Failed Attempt
A week and a half and passed since Punk learned he was going to be a father and he couldn't stop smiling even if he tried. He had no idea he would be this excited to have a child but he truly was. He also knew with AJ having his child he was going to have to introduce her to his family in Chicago and it's not that he was ashamed of either one of them but he didn't want anything in Chicago to taint his new life in New Jersey but he had to bite the bullet and do this now. But before he could focus on the baby his attention was all on Agent John Cena who now hung out at the Police Station constantly. Punk hated it but preferred he'd be where could see him and not with AJ but Punk knew John was up to something. Not only was he writing his book but he was still working the Miller case but Punk knew John was keeping an eye on him as well.
John was always disappearing and taking mysterious phone calls, taking long lunches, coming back late- Punk was spending most of time trying to hack into Cena's e-mails and phone records while Shawn worked on his financial records but everything had come back clean so far. John also knew Punk and Shawn were watching him and mocked them when he waved at them or checked in when he was leaving for the night. He was pissing Punk off a lot and knew it.
"This is the first half." John said to a man as they met up at the same motel AJ was hiding in months ago. "You get the second half when you finish the job."
"You just want me to kill the broad?" the man asked. "Can't I do it at her place? Going into a shop at this time of day is risky."
"She has a huge pitbull." John said to him. "He'll get you before you get near her."
"Noted." The man said counting the money.
"Painless." John instructed him. "A quick shot to the head. I don't want her suffering."
"Yea, yea." The man said as he finished counting.
"This is the address of where she works and she's there until 8 so go in at around 7:30 and do it." John told him passing him a piece of paper. "Don't forget to grab the cash out of the register either we want it to look like a robbery gone wrong."
"I know how to do this." The man reminded him.
"This is her picture." He said handing him a small photo of AJ. "Don't shoot the wrong person."
"She's pretty." The man smirked.
"Don't get any ideas." John warned him. "Quick and painless. She's suffered enough."
"Whatever you say Agent." the man mocked.
"After I get the confirmation she's dead I'll meet you back here in the morning and give you the rest." John said to him.
"What about what we discussed?" the man asked and John reached behind him and pulled out a gun. "No trace, serial numbers have been scratched off- it's clean."
"Great." The man said taking the gun.
"Remember 7:30." John said to him.
John was back at the station and looking at the clock, 5pm, 6pm felt like they were each eight hours long. He was feeling sick to his stomach and kept glancing over to Punk across the room who had his back to him. He was starting to feel faint and kept reaching for his phone every time he got the urge to call this all off. It wasn't that he didn't like April or Punk for that matter- but Levesque owned him and this was what he had to do.
"Alright I'm checking out for the night." Punk said and John's head shot up.
"Big plans?" Shawn asked him.
"Nah I'm going to pick AJ up from work then take her to dinner." Punk said to him.
"Getting pretty serious huh?" Shawn teased.
"She's living with me- we're pretty serious." Punk laughed. Shawn didn't know AJ was pregnant yet either.
"Clearly." Shawn laughed. "Oh remind her that Cheryl is stopping by tomorrow night to bring over those books AJ wanted to read."
"I'll tell her." he said slipping on his jacket.
"Hey are you leaving?" John asked rushing over to him.
"What's it to you?" Punk scoffed.
"I didn't realize we had to run by when we punch out for the night to the Feds." Shawn laughed. "Do I check in when I use the can too?"
"I thought you both would want an update on Jake Miller." John said to them.
"I called the hospital earlier and they told me there was no change." Shawn said to him.
"You're not an FBI agent." John remarked smugly.
"Oh by all means." Punk mocked taking his jacket off and sitting back down. "Enlighten us."
"Let me just grab a cup of coffee." John said to them then walked off.
John poured himself a cup of coffee and let out a relieved breath. If Punk showed up before she closed not only would AJ not be killed, but Punk would probably apprehend his guy and get him to talk. John just needed to distract Punk for twenty more minutes...
