CHAPTER 25: BRIGHT AS YELLOW

T INA LED THEM to the end of the bar near the door, muscling her way past the men with an indifferent look on her face. With a few well-placed forearms to groins that happened to be in the way, the detective had no trouble parting a path for them. The scientist was right behind her, almost like a shadow as they moved to stand casually against the wall in the darkness. The detective was taking in the surroundings with a keen eye, sizing up the activity and figuring out the best course of action. The door itself wasn't lit and she hadn't seen anyone use it since Mariel first spotted it. Turning her head to the side, she leaned down and spoke quietly.

"We need to get in here without anyone seeing us."

Mariel nodded and looked around, thinking about the situation before she smiled, her eyebrow raising up just a bit before she leaned up, letting her words find Tina's ear.

"I have an idea."

The detective nodded and watched as Mariel casually strolled over to a man standing at the end of the bar nearest them. Tapping on his shoulder, the shorter blond woman smiled at him and moved her hands innocently behind her back, rocking a bit on her heels as he turned and looked down at her. Tina watched as Mariel leaned up and said something to the guy, his brows coming together as he looked at the guy squeezed in the space at the bar next to him. She saw the scientist shrug as the guy said something to her and looked back at the guy next to him. All hell broke loose promptly thereafter. Before the investigator knew it, Mariel was backing away quickly and the first punch was thrown. After that, it was a virtual free-for-all as all the men clustered around the bar and the bartenders were in a fray, yelling and fighting.

Tina took that as their cue to slip in the door, which she did, leading the way as Mariel quickly followed, pulling the heavy door shut behind them. They found themselves in the relative quiet and darkness of the stairs, a little red light shining at the top the only illumination. A few stairs into their climb, Tina turned and faced the scientist, smiling.

"What did you say to him?"

Mariel just shrugged as she followed the detective up, her voice sounding casual.

"I just told him that the guy next to him called him a bottom."

As they reached the door at the top of the stairs, Tina turned and asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

"And how did you know he wasn't?"

The scientist smirked, putting her hands on her hips as she cocked her head. Even in the dim light of the stairwell, Tina could see the sparkle in green eyes before Mariel playfully reached out and let her hand find the detective's, giving it a gentle tug.

"Tina, I think I'd know a Top when I saw one."

Tina chuckled before her face got serious, looking down at the young doctor. Putting her hands on both of Mariel's shoulders, she spoke.

"We should have the element of surprise here. We're not going to take her down, we're just going to get a look and then get out of here."

The scientist nodded, feeling the sure strength of Tina's hands on her shoulders. Letting her eyes catch the detective's, she agreed.

"Right. I told Eph I'd report in later tonight so she's expecting to hear from me. Once we get an idea of who we're dealing with, we can all sit down and figure out how to take care of her."

Tina growled, her blue eyes growing dark as she stood straight, her hands clenching tight. Even here, Mariel could see the lines of tension starting to form on the detective's face as she ground out her words.

"I know how I'd like to take care of her, whoever she is."

A slight smile crossed Mariel's lips, understanding the sentiment and almost wishing they could take care of this monster in a manner fitting the crime for which she was most likely responsible. The young doctor's strong sense of justice, however, worked its way through as it always did and she, of course, would make sure this person was dealt with fairly. Still, the idea of watching the detective clean the floor with this woman was a rather pleasant thought. Letting her hand find Tina's, she tugged it again and murmured softly in gentle understanding.

"I know."

Tina took a deep breath and nodded, putting one hand on the door handle and the other idly entangling itself in the scientist's own before she gave a squeeze and let it go. Just as she was about to open the door, she spoke.

"Listen, Mariel. Let me take care of the big stuff. I don't know what's going to happen once I open this door so stick close and be ready."

Shifting a bit, Mariel looked up into blue eyes before she took a breath, nodding her head at the detective's words.

"I'm right with you, Tina...all the way."

And she was, completely and totally with Tina in this. What started off as her first case had now become something more for both of them. They had found a kindred spirit, albeit one neither would have suspected, in a very big world and that was something that didn't come around every day. With that knowledge, they opened to door to the second floor, the pulsating sound of Cirra's Cage greeting them.

