Title: Ripped (7/8)
Disclaimer: (To the tune of "You Don't Own Me," by Leslie Gore) I don't own it, I'm not trying to claim it in any way. I don't own it, don't hunt me down cause I'll never pay!
Rating: R
Pairings: Eric/Maria (OC), Tim/Calleigh
Feedback: Your feedback = my inspiration = more frequent updates.
Soundtrack: "'Round Here" by Counting Crows.
_____________________________
"It's like...like a Jackson Pollack painting." Maria said softly, staring down at what was left of the third victim.
"I can't even tell how he did it." Tim added, feeling sick, and yet unable to look away. "And I think I can live a long and happy life without ever knowing."
"Where'd Hagen go?" Calleigh asked, looking around, everywhere except down.
"That's him over there, leaning over the trash can." Eric said.
"So that's where the line forms?" Maria asked.
"Yelina says the vic's name is Sara Berenbeim." Horatio filled the team in as he approached them. "Twenty-six years old. Last seen alive around midnight, Alexx is estimating the cause of death somewhere around a half an hour later."
Maria sucked in a breath. Midnight. Around the same time she and the others had arrived at vice. As they'd left, half an hour later, the girl in front of them, only two years older than Maria, had probably been losing the fight for her life.
"Your friends are here." Calleigh said to Maria.
"Fuckin' press." Maria groaned. "Don't they have anything better to do? I mean, J. Lo must have bought a new pair of boots in the last twenty-four hours or something!"
"Uh, no, your actual friends." Calleigh said, pointing.
"Oh!" Maria said. She turned around as the other women approached. "Guys, stay back, you don't need to see this one, trust me."
"Too late, Tina already saw it." Yana reported grimly. "She was undercover around here last night, she found the vic about an hour ago."
"Oh, Jesus, Tina..." Maria gasped. "Babe, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Tina replied. "I'll be fine, I didn't see that much of her. All I needed to see was her feet and the amount of blood, and I took off."
"Good." Maria said. "Then don't get any closer, okay? God, every therapist in the damn city is gonna be booked solid for the next year as it is."
"This plan of yours," Another woman, Dorothy, spoke up. "It has to work, doesn't it? I mean, are you guys really coming up dry?"
"Completely." Maria sighed. "This guy knows what he's doing. No fibers, no prints...it's eerie."
"How is that even possible?" Tina asked.
"No idea." Maria said. "All I know is that we don't have many other options. Trapping this guy seems to be the best way to go. So listen, right now you should all go home. Get some rest, spend some time with your families, whatever. I'll see you all at the lab at five."
______________________
Step out the front door like a ghost
Into the fog where no one notices
The contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
The angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference
Between wrong and right.
I walk in the air between the rain
through myself and back again
Where? I don't know
Maria says she's dying
Through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don't know
'Round here we always stand up straight
'Round here something radiates
______________________
Eric watched Maria walking down the corridor. He wanted to be furious with her, but his heart didn't seem to want to cooperate. She looked exhausted and harried, but all he saw was the way the dim lighting caught her golden hair, pulled into a tight bun, and gave her pale skin an icy, glowing look. He wondered if he would ever be able to see her as anything other than beautiful.
"You got a minute?" He asked, falling into step beside her.
"Yeah, but that's all I've got." She sighed. "Everything's so out of control." She followed him into the empty layout room and shut the door behind them.
"You're going out there tonight, aren't you?" Eric asked after a minute.
Maria nodded. "Every woman with undercover training is."
"It's dangerous." Eric told her. "We still don't know for sure that he's not after you specifically."
"I'll be fine." Maria replied, a little sharply. "I'll have plenty of backup, we all will. We'll be armed, we'll have panic buttons. Anyone so much as looks at one of us wrong, they'll be surrounded by an entire SWAT team within ten seconds."
"A lot can happen in ten seconds." Eric pointed out, moving closer to her. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I'm just saying maybe you've done enough."
"No, I have to see this through to the end." Maria said. "I've already gone over this with Horatio, I don't need to clear it with you."
"I didn't say that, either." Eric reached out to put his hand on her arm, but she drew away. "All I'm saying is that if anything happens to you out there..."
"What do you care?" Maria snapped. "You shouldn't. I'm not worth it."
