Good afternoon ladies and gents! Below you will an revised version of the fifth chapter of Holding Out for a Hero. I wanted to thank you all again for you support for the Cassidy Williams series whether it be in the form of reviews, messages, alerts or favorite. If you've been here from the start or just checking out the series, I appreciate each and every one of you and hope you enjoy the series as much as I have writing it. I want to give a big special thank you to the Guest Reviewer who posted a lovely review on the last chapter. Your kind words meant so much to me, and I hope I can continue producing content that you enjoy reading. Without any further ado... here's the latest chapter and I hope to continue to hear from you all in either reviews, favorites and more! - trs0010
Chapter V: Somebody Save Me
Once more night fell upon Gotham after an uneventful and perfectly forgetful day.
Though the night before still hung fresh on Cassidy's mind.
She had spent an hour or more on the roof of the station to clear her mind of the Joker and Blake. How long she had actually been up amongst the stars, she did not know.
When she returned home, Cassidy trashed the vase and broken flowers that lay scattered upon the floor and mopped up the remnants of water that pooled from the vase.
She smoothed out the crumbled letter. She felt compelled to save it and attempt to analyze it at the station in hopes she would luck up to find a fingerprint or any shred of DNA.
She knew she would have to be crafty and cunning to not let any co-workers have a glimpse at what she was doing. She wasn't ready to sound the alarm yet.
She opened the top drawer of her nightstand to store the letter. She caught sight of the cool, metallic barrel of her handgun. Always safely tucked away just in case.
She tripled checked all the locks before she drifted into a restless sleep with Hudson posted on guard at the foot of the bed.
She slept most of the afternoon for she had drawn the evening shift.
Once settled into her desk for the night, she was buried neck-deep with menial tasks.
Every other cop in the city was scouring the streets for any sign of the still missing senator.
Cassidy's talents were assigned elsewhere for she had spent the majority of her shift entering traffic violations into the system.
She felt utterly useless, but Gordon did his best to save her from total suffering with his side project.
The senator's cell phone had been turned off since the Wayne Foundation Event. Cassidy had been assigned to monitor and search for a signal on the off chance it was switched on.
She was in the midst of entering a speeding ticket when a flashing dot on the screen caught her attention.
The phone had been powered back to life, and the text that was just sent allowed Cassidy to narrow in on the location.
"Bingo," she whispered to herself. "Gordon! We have a hit on the phone. 325 Barker Street."
"Nice work, Williams," he nodded towards her direction before settling into command mode. "I want all available officers en route to the location now and call in a SWAT team if necessary. I'm not taking any chances."
Cassidy allowed a bream of pride to surge through her while she gathered her jacket, shield and gun.
She sounded the alarm. The entire squadron knew that. It had been the most productive and positive thing she had been allowed to contribute in months.
Cassidy had no doubt this was Gordon's plan all along. To grant her some credit and gain more ground and respect within the squad. It was a small step into moving Cassidy back within the forefront.
She took what all she could get.
Cassidy felt a strong grip around her forearm while she stood in the middle of the station of officers preparing to venture out into the night.
She gazed up to see Blake, dressed in uniform, ready to go.
"Your chariot awaits, Williams," he smirked. Cassidy raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction. "You're with me."
The two raced towards his patrol car to join the fray.
"You're going to need that," he motioned towards the seatbelt as he climbed into the driver's seat.
"Delicate cargo here," she responded with a roll of her eyes. She snapped the seatbelt tight around herself. "I prefer all of my bones in one piece."
"Can't make any promises, dear."
Blake slammed upon the gas pedal and headed towards the seedy bar that the cell phone ping designated.
He was not lying about the need for the seatbelt. Blake was speeding through the streets as he weaved in and out of traffic with the blue and red lights flashing brightly.
Without it, Cassidy would have likely been tossed onto the floorboard or on Blake's lap with how quickly he was swerving into the turns.
Though she had a feeling he would not have been upset about the latter.
As quickly as the wild adventure began, the two pulled up the bar that was already surrounded with officers that were on patrol in the area.
A SWAT unit powered the heavily locked doors of the entrance opened.
Cassidy heard the distinctive sound of shots fire within the building. She held her breath as she mentally prepared for battle.
A small wave of nerves made her stomach churn, but she was not entirely sure if it was for her own safety or that of the cop beside her.