AJ was cleaning up the counter after a slow day at work and at 7:30 flipped the open sign to closed so she could count her drawer and finish cleaning. AJ never considered locking the door. She was laying the money on the counter when she heard the bell on top of the door chime and without looking up spoke.
"We're closed sorry." she said but she never heard the bell again.
AJ looked up and there was a gun in her face.
"Oh my god." She said terrified.
"Shut up and put the cash in the bag." the man said throwing a bag at her.
"Please don't hurt me." She said frozen in place.
"Put the fucking money in the bag!" he hissed knocking things off the counter causing her to jump back.
AJ quickly collected the money and began to put it into the bag with her shaky hands.
"Hurry up!" he screamed causing her to cry out loud.
AJ passed him the bag but the man didn't move and pulled back the trigger of the gun.
"Please don't kill me!" She cried. "Please I'm pregnant!" she cried and the man was now surprised. "Please don't do this. Please don't kill me." she sobbed. "I'm having a baby don't kill us please."
"Get down on the floor." He instructed her. "Turn around and keep your head down!"
AJ was down on the floor facing the wall but looking down. She felt him walk behind the counter and was standing over her, she felt the barrel of the gun against her head and she cried more. After surviving Jake Miller she was going to die in a random robbery.
"Please don't do this." She whispered. "My boyfriend is a cop and he'll be here any minute." she cried. "Please don't do this I'm having a baby." she reminded him again.
"Forget what I looked like." the man hissed in her ear. "If I find out you talked to the police I will find you and blow your fucking head off."
"I won't say anything I swear!" she said crying with relief now.
The man grabbed her purse and pulled out her cell phone and put it in his pocket then opened her wallet and took out her ID and slipped it into his pocket.
"It'll be very easy to find you April Mendez." He said to her.
"I swear I won't say anything." she cried as her entire body shook from fear.
"Count to 100." he said to her.
AJ remained frozen slowly counting to 100 and even after she heard the bell chime she stayed behind the counter on the floor counting out of fear of him still being there or testing her...
"So you know nothing." Punk said annoyed as he and Shawn listened to John's update.
"This is exactly what the doctors told me this morning." Shawn said to him. "Except they didn't spend 45 minutes telling me."
"45 minutes I'm never going to go back." Punk said annoyed standing up again and putting on his jacket.
"I'm just trying to be open and on the same page as you guys." John defended.
"You're useless." Punk said annoyed. "Now I'm going to be late getting AJ." He mumbled.
"Hey doesn't your girlfriend work over at Heath's?" Officer Daniels asked walking over to Punk.
"Yea." Punk said zipping up his jacket.
"We just got a call about an armed robbery there." Daniels told him and Punk's face dropped.
"Is she ok?" Punk asked him.
"The call was from someone on the street saying they saw a man fleeing with a bag and a gun jumping in an unmarked car and speeding off." the officer told him.
"I'm coming." Shawn said shooting out of his seat.
"Me too." John said following them out the door.
Punk walked into the shop that wasn't locked and saw glass on the floor and everything knocked off the counter.
"AJ?!" he yelled out.
Shawn followed behind Punk slowly as he looked around the small shop for any sign of AJ then heard the faint sound of counting from behind the register.
"...453...454..." she whispered to herself as she rocked back and forth.
"AJ." He said jumping over the counter.
"Phil." She cried.
"Are you ok?" he asked desperately.
"Is he gone?" She asked in a terrified whisper.
"Yea he's gone." He said to her. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No I don't think so." She said and he grabbed her hand that was still shaking like a leaf.
Shawn was standing behind John who walked right out of the shop in almost anger when AJ said she was ok. He wanted to follow him and get to the bottom of it but he had to be there for AJ first.
"Was he just after the cash?" Shawn asked as Punk helped her to her feet.
