Basic Instinct
The city was still relatively bustling, even in the late evening hours. Vincent casually walked down the streets, trying to blend into the crowd. He kept his hands in his jacket pockets and head low. As he kept a slow pace, his super hearing caught the sound of a struggling heartbeat. Vincent followed the sound to an old alley a few blocks away, and he leaped onto a dumpster and saw a nineteen year old boy laying unconscious under bags of trash, blood dripping down his head.
Hearing the heartbeat slow to a stop, Vincent knew he had to act fast. He carried the kid out and dragged him away from the dumpster, and started CPR until the heart started beating again. He scooped up the boy in his arms and rushed him to the nearest hospital.
Vincent caught a male nurse who stepped outside and set the kid on the gurney, "Blunt trauma to the head." he informed, keeping in the nurse's peripheral vison. "Glasgow coma score of three."
"Page Neuro!" the nurse called into the hospital.
"Pupil is fixed and dilated, probably intracranial bleed, you got it?" Vincent patted the nurse's shoulder and ran across the street, staying only until the boy was wheeled into the ER.
The officers of the 125th Precinct were spread out at the softball park, with Kaitlynn at home plate, bat in hand. She swung and missed, her head rolling back. "Strike two!" Evan called out from the umpire position, taking the ball and tossing it back to Joe.
"Come on, Chandler. Eyes on the ball." Joe coached. "Evan's better than you and he's only ever played cricket."
"Don't listen to him, Kait." KC told her from the dugout. "Just focus."
"What?" Evan shrugged. "I am better than her."
Kaitlynn shot him a glare from over her shoulder. "I will beat you with this bat, Marks." she threatened, turning her attention back to her boss on the pitcher's mound. "Okay. Eye on the ball, elbow up." she whispered to herself, flexing her fingers around the bat.
She swung and missed again. "Strike three!" Evan called again.
"Could you tone it down with the enthusiasm?" she arched her brow, glancing back at him. "It is just a practice people!"
Joe sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Cooper, can you please take Chandler to right field so she can't do any more damage?"
Kaitlynn dropped the bat and took off the helmet, walking with her partner. "Remind me, why did I say yes to this?" she asked, grabbing a glove.
"'Cause they need two girls." KC answered. "And we can't lose to the FDNY for the fifth year in a row."
"Ladies, a little hustle, please." Joe called after them, clapping his hands. "This ain't a nail salon."
Kimberly rolled her eyes, wrapping an arm around her best friend's shoulders, "Listen, you have great hand-eye coordination. You can hit a bull's-eye." she reminded. "You just have to stop thinking."
"I can't help it." Kaitlynn admitted. "There's just too much to remember. Besides, I was a dancer in high school, not a ball player."
"It's like sex." Kimberly chuckled, nudging her friend's side. "There's nothing to remember, you just do it."
Kait rolled her eyes, "At this point, I'd have to think to remember." she groaned.
KC patted her friend's back, "So sad." she shook her head, sympathetically.
"I know." the younger brunette nodded.
Evan was next up to bat and struck the ball on the first swing, sending it flying into the woods at the edge of the park. "I'll get it!" Kaitlynn volunteered, running into the woods.
She carefully slid down the steep incline, digging her phone from her back pocket and used it's flashlight, finding the ball in a small creek. "Did you choke up on the bat?" Vincent asked with a chuckle, startling the detective when he appeared out of the thick trees.
Kaitlynn let out a yelp and almost dropped the softball. "Vincent." she gasped, bracing a hand on her chest. "My entire precinct is right there." she added in a low whisper, walking up to him. "What're doing here?"
"I just found a kid beaten unconscious in a dumpster." he told her. "In an alley off, Avenue D and Second."
"Did you see anyone?" Kaitlynn questioned. "Did you find any evidence that might help?"
Vincent shook his head, "I just got him to the ER as fast as I could."
"Great, okay, I'll follow up." the detective sighed, brushing a few strands of hair from her face.
"Okay." Vincent nodded. "Uh, let me know if I can do anything."
A smile crept across her lips. "Yeah, Sure." she agreed.
"Chandler!" Joe called from the ballpark. "Ball fall in the Hudson?"
"No!" Kaitlynn yelled back. "I used my phone to look for it, then I slipped and dropped my phone."
"Just throw the damn ball!" Joe scoffed.
Vincent cracked a smile, "Here, let me." he offered. Kaitlynn shrugged her shoulders and tossed it to him. He then launched it back into the ballpark.
Kaitlynn's eyes widened, "Hopefully they don't ask me to pitch now." she muttered, glancing to Vincent, who was still smiling. "You must've been a jock in high school."
The older man shrugged his shoulders, "I may have played for a few years." he admitted.
"Okay." the detective chuckled. "Anyway, I should head back. And I'll follow up on the kid. Which hospital did you take him to?"
"New York General." Vincent answered.
"Okay." Kaitlynn nodded, slipping her phone back into her pocket, and turned to leave.
"Hold up." Vincent halted, and Kait turned to face him. He then kicked some water and mud from the creek, splashing her legs, earning a strained shriek from the younger girl.
"What the hell was that for?" she gaped, looking down at her now muddy legs.
He just shrugged again, "You told your boss you tripped. Needed to look it." he reminded with a chuckle.
Kaitlynn couldn't help but giggle, and she rolled her eyes. "See ya, Vincent." she flashed a small smile before returning to the softball field.
After cleaning up from the practice, Kaitlynn and KC walked through the precinct towards their desks. "So, who found him?" KC asked, referring to the young boy at New York General.
"A Good Sam called it in." Kaitlynn answered, pulling her hair into a low ponytail. "I called New York Gen, they're sending over his personals and e-mailing his chart." she slid into her desk chair.
"All right, fine." KC rolled her eyes, taking a seat at her own desk. "But you're not getting out of the game."
Kaitlynn scoffed and pulled up the records from the hospital, "Tommy Holt, age nineteen." she read off from the medical files, while KC went through the belongings that were sent over.
"No phone, wallet's still got cash in it. This wasn't a robbery." the dark-skinned detective noted. She pulled a few pictures from the wallet, all were of a teenage girl with long, curly brown hair. "Ooh, who's this hottie?"
"Girlfriend maybe?" the olive-skinned detective shrugged. "It says on his chart they took him into surgery for a depressive...crane...crani..."
"Decompressive Craniectomy." Evan finished, walking into the bullpen. "It means they took pressure off his brain."
Kaitlynn glanced up at her medical examiner friend, "Think you can translate the rest of this medical terminology?" she asked. "Because I don't understand a word of this."
"So, another thing you don't do well." Evan chuckled, leaning over her shoulder to read the chart.
"Hey, I may binge Grey's Anatomy on occasion, but that doesn't mean I understand every medical thing that goes on." Kaitlynn admitted.
"I only watch it because the actors are hot." Kimberly smirked.
Evan only rolled his eyes in response. "Coma...Periodic discharges on the EEG means this may be a homicide soon. It says possible history of abuse or assault. His x-rays showed his bones have been fractured repeatedly over the last few years."
"Maybe an abusive parent or sibling?" Kimberly guessed, folding her arms over her chest.
Kaitlynn leaned back in her desk chair, "The nurse I talked to said that his dad was on his way over there."
"Well, it sounds like we should get him over here, instead." KC noted, with Kait nodding in agreement.
"They're from fights. Tommy used to get in them a lot." Zachary Holt, Tommy's father, informed the two detectives interviewing him. "With kids at school or around the neighborhood. It's been tough ever since his mom died."
KC handed him a plastic cup of water, leaning into the side of the table, "Mr. Holt, do you mind telling us where you were earlier today?"
"JFK, heading to Baltimore for a story assignment." he answered. "You think I had something to do with this?"
"About those fights, you said that Tommy was 'over that'." Kaitlynn leaned against the end of the table opposite Mr. Holt. "What did you mean by that?"
"My son has severe ADHD, Detective Chandler. When he's not taking his meds, he has no impulse control." Mr. Holt informed. "He's gotten himself in a lot of trouble. Even ended up in a residential treatment program for a year."
"Besides fighting, what kind of trouble did your son get into?" Kait prided.
"Uh, B-and-E's, online gambling." the father listed off.
"Is Tommy off his meds now?" Kimberly arched her brow.
Mr. Holt sighed heavily, looking down at the table. "I don't know." he answered honestly. "I went in his room and saw a brand-new X-box. He was wearing a fancy watch the other day." he continued. "I tried to talk to him, but...he just told me he was working on something that was going to make me proud."
Both Kimberly and Kaitlynn exchanged a glance, noting the genuine distress in the father's tone. "I just wish Tommy would wake up." Mr. Holt shuddered, his eyes welling with moisture.
After they finished interviewing the father, Kaitlynn and Kimberly stood in front of the case board to loop in their boss on what they've got so far. "We have three working theories. One, abusive dad." Kaitlynn informed. "No record, but according to colleagues, he has a reputation of being a hothead. We're following up on his alibi.
"And Wallet Girl is number two?" Joe questioned, looking between the female duo.
"We don't have Tommy's cell phone, so Remy down in I.T. is trying to get access to his e-mail, see if there's any suggestion of a relationship gone bad." KC answered.
"And three, maybe Tommy got himself into trouble again." Kait continued. "We're waiting to hear back from tox to see if he was taking his meds."
