CHAPTER 26: MOUSETRAP!

T HEY FLEW DOWN Lake Shore Drive, Tina kicking the Buick in overdrive on the nearly vacant roadway, the gleaming skyline to their right. The speed and the urgency matched Mariel's heartbeat, still doing doubletime from that one incredible kiss. She'd been in a haze since they had parted and smiled a little shyly at each other; and if she licked, she was still able to taste the detective on her lips. The quick walk to find the car had blurred past, the newness and intensity of the young doctor's feelings making it hard to remember the details. They hadn't said much, Tina giving her a couple of looks, just to check in and make sure she was still with her. And really, Mariel was very, very much with her. One minute they'd been kissing and the next, she was here seated in the warmth of the investigator's car, quite aware of the woman sitting next to her and quite aware of her how that made her feel. Focus, Mariel, focus. The case, remember the case, remember..

"Caitlyn!"

She blurted out, Tina turning quickly to her, a concerned look on her face. The scientist reached out, her hand lightly grabbing the leather covering Tina's arm before she continued.

"Tina, she's going to be alright, isn't she?"

The detective's eyes found Mariel's as she nodded, her mind brought back from that sidewalk moment. She had been thinking about the way Mariel was lightly shaking in her arms while they kissed, the softness of her lips, and the almost unbelieving, surprised look in her eyes when they had parted. She stored the feelings of those sweet moments away for future study, still marveling at how much she did indeed feel with this woman. With her mind forced back on the case, her voice was quiet in the hush of the Buick's interior.

"I think so. It seems that Cirra wanted to play a little cat and mouse with us. As long as she's got Caitlyn, her game's still on."

Tina let her eyes narrow as they drove past Soldier Field, her foot pressed firmly down on the gas. Right now, she didn't give a damn about speeding, not with the image of Caitlyn's terrified face in her mind. She played over every scene in that damn club for some clue as to why Cirra and why now. She had a feeling the blond was going to have great pleasure telling her when they met up again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Mariel's voice was soft as the occasional streetlight illuminated the investigator's face, her jaw clenching tight as she stared straight ahead of them, driving the car with unblinking ease. She maneuvered the Regal steadily, taking an exit for the Dan Ryan and merging into the light traffic as she accelerated. For a moment, the scientist thought that Tina either didn't hear her or wasn't going to talk, until she cleared her throat.

"I used to go to school with Cirra...back in Detroit...that is, when I bothered to show up at all."

Tina glanced over at Mariel, not quite knowing how to explain this in the best possible light. But, she decided, it was always better to go with honesty than to lie about one's past. Besides, it's who she was back then, and if the young doctor wanted to know who she was dealing with, Tina felt she should come cleaner.

"I told you about the guys I used to hang with there..."

Mariel looked at her and nodded, remembering their conversation over lunch. The expressway was essentially empty, the few cars they passed seemed to be in slow motion. Keeping her eyes forward, the detective sighed before her voice lowered, her hand gripping the wheel tighter.

"Mariel, we were wild back in those days and we liked it that way...almost like a gang, I suppose... minor crimes, fighting other kids, hurting people. We were young and stupid and...I wasn't a very nice person then."

The scientist tried to imagine what it would have been like to have known Tina back then, her own Indiana past feeling like the polar opposite existence it was. She never got into trouble because there was nothing to do. Even though she knew she needed to leave one day, she couldn't imagine it then, the illusion of their simple life feeling like a panacea for all things. All she had ever known was the farm and small town Midwestern ideals and all of that rarely included big city problems or people like Tina Amphipoli. She doubted the detective would have noticed her even if they had crossed paths, and it sounded like she was lucky she didn't. Clearing her throat, Mariel shifted in her seat to speak.

"Sometimes circumstance has a way of moving people in directions they never thought they'd go. I suppose what makes us human is being able to change those directions because we want to. Tina, you're who you are now because of what you were then, good or bad, right or wrong. I'm not here to be judge, jury, and executioner. I'm here to be your friend and your partner."

Tina looked over at the young doctor, her green eyes actually conveying the belief in those words. Reaching out, she smiled, letting her hand rest on Mariel's knee as she gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Mariel Potidean, you are something, you know that?"

The scientist laughed, shrugging her shoulders as she spoke.

"Well, when you figure out what that something is, tell me because I'm dying to know.."

Tina smiled as she drove, spotting the Chinatown/22nd Street exit off the Ryan ahead. The Buick easily glided across the expressway, heading towards their destination as the detective's hand rested loosely on the bottom of the steering wheel. Slowing down, she came off the ramp and turned east, the bright lights of the car shining down Cermak. The street was deserted and dirty, the industrial buildings starting to loom darkly off to the sides. Mariel glanced around before she looked back at Tina.

"So, how does Cirra figure into all of this."

