Breaking Protocol, page 5
“You would think, but my father didn’t run these studies through the company, or at least I couldn’t find any financials connecting us to the outside groups.” Kara said, raising an eyebrow.
“Okay. What do the studies say?”
“They all say there was no impact.”
Alex shrugged and took another look at the Broncos fan, “Okay, so that’s good right?”
“Alex, there’s absolutely no way that there was no impact, the studies are either fabricated or have been altered.”
“Uh huh. Why exactly do you think this has something to do with your father’s death?”
“Only the 3.5 billion dollars this lie might save the company responsible for the possible impact, not to mention the votes that it could cost the senator. This is a hot button issue. I really think it’s worth looking into.”
“Okay, well, if you give the names of the contracted companies, I can maybe see if your theory holds any water. Besides, the badge tends to make people’s jaws flap.”
“I thought you might say that…. The thing is, I’d really like to be involved in this, I have a feeling that my scientific eye will be useful if not completely necessary.” Kara grinned, baring all her teeth and batting her eyelashes.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Could be a little dangerous. I’ll bring you whatever information that I find.” Alex stated in a slightly arrogant, cop tone.
“Let me put it this way, if you want the names, you’re going to have to keep me involved. Otherwise, no names.” Kara laced her fingers together and stared stoically at Alex waiting for her response.
“Deal,” Alex said grudgingly.
Kara held out her hand for Alex to shake it. Alex stared at her outstretched hand for a second and said, “No offense, but I’m not one to shake hands with blackmailers.”
“Ha!” Kara guffawed, “I get that all the time.”
Jesus, we are cute together….
Alex noticed the Broncos fan head to the door.
Interesting - the game isn’t even over yet.
Alex and Kara remained in the booth finishing their beers and talking about their plan of attack. Monday was just around the bend, and they could start making inquiries into these strange reports.
Alex paid for their food, though Kara was not pleased with her picking up the tab. “I can have the company cover this…” Kara suggested.
“Absolutely not. This is on me. Next time, you pay.” Alex smiled.
Kara shrugged, rolled her eyes, and then nodded in agreement.
At the front of the bar, Alex said, “Let me walk you to your car.”
“Absolutely,” Kara said and ran her hand down Alex’s arm to her hand which she grabbed and led her out the door.
Oh my, she’s too adorable…
Control yourself. You are breaking so many rules right now, I can’t even keep count.
They made their way to a nearby parking garage, silently. Both considering what might happen when they get to the car.
You know what could happen… should it happen… again? I fucking want it to… shit.
They slowed as they reached Kara’s car. The stood silently and then they both laughed simultaneously.
“This is just silly...I want to… I mean to say… shit. Sorry. I dunno… We need to keep this professional for now. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Alex asked hopefully.
“Yeah, do you want me to pick you up, or are we meeting...” Kara trailed off and her eyes flicked over Alex’s shoulder, and widened, her mouth opened in a silent scream - Alex moved swiftly.
She spun, stabbing her fist into the first attacker’s throat. He immediately fell to his knees grabbing his throat, gagging, and coughing harshly. The next man, the Broncos fan, had a club. He ran at Alex swung wide and then thumped her in the gut. She went down hard.
She heard Kara scream, and bounced back up. A third man pulled Alex by the collar and put her in a headlock. She grappled with the man while watching in horror as Kara was cornered by the Broncos fan.
“RUN KARA!” She hissed. Kara shifted her attention from the Broncos fan to Alex and then activated her car alarm.
Kara looked like a cornered cat, and Alex could do nothing to help her. Her vision started to blur. She could hear her blood pumping in her ears, and so she pulled one hand off of the attacker’s arm, reached around his shoulder and curved two fingers along the underside of his nose, pulling up as harshly as she could. He flinched upward in pain, letting Alex out of the headlock and grabbed at Alex’s nose-assailing hand. Once he had fully grabbed Alex by the hand, they were facing one another and she planted the heel of her other hand into his nose – this time drawing blood and making him scream in agony. He fell to his knees and let loose a litany of swears.