"He was going to kill me." She choked out. "I gave him the money but he was still going to shoot me!"
"Shh it's ok." Punk cooed pulling her against his chest.
"I told him I was pregnant and that my boyfriend was a cop and I think that spooked him." she sniffled burying her head against his chest.
"Pregnant?" Shawn asked stunned.
"Not now Shawn." Punk sighed.
"Do you remember what he looked like?" Shawn asked and she nodded against Punk's chest. "Are you going to tell us honey?" Shawn teased.
"I promised if he let me go I wouldn't tell anyone." AJ said looking at Shawn.
"Don't be silly you're safe now." Punk said to her.
"No Phil he took my ID he said he'd come back and kill me." She said firmly.
"April-" Shawn started but AJ felt her stomach rumble and placed her hand over her mouth. She pushed away from Punk and ran to the back of the store where the bathroom was located. "Jesus this girl can't catch a break."
"I think I'm going to take her to the hospital anyway." Punk said to him. "Have them look her over just in case."
"Is she really..." Shawn trailed off.
"Yea." Punk said with the faintest smile.
"Congratulations." He said giving him a quick hug. "Take her down to the hospital and I'll take care of everything here."
"Thanks." Punk said to him.
"Sorry." AJ said walking back over to them.
"It's ok. Grab your jacket." He said to her.
"Where are we going?" she asked him.
"The hospital." he told her.
"Phil nothing happened." She reminded him.
"You're very stressed out and that's not good for you know who." Shawn said pointing at her stomach. "Go to the hospital for it's sake."
"Ok." She said slowly. She was still pale a ghost and shaking slightly.
"Here." Punk said sliding her jacket on her.
"He took my ID." She told Punk again.
"Yea I know don't worry about that." He said wrapping his arm around her shoulders and helped her out of the shop.
"But he knows where we live Phil. I just got that ID and it has our address." She rambled on still in shock. "He might be there right now."
"No he's long gone." Punk said opening his car door for her.
"But he said-" she started.
"He's gone." Punk assured her getting her into the car.
John watched from a few feet away as Punk completely ignored him and gave all of us attention to AJ. He couldn't lie but he was mostly relieved the man didn't go through with killing her he just had to figure out why and get this guy as far out of town as possible.
At the hospital AJ was laying in a bed waiting for the doctor while Punk stood next to her.
"Do you feel weird at all?" he asked her.
"No." She told him honestly. "I'm calming down a lot."
"That's good because the doctor said your pressure was far too high." Punk said to her.
"I'm lucky I didn't have a heart attack." she said to him. "I expect that sort of thing from Jake Miller not random people who live in town."
"So you know who it was? You recognized him?" Punk asked.
"I told you I'm not discussing it." AJ said to him.
"AJ you have to at least give me something. A description or something!" he argued. "How am I supposed to do my job if you won't help me?"
"Just let him go." AJ said to him. "He said he'd blow my head off Phil and he meant it!" she yelled.
"Ah-ah." the doctor scolded lightly. "No yelling."
"Hi Doctor Shapiro." AJ greeted the older female doctor. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"I was already in the hospital delivering a baby." the doctor smiled.
"This is my boyfriend Detective Brooks." AJ introduced.
"I see him walking Charger every morning by the park." The doctor smiled shaking his hand. "How do you do?"
"I'll be doing great once you tell me everything is ok." Punk said to her.
"Any bleeding or cramping?" the doctor asked AJ.
"No just nauseous." she said to her.
"That's understandable your nerves are fried." the doctor said to her.
AJ was in her hospital gown and watched as the doctor placed something underneath with her as the screen popped on and he heard a noise in the room.
"What the hell is that?" Punk asked the doctor concerned.
"That's your baby's heartbeat." the doctor smiled. "And that is your baby." she said using her free hand to point at the screen.
"It's ok?" she asked looking at the screen.
