The first few days of the next week were quite busy for the crime fighting members of the group. A series of kidnappings and murders had made their way down the coast and the most recent one had fallen into the SBPD's jurisdiction. Three women who had been on a road trip to Mexico were reported missing when their abandoned car was found at the side of the road. Shawn's readings caught a few details the other city's PD's had missed and on Wednesday they managed to identify the three men responsible, but were still clueless as to their location, and that of the missing women.
Shawn scratched the back of his neck in one of those this-is-awkward gestures he normally tried to avoid. He was standing on CJ's doorstep, having heard from Lily that his friend was up here on her lunch break. The faux-psychic had slipped away from Gus and the detectives after over-hearing a whispered conversation between Juliet and Lassiter about the fact they had a little less than 4 hours before the women were murdered if the kidnappers stuck to their normal MO.
The police department was scrambling but background checks on the criminals showed no obvious properties they could be hiding at. The tension in the air as the deadline drew nearer made Shawn antsy and he figured CJ might be angry at him for forcing the situation, but she'd be livid if the women died because he didn't have her try to read anything.
To Shawn's surprise, on the way out the back door of the station Henry had stopped him. The younger man had flinched knowing time was short and not wanting to hear the lecture he was sure to get. His father surprised him though, by handing him a photo of the three women that Shawn was sure had been clipped into the official file the last time he got a peek. The older man just looked at Shawn and nodded his head in the direction of Shawn's bike, a half-smile of disbelief on his face, as if he couldn't process the fact he was giving his fake-psychic son evidence to take to his real psychic friend. Overall, Henry had been coping better than expected with the reveal of CJ's gift but the shock in Shawn's eyes showed he hadn't expected his normally by-the-book father to encourage him in his subterfuge.
The sound of a lock disengaging startled Shawn out of his thoughts and he frowned a little at how pale his friend appeared when she opened the door and gestured him inside. Too used to her ability to know he was there before he ever knocked he shrugged before stepping inside and turning to the woman.
She held a hand up, "I know why you're here. Three women right? I don't think they have much time."
The man noticed out of the corner of his eye an open bottle of migraine medication and a half empty glass.
"You had a vision?" he asked.
Her you're-an-idiot look was as good as a yes.
"Did you see where they were? No one has been able to pinpoint a place and Lassie and Jules think we only have a few hours left." His hand came up to steady his friend as she winced and shook her head.
"Couldn't see a location for sure, but they are in an old house of some kind? Run down definitely. They're in the basement and I can't see anything helpful. Did you bring me something to help?"
Shawn pulled out the photo as he guided CJ to a chair and placed it in her hands. Her eyes closed immediately and he hoped she was getting something useful. He recalled a recent conversation about how her visions were more detailed now, but ultimately she got stronger, and more helpful readings from touch.
CJ tensed and started mumbling under her breath, Shawn could understand enough to know she was channeling the fear of the three women right now. He reached out a hand to shake her out of it but her eyes snapped open before he made contact.
"39 Willow street in a neighborhood called Three Acres. It's about 30 minutes away and you need to hurry. One of the women, she… made them mad. The man in charge wants to hurt her and I don't think they are going to wait as long as they normally do. Shawn, GO!"
CJ practically shoved him up and towards the door and Shawn texted Lily to check on the woman as he ran to his bike and sped towards the station.
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When he returned the tension was even higher and he could hear Lassiter snapping at the junior officers to get him some useful information damn it. Juliet's head snapped up when Shawn skidded into the station, the hopeful look on her face apparent across the room.
"Where were you?" The head detective practically snarled, he may not completely believe Shawn was psychic but with dead ends all around "visions" were all they had to rely on.
"Communing with the spirits, Lassie-face." His smile wasn't as manic as usual and the fake-psychic revealed the information CJ had given him with very little fanfare and just one hand to his head. "I see 39, Willow Street, and Three Acres. The spirits are telling me to hurry, someone is very, very angry."
The police department exploded into action, the detectives gearing up while an officer entered the search on the computer. He quickly cried out the directions while another grabbed the print out so quickly the last line was a little smudged.
As the police cars tore out of the parking lot, Gus and Shawn followed in the Blueberry, hoping CJ's information had come in time.
