Author's Note: Hi guys! I'm so sorry this took me so long to get out. I had initially planned to post at least every second week, but this month has been kicking my butt as far as time goes (on the upswing, I'm paying off my student loans like crazy...but I'm literally working ten hours a day, six days a week. Just for the summer, just for the summer, just get up and go...^_^)
Hi Soului! Typos aren't such a little thing! That's why we have editors (or at least, that's why I should...). I know what you mean. When a person is trained to spot things like that, it pulls them right out of the story and disturbs the reading process. I'm sorry to say I have no idea how to fix it now that it's up. If anybody is an alumni, feel free to drop me a note! I have gone over this chapter several times, so hopefully you won't spot any mistakes. Let me know if you do! I'm always eager to improve and things like this remind me to stay on my toes.
Affinity part 6
INCIDENT DATA
Incident Type: Suspected Hostage Situation
Address of Occurrence: 1709 Hawkton Dr., TO
Originally Received As: Extortion Attempt against Officer
How Received: Telephone
Type of Premise: Residence (Anywhere on Premises)
Date/Time of Occurrence: July 1/10, 0239 – 0246 HRS
Officer Assaulted or Killed: No
Officer Injured: No
Weapon or Objects Used: No
Processed By: Det. Charlie Marks
VICTIM
Name: Osman Bey
Date of Birth: Dec. 29/1978
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: EMT
VICTIM
Name: Toby Logan
Date of Birth: June 1/1979
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: EMT
KNOWN SUSPECT:
Name: Andy LaPaige
Date of Birth: Aug. 6/1983
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Telephone Line Technician
KNOWN SUSPECT:
Name: Sara Tucker
Date of Birth: Feb. 23/1987
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Office Assistant
NARRATIVE
Officers approached the residence belonging to Sara Tucker on July 1/10 at 0239. Officers entered the residence from the front and rear entrances simultaneously. Officers encountered and subdued a large dog at the rear entrance. No other resistance was issued. The single occupant of the residence was located in the second floor master bedroom. Target suspect was not present. Hostages were also not present. Ms. Sara Tucker indicated that she was not aware of Mr. Andy LaPaige's activities. Ms. Tucker initially told the officers she was also not aware of Mr. LaPaige's location. Ms. Tucker shortly thereafter recanted her statement. She indicated Mr. LaPaige may be found at another residence: 973 Arcadi...Bust was bust. One big, career ending, fuck up fucking fuck cluster. If anybody's reading this, Becker stashed my body in the supply closet.
Charlie punctuated the final sentence right through the paper. She dropped her pen and stared at the wall. Interestingly enough, Becker had not pasted a picture of her face that had been used for target practice where she could see it. Charlie contemplated the generic, beige wall. Becker probably wouldn't take pot shots at Charlie anyway. Nah. It was Toby's picture he had hung up in the shooting gallery. Charlie was a detective. She could figure that shit out.
Charlie was having a serious crisis of faith regarding her super-duper detecting skills. Because apparently, while she and the rest of the police department had been invading the bedroom of a hundred pound girl in pink lingerie, Toby had been shooting a serial killer's brother clear across the city.
Becker was covering for Charlie. He was currently in a meeting with the higher-ups that Charlie had not been invited to. Had they known the bust had gone on her word, she would have been invited. She would have been chewed up, spit out, and demoted, put on desk-duty, reprimanded, or something otherwise equally humiliating. Then Becker would have had to justify his decision to mount a full, tactical, home invasion on the hunch of a junior detective.
Instead, Becker was taking the hit. He was higher profile. They wouldn't question him as rigorously if there was no obvious sign of impropriety. Sometimes, shit just happened.
Charlie was going to owe Becker. God Damn. Becker was no slouch when it came to making his detectives pay their debts.
And this debt was going to be hard. Becker already thought there was something twitchy going on between Charlie and Toby. Toby – in his stupidly blunt, too intuitive, freaking mind-reader way - always knew way too much about Charlie's cases and he could never keep his mouth shut around Becker. It had to be a male-territory pissing contest thing. Sometimes, when they were posturing at each other, Charlie would stand there thinking about Nature Channel shows she had seen late at night, and then the bucks lock horns and struggle for dominance until they both fall off a cliff, because they're too stupid to watch where they're going! Then the female laughs her ass off. Ha ha. Ha.