"Strong heartbeat, your baby is growing and look- little fingers." she said and Punk practically pressed his face to the screen. "I'll print you a picture Detective." She laughed.
"Everything is good?" Punk asked her as AJ took his hand into hers.
"Yes. Strong baby. But your pressure was a little high obviously due to circumstances." the doctor said to her. "You're going to have to take it easy and lower that."
"I will." AJ promised.
"You're almost nine weeks now so the next time you come you'll be able to see the fingers and toes clearer." She said to them. "Everything looks good April." She grinned at her and AJ sat up as the doctor printed the picture.
"Doctor Shapiro delivered me." AJ informed Punk. "She's a great doctor."
"I'm sure she is." Punk smiled.
"Here you are Detective." She said passing him the two sonogram pictures.
"Wow." Punk said looking at it. "Can I keep this?"
"Sure." AJ smiled.
"I'll let you get dressed but for this rest of the night stay in bed and keep your feet up." The doctor told her.
"She will." Punk answered for AJ.
Later that night Shawn swung by Punk and AJ's to check in and make sure everything was ok.
"She's fine." Punk told Shawn. "She's in bed resting."
"The baby?" Shawn asked.
"You want to see?" Punk asked with a goofy smile and Shawn nodded. Punk passed him the sonogram photo and he grinned.
"Look at that." Shawn cheered. "They're so peaceful at this age." he teased. "Congrats again."
"Thanks." Punk said as Shawn passed him the picture.
"Has April said anything about the robber?" Shawn asked.
"No." Punk said annoyed. "She's too afraid."
"The woman who called in the robbery got a good look at that guy. She's lived in town her entire life and all 67 years has never seen him before in her life." Shawn said to him.
"Someone from out of town drove here to rob a small hardware shop and make away with what? A thousand bucks at most?" Punk asked him.
"Heath came down and ran the numbers and the most he got away with it was $400. It was a slow day." Shawn told him.
"He robbed only there and was dead set on killing her for $400?" Punk asked. "He went into her purse and took her ID out of her wallet but didn't touch her cash or cards."
"Strange." Shawn agreed. "He didn't try to touch her or anything-"
"No." Punk said to him. "She would have told me and the doctors all said she was good. Not even a scratch on her."
"Something isn't adding up." Shawn said to him.
"I know." Punk muttered.
"I think we need to talk about Chicago- in detail and full honesty." Shawn said to him.
"No way does anything in Chicago have to do with this." Punk said to him. "If the McMahon's were out for me they'd come for me and if they were going to kill her they would have done it already and they'd want me to know."
"This guy didn't go out of his way to rip off a struggling hardware shop." Shawn said to him.
"Maybe he was looking for Heath." Punk said to him. "Could explain why he didn't actually kill AJ."
"He didn't kill AJ because she said she was dating a cop." Shawn said to him. "This guy was smart enough to know the police wouldn't just dust this under the rug. It would be huge news. Pregnant girlfriend of cop slain in robbery gone wrong."
"Then this person obviously didn't know anything about AJ." Punk pointed out.
"I need a better description of this guy." Shawn said to him. "I need to get sketches out."
"I'm working on it." Punk said to him.
"Well work harder because tomorrow morning John wants AJ at the station so he could interview her himself." Shawn said to him.
"Fuck that." Punk spat.
"He said because AJ is still part of the Jake Miller case this could be a connection to that." Shawn said annoyed.
"No way." Punk said to him. "Is he out of his mind?"
"He ran right out of the shop and only came back when I found the witness." Shawn informed him. "He was very interested in what she had to say but took no interest in anything else."
"He also heard me saying I was going to get AJ when he came over and started rambling on about Jake Miller." Punk pointed out coldly. "He wanted me stuck there he knew if I was there before the robber the job wouldn't get done."
"Are you saying you think Cena is dirty?" Shawn asked him.
"Yup." Punk said without hesitation. "Really think about it, how did Jake Miller find AJ at that motel? How the hell did he find her safe house?"
