Writing is fun, but I must get back to my homework. Enjoy.
Chapter 22- Little Do They Know
Spoilers: Charge Of This Post.
May 21st, 2006.
The sounds of the city filtered through the open windows of Don's apartment. Paige woke up in Don's embrace, but it was obvious he had woken up first.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" said Paige.
"You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you," said Don.
He pulled Paige into a kiss. When they parted, Don went over to his nightstand and pulled something out.
"Whatcha got there?" said Paige.
"They're for you," said Don. "Be patient."
"Are you gonna have breakfast at the station?" said Paige.
"Nah, we'll eat together," said Don.
Seattle, WA.
Ian stared at the ceiling and sighed, "Down With The Sickness" by Disturbed playing over his sound system. The buxom blonde next to him had been so bad in bed he would have to ice his balls and give them a break for god knew how long. He could hear his grandmother bellowing in her native language, Russian. She probably wanted canned ravioli. For some reason it was her favorite food.
He wasted no time in kicking his poorly skilled bedmate out of bed and making her leave out the window of his room, then he went on Facebook, thinking how much worse his status would be than when Paige had been home for the summer and impaled her foot on a shovel – the shovel had been in her parent's basement, which she had been converting to a hangout for a local group of friends. He heard the bellowing, louder this time.
Ian shook his head and snuck down to the mansion's kitchen. If the cook caught him, he'd grab the ravioli and run.
Chicago, IL.
Rhonda walked around the apartment, feeling only one emotion.
Boredom.
Ever since her adoptive parents had taken off for their second honeymoon, she had been bored out of her mind. She turned on her phone and decided to try texting her friends to see who would respond, all the while thinking whether or not she should go to New York and extend her information digging into the summer.
She had found out her unknown bio-dad hadn't been on the ship, so he had to have been discharged – but she had found out he had been a marine. Apparently an old framed picture in the mess hall had several marines from the 1985 Fleet Week and one guy on board had thought Rhonda resembled one of the guys in the photo, the one difference being her eye color.
The man Rhonda resembled was definitely her father.
The only problem was finding out what he looked like now.
Brooklyn, NY.
Abs was woken by his phone ringing. It was a text message from a friend in Manhattan.
Block Party, get down here!
After getting dressed and telling his mother where he was going, he left.
Manhattan, NY.
Paige grinned as Don held out a key. They had eaten breakfast and Don was about to get ready to go to work.
"For me?" said Paige.
"We've been goin' out over six months, I should've given you one sooner," said Don.
Paige placed the key on the table, a smile on her face. She noticed he had something else as well.
"What is that?" said Paige.
"It's a claddagh ring," said Don. "My parents got it for me when I was younger. I want you to have it."
"It's beautiful," said Paige.
"These rings are actually worn different ways," said Don. "One way it's worn, if it's pointed towards your heart, it means you're in a relationship with someone."
He slid it on the third finger of her right hand with the ring pointing as he had described. Paige gave Don a kiss, one that he eagerly returned. She had captured his heart, and he knew she would always be there if things got rough, which was why he had given his ring to her in the first place. Don reluctantly broke the kiss so he could finish getting ready for work. Seeing that she would have to do without for a few minutes, Paige turned on her laptop. Facebook was her home page, so hopefully there would be someone to talk to. She got a text message on her phone from Rhonda at the same time.
Nashua, NH.
A splash occurred in the pool of the Larson home as Candace took in the scene: Isabel and Renee were playing one-on-one volleyball in the shallow end; the ball had splashed into the deep end so Renee had to swim over and get it. Jon sat in a lounge chair next to Candace, the both of them trying to get tan. They heard footsteps and realized Sophie had arrived with all their Starbucks coffee – the rule was whoever was the last to arrive got coffee for everyone else. Candace turned on her cell phone and went on Facebook.
"What are you doing?" said Jon.
"Seeing if Paige is on," said Candace. "Girls! Sophie's here!"
Isabel and Renee got out of the pool as Sophie arrived with a tray of coffee. There two iced coffees with milk (Isabel and Renee), an iced caramel macchiato (Sophie), and two iced lattes (Jon and Candace).
"Caramel?" said Candace.
"I'm in the mood for something sweet," said Sophie. "Remember, Paige once called me sweet Sophie."
"I'm on her page right now," said Candace. "Her status is 'Chillin' for now, then meeting Blue in Central Park for lunch'."
Manhattan, NY.
Paige wrapped her arms around Don and kissed him. She wished he didn't have to leave but she knew he did. For some reason, today out of any other day she had been with him, Paige didn't want Don to go.
"I'll get away for lunch if I can," said Don.
"I love you," said Paige.
"I love you too," said Don.
He kissed her one final time before heading out the door. When he got to the station, he was greeted by a smirking Kaile.
"Why?" said Don in mock horror.
"I'm sorry," said Kaile. "I would've covered for him but whenever he's on I'm on."
They had a laugh at Scagnetti's expense.
"He couldn't even kiss me good-bye this morning," said Kaile. "He tried to outdo me and he even said it was his first time doing tequila shots."
"No wonder he's flat on his back," said Don.
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Paige talked with some friends on Facebook before deciding she wanted to go to Central Park. She changed into a pair of denim cutoffs – she owned several pairs – and a blue tank top. Blue was her favorite color and she would be the first to admit that it was the color most of her clothes were, not counting all her denim. After putting on her Vans, she decided she would walk. She took her purse with her, inside was her cell, iPod, key, pepper spray, and a copy of the second Sailor Moon manga book to be published. As she left, Paige thought of what she would do there. There was a Ray's nearby. She would buy some pizza before Don showed up. When she got there she sat and opened her book. It was at a depressing part, the part where Tuxedo Mask AKA Prince Darien got injured protecting Sailor Moon AKA Princess Serena.
