Lex Talionis – Chapter 4

With a grin of relief, Bobby settled himself at his desk, opened his binder, and began searching through the stacks on his desktop for Lisa Hahn's folder. Peripherally, he saw Eames pick up an envelope from the center of her desk and then heard the slice of her letter opener followed by the rustle of paper.

Then silence.

After almost thirty seconds of silence, Bobby looked up at Eames and frowned with concern. She stood rooted in place, her face visibly blanched as she gripped the envelope and its contents in both hands.

"Eames?"

The sound of his voice seemed to spur her to action. Without so much as a glance at him, she took off at a trot toward the elevators, the mysterious mail still clutched in her hand.

"Eames!"

Bobby's few moments of stunned inaction gave her the advantage at the elevators. He caught a brief glimpse of glittering anger before the doors slid closed. She was headed down while Bobby was stuck on the eleventh floor pressing the call button for the next elevator.

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Alex's heart was hammering in her chest, her breaths ragged with a combination of anger and panic. How the hell could she know? There were two other people in the elevator with her, but that didn't stop Alex from pacing an anxious pattern – the damn thing was just too slow. Finally reaching the first floor, she quickly looked around the lobby then bolted to the front exit doors. She stopped once she reached the sidewalk and scanned the jostling crowed, looking for that one, unmistakable hair color…

"Nicole!"

Dodging most pedestrians but bumping into a few in her haste, Alex bore down on her target. "Wallace!"

Finally hearing her, Nicole stopped and turned, her expression clearly perplexed. Alex no sooner reached her than she gripped Nicole's arm with one hand and waved the contents of the other in her face.

"What is this?" Alex demanded.

Unfazed by Alex's fury or her iron grip, Nicole calmly looked at the papers in Alex's hand then met her eyes with little more than a mild question in her own.

"It appears to be a copy of a newspaper article."

Her grip flexed just a little tighter on Nicole's arm. "Why did you put it on my desk?"

Nicole's eyes flicked to where Alex held tight, but she didn't try to test the strength of her restraint. "What in the world makes you think I have anything to do with that?"

"Eames."

Alex didn't bother to turn when she heard Bobby's calm voice just behind her left shoulder. She felt the light touch of his hand on her upper arm – a gentle prompt for her to release Nicole. Alex let go and flexed her fingers to relieve the tension in her hand and forearm. Nicole hesitated a split second before bringing her hand up to rub at the red impression of Alex's fingers that marred the pale skin of her arm.

Glaring at Alex, Nicole seemed to have lost some of her controlled demeanor. "Why are you accusing me? Do you really think there's no one else in this world who wants to torment you?"

"Eames…" Bobby repositioned himself so he now stood somewhere between Alex and Nicole. "What…?" he stumbled over his question, obviously confused as to what prompted Alex's enraged behavior.

Meeting Nicole's glare with one of her own, Alex passed Bobby the envelope and paper she held in her hand. She gave him a few moments to read and understand what he was seeing. She then tore her gaze away from Nicole to look at him.

Bobby's eyes were still cast down to what he held. His lips were pursed and his mouth twitched as a muscle in his jaw tensed. She heard him blow out an angry breath before raising his eyes to Nicole.

"What did Lisa Hahn want from you?" he asked very deliberately.

Alex frowned but said nothing.

"I told you. Information," Nicole continued to rub her arm and practically pouted up at Bobby. He was about to open his mouth to press further, when she continued on her own. "She asked a lot of questions about you, Detective," Nicole's eyes slid to Alex. "It seems she thought you two had something in common." She finally stopped playing the wounded victim, pulled her purse strap higher on her shoulder, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Judging by your reaction, apparently she was right."

"Where can we find her, Nicole?" Bobby's voice was grim and Alex could tell by his tone that he was at the end of his patience with her banter.

"I have no idea. I told you. She's mad." She looked from Alex to Bobby and back again. "Why don't you try the room next to his mother."

Without any clear thought as to her intent, Alex fisted her right hand and began to advance on Nicole. Bobby's grip on her elbow stopped her after only one step.

Nicole laughed gleefully. "It appears your partner has some fire in her after all," she gave Bobby a wicked grin. Squared shoulders and a grunt of exasperation were his only response. "Lucky you," she murmured.

The three of them faced off there on the busy New York City sidewalk, each mentally tallying the score and all of them determining that this round was a draw. Alex suddenly felt the rage draining from her. Bobby must have felt it too. His thumb began a light, rhythmic caress at her elbow, meant to reassure her of his solid standing by her side.

Nicole blinked first. "Well, Detectives… unless you have a reason to haul me back into that building, I'll be going now. I really must find that perfect outfit for a grieving widow." Nicole's eyes darted quickly to Alex before she turned to walk away. "You can let go of her arm now, Bobby," she called over her shoulder and then disappeared into the crowd.

Bobby removed his hand with a self-conscious start and shoved his fists into his pants pockets. Alex felt a wave of weariness wash over her, as though along with his hand Bobby had removed her strength. It was, she knew, the aftereffect of her adrenaline rush, but still, she felt defeated as she reached to take the papers back from Bobby's hand.

She looked at what she held and felt the heat of Bobby's gaze. She knew without even looking at him that he was studying her with extreme concern. Once again, Alex read the headline.

'Fiery Crash Kills Queens Man, DUI Suspected'

It was all there. The entire newspaper article on Daniel McKinnon's fatal drunk driving accident. Uncle Danny.

TBC…