Chapter 37---Here's the latest update to this x-fiction story. I hope you like it, thanks for reading and the feedback!
When C.J. returned into the office, Alex just looked at her. C.J. sat down next to her and they both waited for Duke to return.
"They got him," C.J. said to Alex.
Alex nodded.
"One left."
The most dangerous one of all, C.J. thought. But if they took care of him, it would be over and they could leave the bank. She could go home with Matt and tell him her wonderful news. After they stopped by the hospital to visit Chris and her new baby and check in with how they were doing after the eventful birth and delivery.
"Do you think he even knows he's the only one left," Alex asked.
C.J. sighed.
"He'll know pretty soon."
Matt and Walker had talked about the action they planned to take and Walker had carefully walked to where Sydney and Gage were hiding in the storage room and briefed them quickly on what they were going to do next.
"He's going to be a lot more dangerous when he realizes his gang has been captured," Matt said.
Walker nodded grimly.
"And we still got hostages trapped in the middle between us and them."
Matt didn't even want to think about that part of it. The only way he could function at all in this situation was to distance himself from the reality that he had a personal connection to it. Normally in his work, that galvanized him to solve even the most difficult cases he accepted, gave him that extra impetus when he most needed it. But it had never been that way with his close friends, especially C.J. During those times, he had to shut his personal feelings to the side and push ahead, during times when each breath came harder and he thought his heart might stop. He loved the investigations that he did, well most of them, but only a day ago, he had handed it off to two of his senior investigators to carry on while he started his new business in Houston.
"Do you really want to give all that up," C.J. had asked him one night after they had gone to bed.
Her tone had been serious even though they had been joking about something that had happened seconds before then. He had wondered why her thoughts had drifted to his business in L.A. which had been seeing less and less of him since they both had returned from the adventure they had in Silver Lode, Colorado.
He looked into her worried eyes and he had nodded.
"Not that you haven't been a great source of help for Dan's business and for me," she said, "But you built that business from the ground up."
He had reached out to stroke her hair as he often did.
"We both did," he had reminded her.
She had nodded, remembering the early days of the agency including the nights spent planning how it would operate at a local diner after they both had spent busy days trying to expand Houston Enterprises. They would order food and sit there for hours laying it all out so that when the time came, they would be ready to go into their new venture running. And that's how it had happened, except for a misstep here and there.
She hesitated.
"I might never be able to put this all behind me," she said.
He sighed remembering what had happened the previous month, a reminder that some skeletons would not remain buried in closets no matter how much you wanted them to stay there.
"We've gotten through it," he said, "and we always will, C.J."
She knew he meant what he said. Life often threw out challenges that had to be faced and surmounted. Both of them knew that from the time they were children. All the years that they had known each other had been filled with one challenge or another intermixed with plenty of good times too. She wouldn't take any of that back, even as she struggled to rebuild her life in Houston.
"You're leaving tomorrow," she said, "for several weeks."
"It's my last trip," Matt said, "Some business to wrap up."
She nodded, knowing that he really didn't want to get on an airplane and leave again. She would be very busy the next several weeks with her own career and would be waiting for him when he returned.
"I'm going to miss you," he said, "If I didn't…"
She put her fingers on his lips.
"Don't say anything more," she said, "It'll be fine. And we'll both do what we have to do until we see each other again."
Matt thought about that conversation. He had hated to leave on another business trip when everything he had wanted in his life waited in his home state. C.J. had started making phone calls to realtors to seek the land in her dreams to rebuild on and the woman had told them both that there were plenty of great parcels of open space outside the city. She had wanted some place beautiful in its peacefulness to return to at the end of her highly charged days. A place to relax, perhaps even to raise the family she hoped to have some day. She hadn't broached that subject with Matt yet or had even brought up their future much as each of them seemed content to take each day as it came in light of the past year or so.
And he had hated leaving on this latest business trip when she clearly had been tired and not feeling well. But he and Dan had discussed ways to expand the security business to include a division which investigated the cases that no one else would touch, serving people who couldn't pay the high daily fees charged by most investigators.
"We're going to have to give some heads up to the hostages, "Walker said, interrupting Matt's thoughts.
"That might give them some time to take cover," Matt said, "How many reinforcements do you have?"
Walker paused.
"There's Sydney and Gage," he said, "Maybe a couple others if we can get them in here."
"Brody will be more than happy to volunteer," Matt said, "He's an experienced and trained cop who did some SWAT time."
"That's fine," Walker said, "I'll get Sydney to go tell them. I think they're still in that steam tunnel."
"Hopefully not passed out."
Walker left the bathroom carefully.
C.J. looked at Alex.
"It's pretty quiet."
Alex frowned.
"Yes it is," she said, "Where's Duke anyway?"
"Maybe he's remembered he's got male hostages," C.J. said.
"Maybe he's looking for his missing men."
C.J. thought that too and knew things could get much more dangerous when he realized he couldn't find them and that he was the sole remaining bank robber in this siege. She wondered what he would do but knew that it probably would involve violence. As unstable as he had become in the past several hours, that was an inevitable conclusion.
"What if he kills us," she asked.
Alex didn't want to think about that.
"He won't," she said, "We're going to stop him."
C.J. nodded.
"Houston wanted me to leave earlier."
"Does he know…?"
She shook her head.
"No he doesn't," she said, "I haven't told him because I don't want him to worry about us when he's got so much else to think about."
"You'll be able to tell him soon enough."
"He really wants children," she said, "We never really talked about it. We've both been caught in the present too much."
