Consequences to Being a White Knight
Chapter Four
After Rogers left the station to try to find Tilly, he started at the shipping crate in the train yard where she has been living for awhile. When he didn't find her there, the detective continued his search for her by going to the park and other places throughout the neighborhood he knew she frequented, including the giant statue under the bridge on the edge of town where she liked to sell her collection of stolen watches she picked off from any unwitting passerby. His first time by, she wasn't around. However, a few hours later, he came around again as he walked up to it with a bag in his hand and was grateful to have finally found her sitting up within the statue's arms.
"There you are," Rogers stated gently to the young woman, as he walked around the statue so he could face her while he spoke and then looked up at her. "I've been looking for you."
"Have you?" Tilly asked snidely when she turned to look down at him too. "I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me, after what I did for Weaver."
He shook his head while he responded in understanding, "I get it. He's like a father figure to you. You trusted him over a stranger. It's understandable."
She glanced away from him with disappointment in herself and the senior detective in her eyes as she sadly replied, "Yeah, well… I thought he was good man. I felt like he gave a damn about me. Now without that, what ties me to the world?"
"Well… I don't know if I have a tether to the world, but I do have this," Rogers answered her, then glanced down at the bag he was carrying until he raised it up to hand over to her and she eagerly pulled out a new chessboard set as she laughed. "I thought we could start a weekly game… A way to fill the time, now that I've found Eloise Gardener."
"You know, I thought finding her would be it," the younger detective continued when he leaned against the statue, while Tilly opened the game board and unconsciously picked up the white knight piece without knowing how dear it was to her. "And look… I'm relieved that she's free, it's just I don't feel… I don't know what to do next that will matter."
Tilly then looked away when a thought surprisingly dawned on her, until she looked at him again as she responded, "That's the feeling… Not mattering to anyone. That's the coming untied from the world feeling."
Understanding exactly what it was she meant because he felt it too, Rogers spoke again while he looked into her eyes saying, "It's not a good feeling."
"No," she replied with a soft laugh. "But now maybe we'll drift off the planet in the same direction."
"Aye… I believe you may be right," he answered her sincerely and smiled. "I'm so sorry for the things I said to you last night, Tilly. I was upset. Mostly with Weaver because he's being… Well, Weaver. You know as well as I do what he's done. And on top of that, I was frustrated because it's taken me too long to find Eloise. If he had just been willing to help me and stop with the mind games… But none of that is an excuse for hurting you like I did. I never meant to hurt you, or to get you to distrust me. I hope you can forgive me."
The young woman smiled at him, then she jumped down so she could stand on the ground in front of him and responded, "There's no need for my forgiveness, Detective. Because I do understand more than you think I do. But if you really want it… you have it. So long as you can forgive me too. I didn't want to hurt you either. I thought I was protecting you. Weaver said this Eloise woman is dangerous and that she might hurt you. I believed him. I could sense something's not right about her by the way she looked at me last night from that ambulance. I'm worried."
Rogers let out a quiet sigh in frustration when he looked away from her again and then he gently replied, "As far as I know, Eloise is an innocent girl who needed my help because everyone else had given up on her. I couldn't just shake off my feelings towards this case as much as you, Weaver, Victoria, or anyone who kept trying to get me to back off might have wanted me to. I had to do as my conscience guided me to do. But I assure you, nothing bad is going to happen. Not to me, not to you, and not… not to anyone."
"I understand," Tilly answered sincerely, then looked over at the chess pieces as she reached out to pick up the white knight once more. "Do you have time to play a game right now?"
"I really wish I could," the newly appointed detective responded when he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket again and pulled the cell out to find his partner was calling him. "It appears Weaver's calling me. About a new case I'm guessing. I should probably go."
She saw him place the phone back into his pocket, then asked, "Are you not going to answer it?"
He shook his head again while he replied, "No. I'm not exactly prepared to listen to him rip me apart again for trying to help someone I care about. I want to make sure that you're going to be alright. Is there anything you need? Anything… I can do for you before I go?"
"That's sweet," Tilly answered with a smile as she looked at him again. "But you've already done more than enough for me. I appreciate you coming to find me, detective. I really do. You're a good man."