The detective slowed the car down, narrowing her eyes as she looked along the street, taking in the buildings. Mariel turned her head to look as well. Without saying anything, the scientist pointed ahead through the windshield, the Olympian Tool and Dye sign visible. The imposing building was dark and big, sulking in the shadows like a brick monster behind its cage of razor-wired fencing. Tina pulled the car off behind an abandoned security booth for the parking lot next to the factory and turned off the lights. Her eyes first flicked to the darkness before turning to Mariel and shaking her head, her murmur quiet in the peace of the Buick.

"I have no idea..."

* * *

"Get in there!"

Cirra screamed, shoving Caitlyn into the dark room as the girl stumbled and fell, her bound hands making it impossible to balance. With a flick of a switch, the blond turned on the low overhead light in the room, wrinkling her nose at the smell and the sight. Lisa was passed out on a cot, her clothes soiled where she had been unable to make it to the bucket in the corner, the drugs making her oblivious to most things anyway. Valerie was hunched in a ball in the corner, vomit near her, shaking like a leaf and sweating profusely, too weak to even respond to Cirra. The whole room reeked of urine and vomit and stale air. She watched Caitlyn twist, turning to sit up and look around, her eyes first showing shock at the sight and then becoming steel grey with anger. With a shrug of her shoulder against her mouth, she was able to get the gag from it as she narrowed her eyes at Cirra in rage.

"You will pay for this, you rotting stinking witch! When Tina gets here.."

Cirra interrupted her with a laugh before her face changed and her brown eyes went icy cold.

"When Tina gets here, she's going to die. So will you."

Cirra turned, her face business-like and cold as her eyes met Teddy. The large bulky man was standing behind her, his ever-present sister Tara off to the side and Leon near as well. Adam and Bud had remained in the control room keeping an eye on the factory floor below them. With a voice sounding more calm than they had ever heard before, the blond spoke.

"She'll be here soon. I expect that all the preparations have been made and you remember your orders."

Teddy nodded seriously, knowing that Cirra was in no mood for fuck ups, not now. When they had seen her practically fly under the slowly opening cargo door in her black Porsche, a scream escaped her lips as she jumped out of the car and smiled. They had all been upstairs in the control room, drinking beer and watching whatever bad movie was on the USA channel at 3 in the morning. A few men from the Cage had shown up earlier in the night, ordered as added security for the place. That made a total of eight men in the building, stationed at various parts on the lookout for Cirra's guest of honor. Reaching out, Cirra grabbed Tara and pulled her towards her.

"You...you're so eager to learn the ropes. Get in there and make sure those three stay put."

And before Tara could protest (and she was going to protest, given that she had caught the smell of the room from where she stood), Cirra pushed her in and slammed the door shut before turning back to Leon.

"You, whatever your name is, I want you up on the roof. Take the radio and keep watch. Go."

Leon moved off, following this woman's orders. He had been the one who had gone with Cirra Callistone when they had taken care of that guy who talked about club activities, the one the cops found in pieces under the Stevenson. Although he never spoke of it, he had been fucking scared shitless by how easily and without feeling Cirra sliced that guy up, with a machete no less, her eyes going distant as a smile crossed her lips with each bloody stroke. He had thought they had gone to scare him, maybe rough him up a bit. What he saw that night made him realize that Cirra Callistone was a monster, pure and simple.

"And Teddy, dear..."

The blond crooned as she reached out and ran a hand over his chest before she grabbed his neck and held it tightly, her fingernails digging in.

"When she gets here, you make sure that nobody...I mean, nobody interferes. Got it? She's all mine. Take care of her little friend, but leave Tina to me or so help me, I'll kill your sorry ass."

The big guy swallowed under the pain and nodded meekly, lowering his eyes as he spoke.

"Yes, Mistress Cirra. As you wish."

Cirra let go of him and whirled around, untying her black velvet cape and tossing it back to Teddy without so much as a second thought. Clapping her hands together, she smiled as she went to wait for the arrival of her old high school buddy, Tina Amphipoli. Seeing her tonight had been priceless, the look of almost recognition by that black-haired bitch was so sweet. Oh, she was going to pay alright. Every single moment of planning and set up was for this night, when she would meet the woman to blame for her pain, for her misery. She didn't care what happened after tonight, didn't care whether anyone around her lived or died, whether her stupid little slave 'business' survived. She didn't give a fuck about anything but exacting a price for what had been done to her. And it was finally time for Tina to see what she had made, what she was responsible for creating. Cirra would finally get what she had always wanted, what her twisted mind demanded: Vengeance, tonight, for the past.

* * *

"This is a trap, you know."

They stood just outside the fence, looking at the eerily quiet, dark building. Mariel's words had been quiet and subdued as well, watching the detective survey the scene in front of them with a practical planning eye. Her blue eyes were narrowed as she looked at their possible entry points, the defenses of the building, the weaknesses. Without looking at the scientist, Tina reached out a hand and took hold of the fencing, the entrance gate to their left purposely open.

