Lissa ended up driving. Don't get me wrong, she didn't have my blessing in steering my baby, best friend or no. I had put up a good fight in the matter, vehemently refusing and shielding my keys at the suggestion (as a protective mother should), but she'd used gentle-edged logic to persuade me in the parking lot. Between my lack of sleep, stress over being hunted, and typical bad driving habits, she convinced me I was in no state to drive.
To put it simply, she'd used her schooling in psychology to trick me into handing over the keys. Normally I'd have called her a crafty bitch, but because it was Liss, I saved my money for the swear jar and opted for sulking in the passenger seat.
I hated sitting out on the bench, especially in my own car.
But, considering I was about to blindside her, too, the least I could do was call shotgun without (much) protest. Remembering I had to be on top of my plan to make it work, I sent Mason a covert text, giving him a heads up that I was about to stir trouble.
Take everything off the radio. Take his phone. Hide your car.
It took him only a couple seconds to respond.
Done and done -M.
The one thing I really loved about Mase was how well he rolled with things. I could only hope Lissa would be just as easy to win over. Plunging back into Narnia, aka my codename for the wifi-lacking forest near the city, Lissa drove up to where Mason had originally instructed. I thought we'd been in the middle of no where before, but this was really pushing the button. We were making our own road at this point as we tore through the underbrush.
A glint of recognition dawned in Lissa's eyes at our surroundings. "Your unit found Emmaline?" she asked, the question seeming to answer itself by her tone.
Though it wasn't the same area as before, the setting was similar. I shouldn't have been surprised she fit two and two together. It's not like I'd ever happily travel out here for a weekend hike. "Not my unit per say," I answered ominously, postponing lopping her into the plan. "Mason's keeping the discovery under wraps for now."
Lissa gave me a sideways look. Even without a clear heads up, she knew my headstrong plans were more based on leaps of faith than ethical procedure.
If only she knew the half of it.
A couple minutes later, I spotted Mason up ahead on a hill, his red hair like a flame under the sunset's light. Lissa came to a stop and killed the engine as I got out and hiked up ahead as she rummaged through the backseat, silently dreading her upcoming reaction. She already wasn't happy about leaving her heels behind. "Anyone else know the body's out here?" I asked Mason.
He shook his head, leading us up as Lissa joined the party, her medical bag in hand. "Only call he made was to 911, the dispatcher put it straight through to me."
"Alright, good." I saw the hiker as we crested the hill, the sandy-haired guy shifting nervously from foot to foot. It was clear he wasn't sound in getting involved in police business. "What's he doing all the way out here, anyway?" I asked.
"Looking for Indian arrowheads, apparently," Mason said. "He didn't expect to find our missing victim."
I grimaced. Mason had told me on the phone earlier that another hiker had found Emmaline exactly like how we'd discovered Gabe. Hopefully this time though, we could use it to our advantage. At least that's what I was gambling on. Lissa went ahead toward the body, brushing back branches to get to her. I lagged behind and touched Mason's arm, quietly instructing him, "Take the hiker back to headquarters, see how long you can hold him." He nodded. As we began to split our separate ways, I called back and added, "Call Mia, get her out here, and tell her the plan."
"I'm on it," he said obediently, herding the hiker back down the hill with him.
Lissa glanced over her shoulder curiously. "What plan?" she inquired as she reached Emmaline who was on the other side of a fallen tree in a small pine bed clearing, robed in leaves. Lissa, as efficient as ever, promptly squatted down to examine her.
I stopped on the opposite side of the tree, hesitating for a moment before telling her, "We're going to surveillance the body."
I might as well have told her her beloved Bass was in the obituary section of the newspaper. She looked up, incredulous, before straightening. "You mean leave her here?"
My tongue felt like lead. I hated being the bearer of bad news, especially when I sympathized. I wasn't even fully on board with my plan, but I couldn't turn back now because of empathy. "Yes," I confirmed, seeing her jaw line tighten almost immediately as she glanced away, her typical cues of being upset. I wasn't surprised at her reaction; even if her job creeped the hell out of me, she was diligent, and not helping Emmaline at this stage in this game was unthinkable for an ME, especially one like Lissa. "I said you wouldn't like it, now let's go."
"No," she said defiantly, meeting my eyes again. "I'm calling my team."
"Liss," I interjected quickly, trying to appeal to her logical side while hiding the urgent edge in my voice, "they weren't expecting anyone to find this body, look at where's she's hidden!" I breathed, focusing on calming myself. "Alright, hear me out. We get the hell out of here, we put both park entrances under surveillance-"
"What makes you think Victor isn't watching you right now?" Lissa asked quietly, putting on her gloves.
"He might be," I admitted, refusing to back down despite the chill that notion left me. "I am willing to take that bet."
