She couldn't believe it. Gabriel 'Junior' Hernandez was her anonymous mole. He was second in command, the future leader of the whole operation. And he was totally in to her. I mean it had taken one little flirt to get him to ask her out. Admittedly, there was a chance he was aware of the plot to get them out of there alive, but still, he seemed eager…
And now she was waiting for Juliet's cousin. Whom she never met and the only identifier Shawn had given her was 'O'Hara eyes'. Admittedly, Juliet had very distinctive eyes, but still, Shawn definitely could've given her more…
Really, she was just amazed at how well everything was going. They had a plan, Shawn had figured out what she needed him to, and she hadn't been shot or beaten or anything thus far. It was an ideal undercover takedown. Plus, if they wrapped things up as nicely as everything was going, she'd definitely be able to go dress shopping with Jules tomorrow, and go to work. And truthfully, Junior was kind of cute and sweet, so if he was willing, she might even have a date on Saturday. Not a bad gig overall.
The door opened and startled her out of her thoughts. A tall man, mid-twenties, reddish brown hair, and as he turned and smiled at her, she saw those O'Hara eyes. Except they were somehow different than Jules'. They were just as blue, and warm, and smart, but there was something…something she couldn't put a finger on.
"Hi." He said with an easy-going confidence that seemed to somehow go to her bone. "How do I get myself set-up here?"
She smiled in spite of herself. It was a subtle, yet not so subtle flirt and she couldn't believe it, but it worked…and that was exactly the point…Shawn and Jules were setting her up! She couldn't believe them. While she'd assured them that she wouldn't fight background checks on possible suitors anymore, she also made it painfully clear that she did not want to be set up. It was awkward and embarrassing and so not her style, but as this man smiled and leaned into the counter, she found herself unable to fuel any anger at her brother. "Well you pay me, fill out this card, and show me your license, and then Junior will get you set up the rest of the way."
"Mmhmm…" His eyes glinted with mirth while he looked at her skeptically. "That's a pretty clever way of getting my name and phone number."
She laughed lightly and he did as well, taking a step away from the counter to pull out his wallet. He then handed her a slip of paper the same size as the document he needed, on which 'Hottie O'Hotterson' was written in Shawn's handwriting, with 'In case you're blind, this is the guy.' Written under in Gus'. And 'Stay safe, both of you' in Jules'. She had to contain her smile as she scanned a false license discreetly and handed him the clipboard. "I promise, it's strictly procedural." She said to the man, who's name she still didn't know.
"Well how do I go about getting your number?" Again, he had a cool confidence that was somehow warmed her every cell at the same time. She could feel a blush crawling up her cheeks and she couldn't believe how girlish she was being.
"Well…" She started, but just as Shawn had predicted, Junior interrupted her.
"Just fill out the paperwork." He said gruffly. If he knew about the plan, he was a great actor, and if he didn't…well, she was actually kind of intimidated.
"Hey man," Hottie—she didn't have anything else to call him and she could admit to herself the name kind of fit—replied, "I'm just talking to the lovely lady." And in that moment, he somehow reminded her of Shawn, Gus, and Juliet all at once. This was dangerous…far too dangerous…
More dangerous by Junior's reaction: "And I'm telling you to just fill out the paperwork." She wasn't entirely sure his jaw moved at any point in that sentence, but Hottie seemed unfazed.
"You going to make me?" Hottie asked far more lightly than the situation called for. It seemed like he was about to laugh actually. While easily had six inches on Junior, he had none of the malice and the veins in Junior's head looked like they were about to pop.
"Get out. We have the right to refuse service to anyone and I refuse it to you." Again, his jaw somehow remained clenched through that whole thing and she thought this might not go as well as Shawn had intended.
"Robin, are they bothering you?" Leo Baricelli asked, poking his head from the back office.
"Nothing I can't handle." She replied. Leo kind of unsettled her. There were times he was really sweet, almost grandfatherly, but at other times he was terrifying. He ran the front with efficiency and she would never dare to cross him.
Leo just looked at her with that grandfatherly look, then nodded. "Alright, call if you need me." Then the look changed in an instant as he snapped his attention to Junior. "You don't do anything stupid. Got it?"
Junior nodded, almost unperceptively. "Got it, now go back in your little office Leo." They shared a grim look and then Leo closed his door and Junior turned his look to Hottie. "Now get out before I make you get out."
