Thanks so much to Andraya TheLat, for the Spanish translations!
Chapter 3: Future Threatened
Jack was getting tired of this case, they'd just returned to the office after interviewing countless, useless co-workers of the missing person; Lawrence Coleman, and were yet to find a lead. The fact that his mind isn't really on the job can't be helping. He can't understand why the younger agent would just lie to his boss like that, there's obviously something big going on. He'll get to the bottom of it, if Danny's in trouble there's no way Jack's going to let him out of is sight.
"Where's Danny?" Martin's confused enquiry shoves Jack back to reality.
"What! He's suppose to be checking phone records!
"Doesn't look like he's here, his coats gone," Martin points out, "could try calling him."
The older agent shoots him an annoyed glare, but takes out his cell anyway.
---------------
"Brnng, brnng," Vivian breathed a sigh of relief, as her phones shrill cry cuts through the silence of the room. This case was becoming extremely tiring, and she welcomed the distraction of a real conversation.
"Johnson."
"Hey Viv, do you have any idea where Danny is?" Jacks voice rings through, his tone full of worry.
"No I haven't, wasn't he on records?" Viv doesn't hide her concern. Something was definitely up with Danny; he'd been acting strangely for the last few days, and his regular disappearing acts weren't proving otherwise.
She could almost see Jacks face drop. After everything that had been happening to the team in the last few months, their boss had developed a strict, overprotective hold on his agents. While it was sometimes very frustrating, it's also understandable, and they've all come to except this behaviour, and acknowledge that Jack just won't stand to lose a member of his team. He feels responsible for them, and in Vivian's eyes it's a sign of a great leader.
"Ok…any leads?"
"No, nothing. Mrs Coleman is extremely tight lipped, so if her husband is into anything illegal, she won't be the one to tell us."
"Right," Jack's clearly still distracted, but it isn't long before his usual work self takes control, "Ok, you and Sam head back…"
Viv cuts him off, "Sam's not here, she went to visit a Frank Simons, who Mrs Coleman described as an old family friend."
---------------
Danny really didn't like this case, somehow it'd lead him right to the one person he did not want to see: Erica.
She looked the same, untouched by the years of time, not affected by the horror her life holds.
"Danny, we need to talk." She takes a small step forward, causing him to take one back. She sighs; an annoyed glint passes through her eyes.
"Who is she?" Sam has attached herself firmly to his side, worry evident across her face.
"Quién es?" Erica questions, obviously trying to exclude Sam from the conversation.
Danny ignores both women, and instead stares straight into Erica emotionless eyes. Instantly, he's met with thousands of images, all of a past he'd rather forget, memories from a life he strived hard to be free of. She represents all of this, and her return will do nothing but bring them back, into a living reality. But he can't let that happen, he won't let it happen. With renewed confidents, he steps forward, swallows his fears, and confronts the key to his past.
"She's my colleague, what are you doing here?"
She gives Samantha a once over, checking her as a threat, finding none, her focus returns to Danny.
"Can we go somewhere private?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Danny can't help the hatred that fills his tone, "What do you want?"
"Ya sabes lo que quiero," he knew exactly what she wanted, but she wasn't going to get it. He was pretty sure she won't try anything with Sam there, so he decides to take the opportunity to get a few questions answered.
"Estáis detrás del tiroteo del parking?" This had been playing on his mind all day, shooting him in a car park was for too careless for Erica, but he had to be sure.
Her face turns white with shock and she reverts back to English, "No, when was this?"
"Por la mañana temprano." She mutters curses under her breathe before narrowing her eyes in Danny's direction.
"I told you this would happen, you don't listen to me." Danny says nothing, but holds her gaze. "Fine then," spinning around she begins to walk off, throwing one last comment over her shoulder, "Hasta luego," then she's gone. The agent releases his breath in a deep exhale, as though he'd been holding it through the entire conversation. As much as Danny prayed that would be the last he'd see of her, he deep down his problems were just beginning.
---------------
Sam noticed Danny immediately relax, as soon as the woman parted, only the lost look on his face remaining. She had no idea who this Erica person was, or her relationship with Danny, but whatever it was this confrontation had visibly shaken him, and Samantha needed to know why.
"What did she want?" Sam had heard Danny asking the same question earlier, but she was obviously not meant to hear the answer, which only intrigued her more.
"Nothing, it wasn't important," he mumbles, and turns to get back into the car, Sam not wanting him to leave, grabs his arm, and spins him round to face her.
