Disclaimer: Don't own Automan. (Boy do I wish I did, though! ) Don't own Tron, either. (Any "Tron"-like elements are a part of my very overactive imagination. ) For rest of my disclaimer see chapter one.
Ch. 11--Premature Celebration
After Wally had taken Terri back to her apartment, he headed for his own apartment. He was glad he didn't have to work today, although there was always the possibility of him being called in. (Being LAPD's only computer expert really had its disadvantages at times.) He was worn out from being up for almost 24 hours straight trying to combat that virus--not counting however long he had been "recharging" while in Auto's world--and was looking forward to getting to bed.
Reflecting on his victory over the virus brought a triumphant smile to his face. He and Terri had did it! Auto was cured! As he pulled into his usual parking spot, he deemed his recent victory a call for celebration. Maybe he'd ask Roxanne out on a date--if she wasn't too swamped at work. But much later. He really wanted to get some sleep first.
Later that evening, Wally called Roxanne at work knowing her shift was almost over. He heard her answer the phone, "LAPD. Officer Caldwell."
"Hi, love," he replied. He smiled upon hearing her voice--the same sweet voice he'd woken up to in the hospital one month ago.
"Hi, Wally," she said pleasantly surprised. "Is anything wrong?" she asked a bit concerned. He usually didn't call her at work unless it was work related.
"Oh, no. Everything's fine. Now." Roxanne could hear the happiness in his voice. "I just feel like celebrating. Want to go to the movies and then for a bite to eat tonight?"
"Celebrating?" asked Roxanne confused. She was taken aback by his straightforwardness. Something had him in a good mood.
"Yeah, I've just had some major developments in the case."
"Speaking of the case, how's you-know-who?" She slightly surprised herself that she was so concerned about Automan.
"Great! In fact, he's part of the reason I want to celebrate. I was able to defeat the virus Tilson had infected him with. He's back to his 'normal' self again."
"That's great, Wally!" Then, she remembered he had said something about 'developments in the case'. "What developments in the case?"
"How about I tell you over dinner right after a movie? What do you say, love?" he asked.
"Sure," she replied intrigued. "but could you pick me up at my apartment? I want to go home first and change out of my work clothes and into something a bit more casual."
"Okay. About what time?"
Roxanne looked at the clock on the wall. It said 5:50. Her shift ended at 6:00. "Pick me up at 7:30?"
"Sure. See you then." Wally hung up the phone. He took a quick shower, shaved and went to the closet in his bedroom pulling out a white striped shirt and black slacks. He got dressed all the while debating on which movie to take her to and where to go to eat. He didn't want to take her to a horror, gory movie. She may not want to eat after seeing one of those. He also didn't want to take her to a sappy, romantic movie. He wasn't really into those type of movies. He decided to take her to some action/adventure movie. He opted to take her to a steak house not too far from the movie theater they liked going to. He called the restaurant and quickly made a reservation for two under his name.
He, then, figured they'd head to his place for some champagne the captain had given him for the Innes case he solved over a year ago. She liked going to his place. Satisfied with his plans for the night, he looked at the clock. It said 7:15. If he left now, he'd be able to get to her place in time. He grabbed his jacket and car keys heading out of the apartment.
Fifteen minutes later, Wally pulled up to Roxanne's apartment complex. He got out of the car and walked towards the front door. She was coming out of the front door to meet him. He stopped and stared at her entranced taking in her exquisite appearance as she approached him. Her beautiful blond hair was pinned up accentuating her lovely face. Makeup lightly adorned her face nicely bringing out her natural beauty. She smiled at him as she came closer. He took a deep breath inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume wafting towards him as she came nearer. She was wearing her gray jacket, a simple blue pull-over blouse with fringe along the collar with a low neckline exposing her smooth neck and white slacks that perfectly highlighted her curves nicely.
When she reached him, she put her arms around his neck and gave him a quick, yet passionate, kiss on the lips pressing him to her. Surprised at first, he accepted, then savored it. When she released him, he was a little breathless. "Nice to see you, too," he panted with a pleased smile. "You look beautiful," he said softly.