Alex started after the Broncos fan and got a right hook in the face from the guy she had throat punched. She tasted blood in her mouth.
Shit.
She spun one way, quick stepped another and then let out a fury of punches at the attacker. She made contact on a few, but didn’t get a knockout punch. Unfortunately, the third man was back up and slammed something hard into her ribcage. She groaned and then got bashed in the head. She pinched her eyes shut in pain and fell to her hands and knees. She looked up and saw Kara get pushed into the garage wall.
FUUUUUUUCK!!
Alex got kicked in the ribs. Once, twice, and then an elbow or heel into her kidney. She screamed in pain and flopped fully onto the cement. The attacker grabbed her by the hair, and bounced her head on the garage floor. And then, everything went dark.
…..Kara…..
Playing Doctor
Alex winced in pain and dragged her hand from underneath her body to assess the damage to her face and head.
Definitely a fat lip and definitely a good sized lump on the back of my head. Woof… and my freaking cheekbone. Yeesh.
Her face was slick with blood from where her head had thumped into the cement floor.
“Alex, Alex….? Are you okay…? Don’t move. I’m going to use your phone to call 911.”
“No…” Alex croaked. “Just gimme a minute.”
She rolled onto her back, opened her mouth and eyes really wide, and waited for the ringing in her ears to stop.
“Where did they go? Did they take anything?”
“Just my attaché case.”
“Shit. That had all the info in it, right?”
“Actually, no. I didn’t bring anything of worth. I still have the reports.”
Kara hovered over Alex. Her look of concern worried Alex a little.
Do I really look that bad?
Alex focused on Kara’s face, there was a small scuff and the beginning of a bruise on her beautiful cheekbone.
“Jesus,” she reached for Kara’s face.
Kara grabbed her hand, eyes wide and said, “Trust me, you took the brunt of that.”
Alex laughed and then winced. Her ribs…
Ouuuuuch. Fuck.
“Listen, I know you are freaking out a little - and you should be. But I am not about to spend the next fifteen hours in a hospital so they can run me through the x-ray machine a million times only to tell me that they can’t do anything for me. I just need to get home, take a shower, put ice packs in various places, and get into bed. If you just help me up, I’m certain I can make it back to my car.”
“Fat chance tough guy. I’m putting you in my car, and I’m taking you home. I am technically a doctor - so after you are cleaned up, I’ll have a look at you.”
“Whatever you say Nurse Ratchet,” Alex quipped.
After a few painful movements, Alex was in the front seat of Kara’s Mercedes.
“Jesus, this really is a nice car. Aaaannnnd, I’m pretty sure I’m getting blood on it.”
“Uh huh. I’m not really concerned. It’s black leather.”
“Right,” Alex said sardonically. She grabbed a handful of tissues from the center console, wiped at the blood on the leather, and then pressed them to her head to staunch any additional blood flow.
Kara exited the garage and started towards her house.
“Hey, not to put a wrench in your big plan to get me into your bed…. But I actually need to go home - Dexter is expecting me.”
“Dexter, huh?” Kara asked, obviously expecting more of an explanation.
“Yeah, and he can be a real dick if I don’t show up,” Alex answered.
Did I detect a hint of jealousy?
“Okay, where are we going?” Kara asked, her voice a bit more stony than before.
Alex entered a code into her phone and directed GPS to bring them to her apartment building. Alex dozed on the way to the apartment and was grateful to be home when she opened her eyes.
“Okay, no more sleeping until I examine you.” Kara got out of the car and came around to the passenger side, “You could have a concussion, and that means no sleeping.”
“Oh yeah? What else do you have in mind?”
“You’re in no condition for anything else I might have in mind…” Kara parried.
“Yeesh. Alright. Apartment Twenty-One.”
After a bit of maneuvering, Kara got Alex into her apartment. Alex limped over to Dexter’s bowl and filled it. As expected, Dexter came running.