"That's bullshit, and you know it." Eric put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I do care about you, and I know that you care about me on some level. I don't believe that you can just walk away so easily. I know you better than you think. Maybe even better than you want me to."
'Round here we're carving out our names
'Round here we all look the same
'Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
'Round here she's slipping through my hands
"Fuck you." Maria's voice trembled as she shook him off and stepped away. "You don't know me at all. If you did, you wouldn't love me."
"More bullshit." Eric said, stepping between her and the door. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone could actually care about you?"
"Eric, don't..." Maria was on the verge of tears.
"Don't what?" He asked. "Don't love you? Jesus Christ, Maria, even if I knew how to stop...I wouldn't want to." He placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up slightly. "Tell me that you don't feel anything for me, and I'll leave you alone, I swear. Just let me hear you say the words."
When she didn't answer, he leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss fully in spite of herself, at least for a moment. Then she pulled away, crying. "I can't, I'm sorry."
"Why not?" Eric asked, his tone gentler than before. "Maria, whatever it is, you can tell me."
"No!" She said forcefully, pushing him away. "Just leave me alone, please." A choked sob escaped her throat as she shoved past him, slamming the door as she left the room.
_______________________
Maria's in her car in the parking lot
Says "Man you should try to take a shot
Can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building
And says she's thinking of jumping
She says she's tired of life
She must be tired of something
'Round here she's always on my mind
'Round here hey man got lots of time
'Round here we're never sent to bed early
And nobody makes us wait
'Round here we stay up very, very, very, very late
I can't see nothing, nothing
'Round here
I said I'm under the gun
'Round here
Oh man I said I'm under the gun
'Round here
And I can't see nothing, nothing
Around here
_______________________
"Please tell me you borrowed that outfit from someone." Tim said, taking in the sight of Calleigh's beaded purple halter top, black skirt that looked more like a bandana, and thigh-high stiletto boots.
"Who knew vice had such an extensive costume department?" Calleigh replied, rolling her eyes as she checked her reflection once more. "I might as well walk around naked."
"I'd better not answer that. Might get in trouble." Tim joked, approaching her from behind and kissing her cheek. He slid his arms around her waist as his lips moved down the side of her neck.
"Keep that up, and we both might get in trouble." Calleigh sighed.
Tim shrugged. "Hey, if Delko and Maria can get away with it..." That was enough to kill the mood. "Then again, we all saw how that turned out."
"I don't know who's holding up worse." Calleigh said sadly.
"I don't know what the hell her problem is." Tim said.
Calleigh tensed. "You're right, you don't. I hate that Eric's been hurt, too. But there's so much about Maria that he doesn't know. Most of it she didn't even tell me, I had to hear it from Anton."
"How bad?" Tim asked.
"A lot worse than I'd thought." Calleigh said. "I can't talk about it, though."
"Okay." Tim took her in his arms again. "It's all right, I get it." He gently kissed the top of her head. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to focus on anything with you out there."
"I'll be fine." Calleigh assured him. "Besides, chances are they won't even need me on the street. It's mostly the girls who have a lot of undercover experience who are actually going to be sent out,
the rest of us just need to be on call in case they need more bodies." She cringed. "Okay, so maybe that was a bad choice of words."
Tim smiled and kissed her again. "I'll see you when you get back."
______________________
"Okay, how do I look?" Maria inquired, strutting around with ease in stiletto heels that added five inches to her diminutive frame, and a sequined red tube dress.
"Like a three-dollar hooker." Hagen replied nonchalantly.
"Perfect." Maria laughed. "Let's go, then."
"A really sleazy, cheap three-dollar hooker." Hagen continued.
Maria rolled her eyes and hit him playfully. "Yeah, that's right, say it while you can."
"I plan to."
"Are we ready?" Calleigh asked.
"I think so." Maria replied. Glancing down the corridor, she saw Eric standing outside the layout room, watching her. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
"Maria?" Calleigh shook her friend's shoulder to get her attention.
"Uh, yeah, let's go." Maria said, taking a deep breath. She stole another glance over her shoulder as she followed the others out the door.
_____________________
"Did you get a chance to talk to her?" Tim asked.
"A couple hours ago." Eric replied, frowning. "I never realized just how much she shuts me out. She couldn't even look me in the eye." He shook his head. "So, how much does Calleigh hate me?"
