CHAPTER TWENTY (JEALOUSY, MURDER....DONUTS)
They had descended. Duvalier, stood, off to one side, watching the circus. He puffed on his cigarette, oblivious to the activity surrounding him.
He perked up, straightening his six-foot frame, when Brass rolled up in a black and white unit with a very important passenger inside.
Jim helped the girl out of the back seat, barking commands even as he assisted her. "Get that damned crime scene tape up..tell those knuckle heads to stay back! They should know better than that shit!"
Rivera hustled to convey the message, making sure the scene was not disturbed. "Gawk all you want..just stay behind that damned line, or I'll shoot your asses."
"Anyone got some donuts?" Tom Harligan had missed breakfast.
Haley Meadows spotted Vincent Duvalier through the bevy of police officers and S.W.A.T. members, blinking her shock.
The man had ground out the cigarette with his boot, even now, crossing the space between them. "You said you had quit!" The woman was angry and upset suddenly, irrationally so. "God! You are such a liar!" The fact depressed the hell out of her. "That's all you ever do is lie! You would lie to your own mother were she alive!"
"She is alive." Duvalier was taken aback somewhat by her fervor. "Hey, Meadows..just shot a guy." He defended himself, most unhappy with her mood. He had envisioned their reunion differently, after all. Waaaay differently. "Cut me some damned slack, huh?"
Haley felt bad then, her eyes drawn to the tunnel where she knew 'the dead guy' to be.
Brass had left her momentarily to do his 'cop' thing, having excused himself with an explanation..which was totally unnecessary but really sweet, Haley thought.
She watched the man, taking comfort in his presence.
Duvalier followed her gaze, his own mood dropping by degrees. "So..still pining away for him, are we? Hey, that's ok, Meadows..All I did was kill the son-of-a-bitch for you. No need to thank me or nothing. It's what I do..right?"
Haley was surprised by the curt remarks, showing as much. She looked at the man oddly.
"It's Gossemer, alright." Brass was back, having taken the time to phone Grissom even though day shift would be officially handling this case. "I had to look twice..I wouldn't have recognized him."
"..No..he said his name was..Addison McBa.."
"It's a long story, honey." Brass put her mind at ease with his tone and gentle manner. "I'll..need your weapon, Duvalier..it's routine. I.A. is on the way." He informed the man. "I'm assuming you will be invoking your right to representation."
The last thing the other man wished to do was relinquish his weapon to Jim Brass. He couldn't fight logic or the rules in this case, however, so he handed it over.
Haley suddenly swayed slightly, jerking her hand to the car hood to find a point of connection. Jim beat Duvalier to her side, having been closer. "Whoa! Take a seat!" He supported her with a ready arm as he directed her to the front driver's seat of a cruiser. "You ok?" His concern was real.
"Just a little dizzy." She smiled for him. "I'm good."
He had his doubts, clearly.
"Hell, we're all friends here, right?" Duvalier asked sardonically. "Ask me what you want, Brass. I got nothing to hide."
"So..what went down here exactly?" Brass decided to do just that.
"Me and the guys..we figured, since this is your turf, your people would stumble over something before we did. We've had tabs on you." The man began the tale, moving slowly, taking his time. He had to get this right.
Why wasn't Brass surprised by that statement.
"You seemed have everything under control with the building, so I thought I'd check out the parameter. Saw the Explorer..." He motioned with his head behind them to the tunnel. "Decided to wait it out in case something went awry with the bust."
He put his foot on the bottom of the car door, laying his arm along the top of the roof, purposely presenting his crotch area to a seated Haley Meadows, taking a perverse delight in doing so.
He wondered fleetingly if she ever checked him out like he did her ass..and tits.
"Since he left the car, he must have meant to make use of it sooner or later."
"You didn't think to advise us you had located the vehicle?" Brass was getting pissed. "Maybe ask for assistance.. 'just in case'?"
"Didn't think I needed it."
Haley slapped the inside of his thigh, upset for him speaking to Jim so disrespectfully. "Cut it out!"
Duvalier had flinched a little, protecting his nuts with his hand. "Watch the jewels, Meadows!" He snapped.
"Not much to watch." She disdained right back, in that rapid fire way they had about their conversations.
"Yeah?" He smiled silkily down at her upturned face. "Take a closer look."
"Some time today???" Brass was fast losing his patience.
"I heard the creep coming down the tunnel. I stepped out..identified myself.." The Agent continued, nonplused. "He stopped..then went for his weapon. Which was a stupid thing to do. I shot first." He shrugged. "What should I have done, Brass?"
"I don't feel so good." Haley had put her hand to her forehead. She was nauseous and she felt weak.
Brass forgot the other conversation instantly. "What's wrong, honey?" He glanced around for assistance. "The ambulance is coming..hear it?"
She nodded.
