I hope this chapter answers some important questions, like where the hell is Deaq. Responses to reviews at the bottom. :)
The Candy Store One Week Earlier…
The sound of a bouncing basketball echoed through the Candy Store early that Monday morning as Van dribbled down the half court practicing for the next game of one on one he'd challenge Deaq to. He was the first to arrive for once, his partner probably still getting ready and his boss probably on her way. There were plenty of things on his mind from the previous weekend. Deaq had planned a ski trip to Mammoth, but at the last minute Van cancelled, sighting his lack of sleep in the past few weeks as his reason. The real reason was that he couldn't handle another day with his partner. He needed a break from everyone and some time to himself, to think, to contemplate life, to do things he had been meaning to do. But now that he was back at work, he was glad that only two days had been spent on thinking, because those two days had driven him nuts.
After making a lay-up, Van heard the sound of the back door slamming shut and a pair of high heels clicking their way towards him along with another clicking sound that he couldn't identify. He turned around while wiping the sweet off his forehead with the sleeve of his black long sleeved t-shirt. Across the cavernous theater-turned-warehouse, Billie slowly sauntered to her office in her black three inch spiked heels. Behind her, Deaq hobbled in on a pair of crutches, his left foot braced in a large white plaster cast, and a scowl present on his face.
"Thanks for the ride Billie," he muttered, making his way to the lounge a few meters away from her office at the center of the warehouse. Billie merely nodded her reply from her comfy desk chair as she switched on her computer. Gingerly, Deaq lowered himself on the large, overstuffed red velvet couch, propping his leg up like the doctor had ordered.
The ball dropped from Van's hands as he asked, "What the hell happened to you?"
Deaq glared at his partner. "Ask Aquarius," he grumbled.
Van plopped down on the other end of the couch, unfazed by his partner's anger. He missed something interesting that weekend, and now he was cursing himself for not going. "Well, I'd ask him, but you're the one who has him on speed dial," Van countered.
Deaq sat silent for a few minutes refusing to speak. He had no desire to tell anyone what had happened over the weekend, but when Van started to reach for the phone in his left pocket, he swatted his hand away and finally gave in.
"I had an accident," Deaq barked, skirting around the full explanation.
"Lemmie guess, you were snowboarding and flew into a snow bank," Van finished, grinning. The image in his mind was the look of Deaq's face firmly planted in snow. He couldn't help but chuckle.
"No," Deaq sharply interrupted, glaring at him again.
He was getting ready to give a full explanation of that weekend's events when Billie piped in, "He slipped on black ice down a flight of stairs at the hotel."
Both Van and Deaq turned their heads to look at her. Billie didn't need to glance up from her computer screen to know that Deaq was staring daggers at her. Van, on the other hand, was a different story.
"Dude!" he burst, unable to contain himself. Laughter erupted soon after. "That is so uncool!" Van added as he wiped a tear from his right eye. "Man, I know you're good at snowboarding, but that is totally not the way to go down on a ski trip."
It seemed as if Deaq would lunge at him any moment, but he stayed put when he heard Billie's heels clicking towards them. She stood before her employees in a black skirt suit, her bright blue eyes twinkling. "I guess that means I'm taking your place on our next case," she said, throwing a manila folder she had pulled out of her desk just seconds before into Van's lap. He caught it and opened the file as she continued to explain, "Drayden Abney is a French national with ties to the black market arms trade. Rumor has it he's been supplying everyone in the Middle East with weapons. And even bigger rumor is that he's wanted for the murder of several gun dealers in LA, New York, Chicago, Miami, Vegas, and several other cities. He's now looking to stock up on some new merchandise." Billie pointed to herself and Van, "We are posing as two potential sellers. We'll be using the guns we recovered from the Super G case. Deaq, you'll be doing surveillance."
The blank expression on Deaq's face told Billie all she needed to know. He was going to hate this assignment, but what could she do about it? There was no way she'd send him into action injured. Too many bad things could happed, and she wasn't about to let that weigh on her conscience, like so many other things had. This was the only decision to be made. "I'm sorry, Deaq," Billie apologized, "but I can't let you go out like that."
Deaq signed deeply, allowing himself to sink deeper into the comfortable cushions of the couch. "I understand," he barely mumbled, his head down with his chin resting on his chest. Billie looked away. She hated to see her men feeling so low. Wordlessly, she made her way back to her office and sat down in front of her computer.
"Sorry, man," Van reached over and patted his partner's shoulder. There was a clear look of disdain on Deaq's face, prompting Van to pull away quickly before his hand was blown off with his partner's Desert Eagle. He had pushed enough of the poor man's buttons; it was time he stopped and left him alone.
Van turned his attention to Billie. "So, when are we meeting this Drayden guy?" he asked in a raised voice so she could hear him as he grabbed the remote from the oversized coffee table beside the couch and turned on the TV in the corner behind Deaq's head.
"Tonight," Billie answered over her shoulder as she opened the LAPD database, along with several other government databases.
Van threw the remote over to his partner and stood up. After stretching for a moment, he followed Billie's path to the office and sat down in one of the round black leather chairs facing her desk. "And…?" he continued questioning.
"And what?" Billie shot back as she tapped on the keyboard of her Mac, bringing up several files on the man they were after. Van was persistent, she gave him that much, but when he got nosy, it just made her angry.
