Gehenna

Disclaimer: The very first Condemned fanfiction I have ever written! This one was inspired by replaying the first game and it carries on through the second. I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Please read and review if you so wish.

"Murder is not the crime of criminals, but that of law-abiding citizens."

-Emmanuel Teney

I wish that I could write you a melody so plain that would save your dear lady from going insane.

-Bob Dylan

By: VampireQueenAkasha

Part Two

Metro City

Several years later...

"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."

-Psalm 91:10, 11

Things had changed.

I thought that for a second change was a good thing; that it could bring some good.

I was wrong.

O

"Good morning, Metro City, this is Sarah Brenton. As you know, Tony Rhodes walks the city's streets giving us inside information of the causes of the ever increasing waves of violence. We now go to you Tony."

"Thank you, Sarah. I stand witness to the beauty of our city as it slowly fades away into a dark, hollow shell of what it once was. There is a shadow that has fallen over our beloved city, though no one knows what has caused it or why it has happened. Last week, I took a walk by the Central Metro Station and I found the homeless taking refuge inside. Most places like this have become a safe haven for drugs, the homeless and violence; though none can say if it will eventually take over the entire city. Though what can the police do about it? Only time will tell."

"Thank you Tony. This is City News."

Nancy and Leland were standing in the field of Metro City University, exchanging a cigarette while the other students were playing lacrosse. They weren't in their required gym uniforms but instead Leland was wearing his denim jacket and blue jeans while Nancy was wearing a hooded sweater and blue jeans.

In the years that had passed for the two of them, Leland had slight facial hair lining his jaw and chin and slightly messy short hair. Nancy's black hair was cut at the shoulders and she looked much more attractive.

"So what do you think?" Leland asked, gesturing across the field, "What about Randall?"

Nancy peered over at the collection of jocks who were running the track. She chuckled softly and gave Leland a look. "Totally gay," she said.

He snickered and took a deep inhale of his cigarette before passing it to her. "Okay, what else?" he asked.

"He spends a lot of time working out, using laxatives and getting high on meth," Nancy continued, "He wants to be the skinniest asshole alive."

Leland grinned at her. "You're really good at that."

Nancy chuckled. "Yeah, I know," she said, "It gets creepy sometimes."

Leland nodded and murmured softly before he tossed the cigarette into the grass and crushed it beneath his shoe. He picked up his lacrosse stick and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but you have a gift, Nancy," he pointed out, "It's not good to let it go to waste." He grinned at her now. "Besides, graduation day is in only a few more weeks. We only have to put up with this monkey trash for a little bit longer."

The instructor gestured to them. "Vanhorn! Morello! Fall in!"

Leland gave her a smile. "I got your back."

Nancy nodded. "Good."

The two walked to separate ends of the team and as soon as the instructor blew the whistle, the two teams collided for the puck. Leland darted off in another direction and pushed several of the opposing team boys out of Nancy's way.

Suddenly, there was a voice in his head.

"Leland ... What are you doing?"

He froze in the field and looked around for the source of the voice. Everything around him cut off like the muting of a television set. He didn't hear the sounds of the players around him and instead, looked out toward the streets, noticing a shadow watching him from across the way; whoever it was, they were wearing a black hooded jacket. Leland furrowed his brow and squinted to see the shape better, but he couldn't. Whoever this was watched him.

"Leland ... "

When a Metro City bus passed the shadowed figure, it was suddenly gone. Leland pinched the bridge of his nose when he suddenly felt a twinge of pain shoot through his forehead. He didn't see Randall charge through the field and knock Nancy clear off of her feet. The surprised sounds and laughter made him whirl and see the scene. He noticed Randall laughing down at Nancy and seeing that and the horrible pain in his forehead, he suddenly saw red.

Leland charged with his lacrosse stick like a rampaging bull and slammed his weight into the slightly smaller man, knocking him clear off of his feet. That caused everyone to go nuts; there were cheers and even shocked cries as Leland punched Randall in the mouth over and over again. Nancy cried out in shock and horror as well.

"Leland, stop it!" she shouted, "Don't!"

The instructor had to tear Leland off of Randall whose nose was gushing with blood and he was crying like a wounded child. Leland grinned wickedly down at him and gave Nancy a particularly eerie grin as well. His knuckles were covered in blood.

"He started it." he sneered.