Toby never seemed to hear her. It was odd behaviour, Charlie thought, because Toby wasn't a particularly pushy guy. Charlie had a pretty good feel for people. Screw her crisis of faith. She was a damn good detective. Not many women her age made detective. Charlie knew she was good. She knew how to read people. Becker totally was a pushy alpha male type. He would absolutely posture for top-dog spot. Toby was the type to let things slide. Except when he was around Becker. Charlie didn't get it at all.
Charlie looked back down at her report. Then she crumpled it up and tossed it in the recycling bin. She pulled a fresh report paper and smoothed it across her desk. She clicked her pen and set to work.
Incident Type: Suspected Hostage Situation
Oz had weird dreams about being chased by brachiosaurus (-es? –us? –er?). For some strange reason Toby was there, telling him that the brachiosaususes just wanted a little bite. Oz looked up and their broad, flat teeth were as big as he was.
"I'm not big enough!" He told Toby, "They'll eat everything." Oz woke up feeling angry and mumbling something incomprehensible. He swatted the blanket off his face and untangled it from around his neck. His pillow was on the floor and his back ached something awful. He tried to remember why he was supposed to be getting up.
He should call Ryder. It was Thursday. He worked Thursdays. But there was probably some sort of traumatic kidnapped-while-at work-by-gun-toting-psychopath clause which meant he didn't have to go to work.
Oz really, really didn't want to call Ryder.
He should just assume that he didn't have to go to work.
What if Ryder was expecting him?
Oz didn't want to have to smooth Ryder over, either. Ryder really wasn't an easy going guy.
He should call Toby, and see if Toby had called Ryder.
Toby picked up on the second ring. "You don't have to be at work until Tuesday, Oz."
"Holy shit! You can read my mind through the phone line?"
"I'm omnipotent," Toby's voice went deep and mysterious, "I know everything."
"You're bullshitting me." There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "No, really? Reeeealllly, Toby?"
"Oz, you're not up at this time of day unless you have to be at work. So you can go back to bed now. I already called in. Nobody wants to see us 'till next week."
"I can't sleep." Oz confessed, "I keep getting eaten by dinosaurs - plant eating dinosaurs no less. What do you think that means, Toby? It's gotta be something pretty weird. Like, am I afraid of vegetarians? Hey, maybe LaPaige was a vegetarian. Do vegetarians eat Kraft Dinner? Hey, maybe I have some latent psychic ability, like I could pick up the fact that LaPaige was a vegetarian without him ever telling us."
"I don't think LaPaige had any moral qualms about meat." Toby said dryly. "Do you want to talk, Oz? You can come over. Olivia is here, but she has to go to work soon."
"Have you had breakfast yet? I could pick something up along the way?"
There was a muffled discussion over the line. "I got the stuff to make pancakes. Pick up some syrup and we'll be ready when you get here."
"You got it, buddy." Oz considered his reflection in the mirror then decided on a quick, two minute shower. "I'll be there in twenty." Oz was pushing it, considering rush hour traffic, but he wasn't the driver in the wagon for nothing.
There was another quick, muffled exchange on the other end. "Maple and blueberry syrup, OK?"
"Done. See you in a bit." Oz flipped the phone closed and hopped in the shower. The hot water felt good. He'd spent nearly half an hour in the shower the night before, but he still felt like he could stand there forever. Pancakes, Oz told himself, and soaped up, lathered, rinsed, and got out. He found his most comfortable pair of jeans and an old, shapeless hoodie. When he hit the streets, his hair was still wet from the shower.
He stopped long enough to pick up the syrup, parked the car in front of Toby's building, and buzzed Toby to let him up.
"I got syrup." Oz shook the bottles at Olivia when she opened the door.
"You're my sugar daddy." Olivia deadpanned. She snatched the maple syrup bottle. "Let Toby have his pansy blueberry syrup sludge. I'm having the real stuff."