Her cheeks flushed as she smiled and slipped her arm around his bicep leading him back to his car. They got into the car, and he drove them to their favorite movie theater. The parking lot was pretty full and finding a place to park proved to be a challenge for Wally. He finally found a spot further away from the door than he would have liked but silently shrugged it off. It would give him a chance to hold her close to him while they walked to the entrance. He quickly parked, and they both got out. He came around to her side. Her left hand immediately slid into his right hand as they walked to the entrance together. He paid for the tickets and got them a soda and some popcorn to share. They quickly found a seat in the designated theater.
He was glad he had chosen the type of movie he had. Roxanne had sat on his right side and he had his right arm across her shoulders. Whenever Roxanne got scared, she would cuddle closer to him. She would also nestle closer to him during any emotional scenes as well.
Two and a half hours later, they were walking back to his car. Wally had his left arm across her shoulders and she had her right arm around his waist with her head gently resting on his left shoulder. She was a bit drained from work but was enjoying the rare night alone with Wally. His busy and sometimes unpredictable schedule left very few chances for them to spend time alone together. She was enjoying being this close to him without their whole attention being consumed over a case for once. When they reached the car, he opened the door for her. She climbed in. He closed the door, headed for the driver's side and got in. He drove them to a steakhouse not that far from the theatre.
Roxanne recognized the restaurant as one they had been to once or twice before. She remembered the food being very good and silently approved of Wally's choice. He pulled into the parking lot quickly finding a place to park. They got out of the car and headed for the entrance hand-in-hand. They walked up to the maitre'd, and Wally said, "Reservation for two for 'Walter Nebicher'." The maitre'd looked at the list and found Wally's name. He guided them to a table.
After they sat down, a waiter came over and took their drink order. Roxanne ordered a merlot and Wally ordered a Chivas. The drinks arrived quickly and they sat in silence for a while. Roxanne twirled the stem of her drink lost in thought. She didn't want to talk shop, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. Roxanne looked up to him breaking the silence between them. "So, what are these new developments you said you have in the case?"
"I can prove beyond a doubt that Tilson's behind the sabotage and the virus that infected Automan."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I just called the forensics lab. They found Tilson's fingerprints on the fragments I sent down two days ago to be tested."
"How would you be able to--" She paused as a waiter came with menus.
Wally ordered the rib-eye and Roxanne ordered the chef salad. The waiter took their menus and disappeared into the swarm of other waiters.
"How would you be able to prove that Tilson's behind infecting Automan?" asked Roxanne again when she was certain they wouldn't be overheard. She felt a bit self-conscious saying Automan's real name out in the open, but there wasn't anybody around them close enough to overhear them.
"Auto, a friend, and I were able to study the code and connect the way the virus was programmed back to Tilson's style of programming. Sort of like a 'programmer's signature'."
"Okay, you can prove Tilson's behind the tampering and infecting Automan, but how are you going to catch him, love? He's not exactly going to just come in to the station and give himself up."
"I'm not sure," replied Wally a little frustrated. That same question had been gnawing at him for some time now.
Seeing his frustration, she let the topic drop for the time being, and they talked about more uplifting topics. Their meal soon arrived and they ate in companionable silence.
When they finished eating, Wally had suggested they go back to his place for some champagne. Roxanne agreed. She enjoyed going to Wally's apartment. It was a 'safe' environment for him and she found she could easily get as close to him as she wanted.
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on Wally's couch in his living room. Soft rock music faintly played in the background. Two half empty shot glasses and Roxanne's purse sat on the coffee table in front on them. He had his right arm draped across the back of the couch. She nestled closer to his right side feeling extremely relaxed and comfortable. She shifted position so she was facing him and kissed him passionately almost with a sudden desire. He leaned into the kiss, all of his senses filling with the smell and feel and taste of her.
She pulled away from him and got up off of the couch. She reached up into her hair pulling out the pin. Her hair came down in a soft cloud of gold. She laid the pin on the coffee table and turned to him extending her hands towards him. He reached out his hands intertwining them with hers and got up as he felt her gently urge him off of the couch. Confused as to what she wanted to do, he obediently followed. Within moments, he realized she was leading him to his bedroom. A smile broke out on his face.
Once in the bedroom, she turned to him kissing and groping him. He had never been so out of control in his life, all his senses filled with the smell and feel and taste of her as he matched her move for move. They quickly removed their socks and shoes. Her mouth explored every aspect of his as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt pulling it free of his slacks. She let her mouth explore lower kissing him on the neck near his earlobes causing him to moan in pleasure. She gently caressed each of his shoulders as she helped him shrug off his shirt; her mouth gently probing the bullet scar on his left shoulder.