The instructor glared angrily at Leland. "Vanhorn, get to the dean's office. Now!"

Leland cheerfully and sarcastically sauntered off of the field with Nancy in tow while the instructor and several other stunned students gathered a still - crying Randall off of the ground to tend to his bloody mouth.

O

Nancy waited outside of Dean Schneider's office and listened to the angry shouting from the older man. Leland wasn't giving any rebuttal to it whatsoever until the very end right after she was horrified to hear that Leland was going to be expelled.

"It's a shame to see this happen, Vanhorn!" Schneider snapped, "But we do NOT tolerate this at our school."

"That's fine by me! I don't want to waste another moment in this pathetic excuse for an institution!" Leland shouted back.

Nancy stepped back as Leland emerged from the office. He smiled at her as if nothing was wrong this time. She walked away and he followed her, fitting his jacket back on. "Hey, Nancy, wasn't that just incredible?" he said, "Get your camera. Don't you have it? This is wall worthy. Come on!"

She stopped and whirled on him. "Was it all fucking worth it to get expelled?" she demanded, "That stupid shit was an asshole! He wasn't worth it!"

Leland grinned at her and he clenched a fist tightly to his side. There was an excited gleam in his eyes that she had never seen before and it made her somewhat uncomfortable to see it. "It felt good taking him down!"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" she snapped, walking out into the parking lot, "What's Malcolm going to say when he finds out? He pays for your tuition!"

Leland paused for a moment and gave her a partially annoyed frown. "Oops."

Nancy pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You're telling him."

"I know."

"I'm glad you know!"

When they arrived at Malcolm's home, he was in the middle of preparing a salad. He smiled when they walked into the kitchen.

"Welcome!" he greeted, "It's nice to see the two of you staying out of trouble." He returned his gaze to the salad bowl, continuing to run his hands through the mix of lettuce and other vegetables to mix it together nicely. "What brings you here at such an early hour?"

Nancy elbowed Leland in the ribs and he gave her a look before he sighed. "Uncle, I'm afraid that I have been expelled."

Malcolm immediately halted in what he was doing and whirled, glaring at Leland angrily. "You what?"

"It wasn't my fault," Leland said, calmly, "One of the students pushed me so I beat his brains in."

Malcolm sighed with frustration. "Leland Vanhorn, what am I going to do with you?" he snapped, "That money was to make sure that you had a future here in this city and you blew that away on a simple act of passion?"

"I guess I did."

Leland and Nancy took a spot across from one another at the kitchen table. Malcolm shook his head in disbelief. Nancy could see the disappointment there in his eyes and she looked at Leland briefly before staring back up at Malcolm.

"It was just an unfortunate situation," she told him, "I think we can all learn something from this."

Leland chuckled dryly. "Yeah. 'Never do something and get caught'," he muttered, stretching. He winced and rubbed the base of his back for a moment. "Ah. Damn back hurts ... "

Malcolm frowned. "Perhaps you pulled it when you got into that fight."

Leland glared at him sarcastically. "Maybe it's cancer of the spine."

"Leland Vanhorn!" Malcolm barked, stunned by the words.

"Or tuberculosis." Leland added.

Nancy couldn't resist her smile. She actually couldn't help but get into Leland's little game. "Maybe spondylitis."

He stared at her cluelessly. "Spondy - what?"

Nancy smirked at him. "Fuses your spine together."

"Nice." Leland answered, nodding his head, impressed.

Malcolm was not amused by it. He shook his head in disbelief. "I've had just about enough of that talk."

Leland shrugged his shoulders angrily and yet, he still had a particularly calm expression on his face. His voice practically oozed with sarcasm and disrespect with his next words. "Well, that makes two of us."

"I think you should leave!" Malcolm said, sternly; he gestured to the front door.

Leland stood up. "Gladly," he snapped, storming out of the kitchen and through the front door.

Nancy gave Malcolm an apologetic smile before she followed after him.

O

Later that evening, Leland spent the night at Nancy's apartment to avoid dealing with his furious uncle for a while. They were lying in bed together just talking about things that had happened. Leland was staring up at the ceiling as he absently ran his fingers through Nancy's hair.

"What happened out there Leland?" Nancy asked, glancing at him, "You seemed different."

"How so?" Leland asked, not looking at her.

Nancy shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it was different when we were younger; you didn't try to kill the people who messed with me."