And it was like slow motion, like the still frames of a movie being played across a three dimensional screen. The door opened and Tina walked forward, Mariel coming to stand slightly off to the side behind her. In the darkness of the club, people parted in front of them to both sides as the iridescent light of the dance floor beamed up to the balcony, a laser show of blues and greens, but mostly reds. And in that swirling sea of lights not twenty feet from them, a figure emerged standing, blond white hair wild and aglow, a strobe light flicking across Cirra Callistone's smiling face.

"Caitlyn!"

Mariel yelled out, which made the scene around them seemingly speed up to regular time as she spotted the young girl they had first met at the Whip Room earlier, her bound hands behind her back and a knife pressed against her throat. Tina quickly held out her arm, holding the young scientist from pressing forward towards her which was her natural inclination.

Cirra tipped her head back and laughed before she felt Caitlyn struggle, her face changing in a split second to one of anger, the dagger pressing in further against the girl's skin. Oh, how she had imagined this meeting. Ah, but the fun was just getting started. After all, she had waited this long, she was going to draw it out and milk every possible second of this. If it made Tina Amphipoli miserable even one iota, it was worth it. Suffer, bitch! Locking her brown eyes on the detective, she sneered.

"You want me? Come and get me!"

And with that, a blast of dance floor smoke rose from below, engulfing the balcony in whiteness, obscuring everything in a hazy cloud, the strobe lights making it blink on and off in brightness. Tina reached out and grabbed Mariel's arm, rushing forward through the smoke, fighting her way through bodies of people who suddenly appeared in her pathway. No one was directly confronting them, they were simply in the way. Mariel reached down and took Tina's hand, making sure she didn't lose the detective as they finally found their way to the top of the stairs. The blond woman was gone.

"Where'd she go!"

The scientist shouted above the music that had somehow gotten impossibly louder, the dancing below becoming more wild. Tina squinted in the smoke, looking down the steps as she waved some of the haze away from her. In the blink of an eye, she spotted blond hair at the club's entrance, red neon light illuminating a face that was vaguely familiar. The woman below looked directly at her before she blew a kiss to the detective and went out the door, dragging Caitlyn behind her.

"She's out! Come on!"

Tina shouted above the music as she turned toward Mariel, pointing towards the bar's front doorway. The young doctor nodded, letting go of Tina's hand as they ran down the stairs, dodging leather men in the way. Rushing to the bar's entrance, one of the doormen made a very stupid move by trying to get in front of Tina. With a right hand blow, she landed a solid punch on his jaw, felling him where he stood. Mariel skipped over the slumped man as Tina ran forward, flinging open the door into the cold night air. The two rushed on to the sidewalk and looked around, the street just as dark and foreboding as it had been earlier only it was eerily empty now. Nothing. Tina looked one way while Mariel looked another, trying to find a trace of where the elusive woman had gone.

"I don't see anything...where could she have gone?"

Mariel's voice was anxiously excited, her heart beating a mile a minute with worry. Seeing that blade against the poor girl's neck had nearly given her a heart attack. Tina moved close, her eyes still surveying, looking for any clues that might help them.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

The detective pulled open the door to the club, the doorman still wimpering on the floor, rubbing his broken jaw. The rest of the bar was either oblivious to what was going on or had wisely decided to stay out of the way. Reaching down, Tina hauled the guy up by his shoulders and roughly dragged him outside, his moaning louder when she unceremoniously dumped him on the sidewalk. Mariel stood off to the side, watching as Tina went to work. Bending down, Tina placed a knee against his windpipe and pressed, her body weight coming to rest on him. Panicked, his eyes went wide, the pain from his broken jaw now replaced by the pain of a knee to this throat. Tina leaned down, grabbed his damaged face and squeezed. Gritting her teeth, she spoke.

"I can make it so you'll wish your head wasn't attached to your body. Now, tell me who that blond woman is and where she went before things get messy."

Tina paused, her knee pushing further into his throat as her fingers found the broken bone in his jaw and she pressed against the fracture, a strangled cry coming from the doorman before she continued.

"Trust me, you don't want to see it when I get messy."