"Great." the precinct lieutenant praised. "Chandler, head to the vic's apartment. Cooper, morgue."
Kimberly arched her eyebrow, looking over her shoulder as their boss walked away. "Wait, you're splittin' us up?"
"It's called divide and conquer'." Joe corrected, turning back to face his two detectives. "That way, you can wake up for an early morning practice."
Kaitlynn rested her hand on her hip, glancing to her partner, "Does Joe have money on this game or something?" she scoffed.
"No. Pride." Joe stated. "This about the whole precinct. It's about you, too. Now, be her coach." he pointed to KC, before turning back around and walking into his office, "Go, team." he encouraged before shutting the door.
Kaitlynn sighed and rolled her eyes. She brushed her bangs from her face and saw Catherine walk into the precinct. "Hey Katie, feel like a quick late-night bite?" she asked as she approached her younger sister's desk.
"I wish, Cat. Rain check?" she replied, shrugging on her blue leather jacket. "I just caught this case and have to check out our victim's apartment."
"Well, let me come along with you." Catherine volunteered. "We've put this dinner off twice now in as many weeks."
"We've both been busy." Kaitlynn reminded. "But, if you want, come on. I'll drive."
"Works for me." Catherine smiled, walking out with her sister.
Meanwhile, in the old warehouse, Vincent walked up to the loft and dug through some stockpiled medical supplies. "I am not even gonna ask." J.T. muttered, going back to grading some homework assignments.
"I just found a kid beaten unconscious in a dumpster." Vincent told his friend, while he grabbed a plastic bag and a couple pairs of latex gloves.
"And what?" J.T. shrugged. "You're gonna operate on him? That's cool."
"No, he's at the hospital. Kaitlynn just asked if there was any evidence." Vincent replied, catching a heavy sigh from his roommate. "I'm just helping out Kaitlynn, okay?" he assured, facing his friend. "You know, for once, J.T., I almost feel normal."
J.T. dropped his pen on the table and turned to face Vincent, "Okay, I gotta stop you there. Normal?" he repeated. "Like you could put on a pair of rubber gloves and head off to work for the day?" he added in a sarcastic tone. "Kaitlynn may have you feeling almost normal, big guy, but Muirfield doesn't agree." he reminded. "You are still their experiment that went awry, and they are never going to stop hunting you..."
"Hunting me down." Vincent finished. "Yeah, okay, I get it. You're gonna give yourself an ulcer. I'm gonna go help Kait." With supplies in hand, he left the loft.
"If anything happens to you, that's on her." J.T. called after him, shaking his head and begrudgingly going back to grading assignments.
Kaitlynn parked her car by the curb near Tommy's apartment building, her and Catherine stepping out. "So, will the kid make it?" the older sister asked as they walked down the sidewalk.
"The doctors say it's 50/50." the younger sister answered. "All we can do for now is find out who beat him within an inch of his life and left him for dead in that dumpster. If Tommy dies, you might be looking at murder or manslaughter, all depends on what we find."
"Well, if there was any means of premeditation, it's murder." Catherine reminded. "If the death was unintentional, then it'll be manslaughter."
"Yes, thank you Counselor, but I already knew that." Kaitlynn chuckled, glancing to her sister. When she looked ahead, she saw a black SUV pull up towards them. She quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw two men in suits following them, and another man in a suit waiting just ahead.
"Detective Chandler." a man greeted from the passenger side of the SUV. The window rolled down to reveal Agent Silverfox. "Remember me?"
Kaitlynn stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Agent Silverfox." Catherine noted, stopping next to her sister. "What can we help you with?"
The Muirfield agents started closing in on the two sisters and Kaitlynn instantly tensed up, "Cat, run." she whispered, taking a step forward.
"What?" Catherine asked.
"Run!" Kaitlynn repeated, kicking out her leg at the agent in front of them. She spun on her heels and punched the agent coming up behind her, as the third grabbed Catherine by the arm. "Let her go!" Kaitlynn elbowed one agent's nose and kicked the other back, lunging forward for another one.
The agent tackled her to the ground hard enough to knock her out, while the agent holding Catherine applied just enough pressure to her neck to send her into unconsciousness. The agents scooped up the two sisters and tossed them in the back of the SUV, while one other took the detective's keys and followed his colleagues in her car.
Catherine was the first to come to, and found herself zip-tied to a chair. She looked around frantically, seeing nothing but empty space until her eyes landed on her younger sister, who was in the chair a few inches from her. "Katie." she whispered, nudging her sister's leg with her boot. "Katie, wake up."
A low groan came from the younger sister's mouth as her eyes fluttered open and her head rose, "Oh, son of a bitch." she cursed, the back of her head sore from where it made contact with the ground. She blinked a few times, her vision coming back into focus and noticed they were in some sort of warehouse.
"Where are we?" Catherine asked.
"A warehouse from the looks of it." Kaitlynn answered. "Probably an abandoned one."
"Why would the FBI bring us to an abandoned warehouse?" Cat questioned.
Kaitlynn met her sister's eyes, "They weren't FBI." she corrected.
"She is right." Silverfox confirmed, coming into view. "Sorry for the miscommunication."
Kaitlynn shot the Muirfield agent a narrow-eyed glare. "Kidnapping an NYPD Detective and an Assistant District Attorney off the street, kinda pushes the bounds of the Patriot Act, doesn't it?" she questioned, flipping her hair off her shoulder. "Plus the assault and battery too."
"I do apologize for the physicality, but I knew you wouldn't come easily, Detective." Silverfox stood in front of the younger Chandler sister. "Where is he?"
"Who?" Catherine asked, glancing between the agent and her sister.
Kaitlynn shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know who you're talking about."
"Oh, I think you do." Silverfox corrected, walking around the chair she sat in. "In fact, you're the one who found his cross-species DNA at a crime scene a few weeks ago and called the FBI to report it."
Catherine raised her eyebrow and watched her sister's reaction. "The sample was corrupted. I was wrong." Kaitlynn stated, keeping her emotions in check and being careful not to give anything away, but Catherine could still tell her sister was lying.
"Magna Cum Laude at NYU, with a double Master's in Criminal Justice and Psychology, and top of your class at the NYPD Police Academy." Silverfox listed, "You're not wrong about much, Detective Chandler."
"First time for everything, I guess." Kaitlynn batted her eyes and shot him a fake smile. "Nobody's perfect. God knows I'm not."
The young detective's sarcasm was getting on his nerves, but Silverfox kept his composure and pulled up a chair, sitting opposite Kaitlynn, "I'm not the bad guy here." he stated, bluntly. "I'm trying to protect the citizens of this city. While you're choosing to protect a monster." Kaitlynn rolled her eyes, "And that's what he is. Not a man. A monster." he added.
"Your people sent him off to war to be a killing machine." Kaitlynn reminded, her brown eyes narrowed. "It's ten years later; he's not that anymore."
"Oh, I see your amnesia is clearing up." Silverfox noted.
"Oh yeah, I remember now." Kaitlynn sighed. "You and your Muirfield assassins are the ones who killed my mother."
Catherine's eyes widened, "What?" she gasped, looking between her sister and the older male agent.
"I told you Cat, he's not really FBI." Kaitlynn reminded, glancing to her older sister, "The agency he works for, they're the ones who killed mom." Her eyes then went back to Silverfox. "And that is all she knows about Muirfield. Just let her go, she doesn't know anything else."
"Hmm, see, I don't believe you." Silverfox stated, his eyes meeting Kaitlynn's. "So, Catherine is going to stay, and hear all about the monster her little sister is protecting." He got up from his chair and knelt down eye-level with the young detective. "There are things about him that you don't know, Detective. So, how about you indulge an old man and listen to what I have to say?"
"Indulge this." Kaitlynn spat, before headbutting Silverfox, which sent him stumbling back a few steps.
"Kaitlynn!" Catherine shrieked, watching her sister wince after the blow.
"I'm fine." Kaitlynn assured.
One of the agents from earlier stepped up and handed Silverfox an iPad before leaving again. Silverfox sat back down opposite the two sisters, pulling up some images before showing it to them. "This was an unsanctioned attack on an Afghan village. The population before the attack was 500." he swiped to the next image, which showed the village in ruin. "After the attack...zero."
"Oh my God." Catherine breathed out.
Kaitlynn, on the other hand, just shook her head, "That was what you programmed him to do." she replied, clenching her fists together.
"Is that how you're going to rationalize this?" Silverfox questioned. Kaitlynn looked away from his gaze. "I know it's romantic to think he's some kind of mythological protective Beast, but..." he swiped to the next image, "...how do you explain Simon Holmes? Married. Pregnant wife. Found behind the local bar. Was he not innocent because he chose to have a cocktail?"
The image was a crime scene photo taken about five years ago, of a man laying dead in a parking lot. Catherine couldn't help but stare at the image, while Kaitlynn looked away. "No." the young detective muttered, "That's not real."
"You know it's real because you've seen it!" Silverfox told her, his voice louder and slightly less composed. "He can't control it. Do you really think that we would pour this many resources into finding him if he wasn't absolutely lethal?"
Kaitlynn licked her lips and continued to avoid the narrowed gaze of the older, Muirfield agent, as well as avoiding the look of shock on her older sister's face. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, briefly flashing back to the times she's seen Vincent in his beast form.