He chuckled and rolled onto his side, propping himself on his elbow to look down at her. "Nancy, now don't worry about me," he said, "I have my job to pay me real well and it's enough to live comfortably. I don't need that place anyway."

Nancy nodded, even though she didn't seem very convinced. "Yeah, you're really kicking ass there, rat face ... "

He smiled at her and shook his head, ignoring the pet name for a moment. "Hey just give me one clean shot, alright?"

She scoffed. "Don't humor me."

Leland tilted his head slightly and started to protest. "Nancy ... "

Nancy was quiet for a moment before she propped herself onto her elbow and looked at him gravely. "Listen ... " she began, her voice low and serious, "there's things I can take and a couple things that I can't. One of the things that I can't take is when someone I knew my entire life suddenly starts changing his perspective on things." She paused and made a sound. "I saw your eyes out there in that field when you were beating that guy's head in. I don't want to ever see your eyes like that again."

Leland shrugged his shoulders, not very certain of what she was talking about. "Okay?"

Nancy's eyes narrowed. "I'm serious."

He nodded his head. "Okay."

Nancy leaned forward and kissed him on his lips; the gesture almost seemed half - hearted and so when she pulled away, Leland grabbed her head with both hands and returned the kiss with a little more force than what she was expecting. Startled, Nancy chuckled against his lips and relaxed into the bed when he pushed her down into it. After a heavy, intense moment, he parted from her to allow them both a chance to catch their breath. When she looked up at him, his eyes were darkened with something other than the darkness that she had seen in the field. It was raw desire this time, and he leaned forward to bring his mouth to her exposed neck, moistening the flesh there with his lips.

Nancy really didn't mind that he was a little more fierce that night than he usually was. She didn't care that he left bruises around her legs and hips. She felt ravaged and satisfied that evening and literally forgot about why she was upset with him to begin with. When she was on the brink of sleep, Leland climbed out of bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled, sleepily.

"To get some cigarettes," he told her, in a soft whisper, "I'll be right back."

Nancy smiled at the response and snuggled deeply underneath the covers to sleep. Satisfied, Leland quickly dressed himself and left the apartment to run across the street to a shopping mart. Once he bought a carton of cigarettes and left the store, he was immediately jumped by a broken Randall who shoved him into a garbage can. The force was enough to knock his face into the concrete path, sending a blazing shot of pain through his head.

"Fucking shit!" Randall shrieked, "You think you can get away with that?"

Leland winced sharply in pain with a grunt when he was kicked in the stomach; he struggled to stand and received another fierce kick to the insides again. Randall glowered down at him, watching Leland attempt to climb fully to his feet and slowly sink into the alleyway. Looming over his head was a peculiar metallic device that had been placed into the wall of a building. It resonated strange, silent waves of sound that seemed to vibrate through the bodies of both men, but they did not even know it. There was an oil drum fire casting an eerie glow all around the two men and the shapes of rats danced wildly across the walls.

"You think you can get away with that, fucker?" Randall snarled again.

Leland snickered and his mouth dripped with blood. "Looking for me? Want more?" he hissed, "Then come and get it!" He beckoned with two hands and spoke in a taunting voice through his blood - soaked mouth. "Come on!"

Randall rushed him immediately, knocking the oil drum fire over and dousing the two in complete darkness. They grappled before rolling around in the dirt, punching one another like two savage dogs; Leland grabbed Randall by his neck and punched him in his face again and again, snarling with effort. He felt fueled by a rage that had no name; a rage that overpowered his senses and left him seeing blood red as he had in the field when Randall had shoved Nancy.

"I'm going to peel your face off!" he snarled, in a voice that not even he himself recognized.

Randall somehow got the upper hand and grabbed Leland's wrist, twisting it back. Leland gave a howl of pain and was shoved forcefully into the wall. Randall kicked him in the ribs a few times and laughed between gulps of air.

"Let me show you how it's done, you piece of fucking rat shit!" Randall spat.

When Leland heard the multiple sounds of something snick, he knew immediately what it was; Randall had pulled out two knives on him. He walked a few paces from him and laughed cruelly. "I'm going to give you a cut to match my face..."