"Standard operating procedure...she hasn't eaten anything for two days." Duvalier had come prepared..just in case. He produced a bottled water from one of his flack vest pockets. "She's dehydrated....drink!" He commanded, handing the bottle over.
Haley took the bottle listlessly, twisting on the plastic cap.
"I don't have to answer anything from your people..you know that, right?" Duvalier was 'federal' after all.
"It won't open!" Haley had been wrestling with the top, for some odd reason, frustrated and close to tears. She held the bottle up for them to see.
Jim took the object, opening it, handing it back. He grinned down at her. "You're such a ..girl!" He teased, sensing from where the irrational behavior stemmed.
She sighed lightly, accepting his assessment, drinking heartily. It tasted phenomenal!
"Go slow." Brass put an 'easy' hand on the bottle. "It'll make you sick, honey."
Duvalier disliked the way the man called her little endearments all the time. What the hell was that all about? Well..fine! He had other cards to play as well. He dug in his pockets, forgetting right off..where he had stuck the damned thing, but then..he found it. "..Yeah..can't have you blowing chunks..you'll embarrass the team. Here."
Haley's eyes grew wide, her mouth falling agape. She stared at the treasure.
"Don't say I never gave you nothin."
"OHH!" The woman grabbed the twinkie like it was Manna from Heaven, giving it hastily over to Jim Brass' more capable hands. "Open!" She transmitted her urgency to the man. Who chuckled while he performed the menial task for her.
He watched her bite greedily into the cake, her tongue flicking to suck the white sugary creme languidly. Haley closed her eyes. She was content, and the Universe was right again.
"Ummmm!" She ..savored..loudly.
Brass' grin grew as did his amusement.
Duvalier had noted the 'tongue' thing as well, his system reacting catastrophically to the effect. His cock swelled automatically. To hide his condition, he hastily knelt beside the woman, his arms positioned to shield the sudden thickening of the..apparatus.
He had noted the sweet little tongue's movements, wondering what else he could persuade her to 'lick'. The man counted the fence posts along the edge of the property up on the hill. The 'yummy' sounds she was making while she devoured the cake, wasn't helping one fucking bit in his efforts to concentrate.
He would wager, she made similar sounds while some fortunate fucker was 'licking'..her cunt.
"Fuck!" He growled his annoyance, forcing the images from his mind. He reached, slapping the water bottle down by her thigh. "Drink! Meadows!" He snapped.
The girl was used to his 'moods'..ignoring it. She took a long swig from the bottle, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "I want another one!" She asked very nicely, she thought. "Please?"
"Yeah..well, I 'want' things too, Meadows..All God's chillin 'want' things." He made mention. "Like a report on the last two freakin days!"
The woman drank more water, ignoring him completely now, which pissed him off even moreso.
"OR..." Brass reminded angerily. "You might 'want' her to get some 'freakin' rest..and medical attention." The man pointed to the ambulance just pulling up, for they had to go to Beal Street to find entrance into the ducts. "Of which she is so obviously in need."
Duvalier felt bad but no one would have guessed it by his expression. "Yeah, 'what'..freaking 'ever!'" he grumbled, avoiding Haley's eyes at all cost, his arousal completely abated by Brass' unnecessary reminder of what a son-of-a-bitch he was.
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"He's such a grouch." Haley sensed Jim Brass' disenchantment with her boss. She lay quietly now in the back of the ambulance, hooked up to an I.V. "Don't you just hate him sometimes!" She comisserated.
"Yeah." Brass sat on a console beside the stretcher. "I do, actually." He admitted, still upset with the other man, truth told.
Haley had taken the dead guy's ambulance. He probably didn't mind all that much, Jim thought.
"He's a bastard for a reason, you know." Haley explained, not liking the open animosity between the two men. "He once said..his whole purpose in life was not to be forced to make that call to Jimmy's mom..or look into Ted's wife's eyes when he had to tell them..." She trailed away, pleating and unpleating the sheet draped over her. "You know all about that stuff.." She raised those pretty green eyes and Jim's anger melted by degrees. "Don't you."
"Yeah." Brass 'knew'.
"Three rules." She held up her fingers to 'count' them off. "Never drop your guard...sleep with one eye open..and the most important? Be alert at all times." She continued her tale. "He's only trying to protect us from our own stupidity. Just like you do your guys, right?"
"..You like him, huh?" Jim just realized the fact, not sure how he felt about it.
"No one 'likes' him." She scoffed at such a notion. "But I do..respect his decisions and..I kinda understand him. He's a very private person." She shifted her eyes for a brief moment. "You're like that."
"Am I?" He humored her.
"You build walls..just like he does."
"Well, as I recall.." He teased to lighten her mood, reaching for her hand. It was cold. "You got through a couple of times." He sought a blush, venturing boldly. "Three..if you count that little..incident in the shower that morning."
