Sorry about the chapter delay. I took some time out of this to write a one-shot for Maggie's birthday. But now we're back!
It took me a while to decide casting on this character, but I think I finally git it. Ladies and gentlemen... playing Roman Crowe, please welcome... ERIC. BANA!
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Light flooded my eyes as consciousness slowly comes back to me. My head still hurts like Hell incase you were wondering. Where's my carpet? I slowly push myself up and find it's still there, but a pillow had mysteriously found it's way under my head.
"Morning sunshine." Jules?
"What are you still doing here, Jules?" I ask. I'm actually a little ashamed of her seeing me like this. I didn't tell her to show up at my door last night, though. My next question is why the fuck is there a steak knife in my dart board?
"You roughed yourself up pretty good last night, Shawn. I couldn't just leave you alone." Juliet told me quietly. Something was bugging her.
"Jules, what's wrong?" I ask nervously.
"You talk in your sleep, Shawn." Oh please no. "Who's Roman Crowe?"
At least it wasn't Sphinx. "Roman was a boss of mine a couple years back. I'd have liked to stay close with him, but his job doesn't really allow it."
"Just a boss? Because if I remember right, you called him captain a lot."
"It's a term of respect. The guy was a captain, a leader to a lot of us, Jules."
"Hey man, what are you doing? Why are you playing shadow games with this girl?" Speak of the captain.
Juliet snapped her fingers as I blankly stared into nothing. "Shawn! What are you looking at?" Juliet calls me back to reality.
"Nothing Jules. I just... nothing." I tell her lamely.
"Shawn, you're hiding from me and I know it. Care to tell me, or should I tell YOU what I know?" Juliet's glare told me it wasn't a bluff.
"I'd tell her man, tell her on your terms, 'cause she's got you by the marbles somehow." Damn it Roman...
"Okay, Jules, okay." I swallow roughly, a little worried... Okay that's a fucking lie. I was really worried about telling this beautiful, amazing girl that I'm a trained killer.
"Damn it Sarge, you gotta quit lookin' at it like that! Ya fucked up once, that was terrible sure, but you saved a lot of lives too, man. Remember that village in Afghan? That's hero shit right there! That's only one example."
Okay, so some of the things we did helps me sleep sometimes.
"Captain Roman Crowe was my team leader. In Afghanistan." I expected some kind of surprise on her face. I was more surprised when there wasn't any.
"I figured that out when I found this on you after you blacked out." Oh fuck. I check my pajama pants waist line. Yup, it's gone. And that's why she's holding it up right now.
"An M9. Just like the one our bullet came from, right?" Her tone is harsh and her glare unforgiving. "If we run that bullet again, and this gun, they'll match perfectly, won't they?"
"Don't make me answer that, Juliet. Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." I tell her softly, shaking my head.
"Shawn, did you shoot him, or not?" Her voice is almost threatening now. What does she want me to say? Does she want the truth? Do I lie?
"You gotta tell her the truth, man. If you lie, she tests it and busts your ass for lying." There's that voice of reason. Roman was always good at that.
"I shot him, Juliet. I shot him, I fled the scene and came back after you got there. Is that what you wanted to here?" I throw my hands up, I didn't ask for this. Things escalated, I shot a man, now I'm here.
"Why didn't you say you did it, Shawn? It would have been so much easier if you came clean!"
"Would it? Lassiter gets to put me away because I'm a civilian who just shot a civilian!"
"You were acting with the police! And you saved the governor's life!" Juliet continues to argue, pointing out everything I already know.
"You heard Vick, Juliet!" Why did she wince when I yelled her actual name? Was this argument starting to hurt her? "Jules, if I turn myself in, I go away. There's no way around it." I lower my voice, tired of fighting. "I can't turn myself in, Jules."
"So you're just going to tuck this away, forget about it and keep helping us on cases anyway?" Juliet asks me doubtfully. "Or are you just going to cut yourself out?"
"Jules, I don't have a choice right now. After I got involved with the shooters, I got a phone call. All the man said is that I need to stop looking into that case, or I'd get into a fight I can't win." I tell her honestly.
"Someone is threatening to kill you?" Juliet's eyes shoot up in worry. "Shawn, I don't..."
