Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and adds! I'm totally astounded! This started as a little break from Sirens, but I love hearing that everyone's enjoying it as much as I am.
And I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that Brittany won't be able to listen to Santana's instructions to stay away. ;)
Is it a Crime?
2.1 Oops
Rainbow attached to rocket ship flying over a UFO.
Serious face with cowboy hat riding a car.
Cat.
Cat.
Fat cat.
Fat cat with cheese.
Cat.
Apple holding a Fruit Senate featuring the Speaker of the House – Tomato.
The last one made Sam Evans take a closer look before he pulled the parking ticket from the windshield of the illegally parked sedan. The Fruit Senate was definitely the most creative of his partner's tickets this morning. However, with the last ten or so, he noticed none of her creations had been smiling. Instead, all of her drawings were distinctly frowning or distracted – much like their creator. Sam Evans sighed as he wrote out the real ticket and replaced it. The drawings were tucked into his pockets.
He glanced up. Brittany was already four cars ahead of him. It was an important day for ticketing since there was some sort of seasonal parade. Therefore it meant almost no one paid attention to the posting which explicitly stated: No Parking.
The blonde police officer had her notepad out and was scribbling yet another picture. Sam could only imagine what she was drawing now, but he had a feeling whatever creature she drew, they would be just as sad as the Fruit Senate.
"Britt!" Sam called out to her, but she continued to throw papers onto the windshields of cars. "Brittany! Hold up!"
He grunted in pain as he jogged after her. All the bruising from the welcome committee at the Ark had yet to fully heal. Brittany's bopping blonde ponytail froze in midair and dropped. She turned around to face him from up the street. Even though they weren't siblings, they had always shared a sort of bond. Sam could see she wasn't okay.
"Why are you running off? We can't split up or get into anymore trouble." Sam sighed, thinking about the debacle that had been their very first, and probably last, assignment ever. Captain Sylvester had all but declared them the most incompetent task force ever assembled.
"The captain already chewed our asses out." Sam muttered thinking about the K-9 unit she literally released on them to do just that. They were only about to escape because Mike had been driving the Candy Van into the lot at the same time Sue had released the dogs leashes. Mike had thrown open the side door right as the dogs were about to rip them apart.
They drove away to the sound of Sue's maniacal laughter.
"I don't know…" Brittany admitted as she stuck yet another piece of paper onto the windshield in front of them. Sam glanced down. It was a pistachio nut with long hair singing into a microphone to an audience of one. "I've been distracted."
"I could have told you that." Sam joked and hit his shoulder into hers. "You've been all weird since the other night at the Ark. And since they found another body."
"Yeah, I guess I'm still not over how you almost died. And other stuff that happened there."
Sam smiled. "Ha. You barely even remembered to rescue me in the Ark. You were far too busy with that Santana chick to even think about me."
Brittany fidgeted with the cap of her police uniform and pushed the brim down to hide her face. "I didn't forget you…"
Sam laughed as he watched his partner blush. "You really are still thinking about her."
"Sometimes…" Brittany admitted.
"Why don't you go back?"
"Cause I promised her I wouldn't."
"Yeah, but she couldn't have meant it. I saw the way she looked at you." Sam encouraged, but quickly added. "And for that matter, the way she looked at me. If she had a weapon, it would have been pointed right at me after you hugged me."
"She really looked like that?" The blonde smiled at the thought of Santana being jealous of her partner. Sam didn't feel the same way. Seriously, that Santana chick had been scary. Brittany's pen moved up and down on the pad in lines as she thought. "I technically promised her I'd never come back to the Ark as Anita."
"So maybe you could go back as Brittany?"
The smile Sam had been missing for the past week returned as Brittany turned to him with her bright blue eyes. "You think I could?"
"Yeah, definitely, but maybe we could get you a better disguise, because I'm sure they would remember you."
"You're the best partner ever!" Brittany hugged him. He was sure that people on the street were rather intrigued by two fully uniformed officers "hugging it out," but it was hard to care when Brittany was finally smiling again. The last "ticket" he replaced from Brittany was one of a simple smiley face. He picked it up, but noticed the backside also had a picture on it. There was just a small heart in the top corner. Carefully, he folded the piece of paper and tucked it into the breast pocket of his uniform.