Oz followed her into the apartment. The place smelled good. Oz plopped himself down on the worn, familiar couch and twisted over the back to watch Toby flip flapjacks.
Toby was still in his PJ's.
"Did you guys have a sleep over?"
"We're not in sixth grade." Toby didn't rise to the bait. "Liv stopped by to check in before her shift." He grinned at Liv. "She wanted to make sure I was safe and sound."
"The sound part is debatable." Olivia set three plates on the table. She placed the forks and knives neatly alongside the plates, and positioned the water glasses carefully at the top left corners of the plates. "Toby keeps getting...distracted."
"Distracted? Like ADD distracted or absent seizure distracted?" Oz realized suddenly how horrible that sounded and tried to amend what he had said. "I don't mean real absent seizures. Toby doesn't have seizures. He just gets...headaches, sometimes. And sometimes they look like...seizures."
"Nice, Oz." Toby flipped a pancake onto a waiting plate and carefully edged the scraper under the next pancake. "Smooth."
"I am the original Mr. Smooth." Oz cast Olivia an apologetic look. "What kind of distracted?"
Olivia shook her head. "It's been a rough couple of days." She didn't look at Toby at all. "I'm just being a little sensitive."
Poor Olivia. She was trying to be so careful. She had no idea.
Toby cast a sideways look at Oz.
"Well!" Oz said brightly, and hopped to his feet, "Who's ready for pancakes?"
"The ones on the bottom aren't burnt." Toby dropped the plate on the table and pulled Olivia's chair out for her. She gave him an amused look but didn't comment and took her seat gracefully.
"I like my pancakes a little burnt." Olivia helped herself to one on the top.
"I know." Toby grinned at her and snagged the blueberry syrup. He wavered over pouring it, then put the bottle down and reached for the maple syrup.
Olivia reached for it at the same time. They both paused, fingers brushing over the bottle. She quirked an eyebrow, "Converted you, have I?"
Toby stared at her. "I..." He stared some more.
Oz cleared his throat loudly and reached obnoxiously across Toby's plate for the blueberry syrup. He accidentally elbowed Toby in the chest.
Toby blinked, "I thought I'd try something new."
Olivia was wearing the hang-dog, concerned expression again. She cast a pointed look at Oz. Oz didn't have to be a mind reader to know Olivia was telling him Look! See that? Distracted! And pointing her mental finger like a set of flashing neon lights.
Smooth, Toby. Oz thought sarcastically. It was definitely time to do his best friend job and change the subject.
"Mom and Dad say hi." Oz said brightly. He smothered his pancake in butter, piled another pancake on top of that one, and messily poured blueberry syrup over the whole thing. "They want you to come to the restaurant for dinner, one night after closing. I told them you'd like that but to let you have a few days to yourself first. Otherwise, they'd have you over there tonight." Oz stuffed a bite in his mouth and chewed enough to talk through it, "You should come too, Liv."
"That's really sweet, Oz. I've never been to your folk's place."
"It's good." Toby promised her. "They'll treat you like family." He brushed a hand through his hair and left it standing up in wild clumps. "I wasn't really planning on getting dressed today."
"Uh hu." Oz was half way through his pancakes already. He mopped the plate with another bite. "I figured. Wanna spend the day ordering movies on pay-per-view and not doing anything?"
Olivia spit some coffee back into her cup. Nope, that definitely wasn't a giggle.
"We're not in sixth grade." Toby said again, this time to Olivia. "And I don't have any nail polish. Or chocolate ice cream."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Hey, I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
"Well," Olivia retorted smartly, "You must have been thinking it, too, Mr. Psychic, because you said it first."
Oz did not choke on his pancakes. Even if he had, he was having breakfast with a doctor and a paramedic. One of them would have given him the Heimlich.
"Chew your food, Oz, don't breathe it." Toby clapped him on the shoulder. "We're off-duty."
