Chapter 10 - The Chase

A word of caution - there is a lot of strong language in this chapter. As always, a big thank you to Duffie 83 for reviewing. A suggestion to my readers; if you want more chapters, add some reviews. If you;re happy with the current pace of delivery, keep going as you are. I will sit on chapters until I'm convinced people are reading. Cheers.

Andy and Bianca sat quietly in Bianca's car close to the entrance of TruckSales, Smithfield.

Located in an industrial complex, the area was awash with trucks, high vis clothing and beaten up mid-nineties cars. They were waiting for Cooper to show up for the evening shift; Danica and Kon found the address by simply following Cooper when he left for work one morning earlier that week; they tailed him for an hour and fifteen through heavy traffic, almost losing him twice; it was Danica's reasoning that, based on Bianca's profile, if he worked in the west, they would be able to continue on the freeway until they either saw his car again or travelled too far, after which they could try again the next day. Her reasoning paid off, as she spotted his car with its left indicator on, merging for the turn off. They had parked the car some distance away, guessing which factory he worked in, and kept watch to make sure they guessed correctly. After four hours and several quick trips around the block, Danica and Kon watched a steady stream of workers exit for morning smoko; Kon spotted Cooper as he exited the milk bar holding a chocolate Big M, the two of them observed as he ducked into an alleyway. They decided, after all workers returned from their break, that they had seen enough, and went to discuss Cooper Long with the lady at the front desk. She had looked up Cooper's roster before calling his supervisor, a surly man in his sixties, down to chat with them. The supervisor had not been too surprised the police were looking for Cooper; while he was an adequate storeman, he was not renowned for his clean living. It was common knowledge around the workshop that several workers slipped around the side to get high several times a day. He advised them the best time to come back to speak to Cooper, and bid them farewell.

"So this bloke's a storeman not a tradie?" Andy asked, looking at his watch.

"Yeah. Something along the lines of storeman. I think they said he finished his second year apprenticeship but that's it. This joint runs 24-7, and he's on a rolling roster, and today's his first evening shift. We should be able to grab him as he comes in." Bianca glanced down, checking her phone for messages, before reaching over to her glove box and extracting a pair of binoculars. "The entrance is just over there," she raised the binoculars, searching for the entrance where Danica, Kon, and a third person she presumed was Cooper's supervisor stood waiting.

"Here we go," Andy said just as the CB crackled to life, Elliot announced that Cooper had been spotted and was on his way into the compound.

Bianca raised the binoculars again, keeping them trained on the three people at the entrance of the factory.

"Hey. Give those to me. Makes more sense we have to drive off quickly," Andy demanded, resulting in a roll of the eyes from Bianca as she brought the binoculars down. "Hurry up!" he tapped her on the arm, trying to make her give them to him faster.

Bianca handed them across, searching for Cooper amongst the small crowd of men. "Are you a middle child or something?" she quipped, irritated. "I mean, I know you're short, but that can't be all there is to it."

Shooting her a withering look, Andy took the glasses from her, squinting to check which target he was going to focus on before raising them and fiddling with the focal wheel until Danica and Kon came clearly into his line of sight.

"Contact," he mumbled as Cooper paused in front of the two detectives. "Crap. He's making a run for it."

Bianca leaned forward and placed her hand on the key in the ignition. She could see it play out as well; the distance was not so great that she couldn't see Cooper land a punch on Kon, knocking him over, spin back around the way he came, throw his backpack behind him and break out into a sprint. Danica launched after him in hot pursuit, Kon scrambling behind them, trying to catch up. Bianca turned the key, the Commodore rumbling to life without hesitation. She leaned over the steering wheel, draping her forearms over it, watching the chase between predator and prey. Danica was eating up the pavement rapidly, anticipating his twists and turns, hurdling over bins and dodging tradesmen with the elegance of a gazelle. She had almost caught up to him when Elliot launched himself from behind a structure, trying to catch Cooper in a tackle, causing Cooper to change direction to avoid capture. This time, Danica had more trouble following, losing some ground, but still leaving Kon and Elliot in the dirt behind her.

"She's quick, isn't she? Five minute mile. Gotta be. She's gonna get him," impressed, Bianca provided a play by play commentary while Andy kept his binoculars trained on the supervisor, who had picked up the abandoned backpack and was rifling through it.

"Pow! Oh Yeah! That's it!" Bianca exclaimed, clearly surprised by something as she turned the ignition back to off.