Kimberly walked into the morgue, shoving her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "Where is she?" she demanded, looking around.
"The Jane Doe from last night?" Evan questioned, getting up from his desk. "In the freezer next door."
"No. Kait." KC corrected. "I can't find her, and she's not answering her phone."
"Maybe she's cowering in humiliation after that performance at the ballpark earlier tonight." the medical examiner chuckled.
Kimberly shrugged her shoulders, "Possible. Although I had a more salacious theory that I'd walk in and find you two tearing eachother's clothes off on the autopsy table." she added with a smirk, looking to Evan.
"Wouldn't be great on the back." he replied. "Speaking of...Tommy's got abrasions on his from the cuts in his shirt." he directed KC over to the pictures on another table.
"Those could possibly be from being dragged." KC noted, looking over the report notes. "Did CSU find any blodd in the alley?"
"No, they did not." Evan answered.
"Okay, so he wasn't beaten there. He could've been moved from another location." Kimberly tapped her nails on the metal table.
"I'm looking into the soil on his clothes to narrow down a potential crime scene." the medical examiner informed, going over to his computer to pull up more images e-mailed to him from the hospital. "Check out these contusions. Tommy's body is covered in them. Same shape, same size. What did you say the father does?"
KC examined the circular marks all over the teenager's body. "Journalist." she answered. "He couldn't have done that with a pen."
"Or a fist." Evan added.
Kimberly pulled her phone out to check and see if she had any responses from Kaitlynn, and saw none. "It's just lately Kait's been disappearing and then she comes back with this great insight on a case, and I just figured it was..."
"KC we work together." Evan reminded, walking up to her.
"So." the African-American detective shrugged. "Unless you're online dating, that's where people meet, work."
"I meet people lots of places." the medical examiner informed, flipping through the pages on the clipboard he held. "And Toxicology came back positive for ADHD medicine."
"Alright, well there goes the off his meds theory." KC scoffed. "As for the Chandler-Marks theory, I'm not letting it go. Thanks, Evan." she flashed him a smile and patted his shoulder on her way out of the morgue, calling Kaitlynn again for the fifth time that night.
"We don't want to hurt him, Detective." Silverfox assured, bracing his hands on the back of his chair. "We just want to bring him to a place where he won't be a danger to anyone."
"That's bullshit and we both know it." Kaitlynn spat. "You just want to clean up your mess."
"No, we want to fix it." Silverfox rebuffed. "Perhaps find him an antidote."
"Right, that's why you sent all those hit men after me." the detective replied. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"Clearly, that was the wrong tactic." the older agent stated. Seeing the stubbornness reflected in the young detective's eyes, Silverfox decided to throw her a bone. "I'll make you a deal."
"I'm not interested in making any deals with you." Kaitlynn looked up at the Muirfield agent. "So, you can take whatever bullshit you're about to tell me and shove it so far up your ass, you'll choke on it, because I will never tell you where Vincent is."
Catherine kept her eyes on her sister, seeing a look of fierceness in her eyes that she has never seen before. "Although, I'll admit, the idea of watching him rip you limb from limb is kinda tempting at this point." Kaitlynn added, leaning back in her chair.
"Your mother." Silverfox stated, and both sisters' heads whipped back in his direction.
"What?" Catherine asked, her voice shaking. "What about our mother?"
"Don't listen to him Cat." Kaitlynn urged.
"For ten years, you've been searching for the truth about what happened to her the night she was killed." Silverfox continued. "You both want answers, and I can give you those answers." He glanced to Catherine, then to Kaitlynn, "You bring me Vincent, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"Go to hell." Kaitlynn said through gritted teeth.
"How do we know you're not lying to us?" Catherine questioned, earning a confused look from her sister.
Silverfox smiled at the lawyer and pulled up another picture on his tablet, a picture of five scientists in white lab coats, one of which was Vanessa Chandler, who was standing in the middle of the group. Both Catherine's and Kaitlynn's jaws dropped when they saw the photo and their brown eyes welled with tears.
"This is a picture of your mother at our headquarters." Silverfox informed. "And as far as Vincent goes, if you don't believe me, you mention these incidents I told you about." He jotted down a small list of names on a piece of notepad paper. "Ask him yourself about these people, and see his reaction." He set the list on Kaitlynn's lap, before pulling out a black card with a number on it, "This number will be good for the next three days. I'm not going to follow you, but if I don't hear from you by then..." he leaned in closer, meeting the detective's eyes, "I'm going to have to go back to the wrong tactics."
Two agents came up from behind the sisters and cut the zip-ties around their wrists. They massaged their sore wrists as they were escorted out and ushered into the same SUV that drove them to the warehouse. A few minutes later, the SUV parked in an old, abandoned lot, where Kaitlynn's car was sitting.
"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Catherine demanded once both sisters were in the car. Kaitlynn sighed and turned the ignition, flipping on the headlights. "Kaitlynn. Tell me what that was all about. Who's the 'Vincent' that the agent was asking about."
"Cat, I can't tell you." Kaitlynn admitted, reaching for the gear shift.
Catherine slapped her hand down on top of her sister's, "Kaitlynn Elizabeth Chandler." she stated, earning a look from Kait. "Tell me. Who is Vincent?"
"Remember the beast that saved us the night mom was murdered?" Kaitlynn arched her eyebrow, meeting her sister's eyes. "That was Vincent." She yanked the gear shift into 'Drive' and peeled out of the lot.
After dropping Catherine off at her car in the precinct's parking lot, Kaitlynn drove home. She looked at the card in her hand and tossed it in with the pile of junk mail on her coffee table, sighing heavily as she rubbed her temples. She heard a thud come from her bedroom and reached for her gun, pulling it from the holster and clicking the safety off as she carefully walked towards her room.
She kicked her door open with the toe of her boot and held her gun ready to fire, and caught sight of someone on her fire escape. "Vincent?" she questioned in a whisper. "What are you doing here?" she walked over to the window.
"You asked if there was any evidence." he reminded, sitting on the steps.
"Get inside, hurry." Kaitlynn urged, looking out the window to make sure no one was lingering around.
Vincent quickly picked up on Kaitlynn's racing heartbeat and her labored breathing. "Why? What's going on?" he asked.
"Just get inside." she repeated, and he jumped through the window, landing by the foot of her bed. "Stay away from the windows."
"Kait, what's wrong?" Vincent asked again, her racing heart echoing in his ears.
Kaitlynn licked her lips and glanced up, seeing his brown eyes fixated on her and full of concern. "Muirfield grabbed me." she answered, breaking eye contact and walking out of her room, running a hand through her hair.
That answer made his heart fall into his stomach, "What?" he followed her out of the room and they stood in the hallway.
"They pulled me into a car, took me to some warehouse..." she added, turning around and seeing he was directly in front of her. "It's okay. I'm fine." she assured, moving to brace her hand on his arm but pulled back. "They didn't hurt me."
Vincent glanced down and saw she was still gripping the handle of her gun and her hand was shaking. "You don't seem fine." he noted, looking back into her eyes.
"They know you're alive." she stated, swallowing the lump in her throat as she holstered her gun. "They wanted me to tell them where you are, which I didn't. And that was it."
"They just let you go?" Vincent questioned, his eyes never leaving hers.
Kaitlynn bit her lip, "They probably thought that if they tracked me, they'd find you. I made sure I wasn't followed, but still, you should go." she told him. "Silverfox said he wouldn't follow me, but I don't trust anything he says."
Upon hearing the lead agent's name, Vincent reflexively clenched his hand into a fist. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? You just got nabbed because of me."
"It's my fault, too." Kaitlynn reminded. "You kept telling me to stay away, and I didn't, and now they know about you." she let out a shaky breath. "I know you want to protect me, but you know as well as I do, better than I do, that the best way to protect me is to stay away. For now." She looked up into his eyes and placed her hand over his clenched fist, "I don't want to see you get hurt."
Vincent relaxed and let his fingers brush against Kaitlynn's, their eyes still locked on one another's. "Uh...I came here because I found a watch next to the dumpster." he told her. "The cops, they have it now."
"Tommy." Kaitlynn breathed out. "You saved Tommy. His dad mentioned a watch." She took another deep breath and exhaled, but her heart was still racing.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Vincent asked again, gently squeezing her hand. "What aren't you telling me?" Kaitlynn looked up at him, arching her brow in confusion. "I can still hear your heartbeat." he noted. "Kaitlynn, what is it?"
The brunette let out a shaky breath, "Catherine knows about you." she informed, pulling her hand from his and resting it at her side. "She was with me when Silverfox pulled up, she was next to me when he questioned me about you." her eyes welled with moisture and a single tear fell down her cheek. "She knows that you were the one who saved us that night. That's it. I swear."
Vincent reached out and wiped the tear from her cheek, not breaking eye contact. "It's okay." he assured her, brushing his thumb against her skin. "I believe you."
Kaitlynn closed her eyes and turned her cheek into his hand, "Thanks for your help." she sniffled, opening her eyes to meet his. "But, you should go. Before they track you here." She closed her eyes again, taking in the moment of his hand on her cheek, feeling his thumb brush against her skin one last time before he vanished.
When Kait opened her eyes, she was standing alone in her living room, looking out the open balcony doors. "Please, be safe." she muttered, still feeling the warmth of his touch.