His hands explored under her blouse. He gently lifted her blouse over her head and muzzled her shoulders. He reached behind her quickly undoing her bra. He started kissing her on her neck near her earlobes causing her to moan in pleasure before letting his mouth travel lower as he explored every aspect of her bosom.
Before long, her bra was lying on top of her blouse on the floor. She let out soft moans of pleasure as his tongue explored first one nipple then the other. She reached for his belt buckle. He reluctantly let go of her to help her unbuckle the belt buckle. Once the belt buckle was undone, she whipped off the belt. He pulled away startled but quickly realized she hadn't harmed him.
She smiled tossing his belt aside and pulled him closer. Her hands reached into his pants caressing each cheek as she helped him shrug them off. He had his hands in her pants as he helped her shrug off her pants. She started kissing his neck progressing down through his chest hair. She gently rubbed his chest progressing lower. He let out soft moans of pleasure as she paused licking at each nipple. She went lower kissing around his belly button enjoying the soft moans of pleasure she was again able to elicit from him. Her hands reached into his shorts gently stroking first his right nut then his left nut. He emitted a soft groan of rising ecstasy. She quickly pulled the shorts to his ankles, and he stepped out of them. She kissed his inside hips rising higher until just before she reached his pelvic area. She gently fondled his penis as she brought her mouth closer to the tip of his penis. She explored the tip of his penis with her tongue for a few seconds before suddenly taking his entire penis in her mouth as far up the shaft as she could before gagging.
His moans turned into a startled cry of pleasure when he felt his penis suddenly encircled with the hot, moist cavern of her mouth. The moisture left his penis as quickly as it had encircled his penis. He looked down into her worried brown eyes.
"Are you okay?" she worriedly asked fearing that she had somehow hurt him.
"Yes," he nodded, panting, still aroused. "I'm fine." God, how he wanted her to continue with what she had been doing. He paused for a second before finally admitting, "That felt very, very, very good."
She grinned before again taking the shaft of his penis in her mouth as far up the shaft as she could. She heard him stifle another startled cry of pleasure. He arched his hips towards the warmth wanting more. She started sucking his penis for a short while enjoying the utter ecstasy her actions were creating in him. As soon as she realized she had managed to completely work him up, she released his penis and stood. He reached into her panties gently stroking her vagina. She spread her legs to allow him easier access moaning in rising ecstasy moving with each stroke as his gentle fondling made her wetter. He quickly helped her out of her panties. He guided her to his bed gently groping each part of her body as he tenderly lowered her to the bed laying her on her back.
A soft moan escaped her throat as he kissed her neck by her earlobes again. She rubbed his lower back by the coccyx area and he arched his back in pleasure. Her hands explored lower rubbing each buttock cheek in gentle circular strokes again causing him to arch his back in pleasure.
He let his mouth again explore lower as he again muzzled each of her shoulders. He rubbed first one breast then the other enjoying the soft murmurs of pleasure he was able to elicit from her. He created a trail of kisses down her chest. She moaned in pleasure as he paused around her belly button kissing as much of the area as he could.
She spread her legs as he got lower. Teasingly, he skipped over her pelvic area gently nuzzling her inside thighs. He kissed and licked her inside hips leaving a thin trail of evaporating saliva on her inside hips as he slowly rose higher to her vagina. His tongue explored every aspect of her labia working from the outside inward. She raised her hips forcing her vagina closer to the warmth moaning in rising ecstasy, not want wanting him to stop. He sucked on her clitoris for a short while enjoying the moans of rising ecstasy he was eliciting from her.
He let his mouth trail upwards to her mouth. He devoured her mouth with his as he moved into her penetrating her easily, wanting her, needing her, needing her now with a desperation he never knew he could feel. Before long they were moving together as if they'd been doing it all their lives.
And then it happened and he became a living breathing part of her. He heard her cry out his name as he gasped something incoherently in her ear. He gave out one final shout and then his arms went around her and held her trembling, sweat-soaked body tight against him.
Roxanne reached up and touched his face in wonder, gently wrapping a small curl of his dark, sweat-dampened hair where it had fallen over his forehead around her finger. He stared down at her, his expression tortured with guilt at his loss of control. "Roxanne…"
"Ssshhh." She pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him.