"That shot he took at Miller was risky, almost grazed April." Shawn pointed out. "Also his interest in Jake Miller's recovery has always been suspect."
"Maybe he's a relative of Jake's." Punk suggested.
"Could be." Shawn agreed. "Blames AJ for his condition? I mean its out there but I can't think of anything else that makes any sense."
"I don't want her seeing him tomorrow." Punk said to him. "Come up with something- anything."
"I'll tell him the doctor said she has to stay on bed rest." Shawn shrugged. "I'll give him the run around."
"Good." Punk said to him. "I appreciate it."
"And I'm going down to that hospital Jake Miller is in and demand to see him for myself." Shawn told him. "I'm going to find out for sure what the hell is going on at that hospital."
"Let me know what you find out." Punk said to him. "I'm taking the day because she's still pretty shaken and she needs to rest."
"Of course." Shawn said to him. "Don't let all of this get in the way of your happiness. A baby is a blessing and the best thing that could ever happen."
"We're pretty excited." Punk admitted with a smirk. "Well I'm really excited and she's really nervous."
"She'll get over that." Shawn laughed walking to the door. "Take care of her." He said to him.
"Will do." Punk promised.
"Look at this." AJ said to Punk as he walked into the bedroom. "Jake Miller's favorite victim almost gunned down in robbery in local shop. I made the news."
"Congrats." He remarked sarcastically. "You want to watch a movie or something?" he asked her getting into the bed.
"Yea. I don't think I could sleep even if I tried." she said to him.
"AJ your phone is ringing." He said looking at it light up but it was on silent.
"It's my father again." She said not even looking. "He must have heard."
"You don't want to tell him you're ok?" Punk asked her.
"Not really. He knows if he watched the same report I did." she said to him.
"You're not going to tell him you're having a baby?" Punk asked.
"Why would he even care?" AJ asked him. "I don't want an absentee grandparent in our child's life."
"Speaking of that." Punk started. "I was thinking of taking a trip to Chicago to tell my family."
"Really?" She asked surprised.
"Yea I mean it's not something I want to announce over the phone and I want you to meet my mother and sisters." He said to her.
"I'd love that." She grinned.
"And now I'm almost starting to think Chicago is a safer option for us." He admitted laying back in the bed.
"I wouldn't say that." AJ said to him. "Even though tonight was weird."
"I'm going to be honest with you AJ because that's what we do." Punk said to her seriously. "We don't hide things."
"Of course we don't." She said slowly.
"I think John Cena has something to do with this." he told her bluntly. "I don't know why but he's been acting weird and he kept from getting to you earlier. If he didn't pull me into a bullshit conversation I would have beat the robber there."
"I want to say you're crazy but you're the cop." AJ said to him.
"John is demanding to see you and question you about tonight. Probably to pump you for information on what you are willing to say." Punk said to her.
"What should I say to him?" AJ asked him.
"I'm blocking this for as long as I can but if he gets to you just tell him you don't remember what he looks like, you were in shock and don't remember much about any of it." Punk said to her and she nodded. "But I want you to tell me what he looked like."
"Phil I can't." She whispered.
"AJ please." He sighed. "I have to get this guy off the streets. I'll be the only one who knows- me and Shawn. We don't want John to know that you tipped us off." Punk said to her. "We trust each other don't we?"
"I do trust you but you weren't the one looking down the barrel of a gun and begging for your life and the life of your unborn child." She sniffled. "I was so sure he was going to pull that trigger he wanted to and I saw it in his eyes."
"He's long gone AJ." Punk said to her. "No one robs a joint then sticks around to kill the witness. This town is so small he probably drove right out of it the minute he got into his car."
"He has my information." She reminded him.
"I know you're scared but I'm here now." He reminded her.
"What about the nights you work overnight?" She asked him. "What if he finds out I talked to you and comes back here and shoots me."