"After everything you've both been through, that's understandable."
"I was shocked when he asked me to marry him," C.J. said, "in a really good way."
"Clearly someone had been doing some thinking even if he hadn't been talking…"
"That's all I want," C.J. said, "is for us to have a life together on a ranch somewhere and raise our children including this one."
Alex smiled.
"I know," she said, "I had those same dreams. They are the best of all."
C.J. rubbed her arms.
"We used to talk about it when we were both working in Houston," she said, "at that Tex Mex place with our group."
Alex laughed, remembering back.
"We've both come so far since those days."
C.J. nodded again, knowing that was true.
"It was so confusing yet exciting back in those days," she said, "I was trying to work it out with Jonathan and you had that young Ranger mooning over you."
Alex harrumphed.
"He was not," she said, "We fought all the time then. We still do now but at least we make up."
"I remember that Valentine's Day we spent at that gala," C.J. said.
Alex made a face.
"Don't remind me," she said, "I had a horrible date."
"Not me," C.J. said, "Though Matt fidgeted with his tie the whole time when he wasn't laying down the law to my dance partners."
"He was only trying to protect you," Alex said, "Chad was a jerk. Still is, I heard. Three marriages and just as many career changes."
C.J. hadn't known that, but she did remember how he had treated her and how Matt had stepped in when she hadn't asked to handle him. Just as he had many times until he learned that she had to fight her own battles even the most difficult ones. She thought back how he had been there for her when she had needed him the past year but he had known her well enough to give her space when she needed to regain confidence in her abilities and most importantly, her judgment.
Matt paced in the bathroom, feeling restless while he awaited Walker's return. He found his mind trying to find C.J. even as he tried to rein in his thoughts. He couldn't focus on her or he felt that would immobilize him. At least not until he had placed himself in the position when he could actually do something. One of the hardest lessons he had to learn was not to rush to her aid when she stumbled but to allow her to handle herself. He had never doubted her abilities to handle her own challenges and had always admired them but had hated to see her struggle so much.
He had been reminded of that when he had dropped into Houston one weekend and had been waiting for her to finish a therapy session. Her eyes hadn't met his own when she left the room and when they had, she noticed that she had been crying.
"C.J…"
She looked at him and shook her head slightly.
"I can't…"
He had buried his frustration that welled up every time she closed the book on any discussion of what she had been going through.
"How can I help you," he had said.
She snapped at him.
"Houston, you can't always help me."
He had been a bit taken aback at her words and when she saw their effect, her face softened a bit.
"There are just some things I have to work through myself," she said, softly, "I'll tell you some day when I'm ready."
He had nodded then and had accepted it. She had put up boundaries between herself and him just as she had other people and eventually he did find out why. Months later, when they had realized how important they had become to each other in an entirely new way, he had learned that many of the feelings she had been sorting through during those difficult times involved him and where he fit in her life.
Jonathan sat in the mobile response trailer and thumbed his fingers on the table, while his latest cup of coffee grew colder next to him. He had just gotten off the phone with his wife, telling her back in Dallas that he wouldn't be coming home for a while. Rhonda had accepted it and said she would be waiting for him when he did return. He smiled, thinking that life had definitely been much more interesting since she had entered into it. He had also called the hospital to check on Chris and both she and her son, Daniel were doing fine.
Denton walked into the room and Jonathan felt irritation fill him again.
"We've just met with the strike team," Denton said, "We're running out of time to act."
"The window still hasn't shut yet," Jonathan said.
"We're nearly at the point where this could blow up," Denton said.
Jonathan sighed.
"We've got two bank robbers in custody now thanks to Walker and Matt and one of them has spilled the blueprint of the entire building."
"It's still too volatile a situation."
"Listen Simon," Jonathan said, "Walker and Matt are going forward with their plan whether we like it or not."
Denton's eyes flashed.
"Then we're going to have to arrest them and anyone who's helping them with obstruction of justice."
Jonathan threw up his hands.
"Then you're going to have to do it Simon," he said, "Because I'm not helping you."
Denton folded his arms.
"It didn't take you long to rebel with the FBI compared to how long it took you with the Marshal's office."
Jonathan sighed again, at Denton playing that card against him.
"I'm not rebelling," he said, "I think what they're doing is the better option. We have got to trust them."
"Fine, then you trust them right out of another job," Denton said, "I've got an operation to supervise."
With that, the federal agent turned on his heel and stomped off. Jonathan watched him leave and then closed his eyes, thinking, knowing that he had a decision to make.
C.J. and Alex continued to talk mostly to keep themselves on an even keel, given that they both were very tired and more than ready to get out of the bank. They had to keep hopeful that that moment would come and both of them could be reunited with the men who loved them.
"I hope that they…" Alex started.
Suddenly the door opened and in walked a very irate Duke.
"What the hell is going on here," he said, "Something fishy has happened and I want the truth even if I have to shoot one of you to get the other to talk. So who is ready to die?"
Both Alex and C.J. had to think quickly.
Walker returned to the bathroom and he and Matt cautiously left there to reunite with Gage and Sydney who seemed to act somewhat strained towards one another. Walker didn't worry because he knew they could toss that aside for a while and act as the professional and very capable Rangers that they had proven to be.
"We're with you boss," Gage said
Sydney nodded.
Matt looked and saw two men and next to them, his partner Brody sipping from a bottle of water. He looked sweaty but none the worse for wear.
"So am I," a voice said.
Matt looked towards the entrance into the storage closet and his eyes widened.
There stood Jonathan.