Audra rolled out of bed around 9:30. She dragged herself into the kitchen and put some coffee in the microwave. Chugging the liquid caffeine, she put the empty cup in the sink and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
Jack was the only person that Audra had told about her parents, besides some friends in college. She had never trusted any of her boyfriends with her secret, whether or not they were going out. Jack was different. She trusted him not to tell.
Quickly rinsing her hair, she turned the water off and towelled herself dry. She stared at herself in the mirror, wondering if she knew what she was getting herself into. Did she want to have another affair? Didn't she want to have a real relationship, one that would mean something further down the road?
She shook her head and got dressed, not once looking at the clock. She had decided that she was going to go to lunch with Jack, even if nothing happened. She was strongly attracted to him, that was all that mattered at the moment.
After leaving the bathroom, Audra picked up the phone and dialled Jack's number.
"Hello?" Jack said, picking up the phone.
"Hi, it's Audra." As if he didn't know who it was when she said 'hi'.
"Good morning," Jack said, collapsing into a chair in the living room. He ran a hand through his damp grey hair; he had just gotten out of the shower.
"Do you still want to go to lunch?" Audra asked.
Jack smiled. "Where do you want to meet?"
"I was thinking Vietnamese," Audra answered. "I know a great place on the corner of 59th. If you're skilled with chopsticks, that is."
Jack smiled. "Vietnamese it is. I'll come by to pick you up in a half an hour. Ok?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Audra said. "See you in a half an hour."
Jack turned the cordless phone off and leaned forward in the chair, running his hands through his hair once again. He smiled as he looked at the photo of him speaking to the press the day after Blake's sentencing, with Audra standing next to him. She was strong-willed and determined to get the job done, even if she went against her morals.
Walking back to the kitchen, Jack dumped the rest of his coffee down the drain of the sink and headed out to the garage. He pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.
Ten minutes later, Jack pulled up to Audra, who was sitting on the stoop of her apartment building. She stood up and brushed off the back of her blue jean; Jack couldn't help but look her up and down, smiling. She didn't look like she worked for him. She looked like a teenager; hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, a dark purple tee shirt with a large "A" embroidered onto it, blue jeans, and sneakers. A sweatshirt was tied around her waist.
"Hi," she said, pulling on the helmet Jack handed her.
"Hi," he answered, moving up in the seat.
"Do you know where to go?" Audra asked, wrapping her arms tightly around Jack's waist.
He nodded. "Just point when you see the place," he answered.
"All right," Audra said. Jack revved up the bike and pulled away from the curb.
Jack loved the feel of the wind on his face and the adrenaline he felt every time he took a sharp turn. He wanted to turn around and look at Audra, but having her arms around his waist was comfort enough for the time being. He could feel her head resting against his shoulderblade as they flew down 59th.
Audra leaned her head against Jack's shoulder and sighed, even though she knew he wouldn't hear it. She closed her eyes for a moment, briefly dreaming of what life could be like with Jack. She opened her eyes again as they started to slow down.
"Are we here?" she called over the engine.
Jack nodded and pulled up in front of the restaurant. He parked the bike and pulled off his helmet; Audra jumped off and rested her helmet on the seat to fix her hair.
"Should we bring these in with us?" she asked, pointing to the helmets.
Jack dot off the bike; "Yeah, that would be a good idea," he answered, picking up his helmet and heading into the restaurant. A waiter led them to a booth next to the window, so Jack could keep an eye of his bike.
Audra handed him a menu and then looked at her own; two seconds later she knew what she was getting.
"Come here often?" Jack asked over his menu.
"All the time," she replied, "and I always get the same thing."
"And that would be?" Jack asked.
"Beef soup with rice noodles," Audra answered. "It's pretty good."
"Well then I guess I'll get the same thing," Jack said, folding his menu and looking for the waiter. "Where is he?"
"I have to go up and order. What do you want to drink?" Audra asked, standing up and taking Jack's menu.
"Um…soda?" he said.
"Any specific kind?"
"Coke."
"All right, I'll be right back." Audra walked up to the counter, put in the order, and came back with two sodas.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Jack asked.
"Five minutes tops," Audra replied. "Why are you in such a rush?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"No reason!" he said. "There's something I wanted to show you, that's all."
Audra smiled. "We'll be out of here by twelve-thirty at the latest," she said. Jack smiled back at her.
"We have another case on our hands," he said.
"What is it this time?" Audra asked, taking a sip of her Coke.
"A seventeen-year-old girl allegedly murdered her older brother," Jack explained. "Police haven't collected all the evidence yet, and ballistics still doesn't have what kind of gun the girl used. But apparently, her prints are all over the crime scene."
"Where was her brother shot?" Audra asked.
"In his bedroom. He was sprawled out on the floor with a hole through his chest when the maid came in to clean the house. She almost cleaned the scene," Jack answered.
"I hate these kinds of cases. Stupid rich kids who think that they rule the world, and then the world doesn't go the way they want it to go, and they think the world owes them," Audra sighed as their soup arrived. "Dig in," she said.
Jack laughed as they started to eat. The charge brought against the girl was murder one; police had found the girl's diary, and there were several entries showing different ways in which she was going to try to kill her brother. Several of them had been tried and failed. Looked like the last one worked.
