A/N: I DO NOT own any part of the Law & Order franchise, or the rights to the song The Hard Goodbye by Graeme Revell and Robert Rodriguez from the film Sin City (great movie check it out!). Only two hours until the new episode (2/3/10) and I am anxiously waiting, because I haven't seen Munch so far this year.
The Hard Goodbye
John opened his eyes, his senses coming back slowly. All at once, his mind raced as the memories flooded back and he sat up, only to feel the cold barrel of a gun pressed to his head. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body for a moment. He had survived worse when he was working homicide back in Baltimore.
"Hey he's up again." one of the gangsters told what seemed to be their leader. The number had gone from the original three to now five, all of them standing around and talking in hushed tones. John could only guess that he had only been out for a few minutes at the most. His mind automatically went to Jodi, and felt his heart pound. If they had found her though, they would be either gone by now or have her there in front of him.
"Good. Go find the girl and get her down here. Alive." he nodded to the men. The original three nodded before taking off through the house, looking for their target. John prayed a silent prayer that she was hidden somewhere safe.
"So I hear you're a cop?" the leader asked John, who glared at him in response before answering.
"Yeah I am."
"Hm....I don't like cops." the man said before pulling back the hammer on his gun and walking closer to John, who was on his knees.
"Looks like I picked the wrong place to be then." John replied, watching the silver glint of the barrel creep closer.
The man snicked before coming to a halt in front of John.
"I do like funny guys though. It's a shame. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, because that girl of yours...we've gotta do something for her running that mouth of hers. Now I've only seen pictures of her but I've been told...that's one nice piece of ass. You'll get to be sitting right there watching too when I have my dick inside of her."
Everything went black as rage tore through John's body. It was like anything he had experienced before. He jumped up, forgetting about the guns and men twice his size before nailing the bastard in the face.
"Get your ass back here!" one of the men yelled before grabbing John throwing a punch across his jaw and throwing him back down on the ground, gun pressed sharply to his head.
"Damn it!" the man swore before looking down at John in pure hatred and slamming his fist across John's face.
"Fucking cunt." the man spat before pulling a walkie-talkie out of his back pocket.
John observed through ragged breaths. These men...they had to be mercenaries. They seemed too well equipped to be simple gangsters. Whoever wanted Jodi had real money here.
"What the fuck is taking so long!" he demanded.
"We're on our way down." a voice responded. John felt his heart drop. They had gotten to her. Right as the thought flew through his mind her heard the sound of Jodi's voice as they escorted her down the stairs.
"Get the hell off me!" she screamed, wrenching her arms out of their grasp. She straightened her shirt before proceeding into the living room.
"Jodi Stanford. Well....that brother of yours did not exaggerate. You have got quite the body on you." the leader looked her over, forgetting about John as his eyes turned dark with lust.
Jodi held her head up, glancing down at John. He watched her and noticed that she had changed her outfit. She was wearing nothing but a dress shirt which clung to her breasts and accentuated her body. Why the hell had she done that?
"Well thankyou." she said icily before straightening her back and sticking her chest out.
He walked over to her, eyeing her like a hyena after its prey.
"You know, my boss has plans to kill you but...I think I'll ask him to take you for myself."
With that he pressed his body up against hers, squeezing her large breasts. Losing all sense of anything around him John pushed over the man with the gun nearest him and in cold fury ran towards the man who was touching the body that belonged to him.
"Stop right there!" the man pulled out his gun and pressed it to Jodi's temple, wrapping his arm around her neck.
"Mike, the boss said not to kill her!" one of the men intervened.
"I know what he fucking said. If you don't sit your bony ass down I'm gonna splatter this bitch's head across the carpet." Mike growled.
"John, get down." Jodi grunted through a strangled voice. She wasn't even resisting. John couldn't figure out why.
"See, even your girl knows what's best. I'm giving you until the count of three." Mike pulled back the hammer.
"John, please." Jodi begged.
"Three..." Mike began.
"Get out of here Jodi." John attempted.
"Two."
"John, get down."
"One."
It all happened so fast, that John was momentarily confused. Jodi's elbow flew back with a power he had only seen Olivia deliver and knocked Mike out with a single blow. One of the men jumped at her only to be met with a bullet to the chest as she pulled the gun from the waistband of her underwear.
The remaining three stood, unsure of what to do.