Kaitlynn sat at her desk and sipped her large coffee, trying to wake herself up after a restless night's sleep. Her cell buzzed with a text from Catherine, saying 'check your e-mail'. The detective opened the message on her computer, which was a link to a webpage article, and when she clicked on it, it pulled up the obituary of Simon Holms. "Really, Cat?" Kaitlynn sighed, leaning back in her chair, pressing her fingers against her forehead.
"You are completely avoiding your fears." KC accused as she walked into the bullpen.
"What?" Kaitlynn questioned, glancing to her best friend.
"Practice 6:00 a.m.?" Kimberly reminded.
"Sorry, I totally spaced out." Kaitlynn sighed, running her hands over her low ponytail. "I've just been working on our case. Tommy's dad, alibied out. We got a receipt from Ruby's Diner at Newark."
Kimberly walked up and saw the obituary page, "So who's Simon?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. Cat just sent me this page for the ad." Kaitlynn lied, clicking on the balloon ad on the right side of the webpage.
"Balloons, seriously?" KC scoffed. "Catherine's gonna throw the firefighters a party when they beat us?"
Kaitlynn shook her head, "No, Catherine and I agreed to help our dad's fiancée with her bridal shower." she half-lied. She then reached for the watch found by the dumpster, "But CSU tracked this down, and I tracked the serial number." she jumped up and handed the evidence bag to her partner, leaning against her desk. "Leads to a jeweler in Westchester and was purchased by a Lois Whitworth, president of the Hawkshire Polo Club."
"Westchester?" Kimberly repeated, leaning back in her chair. "You and your boyfriend Evan are completely in sync."
"Not my boyfriend." Kaitlynn cut in with a roll of her eyes, taking another swig of her coffee.
Kimberly shook her her head, "Well, Evan told me the dirt found on Tommy's clothing contains phosphorus levels unique to Westchester, in that charming British accent." she chuckled, lightly nudging her friend's leg with her boot.
"That must be where the assault happened." Kaitlynn guessed, sitting back at her desk. "Mr. Holt mentioned that residential recovery program. Maybe it's in Westchester."
"Yeah." Kimberly nodded in agreement, before changing the subject. "You know, real athletes aren't supposed to have sex on the day of the big game, but in your case, I think it might help." she added with a smile.
Kait rolled her eyes again. "Okay, I will practice tonight." she caved in, meeting her partner's look. "But for now, can we just focus on this case, please?"
"I am focusing." Kimberly replied, turning her computer screen towards Kait. "Check it. 'Achieve to Ride Program for Troubled Teens', run by Lois Whitworth." she cracked a smile.
Vincent laid around the loft, waiting for J.T. to come back from work. He tried keeping himself busy by working out, but nothing would help keep at bay the thoughts running through his head about how his best friend would react once he learned about Muirfield taking Kaitlynn, or the fact that now Kaitlynn's older sister knew about him.
J.T. walked through the door some hours later, "Hey." he greeted, while Vincent was sitting at the table, his leg bouncing nervously. "Got you that book you wanted. Used my Bio-chem Professor of the Semester gift certificate."
"J.T., I think you need to sit down." Vincent told him, still unsure how he was going to react.
As J.T. sat down, Vincent grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Look, I didn't mean to burst your bubble earlier." the professor apologized. "I'm not saying you can never leave this place-"
"Drink." Vincent stated, handing his friend the open bottle. He took a deep breath and exhaled, "Muirfield took Kaitlynn." he blurted out.
J.T. almost choked on his drink, "I'm sorry, what?" he questioned, slack jawed.
"Silverfox asked her to give us up. To give me up." Vincent continued. "Her sister, Catherine, was with her. She knows about me now."
"Oh, my God." J.T. muttered, getting to his feet and pacing back and forth. "What'd they do to them? Are they dead?"
"No. Kait's fine, okay? So's her sister." Vincent assured. "Kaitlynn told the agents that she doesn't know anything."
"Wait." J.T. halted his pacing. "Muirfield took her, she said, 'I don't know anything,' and they just let her and her sister go?" He ran his hands over his hair. "We gotta go. We've gotta move. Like move, move, like, out of here." he rambled, beginning his pacing again.
"I can't just leave her now." Vincent reminded.
"She's not what they're after." J.T. pointed out. "Us leaving makes things safer for her, and safer for us, if she's giving us up."
"Kaitlynn is not gonna give us up." Vincent assured.
"Until they break her down and water-board our address right out of her." J.T. added. "Staying here, we're sitting ducks. You're the one who's been spurned into action, so act. This is it. We've got to press the eject button of our lives."
"Okay, you're right." Vincent cut him off, getting his friend to calm down. He tapped his fingers on the table, "I've got to do something first." He got to his feet and headed out of the loft.
"Where are you going? We need to pack!" J.T. called after him. "Like, now. Right now."
Well past sunset, Kaitlynn and KC were at the batting cages. Kaitlynn swung and missed, the ball hitting the back fence and bouncing on the ground along with the other dozen or so. "Again!" Kimberly shouted, tossing another softball in the air.
"Seriously, KC?" Kaitlynn panted, bracing her hands on her knees. "There is a boy unconscious in the hospital, and we are..."
"Multitasking!" Kimberly finished, launching another ball, which Kait ducked to avoid. "It's not like there's a serial killer on the loose or anything." Her phone buzzed from her back pocket and she checked the message, "Never mind. Joe says FDNY is uptown right now practicing." she informed, grabbing her sports duffle. "I've got to go scout their pitcher."
"You cannot just leave me here." Kaitlynn glared at her partner, taking off the batting helmet.
"The hell I can't. Keep your weight back. Good luck." KC winked at her partner and patted her shoulder.
"Screw you, KC." the brunette scoffed.
"Love you too." the black haired female replied over her shoulder, waving goodbye.
Kaitlynn sighed heavily and started picking up all the balls off the ground, tossing them into a large, white bucket. She heard footsteps coming towards her and looked towards the front of the batting cage, "Vincent?" she questioned, brushing some hair from her face.
"Nope." Catherine's voice answered as she stepped around the corner, holding a stack of files close to her side. "Your big sister."
"Cat." the young detective's shoulders sank and she continued picking up softballs. "What're you doing here?"
"I called your precinct and Joe said you were here practicing." Catherine answered. "We need to talk."
"About what?" Kait asked tossing in the last few balls.
"About your 'friend', Vincent Keller." Catherine stated, and Kaitlynn tensed up at the mention of Vincent's last name. "And about those people Agent Silverfox told us about last night."
The younger Chandler set the bucket to the side and faced her older sister, her hands on her hips, "Two questions. One; how'd you find Vincent's last name, because I never told you. And two; how are you so sure those people are even real?"
"Kaitlynn, I'm a prosecutor, I do my research." Catherine reminded. "I remember that fashion editor's murder you were working a few weeks back. I saw a picture of the deceased vet whose prints were found at the crime scene, figured that was the Vincent you and Silverfox were referring to." she patted the stack of files she held, "And these are murder victims with the same names as the ones Silverfox wrote down. All of them mauled to death." she held the stack out, her eyes meeting her sister's.
Kaitlynn hesitantly took the files and began looking through them. The first one was the report on Simon Holms' mauling. The second was another man who was found mauled on a trail in the local hiking grounds. Kaitlynn swallowed the lump in her throat as she read the third report, in which two twenty year olds were found dead at a local campground. "Vincent did all of those. Agent Silverfox was right. He's dangerous, Katie."
"You don't even know him, Catherine!" Kaitlynn snapped, facing her sister. "He's not the monster that agent was making him out to be."
"Katie, look at these photos." Catherine pointed to the pictures of the bodies. "They were mauled. Murdered."
Kaitlynn bit her lip, looking down at the ground. "I know you know more about Vincent then what you told me yesterday." Catherine sighed, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Where's that card that Silverfox gave you?"
"What?" Kait muttered, glancing at her sister. "It's still in my apartment, I meant to throw it out. Why?"
"I think you need to do what he suggested and turn Vincent in." Catherine stated.
"No." Kaitlynn shook her head.
"Kaitlynn." Catherine sighed heavily. "I know you think you owe him for saving us that night, but he's killed people. Innocent people." she pointed to the files her sister held. She took a deep breath and exhaled, tucking some hair behind her ear, "I don't want this happening to you."
"He won't hurt me." Kaitlynn stated, her brown eyes welling with moisture.
"How do you know?" the older lawyer asked, wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulders.
The young detective let out a shuddering breath, stepping away from her sister. "I just do, okay." she answered, her heart racing and tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "He's not a monster, Cat."
Catherine just shook her head, "Those reports say differently." she reminded, pointing to the files.
"They're just that, reports. One side." Kait pointed out.
"Kaitlynn, you're a cop." Catherine noted. "You're supposed to put people like him away. Not protect them."
"People like him?" Kaitlynn repeated, spinning on her heels to face her older sister.
"Yes. Killers." Catherine stated.
Unknown to the two sisters, Vincent was a few feet away, listening to the entire conversation. He focused his hearing, catching the argument between the pair.
"I can't believe you're actually defending him." Catherine sighed heavily.