This was by far the most action Gotham had seen in years.
As the SWAT unit rushed through the doors and locating targets, Cassidy heard a blood-curdling shriek of a woman.
Given the all clear, Blake turned her way with a look as if to say let's go. Cassidy trailed behind him with her firearm locked and loaded.
A leggy, brunette rushed out of the building as the duo made their way up the stairs. The young woman smacked right into Blake, and Cassidy could not shake the feeling that she had seen her somewhere once before.
"There's a man in there! He's bleeding!" she shouted at Blake.
The brunette was obviously shaken up over what transpired within the bar when the SWAT team erupted into it.
"It's okay, Miss," Blake reassured her. "It's okay."
"If you'll head over toward the SWAT truck, I will send the medics to look you over," Cassidy instructed as she directed the woman where to wait.
The brunette nodded her thanks before rushing towards the vehicle. Cassidy and Blake proceeded deeper within the bar.
It was outdated, damp and dark. The tables and chairs were rundown. It was a miracle that the place was even still in business.
The only sounds to be heard was gunfire from the SWAT and the assailants in the alley behind the bar, the low mumble of the television playing behind the bar itself and the moans of an injured man dressed in a Hawaiian print shirt.
Blake walked towards the man to check his vitals and injury.
"It's the congressman," he confirmed to Cassidy before calling into the radio to inform his fellow officers that the congressman was secured.
A round of gunfire stole both of their attentions. A solemn gaze was shared between them before the duo rushed out the backdoor of the bar with guns at the ready.
Members of the SWAT team were positioned behind vehicles parked within the dark alley and firing at the fleeing men, presumably connected to the congressman's kidnapping.
Cassidy took aim and fired twice before hustling to find cover.
As a rain of shots was fired back, Cassidy used all of her weight to run into Blake. The force push both of them behind dumpster and out of the line of fire.
Cassidy felt a sharp pain shoot through her arm. She brushed it off as best as she could. She wrote it off as more than likely just a scrape from the hard landing on the pavement.
There was business to finish.
"Give a guy a warning next time," Blake mumbled as he tried to untangle himself from underneath her.
"You're welcome," she deadpanned back.
With a cease in fire, the two caught up with the SWAT unit. Using cars as cover, they took calculated shots within the dark.
The sound of sirens alerted the cavalry had arrived in the form of more of Gotham's finest.
"About damn time," she muttered to herself.
With no sounds of returning fire, Cassidy poked her head around the car.
The coast was clear.
Several cops had gathered in a well-light alleyway in the distance.
"Head over and make yourself useful," she motioned towards the SWAT unit. "It's clear."
She reached a hand out to help pull Blake off the ground. When he grasp it and place some weight on her arm, she felt the pain overtake her again.
Despite herself, she let out a loud hiss.
"Let me see," Blake ordered.
"We don't have time," Cassidy replied as she swatted his hand away from her injured arm.
He clamped down on her good arm tightly to hold her in place before she tried to run after the SWAT unit.
"If you're injured, I have all the time in the world," he said with more seriousness and emotion than Cassidy had ever seen him display.
Cassidy relented with a gruff as she reluctantly allowed Blake to help her out of her leather jacket.
The side of her white fitted t-shirt was splattered with blood.
Blake gently inspected the wound while Cassidy bit her tongue to keep a gasp of pain from escaping.
"It's just a graze. You'll need some stitched, but you'll live," he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, but it was clear he was worried. "If you hadn't pushed me to the ground, you'd be fine."
"If I hadn't pushed you to the ground, you'd be dead," she countered.
Her own voice was laced with pain as the adrenaline high came crashing down.
"You own me, Blake."
"You need a medic,' Blake instructed as he ignored her comment.
"We don't have time," she reminded him again.
Before he could grasp her arm to hold her in place, she took off after the SWAT unit to join the rest of the department while leaving Blake and her bloody jacket behind her.
Blake tailed behind her, and when the duo entered the alley, several cops had already surrounded an opened manhole with their guns aimed to fire.
Cassidy searched for Gordon, but to her displeasure, all she could find was Foley.
"They went down there?" Blake asked the senior member of the staff.
Foley shook his head in the affirmative.
"And Gordon took SWAT in after them," he added.
An overwhelming sense of dread struck Cassidy.
