The Moving Finger Writes
Whatever one does in one's life is one's own responsibility and cannot be changed.
Notes: Please note that this story runs parallel to xRae Asakurax story New Recruit. Reading that before or during this would be good! I will make notes when her chapters directly tie into mine. There was also an alternative title to this story for a long time, but I decided in the end it didn't lend itself to the serious nature of the fic:
The Law Is An Ass
Said of the application of the law that is contrary to common sense. This proverbial expression is of English origin and the ass being referred to here is the English colloquial name for a donkey, not the American 'ass', which we will leave behind us at this point. Donkeys have a, somewhat unjustified reputation for obstinance and stupidity that has given us the adjective 'asinine'. It is the stupidly rigid application of the law that this phrase calls into question.
Warnings: Dead bodies, injuries, blood, violence, acts of intimacy, depression.
Chapter 1 – Wayfaring Strangers
Heath stepped into the small pub bar located halfway between the precinct and his home, in need of a drink tonight. Few members of the force came here, so he wasn't likely to bump into any colleagues, which was just fine by his reckoning. The place was tiny, squashed between a sports clothes outlet and a cheap carpet store. Barely anyone came here: It was more by word of mouth or sheer luck to stumble across it. Dark wood panelling covered the walls, lit by wall mounted lights, shaded by coloured glass. A long wooden bar spanned one side of the single room, a mirror behind it to double the appearance of the pub's size. Heath knew it was kept and run in a traditional Irish way and that no one bothered anyone else here. The patrons were quiet, keeping to themselves.
The place was hushed, but not sombre, and that often persuaded loud groups of partiers not to stay. The regulars didn't have to do anything and the atmosphere was never unwelcoming, it just wasn't right for them to stay. He nodded at the bar man as he made his way to an empty barstool and his beer wasn't long in appearing before him. The pub was mostly empty, with only one other man sitting at the bar, right next to Heath's preferred spot where he could see the door without turning. The cop in him demanded it.
Having unexpected, close company made him study the man sitting next to him, especially since one run through his mental catalogue told Heath he'd never seen him in here before. The lengthy, dark blue trench coat hung off his tall, lean frame, elegantly framing him and his stool. His long legs were folded up under him and he was leaning his elbows on the bar as he stared into his drink. Black hair with vivid blue streaks shone in the lights hanging over head.
"You going to stare at me all night?" the man in question turned his head to face Heath.
"Sorry, haven't seen you in here before."
"Looked like somewhere I could get a quiet drink."
Heath nodded, rubbing a finger through the condensation on his glass, "Yeah. One of those days huh?"
"Boss yelled at pretty much everyone," the other man snorted, taking a swig of his liquor. "Nothing new there."
"So you're out drinking alone?"
The other man's lips quirked in the briefest of grins, "I could say the same thing to you."
Heath smiled, shrugging, "Sometimes you've got to have your own space."
The other man made a noise of agreement before he finished his drink. With one finger he shoved it across the bar's surface towards the bar tender, who gave him a steady look and got a firm nod in return. After his lowball glass was filled the blue haired man hooked his drink back to him. Heath, thinking that was it for conversation, took a swallow of his own beer.
"Thane."
"Sorry?" Heath blinked at the man.
"That's my name."
"I'm Heath. Nice to meet you Thane," the smaller man raised his beer.
A proper grin spread across Thane's lips as he clinked his glass against Heath's. Both of them had another mouthful, though Thane downed considerably more of his.
"So why are you out drinking alone then?"
Heath shrugged, "Not sure. Been a good day, really. Helped track down some problems, got them sorted. Just felt like some me time."
Thane nodded and both of them fell into silence, though it didn't feel strained and it lasted until Heath had just about finished his beer. The taller man had gotten through two more glasses in that time and Heath had to admit he hadn't expected Thane to be able to hold his drink as well as he was, for such a slimly built man. Heath had a lot more bulk on him and was no slouch at drinking if it came to it.
"Stay," Thane said suddenly. Heath stared at him for a confused minute and the other man continued. "I'll buy you another beer if you'll keep me company for a little longer."
"I've got an early shift tomorrow…" Heath frowned.
"One more won't hurt," Thane looked over at him.
"I haven't exactly been stimulating company," the detective shook his head.
"You've been quiet and that's what I came here for," Thane sat up a little straighter, dropping his elbows off the bar as he turned to face Heath. "And drinking with a good looking man for company never hurt anyone."
