The Heart of Christmas Chapter 5
Tarzan propped himself up on his elbows and stared down at Jane's face as she fumbled over the side of the bed, trying to get her cell out of her jeans. Finally, Tarzan stretched one long arm, grabbed her jeans off the floor and reached into her pocket for the phone.
"Porter" Jane barked, after flipping the phone open. She watched as Tarzan moved himself off the top of her and lay next to her, his forearm on his forehead... his mouth neither smiling or frowning.
" OK, I am on my way" Jane said into the phone as she flipped it closed and rolled off the futon. Tarzan did not say anything as she pulled on her clothes. But he stood when she reached for her coat and started walking slowly towards him. When she reached him, she dropped her coat, crossed her arms over her chest, gave a little sigh and explained...
" a silent alarm just sounded at a liquor store a few blocks from here. Sam is on his way, but he lives across town. This is our chance to catch these guys"
When Tarzan did not reply, Jane , frustrated, shouted at him, " do you understand, it is MY JOB to stop bad guys and protect people ?"
Tarzan still did not reply , but stood there looking down at her, hands hanging at his sides. Eyes dark, all their sparkle gone.
" yes I understand"
Jane was a little surprised at this change in his attitude. The Detective in her wanted to question him, and find out what changed him, but she did not have time,She started for the atrium door, but before she had gone more than 5 steps, she turned. gave him a worried glance, then moved quickly back into his arms, her lips brushing across his in a soft kiss.
"see you later" Jane murmured as she walked on out of the atrium without looking back.
" Shit" Jane thought to herself, this is hard...
As soon as Tarzan heard the outer door of the Atrium open, he moved, dressing quickly in his jeans and shirt. He gave his new Nike's a grimace, before putting them on his feet, but was glad he had them on when he ran through the snow on the patio. He was up on the roof of the mansion, looking down at the street before Jane exited the mansion. He watched as Jane started her car and drove to the corner, turning right. Then Tarzan ran and leaped to the building behind him, running and watching Jane's car at the same time. He moved like a panther... sleek, dark and deadly in the night... even his teeth were slightly bared, hands clenched and muscles tight.
Jane arrived at the liquor store and was surprised to see only one black and white on the opposite corner and Sam no where in sight. Sighing, she shook her head, remembering the department cutbacks and that is was still officially christmas. The Officers with seniority had the night off.
Automatically, she pulled her gun from its holster at the small of her back and checked to make sure she was fully loaded and ready. Then she flashed her lights once, signalling the 2 uniformed police that she was ready. Exiting the car, Jane quickly surveyed the store. A alley ran down the far side of the building and she decided any self-respecting crook would take the back way out of there.
" You two cover the front" Jane instructed the uniformed police as they reached her side. She had to take a deep breath and count to at least 5. The Night shift guys were getting younger and younger, these two did not even look old enough to shave. Jane refused to acknowledge to herself that they may be looking younger because she was getting older.
" My partner Sam will be here soon, when he gets here send him around back to cover me" Jane again instructed. " We will arrest these guys as they exit. It is safer than trying to go into the store after them". As Jane finished her quiet instructions she moved off towards the alley and gave the two a hand signal that indicated where she wanted each to stand. Then Jane walked into the blackness of the alley...
The alley was damp and a multitide of boxes were stacked everywhere, Jane was attempting to adjust her eyes to the increased darkness of the alley when a alarm sounded from inside the store.
" Great, just great" Jane thought to herself as she lifted her gun into firing position, and moved slowly foward, " one of these guys was clumsy and set off the audible alarm". Scoffing a little at the ineptness of the burglers, Jane moved past a pile of boxes, her eyes on the back door, waiting for the door to burst open and the idiots to pile out... instead, Jane felt the cold metal of a knife move along her throat and a whiny, sing-song voice said into her ear...
" did not see me in the boxes did you, pretty one ? big mistake on your part, drop the gun" Jane did as instructed an heard her gun kicked off into oblivion.
Jane was pulled back tight against a heavy set man He wrapped a flabby arm around her chest, and laughed into her ear as he increased the pressure on the knife against her throat . Jane felt a sharp sting and drops of blood plopped from her neck onto the arm of her coat.
The back door slowly opened and she heard a voice say..
