I don't own a thing, Disney does. If you haven't yet, read "Tara Strikes Back", as I use that fairly often in this chapter, as well as "Answers". This does have descriptive violence as well, but not much more than most television gets in the evenings. Just be advised!

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The Things Men Do – Chapter 2

April 6th

Dear Kim,

You seriously wouldn't believe the change in Tara since her run-in with Gill. I mean, she was always so shy before, and she still can be sometimes, but in just the last few weeks… I mean, she became captain of the squad since I busted my arm, and she's just been working them. Probably pushing them harder than you or I ever did! She's speaking up in class more, and I don't even want to mention her and Josh's relationship. I mean, before, she'd blush if he gave her a little peck on the cheek in public. Now, she's almost brazen! She even told me she's considering becoming a cop!

I guess everyone has those points where, something happens, and you just… break out of your shell, become who you are, who you are meant to be. I think Tara realized something after that fight. I know I did when I had my moment!

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"What the hell do you mean you know about my abilities?"

Doctor Director took a step back from the obviously furious young woman before her. "Please, Ms. Rockwaller. If we could step into my office…"

Bonnie just stepped up in front of her, shaking visibly. "No, I want to know where you get off spying on me or whatever?"

"Please, if we could step into my office? I assure you, these people have no idea what we are talking about, and I'm sure you would prefer to keep it that way."

Bonnie turned to glare at the faces of those around her, staring raptly at her as she was yelling at their boss and superior officer. She quickly returned her glare back to the woman before her. "Fine!"

"Perhaps Ms. Matthews would prefer to stay out here?"

Bonnie looked at her friend, who just shook her head. "She's coming too."

Doctor Director headed to the back of the room, Bonnie and Tara quickly following. They entered what appeared to be a boardroom, and the older woman quickly shut the door. "Please, have a seat, and I will explain everything."

Bonnie glared at her, enmity evident in eyes, but she sat, with Tara placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"As I said, I do apologize for the circumstances that we are meeting under. First, I would like to assure you that there are only four agents in all of Global Justice that know of your abilities, which includes me, and those four would not speak of this to anybody. And yes, while we were spying on you, it was, for the most part, on behalf of the Sensei of Yamanouchi at the time, who informed us of you and wanted to make sure you were all right. I do profess to doing some additional work though to assess you capabilities."

Bonnie just looked shocked. "Sensei told you? You know… know about Yamanouchi? And, what additional work?"

Doctor Director sighed inwardly as Bonnie seemed to have calmed down to a more rational level. "Yes, we know about Yamanouchi, though only those in higher positions or on a need to know basis are aware of its existence. Quite often, students of Yamanouchi are recruited by Global Justice. As well, we tend to go to them for assistance when our own psi and mystical departments are unable to find a solution."

Bonnie leaned forward across the table. "Psi department? You mean there are others like me working for you? Then why do you need me?"

"I must confess that our psi division is not as… skilled as you are, and is rather quite small. Their primary job at this point remains as recruiters."

Bonnie leaned back again, arms crossed over her chest. "All right, so that answers why I'm here. You still didn't answer my last question though. What additional work did you do on me?"

Doctor Director seemed to shift uncomfortably. "To be entirely honest, we have been assessing the medical files Dr. Possible has done on you for…"

Bonnie rose to her feet. "HOW DARE YOU! Those are confidential! You have no right to pry into my life like that!"

Doctor Director tried to remain calm as she responded. "And I apologize, but it is the same process we use when assessing any potential recruit or possible threat. You have a remarkable gift, but one that could easily lead to corruption if utilized wrong, and we needed to make sure that you were, first and foremost, not a danger, which gave us the right to investigate you."

"Well screw you, and screw your whole bloody organization! Come on Tara, we're getting out of here!"

Bonnie rose quickly to her feet, Tara right behind, and they quickly made their way to the door. They stopped short though when Doctor Director spoke again. "Are you willing to allow at least two more people to die because you don't like us?"

Bonnie hand stalled over the knob, shaking with impotent fury. Clenching her hand, she turned slowly to face the woman. Striding up to the still seated woman, she bent down, pushing her words out into an almost hiss. "I'm going to help you, but let's get something straight here. All these God damned tests of yours and the spying on me, it ends now. Got it!"