Heath let out a loud snort, making the bar tender glance at him momentarily, "That might work from my perspective, but not from yours. I'm too rough around the edges to be good looking."
"That's your opinion," the blue haired man returned, eyes glancing up and down Heath, who felt a little pleased at being noticed for once. Most of the men he worked with were attractive, much more so than he was, so generally they got all the attention, though that didn't bother Heath all that much.
Thane smirked when he provoked the delighted smile from his drinking companion before signalling for another beer for Heath. Heath reacted like no one ever called him attractive and, granted, he wasn't handsome in the traditional sense. His hair was perhaps overdue for a cut, hanging haphazardly around his face and there was a haze of stubble showing on his jaw. Thane stood nearly a head taller, he estimated, as he hadn't been standing when Heath walked in, which made him a little shorter than average, but that wasn't an issue to him. There was solid bulk over his shoulders, the khaki green jacket pulling over Heath's biceps and across his back, with rest of his body following a similar vein.
Careless flirting came easily after a few drinks, but Thane never really bothered to follow it through. He had too much hanging over his head for anyone to find out what he did, so a quick, meaningless one night stand was all he could ever afford and those never satisfied him. Heath didn't seem inclined to push for more either. He responded well to Thane, even if he didn't continue the flirting when the taller man stopped, but neither had he decked him.
"Alright, one more."
Thane smiled, gesturing at Heath's empty pint glass when he had the bartender's attention, and the olive haired man returned it when he raised his beer at Thane in thanks. Someone came through the door about then and neither man missed the way the other's eyes rose to the mirror to check them out. Their eyes met in the mirror, blue to mahogany and Thane couldn't help the grin, strangely pleased that Heath was as aware of his surroundings as he was. Heath dropped his eyes first, a small smile playing around his own mouth as he raised the glass to his lips.
It was like that, on and off for weeks. Sometimes Heath sat alone, like he had before Thane had appeared in his life and sometimes the bar man told him how Thane had been in here alone. Some nights they sat in silence, some nights they talked and Heath discovered whilst they barely had anything in common, they got on well. Neither of them ever mentioned work specifics, an unvoiced agreement between them, but that seemed to suit their relationship.
Eventually Thane got Heath's number out of him, saying they needed to at least sometimes co-ordinate this drinking lark and the shorter man remembered that first night when Thane had flirted with him. It didn't hurt to give the striking man a way to contact him, not in the slightest and at first Thane didn't bother him with calls and texts, just one every couple of weeks to ask if he was free that evening. He wasn't always, and that never seemed to bother the other man, but gradually Heath found himself wanting to make time for Thane and would let him know his plans if he had any.
xxx
Thane shut the door of his apartment, eyes casting around carefully even though he acted casual. It had been a while since he'd found any bugs in his home, courtesy of Samuel and he suspected a visit was overdue. He strolled around the apartment, dumping his keys on the counter, flicking on the TV for background noise and leaving the manila folder on the table. That was the reason he was looking for spying equipment. He could work around audio transmission but if anything was sending back a visual feed, then it would have to go. Samuel knew he actively looked for them but Thane did this at least three times a week so that on the days he actually needed the privacy it wouldn't look out of place. What was in that folder couldn't get back to Morgan and anything Samuel saw he would report. His loyalty was unwavering.
In the end he found two bugs; one in his bedroom, worked into the bedside lamp and the other in the living room, tucked into the edge of the fabric of his sofa. They were only audio but both died as soon as Thane found them. He wasn't in the mood tonight.
Once he had a drink in hand, ready for him straight out of his coffee maker which he'd already programmed to have one perfect for getting home, Thane sat back on his couch. He kicked out his legs in front of him and sighed, eyes on the folder. He was well into the work sitting waiting for him but it was tedious and difficult. Thane's speciality lay in planning and executing assaults and whilst he could get that down to the tiniest detail, including possible alternative outcomes, this wasn't the same sort of pieces of information.
Thane swallowed some of his coffee before putting it down on the table and spreading the contents of the folder out over the surface. Three pictures stared up at him, all three intimately familiar. Behind each photo was a stack of information being compiled into three new identities. Out of Spencer, Warren and him, Thane had the most patience to see this through and to keep it hidden from Morgan. The other two were helping keeping his extra curricular activities from everyone else in the organisation.
