A/N: Okay, here's where this "romance" between Mace and Nightshade that all the C.O.P.S. fans talk about on the internet comes into play. If anything is inaccurate, please let me know in your reviews. And don't forget to read and review, instead of just reading. Once again, I'm going without in the review department on this story. Thanks.
Chapter 7
Early the next morning, Nightshade returned to Empire City. She'd been out of town – out of state, rather – to attend her sister's wedding. The whole train ride home, she dreamed of Mace. Her love interest. Not her lover, really; they'd never slept together yet, although that's what she dreamed of on the train.
"Oh, Mace," she sighed happily to herself, "as soon as I tell you of my sister's wedding, we'll be planning one of our own."
At the station, she was greeted by Squeaky Kleen, the Big Boss' limo driver and assistant. He smiled, took her bags and said, "Good morning, Miss Nightshade. I trust you had a good time at your sister's wedding?"
"The best," she replied. "It was such a beautiful affair. Every pew had purple and white roses, every chandelier in the church had porcelain doves hanging from the fixtures. The bridal gown had a twelve-foot train, was ivory, halter and backless. God, but it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever seen. That whole ceremony, standing there in my maid-of-honor gown, all I ever thought about was Mace. I want my wedding to be just like it when he and I get married."
"That won't be for quite awhile, I'll bet," Squeaky replied.
Nightshade was humming the wedding march the whole way from the limo to Big Boss' office. She was picturing her wedding in the future, waltzing down the aisle in her sister's wedding dress, the Big Boss giving her away, kissing Mace passionately as they were declared husband and wife.
But when she arrived, she saw Big Boss and several of his crooks, staring at a piece of paper, Big Boss forlorn and distressed. That picture of Mace and Valerie together at the indoor community pool. They looked up and were startled to see her. Big Boss slammed the picture face down on his desk.
She didn't look impressed. "Well," she said, "this is the warmest greeting I ever had."
"What?" Big Boss said. "Oh, no, Nightshade, it's just that… um… we didn't expect to see you back so early."
"I told you I'd be back this morning." She strutted over to his desk. "My sister and new brother-in-law are flying to Spain as we speak."
She was staring at her colleagues' nervous looks. "All right, either the C.O.P.S. have a plan from the White House to have the headquarters raided, or you're hiding some worse news from me."
"Shall we show her, Big Boss?" Dr. Badvibes whispered.
Before Nightshade could ask, Big Boss handed her the paper. She was looking at the picture of Mace at the pool, on a raft with a woman she didn't even know. She was shocked, horrified, immediately ready to cry. She couldn't even form any words; the only noises she made were little squeaks.
"Her name's Valerie," Big Boss told her. "Though it would've been nice if I learned her last name!" He glared directly at Buttons and Turbo.
Nightshade finally let out a scream that was part horror, part disgust. "All right!" she blurted. "Do you mean to tell me that while I spent my sister's wedding reception talking about my own ceremony, my potential groom has been doggy paddling with this Valerie bitch!" She showed them the picture, pointing at Valerie. "This is the woman Mace is supposedly fucking? When was this!"
"It was taken Friday night," Buttons said. "Berserko an' I discovered 'em while we were goin' fer the Diamond Sun. An' perhaps you should know, Big Boss wants her too, as do I."
"Me too," said Turbo.
"Me too," said Rock Crusher, a muscle-bound crook dressed like a jail inmate.
"Me too," said Dr. Badvibes. "And the rest of you may not be surprised when I win her heart. Beautiful women always go for the brainy types."
"You know what, I want her, too," Nightshade declared. Everyone else looked at her strangely before she screamed, "I want her goddamn HEAD! Seriously, what does this woman have that I don't?" She studied her in the picture. "Besides blonde hair, big boobs, a teeny waist, and legs longer than mine?"
"There's more," Buttons said. "Turbo an' I ran into her again yesterday afternoon while we was at the park's pettin' zoo. She was with Barricade."
"Barricade!" Nightshade spat. "So she was with two C.O.P.S.? God, how many others want her? And what does Mace see in this whore?"
She was determined to find out. She marched out of the office with the picture. Outside the headquarters, she stepped into the limo and requested, "Squeaky, take me back to my apartment!"
In her apartment, she stared at the picture, agonizing over whom to be madder at. She already knew Mace was a cheater, but Valerie looked like one easy woman who would sleep with any man in uniform.
Nightshade went to her bathroom and stared in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her fiery red hair. She wondered how Mace would react if she dyed it as blonde as Valerie's. Would he take her back? She'd also have to get implants to match Valerie's bust size. But she didn't want that. She thought they were unnatural and unsafe. Besides, Mace would probably want the real things over silicone imitations.
