Chapter 1:
8:30 pm, the clock on the opposite wall declared silently. Andy watched it, listening to the sound of time. The ticking and his fast heartbeats were like a loud rhythm inside his head, the soundtrack of his stress. Waiting like this, in the dimly lit hotel room, did nothing good to his nerves. He was ready to go 10 minutes ago, but she needed more time. And even though he was nervous, he couldn't just get up and go without her. They were in this undercover operation together. Why was it taking her so long?
'Women,' he thought and shook his head, sighing at the fact that there was nothing he could do to make her hurry up. She was the boss; he went by her rules.
Finally, the bathroom door opened. Andy got on his feet and straightened his black suit jacket before looking at Sharon. The moment his eyes met her body, he froze. She walked toward him, in what seemed to him like slow motion, wearing a spectacular red dress. It was tight and the hem of it rode unusually high above her knees. Very complimenting to her body, Andy noted. His eyes lingered on her chest, which was partially visible due to the surprisingly generous cleavage. He's never seen her quite like this, and he definitely didn't know that her waist was so inviting. All he wanted at that moment was to put his arms around it.
"Andy?" he heard her voice as if from a distance, but it brought him crashing back to reality. He moved his eyes up quickly to see her green ones staring at him.
"Wow," he couldn't help it. That was the only word that he could utter.
"Thank you," Sharon said hesitantly and smiled. She was obviously confused by his reaction. This situation was new to her too, but for a whole different reason. She never went undercover, and it was rather nerve-wrecking. That's why she chose Andy as her partner, when asked by Chief Taylor. He was a good detective and had many years of experience with actual criminals, as opposed to her work on FID. She was a good investigator too, but dealt with other cops for most of her career.
"Shall we go over the plan? Let's make sure we don't mess up in a crucial moment," she sat at the table and he followed. There were folders and documents spread all over the table, the top one being their master plan for catching the serial killer they've been after for several weeks now. They finally managed to find a connection between his three victims, in the form of a fancy, underground gambling club. Well, fancy until someone owed them money, of course.
"Have you talked with our informant again?" she asked.
"Yes, two hours ago. He promised me that the code word he gave us was still valid. He'll be there tonight, bartending," Andy tried to concentrate on her eyes, but as soon as she looked down to read their plan, his eyes fell to her body again. He couldn't get over the way his boss was looking tonight. Captain Raydor. Formerly known as Darth Raydor. Who knew she had it in her?
"Okay, so –" she started again, but there was a knock on the door and Andy got up to open it. Tao and Provenza were both there, wearing the hotel staff's uniform - red pants and a vest of the same color, over a white shirt. Sharon got on her feet and tried to stifle a roar of laughter. She might be looking different than usual tonight, but Provenza's look was hilarious.
"Captain," he said, examining her from head to toe. "You look…" apparently he couldn't manage to find the right word to describe her. It seemed to be everyone's problem tonight.
"You too, Lieutenant," she said, still trying not to laugh in his face.
"We need to blend in, in case someone from this hotel shows up at the club. It's a five minutes drive away, you know," he tried to defend himself.
Tao placed some equipment on the table as Sharon mumbled "I know, I know," and they all approached him.
Five minutes later, Sharon was wearing a decorative pin, which was actually a tiny video and audio transmitter, and a button of the same nature was added to Andy's white buttoned shirt. Also, they all went over the plan together, to reassure themselves.
"Don't close your jacket, or we won't be able to see," Tao instructed Andy.
"Really? I never would have thought about it," Andy responded with typical sarcasm. Tao didn't care. He knew and loved all of his colleagues, who were more like family to him after all these years of working together. Some days he spent more hours with them than with his real family.
"Should I move the pin up?" Sharon asked. It was on her chest, very close to where the dress ended and the cleavage started, and made her feel a little uncomfortable.
"No. We need clear headshots for the facial recognition software. I've located it in a strategic spot… Captain," Tao tried to be as polite as possible.
"Yeah, you can rest assured that people will look at it," Andy chuckled until he realized that he said it out loud and everyone was staring at him.
Sharon didn't look angry at his remark, but rather pleasantly surprised by the compliment. Provenza seemed to be nauseated and Tao cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Anyway, we should go," Sharon said in her usual, calm manner. Everyone looked away from Andy and he felt like hugging her for taking the focus from him.
"We'll follow you in the van. Hopefully everything goes according to the plan and we can continue with part 2 tomorrow," Provenza said as he walked to the door, followed by the rest. "We all want this son of a bitch behind bars ASAP, so don't screw up."
The elevator ride was awkwardly silent. Provenza and Tao stood closest to the doors with their backs to Andy and Sharon, which made her feel like they were alone. The silence was so thick that it was torturous. She kept seeing Andy glancing at her from the corner of her eye and it didn't help the matter. She thought about being alone in the car with him with nothing to talk about, and felt like running for the hills.
"Alright," Tao finally broke the silence when they stepped outside the hotel, into the cool air of the night. "Good luck," he added quietly and continued to walk with Provenza toward the van, acting as if they didn't know Sharon and Andy.
She looked at him and saw him offering his arm. With a little smile she accepted it and they walked arm in arm toward the unmarked car that they got for the operation. It reminded her of another case from about a year ago, where she walked the same way with Provenza. The night breeze brought his aftershave to her nose and she realized she liked it. Suddenly, all she felt like doing was going back to that hotel room and bury her face in his chest… a feeling she hadn't had for a long time.
Andy opened the door for her and waited for her to get inside.
"From now on, we're Robert and Sarah," he mentioned their undercover names and hoped that he won't accidently use her real name in front of someone from the club.
Her legs were the first thing he saw as he got inside the car, even though it was pretty dark. He quickly tore his eyes from this mesmerizing sight – ignoring the images of his lips marking paths on her thighs, which popped in his mind involuntarily – and started the car.
He had no idea what was happening to him. Or, he did, but he never thought it would happen with his boss. He always enjoyed checking her out. Examining her shape wasn't new to him, but he mostly did it absentmindedly, like an old habit. Now he felt what he usually feels when he comes across an attractive woman – he needed to get her in his bed. He entered his 'hunter' mode and he didn't know how to quiet down this desire except by following it. But how can he? It wasn't just any woman, by all means. And it wasn't just her being his boss. Say that they get past this problem somehow, how does he approach her? She's a smart, intelligent woman. Probably so tired of games that she chooses to be alone.
That's why he preferred casual, one night stands. No questions asked, no strings attached. Does that make him a coward? Or just lazy?
"Andy?" once again, her voice was like a wakeup call, bringing him back to planet earth.
"Huh?" he said quickly, trying to hide the fact that she was taking over his thoughts, as if she had a way of knowing that.
"You just drove past the place. Turn around and find somewhere to park the car," she ordered him.
After a few moments of silence, she added, "maybe I should be the one driving on the way back."
Andy could feel her eyes on him. She was clearly wondering what was going on inside his head.
"Aye aye, Captain," he joked, trying to distract her as he parked the car. He silenced the engine and looked toward the club's entrance. "Looks pretty deserted."
"Yes, it's not supposed to be seen by just everyone."
He nodded and they both tried to see if there's anyone suspicious in the vicinity. Just like in the elevator, the silence inside the car was so dense that it pounded on the inside of their ears. Sharon heard Andy's breaths and wondered what they would feel like on her skin.
"Okay, are you ready to go in?" he asked suddenly.
"Yes," she took a deep breath, "let's do it."
