What makes courage wither? Part 6

Rusty covered a yawn with his hand as he waited for Sharon in her office. He was lounging on her green sofa with a cushion behind him and his feet up on the couch, his shoes along with his backpack lay discarded haphazardly on the floor.

His book on physics, volume one, was opened on page 171 on his lap, but Rusty found it hard to concentrate on thermodynamics. Instead he sent off a text to Jeremy. They had decided to go on a real date instead of pretending it was simply a study group session. Rusty was of half a mind to ask Sharon if she thought it a good idea to take Jeremy to the beach for an ice cream. He smiled to himself; he could always ask her where she wanted Lieutenant Flynn to take her; that was a sure way to freak her out a little. He could just imagine the blushing that would commence and the frantic denying of them dating. Not that he was going to tease her today; she had enough on her plate for a lifetime.

Coming into the LAPD building, Rusty had found the squad room completely empty and he had stuck his head into electronics to enquire about Sharon's whereabouts. Buzz had put a finger to his mouth and then with a hand to Rusty's shoulder, had herded him out of the room, whispering about sensitive material before the door into electronics was closed again.

The whole day had felt somewhat surreal to him; his thoughts wandered back to that bouquet of roses he had discovered last night, the note from Stroh in among the petals, disturbed him. Attending classes and talking to his class mates had not felt normal enough or made him relax.

To say he was a little freaked out would be an understatement. He felt concerned, and not only for his own safety; he worried about Sharon. She would most likely tell him it was for the parent to worry, but that did not allay his fears. So needing to see for himself that Sharon was fine, he decided to surprise her at work and offer to drive her home. The plan was to stop by their favorite sushi place for dinner; he hoped she didn't have to work late.

After half an hour, he heard voices coming from the squad room. Looking up he saw Sharon make her way across the room accompanied by a tall man in a sheriff's uniform. Flynn and Provenza were behind them. The man was talking loudly, his head held high and his movements rigid. Rusty could not discern what he was saying but he looked angry; not that it seemed to bother Sharon at all. After some exchanging, the man finally went away scowling. Provenza waved at the man's retreating back and Rusty had a hard time keeping a smile from his lips. Sharon looked to her office and when she noticed Rusty there, her eyes crinkled happily and her mouth instantly turned upwards in a smile as she waved in his direction.

Rusty watched her exchange a few more words with the two lieutenants, both men nodding. Provenza even made a funny grimace and waved at Rusty before he sauntered off to his own desk, shuffling papers around. Flynn seemed to hesitate, his body turned to Sharon, but after a brief moment he went to his desk as well.

"Hi honey," Sharon greeted him when she came through into the office, closing the door behind her.

Rusty stood up and greeted her with a smile, "Hey."

"Who was the angry man?" Rusty asked, curious.

Sharon shrugged, "A parent to one of our victims."

Rusty nodded and then stepped into her embrace and after the little hum she emitted at the contact, he divulged her in his plan, "I thought I would drive us home and that we could stop for dinner on the way? Sushi?"

She tightened her grip around him and then let go, "That sounds delicious."

Rusty nodded eagerly and felt some tension ease off; he hadn't realized his shoulders were so far up. Also he was more than slightly hungry.

"Let me just finish up here," Sharon pointed at the array of papers and folders on her desk, "it won't take long."

"Sure," Rusty said with a smile. He sat down on the sofa again well knowing that wrapping up could take all from five minutes to half an hour. So in anticipation, he opened his book again, his finger on the paragraph that he last read. He needed to read it again and felt more able to focus now.

Twenty minutes later had them making their way out of the building. The sun was low on the horizon, reflected in the tallest buildings but otherwise obscured. Rusty was carrying Sharon's briefcase and trench coat while she talked on the phone. He listened with half an ear to the conversation; Sharon's tone was somber and low, 'yes, chief' was uttered more than once. When she finally hung up, she expelled a small breath of air, reminiscent of a sigh and then rolled her eyes when Rusty gave her an enquiring look.

"How's the case going?" Rusty asked as he unlocked the trunk of the car, trying to make it sound like he was only mildly curious. He put all of their stuff in the trunk.

Sharon looked thoughtful for a small moment and then hummed before she answered, "I think we might have found some clues to lead us in the right direction. We know more about our victims and how they came to be targets now. But there's still some way to go though."

Rusty nodded; he was more interested in what they had found out about Stroh and his continuing threats. He waited until they were both in the car before he asked her.

"Anything about Stroh?" he tried to sound casual.

Sharon pursed her lips and shook her head slightly, "There's nothing new."

Rusty sighed along with Sharon.

The rest of the ride home was silent with the exception of the stop they made at the sushi restaurant. Rusty glanced at Sharon every now and then, half of a mind to ask her to elaborate on what "nothing new" meant. However with the bag of sushi in her lap, her fingers laced together and her head leaned back against the headrest, she looked almost peaceful with her eyes closed and Rusty decided to let her be.

Of all things he wanted in the world, he wanted her to be happy. It was so forceful that sometimes it felt as if he was on the brink of crying when he thought about it.

Sharon woke up when Rusty drove down into the underground parking garage of their condominium. Rusty caught her looking sideways, a drowsy half-lidded look accompanied by a telling smile.

Rusty parked the car, and he was just about to take the key out of the ignition when Sharon covered his hand with hers.

"What?" Rusty looked up at her, wondering.

Her whole demeanor had changed to one of alertness. She was staring out of the window, her eyes narrowed into a wondering and guarded frown. Her eyes darted around from car to pillar to car.