Doctor Director just nodded, and waited for the two teens to sit back down. Satisfied that they were paying attention, she clicked on a projection screen. "We don't know who the killer is, and there have been no real clues. We have confirmed it is the same person who has been committing these murders, cutting a swath across the country. The pattern is the same in each case though. Three killings per city, separated by two nights in each case. Weapon of choice seems to be a knife, taken from the victim's house. That's where the similarities end though. Sex, age, race, religion, none of it matches up at all. What does match up though is loved ones. We think our killer is targeting those with spouses or significant others, and only those with a predilection towards suicide. In each case, the loved one of the deceased commits suicide the next day, which we think is why the killer waits two days between killings."

Bonnie just cringed at some of the imagery, but couldn't tear her eyes away. She could feel Tara gripping her arm tightly, and she lightly patted her friend's hand. "So how did you get brought into this?"

Doctor Director just shook her head. "Police have not been able to find any leads, so they have asked for anyone who could help them. I volunteered Global Justice's assistance in this matter. Especially after tonight!"

Tara just leaned forward a bit. "There's been another murder?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes, there was. Paul Bannerman. He worked for Global Justice, and he was a friend of mine!

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Doctor Director spent the next ten minutes going into excruciating detail of everything they had discovered to date, and she noticed that, while Bonnie appeared calm and composed despite the worst imagery, Tara seemed to fidget and wince. "Ms. Matthew's, if you'd prefer, we could send you home? You don't need to remain for this."

Bonnie looked over at her friend, her face sympathetic. "Yeah T, this isn't something you really need to deal with."

Tara just shook her head. "No, I'm good. If I want to be a cop, I have to get used to these kinds of things. Besides, I want to help you! Who's been better at helping you interpret your visions then me?"

Bonnie just smiled lightly, gripping her friend's hand lightly. "No one's better than you T!"

The door opened behind them, and both teens turned to see who had entered. Doctor Director just smiled. "This is Agent Will Du, one of our top agents. He will be working with you during the course of the investigation."

Will just looked the two over, a look of disdain crossing his features. "Permission to speak freely ma'am?"

Doctor Director just nodded. "Of course."

"I understand working with the psychic, as we need her abilities, but do I really have to be saddled with a civilian in this case?"

Tara jumped quickly to her feet. "I'll have you know…"

Bonnie placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "She'll be coming with us Agent Du. Now, we should get going anyways before the scene of the crime gets too contaminated and I can't get a proper reading."

Doctor Director just nodded and smiled, leading the trio to the nearest tube to the surface. Will went first, and as soon as he was gone, Tara leaned over to whisper to Bonnie. "What was that? You get to go ballistic, and I don't?"

Bonnie just smiled. "Don't you worry about that, I just thought it would be better to do that alone. I have a few choice words for GJ boy myself."

Tara smiled at that, and happily stepped into the tube next.

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The drive to the crime scene was brief, and there was no mistaking the site at once, with a bevy of police and medics on hand. Will slowly pulled the car up behind a couple of patrol cars, throwing it into park.
"Ms. Matthews, I believe you should stay here. We won't need you to help with this portion of the investigation."

Bonnie leaned right over at that, grabbing him tightly by the front of his shirt, jerking him forward. "First off, you talk to my friend in that kind of tone again, I will shove your gonads so far up your body, you'll be choking on them. Got me? Now, as for your elitist bullshit I've heard so much about, that might fly with others, but you are dealing with Bonnie Rockwaller now! I got called in, I run the show. You disagree, and I'm sure Tara could come up with an interesting punishment."

Tara leaned forward, a smile on her face. "I'm thinking… handcuffed and stuffed in the trunk until we're done. I'm sure one of those nice officers would be happy to lend me a pair."

Bonnie grinned at the thought of that. "Now, I'm going to go do my thing while Tara scans for anything that might be helpful. You, like a good little agent, can ask the police if they found anything helpful."

Will pulled himself free from Bonnie's grip. "I don't think…"

Tara leaned forward, propping an elbow on his shoulder. "Now, now, what did we just tell you?" When he only glared at her, she smiled, patting him on the head. "Good boy!"

Hearing him grumble to himself, both girls exited the car with a laugh, and headed for the blockade. A pair of police officers stopped them almost instantly.

"Sorry girls, this is no place for you two to be going."

Bonnie pulled out the GJ identification she had gotten from Doctor Director during the briefing, and flashed the police her brightest smile. "It's all right officers. We're here as representatives of Global Justice. I'm sure you were told of our coming?"

The two officers looked at each other, obviously confused. Without another word, they lifted the yellow tape and allowed the two to pass underneath.

Bonnie pulled out her communicator and handed it to Tara. "Just hit this button to call up Wade, and he'll help you go through the scans."

They passed a couple officers by the door, and Bonnie's nose detected the smell of vomit as she passed them by. A third officer stood just inside the doorway, and he turned when he heard the two of them approach behind them. "Just who are you two?"

