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CHAPTER 27: RESISTANCE


T HEY MADE THEIR way along the inside of the fence, skirting the perimeter of the Olympian Tool and Dye's property. Tina was in front, a dark shadow moving steadily through the night, Mariel right behind her. Their footsteps crunched on the lightly paved but gravel strewn parking lot towards the left end of the building, away from the cargo doors. There were no lights on inside the building except for a few very dim faint glows of golden coming through one or two black painted windows. Walking towards the dark dilapidated utility shed, the detective's eyes scanned for any sign of danger. With a nod, Tina signaled to Mariel with her head towards the back side of the shed where a row of industrial chemical barrels sat, rusty and leaking.

Mariel watched as Tina climbed on top of one of the barrels before reaching up and grasping the edge of the shed roof, hoisting herself up effortlessly. After easily swinging her legs up and steadying herself, she nodded down at the scientist and held out her hand. Mariel carefully climbed up on one of the barrels, the metal creaking under her weight. Taking the investigator's strong hand, she felt herself pulled up, helping as she swung her leg over. Once they were both on top of the shed, Tina looked around and spotted a set of metal rungs going up the side of the building about five feet up from the shed's roof.

"There."

Tina whispered, pointing to the barely visible metal ladder. Mariel looked and nodded as they carefully walked on the top of the shed, mindful of the frail aluminum they crossed. Once to the building wall, the detective got behind the scientist and lifted her easily until Mariel grabbed the bottom rung and pulled herself up, climbing up a bit. Turning, she watched as Tina skillfully jumped and grabbed the rung, pulling herself up before they both made their way up the side of the building. As she neared the top, Mariel looked up and saw the roof ledge coming closer. With one last rung, she came even with the ledge, putting her hands on the cold brick surface.

At that instant, a big bulky dark form appeared in front of her and swung a huge fist towards her head. If she hadn't developed the type of instincts she had from her karate training, Mariel would have been knocked off the building without so much as a chance to make a noise. As it was, she barely ducked, catching part of the man's glancing blow against the top side of her head, throwing her back a bit as her hands reached out to desperately grab the ladder. Tina reached up and caught the scientist's weight above her.

"Hang on!"

And with a whirl of blurring speed, Tina practically flew up the ladder, essentially jumping over Mariel's body clinging to the rungs. Leon was bending over the side of the building, trying to pry Mariel's hands off when he saw the detective's tall form jumping up over the ledge and landing next to him. Pulling back, he stood and looked at Tina for a shocked second before a roundhouse kick snapped his head to the side.



"Take that!"

Staggering, Leon turned and faced her again, bringing one of his huge fists at the detective's midsection. Spinning easily away from the blow, Tina landed an elbow on the back of his neck as he moved past her. Falling to his knees, Leon shook his head and grabbed the radio, trying to bring it to his mouth. It was suddenly knocked from his hand and he looked up to see Mariel just finishing a perfect kick. Still surprised, it was too late before he felt a deathgrip on his neck as Tina reached around and strangled him, bringing a cold hard gun to his temple and growling.

"You just did a very stupid thing."

Pulling back the hammer of her .38 Special, she cocked the gun and put pressure against his neck with force before continuing in the lowest and most deadly serious voice she had.

"You hurt her. So I'm going to hurt you. First, you're gonna tell me where Cirra is and where she put that girl she brought here."

Leon laughed, something he never did unless he was scared. He had laughed so hard under the expressway that night that he thought perhaps he was crazy. Now, he knew he was. Feeling this woman's strength, effortlessly holding him tight, he couldn't help himself. Tina squeezed tighter and hissed.

"You think that's funny? I'll tell you what's funny."

The detective brought the gun back and smashed it against the back of his head, opening up a nasty gash in his skull and drawing blood as he groaned out in pain and slumped forward a little. Mariel put her hand to her head and crouched down next to them with one knee on the ground to steady herself, glancing up at Tina and seeing the darkness in her eyes. The detective looked at her and clenched her teeth, not at all liking the small line of blood she could see at the edge of Mariel's blond hairline. She could feel her own blood boiling at the thought. Drawing out her words slowly, she was close to pulling the trigger. Very close.

"Where's the girl?"

Leon was not stupid. He could feel the strength holding him and the blows that had left him dazed. And with no sign of Cirra, he decided to choose the lesser of two evils.

"They're in a supply room downstairs...the one with the grey door."

Mariel's brow came together before she questioned him, swallowing a bit at the pain.

"They?"

Leon nodded, feeling Tina squeeze his neck harder. The detective leaned closer, pressing the gun barrel back against his temple as she spoke.

"Where's Cirra?"

Leon shook his head, trying to shrug but unable in the deathgrip of the detective. Swallowing, his gruff words barely audible.

"I don't know."

