AN: Woohoo, we're back in action folks!! Big, GiAnT, HUMUNGOUS thanks to SpookyClaire for helping me get back into the groove of things. Folks, Claire pretty much wrote most of this chapter for me and without her I probably never would've been able to continue with this so thank you Claire, you rock so hard!!
-Squeedle
Last time on 'In the Midst of This Danger':
Tony was back at the warehouse again only this time he had only one man with him.
"Well?" Tony probed.
"When I left the station they had Jack and Nolan in custody. I doubt that I can go back to work."
"Damn it!" Tony shouted as he kicked a nearby paint bucket.
This whole thing had gotten out of hand. It wasn't supposed to be this hard. He was supposed to get in, gun down Chief Vick and be done with it.
~*~
June 3rd, 2009 One month and one day ago continued
Carlton didn't want to believe it. He just didn't want to believe that, even after the whole 'Drimmer' fiasco, dirty cops existed. Didn't want to believe that some of the men and women who took the same oath he did to serve and protect the city were, for lack of a better phrase, lying down with the dogs.
He really didn't want to do the line-up but there was no way to avoid it so they rounded up every Forbes they could find in the station. He was relieved when neither man could identify any of them as the guy that murdered that family but that relief deflated when Juliet told him that there was one other officer with the last name Forbes whose shift ended while they were in the interrogation room with Jack and Nolan. Juliet showed them a picture they had on file of that particular Forbes and their answer was instantaneous.
Conner Forbes, a rookie officer that's been with the SBPD for two years. By looking at the picture of him one would think that he couldn't hurt a fly let alone torture and murder a family of four.
And though a picture may be worth a thousand words, life itself is worth five billion. Besides, pictures can be very deceiving. They could be riddled with lies. And that's exactly what Forbes was.
A lie.
Carlton shook his head, tired, upset, stressed. He didn't want to believe this. He didn't want to believe any of this. About Forbes. About what he was beginning to feel towards Shawn. About his life. Why did this have to happen to him? He was a good officer. He did his job and he did it right. It was almost as if some higher power was testing him. Testing his willpower to hold himself together. Testing his ability keep everything in check. Testing.
With a sigh he handed the photo back to Juliet. He knew what was coming.
"Lassiter!" He turned and saw Vick striding up to him, a grim look on her face.
"You know what this means, don't you?" She sighed.
He shook his head vigorously, "Chief, please. You can't do this. There has to be something else."
"Lassiter," She said sternly, "This isn't about me wanting to make you miserable. It's about keeping you safe. You're an important asset to this department and so is Shawn. I couldn't imagine losing either of you." Vick admitted seriously, actually looking upset by the idea of losing Shawn or Carlton. That alone shocked him into silence. When he said nothing, merely blinked, Vick sighed again and said, "I'll go tell Spencer…"
*
"Chief!" Shawn whined, sounding like a petulant child. "Who says they're even after us? Come on!"
"Spencer." She growled, "You're a witness. A witness that they want dead. This isn't something that's up for discussion. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. Got it?"
Shawn let his head hang, "Yeah…" He paused for a few moments before he bounced on the balls of his feet. "It's just so boring!"
"Shawn," Vick warned.
"Well, how would you feel being locked up in here for God knows how long??"
"Oh no, no, no. You're not staying here." She said with her 'How could you be so stupid?' laugh.
Shawn blinked, "We—we're not?"
"What, and let you sleuth your way out of here again and get yourself killed? No. We've got something much more…secluded in mind for you."
Shawn leaned away from the chief, a perturbed look on his face.
*
When the car finally arrived at it's destination Shawn nearly choked on the pineapple smoothie he'd made Buzz get for him before leaving the station. You've got to be kidding me, Shawn thought as he climbed out of the car.
"A cabin? In the middle of nowhere? Really?!" Shawn cried, pulling his duffle and sleeping bag out of the trunk..
"It's the only place you can't run away from Mr. Spencer. Plus, it's a good few miles away from civilization, neither Tony nor Forbes would think to look for you here." Vick said as she shut the driver's door.
"Yeah, but what about the mountain lions?" Shawn whined.
"There aren't any mountain lions over here, Spencer." Carlton rolled his eyes as he pulled his things from the trunk. "And even if there were they wouldn't eat you."
"Aww, Lassie, are you implying that you would protect me from big bad mountain lions?" Shawn asked, batting his eyelashes in an almost animated fashion.
Carlton narrowed his eyes. "No, I'm saying they wouldn't eat you because even a mountain lion has standards Spencer. Even if one did attack I'd push you towards it and run away." Carlton said, ignoring the thought that if they were indeed attacked by a mountain lion he would do everything in his power to protect the pseudo-psychic.
Shawn let a mocking pout grace his face. "You're a very unpleasant person Carly-Town."
"Thank you Spencer." Carlton mumbled as they followed the chief up to the cabin. Pushing the door open she led them inside.
The two looked at the cabin's interior, it was actually pretty cute. It looked like something an old married couple would live in when they were retired and only wanted to spend time with each other. Shawn glanced at Carlton only to find him glancing back and as quickly as it happened they both looked away.
The chief stayed in the doorway as they looked around.
Carlton walked forward a few steps, looking around the small cabin a little more. A door-less doorway led him into a small kitchen, in blue hues, with a small stove, an old fridge and a few cabinets. The living room held one ugly couch and a somewhat comfortable looking easy chair. There was an old TV and an even older radio, as well as a fireplace. He walked towards the only two doors he saw and opened one to find a fairly stationary, bland bathroom. It smelled of mildew but it looked clean enough, he was thankful for that. Then he turned and jumped when he was Shawn standing directly behind him.
"Sweet Justice, Spencer!"
"Scared ya?" Shawn asked with a grin.
"Startled." Carlton corrected.
"Oh, yes, I'm sure." Shawn then turned and pushed open the only other door. They both stood in the doorway and looked in to find a small room, in pinkish hues, wherein lay a small dresser and one bed. One bed.
"Ooh Lassie look, one bed and there's room for two." Shawn stated in a rather seductive tone, stepping up close to the head detective.
"Not a snowball's chance in hell Spencer." Carlton said, stepping back while trying to ignore the tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach that Shawn created. The prospect of them sleeping in the same bed was rather tempting in Carlton's opinion though he'd never admit it out loud. "You're sleeping on the couch."
"Aww, man!" Shawn cried, plopping down on the couch in a childish fashion and crossed his arms. "You suck!"
"Now Mr. Spencer, Lassiter," the chief started reminding the two that she was still there. "O'Hara and Mr. Guster will be here in about a half an hour with some supplies. Make them last because after today neither of you are to have any contact with anyone but yourselves."
Great, Carlton thought. Now he had to spend God knows how long with only Shawn for company and no gun.
Again, thank you Claire so much. I really don't think this would've continued without you. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
-Squeedle
