Hi Guys and welcome back to Rush and Response! I don't have a lot to say so let's crack on shall we?
When James woke up the next morning to an empty bed, it was safe to say that his heart dropped in his chest for a brief second before he heard Kendall shuffling about in the kitchen causing James to let out a sigh. While he was acting calm about the whole situation with Kendall yesterday, trying to ensure the blond that everything was going to be ok, it was safe to say that James was slightly freaking out himself.
The brunet definitely hadn't expected for Kendall to be contacted by the Crime Boss directly, with him thinking that it would be through some contact like usual, so that was a shock to him at first, and what made it worse was Kendall sharing his theories about everything that had or could happen. The blond worrying about someone in the police force being corrupt was definitely something that James was starting to worry about more and more, and now that Kendall was convinced that someone had informed the Crime Boss of their plan, James was even more on edge about the whole thing.
Whatever the case may be, James was certain that he was going to work with Kendall to try and discover if a mole existed in the police force, and he'd do his best to expose them if that was the case. He also knew that he'd stop at nothing to protect the blond from any harm that would come his way, and that included sacrificing his badge and gun if the need arose.
Taking in a deep breath, trying not to think about that for the time being, James rolled out of bed and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top before making his way into his living room, where Kendall was stood in his small kitchenette, making them both a cup of coffee. When the blond heard someone enter the room, he turned to James, fear in his eyes for a brief second before he settled down, realising who it was.
"Morning," the blond said in a soft voice as James planted himself down on his sofa, Kendall coming over to join him with the cups of coffee in hand.
"How are you feeling today?" James asked, thanking Kendall for the coffee, before taking a sip of it.
"Hey, I'm ok" Kendall replied, sighing before he took a sip of his coffee. "I've calmed down a little since yesterday, and I've tried to focus on what you said, about how we'll come up with something to try and discover if someone in the police force is a mole." Kendall paused, taking another sip of his coffee. "I guess I'm still a little bit freaked out, mostly about the fact that the Crime Boss contacted me directly. I mean, I've never had anything like that happen before, and I'm just worried about what they're going to ask me to do. And someone was in my apartment James, that's freaking me out as well. Someone was in my apartment, walking around placing whatever they wanted wherever they wanted and looking at all the stuff I owned."
"Hey, hey, it's ok" James spoke up, placing his cup of coffee down onto the table before placing his hand onto Kendall's knee, seeing how the blond was getting worked up. "If it makes you feel any better, you can stay here until you want to return back to your apartment, and I'll stay by your side until you feel safe." James squeezed Kendall's knee, speaking up again. "And I promise you, we will find a way to identify this mole. Whatever it takes, I promise you, we'll do it"
"Thank you, James," Kendall said, causing James to flash him a small smile as he leant forward and placed a chaste kiss onto Kendall's lips. "Now about last night" Kendall continued, causing James to pull back, raising an eyebrow at him.
"What about it?" James asked, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he waited for Kendall to answer his question.
"Relax" Kendall replied, taking James' hand into his own. "I just wanted to say that I enjoyed it, and I'm glad that we finally you know, got to spend some time together" The blond continued, causing a small smile to grow on James' face, the brunet leaning in again to place a kiss onto Kendall's lips once more.
"I'm glad as well" James replied, causing Kendall to flash him a small smile. "With everything that's been going on, we haven't really had the chance to just be us, so I'm glad that we could be just for a night"
"Yeah, so am I" Kendall replied, placing his hand on top of James' as they both smiled at each other for a brief second, Kendall's cheeks blushing before he looked down to the floor.
That's when James used his free hand, placing it under Kendall's chin so that the blond looked at him. With a small smile on his face, James began to lean in, Kendall doing the same thing before their lips connected, James quickly dominating the kiss. Grinning into it, James pushed Kendall down onto the sofa, before climbing on top of him, the two of them quickly getting lost in each other.
