Five Senses – The Way to Awakening
Chapter Three - Sound
They responded to an emergency call from an officer in distress that resulted in them diving into the trunk for body armor and spending most of the afternoon helping back up a patrolman on a barricaded suspect call. It was supposed to be a simple traffic stop but the man inside was abducting his own child and had a gun. They knew he didn't want to kill the child, who was asleep in a car seat, but he had a gun. The patrolman was out of his element and tactical was at least forty minutes away, stuck in heavy traffic. Contrary to popular belief, lights and sirens do not make cars vanish – gridlock stays despite your desire to get through it.
It was hot – edging toward 90F and they were perched behind their unmarked. Using the engine block to protect themselves, they tried to talk to the man while the sun beamed down on them mightily. Sweat formed in Dani's hair and trickled down her neck into her shirt, she could feel her spine begin to spring little beads of sweat buried under the t-shirt and the dense Kevlar covering her chest and back. She felt sweat under the edges of her sunglasses and across her lips. It made her feel itchy and grimy. She remembered the day she left the navy blue uniform of a patrol officer and counted it among the happiest in her life – this was one of the many reasons why.
Charlie tugged at the front of his vest trying to let air in and she could see stains appear under his arms and at the back of his collar. It was Africa hot. The looming rain trapped dense humidity in the city and it was stifling. He was doing most the talking – she insisted. After a terse discussion, it was decided – meaning she told him to negotiate – arguing that he talked non-stop this really shouldn't be a big deal for him.
He shot her a dark look, but did as she instructed. About halfway through his pitch to the man about giving up peaceably, Charlie wanted to shoot him just so they could go inside, take off the cursed vest and drink a gallon of really cold water. He shook it off and refocused.
Thirty minutes in, he was running out of things to say and he realized this was hard than it looked. He looked at Dani who was working the phones and mouthed "SWAT ETA?" to her. Her look was dour and she flashed all five fingers on her free hand three times. Great he thought 15 more minutes and they'd be relieved. Just then the man did something unexpected.
He climbed from the car and started walking toward the hunkered down team gun in hand. "Heads up," Charlie barked commanding his partner's attention.
"Whatcha doing buddy?" Charlie questioned loudly. "That's far enough," he continued when the man continued to trudge towards them.
Now both Detectives had their eyes and guns trained on the man's gun hand.
"Can you work around behind and get the kid?" he asked his partner under his breath.
"I'm not leaving you," she countered and pivoted to lock eyes with the patrol officer. She pantomimed a circular gesture with her finger and then made a cradling gesture indicating he was to get to the baby. The officer nodded his understanding and began to creep around behind the driver who was still trudging toward Crews with his head down. The man's eyes were closed and he was talking to himself.
Charlie chanced another glance at Reese a question in his eyes and was answered by a shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm going out there," he told her under his breath.
She had just long enough to demand, "don't," before he was gone – out of her reach.
Damned crazy man, she cursed under her breath. He was no fully exposed – nothing between him and a bullet but a thin piece of Kevlar and 5" x 7" steel shock plate. Her heart sped up and blood rushed in her ears. He could no longer see her or talk to her without turning around – it was a bad move tactically.
But Crews had a method to his madness. His brain was telling him to hide, but his heart was telling him this man was going to try to force them to shoot him. Every cop's nightmare – "suicide by cop" – a choice to make someone else bear the burden for taking your life because they have no choice but to defend themselves. He was moving silently on the balls of his feet - advancing rapidly, closing the distance. He hoped to be on top of the driver before the man raised his gun at Dani and one of them was forced to shoot him. He balanced his speed with silence trying not to disturb the man's silent speech.
Dani watched her partner, but focused on the driver. He was only twenty feet away when she picked up what he was saying. The words came back to her from catechism – the Lord's Prayer. He was saying "goodbye" to God and her synapses fired connecting the dots and arriving at the conclusion that led Charlie to try to get to the man. He was hoping to avert disaster.
The driver stopped and opened his eyes.
Dani barked "stop right there," drawing his attention.
Tears were running down his cheeks, but Charlie Crews was hard to miss - six foot one, navy blue vest, bright red hair about ten feet away. The man glanced from Reese, gun drawn and pointed at him and Crews pistol down but ready to pounce.
"Don't do it Crews," she whispered to herself more than him.
"Hi, there," Charlie smiled and spread his arms showing he meant no harm.
Dani stood up making herself a target, immediately drawing and trying to hold his attention. The driver hesitated and the gun in his hand began to rise. She had to do something to keep him from wheeling on Crews. "I'm tired of being out here in this fucking God awful heat. You want someone to shoot you? That'd be me," she shouted her taunt.
It worked, as the man probably still angry at the woman in his life, fixated on her. His eyes narrowed and he raised his gun. In the intervening split second Charlie leapt and Reese ducked. She couldn't fire without risk of hitting her maniac partner who she made a mental note to personally thrash when this was over. She made herself small behind the wheel well and engine block.
