little, and let it out a knowing sigh.
“So, I heard that there were some serious fireworks between you and some dark-haired damsel in distress.”
Alex felt herself turn red, “Bret and his big mouth…”
“Y’all best not be bad mouthing me right now,” a dry-mouthed, weak voice chimed in.
“Bret, you son of a…. Telling everyone my business,” Alex said standing over him holding up her right fist as if to give him a swift punch in the chops. “How you feeling?” Alex asked smiling down at her frail looking partner.
“Like I been shot.” He said and cracked a smile.
Both the ladies laughed at that. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
Seems like my badass partner is gonna be just fine.
“Well, I should be going. Carla, do you need me to do anything for you today? Can I call anyone for you?”
“No baby… you go have your Sunday. My sister is watching our herd and I’ll hold down the fort here.”
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, Alex took her leave of them, suddenly cheered that Bret woke up while she was there.
When Alex got home, she spent the rest of the morning reading news, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and making notes on articles that she read about Senator Johnson.
What a fucking donkey.
She heard her cell phone chirp for the twentieth time that morning.
Mandi, no doubt.
She decided to give in and check her messages.
Ten missed calls. Fifteen unread messages. Five hundred seventy-three unread emails. Junk mail, it’s an inbox killer.
She scrolled through the missed calls. There had been seven from Mandi, two from mom, and one from an unknown number.
On the messages side of things, she had twelve from Mandi.
Jesus, give it a rest. I’m not interested. It was a mistake!!
Two from mom.
** You never called me back about your brother coming **
** Are you going to be free? **
And one, from the same unknown number…
** Alex... Detective Connolly… this is Kara. Please give me a call when you get this, I think I’ve found something… interesting. x **
Alex started to reply, fumbled her phone, and it clattered on the floor. She laughed at herself as she noticed that her heart was racing and her palms had immediately become clammy.
Jesus. She can do that to me in text?? I feel like an idiot.
She picked up her phone and saved the unknown number as K, knowing being in private contact with someone related to a case was a not kosher.
She clicked into her missed call log, hesitated, and then pressed the letter K.
It rang twice, and then Kara’s voice was on the other end of the phone. Alex hesitated. She wasn’t actually allowed to work right now. She was technically on leave.
“Alex? Are you there?” Kara inquired.
“Eh- Yeah. I’m here. Can you hear me?”
Good cover.
“Yes, listen, I am about to step into a meeting, but could you meet me downtown at O’Connor’s at about 5:30 tonight? I have a meeting with one of the independent contractors, and I want to give you what I’ve found so far.”
Alex hesitated, she really should pass this on to whoever is covering her desk.
Who the fuck am I kidding? I’m not passing on Kara.
“Yeah, absolutely. See you then.”
They hung up and Alex glanced at the time.
1 PM…. jeeezus… this is going to be the longest four and half hours ever…
The Devil’s Playthings
O’Connor’s was packed and louder than normal. Being a Sunday, there were plenty of football games on the screens, jersey’s on the patrons, and buckets of beer on every table. Alex made her way to the bar and ordered a beer. A loud cheer rang out and Alex turned to see “TOUCHDOWN” on the screen.
Amazingly enough, the Raiders are doing well this year.
Alex felt a small. warm hand touch her lower back. She turned her head slightly and Kara was looking up at her. Alex flashed her a genuine smile and said quietly, “Hey.”
Wow, she’s almost too beautiful.
“Hey. I have a booth over in the corner.” Kara said indicating which corner with the tilt of her head.
Alex noticed Kara was carrying a small, dark brown, leather attaché case in her hand, and didn’t miss the fact that she hadn’t removed her other hand from Alex’s lower back the entire journey to the booth. Once at the table, Kara motioned to the waitress and asked her to bring them a couple of menus and whatever Alex was drinking.
“Are you hungry?” Kara asked, “Because I’m famished.”
“Yeah, actually.”
“Great, they make excellent Bangers and Mash.”
“Mmm…. that sounds good. And since they come with your recommendation, I’ll give ‘em a try.”