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The police cars cut their sirens as they neared the neighborhood and parked around the block, the officers mobilizing quickly and moving in on number 39. They entered the house just as Shawn and Gus came up the driveway and moments later the two heard Lassiter's gruff "SBPD, put your weapons down" just before the sound of gunshots made them drop to the ground.
Shawn recovered first and ran up the stairs to see three men on the ground and Lassiter grabbing his arm and barking at someone on the radio to get a medic.
"Spencer, what the hell do you think you're doing? You could have been shot."
The pain from what Shawn realized was a gunshot wound in Lassister's arm made that sound a whole lot closer to real concern than the detective intended.
"The women, they're in the basement. I think one needs medical attention."
The bruises on the knuckles of the prone criminal closest to him hadn't escaped his notice and he hoped the woman was okay.
Lassiter's eye widened at that and he and Juliet raced towards the basement and down the stairs with Shawn close at their heels. Lassiter fumbled for the light switch and flicked it on, only to be met by the terrified but determined faces of two women huddled over their friend. The anger in their eyes caused him to holster his gun and put his hands up.
"SBPD ladies, we are here to help. How is she?"
Juliet had already fallen to her knees at the side of the injured woman and was checking her pulse and trying to assess her injuries at the same time. Lassiter saw the women flinch when he stepped closer and immediately backed up and called for a stretcher to be brought down. Shawn caught the eye of one of the women and gasped quietly when he realized they looked too familiar. He blinked and looked again, now seeing dark brown eyes and a slightly confused look on the woman's face. Stepping back against the wall to get out of the way of the medics, Shawn then went up the stairs and out the door, ignoring Gus' scolding as he whipped out his phone and dialed.
"CJ what the hell was that?" His voice was edging on panic and he wasn't sure exactly why as he thought he'd completely grasped what it meant that his friend was truly psychic.
"What was what?" Shawn's snort brought a soft sigh from the woman and she began again. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, the woman couldn't feel anything and if it makes you feel any better I will not be doing that again. I feel like I got hit by a truck."
"It doesn't make me feel any better. Can you do that all the time? Wait, this is not a good time for this conversation," his last comment made in a whisper as Juliet and Lassiter had just emerged from the house. "Dinner tonight. Don't even think of getting out of it. I'll bring tacos."
He hung up the phone just as the detectives reached him and Gus.
"Did you get shot, Lassiter?" Gus practically screamed, calling the attention of a medic who grabbed a kit and walked over with a take-no-prisoners look on his face. Obviously, the guy had heard about Lassiter's reticence to medical treatment.
"I'm fine Guster. It's just a graze, no need to faint." The barest hint of humor in his voice showed how happy the detective was they'd gotten to the women in time. The EMT in the basement had said that the one woman's injuries were not life threatening and that physically she should recover within a week or two.
The head detective started edging away as he noticed the man with the first aid kit coming over but his partner grabbed his uninjured arm and just glared until he sighed and walked to meet the man halfway before heading to the back of the ambulance to sit down and grudgingly let his wound be treated.
"Would you guys be up for dinner tonight? Carlton needs someone around to make sure he actually takes his pills. Everyone could come to my place and we can order pizza, have a quiet night in?" Shawn detected a slight tremble in Juliet's voice, her partner being shot, even if it was only a graze affected her and he knew his girlfriend's request had a lot to do with no wanting to be alone. "Gus can you call Lily and Shawn if you ask CJ? I'll have to finish some paperwork at the station but let's say six?" Juliet turned and walked over to her partner without waiting for confirmation.
Gus and Shawn looked at each other and shrugged. Gus would take any excuse to hang out with his girlfriend and Shawn would have plenty of time to interrogate CJ before six.
"Let's just head to the store now and hang out until it's time?"
Gus nodded in response to Shawn's question and led the way to his car.
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CJ popped another painkiller and gulped down a glass of water, wincing as she remember the slight hysteria in Shawn's voice during his call. She hadn't even known what she was doing really. Picking up the picture again a while after Shawn left she could hear gunshots and angry yelling, knowing immediately the police were at the house. Opening herself up even farther she could feel the woman's fear for her friends and herself. Seeing a path the psychic had pushed herself down it only to open her eyes and see Shawn in the corner of a dingy basement. Her surprise has yanked her out of the woman as quickly as she'd entered but not before she caught the bright red stain on Lassiter's arm.