The three of them had sworn, years ago, long before Morgan had found them, that they'd always stick together and watch each other's backs. Spencer had always been the ambitious one and was the reason they'd ever joined up to this madness and they'd done well climbing the ranks but Morgan wasn't going to stand Spencer's backstabbing ways much longer and Thane and Warren knew he wouldn't be content to just take their trine leader down. The trine was everything to each other and wouldn't take one of their number being dismissed without revenge, however stupid it might be. Morgan was nothing if not thorough when it came to threats.
Thane was no hacker so getting hold of valid and legal paperwork that would stand up to scrutiny took time and money. He had to hide where his money was going as well as that of his trine mates. It was time consuming, tedious and Thane hated it but he hated working under Morgan more. Morgan didn't leave him with much free time. No one got weekends off: This was not a 9-5 job. You were owned because Morgan wanted every little detail of your life to be under his influence so what they were doing was dangerous, but probably more so for Thane than the others. Thane could shoulder the blame if they were ever discovered, though he doubted Warren would let him. Spencer just might if it would save his own hide.
His progress so far had taken weeks and he knew, without a doubt it would take months more. The longer it took, the more risk they ran and not only with Spencer shitty attitude in general life calling more attention to them than Thane would ever have liked. With Morgan controlling so much of them, Thane preferred a quiet life, keeping their boss' attention elsewhere, so he could work in peace and get away from it all from a few hours. The hours he got free were limited. Choosing to spend them out drinking was a rare luxury and he shouldn't but now there was more than just the lure of alcohol. Heath made the time pleasant rather than just a morose kind of relief.
Thane wanted to be out from under Morgan's heel more than he wanted Heath's company but he used it almost as a reward, when this life had gotten too shit he could just walk out for a few hours and ignore it. Heath even seemed to understand the unspoken rule about never talking about work, or at least not in specifics and only for a few minutes to gauge his current mood. Everything about his attitude, language, posture said he was a decent man in all aspects of his life, but he wasn't naïve, which Thane was extremely grateful for. He couldn't stand people like that, considering all of the darker things he'd done in his life. The world was shit sometimes and you had to realise that if you wanted to stand any chance of winning.
Thane shook himself, forcing his mind back to the task at hand. Work first. The deep, contemplative thoughts could fuck off.
xxx
The rain was coming down in a fine, grey mizzle, making everything slick but not enough to consider an umbrella or waterproof. Heath had pulled on a beanie and that counted since it kept his head dry but his hands free. He pulled his Jeep up into a rough, unmade lot, empty except dumpsters and dumped fly tipping. The Jeep slotted in neatly next to two blue dumpsters and Heath held out a twenty as he got out and locked the door. A dirty hand in a fingerless glove took it a moment later.
"Watch her Ray, same as usual."
"You gonna bring me back a coffee?" a rough voice asked.
Heath smiled at the man sitting in his shelter behind the dumpster and nodded, "Always Ray."
Heath headed off across the lot to the back corner and disappeared between two buildings. A small, skinny black girl appeared from a doorway and fell into step with Heath and started talking, voice soft and fast.
"Ain't been busy round here lately. Everyone says he's using the docks when he can get away wiv' it. G went lookin' and we ain't seen her since."
Heath looked down sharply, "Trey, you know you're meant to stay out of anything dangerous. Why didn't you tell me?"
She shrugged, "You know people disappear all the time 'n you can't find them when they've gone."
"I promised to look after you if you did this for me but I can't do that if you don't tell me things."
Trey shrugged again and dug around in her pocket, pulling out a tatty piece of paper, "There's been a couple of guys hanging out here. Punks. Sammy says he can probably lighten their pockets if you want."
Heath stopped them before they stepped out on the street, "Tell Sammy to hold off until I know who they are, alright?"
"Alright," Trey stuffed her hands into her pockets, looking away.
Heath touched her gently on the shoulder, getting her to look up at him and he smiled slightly, the roll of notes dropping into the open hood on her back. "Say hi to the others for me and get a hot meal today."
Trey touched two fingers to her head and disappeared back into the alley. Heath crossed the street into a worn looking coffee shop and came back out ten minutes later with two coffees, one of which made its way into Ray's hands just before he left. The other sat in the coffee holder at the foot of his dash.
Once he'd pulled back out onto the road and settle back into driving he reached for his radio, hidden in the pocket under the dash on the passenger's side. It let Heath use the Jeep for undercover work if nothing was obvious about it being a cop car.
"Dispatch this is A2 901."
"Go ahead A2," the female operator's voice answered.
"Run information for a bar called Broken Palm. Any disturbances or 911's in the last month. Over."
