Clear Blue Sky Ch. 14
Time Jump: 8 months.
Sitting on her couch, Evie was reviewing some data that Lt. Detective Piper Lynch asked of her, groaning out her frustrations, she wasn't even close to a Jessica Cortez, while Evie didn't have any doubts that she was a good cop, she was more concerned with her career than anything else. This posting was just another notch on her belt, eventually she would be asked for something bigger, shiner, and newer.
Rubbing her temples, she knew that Lynch worked in the gray area, some of it she understood the other, seemed extremely selfish, but what does she know about being a cop in the LAPD, and as a woman. Currently Lynch had her deep diving into a Columbian Florist, seems like he was more than a florist. Sending everything she had over, she put down her computer, and headed towards the bedroom, today was supposed to be a day off, but according to Lynch, "SWAT can be doing so much more, being proactive instead of reactive." Evie couldn't help but roll her eyes at that thought.
Dressing quickly, she looked at the time, it was close to 6:30PM, it was time for her to start heading over to Deacon and Annie's house, she was going to babysit and put the kids down for them, it's been a while since they had a date night.
Pulling out her phone, she sent a text to Rocker.
TEXT:
Babe, heading to Deac's now. Stay safe out there. Love you.
TEXT:
Will do, Deac need's a moment to chill, especially what happened yesterday. I'll be home after shift. Love you too baby.
Putting it back in her pocket, she made her way towards their home. It didn't take too long, eventually, she was standing in the front room watching all the kids running around, and Annie holding baby Victoria trying to get out the door.
Letting out a whistle that got all their attentions, "Small humans, sit, now." Watching as they all sat on the couch, "OK, good. Now, you will relax, or we will not have a fun night, is that clear?" she asked them.
Michael and Lila shared a look, "Yes Evie." They said together. Giving them a nod, she turned to find both Annie and Deac staring at her. "What?"
Deac pulled her into a hug, "How? Every single time."
Smirking at him, "Simple, I'm not mom or dad. Kids are weird like that." Gently reaching over to Victoria, she was so cute and chunky, "Come here little lady." She was almost a little shy of 7 months, but still tiny, which was fine with Evie, she was tiny herself. Looking at the parents, "Get out, have fun. We got this," looking over at the kids sitting on the couch, "Alright, hug your mom and dad."
Evie checked her messages, smiling as she saw that Rocker was home. She finished bathing the humans, and now they were sitting in the living room on the couch enjoying a little popcorn and watching the last bit of the movie that was started before dinner.
The sound of motorcycles coming up the road had Evie on edge, it wasn't a normal sound for this neighborhood, especially at 9 at night. Placing a sleeping Victoria on the pillow on the floor next to all her sleeping siblings, she padded quietly to the window, seeing 2 of them pulling out guns and aiming at the house, she didn't hesitate and hit the floor, army crawling to the children as the bullets started flying into the house, using her body as best she could, she covered them.
Screaming was heard, "Shhhh… It's OK, stay down kids, stay down." Just as quickly as it started, she could hear the bikes revving to take off. Looking at Michael, "Stay here with them, do not move." Jumping up she ran towards the front door, swinging it open, hoping to catch any identifying plates or anything, but they were halfway down the street. Pulling out her phone, she called Commander Hicks. She made her way back into the house.
"Sir, Deacon's home was just shot up."
"Jesus, are you and the kids, OK?"
"Yes sir, shaken up. I'm bringing the kids in to HQ."
"Good, get them here, I'll call Deacon and Annie. You take care of them Evelyn."
"Yes sir."
Running back inside, she grabbed the kids, and took the keys to the minivan, once everyone was safely packed in the car, and she knew she wasn't being followed, she made the call to Donovan.
"Hey baby, Annie and Deacon get back already?" he asked her.
"Rocker, the house was just shot up, I'm taking the kids to HQ, I already called Hicks." Her voice was on the verge of breaking, she was terrified of what could have happened to the kids.
His eyes bugged out of his head, "Evelyn are you OK? Are the kids, OK?" he asked as he was putting on his jeans.
Letting out a breath, "I'm OK, the kids are fine, but they are scared."
Closing his eyes, "Just get to HQ, I'm heading in now. I love you, Evelyn."
A tear slid down her face, "I love you too, Donovan."
Seeing HQ and getting through the gates was a huge relief to her, she could see 20D was standing outside waiting for her. Parking the van, she got out and started to unload the kids, grateful that she had the forethought to pack clothes, toys, and some games before they left the house, as she was unstrapping Samuel, she felt someone behind her, finding Hondo behind her. Holding both Victoria and Samuel, "This was Murido."
He could only nod, helping her get everyone into HQ, he watched as she held on to those kids like she was afraid to let them go.