She decided to be madder at Valerie. After all, based on what Buttons McBoomBoom revealed, she was supposedly sleeping with Barricade as well. And there would be more C.O.P.S. she'd want, too.
Nightshade rolled the picture up and stuck in an empty vase on the coffee table. "Why that little… SLUT!" She threw the vase, and it hit the wall close to the entertainment center, smashing as she screamed the word "slut." "Bitch! Bimbette!"
She sat on her loveseat and turned on the TV. She decided not to go back to the Big Boss. She was too mad to do any jewel robberies today.
At nine-thirty in the morning, Valerie returned from her date with Sundown. Before she got out of his truck, she gave him a long, lustrous kiss, like the ones she gave at the beach. She smiled, touched the tip of his nose and said, "Last night was the greatest night of my life."
"You're so beautiful," he replied, smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
She stepped out of the van, and Sundown said, "Listen! Perhaps sometime next weekend, I might git some time off. Maybe you an' me can git together with your son to do somethin', just the three of us."
She smiled. "That'd be great," she replied. "And sometime during the summer, I want you and Jeremy to spend some one-on-one time together. Just tell me what you want to do, and when. It'll be a surprise for him."
"I'd love to," he replied. "So, I'll call ya later, okay? See ya." She shut the passenger door and watched him drive off.
She grinned as she walked to the door. What a wonderful idea! she thought to herself. Have Mace, Sundown, Barricade, and any other member of C.O.P.S. who wants me, spend some time alone with Jeremy. We'll see whom he wants me to marry!
She waltzed into the house and loudly announced her presence. That proved to be a big mistake, because she soon saw her irate-looking sister stomping into the front hall.
"Well, it's about fucking time you came home!" Rhonda blasted. "Where the hell have you been all night! We're supposed to go to Karen's to pick out furniture for your new house today!"
Valerie slapped her forehead. "Shit!" she said. "I was so indulged in the sunset and Sundown's company, that it totally slipped my mind!"
Rhonda looked disgusted at Valerie's wet look. "And what the hell happened to your dress? Did you go swimming in it? Your hair looks soaked!"
"I took off my shoes and went in the water, up to just below the dress," Valerie confessed. "I never intended to get it wet, but a wave hit it, and I thought, 'Hell, why not? It's wet already, why not take it further?'" She proceeded to tell her Sundown's reaction, and what they did in the ocean and on the tide.
Rhonda was shocked. "You slept with him, didn't you?"
"Made love on the ocean tide," Valerie corrected. "They're two different concepts. After the beach, we just cuddled in the back of his truck under the stars, nothing major."
"What's the difference? Do you know how much idle gossip you're going to stir up just by getting intimate?"
"Oh, Rhonda, that's just how Mother sounded when I came home late from my senior prom." She went to dry herself off and change clothes. "Look, the longer we argue, the longer we hold Karen up. What time are we supposed be there?"
"She wants us there for eleven. And need I remind you she lives all the way across town, and I gather you haven't had breakfast yet."
"We have plenty of time. Honestly, Rhonda, sometimes you get worked up over nothing!"
An hour later, they were at their sister Karen's house, crowded around her computer, looking at the many furniture items on her business website. They'd started with the living room, looking at couches, easy-chairs and loveseats, and tables.
Karen talked Valerie into getting a leather couch. "Rhonda showed me the house you wanted yesterday," she said. "I just looked at that blue living room, and thought leather seating would be perfect for that atmosphere."
Valerie looked over the couches. She chose metal arms and legs to the wooden ones. She looked at the various color options – black, white, red, yellow, orange. None of these colors matched the "under the sea" atmosphere of that room. Royal blue would definitely blend in with the carpeting, and purple would look just awful. She didn't want to repaint the walls or install new carpeting. She decided on a lighter shade of blue. She asked, "Do you have these in sky blue, or fluorescent or metallic blue? I think it'd be just right for the Atlantis feel."
"Yeah, Rhonda mentioned that, didn't she?" Karen laughed. She clicked on the color availability link, and a list appeared in a new window. There was the sky color, among the blues and light greens in a 40-color palette.
"Excellent!" Valerie declared. "I'll take that for the couch and the matching loveseat! How much will it cost?"
Both of her sisters laughed. "You're family, Valerie," Karen said. "Of course it's going to be all paid for by me!"
They looked at coffee and end tables next. "Wood simply will not do in a living room like this," Karen advised. "Metal legs are the way to go here. The question is, would you like a metal or glass surface?"