"She doesn't hate you, man." Tim insisted. "She's upset for both of you. But, yeah, I think she is placing a little more of the blame on you. I mean, as far as she's concerned..."
"Hos before bros." Eric finished for him. "I know."
"Everyone knew you were getting in too deep." Tim said. "I guess we all thought you could see it, too."
"I should have. I should have known there was no way I could be around her and not fall in love. But it was like she blinded me or something."
"Know what I think?" Tim asked. "And feel free to tell me I'm full of shit. But I think you're addicted to her, plain and simple."
"Yeah, you're right." Eric agreed. "Trouble is, I don't think there's a twelve step program for this. And even if there was, I wouldn't want it."
______________________
Maria groaned softly, tugging uncomfortably at the hem of her dress. It was a hot, humid night. Much too hot for spandex. Her skin felt coated, and as she pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against, bits of dirt and gravel stuck to her arms. She hoped that the plan would work, and soon. The sooner she could get out of this hideous outfit and into a cool bath in her air-conditioned apartment, the better.
She tried to convince herself that it was only the heat that was bothering her, and not the fact that the quiet monotony of the deserted maze of alleys and empty lots allowed her too much time to think. Thoughts of climbing out of that cool bath and sliding in between the smooth, thin sheets of her bed with a warm, solid body next to her stole into her mind, and she pushed them out.
'It was just sex.' She thought. 'That's all it ever was.'
Well, even she had to admit it was more than that.
'Okay, so it was really amazing sex.' She said to herself. 'And nothing else.'
So why did she have to work so hard to convince herself?
"Maria, what's it look like out there?" Hagen's voice came over the communication device concealed in the studded leather cuff on her wrist.
"Nothing, nothing, and more nothing." She whispered into the receiver.
"All right, check in again in ten minutes."
"Roger." Maria replied. Then the silence set in again.
But the stillness was mercifully brief this time. Suddenly, the radio was alive again, this time with what seemed like dozens of voices.
"All personnel respond, suspect has been sighted, repeat, we have a sighting on 82nd."
________________________
"Hey, you guys still here?" Tyler looked surprised to see Eric and Tim watching the news in the breakroom.
"Yeah, we're here until this whole thing's over and done." Tim replied. "Get anything off of that security tape from the warehouse?"
"Nothing, that thing's been out of commission since the place closed down." Tyler said, opening a can of soda. "Hey, Delko, could you help me settle a bet with some of the guys on the graveyard shift?"
"Depends what the bet is." Eric replied.
"Well, it's about Maria." Tyler said. "You've been hittin' that,
right?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, we had a relationship." Eric sneered at the tech. He liked Tyler well enough, but like most of the techs, the guy tended to have less than perfect social skills.
"Well, these other guys were saying that her jugs are real." Tyler explained. "But I say there is no freakin' way those are hers. Anyway, I figured that you would know."
"How much money did you bet?" Eric asked.
"Fifty. Against three other guys."
Eric smirked. "Well, then you're out a hundred and fifty bucks, man."
Tyler's face fell. "Ah, shit."
"Serves you right." Tim spoke up. "Don't you have any work to do?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Tyler said. "Making a difference in my community. I'm on it."
Eric was about to say something when his cell phone rang.
____________________________
"Hey, it's me." Maria said when Eric answered the phone. She kept her tone casual and professional. "Just wanted to let you guys know we've got something here."
"You've got him?" Eric asked.
"Don't know, I'm just getting there now." Maria admitted. As soon as the squad car that had picked her up slowed down, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, jumping out almost before the car stopped completely. "Hang on a second." She raced to the center of the small crowd of officers that had gathered. "Shit, Yana, you all right?"
"I'm fine." Yana replied, looking shaken but otherwise unharmed. She held out her wrist. "He grabbed my arm, I went for my badge and yelled my damn head off, but he took off before I could get a look at his face or go for my gun. I mean, it all happened so quick."
"It's all right, the important thing is that he didn't hurt you." Maria grabbed the other woman's arm and inspected it for a moment. "Delko, you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"All right, I'm bringing in some evidence. Be there in about ten." As she hung up her cell phone, Maria smiled at her friend. "Yana, you feel like taking a tour of the crime lab?"
