A/N: I've been going through Haven withdrawl waiting for the new season to start, so I finally put on paper one of the evil little plots that was floating around in my head. This story IS completely written, but I'm still finishing the proofing and editing, as I have no beta, so chapters 2 and 3 will be up by the weekend, I figure.
Disclaimer: As ever, I own nothing, not Haven or it's recognizable characters. I just like to play with them, please don't sue me.
Dark Haven
Reverend Ed Driscoll sat back in his desk chair in the back room of his church. He examined the 40-something man seated across from him through slightly narrowed eyes. Dark hair, dark eyes, several days worth of beard growth on his face, and an overall disheveled appearance - the man looked every inch the thug he was. And that was what the Rev needed. THIS was the man the Rev needed. He took a moment to remind himself that there were times that the ends justify the means.
"We've recently had someone come back to town, someone who is making things difficult," the Rev said, keeping his tone measured and cool. "We want you to make her want to go away."
"So how much do I get paid for this little job?" Darren Locke asked, putting his dirty boots up on the edge of Driscoll's desk and lacing his fingers behind his head, a smirk settling on his features. "If I'm gonna risk getting sent back to jail as soon as I've made parole, it's gotta be worth my while ." The Revs' eyes were drawn to the round tattoo on the inside of the man's' forearm before fixing him with a dark gaze all his own.
"No payment, at least not money," the Rev began, and the man snorted and moved as if to get up and leave, "But generous compensation. You'll make yourself some powerful friends who will owe you a favor." Locke paused, but his feet were now firmly on the floor, hands pushing himself out of his chair. "And the job itself has its own rewards. You'll get revenge on Nathan Wuornos for one." Locke's eyes narrowed and searched Driscoll's face for a moment before settling back in his seat. The Rev smirked and leaned slightly forward. "It's been what, almost 10 years since he sent you away? Tell me you don't want to pay him back the pain he's due?" Darren barked out a laugh.
"I'd love to, too bad he can't feel any of it." Driscoll's eyes grew dark.
"You'd be surprised."
Audrey Parker watched her partner scrub a hand across his face and through his hair. Sometimes she wondered if he put thought into little actions like those, to blend in and seem more normal; like when she'd seen him scratch at his neck, though she knew he felt no itch to prompt the movement. Or if they're reflexes he has from those years before the Troubles stole his sense of touch; automatic movements that he may literally be completely unaware he does. Her hunch is that it's the latter. When Nathan Wuornos looked up from the file in front of him and found her looking at him intently, she quickly shifted her train of thought back to business.
"So I take it nothing helpful in that one either?" she asked.
"Depends how you define helpful. If I wanted to learn more about Haven's offshore marine life, I'd be ahead of the game; but as it pertains to the case, not so much." Nathan exhaled heavily and let his head fall forward onto his crossed arms on the desk.
"It's late, we should head out and come back fresh," Audrey said, stretching her upper body and sighing as she felt her vertebrae pop back to their appropriate positions. "And if I sit any longer, my pants might fuse to the chair." Nathan looked up at that and kept his face straight as he considered her.
"I've got good scissors over here, to cut you out of them, if necessary." He ducked the pencil that flew towards his head. Nathan was thankful for the teasing banter, and he knew Audrey was too. The two of them had been doing their best to keep work and life between them as normal as possible, since the events of the past few weeks.
Audrey and Nathan had both found themselves questioning not only everything around them, but also who they really were. Though everything with the Other Audrey had been kept as quiet as possible, the fallout had shaken Audrey deeply. Nathan had seen in her eyes that part of her wanted to run far and run fast; but she had stayed. And Nathan hadn't even been able to have a proper funeral for the Chief, who was his dad, but not his father… The only thing harder than that was when he and Audrey had gone to Max Hansen's funeral…
As Nathan stood to gather his jacket, he heard the telltale bickering that preceded the Teagues brothers everywhere they went. Sure enough, a moment later, Audrey quirked an eyebrow.
"What are Vince and Dave doing here?" she wondered.
"Maybe they want to do another portrait of you." Audrey shot him a half-hearted dirty look as the brothers rounded the corner.
"Oh thank goodness!" Vince exclaimed as his gaze locked on to the two detectives standing at the door to their office.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Audrey asked. The men seemed worked up, but with Vince and Dave, that never really indicated anything in particular.
"Well, we just thought that we should tell you something," Dave began.
"You mean I thought we should tell him," Vince added.
"See, I was walking down Green Street earlier today…"
"I still don't know why you take that route; it's at least five minutes longer…"
"Yes, well it's good that I did, or else I wouldn't have seen him!"
"But you still wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't…"
"GUYS!" Nathan yelled, cutting them both off. "You STILL haven't said much of anything. Who did you see?" Dave took a deep breath, his eyes flicking back and forth between the three others around him.
"Darren Locke."
"Who's Darren Locke?" Audrey asked, taking in the suddenly stony set of Nathan's jaw.
"Bad news. All right, Vince, Dave. Thanks for the heads up." The brothers nodded and turned to leave, snippets of their whispered conversation trailing them till the door closed behind them.