"Wait A2."
Heath patiently waited. He had no plans to go to this bar without any information and if there was nothing striking then he'd be heading back to the precinct to dig a little deeper.
"A2. No reports in the last month. Over."
"Ten-four dispatch. Out."
Back to the precinct it was then. He would need something more concrete than what Trey had given him, though he was in no doubt that it would be worth investigating. The street kids saw more than people gave them credit for and whilst Heath hated using them, at least he could see them get a hot meal once a week. In return they gave him good, useful information and they trusted him. Heath would only use them if they kept clean and out of trouble and it seemed to be working for the most part.
Once back at the office the Detective made a beeline to the office of the resident artist, profiler and close friend, Anthony Breaker. He was working on a sketch, uploading it to the computer for a print out to be used in a briefing later.
"Hey, Ant, could you do me a favour?" Heath stopped in the doorway.
The big black man looked up and smiled, "Sure. What do you want?"
The Detective came into the room to sit in the seat alongside Anthony, "One of my kids has gone missing. Can you draw me up a sketch and put it out to other precincts and the hospitals?"
Anthony nodded, expression more serious. He cleared his computer equipment to one side, pulling out his pad of paper and set of pencils. Once he was ready Heath started talking, detailing G carefully. He knew each of those that gave him information well, including things that Anthony would add to the details under the drawing, like habits and mannerisms.
At one point his friend looked up at him, "We'll find her Heath."
"Whether she's alive is another matter. They've been watching for Morgan's lot around the city," the Detective shook his head. "I told them to stay away from certain places but they are independent, to say the least."
Anthony nodded, understanding, "Don't go blaming yourself for their decisions. They know what Morgan's like and to stay away."
Heath shrugged one shoulder, still not happy but knowing his friend was right. Anthony went back to the drawing and Heath sat, waiting until he was finished. He knew Anthony was good and that would help but it pained him to see G's face staring up at him from the paper when he knew she was likely dead and dumped somewhere in the city.
xxx
Thane slammed out of the building, door bouncing back on itself, shaking the whole frame and he nearly put his hand through the glass windows as he walked past but kept hold of that last thin thread of control. He made it to his car before recognising that if he drove anywhere he would just literally mow the traffic out of his way and the realisation only served to piss him off more. The cab driver that picked him up five minutes later spent the entire drive shooting worried looks into his rear view mirror and sped off the minute Thane was clear of his vehicle.
Thane looked up at the pub with a grateful expression, hitching the gym bag up on his shoulder a little more as he headed for the door. Just as he reached it a group of young men came barging out, laughing and shouting to one another. The door caught Thane on the shoulder, knocking into it hard enough that it would probably bruise later on.
"Hey watch where you're going!" Thane snapped.
The group of men jeered back, drunk and uncaring, Thane managed to avoid the spill of liquid from one beer bottle and could feel his control rapidly disappearing. All he wanted was a fucking drink. One guy peeled out from the group, followed by cheers from his buddies, and swaggered up to Thane.
"What you gonna do about it huh?"
Thane knew he could put the guy on the floor in one move, break his nose with one punch, snap his arm, leave him in hospital, kill him with stupid ease and if he kept spraying beer breath in his face, he was going to do one of them. He just might not be able to decide which one.
"Walk the fuck away, right now," Thane stated coldly. "I've had a really bad day and you don't want to start with me. This is your only fucking warning."
There was loud round of explosive laughter from the group and the guy swung his hands out widely,
"I'm so scared tough guy."
Thane's right hand curled slowly into a fist, fingers testing how tight they were going to be pressed into his palm as he felt the world slip away a bit. His focus narrowed down to the guy's face, not seeing the mocking smile, just a target. The crunch of bone and cartilage felt good under his knuckles, the shriek of pain was familiar to his ears and the vivid red blood drew his hand back for another swing.
"Enough! Stop this now!" A voice demanded, drawing Thane back out to the full world. Heath was standing between him and the other men, who had pressed forward in defence of their friend. There was a moment where his pride snarled that he didn't need someone telling him what to do but then he registered who the command had been issued at. Heath had one hand held up towards the men as he spoke, the other at his hip and their eyes were focusing on him, not Thane.
"This isn't a good idea," someone whispered a little too loudly and Thane grinned viciously.
"No it's not. Take your friend and go. I'll pretend I didn't see you," Heath let two of them come forward to grab their moaning buddy, who was fluttering his hands at his nose ineffectually. Both men watched the gang stumble away.