"And I can't believe we're even having this conversation, when you don't even know Vincent." Kaitlynn argued, her heartbeat increasing. "You actually believe the man who works for the same organization that murdered out mother, over your own sister."
"Katie, you barely know him!" Cat pointed out. "You've only known him a few weeks and...you've seen what he's done. How do you know he won't turn on you?"
Vincent swallowed the lump in his throat, focusing on Kaitlynn's racing heart and her labored breathing. "Katie." Catherine said in a softer tone. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that Vincent won't lose control and hurt, or worse, kill you?"
He focused his sight and saw, through the bushes, Kaitlynn's shoulders sink and her eyes fall towards the ground. His hearing caught a slight flutter in her heart and a gulp before she let out a shuddering breath, and he knew what she was thinking. Vincent took one last look at Kaitlynn before running off, knowing what he had to do in order to keep her safe.
Kaitlynn took a couple minutes to compose herself before turning to face her sister, shoving the files back into her arms. "Before you go and send a hit team after Vincent, you should remember that you and I wouldn't be here if not for him. He saved our lives that night Catherine. Those Muirfield agents would've shot us just like mom." she sighed heavily. "I know he feels guilty for the things he's done while like that, but he would never hurt me, Cat. Or you. I know that."
"How?" Catherine asked.
Kaitlynn took a step forward, meeting her sister's eyes. "Because I've looked into his eyes and have seen the good in them. In him." she breathed out, licking her lips. "Vincent's my friend, Catherine, and I'm not gonna let Muirfield throw him in a cage and put him down like some rabid dog. He's more than that, and I'd like to show you, but I don't trust you." She brushed past her sister and grabbed her black duffle bag by the ball launcher before shoving the gate open and walked off.
Vincent set a glass of ice aside and started drawing vials of his blood, setting the tubes on ice. He wrote down one note for J.T., setting it by the glass and started another one for Kaitlynn, this one almost a page long. He destroyed his old burner phone and tossed it in the trash before opening a brand new one. After shrugging on his thick, green jacket, he grabbed the new burner and note, and left the loft.
Vincent stood on the roof opposite Kaitlynn's apartment building and watched through the balcony curtains as she shrugged on her blue leather jacket and opened her gun safe, clipping the holster onto her belt. Someone knocked at her door and Kait opened it, revealing her partner, Kimberly.
"You ready?" KC asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Yeah, one sec." Kaitlynn answered, grabbing a large travel cup full of coffee. Vincent could hear her heart beating faster than normal.
"You okay, Kait?" KC questioned, noting a slight difference in her friend's demeanor.
"Yeah, fine." Kait replied, though Vincent could tell it was a lie. She grabbed her keys and followed her partner out the door.
He waited until he heard the lock click and the two detective had left the building in KC's car before he jumped onto Kaitlynn's balcony. Vincent carefully picked the lock and slipped inside, catching the scent of Kait's peach scented perfume. He glanced at the photographs lining the mantle, all of them with Kaitlynn and her family, some of just her and her parents and others of all three sisters with their parents. and a few of just Kaitlynn, Catherine, and Heather.
He walked into Kaitlynn's room and saw the crumpled up business card in the small trashcan by the desk. He picked it up and smoothed it out enough so he could read the phone number clearly. Vincent took the note from his jacket pocket and set it on the desk, underneath a picture of Kaitlynn and Catherine at their high school graduation.
"I'm sorry Kait." Vincent muttered, staring at the picture for a few long seconds before leaving the way he came.
Kaitlynn and Kimberly walked the grounds of the polo club, taking notice of everyone going about their business, each of them taking notice of different things. "No big decisions to make." Kaitlynn muttered to herself.
"Oh, my God, don't tell me this is about what balloons to pick for your step-monster's bridal shower." Kimberly scoffed, pulling down her aviator sunglasses and arching her brow.
"Hey, you're still talking about softball." Kaitlynn chuckled, removing her sunglasses and tightening her ponytail.
Kimberly moved her sunglasses to the top of her head as they entered the stables, "And now I'm talking about polo." she corrected, looking at the wall of mallets. "Look at the end of this."
"Looks like the same shape as Tommy's bruises." Kaitlynn noted, her hands braced on her hips.
An older woman in a dark blazer, with blonde hair pulled into a bun approached the two females. "You two must be the detectives. I'm Lois Whitworth, president of the Hawkshire Polo Club and the Achieve to Ride Program." she introduced, shaking their hands. "How's Tommy?"
"He's in a coma." Kimberly informed.
"Oh, my God." Lois gasped. "I was gonna go visit him at the hospital today, but I didn't want to intrude."
"Sounds like you were close." Kaitlynn noted, her ponytail draping over her shoulder.
"Well, people send us their children; they become our children." Lois replied. "It's just heartbreaking that we can't control what happens outside of our cocoon."
KC arched her brow, "Your cocoon have security cameras?"
"Only in the clubhouse, but I thought this happened in the city?" Lois folded her arms over her chest.
"Actually, we have reason to believe it happened here." Kaitlynn informed. "Tommy's dad mentioned that he finished the program six months ago, but do you know if he was still coming up here?"
Lois nodded in confirmation. "He did so well, we put him on payroll." she added. "He would clean the stalls, maintain the grounds. He actually played quite a bit of the sport. He was very good."
"Did Tommy have any rivals or enemies up here?" Kaitlynn questioned, slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
"No. We're a very close, loving community out here." Lois denied, putting on a smile.
Kaitlynn pulled the evidence bag containing the watch from her jacket pocket, "So close that she gave him this?" she arched her brow. "That's a pretty nice watch."
"This is my husband's." Lois noted, taking the bag. "Where did you get this?"
"He didn't notice it was missing?" KC cast a quick glance to her partner before back to the older woman.
Lois blinked a few times, "He passed away two years ago." she informed. She took a deep breath and exhaled, "This is the hard part of my job. You take in a kid like Tommy, with all of his issues, you think you're making a difference, but..." she shrugged her shoulders. "If he stole from me, he could have stolen from anyone."
Kaitlynn pulled one of the pictures from Tommy's wallet, "Do you recognize her?" she asked.
"That's my daughter, Clarissa." Lois noted, taking the photograph. "Why? You don't think this has something to do with her, do you?"
"Do you know if she and Tommy were in a relationship?" Kimberly asked, sliding her hands into her back pockets.
"No. She has a boyfriend." Lois informed the two detectives.
"Do you mind if we talk to Clarissa? Ask her a few questions about Tommy?" Kaitlynn questioned.
Lois nodded and directed the detectives towards the polo field. The female duo thanked her for her cooperation and walked down to the field. Kaitlynn's cell vibrated in her back pocket, the caller ID reading 'Catherine'. The olive-skinned detective shook her head and declined the call.
"Somethin goin on between you and Cat?" KC asked.
"We just had an argument last night." Kaitlynn answered, shoving her hands back in her pockets. "I'll call her back."
"He didn't steal my dad's watch, I gave it to him." the brunette teen informed. "I thought I was in love with him."
"But you didn't tell anybody?" Kaitlynn arched her eyebrow. "Your mom didn't know, she thinks you have a boyfriend."
"Sean Hyland? Yeah, she has us walking down the aisle, but..." Clarissa tightened a strap on her horse's bridle. "I broke up with Sean, like, three months ago." She patted the side of his neck before the stable hand led him away.
"How'd he feel about you and Tommy?" KC questioned, leaning against the fence.
Clarissa shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know if he knew, either." she admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tommy was part of the program. I guess I just felt like everyone would have disapproved. I mean, he has a lot of baggage and a record. I just didn't want to hear about it."
Kait rested her arm on the fencepost, her ponytail blowing in the breeze. "You said you were in love with Tommy, past tense." she noted. "Mind telling us what happened?"
"A tiger doesn't change their stripes." the teenager sighed. "Turns out he was doping horses." When she saw the slightly confused looks on the detective's faces, she clarified the statement. "He was injecting them with steroids and then betting on polo matches."
"That sounds like a good way to piss people off." Kaitlynn noted, glancing to KC who nodded in agreement. "Anyone else know about it?"
Clarissa shrugged, "I mean, I was oblivious until I found out he had done it to Whiskers."
"When was that?" Kimberly prided.
"Like, a week ago." the teenager answered, still obviously upset about the whole thing.
"A pretty recent betrayal." the dark-skinned woman noted, glancing to her partner. "Where were you two nights ago, Clarissa?"
"Home, weeping into a bowl of ice cream." the teen replied, a catch in her voice and tears welling in her eyes. "I just feel so stupid. 'Achieve to Ride for Troubled Teens'...he came with his own warning label." She sniffled and walked off, wiping the moisture from her eyes.
"Well, I don't think she's our assailant." Kaitlynn noted with a sigh.
"Then let's check out the ex." Kimberly suggested, pushing herself off the fence.
Kaitlynn nodded and declined another call from her sister while Kimberly asked another stable hand where they could find Sean Hyland. Her phone screen then lit up with a text from Catherine reading 'Call me back. We need to talk.' Kaitlynn shook her head and pocketed her cell and caught up with Kimberly, who was already interviewing Sean.
"Doesn't sound like you were too fond of Tommy." Kimberly noted, her arms folded over her chest. "Was that 'cause he was with your ex-girlfriend?"
"Was he?" the older boy questioned. "Guess that's why she didn't text me back this weekend."
