1.35am Melrose
As the rain dripped icy fingers down the back of his neck, plastering his hair slick to his scalp, Steve Sloan shivered miserably. To a California boy born and bred, temperatures dipping below 20 degrees equalled arctic, and he sure as hell wasn't used to all this rain. Tossing his partner a momentary glance, he guessed that Sergeant Tanis Archer shared his torment. Like him, her shoulders were hunched and from what he could see of her face, hidden deep inside the police issue waterproof, he was sure she wasn't smiling. Steve sighed, another endless night on the street and still no respite from this god-awful weather!
El Nino had struck. Viciously and inexplicably the Monsoon season had hit LA and the New Year had blown in a storm. First had come the brooding storm clouds, dark, malevolent vultures circling their prey. Then came the thunder. Grumbling, growling, building to a crescendo, it had been oppressive, a contracting band of pressure that had squeezed the city tight. Finally the release - silver forks of lightening had speared the heavy clouds, viciously unleashing their contents on to the fearful city below.
And so Los Angelenos had been confined to their homes, sheltering from Mother Nature as she did her up most to wipe their city from the map. The weather reports obsessed a Nation. Instead of the usual holiday cheer, Doomsday cults had heralded the Apocalypse. The world had gone mad and LA's people were afraid. Steve sighed - A Happy New Year? Not this time.
The city was strange, deadly; familiarity turned alien in the blink of an eye. Sidewalks were rivers, stray garbage greedily sucked away, in equal parts tossed and caressed by the currents. PCH was at a standstill, vehicles abandoned to a watery grave. Schools and offices were empty. The lucky ones long fled to relatives out of State, those who remained, stayed indoors to wait out the storm.
For the men and women of the emergency services there could be no such escape. At Community General Hospital, doctors and nurses stretched to exhaustion, administered care and counsel in equal measure. Ignoring the left over sparkling baubles and Christmas lights that still festooned the wards, they worked long into the night, helping those they could, lamenting those they could not.
On the streets, Police Chief Masters, fearing looting and civil unrest, had placed LA's finest on tactical alert. Even those long since graduated from uniform patrol had been called into the breach. And so for the last two nights, Lieutenant Steve Sloan and Sergeant Tanis Archer had pounded the beat.
Steve appreciated the gesture, but so far spending New Years preventing one petty thief from breaking into 'Barney's Auto shop' and booking a B list celebrity for curb crawling, justified neither the risk of pneumonia nor the waste of shoe leather. With the number of unsolved homicide cases still cluttering his desk, he was just too old, too experienced and too cynical to appreciate wasting his time like this. But as long as his help was required, he'd be there doing the job.
Letting loose an explosive sneeze Steve reached irritably for his handkerchief – the fifth time in as many minutes, and blew his nose hard. Beside him Tanis rolled her eyes heavenwards.
'Bless you' she said 'Again'.
'Thank you' he groaned, his voice thick with the cold.
'You know' Tanis said dryly, cocking an eyebrow at him 'you could give us both a break and go back home to bed where you belong.'
'Hey' Steve said, grouchily defensive 'I do not need to go to bed okay; it's just a cold is all.' To his intense irritation he promptly sneezed again. Tanis opened her mouth to respond, but he interjected swiftly, waving off her concern.
'It's nothing, really' he lied easily, wondering as he did so exactly why he found it so hard to admit to being sick.
'Hmmph' she said sceptically.
Hoping to placate her, he pulled another useless lozenge from his coat pocket and stuffed it in his mouth 'See I promise I'll be a good boy and take my medication, okay? ' he said with a shrug.
She gave him a look.
Steve groaned 'C'mon Tanis, enough with the medical exam already, you're starting to sound like my Dad'.
He didn't miss her smirk of amusement. Tanis had worked with him long enough to know exactly what his father was like when it came to his health.
'And how is the good doctor today?' she asked archly, pushing a damp strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
Steve sighed - this was another subject he'd rather avoid 'As stubborn as ever' he admitted ruefully.
Tanis smiled knowingly 'He's still not budging on that whole moving out of the Beach House idea is he?'
'Nope' Steve said dolefully 'Not even an inch'. He rubbed his forehead wearily, his expression one of exasperated bemusement 'Looks like we're gonna be spending New Years up to our necks in water. According to my Dad it's his duty to stay in case anyone needs medical attention'.
'Anyone aside from you?' she asked innocently, a smile twisting at her lips.
'Funny' he replied, pulling a face to let her know he didn't appreciate the humour.
She shrugged nonchalantly 'I try!'
'Mmmph' Steve growled.
As Tanis turned away, an amused smile on her face, she gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. Giving in, Steve finally smiled too, shaking his head resignedly. Momentarily they lapsed into a companionable silence, each lost in thought. As they trudged side-by-side, with the devilish currents tugging at their ankles and a cruel wind whipping at their faces, Steve sighed; the weather sure was a bitch tonight, no wonder most of the holiday revellers had chosen to stay home.
Shoving his hands deeper into his jacket pockets, he gazed morosely at the rain battered streets. The raindrops caught in the hazy streetlights were multicoloured, almost ethereal in their beauty. Another day, another time he just might have stopped and stared, taken a moment to wonder at nature's splendour. But not tonight. Tonight he was wet and tired and cold.