"What, so we just leave this poor girl here in hopes that they'll return? No, no," she said, shaking her head, hurt I'd even suggest such a thing. "Every second she stays here more forensic evidence is lost."
"Lissa, please, I am begging you," I pleaded, ramped up to my breaking point. We were wasting too much time. I had to get us out of here. "I can't keep playing Dashkov's game like this, because at this rate," I told her point-blank, knowing it was the only way to get through to her, "he is going to win and he is going to kill me."
She stopped. Lissa looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time since Victor escaped. I told her last night I'd never been more scared in my life, but I'd still been able to laugh a little and brush it off with typical Rose flippancy. I couldn't do that anymore.
I was choking on fear, burning with apprehension as the dragging debate jeopardized our safety. "Look, the faster we get out of here, the better chance we have of not being discovered, okay? Because if we don't do this, we got nothing. If we take this body back now all we'll find out is- yup, she's dead. And they killed her." This time, when Lissa looked at Emmaline, pity and moral struggle were mixed into her gaze. I'd broken through to her. "Please," I said again, lowering my voice. "Do this for me."
Lissa was an angel in all forms of the word. Her platinum blond hair glimmered white-gold, like a halo, as the sun crept down the horizon, her pale lips formed into a grimace as they reluctantly formed the word "okay". She stood, leaving Emmaline at peace in her makeshift grave.
A weight lifted off my chest. She wasn't happy, but was on board with the plan.
Better make it count, Rose.
Night setting in both hindered and propelled the plan. The blanketing darkness obscured our vision and chances of catching them, but if there was a time when they'd visit, it would be now. We'd have to make the best of it.
Lissa and Mia were posted at the north entrance, Mason and I covering the south. It would have helped to recruit Dimitri or Sydney into the mission but both of my partners had affirmed that the fewer that knew, the better. So we were on our own in my crazy plan. Luckily, my small unit was used to getting dragged into them by now and making them work.
I sat in the passenger seat of the squad car (again much to my distaste), eyes already adjusted to the black shadows of our lovely, horror movie scenery. Mason was slouched on the driver's side, yawning and subsequently making me yawn. I leaned off the window and swatted him. "Knock it off, you're going to make both of us fall asleep."
"Right, not like we couldn't use some shut-eye." He sunk further into the chair.
I rolled my eyes and clicked the button on the walkie-talkie. Text or phone calls were out of the question at the moment. "Still got the entrance, Mia?"
A buzz of static came back almost immediately. "Got it. We're clear."
"Alright, keep your eyes peeled." I clicked off the receiver, sighing. "Victor had to choose a forest," I muttered, not keen on our location, especially in the dead of night.
"Could be worse," Mason offered. "He could have lured us into a room like one of those Saw movies."
Boy, how comforting. Mason really knew how to put a girl at ease. "Thanks so much for putting that possibility into my head," I said, knowing I'd been thinking about horror movies but not actually considering being in one.
He smiled. "Oh come on. At least we're sticking it out together, right? Good company and all of that."
I glanced at him from the side, deciding it couldn't hurt to poke at him a little. It was normally how we kept awake on outposts anyway. "Is that your way of hitting on me, Mase?"
He looked playfully offended I'd even suggest that. "Of course not, I wouldn't come onto you- not in such an unromantic scene anyway. Have some faith. I'm just glad I got better company that Mia." He stretched back in his chair. "She'd never let me sleep on the job."
"Yeah well, you're not sleeping with me, either." I knew I should have rephrased that one better as soon as I saw him smile. I rolled my eyes. He was such a kid sometimes. "Now stay sharp or I'll tell Alberta to cut your salary for the month."
He pouted. "Oh come on, that wasn't even fair the first time." Before I could guess what he was doing, he opened the door and slid out. I sat up.
"What, are you going to go sleep upside-down in a tree like a lost boy?" If anyone had dibs on sleeping, it was me.
"Don't be silly, I'd never do that in this suit. I have to pee."
"You've got to be kidding me." We were in the middle of a stake-out and he had to void his bladder.
The only answer I got was a lopsided grin. He walked off, hands in his pockets and probably whistling like it was a casual restroom break. I sighed and leaned back into the upholstery, keeping a closer watch in his absence. Crickets and the faint cry of an owl rang out, the scene otherwise silent as the minutes dragged on. I glanced at my watch and then around. He was no where in sight.
"Later that same day," I muttered. "Come on!" I got out of car, popping closed the door as quietly as possible. "Mase!" I hissed quietly, turning on my flashlight and flashing the beam around. Still nothing. If he screwed up the mission because he had a small bladder, I was going to do a lot worse than swat him. I looked at the car then shook my head, abandoning my post momentarily to creep along the forest line, searching for him. "Mase. Mason!" I whispered.
Walking through the maze of trees, I switched off my light for a second, glancing around. Seriously, how far did a man have to travel to urinate safely? I turned the flashlight back on, hissing for the seventh time, "Mason, come on!"