"Texting her?" Kaitlynn cut in. "Does that mean you wanted to get back together?"
Sean just cracked a smirk and scoffed, "Even if I did, I wouldn't have to kill Tommy to get him out of the picture." he informed. "He decided to move to Florida."
Kaitlynn's phone buzzed in her pocket, again another call from her sister. "It's okay Kait, I got this." KC assured.
"Okay." Kaitlynn nodded, walking away to answer the call. "What do you want, Cat? I'm in middle of working my case." she leaned against the side of the stable.
"I'm calling to propose a truce." Catherine replied on the other line. "I'm just pulling up to your building, and I have your favorite sandwich from that sub shop you like."
"Cat." Kaitlynn sighed.
"Just five minutes, Katie. Please." Catherine pleaded. "I'm coming up the stairs now."
Kaitlynn took in another deep breath and exhaled, "Alright, five minutes." she agreed. "I'll have KC drop me off on her way back to the precinct." she could hear her sister's keys jingling on the other end before hanging up.
Kimberly stood next to her partner, "What's up?" she asked, patting her shoulder.
"Just uh, Cat wants to talk over lunch." Kaitlynn answered, her and KC walking to the squad car, "She's at my place, you mind dropping me off? I can drive my own car back."
"Yeah sure." KC nodded, sliding into the driver's seat.
Kaitlynn walked into her apartment, seeing Catherine sitting at the counter with two sub sandwiches on plates and large fountain drinks. "Hey." she greeted, tossing her keys on the counter and standing opposite her sister.
"Hey. Got your favorite." Catherine replied with a smile. "Chicken Bacon Ranch, with avocado spread and extra tomatoes, and Cream Soda." All Kaitlynn did was smile and take a sip of her drink. "Look Katie, I'm sorry about last night, ambushing you the way I did."
Kaitlynn took another sip before setting her drink down, "You came at me like a prosecutor." she reminded.
"I know, and I'm sorry." Catherine apologized with a sigh. "It's just, I'm scared for you, that's all."
"Cat." Kaitlynn shook her head, her eyes looking past her sister and noticing a slight breeze move the curtains over her balcony doors. "Did you open the door to my balcony when you came in?" she asked, unknowingly cutting off her sister mid-sentence.
"No, why?" Catherine asked, watching Kaitlynn walk into the living room.
"I swore I closed it this morning." she muttered, a sinking feeling growing in her chest. Kait started towards her bedroom, her phone vibrating in her pocket. "Chandler." she answered, without checking the caller ID.
"So they drop a little water on your forehead, and you fold like an accordion." a newly familiar voice said on the other line.
"J.T.?" Kaitlynn whispered, arching her eyebrow as she opened her bedroom door. She rolled her eyes when he continued his ranting while searching her room, catching sight of a folded piece of paper on her desk with 'Kaitlynn' written on it. The sinking feeling only grew as she unfolded the note, hearing Vincent's voice in her head as she read over it:
"Kaitlynn,
I'm sorry for the trouble I've brought into your life since we met. The last thing I wanted was for you to end up in Muirfield's crosshairs, all because of me. You don't deserve any of this. I don't want to be the one who comes between you and your sister, family is important. I'm giving you your life back, please live it, with your family. Thank you for the friendship and kindness you've shown me, even though I don't deserve it. Goodbye.
Your friend, always.
-Vincent."
Kaitlynn's breath hitched in her throat, "J.T." she shuddered, "Please tell me Vincent's with you."
"No." he rebuffed, "He's turned..."
"...turned himself in." Kaitlynn finished at the same time J.T. did. She glanced down and saw that the business card was not in her trashcan.
"Yeah." J.T. drew out, "How...?"
"I'm on my way to the warehouse." Kaitlynn informed, hanging up and letting out a shaky breath. "Damnit Vincent." She spun on her heels and ran back to her front door, nearly running over her sister in the process.
"Katie, what's going on?" Catherine asked.
"Look, I know you're not going to like this, but, I have to stop Vincent from getting himself killed." Kaitlynn answered, yanking her front door open and rushing out.
Catherine quickly put the plates of food in the fridge before grabbing her keys and briefcase and following her sister, locking the front door on her way out. She caught up with Kaitlynn and jumped into the passenger seat of the car just as she started the engine.
"Cat-" Kaitlynn tried to protest, but her sister held up her hand to cut her off. "I'm you're big sister, Katie." Catherine reminded. "I'm not letting you do something stupid by yourself."
Kaitlynn sighed heavily, "Fine." she gripped the steering wheel. "Give me your phone."
Cat arched her brow but handed over her cell, which Kaitlynn quickly turned off and tossed in the backseat. "What the hell?" she cursed, but her sister didn't answer. Instead, she threw the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot, then put it in drive and peeled out of the parking lot.
As soon as she saw J.T.'s hatchback, Kaitlynn slammed on the brakes and shut her car off. She jumped out and ran to the door, opening it with ease and running in, with Catherine barely keeping up. "Katie!" she called after her sister as they ran up the stairs to the loft.
"Anything?" Kaitlynn asked as she ran into the loft, seeing J.T. pacing while on the phone.
"No, it just rings." J.T. answered, then his eyes went wide when he saw Catherine enter the loft behind her sister. "Uh, what the hell?" he looked back to Kaitlynn.
"Oh uh, J.T., my sister Catherine." Kaitlynn introduced. "Catherine, J.T., Vincent's roommate."
The two awkwardly waved to eachother, before Catherine's eyes landed on the glass of ice with vials of blood. "What the hell? Is that blood?" she gasped.
Kaitlynn looked over the glass, seeing the note set beside it, "Proof I existed." she read off.
"Insurance." J.T. informed. "In case something happens to us, I'm supposed to send it out to the world."
"I had a card with Silverfox's number." Kaitlynn ran her hand over her ponytail.
"And you lost it?" J.T. threw his hands in the air and muttered something under his breath.
"No, I didn't lose it." the detective groaned. "I threw it in the trash, which Vincent must've fished out after he left me this." She pulled the folded note from her pocket and slammed it down on the table.
J.T. looked back, instantly recognizing Vincent's handwriting on the note, "What, a love letter?"
Kaitlynn shot him a glare, "More like a suicide note." She pushed herself off the table, pacing back and forth, "I didn't see the plates on the SUV; there was no address at the warehouse." she rattled off, before snapping her fingers. "My car." She rummaged through her sister's purse and pulled out a makeup brush.
"Really? You're gonna touch up your makeup now?" J.T. rolled his eyes.
Kaitlynn shot him another glare, "J.T., take a Tums then find me some chalk." she told him.
"Katie?" Catherine questioned, looking at her sister with a raised brow.
The detective turned to her older sister, "Cat, when those Muirfield agents took us, one of them drove my car and parked it in that lot." she reminded. "He must have left prints, and all we need to do is lift them, send them through the system, track his phone, and we find him, we'll find Vincent."
"He'll be dead by then." J.T. cut in.
"Do you have a better idea?" Kaitlynn snapped, locking eyes with the professor. "Because the longer we stand here arguing about this, the less time we'll have to actually find Vincent and save his ass before Muirfield kills him." She slammed her hands down on the table. "You're not the only one who's worried about him."
Catherine saw the genuine fear in her sister's eyes at the thought of anything happening to Vincent. She reached out and placed her hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kaitlynn glanced over and met her sister's eyes, and Cat gave her a reassuring smile.
After setting a meeting with Agent Silverfox, Vincent stood at the perimeter of the warehouse, watching as the Muirfield team pulled up. He called the number again, keeping his eyes on the lead agent. "Hello, Vincent. It's been a long time." Silverfox greeted when he answered the phone. "Welcome home."
"That's a lot of weapons you got there for a welcome home." Vincent noted, seeing the guns the agents were carrying.
"Just a precaution." Silverfox assured, casually looking around, trying to find their target. "We weren't certain what state you'd be in."
Vincent kept himself hidden from the agents' view, but kept them in his sightline. "Before I come in, I have some terms." he told the lead agent. "You never harm Kaitlynn Chandler again, you hear me? Muirfield forgets she exists."
"My bosses don't know she does." Silverfox replied. "I never told them. The fact that an officer of the law found out about you wouldn't make me look too good to the company."
"But just in case, I've drawn my blood." Vincent added, "Anything happens to Kaitlynn or her family..."
"A fail-safe. Ten years on the run's destroyed your ability to trust, I see." Silverfox noted. "I mean, isn't that why we're really here? You're not scared that we're going to hurt her; you're scared that you are." Hearing that said out loud, Vincent had to take a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Vincent?" Silverfox questioned.
"Right here." came Vincent's voice from the warehouse roof. He jumped down and landed a few feet away from the agents, who all tensed up when he looked in their direction.
J.T. paced back and forth behind the table while Kaitlynn and Catherine sat patiently, waiting for the phone to ring. "Seriously, how long does it take to much a damn fingerprint?" the glasses-wearing male sighed.
"We just sent it in." Kaitlynn reminded, tapping her foot on the floor.
"Is he always like this?" Catherine whispered, to which Kaitlynn nodded.
"Call the CSI guy again." J.T. told the detective.
"CSU." Kaitlynn and Catherine both corrected. "CSI is a TV show." Cat added on.