"Danny, tell me," she orders, keeping her features stern praying it'll work and he'll crack.
He glances down, trying to avoid her stare. What could be so bad that he can't even tell her, they were friends, he can trust her.
Looking up, he pauses a few seconds before giving in, and speaking.
"She's… someone from my… past, who…well, we don't really get along…and umm," Sam listens intently as he tries to string his words together, "yeah, we haven't talked in years."
Seeming as though he'd finished his task, Samantha takes over. "You looked like you were scared of her," the comments left hanging while the other agent thinks up his reply, and she can't help but wonder if it'll be the truth.
"On one of our last meetings she…she soft of…shot me." Sam's stares in utter shock at Danny's reveal, but pushing all emotions, some emotions, very few emotions aside, she continues her queries.
"What! She sort of shot you? How can you be sort of shot?" Again Danny breaks eye contact, finding the ground a lot more interesting.
"Ok, so it wasn't sort of."
"What did you do?" She questions, finding it hard to imagine good-natured Danny, pissing someone off enough to want him dead.
"Nothing. Said I wouldn't move away with her."
"Move away? Where you two involved?"
"God no!" that was answered a little too fast, "We're, we were…friends."
The conversations beginning to become a little too hard to chew, but Sam questions on, "So your friend shot you because she was mad?"
"Yep."
Did you report her?"
"No…she just shot me in the leg, she wasn't trying to kill me."
"Oh, well, that's alright then, isn't it," her sarcastic tone earning her an annoyed glare from Danny. "You obviously didn't forgive her, so why not lock her away?"
"Sam," he gently rests his hand on her shoulder, "you ask too many questions," and with that he climbs into his car.
Realising she's losing her subject, she pleas with him to talk. "Danny, come on, you can't leave it at that! Now that I know there's some crazy lady stalking you, I'm not just going to sit and do nothing!" Suddenly his eyes darken, and his tone takes a deadly serious turn.
"Sam, you can't say anything to anyone."
"But she…"
"Sam," he interrupts, "not a word. I trusted you with this." She sighs in defeat; the guilt trip wins again.
"Fine."
"Good, I mean it happened years ago, I'm over it." Then why was he so upset? Just once, she wishes to be let out of the dark. Wait…
"How many years ago?"
"I don't know, four, five, why?"
"No reason," he gives her an odd look, but accepts her answer, and after some quick goodbyes, he slams his door, and drives back to the office, leaving Sam alone with her thoughts.
Five years…the date ponders though her head. Danny would've been working at the Missing Persons Unit by then, and there's no way Viv or Jack wouldn't have noticed him injured.
"Brnng, brnng," speaking of which.
---------------
Martin sat patiently at his desk, watching Jack with slight amusement, pace himself into the ground. To put it bluntly;this case sucked. Not only are they no closer to finding their vic, but now they've once again misplaced Danny, and the boss isn't happy.
"Sam!" You haven't seen Danny have you?" Jacks speaks into the phone, his desperate tone fulling the room. It's all part of his 'must know where everyone is at all times' policy. Usually Martin would dismiss the attitude as just the overprotective boss routine, but today, he knows there's much more than ordinary concern involved.
Relief clearly settles over Jack, "Ok, so he's on his way back? … Alright, bye." Guessing Sam's words were the comfort Jack was looking for, Martin proceeds to find out why.
"Where was he?"
"With Sam, she asked him to go and interview Simons."
After hearing Danny's all right he turns the subject back to the case, "Did they find anything?"
"With what?" Jacks obviously not there yet.
---------------
Danny isn't in any hurry to get back to the office. His mind is still reeling from the earlier conversation, and with the workings of a headache on its way, paper work doesn't seem like the ideal medicine.
By Erica's reaction, she clearly had no idea about the shooting; therefore an extra party was involved. The agent groans in frustration, there are only two other people who could have ordered the attack, and if they were after him, the only safe option would be to go with Erica. But that's exactly what she wants, and life would go back to what it was all those years ago; not a happy time.
"Erica! Erica!" A young Danny Taylor races down a dusty factory corridor, upon spotting his target he comes to a halt. "Erica, they're got both sides covered, we're not going to make it!" he's puffing heavily, pure fear shining through his eyes.
"Erica's expression remains calm, turning around, she yells some orders to the people behind her, "I want three of you to go down the north tunnel, the rest of you go south, we'll meet back up on the other side, ahora, id!"
Didn't you hear me?" Danny breathlessly yells, "They've got it covered!"