"Metal surface," Rhonda answered. Valerie glared at her, but she said, "Sorry, sis, but if Jeremy bumps into the table by accident, he just might take the glass out, and send it shattering on the rug."
"He's ten years old," Valerie protested. "He can walk properly now. It's not like when he was four, and totally accident-prone."
"Still, we can't take any chances," Rhonda replied. She said to Karen, "And we want metal surfaces for the end tables, too."
"Gold, silver or bronze?" Karen asked.
"Gold, please," Valerie replied. "That reminds me of the same treasure found buried at the bottom of the ocean. Jeremy will love that."
Rhonda rolled her eyes. "You're just obsessed with the sea theme in the living room, aren't you? I'm sure company will be really impressed."
"Please!" Valerie retorted. "It's not as if people will get up to use the bathroom every five minutes when they're in there."
"Let's move on to the dining room," Karen suggested. "Now, for a room so small in a house with only two residents, I strongly recommend a round table five to six feet in diameter. And, depending on the company you may have over for dinner, at least four chairs around it." She looked at Valerie. "Uh, not to butt into your personal life, but Rhonda told me you're romantically interested in several members of C.O.P.S. Do any of them have any kids, by any chance?"
"Only Longarm and Blackbelt do, and they're already taken," Valerie replied. "The rest didn't even have a date to the picnic, never mind a spouse. Unless some of them are divorced or single dads, in which case, Barricade and Sundown never mentioned it to me. Mace just has to be childless; it was just the two of us back at his place. I'll have to ask them when I see them next."
"Fine then, we'll just order more chairs as time progresses." They chose a table with chrome-colored metal legs and an oak-finish surface that wasn't real wood, and a set of four brown vinyl chairs. Karen clicked on the bedroom section next. "Now, for Jeremy, I'm already choosing a small bed, metal, with bars on the bottom welded to the sides." She showed her sisters the model, and Valerie was impressed.
"That would be more convenient," she said. "Remember that old wooden bed I had for years? The boards underneath started falling out, and it wasn't long before it finally collapsed."
"And for your room, would you like a king-size bed or a queen-size?"
"Queen-size would be wonderful," Valerie answered. "And if it's not too much trouble, would you also look into purple pillows, lilac bedsheets and a dark purple quilt to match the color of the room?"
"Sure can," Karen said. "And what do you think Jeremy would like?"
"Something colorful, but not babyish," Valerie replied. "Maybe ocean wave stripes in a wild array of colors, if you have it. He'll really go for it. And how about some dark-colored bedsheets, maybe blue and purple stripes?"
"Dark bedsheets?" Rhonda repeated. "Valerie, he may have some development problems, but I doubt that he still wets the bed at his age." She turned to Karen. "I'm sure white sheets will be just fine."
Karen went to the bedroom section and selected the linens, quilts and pillows. She chose two "air mattresses" for both beds. "Here," she said, "you'll have enough body support to help get a good, comfortable night's sleep, so you don't toss and turn, and wake up with back and side pains."
"You're so sweet, sis," Valerie replied. "Thank you."
Karen returned to the furniture section. "And desks. Jeremy will need a desk for doing art projects and homework assignments."
"No white surfaces," Valerie requested. "Jeremy will never be able to take nice care of it. If we had him clean the ink marks and other stains every week, he'd easily forget the routine."
She saw a wooden desk with a slanted surface. Like the dining table they chose, it wasn't real wood. It looked just like the dining table, too – chrome metal legs with a "cherry oak" surface. "That's perfect. At least he won't mark it up too badly." She cleared her throat. "What about computer desks?"
"We'll get to that when we look at computers," Karen promised. "Right now, let's look at furniture for the den in the basement."
She, Rhonda and Valerie were attracted to a sofa and easychair ensemble made of dark blue polyester. "The best look for any recreation room with a bar," Karen declared. "And we'll also need a recliner." She found one made with red leather, with the seating made from white and blue felt. She also chose blue and purple throw pillows for the sofa, and matching coffee and end tables with metal legs and steel surfaces.
"Okay, that takes care of furnishings," Karen said. "Let's move on to electronics. Now, for the living room, I think a 24-inch color TV would be perfect."
Nightshade stared at the picture of Mace and Valerie. Her sweetheart, philandering with a woman she knew nothing about, except that she looked like a bikini model. She wanted to meet her now. But where did she live? And where was she now? What was her last name, even?
She decided to look for anyone who might know her, and ask them. "It's better than calling," she said to herself. "I could take all week."
Outside her apartment building, she stopped various passers-by, showed them the picture and asked the same question: "Do you know anything about the woman in this picture?" After a good look, the people would shake their heads.