"It might be a good idea to drop those." Jodi said fiercly. John still sat there in shock, caught between the fact that she had a gun he didn't know about, she had just killed a man, and that she was taking control of the situation.
They hesitated before one obliged, letting his gun fall to the ground before taking off out of the front door. The other two stood their ground.
"I said drop it." she repeated.
The three stared each other down while John crept quietly behind the two remaining men before taking one out with ease. As he fell to the ground unconscious, the other looked between them both before bolting for the door. Neither bothered to chase him down. The sound of sirens could already be heard and neighbors trickled out of their houses, disturbed by the unfamiliar sound of gunshots in a first-class suburban neighborhood.
"You okay?" Jodi asked, walking over to John and running her hands across his chest, close to breaking down when she realized how close she had just come to losing him.
"I've been through worse. You?" he asked.
"Yeah I wasn't hurt or anything." she shrugged.
"That's not what I meant..." he trailed off, nodding at Mike's dead body.
She looked back at it before meeting his brown eyes and falling into his body. He held her tightly as the wail of sirens got louder. It was now that he realized she was in more danger than she ever had been with Scott Lucas, and as her future husband and a cop, it was his job protect her.
*************
"What's wrong?" John asked as they crossed the border from Pennsylvania back to New York.
"I...I just can't believe I got blood on her carpet. I called the cleaners in, but they never really get the stain out."
"You mean we were almost killed and all you care about is staining your friends carpet?"
"Don't judge me." Jodi smiled before leaning over and kissing him. They had departed only an hour and a half after the whole incident occured and now the FBI was sweeping all of Pittsburgh, looking for the culprits, but both he and Jodi knew it would be nearly impossible that they were found.
"So where exactly are we going?" she asked.
"Claudia arranged for us to say in a small and obsolete cabin up in Maine for the time being to try and throw off this little issue."
"Oh. Well then. We have a long ride ahead of us?"
"Yeah, but I'm thinking of maybe stopping at a hotel on our way up, because I'm on the verge of passing out right now."
"That's too bad." she crossed her legs.
"Why is that?"
"Because...we were so rudely interrupted back there and I'm really turned on right now." she replied nonchalantly.
John looked over at her and grinned. This was why he loved her. He was tempted to pull over on the side of the highway since it was dark and no one would see and do her right there, but with Sadie in the car it would be just weird.
"Which means I'm going to try and find the nearest hotel." he replied.
She giggled before lacing his fingers with hers. The truth was, she wasn't even all that shaken up about the situation which surprised John completely. He remembered the first time he had shot someone. It was weird. He didn't get over it for days before he realized that it was something he just needed to get over.
"...You were really....wow back there I don't really know how to explain it." he looked over at her.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know many women who could handle that situation like you did."
"Well....I handled. I conquered. End of story. Ready for round two." she shrugged it off.
"Easy there superwoman." John rubbed her thigh, delighting as she squirmed underneath him.
"Don't make me get the seat wet." she joked, crossing her legs again before turning around. "Come here girl."
Sadie got up from her spot on the backseat before jumping into Jodi's arms. Jodi kissed her furry head before stroking her warm fur and turning to the night in front of them.
***********
John wrapped his arm tightly around Jodi's waist as they entered the hotel lobby for the second time. After arriving for the first time they dropped off their stuff and went out to grab something to eat before coming in for the second and final time.
They walked towards the elevator, Jodi planning on attacking him as soon as they entered their room. The doors to the elevator opened showing it to be empty.
Only seconds after they were inside Jodi pushed him back against one of the brass walls before pressing her lips against his. Their room was on the second to top floor and they had a few minutes until they reached their floor.
John felt unable to control himself as his hands flew to her long legs, running his hands up her thigh. He ran his lips around her neck, inhaling her scent. She moaned loudly, untucking his shirt from his pants as she forgot where they were.
By some miracle the elevator went all the way up to their room without any interruption, and they were surprised when the doors opened to their floor. Jodi grabbed his hand and practically yanked him all the way down the carpeted gold hallway to their room. They couldn't get the key in fast enough before the door opened underneath them and they both fell in, giggling.
John pushed her up against the wall before pressing his lips to the hollow at the base of her neck. She didn't hesitate to unbutton his shirt before pulling it off and letting it fall to the ground. He quickly slid a hand down the waistband of her tight sweatpants, slipping a finger inside of her.