_________________________
TBC…
Disclaimer: (To the tune of "You Don't Own Me," by Leslie Gore) I don't own it, I'm not trying to claim it in any way. I don't own it, don't hunt me down cause I'll never pay!
Rating: R
Pairings: Eric/Maria (OC), Tim/Calleigh
Feedback: Your feedback = my inspiration = more frequent updates.
Soundtrack: "'Round Here" by Counting Crows.
_____________________________
"It's like...like a Jackson Pollack painting." Maria said softly, staring down at what was left of the third victim.
"I can't even tell how he did it." Tim added, feeling sick, and yet unable to look away. "And I think I can live a long and happy life without ever knowing."
"Where'd Hagen go?" Calleigh asked, looking around, everywhere except down.
"That's him over there, leaning over the trash can." Eric said.
"So that's where the line forms?" Maria asked.
"Yelina says the vic's name is Sara Berenbeim." Horatio filled the team in as he approached them. "Twenty-six years old. Last seen alive around midnight, Alexx is estimating the cause of death somewhere around a half an hour later."
Maria sucked in a breath. Midnight. Around the same time she and the others had arrived at vice. As they'd left, half an hour later, the girl in front of them, only two years older than Maria, had probably been losing the fight for her life.
"Your friends are here." Calleigh said to Maria.
"Fuckin' press." Maria groaned. "Don't they have anything better to do? I mean, J. Lo must have bought a new pair of boots in the last twenty-four hours or something!"
"Uh, no, your actual friends." Calleigh said, pointing.
"Oh!" Maria said. She turned around as the other women approached. "Guys, stay back, you don't need to see this one, trust me."
"Too late, Tina already saw it." Yana reported grimly. "She was undercover around here last night, she found the vic about an hour ago."
"Oh, Jesus, Tina..." Maria gasped. "Babe, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Tina replied. "I'll be fine, I didn't see that much of her. All I needed to see was her feet and the amount of blood, and I took off."
"Good." Maria said. "Then don't get any closer, okay? God, every therapist in the damn city is gonna be booked solid for the next year as it is."
"This plan of yours," Another woman, Dorothy, spoke up. "It has to work, doesn't it? I mean, are you guys really coming up dry?"
"Completely." Maria sighed. "This guy knows what he's doing. No fibers, no prints...it's eerie."
"How is that even possible?" Tina asked.
"No idea." Maria said. "All I know is that we don't have many other options. Trapping this guy seems to be the best way to go. So listen, right now you should all go home. Get some rest, spend some time with your families, whatever. I'll see you all at the lab at five."
______________________
Step out the front door like a ghost
Into the fog where no one notices
The contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
The angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference
Between wrong and right.
I walk in the air between the rain
through myself and back again
Where? I don't know
Maria says she's dying
Through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don't know
'Round here we always stand up straight
'Round here something radiates
______________________
Eric watched Maria walking down the corridor. He wanted to be furious with her, but his heart didn't seem to want to cooperate. She looked exhausted and harried, but all he saw was the way the dim lighting caught her golden hair, pulled into a tight bun, and gave her pale skin an icy, glowing look. He wondered if he would ever be able to see her as anything other than beautiful.
"You got a minute?" He asked, falling into step beside her.
"Yeah, but that's all I've got." She sighed. "Everything's so out of control." She followed him into the empty layout room and shut the door behind them.
"You're going out there tonight, aren't you?" Eric asked after a minute.
Maria nodded. "Every woman with undercover training is."
"It's dangerous." Eric told her. "We still don't know for sure that he's not after you specifically."
"I'll be fine." Maria replied, a little sharply. "I'll have plenty of backup, we all will. We'll be armed, we'll have panic buttons. Anyone so much as looks at one of us wrong, they'll be surrounded by an entire SWAT team within ten seconds."
"A lot can happen in ten seconds." Eric pointed out, moving closer to her. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I'm just saying maybe you've done enough."
"No, I have to see this through to the end." Maria said. "I've already gone over this with Horatio, I don't need to clear it with you."
"I didn't say that, either." Eric reached out to put his hand on her arm, but she drew away. "All I'm saying is that if anything happens to you out there..."
"What do you care?" Maria snapped. "You shouldn't. I'm not worth it."
