J.D. showered while Francis slept, the water cascading down her body, rinsing over a few love bites here and there. She turned off the water, stepped out and dripped over the floor mat as she dried under the overhead heat lights. She would have preferred a towel, and supposed she would have to add laundry to her list of things to do today. J.D. slipped into the clothes she had brought with her, then went beck to her bedroom.
Francis was still on her bed, sleeping on his stomach with the sheets tangled around the lower part of his body. She licked her lips as she eyed his physique, then stopped when she noticed various scars that she'd never seen before. One ran from just under his left shoulder blade to the opposite hip. She remembered her fingers gliding over it during sex, but she hadn't paid attention at that time.
Now, she crouched down to study it. It was too straight and fine to be anything other than a blade cut, and wondered how he'd gotten it.
She reached out to touch it, snatching her fingers back in surprise as he rolled onto his back and stretched lightly before continuing the roll on to his side. His eyes opened and he raised himself to look at the bed. "This isn't my bed," he said in a confused voice before lying back down.
"Francis?"
"A lovely voice," he said, his eyes still closed. "No doubt belonging to a comely lass whose bed I sought refuge in."
J.D. rolled her eyes. "Kind Sir Soul Patch. Would thou mind getting thine ass outta my bed."
"My ass is quite comfortable here, thanks." He cracked open an eye to look at the clock. "It's early."
"I don't like being rushed," she told him. "Not all of us just slip on a suit and toddle off to work."
"I don't toddle," he said while stretching.
"Okay, but you always wear suits to work."
"Usually."
"I've never seen you in anything but," she said. "Even in your off hours, you dress impeccably."
He smiled slightly. "Drop me off at my place on the way, and I'll meet you at the office."
~~~~~~~~~~
Mary Columbi was getting nervous. She didn't like it when that happened. She also didn't like it when five of her people didn't return from the job that they were sent to do.
She had spent too many years working her way into the underground movement that was quietly spreading across the country, and even more time working her way to the head of a cell. She hid her ambitions well, letting the others think that she wanted the same things they wanted. If they knew she had more money in the bank than half the people they had killed lately, she would probably be taken to some secluded spot and shot. She also doubted that they wouldn't like her behind the scenes buying of certain stocks in certain companies.
Once the top moneymakers of the city were gone, she would step away from her underground life, and become a recluse billionaire, in charge of more than the current five companies that were in her various aliases.
She'd even been able to trick the CISA agent, making him think that her goal was to see his kind in charge. The fool was so trusting in her vision that he had been easy to dupe. Now, he was too far in to back out, and spent most of his time trying to carve out a niche in what her vision had become. She supposed that he would eventually kill her, and she already had things in store in case that happened.
She looked up as someone entered, but it wasn't whom she wanted, so she ignored him. She needed to find out where her missing men were, and, if necessary, dispose of them. Calling in a favor was something she didn't like to do unless absolutely necessary...and this looked like one of those times.
~~~~~~~~
A police officer took a drink of his coffee as he checked over the evening arrests. He stopped at a list of five men who had been arrested for running a red light and having a spot search turn up a classified weapon.
According to the reports, they hadn't been arraigned yet, and were in the holding area at the courthouse awaiting the mornings' hearings. The officer glanced at the descriptions and the area they had been arrested in, and thought as he grabbed his coffee.
Ever since the CISA agent had given him his card at one of the crime scenes, it had been in the front of his thinking. He liked being a police officer but at times wanted something more.
Reaching a decision, he stood. "Gonna hit the head before I hit the streets," he told the watch commander. He went to his locker, rummaged through the belonging until he found a small card, then went to the bathroom.
He came out, signed out, and started his patrol, stopping at a payphone a few blocks away to make a call.
~~~~~~~~~
Jake glanced up as the door to the CISA office opened, and felt a shock at the figure that stood there. He stared as the man walked in, and stopped in front of the desk.
"Close your mouth, Jacob."