When Nathan silently grabbed his jacket, Audrey followed suit. She'd seen him in this mode before, and she figured that since he hadn't immediately gone to his desk or to get any files, he was on his way to go DO something about this apparently disturbing news. Trying to ask about it when his already long strides were at 'determined' pace only ever led to half-winded conversations, so she decided to wait and get the info out of him once they were in the Bronco.
"Where are we going?" she asked as they pulled away from the station.
"The Gull." When no further information seemed to be forthcoming, Audrey sighed.
"Okay, enough of the Captain Monosyllable routine. Are you going to tell me who this guy is, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Nathan glanced over at his partner, and the glint in her eye cracked through his defenses once again, and he softened ever so slightly.
"Darren Locke is a rapist I arrested about… ten or eleven years ago. For a year, everyone in Haven, especially the women, lived in fear. This is a small town, and by the time I got him, he'd attacked a dozen women. Everyone knew at least one of the victims." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. Audrey was quiet for a moment, absorbing the information.
"How many did you know?" she asked quietly.
"Personally? Only one. But I interviewed them all, half of them while they were in the hospital. And each time I could see it in their eyes, that if I had caught the bastard already, this wouldn't have happened to them."
"Nathan – ," Audrey was about to argue that it wasn't his fault, but he knew what she was thinking, and cut her off.
"Either way, if he's back in Haven, everyone needs to know. Fastest way to get the word out is have Duke and his bartenders spread the word on a busy Friday night. By tomorrow morning, everyone in town will know to be on their guard." Audrey nodded silent agreement.
Since Nathan had told her that he could feel her touch, she'd taken to using contact to emphasize important points. She found he never failed to stop and look at her when she did. So now, as they pulled up to The Gray Gull and Nathan threw the car into park, Audrey reached over and grabbed his hand. He turned and met her gaze.
"It's going to be okay. You and me? We are not gonna let this guy hurt anyone." A ghost of a smile crossed his face, but didn't make it to his eyes.
"Let's go."
They made their way inside and navigated through the crowd until they got to the bar, where Duke Crocker was having a loud, animated conversation with several of his patrons. He spied Audrey and Nathan approaching, and greeted them with a very loud "Well hello there officers!"
"Hey Duke," Audrey said, "Can we have a minute? This isn't a social call." Duke's tone remained light, though his expression became guarded, especially when he noticed the coldness in Nathan's eyes.
"Well I certainly hope that you're not going to start threatening to arrest me again, especially since I haven't done anything wrong…"
"Not about you Duke, we just need your help, and it won't take a lot of effort on your part," Audrey soothed as best she could. Even after she'd spoken to him the other week, shared her discoveries about Lucy, she still felt that Duke's behavior had been off lately; but she didn't have time to deal with it right now. She made a mental note to check in with him when more pressing matters weren't more pressing.
The three of them came around towards the kitchen. Nathan locked eyes with Duke and simply said "Darren Locke is back in town."
"Shit, since when?"
"He was seen earlier today, that's all I know. Just spread the word, tell your bartenders to do the same. Don't let the ladies walk to their cars alone, and don't let the really drunk ones walk out with only one friend."
"Hey, I'll do my best, but I can't watch everyone in here." Nathan didn't say anything, just kept his cold eyes on Duke. "I said, I'll do my best. Natalie was my friend too, Nate. I don't want that sonofabitch anywhere around here, don't want…" but Nathan had already started to walk away, badge out, presumably to start talking to the patrons who were still sober enough to understand.
"Who's Natalie?" Audrey asked. Duke looked back and forth between Parker and Nathan's retreating back for a moment, weighing his response. "She was one of the victims, I'm guessing?"
"Yea. Natalie Shaw. She was one of the last few who were attacked. She went to high school with me and Nathan, he dated her for a while. When she got attacked, I got the impression that Nathan thought that Locke had gone after her on purpose, to get at him. Of course, Nathan and I were decidedly NOT speaking at that time, so that's third-hand information." Audrey drew a deep breath.
"Thanks Duke." She turned to find Nathan, but stopped and turned back to the smuggler. "Look, I know we've all been busy lately, but I want to talk to you when things aren't so crazy." He gave a tired smile.
"This is Haven. Things are always crazy."
"Fair enough. Less dangerously crazy." He nodded and watched her walk away through the crowd. Shaking his head, he went over to give his bartenders the news about Darren Locke.
When Audrey and Nathan finally pulled out of the parking lot of The Gray Gull, it was close to midnight, and Audrey tried to stifle her third yawn in ten minutes. "I cannot wait to get some sleep," she muttered as she stretched her arms.
"Speaking of which… I want you to spend the night at my place tonight, Parker." Suddenly, Audrey was wide awake.
"Excuse me?" she asked, completely thrown for a loop. For a moment, Nathan sputtered before regaining his composure.
"No, nothing like – I have a guest room, and you don't at your place, and I just don't want you alone tonight, with Locke around." Audrey felt warm inside that he was so concerned, but couldn't hold back a small laugh either.