"You're going to tell me what he looks like and I'm going to catch him. He won't have the opportunity." Punk said to her. "You trust me?"
"We trust you." She said referring to the growing child inside of her. "Ok I'll tell you what he looked like."
"Thank you." He said relieved and reached for a pen and paper.
"He was white, had green eyes, dirty blonde hair that went up to his shoulders, it was dirty and he had a trucker cap on." she told him as she watched him jot it all down.
"Did he ever tell you to not look at his face? Or look away?" He asked her.
"No." she said to him and he just nodded as he continued to write.
"What was he wearing?" Punk asked.
"He had on a winter bubble jacket and it was dark gray, he didn't have gloves on, and he was wearing sweatpants they were black." she told him.
"Nothing on over his face?" he asked her.
"No and his hat wasn't pulled on tight so I saw his entire face." She told him. "Is that bad?"
"It's weird." Punk admitted. "It meant that he planned on killing you. Not a lot of robbers are willing to show their entire faces like that."
"He only made me turn around when he left." she said to him.
"Did he have an accent? Was he from Jersey?" Punk asked.
"You know what now that you mention it he didn't have a Jersey accent at all. He sounded different but I'm not sure where from." She admitted.
"And you've never seen him town?" Punk asked.
"Never." She confirmed. "You're not going to tell anyone are you?"
"Just Shawn." Punk said putting the notepad down.
"Thank you." She said to him. "Do you really think John had something to do with this?"
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just grasping at straws I don't know." he admitted.
"Are you going to work tomorrow?" She asked him.
"No I'm staying here with you." he said to her.
"Good." she said relieved. "I just need one day to fully shake this off."
"Take all the time you need. Someone pointing at a gun at you is scary." he said to her.
"He didn't just point it but when he made me get down on the floor he pressed it so hard against the back of my head." she said to him. "I've seen people die, I've almost been stabbed but tonight scared me so much because it wasn't just me tonight. All I could think about was the baby growing inside of me and how our child was depending on me to keep it safe."
"You did a great job." Punk said to her rubbing her knee.
"It's a lot of pressure." She said with a sad laugh.
"I know." He agreed. "But hey you heard the doctor, the baby is all good and that's because you did what you had to do."
"Cry and beg on the floor?" She asked him. "It was pathetic."
"It kept you alive." Punk said to her. "If you tried to fight him he would have definitely killed you. You have fantastic instincts always listen to them."
AJ's phone lit up again and vibrated on the side table.
"Ugh." She groaned grabbing it. "It's my dad again."
"Maybe just tell him you're ok?" Punk suggested. "I know you're mad but he won't stop calling. Do you want me to talk to him?"
"No I'll call him in the morning. Tonight I want to lay in bed with you and watch a funny movie." she said to him.
"I like that plan." He laughed.
"Are you going to be sleeping anytime soon?" She asked him quickly.
"Nah I think I'll probably be awake most of the night to keep an eye on the door." he said knowing she needed to hear that. "When Jake Miller was after you I told you that no one was going to get to you while I was there and I always kept my word, remember that?" she nodded. "Well I'm going to tell you the same thing tonight."
"What if it is John and for some reason he is trying to kill me or hurt me- what am I going to do?" she asked him.
"You've faced scarier." He smirked. "I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe and this is just another hurdle."
"I trust you." She said with a faint smile and rested her head against his chest as she looked towards the TV.
"I love you." he said to her. "I'm proud of how handled yourself tonight."
"I love you too." She smiled looking up at him and he dropped his lips briefly against hers. "I was thinking you could take the sonogram photo to work with you, keep it in your desk for now."
"Yea? Why's that?" he asked.
"You said you keep my picture there for motivation." She pointed out. "The baby will motivate you even more to stay safe."
"I agree." he said resting against the head board but kept his arm wrapped around her and used his thumb to rub gentle circles in her arm.