As promised a short bit of Street. I struggled a bit with this... so any feedback is appreciated.
After the two women had left, the rest of their group had dispersed quickly too. Street couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. He'd planned to get a better feel for Braddock now if he couldn't talk to Chris. But maybe the training the sergeants had planned for the morning was a better option to see the man working. And if all possible, find a way to talk to her.
Maybe working out would help cool his nerves and help him see a way forward.
He shuffles in behind Luca and Tan when they enter the locker room. He can already hear banter and laughter floating around.
"You look tired, Sam," Chris quips, and Street's steps falter. Didn't the women have a separate locker room around here?
"Yeah, did you guys keep partying for long after we left?" Jules adds, confused. "Hey," she smiles, noticing the group with Street.
He shrugs. "We," he motions to the American crowd, "went to our hotel."
"Guys, you can take these lockers," Spike interrupts and motions to a row in the back, and Street walks further, half listening in on the conversations flowing around, half trying to keep the image of Chris smiling at Sam out of his peripheral vision. How could she have taken to him so quickly?
But there isn't much time to dwell as Jules reminds them all what today is all about.
"So, if Chris here and I, are just getting the look pretty and twiddle our thumbs part," she turns to their Sergeant, "Can we at least have some fun on the range today?"
"And here I thought you'd enjoy a spa day," Sam quips but receives a punch from both ladies immediately.
"You should work on building trust with your respective partners, but I don't see a problem with letting off some steam first," Parker nods and turns to what Street assumes is his version of Deac. "Ed, go and set something nice up. The rest, have a go at our gym."
The group files out of the room, and as if by fate Street finds himself next to Sam Braddock. The man looks after Chris and Jules, and just something about that look was rubbing him the wrong way. He takes in the equipment in the gym and heads straight for the bag. Maybe hitting that thing would help settle his mood and be a good distraction.
In the back of his mind though, Street still was looking for a chance to talk to Chris. Ever since that night, she had thrown up walls and decided to ignore him as much as possible. And that felt awful. He didn't want one moment to destroy their friendship. And on top, he wasn't sure how long he would be able to hide his hurt anymore. She was just barely present and had left rooms just not to be alone with him.
After a few swings, Street notices a new resistance in the bag and glances up to see Sam.
"Need a partner? Looks like you're working out some issues there," the man half-smiles at him, and Street curls his fingers. His nails are digging into his palm to keep from outright blurting what is on his mind.
He nods, and Sam braces for the next hit. But before anything can happen, the officer at the front desk sounds an alarm.
"Sam, a call on your UC phone," she motions to him, and everyone stops what they're doing. Street's whole body freezes up, and he glances around at the others instinctively. He desperately wants to talk to her now and kicks himself for not texting or calling last night. But his rational side also reminds him why he didn't do it.
A call Chris would've had to pick up, but what if she wasn't alone? And a text was easily ignored…. He sighs, listening to and observing Sam on the phone.
"Man, why are you panting like that?" the voice from the speaker points out Sam's slightly raged breath from springing into action. The second Street spots the smirk he can predict the answer, and he groans inwardly.
"Look at your watch. You disturbed my morning with a sexy lady," Sam even adds a wink, and Street just can't help but look around the rotunda before remembering that Chris and Jules were on the range.
The rest of the call is just setting up a meeting in a restaurant. The contact even mentioned buying a short dress for the lady. He just knows Chris is gonna hate that idea.
Minutes later, Ed, Jules, and Chris join their group in the conference room.
"They chose a high-end place under their control. No way we can set up innocuous surveillance on this short of notice, but we can send in back up." Sergeant Parker shows them the layout of the restaurant and club.
"Are we sure that's a good idea?" Jules, who has chosen the chair right next to him, asks leaning across.
"It's the best we got right now," Ed Lane cuts in before addressing Street, "Did your persona wear guns?"
Street nods. "Yeah, almost always. If you have something fitting," he knows he sounds way too eager, and just one glance at Hondo and the others tells him that they heard it. He just can't help himself.
The layout of the place means they probably won't be able to see anything anyway, and they'd have to rely on a small bug hidden in the lipstick that was placed in Chris's purse.
When everyone is filing out of the conference room, Street hangs back a bit to try and say something. He pats her shoulder when Chris, again, just wants to walk past him. "Can we just take a moment?" he pleads with her while Deac walks past them.
"What?" Chris turns to him, and the look in her eyes is something between exhausted and exasperated. He swallows.
"When this is over, can talk about what happened?"
"There is nothing to talk about, Street. We work together. We're teammates. That's it." It sounded rehearsed to him, but still, he felt the chill running down his spine.
"I'd like to think we're friends. Who can talk about this. I never meant to hurt you," his voice is barely above a whisper. They are standing in a conference room just before getting ready to go undercover together with two strangers.
"I gotta go, get ready," Chris suddenly interrupts and turns on her heels, "You should get ready too."
Street squares his shoulders before walking into the locker room and getting dressed. He finds a modified Glock in his locker as well as a holster to wear the gun comfortably and hidden under his leather jacket. He feels odd stepping back into those shoes, but it's the only way to help keep Chris safe.
Next up undercover with Sam :)