"Trust me," a sly grin is plastered over her face, "if you've been at this as long as I have, you'd know, it'll work out," she places a hand on his shoulder, "confía en mí." Although taking little comfort in her word, he nods in unsure agreement.
"Vamos," Erica hurries along her troops, only stopping briefly to clear each corridor, before moving on. Danny nervously holds upon the tail, he knew he should have listened to his brother, he wouldn't even be here, if he'd taken the advice. It was a year ago, he'd only been seventeen, she seemed so great, a real leader, and Danny had only wanted to be apart of it.
"Corred, corred!" Frightened screams shake the young man from his thoughts, as two of the three people Erica had had sent north, come flying towards them.
"BOOM!" A massive explosion tremors the building; cracking the walls; causing people, and debris to come crashing down. For a few seconds all is silent, while the dust settles, over the fallen bodies. Murmurs of voices brake through, Danny hears them, but doesn't dare to move, terrified that every breath he takes could be his last. His heart double takes, causing him to inhale quickly; sharp pain sweeps across his torso; panic takes control as he tries to stand. A pair of hands shoot out and hoist him up, causing his pain to turn to agony, glancing down he spots a large bloody gash in his left side.
"You alright?" the man queries. Terror becomes shock, as he catches a glimpse of the damage around him; howling cries of bloody death, something that once held life buried forever in an isolated grave of destruction. He can barely take in what's happened.
Finally his gaze meets Erica's; she's bloody and battered, and for a moment, concern, and guilt flashes across her features, then just like that they're gone, replaced once again by her strong fatigue.
Reality clicks back in "Yeah, I, I think so."
"BANG!" A shot blasts, turning the frightening atmosphere into one of traumatic existence.
Erica's voice rises out over the now growing commotion, "Get everyone up, we have to keep moving!"
"BANG!" Again a shot is fired, but this time it's followed by the unmistakeable sound of flesh tearing.
"Ahhh!" The man, who was only seconds before helping Danny to feet, falls to the ground, the impact of his body crunching the rubble beneath. More shots ring out, but horror-struck, all the young man can do is stare at the crimson covered body, lying at his feet.
"Danny!" A hint of fear is detectable in the voice, "come on, we have to go!" He tears his vision from the surroundings, and comes face to face with Erica, his own face is pale, and his eyes are empty.
"You said it would work," more bullets fly though the background, "you said I could trust you."
"We don't have time for this," She grabs him by the arm and tries to pull him though the chaos, but Danny's feet are planted firmly to the ground, his eyes locked with those of a dead mans. "Muévete!"
"We can't leave him," his monotone is beginning to disturb her, looking him over, for the first time she notices the gash.
Taking his arm once more, she pulls it over her shoulder in an attempt to aid his movement, "I don't think we have a choice, vamos, salgamos de aquí."
They make a mad dash through the factory; luckily the debris had trapped the enemy and helped them escape. Meeting the exit, they clamber into the awaiting van, and speed off into the night, and only then does time begin to slow down. Danny's shock has dispensed, and finally he can see the damage the mission has left.
Only three other people sit quietly within the vehicle, their bodies bruised, and bleeding, their expressions full of sorrow, but there's one person whose face is neutral, one, who remains cold.
Danny brakes the silence, "You lost six people," betrayal evident in his voice, "and we failed the mission."
For a while she's speechless, as though maybe regretting her decision," We know where we went wrong, we can expect better results next time," or then again, maybe not.
Danny closes his eyes in complete disgust, with his side throbbing, he leans his head back and feels the cool metal against his skin, and he can't help but wish, once more that he'd chosen a different path.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wasn't originally intending that to be the end, but I wrote so much I decided to split it up, meaning my cliff hanger that I can't wait to write/post is yet to come (until next chapter)!
I tried to make the Spanish understandable to those who can't read it, and to those who can, I tried not to make it repetitive, but here are the English translations any way:
Quién es? – Who's this?
Ya sabes lo que quiero – you know what I want
Estáis detrás del tiroteo del parking?" – Where you behind the shooting at the car park?
Por la mañana temprano – early morning
Hasta luego – see you later (got that one from a book, hope it's right)
Ahora, id – now go
Confía en mí – just trust me
Vamos – come on
Corred, corred – run, run
Muévete – move
Vamos, salgamos de aquí – come on, lets get out of here
Chapter4 should be up by next Saturday (NZ time), so until then, thanks for reading and I'd appreciate any reviews!funkyhigh