As she strolled down the sidewalk, she showed more people the picture and asked about Valerie. She even showed it to drivers as she crossed streets. She went up and down streets, looking for anyone who may have information about Valerie Boston. But no one knew anything about her.
She looked out at the streets for any police cars. She hoped she didn't see Bulletproof or any of the other C.O.P.S., especially not Mace. She was still mad enough to smack him. And the others could arrest her just for walking the streets. She didn't want either. All she wanted and needed was a chance to know Valerie. She asked twenty more people, showing them the picture. But she still wasn't getting anything.
She found herself standing outside Ocean Moon Apartments. She sighed and said to herself, "She must be new in town." She went inside and saw at a bunch of intercom buttons that contacted certain apartments. She read all the numbers and occupants' names, picking some out at random. She decided to start with the apartment numbered 416. Beside it read the name, Laird, Teresa.
She took to the elevator to the fourth floor, staring at the picture. Her desire to know "the other woman" intensified. She said to herself, "I wonder where this woman works. Maybe this Teresa Laird lady works with her. Whatever, I hope I hit paydirt with this one."
Nightshade stepped off at her floor and walked straight to the door marked 416. The even-numbered doors were on her right. When she arrived, she rang the doorbell and flashed the picture at the door. She wanted Teresa to notice it as she met her.
She heard Teresa's voice from inside her apartment. "Who is it?"
"Ms. Laird?" Nightshade called. "My name is Rafaella Diamond, better known as 'Nightshade.' I come seeking information about a strange woman in the picture I have here. May I speak with you, please?"
Teresa unlocked her door and answered, bathrobe-clad. Nightshade gave her the picture and said, "I'm wondering if you have any information about the blonde woman in that photograph. I know that her first name is Valerie, but I need to know more, specifically her last name and current address."
Teresa immediately became surprised and excited. She knew about both the picture models. She grinned, took Nightshade in and said, "I'm so glad you came to me, Ms. Diamond. The woman in the picture is Valerie Boston. She just moved here from Indiana. She's a project manager for Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency here, where I'm secretary."
She grinned and thought to herself, I can't believe Valerie is sleeping with Sergeant Colt "Mace" Howards. I can't wait until Nightshade leaves so I can call everyone.
Nightshade took a taxi back to her apartment. The whole way home, she'd been pondering over whether to call Valerie, or make an impromptu visit to her house. She desperately wanted to tell about her romance with Mace.
She decided to wait until evening, and go to her house. She put the address and phone number in her pants pocket. She never returned to the Big Boss' headquarters. Instead, she spent the afternoon lying on her sofa, thinking of the times she and Mace shared.
She thought about that case they investigated together – a robbery at a charity ball. This was after he'd arrested her for abducting her sister. The same sister whose wedding she just lived through. Probably the fondest memories she had of the romance blossoming involved her "knockout lipstick." He kissed her while she was behind bars, and they knocked each other out. When they came to, he smiled at her, gave her loving glances, and she knew that he wanted her love. Later on, probably in another case, he put on her lipstick and kissed a rottweiler that had them cornered. She laughed when he did that.
From then on, they shared some very happy, romantic times – long walks on the beach at the sunset, romantic evenings at the opera and theater, cuddling at their apartments with a romantic movie. Many times when they went dancing, they would dance to a slow song – maybe two – by themselves on the floor as other patrons watched, like they were already married. They'd even gone swimming in the pond at the Empire City Park one time late last summer. And the gifts they'd given each other, especially the previous Christmas, when he gave her a pair of crystal earrings and peppermint-scented perfume. This whole year, he'd been making her feel special. Nightshade had even been thinking of leaving Big Boss and changing her criminal ways, only for Mace.
But for a few weeks now, Mace had been acting strange around her, so cold and distant. She couldn't understand him, or why he was acting this way. She started going back to Big Boss and his gang, not for assignments, but for advice and comfort. But she believed there was still hope, why else would she fantasize about their potential wedding? All she could think about was how much she loved him, never imagining life without him.
Now she was staring at a picture of her beau with another woman on a raft in a swimming pool. Was this a sign that it was really over? Nightshade didn't want to believe it.
"No," she said. "Don't despair, Nightshade. He still loves you. He wants to marry you, not her! Just tell her about your love for him, and she'll dump him like shit out of someone's ass."
That evening, Nightshade took a transit to Rhonda's house. She got off just three houses away, walked to her front door, and rang the bell. Minutes later, Rhonda answered, shocked to see her.
"Nightshade!" she cried. "Listen, bitch, if you think you're here to raid through my jewelry box…"
"I'm not," Nightshade replied. "I want to speak with Valerie Boston. I have something very important to tell her."