"They got him? Great," Andy was still watching the supervisor, who had pocketed something from the backpack. Andy spoke into the CB. "Can one of you go back and ask the supervisor to return what he took from Cooper's backpack? Otherwise he can come for a ride to the station as well." He finally lowered the binoculars, and Bianca pointed to where Danica was kneeling on Cooper's back, cuffing him. "What happened there?"

"Apparently Karen is a linebacker or something, because she was lurking over there and launched this god almighty shoulder charge, dropping Cooper like a sack of shit," Bianca motioned towards where Karen had been waiting. "I barely saw it coming. Look at her. Not a scratch. She didn't even go to ground with him. Just sort of bounced off Cooper and back onto her feet. Amazing."

Kon and Elliot had only just managed to make it to the rest of the group. Kon was limping slightly.

"Make sure you pick up his backpack as well," Andy spoke into the radio. "We'll meet you back at the station."

"Were you two on the football team or something?" Bianca asked the two women as they all entered the communal office after leaving Cooper to sweat in the interview room.

"Little aths, actually," Danica corrected.

"Yup. I played footy," Karen confirmed.

"You boys didn't do sports?" Bianca looked over her shoulder at the detectives following behind her.

"I tripped on the bloody bin," Kon moaned as he limped in behind the three of them. "Besides, it's not my fault she's part greyhound" he lamented, motioning towards Danica before examining his palms and picking gravel out from under the skin. "She didn't have to deal with him slugging her, either," he continued, obviously displeased with the outcome. "My knee hurts."

"Wah wah wah. Suck it up Kon," Elliot jibed good naturedly. "It's no one's fault but your own that you're a twinkle-toes."

"All right, all right," Andy interrupted as he entered the office. "Who's doing the interview?" he pointed at Kon, who shook his head and pointed to his wrist and skinned hand. "You?" he pointed at Karen, who shrugged somewhat indifferently.

"I'll do it." Danica volunteered. "I mean, me and Elliot went to pick him up to begin with, and we spoke to the grandfather. We're best positioned for it."

"Okay. Let's get to it."

"Mr Cooper Long. Can I confirm you are Cooper Long?" Elliot led the questioning.

Cooper, sitting arms crossed, slumped back in the chair, nodded begrudgingly.

"Mate, can I ask why you slugged my colleague? I mean, he just wanted to ask some questions. You hadn't done anything wrong." Elliot paused and stood, stretching and moving behind the chair, pacing towards the two-way mirror before turning and leaning his back up against it. "Had you?" he questioned. When Cooper didn't respond, Elliot continued. "But now. Now, you've gone and assaulted a police officer. And that's why we had to arrest you," Elliot stated slowly and sternly, as if speaking to a simpleton. "We're going to have a very long chat. I'm going to find out everything about you now, from the colour of your undies you're wearing now to what your mum had for breakfast the day you were born. If you're lucky, after that chat, you get to leave." He drew a sharp breath between his teeth, allowing the air to hiss as he did so.

Several long hours of interviewing later, Elliot ascertained Cooper was forty years old, unqualified, and a heavy pot smoker. They eventually determined that he arranged for a mate to total the ute for him so he could collect an insurance payout, however, as both he and the friend he had organised the deal with were high while executing the mission, it had failed dismally, resulting in injuries for both parties. They still obtained the payout, however, also endured some physical injuries as a result of the ensuing accident. They switched interviewers, allowing Danica to take over.

Danica determined that Cooper did not own a passport, and had never left the country. He dropped out of high school at year ten, choosing to drift in and out of cash-only jobs, only attempting to pursue a trade in his late twenties and dropping out before completion. He had no children, and spent a considerable amount of time interstate without a fixed address or licence. He liked to have a pot and a punt, and actually purchased the steel wool to polish the acrylic sheeting he used to make wind chimes. After he wasted half an hour explaining how he made each wind chime, but before he could begin to explain the process of selling the wind chimes, Danica cut him off in exasperation.

"This isn't getting anywhere," Bianca sighed in frustration from behind the mirror. "How about we lock him up for a little while and have a think about how we can place him with those girls? I mean… He fits the bill," she raised her hand, ready to tick off each item as she listed them. "Ute. Uneducated. Strong," Bianca paused, thinking about how easily Karen had knocked him down. Perhaps he wasn't that strong; it was, however, possible that small, diminutive Karen was a pocket rocket that was underestimated by everyone. Andy was right to horde her skills in homicide. "Ish. Strongish. Maybe. Right place, right time. We can DNA test him… or fingerprint him, I guess. What's the turnaround time? One, maybe two days?"