"I know."

Tina's low voice acknowledged. It was clear that she was thinking, figuring out a plan of action to get them in safely and still take care of Cirra. Mariel let her eyes drift back to the building, seeing a low utility shed near the far end, opposite from where it looked like a cargo door for shipments was located. Pointing to it, the scientist whispered, not knowing why, but feeling like she needed to be quiet anyway.

"There's a shed on the end over there. We could climb up and go in from the roof."

The investigator narrowed her eyes to where Mariel was pointing and assessed. They couldn't go in through the cargo doors, that would be the most vulnerable and open way into the building. The front entrance door was long ago boarded up and secured, getting through it would cause a ruckus and make things more difficult. No, if this was the trap Tina was sure it was, they needed some element of surprise. Cirra would know they would be coming, but if she didn't know exactly when or where, they might have a chance to level the playing field a bit more.

"Mmm.."

Tina agreed as she scanned the roof for anyone stationed there. Seeing no one, she turned to face the young doctor, her hand reaching out and resting on Mariel's shoulder.

"Ok, here's the plan. We go up and get in as quickly and as quietly as possible. There's always an entrance from the roof of these places with all the ventilation equipment housed on top of the building."

Mariel nodded, her eyes turning back and seeing various large structures on the roof itself, the dark outlines of chemical vents and short smoke stacks and air conditioning units visible. The detective continued.

"Once we get inside, we need to locate where Caitlyn is, whether Cirra still has her with her or put her someplace else. We also need to get a message to Eph and Sam. I want back up here once we find Caitlyn. I don't know how many of her people are in that building, but I want to make sure no one gets hurt. The more people on our side, the better."

Letting her hand reach into the inside pocket of her leather jacket, Mariel pulled out something dark and heavy. Holding it out to Tina, she spoke softly, nodding at the detective, her eyes serious.

"Here. I thought you might need this."

Tina looked down and took the object, recognizing it automatically once it fit in her hand. Her .38 Special. Feeling its familiar weight in her hand, she pulled the gun out of the clip holster and flipped open the cylinder, seeing seven bullets neatly loaded in the chambers. The metal of the gun was warm from being against the scientist's body and Tina let a small smile cross her lips. Mariel had gone back up into her apartment before they left for the night and taken this, somehow knowing that things might get dangerous for them later. Putting the gun back in its holster, the detective clipped it securely on her belt and looked up at Mariel, her voice soft.

"Thank you..."

With a smile and a warmth in her green eyes, the scientist shrugged.

"Anytime."

Tina's hand came up and she let it lightly brush against the scientist's cheek before she reached down, removing the nightstick at her side. Holding it out to Mariel, she smiled.

"Think you might have a use for this?"

Mariel chuckled as she took it, grabbing the handle firmly and spinning it expertly at her side, the black stick moving blurringly in a figure eight before she found a beltloop in her leather pants and put in through. With a smirk, the scientist explained

"Sensi Po-Nin always said I was good with a stick."

Tina smiled back before she cocked her head to the side, letting an amused and proud look cross her face. The scientist had a way of surprising her like no one ever had. There were so many things she didn't know about Mariel and she was looking forward to finding out each and every little thing. With a lopsided grin, the investigator drawled.

"Mariel, I didn't know you could handle yourself so well in the field."

Narrowing her eyes with a glint of something sexy, the young doctor moved closer to Tina as she lowered her voice.

"I have many skills."

Tina just smiled and chuckled a bit before she caught Mariel's eyes. As her own smile faded to a more serious expression, she reached out and pulled the shorter woman into a tight embrace, wanting to remember what it felt like to have her warm body against the detective's own. Mariel fell right into place, reaching her arms in between the warmth of Tina's leather jacket and her black t-shirt as she felt the investigator bring her closer still. They both needed this contact, needed to make sure the other person was right there with them, that it was real. They knew they were about to face unknown danger and the idea of doing it together made it seem safer. And right. It felt like this was supposed to be the way things should be, how it was meant to be. Letting her eyes look over the top of Mariel's head, Tina scanned the dark building again before she leaned down, finding the scientist's ear.

"Be careful in there, ok?"

Mariel's cheek rested against the detective's shirt, just below her neck and she could almost hear Tina's heart beating. Squeezing against the strong muscled back under her hands, she nodded silently against the investigator before she pulled back a bit. Gently, she leaned up and placed a soft kiss against Tina's neck under her chin, lightly tasting the salt of the detective's skin before she murmured.

"You too."

Tina smiled to herself as she pulled the scientist closer for one last squeeze, putting her chin on top of Mariel's head. Reluctantly, they parted and looked at each other before Tina stepped forward, her hand grasping the fence again as her eyes turned to the Olympian Tool and Dye building, knowing that Cirra Callistone was waiting for them, for her. Glancing over to where Mariel stood beside her, she steeled herself for the impending events to come.

"Alright, let's go."

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 485