Chapter One Hundred and Six: Power
Hell hath no fury like a woman
Reborn, and now I'm burning like a blue flame
Katy Perry - Power
Molly's was unusually busy for a Tuesday night but if she was honest that was the way that Kayla liked it. Her favorite bar didn't usually get much by the way of foot traffic and instead had become a haven to those in the services. It was a safe place to unwind after a horrific day at work surrounded by people who understood the nature of job. At worst the bar simply ticked over, Gabby, Otis and Herrmann breaking even and making a little money on the side for themselves, at best, well the place was packed tonight and she had no doubt that Molly's would be making a tidy profit.
Kayla snagged a couple of empty glasses off the table that had just been vacated and added them to the ever growing collection at the end of the bar. Usually Molly's functioned like a well piled machine, however Hermann and Otis hadn't been prepared for the rush tonight so they were running short handed. Both her and Severide had offered to pitch in when they'd realised that their two friends were beginning to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people. Gabby was on her way in as was a spare bartender but for now Kayla didn't mind helping out. Her gaze strayed to Kelly on the opposite side of the room, flashing some of the female customers that trademark smile of his as he collected their glasses.
They'll definitely be making a return visit, she mused shaking her head with a laugh as she breezed past a small group of cops who had taken up residence at one of the tables near the back.
"...puts on one of those lacy things to cover up the scars, drives me fucking crazy." Kayla's ears pricked up, her step slowing as she heard that familiar voice serenading the rest of the group with his story. "I think she's just grateful to be getting laid after Dawson kicked her ass to the curb know what I'm saying?"
Kayla's doe brown eyes narrowed as they fixed upon the source. Mike Sorenson was perched upon his bar stool, his black hair slicked back away from his pointed features. His hand was nursing a beer bottle that was near empty, his fingertips tapping on the surface of the brown glass as that snarky smile curved across his mouth. If she had disliked the man before, she god damn hated him now.
It was clear that he was shooting his mouth off about Maggie and that infuriated Kayla. It didn't matter that Maggie was a decorated cop who had survived something truly horrible, the boy's club only cared that she had been a victim. In the aftermath of what had happened with Jack Cooper, Antonio was hailed as an unwillingly hero and Maggie had become a pariah in their eyes. By breaking up with Maggie, Antonio hadn't realised that he was making her appear disposable, that to a select group of misogynists, it would look like he was tossing her aside because she was worthless.
Kayla had encountered the boy's club before in her own profession, it was rife in some of the firehouses she had worked in and extended throughout the chain of command. Thankfully though in Kayla's eyes it was becoming a dying breed, these days more women were signing up to become fire fighters, despite the fact it was an uphill battle they were winning when it came to tipping the scales of gender equality.
The few times that her and Sean had discussed the issue, he confirmed that sexism still existed in the police department and it wasn't simply restricted to the old school cops who were nearing retirement age. Every intake there would be a few people raised to think that women didn't deserve a place in the P.D, that they were weaker and more emotional. She knew the people who were sitting at Sorenson's table were of that ilk and the fact that their 'banter' came at the cost of her friend's dignity filled her up with a fiery rage that Kayla didn't think she'd be able to control if she heard another word.
She retreated back to the bar, putting the glasses carefully into the plastic dishwasher rack that was resting upon the end of the bar so that her and Kelly could fill it efficiently. Her hands gripped the plastic rim of the dishwasher tray before she lifted it up with the intention of slipping through the shiny swing doors that led to the kitchen area in the back. Instead she found herself face to face with Mike Sorenson, for a moment Kayla was glad the dishwasher rack was between the two of them. She didn't want this son of a bitch anywhere near her, that malicious smile of his crept across his lips as he planted himself firmly in her way.
"Move." she snapped at him, prodding him in the arm with the corner of the rack to reinforce the word.
"You look like you want to get something off your chest." he stated, his strong fingers wrapping around the dishwasher rack and tugging it from her hands. Kayla yanked it back from him before sliding the rack back onto the bar and meeting Sorenson's gaze.
"You keep telling lies like that and you are going to get burned."Kayla informed him, her hands on her hips as she stood before him, the bar at her back.
"You think I'm lying?" Sorenson said arching an eyebrow, his left hand came to rest upon the surface of the bar behind her bringing him well within her proximity.
Already her mind was processing the situation the same way it had when John had used to do something similar. Sorenson was attempting to box her in, to use his height and weight to force her to yield to him. Despite that raising sense of anxiety twisting up in her stomach Kayla stood her ground, fighting the urge to shrink back against his attempt at intimation.
"I know you are." she snarled at him, her doe brown eyes ablaze as she glared at him.
