"Me too. We'll take another stab at Jun-Thai's file; see if he owns a pier ten. Or if he doesn't see which ones he does have access to and see if we can get there before ten. And I'll check in with the sketch artist; see if I can get a composite on the guy I saw with Jun-Thai. If we're lucky maybe he's in the system."
Bobby wanted to ask her how she had managed to focus on getting a description of the guy but decided that to ask such a question would be going to a place he wasn't ready for. She didn't say anything about the incident either so he figured she was feeling some of the same emotions he was.
So after driving in silence for a while they both came up with the same plan. They pretended that they had been acting the whole time, although neither one of them believed it for a minute.
Alex decided that she was going to have to say something to Bobby about the episode before they got to the precinct. To not say anything would surely cause more awkward feelings to fester. She couldn't have any weirdness between them, well any more weirdness. People were bound to notice if they suddenly started acting all fidgety around one another. Plus it wasn't good for their work relationship. They needed to be 100% comfortable with each other and left unresolved this issue would fester until it blew up and became a bigger deal than it already was. She knew it was up to her; as a rule guys were pretty bad at this sort of thing. So as she pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine she resolved to say something, but what?
When in doubt use humor, I always say, her inner voice piped up to coach her.
They began walking towards the door when she coughed slightly to get Bobby's attention. He turned to her with a question in his eyes.
"About what happened back there," she began.
He couldn't believe she was going to bring it up. She had guts. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it; in fact he knew he wasn't. But he nodded at her anyway. Best to listen to what she had to say and play off of whatever that was. To his surprise she smiled at him.
"You definitely didn't pull any punches, did you?"
He looked down at the ground, feeling guilty.
"But don't worry, I'm not mad." His head shot up.
"You're not?" Not that he wanted her mad or anything; it was more of an automatic response. She shook her head.
"No, I'm not. Big girls don't get mad, they get even."
He grinned in relief. That sounded exactly like a comment Alex would usually make, assuring him that things were working themselves back to normal already. They had reached the door and he held it open for her but she paused before going through and looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Just remember one thing."
"What's that?"
She leaned in and placed a hand on his coat lapel, stroking the length of the fabric. She followed the movement with her eyes and looked up at Bobby with a smug smile. He had been watching her hand in fascination, unable to believe that she was flirting with him.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold. You're going to get yours."
He covered her hand with his own and squeezed it for a moment before leaning into her personal space and allowing his hand to drop back to his side. He gazed into her eyes for a moment and then whispered gently.
"Promise?"
She laughed. He definitely kept her on her toes, that's for sure. Shaking her head she walked through the door and called for the elevator. She was still smiling when she noticed her reflection in the door.
"Oh my god!"
Startled, Bobby turned to face her.
"What's the matter?"
She pointed to their reflection.
"Look! We're both still in costume. I can't go in there dressed like this…I'll never hear the end of it."
"Do you have any extra clothes in your car?" he asked.
She thought for a moment and then shook her head no. He shrugged out of his suit coat and held it up for her to put on. She couldn't believe her eyes. She knew he was wearing a simple black T-shirt underneath but she didn't realize that the makeup he was sporting on his hands went up the length of his arms. She wondered if had covered his entire torso in it and had to bite her tongue to keep from asking.
"What about you?" she protested.
"What about me?" he countered.
"Aren't you worried what people will think of the makeup?"
"No, not really. I'll just go into the bathroom and wash it off when I get a chance."
She nodded and accepted his coat with gratitude. Thankfully it went past her hips so she didn't have to worry about people staring at her ass all night. She knew she looked pretty weird but it was the preferred alternative by far. As they got into the elevator she took off her mask and put it up her sleeve. She would deposit it in one of her desk drawers as soon as she got a chance.
They rode up in silence and made their way over to their desks in much the same way. Alex was grateful that Bobby got more of the looks than she did. When she saw that Deakins was on the phone in his office she took the time to assemble all of the information she had on Jun-Thai into one place and then she called down to the sketch artist and set up an appointment for the next day.
The Captain came out and did a double take at their appearance, slowing his pace as he walked over to their desks. He stood between the two so he could address them both.
"What the…? Oh right. I forgot where you two were when I called."
"So what do you have for us, Captain?" Alex asked.