That all came to an end however when James' phone pinged, causing both of them to jump up startled, as Kendall frantically looked around. The curtains were still closed in James' apartment, but that still didn't stop Kendall from looking about, the blond now doing it like an automatic reaction.
"It's fine, it's only Lucy" James spoke up, grabbing his phone off of the table, as he sat back down on the sofa, Kendall sitting up next to him. "She's just reminding me that I need to get the Focus back to her for midday" James continued, causing Kendall to smile at him, the blond calming down slightly at the news.
"We should probably do as she says. You don't want to cross Lucy when it comes to her cars" Kendall replied, causing James to nod before leaning over and pressing a kiss onto Kendall's cheek.
"Come on, we might as well get ready. We've still got to go to the police station as well. Griffin won't be happy if he learns that I've kept this from him for too long" James said, causing Kendall to nod, the two of them both pushing themselves off of the sofa and heading into James' bedroom.
"You know, we might save time if we shower together" Kendall suggested, causing a grin to grow on James' face, the brunet following him into the bathroom, locking the door behind them.
"So, how fucked is it?" James asked as Kendall wheeled himself under the car on a dolly.
"Not totally fucked. The fuel line has just come loose, so it was stopping fuel from reaching the engine." Kendall replied, wheeling himself back out from under the car.
"So, is it going to take long to fix?" James asked, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.
"Depends on how good you are at installing fuel lines" the blond replied, causing James to raise an eyebrow at him.
"And how good are you?" James asked, causing Kendall to roll his eyes.
"It doesn't matter because I'm not the one doing it" the blond replied, kicking the dolly towards James.
"You want me to do it?" the brunet asked, causing Kendall to nod as he wiped some of the oil off of his hands.
"It is your car" Kendall replied, a smug look growing on his face as James began to roll up his sleeves.
"So, what am I doing slash looking for?" James asked as he pushed the dolly towards the car, before getting down into it, rolling himself under the car.
"So, first, I need you to the rubber hose that is hanging from the bottom of the car, follow it and pull it off of the pump" Kendall instructed, causing James to grab hold of the rubber hose before he used it to pull himself along, leading him along to an object.
"I think this is the fuel pump," James said from under the car, causing Kendall to raise his eyebrow at the brunet, not that James could see, knowing that it wasn't.
"Does the hose continue on the other side?" Kendall asked, causing James to reach over, letting out a sigh when he felt another hose.
"Yeah"
"That's the fuel vapour filter. I need you to disconnect it from that, and continue on" Kendall replied, causing James to nod under the car, noticing a few pieces of tape as he pulled the hose free from both ends before continuing along.
"You know, these are a lot easier to pull out than I expected," James said from under the car, causing a small smile to grow on Kendall's face.
"That's because the line's ruptured. Normally, it's a lot more difficult to get them loose"
"Oh…I suppose that makes sense" James replied from under the car, causing Kendall to try and stop himself from laughing. "Alright, I think I'm at the pump now," James said, before pulling the hose free from it as well as making sure that it wasn't connected on the other side.
When all he felt was a solid object, James tried to wheel himself out from under the car, but as he did so, he felt some resistance.
"Remember that the fuel line is still connected to the engine on this side, so you'll have to disconnect it from there as well" Kendall said, noticing how James was slightly rolling back and forth, causing James to let out a sigh, throwing away the piece of loose hose before following the first bit that was still connected to the engine. As he followed it, the brunet noticed how the hose went up into the engine.
"I can't get to it," James said, and that's when Kendall appeared on the other side of the engine, James being able to see him through the small gaps.
"That's because you're on the wrong side of the engine," Kendall said, and James could see the smile that was growing on his face.
With that, James wheeled himself free from under the car, and pushed himself up, heading towards the engine, where Kendall handed him a rag to wipe his hands on.
"Right, so using this spanner, I need you to loosen the bolt that is keeping the fuel line connected," Kendall said, handing James the tool he needed to use. "So, it's that bolt right there," Kendall said, causing James to nod as he got to work.