The sewer system was not the ideal place to pursue heavily armed and dangerous men, and with how little a crew Gordon brought with him, she was concerned about his chances of coming out alive.
The assailants headed straight for the sewers indicating that they have a sense of familiarity with the underground world unlike that of the police department.
They had the home field advantage now.
She look over and down into the depth of the pitch-black manhole in a debate on climbing down after Gordon.
With her injured arm, she did not know how long she could last or how much help she would actually be.
Gunfire followed by a loud boom sounded from the ground below.
Before Cassidy could register what was happening, she was thrown to the ground with a large body falling on top of her.
Flames and smoke poured from the manhole she was just bending over.
Cassidy focused her eyes on her savior.
"We're even," Blake smirked down at her from his protective position on top of her body.
Cassidy rolled her eyes, but was well aware of the slight blush creeping on to her cheeks from how dangerously close on Officer Blake was.
He gently rolled off of her and offered her his hand like she had done previously.
She accepted, and brushed the dust off her jeans and did her best to clean the grime out of her open would as best she could once she was in an upright position.
Blake jogged over to Foley and joined him looking into the manhole that was admitting smoke from its depths.
"We're going to do down there, right?" Blake asked the superior officer.
"That was a gas explosion, kid," Officer Ross, a senior member of the force, explained.
"That wasn't gas," Blake argues. "This is a sewer."
"No one goes in there till we know what's down there," Foley ordered as he walked away from the manhole.
"We know what's down there, sir" Blake countered. "The police commissioner."
"Someone get this hothead out of here," Foley shouted. "And where is that DWP guy?"
Blake backed off with the wheels inside his head churning.
Cassidy on the other hand did not appreciate the way the newly in charge Foley was conducted himself.
"We can't wait, and you know that," Cassidy challenged Foley. "Gordon may be seriously injured. We have to do down there now, Foley."
"Better yet, you watch the hothead, Williams," Foley said as he dismissed her.
"Who died and made you commissioner?" Cassidy questioned. "I do not take orders from you. I'm a detective not a goddamn babysitter!"
Cassidy had hit her limits with Foley, and the searing pain in her arm was not helping her control her anger or her tongue.
"I'm not commissioner yet, but when I am, my first order will be to send you to Arkham to play cards with that clown of yours."
"Is that a threat?" Cassidy questioned with the anger clear within her tone.
"More like a promise, Detective Williams," Foley spoke with clear sarcasm dripping from his use of detective.
Cassidy was about to pop off another line, but Blake's firm grip on her shoulder stopped her.
He gave her an empathetic look, and the anger fled from Cassidy. Foley wasn't worth her time, and he assuredly wasn't worth losing her job over.
Blake signaled her to follow him back to his patrol car.
"Where are we going?" she asked once they were out of Foley's earshot.
"I've got an idea."
"That's soooooo reassuring," she teased.
"Just get in the damn car," Blake ordered with a shake of his head.
Blake drove a few miles towards the outskirts of town to one of he concrete water troughs where the sewer system drains.
He bounded out of the car into the trough while fighting the current the entire way.
Cassidy trailed after him through the water.
"What are we doing here?" she shouted over the roaring water.
He did not answer, so he continued to follow him.
She slowed when she saw him crouch over a body. Cassidy made out Gordon's features in the moonlight.
Blake began checking for vitals.
Gordon coughed up some water, and Cassidy let out a sigh of relief. He was alive.
She rushed back to the patrol car and called for an ambulance as Blake pulled Gordon out of the water.
"How did you know?" she asked in amazement at Blake's quick thinking once she returned to his side.
"I was here earlier," he explained. "A DWP worker found a body in the drainage system. It was a hunch."
"It was brilliant," she genuinely complimented.
As ambulance came to a screeching halt to end the conversation.
EMT's exited the back with a gurney, and had Gordon loaded inside the vehicle within minute before leaving the two soaking-wet officers leaning against a patrol car.
Cassidy involuntarily shook as a wave of hills traveled through her body.
Blake took noticed.
"Here," he said as without hesitation he shook off her heavy jacket and place it around her shoulders.
The jacket was also soak from the water drainage.
Cassidy held up her arms and gave him an exasperated look.
"Well," he laughed. "It's the thought that counts."
Cassidy could only shake her head as he playfully nudged her with his shoulder.
"Let's get that arm of yours to a hospital. Do we have time now?"
"We have time."