"Well it seems that one of the girls may be the goddaughter of some high ranking Chinese official. Her parents had received a letter from her about six months ago saying that she had just had her baby and was moving. She said she'd write again once she got settled but warned them that it might take a few months to find a place. So they waited and then contacted this official who called in a favor and was told about the discovery of the bodies. We faxed over a photo to the Hong Kong PD and now the parents and this official are coming over to see if they can id the body. They'll be here by tomorrow night."
"What's this girl's name?" Alex questioned. Deakins consulted the sheet in front of him, scanning the page until he came across it.
"Here it is. Mai-lin Qialong."
Bobby held out his hand for the paper and read it while Deakins kept talking to Alex.
"So did you guys turn up anything useful tonight?"
Besides our body heat? Alex thought and looked over at Bobby who glanced up at her but quickly looked back down at the sheet and put his fist to his mouth as if he were in deep concentration. The captain might buy that but Alex knew it was a ploy.
"Yeah, actually. Jun-Thai has a meeting with an unknown male tomorrow morning at ten on one of his piers. Or it's on pier ten, we're not quite sure. It was really hard to make out what they were saying."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bobby's lips twitch when she used the words "make out" and she knew he was fighting amusement. She vowed to ignore him and kept talking.
"So we're going to scan through the contents of his file and see what we can dig up. Hopefully we'll be tailing him first thing in the morning."
"And there were no problems?"
She shut her mental voice up before it got a chance to think anything.
"No problems."
"Well I'm glad something came up on this case. It's about time."
Now she was the one fighting amusement.
"Same here Captain. I'm glad something came up while we were there too."
Bobby made a strange choking sound and proceeded to cough.
"You okay?" the Captain asked. He waved his concerns away.
"Sorry about that. Sounded like I had a hairball almost, didn't it? I forgot that I had this makeup on and I licked my finger to turn the page."
Deakins nodded and went back to his office. When he was out of earshot Bobby looked up at her and grinned.
"You're bad, you know that, right?"
She feigned shock and innocence.
"Who…me? I'm not the one who was having a hard time keeping a straight face when I said 'make out.'"
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Disclaimer: In the criminal justice system, no one owns these characters. And yet these are *their* stories. Go figure.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for those of you who have been reading this, and have sent me encouragement in the past month. You are all appreciated! Thank you's are below:
Solarn19—Nonsense! I think you're good at reviews….I enjoyed yours very much! Thank you for putting aside your doubts and writing me! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Aria—Okay, okay, okay! No problem!
Thermy—Hey, no problem! Sorry I didn't have more waiting for you when you got back from your vacation. And your review? Too sweet! Really, it was so nice and wonderful and left me glowing for a nice long time. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Kahliaa—Well thanks! I'm so glad you're finding it worth your time! Hope this chapter satisfies as well!
MsVinD—Well if you're lucky maybe you can dream about Goren and it'll be one of those dreams that feels so real you can't tell the difference. I hope that helps! Thanks for reviewing!
Aria—Awww, well thank you! I really appreciate your feedback, especially given that you don't like unfinished fics. I have this weird thing about length of fics I read myself and I try not to break it so I understand where you're coming from. Thank you again!
A.Rowan—That was such a nice review to read! I'm glad you don't think I'm writing them too out of character, that means a lot! Thanks!
Zoiy Grockle—No you haven't and even if you did tell me I'd never get sick of hearing it! So thank you! Thank you!
Leena—I'm glad you like long fics because this one is shaping up to be a doozy! Thank you for your encouragement!
MagentaLee—I'm happy to oblige you. Just let me know which chapter names are confusing and I'll explain where I came up with them! Thanks for writing!
Autumngold—I know I would pretty much pass out if I was in Alex's shoes, that's for darn sure! Thank *you* so much for reading and reviewing, never mind me updating! Your review made me smile, so thanks!
Meredith Paris—Hey Mere! *waves hi back* Sorry to hear that I'm evil, but it's too much fun for me to even think of considering another path. Your feedback especially is always welcome. Glad I've managed to hold your interest in the story this long!
QuasiAngel—No way! You never told me that but I certainly do appreciate it! *bear hugs back* Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Chloe6—My head is already too large, and your review is not helping! It was such a treat to see it in my inbox! Thank you for taking the time to send it to me! I appreciate it!