"Girl, you are more insufferable every day." Mercedes hummed in the dressing room. "Seriously, I know we hate this gig, but if you're going to keep moping around here all day, I'm going to start hanging out with Berry. And she's the queen of insufferable."
Santana groaned and threw a few bobby pins in Mercedes' direction. "Fuck you, Cedes. You know no matter what mood I'm in, I'm way better than BerryGuard."
They both laughed.
"Fine, but snap out of whatever funk you're in cause Puckerman's going to realize that you've been acting strange."
"No, I haven't." Santana's eyes glanced to the closet in her dressing room. Underneath a pile of shoes and some sweatpants, in a zipped bag, a certain jacket and a damaged purse were hidden from sight, but not from her mind.
"You refused a girl he sent you, Tana." Mercedes clicked her tongue. "He's asking if you're sick and if it's terminal."
"God, you're all so dramatic. I didn't want to fuck that girl last night and now I have cancer?"
"Cancer? Who's being dramatic now?" Mercedes chided her friend. "But I wouldn't say that too loud or he might really believe it."
"I'm so sick of being here, Cedes." Santana sighed. Her eyes finally pulled away from the closet back to Mercedes in the mirror.
"Now that I definitely wouldn't advertise too loudly." Mercedes hushed. "You remember what happened to that Sunshine chick. She's still working the streets and his crack house down on 11th because Puckerman heard she wanted to get out. So you keep that shit tight and you wrap it up."
Santana gulped down her response. If anything, Mercedes was a good friend and this was her way of caring. Of course she remembered Sunshine. That girl could sing, but when Noah caught wind that she might bounce out on her contract with him, he sent her away and they never heard from her again. Only rumors. But those rumors didn't come lightly or without legit sources. Berry had been the one to hand Sunshine over to Puckerman's thugs. The Ark head of security had felt incredibly guilty doing so and had confided with Mercedes and Santana about the entire affair. It had been sobering.
"Whatever."
"That's better." Mercedes nodded her approval and started to reapply her make-up. "Now what are you going to do tonight if Puckerman sends you a girl?"
"Fuck her hard and make sure he knows exactly where I am."
"Good girl." But her friend wasn't done. "On to other more exciting and even more perplexing events. What's this I hear about you helping that spazzy bartender the other night?"
"What?" Santana's heart fluttered at the thought of the cop's purse in her closet along with the leather jacket.
"What do you mean 'what'? Don't give me that dumbass look. You know I can tell when you're avoiding something." Mercedes finished her mascara and was touching up her outfit. "I heard from one of the security guards that you were helping that Emma girl clean up her station; like mopping and scrubbing and taking the trash out."
"Ha." Santana tried to sound innocent, feigning offense that Mercedes would ever think such a thing. Even if that thing was the truth. After Brittany had taken off, Santana needed more closure and she thought she would find it by cleaning up the remnants of the police officer. Emma had been scrubbing her station for hours and Santana offered to help clean up after the Ark had shut down. But even after Santana had washed the bar counter ten times for Emma and thrown out the soaking wet, only to pick it back up a second later, she couldn't shake the electric current still coursing through her body from Brittany. The very thought of that whispered name sent a shudder down her spine. "Why would I help her? That bird's crazy. Besides, when have you ever seen me clean?"
"Yeah…" Mercedes stopped playing with her hair and shot Santana an inquisitive look. "That's why I thought it was strange too."
They both laughed, but Santana knew her friend wasn't easily fooled. She also realized despite the general uneasiness Puck's presence caused and how disgusting he could be, he wasn't an idiot either. If Mercedes was noticing her off behavior, he would too. She needed to get rid of all thoughts of a certain blonde by the end of tonight.
No matter what, she would throw out the jacket and the clutch in the dumpster. Then she could move on and forget about the cop. Besides, she wasn't coming back. Santana had made sure of that.