Evie was able to get the kids settled down, and fall asleep, she could see that Deacon, Annie, and Rocker were standing in the doorway. Placing a finger on her lips, she untangled herself from them. Walking over to the door, she was pulled into a hug by both Annie and Deacon.
Deacon held onto her; she kept his kids safe. "Evie, thank you so much for watching them, protecting them."
Wrapping her arms around him, "With my life Deacon, with my life." She meant that.
Annie pulled her into a hug, she didn't say anything, she just held her and cried.
Rubbing her back, "It's OK, they are OK." She held on for a little longer, before she gently stepped back, "Go, sit with them." Gently pushing Annie towards her babies.
Rocker stayed silent as Deacon and Annie hugged Evie, but now that she was free, he pulled her to him, he wrapped his big arms around her, "Are you OK?" he said into her hair.
Nodding, "Shaken up, but I'll survive." Giving him a quick kiss, she pulled back, now that her nerves were finally calming down, she got mad, stepping back, she turned on her heels and headed straight for the war room, finding the CIA guy talking down to Hondo, and Hicks. Not thinking, she stepped right into his face, "Is this what you signed up for? To protect a man that is so willing to kill an American Police officer so openly. He mocks you, if you don't do something now, what little control you have on him is gone."
Not wanting to stick around, she turned and headed down the hallway, she could feel someone behind her, looking over her shoulder, she could see that Rocker was keeping in step with her, not that it was too difficult. Stopping as she rounded the corner, she leaned against the wall, "I really wanted to punch that man." Her voice still angry.
Leaning against the wall with her, he understood, he wanted to kill him. His incompetence not only put Deacon and his family in danger, but also Evie's. That was something that he wasn't going to forget. He wanted to comfort her, but he also knew that she needed to vent without feeling smothered. "If you want help, you let me know. I'm always your biggest supporter."
Laughing at him, she was grateful that she had him to keep her centered, turning towards him, she was about to say something, but her name echoed in the halls.
"Evelyn, glad to see you're OK." Lt. Lynch said.
Biting the inside of her cheek, "Me too, l mean crazy to think you a cop, would want him a bad guy in jail. Oh, wait. You're more concerned about your pollical standings than getting someone that is using the US government as a big joke. So please, with all do respect Lt. Lynch, don't come over here doing your obligatory check in. It's insulting." As she turned to walk about, "Evening ma'am." Giving Rocker a small smile as she passed.
Lynch was stunned, never in her LAPD career spoken to that way. Looking up at her boyfriend, "You have something to say Sgt?" she asked.
Giving her a look, "No, I think Evelyn covered it." As he made his way towards the motor pool, she walked next to him.
"I'm a good cop. You know." She said to him.
Shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe. There is a time to be political and there is a time to be a cop. Your badge is LAPD, not DEA, FBI, or anything like that. You should remember that when you're in a meeting about peer reviews with the mayor. Hmmm." Turning back towards his destination, his mind was focused on what could have happened to Evie.
Evie was sitting in the house, after finding out that Murido was being shipped back to Columbia, made her feel a little better, but something like that should never have happened. Taking another drink of her whiskey, she let her feet dangle over the back of the couch. Hearing the garage door shut didn't make her move, "Hey baby." She said.
Placing his keys on the hook by the door, "Hey." Snorting as he saw her feet. Tickling her toes, he leaped over the couch and plopped down. Looking down at her upside down. "Trying to think?" he asked. Knowing that this what she did when she had a bunch of things on her mind.
Letting out a sigh, she righted herself up, "I am. It's just a lot of political BS, it's only a matter of time before Lynch puts SWAT in an impossible position, but cards on the table, I don't trust her to take responsibility for it. That scares me."
He understood, he felt the same way, "I know. But hey, knowing that you're there in HQ watching over the SWAT teams, makes it easy to head out there."
Wrapping her arms around him, "Thank you for saying that." Taking a moment to center herself, "You know I'll always get your back." She meant that, there wasn't much one could do to keep her from being here.
Pulling her into this lap, he kissed her. Picking her up, he headed off to bed, he needed to be with her, and feel her body against his. After hours of being only wrapped up in each other, they fell asleep their only thoughts were about the future.
It was about two weeks later that things took a turn for the worse. Another open attack on SWAT and their family, the wife of another SWAT team member was shot and killed, a banger wanted revenge for killing his brother. Evie stood there, crying in the office, she didn't know Rodriguez that well, but from her limited interactions with him, he was a solid guy, it pained her to know that this was happening to such a great young man.
That's how Hicks found her, crying in the stairwell of the hospital. She volunteered to head to the hospital while 50D and 20D were on an op. They didn't know that she didn't make it, and there was no way she was going to tell them while they were needed to focus.
