NOTE: This was a difficult chapter for me to write, but I finally got it finished. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think :)
Chapter 17: The Hollow Man
"Oh God, yes!"
Shaundi fervently thrust her hips against Ethan's and raised her arms up over her head before grabbing her damp, sweaty hair in the heat of pleasure. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she rode him, loving every touch of his hands as they played with her breasts. Being with a man never felt so good and she couldn't get enough. She gripped his hands and pushed them against her chest, her head still leaned back and eyes closed. Her hips moved counter-clockwise in small, quick circles as she continued to ride him, her pace increasing with each rotation.
"Oh, shit," she squealed, squeezing her eyes tightly together as she came.
Her body shook uncontrollably, bursting with orgasmic ecstasy, and her breathing became short and fast. Though her mouth hung open, no noise escaped as reaching her peak had left her speechless. She tightened around him and relished the moment before falling next to him on the bed. Covering herself with a sheet, she did her best to control her breathing.
"Fuck me," she sighed, raising her arm over her head, exhausted from the ordeal.
"I believe I've done that already," said Ethan, breathing heavily. "If you want me to do it again, I have to take a break."
"What, did I wear you out?"
"Well, we have been going at it for a long time," he replied, taking a deep breath. "I could use a breather."
"Okay, I guess you do deserve a break," said Shaundi as she snuggled next to him. Ethan wrapped his arm around her and smiled when she rested her head on his chest.
"Just give me a minute or two and I'll be ready to go again."
Ethan gently stroked Shaundi's arm as they lay together. He listened to the smooth sound of her breathing and felt her breasts caress his side with the rise and fall of her chest. A small tickle left his stomach as Shaundi began to twirl the soft curls of hair below his belly button.
"Ethan?" she asked after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"I hope you don't mind me asking you this..."
"You can ask me anything."
Shaundi took a deep breath, "What is it like...being blind?"
He didn't answer right away, but continued to lovingly caress her arm.
"I don't know," he told her. "It's kind of hard to explain what's it's like because I have nothing to compare it to. I've been blind my whole life."
"Do you ever feel like you're missing out?"
"I'll admit, there are times when I wish I knew what it was like to see..but then fear settles in."
"Fear?" asked Shaundi, looking up at him.
"You'd think seeing nothing but darkness your whole life would be frightening, but when it's all you've ever known, it doesn't affect you as much. It's the unknown that scares you," said Ethan, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Being blind has forced me to develop my own perception of what I think the world is like. Frankly, I'm afraid to see it for what it really is. I wouldn't know how to handle it."
Shaundi ran her hand up his stomach and kissed his chest before laying her head back down again. She didn't know how to respond to his words, but wanted him to know that she was there. He started to caress her arm again before continuing to talk.
"When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that I was like this for a reason, that I had a gift," he said softly. "She said that most people only see what they're prepared to see, that they have sight, but no vision. She told me that even though I'm blind, I still have vision. That vision will allow me to always see people for who they truly are, without the cloud of judgment. The phrase, looks can be deceiving, holds more weight than you think."
He continued to stroke her arm until Shaundi grabbed his hand. She brought it to her mouth and kissed the inside of his palm before intertwining her fingers with his.
"Your mother sounds like a smart woman," she said, looking up at him. Ethan smiled and squeezed her hand.
"She was."
Shaundi leaned up to kiss his lips when the door to the room burst open and Kinzie ran inside. Shaundi quickly covered her breasts with the sheet as she sat up in bed.
"Shaundi, I found something," said Kinzie, holding a file in her hand. She stopped suddenly and scrunched her face. "Holy shit, it smells like a fucking brothel in here."
"You would know wouldn't you, Teacup?" asked Shaundi, raising her brow. "You said you found something?"
"Oh, yeah. I was looking over the video footage again and noticed a frame where the suspect put their finger over the lense. I enhanced the image, scanned it, and was able to pull a full print."
"And?"
"And, I ran it through IAFIS and got a match...he works in Washington," said Kinzie, holding the file out. Shaundi ripped it from her hands and looked it over. Her eyes grew wide in surprise.
"Oh my God." Shaundi jumped out of bed and grabbed her clothes. "Assemble a SWAT team, we're going after him."
"Already on it, their heading to his apartment now. You can meet them there."
"Thanks, Kinzie," said Shaundi, sincerity in her voice. Kinzie nodded in response.