He groaned deeply into her mouth, his hands coming up to caress her head, winding her thick honey gold hair around his fingers. When Roxanne looked into his eyes again, the fire was back. "Don't stop," she whispered, wanting him with a fierceness that made her body shake. "Never stop."
They made love until exhaustion forced them to stop, and even then they couldn't bear to stop touching each other, still holding and stroking and kissing even though they no longer had the strength to go further. Slowly, gradually, they became still and drifted off in each other's arms, Wally holding her tightly to him as though his life would end if he couldn't feel every inch of her body against his skin.
Roxanne awoke to the dawn light slowly filtering into the room. Her right arm lay partially under his body, partially under his pillow asleep from the weight of his body and head. His left arm was wrapped loosely under her pillow and neck. She lay gazing at his still sleeping face. He looked so innocent and peaceful, his body nestled close to hers. Her legs had become intertwined with his. Her left arm lay over his waist with his right arm resting over her left arm and waist. Still a little spent from the wonderful night before, she fell into a light doze snuggling as close to him as she could without waking him.
Ten minutes later, Wally woke to the increasing daylight slowly lighting his room. A slow, content smile spread over his face as he felt Roxanne's body pressed up against his and he remembered the extraordinary night. He quickly and carefully looked to his alarm clock. It said 5:30 am. He gazed down at her sleeping face. She was so beautiful--a sleeping angel, curled up against him, her head lay resting in the crook of his left shoulder, honey gold hair streaming over his chest, shoulder and arm. Her right arm lay partially under his body, partially under his pillow probably asleep from the weight of his body and head. His left arm was wrapped loosely under her pillow and neck. Her left arm lay over his waist with his right arm resting over her left arm and waist. He leaned down and gently kissed her exposed neck and shoulder. She smiled and let out a contented sigh before opening her gorgeous brown eyes and looked at him. "Good morning," he gently said.
"Good morning," she replied just as gently. He leaned down and passionately kissed her on the lips as he gently traced his right hand along her spine. She readily returned the kiss subtly arching her back in pleasure. She stroked his back quickly finding the erogenous zone near his lower coccyx and messaged it watching as he groaned with pleasure arching his back.
He rolled her onto her back his mouth exploring lower as he created a trail of kisses down her chest. He stopped first at her right breast caressing it with his hand as he explored the nipple with his tongue. She moaned in rising pleasure. He did the same with the left breast again eliciting moans of pleasure from her. She spread her legs inviting him in. Using the tip of his penis, he teasingly traced the inside of her labia causing both of their bodies to quiver with anticipation. No longer able to hold back his desire, he accepted the invitation penetrating her easily. They moved with practiced ease; her hips moving to meet his every downward thrust forcing him into her as far as he could go. Before long, he heard her cry out in ecstasy shortly before he shouted out in rapture himself. He was about to pull out of her when he heard her softly say, "Wait. Don't." He stopped vaguely wondering why. He quickly realized why when he felt her gently massaging his penis with her conscious, mild contractions and expansions of her vaginal muscles. He let out intensifying groans of rising pleasure. Before long, he was hard again, and they again moved with practiced ease; her hips moving to meet his every downward thrust again forcing him into her as far as he could go. He had a renewed fire in his eyes, wanting to hear her cry out his name in sheer ecstasy, wanting her with an intensity he had never known before. And then it happened and he again became a living breathing part of her. He heard her cry out his name as he gasped something incoherently in her ear. He gave out one final shout before collapsing next to her, exhausted. Despite his fatigue, he still gently kissed her on the mouth, neck and shoulders. Slowly, gradually, they became still again drifting off in each other's arms.
About five hours later, Roxanne awoke with a slight start. 'What time is it?' she wondered. She carefully looked around his room until she spotted his alarm clock. The face read 12:30 pm. They had to get ready for work. Reluctant to get up right away, she lay gazing at his still sleeping face. He looked so innocent and peaceful, his body nestled close to hers. Her legs had again become intertwined with his. Her right arm lay partially under his body, partially under his pillow asleep from the weight of his body and head. His left arm was wrapped loosely under her pillow and neck. Her left arm lay over his waist with his right arm resting over her left arm and waist. She knew now, had known ever since that sudden, blinding moment that was their first kiss, that she was hopelessly and irrevocably in love with him.