Hicks sat on the step next to her, wrapping her in his arm, "Are you OK?" he asked her.
Shaking her head, "Yea. Physically, but emotionally, I don't know why I'm so emotional about someone I never met, but I am. That's twice in this month a lone that SWAT has been targeted for retribution." Taking a needed breath, trying to collect her thoughts, "Is there anything that I can do, from a tech standpoint to help protect our family?"
"I don't know Evie. I wouldn't even know where to start." He said, it came off as defeated.
Rubbing her face, as she went to speak, an idea sprung into her head, "They shouldn't be able to find them, but it has happened, twice." Looking at Hicks, "Somewhere in the department, someone has to be the link to that information." Her eyes filled with a little fear, "Hicks, someone in the LAPD could be giving out that information."
That thought triggered him to shiver. "I don't even want to think about that." But the more he did, the more he realized that she was right. "How would we find them? There are 30 thousand officers, easily 5 thousand that would have access to that kind of information."
Cracking her neck, knowing that she wasn't going to let a needle in this haystack stop her, this was her family, "I will do what I can to narrow down the field, start from the top and work down." Rubbing her face, "We can't make in an official investigation, so how do we do it, and still keep it to where it wouldn't just be tossed out in court?" Evie knew that she could start hacking into their lives, seeing every little thing, but there is not a judge or jury in the world that would be cool with such a broad net.
Shaking his head, "Let me talk to Molly, she's a lawyer, and well I trust her, so she'll tell me what I can do to keep it quiet yet do what you need to get the right information."
Standing up, "We can't tell Lynch, for all we know." Thinking about it, "We need to keep this insolated, the less people knowing that we are doing something, the less likely someone will accidently blab."
He knew that she wasn't wrong, "So, keeping it from SWAT, even Rocker?"
It didn't feel good to say it, "Yes. Not Rocker, Hondo, no one. You, me, and Molly, but she must know that after she gives us the information she needs to step aside, any inquiries about anything to the wrong person will get one if not all of us killed." Chewing her lip, "We will bring the team leads in once we narrowed down our suspect pool. Cause right now, we're fishing."
Pulling out her phone, she asked for his, quickly linking them together, and entering a line of code, "This is to prevent anyone from listening to the calls, or hack into us, it will automatically shut down. I'm leaving the GPS enabled, you never know when we might need to be found."
Looking at his phone, "So, I could have a wiretap tired and what?" he wondered.
Smirking up at him, "It will be the sound of Tel-Novela. I'll disable it once we have our man… Urm woman…." Shaking her head, "Person."
Hicks laughed at her, she was always polite, even when it was the bad guy. They say alone in that stairwell, talking about how they would get information, where they would discuss it. Her brilliant idea was once she knew her parameters within the law, she would create a special drive, it would link up to computer she'd design only her, and Hicks would have access to so that any new information would be saved and kept in safe location inside HQ.
Rocker couldn't lose Evie, in less than a couple weeks, someone attacked another SWAT family, only this time the wife didn't make it, he wasn't going to put her in danger like that. His job was always dangerous, but now these criminals were targeting their families. He would protect her no matter the cost to himself. Grabbing the last of his clothes, he walked out to the truck, and waited for her to come home.
It was the most painful 30 minutes of his life, but soon he heard the garage door opening. Letting out a deep breath, he was doing this for her, he needed to protect her.
Walking into the house, Evie felt strange, but ignored it, seeing Donovan standing waiting for her was something that she would never get tired of seeing. "Hey. You didn't have to wait up for me. I know you had a long day." Heading over to him she was going to kiss him, but just by his body language she could see that there was something going on with him.
Tilting her head towards him, "Donovan what's wrong?" her voice filled with concern.
Keeping his emotions in check, "I'm leaving Evie. It's not safe for you with me." He said, his voice was cold. It was what was needed.
Staring at him like he had 8 heads, "Excuse me?" she couldn't believe what he said to her.
"I'm leaving Evelyn. It's not safe. I'm not going to risk your life, that's selfish." Standing up he pulled out his keys.
Evelyn just stood there, watching him walk past her, "Are you serious right now? Your job has always been dangerous, so what's the real reason for this?" her voice was on the verge of breaking.
Grabbing the garage door, "Its different now, people are coming after families. I'm not going to be responsible for something happening to you."
Closing her eyes, "And, you made this decision without talking to me? Don't I get a say in my own life?" she asked. Her eyes found his, and she had her answer.
As she watched the door shut behind him, the little control that she was holding onto was gone, and dropped to the floor, balling herself up and holding her legs, she silently cried as her heart shattered into a million little pieces.