Chapter Twenty Nine
Choose your battles, babe
Then you'll win the war
Stop digging your own grave
When there's so much to live for
Katy Perry- Choose Your Battles
Maddie's home was different from the way that Hank had imagined it. From experience the majority of his fellow officers seemed to live in apartments unless they had a family, Maddie however lived in a petite bungalow in a picturesque, family orientated area of town. In the past him and his second ex wife had taken a look around the neighbourhood when they were thinking of settling down and buying but that had fallen though in the end when they had hit a rough patch and gotten divorced.
The exterior of the house boasted a 1920s authenticity which was when a lot of the houses in the area had been built. There was a vintage quality to it and it looked like Maddie had decided to keep the character of the building when she moved in by painting the slats a slate grey to offset the smooth ivory paint that had been used upon the porch. The petite garden out front was kept neat and tidy with a few brightly coloured spring time plants beginning to bloom in the tiny flower bed. He wondered how Maddie found time to maintain the garden before remembering her mentioning how she paid one of the neighbourhood kids who was interested in horticulture to work on it as one of his projects.
Despite the fact it was late Maddie had still left her porch light on for him and Hank appreciated that. There was a darkness in the street that would have made him feel uneasy if he didn't have the two cops sitting in the off duty police car at his back. Somewhere in Portland Stark was stalking around in the shadows and he wondered when his time would eventually come to face the man that he had put away five years ago.
It had taken three deaths in the past thirty six hours for Hank to realise who the killer was in their case and even sharing the identity left a bad taste in his mouth. The things that Stark had done that led to Hank putting him away were horrific, they were snap shot images in his mind that haunted his dreams over the years. Most of the time he was certain he had come to terms with seeing the Lambert's tortured bodies however it was always the kid that got him. He could never forget that gnawing sickness he felt when the coroner had reeled off the list of injuries like a grotesque check list. He didn't regret what he did to Stark, hell he just wished that he had managed to kill him the first time so all of this wasn't happening.
His footsteps seemed to echo as he took each step up to Maddie's ivory front door and reached for the gold coloured knocker just below the window. After he had told the Captain the story about Stark e had instantly placed him under protective custody. The plan had been to remove him from the case and to hide Hank in a safe house so the other man couldn't touch him. That hadn't sat well with Hank and both the Captain and himself had gotten into one of the worst arguments he had had in his entire life, he had been in danger of being written up for ignoring a direct order until Maddie had stepped in to smooth over the situation. She had offered up her home as a safe haven, as a cop she had adequate security and there would be a cop in the house as well as outside the house to ensure Hank's safety. That way Hank could work on the case and have someone to bounce ideas off while removing the security concerns around him. Amongst the three of them that had been agreed as the best option and here he was outside Maddie's door with his black holdall clasped in his hands. It would only be for a few days he told himself. Just until he managed to catch Stark.
It took a few seconds for Maddie to open the door, he could the twisting of each and every lock sa she undid them all one by one. Apparently she hadn't been kidding when it came to her security, he wondered if that was anything to do with her previous experiences back in Seattle and brushed it off as too personal to ask especially when she was letting him into her home. She gestured for him to answer before she shut and locked the door behind him.
The inside of her home was interguing to him and he thought that was because he had never thought of a Maddie a person outside of the workplace before. They'd been out for a beer a few times with a couple of the guys from the precinct but they had always talked shop. He hadn't known that she likes to read, which was evident from the beech wood book shelves that were crammed filled with books of all shapes and sizes. A well loved sofa sat in front of her flatscreen TV, an Xbox 360 tucked neatly underneath it along side a stack of games. There was bedding stacked on the left hand cushion of the sofa along with her own neatly folded sweat pants and black t shirt perched on top. Her firearm was sitting ready on the hand crafted coffee table between the TV and the sofa.
"You are far too big for the couch." she informed as she caught him looking down at the pile of clothes in confusion. "And protocol says I need to be between you and whatever is coming through that door. You've got fresh bedding in my room and I hope you brought your own pyjamas."
There was a lilt of humour in her voice and Hank found that despite his circumstances a small smile was gracing his grizzled features.
"I thought I mentioned that I only sleep nude, it's a medical condition." he informed her with a teasing shrug before dropping down onto the couch with his holdall and rubbing his weary features with his hands.
"Hey if you wanna fight that thing bare assed that is up to you." Maddie said rolling her eyes skyward. "I prefer to have something between me and the bad guy."
There was a silence between them for a brief second. Maddie crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall reviewing Hank with a scrutiny she usually reserved for criminals.