"I just don't understand what the problem was with the last one I sent." Puck had his fingers curling around in Santana's dark hair. His eyes were actively assaulting every part of her exposed body. Used to the attention, Santana ignored his roving eyes and focused on the crowds beneath them. The night was already in full swing, as was the Ark. It was a special night for certain patrons and Santana Lopez's presence was required.
"I just didn't like her." Santana brushed off his question with the roll of her eyes.
"She was blonde."
Not the right one, but Santana held back. "So? I can be picky."
"She was a model."
"Whatever."
Puck bristled at her curt dismissal. He didn't mind her attitude. In fact, it was part of her appeal, but he didn't expect the attitude to be directed at him. Before Santana could roll her eyes again, Puck roughly caught her chin with his finger. She was forced to turn back into him.
"Next time I send you a girl I don't care if you stay up watching Themla & Louise the room. You fucking take her." He tilted her chin up. Santana tried to keep her temper in check, but her eyes blazed like fires. "Understand me?"
"Yes."
He dropped her chin and started to stroke her lower back. "Now about tonight…"
"What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to be in our room. I've got some business to take care of and that means I need a place to be."
He needed an alibi. Santana felt excitement swell. Anxious and cautious so as to not raise his ire, Santana gently reminded him. "This is supposed to be my last time…"
"Is it?" Puck asked with a smirk on his face. "I guess it is. We'll see how tonight goes and maybe we will have time to renegotiate your contract."
"You mean it?"
Puck's smirk darkened, but Santana was too occupied with thoughts of finally finishing her term at the Ark to notice. "We'll talk about it."
"Thank you."
"Show me how thankful you are." Noah cupped her chin again for a stolen kiss. Even he was surprised at the smile he felt grace his lips from his little songbird. As he pulled back, Puck's fingers lingered around her neckline. "Should I procure some entertainment for the night?"
Her skin crawled at the very feel of his territorial display. Santana's eyes drifted away from his. There were times when pretending to be his girl were less tolerable than others. This past week had been the worst. Her eyes darted away and down below to the crowd beneath them. Bodies were pulsing back and forth with each other in a primal dance of need and desire. Santana longed to escape to the crowd – to blend in and become nothing again. But she knew that was impossible now. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt his fingers dancing along the underside of her chin.
"Tana, do you need me to find something blonde with a pussy to keep you occupied in our room tonight?" His impatience was growing.
Santana didn't care. God how she hated him.
Dark eyes remained in the crowd, but a pair of legs she recognized stood out. Santana blinked and then blinked harder as she focused. The legs belonged to a beautiful woman. They ran up and connected to a very short tight fitting black skirt that hugged an ass Santana could only imagine grinding into her. All the moisture in her mouth evaporated. Bright blue eyes cut through the dim lighting of the club and made contact with her directly. Santana's heart stopped beating.
Brittany.
But her terrible undercover cop was no longer blonde tonight. She wore a dark wig with straight black hair and horrible bangs that cut across her forehead like a reincarnation of Cher. Honestly, it wouldn't be surprising if she bought her wig at a Halloween store.
What was she doing here?
Santana didn't care. After a week when all her thoughts somehow circled back to the undercover cop, it seemed like a wish fulfilling dream to see Legs staring up at her. The small smile Brittany flashed her from underneath that wig was enough to make Santana's heart start again, but this time it was beating so hard that she wondered if it would drown out the bass of the house music in the Ark.
"Yo, Lopez, I'm fucking talking to you. What the fuck has been wrong with you?" Puckerman growled. Santana instantly snapped back into the moment. Her eyes darted from the floor and up into her "manager's" scowl. His fingers were back around her throat in a real threatening manner. His eyes bore through the small space separating them.
Santana attempted to suck in some air, but the constraint on her throat made it difficult. "I'll be good. I think I might try something new tonight."
Puckerman held her for a few seconds longer to drive home the point that she belonged to him. Finally, he loosened his grip and slipped his hands back down to her bare shoulders. "You better be in the fucking suite tonight. Don't fuck up."