" Corkscrew... you out there ? Can we come out ? "
" Yeah, come on" , Corkscrew replied, " I have a surprise for ya"
3 men exited the building and started moving through the shadows to where Jane and Corkscrew were standing.
Again, the creepy voice sounded in her ear..." If you have any ideas of calling for your friends at the front of the building, my pretty, you can forget it. They won't be commin to help ya. But, one peep out of you and you will find out why they call me ' corkscrew"... the man continued to chuckle as he placed a kiss on her ear. Jane's whole body shook in revulsion...that only made Corkscrew chuckle louder.
Jane tried not to cringe as the mans foul breath hit her face , she soon found out that moving only succeeded in cutting herself more on the knife pressed hard against her jugular.. She felt a moments grief as she realized that the men out front were either incapacitated or dead, but the Cop in her pushed that out of her mind , right now she was in the hands of a man that had earned a very strange nickname, she needed to be able to think, if she did not want to find out how he got it.
" ah man, you did good corkscrew" .
The tallest of the 3 men had reached them, a shorter black man right behind him...another shorter white man hung back a little...closer to the pile of boxes.
" we can have some fun with her" the tall man continued " then you can do what you do best"
Jane could tell her captor was very pleased with this news " hear that my pretty, we are gonna have us a party"
" lets go" the tall man said
Corkscrew shoved Jane deeper into the alley, then glanced over at the 4th man, who was standing up against the building, his eyes huge and his hands at his throat...the only sound coming from him was a slight "rasp"
" whatcha doing over there Corky ?"
Corkscrew had barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Corky's body was pulled halfway up the wall, his feet kicking wildly, his hands clutching at this throat... no sound came from his mouth,... no scream, no peep... NO breath. . He hung there, kicking and straining, high enough that no one could reach him, and unable to release the wire around his neck...
The men froze when the roar of a lion echoed off the walls of the narrow alley. Tallman and and his partner turned slowly looking around in confusion and horror...
' WHAT THE HELL' Corkscrew cried, but it was the last words he ever spoke.
Jane could not see what happened to Corkscrew, but she could see tallman and the other man''s face. They looked like something out of a horror show. Eyes wide and horrified, the shorter man's mouth opened in a scream, but no sound came out.
Corkscrew was pulled away from Jane and at the same time, a strong, tanned arm, grabbed the arm holding the knife and pulled ot to Corkscrew's side . Jane heard a loud " snap" and a scream...but nothing compared to the scream she heard next... it was a loud scream that stopped suddenly, ending in a long , drawn out gurgle.
Jane had kept her eyes on the other 2 men. She knew the short one was not a problem, but tallman unfroze and rushed her just as the horrible gurgle stopped. One man had already grabbed her tonight and Jane would Not let there be a second. She rushed tall man, surprising him, and just before they met, she darted to the side and sent a spinning kick into his stomach, doubling him over and dropping him to the ground. Tall man stayed where she dropped him.
Turning, Jane saw Tarzan turn Corkscrew onto his stomach and straighten... a look on his face that she had never seen before. His eyes blazed and his breath came in bursts...somehow she knew not to approach him yet, but she met his eyes and prayed that he could see the love she felt for him in them. Because she did love him... loved him without question or reserve.
Stalling for a little time to allow Tarzan to get control, Jane looked at short man and simply snapped her fingers , pointing at the ground. Short man dropped to his knees, right where he stood, without question, head bowed. Jane had to smile, she figured he was praying "
" JANE !"
Jane and Tarzan glanced at the opening of the alley and saw Sam running towards them, one of the young officers was with him, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to keep up with Sam .
Sam stopped when he reached Tarzan , took one look at him and said " Hey Tarz, you Ok man ?"
Sams eyes went to the dead guy hanging about 30 feet off the ground. The man's face was red and swollen , his eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets and his lips were vivid purple . Starting to go to Jane, Sam had to sidestep to keep his feet out of the huge puddle of blood that surrounded the body of a huge , heavy man lying face down on the ground. Sam met Tarzan's eyes, but neither man said a word.