"So what did you do?" she asked him bluntly. "I know it's not something you wanted to say in front of the Captain. Your acting like you deserve this, like it's your fault."
Hank tilted his head so that his dark eyes bored into hers, she could feel the war that waging inside of him, the unbridled fury that he wanted to unleash upon Stark. It was a vengeful desire one that she had experienced herself , one that she had paid the price for and she knew it chewed at your gut like a monster, eating you up until you were forced to act. That was one of the reasons she was taking the couch, she wouldn't put it past Hank to try and sneak out and put a bullet in Stark's head. That's what she would have done if she was in his position or rather it was what she had done. Sadly for him the only way in and out of his place was the front door and she was a very light sleeper. Hank didn't know what was really lurking around outside waiting for him. She had suspected Stark was Wesen after perusing a copy of his medical reports, the discussion her and Nick had had earlier with Monroe had simply confirmed their theory. Hank was in more danger than he could comprehend hence why after Nick had had his late dinner with Juliet he was going to be taking up his own shift outside of the house.
"Is this an interrogation Maddie?" Hank asked her , his voice betraying the agitation he was trying to mask underneath the surface. "Do you think I'm dirty somehow?"
"No Hank." Maddie said lowering her tone in an attempt to diffuse his misplaced anger. "I don't think your dirty but I do think your carrying something around with you, something that's eating you up inside."
Hank shook his head, that callous grin spreading across his features. She knew that grin too, she had used that smile on one of the cops that had been guarding her door two years ago. He had let her walk away knowing what she was going to do because he felt the same way as her. When it came to avenging one of your own there were always allies ready to assist. That was what had saved her from prison in the end, allies. She wasn't the same type of ally that cop had been back then, she would prevent Hank from following in her footsteps because the road asked her was so much harder to live with.
"Did you do it?" Hank asked her suddenly, she wondered if her thoughts were reflected on her face as she seated herself in the reading chair on the left hand side of the couch, her hands pressed between her knees. "Did you kill him because of what he did to your partner?"
There was a moment for Maddie, one that was pivotal. She could act in self preservation and deny even knowing what he was talking about or she could tell the truth and that was what Hank needed right now. He needed to know he wasn't alone with this feeling that it was manageable.
"Yes." she told him stoically. "He wanted to kill me too... but I killed him first."
"And that's how you ended up here." Hank said gesturing at their surroundings.
"There are consequences." she said honestly. "Ones that even I couldn't foresee."
Maddie reached forward her fingertips coming to rest on the white manilla envelop that had arrived a few days ago. She pushed it towards him, urging him to pick it up. Hank did as he was requested, removing a small stack of stapled paperwork and briefly reading through the first page.
"His family are suing you for wrongful death." Hank uttered as he placed the assortment of paperwork back down on the coffee table.
"They couldn't take it to criminal court so this another way for them to get even." Maddie told Hank with the shrug of her shoulders. "What I did I have to live with. Right now you may think what your doing is just and righteous but it isn't. It haunts you, the guilt creeps up on you and before you realise it you start to become self destructive."
"You think that's what I'm doing?" Hank asked her. "You think I'm going to self destruct?"
"You tell me." Maddie responded laying out what was right in front of them. "You want to take on a guy that wants to kill you and that outmatches you in every single way on your own, you already know that guns don't hurt him. You tell me that doesn't sound like a death sentence."
Hank rubbed his hands together as he bowed his head. His teeth gnawed at his lower lip as he took her words into consideration. She was right in a way, even though he had done it for a good reason he had still been living with the guilt of 'losing that evidence' for the past five years. That didn't change what he wanted to do, what he needed to do.
Maddie could tell she'd lost the battle long before it started but she couldn't give herself any peace of mind if she didn't try to stop it. Hank was going to do what he had to the same way she had two years ago.
"Don't do it alone." she requested, pressing her hands between her knees once more as if in prayer. "If you go after him, make sure someone's got your back."
Hank said nothing, he simply rose to his feet grasped his holdall and disappeared into Maddie's bedroom closing the door quietly behind him.
Hey guys, sorry for the late post. My partner's Grandad has died recently and it has been hard going on us both but never fear your chapter is here :) Thank you for all of your patience.
Hopeful: I am glad that you've been enjoying the story so much and I hope the next few updates keep you riveted!
Raven: Thanks so much for the review!
Fangirlling: Who says that he will tell her? And who knows how soon it will be ;p I'm glad that you find this story so exciting, I work really hard on it!
0netflix0: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, it makes me smile to hear nice things :)
Vamp: Thanks very much for taking he time to review :)