Tina decided she had enough of this, anxious to check on Mariel and get inside. Putting her gun back in her holster, she grabbed Leon's head and pushed it forward before bringing it back quickly, her knee driving hard into the back of his head and knocking him well unconscious as he crumpled in a heap. Reaching back around to her belt, she angrily pulled out another pair of handcuffs and put one cuff on his meaty wrist, dragging him easily over the roof, his face sliding across the gravel before she attached the other end to the top rung of the ladder they had just climbed. Walking back towards where Mariel was now sitting, she crunched the radio laying on the ground under her boot.

"Hey...you ok?"

The scientist looked up, seeing Tina move to her and crouch down, her hands reaching out to push back blond hair gently, letting her fingers touch very carefully, examining the wound. Mariel smiled and shrugged.

"I've had worse."

Tina stopped probing and looked at her, shaking her head at the scientist before her fingers continued their gentle quest to assess the damage. She nearly had a heart attack when she watched that guy come out of nowhere and swing at Mariel when they were on the ladder. In fact, she was sure her heart stopped when she saw the glancing blow. Her body simply took over automatically and she reacted. And now, looking at Mariel's face, grimacing at the slight pain, she was almost went back over to him and killed him right where he lay. Taking a deep breath, Tina shook her head.

"That was too close. We know where Caitlyn is...you don't have to go in."

Mariel reached up and took Tina's hand, letting her fingers entwine. Sighing, the scientist shook her head as she spoke.

"Tina, I'm not leaving you. We go in together."

The detective looked into Mariel's eyes, the dim light from the streetlights casting her green eyes in a soft golden glow. Smiling slightly, she knew she had one very determined, brave woman on her hands and it was clear she wasn't going to talk her out of it now. Despite the danger, Tina knew that it was Mariel's choice and that the young doctor chose to go in and help rescue Caitlyn and whoever else Cirra had prisoner in there.

"Ok...you ready then?"

Mariel smiled and brought Tina's hand to her lips, remembering how safe she felt when that hand had held her securely on the ladder and had come to her defense in an impressive display. With a soft kiss, she nodded before the detective rose, pulling her with her to stand. Reaching up to the slight wound on her head, she chuckled.

"Just think of the story I'll get to tell about this."

With that, they headed towards the roof entrance, maneuvering through the ventilation ducts and other equipment before they came to a simple door, a brick placed in it to crack it open. Mariel took the doorknob and was about to pull it open when Tina reached out and gently grasped her arm. Looking at the scientist, she held up her wrist and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Want me to take these off you?"

She meant the handcuffs, still attached to the young doctor. Mariel looked at her arm and smiled, her face turning up towards the tall investigator. With a shrug, she spoke quietly

"Actually, unless you need them, I'd kind of like to keep them on...for authenticity purposes only, of course."

Tina chuckled, reaching for the door and opening it, leaning down to whisper in the scientist's ear, drawing out the word.

"Riight."

Once inside the narrow stairwell that led down from the roof, Tina's face went back to all-business as did Mariel's. Quietly descending the stairs in darkness, they came to the bottom as the detective opened the heavy steel door slowly, cracking it just enough to peer through. They appeared to be on the second floor at the end of a short hallway, the other end having stairs leading down and opening up to show the dim lights of the abandoned factory in front and below them. From her vantage point, Tina could see metal catwalks and platforms on the same level they were, the building looking a good fifty yards or so in length. From the ceiling, very dim lighting fixtures hung by long cords, casting an almost eery glow and throwing the whole factor in shadows. At the other end of the building, she could barely make out the cargo doors.

Motioning them forward, Tina led the way as they cautiously moved out of the stairwell and into the hallway, pressing along one of the dark walls until they came to the opening. Mariel saw no movements in the whole factory, but given that they had already met up with one of Cirra's thugs, she knew there would be more stationed elsewhere. Letting her eyes roam over their surroundings, she saw that along the outer walls of the building on the second floor was a walkway, a thin railing gleamed in the dull light. Crisscrossing above the floor were the catwalks and platforms, stationed above big pieces of equipment, tool and dye machines protruding pipes and other metal pieces from the floor below. Except for the stairway down, the only other option was the walkway. And given that Caitlyn was being held downstairs, that appeared to be the best choice. Looking up at Tina whose own eyes were assessing the interior with determined intensity, she gently pulled down on the detective's shoulder to speak quietly in her ear.

"Tina, I think the best plan is for us to split up. Let me go downstairs and find Caitlyn, make sure she's ok and then call Eph. You go find Cirra and take care of her."

Tina looked at her like she was crazy and had just suggested that she step blindly into a lion's den wearing a suit of raw meat. Taking both of the scientist's shoulders, she gave a shake of her head and leaned down, finding Mariel's ear as she whispered fiercely.

"No way! I'm not letting you go by yourself! We don't know how many people are in here. I can't just let you go wandering off on your own."

Mariel's eyebrows came together in consternation as she looked back at Tina for a moment before she whispered.