Kaitlynn's cell suddenly went off and she answered it after the first ring, "Chandler."
"Hey, do you remember what kind of car Clarissa drives?" KC asked on the line.
"Red Alfa Romeo, I'll call you back later." Kaitlynn answered before hanging up and clasping her hands together.
"I mean, what the hell was he thinking?" J.T. continued his rant. "After everything we've been through, after everything we've done." He plopped down in the other chair next to Kait.
The olive-skinned female sighed heavily, "This is my fault." she muttered, biting her lip.
"Katie." Catherine rubbed her sister's shoulder.
"No, Cat, it is." Kait brushed off. "He overheard our argument last night at the batting cages, which means he overheard you ask me if he'd ever turn on me." she met her older sister's look. "Hearing that said aloud, I don't know, Vincent must've believed it." she picked at the skin around her fingernails. "He didn't even bother to hear the entire conversation."
Catherine blinked, her hand falling to the side, "I didn't know he was..." she trailed off.
Kaitlynn's phone chimed with a text message, and Kait typed in the cell number in a GPS search. "Come on." she tapped her foot nervously as the location loaded.
"I'm having a heart attack right now." J.T. panted.
"Take an aspirin." Catherine advised.
"Got it!" Kaitlynn announced, jumping to her feet. "Let's go."
One of the Muirfield agents brought out titanium cuffs and approached Silverfox and Vincent. "I'm not going in on a leash." the former soldier stated, keeping himself calm in the moment.
"It's just a precaution, Vincent." Silverfox assured. "We're working on something that may be able to help you. Make you better." The sound of tires crunching the gravel caught everyone's attention and they all turned to see Kaitlynn's car come to a stop. "Well, look who it is." the lead agent cracked a smile. "She just can't stay away, can she."
Vincent looked back to the older agent, his eyes hard, "My terms." he reminded through gritted teeth, as the second agent locked the cuffs around his wrists.
Silverfox nodded and motioned for the rest of his people to lower their weapons. Kaitlynn stepped out of her car, her eyes landing on Vincent. "Vincent, don't do this." she called out to hi.
"You need to go." Vincent called back, glancing at her over his shoulder.
"No." Kait stood her ground, resting her hand on her gun, which was hidden behind her still-open driver's side door.
"As pleasant a surprise as this is, he's already made the decision for you, Detective Chandler." Silverfox informed.
"It's not a decision, Vincent. It's suicide." Kaitlynn rebuked. "Tommy Holt would be dead if not for you." Silverfox and another agent reached to grab Vincent's arm, and lead him to the SUV. "Take your hands off him, now!" Kaitlynn whipped out her gun and fired a couple shots, ducking behind her door once the other agents fired back.
"Cat stay down." Kaitlynn whispered to her sister before jumping into the firefight.
Catherine watched as her younger sister practically charged in, taking on two Muirfield agents in hand-to-hand, while J.T. knocked another agent's gun from his hands using a metal baseball bat. She heard an animalistic growl and saw Vincent disappear and then reappear by a pile of old explosives and toss one across the lot, which set it off.
The blast spooked J.T. and he braced himself against a nearby pillar, while Kaitlynn continued her two-on-one fight. When one of the agents came up from her blind spot, Catherine jumped in and whacked him with a crowbar she grabbed from the trunk.
"Nice." Kaitlynn breathed out.
"You're not the only one who hits the gym, little sister." Catherine chuckled.
The two sisters went back to their fight. Kaitlynn rolled and grabbed her gun, firing off rounds and taking out two agents. Catherine landed some good blows to her opponent and kicked him into a wood pile, and Kait finished him off with a few more rounds to the back.
"Cat, behind you!" Kaitlynn warned, and when her sister turned around, she was hit in the head by Silverfox, who held his gun on her. "Cat!"
In the next second, Vincent had grabbed Silverfox by the throat using the chains between his cuffs. Catherine's eyes widened at the sight as she scooted back, watching as the beast strangled the older agent. Kaitlynn ran to her sister and double checked her magazine, seeing only two bullets left. "Might as well." she muttered, putting the magazine back in place and fired her last two rounds into Silverfox's chest.
His body dropped and Vincent jumped from the roof, landing on the ground and his eyes finding Kaitlynn, who kept her eyes on him as she helped Catherine to her feet. She led her sister a few feet away and helped her sit down and process everything before rejoining J.T. and Vincent, who had returned to normal.
"So, what happens now?" Kaitlynn asked, bracing her hands on her hips as she stood in front of Vincent. "Do more of them come after us?"
"No." Vincent shook his head. "His cell was the only one who knew about you."
"Yeah, but the rest of Muirfield knows about you." J.T. reminded, as he rummaged through the SUV, looking for the keys to unlock Vincent's cuffs.
"Right now, I'm more worried about cleaning up this mess." Vincent admitted, getting to his feet and standing next to Kaitlynn.
"You should go, get back to the warehouse and lay low." she noted, catching her breath and draping her loose ponytail over her shoulder.
"No, I'm not going to leave you with this." he rebuffed, looking to her. "Go back to the case, figure out what happened to the kid, okay? We'll deal with this. Besides..." Vincent glanced to Catherine, "...your sister needs you."
Kaitlynn glanced over and nodded, "Yeah. Two things. One..." She turned towards Vincent and punched his arm with her right hand, "...that's for giving J.T. and I a near heart attack. And two..." she slugged him in the shoulder with her left hand, "...next time you get an insane suicidal thought in your head, sack up and tell me to my face instead of a letter, so I can talk you out of it." She flashed the guys a smile, who were standing wide-eyed and speechless as she spun on her heels and walked away, muttering "dumbass" under her breath.
"She just punched you." J.T. noted with a slack jaw. "The balls on her."
"Yeah." Vincent nodded in agreement, his eyes still on the detective and the corner of his lips turning upwards.
Kaitlynn walked with her arm around Catherine's shoulders, "It's gonna be okay." she assured. "I'll take you back to my apartment where you can process all this, and we'll talk when I get off work."
Catherine suddenly stopped and turned to face her sister, "Katie, I am so sorry." she apologized, tears welling in her eyes. "I never should've called you crazy." She pulled her younger sister into a tight embrace, rubbing her back. "I'm so, so sorry Katie."
A smile crossed Kaitlynn's lips as she returned the embrace, "It's okay Cat." she replied. "It's okay. I forgive you."
After dropping Catherine off at her apartment, Kaitlynn returned to the precinct, where KC was interrogating Clarissa again. "We tracked your E-Z Pass." KC informed the teenage girl as Kaitlynn walked in and took a seat. "You drove into the city right before Tommy's body was left for dead. Your treads match the tire marks we found by the dumpster, and I'm pretty sure, when we send CSU to check your car, we'll find evidence that Tommy was there."
"He attacked her!" Clarissa cut off.
"Who?" Kaitlynn asked in a calm voice.
"My mother." the teen answered, her voice shaking and eyes tearing up. "He was doping horses. She caught him, and he came after her. She had to fight him off. It was self-defense."
"Well then why didn't she just call the police?" Kimberly arched her brow as she leaned back in the chair.
"It would hurt the club's reputation, her program's reputation." Clarissa replied. She licked her lips and looked downward. "He has a record. He's done things like this before."
Kaitlynn could tell from the tone of the teenage girl's voice that a part of her didn't want to believe that last statement. "That's not you talking; that's your mom, isn't it?" the olive-skinned detective questioned, making the teenager look in her direction. "You know Tommy's a good person, that he's changed. Your mom made you doubt that, and that doubt made you question what you knew was true."
She met the young girl's eyes and saw her bottom lip quiver. "She needed my help moving him." Clarissa admitted, tears falling down her cheeks.
"And you drove her and Tommy into the city and helped her put his body in that dumpster." KC confirmed.
"But why would she hurt him?" Clarissa wiped some tears with the back of her hand.
"You said you didn't want to tell her about the relationship because she wouldn't approve." Kaitlynn reminded, reaching out to rest her hand on the teen's wrist to give her some comfort.
"But she didn't even know about me and Tommy." the brunette teen reminded, sniffling.
Kaitlynn felt sympathy for the young girl and continued to rub her arm in a comforting manner, before remembering a little piece of evidence, "Clarissa, when did you give Tommy your father's old watch?" she asked, meeting her eyes.
Clarissa sniffled again and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. "Last weekend." she answered, then the realization hit her. "She must have seen Tommy wearing it, then figured it out." She rested her hand on her forehead as more tears fell.
With Clarissa's confession, Detectives Chandler and Cooper had everything they needed for an arrest. They drove back to the polo club and found the mallet used to beat Tommy near death.
"Wait a minute." Lois halted as she saw two uniformed officers carrying a polo mallet out of the stables in an evidence bag. "Why do you have that?"
"Well, we're not here for polo lessons." Kimberly replied, her and Kaitlynn standing before the blonde woman.
"Clarissa told us where to find the mallet you used on Tommy." Kaitlynn added, bracing her hands on her hips.
"We also looked into your financials. When your husband died, he left you in horrible debt." KC added. "You've been counting on Clarissa marrying Sean Hyland to get you out of it. Tommy was going to ruin the whole thing."
"No." Lois rebuked. "He was doping the horses."