"I try to be," Rogers said once more and offered her a smile in return before he started to turn away, then stopped to face her again when a sense of worry suddenly washed over him. "If Weaver tries calling you, or if you see him, let him know that I'm going to head back to the abandoned building where Victoria was holding Eloise. I have this strange feeling I might have missed something in my haste to help her. Something… I don't know… Something that might help to make the case stronger against Victoria Belfrey. I fear she might get away with what she's done. And with the way Weaver's been coming down on me about all this, I have to make sure everything I do is solid."
She nodded as she responded, "Of course. Just be careful. I'll see you tomorrow? Perhaps we can play then."
The detective replied, "I'd like that. Goodbye, Tilly."
"Goodbye," Tilly answered, then watched him finally walk away from her to return to duty.
The young woman was about to turn to walk away from the statue herself to go off and find something to eat, until she then noticed someone suspicious step out from an alleyway several yards ahead of her keeping his eyes trained solely on Detective Rogers, as the stranger began to follow behind him at a safe distance. However, what worried her more was that whoever it was kept his or her face and head hidden beneath a ball cap and the hood from the sweatshirt they were wearing. And when Rogers ran across the street to get into his car parked nearby to drive away, this stranger got into another car, then followed after him in the same direction.
Tilly immediately ran after them and hailed for a cab to take her to the abandoned building where the detective thankfully told her he was headed. Normally, she walked everywhere she went, but if this suspect turned out to be as dangerous she feared he or she might be, she knew she didn't have time to waste in getting to Rogers again as quickly as possible.
She shoved what little cash she had in her pockets given to her from Weaver the night before into the driver's hands so he would drive, then quickly sent off a message to the senior detective on her phone to let him know his partner might be in trouble and where he needed to meet her.
Meanwhile, Rogers was unaware he was being followed because the suspect was cautious and kept his distance. Also, the detective's mind was focused on trying to push down his concern about Victoria getting out of the kidnapping charges, Weaver's contempt against him, and his worry he felt for Eloise trying to adjust again after all she's been through.
He finally arrived outside of the building again and left his car to enter with his gun raised in case of any trouble waiting for him inside. Once he saw his surroundings were clear, he holstered his service weapon and walked into the storage room where he found the missing girl being held captive, pulled out his flashlight, then knelt down to look around the floor for any kind of evidence he might have missed. Unfortunately, he found nothing more.
If it was any other suspect, he would have had plenty of evidence to make sure the criminal was sent away for life. However, Victoria was a powerful woman. And Rogers hated that he suspected Weaver of being a dirty cop who was in the woman's pocket ever since they had begun working together on account of all the secrets and mind games he kept playing against him.
Finally, he was about to leave nearly twenty minutes after he arrived, when he turned in the direction of smoke slowly filling the air around him from somewhere close by. He smelled the smoke first, then saw it coming towards him and Rogers immediately made his way towards the source of the fire he could at last see had been set within another room stemmed off from the entrance he had passed through earlier. However, before he could do anything about it, or turn to leave, the fire erupted and spread beyond the room, causing Rogers to have to dive forward and crawl away from it in order to avoid being struck. But before he could even stand again, he was suddenly assaulted from behind by whoever he suspected had set the fire now working to consume the entire building.
Rogers couldn't make out his attacker's face, but by their strength as they both fought hand to hand after his gun was knocked from his hand when he attempted to pull it again to defend himself, he could tell he was fighting against another man despite his face being hidden beneath his ball cap and hood just as Tilly had observed when she had seen him following after the detective.
Their fight didn't last much longer, as the flames grew stronger and burned hotter around them. But once Rogers thought he had gained the upper hand when he gained the chance to pull his backup weapon he wore in a holster on his left ankle, the assailant suddenly slashed his chest with a jagged knife he swiftly pulled from his belt, then pushed the detective back just as burning rubble from the ceiling crashed down and landed on top of him, causing him to collapse to the floor unconscious upon being struck and pinned down. The assailant immediately ran through the smoke and flames to escape, leaving his target behind to die. And in his hurry, he failed to see Tilly nearby as she was trying to look through one of the windows to see in while standing on the hood of Rogers' car despite the building now being on fire.
