Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. No copyright infringement of publicly recognizable characters, products or services is intended.

A/N: No notes just prose.

Chapter 5: Fits and Starts

Carlton was long gone by the time she reached the road. There were a handful of side streets between the coffee shop and the building that Beatriz had pointed to. Juliet drove slowly along the main road that connected each of them, hoping to catch a glimpse of his movement from the shadows.

When she turned up nothing, she pulled the car to a park along the curb of the main roadway and let it idle as she allowed her eyes to comb the streets for any sign of him. From the rearview mirror, she could see a large white truck sitting parked alone under a dying streetlight. A few yards behind it, a homeless man mined the sidewalk for a treasure of faded pennies and trampled cigarette butts. Across from her was the building that Beatriz had pointed to; a rundown diner, sitting alone in a forgotten shopping center. The lights of the building slowly faded to black; underscoring the harsh reality that it was much too late for either of them to be caught up in a fool's errand.

Juliet glanced down at the faint green lights of the car's in-dash clock. It was well past midnight. The realization set a sharp pain into her shoulder blades. She brought a hand up to massage it away.

"Come on, Carlton," she sang, leaning into the pressure of her massaging fingers.

She turned her attention to another street. Her eyes combed the shadows unit they caught a dark figure moving in the distance, steadily approaching her. It seemed tall and slender, trotting with purpose. As it drew nearer, the shadows retreated enough to reveal Calton's pale and glossy face.

He staggered towards her, his ragged breath echoing through the empty street.

Juliet rolled down the passenger's window and leaned towards him. "Carlton," she yelled, her voice bouncing from streetlight to streetlight.

Carlton slowed at the sound then glanced around him as if trying to find where she was. His eyes settled onto the car. "O'Hara?"

"Are you crazy? Why did you run?"

Carlton looked as if he would speak but then doubled over, still winded. "Whose car is that," he managed, pressing his hands to his knees and gasping for air.

"You took the keys!"

Carlton slowly straightened, patted his pockets then paused with a frown. "Oh ..."

Juliet pulled herself closer to the passenger's window. "Why did you take off alone-And for Heaven's sake, why did you run? Clearly the car was faster!"

He didn't answer her. He only stared at the ground, looking like a basset hound who'd been caught nosing through the kitchen trash. His face was an unhealthy shade of white, his chest rose and fell rapidly.

Juliet settled a hand over the pain in her neck and sighed. "Okay, so we're here. What now?"

Carlton's eyes came up to meet hers. He started to speak but stopped, suddenly. His gaze moved past her and locked onto something in the distance.

Juliet felt a familiar sense of dread rush over her. She'd seen that look too many times before. This time, it gave her a chill.

She turned to survey the area around her. Everything was as she had observed; the truck, the buildings, the dimly lit parking lot. She squinted into the shadows and caught what looked like two figures in the dull glow of the shopping center's parking lot. It was hardly more than a tangle of shadows but it looked as if one figure was atop the other.

She turned back towards Carlton who had taken off towards the scene, his lanky figure already a distance away.

"What did I just say," she groaned before whipping the car into drive and speeding off after him.

It took only moments to arrive on the scene. In one fluid motion, Juliet had unholstered her weapon and leapt from the vehicle before the assailant had time to react.

She called a warning out into the darkness.

The figure glanced back towards her then ran quickly into the shadows of the vacant lot.

Juliet closed in on the scene, pausing to stoop next to the person on the ground; a blonde woman lying limp on the cement. The woman's neck was red, her eyes were pinched closed. Her pulse beat smoothly beneath Juliet's fingers and fueled her on towards the assailant hiding somewhere in the darkened parking lot.

Juliet trained her eyes on the darkness, her weapon fixed on the slightest movement inside of every shadow.

The parking lot was a modest size. It was surrounded almost entirely by a large brick wall and though it was dimly lit, it was not so dark that it could completely mask a full-grown adult.

She moved her attention to a small, dilapidated car. It was a rusted clunker that didn't look as if it had been disturbed. All of the doors were locked, the windows secure.

Juliet leaned back to glance at the undercarriage.

Nothing.

She slowly approached the vehicle, her eyes gazing cautiously through the dim windows to the darkened seats.

Nothing there either. Where was this guy?

She moved around to the trunk of the car, pulling carefully against the latch; her gun trained for the slightest hint of surprise.

The trunk was locked. It was like the suspect had vanished into thin air.

Footsteps padded behind her, accompanied by the faint echoes of shallow breaths.

Juliet kept a suspicious eye on the car but turned her attention back to where she had left the blonde-haired woman.

Carlton was standing just feet from her. His hands rested limply at his sides; his face was pained and eyes were drooping in a look of complete defeat.

Juliet took a half step towards him. "Did you call this in?"

Carlton didn't respond. He just stared in a half-daze.

"Carlton," Juliet shouted, watching her partner snap to attention. "She's alive but she's going to need medical attention. Now focus!"

Carlton looked at her, blinking rapidly as if trying to translate what she had just said.