"Our CSU team went through Clarissa's car and found this." Kaitlynn held up an evidence bag containing a cellphone. "It's Tommy's cell. Must have slipped out when you dumped the body." she added, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder. "The texts say Tommy told you he wasn't leaving after all, that he and Clarissa loved each other."
"So you told him to meet you in the stables, he said okay, and that's the last text he wrote." Kimberly finished, her and her partner staring down the club owner.
"He should have listened to me." Lois said through gritted teeth. "I couldn't let my daughter just ruin her life."
Kimberly and Kaitlynn shared a glance before KC slapped the cuffs on Lois, "Lois Whitworth, you're under arrest for the attempted murder of Tommy Holt. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law..."
After closing the case, the two detectives escorted Clarissa to New York General, where Tommy Holt was now awake and responsive. "We're happy he's okay." Kaitlynn smiled at Mr. Holt, the three of them standing outside Tommy's room while he and Clarissa talked.
"I want to thank you two for everything." Mr. Holt told the two detectives.
Kimberly held her hand up, "We were just doing our job." she reminded. "Besides, seeing that..." she motioned to the room with the two teenagers, as Clarissa leaned forward and kissed Tommy's forehead, both of them smiling. "...that makes it all worth it."
Mr. Holt nodded in agreement, "I just wish I could thank the guy who found Tommy." he admitted. "Whoever he is, he a hero."
A smile crossed Kaitlynn's lips as she thought of Vincent, "Yeah." she agreed. "He is."
That night, the 125th went on to play their annual softball game with the FDNY firehouse in their district. "Bottom of the ninth. FD leads five to three. No balls, one strike." the announce spoke over the intercom system.
Kaitlynn took a deep breath and exhaled, gripping the bat at home plate. She swung again and missed, the umpire calling out "Strike two!"
"Chandler!" Joe yelled from the second base plate. "You don't hit this, you're riding the desk."
"It's all right, Kait. You got this!" KC cheered from the first base plate.
"Come on, Kait." Evan encouraged from the dugout.
"You got this, Katie!" Catherine yelled from the stands.
Kaitlynn glanced over her shoulder and her eyes locked with Catherine's, and she gave her a wide smile, which Kait returned. She focused her attention back on the FDNY's pitcher and held the bat ready, flexing her fingers around the handle. She took a deep breath and exhaled, watching as the ball was thrown right towards her. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly and she swung, striking the ball and sending it flying over the fences.
"Yes!" shouted KC and Joe, who immediately took off running the bases.
A grin spread across Kaitlynn's face as the took off the batting helmet and ran the bases after her colleagues. In the stands Catherine jumped to her feet, clapping and cheering at the top of her lungs, "That's my little sister!" she bragged.
"Of course, she gets a home run." Evan shook his head, running with the rest of the precinct as they waited for the others to cross home plate. "Whoo!" Joe grunted, jumping on home plate, "NYPD putting out fires, ha!"
KC was the next to cross the plate and slapped high fives with the Evan and the other officers. They were all chanting Kaitlynn's name as she ran the final stretch between third base and home. The young detective raised her arms up and threw her body into a double round off-back handspring with a full twist at the end before she stuck the landing and did a small twirl on home plate.
Catherine and the rest of the family members of the 125th officers ran onto the field, where she embraced her sister tightly and ran her hands over her hair.
"That was a nice little flare you did, tumbling into home." Catherine chuckled, taking a sip of her drink from the sub shop she'd gotten earlier that afternoon.
"Hey, I was a dancer remember?" Kaitlynn arched her brow, chewing a bite of her sub. "It just felt like the right thing to do. I don't know."
Both sisters shared a laugh, Kaitlynn's cell buzzed on the counter near her with a text from a number without a contact name. The message simply said 'fire escape' and the young brunette's lips curled into a smile, "Cat, give me a few minutes okay?" she asked, moving around the kitchen counter.
"Sure, why?" Catherine raised her eyebrow.
Kait spun on her heels and motioned to her phone, "It's Vincent." she answered, and Catherine gave a nod, sitting at the counter while her sister headed for her bedroom.
Kaitlynn sat on the ledge of her fire escape window as Vincent came down the stairs, tossing a softball in the air, "Game ball." he said with a smile, leaning into the railing.
"Wait, you were there?" she questioned, the corner of her lips turning upwards at the thought.
Vincent nodded, "It was a nice home run." he told her, tossing her the ball.
"Thanks." she caught the ball with a laugh, glancing up to meet his eyes. She looked over the ball before tossing it onto her bed, adjusting her position so she had one leg on her fire escape and the other in her room, "This isn't a typical situation, is it?" Kaitlynn sighed, folding her hands on her thigh.
Vincent lowered his head and muttered, "No." under his breath.
"It's just...I'm used to things being black-and-white, and this is just shades of gray." Kaitlynn admitted, glancing up at Vincent. "The things you've done..."
"I hate myself for them." Vincent cut off, meeting her eyes.
"I know that, and I know that you can't control it." Kaitlynn replied. "And I know you have a good heart." She reached out and placed her hand over his.
Vincent took a deep breath and exhaled, moving to sit on the last few steps to be more eye-level with Kaitlynn, "For the first time in a long, long while, I've felt like new things are possible for me." he admitted, resting his arms on his knees, "But Kaitlynn, the look on your face that night at the batting cages when your sister showed you those articles, everything came crashing back. The reality of what I am and what I have done." he looked down at his boots, "And the idea that you and J.T. are paying the price for it, that you are collateral damage because of me... that is why I turned myself in."
Kaitlynn reached over and placed her hand over his again, getting him to look her in the eyes. "Vincent, that first night in the woods, the first time I saw you, I knew that you would never hurt me." she told him. "That was my gut telling me that." she gently squeezed his hand, "I trust you with my life, Vincent. No reservations. No fear."
He listened to her steady heartbeat and knew she was completely honest and sincere. Vincent looked down at her hand over his, a light smile forming on his lips, "How's Catherine?" he asked, looking back to meet her eyes.
"She's good." Kait answered. "She processed everything and...she knows that you're not a threat to us." she gave him a reassuring smile. "And, she wants to help, however she can." Kaitlynn scooted back and swung her other leg over her windowsill, patting the spot next to her, "Come here, there's something I want to show you."
While Vincent moved from the fire escape stairs to the windowsill, Kaitlynn grabbed a purple and white scrapbook from her shelf and brought it over, taking the spot next to Vincent, laying it on her lap so he could see it. "This is a scrapbook I made with my mom after my senior year of high school. It's all about spring break when the dance team traveled to Atlantic City for our Nationals competition." she informed, flipping through the pages.
"Wow, you look so much like her." Vincent noted, seeing a picture of Vanessa and Kaitlynn taken in front of a large charter bus with 'Wolves' emblazoned on the side.
Kaitlynn flipped the page, which had pictures of Kaitlynn with her parents and sisters taken at the beach. "There were a few days between performances, so we got to have some fun." she smiled as her eyes landed on a picture of her, Catherine, and Heather standing on the beach in bikinis with water over their feet. "It was the last vacation we ever had as a family."
Vincent glanced up and saw a faint hint of sadness in her eyes and remembering that, so he moved to flip the next page, and couldn't help but smile as they were all of Kaitlynn and her sisters taken at a fair on the boardwalk. Their hands inched closer together and were soon interlocked and Kaitlynn rested her head against his shoulder.
"Who's that?" Vincent asked, pointing to a picture of Kaitlynn with a boy with short, blonde hair in a letterman's jacket.
"Oh, that's Blake." Kaitlynn answered. "He was my boyfriend, back then." She glanced up at him. "We broke up after my mom died. I just needed space and well...nine years later." she chuckled dryly and flipped to the back of the scrapbook, where she had a few wallet sized pictures of herself in her dance team uniform and a couple senior portraits.
"I thought I had more people to give these to, but I guess I was wrong." she chuckled, picking up one of each and holding them up, "Go ahead, pick one." she offered.
Vincent glanced into her eyes before looking over each picture; two of them were of Kaitlynn in her dance uniform in cute poses, while the others were normal senior portraits taken in the park. "This one." he took one of the senior portraits, which showed Kaitlynn in a white sundress leaning against a tree with one hand in her hair, which appeared to shine under the sun's rays.
"That's my favorite, actually." Kaitlynn noted, putting the other pictures back in her scrapbook and setting it on the floor. Their eyes locked again and both of them smiled. "Okay, I've shared some of my past, now it's your turn."
"Okay, that seems fair." Vincent agreed, slipping the picture in the front pocket of his jacket.
Catherine carefully snuck up to the bedroom door and peeked inside, seeing Kaitlynn and Vincent conversing on the windowsill, their hands intertwined and eyes locked with one another's. They would occasionally smile or laugh, and seeing a brightness in her younger sister's eyes brought a smile to Catherine's face.
A/N: And there we go people, another chapter down! Now Catherine knows everything, she'll have more of a role in the story moving forward, and some sweet sisterly moments to come. Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter. As always, reviews are appreciated.
Next chapter: Saturn Returns
Quick review comment...
MakiSakura: Well, there will be a bit of a love triangle involving Evan, Kaitlynn, and Vincent, but I'll try to make it different from the show. As for the whole Gabe thing in season two, that will not happen. I'm actually going to be making some changes moving forward in later seasons, just because it's fanfiction and I can. lol. Hope that peaks your interest.