Tarzan did not answer Sam's question ,but Jane was glad to see that his eyes were no longer blazing and his muscles were starting to relax. She wanted to run to him, but Tarzan looked strangly unapproachable.. She watched as he left Sam standing beside the lifeless body of Corkscrew and walked over to the water faucet on the wall of the liquor store... Jane stood in silence as she watched Tarzan wash the blood off his hands and arms.
It took over a hour to get the scene detailed. Sam insisted on doing the work , telling Jane to " rest in the car". Tallman and shortman had been taken to the precinct, both young officers had been taken to the local hospital for evaulations , the EMT had put a dressing on Jane's throat after she had refused to go to the hospital, and the coroner had just arrived to collect Corkscrew and Corky's bodies. Sam went down the alley with the Coroner to help him load up
Jane leaned against her car and stared at Tarzan, who stood across the street, close to the opening of the alley. He still had not approached her and his face had a " back off" look. She shook her head and tried to relax, but she was scared. More scared that when Corkscrew had a knife to her throat... ' What if her stubbornness had messed things up with Tarzan?" The toe of her shoe kicked a rock out of frustration and she looked up to see Tarzan staring at her.
A few minutes later, Sam came out of the alley. Jane had never seen a black man look white...but Sam was as pale as a ghost . She even saw his swallow hard , once.. or twice. Sam motioned for Tarzan. Jane watched as Tarzan walked to Sam, his movements reminding her of the predator he had been tonight...graceful, strong and deadly.
Sam and Tarzan only talked a minute, then Sam headed back into the alley, shaking his head as he walked.
Tarzan started across the street towards Jane and out of nervous habit, Jane dropped her head, took a deep breath , then raised her eyes to meet Tarzan's . He continued walking until he stood toe to toe with her, his face inches from hers. Then he did a imitation of her, the one he had seen in the atrium earlier in the evening.
He stood tall, crossed his arms across his chest, looked down at her and said...
" DO YOU undestand, it is my JOB to protect you, you are my mate. I loved you yesterday, I love you today and I will love you tomorrow... I will love you all of my tomorrows. Never will I allow anyting to hurt my MATE!"
Jane dropped her head again, her heart beating double time. When she looked up, she smiled and jumped up, knowing Tarzan would catch her in his arms, and he did . When she kissed him, she opened her soul to him for the first time. Pulling her mouth away from his, she framed his face in her hands and said...
" yes. I understand" ... It was the exact same thing Tarzan had said to her earlier . But what made it so special was that she DID understand, totally and completely. Her heart would never be the same. Tarzan was inside now and forever.
" PEOPLE, PEOPLE, take it inside before I have to arrest my partner and my good friend for " Uhhhhh, Indecent necking in a public place" Sam tried to laugh at his joke ,but his face was still a funny shade .
" Tarz, you might as well ride to the station with us" Sam stated as he opened the back door to the car. " I don't imagine there is anyway to talk you into going home is there?" Sam was starting to understand his friend well.
Tarzan did not answer, he just gave Sam a stare.
" I will wait for you outside the station" Tarzan told Jane as he kissed her softly. He hated cars almost as much as he hated shoes. With a final look at Jane, Tarzan reached for the guttering that ran up the side of the bakery across from the liquor store and started upwards.
"Not bad partner" Sam tried to joke, " your own personal bodyguard"
Jane stood, watching Tarzan climb over the top ledge of the building, knowing he would not leave until she and Sam were in the car.
" NO Sam, not bodyguard. Tarzan is my mate" Jane said softly. As soon as the words left her, she felt a strange beat in her chest, as if she had two hearts. Looking up, Tarzan's head came back over the building ledge and he had a huge smile on his face. As they stared at each other, Jane felt the 2 heartbeaks synchronize and beat as one... she smiled back at Tarzan, she finally understood...and Tarzan knew it.
Jane was very quiet on the way to the station, occasionally glancing at the roof tops, trying to spot Tarzan. She knew he was up there, running the rooftops , just as she knew he would be waiting for her when she and Sam finished the paperwork at the station.
" Sam" Jane spoke his name quietly, then turned to look at his face " how did Tarzan kill Corkscrew?" she asked
" Jane, I don;t think..." Sam did not get to finish his sentence before Jane stopped him
" Sam, HOW did Tarzan kill Corkscrew ?" Jane asked again, her eyes watching his face.
" he ripped his throat out...with his bare hands"
...came the quiet reply