"That's bullshit, and you know it." Eric put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I do care about you, and I know that you care about me on some level. I don't believe that you can just walk away so easily. I know you better than you think. Maybe even better than you want me to."
'Round here we're carving out our names
'Round here we all look the same
'Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
'Round here she's slipping through my hands
"Fuck you." Maria's voice trembled as she shook him off and stepped away. "You don't know me at all. If you did, you wouldn't love me."
"More bullshit." Eric said, stepping between her and the door. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone could actually care about you?"
"Eric, don't..." Maria was on the verge of tears.
"Don't what?" He asked. "Don't love you? Jesus Christ, Maria, even if I knew how to stop...I wouldn't want to." He placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up slightly. "Tell me that you don't feel anything for me, and I'll leave you alone, I swear. Just let me hear you say the words."
When she didn't answer, he leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss fully in spite of herself, at least for a moment. Then she pulled away, crying. "I can't, I'm sorry."
"Why not?" Eric asked, his tone gentler than before. "Maria, whatever it is, you can tell me."
"No!" She said forcefully, pushing him away. "Just leave me alone, please." A choked sob escaped her throat as she shoved past him, slamming the door as she left the room.
_______________________
Maria's in her car in the parking lot
Says "Man you should try to take a shot
Can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building
And says she's thinking of jumping
She says she's tired of life
She must be tired of something
'Round here she's always on my mind
'Round here hey man got lots of time
'Round here we're never sent to bed early
And nobody makes us wait
'Round here we stay up very, very, very, very late
I can't see nothing, nothing
'Round here
I said I'm under the gun
'Round here
Oh man I said I'm under the gun
'Round here
And I can't see nothing, nothing
Around here
_______________________
"Please tell me you borrowed that outfit from someone." Tim said, taking in the sight of Calleigh's beaded purple halter top, black skirt that looked more like a bandana, and thigh-high stiletto boots.
"Who knew vice had such an extensive costume department?" Calleigh replied, rolling her eyes as she checked her reflection once more. "I might as well walk around naked."
"I'd better not answer that. Might get in trouble." Tim joked, approaching her from behind and kissing her cheek. He slid his arms around her waist as his lips moved down the side of her neck.
"Keep that up, and we both might get in trouble." Calleigh sighed.
Tim shrugged. "Hey, if Delko and Maria can get away with it..." That was enough to kill the mood. "Then again, we all saw how that turned out."
"I don't know who's holding up worse." Calleigh said sadly.
"I don't know what the hell her problem is." Tim said.
Calleigh tensed. "You're right, you don't. I hate that Eric's been hurt, too. But there's so much about Maria that he doesn't know. Most of it she didn't even tell me, I had to hear it from Anton."
"How bad?" Tim asked.
"A lot worse than I'd thought." Calleigh said. "I can't talk about it, though."
"Okay." Tim took her in his arms again. "It's all right, I get it." He gently kissed the top of her head. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to focus on anything with you out there."
"I'll be fine." Calleigh assured him. "Besides, chances are they won't even need me on the street. It's mostly the girls who have a lot of undercover experience who are actually going to be sent out,
the rest of us just need to be on call in case they need more bodies." She cringed. "Okay, so maybe that was a bad choice of words."
Tim smiled and kissed her again. "I'll see you when you get back."
______________________
"Okay, how do I look?" Maria inquired, strutting around with ease in stiletto heels that added five inches to her diminutive frame, and a sequined red tube dress.
"Like a three-dollar hooker." Hagen replied nonchalantly.
"Perfect." Maria laughed. "Let's go, then."
"A really sleazy, cheap three-dollar hooker." Hagen continued.
Maria rolled her eyes and hit him playfully. "Yeah, that's right, say it while you can."
"I plan to."
"Are we ready?" Calleigh asked.
"I think so." Maria replied. Glancing down the corridor, she saw Eric standing outside the layout room, watching her. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away.
"Maria?" Calleigh shook her friend's shoulder to get her attention.
"Uh, yeah, let's go." Maria said, taking a deep breath. She stole another glance over her shoulder as she followed the others out the door.
_____________________
"Did you get a chance to talk to her?" Tim asked.
"A couple hours ago." Eric replied, frowning. "I never realized just how much she shuts me out. She couldn't even look me in the eye." He shook his head. "So, how much does Calleigh hate me?"