"I won't." She started to say, but his lips were once again on hers. His hands were drifting all over her body and running down the sides of her arms. Obliged to fulfill the image of his perfect singing slut, Santana opened her mouth as his tongue invaded. But all she could think about was the cop standing below. She risked a side-glance to see if Brittany was still there, but Santana couldn't get a good view. Puck's body blocked everything.
"Then I'll see you tonight." Puck pulled back and even though they agreed to "meet", Santana didn't want to know what he was really doing. When they had first started their "relationship", Santana had been curious, but after witnessing a bad deal go down – the blood, the body, the way they had disposed of some random person on the street – Santana's curiosity had been sated. It was better to not know what Puck was doing when he was supposed to be doing her.
To play along with his alibi, Santana mustered the fakest and sweetest smile possible. "Can't wait."
The moment Puckerman headed through the VIP section of the Ark flanked by his goons, Santana rushed to the railing. The sea of people swelled and ebbed at the edges of the different bars and the stage where the DJ booth was set up for the rest of the night. Her eyes frantically scanned the crowd for the disguised cop, but couldn't quite find her.
"Fuck." Santana could only imagine what Brittany saw – Puckerman's tongue down her throat.
"Ms. Lopez, I was told that you need to start getting ready for the special private event tonight."
"Just give me a moment." Santana dismissed the guard's urges. Maybe she had been crazy. But she knew it had been Brittany. Those eyes. She would never mistake those eyes.
And just like that, Santana found them. Unreadable and yet clear as a summer sky, Brittany's gaze focused upward. Santana couldn't tell if Brittany had witnessed Puckerman's rough hands or if she caught his invasive kiss. It felt like dream. In fact, it felt like a dream Santana had been fabricating in her fantasies all week. Her fingers subtly touched the top of her collarbone as those eyes below worked their way up the crowd to the balcony's edge. Slowly, Santana vividly felt Brittany's sensuous gaze drift from her lower body – her ankles, her calves, up her knees and around her thighs to the hem of her dress. Every inch of her body caved and wished to be taken in by those eyes. And so as Brittany's eyes worked up, Santana's fingers stroked down her collarbone, down her sternum, and caressed the top of her pushed up breasts.
"Fuck." The word trickled from her parted lips in a much different fashion than before. She could feel herself melting in Brittany's uncompromising gaze and as she turned to liquid, Santana wished for the cop to drink every last drop.
"Ms. Lopez?" The guard behind her coughed uncomfortably. Perhaps, he could feel the heat radiating from her body under Brittany's intense gaze.
"I'm coming." Santana half-heartedly muttered in reply. A smirk tugged at the side of her mouth. "And I have a mission for you as well."
Santana's pointer and middle finger pressed against her pursed lips. They lingered for a moment before her hand pulled away from her mouth. For a delicious second, Santana imagined her blown kiss floating through the club and landing squarely on the officer's lips. It would only be a matter of time before she could taste those lips again. Santana batted her eyes one last time and threw the cop a wink before she followed her body guard/babysitter away.
Even in the crowds of people and the music, Brittany felt like she floating above it all. Her heart was beating uncontrollably and her eyes were dilated. Everything seemed to be moving around her, but she was anchored to those dark eyes.
The officer didn't know what she expected when she slipped past the Ark's security with another fake ID, courtesy of Mike's connections, and entered the club. Santana's warning had been serious and in earnest, but she had been a mess since that night at the Ark. In some way, Britt had been hoping that she would enter the Ark and then leave. It was foolish to expect to see the elusive diva in the club unless she was scheduled to sing or to appear on Puckerman's arm.
Of all the scenarios and fantasies she had, Britt had not expected to see Santana not only on Puckerman's arm, but draped and displayed on it. Brittany's stomach had turned at the sight. She had been so stupid to think they had anything special between them when it was a known fact Santana was Puck's girl. Whatever game they had been playing that night of the undercover recon mission, Brittany should have known it was a game and left it at that. Anger boiled in her as Puck's fingers tightened around Santana's throat. Even from this distance, the blonde spotted the red marks left from his aggression. Brittany took a deep breath. This was Santana's life. Obviously, she chose to be with Puckerman and she had been a fool to think Santana wanted to see her again.