Leland stood up and Randall spun around, flinging the knife right at him; the move was so fast and immediate that it should have contacted Leland's body, but instead, he reached up and batted the weapon away with one hand like it was nothing - Leland was an expert with knives and knew exactly how to counter them. This man here was simply child's play. Randall blinked in disbelief and Leland grinned at him wickedly, slowly beginning to advance on the horrified man. He spat some blood out of his mouth to the side.

"Try harder! Try again!"

Randall screamed with rage and flung the second knife at him. Leland caught this one in two hands and chuckled wickedly, flinging the weapon aside. Randall's eyes widened when the man removed a long hunting knife from his pocket.

"This is a knife!" he hissed.

Randall reached out with two hands to push back the assault, but Leland was faster; he sliced his knife through the air, cutting through Randall's hands as if they were made of butter. Randall screamed in agony and stared down at his gushing hands. Leland immediately plunged his knife deep into Randall's stomach while the screaming man was bowed over in pain. His eyes bugged wide and his screamed died into a gurgled choke. Leland brought his lips close to his ear and giggled.

"That's how it's done ... " he whispered, cruelly.

Randall groaned, blood gushing from his slightly parted lips. He attempted to grab at Leland, but his grip was weak and he collapsed to the ground in a bloody pile of limbs and shredded clothing. Leland grinned down at his lifeless body for several moments before he looked back toward Nancy's apartment building. He tilted his head in deep thought, considering what Nancy would think of him in such a condition.

He decided that it would be best not to go back.

O

Several Weeks Later

Nancy was standing among a crowd of new graduates for the Metro City University, smiling into the watching crowd where she noticed Leland and Malcolm watching her. Hayden and Bren were there as well talking pictures of her and acting as if she was really their daughter. Nancy couldn't bring them down about that; they had showed up for her graduation and she only wished that her mother was allowed to come and see her.

She spent the entire remaining time that Schneider was giving his speech daydreaming; she knew where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do, but something was nagging away at her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Leland and what he was going to do. That was only a part of her worries; she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't entirely right. Maybe with Leland and perhaps with Malcolm, but she couldn't shake it away.

After the graduation ceremony, the Boyd's, Nancy and the two Vanhorn's met back at Malcolm's house to have dinner. Nancy couldn't help but find it funny that Hayden and Bren were both very uncomfortable the entire time, even though Malcolm was very hospitable.

"It's nice to have the two of you over for dinner," Malcolm told them as they sat across one another from the dining room table, "We haven't had the opportunity to talk much."

Bren took a drink of her wine. "Well, it's nothing personal," she replied, shifting in her seat at the same time, "You understand."

Malcolm looked at her calmly and smiled with a shake of his head. His voice told a different story; he seemed a little insulted by something. "No, I don't."

Nancy glanced at Leland from across the table with a warning look that read "this might get ugly". Leland caught the look and nodded briefly, indicating that she should say something to prevent a problem before it started. They knew what the Boyd's and Malcolm had a problem with; they had forbid Nancy to see Leland and for a while, Malcolm had been somewhat displeased by the action, though he rarely spoke of it.

"Malcolm, this is really good chicken," Nancy interjected, smiling weakly at the older man, "Did you use Balsamic Vinaigrette or Italian?"

Malcolm glanced at her, distracted for a moment. "Oh! I used Italian ... "

Nancy smiled painfully at Bren who gave her a look before resuming. "I think you know very well what the problem was."

Hayden gave his wife a warning look. "Bren..."

Malcolm frowned at her. "No, I don't," he said, tension in his voice, "Perhaps you could explain it to me."

"I like this wine." Nancy interjected once more, attempting to steer the argument off track.

It didn't work.

"You could explain what your problem is with my nephew and Nancy's being together as children," Malcolm continued, as if Nancy hadn't even spoken a word, "I respect your authority, however you have yet to give a reasonable explanation!"

Bren glared at him. "What we decide is none of your concern!"

Hayden sighed impatiently and stared at his wife sternly. "Bren, can we save it for later?" he protested, "Malcolm was kind enough to invite us over. You're putting a real heavy damper on the whole evening."

Bren glanced at her husband and cleared her throat. She straightened in her seat and looked at Malcolm with a forced apologetic look on her face. "Sorry ... "

Malcolm nodded in response before they returned to their meal. It was quiet for two moments before Malcolm spoke in a calm and passive tone. "There's no need to disrespect me in my own house, ma'am."