"Fuckin' cool," Jake finally said.
Francis sighed, signed in with a thumb print, and continued on to the back, aware of the looks he was getting. More than a few women were smiling at him, and he resisted the urge to chat them up.
J.D. looked up as the room silenced, and followed the line of sight of others, blinking in surprise as Francis strode up to her.
"Better?" he asked, with his arms slightly out to the side.
She stared in awe at the long biker's jacket over black leather pants and a black shirt. In fact, he was all in black, with even his motorcycle boots and dark sunglasses being the same. He looked highly lethal and bigger than life.
"Yum," was all she could think to say as he stared down at her. "I definitely like the Dark-Hunter look."
"The what?"
"Immortal vampire hunters from books I used to read years ago. Mad, bad, and completely sexy."
He smiled, which only made the appearance more erotic as he took of the dark sunglasses and tossed them on his desk. "New leads?"
"Uhhhh..." she shook herself slightly, relieved when his phone rang. "Yeah." She pointed.
"Lieutenant McQhyn," Francis said as he answered. He listened for a moment. "Yeah...sure. Ten minutes?" He hung up and looked thoughtful. "Dame Fortune is smiling today."
"She can be a bitch."
He looked at her and smiled. "Come on... got a lead that might actually save both our asses."
"Even better."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The police officer startled, his hand automatically going to his gun when someone dressed completely in black slid into the seat beside him. He felt pain in his wrist at the same time he recognized the man.
"You called?" Francis asked as he let go of the other man's wrist.
"Last night," he said as he rubbed his wrist, "five men were stopped for running a red light."
"Fascinating."
"Spot check of the car turned up a classified weapon."
"Make?"
The officer stared, not liking the CISA's attitude. "M16."
Francis kept his expression neutral. "Where are they?"
"Courthouse, downtown."
"Appreciate it," Francis said as he stood and walked out of the small Bistro. He walked to the car and got in.
"Well?" J.D. asked.
"Courthouse, downtown," Francis said as he eased into traffic. "Five guys who were caught with an M16."
The officer watched as Francis got into a ME Four-twelve sports car, and sighed. He'd just gone against his fellow officers by talking to CISA, and hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five men sat in a secured room in the lower part of the courthouse, waiting for their turn in front of the judge. A weapons charge was a major deal, but with a CISA agent on their side, they had nothing to worry about.
The door opened and two uniformed men held weapons ready and motioned them out. The men sandwiched between the two as they walked through the hall, and went through a door. The stopped, confused, as they found themselves in a larger room.
The door closed behind the armed guards as weapons leveled at the five men.
~~~~~~~~
"Have I mentioned that I like this look?"
Francis smiled as he drove. "I think you may have."
"You look like some motorcycle god come to life." J.D. ran a gaze over him that was anything but polite. "I would have been in your bed years ago if you dressed like this."
He shook his head. "And people call me shallow." He slowed the car down and stopped, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel as he saw dozen police cars parked haphazard in front of the courthouse, and officers running around.
"I don't like the looks of that," J.D. muttered as they got out. She pulled her badge out and hooked it onto a chain to slip it around her neck. Francis followed suit, and both slowly walked toward the line of police cars.
"What happened?" Francis asked the nearest officer.
He looked at the badges, then nodded towards the courthouse. "Five shot," he said. "You taking over?"
Francis ground his teeth as he strode straight up the steps and slammed the front door to the courthouse open. Various officers looked up, hands on weapons, and only a few relaxed when they noticed the badges on the two newest visitors.
J.D. had to trot to catch up to Francis as he stalked after the running emergency medical technicians. He looked beyond annoyed, and people gave him a wide berth as they made it to a holding area that had more cops inside and out.
"Everyone but EMT, get out," Francis said in an even voice. They gave him barely hostile stares as they filed past, more than one speaking outright with insults.
J.D. put a hand up to stop a few courthouse sheriffs. "What happened?" she asked.