There was a scuffle farther off. I turned toward it, the beam glinting off tree branches. "Mason?" The scuffling increased, my hearing perking as I looked out further.
Suddenly, through an opaque curtain of vine, I both saw and heard a figure run through the forest, veiled in darkness as he snapped through the underbrush. One glance told me for sure it wasn't Mase, the build too tall for my partner. It had to be someone else.
Say, like, Victor Dashkov.
The knot in my gut tightening, I broke into a run, whipping past the snarled branches of the forest as I gave chase. They'd come. They really had come. There was a splash of water down below, the grass-dressed hill giving way to gravel and a small stream. He'd run into the stream and was following the current. Forgetting the flashlight, I kept the hand on my belt near my gun, knowing a roundabout way to cut him off.
As the figure sprinted through the shallow bed of water, I caught up on the opposite side, blindsiding him and ramming into him for a tackle. That was easier said than done.
I knew the instant I slammed into him it wasn't Victor. Though he had the height down, the hidden figure was too built to match my would-be-killer. My mind went instantly to the next explanation. Was it the apprentice? Jesus Christ, had Dashkov recruited an NFL linebacker? Honestly, at that point, I wouldn't have doubted it. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall.
The tackle sent us both down into the water, the spray hitting the shore. Because I was on top, I had better recovery time, getting to my feet, gun in hand. "Stay down, put your hands on your head!" I ordered harshly, my hair plastered to my cheeks and my wet clothes clinging to my body.
"Rose, Rose, it's me," a familiar, accented voice said as the soaked figure in black rose to face me, hands up.
The moonlight hit his face. It was Dimitri.
I stared, stunned and reeling, before my temper took over, all hell breaking loose. "What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled, still pumping strong with adrenaline, my arms slagging as I lowered my gun even though I had half the mind to shoot him.
"I was chasing Dashkov," he said stoically.
Bewildered and on edge, I glanced out toward where he was heading before looking back at my ex-partner, shoving him roughly on the shoulder. "What do you mean you were chasing Dashkov?" I shouted. "How do you even know he was out here?"
He opened his mouth to defend himself, but a weak voice resonating through the night stopped him.
"Rose," came a faint, hoarse voice near the shore. "Hello? A little help over here."
I recognized that voice instantly as well. "Mason?" I asked, calling a ceasefire with Dimitri momentarily to shove through the branches on the other side of the stream, following his voice. I shone my flashlight, Dimitri right behind me, the light hitting a still figure on the ground.
"Officer down," Mason mumbled, on a bed of gravel and pine, his jacket sprawled around him. There was a pool of red, my heart constricting. No. No, no, no. I ran to him. He was holding his neck, blood dripping down his collar and through his fingers. "Officer down..."
"Oh my god, Mase." I went to his side immediately, my knees digging into the sharp rock as I knelt over him.
"Oh hey," he said, seeing me, holding his cut throat as if I'd finally come to the party. His blue eyes glimmered in the silver light, but they were dimmer than usual, drained of his usual fire.
Still boiling with adrenaline, I retrieved my walkie-talkie from my belt, hitting the receiver and reporting, "Officer down, Mia, officer down."
Mia's distressed voice paired with mine. That was never a report we wanted to hear or send. "Where are you?" she demanded through the static.
Dimitri took the device, reporting our location as I busied myself with Mason. "He snuck up on me," he said hoarsely.
"Okay, okay, it's going to be fine," I promised him, holding my hand over the one on his neck, adding pressure as I laid my other hand on the side of his cheek. "Save your breath, everything's going to be fine."
Dimitri leaned down next to me and we exchanged a look. I don't know what my eyes reflected just then. Panic? Worry? Horror? Whatever it was, it was enough to draw out a face I'd never seen Dimitri play. We were really pulling out different sides of each other during this case.
I had no time to think about that though. I was consumed with fear over Mason, a fear that almost won out the one of myself getting killed. I faintly heard our station connect to 911, Mia getting an ambulance out to the scene. I went back to focusing on Mason, brushing back his hair.
He swallowed through the blood. "I'm sorry," he whispered to me, making my heart clench more and my fingers tremble, Dimitri preoccupied with the medics.
I don't know why he was apologizing. None of this was his fault. I was the one that had let him go alone and invited Dashkov to a clear opening, slashing his throat and putting his life in danger. I felt the tears bead behind my eyelids as I held Mason, the stream of blood continuing to flow through our fingers.
None of this was his fault. This time, everything was on me.
Forgive me for the filler chapter last time, hopefully this one makes up for it a little. Feel free to make bets on whether or not Mason survives. It didn't turn out very well for him in the books, but who knows? I'm a sympathetic writer. That and I just love Mason's characters as a whole.
All comments and favorites are appreciated~