Bren slapped her hands on the table and pushed herself back in her chair. "That's it! We're leaving!"

Nancy frowned up at her as her foster mother began to gather her coat from the rack near the door. "Bren, why are you acting like this today?" she demanded, "He didn't do anything. You started all of this anyway."

Bren snapped her fingers at her. "Nancy, when he tells me how I raise my daughter-"

That did it.

"I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER!" Nancy shouted, startling everyone at the table.

There was a stunned silence for two moments and Bren stared at Nancy, shocked by the outburst. Nancy had shot out of her chair and was standing there with a furious look on her face. Bren frowned at her for a moment before speaking.

"Nancy ... " she began.

"My mother is in a nuthouse all alone!" Nancy continued, her face bright red and eyes starting to tear up, "So when you feel the need to toss the 'mother' card at me - Bren - remember who my REAL MOTHER is!" She turned and stormed out into the kitchen and out into the back porch.

Nancy spent the rest of the evening alone on the back porch of the Vanhorn house. When she heard the sounds of Bren and Hayden leaving after several hours, she was actually surprised; Malcolm must have been talking with them for a while. Given the lack of arguing inside, they must have been acting civil.

The door opened and Leland stepped out. "Nancy, are you still out here?" he asked.

"Is it so easy to tell?" Nancy muttered, sarcastically.

Leland chuckled quietly and bent down; he placed his arms around her and kissed her head. "You understand they're talking about how crazy you are."

Nancy uttered a bark of laughter, but she actually smiled. "Yeah. It wouldn't be the first time ... "

"They're leaving now," Leland pointed out, "Perhaps you should speak to them before I hear it forever from Malcolm."

He tilted his head and placed a kiss on her neck; the stubble on his chin tickled. Nancy chuckled and shivered against the sensations before she parted from him and stood up. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she muttered, "I was a bit of a bitch back there."

Nancy walked around the side of the house where she could see Bren and Hayden getting ready to get into their car. She smiled weakly and considered what she would say to apologize to them. Then, she stopped when she heard Bren talking about her.

" ... Nancy's such an innocent girl, I can't let it happen again!" Bren protested, in a hushed whisper.

Nancy frowned and ducked into the shadows to avoid being seen. What had gotten Bren so upset?

Hayden grabbed his wife's shoulders and shook her. "Keep your voice down!" he whispered fiercely, "We promised not to talk about it again, didn't we?"

Bren closed her eyes with a small choke of pain; Nancy had never seen her look like that before. It was almost hurting her and she felt the urge to walk over and hug Bren and apologize many times until she got sick of hearing it. But then, she noticed Hayden's look as well; regret and pain as well. Nancy suddenly felt sick, like she was the most useless person in the world as well as ungrateful for what they had done.

"Bren!" she said, stepping out from the shadows.

The two looked over at her, surprised.

"Oh, Nancy ... " Bren said, discreetly hiding her tears.

Nancy walked up to her and threw her arms around her before she could protest. Bren blinked several times with surprise before she slowly and carefully returned the embrace. Hayden joined in after a brief moment and the three shared a moment of just holding each other.

"Sorry Bren ... " Nancy said, quietly.

Later that evening, Leland spent the evening at Malcolm's house to collect his thoughts. It had been a particularly eventful evening and he informed Nancy that it would be a good idea for her to have some time alone after all of it. Nancy surprisingly agreed to that and went home. But as he began to think about it, the memory of his murdering Randall began to flood back to him. The blood and the screams, the tormented animal sounds that his victim had made.

Leland began to feel an itch inside of him; he had this sense that what he had done was enjoyable. And then, he shook that thought aside. That fool had attacked him first and he had defended himself! There was no way he would enjoy that! It was sick. It was ...

Leland closed his eyes and he could hear a voice whispering to him and then, a metallic rattling sound followed. It became unbearable after a while and he covered his ears with both hands, shutting his eyes with a weak groan.

"What's happening to you, Leland?" a heavy, rasping voice hissed in his ear, "You're thinking about it, aren't you? You're thinking of that man's blood - soaked face, the feeling of the knife going into his body ... Now, why do you think that is?" There was a pause and a dry laugh followed when Leland attempted to blot the sounds out of his head. "That's right - ignore me. Ignore the pain. Bury it deep into your stomach. Let me fester - let me rot."