"She doesn't hate you, man." Tim insisted. "She's upset for both of you. But, yeah, I think she is placing a little more of the blame on you. I mean, as far as she's concerned..."
"Hos before bros." Eric finished for him. "I know."
"Everyone knew you were getting in too deep." Tim said. "I guess we all thought you could see it, too."
"I should have. I should have known there was no way I could be around her and not fall in love. But it was like she blinded me or something."
"Know what I think?" Tim asked. "And feel free to tell me I'm full of shit. But I think you're addicted to her, plain and simple."
"Yeah, you're right." Eric agreed. "Trouble is, I don't think there's a twelve step program for this. And even if there was, I wouldn't want it."
______________________
Maria groaned softly, tugging uncomfortably at the hem of her dress. It was a hot, humid night. Much too hot for spandex. Her skin felt coated, and as she pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against, bits of dirt and gravel stuck to her arms. She hoped that the plan would work, and soon. The sooner she could get out of this hideous outfit and into a cool bath in her air-conditioned apartment, the better.
She tried to convince herself that it was only the heat that was bothering her, and not the fact that the quiet monotony of the deserted maze of alleys and empty lots allowed her too much time to think. Thoughts of climbing out of that cool bath and sliding in between the smooth, thin sheets of her bed with a warm, solid body next to her stole into her mind, and she pushed them out.
'It was just sex.' She thought. 'That's all it ever was.'
Well, even she had to admit it was more than that.
'Okay, so it was really amazing sex.' She said to herself. 'And nothing else.'
So why did she have to work so hard to convince herself?
"Maria, what's it look like out there?" Hagen's voice came over the communication device concealed in the studded leather cuff on her wrist.
"Nothing, nothing, and more nothing." She whispered into the receiver.
"All right, check in again in ten minutes."
"Roger." Maria replied. Then the silence set in again.
But the stillness was mercifully brief this time. Suddenly, the radio was alive again, this time with what seemed like dozens of voices.
"All personnel respond, suspect has been sighted, repeat, we have a sighting on 82nd."
________________________
"Hey, you guys still here?" Tyler looked surprised to see Eric and Tim watching the news in the breakroom.
"Yeah, we're here until this whole thing's over and done." Tim replied. "Get anything off of that security tape from the warehouse?"
"Nothing, that thing's been out of commission since the place closed down." Tyler said, opening a can of soda. "Hey, Delko, could you help me settle a bet with some of the guys on the graveyard shift?"
"Depends what the bet is." Eric replied.
"Well, it's about Maria." Tyler said. "You've been hittin' that,
right?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, we had a relationship." Eric sneered at the tech. He liked Tyler well enough, but like most of the techs, the guy tended to have less than perfect social skills.
"Well, these other guys were saying that her jugs are real." Tyler explained. "But I say there is no freakin' way those are hers. Anyway, I figured that you would know."
"How much money did you bet?" Eric asked.
"Fifty. Against three other guys."
Eric smirked. "Well, then you're out a hundred and fifty bucks, man."
Tyler's face fell. "Ah, shit."
"Serves you right." Tim spoke up. "Don't you have any work to do?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Tyler said. "Making a difference in my community. I'm on it."
Eric was about to say something when his cell phone rang.
____________________________
"Hey, it's me." Maria said when Eric answered the phone. She kept her tone casual and professional. "Just wanted to let you guys know we've got something here."
"You've got him?" Eric asked.
"Don't know, I'm just getting there now." Maria admitted. As soon as the squad car that had picked her up slowed down, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, jumping out almost before the car stopped completely. "Hang on a second." She raced to the center of the small crowd of officers that had gathered. "Shit, Yana, you all right?"
"I'm fine." Yana replied, looking shaken but otherwise unharmed. She held out her wrist. "He grabbed my arm, I went for my badge and yelled my damn head off, but he took off before I could get a look at his face or go for my gun. I mean, it all happened so quick."
"It's all right, the important thing is that he didn't hurt you." Maria grabbed the other woman's arm and inspected it for a moment. "Delko, you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"All right, I'm bringing in some evidence. Be there in about ten." As she hung up her cell phone, Maria smiled at her friend. "Yana, you feel like taking a tour of the crime lab?"
_________________________
TBC…