They approached the dark building with stealth. Detective Martinez armed, weapon in hand with Henry shuffling briskly behind. They had followed their suspect and with back up close behind, they were not going to loose her. She was a barista with a scandalous background. Night lighting as a cocaine dealer and finding customers through her day job came crashing down. Her manager stumbled onto her business dealings. Henry was the one to find the coffee grounds in a minority of the wounds along with chips from the barista's cobalt painted fingernails. The two partners in a weak attempt to arrest her had instead spooked her, and were now knocking down the abandoned warehouse's door.
They entered with caution, the detective clicking on her torch and waved it along side her weapon. She commanded Henry to stay close. They weaved around towers of wooden boxes with symbols possibly resembling Chinese. They crept towards the back wall that held eerie cracked glass windows that allowed moonlight to pool over the floor. Henry was the first to notice the fresh footprints in the dust. He pointed and watched the detective crash to the floor. Flailing under an unknown weight.
"Detective!" he shouted and lounged, wrestling with the assailant. The gun skittered across the floor. The barista pulled out her own revolver onto an unarmed Henry. His hands shot up, and soon Jo was to follow. Martinez glanced between her gun, and the barrel of the barista's. It was seconds until Henry leaped for the petite barista and Jo for her gun. Henry tried to grab for the gun but momentum worked against him. The barista's shot went directly into his chest, Henry fell backwards. He heard three more shots, that left three red holes in the barista courtesy of detective Martinez.
Henry lay shaking, arms at his sides, with shallow breaths, as the blood pooled around him. Jo dropped her gun and went on both her knees beside Henry lifting his head into her lap. He coughed "Jo..."
"Hey your gonna be okay." she grabbed his hand.
"Jo.. take my watch." she looked worried but unclipped it from his vest. He took another shuddering breath and whispered "look away".
She allowed a tear to go down her face and ran her hand through his hair. "No. Your going to be okay Henry."
He coughed again this time blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Jo... I will be fine... trust me... I... don't want you... to... see this." He coughed again.
She began to cry when the lights pooled through the open door as their back up finally arrived. She turned to call out for help, but when she turned back he was gone...
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It was hard enough to try to explain that Henry was no longer on the scene. The Lieutenant was already upset that the pair had not waited for backup. The fact that Henry was gone and could not give his statement really peeved her. Jo was distanced, the lieutenant figured that it was from the shooting. Once her statement was given and after her evaluation with the first responders, she was allowed to leave.
Her hands shook badly as she attempted to grab the steering wheel. She did not know what to do or where to go. Henry was there and then he was gone. She turned the ignition and drove, too dazed to comprehend where she was going, or how she was feeling. Before long she realized she was standing in front of Abe's Antiques. The store was locked, dark, and empty. She leaned against the door and fell to the pavement knees against her chest. It started to rain, and she sat there. She did not know how long she was there seated in front of that door, but she did know that she was cold, and soaked. She sat there shivering, it did not make her feel worse but it did not make her feel better.
She was sitting there when Henry found her. Abe was actually the one to notice someone in front but he decided to wait in the car. Henry squatted down in front of her in sweats, Abe had grabbed when he got the call from the payphone. When she made eye contact her jaw dropped and she whispered "Henry?". He didn't say anything but nodded. She wiped away a tear before wrapping her arms around his neck. He returned the hug. "I don't understand."she whispered nuzzling against his living body.
He rubbed his hand up and down her back. "Your soaked Jo. Come inside it will be easier to explain inside rather than out here, in the rain." she nodded weakly but followed him into the warmth.