"We can fast track it and get a result in a day, and we have enough circumstantial evidence to hold him until we know more. We aren't going to get too much out of him; I mean, look at him." Andy gestured into the room, where Cooper's eyes had drifted shut and his torso slumped to the side. "He's out of it. Let's process him and get him in a cell."

"You're joking," Andy said with dismay.

"Nope. It says right here. No match."

Andy gaped at Bianca. The rest of the detectives had made themselves scarce, leaving her to break the news to the boss.

"But it does say he was busted for possession in Darwin when he was twenty," she added helpfully.

"Not helpful," he growled at her.

"I'm just as upset as you," she informed him. "Women just deal with it better. Do you want to charge him for clobbering Kon or are you happy to let him go?"

Andy took a deep breath, scrunched his eyes closed, and exhaled, "Cut him loose."

Blinking in the mid-morning sunshine, Cooper began walking towards the nearest train station. His car was still at work, but he had his backpack, wallet and phone. His phone had run out of batteries, but luckily, he also had a charger in his backpack. He caught a train from Parramatta station into Central, where he got off and walked half an hour towards Kings Cross. He could have caught a train, but he was bored and wanted to check in on a few watering holes to determine if there was someone there he could chat to. He stopped at a McDonalds, ordering a happy meal and a soft serve cone. He charged his phone, an old Nokia, while he ate his burger, waiting for it to reach a usable battery status. After powering the phone up, he packed up his power cord and continued on his journey. Undecided as to how he should spend his afternoon, he decided to continue walking towards the harbour, until he reached the glittering water at Potts Point. He walked along the shoreline until he found a park bench, at which time he pulled out a joint he had bought while walking and lit up, promptly getting baked and falling asleep.

Several hours later, Cooper woke sunburnt and thirsty. He scratched himself, his head first, then his genitals, trying to determine what it was that woke him up. He squinted up at the sun, before a piercing, obnoxious tone sounded from his pocket. He swallowed dryly and swished his tongue around his mouth, trying to remove the furry feeling from his teeth. Retrieving the ringing phone, he pressed the little green phone symbol on the keypad.

"Hello?"

"Coop! How ya been mate?"

"Allright. Who's this again?"

An exasperated sound came over the phone. "It's Gav, mate."

"Hey, Gav. What's up?"

"Ya wanna have a beer?"

"Alright."

"Are you working today? What time you off?"

"Nah. Had a cunt of a day. I could meet you in a halfie if you want. I'm just over at Potts Point."

"Yeah. You got any gear?"

"Might be able to get you some. How much you want?"

"Coupla grams?"

"Give us an hour."

"Righto."

Cooper hung up as he stood, scrolling through his phone for another number. He had a call to make.

"Steady on, mate," the bartender stated disapprovingly at the way Cooper banged his half empty pot of beer onto the bar, causing some to slosh out.

"Yeah, fuck off," came the caustic response.

Cooper just lost five hundred dollars on race five, after a sure-fire tip went awry; the horse that was tipped to win had been scratched, and he didn't find out about it until after he made the bet and was watching the race at the pub.

"Coops."

"Whaddaya want?" he snarled at the interruption, uncharacteristically alert.

"Hey. Calm down buddy. It's your old mate, Gav."

Cooper did indeed calm down. He was about to make back some of the five hundred he just lost; he had two grams of crystal meth tucked into the waist band of his underwear, and was about to sell it to Gavin for a profit. They went into the bathroom to complete the transaction before retreating into a corner with two full pints of beer and some chips.

"This isn't your usual afternoon off, Coop. I wasn't expecting you to hook me up so soon. What gives?" Gavin took a drink from his glass, wincing with pleasure as the icy cold beverage made him wheeze slightly.

"Fucking cops," Cooper stated before taking a sip of his own beer. "Yesterday arvo, on my way into work, minding my own business, they fucking come by the factory and I get fucking chased down by this tall blonde bird, then knocked on my arse by this other copper." He neglected to mention that the officer who knocked him down was a small Asian woman. "So I thought I was gonna get fucked for dealing. Luckily I wasn't carrying anything,"

"Not even weed?"

"Yeah, nah. I smoked it all that morning." He patted himself down, looking for cigarettes, before pulling a lighter from his pocket. He paused, trying to remember if he had any cigarettes, and where they were. "Where are me fags?" he mumbled to himself. Gavin twisted around, turning his attention to the trots playing on the telly in the corner.