"I think I'll be fine on my own. I'm armed and dangerous, you know." Nathan didn't seem convinced.
"I assume Duke told you about Natalie."
"He told me that you and she dated in high school, and that years later she was one of Locke's victims." Nathans eyes remain fixed on the road.
"When I spoke to her at the hospital, she told me that the only thing he'd said to her was 'Say hi to your boyfriend for me'."
"Shit. But still…"
"She wasn't dating anyone at the time she was attacked. It was common knowledge that I was on the case. Look, I'm not going to argue this point; he's already hurt one person because he wanted to taunt me, and I'll be damned if I let it happen to you." Audrey was struck silent for a moment. The weight that Nathan carried from this case was starting to feel heavy to her as well as her heart went out to her partner. But she was still not big on Nathan's plan.
"How about this," she said after a few more moments of thought. "You drop me off at my place, you can come in and clear it if it makes you feel better, make sure all the windows are locked, and I'll bolt the door behind you when you go." Nathan considered her idea in silence, and when he took the left towards the bed and breakfast, Audrey knew he'd relented.
As they walked up to her door, Audrey was only half surprised that he'd actually insisted on checking inside. This Locke had really gotten under Nathan's skin; but as Audrey was learning, when you were a cop in a small town, most cases were at least a little personal… and there were some that went above and beyond. As Nathan stalked around her space, checking that each window locked securely, Audrey actually started to feel uneasy; but she shoved the feeling aside, determined that this man she'd never met was not going to dictate how she felt. As it looked like Nathan was about to start double checking the windows again, Audrey sighed and grabbed him by the arm and steered him to sit on the edge of her bed. When she looked in his eyes this time, they had lost much of their ice, but the haunted look that replaced it bothered her even more.
"This guy really got to you, didn't he?" she asked softly. Nathan broke the gaze and exhaled heavily.
"I wasn't the only cop working the case, but I was in charge of interviewing the victims. I had to make them relive everything, in the hopes that it would help catch the bastard… and then a few weeks later, do it all over again with the next victim. Some of them he'd beaten so badly that it took months for their injuries to heal. I think one woman has a permanent limp because her cut her leg so deeply. And then with Natalie…" he trailed off, unwilling or unable to complete the thought.
"What happened?" Nathan tried to tell her, tried to get the words out, but they stuck in his throat. How badly Natalie had been beaten up, the tears streaked down her face, the way she couldn't look him in the eye. When Audrey just kept waiting for him to answer, he stared at the floor and settled for fragmented sentences, half thoughts and images that, though over a decade old, were as vivid and nauseating as they were on day one. As he described how broken Natalie's voice had been, the blood that had been everywhere, the weight of responsibility that he had felt crushing his insides, the term 'vicarious trauma' flitted through Audrey's awareness, from some psych class she had taken at some point. As he told her how Natalie had been so terrified, so ashamed, that she had up and left Haven two months after the attack and had never come back, she felt frustration rolling off of him in waves. When it became apparent he had no more words, Audrey laid her hand on the side of his face and turned his head so he was facing her. For Nathan, the warmth of her touch pulled him back to the present, and he let his world narrow down to that patch of skin.
"So what happened when you finally caught him?" At that, Nathan actually gave a half smile that almost made it to his eyes.
"I tracked him down to an old storehouse by the harbor. Backup was on the way, and I went in to get him. He broke my arm with a 2x4. I still remember the look on his face when it didn't slow me down. Though, it did make cuffing him awkward. So I had to really kneel on the back of his neck to make sure he didn't squirm free." Audrey nodded, her thumb absently stroking Nathan's cheek. There was a moment of silence, then Nathan stood quickly, clearing his throat. "I'll let you get some rest." Audrey stood as well, following him to the door.
"Ok. Good night, Nathan."
"I'll see you in the morning, Parker. Close all your blinds, I don't want anyone looking in. And you had better bolt this door, and don't open it till I'm knocking." Audrey sighed and shook her head.
"You know there's not much we can do at this point with all this. Even if he's standing right outside the police station in the morning, we can't just arrest him."
"I know. But at least we can get pancakes." Audrey smiled; THERE was the Nathan who'd been MIA since the name Darren Locke had come out of Dave's mouth. She didn't even think before her arms were around his neck and it felt as though she were trying to send him peace of mind through osmosis. Maybe even absorb a little comfort for herself as well. A heartbeat later, he was hugging her back, and then the moment passed and they were backing away from each other. Nathan smiled at her, and this time it really did reach his eyes. He turned and walked back to his truck as Audrey closed her door and latched the bolt.
Though Nathan was distracted by the jumble of warm thoughts and sensations that had flooded through him – Audrey's cheek pressed next to his, his arms around her waist – he couldn't have noticed the dark shape nearby. Though Audrey had let her guard down more than she ever felt comfortable doing, because it was just NATHAN, even her honed senses and instincts would have missed the barest rustle of movement. Neither of them could have seen the dark eyes watching them from the brush opposite the parking lot.