Leland spun around and in his chair and looked over his shoulder to find the source of the sound. It was gone now and the only sounds that remained were the cawing noises of crows perched on the power cables outside. He stared at them for a moment, watching as they stared right back-their empty black eyes almost piercing and cruel. It was as if they saw into his mind, saw the darkest secret that he was keeping from Nancy and Malcolm. He could hear that voice whispering again in his head and this time, he made no effort to ignore it.

"The cracks are showing, Leland ... and the blood lust is seeping in. And when it does, I'll be waiting for you."

O

Nancy and several recruits arrived at SCU the next morning and were greeted by Director Ike Farrell as well as senior workers and agents. Farrell paced before the line of new recruits like a general surveying his troops. Nancy got the feeling that this man had seen more than his share of messed up shit in his life; he looked older than he probably was and had bits of gray streaked through his slicked black hair. He was wearing a clean-cut gray suit and tie with shiny black shoes. Nancy concluded that he must have been fond of very depressing colors.

"Welcome to SCU," he said, "Each one of you will be paired up with one of our senior officers here and they will go through regulations, training and procedure for you for a few weeks until you have a full understanding of what we do." He stopped in front of Nancy, noticing that she didn't seem interested with what he was saying. He knotted his brow and gave her a particularly unfriendly look. "What's your name?"

Nancy stood at attention now. "Nancy Morello."

Farrell furrowed his brow at that. "Morello ... " He turned and gestured to one of his agents; a tall man with a permanent scowl set on his face. He was wearing heavy body armor and his name tag read DORLAND. "You will be paired up with Agent Dorland."

Dorland looked at Nancy and gave her a particularly curt nod in reply. Nancy chuckled dryly. "Wow, he looks like he's full of excitement ... "

Farrell frowned at her before he turned to another recruit, ignoring the stifled snickers from the others, including the senior agents. "Excuse me?"

She smiled sheepishly. "N - Nothing."

Dorland glared at Nancy as Farrell paired up each recruit with senior officials. He offered his hand in a forced attempt at politeness. "Agent John Dorland."

Nancy returned the gesture. "Nancy Morello."

Dorland gestured for her to follow him. "Come on, let me show you around."

Nancy nodded in response and followed Dorland down the halls of the SCU first floor. He stopped in front of a room labeled PATHOLOGY AND RADIOLOGY MORGUE and stepped inside. There was a woman bent over a blood-soaked table performing an autopsy. She looked up at the sounds of them walking in and smiled. Nancy could sense that this woman was a pretty nice individual because when she smiled, she felt pretty at ease. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing a golden badge on her belt.

"Hi!" she greeted, "You must be the new agent that they told me about."

Dorland nodded. "Nancy, this is Lieutenant Angel Rosa; Rosa, this is Nancy Morello."

Rosa offered her hand to shake it, but Nancy stared down at the blood - soaked glove and winced. Rosa realized her error and chuckled, removing the gloves. She walked over to a sink and began washing her hands. "I apologize for not being down there," she told her, "I got caught up in my work and couldn't leave."

"It's alright," Nancy replied.

Rosa smiled at her and once her hands were dry enough, she looked at Dorland. "I'll come with you."

Dorland frowned at her. "Rosa, I'm just showing her around the place."

Rosa smiled brightly at Nancy. "Don't worry, Dorland," she told him, "Nancy could use a friend around here."

Dorland rolled his eyes with a groan of disinterest at the friendly scene before he walked out of the room with the two women following behind him. They passed two soda machines and Nancy had the urge to get a can of Fizzy Cola, but she didn't want to break away from the conversations and come off as rude. They passed TOXICOLOGY and MICRO PHOTOGRAPHY before stopping at the locker room where Nancy could use her key that she was given by Dorland.

Then, they were stopped by a man wearing a Special Agent SCU jacket and uniform. His name tag read THOMAS. "Rosa, do you have the tests ready for me-Oh. I didn't know you were busy with someone."

Dorland gestured to him and looked at Nancy. "This is Special Agent Ethan Thomas," he said, and his words seemed to be carried on what seemed like carefully - hidden loathing. "Thomas, this is Nancy Morello."

Nancy smiled briefly at Ethan. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hi ... " Ethan said, barely acknowledging her. He looked at Rosa. "Anyway, those papers?"

Rosa nodded. "Right, right. Sorry." She looked at Nancy apologetically. "Hey, I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?"