"I'm not." Olivia stood, and downed the rest of her coffee like a seasoned pro. "I have to go to work." She gathered her plate and cup and planted them in the sink. "Have fun boys." She dropped a kiss on the top of Toby's head, then kissed Oz's for good measure, too. "Be good, be safe, don't get kidnapped."
"Ha ha." Toby stood and slipped an arm though Liv's. "I'll walk you to your car."
Liv smiled at Oz, "A gentleman." She observed, and waited long enough for Toby to stuff his bare feet haphazardly into his runners.
"I'll be right back." Toby said, and the two of them were gone.
Oz helped himself to a third pancake and snagged the paper off the counter. He shook it open and looked over the first couple pages.
He found it on the third page.
LOCAL EMTS HELD HOSTAGE
A disturbing incident occurred yesterday when two on-duty EMTs were taken hostage. The EMT's were attending a call in the industrial district when Andy LaPaige forced them into their ambulance at gunpoint and made them drive him to a local residence. Andy LaPaige is the older brother of infamous serial murderer Oliver LaPaige, recently convicted for the brutal killings of three local families.
The EMT's were able to overpower LaPaige and call 911. Neither was harmed. Andy LaPaige is currently in hospital for unspecified injuries. There is no information regarding LaPaige's intentions. Neither EMT has been reached for comment.
Sources say police raided a suburban home several hours after the EMT's were reported missing. Unfortunately, police invaded the residence of a young woman instead of LaPaige's home. This latest bumble only tarnishes an already blemished police image. Following the death of Ro...
"Charlie's not going to like that."
"Jesus!" Oz jumped in surprise and knocked his funny bone on the edge of the table. He rubbed his elbow and glared at Toby. "I didn't hear you come in."
Toby shrugged. "I hadn't realized there was anything in the paper already."
"It's not much." Oz looked back down at the article then carefully folded the paper and put it back on the counter. "Nobody tried to contact me. Anybody try to call you?"
"Ryder's had a few phone calls asking for contact information." Toby grinned at Oz. "Nobody calls back a second time."
"Boss-man has our backs, huh?"
"He does." Toby folded himself into the kitchen chair with an air of exhaustion. "It's been a long couple of days, Oz. I'm feeling kinda spent."
"I know what you mean, buddy. I could do with a little peace and quiet myself." Oz patted Toby sympathetically on the shoulder.
"Yeah. Quiet." Toby took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "I'm a little shaky, Oz." He tapped his temple. "I mean, on the boundary front. I've got to...draw lines."
Oz thought about this. "Ray said that – about lines. He said you needed to know where they were so you didn't cross them. What kind of lines are we talking about here, Toby? Like, thou shalt not welch on bets type-lines, or I hate string beans type-lines?"
"I like blueberry syrup better than maple syrup type lines."
"Ah. Olivia caught that, you know. She knows something's up."
"She's never going to guess what. People never do. Most people wouldn't even believe me at first."
"I believed you."
"You're pretty much one of a kind, Oz." Toby looked away, suddenly shy. "Charlie's trained to let the facts tell the story, and Ray...Ray learned to believe me." He smoothed the edge of the table with his fingertips. "Most people... their minds aren't as open. When I was a kid...I told a few people. At school. Once, in a foster home. They smiled, they said they believed me. And in their heads, they were thinking I was a lying freak."
"That's not Liv." Oz said immediately. "C'mon, Toby. I might not get this thing you got with her, but you know her. You know that's not what she'll think."
"Liv is very black and white. She has strong opinions." Toby laughed. It wasn't a particularly happy sound. "It's one of the things I love about her. She has lines. Even, lines about syrup."
Oz blinked. "You're attracted to her mind?" Something suddenly clicked. "That's your type! You know, I've always kind of wondered. Duh. Of course, it's all about how women think, 'cause you totally know how they think. That totally explains everything. That's why you completely blew off that blonde in the coffee shop last month. 'Cause she was gorgeous. Like, totally stunning. Any guy with a pulse would have jumped at that."
Toby remembered the pretty girl. They had been grabbing some lunch while on shift. She had looked at Oz standing next to Toby and seen only his dark hair and dark skin. "She wasn't after me for my sunny personality, Oz. A guy has to have some self respect."