With the bolt loosened, James was able to pull the old fuel line completely clean of the car, a grin growing on his face before Kendall grabbed the new one and a few new bolts.
"So, basically, I need you to reverse the whole process that you just did. But this time, I need you to secure the fuel line to the filter and the tank with these bolts. Got it?"
"Got it" James replied, the brunet wiping the small bit of sweat that had gathered on his forehead before he got to work. The process was pretty simple, with James just having to thread the pipe through the bolt as he got close to the filter or fuel tank before screwing it into place.
By the time he was done, James had some black dust on his face from where it had fallen off of the car, but the job was complete.
"Time to test it out," Kendall said, throwing James the keys, causing a small smile to grow on his face as he walked over to the driver's side, and placed the key into the ignition. Twisting it, the Audi's engine revved to life, causing a massive grin to grow on James' face. "Nice going. You'll be a mechanic in no time" Kendall said, causing James to let out a little chuckle.
"I think I've had enough of repair work for the time being." The brunet replied, causing Kendall out a little chuckle. "But now that's done, let's head to the station" James continued, causing Kendall to nod, the blond's heart rate increasing at the prospect.
Trying to calm himself down, Kendall helped tidy away the tools and bits they'd worked with, and before long, he was sat in the passenger seat of the Audi, watching the traffic pass as James drove the two of them to the station.
All Kendall could think about the whole journey was what the Crime Boss said, about how they had people everywhere, and that caused anxiety to grow in his chest at the prospect of walking through the precinct.
Letting out a small sigh, he felt James' hand land on his lap, and when he looked over at the brunet, James was giving him a reassuring look, one that immediately made Kendall feel slightly safer.
As everyone gathered in Gustavo's office, Kendall couldn't help but eye the Commissioner, the blond curious about the man that had so quickly inserted himself into the case.
"So, the Crime Boss rang you last night, correct?" The Commissioner asked, causing Kendall to nod, the blond trying his best not to roll his eyes considering that was the first thing James had said to them, apart from the fact that they need to meet. "Any idea why?"
"To tell me that they wanted to give me a task" Kendall replied, glancing over at James, who nodded back at him to provide him with some support. "All I know is that they said they'd ring this burner phone when the time comes, and I'd have to answer it and do as I was asked, no questions asked"
"And you don't know what the task is?" Gustavo asked, causing Kendall to shake his head.
"I tried asking, but they said it wasn't part of the deal. As I said, all I know is that the burner phone will ring, and I'll have to do what they ask"
"And was there any clue, any indication of who they might be?" Griffin asked, causing Kendall to shake his head once again.
"No, I don't think so. I mean, their voice was all robotic and modulated so I'm guessing they used something to disguise themselves. I know that they were watching me, but I couldn't see anyone"
"Maybe we can use street camera footage to find something" Camille spoke up, causing everyone to glance over at her. "If the Crime Boss was in the area at the time of the phone call, then they'd have to leave at some point. We can check street cameras to look at all the traffic passing through that area at that time, and see if we can see that black Escalade again" She continued, glancing at Gustavo who nodded.
"That's a bit of a long shot" Griffin spoke up, clearly disagreeing with the plan. "The amount of traffic that passes through this city makes that a pretty pointless endeavour. You're never going to be able to find anything" The Commissioner continued, causing Kendall to glance over at James, who was rolling his eyes.
"Do you have any suggestions about what can be done?" James asked, and Kendall could hear the small bit of venom located in his tone.
"What I'm curious about is why the Crime Boss chose to ring your phone, yet has said that they'll contact you on a burner phone when the time comes. Why not either ring your phone again, or ring the burner phone in the first place to make a point" Griffin stated, causing everyone to go silent for a brief second as they considered it.
"Maybe because that makes them more difficult to track. By ringing one phone once, there is only one call log for you to try and trace, so it makes it more difficult" Camille said, causing them all to nod.