"There's that fire that John used to talk about." Sorenson uttered, the pitch of his voice dropping just a little as his other hand came to rest on the bar behind Kayla, trapping her in the small space between his body and the wood. "He said you liked it when he played rough?"
Kayla's blood ran cold at the implication, that trepidation in the pit of her stomach was now turning to fear and she could feel it's icy cold tendrils creeping through her body. She felt like she hadn't heard the name John Sheppard in an age and it unnerved her that he still had that control over her even after all this time. It frightened her even more that him and Sorenson had been friends, that the other man knew things about her, about their relationship. Had he known what John was doing to her all that time? Had he approved? She didn't know, what she did know was that she wanted to get out of her right away. Her fight or flight response was kicking in and she desperately needed to be as far away from this man as humanly possible.
"Shall we go outside?" he asked her, his gaze heated as he leaned in close, his voice lowering to a gruff whisper. She recognized that excitement from her time with John and she knew what came with it. The potential for violence was stirring behind Sorenson's eyes and like John, Kayla could see he enjoyed seeing her terror at the prospect. "Let me remind you how it feels."
His hand was on her left arm, his grasp vice like as his fingertips dug into the tender skin causing her to winch at the sudden flash of pain. It was that stinging burst, coupled with the reluctance to go anywhere isolated with this man that kick started Kayla's adrenaline. Not long after she had revealed the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her ex boyfriend, Sean had taken it upon himself to make sure she could protect herself. He knew she had handled herself long before him but it made him worry less to know she was well equipped to deal with potential threats that came her way. They had spent late night sessions back at the gym sparring as he took her through move after move until she had them down pat. He was a good teacher and it helped there was always an creative reward at the end. It was almost like an out of body experience, the way her instincts took over.
Her dainty right hand enclosed on the back of Sorenson's wrist, her slender fingers seeking out the pressure point just underneath the ball of the joint before she pressed down hard enough to make him yelp. Taking advantage of his surprise she swept underneath his arm, twisting it away from his body with her momentum. She forced his arm up his back, her left hand on the back of his neck smashing his face down hard onto the surface of the bar. The crunch of bone echoed in Kayla's ears as Sorenson howled loudly.
"Don't you ever lay your hands on me again." she hissed, releasing him and stepping back from the fray, inhaling a shaky breath to ground herself.
Sorenson turned abruptly, the lower half of his features a mask of blood streaming from what appeared to be his broken nose. His piercing blue eyes fixated on her, she could see that glacial rage building in them as he rounded on her. She didn't know what he intended to do and in the end she didn't find out. Herrmann's hand was clasping the other man's shoulder tightly, his knuckles almost white as he made sure his fingers dug into Sorenson's collarbone.
"Fucking bitch broke my nose." Sorenson complained, clutching his nose with his left hand.
"Looks like you deserved it to me." Severide rumbled from behind her.
His presence was soothing, the way it had always been between the two of them and having him and at her back gave her a confidence that she didn't feel whilst in Sorenson's presence. The guys at 51 were her family and here they were intervening on her behalf the way they ahdn't been able to almost two years ago.
"You need to leave." Otis informed Sorenson, his dark eyes burning like hot coals as he passed Sorenson a handful of napkins.
"We don't want to see you anywhere near this place again." Herrmann told the other man, manhandling him towards the door as Kayla looked on feeling the warm beginning to drain from her body.
"Kayla?" Severide said her name gently, in an attempt to draw her back to the moment.
Kayla said nothing. Instead she spun on her heel and disappeared from view into the staff only area of the bar.
Hey guys, could you hate Mike any more than you do now?
Amber: I'm glad you love this chapter, texts chapters are such fun to write.
CPD: I think I see Roman murdering him before Antonio does after this chapter.
Lauren: I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. I think Antonio is going to have to get in line behind Severide and Roman. In scenes together Erin and Jay are really hard to write but in text chapters they just work. Let me know what you think of this chapter.
Soccer: I hope you love this chapter. He is such a butt, I hate him too.
Anime: I bet you want to punch him even more now. I think we both know that the only person Maggie's been thinking of sleeping with is Antonio. In the show Mike is such a sleeze. In one of the earlier eps, when Jay is suspended over the child molester and him and Antonio secretly meet up and have a bit of a fight, he calls him Toni then. I absolutely loved that and thought I would keep it. In my mind Jay is the only person that Antonio would let get away with it. Roman is just the best char to write and he is gonna lose his shit when he finds out about this.
Nat: They are definitely making inroads on their relationship but it will be a long road after everything that happened. It was important to me to show that there can be platonic friendships between men and women, Roman and Maggie allow me to portray it perfectly. You don't make any mistakes at all which was why I was so surprised.