"Self respect," Oz shook his head. "Whatever floats your boat. So, you're not going to tell Liv because she likes maple syrup?"
Toby laughed, just like Oz had intended. "I will. I will tell her one day. I just have to...work up the nerve. And it has nothing to do with syrup. The syrup's just an example." He gave Oz his most earnest look. "Olivia pushes my boundaries sometimes. And right now, I'm not holding them up very well. I wanted to talk to you about that – about what happened."
"After you shot LaPaige." Oz knew exactly what Toby was trying to get at without saying it. Reading Toby's mind without any super powers was part of Oz's best friend responsibilities. "You got a little...distracted. Ray explained. He said it was the stress."
"It was...overwhelming."
Oz shook his head. "I don't get it, Toby. You're trained to handle stress. We walk into stressful situations all the time. What happened this time?"
"Other people's situations. Other people thinking about what's happening to them, not about us. All of LaPaige's intent was directed at us. It was like being under a spotlight. Most people don't think things, want things, directly at me. Even when they're talking to me, they're thinking about what they have to do next, or what they had for lunch, or whatever. They don't get pushy. LaPaige was pushy, and once he broke through it was harder to keep everything else out." Toby struggled for words. "When I was a kid, Ray helped me build these boundaries – these lines – that other people weren't supposed to get through. We went away – lots of quiet places where there weren't a lot of people – and I figured out what I liked. Then, if I found myself thinking something different than that, I knew it wasn't me." Toby shrugged. "It's not infallible, but it was the basis for the stronger boundaries I built as I got older."
"So LaPaige got into your head."
"Yeah. Yeah, he did." Toby stilled the nervous motion of his fingers along the edge of the table. "Ray and I are going to work on that, Oz. I won't let it happen again. You can count on me."
"I know I can." Oz said. And he believed it one hundred percent. "You're my partner. I got your back. So, what can I do to help?"
The first thing Olivia did when she got on shift was check in on LaPaige. Doctor Yoland was the doctor handling LaPaige's case, but the whole hospital staff knew what had happened with Toby and they were perfectly willing to keep Doctor Fawcett abreast.
The nurse at the station brought up LaPaige's information immediately. "The bullet fragmented. There were a few shards remaining in the deep muscle tissue which Dr. Yoland surgically removed. The blood-loss is a big concern. We have him scheduled for a second transfusion today. LaPaige is currently running a low-grade fever and we have him on antibiotics for infection." The nurse looked up at Olivia. "It's not great, but I've seen worse." Olivia nodded. The nurse continued. "He's cuffed to the bed and there is an officer on duty twenty-four seven." The nurse checked her notes. "Officer Jansen."
Jeeze. Who had that kid pissed off to end up stuck on this beat so often?
"Let me know if anything changes." Olivia said.
The nurse nodded. "Will do." She twisted a strand of hair thoughtfully through her fingers then looked directly at Olivia. "Tell Logan we're thinking of him, okay? And Oz." The nurse grinned and Olivia suddenly took note of the name on her tag: Frieda Mayer. "Place isn't so pretty to look at without them around, don't you agree Doctor Fawcett?"
Olivia tried really heard not to narrow her eyes. "There's a potted plant in the corner." She said. "You can look at that."
The nurse's grin didn't waver one bit. "It's plastic. Plastic's just not quite the same as the real thing."
Olivia gave in and smirked at the nurse. The nurse's eyes widened and her smile finally slid. "I totally did not mean that!" She laughed at herself. "You're the one with the filthy mind, not me." She picked up her chart and waved it threateningly at Olivia. "Go stalk the psychopath in room 306. Maybe you can make his hospital stay hell."
Olivia hummed to herself and went off to do just that.
A note on the writing: This particular chapter was written in chunks over the last three weeks – hence the changing point of views. I was having trouble getting where I wanted to go with Toby and Oz, so I let Charlie and Liv distract me. How was Toby's explanation of what happened? Did it make sense? I'm hoping the idea of 'lines' seems plausible and not too sword and sorcery. Again, sorry for taking so long to get this out!