Nancy smiled and waved her off. "Go on before the guy has a heart attack; I'll be cool."

Rosa nodded in acknowledgement and followed Ethan down the hallway where Nancy and Dorland had come from. Nancy couldn't resist her laugh at the rapid pace that Ethan was taking. She looked up at Dorland curiously.

"That Ethan seems charming," she murmured, "But you seem to like him even more than I do ... "

Dorland scoffed. "Forget it," he snapped, turning, "Let's just head up to the fifth floor so you can speak with Louise ... "

Nancy followed him into an elevator. "Who's Louise?" she asked.

"One of the senior council," Dorland explained, wincing at the irritating tune of the music inside the elevator, "She will be your mediator and your council leader should you find the job becoming a bit too much for you-Christ, I wish they'd change this music."

The elevator doors roared open and Dorland led Nancy down the hallways of more elaborate offices; the assistant directors and the council. Dorland entered the office labeled LOUISE GRIFFIN - SENIOR COUNCIL and Nancy followed him inside. There was a middle - aged woman sitting at the desk behind a computer, typing in rapid procession. She reminded Nancy a little bit of a younger version of Bren; her long brown hair was tied in a bun and she had faint traces of gray going down the sides. She was wearing a blue blouse and a heart-shaped necklace. All in all, she gave off the impression that every counselor would.

"Louise, I have her here for you," Dorland told the woman, "She's all yours."

Louise smiled warmly at Nancy. "Oh! Sit down, Miss Morello!" she said, gesturing to a chair in front of her. "I have a lot to talk to you about your - Oh! John, you don't have to go just yet; it also involves you too."

Dorland frowned, but nonetheless, he took a spot beside Nancy.

"The two of you have been partnered up, I see," Louise said, removing a few folders from her desk, "Farrell instructed me to give you both a list of - "

Nancy interrupted by holding out a hand. "Wait, why didn't he just say this while I was down there?"

Louise smiled cheerfully at her. "Oh, he's been busy these past few weeks, Nancy," she said, "Don't take offense to it."

Nancy glanced briefly at Dorland, who stared straight ahead, his face a mask of deep focus. She frowned at him before looking at Louise. "So what's so important that it has to have both of us here?" she asked.

"There is a small - not entirely an issue - that Farrell wants adressed and he wants you to hear it as well." Louise looked up at Dorland with that same calm smile as before. "John's last partner was killed in a riot and he has suffered some - "

"Christ, Louise!" Dorland protested, "Why would you mention that to a recruit?"

Louise smiled at him. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, John," she said, "Communication is very important in a law-enforcement partnership."

Nancy chuckled. "I guess he didn't do much of that with the other guy, huh?"

"Oh goddamn it!" Dorland spat.

Nancy glared at him now, immediately insulted by the seemingly blasphemous curse in her direction. "Don't you 'goddamn it' me!" he barked, rising out of her chair, "Don't you dare take the lord's name in vain with me, do you understand?"

Louise smiled cheerfully. "NOW you're communicating!"

The two glared down at her and shouted at the same time. "LOUISE!"

O

Later that evening, Nancy and Dorland were sitting in his car parked at the corner of Stafford Street; the headlights were off and they were watching a group of what looked like gang bangers coming out of an abandoned building.

"So what are we doing here when we could be over there?" Nancy questioned.

Dorland kept his gaze locked on the transaction taking place. "Because... We are looking for the right moment to seize our friend Cayle George. We believe that he is operating a meth ring somewhere around here and-THERE HE IS!"

Before Nancy knew it, Dorland was slamming on the gas and the car barreled forward. The man who he was talking about was already running for his beaten black sport's car when Dorland pulled out from the alley. He gave chase while speaking through his headset.

"Rosa! We're in pursuit!" he shouted, "Cayle George is in sight!"

"Copy that! Don't lose him!"

Dorland bared his teeth and slammed harder onto the gas. He spoke severely. "I won't."

Nancy gripped the sides of her seat while Dorland pursued the black sport's car around a corner. It struck a speed bump and jolted them all; the sport's car wasn't as lucky and spiraled out of control on the road, tires squealing loudly. Dorland slammed on the gas to avoid being struck by the spinning vehicle. When it came to a stop and the two agents quickly climbed out, the man was already climbing out of his car and taking off on foot.

