Like Eating Glass-Chapter 4
I know this call feels like it's going pretty quick, I actually didn't intend to write it when I started this story. I was planning on taking that first chapter (obviously a more detailed version of it) and just going on from there but I liked this structure and I feel like the backstory is kind of important for this. Things pick up here and I just want to throw out the warning that there's going to be references to abuse and things are going to get kind of heavy from here on out. That said, tell me what you think of this. Are you liking it, because it's not turning out as good on paper as it did in my head? Still looking to the stars, wishing I could own Flashpoint...
Everyone was silent for a moment as they took in the weight of the information relayed. It barely seemed like an option that the situation had flipped and that the victim had gotten the jump on her abuser. Wordy mentally kicked himself as he starred at the video screen in his hands and saw the blurry images in front of him. Greg seemed to take the information in stride as his voice came back over the radio.
"Okay, change of plans here guys." He said as he looked over to Ed. "Jules, I want you to talk to her, last thing she probably wants is another man. She'll trust you more. Ed, I want you to take over looking for a Sierra shot incase we need it." Ed nodded and left the van.
"Boss, the phone looks like it's disconnected." Spike said as he looked at records. "The bill hasn't been paid yet." Greg nodded at the news.
"Okay. Sam, Wordy, and Jules meet up in the front of the house. Wordy and Sam are going to cover with shields. Jules, you up for doing this in person?" Greg asked as Wordy and Jules made their way back to the street in front of the house.
"I think so. You'll feed me on the fly?" She asked as Wordy and Sam got the shields out of the trunk.
"Yeah, Spike's getting in touch with the social worker now. If I get anything helpful I'll let you know." Greg said as he smiled at her. "You can do this, nice and slow. She's afraid and she's overwhelmed right now, just keep her calm and make her feel safe." Greg said as she nodded in understanding.
"Calm, safe, slow. Got it." She said confidently.
"Try to get the injured man out, this is just like any other negotiation. Con-"
"Connect, respect, protect. I've got it Sarge." She said with a smile. He nodded and turned towards Wordy and Sam. "Let's go." Jules said as they moved towards the back door again. Wordy stood to Jules's left, Sam to her right as they made their way to the door. The angle was such that they were able to see the situation unfolding but the girl had her back to them. Wordy rested his shield against the side of the house gently and began to pick the lock on the backdoor. When he felt it click into place, he nodded and gathered his shield before cracking the door silently.
"I still don't have an angle for a perch. I'll try the back." Ed said over the radio as he struggled to find a spot that would help them. Wordy and Jules were inside the house and Sam was making his way through the door when Emily heard them and whipped her head around.
"Who are you!" She yelled, seemingly unsure of what was happening. Tears rolled down her face and she looked more afraid than anything. "Don't come any closer!" She pointed the gun in their direction before quickly swinging it back down towards the man kneeling in front of her.
"Emily, my name is Jules Callaghan. I'm a police officer with the Strategic Response Unit and I'm not here to hurt you." She assured Emily as Sam and Wordy positioned themselves in front of Jules. Emily's eyes darted from Jules, to the man she had the gun on, to Sam and Wordy, to the wounded man.
"S...stay there." She said, softly at first but still confident. Jules nodded.
"We're going to stay right here, Emily. I just want to talk."
"Jus' shoot 'er already..." the man with the gun to his head spoke in a slurred drawl as he looked towards Wordy.
"Sir, do not move and do not speak." Wordy said firmly with a bit of resentment in his voice. As he glanced down at the man he noticed a trail of blood down the young girls leg from under her torn skirt. He felt his heart race even more as he whispered into the radio. "I think she's hurt, blood down her leg." He didn't risk speaking anymore in the quiet house but he saw Jules nod subtly.
"Spike's talking to the social worker now, I'll get you more information in a few minutes, just get her talking." Greg said calmly.
"Emily, I just want to get everyone to a doctor if they need. It looks like the man over there needs a doctor, can you tell me his name?" She asked as Emily glanced at him. There was a bullet wound in his upper thigh and it was bleeding fairly rapidly.
"T...that's Uncle Devon." Emily said shakily as more tears came to her eyes. "I think he's dead." She nearly whispered as she started to cry.