Charlie tackled the man his gun still in his right hand. The pair of them went down on the asphalt. A shot rang out and a struggle continued for the gun. Charlie only had one good hand, as he gripped his pistol with the other. He raised the man off the pavement and delivered a vicious head butt to the driver's face. The result of the blow stunned them both, bloodying the driver's nose and opening a cut over Charlie's left eye. He then used the butt of his pistol to rap the man in the face again before allowing him to slump to the pavement.
His fury continued after he holstered his pistol and rained more blows on the man who stubbornly refused to release the gun. Faraway he heard Reese snap, "Crews – stop." When he did, he looked down and the man was groaning, hovering near unconsciousness.
Dani kicked the gun away and stood poised over them still loosely covering the driver with her no longer needed sidearm. If she hadn't stopped Crews, the driver would be dead. Something happened when the man raised his gun and pointed it at Reese. The look on the driver's face changed from depression to rage. He sneered at Reese and meant to hurt her. Charlie didn't even think; he just reacted. A threat to Reese was met with an unimaginable level of unrestrained violence. She dragged him off the driver and to his feet by his vest. She was very angry.
"Are you okay?" he asked hoarsely.
"Am I…." she began incredulously. It was then that it dawned on her that his reaction was to the danger to her. Once again he had placed himself in harm's way without a moment's hesitation, but he came unglued if that danger touched her. The look on her face changed from annoyance to admiration and awe. Just as quickly, she hid it and chastised him, "look at your face."
He wiped at his brow with the sleeve of his shirt and bloodied it thoroughly. "Stop that she demanded and maneuvered out of her vest. She stripped off her shirt, leaving her grey tank top clinging to her body in very revealing ways. She used her shirt to staunch the flow of blood from his brow. She forced his head back and effectively ended his examination of her cleavage.
The patrol officer approached trying to hand off the baby, telling her he needed to cuff the driver. Dani wavered between her concern for Crews for a moment before instinct took over and she gathered the child who was crying loudly into her arms. She shushed the baby who looked up at her with big brown eyes and twisted a tiny hand into her hair and fell silent. Charlie looked down and was mesmerized. Reese's face bore an expression he'd never seen before. She looked so different and the effect she had on the baby was remarkable. The baby gurgled and smiled at her before shyly placing his head on her shoulder and relaxing. It was then she noticed Crews looking at her.
"Put your head back," she said in terse whisper so as not to startle the child.
He smiled goofily at her and commented, "he likes you."
Dani blushed furiously and commented she probably looked like the kid's mother.
But Charlie disagreed shaking his head, "No, I don't think that's it."
She scowled at him and turned away. He could still hear her talking in low soothing tones to the baby. He was enchanted by the tone of her voice and while he could not make out the words, it was soothing and comforting. A few moments later she turned back to him and he heard the baby release a contented sigh as his eyes slid closed lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of his partner's voice and the deep rhythmic beat of her heart. At that moment, Charlie wanted to be that kid, resting head on Dani's breast listening to her heart thrum solidly. He cocked his head to the side and examined them – mother and child.
Responding units poured in, seemingly arriving all at once. Time sped up and the moment was once again gone, but it there and it was important. It was another moment of awakening for him. This was something he did not know until that very moment that he wanted – for her – and for himself. He knew her commentary on kids and that she professed she didn't want them, but this was new. She had a gift that he hadn't noticed before – she projected a calm confidence that children could detect. There was something innately maternal in her – something she was embarrassed by and hid from, but could not deny now that he'd seen it.
After the medic applied a butterfly bandage to Charlie's split brow, they climbed into their car and turned the air on high. He could feel the headache starting in the base of his brain winding around his head to his battered face. He leaned his head back and as Dani reached to turn the radio on he asked her not to. Her hand stayed and the car was quiet.
"I can't take that thumping bass. Just talk to me Reese," he pled gently.
He felt her sidelong glance, but kept his head back against the headrest. "Tell me what you said to that kid," he probed. "What you said that made him fall asleep so fast," he asked. "Was it a story?"
"It was a poem. One my mom used to read to me as a kid," she acknowledged.
He leaned his head to look at her and gave her the very best hangdog face he could summon. "How's it go?"
She sighed, but he rotated his head back. He knew she'd tell him. He just waited.
"First you tell me something, Crews," she challenged. After a moment, she continue, "would you have killed him?"
"I don't know," he said sadly. She waited and he gave her the rest, "I lost control."
"I know," she replied in a small voice. "What made you stop?"
"You," he told her, "I heard you telling me to stop."
"I didn't think you heard me," she replied quietly.
"I always hear you. Sometimes you're all I hear," he sounded faraway, but sincere.
There was a long silence in the car while they considered what they'd each divulged. It spoke to the deepness of their bond, their connection. One that continued to deepen, blossom and grow in ways they could neither anticipate nor predict.
Shyly she began to recite poem, but as she repeated it her voice leveled into a calm tone and rhythm. When she finished, she looked over and her partner's head was loosely lolled against the headrest and he was snoring softly. It made her smile as his face was relaxed and a slight smile played on his lips. She gently put the car in gear and drove them home.