Her worry over the detective made her snort out a quick laugh. Shawn's teasing wasn't helping, and she kept remembering that dinner and car ride back. Lassiter's laugh was nothing special and she refused to think about how it had made her happy to see the rigid man relax as he drove her home.
CJ heard footsteps on her stairs and wondered if Lily had come back up again to check on her. Stupid Shawn and his making her assistant worry. She opened the door already scolding her employee.
"Lily I am quite alright you don't need to keep… oh it's you."
Shawn decided not to take her tone of voice to heart and stepped inside closing and locking the door behind him.
"Yes it's me. The one who just saw your eyes in a basement across town and oh yeah, in another woman's face!" The hysteria she'd detected in his phone call bubbled over as he practically yelled.
"Come in. Sit down." Her dry tone of voice made Shawn shoot her a glare as he flopped on her couch and crossed his arms, making it abundantly clear he wasn't leaving until he got an explanation.
Ignoring his pouting she sat down in the chair opposite him and curled her legs under her, picking up her still warm tea cup and inhaling the steam hoping her head stopped pounding soon.
"First, is Lassiter okay? I didn't see much but there was blood on his shirt."
Shawn relaxed a little, the concern in his friend's voice for the detective very evident. "He's fine. It was just a graze , now please tell me what just happened."
"Honestly? I have no idea. That's the first time I've done that. I just saw a path and followed and then I was there, I could see everything she did. It was… well it was strange but it didn't last long. How did you know it was me?"
"Her eyes were green, in all the pictures she had brown eyes. Wow, that's freaky, even for you, CJ."
"Tell me about it. When I got back to my body it wasn't pleasant let me tell you. I will not be trying that out again anytime soon."
The exhaustion and pain on her face were evident and Shawn couldn't really be angry at her as she seemed just as freaked out as he did. He opened his arms, "Come here."
CJ curled up against him and he cursed his earlier gruffness when he realized she was trembling. They sat like that for awhile, Shawn comforting his friend as she slowly stopped shaking.
The two friends eventually broke apart and CJ went to the kitchen to grab pop cans for them both before coming back to the living room. Shawn was sitting up and looking at her with a sheepish expression.
"Uh, so, you totally don't have to if you don't want, but um…"
"Oh my god, just spit whatever it is out, Shawn." The woman flopped onto the couch next to him and offered him the Coke can as she popped the top of her own.
"Well, the whole getting shot at and Lassie-face getting hurt thing seems to have shaken Juliet up and well, she wants us all to have pizza at her place tonight. She asked me to invite you and Gus is downstairs distracting, I mean inviting Lily."
Shawn wasn't above using puppy-dog eyes to convince his friend to agree to his girlfriend's plan. CJ knew she was being played but she couldn't shake the need to see that Lassiter was okay for herself.
"What time?"
"Six." Shawn smirked as CJ rolled her eyes.
"We are getting a Hawaiian pizza."
"Like I would ever turn down anything with pineapple."
"True, video games?"
Shawn grinned, "This is why we're friends, Ceej. No crying when I wipe the floor with you."
"You talk a big game, can you follow through?" CJ smiled, her headache had finally receded until it was just a faint twinge and she couldn't help but feel happy that Juliet had included her in tonight's plans.
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Shawn seemed to be making it his mission to be as ridiculous as possible during the video game showdown and a couple hours later when Gus and Lily came upstairs to grab them for the drive over the couple could hear their friend's laughter coming through the door.
Gus and Lily took the Blueberry while CJ and Shawn went on his bike. The group arrived at Juliet's to find no sign of Lassiter's car in the driveway, but Shawn had a feeling his girlfriend wouldn't have let the injured man drive and figured he was already inside.
The four friends rang the doorbell and were met by a smiling Juliet. If they noticed she was still a little pale from the day's events they were polite enough not to mention it. She led them into her living room and both CJ and Gus noticed some things that definitely belonged to Shawn already in residence, including an Xbox and a recipe book that loudly proclaimed itself "The World's Biggest Churro Recipe Book."