"Emily," Jules said loudly to get her attention. "Emily, take a deep breath with me." Jules said as she inhaled deeply a few times with Emily. "This is my friend Sam." Jules said as she put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "Would it be okay if he goes over and checks on your Uncle Devon?" Emily looked at him closely before shakily nodding. "Thank you Emily." Jules said as she repositioned behind Wordy's shield. Sam slowly walked over to the man on the ground and checked his pulse before whispering into the radio.
"Barely breathing, lots of blood loss, we need to get him out now." He kept his shield covering the two of them as Jules started to speak again.
"Emily, Sam is telling me that you're Uncle, he's hurt kind of badly. He needs a doctor." Jules paused and took a careful look at the girl. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot as they nearly pleaded for Jules to give her some solution to her problem. "Is it okay if Sam takes your Uncle to see a doctor?" She pushed a bit and, after a few seconds, saw a subtle nod from Emily. "Sam, you can take him to the ambulance." Jules said as she saw Sam position and lift the man. He moved quickly out the back door again and disappeared from sight as Jules turned her attention back to the situation in front of her.
"Thank you Emily, that was a very nice thing for you to do." She said gently as Emily nodded. Jules moved a step closer and finally was able to see the blood that Wordy was speaking about. "Do you need a doctor, Emily? Because you've got some blood on your leg, are you hurt?" Jules asked gently. Emily started to shake at the questions and new tears came back to her eyes. Jules nodded and took a breath as she head Greg's voice over the radio again.
"Social worker says that there isn't a whole lot of evidence. Dad's a drunk but he's functioning. A teacher noticed that Emily's arms were bruised badly, that she would freak out if one of the other kids touched her, she was almost afraid of boys. Full investigation's been launched against the father." Greg paused as his voice grew heavier. "I don't want to speculate here but what you guys are describing to me is looking a lot like sexual abuse. Go really slow Jules." Greg said cautiously.
She shook like a leaf in the cold air. The room was dark as shadows fell across the floor. Emily was small in build and the large gun in her hands made her seem even smaller. Her blond hair kept falling over her face but she quickly swiped it away with her left hand or occasionally by blowing it away from her eyes. Her eyes looked like they should have been a bright green but Wordy thought that they seemed dull, almost lifeless despite the red, puffiness that surrounded them.
"Yur such a lil' shit; more truble than yur worth..." Her father again began speaking.
"Sir, shut up!" Wordy yelled, his anger getting the better of him for a moment.
"Emily? Emily, just focus on me right now. Let's just take a deep breath here." Jules spoke calmly, her head barely showing from behind the heavy metal shield that Wordy held in front of them in his left hand. She tried to get the girl's attention again but Emily shook her head.
"No, no, no! Just get out. Just let me do this...I have to do this." Tears ran down Emily's face as she cried openly. The gun shook in her small hands. It looked huge in her tiny fingers, splayed thinly against the dark metal. Her hands were a ghostly white color as she squeezed the grip of the gun with all her might and had her finger stretched and resting cautiously on the trigger.
"No solution." Ed said over the radio as he heard things escalating.
"Emily, Emily you are so brave sweetheart. You're twelve years old, is that right?" Jules asked as the girl nodded her head shakily. She was keeping eye contact but she kept the gun trained on the man before her. "Wow, I wasn't as brave as you are when I was twelve. You're standing up for yourself and that's really hard to do but I promise you, Emily, I promise you that he will never hurt you again." Jules ended confidently but Emily didn't seem to believe the message.
Her bare feet stood on the cold tile floor. He saw a shiver rise through her body and reach her arms and hands as she subtly shook. She seemed even more frail as she quivered and bit her lip. Wordy heard the chatter in his ear, the team speaking to each other, possibly to him but he didn't listen. He was stuck on the blood that ran down her leg. The blood that was the signal of the great ordeal she had been through. The blood that was forced from her body, like so many other things she was forced to do.
"No...no." She said softly, more to herself than anyone else in the room. It was silent except for the whipping wind hitting the loose shingles of the small house. "I should have done this a long time ago." She steadied her hands as she cocked the hammer back and the muscles tightened in her hand.
The wind itself seemed silenced as the ringing of gunshot filled the air.
I know, you still have that cliffhanger but I think you know where it's going. Tell me what you think. I was hoping to get more done today but I just could not focus for the life of me. Well the emotional angstyness is going to really pick up in this next chapter...as if you haven't had enough depressingness. More to come tomorrow (assuming I don't fall down a flight of stairs or something along those lines.) Three more weeks of class and then I can relax...not really, I'm working all summer, but still!