Paige remembered when Sailor Moon had started airing – she had watched other anime shows but this one had become her new addiction like nothing else. She had been crushed when it had been taken off the air but someone on YouTube had been nice enough to post all the English episodes, so she watched them whenever she had a free moment, usually with Amelia while Ian and Galen were playing something other than Guitar Hero, as all four of them liked that game.
Paige's thoughts were interrupted by another text from Rhonda. Her phone then rang – it was Don, he couldn't meet up for lunch because he had to go to a crime scene.
"I'll see you when you get back I guess," said Paige. "I love you."
"I love you too," said Don.
Nashua, NH.
Joseph stopped mowing the yard and put the mower back in the garage before heading back into the house. A car pulled up and Emily bounced out of the car.
"Violet, Emily's here!" said Joseph.
Joseph watched his daughter and her friend leave with Mrs. Willis, who promised the girls would have a safe afternoon – Violet and Emily were going to go to the movies then would spend time at Emily's, as it was one of those rare Sunday s where Violet didn't have to go to Boston for her ballet lesson. Then she had her camp in Juliard in the summer for a week towards the end of June and that was that, although she practiced rigorously.
Joseph looked at the calendar. When Violet was done with school, which was on June 15th, Paige would be coming home.
Smiling to himself, the father of two watched as Sublime and Chloe walked over.
Joseph petted the dogs, realizing how lucky he was to have two smart daughters and to be alive.
Manhattan, NY.
Don and Lindsay arrived at the crime scene, having to walk through a block party.
"Quite a shindig," said Lindsay.
"Block parties, spring time in New York City," said Don. "Where didja have block parties in Montana?"
"Wyoming," said Lindsay.
Suddenly a co-ed came up and started break-dancing, blocking their way to the crime scene.
"Sup homies!" said the co-ed.
"Are you one of Paige's friends?" said Lindsay.
"It's Abs, he's harmless," said Don.
"Sup dawg?" said Abs. "You two care to join the party?"
"Crime scene," said Don, gesturing to the brokerage firm up ahead.
"Damn!" said Abs. "Well, when you're done, come back and I'll make you two some plates!"
Don and Lindsay walked off. Abs had a weird feeling that something was happening, something bad. He shook it off – he had probably eaten some bad macaroni salad.
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The victim was a security guard, Darwin Judge. Mac spotted a blood trail going up the stairs.
"There might be some latent shoe prints," said Lindsay. "I'm gonna go to the truck and get the electrostatic dust lifter."
She left, leaving Mac and Don to follow the blood trail.
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Gavin Moran sighed. Andrea had left to pick up his daughters from Boston College and had told him via a note.
He knew something drastic would have to happen for them to ever make up.
However, he had forgotten that old phrase.
Be careful what you wish for…
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The building was quiet.
Too quiet.
Like it had an explosive secret to hide.
"It's quiet," said Mac.
"Brokerage firm, they don't work on Sunday," said Don.
"Must be nice," said Mac.
"Yeah," said Don.
"Paige still in town?" said Mac.
"Until June, then she's going back for the summer – with the exception of a visit or two both ways," said Don.
"You really love her, don't you?" said Mac.
"She means the world to me," said Don.
The trail led to a ladder.
"Guard put up a fight," said Don.
Mac tipped the ladder back to standing position and climbed up, thinking there might be a clue in the ceiling. He saw a bag.
As Mac unzipped the bag and saw the contents, his blood ran cold.
Inside the bag was a bomb.
Mac jumped down from the ladder.
"We gotta evacuate the building, there's a bomb! Hit the alarm! Call Central, no radios!" said Mac.
Don hit the fire alarm. They ran up the stairs as Don made the call.
"Suspicious package at 6021 Granitch! A bomb! Yeah, a bomb!" Don yelled.
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Lindsay was walking back to the truck when Abs started dogging at her heels.
"Sup?" said Abs.
"You have a girlfriend?" said Lindsay.
"Yeah, but I don't play that way – wanna learn some moves cowgirl?" said Abs.
Lindsay blushed.
"Accent," said Abs.
Lindsay's phone rang. Abs watched as the color drained from Lindsay's face.
"Everyone down the street!" Lindsay yelled.
"What's goin' on?" said Abs.
"Bomb in the building," said Lindsay. "Get down the street."
Abs was about to comply when he saw a husky running and a little girl chasing after it. Thinking fast, Abs grabbed a slice of pizza and tossed it in the opposite direction, the dog fell for it and was out of harm's way. Abs grabbed the girl and brought her down the street, then stood near Lindsay.
"I said down the street," said Lindsay.
"I gotta know what goes down, Paige is my friend and her boyfriend is in there," said Abs.
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"It's all clear, let's go," said Mac.
Don was happy to go – this would be quite the story to tell, Danny would probably spread around an exaggerated version to scare the lab techs and Paige would be so happy he got out in one piece that a hot passionate night would follow.
Then behind them, a man with a briefcase and headphones changed everything.
"What's going on?" said the man.
So much for best laid plans.
"Hey get the hell outta here!" Don yelled.
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Paige was eating a slice of pepperoni pizza out of the box she had gotten at Ray's. She got a call from Holden – his friend in publishing wanted to publish Paige's Raven series, the one about the Vegas mafia.
"You're gonna be famous, come fall the bookstores will be filled with fans of Jade Blackbird," said Holden. "You'll have to make appearances for autographs of course."
"Of course, and thank you," said Paige.
They said their good-byes, and Paige stood up and stared at the sky. The beautiful weather made her smile.
She glanced down at her watch. 12:21.
Paige looked back up.
That's when the sky exploded.
And so it begins...