The SBPD head detective was quietly sitting in a large armchair watching the latest reality show with disinterest. CJ was slightly worried about his inattention to their interest and frowned before Shawn commented.
"You're pretty quiet their Lassie. Did they give you the good pain pills?"
CJ mentally smacked the back of her own head, wondering how she could have forgotten that the detective was likely on pain meds for his wound. Shawn's voice seemed to break him out of his trance though and he looked up taking in the group now before him. A small half-smile broke out on his face when he saw CJ and Juliet and Shawn exchanged smirks even as Lassiter growled something about all the pain pills in the world not being enough to deal with Shawn all night.
The next few minutes were chaotic as arguments over pizza toppings got way too heated in the way they always do among friends. CJ and Shawn were debating how many slices each they'd eat to determine what size of Hawaiian they'd need while Juliet and Lassiter were in a fight over pepperoni vs. sausage and Gus and Lily were arguing whether or not any vegetable other than tomatoes belonged on a pizza. They ended up settling on three larges, Hawaiian, ½ pepperoni and ½ sausage, and Supreme. CJ had interrupted the two detectives argument from her seat on the couch closest to Lassiter with a hand on his arm and a suggestion that they get half and half and Juliet had been too amused by the cute expression on Lassiter's face at CJ's touch to argue about contamination on the slices in the middle.
Juliet went off to order while Gus pouted about losing to his girlfriend. Shawn's offer to share some vegetable-free pizza cheered him up and CJ went to help Juliet grab drinks for everybody. Unconsciously opening the correct cabinet that held the glasses made the blonde give her a funny look but CJ just shrugged and motioned to Juliet to continue giving her address to the delivery man.
Gottastopzoningout.CJ shook her head at herself, knowing that only 2/5 people here knew her secret and she needed to keep it that way. Unintentionally reading the location of Juliet's glasses could be shrugged off as a lucky guess but she needed to pay more attention. It'd be easier if she wasn't so tired from earlier but that wasn't any excuse.
Calling back to the living the two woman grabbed soft drinks and water for the group and came back loaded down with glasses, cans and pitchers. Lassiter and Lily jumped up to help, before Juliet firmly told her partner to sit down, relax and for God's sake don't pop his stitches. Drinks were dispersed and a movie was chosen, the men rolling their eyes when the women quickly agreed to Captain America, mostly because it was a good flick but partly because of the actor's abs in that one scene.
CJ had been the Vana White for displaying movie choices so she popped the DVD in and turned to sit down only to realize she'd been set up. The love seat was taken up by Lily and Juliet with Gus and Shawn in front of their respective girlfriends. The only logical place to sit where someone could see the TV and reach the table where the pizza would be once it came was right in front of Lassiter. A quick glance at the man told CJ he'd figured that out too and was warily watching her as if to see if she'd complain. Smiling she plopped down in front of him, waving off his apologies and offers to sit on the floor.
"You're the injured one, plus I like the floor."
"She does, it's weird. When I worked for her half the time I'd walk into the office and she'd have the paperwork spread out on the floor as she sat with her back to her desk."
Lassiter slipped the decorative pillow from his chair to the floor by her side, smirking at her when she looked up questioningly and jerking his head in Shawn's direction, the fake-psychic already distracted by a conversation with Gus. CJ grinned and waited until Shawn put his glass down to smack him in the face. The look on his face made her bust out laughing and she leaned back against Lassiter's legs as she tried not to fall over. Once her giggling subsided the pizza had arrived and she leaned forward and grabbed a couple slices handing them to the detective behind her before taking her own and leaning right back against his legs. It'sjustmorecomfortablethansittingstraightup.Yeah,I'llkeeptellingmyselfthat.
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Lassiter waved Juliet off as he unlocked his door. He hoped he wouldn't regret letting his partner know where he lived but he didn't trust himself to drive on pain pills so when everyone headed out, Shawn went to drop CJ off and Juliet took Lassiter home. The blonde detective sigh frustrated with his stubbornness but just urged him to take it easy and wished him a good night. The teasing in her tone made Lassiter groan inwardly, his partner in a happy relationship seemed to think everyone who was single was desperate for a significant other and she was only too happy to play matchmaker.