Bonnie flashed the ID again. "Bonnie Rockwaller, I'm with Global Justice. He in there?"

The detective nodded. "Yeah, he's in there. I'm Detective Thomas by the way. You sure you two want to go in there, it ain't pretty."

Bonnie just nodded. "If we want to catch this guy, we're going to have to."

The detective just nodded. "We moved the garbage can closer to the living room after we cleared it, just in case you don't think you can make it outside."

Bonnie nodded, and proceeded to the living room. Tara got up close behind, so she could whisper to Bonnie without being overheard. "Why would we need the garbage can?"

Bonnie paused at the entrance to the room. "Because pictures are one thing, but seeing the real deal… let's just say you're going to regret having had Mexican for supper."

Bonnie took a deep breath, and took a step in. The coppery smell hit her all at once, and she repressed the urge to gag. Even in the dim lighting of the room, she could clearly make out the body of the victim. Gashes, both shallow and deep, ran down the arms, legs, and torso of the poor soul. The face, what once might have been considered handsome, was criss-crossed in an almost elaborate pattern of shallow cuts. Bonnie shook as she noticed the eyelids had been cut off, exposing the now sightless eyes, as if to make sure that the person was watching what was being done to him. Blood splatters were everywhere, coating the walls, furniture, even the ceiling.

She glanced over at Tara, and saw her face had gone completely white. Bonnie approached her friend quickly. "Tara, are you…"

Tara turned quickly, and as Bonnie followed, found the detective holding her friend's hair back as she quickly emptied the contents of her last meal into the garbage can.

"Tara, you all right."

Tara just nodded as she pulled her head from the can. "I'll be all right."

Bonnie placed a hand on her friend's shoulder comfortingly. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, I can run the scans…"

Tara just waved her off. "I'll be fine. I've got it out of my system now."

Detective Thomas handed Tara a napkin, and she thanked him as she wiped her mouth. "Don't worry about it none miss, it can get to anyone. I've thrown up twice myself since I got here."

Tara just nodded as she braced one arm on the garbage can for support. After another moment, she rose. "I'm good. Let's get on with this."

The two teens re-entered the room, and Bonnie quickly moved towards the body. "You get in touch with Wade, and please tell him not to look at video as much as he can. Tell him to rely on sensors. After all, he's just a kid."

Tara placed an arm over her mouth and nose to try and block the smell, repressing the urge to gag further. "How come you seem fine?"

Bonnie knelt down beside the body, and glanced up at her friend. "Let's just say… I haven't exactly told you about all the visions I've ever had. I'm actually afraid to say that I've seen worse than this."

Bonnie closed her eyes, trying to block everything out. Directing her mind to what was in front of her, she focused on shutting out everything else around her. Some sort of buzzing sensation remained in the back of her mind, no matter how she tried to block it out, so she tried her best to ignore it. Slowly, carefully, she lowered her hand down, and placed it gently…

Searing pain, stabbing into the lower back…

Bonnie pulled her hand back quickly. She hadn't intended on the vision to come like that. These visions were always bad when she could feel the other person's pain, but it was obvious the killer was going to strike again. Closing her eyes again, she took a few deep breaths, trying hard to ignore the taste of copper that was permeating the inside of her mouth. Slowly, she lowered her hand back down, and carefully…

It was a woman, someone Bonnie had never seen before. She carefully placed her keys into the bowl on the table, carrying a bag of groceries in one hand. She entered the kitchen and hit the lights, humming a quiet tune. Bonnie was surprised as much as she was when a blurry figure came straight at her from behind. The knife cut deep across the back as the figure slashed, and Bonnie winced in sympathy. She tried to slow the vision down, to try and get a bead on just who was attacking this woman, but no matter what she tried, the figure was a blur. She couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman holding the knife.

Taking a different tack, Bonnie looked out the kitchen window, scanning for any clues as to where they were. She knew the vision couldn't last much longer, and scanned the neighborhood. She almost cried for joy when she saw an address number with the street name underneath right across the road.

71 Sycamore Street!

Bonnie's eyes opened, and she quickly pulled her hand away from the body in front of her. Tara was standing behind her, the screen on the communicator now dark.

"Me and Wade didn't find anything. How did it go at your end?"

Bonnie gave a bit of a half smile. "For some reason, the killer was all blurry, but I did get where the killer will strike next. And we will get that sick son of a bitch!"

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Author's Notes – Well, this got a bit more descriptive than I originally intended, but I really don't want to change anything. If you think it deserves an M rating, let me know!