"Are you going to join the squad?" Otis asked as they walked out to their cars.
"I think I'll be trying to get back on the truck. Squad might be too much excitement for this little nerd to handle."
"Yes!" Otis cheered. She stopped by her car, shook her head, and smiled at him. "I will see you tonight at 6."
"I'll be there." She drove home with a smile, singing her heart out to some terrible autotuned pop princess on the radio. The happiness disappeared when she saw a blacked-out car in front of her house. She frowned and reached into her bag, grabbing a gun and putting it in her jacket pocket. She stepped out and pulled out her keys. The car opened, and two tall men stepped out. "Mały wilk."
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese." She walked to her front porch and put the key into the lock of her door.
One of them grabbed her and pulled her off her porch. She fell and hit her head hard on the ground. She struggled to catch her breath as she managed to pull herself up. She pulled the gun from her pocket and pointed it at the man that grabbed her. "Stupid girl."
"Get out of here, Bartek. Cheskov will be displeased that you hurt me." She had a thick accent when she spoke.
"You won't tell him. You haven't spoken to him in weeks." She stood up and only got closer with her gun. "Fine. We'll go." They returned to their car when Bartek turned around to face her again. "For now."
She put the gun down. "I don't doubt you'll be back." They got in their car and sped off down the street. "Well, their scare tactics have gotten more violent." She put a hand on her head and flinched. When she looked at it, there was blood. "Awesome." She hurried inside, slamming the door and locking all five bolts. She pulled her phone out and called Mills.
"Hey, Easton. What's up?"
She sighed. "I... I fell again. Do you mind coming over and looking at it? I don't want to drive or anything."
"Yeah, no problem. I should be there in a few minutes." Easton put her phone in her back pocket and her gun on the side table in her living room. The house she lived in was large and very nice for the neighborhood. Most of the other houses were older family homes. She thought it was a nice place to live and enjoyed her neighbors. She was pulling her jacket off when there was a knock at her door.
Easton looked through the peephole and saw Mills standing there, watching the neighbors in the yard next door. She undid the locks and let him in. "Thanks for coming. I know I probably should go to the hospital, but I didn't want to drive or bother an ambo."
"It's fine. I was only a block away. Now let me see."
She brushed her bangs to the side, and he saw a deep laceration from the temple to the top of her ear. "Am I going to die?" She asked jokingly.
"No, but this is pretty deep. I mean it when I say you should go to the hospital." She handed him a first aid kit she had lying on the side table. Mills looked at the table and tensed when he saw the gun. "So another fall, you say? Were you going to shoot the stairs?"
She carefully picked up the gun and unloaded the clip. "Don't ask. Please, Mills, just don't. You'll see me differently if I tell you the truth."
"Okay. I'll leave it alone. But you have to stop this. You might not be so lucky next time you fall on your head like that."
"I know." She had a thought. "I'm working at Molly's tonight. You should come by."
"Yeah, I'll stop by later." He left her, and she laid on her couch after she rinsed her hair.
She woke up with a start when her phone started ringing. She was still in the same clothes she had been in that morning. She checked her phone, forgetting she had set the alarm for 5:30. She jumped up from the couch and ran to her room. She brushed her hair and teeth, fixed her makeup, and grabbed the closest clothes from her clean pile. She changed and ran out to her car, pulling away. She made it to Molly's right in time. It wasn't super busy, so Otis took time to show her where everything was. He kept glancing at her outfit and smiling. "I hope this doesn't break the dress code. I was in a rush."
Easton looked down at her Batman shirt and Marvel comics leggings. "I think it's great."
"I feel like a child. I haven't worn these in forever. And by forever, I mean since I moved here."
Customers started coming in steadily, and the two were keeping themselves busy.
"I haven't seen you here before. You new?"
She smiled at the young guy. "I just started at Otis's firehouse like four weeks ago."
The man raised an eyebrow. "You're a firefighter?"
Easton nodded. "I'm Easton Lis."
"Jay Halstead. I work in the Intelligence unit of Chicago PD."
"Nice to meet you." She gave him another beer. "On the house." She smiled at him before going to greet some new people at the bar.
As the rush started to lull a little, Mills and Cruz walked in and sat at a table. Easton went over them with a huge smile on her face. "Whoa, you look so nerdy."
"Well, if it isn't two of my favorite firefighters. What are you guys drinking? Keep in mind; I make great Screwdrivers."
"Guess we will have Screwdrivers." Easton smiled, went to the bar, and made them quickly, returning with drinks.
They each took a sip and then exhaled sharply. "These are pretty strong."
She laughed. "I thought you'd say that." She grabbed the jug of Orange juice from the bar top. Otis walked over and joined them.
"Hey, guys. What do you think of Molly's newest bartender?"
"She does not mess around with vodka."
"You guys are just not ready for the big leagues. I could've finished the ones I served you easily."
"Prove it." Otis grabbed the vodka and the glass from behind the bar and slammed them on the tabletop. She made the drink the same and let Mills try it.
"Yeah, that might be even stronger than the ones you made us." She grabbed the drink and downed it quickly.
"Damn, Candidate knows how to party."
"I've got to get back to the bar." She left them to whisper amongst themselves.
"She had another one of her falls earlier." Mills said in a quiet tone. "There was pretty severe lac from where her head hit the ground, but I'm sure you've already seen it. The thing is, I know it wasn't an accident. I'm afraid what she's hiding from us could kill her. She knows it could get her killed. She has a gun."
Otis looked shocked. "Are we talking about the same Easton? The one that is wearing comic book pants?" Mills nodded. "Well, what should we do about it?"
"I want to hang around her a little to see what she's up to."
"Cruz and I can stop by her place tomorrow morning." Cruz nodded in agreement.
"Don't tell her. Let's not get her suspicious." Otis turned around, and all three of them watched her wipe down the bar. She noticed them staring and waved. They all waved back before Otis got back to work.
At the end of the night, and after all the stools were straight, Otis checked their tips. "Here is your half of the tips." He handed her the money, and she smiled.
"I will have to do this more often. It was fun, and this little pay isn't bad."
"Are you okay to drive after that vodka?"
"Am I acting drunk to you?" He shook his head. "If it makes you feel better, I will text you when I get home." She grabbed her keys and headed for the door. "See you later, Otis."
She drove home and closed her tired eyes as she walked through the front door. When she closed the door, she was positive she heard someone in her kitchen.
Easton ran into the living room and grabbed the gun, loading the clip. She continued carefully through her house and pulled the trigger at the man standing in her kitchen.
He jumped her, catching her off guard. Her gun fell out of her grasp, and she tried to pull herself away from the man. He knocked her to the ground and grabbed hold of an empty bottle on her dining room table, breaking it over her head. He picked her up by the front of her shirt before he threw her back onto the floor, hard. She was unconscious, but the man continued to kick and punch her, further cutting up her already torn-up but still beautiful face. Before he left, he stabbed a giant broken shard of glass into her stomach, leaving her bloodied and broken body on her red-stained floor.