Cooper finally remembered where he had placed the packet earlier. Reaching down to his backpack, he retrieved a crumpled packet and extracted a cigarette, lighting it and checking if the joint he placed in there earlier was still there.

Taking a deep drag, he continued his narration of his recent brush with the law. "So these pricks are asking me all these bullshit questions, where I live, what I do, all this bullshit stuff. Askin' if I remember where I was at certain times. Fuckin can't even remember what I had for brekkie the other day." He sucked on the end of his cigarette, squinting through the smoke, the ember glowing brightly and crackling as it burnt down. He laughed and blew a stream of smoke out of his nostrils and mouth at the same time.

"So what were they after then?" Gavin was still watching the race, but he was listening to Cooper. If they nabbed him for dealing, they might still be watching them, and with two grams of meth in his pocket, he was going to be in for a world of pain.

"Uhhh… fucked if I know. Stupid fuckers kept me there all night. No fuckin' phone call or anythin'. Was worried I was gonna get bumfucked," he commented as he flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette onto the floor.

"Let me get this straight. You had all night to think about why these pigs were after you and all you could think of was some dick in ass action? You're a fucking poofter," Gavin goaded Cooper.

"Fuck off. I dunno," Cooper took a sip of beer, mentally running through the various questions the detectives had asked him. He went to take another sip before pausing, his memory clarifying around a question the blonde detective had asked. "Some stupid bitch getting raped or some shit."

Gavin's eyes narrowed to slits, and his head whipped around so he was facing Cooper. "What?"

"Fuck, I dunno. They kept rabbiting on about some stupid bitch they found in the bush somewhere, or raped somewhere, or something."

"When?"

"Shit mate, who fucking cares?" Cooper lifted his glass, draining nearly half before putting it back down and chasing it with another drag of his cigarette.

Gavin took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He was about to ask Cooper to try harder to remember before contemplating the situation that he was in. They weren't after him, and it was good to know they weren't chasing Cooper for dealing, but deeply concerning that they were following up on the girl. He stared at his beer, pondering his next move; if they were still following Cooper, they might be watching them now. They might have seen him buy the drugs. They might bust Cooper again. He thought about the drugs in his pocket. Best course of action would be to lie low for a bit. He took his phone out and checked it, before turning it off.

"Look, Coop, something's come up. I gotta split." He drained his beer quickly and walked out the door, Cooper waving him off before lighting another cigarette and turning his attention to the trots still playing on the screen behind him, his drinking companion already forgotten.

"Have I done something to upset you?" Brash in demeanour and never one to shy away from the truth, Danica demanded an explanation for Bianca's behaviour after Cooper was released.

"Ah. No, nothing exactly. I've been busy working on something."

While this wasn't a lie, Bianca's response could definitely be classed as circumlocution. Not quite satisfied with her answer, Danica went over to Bianca's desk, and when Bianca looked up at her, she launched her question.

"If that was true you wouldn't be avoiding me. You either don't like me, or I've done something to upset you. Last few weeks, you've changed. If it's something I've done, I want to fix it," Danica said earnestly. Internally, Bianca blanched. She was trying to make heads or tails of the summary Danica and Karen provided for Brennan and Cameron. Sketchy at best, she hadn't wanted to re-do all the work herself; she'd successfully avoided doing that as they had suspects to question and chase down, but now with their last lead dead in the water, she was potentially faced with starting from scratch; if she was going to commit to that volume of work, she wanted it done correctly and that meant doing it herself.

"I don't have any time right this second to go through it with you…" Bianca started.

"Give me a time;" Danica cut in. "Today. Tomorrow. After work. Whatever."

Bianca checked her watch before locking eyes with Danica's earnest, big brown puppy like eyes. "I can go through it with you after I'm finished here," she stated glumly.

"Here?" Danica said excitedly. "Or we could have a chat over drinks?"

Bianca silently cursed, mentally kicking herself for managing to trap herself into this situation. "We could do that. It'll have to be quick though. I have to pick up the…" she paused. "Let me make a call, and I'll confirm with you. Okay?"

"I don't understand what you're saying. I've done everything I was taught at the academy and no-one's complained before." Danica leaned up against the bar, facing Bianca. She had her hand on one of the bottles of cider in front of them, and Bianca was waiting for her change. When the bartender placed the bills in her hand, she picked up her bottle and they headed towards a pair of empty couches against one side of the wall. A two player Galaga served as a table between the couches. Bianca waited for Danica to sit before taking the opposite couch. Bianca picked up the conversation where they left off at the bar.

