Chapter XLVII

A Half Step Ahead

She didn't need Jim, Jeff McKeen, Rory Atwatter or anyone else to tell her how important this arrest was. It had to go down quick, clean and without a hitch. She wasn't waiting for backup, though Greg had volunteered. She needed the young CSI back in the security room gathering all the information he could. That's what she had told him, but they had both known why she wanted him to stay behind. The memory of his beating at the hands of a swarm of blood thirsty teenage thrill-killers was still too fresh in both of their minds.

Mick and his team, whether she liked it or not, was her backup. The man was cooperating but still didn't like the idea of a "townie" cop running amuck on his campus. That, Sofia grudgingly admitted, was reasonable. Besides, she didn't know the layout like the campus cops did and in the end that could be the deal breaker.

She was in the library, a structure that Sofia had seen on her other visits to the school, but had never been in. They had tracked her to a computer on the library's third floor. It had actually been very simple: each student and faculty member was given an alpha-numeric ID and password and they used them to access on-campus computers. Their girl was using a computer on the third floor of the library. If the arrest turned ugly she wouldn't be able to waltz into this particular library again, which was a pity since she'd already been banned from Barnes and Noble for life. You would think they would have been happy to have a rapist-murderer out of their midst, and the city had reimbursed them for the window, the stack of coffee mugs, the couch and the table.

She shook her head to clear out the extraneous thoughts and focused. Mick had given her one of his team's walkie-talkies so she could communicate with them. At the moment Dimples and Tyler were filling in two other officers and Mick was giving her the library specs.

The building was three stories in addition to the three story parking garage that it shared some of its space with.

The building was large, sandstone in color and blocky. The many windows reflected the cloudless blue sky in their copper toned mirror tint that allowed the patrons to look out over the picturesque campus. Sofia looked up at the window and wondered if the murderer was looking down at them. Even in plainclothes she felt conspicuous. It was hard not to considering the radio Mick had given her had a cord leading up to the speaker lodged against the shell of her ear like a black parasite.

She depressed the small button on the in-cord mic, "I'm going in."

They had decided that Dimples and Tyler would cover the emergency exits and Mick would stay on the main floor while Sofia ran point. She was about the right age to be a grad or PhD candidate or professor and wouldn't raise the same sort of interest that Mick and his team would.

The library's only public entrance and exit was at the top of a large flight of stairs that seemed to be a gathering point for students. None of them paid her any mind, as they were too busy talking about an upcoming tests, girl trouble, boy trouble and weekend events. She took the steps two at a time and caught the closing library door with ease. The young couple she brushed past didn't even give her a second look.

The cool air hit her in the face and she let out a sigh of relief in spite of herself. This library was larger than the one she and Sara had been to, but the quiet was very much the same. Every up-tight starchy old librarian who'd ever lived and died was about to roll over in their graves. The image was rather amusing, actually.

She opted to use the stairs rather than the elevator that they wrapped around. She didn't want the ding to alert anyone on the third floor to her arrival. "Besides," she mumbled to herself as she navigated the stairs, "I could always use a little more cardio in my work out."

She hit the second floor and went around the elevator and to the second set of spiral stairs without losing a step or sparing a glance. Sofia's feet touched the carpet of the third floor and she looked around quickly and spotted the computer that her killer was supposed to be using. The screen was a blank red broken only by a gray sign-in box, and the chair was empty.

Greg's voice crackled in her ear: "She's logged off."

A ding sounded off to her right and Sofia turned, anxious and ready. The two young men in the elevator didn't look particularly impressed. The other elevator was closed and the down arrow mounted on the wall beside it glowed a faint orange.

Sofia turned on her heel and started going back down the stairs. She hit the small button of the headset to activate the microphone, saying, "She's in the elevator, going down. I'm on the stairs."

Another voice sounded off in her ear, she was pretty sure it was Mick. "I'm covering the first floor and the boys are going around to the emergency exits. We'll get her."

Sofia hit the second flight of stairs just in time for Mick to curse into the radio. "Elevator's empty."

At first, Sofia thought it might have been coincidence, or piss-poor luck. Now she knew better: they'd been made. She turned again and started back up the stairs to the second floor. She should have known. She had seen the computer terminal long enough to know that their killer had a clear view at the windows and a lovely view of the sidewalks three stories bellow.

She itched to pull her gun. She had, at Mick's request, removed her holster and pocketed her badges but she had outright refused to leave her gun locked up tight in his security office. She had her police-issue Glock riding against the small of her back and her throw-away strapped to her ankle.

She got to the second floor and looked around, her eyes taking in everything. She grit her teeth and did a second sweep of the room.

"Got her."

She was half way across the room, backpack slung over her shoulder. Sofia moved to the left and ducked into the shelves.