“Dexter, Kara. Kara, meet Dexter. He’s the man of the house. Now if you’ll both excuse me, I am going to hobble into the shower.”
“First, might I suggest some pain pills, ibuprophen… something?”
“Uhh, yeah… I think I actually have some leftover pills from when I dislocated my shoulder…” Alex hobbled about, looking through the kitchen drawers. She found the pill bottle, squinted at the writing, popped two pills out, and swallowed them both dry. “Okay, now the shower.”
Kara pet Dexter, and asked, “Do you need any help?”
“No, I think I can manage.”
A few minutes later, Alex came limping back into the kitchen. She found Kara in pretty much the same place, petting Dexter and cooing at him.
“Hey, remember when I said I could manage? Well, I maybe could use some help.”
“I thought you might.”
Kara followed Alex through the master bedroom and into the bathroom. The shower was already running; steam poured out of the curtain. The bathroom was starting to get hot.
“I can do my pants. But… uhhh… I can’t, I can’t get my shirt off.” Alex said slightly embarrassed.
Kara put a finger to her lips, “I see. We can do this the fun way, or we can do this the clinical way – you choose.”
Alex’s eyes went wide and a deep blush started on her cheeks.
Kara laughed, “Clinical it is. Turn around.”
Alex turned her back to Kara and Kara pulled her shirt completely out of her pants. “Can you lift your arms?”
“If I have to,” Alex murmured.
“Well, I could cut you out of it.” Kara offered.
“No way, this is my first date shirt.”
“I see, so was tonight a date?”
Shit
“No?” Her blush deepened to purple.
“Was that a question?”
“No?”
“Ha! Okay. Do your best to lift up your arms.”
Alex did her best, grimacing in pain, and Kara gently pulled off her shirt with great care. She placed her hands on Alex’s waist, and said quietly, “Oh my god Alex. You could use some x-rays.” She traced the already formed dark purple bruises on Alex’s side and rib cage.
“I have really light skin, it probably looks worse than it is.” She was acutely aware that Kara’s hands were no longer on her back – they had moved to her stomach. She felt Kara’s hair on her back, then her face, then her entire body. She had pulled Alex into a gentle, full body hug. She felt Kara’s lips touch her shoulder blade, and then she pulled back.
“Okay… let’s get this bra off,” Kara murmured in a slightly husky voice.
“Yeah. Okay.” Alex said quietly.
She raised her arms again, and Kara did her best not to wing Alex around as she pulled off Alex’s bra from behind. Alex winced, sucked in air and then the bra was up high enough on her arms that she put them down and pulled it off.
Covering her breasts, she turned to Kara. “Thanks. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay, let me know if you need anything else.” Alex was grateful that Kara maintained eye contact.
Kara left the bathroom and Alex gingerly got into the shower.
No longer covered in blood and garage grit, Alex was wrapped in a towel standing in her bedroom unsure of her next move. Unused to having someone else in her apartment, the knock on the door startled her.
Well, except for Dexter. But he’s not one to knock.
“Yeah?”
“You okay in there? Need any help getting into something?” Kara called through the door.
“No, I’m just getting into something comfortable. I’ll be right out. Can you grab a couple of ice packs from the freezer? They’re behind the ice trays and frozen pizzas. I’ll meet you in the living room.”
Alex hobbled into the living room a few minutes later and she attempted to lower herself onto the sofa painlessly without much luck.
“Ummm… Do you think we can do this in my bedroom? That way when you ‘clear’ me I can just pass out where I am.”
“Sure.”
As Alex lowered herself to the bed, Dexter ran into the bedroom and leapt up to take his normal nightly spot. “Hey buddy, the mutual lovefest is not going to happen tonight.” Dexter seemed to understand and curled up at the foot of the bed.
For the next several minutes, Kara went through basic doctoring protocol. She checked Alex’s eyes for pupil dilation, probed her bruises, and looked at the contusion on her head.