"Fuck, I need a drink," Thane muttered, pushing into the pub. Heath followed him without a word and that lasted past them sitting and Thane downing his first drink.
As he nursed the second Thane allowed himself to think back to the events that had transpired outside the door. The guy had deserved to have his pretty face ruined and normally it wouldn't have ended there, so Thane expected himself to be pissed at Heath for stopping the fight. Anybody else he'd be laying into right around now but Thane actually had to admit he had been impressed by the way the guys had listened and not argued. He was also grateful Heath hadn't called him on punching a complete stranger because he wasn't going to stand someone judging his actions right now.
Heath frowned slightly before smoothing his expression out. Thane seemed more morose than usual. Granted he may not have been the most talkative person but tonight he had barely exchanged any words with his drinking companion. Instead he had just knocked back his first drink and was now nursing his second. He seemed to have missed or was ignoring the incident outside, for which Heath was grateful for. In some ways he didn't like flashing his badge to make idiots pay attention but it worked when they weren't really spoiling for a fight.
Heath glanced down at Thane's feet and saw a duffel bag with a sport's logo on its side, but one look at the taller man told him he hadn't been to the gym. There was no reason why the bag would contain a change of clothes for that, but Heath trusted his instincts and something told him Thane worked out. He may not have ever seen the man without his coat on, even inside the bar but there was more clues than that.
"You go to the gym?" Heath nudged the bag with his toe and Thane shot a look down at his bag, expression darkening. "Yeah, normally."
"Not this time?"
Thane would usually resent the questions. He gave information on his own time, not at requests. He was never one to open up, but somehow, now he didn't seem to mind. "Guys that I work with were there. I couldn't face another minute of their company." His expression turned dark and Heath made a noise of sympathy before words came tumbling out of his mouth without his brain being involved.
"Do want to come to my gym? I can get a guest in for free."
Thane's gaze was sharp, assessing his offer and Heath hid the mild panic he felt about offering this man, who in all honesty, he didn't know all that well, another way into his life. One he had just seen break a man's nose. There was a moment where Thane clearly debated his offer before he nodded curtly, "Yeah I really do need a work out or I'm going to put someone down, permanently."
Heath nodded, knowing more than one person who could feel that way after a rough day on the job. They finished their drinks in easier silence, Thane seemingly more relaxed even if Heath could still tell he was coiled tight inside. He felt better about offering to help even if there was still something nagging at him.
Heath led the way to his car and Thane took in the dark green, 2-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon hardtop with curiosity. It was Jeep's newest dedicated off-roader and hardly a city car, especially with the all terrain tyres it was sporting. There was mud painted up the doors as well and Thane guessed Heath spent a lot of his free time outside the city limits, which made his choice to be in the city an interesting one. It also wasn't a cheap car, which meant it was clearly something Heath had saved for and loved having.
"Nice ride," Thane said as he slid into the passenger seat. "This is what, thirty thousand dollars worth of car?"
"Yeah," Heath nodded back. "And she's worth every cent."
"Lot of people might say that you could get a sports car for that."
Heath grinned as he buckled in, waiting for Thane to do the same before he started the engine. "No sports car could manage the trails I go up." Heath waited until they were out in traffic before speaking again. "Why? You a sports car fan?"
"I like my rides smooth and fast," Thane smirked stretching his body out a little and not missing the way Heath glanced sideways at him.
"I'll bet."
Heath changed lanes and they drove steadily to his gym. Thane watched where they went with curiosity but remained silent, though there was a steady thrum running him through him now he knew was heading to the gym. The little bit of flirting with Heath helped too. Considering his surly attitude tonight, the fact that Heath had offered this and was still receptive to the teasing was doing a lot to put him even higher in Thane's good books.
The gym wasn't much to look at from the outside, with no fancy advertising and Thane began to wonder if that was something that Heath looked for considering what the pub was like as well. Heath greeted the man on the front desk by his first name and Thane just followed him through with barely a glance in his direction from the employee. It said something about either how often Heath was here or how much they trusted him here that they weren't worried about who he brought in here.
Heath showed him the locker room, showers and then briefly around the gym, giving Thane free range to do whatever he needed to without Heath needing to answer any questions once he got stuck in. A few guys raised a hand in greeting to Heath, another indication he was here a fair amount of time and that people liked him enough to bother interrupting their groove. Thane watched without a word, not feeling the need to talk or copy the actions. There was no need to draw more attention to himself when he would already be getting curious looks as the new comer. The other man disappeared over to the weights and rowing machines, leaving Thane to decide his own course of action. In the end he chose to head to the treadmills, X-Trainers and bikes.