Mariel came closer, her eyes darting to the door and then back to the man. Gasping, he nodded his head as he tried to speak.

"Her name is Cirra..."

Tina drew her hand back and eased up just a fraction from his neck, her eyes blinking a bit. How many Cirra's in this world could there be? In a softer voice, she looked back at the guy and questioned.

"Cirra?....Cirra Callistone?"

The man looked at her and nodded as best he could, the pain unbearable. She had told him this might happen and he was willing to do her bidding, but damn, Cirra didn't tell him it was going to hurt like a motherfucker.

Mariel put her hand on Tina's shoulder and waited for the detective to look up, which she eventually did. The scientist's brows came together in concern and puzzlement.

"Do you know her, Tina?"

Blue eyes were completely unreadable as Tina nodded, her voice haltingly surprised in the chilled air.

"Yes....yes, I do."

Tina paused a brief moment before she narrowed her eyes down at the doorman, her knee digging into his windpipe. With the coldest voice Mariel had ever heard from the investigator, Tina leaned in until her face was a few inches from the man's and spoke, her fingers finding his broken jaw again.

"Where'd she go?"

With a squeal of pain, the man struggled, the pressure on this neck making it harder to think and breath with each passing second. And he didn't and couldn't even begin to deal with the pain in his face. With a strangled voice, his eyes looked into the darkest set of blue he had ever seen as he gave up the information he was told.

"Olympian Tool and...Dye...on...Cermak....east."

Tina took what he said in, giving his jaw a squeeze to insure that he wasn't lying. When he gasped and said nothing more with a wild look that those who know they are close to death get, she pulled her knee back and stood. Mariel watched as the detective's body seemed to get taller and bigger as she took in a breath, letting it out as she ran a hand through her dark bangs. Looking around, Tina collected herself and nodded, her voice distant.

"Come on...we need to hurry."

Mariel just nodded at her, half afraid of where Tina had gone, the warmth in blue eyes replaced by a determined, cold look. Glancing down at the doorman who was curled in a ball of pain on the sidewalk, she watched as Tina stepped over him without another thought and took off down George Street, her long strides starting to jog. Catching up, the scientist ran along side the investigator down the dark sidewalk, the quiet only broken by the sound of their footfalls on concrete.

* * *

She had no clue where they were going as they jogged along the city streets, covering the ground they had already walked on their way from the Mortar and Pestle. They were both in shape, breathing steadily as they paced themselves. Tina was as silent as the clouds covering the stars above them, her gaze focused in front of her. Mariel simply followed along, instinctively knowing it best to let the detective have her space. She recognized that Tina finding out that she somehow knew the woman who held Caitlyn captive and who sold kids into slavery was something that took a minute or ten to get used to and deal.

They jogged past the Mortar and Pestle, the leather club still hopping at two in the morning on a Friday night. At the corner of Belmont, Tina slowed down and stopped, both of their breathing slightly heavy from the exertion but far from winded. Mariel put her hands on her knees and bent over a bit, stretching and catching her breath before she looked up, her eyes falling on Tina's pacing form.

"Tina, are you alright?"

The detective stopped and nodded her head, her eyes narrowing a bit as she adjusted the nightstick at her side. It was almost like the person she knew had been replaced by someone else, the lack of emotion and that unreadable stoic face in place.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, I parked the Buick down one of these side streets earlier while you were getting ready with Layla. I need to find it and get to this place on Cermak."

Mariel wasn't fooled by Tina's no nonsense Chicago gruffness, at least not anymore. Coming over to the tall woman whose eyes were scanning the intersection, she reached out her hand and took one of Tina's, her smaller fingers gently prying open the clenched fist the investigator had unconsciously made. Letting her own fingers relax into the strong hold, she moved around in front of Tina and spoke softly.

"Hi...remember me? Your partner? Don't shut me out please..."

Tina shook her head, already decided that she wasn't going to take Mariel with her. Not to some crazy business on the near South Side to face who knows what with a woman she barely remembered. Seeing Caitlyn's terrified face pretty much sealed that deal. It was getting far too dangerous and far too personal. Letting the young doctor's hand go, Tina looked down at the Mariel.