"Go ahead. Make me." Hottie replied. The plan was working flawlessly, but she no longer felt good about it. There was something about the look in Junior's eye she didn't like. Even if the plan worked and they all got out of here safely, she realized she'd be breaking that date and sticking very close to Shawn and Jules until she knew he wasn't going to react.
"Outside, now." Junior replied with what must have been a sore jaw after keeping his teeth clenched for so long.
"Now guys," she came out from behind the counter—slightly unstable in her heels—and followed them toward the door. "Let's be men about this."
"We're going to end this like men." Junior growled—really, his jaw strength was astounding, he hadn't unclenched it since he'd walked over to her. "We'll fight. Mano-a-mano."
"Do ya feel lucky, punk?" Hottie replied in a fairly decent Dirty Harry impersonation. "Well, do ya?"
Junior shoved Hottie out the door and she stumbled after them, hoping Junior would have enough sense not to beat the crap out of Hottie…and she really needed to figure out what his name was…
"Stop! This is barbaric!" She looked and saw her car, running, about twenty yards out. Hottie gave her a look and they both grabbed Junior's arms and started for the car. "Don't worry Junior, we'll keep you safe." She murmured but Junior started fighting their grip. "Calm down!"
"Bitch, get off me!" He yelled, throwing her hand off with enough force to knock her to the ground.
Hottie was still hanging on though. "What's your deal? We're trying to help!" He said and just then, the cops hit the scene and started raiding the office .
"You guys are with the cops!" Junior cried and she looked at Hottie, confused. They must have had the wrong man…which meant the right one was still there. And Junior used Hottie's confusion to throw him off and start tearing down the street, away from the raid.
"Shawn! Gus! Jules!" She yelled—all the cops were running by wearing vests and helmets, she couldn't identify most of them. "Shawn, we got the wrong guy out!" She'd risen back to her feet and stood, torn between going after Junior or going back into the office to save whoever was actually trying to help her. She was paralyzed, analyzing the scene and unsure about how to react.
And then it all happened.
It was like she was watching an old silent movie in slow motion. She saw Leo, in all his girth, walking out of the office with his hands up, calling that he surrendered. He looked old and frail suddenly and sent her a weak smile as they made eye contact. It was Leo…he was the mole. The one looking after her. He had been one of the ones Shawn had warned her to stay away from, said he'd overheard something, but Leo must have been covering. He'd given her the ledger. He'd dropped clues to the cops. Her mind was churning, trying to put together clues she'd missed, when she turned. She must have heard something, maybe Junior yelled, she couldn't tell you, but she turned and saw him—enraged and pointing a gun at Leo. Then there was a flash… In movies, the bullet always seems to slow down so the spectator can watch it twirl with deadly accuracy to it's target, but that's not what happened at all. With the flash of the gun, time seemed to return to it's normal speed and sound came rushing at her so that in the time it took her to snap her head around to look back at Leo after the horrible bang, there was already blood staining his too-tight white shirt.
"Leo!" She cried. All uncertainty about the man's intentions long gone as he grabbed his stomach where the redness bloomed. It was so near where she had been shot she almost felt the wound herself and she broke free from her paralysis and started running toward her silent protector, abandoning her shoes in the process. "Leo!" She called again as she fell to her knees next to him, vaguely aware that she had torn her knees on the gravel. But she pushed that pain away and laid hands over the rotund stomach, hoping to stop the bleeding.
"What's your real name, kid?" Leo asked, wincing from pain.
"It's Kate. Hang on Leo." There was a huge commotion going on all around her, but she was focused solely on the man who's wound she was addressing. "I'm in nursing, hold on."
"You're a good kid, Kate. I knew you were too good. I knew it from the start, that's why I helped you."
She pushed harder on his abdomen and he gasped in pain. "Thank you. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry I didn't realize it was you."
He let out a pained laugh. "I guess I'm a better actor than I thought, huh."
She let out a choked laugh and was suddenly aware that her eyes were filling with tears. Leo, a man she barely knew, had stuck his neck out for her and now he might die because of it. Because she couldn't read him. Because she'd failed. "When this is all said and done, you should go for an acting career."
She felt his stomach jolt under her hands in laughter and realized the bleeding was beginning to slow. Suddenly, she engaged with the rest of the scene and realized the cops were shouting her name. She looked up from Leo and looked directly into the barrel of a gun.
/\/\/\/\/\
So this is the second of three. What do you think? And don't forget, I'll be back in August! Please review!