Brittany remembered the promise she had made – to never return. She should have listened.
Britt had been about to leave when Santana's eyes met hers from the top balcony in the VIP section. Just like the last time their eyes connected in the Ark, Santana cast a spell on her. Riveted to the floor, everyone around them disappeared. Even though Puckerman's hands and body were pressed to the singer's, Brittany knew Santana only had eyes for her. Brittany didn't care what anyone said or what the dossiers reported on Santana and Puckerman, the way Santana's eyes always seemed to linger on Brittany meant she was anything but Puckerman's girl.
Brittany could feel Santana's lips on hers once again.
Then she vanished.
Suddenly the life and club crashed back around her. Startled, Brittany didn't know how to react. The world seemed harsh when cast against those flawless lips and beautiful eyes. Lost, Brittany's eyes glanced back up to the VIP section hoping to see Santana again. But after a few minutes, Brittany realized the brunette wouldn't return.
But that look.
Brittany considered leaving the Ark, but Santana's eyes lingered all over her. Now, she couldn't leave, not until she knew for certain Santana didn't want her around. A few minutes later, Brittany was sipping a whiskey sour at Emma's bar. Every time she brought the drink to her lips, four new napkins were stacked neatly on the counter underneath. Emma was fidgeting and nervously glancing around, but she didn't remember Britt from the other night. Maybe the wig was working.
Shit.
A suit.
Right as Brittany was beginning to feel comfortable in her disguise, she noticed a single suited man walking toward her. He wore aviator sunglasses and was carrying a small package.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Stuck in the Ark with no backup, no partner, and no one to know how or why she disappeared. Great. Best cop ever. Maybe Captain Sylvester had been right to put her back on traffic duty. No escape. It would be better to go quietly than to start a commotion. Besides, there was only one guard coming toward her, maybe if she played it cool, she'd be able to slip away in the crowd.
She pretended not to notice the man rapidly approaching her position at the bar.
"Ma'am?" He politely asked.
Brittany sucked in her breath. If only she could get a distraction or something to break away from him. Then she could leave and this time, she would never come back. Why would she ever listen to Sam? This was his idea and he was without a doubt, the worst undercover cop ever.
BLD!
Bad life decision!
She suppressed her inner panic and smiled sweetly to the Ark security guard. "Yes?"
"I was told to give this to you."
He held out the package in her hand. It was a small black box wrapped with a deep purple ribbon. Curious, Brittany pulled the knot and opened the box. On purple velvet, a beautiful custom card with gold inlay lettering lay face up. It read: The bearer of the card is summoned to the Animal Cage.
"Wait!" Britt called out to the guard as he was turning to leave. "What does this mean?"
"It's your lucky night." He pointed to the back section of the club where guards were stationed in front of large wooden doors. "You've been invited to the most exclusive party of the season."
"When?"
"Right now. It's the biggest event of the year." He shrugged. "You've got to know some very important people to get an invitation like that."
"The Animal Cage?" It didn't sound like the greatest place to be. In fact, it sounded like some sort of prison or one of those shady grey places. Brittany wasn't up-to-date on the whole thing, but she had a feeling there were 50 of them, so it stood to reason one of them could be in the Ark.
"It's the hottest place in the city and only paying members are invited."
Brittany flipped the card over. In beautifully hand-written script, it read: To my Anita.
Now, Brittany's heart stopped. The word my stood out in the dark ink against the pure white background of the card.
Santana was calling her.
"What do I do?"
"Just present your invitation at the door. Everything else is taken care of." The guard walked away.
Brittany sat on the stool for only a second before she placed her drink down. She made her way through the crowd toward the Animal Cage. There had been no information written on the Animal Cage, but the police who had done the original write-up, hypothesized, Puckerman had all sorts of backrooms for private sessions with his girls or high paying clients – the kind only the richest could afford.
Build up to our girls getting together again! :D
Sorry I didn't update faster. My other story had a bombshell chapter posted that I had to make sure was perfect so I took a little bit longer with both stories. I can't wait for this next chapter. The Animal Cage should be…thrilling. ;)
Until next time!