Thane pushed sweaty hair out of eyes, glancing around for Heath as he slowed down from his run, gradually easing up to a walk, feeling the burn in his leg muscles. Sometimes he needed a punching bag to work out his anger but sometimes there was nothing better than just running, head down and mind blank. His companion wasn't in this section of the gym, with the running machines and bikes so Thane stepped off his and headed through to the area with the weights and rowing machines, eyes taking in everyone here without conscious thought. It was late and there were only a few people around, but none of them were Heath.
Thane frowned, turning his head to check he hadn't missed the smaller man as he'd come through and that's when he saw the door. It wasn't the one they'd come through from the changing rooms, but one tucked between the small wall of mirrors and the water dispenser. Confidently Thane walked over to it, not sure where it led but he knew that if he looked like he belonged no one would question him.
The door opened easily and swung shut behind after he stepped through. It didn't take the tall man long to glance around the room; it was just a small square, with most of the floor covered in mats. Around the edges were benches were a few guys, though more than were in the main gym, sat and all of them were watching the same thing, cheering. In the centre of the room two men, one of the recognisably Heath, were circling each other, fists raised in front of their faces. Both had fingerless sparring mitts on and both were covered in a light sheen of sweat. Heath's opponent was taller and leaner than the olive haired man, and moved lightly on the balls of his feet.
Thane watched the other man aim a few punches at Heath, which he either deflected or took without a flinch, though they weren't down at full strength as they were just sparring with one another. Heath never attacked his opponent, just accepted the blows, and after a while that seemed to enrage the other man. He stepped up his moves and the next punch that Heath didn't deflect in time made him grunt in pain, stumbling backwards until he gained his balance.
"Hey! Connor! You know the rules!" one of the guys on the sidelines protested.
"It's alright," Heath returned, eyes locked on the other man. "If he wants me to fight back, I will."
Connor grinned widely and started laying into the smaller man with almost a vicious glee. Thane's eyes narrowed, interested in seeing how Heath would deal with a guy clearly spoiling for a fight. Heath tactics didn't change much, but Thane could see the way his body rolled with the blows, lessening the impact now that they were heavier. The blue-black haired man was impressed though because Heath was good at taking a hit and not letting it faze him. He waited, patient, until Connor over reached himself with one punch and then Heath moved, left hand jabbing into the other man's ribs in a tight, controlled movement.
Connor's breath left him in a pained whoosh and he stepped back instinctively, but the shorter man followed him with another blow to the other side of his ribs and then a sharp uppercut to his jaw. That made him stumble back further, shaking his head to clear it and Heath let him back up away from him, face blank as he said, "I don't want to hurt you Connor, but if you keep this up, I will. You don't know when to quit."
Connor leapt at him and the two traded some more blows. The taller man managed to clip Heath's cheek hard enough that it would bruise later, making the guys on the bench boo and Thane guessed that clearly visible marks were another thing against the rules. Heath had, apparently, had enough at that point. The next fist aimed at his face he sidestepped, caught Connor's wrist with his right hand and pulled it towards him hard, making the other man widen his stance to compensate. The stocky man shoved his left leg into Connor's already stretched right one and slammed the side of his left hand into Connor's neck. His opponent choked out an awkward gagging noise of pain, half crumpling, half pulling away and Heath let him go. Connor crashed to the floor without Heath holding his wrist, hands wrapping around his neck as he gasped.
"Heath! Shit, man!" One of the other guys rushed out to Connor, pulling at his fingers to try and see his throat.
"He'll be fine. It's just the shock of the blow," Heath stripped his gloves from his hands before he turned away. He looked up to catch Thane's gaze and the taller man saw the guilt slide briefly through his eyes before he squashed it.
"I didn't peg you for one on one fights," Thane commented, making sure his voice didn't carry.
"It's just training in here. Connor always pushes and some times I have had enough of his bullshit."
"You sound more worked up now than before."
Heath shook himself, "It'll pass."
"You want to go?"
Heath looked at him, studying Thane closely and the taller man didn't know what he was looking for, but steadily held his gaze. "Yeah, thanks."
xxx
Author's Notes: A2 is Heath's personal radio sign, 901 means solo officer. Ten-four is standard for received and understood.