“Well?” Alex asked.
“Well, for starters, you have a very hard head. That guy bashed you with a metal pipe, and even though you did pass out, I’m pretty certain that you do not have a concussion. I think you may have passed out from the pain of the kidney wound. So all good news.” Kara said smiling. She placed her hand on Alex’s and Alex used her free hand to adjust the ice pack on her head.
“Thanks doc.”
“Anytime.”
They stared at one another… and didn’t speak for several minutes.
This feels so… right. I wish I wasn’t in absolute agony. I suspect this evening would be ending much differently.
Kara sighed and reached for Dexter, “You’re going to take care of your mom, right?” She scratched behind his ears and he started purring.
“That’s a yes.”
“Okay, I’m going to head home then, do you want me to get you anything before I leave?”
Jesus, those pills work fast. I can barely keep my eyes open…
“You can’t leave.” Alex half mumbled.
“Ha ha ha,” Kara answered.
“No, seriously. Those guys targeted you. I suspect they didn’t get what they were looking for from your case, and you out there by yourself…. No.” Alex said in an almost drunk voice.
“Uh huh…” Kara responded.
“Seriously.” Alex said sleepily. “Please don’t leave.” Alex’s eyes felt grainy. She rubbed them a couple of times. “Please, Kara.”
Kara didn’t say anything. Instead, she helped Alex get into a more normal sleeping position, and stood next to the bed as Alex drifted off into a pain medication induced sleep.
“Please…”
Kara….
Coffee, Cuddles, and Crap
Kara…
Alex woke up with a start to a silent apartment. Strangely, Dexter had already vacated the bed in search of morning vittles. She sat up and grimaced.
Oh Fuck… that was not a dream. Today is gonna be a looooong, painful day.
She got up slowly, giving her body a minute to get used to the idea of moving. She looked at her haggard reflection in the mirror.
Jesus.
She lifted her shirt to check out the damage on her ribcage. Her skin resembled a dark tie-dye shirt, blues, reds, greens, and a couple of purple parts. She took a deep breath to test her ribs.
Yeesh… that is not my favorite thing. Doesn’t feel broken, though. Bonus.
Her head and face wounds were not as bad as she thought they would be. She would have a fair-sized bruise on her left cheekbone and a small cut above her eye, but her chin only carried a faint yellow hue.
Still groggy from the pills she took the night before, she needed coffee, but she needed to know if Kara was okay first. She grabbed her cell from the night table and checked for messages – all were from Mandi.
Did Kara lose her phone last night?
She dialed her number and it went straight to voicemail.
Fuuuuuuuuuck… Don’t panic.
The only thing she could think to do was to drive over to Kara’s house.
It’s 6:30… late enough… safety first!
She went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She decided she didn’t need another shower, so she pulled clothes on as quickly as she could in her condition, and slapped a Red Sox hat on.
Coffee… then Kara’s.
She shuffled into the kitchen and started prepping the coffee maker. She grabbed her thermos and poured in some half and half.
“Dexter… Bad kitty… Big man… Dex?” No response. She poured food into his bowl. Still no response. “Hey buddy, I’m sorry about the lack of love last night… but Mommy was in a bad way.” She walked into the living room, “You’re not gonna hold that against...” Her voice trailed off and her blood pumped loudly in her ears.
Kara.
Kara was sleeping on the sofa, and Dexter was doing his best to keep her feet warm. Snuggled in a blanket, she looked so peaceful. She was flawless but for the angry spot on her cheekbone.
Those motherfuckers….
The coffee pot was starting to make the last few sputtering noises of its cycle, and the smell of coffee drifted into the living room. Alex didn’t care – she was unable to take her eyes of Kara.
Did I ask her to stay last night? I did, didn’t I? I didn’t say anything stupid… did I? I was pretty fucked up from those pills…
Kara’s eyes fluttered open. She looked slightly confused for a moment, stretched, and let out a high pitched yawn.