He got his wish, the pretty cheeks tinting pink for a beat, then..she lifted a bold stare. "Damned straight." Her voice was all soft and husky with emotion.
Brass cleared his, affected inspite of their surroundings. "Behave." He chided, no real direction behind the effort. "You're killing me here." His fingers tightened on hers.
His eyes shifted to the opened door of the ambulance. Outside, people were going about their business. The paramedics were waiting being discrete, sensing he had needed time alone with Haley. She wasn't in any medical danger and they were interested in the dead guy, anyway.
His thoughts wondered, for he would not allow the ones he preferred at that moment. "You know..the job you do is no type of life for a woman."
She dimpled. "Chauvinist!" She giggled at his serious expression.
"Probably." Brass inclined his head minutely. "I'm a relic from the Stone Age."
"Nicely preserved." The green eyes swept his body appreciatively.
"Keep pushing those buttons, honey." He warned. "You might just get more than you're bargaining for."
"Liar." She called his bluff. "You're too sweet to ...inconvenience me..at such a time."
"It would be kinda shitty of me." He pointed out.
"Shouldn't I be the judge of that?"
"Let's just steer the topic to safer subject matter, shall we?" The man felt the need to wipe his brow suddenly, the invitation in her eyes, clear and entirely readable.
She..lowered those incredulous emeralds and..settled into a quiet placidity.
"...Tell me more about Duvalier." He thought he could find a subject to hold her interest and get her mind off being pissed at himself.
"Why?"
"Because I'm interested." Brass lied. "His dossier said he was Special Ops at one time?"
"We only hear tell of those days." She smiled, her mood seeming to have passed. "He..had this one friend. Vincent rarely speaks of him but..Frank says..they were friends waaay back. Marshall Tucker. They were like brothers. Tucker was worse than Vincent, if you can believe something that far fetched." She chuckled.
Brass knew allowing her to talk was keeping her mind off the last two days. He was no psychologist but he thought that might be a pretty good idea.
"They were on this mission..South Africa." She frowned, recalling the details for him. "That was..ummm..2002, I think. They were waiting for a bunch of bad guys to meet at this 'summit' type thing. All big time players."
Jim nodded he was listening. And..he was.
"Tucker had met this ..eh..lady, in the bar of the hotel they were using. He snuck out to..be with her. But, one of the bad guys had arrived late and..saw him. Tucker had put this guy away two years prior." She hesitated. Should she be sharing the personal shit with anyone? Would Duvalier get pissed if he found out?
"Did they take him out?"
She lifted sad eyes, nodding her head slowly. "Shot him in the back of the head. They didn't have the balls to face him."
Brass heard Duvalier in that sentence.
"That same year..two months later. His wife...Julie. Died of ovarian cancer." The woman's voice was..halting, and she bit back tears. She shook the mood. "What the hell. I'm being a little baby today, aren't I??" She seemed confused by the notion. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I really don't."
"I'm sorry to hear that...about his wife and friend." He meant the words.
"It was a long time ago." Again, she quoted Vincent Duvalier, unaware she did so. "Anyway..shouldn't I be giving my report or something? I'm just laying here, doing nothing."
"Which is exactly what you should be doing." He scolded.
Duvalier had stood it for as long as he could. He rapped the back of the door with his knuckles mainly because he wanted to give them notice if they were..engaged in some activity he just as soon not have to witness.
He crooked his head around the door, glad to see nothing out of the ordinary was going on. "I.A wanted me to go with them, but I told them to fuck off." He was speaking to Haley Meadows.
"I have a 'man down'...so, that's where I'm needed. Our people are flying in. They will grill me tomorrow. They're ready to transport." He hooked a thump to the approaching paramedics who, apparently, had gotten all the gory details to pass on to other curious friends and family.
"Since you're needed here....I'll ride with her to the hospital." The dark eyes were transferred to Jim Brass. Who felt Haley's fingers tighten on his own.
"He's right, honey." He hated to admit it. "I gotta stick around. You gonna be ok? I shouldn't be that long." He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it absently. "I'll follow as soon as I..."
"I got it covered, Brass..." Duvalier had not missed the little token of 'esteem'.. "Take your time."
Brass reluctantly traded places with the Agent, climbing out of the ambulance. He smiled, lifting his hand in a silent 'goodbye' gesture, his eyes holding Haley's willfully.
She flashed him a brilliant smile. "See you soon, Brassman!"
Where the hell had she heard that?? He shook his head, a smile touching his lips all the same.
The paramedic closed the doors and the van pulled off slowly.
Jim felt like he had made a huge mistake there..but, he had no other choice. He turned his attention to the scene..he wanted to wrap it up as fast as he possibly could.
But, she was alive and just fine.
He held onto that thought as he went back to work.