"No one's complaining now. You asked me for career enhancing advice; perhaps career saving advice; I'm not sure what you want to call it. I'm just telling you, from what I've observed over the last six months working with you, you have to pick up your attention to detail, and pay attention more. Take a bit of initiative. You're mostly doing all right; but you're the same rank as Karen, and I'd say she's doing a lot better than you at the moment; she's bright, and unless I was mistaken, next round of promotions, she's going to get upgraded."

"Bloody Asians," Danica muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" Bianca queried, both eyebrows lifting. It was blatant racism, but Danica could just as easily pass it off as a joke.

"Joking."

Bianca's eyebrows dropped and she pursed her lips. It was amazing that in this day and age such 'jokes' still occurred.

"Anyway, yeah. Thanks for telling me this stuff. No one's ever brought it up before."

Bianca nodded in acknowledgement. "No worries." She was careful not to add 'Anytime'.

"Another?" Danica queried, before going for a second round. She returned shortly, but instead of returning to her seat, she sat beside Bianca, so close that their legs touched, before handing a bottle to the other woman.

Bianca took the cider, thanking Danica for it, before taking a sip. They sat in silence for a while before Bianca shifted to a more comfortable position, pushing herself deep into the corner of the couch and bending one leg up to rest between the two if them, effectively manoeuvring herself away from Danica and using her leg as a shield. She began to fiddle with the label on the bottle, picking at one corner until it lifted, then trying to peel it off in one piece, before asking, "Why did you join the academy?"

Danica mirrored Bianca's pose, adding to the distance between them. "I guess I got caught up in all those TV dramas. You know. Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order Criminal Intent…"

Bianca grinned. "I get the picture. You like Law and Order. It's a little different, isn't it?"

"There's a lot more paperwork than on the shows."

Bianca smiled warmly. Keeping on top of paperwork was painful no matter what field of work you were in. Computers didn't really eliminate paper, despite what they were all told in the mid-nineties.

"What made you want to become a copper?" Danica asked.

"Hmm… You know, I can't really remember," Bianca answered evasively.

"Surely not. I think you can," Danica prompted. "For me?" she rested her hand on Bianca's knee. A tension crackled between them, and Bianca glanced down at Danica's hand. She did not move, or acknowledge the caress. When she looked back up, Danica smiled boldly, before lifting her cider and taking a drink.

"Who wouldn't want all this?" It was one of the vaguest answers Bianca had ever given; as vague as any answer she ever gave when she worked undercover. Bianca balled up the damp paper and flicked it onto the Galaga machine, before trying to steer the conversation back to work. "Anyway, as I was saying, you really have to apply yourself some more. Good police work isn't about glamour and accolades, it's about persistent hard work and attention to detail."

She put her cider down on the table, waiting for Danica to remove her hand. When Danica began to caress her knee, she stated, "Danica, stop."

The smile dropped from Danica's face, replaced by a look of anxiety. "I'm sorry, I thought…"

"Look, I gotta go," Bianca announced while standing up. "Thanks for the drink," she pursed her lips, bringing her hand up to her mouth, trying to decide if she needed to say anything else. She shook her head, vexed at the pass Danica made. "I'll see you tomorrow, OK?" With that, Bianca stepped over Danica's legs and left the pub.

"Mmmm, wine," Janet snaked her arm around Bianca's body, snagging the glass for herself and taking a sip. "Merlot. One of my favourites. Is this the bottle I had opened the other day?"

Lost in her thoughts, Bianca hummed in agreement.

"How was your day? Why did you have to stay late? Tony had a fun time with the kids, but we're gonna have to get him a pretty big Christmas pressie at this rate."

"Uhh… okay. Usual work stuff. Back at square one," Bianca said obliquely.

"Do you want to hear about my day? I had a pretty good one," Janet purred, placing the glass down in front of her lover before stroking over her belly and nuzzling softly into Bianca's neck, nibbling up and softly sucking on her earlobe. Bianca turned and placed her hands onto Janet's hips, holding her at arm's length, before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on Janet's lips.

"Can I take a raincheck?"

Janet made a small noise of disappointment, confusion on her face.

"Sorry babe, my head's just not in the game today, and I'm not feeling great."

Janet carefully examined Bianca. "All right," she leaned in for a longer kiss, before smiling. "You're off the hook today." Bianca smiled as well. "But I'm taking the rest of this wine," Janet declared as she took the glass and retreated upstairs.