"Criminal Justice? You're a cruel and unusual man, Dewey."

She worked around the end of the stack and turned to go up the next aisle and met the eye of the woman she was after. For a moment they both stood stock-still, and then the girl bolted.

"Damn!" Sofia hissed mostly to herself. She started to run and on an afterthought, hit the mic button. "She's running." She didn't wait for an answer and just kept running. She skidded on the knobby carpet and had to grab the edge of one of the heavy wooden bookshelves to steady herself. Eyes sharp, she looked around. The bitch was already at the stairs and going down. Sofia picked up her speed and quickly turned sideways to dodge between two tables. Her feet moved without much thought as she pivoted back to a full run. She hit the stairs and scowled because she couldn't see the woman. She took the stairs two at a time, and could feel the momentum building, hitting the first floor at almost a full sprint. Shoving her way through a small crowed waiting in line to check out their assorted books, she looked around again, her blonde hair swinging wildly across her face. The bitch was halfway to the door.

Sofia started to run again. She could feel the fabric of her pants rubbing against her skin and the muscles of her les bunching and pulling. She shoved and dodged around the loitering students.

"Move! LVPD! MOVE!"

Ahead of her by however many paces, the raven-haired man-killer paused and looked back.

Sofia smirked at the beginner's mistake and pushed herself to full-court-press speed.

The girl's eyes went wide and she stumbled to start running again.

Sofia was going to have her before she got to the door.

That would have been the case, except the girl threw an elbow at her face. The elbow was a metaphor for an entire rolling cart full of books and her face was her entire being. Because she had been so close behind her there was no time for Sofia to stop, change direction or even pivot to dodge. She ran right into it at three-quarters speed and went down hard and fast. Books went everywhere and Sofia barely had time to put her hands out to stop herself from breaking her nose on the carpeted floor. Students all around her reacted; some just stood and stared, others started taking pictures and video with their cell phones and one brave young man even moved towards her to help.

She didn't need their help; the killer who had cut down their classmate was getting out of the damn door. She pushed herself to her hands and knees and got to her feet, scattering books all across the floor. She started to move again and knew damn well that if she got to the main hub of campus they would probably lose her.

She pushed the button again while she started to run.

"She's on the stairs!"

Mick's voice answered her back, "Which floor is she headed for?"

Sofia hit the door and pushed it open with her weight and momentum.

"The outside stairs, she's out-fucking-side!"

Not only was she outside, Sofia saw, she was halfway down the stairs.

It was a split second decision, and probably her very last shot. She didn't go down the stairs, she veered to the left and pushed to full speed. Her calves tightened and her quads began to burn.

The stairs were a grand sweep in front of the library, bordered on each side by a low stone wall that was served a double purpose of being a handhold and a perch for students to sit and lean on. It was also wide enough to give her an alternative to the stairs. On the landing she was on, the wall was only two and a half feet high. She made the jump easily and started to run full speed on about a forty degree angle.

Either this would work and she would catch her perp or it was going to hurt—a lot.

She not only caught up with the only woman, she went past her. The end of her make-shift runway was coming up fast and it was down to the wire.

In the end she could only make the leap and hope she didn't break an ankle in the process. She was only airborne for a moment, less than a quarter of a second. It was positively exhilarating. She hit the cement sidewalk and kept going two or three extra steps, her momentum making her overstep where she wanted to be. With the skill honed from long hours of before-and-after school practice, summer skill camps and stubborn pride that didn't allow her to go soft, she pivoted sharply and shuffled with long strides to the right.

She caught the girl with ease.

"You remember me, Kera, I'm with LVPD Homicide and you are under arrest."

By the time Mick, Dimples and Whatever the Other One's Name Was had caught up, she already had Kera Heine in handcuffs and Mirandaized.

Mick ran his hand over his shining, sweat drenched head, obviously out of breath.

"Good God, Detective, did you run track or something?!"

Slightly winded herself, Sofia bent over double to breathe deep and allowed Dimples and his partner to walk Kera back to the sedan that one of the other officers on patrol had parked a few yards away at the entrance of the parking garage.

"No, I played—you know what, never mind." She stood back up. "Sorry for the trouble."

Mick chuckled and clapped her on the back.

"Most excitement I've had in a long time, but I don't think the head librarian is going to be too pleased with you."

Sofia only shook her head. "Trust me, by the time I get Miss Heine back to PD the librarian will have to wait in a very long line."

Author's Note: This chapter is alternativly titled: Mariska Hagerty Eat Your Heart Out. It was a lot of fun to write. It's also something of a preview for 'Mistaken Identity': lots of action with touches of humor, and it will hopefully be shorter then this monster of a fic. Now please review so I feel appreciated!