"Tina, please, don't treat me like a child. Not here, not now. Believe it or not, I can take care of myself in most situations. You and I both know that until backup comes, we've got to secure Caitlyn and whoever else is locked up with her. Now, we can't do that if Cirra's wandering around waiting to jump us. It makes more sense for you to distract her and for me to take care of this part."

Every single instinct in the detective's body was warning against this option. A growing sense of protectiveness had come over her where the young doctor was concerned and to just let her go off...well, it made her nervous as hell to say the least. But, Mariel did have a point. If she could confront Cirra and draw attention away from that supply room, she'd give the scientist enough time to find Caitlyn and get her to someplace more secure. And Mariel certainly was no child...she was capable of making her own decisions and it was true, she could take care of herself. There was no reason why Tina should make demands to go with her. Fine, but if there was so much as a hair out of place on Mariel's body, she would tear this place up from top to bottom and leave no survivors. She'd agree to the plan but she didn't have to like it. Sighing, Tina spoke quietly.

"Alright. But I want you to be careful and wait for my signal...I'll try to get everyone's attention on me. When the coast is clear....and only then, you go in, get Caitlyn and get the hell out of there as quickly as you can. Make your way back up here if you can until help arrives. You can use the roof if you need to escape."

Mariel nodded, having seen the mental gymnastics Tina went through before she decided on this plan. She knew the detective didn't like it one bit, but truly, it was the best thing. If Tina went with her to find Caitlyn, it would just put them all in danger more, Cirra no doubt expecting that and planning on it for her trap. If Tina could draw Cirra out away from the supply room, they all had a better shot at getting everyone out safely before backup arrived. Reaching out, Mariel took Tina's hand and gave it a squeeze before she whispered.

"Good. While I'm down there, I'm going to look for a phone to call Eph. I promise, at the first sign of any real danger, I'll make sure I follow your rules."

Tina cocked her head and looked down at the scientist, not quite sure what she was referring to until Mariel helpfully supplied the answer by leaning up real close and whispering in her ear.

"Rule number one..."

And after she said those words, she kissed very gently against the side of Tina's cheek and pulled back. The detective smirked and raised an eyebrow before she leaned in and whispered into Mariel's ear herself.

"Hightail."

Pulling back, she gave the scientist a kiss of her own against the softness of her cheek. The shorter woman smiled, her head nodding as she softly spoke.

"You got it, detective."

Tina shook her head and peered back out across the factory, her keen eyes looking for any sign of movement. At the far end near the cargo doors, she saw the faint flicker of bluish light coming from a glassed in room on the second floor. Glancing down the stairs, she didn't see anyone below on the floor and simply prayed to whatever or whoever that Mariel would not encounter anyone she couldn't take care of with the nightstick and her karate skills. For once, she wished the new FBI agent wasn't so adverse to carrying a gun of her own. Plotting her course on the walkway, she pointed at the room at the far end and leaned down to Mariel.

"Ok..I'm going over to that room, looks like someone might be in it. When you start hearing the commotion, you hightail your pretty little butt downstairs and get to work. And please..."

Here Tina paused, her blue eyes turning very serious in the dim light as her hands came to rest on the scientist's shoulders. With concern and feeling, she whispered to the woman who was quickly becoming a part of her heart, deep, deep inside.

"..please be careful, Mariel. I'd...really like to show you the best Chicago has to offer when all of this is said and done."

Mariel smiled, knowing that she had the best Chicago had to offer standing right in front of her.

"I'd like that. You be careful too, ok?"

Tina nodded, a smile coming to her face as well.

"Will do. Remember, wait for my signal."

Mariel nodded once and stood back against the wall as she watched Tina ease around the corner, her dark form blending into the darkness of the factory walls as she made her way along the second floor walkway towards the other end of the building. Holding her breath, she watched and waited, seeing Tina disappear into the distance. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Mariel ran a hand through her hair, mindful of the blow to her head. That had been a close one for sure. Reaching down, she pulled the nightstick from her beltloop and stood back, getting a good grip on the handle and practicing a bit with it to warm up and get used to its feel. She had to admit, she was much better with the staff Sensi Po-Nin had trained her with years ago, saying that all blackbelts should know how to expertly handle every weapon. Mariel was just a belt short of black, but she was good and expected to rise to that level this coming summer with intensive training. Agent Ephran had guaranteed her she'd have those training hours built into her schedule when she started the job. With a quick glide of the stick through the air, Mariel was satisfied with the feel of the weapon and was just about to move forward when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Two sets. Two heavy sets coming directly towards her. With a rueful shake of her head, she pressed her back against the hallway wall in the darkness and silently thought to herself.

'Well, Tina, as much as I'd like to wait for your signal, I'm afraid I'm going to have to do some buttkicking of my own before then. Wish me luck.'

 


Date: 2015-12-17; view: 414


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