She threw back her head, digging her fingers into his shoulder. He continued to kiss her, feeling the slight throb of her slick walls around him. Her thighs tightened and she struggled to continue standing.
"What do you need?" he whispered in her ear, listening to her moan underneath him.
"You to just fuck me already." she replied before kissing him fiercely. He crooked his fingers inside of her, making her scream in pleasure. He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist before carrying her into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind him before laying her down on the bed.
He grabbed the waistband of her pants before pulling them off of her quickly, following with her underwear. She winced slightly as the fabric dragged across her freshly inked skin but leaned in and continued to kiss him anyway. He moved his hand down and began to unbuckle his belt before sliding his pants down.
Just as he was about to slide into her his phone rang. Jodi let out a loud groan before sliding from underneath him and walking to the bathroom. She needed to take a nice long hot shower anyway.
"Munch." he answered irritably, watching her disappear into the master bathroom.
"John, it's Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth? Hi, is something wrong?" John asked, listening to the imminent worry in Jodi's mother's voice.
"Um...Anthony...we don't know who it was....but someone switched one of the drugs he was getting to Potassium Chloride."
"Jesus. Is he alive?"
"Barely. Luckily they got there right before his heart stopped and they were able to resuscitate him."
"How's he doing know?"
"He's been resting mostly. They're moving him to a different hospital in a couple of hours. Please break it to Jodi easily, and make sure she doesn't try and come rushing back here."
"Okay. Thanks Elizabeth. Take care."
John hung up the phone and sighed. One thing after another. He walked towards the bathroom, hearing the sounds of running water before opening the door and walking inside. The entire room was already filled with steam, and he could hear Jodi's humming through the shower curtain.
He pulled it back, revealing her to be naked and absolutely soaking wet inside, her body slick with water. He took a mental picture to keep in his mind for the rest of his life before addressing her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, turning off the water when she caught his face.
"Uh...maybe we should go into the other room." he suggested.
At his tone Jodi knew he wasn't going to tell her anything good. She stepped out of the tub trailing water before grabbing a towel and following him into the bedroom.
"Listen...something happened with Anthony." he began.
Jodi's face automatically drained of color and her eyes swam.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"Someone tried to kill Anthony in the hospital?"
Her face didn't even seem shocked.
"How?"
"They switched one of his pain meds with Potassium Chloride. The same drug used in le-"
"Lethal injection I know. Stops your heart. So you said tried...he's alive?"
"Yeah."
She nodded solemnly before walking back into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.
"Jodi!" John exclaimed, trying to figure out what she was doing. She paced back and forth. This was all her fault. She had jeopardized the lives of everyone closest to her, all because she made the selfish decision to try and get her father out of jail. Every moment she was with John put him in danger, along with her friends and family. It was only a matter of time before she got a call from the warden at Sing-Sing saying that something happened to her father, or something bad happened to Betsey. She couldn't do it anymore.
Making a final decision, she began to get dressed and mentally prepared for what she was going to do. She knew it would hurt John beyond words, but she had to do it. This was her mess, and she had to get them out of it.
Opening the door, she walked out and looked at John, sitting on the bed half-asleep.
"John..." she began.
He looked up at her.
"You know I love you...so much. More than anything." Jodi walked towards him before joining him in the bed.
"I love you too babe." he replied before kissing her, wondering what was the secret behind what she was saying.
She buried her face in his shoulder, holding back tears. He held her tightly, figuring that it was because of Anthony.
John set her down on her back slowly, pressing his lips to hers. She debated internally whether or not to let him continue but decided to do it.
Not even sensing her hesitation, John continued to move his lips to her neck and chest before grabbing the bottom of her shirt and removing it.
Jodi felt as though she was simply there as he made love to her. She timed her moans with each of his movements, occasionally digging her nails into his back. The entire time she struggled not to cry as she thought about how much she loved him.
When he finished he fell down beside her, breathing hard. He wrapped his arms around her before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
After about ten minutes she swiftly and quietly climbed from his embrace before picking up her clothes and getting dressed.
Their bags were barely unpacked so she simply zipped her stuff up before moving it from the room as softly as possible. She made a final decision before sitting down and writing a long note to John, explaining what she was doing and why before setting it on her pillow. She took a moment before pulling off her engagement ring, but she couldn't bring herself to put it down. She put it back on her finger before opening the door and rolling her suitcase out into the night.