The detective wasn't stupid. He knew that his friends, God forbid Spencer ever heard him refer to the man that way, were trying to set him up with CJ. Subtle, they were not, but what he wasn't sure was why she didn't seemed bothered by it. The way the brunette rolled her eyes at the two when they'd maneuvered the seating around tonight showed him it wasn't because she was oblivious to their machinations, but all she'd done was smile and go with it. The woman was sane (mostly, she was friends with Spencer after all), decently attractive and about ten years his junior but she seemed to genuinely like Lassiter if he went by their conversations last weekend and tonight.
Shaking his head he tried to ignore the guilt he felt at his background check now that he'd gotten to know the woman better, but he still felt like she was hiding something and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of finding out the truth.
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Apparently, a gunshot wound was not enough to get him out of helping Shawn move in with Juliet on Saturday, although his role was mostly to be a supervisor at Juliet's pointing out which boxes went where. The whole process took much less time than he expected but then again, Shawn didn't really have that much stuff in his apartment/dry cleaners. The group moved out onto Juliet's back porch with beers and tacos to relax once all the boxes had been put away.
The conversation was light and the friends just enjoyed a chance to sit and do absolutely nothing for an evening. Once again CJ and Lassiter were next to each other. The casual way the woman just bumped their knees together when she was trying to get Lassiter to agree with her in her fight with Gus about whether otters or koalas were cuter, CJ thought otters were, made his breath catch and he wasn't exactly sure what his response was but it seemed adequate as CJ crowed victory over Guster moments later.
Lassiter rose, needing distance from this group and time to sort out his thoughts. He claimed that he'd left his antibiotics at home and needed to get back to take his next dose, ignoring the slight hurt on CJ's face and the censure on Juliet's he got into his car and drove home.
He slammed his door shut when he got in, angry with himself for getting so worked up over a simple attraction. That'sallitis,justhormones,it'llpass.He snorted, self-aware enough to know he was kidding himself as soon as he had the thought. He popped his next pill, he hadn't been lying about the antibiotics but he could have waited on the dose, and went to check his computer. He was bidding on a civil war flask on ebay and the auction closed tomorrow.
To his surprise he had an email from his friend James, a week earlier than expected. He took a deep breath and shoved his guilt aside before clicking on it. He frowned as the only text was Call me. and a phone number. His curiosity piqued, he dialed the number and waited for his friend to pick up.
"Thompson."
"Hey James, it's Carlton, I thought you were supposed to be on vacation?"
"I am on vacation, but your email seemed time sensitive. I have to admit I was surprised, I'm not on the list of people who normally vouch for Cassandra."
"Uh, normally vouch for Cassandra? I'm not sure what you mean James, she gave her name as CJ and it just came up in an investigation." It wasn't a total lie as she had momentarily been a suspect when she called in the tip the first time he met her.
"Oh hell, I'm not sure how much I can tell you then, Carlton."
"Wait, what the hell, James? Just because she gave her name as CJ? Plenty of people give us nicknames, and frankly this discussion is making me damn suspicious." He knew he was overreacting, but his agitation was due in part to the fact the woman he may or may not, may, be attracted to had something to hide, something the FBI was willing to help her hide.
"Sorry, all I can tell you is that she's one of the good guys," A frustrated sigh came over the phone, "And Carlton? If she comes to you and tells you something about a case, or a possible case and it's too detailed with too much information, don't arrest her. Listen to her and call me back, or she should give you a list of people to call to verify who she is."
"Who exactly is she?"
"Again, I'm sorry but her identity is pretty protected among law force agencies and I respect her too much to break her trust. Either ask her yourself or wait for her to come to you. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, my hands are tied."
"Thanks anyway, James."
Whatthehell?Carlton paced around his home trying to figure out what James had meant. It sounded familiar but he couldn't place it right now, his head was hurting and his arm was sore. Deciding he needed to sleep on it he undressed and got ready for bed, slipping under the covers and trying to ignore the set of pretty green eyes and cute smile he saw whenever he closed his eyes.
Author's note: Confrontation/major case starts next chapter! Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and double thanks to those of you who review :)