"Care to elaborate on what's going down tonight?" Van dumbly answered, folding his arms across his chest and giving her a hard stare. He didn't like it when Billie withheld information from him, and had made that point clear on several occasions. Today was no different. She was holding something back, and he'd wait in her office for as long as it took her to give it up.
"You and I are going to Ryde tonight," Billie said, her eyes still refusing to connect with his. She continued bringing up information on Drayden Abney until her desktop was filled with windows on his background and everything the government knew about him. As if they were on the same wavelength, Billie knew she was holding something back from her temporary partner. She also knew that it was eating away at him, but she refused to say a word, fearing that he'd do or say something to jeopardize the case when he found out. Van was somewhat of a loose cannon, and keeping him on a need to know basis was the only way she was going to keep him from going off, especially when it had to do with Xavier Rousseau. The two had a past; at least that's what it said in his file. She didn't know how deep it ran, and would rather test the waters in a situation where she could control her employee rather than tell him now and let him come up with some kind of scheme that could possibly put them in danger.
"Fine, be that way," Van seethed in a barely audible voice as he pushed himself off the chair and marched out of her office. "I just hope this isn't another Gavin West," he hollered without looking back at her reaction.
"What did you say?" Billie calmly asked, stopping Van cold. He could feel the chill of her words rush down his spine. An exposed nerve had been hit within her, and now it was her turn to get angry.
Van turned around and faced the menacing woman he called his boss. A cold stare from her icy blue eyes felt as if it was going to bore a hole through his chest if he didn't move out of her way. But he stayed put, choosing to stand his ground instead. "What's so need to know that you can't tell me right now?" Van nearly raised his voice to a yell. "Do you have some kind of history with the guy that you're refusing to tell me about that just might jeopardize the case, like what happened with Gavin West? Or is it something else that you're keeping from me? Why can't you just tell me right now and save me the sarcasm, because I'm not in the mood for it!" His voice continued to rise until he was yelling at her. By the end of his little speech, Van was livid. His grey green eyes sparkled with an underlying fire as he waited for her to speak.
Billie stared at him for a few moments. Without warning, her right fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him to the ground. "Are you in the mood for that?" Billie calmly asked, "Because I got plenty more where it came from." She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and picked him up off the ground so their eyes met in another intense glare. "You know what, Van? You're on a need to know basis, and when you need to know, I'll tell you! Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Van sheepishly replied, his voice so low she could barely hear him. Billie let go of his shirt, though, and he dropped back down to the ground. "Bitch," he said under his breath as he felt his lip for any blood.
The scene played out in front of Deaq's eyes just as he thought it would, except for maybe that punch from Billie. That was unexpected. The only time he could remember her punching someone else other than himself was when she and Roland Hill got into a spat over her policies at the Candy Store. It nearly cost all them their jobs, but it was a punch to see. Never in his life had he seen anyone go to the mat for her teammates like she did.
But now, all Deaq could do was shake his head, knowing that anything Van said when he was angry was on the fly, as in flying out of his mouth without thinking first. There was no beating around the bush when Van got mad; he went straight for the jugular. It didn't matter to him who got hurt. He'd say what was on his mind then regret it. Shoot first and ask questions later. The motto seemed fitting.
Van was slowly ambled back to the couch, his lip beginning to swell slightly as he poked and prodded it with his finger. "That was one hell of a punch, partner," Deaq said as he took his previous seat on the opposite end of the couch.
"Be glad you weren't on the receiving end this time," Van retorted, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to clear his mind. "I swear, there are some days where I wish she'd just die and go to hell already," he continued, saying the last part loudly enough for Billie to hear him.
"I'm already in hell," she yelled back from her desk.
"I should have just come to Mammoth with you this weekend. At least dealing with her would have been a little easier afterwards," Van said, letting Billie's comment go in one ear and out the other. He knew both of them never really meant what they said. It was all for show, who was smarter, wittier, and had the best comeback.
Deaq continued to sit back and shake his head. The tension between his boss and his partner would always be there, no matter what. He'd just have to keep dealing with it, and maybe referee every once in a while if anything got out of hand. But today he agreed with Billie. Van was in dire need of a bitch slap for the way he'd been running his mouth off lately. Maybe a little slapping around would do him some good.
I wanna thank everyone again for reviewing. I really really really appreciate it. It helps alot to know there are people reading this story. Thank you.
prplerayne: Yeah, I left Van in the woods. I'm sorry! But don't worry, well, do worry, but not for too long. There will be more soon!
ackeberlynn: Question answered:) Sorry it took so long to get him into the story. There was just too much stuff I needed to cover beforehand. Besides, I've made some pretty big changes in my outline so it's not all going as I intended, but this is actually a lot better than what I had. Thanks for reading!
Avillie: 2 reviews! can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. But, what can we do? Besides bitch and moan about it? I'm still wondering what that first one said... But the shortened version was pretty damn good! I'm so glad you like the story. Thank you!
fan4fastln: I'm so glad you're liking the Van/Billie complex. I've always wanted to write this kind of story, but never got around to it until now when a whole lotta stuff happened in my life and I really started to think about writing again. It helps me a whole lot, being able to write something and post it and get responses to it. I'm so glad that you're reading my story and reviewing. Thank you!
I also want to thank all those of you who are reading but not reviewing. So thank you. I hope that you will review one day because it does keep me writing, especially if you really like the story. But thank you none the less.