She carefully extricated herself from his tender embrace bending down to kiss his forehead very, very gently. She went into his bathroom starting the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, Wally woke realizing he no longer felt Roxanne's body next to him. He felt the pillow next to him thinking maybe she had just moved a little further away from him. When he didn't feel her next to him at all, he rolled onto his back listening to the noises in his apartment. He heard the shower running. He got up as he heard the water shut off and saw the door start to open.
Roxanne came back into Wally's room; a burgundy towel wrapped around her body and a blue towel wrapped around her head. Wally came up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her towards him feeling her lean against him as he kissed her exposed neck, back, and shoulders enjoying the small moans of pleasure he was eliciting from her before reaching playfully to tug on the towel around her body. She danced out of his reach when she saw him seeking to remove the towel. As he came closer, she sidestepped behind him gently shoving him towards the bathroom door. "Get ready," she tenderly told him with amusement in her voice. "We have to get to work soon and you need to take me home first. I need to change into something more appropriate for work." Knowing he would lose the argument with her, he let her guide him into the bathroom before shutting the door behind him.
Roxanne heard the shower run as she quickly gathered up her clothing from the night before and got dressed. She went into the living room and grabbed her hair clip off of the coffee table. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to tame it into something more presentable before quickly using the pin to put up her hair. She went to his kitchenette and opened up his refrigerator with the intention of cooking them both a quick breakfast while he got dressed. She only saw partially emptied take out containers, soda bottles, and a few beer bottles. She didn't want to chance the take-out having no idea how long he had them in the refrigerator.
Wally came out of the bedroom dressed in a white shirt, his favorite pinstriped black tie, and a light gray business suit jacket over black slacks as well as socks and shoes. He went into the living room looking for Roxanne, but she wasn't there. He ventured into his kitchenette to find her disapprovingly examining the contents of his refrigerator. He came up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist pressing her to him. He kissed the exposed part of the back of her neck before saying, "You won't find anything in there."
"Yeah," she replied. "I realize that now." She leaned into his embrace before saying, "Why don't I take us both out to eat for breakfast? You can drop me off at my house afterwards."
"Okay." He released her when he felt her gently pull out of his embrace. She walked back into his living room picking up her purse off of the coffee table. He followed her out of the kitchenette, and they walked out of his apartment to his car.
He drove them to a nearby diner he knew served breakfast all day. They quickly ordered and were served rather promptly. They swiftly ate knowing they didn't have much time to get to the precinct.
He drove her to her apartment complex and got out coming around to her side of the car to help her out. He walked her to the entrance of her apartment complex. Before going into the building, she turned to him with worry.
"What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed her troubled look.
"I was just thinking about the case." She paused before continuing uneasily, "Wally, Tilson's still lurking out there. He'll attack you and Automan the first chance he gets, and I can't stand the thought of him hurting either of you again. You and Automan have had too many close calls already; he nearly succeeded in killing both you and Automan twice now." Her mind flashed back to one month ago. She still had recurring nightmares of seeing Automan carrying Wally, who had been unconscious and suffering from severe hypovolemic shock, out of that old office building and the first time she saw him in the ICU. Her apprehension apparent on her face as she thought of what could have happened to him and might still happen to him if they don't stop Tilson soon. She continued, "We have to find a way to stop Tilson. You two might not be so lucky the next time."
He pulled her into a hug gently stroking her hair when he saw her increasing agitation. "It's okay. We'll get him, love. He won't be free for long," he soothingly said to her. 'Yeah, but how? He's been able to elude us for a whole month now,' he silently added to himself with renewed frustration at not being able to find an answer to that problem yet.
Seeing his frustration, she reached up gently stroking his cheek in an attempt to ease his irritation before giving him a quick kiss. She pulled away and said, "I know. I just hope it's before Tilson has a chance to strike again." She took a quick look at her watch. Realizing the time, she said "You'd better get to the station. I'll meet you there." She gave him a departing kiss on the lips before saying, "I'm just glad you weren't seriously hurt from Tilson's recent ruse with the computer console."
Wally watched as she walked into the apartment complex and out of sight. Her last statement sticking in his mind: "weren't seriously hurt from Tilson's recent ruse with the computer console." 'Instead of trying to track down Tilson, what if we could get him to come to us?' thought Wally. 'What if we could somehow play a ruse on Tilson?' As he walked back to the car, an idea started forming in his mind on how to stop Tilson.