"Call for backup," Juliet repeated and watched him until he pulled out his radio, pressed it to his lips and recited detailed police code into the receiver as if he had put himself on autopilot.

Juliet let her eyes fall back to the car.

The suspect had to be in there somewhere. Maybe he had closed the trunk in the hopes of buying time. But if so, how could he have gotten in so deftly?

She had heard nothing but the sound of her own voice. She had seen nothing but the figure running into the darkness. There was nowhere to go, how could he not be here?

What was she missing?

A metallic clack followed by a dull thud, rose from behind her.

Juliet turned quickly, gun aimed in the direction of the noise.

Just behind her was the limp body of the blond-haired woman and the crumpled form of her partner lying unconscious next to her.

Juliet raced towards him, scanning the area for yet another suspect. In the distance, she could hear the sirens from the first responders and was relieved that backup was on the way.

She positioned herself so that she could keep an eye on the street and the dim parking lot then knelt at Carlton's side. She checked his pulse, it was racing. She rolled him gently onto his back and looked him over.

"Carlton?"

She stroked his face, searching for traces of blood or other signs of trauma. She ran her fingers along his hairline and then through his hair.

Nothing.

She patted his face. "Carlton?"

Lassiter grunted softly.

Juliet's heart leapt. She took to patting his cheek again. "Carlton?"

Lassiter grunted once more and began to stir. After several dreadful moments, he forced his eyes into a squint and stared at the sky in wonderment.

He blinked several times then sighed. "Crap," he rasped, closing his eyes again.

Juliet quickly slapped his cheek once more.

"Stop," he moaned, pulling away from her. He pushed himself onto his elbows, glanced briefly around then looked at her, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I didn't just ..."

He didn't bother finishing his sentence. He seemed suddenly repulsed and gathered himself to stand.

Juliet pressed a hand against him. "Whoa, whoa! I think you should stay put for a while."

He pushed against her but easily fell back onto his back again.

"Move," he barked.

"Make me," she teased, more than a bit concerned to be winning this easily.

After several unsuccessful attempts to overpower her, he reared back and glared into her.

"O'Hara!"

Juliet was unmoved. "If you're having trouble getting up, you're going to have trouble staying up."

"I'm fine," he growled.

"Really? How can you be fine one minute and then faint at an active crime scene the next?"

"I didn't faint! I was ..." He paused, obviously running a variety of scenarios through his head. "Accosted."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "By who? Her?" She gestured to the blonde woman next to him.

Carlton slid his attention to the victim. He eyed her carefully, looking at her as if she were a fine painting.

"She's okay," he whispered.

To Juliet it sounded more like a question so she nodded. "She's going to be, thanks to you. No matter how stupid it was for you to not take the car—Twice. We got to her in time."

She took another look at the parking lot, daring the assailant to appear from the shadows.

All was quiet.

An eerie sensation pulsed through her. Everything was like Carlton had described-The blond, the type of attack. It was all there but it made no sense, absolutely no sense. How could he have known?

She allowed her attention to drift back to her partner. He was still regarding the woman as if she might suddenly disappear.

"I lost him somehow," Juliet said, her thoughts drifting back to the assailant. "He dipped into the shadows and then completely vanished just before you came."

Her words barely held his attention. Lassiter was adrift somewhere, lost in whatever thoughts were still cluttered in his mind.

She nudged his arm. "Carlton, I promise you she is not going anywhere. You saved her, okay? Everything's going to be fine."

Carlton glanced at her then shook his head, letting his eyes slide closed as if an image was painted on the inside of his eyelids.

"No ..." He shifted his weight onto one elbow and rubbed a hand over his face. "There's more," he said, sighing and looking at her in a half squint.

"More what?"

Carlton stared at her knowingly.

Juliet's stomach turned. "How do you know?"

His glare was his only response.

Juliet sighed. "Right," she said. "You don't know how you know."

Carlton nodded then grimaced. "Let me up?"

Juliet made room for him to stand, offering him her help and frowning when he accepted it. Once he was at his full height, she looked him over. "Okay, so what really happened just now?"

Carlton shrugged, slowly loosening his grip on her. "Got a little dizzy, I guess." He rediscovered his balance and turned his ear in the direction of the approaching sirens. "Ah crap." His shoulders slumped as he gazed off at the horizon of red and blue lights. "You can't tell anybody about this."

Juliet shook her head. "No, you're definitely getting checked out."

"O'Hara," he whined, turning quickly towards her.

"It's not up for debate, Lassiter."

The first responders pulled along the street; a few patrol cars tailing an ambulance. Juliet holstered her weapon and pulled her badge to direct them towards her.

"I'll take point," she called, turning back towards him. "And when this ambulance parks, I want you checked out or so help me, I'll tell Shawn why you're really afraid of snow globes."

She could feel his glare on her as she continued to direct the cars. It was fierce with a twinge of betrayal but after tonight, she didn't care. Nope, not one bit.

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