Rusty looked out of the window shield in the direction she was looking. At first he was clueless; the row of parked cars did not present anything new. Then she spoke, her tone low but clear, her eyes on a lone figure making their way through the garage, "I need you to call Lieutenant Provenza and have him send backup."

She gave him a brief look as she put her phone in his hands. Rusty looked out at the lone figure again, not really comprehending what was happening as Sharon unbuckled her seat belt and quietly opened the door on her side.

It was only when Rusty noticed her checking the gun at her hip that a knot of dread started forming in his throat, spreading tendrils up and downwards, his stomach roiling in fear and adrenaline.

The figure, looming tall, walked in a slow, but sure stride toward the door at the end of the parking garage. There was a bouquet of roses in his arms. The roses were red, Rusty noticed. The man had a baseball cap on his head; the shadow pulled down so it obscured his face, leaving only a dark beard visible.

The man disappeared from view as he walked behind a concrete column.

"Sharon?" Rusty croaked as he turned his head to implore her not to go.

She was already out of the car and she pointed at him, "Whatever happens, you stay in the car -,"

"- but," Rusty quickly interrupted her as he unbuckled his own seat belt, wanting to help her somehow.

He stopped short when Sharon pointed angrily at him, "So help me, you stay in the car and you lock it," she hissed in a low tone that surprised him.

"Do you understand?" she asked more softly, her eyes on him and Rusty quickly nodded, "now call Provenza."

Rusty followed her movements, his thoughts chaotic. He locked the car, even if it felt like he was somehow abandoning Sharon. His hands shook as he tried to find Lieutenant Provenza's number in her contacts. The time it took for him to find the number and before he hit the dial, Sharon was gaining in on the tall man.

From the distance, the tall posture and the gait could be that of Stroh, or at least in Rusty's mind the resemblance to the serial killer was striking.

The man was nearing the garage door that led to the stairs and the elevators, Sharon was just behind him.

Rusty swallowed back a lump. He felt it took an eternity for Provenza to answer his damn phone.

"Please don't say we have a new case," Provenza finally answered his phone, his voice gruff as if he had been sleeping.

"No, it's me – Rusty," Rusty rushed, dread stuck in his throat as he watched Sharon approaching the man.

Sharon now had the man's attention. She must have said something because he turned around. They looked to be exchanging polite words, but whereas Sharon seemed to play it off casually, the man looked cautious and he took a step backwards.

Rusty squinted and moved closer to the front shield to get a better view.

The man took a step towards Sharon. Sharon's hand hovered near her holster and her gun, her back turned to Rusty so he couldn't see her expression.

"Rusty? What's wrong?" Provenza now sounded much more alert and interrupted Rusty's staring.

"I need backup," Rusty hurriedly spoke, "It's Sharon – I mean, there's this guy with roses and she said to call for back-up. She's approaching him."

Sharon reached for her gun, but the stranger lunged for her at the same time; the roses fell to the ground in a heap. She had managed to get her gun out, but the stranger deflected her aim with a backhand swipe of his hand; the gun boomed in the garage but the shot missed. Rusty cried out in fear watching the big man ram into Sharon, tackling her to the ground.

Rusty thought the shot might have hit one of the nearby cars. He ducked down in his seat at the sound, his mouth tasting like bile. He swallowed his fear, "shit – you have to hurry, lieutenant – he's attacking Sharon, he's – you have to hurry!" Rusty urged.

"Where are you?" Provenza asked, his voice not gruff anymore.

"The parking garage – at home. I'm locked in the car."

"You stay in the car – okay, Rusty? You hear me, kid? You stay in the car and you keep it locked!"

Rusty nodded and then cleared his throat, "Yes, just hurry, lieutenant. I'm not sure what is happening, and I think Sharon just lost her gun."

"Alright, now I'm going to call back-up so I'm hanging up, okay?"

Rusty nodded but before he could say anything the line clicked shut.

Rusty chanced a look out of the front shield window, lifting his head an inch.

The two were no longer in a tangle; Sharon had managed to gain some distance between them, but her gun was not in her hands. The man was holding his nose, blood streaming down his beard and between his fingers, the baseball cap on the floor. It was not Stroh; that much Rusty could see now. Sharon must have punched the guy – judging from the awkward step the man took, she had gotten in a kick to his leg as well.

Rusty let out a small breath. Sometimes he forgot Sharon was a police officer and could defend herself.

The man started approaching Sharon again, his mouth moving. Sharon shook her head and pointed at the man, her voice loud enough for Rusty to hear it though not what she said as it echoed in the garage.

Rusty franticly looked for Sharon's gun and saw it was lying on the concrete near a column a good two meters away. Sharon chanced a look behind her to spot her gun, however the guy took that opportunity to lunge for Sharon again.

Rusty ducked his head down again, holding his breath, adrenaline and dread pumping in equal measures. It made his stomach roil in much the same way when he looked out over a too tall building.

When he looked up again, the man had Sharon pressed against a column; one hand wrapped around her throat and he was pushing her head back against the concrete. She was immobilized.

Rusty made a move towards the lock on the car door but just as he unlocked the door, Sharon's phone rang in his sweaty palm. It made him jump in fright.

"Yeah?" Rusty quickly answered, his voice sounding foreign and shaky.

"Hey," came Provenza's voice over the phone, "listen, Sanchez's the closest and he is maybe two minutes out, okay? So you just stay tight, help is on the way!"

"Okay," Rusty croaked and slunk back into his seat.

Provenza said something else, but Rusty didn't pay attention, his eyes went back to the man and Sharon when he heard the second shot ring out.

…