And yet, even in this less than agreeable state, he was acutely aware of the woman beside him. The unnaturalness of their surroundings seemed only to heighten his senses - the vibes of attraction crackling between them were almost tangible in the bitter night air. The romantic side of their relationship was new, they were still feeling their way, but the friendship hadn't changed. The wisecracking banter had continued – the teasing, the joking, the acerbic repartee. Above all she was still the same girl who could and would hold her own with the guys at the station; could hold her own with him. And that was why it worked.
Surreptitiously he stole another glance – of course it didn't hurt that she was also mighty easy on the eye. Even in the rain she looked great. The tendrils of hair framing her face were softened by the dampness of the night air, a contrast to the sharp definition of her cheek-bones and clear blue eyes. Yup, as ever she was looking good. He on the other hand … he sighed, he didn't wanna think about how he looked right now! Gloomily he got out his handkerchief and tried to stifle the latest sneeze he could feel building. If this weather ever let up, maybe he could take her some place smart? He grinned, may be he could really get with the holiday spirit, rent a tux, borrow his father's jag, do the whole romantic bit?
He sneezed
- that is if he didn't catch pneumonia first!
She heard the sneeze, but knew him well enough to let it go this time.
'I am so getting my money back on these boots' she groused instead 'The shop assistant promised me they were water resistant.' She gave him a look 'Think I could arrest her for fraud?'
Steve shrugged 'Worth a shot'.
'Don't tempt me' she said. Making the most of a flash of lightening Tanis checked her watch. What she saw caused her to raise her eyes skywards once more.
'It's 1.40am' she said bleakly, her voice competing with the inevitable roll of thunder that had followed the flash 'How can it only be 1.40am?'
Steve sighed 'Time sure doesn't fly when you're not having fun' he said dryly.
'You got that right' she said
They lapsed into silence again, both concentrating on securing a footing in the treacherously swirling current.
'You know you're welcome to join us if you want' Steve said suddenly
'Huh?' she was confused
'At the beach house' he explained 'New Year's Dinner - me, my Dad, the flood …' he shrugged sheepishly – I know it's not the best way to spend the holidays but …
'I'd love to' she said simply.
They smiled at each other and lapsed into silence once more. As they took the next left, the wind picked up and the rain intensified. Caught by surprise, Tanis struggled to stay on her feet as spray whipped around them. Steve threw out a hand to steady her and she gripped his arm appreciatively.
'I feel like an extra from Titanic' he complained grumpily, blinking the raindrops from his eyes.
'Yeah, and I don't see any lifeboats' Tanis said dryly.
He sighed 'You know' he said irritably 'the last time I checked I'd graduated to homicide. I thought I left the beat behind when I got outta uniform. Right now I feel like I'm back in the academy'.
'You said it' she agreed 'but you know the Chief – he gets twitchy and we all gotta pay'.
Steve nodded. He guessed he could follow the Chief's logic. Despite their current lack of arrests, even now, to his trained eye, the seemingly empty streets were teaming with activity. Prostitutes sheltered in shop doorways, hoping the weather wouldn't limit their number of tricks. Drug dealers lurked in the alleyways, taking advantage of the empty streets to meet in secret, exchanging their noxious substances for cash returns. Gangland bosses continued to operate their vast empires from deep within the smoke filled pool halls and bars that doubled as legitimate enterprise. For those living a life of crime, it was business as usual. No matter how hard it rained, there was no way this city was ever gonna be clean.
Wearily he ran a hand through his sopping hair, wishing he'd bothered to put on a jacket with a hood, and checked the time. 1.45am. Time was standing still, the minute hand of his watch inching with agonising slowness. For a moment he indulged himself in an errant fantasy – blowing off the rest of the shift and crawling into bed to sleep for a least a week. Perhaps he'd even have one of those hot, fruity drinks his father had been whipping up and forcing down him the last couple of days. For appearances sake he'd made a show of not wanting them, but yeah, one of those drinks would go down pretty good right about now. He blew his nose again and groaned– who was he trying to kid? There were at least 3 hours of patrol left before he could even think about sleeping!
'You could go home ya know'
Tanis' voice, suddenly serious, startled him from his reverie.
'What?' he said, turning to her in surprise.
'C'mon Steve' she said 'There's nothing going down here tonight that can't wait until tomorrow. At least one of us could go home and grab a couple extra hours sleep.'
'You go' he said immediately 'I'll finish up here'.
Tanis sighed and shook her head. 'Look Steve' she said patiently 'I'm not the one who's sick ….'
'It's just a …'
'Cold, I know' she said 'But it's gonna be a lot more than that if you don't get out of this rain and get some rest. So for once why don't you stop being so pig headed and admit that you're sick and …...'
'Firstly I am not sick' he said firmly 'and secondly it's not safe for you to be out here alone.'
She looked at him then, eyes suddenly flashing 'But it's safe for you?' she said sharply.
Steve swallowed and set his jaw determinedly 'Safer' he said finally.
Exasperated she threw up her hands 'You know sometimes I don't believe you' she said
'What did I do now?' Steve asked in surprise, tiredness and irritability giving his temper an edge.
'Just when I think you're more enlightened than the rest of the guys, you prove you can be as Neanderthal as the best of 'em!' Shaking her head, she stalked off, leaving him standing alone in the rain.
Steve stared after her 'Tanis wait!' he shouted tiredly. He stood on the sidewalk, watching her disappear into the night, momentarily oblivious to the rain that was soaking through his shoes.
'Tanis, come on!' he called after her 'Can we at least talk about it?'
But she didn't stop and she didn't look back.
He was alone.
To be continued …..