"You can't go, Mariel. Call Eph and have her meet you at the Bureau office. Debrief her and your part's over. They can take it from there."

Mariel was silent, her eyes searching Tina's unbelieving. Swallowing, she watched as Tina started to turn away, leaving her there on the corner.

"So that's it, huh?"

The scientist's voice called out and Tina stopped, looking over her shoulder at the young woman. Mariel's face was stone, trying to hide the hurt before she continued.

"We come all this way together and you just decide to go it alone."

Tina turned back towards her and held up a hand, her expression noncommital.

"Listen, I don't need anyone, ok? Now, I've got to go. Call Eph from that payphone and have her come get you. It should be safe to wait here."

Mariel watched as the detective turned and started down the street, her tall form silhouetted under the streetlights. And she could have just watched her keep going if she wanted to, but every single atom inside her was calling out not to let her walk away. Every single fiber of her being told her to follow Tina to the ends of the world if need be, but not to let her go, not now. Luckily, Mariel Potidean had learned a thing or two over the years about going with her feelings. Besides that, she was stubborn, dammit, and she was not going to give up so easily.

Running, she closed the half-block distance between her and the detective and moved around in front of her, reaching out and taking her hand again, needing to connect physically with this woman. Tina gave her a look and was just about to protest before Mariel held up her free hand.

"Tina, hear me out please. You know, this isn't about you not needing someone. This is about me wanting to be with you."

Tina shook her head, her voice low and pained.

"Mariel, I can't risk you getting hurt."

The scientist reached out and took Tina's other hand, her smaller ones entwining in the warmth. With a serious expression, Mariel let her eyes find Tina's before she spoke.

"If I lived a nice, safe, simple life, I would never know what it felt like to risk something important to me and have it pay off in the end. Tina, I knew the risks involved and I chose to take them eyes wide open. I don't ever want to regret not taking a chance. Please."

Tina breathed in and looked into green eyes that fairly glowed even in the darkness of the sidewalk. Mariel's cheeks were flushed slightly red from the chill and from their run. The ever-present wind blew back her blond hair, wisps of golden red falling all around her face. In that moment, she knew that she wasn't protecting Mariel from something the young woman didn't want, she was protecting herself from the risk. Plain and simple, Tina was afraid to risk it all again and feel the gut-wrenching pain that could come from it. 'I've never backed down from anything in my life and I don't intend to start', the scientist's words came back to her in that determined voice of hers. Well, Tina Amphipoli didn't back down either, dammit. With a nod, the detective agreed, murmuring softly.

"Alright."

The smile that slowly spread across Mariel's lips and quickly lit up her entire face was worth it all. With an excited little noise, the scientist let go of Tina's hands and reached her arms up around the detective's neck, bouncing up a bit and hugging her hard as she felt Tina's arms move around her lower back in reflex. For one glorious moment, Mariel held on tight and squeezed, feeling her body press against the detective's warmth and Tina's hands on her bare skin under her jacket.

Pulling back slowly, she looked up into blue eyes, realizing right then and there that she had never quite seen that color before and certainly not this up close and personal. A lopsided smile was on Tina's face before it faded, matching the scientist's own softening expression. And Mariel decided that she really, really wanted to know what it felt like to touch those lips. So she did.

With infinite slowness, Mariel leaned back up, pulling herself closer with her arms around Tina's neck before she moved in, letting her lips barely press against the detective's own. It was like the softest thing imaginable, the way Tina's lips gently kissed her back. Warm and slow, Tina let the scientist control the kiss, Mariel's hesitant pressure sending a shiver down her strong body, every nerve ending suddenly tuned into the young doctor. For Mariel's part, her entire body shot up in temperature in an instant as the sensations of their lips together moved through her. When she felt Tina respond to her kiss by letting her tongue touch briefly against Mariel's lips, a soft wet caress, she thought she might indeed die from pure bliss. In that one moment, they both felt as if everything that came before made sense, that somehow they had found each other again after all this time. Finally. There, on a sidewalk in the heart of Chicago, in the middle of the night, and in the middle of a life and death case, Mariel and Tina shared their first kiss.

And it was so..so sweet.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 443