"Jules, I'm a soldier. You know that now. And what soldiers do is fight. The key to fighting a war Jules, is to fight like you know you're going to die. Once you accept that you're going to die, there is no fear. Only doing your duty the best you can before your clock runs out. When I told you that I don't have a choice, it's because my only option is to fight this thing out."
"Shawn, you can't do this. Your a civilian in clear and present danger. As a cop I HAVE to tell you to stand down."
"I'm not a civilian, Jules. I haven't been a civilian in seven years, Jules. That man, whoever he is, threatened MY life. I'm not going to back down from that because I don't have a badge."
"Let the ones who have the badges do their jobs, Shawn. Let us handle this." Juliet pleaded with me now.
"He knows my number. He knows who I am and that I'm a soldier. You, Gus and my dad are the only ones who know I was in the service. Whoever the Hell this guy is, he can dig deep."
A knock on my door breaks the discussion. "Jules, my pistol please?" I hold my hand out. I don't open my door without it. That's homeland security 101, right?
"Shawn, this pistol is officially evidence." Another knock.
"Fine." I bend over and pull my boot Derringer from the strap holster on my calf.
"Shawn, what the Hell!" Jules didn't see that coming!
"Did you really expect me to only have just one?" I go to my door finally at the third knock. "Get down." I tell her, motioning in sign as I tell her, making sure my point is across. I open the door slowly, cautiously with my gun still up.
"Hey Shawn." I pull the door the rest of the way open, putting my little pistol away. He must be used to protocol already.
"Hey buddy, what's up? I thought it was our day off."
"It is. I was hoping to get an extra workout in. I brought all my stuff." Gus pats his gym bag.
"I'm kinda doing something right now, buddy." I point into my apartment.
"Shawn, I got my folder recollected while you yap with Gus." Nice thinking Juliet! Except she doesn't have a... did she find my folder on the information I had before I left the case?
"Shawn, you're back on the case and didn't even think to tell me?!" Great, now he's pissed!
"Just this morning, buddy. Jules can be very persuasive. I mean come on, look at those eyes." Wow that blush is adorable...
"Great, what do we got?" Gus asks Jules, going to my table.
"Not much we didn't expect. The three guns were together, hired by a man they refused to give in." Jules informed us.
"Did you offer them a dope deal if they caved?" I ask, covering the basics.
"Yeah, a sweet one. They wouldn't budge."
"These guys must be really scared of this guy, then." Gus adds in.
"I guess so. Unless we figure out who hired them, we're dead in the water. We can't go barking up the governor's tree. He's got a few too many enemies to give us anything definitive." Jules rubbed a hand across her chin in thought.
"I think the mysterious caller has something to do with this. I'm sure of it. Gus, we're going to be showing up around the station a lot more. See if we can get this bastard's attention."
"You want US to bait him? You must be out of your damn mind!"
"Gus, this is the exact kind of thing you wanted to get into. This is what I'm training you for, and why I continue to train. This is the kind of thing we do now, Gus."
"Wait, what the Hell are you talking about? Jules asked in utter confusion, maybe some suspicion?
"Nothing, Jules. Me and Gus will start coming around again, see what we can bust open, see if we can draw anything out." I decided. "Maybe get some smoothies, take some dance lessons or make some yogurt."
"Shawn, again, what the Hell are you talking about?"
"Maybe I'm getting a little off topic. You all get the point though."
"Guys, I have to go. Carlton needs me back at the station. Mr. Spencer, don't think our previous conversation is over just yet." Juliet says in a warning tone. Was that for me or just an act for Gus?
"What was that all about?"
"I have no idea, buddy." I lied.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
I come home from, Gus behind me for a beer or two. What I did not expect to see, is a large, unmarked box sitting in front of my door.
Me and Gus walk up to the box, and Gus's first thought is to lightly kick it. "It didn't explode. That's a good thing, right?" Really Gus? You thought it'd explode? C'mon son.
I look around the hallway to see that no one's around. "Let's take it inside."
We take it inside, and Gus quickly jumps behind the couch, not trusting the box. Guess I'm opening this alone. I pull out my old Swiss Army knife and cut through the packing tape. Once I open the box, I see that Rex has come through. In a big way. "Gus, come here. Your real training starts today."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The plot's been thickening. Action and the Shules will soon be picking up!
This chapter reminds me of the time I got a bunch of reviews on Stripes! Wait... I just hope that happens...