You’re so waif like, I can’t imagine you ever eating anything larger than a side salad.
The waitress came back with Kara’s drink and took their orders.
Another boisterous explosion of cheers broke out, and Alex saw the many fist bumps, high fives, and smiles that accompanied a good play. She also noticed a large man sporting a Broncos jersey wasn’t really looking at the tv, nor was he whooping it up with his fellow fans. Instead, he seemed to be pretty interested in their table.
Of course, he might just be a hater… Or staring at the sexy lady on my right.
Alex took a sip of her beer and decided to keep one eye on the guy.
“So, this is a very loud bar… I’m not sure what you want to share, but this might not be the best place for it,” Alex said.
“That’s okay, I was starving, and I think we can just huddle a little closer,” Kara said playfully and then took a swig of her drink. “I’ll show you what I have after we eat. If I don’t eat, I might die.”
“Fine by me,” Alex smiled, wolf-like.
“Ooooo… there you go again, be careful with that smile Detective Connolly, it’s pretty dangerous.”
“HA! Deal.”
The waitress showed up again, this time with a basket of bread. They both grabbed at the same piece of bread, briefly touching fingers.
Fire. Screw heat. Her touch is like fire.
Alex smiled, Kara blushed.
“So, tell me something about yourself… I need something to distract me from all the tension.” Alex said.
“Okay, I can do that, but you will have to reciprocate.”
“I can do that.” Alex said with a reassuring nod.
“Alright,” Kara said counting off on her hand as she spoke, “I grew up in the city. I’ve traveled extensively. Went to medical school at Harvard, graduated with honors.” Kara did a little theater-like bow, “Annnnnd… I have shared three things, your turn.”
“Mmmmkay. I grew up in the country - the mountains of New Hampshire to be more specific. I have not traveled extensively. And I graduated, with honors, from Suffolk with a law degree.”
“Really? Interesting. And why are you on the police force?” Kara asked chin in hand.
“Ah. Well, I tried being a lawyer, then I realized I hated lawyers. I thought I could use what I know to help people in a different way. Besides, I really like getting out of the office. Paperwork sucks.”
Kara chuckled, “I can respect that. But a police officer, it’s so dangerous.”
“Yeah. It is.” Alex’s face went slack and she started thinking about the day prior.
Five, four, three….
“Hey, you okay?” Kara asked, touching Alex’s hand in concern. “You kind of spaced off.”
“Oh.” Throat clear, “Yeah, sorry. It’s been a really messed up week. My partner was shot yesterday.”
Kara’s face paled. “You mean… the detective from the other night?”
“Yeah. He pulled through okay. He even gave me a little crap this morning, so that’s a good sign. I just… I keep seeing it. The whole scene. I know I could’ve done something differently.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and to ensure that the tears she felt burning in her eyes didn’t fall and disappeared instead.
“I’m so sorry.” Kara said rubbing the top of Alex’s hand.
“Kara, my situation is barely anything compared to what yours is… if anyone is sorry, it’s me. I was an ass the other night. I have no excuse. I can’t believe you’re even talking to me right now.”
Alex grabbed her beer and took another drink. With the bottle to her lips still, she spied the Broncos fan looking at the monitor with his game.
Maybe I was wrong. Seems to be into the game now. Just a looky-loo.
The waitress came over with their food. And for a solid ten minutes all conversation stopped and both women focused completely on their food. Alex looked up and saw that Kara was keeping up with her military style of eating by shoveling food into her mouth as quickly as possible.
“I can’t remember the last time I ate…” Alex said.
“I can, I ate a banana this morning...what was I thinking – just a banana?!” Kara shook her head and looked at her almost naked plate. “Wow, I am just flying through this,” She paused and took a drink, “I’m going to sleep so well tonight.”
Alex looked at her, smiled, bobbed her head a couple times in agreement.
I hope I can sleep tonight.
A few minutes later, they huddled closer and started talking about what Kara had found.
“Well, it took me forever to figure out which company we used to conduct the environmental impact studies.”
“Shouldn’t that information be readily available from whoever your company paid to do the study?”