One gave her an odd look. "Let me guess… good cop, bad cop," he pointed at her, then Francis.
"Wrong," Francis said without looking. "I’m the good cop."
J.D. raised an eyebrow at the sheriff and waited for him to tell her what happened.
"Don’t know what happened," he said honestly. "These five were on the docket for mid morning, then when we," he motioned to the other sheriff, "came to get them, they were gone." He paused. "They were suppose to be in room B-14, one floor up, and at first we thought it was an error, so we started checking occupied rooms."
"How long until you found them?"
"Bout ten, fifteen minutes later?" he said. "This room is suppose to be empty, so we didn’t think to look until our second sweep."
"Surveillance?"
"None," Francis answered for them. "This floor is for jury, and there’s no cameras allowed."
"He’s right," the other sheriff said. "Sorry."
J.D. smiled tightly. "Any surveillance you can supply would be greatly appreciated," she told them. "Along with arrest and court papers."
"You need a judge’s warrant for the last two."
"Get the information, now," Francis said as he watched the EMT work. "Or I'll bust your ass for interferring in a CISA investigation."
The sheriffs glared at him, then nodded slightly. "Coming right up," he said, then turned.
"Thank you." She held the small smile until they walked away, then she turned to the bodies.
"Fucking fuck," Francis said. "Damn it."
"I concur."
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Your grabbing control is what caused this." The Captain glared at Francis. "By not following proper channels, the police didn’t feel right in just giving up their arrest."
Francis remained silent as he endured his second reaming out in two days. Worst part was that he knew the Captain was partially correct. It was his fault. He should have insisted that any arrests with restricted weapons be immediately handed over to CISA. It was something he hadn’t thought of at the time, but it wasn’t a mistake he would make again.
The Captain continued talking. "The police will be handling the killings in the courthouse. Is that clear?"
"Very."
"Get out."
Francis spun sharply, strode out of the office, and continued down the hall, stopping only when he walked in to the washroom. A quick check to make sure no one else was around, and his hand pulled back then slammed into the wall.
"Fuck!" he hissed in pain. The wall had a small dent, but nothing else. "Stupid fucking metal walls," he said.
Taking a few deep breaths, he let them out slowly, and really wished that he had a basketball game that evening. He could really use a way to let off a lot of steam.
~~~~~~~~
"Lieutenant Diamond."
J.D. recognized the voice on the other end of the phone. He was the only person who made her last name three syllables. "Sir?"
"My office, alone, now."
She sighed as she hung up, and stood. A few minutes later, she was standing in front of Captain Colsin’s desk.
"I'm concerned about Lieutenant McQhyn's relationship to these shootings," he began. "This thing with his son being threatened has caused his behavior to become unpredictable and erratic. We can't bypass procedures on certain things. It looks extremely bad." He paused. "Effective immediately, overtime for the two of you has been suspended. You are to be here for your scheduled hours only, which..." he consulted a computer screen. "...means you're both off for the rest of the day, and the next two days."
"The case?" J.D. said, not understanding.
"Will be handled by other capable CISA agents." He leaned back and gave her an understanding smile. "I know it's not easy working with Lieutenant McQhyn, and I'd hate to see you dragged down or hurt by his actions. You have a bright future here, one with advancement. Whatever you do in your private time is none of my business, but I would like for you to keep a look out for signs of abnormal stress. Signs that maybe he should take another vacation."
"Another?" J.D. asked before she could stop herself. She knew the man was up to something, but couldn't quite place it.
He looked unsure. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He stood. "Since you have an unexpected min-holiday, I won't keep you."
J.D. was confused as she was ushered to the door, and stood in the hall as it closed behind her. She shook her head to clear it. "What the fuck?"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Mary Columbi put the phone down slowly, and looked around at the people with her. "Pack most of it up now," she called out. "Just leave essentials out."
"What’s going on?" someone asked.