"And it only strengthens the Crime Boss power. By telling Kendall that a burner phone has been placed in his apartment, as well as watching him get it, it proves that they're still in the position of power" James added, causing them all to nod once again, as Gustavo turned to Camille.
"Will you be able to trace the call made to Mr Knight's phone?" the chief asked, causing Camille to let out a sigh.
"I can try, but it's going to be difficult. I can't imagine the Crime Boss would have made a call like that knowing it can be traced easily, but I'll give it a shot. I'll need access to phone records from Kendall's provider"
"I'll get them for you" Griffin interrupted, causing Camille to glance over at him briefly. "And I'll need the time of the phone call, and your number Kendall"
"You'll have them" Kendall replied, causing Camille to nod.
"What about the burner phone? Would you be able to put a tracker on that for when the phone call comes in?" Gustavo asked, causing Camille to let out another sigh.
"Again, I can try. I'll put a bug on it, so as soon as it rings, we'll be able to overhear the conversation, and that'll provide us with the number ringing the phone, so it's a start" She said, causing Gustavo to mummer in agreement.
"We still need to come up with a plan of action for when the phone call comes through" Griffin spoke up, causing James to let out a sigh, as the brunet rubbed his forehead.
"That's going to be difficult considering that we don't know what Kendall's going to be asked. I can stay with Kendall at all times, but apart from that, there's very little we can do in terms of preparation. We can increase patrols and stuff like that, but it might not actually do any good"
"I don't think you should stay with Mr Knight the entire time. If anything, I think this is the time he needs to be alone the most" Griffin said, causing James to raise an eyebrow, the brunet ready to jump into action when Griffin spoke up again. "If Mr Knight has someone with him constantly, it may blow this whole thing wide open. We need it to look like nothing has changed, and Mr Knight is still going about his daily business until the phone call comes in"
"I hate to say this, but I agree" Gustavo spoke up, causing James to glance over at him, his eyebrow still raised. "This is the closest we've come to the Crime Boss in years, and we don't need to be ruining our chance. We need to be prepared yes, but we also need to be careful with this opportunity, making sure not to ruin it"
"But the Crime Boss may have already seen the two of us together, so surely that wouldn't matter" James spoke up, causing Gustavo to shake his head.
"If the Crime Boss has seen you, then they've seen you on a normal day to day basis, where you don't spend every moment together. If you started doing that now, it looks suspicious"
"They're right," Kendall said, and when James looked over at him, he could see how difficult it was for the blond to say, fear very present in his eyes. "As much as I don't like it, they're right. I need to look like I'm ready to act at any moment, otherwise, this won't happen" the blond continued, causing James to let out a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair.
"Ok, but I'm going to be on alert constantly. If something looks like it's remotely wrong, I'm going to Kendall"
"Whatever makes you feel better," Griffin said, causing James to roll his eyes. "All we can do now is wait for the phone call. Mr Knight, work with Officer Roberts and give her the details she'll need to set up the traces, but apart from that, I suggest we all prepare ourselves for what is to come. We need to be ready at any moment. Dismissed" Griffin finished, causing everyone to nod as they all filed out of Gustavo's office.
As they did so, James wrapped his arm across Kendall's shoulders, the brunet now feeling more uneasy about this whole thing.
Something deep down was telling him that this wasn't going to end well.
So there we have it! Kames are in a good place, with the two of them being grateful of the time they spent together, the Audi is fixed with James having done the work, and very little has come of their meeting with the police since they don't have a lot to go on. They've also advised James to try and stay away from Kendall to make sure the plan works, but what is this going to mean?
I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and EpicallyObsessed for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! You felt sorry for Kendall, which I don't blame you for, but luckily, they don't regret what happened between them! Unluckily however, nothing has really come of the news so it's become a waiting game!
I hope you are all having a great week, and I will see you on Monday for the next chapter of Blizzard! But until then,
TTFN 😃🚗