"So where exactly did you want to take me?" Audra asked as she pulled her helmet on.
"It's a surprise," Jack answered as they pulled away from the curb.
Audra shook her head and leaned against Jack's shoulder. They hadn't talked much through lunch, except when Jack had a rice noodle hanging out of his mouth. Audra couldn't help but laugh at that; Jack had been totally oblivious to it for five minutes before she had said anything.
Speeding along Park Ave, Jack pulled into a parking garage and locked the bike up, then pulled a bandana over Audra's eyes, blindfolding her.
"What are you doing?" she asked as Jack dragged her up the stairs and out into a park.
"Keeping the surprise a surprise," Jack replied. He took her hand and guided her through Central Park. A few people stared, but then again, people knew who Jack McCoy was, so they didn't think anything too out of the ordinary.
"Come on, Jack!" Audra said, laughing and grabbing for the blindfold. She pulled the bandana off her face and gasped.
Surrounding the two of them was a huge apple tree in full bloom. Hundreds of white and pink blossoms turned the sunlight into streaks of gold and pink. Jack sat down on one of the park benches and smiled at Audra as she slowly took in the beauty of the little grove he had discovered after the history professor he had been dating ended the relationship.
"Jack…" Audra said, sitting next to him and absentmindedly taking his hand. "It's beautiful!"
Jack shrugged. "I guess. It's even prettier when the roses are in bloom," he said.
"When did you find this?" Audra asked.
"While looking for a quiet place to work," he replied. "You like it?"
Audra nodded and closed her gaping mouth. "I love it," she said quietly. She turned to kiss Jack on the cheek, but he caught her and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Audra pulled away and rested her head on Jack's shoulder. "Thanks," she said quietly.
"No problem," Jack replied.
(end chapter 7)
Later that night, Jack was going over papers for the case when the phone rang.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hi Dad!" a young female voice said.
"Hey Kate! How's Egypt?" Jack smiled as he heard his daughter's voice crack through the phone.
"It's awesome! We're going on a tour of the pyramids later today," Kate answered. Kate was majoring in history at Columbia University, but was on another class trip; this time it was to see all the Egyptian ruins.
"That's great! Meet any cute Egyptian boys over there?" Jack asked in a goofy tone.
"Dad!" Kate said, laughing.
"I'm kidding. How is everything?"
"Just dandy. Yesterday we went on a mock-dig; apparently I broke King Tut's arm," Kate replied.
"Good job," Jack said sarcastically.
"The food here is fantastic, the people are really nice, and everyone is getting along perfect," Kate explained.
"Well, that's always a good sign," Jack said, getting up to make himself a cup of tea.
"Hold on a sec, Dad," Kate said. "What?" her muffled voice called to someone in the background. "Hey, sorry Dad, but I have to go."
"It's fine. When you get back we can go out to lunch and you can tell me all about it," Jack said.
"Ok," Kate said. "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Kate," Jack said, smiling.
"I'll see you when I get back," Kate said.
"Bye." Jack hung up the phone and poured his tea. He walked back into the living room and continued to look over his papers.
Kate was born from his first marriage, but Jack had left before Kate really grew up. Her mother moved them to Boston, and Jack could only see Kate on the weekends. When she turned eighteen she moved to New York to be closer to her father and to attend Columbia. Jack gave her the option of staying in her room at his house, but he completely understood when she said she wanted to stay in a dorm. So she visited on the weekends and on holidays instead.
Kate was a junior already, and had been to four different countries for her history classes. Jack wished she would come home soon so he could see her again.
"So how's our little murderer doing?" Audra asked Ed as she walked into the 27th.
"Oh, the little psycho is doing just fine," he replied.
"Did ballistics recover what kind of gun was used?" Audra asked, peering into the interrogation room.
"Normal handgun to deliver the killing shot," Ed answered. "But she stabbed him multiple times beforehand. Bruising around the wrists show that he had been tied to the headboard; there was major struggling before he was shot. She untied him after he died."
"Jesus," Audra whispered. She looked back into the interrogation room. "Do we know where she got the gun?"
"It was registered to her brother, actually," Anita said. "He bought it three weeks ago and registered it last week. But her prints were all over it."
"What's her name?" Jack asked, walking back over from the interrogation room with Lennie.
"Danielle McGraw," Anita replied.
"Well, does Danielle know she's down for murder one?" Jack asked.
Audra turned to Jack. "You mean life without parole, right?" she asked.
"No, I don't. According to her birth certificate, she'll be eighteen tomorrow. Eligible for capital punishment," Jack replied as he handed Audra the girl's birth certificate.
"But Jack, this girl has got her entire life ahead of her! You can't just end it here!" Audra argued, following Jack back over to the interrogation room.
"I thought you were for the death penalty," Jack said.
"I am, when it applies to people who have lived a little! She's seventeen, Jack! She hasn't even graduated high school yet!" Audra yelled.
"Well she should have thought about that before she murdered her brother for no reason," Jack said severely before opening the door to the interrogation room. Audra sighed and walked back over to Lennie and Ed.
"I'm going home early. Tell Jack that I'm not in the mood to discuss killing people," she said, collecting her things and leaving the 27th. Once out on the sidewalk, she pulled out her cell phone and called her friend Olivia Benson, a detective for the Special Victims Unit.