"We'll keep in contact over the comm, be careful," she said, before leaving the room. Shaundi started getting dressed as Ethan got out of bed.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, stepping toward the sound of her clothes rustling.
"We're going to storm his apartment, and if he's there, we'll arrest him."
"I'm coming with you. I can help," he told her, walking to the dresser. Shaundi grabbed his arm.
"No, you're staying here where it's safe. I'll have my men keep guard while I'm gone."
"Shaundi, no. I'm not staying here, worrying about you, while you're out there risking your life to catch this guy."
"This is my job, I risk my life every day," she said in a stern voice. "I don't want anything to happen to you. At least here I know you'll be safe."
"Look, I know I'm blind, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to take care of myself."
"Ethan, I don't think that..."
"Then, let me come with you," said Ethan, stepping closer to her. "I know I'm not a member of a SWAT team, or one of your agents, but I can help you. Just give me a chance to prove it."
"I...I don't want to lose you," said Shaundi, worried about what could happen. Ethan traced her arm up to her neck and rested his hand on her cheek.
"You won't lose me, we'll be together. Everything will be okay, I promise."
BAM!
The SWAT team kicked the door down and rushed into the suspect's apartment with Shaundi leading them in, gun raised. The apartment was messy and had very little furniture. No pictures hung on the walls and there were no homey touches whatsoever. It almost seemed as if no one lived there. The SWAT team searched every room and found that no one was home.
"We're clear!"
Ethan stepped into the apartment and was instantly hit with a very familiar smell.
"Shaundi, you smell that?" he asked, after taking a whiff of the air. Shaundi sniffed and caught a hint of what he was referring to.
"It smells...sweet," she replied. "Almost fruity."
"This is definitely him."
Shaundi walked into the kitchen and noticed an piece of paper on the counter. She picked it up and read it.
"He was just diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic," she said, reading the paper.
"That would explain the smell," said Kinzie, over the comm. "Ketoacidosis is a common symptom of Type 1 Diabetes and can cause a person's sweat to smell sickly-sweet. It can be dangerous if left un-treated."
"You been reading WebMD again?" asked Shaundi, placing the paper back on the counter.
"When you don't sleep, you need to do something to pass the time."
Shaundi smiled and shook her head before meeting up with Ethan in the living room. He was running his finger over a small end table. He brought his finger up and scrunched his brow.
"There's dust on everything," he said, wiping his finger on his pants. "Yet, there are clean spots in some areas that suggest he's moved things recently. And, after a quick walk through the room, I noticed that there's not much furniture in here."
"You're right, there isn't."
"Do you see any boxes anywhere?"
Shaundi looked around and noticed a few cardboard boxes in the corner of the room, filled with knickknacks.
"Yeah," she answered. "There's some in the corner behind you."
"My guess is, he's thinking of moving," said Ethan.
"Hmm, I wonder why?"
"Mam?" asked a SWAT member coming into the living room. "There's something back here that you need to see."
He led her to the back bedroom with Ethan close behind her, following her footsteps. She entered the room and her jaw dropped. The room was completely empty except for an old television that played reruns of her television show I Wanna Sleep With Shaundi. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with pictures of her face. Candles were lit on the floor with large pools of melted wax underneath them. The room was a shrine to her legacy, with memorabilia tracing all the way back to before she joined The Saints. The sweet smell overpowered their nostrils, hinting that the suspect spent most of their time there. The SWAT member covered his nose, the sickly sweet aroma being too much for him.
"I...I can't take that smell, it's making me sick," he said, scrunching his face.
"Go outside and get some air, I'll handle things from here," said Shaundi. He left her and Ethan alone in the room and she turned back to the shrine. Music from her television show, followed by her picking The Puerto Rican Thunder God as her winner filled the room.
"Is-Is that you?" asked Ethan, pointing toward the sound of her voice on the television.
"Yeah, that's me," she said with a sigh. She stepped toward the television, placing her back to him. "These are scenes from my television show I Wanna Sleep With Shaundi, it was a big hit. It took a long time for someone to win, I didn't care for most of the men I had to choose from. They were all too greedy, but what else would you expect? They were trying to get into my pants and I egged it on for the sake of entertainment. I played along for awhile, hoping someone decent would come along, but it never happened. I wanted someone real and I wasn't going to find it that way. I finally had enough and just picked someone so I wouldn't have to do it anymore."