"The five that are late… they got arrested," she said, then remembered that she was supposed to be on their side. She lowered her eyes, and then looked at them again, full of regret. "They were assassinated this morning at the courthouse," she told them, then almost as an afterthought, added, "There were two CISA agents there."
Voices ranged from shock to outrage as those present came to their own wrong conclusions. Mary placed her head in her hands and turned away so no one would see her smile.
~~~~~~~~~~
J.D. sat at a table in the coffee shop, the latte in front of her growing colder by the second as she stared at an imaginary spot on the table. She wondered just how much truth there was to the Captain's words, and although she tried to dismiss them as petty, she couldn't help dwelling on it. In the nearly six years that she had known him, Francis would disappear from the office for days on end, citing company business, and return without ever mentioning his away time. Mostly, he would brood at his desk for a day or two before returning to his normal annoyingly cheerful self.
She had asked him once where he always disappeared to, and he gave her a haunting look, but covered it quickly with a shrug. "You don't want to ever find out," he told her. Those were the only 'vacations' she could think of, and she knew that, even though he never told her, he was on 'Rogue Hunting' business.
Not that she's ever want to know any of the details on those, anyway. Once a CISA went rogue, normal law didn't apply to their capture, interrogation, and usually, execution. Most times, an individual would simply vanish. At first, she thought his mentioning of ‘rogue hunter’ was something that he did to scare the cadets, but after a year or so, she realized it to be the truth. Once, when certain files accidentally crossed her desk, he yanked them out of her hands and completely reamed out the cadet who had made the mistake.
It was the only time, beyond the threat to this son, that she'd ever seen him lose his cool in the office.
"Heard our O.T. got K.O.ed."
She looked up at the voice. "Yeah."
"You okay?" Francis asked as he spun the other chair around and straddled it so he could place his arms on the back.
She gave him an evaluating look. "Yeah."
"What?"
"What?"
"You're looking like you're expecting me to drive a knife in your back."
She glanced away. "It's nothing."
He grimaced slightly, but smiled to cover it. He stood and flipped the chair back around. "You think about what it is you need to thin about, then give me a call." He walked away and out the door.
J.D. watched through the window as he trotted across the road, his jacket trailing behind him.
"This is stupid," she whispered. She had known him far too long, and had seen him in too many dangerous situations to not trust him. Yes, he was secretive, but so was she. Yes, he was a flake, but then again, who in their office wasn't... and yes, he was completely shameless when it came to trying to seducer, but damn it, she liked it.
Suddenly, and for no reason, something the Captain said flashed through her brain, and she got up and ran out, her latte completely forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Colsin rubbed his hands over his face as he added certain things to permanent files. He had to document the events so that he could justify the canceling of overtime, and as he worked, he could tell that his reasoning was flimsy at best.
He had to find more ways to keep the Lieutenants occupied; ways that wouldn't raise suspicion. He frowned when he realized that he couldn't even threaten the boy again, since the family had effectively disappeared. No...he had to come up with something new.
As long as it held up for a few more days, then he would be out of this job, and living the highlife under an assumed name, courtesy of a huge payoff from one Mary Columbi. All he had to do now was inform Ms. Columbi that she was going to give him that obscene amount of money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Francis walked aimlessly through the city, wondering what he had done to make J.D. start doubting. Then again, what hadn't he done? He'd lied, kept secrets, chased after her until he got her, and had been willing to use her to follow a hunch. He wondered how he'd lasted so long, and wouldn't blame her if she dumped him both as a partner and out of her bed since she probably blamed him for her current days off.
He shook his head as he waited for the crossing light, already missing her body against his. He went to cross with the light, stopping when a car pulled in front of him. He stared through the tinted windows, not seeing her, but knowing that she was staring at him.
He finally opened the door and got in.
J.D. drove with the traffic. "Captain Colsin is your renegade."
He stared at her warily. He'd thought that himself, but had a hard time believing it. "Reasons?"
She told him about her little meeting with the captain, and he listened without interrupting.