"Rosa! Target is fleeing toward Factory Row!" Dorland shouted, in his headset, "I'm on foot pursuit now!"

Nancy panted as she followed alongside Dorland, gripping her handgun tightly. They arrived between two alleyways and watched as the target took off down one. Dorland snapped his fingers at Nancy and gestured for her to take the other alley.

"Cut him off at the end!" he ordered, "I'll tail him!"

Nancy nodded briefly and took off in the direction that he was talking about, tearing past boxes and dumpsters. She quickly stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts and as soon as she did, Cayle came around the corner, panting and terrified. When he saw Nancy standing there, he snarled at her.

"Move it, cop bitch!" he shouted; he had a mild accent that sounded Latin American.

Nancy moved quick; she pulled out her stun gun and when he came close enough, she ducked from a thrown punch and shoved the tazer in his balls, giving him the shock of his life. He shrieked out in pain and folded to the floor in a spasming pile of limbs. Dorland came around the corner and stared down at the scene for a few moments before he gave Nancy a half - hearted smile and a pat on her shoulder that was particularly rough.

"Good job, Morello," he said, grabbing Cayle by the arms and forcing him onto his stomach to put him in handcuffs, despite his moans of pain. "What did you do to this guy?" he asked

Cayle groaned in agony and his next words carried more wounded pride than pain, speaking before Nancy could. "The goddamn bitch tazed me in the fucking balls, man!" he cried. "That's ... That's fucked up!"

Dorland gave Nancy a funny look and she grinned, shrugging her shoulders innocently. He dragged Cayle to his feet and began walking him back to his car with Nancy following. He tapped his headset and spoke.

"Rosa, subject is in custody."

"Excellent! Is everyone still in one piece?" Rosa asked.

Dorland pushed Cayle into the back of his car and gave Nancy a look before he nodded. "Yes, everything's good."

"Good. I'll have Task Force B ready for him when you bring him back. Has he been Mirandised?"

The two climbed into the car and Dorland glared back at Cayle once Rosa was finished; the man was coughing weakly from Nancy's assault on his nether regions. "You have the right to an attorney and if you throw up in my car, I will shoot you in the head. Are we clear?"

Cayle groaned in response.

They returned to SCU where Cayle was subject to harsh interrogation by Dorland. Nancy was simply observing this at the side of the room, watching how it was done. Dorland wasn't exactly gentle with him either.

"You give me the names and you get off easy," Dorland told him, "The two guys who run the meth ring with you. It's all I want."

Cayle shook his head rapidly. "I squeal and they kill me!"

Dorland shrugged his shoulders. "If you don't squeal, you go to jail and probably die anyway, so which is it?"

Cayle looked over at Nancy for a moment before he met Dorland's terrifying gaze. "O - Okay, I got 'em," he protested, "Just ... easy ... " He took a deep breath and straightened. "Cory Davis delivers the goods and Tari Raney is the head of the operation. Now where he is right now, I ain't too sure. Tari takes off for the Preston area every Tuesday to check up on his product; makes sure that no one's been stiffing his ass of the stuff."

Nancy was writing all of this down on a pad of paper while Cayle delivered the information to them. Dorland stared at Cayle skeptically.

"And?" he pressed.

"The guy's a pretty sick fuck, you know," Cayle said, snickering weakly, "He's arranged for the custom guys to be on tomorrow night. Sweet ol' union boys will be there to unload the shipment to send out to the sweet little children."

Dorland didn't react to the horrible news. "What do you get out of it?"

"Do my job right - which I obviously fucked up - I usually get 5 percent of the earnings. You can imagine how much cash that is." Cayle grinned at the thought and licked his lips as if he was savoring a delicious treat.

Dorland chuckled softly. "Thanks," he said, "Looks like I got what I need to put your pathetic piece of waste ass behind bars forever."

Nancy left the room and Dorland shortly followed. She gave him a strange look and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Something's not right about this," Nancy said, furrowing her brow in deep thought, "There's more to this whole thing than we're seeing."

Dorland stared at her for a moment before he shook it off and patted her roughly on the shoulder, brushing passed her. "Don't worry about it, Morello."

Nancy watched him go and looked inside at Cayle through the window of the door, watching as he leaned back in his chair and shifted a little bit. She knew that there was more to the city's crime wave than a simple increase in drug activity.

So much more.