Shaundi smiled thinking of her time with Ethan, "It's too bad you didn't apply for the show, I could've been done with it a lot sooner."
"H-H-Hello, Shaundi."
Shaundi's eyes grew wide and she quickly turned around to see Ethan had a gun to his head. She reached for her gun to try and save him.
"Uh-uh, not so fast," said the shooter, placing the barrel of the gun hard against Ethan's temple. "Put your weapon down, or I'll blow his brains out."
"No, please don't! I'll put my weapon down," said Shaundi, placing her gun on the floor. She put her hands up and tried to keep her heart from sinking into her stomach.
"Now, kick it over to me."
Shaundi did as she was told and kicked her gun across the room, "How'd you get past the guards?"
"Oh, it's easy when you're invisible," he said, pushing Ethan forward, the gun still pressed against his head. "I have a knack for getting into places unseen."
Ethan could sense Shaundi's anxiety, able to hear her heart rate increasing, "Shaundi, don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."
"You, shut the fuck up! You don't get to talk!" the shooter yelled, ramming the barrel of the gun against Ethan's temple to show he meant business.
"Peter, please. Put the gun down, you don't want to do this," said Shaundi, trying to calm him down.
"Like hell I don't!" said Peter, his face red with anger. His stutter had completely disappeared, his fury taking over his personality.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because you paid attention to me, and you remembered my name. No one ever sees me, they always walk past me like I'm nothing. I always knew you were different from the others. I knew I was right."
Peter looked at the television behind her and started to calm down a little. He tilted his head and smiled.
"I used to think I was crazy, thinking you'd never love a loser like me. But, when I saw how you looked at me," he said, staring at her image on the screen. "How you'd stare at me instead of those other guys trying to vie for your affections. I knew you felt the same way."
He pushed the gun even harder against Ethan's head.
"But, then you met him and he ruined everything!" said Peter, his voice screeching. Shaundi stepped forward and Peter glared at her. "Stay where you are, or I swear to God I'll shoot him. I couldn't do it before, but I sure as shit will now!"
"Peter, I see you and I know you don't want to do this." said Shaundi full of desperation. "Please, put the gun down. We can talk this through."
"It's too late for that. I know what I have to do," said Peter, looking at Ethan. "I've seen the way you look at him, how you hang on his every word. You used to look at me that way! For things to go back to normal, I have to get rid of him."
"No, please," said Shaundi, unable to control her emotions, staring at Ethan. He was breathing fast, yet remained perfectly still.
"Shaundi, trust me, everything is going to be fine," said Ethan. "I love you. It's okay."
"I told you to shut the fuck up! You don't deserve to love her!" Peter pulled back the hammer of the gun and put his finger on the trigger.
"NOOO!" screamed Shaundi.
Peter squeezed the trigger and Ethan could hear the gun click as the hammer started to slam down on the bullet. It was like he was able to slow everything down, making the noises stand out, knowing exactly when Peter pulled the trigger. Within a split second, Ethan leaned back and grabbed a hold of Peter's wrist. He pushed Peter's arm forward just as the bullet left the barrel, causing it to stick into the wall behind him. Ethan pulled on his arm, bringing Peter close to him before twisting his wrist and pulling the gun from his grasp. Grabbing hold of his shirt, Ethan pulled Peter down and kneed him in the face before letting go. Peter stumbled back holding his nose, blood pouring through his fingers. Ethan heard his gurgles and pointed the gun in his direction. He fired a shot and it hit Peter dead center in the middle of his chest. Peter gripped his wound and reached behind his back, spurting blood from his mouth, to grab another gun hidden in the waistband of his pants. He aimed it at Ethan but didn't get the chance to shoot before Shaundi fired her weapon, hitting him in the head. Peter fell to the ground with a THUD and a pool of blood began to form under him.
"Shaundi?" asked Ethan, as several SWAT members rushed into the room. Shaundi didn't answer him and just ran to hug him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly. He returned her embrace and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I told you everything would be okay."
"Is everyone alright?" asked a SWAT member.
"We're fine, but one of you is in deep shit for letting him get by unnoticed," said Shaundi, pointing to Peter's dead body.
"We're sorry, mam. We didn't see him."
"Apparently, no one ever did," she said, looking back at Peter. Ethan felt for her chin and lifted her head up. He brushed his fingers over her lips and gave her a soft kiss before pulling her into a hug. They held each other, happy that they were together, and that their short nightmare was over.