She ducked just as the assailant slammed the door upon running from the building and then immediately ran to his car to speed away. And when Rogers didn't follow behind him, Tilly knew something had gone terribly wrong, so she didn't hesitate to run inside in fear that her friend was hurt, or worse. She carefully climbed down the metal stairwell, cautiously avoiding to touch the railings knowing they'd be hot, then navigated her way around the flames surrounding her as she called out for Detective Rogers.
At last, she finally found him unconscious on the floor partially buried beneath the rubble which had fallen on him and immediately ran over to him so she could try to pull him out in time to save him from being burned in the fire, knowing that doing so would be an impossible task without her own help. Tilly knelt over him as she immediately worked to pull the debris off of him while she called out to him in hope of waking him, then struggled to drag him out despite the danger to herself.
"Please… Detective, I need you to wake… to wake up," she pleaded with him while she continued to struggle. "Please!"
The young woman immediately collapsed on top of him in fear when more flames suddenly erupted nearby, then Tilly laid her hands on the sides of Rogers' face to try to bring him back around while she knelt over him again. Tears spilled down her cheeks upon becoming afraid she would have to leave him. However, just when she knew she had to give up, Weaver suddenly appeared behind her and knelt down beside her to pull his partner up with him, then wrapped one of the younger detective's arms around his shoulders while Tilly immediately did the same with his other. Together, they managed to make their way through the flames surrounding them to escape from the abandoned burning building owned by Belfrey Developments.
Once they finally made their way outside and rushed away from the dangers of the fires that tried to consume them, Weaver and Tilly breathed in the fresh clean air while they carefully laid Rogers down against the ground again so they could care for him until the ambulance arrived to take over for them.
Weaver glanced into Tilly's eyes as he nodded at her, then quickly reached down to his partner's neck to feel for a pulse and was grateful to feel it was steady while he stated, "He's going to be alright, Tilly. Thanks to you. You did good."
She shook her head worryingly while she stared down at the younger detective and responded, "Did I? I could have entered the building right away. I could have helped him. Before the fire started. I arrived just after they did, but I was afraid. I knew that man was acting strange… that he was going to hurt Rogers."
"What do you mean?" the senior detective questioned once he looked up at her again in between working to look over Rogers' injuries upon seeing the gashes on the back and on the right side of his head from being struck by the rubble, one across his right cheekbone, the long jagged laceration across his chest from being slashed by his attacker's knife, and upon feeling at least a couple of fractured ribs.
"Detective Rogers and I were talking before he left," Tilly replied sadly. "He apologized to me for last night. But then… I saw someone suspicious begin to follow him. Even followed him in his car. When I arrived here after I followed too…"
Weaver nodded in understanding and looked down at his partner as he answered, "This suspicious man had attacked Rogers, set the building on fire, and left him to die. But you saved him, Tilly. And you sent a message to me so I could get here in time to help. Did you get a good look at the man? Did you see his face at all?"
She shook her head again and responded quietly, "Not a good look, but I saw him enough as he ran out of the building. He hadn't pulled his hood back up. Or put his ball cap back on."
"Okay… that's good," the older man replied, then let out a sigh in relief when Rogers finally began to breathe in and out more easily despite having inhaled a heavy amount of smoke while he had been trapped inside the fire. "Once you and I make sure Rogers is well taken care of after we go with him to the hospital, you can come with me back to the precinct so we can question Victoria Belfrey together."
"Victoria Belfrey?" Tilly stated in question out of confusion. "What does she have to do with this? Are you thinking she's behind what's happened?"
Finally, the sounds of the ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance to indicate they were close, then when he looked over again at Tilly after he had turned his head upon hearing the sirens, Weaver answered, "I'm afraid she is. She put a hit on Rogers' head in hope of preventing him from finding Eloise Gardener, but… this killer failed to stop him in time. I've been looking for Rogers so I could try to warn him, but…"
The young woman finished for him, "…because of our deception yesterday and hurting Rogers' trust, he wasn't willing to talk to you or answer your call. Victoria's going to pay for this. She has to."