Chapter 2 – Not the Typical Stakeout
He pulled up across the street from their intended destination and turned the engine off. "Hopefully this tip won't be a dead end." He muttered before thinking, "On the bright side, I'm away from that train wreck called Spencer." He looked at his partner in the passenger seat. "O'Hara, call HQ and let them know we're here."
She nodded and grabbed the radio to report their position.
He trained his eyes on the building: an abandon warehouse.
It was the perfect criminal hideout. Quiet, isolated, identical buildings surrounding it, planned for demolition in the coming weeks – an image of the property's layout came to mind – and an easy escape route to the woods. Yea, perfect.
"Come to think of it, Parma Park isn't far from here."
But with no search warrant, he and his partner were stuck watching the location and waiting for something interesting to happen.
Two hours passed without incident. The sun was starting its descent.
And then O'Hara thought it was a good time to talk.
"So, did Shawn have anything interesting to talk to you about after the briefing?"
"No." He stated; his eyes never leaving the building, "He had one of his episodes."
"Oh. No wonder, he was zoned out from the beginning."
He growled looking at her. "He wasn't listening the whole time? That was an hour-long briefing just for them."
O'Hara seemed to have ignored his question and glare. Her eyes were sparkling with interest. "So did he tell you what he saw? Because it seemed urgent when he left the conference room."
"Yes." He stated rather bluntly. He turned his eyes back to the building hoping to end the conversation.
"So…"
He didn't say anything and continued to glare at a point on the side of the building.
"What did he say?"
He muttered a few choice words under his breath before glancing over at his partner.
"She has that same expression my kid sister uses." Sighing, he gave in. "It was ridiculous. Sometimes, I wonder if he was dropped on his head multiple times as a baby."
"Carlton!"
"Okay," he huffed. "He asked me if I went anywhere last night and then he states that he saw me, in one of his visions, on the beach covered in red Jello. How idiotic can that get?" He turned back toward the building. "It has nothing to do with the case. Why ask me some off the wall question?"
Before she could answer, movement in the alley between the buildings caught his attention. A door flew open, along with a female body falling to the ground. Kicking, she was picked up and pulled back into the building by a distinctly male figure.
Checking his gun, he glanced at O'Hara, who was also checking hers.
"Update HQ and call for back-up." He ordered as he opened and closed his door, and hurried across the street with his gun drawn. Putting his back to the wall, he looked down the alley checking for hidden traps. His partner took position beside him. Without a word, he hurried cautiously down the alley, crouched low with eyes sweeping the area. Stopping past the now slightly opened door, he put his back against the wall. O'Hara followed suit, but stopped before the door. Their eyes met and she placed her left hand on the door handle. He held up three fingers, two, then one, and she pulled the door open. He entered first, sweeping the area.
His other senses were on full alert as his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit inside. No one was in the immediate area. It was quiet, except for the groaning of the building. He signaled for the all clear and O'Hara stepped up next to him. Looking around, he noticed the old machinery peppered around the open area and the strong smell of wood.
"This must have been an old lumbering company."
He caught sight of a table saw with uncovered blades.
"Just perfect."
A figure moved on the opposite side of the area.
"Stop where you are!" He yelled pointing his gun. "And put your hands up."
The person complied.
He cautiously made his way to the shadowed person. O'Hara followed suit.
They were only a few feet away when the figure made a sudden jerky movement and the floor disappeared from underneath them causing darkness to swallow them whole.
Once the world stopped spinning, she moved her arm around pushing boxes and debris off of her.
She coughed. "What happened?" She looked up expecting a raggedy hole, but discovered a huge…
"Trap door?"
Something shuffled in the darkness. She reached for the gun at her hip, but remembered she had it out when she and Carlton fell. It could be anywhere.
"And speaking of Carlton."
Looking around, she spotted his unconscious form over to her right and beside him was a gun. She started crawling over to him, hoping to grab the gun before their attacker decided to make a move.
But she never made it, as something heavy hit her head and darkness took hold of her vision.
Two figures stood over the two unconscious detectives in the pile of smashed boxes. A woman leaned in looking curiously. Shoulder length, light brown hair cascaded forward.
"I wonder what Leo is planning?"
"I don't know, but if it was my choice…" A big man cracked his knuckles.
She looked back. "You know what Leo said."
"But killing my brother was uncalled for."
"It's your fault for attacking first."
Growling was the reply. "You can't say anything. You weren't there."
"But I heard enough to know." She threw back. "Now, let's move them like Leo says before he gets down here."