Rhonda reluctantly let her in, and said, "She's in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner dishes." Nightshade went straight to the kitchen. Caleb and Nicole were at the dining table. They immediately rushed into the living room when they saw her.
Valerie was drying the last of the cutlery. After she put it away, she turned and noticed Nightshade. She looked at the picture she was holding and gasped.
"Are you that cop-handling jezebel, Valerie Boston?" Nightshade asked.
"Who are you calling a jezebel?" Valerie replied. "I'm a professional career woman."
Nightshade pointed at the dining table. "Sit down, we need to talk."
They sat across from each other, Nightshade giving Valerie evil glares. Valerie took the picture from her and stared at her horrified reaction to seeing Buttons and Berserko. Nightshade studied her. Valerie looked just as horrified as her "caught on film" look.
"So, that was you with Mace in that picture, wasn't it?" Nightshade asked. "What, you still upset that your privacy was invaded? If I hadn't stopped by to see the Big Boss, I would've never known Mace was cheating on me like that!"
"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked.
"For the past year," Nightshade explained, "Mace and I have been sharing a romance." She told her about the kiss they shared while she was imprisoned, and the robbery she helped him foil. She told of their activities over the year since, the affections he'd showed her, the gifts he'd given her, even their talks about getting married. She said, "I was starting to reform my ways as a jewel thief, even planning to leave Big Boss. But lately, Mace has been acting like I'm from fucking Mars, and it doesn't help that you're fucking him!"
Valerie gave a dazed look, then a snicker escaped her, which turned into boisterous laughing. Nightshade gave a deeper glare. She knew she was not joking about her intentions to repair her romance with Mace. But Valerie thought this concept was unbelievably funny.
"Yeah, tell me another one," she laughed. "A jewel thief sharing love with a member of the SWAT team. The bad and the good colliding on the wings of love. That's fucking rich!" She calmed down a little and said, "Listen, sweetie, I don't buy that story for one minute. You can't possibly convince me that Mace has been falling hard for you, and you're converting your ways as a result. What's next, Mace can also turn a lesbian woman straight? Impossible, and so are your little romantic claims."
Nightshade slammed her hand on the table. "If you think I'm joking, go ask Mace for yourself. He'll say that he loves me, and he was just using you for sex!" At least, I hope he's just using her for sex, she thought.
"Or he'll say that your romance was a fluke, and it's really me he wants," Valerie said. "Which, according to logic and common sense, is pretty likely."
Nightshade stood up and glared down harder at her. "Oh, so you want to be a smart-ass little bitch, huh? Well, it just so happens that I have some colleagues of my own that will be very interested in your love themselves. Maybe that will persuade you to back off and leave Mace to me!"
She grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house, down the street. Behind her, Valerie can hear her sister, niece and nephew's pleas and cries.
"Nightshade!" Rhonda yelled. "Where the hell are you taking Valerie?"
"Let her go!" Caleb called. "Bring her back!"
"What are you going to do with her!" Nicole cried. "Please don't kill her, I'm begging you!"
"No, I won't!" Nightshade called back. "I'm taking her to a place where I can talk some sense into her! And don't you dare get those damn C.O.P.S. involved, you hear?" She said nothing more and whispered to Valerie, "One noise, and I'll see that you never speak again, understand?"
As they walked down the street, Nightshade took out her cell phone to call Big Boss. "Please have Squeaky pick us up at the end of Ravenell," she requested. "I have the woman you all want to see." When she got off, she asked Valerie, "Oh, and before I forget, do you mind telling me about your little fling yesterday with Barricade? That sounds a little sluttish, if you ask me."
"Mace, Barricade and Sundown all called to ask me out on dates, all out of the blue," Valerie said. "What was I supposed to do, turn them down? They wanted me! And another thing, how did you know where Rhonda lived?"
"If that's any of your business," Nightshade answered spitefully, "I went around Empire City asking people about you. No one seemed to know. Luckily, I met Teresa Laird in her apartment. She says she works with you at this place called Lancer and Sussex. She immediately identified you and Mace in that picture I showed everyone, and gave me all the dirt on you!"
Valerie groaned. Damn that Teresa! she thought. Now she's going to tell everyone that I was with Mace Friday night. I'm so going to kill her tomorrow morning. If Matt tells her I was with Barricade yesterday…
Big Boss' limo met the women at the end of the street. Nightshade opened the back door, threw Valerie in, then got settled herself. Squeaky drove them to the organized crime headquarters.
Will Valerie accept potential dates with Big Boss and his gang? Is the romance between Mace and Nightshade over for good? Tune in next chapter. :P