"That really doesn't prove anything beyond that he really doesn't seem to like me."
J.D. pulled over and faced him. "You do leave a rather vivid impression. But..." she exhaled before continuing. "I didn't think of it at the time, but it came at me after you left... one of the first things Captain said to me was: "This thing with his son being threatened has caused his behavior to become unpredictable and erratic."
Francis shrugged. "It did."
She sighed. "You're not listening." She leaned close. "This thing with his son being threatened..."
He stared until he finally clued in, and jerked back as he immediately restrained his anger. "How did he know..." He looked at her.
"I didn't say a word to anyone," she said in a slightly insulted voice. "He has to be involved to know about that."
Francis pinched the bridge of his nose between a finger and thumb. "Okay, yes," he whispered, working it out in his mind. He glanced at her, and gave her the same sort of evaluating stare she had given him in the coffee shop.
"What?"
"Nothing." He shook his head. He sighed, letting tension and ultimate revenge thoughts out of his body.
"Nothing?"
He looked at her again. "What do you want me to say?" he asked gently. "That I'm going to go after the fucker and kill him for threatening my boy? That I'm going to beat him to within an inch of his life to find out how he knew about it? That I'm going to beat him, then kill him for fucking with me?" He shook his head. "I'm no connoisseur of revenge, babe. When I do something it'll be unexpected... for both him and me."
She stared at him, once again wondering how much the captain said was true. "You're absolutely scary at times, you know?" She tried to sound glib, but it came out a little tight.
He frowned. "Sorry," he said softly then laid his head back against the seat. "We can't do anything anyway... official time off means just that. If we do anything, then it could get bounced out of court on a technicality. I'm sure as hall not going to let that happen. Besides, I have copies of everything, so I can work on it later." He looked at her. "What I want to know is if you've been scared off yet?"
"Off of what?"
"Me."
She sighed. "You're sexy, wonderful, sexy, insatiable, sexy...and secretive."
"Sexy?" he smiled. "Okay...since you have a way with words... what secret, that isn't wrapped in so much classified red tape, would you like to know?"
"How did you get the long scar on you back?"
He blinked, not expecting that one. He assumed she would want to know how many women he'd been with, or why he never stuck with one for long, or even something about growing up. He exhaled gently.
She sighed as he hesitated. "Never mind," she said with a fake smile.
"I turned my back on someone I shouldn't have, and ended up paying for my stupidity."
"Ouchie."
"Very." he sighed and tried to put the memory out of his mind. "Now it's your turn to tell a secret."
She looked at his devil smile and swallowed nervously. "Can't divulge," she said as she pulled into traffic, "driving."
He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Since I'm on days off, I need some sack time. Your place is closer."
"Sounds good."
He reached over and put a hand on her leg briefly. "Thanks."
"For?"
"For not running away and screaming when you find something new about me. Even though we've known each other for a long time... it's just... well its different now."
She patted his hand briefly. "I know what you mean. Logically, I should grab you by the balls and kick your ass far away from me, but...hell, what's life without some excitement."
"Romantic," he said dryly.
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
WHAT! This is that last chapter posted! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Damn it. Write more, now please. I'll sit your kids tomorrow so you can write. -
Black leather, oh yeah, my weakness. And Dark-Hunters? My other weakness. Now I have this Ravyn image in my mind for Francis, which I am quite happy to use for the rest of the story, than you very much.
"Francis ground his teeth as he strode straight up the steps and slammed the front door to the courthouse open. " It would be interesting if this was elaborated on....
Moe intrigue and anger. I like it. It's interesting when someone can write inner turmoil and the need to keep it sequestered from everyone else. And the little pieces of everyday life are a great addition (laundry, etc). Kudos, chicklet.
beginning: 4, language: 5, plot: 4, ending: 5, dialog: 4, characters: 5.
-
-
And more description on this one too...
(I'm slowly padding)
-
Adding your comment:
