A
Twin Dilemma
Simon
Banks smiled at the tall, handsome detective standing in front of him, “It’s
a pleasure to meet you Detective Wolfe,” he said cheerfully, “I’m glad you
decided to help out on this case.”
Mack
Wolfe nodded, “Captain, I’ve been tracking this son-of-a-bitch for two
years. I lost him eight months ago in Chicago; nothing’s been heard of him in
all this time. Then, when the reports of a possible serial killer showing up in
Cascade came through with an almost identical kill pattern, I had to investigate
it. I appreciate you letting me in on this investigation.”
“It’s
our pleasure. You’ll be working with Detective Rafe. He has been handling the
case with Detective Ellison, but unfortunately, Ellison is out of town for three
weeks on vacation. He doesn’t often request vacation leave so I insisted that
he take it, especially when I knew that you were coming to help out,” Simon
looked the younger man over once more, “You know, you look very much like Jim
Ellison. You don’t have any family here in Cascade do you?”
“Not
that I’m aware of, but my dad did get around!” Mack grinned.
Simon
chuckled, “Well, as I said, Rafe will fill you in on the details. Anything
else you need, please ask.”
Henri
Brown watched as Rafe and Mack sat huddled at the desk. He was sure that he’d
hear all about how wonderful the new detective was this evening when Rafe came
over for dinner with him, and his girlfriend.
He
had known for some time that Rafe was gay, and that he was in lust with Jim
Ellison. He also knew that Jim only had eyes for his partner, Blair Sandburg.
Okay, so they’d never actually ‘come out,’ and admitted that they
were a couple, but it had been taken as fact for so long that no one remarked on
it any more.
So,
in had walked this new detective from Hawaii, here on loan to help trap this
serial killer, and lo and behold if he wasn’t Jim Ellison’s twin. The guy
had the same muscular build, the same pale blue eyes and the same death defying
smile, and on top of all that, he had a wicked, and wonderful sense of humor.
Rafe
was in heaven.
Brown
watched as Rafe gazed at the new detective adoringly while they made their way
through the case notes. Oh yeah,
Rafe had it pretty bad. It was only office etiquette that was preventing him
jumping the poor guy right here.
Mack
climbed to his feet and smiled, “Okay, I just have to visit the men’s room
then we’ll go check out the harbor district,” he said.
Rafe
nodded, “Okay, I’ll wait in the car,” he said with a calm smile.
As
Mack walked away, Rafe watched the way the linen pants hugged his rear, and the
relaxed, easy way he sauntered through the bullpen, pulling hungry glances from
both sexes. Rafe shook his head, and gathered up his belongings. Shooting a
glance over at his friend, he smiled. Hell,
Brown knew him better than he knew himself.
“What
you smiling at?” Rafe whispered as he stood before Brown’s desk.
“You,
trying to pick up your tongue, and hide your dick at the same time,” Brown
teased.
Rafe
blushed slightly, “Shit, H. is it really that obvious?” he said nervously.
Brown
smiled, and slapped his friend on the arm, “Only to me, man. Don’t sweat
it.”
“God,
he’s beautiful, isn’t he though?” Rafe said quietly.
“If
you say so!”
“So,
Rafe. Who is this Jim Ellison everyone keeps taking me for?” Mack asked as
they sped along 12th.
“Oh
he’s the Major Crimes hotshot,” Rafe smiled, “But you two are alike.”
“He
a friend of yours?”
Rafe
shot Mack a glance, “Yeah, we all get along. He and his partner Blair host the
poker evening once a month.”
“Blair?
What’s she like?”
“He.
Blair’s a guy,” the younger man explained.
Mack
grinned, “Oh, like that huh?”
“They
just work together… oh and they share an apartment. Blair’s not a cop
though, he’s acting as an observer, he’s really an anthropologist,” Rafe
said, suddenly realizing how strange the set up did sound.
Mack
laughed, “Yeah, right.”
“Why,
you have a problem with men who like men?” Rafe laughed, trying not to bite
his lip while awaiting Mack’s answer.
“Me?
Hell no. I have no problem with that,” Mack turned his head and smiled at Rafe
seductively, “Say, wasn’t that a red light?”
“Shit”
Rafe exclaimed, glancing through his mirror to see what kind of vehicular
devastation he’d left behind. Luckily, all there seemed to be was an irate cab
driver gesturing rudely in his direction. But hey, cab drivers didn’t count.
He
continued to drive in silence, his hands trembled and his chest felt tight.
<Please don’t let me be reading this guy wrong,> he sent up a silent prayer.
“You
okay?” Mack asked suddenly, piercing the silence.
“Yeah,
fine. Why?” Rafe replied with an annoying tremor to his voice.
Mack
shook his head, “I wondered if my comment about liking guys had offended
you?” he said warily.
“No!”
Rafe almost choked, as the word forced its way out. He began to blush, was he
ready to admit the truth to this stranger? It had taken him years to feel
comfortable with Brown knowing and a few of the other officers who’d as good
as guessed in the end. But he’d only known this man for a few days. He took a
breath and spoke, “Mack, maybe you should know… that I’m gay.”
Mack
let fly with one of those mind-blowing smiles, “Yeah, I know,” he said
casually.
“Y…
you know? How?” Rafe gasped.
“Years
of practice and a gaydar that never fails me,” the older cop grinned, “Or
you could say that like knows like.”
“You?”
the good-looking young man almost drooled the word.
“‘Fraid
so, you’re looking at Hawaii’s favorite queer!”
Rafe
struggled to get his eyes back on the road, <Shit! There is a God>, he
thought with a smile.
The
seedy motel stank of stale sweat and stale beer. Mack wrinkled his nose as he
and Rafe walked through the door into what obviously passed as Cascades
scummiest fleapit motel. Behind the counter a large, heavy lidded woman regarded
them with suspicion.
“Room
rates are by the hour,” she drawled.
For
some reason, Rafe felt himself blush again. He glanced up at Mack who had just
summoned another of those drop-dead smiles. “No Ma’am. I’m Detective Rafe,
this is Detective Wolfe. We’re investigating a homicide in this vicinity. Have
you seen anyone suspicious hanging around here lately?”
Suddenly,
Mack leaned across the counter top until he was on eye level with the woman,
“The guy we’re looking for is between thirty and forty. Dark hair, possibly
cut very short like an army buzz cut, medium height and build. He’ll probably
have arrived in town in the last month or so,” he flashed a smile, “I came a
long way to find him and I’d be real grateful for any help.”
The
woman blinked at the big cop’s obvious flirting, “Just how grateful, eh
stud?” she teased.
“Oh,
I can get pretty grateful,” Mack grinned as the whole thing turned into a
game.
“We
get a lot of guys in here like that. But at the moment, we have two who could
match that general description in and out of here regularly. I know that one has
been hanging out at the Club Maxim down on Chase Street. Weird guy, very quiet
but a little sinister,” she said with a stroke of her finger across Mack’s
jaw.
Grabbing
her fingers, Mack kissed them, “Thank you, Ma’am,” he smiled. With a wink,
he guided a shocked Rafe from the building.
“You’re
amazing!” Rafe exclaimed as they climbed into his car.
“Just
takes practice,” Mack laughed, “So, what is this Club Maxim?”
Rafe
grimaced, “It’s the local ‘kinks’ club,” he said with distaste.
A
throaty laugh echoed from the older man, “Oooh, this is getting better and
better! Wanna go clubbing tonight, Rafe?”
“What?”
Mack
grinned, “We can call it a stakeout if it makes you more comfortable?”
Rafe
shook his head, “Clubbing at the Club Maxim? Oh shit!”
“H,
what am I going to do?” Rafe hissed into the telephone as he struggled with
his tightest jeans, “He wants me to go to the Club Maxim with him on a
‘stakeout’. Have you ever been inside that place?”
“Why,
man. Have you?” Brown teased.
Rafe
sighed, “Only on a bust when I was a uniform. It scared the shit out of me
then. H, I don’t know if I can go through with this.”
“What
exactly is the problem?” Brown asked, “The fact that the club freaks you? Or
is it more to do with the way you got the hots for Wolfe?”
“You
make me sound like a hormonal teenager,” Rafe grumbled.
“You
mean there’s something else driving your libido at the moment?” Brown
guffawed down the telephone. “Rafe, just go do your job, be cool. If anything
happens afterwards then I suggest you just ride it out… no pun intended.”
“Gee,
thanks for the advice buddy.”
“See
you tomorrow, man.”
“Yeah,”
Rafe smiled as he replaced the phone on the hook. He knew that he was being immature about this whole thing,
but Mack Wolfe really had him in a spin. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he
sighed, “I knew I should have had my hair cut the other day,” he said with a
grimace as a strand slipped across his eyes once again. He smoothed the tight
denim across his thighs and tucked the clinging black tee shirt inside the
waistband.
Taking
a deep breath, he shrugged on the black leather jacket to complete the look.
“It’s a stakeout… not a date!” he reminded himself. “You just happen
to be going on said stakeout, with a drop-dead gorgeous man, who you just
*happen* to know is gay and just *might* be interested in getting into your
shorts if you play your cards right,” he shuddered at the thought.
The
only other man who ever made him shake in his shoes this way was Jim Ellison.
There were still times when Jim was close by that Rafe found himself staring
hungrily after the big detective and it was only Blair Sandburg’s ferocious
glances that caused him to wipe the notion from his mind.
For
all Ellison’s size and bullish personality, it was Sandburg who Rafe felt he
would least like as an enemy. Beneath that cheerful, boyish grin lay a true pit
bull personality, full of passion and fire.
“Right,
pull yourself together. He’s just a guy. Just a guy,” Rafe chanted the
mantra over and over, “A guy who looks like a Greek god and has lips to die
for,” he groaned suddenly, “Jeezus, I’m a pathetic bastard.”
As
Mack sauntered from the small hotel, he gave Rafe the once over with the
hungriest stare that the younger man had ever seen. Rafe felt himself blush
furiously as Mack slid into the car.
“You
look good,” Mack smiled, *that* smile.
“Thanks,
so do you,” Rafe replied, trying to sound ‘cool’ but instead sounding like
a fifteen year old on his first date. He
took a moment to fully absorb the vision that sat beside him. Gone were the
cheerfully loud shirts and the baggy linen pants, to be replaced by skin-tight
black leather jeans, a silver ‘chain-mail’ vest and a black leather biker
jacket, finished off with black leather boots and the always present dark
shades.
Rafe
was sure that he was dribbling on the upholstery, but he found himself unable to
look away for fear that this was all a wonderful dream and he’d wake up soon
with a start and a hard on the size of the Empire State Building.
“So,
you ready?” Mack asked finally.
“For
what?” Rafe replied through a dry throat.
“To
go to the Club Maxim. The stakeout?” Mack let fly a devastating smile.
Rafe
shook himself and blushed, “Oh, yeah… right.” He started the car and
pulled away from the curb.
Sitting
in ‘The Club Maxim’, Rafe felt like shark bait on a fishing trip. He was
amazed that even Cascade could produce so many weirdoes and even more amazed
that they would all congregate here, in this rundown, rat-infested hovel of a
club. The only ray of sunshine was Mack Wolfe’s smile, radiating warmth across
the table at this very moment.
“I
get the feeling that this isn’t the kind of place you usually hang out?”
Mack said with a grin.
“You
could say that. I think I’ll need to shower for a couple of hours when I get
home tonight,” Rafe returned the smile.
“Oh,
so you’re going home tonight then?” the older man teased.
Rafe
felt his face flush and he looked away. He really couldn’t believe this guy.
Mack was perfect. So why was he reacting like a shy schoolboy?
Suddenly,
he felt a hand tap his arm, “Hey, I’m just teasing you. I’m sorry, my
sense of humor takes a little getting used to,” Mack said with an apologetic
smile.
“No,
it’s okay. I’m not offended or anything,” Rafe replied, “Just a little
taken aback.”
“Sorry.
I’ll keep the conversation strictly business from now on, okay?” Mack looked
around the room.
Rafe
swallowed nervously. He really was
blowing this, big time. Here was a fantastic looking guy almost throwing himself
at him and he was pushing him away. How many types of jerk could you be?
“So,
have you ever actually seen this guy we’re looking for?” he asked, wishing
he had the courage to re-engage the original conversation.
“Yeah,
briefly once. I’d just entered an apartment and found the victim dead, I saw
him slip out of the window,” Mack explained.
“Why
didn’t you go after him?” Rafe asked.
“Because
he’d just shot me in the chest,” the big cop smiled, “Kinda slows you
down, you know?”
“Oh
God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No
reason you should. But at least now you know why I take all of this so
personally.”
Rafe
watched as a flash of something almost indiscernible crossed Mack’s face.
Regret, sadness, guilt? Whatever it was, it was gone in seconds to be replaced
by the usual mind-shattering smile.
“So,
you want another drink?” Mack asked.
It
was after two in the morning, Rafe was still reeling from a night spent tagging
along after a tornado named Wolfe. Mack had managed to flirt with every woman in
the building and half the men. One guy had threatened to remove genitalia if he
ever saw Mack Wolfe’s face in the same room as his wife again, but the smiling
cop had walked away with a devilish grin and a shrug of the shoulders. Despite
the fact that no one who could reasonably be considered a match for their
suspect, had turned up, Mack seemed satisfied that it was a night well spent.
Pulling
up in front of the hotel, Rafe killed the engine and waited for his partner to
climb out of the car. He glanced up, when Mack didn’t move. The big detective
appeared to be thinking something over. He unconsciously chewed the inside of
his cheek, a gesture that could not help but stir memories of Jim Ellison in
Rafe.
Rafe
hesitated, “Er...”
Mack
held up his hands in surrender, “Hey, no. It’s okay. I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have asked. It’s damned unprofessional of me, not to mention
damned arrogant. But then… I am… both of those things. But, you’re not.
And I’m sorry,” he said quickly and reached for the door handle.
“Mack,”
Rafe said, pushing to get a word in, “Yes, I’d love to.”
The
older man turned and stared, open-mouthed at his handsome young partner, “You
would?”
“Yeah,”
Rafe grinned.
A
smile so blinding that it should be registered a lethal weapon hit Rafe full in
the face. Mack leaned across and briefly kissed the younger man lightly on the
lips. “Wonderful,” he whispered.
Rafe
let his gaze wander around the small but cosy hotel room. It had an old elegance
to it that somehow complemented Mack’s modern brashness.
Closing
the door, Mack moved in behind and wrapped his arms around the younger man
tightly. He kissed the back of his neck and slid warm hands beneath his thin tee
shirt. “Do you fancy a shower first?” he said in a low voice.
Rafe
shivered, “Yeah, that’d be nice,” he replied.
“You
wanna share?” Mack whispered seductively.
“Why
not, it’s very ecologically sound, after all,” Rafe smiled weakly. He was
glad that Mack was holding on so tight, because his legs had just given way
beneath him.
Mack
growled low in his throat and his fingers began playing with the button on
Rafe’s jeans. Slowly, he slid the zipper down before plunging a hand beneath
the tight fabric, to caress the straining heat within. Rafe gasped as the wave
of pleasure washed over him. He grabbed for the fabric-covered hand, as he felt
his hips involuntarily jerk at the sensation.
“Oooh,
I sense definite interest here,” Mack teased.
“I
thought we were going to take a shower?” Rafe said through tight lips.
“We
are, a nice *hot* one,” the older man squeezed slightly and withdrew his hand.
Rafe
felt himself almost slump to the floor, he turned to see the smiling face of his
partner and returned the smile shyly.
“Come
on, get ‘em off,” Mack grinned as he began to peel off the layers of
leather.
Rafe
watched inexorably as the clinging second skin dropped to the floor, leaving an
even more impressive sight, if that were possible. Mack had an incredible
all-over tan and an impressively toned body. Not, Rafe thought briefly, quite as
toned as Jim Ellison’s, which appeared a little leaner and slightly more
muscular, but very impressive non the less.
He
mentally berated himself for continually comparing this stunning man to Jim
Ellison, who would be forever out of his grasp. But in his heart he knew that he
couldn’t help the comparison. This man was so like Jim, yet more relaxed and
at ease with himself. And he promised himself that he would not look into those
eyes as they made love and see Ellison instead. That was unfair to Mack.
“Penny
for them?” Mack said suddenly.
Rafe
shook his head, “Sorry! I was just thinking how… beautiful you are,” he
said with a sigh.
Mack
beamed and walked, now naked, across to where the younger man stood in wonder,
“So are you,” he whispered and began to remove the last vestiges of clothing
from his partners body. He pulled Rafe in to a powerful kiss, so full of
promises and passion. Grasping for Rafe’s hand, Mack pulled the younger man
towards the bathroom, playfully pushing him into the shower cubicle and turning
on the water, before stepping in behind him.
Rafe
gave a gasp as the water hit him full in the face, then a further sharp intake
of breath as strong hands slid around his body, thinly coated in shower gel. As
the sensation flooded his mind, Rafe felt a gentle bite on his shoulder, barely
suppressing a laugh he reached back and grabbed at Mack’s ass, squeezing hard,
causing the bigger man to chuckle in his ear.
“Oh,
you are gorgeous,” Mack sighed, sliding his hands down the now soapy body,
before resting his fingers lightly on Rafe’s growing erection, “I want to
fuck you all night, hear you scream with delight,” he whispered as he nibbled
on Rafe’s ear, “That okay with you?”
Rafe
raggedly pulled in a breath, “That’s just fine,” he grinned, turning in
Mack’s arms and slipping into the bigger man’s embrace.
Mack
assaulted Rafe’s lips with a searing kiss. At the same time, he slid his soapy
fingers down the younger man’s back and slipped them gently it the cleft of
his ass. Rafe pulled in a startled breath as Mack’s fingers began to explore
and straining erections began to rub together.
Abandoning
his teasing momentarily, Mack swept his hand across Rafe’s chest, allowing the
water to swill off the soap.
“You
about ready for bed?” he whispered.
“You
talked me into it!” Rafe grinned.
After
an incredibly erotic drying off session, the two men tumbled into bed with a
giggle. Mack crawled onto Rafe and pinned him to the bed playfully. Both men
were already aroused, their cocks bumped occasionally, sending searing shudders
of pleasure through them both.
Mack
attacked Rafe’s throat and neck with delicate yet firm kisses before drawing a
hot, wet tongue slowly down his chest, coming to a halt at Rafe’s tight,
muscular stomach.
The
younger man groaned and arched into the sensation.
“Mmm,
you like that?” he said with almost a growl.
Rafe
whimpered almost inaudibly. “Yes,” he hissed, trying to push his body up to
resume contact with Mack’s skin, “Hurry…”
“Why?”
the older man teased, “We’ve got all night.”
“Won’t
last that long,” Rafe gasped as he looked down at Mack’s smiling face,
hovering tantalizingly above his rapidly filling cock.
Mack
laughed and resumed his licking, deliberately avoiding the sensitive, straining
flesh almost begging for attention. He suddenly nipped Rafe’s inner thigh,
causing him to jolt and suck in a breath.
Suddenly,
just as the anticipation threatened to overwhelm him, Rafe felt Mack’s tongue
slip softly across the head of his cock. The action almost caused him to come
there and then, but moments later the gently laving tongue was followed by lips,
curling their way around the shaft, pulling and enticing the growing orgasm.
Rafe,
so wrapped in his ecstasy, he hadn’t even noticed Mack slip on the condom and
begin to coat himself with a sweet smelling lubricant. It wasn’t until he felt
fingers invade him, stretching and encouraging his body to surrender, that he
realized how far they’d gone. Opening himself wider, he almost begged for the
invasion to continue.
“You
ready?” Mack said, his voice husky.
Rafe
looked up and smiled, “Yes,” he almost sobbed out the word as he saw his own
need mirrored in Mack’s passion drenched gaze.
Eyes
almost black with desire, Mack slid into Rafe’s body with a single stroke,
stilling only briefly when he heard a strangle ‘oh’ from his lover. But soon
continued when Rafe began to push back at him, forcing him deeper inside. Both
men were already so close, so completely aroused, that within moments, Mack was
pounding Rafe into the bed, at the younger man’s insistence.
“So
lovely, you’re so lovely,” Mack panted, leaning down to suckle a hard
nipple.
Rafe’s
head was pressed back hard into the pillow. Sweat molded his dark hair to his
face, his brown eyes, now inky black, squeezed tightly shut then flew open to
absorb the sight of Mack Wolfe, undisguised lust creasing that handsome face,
“Oh god, oh god!” he gasped wildly.
Mack
grasped Rafe’s cock suddenly, feeling the imminent orgasm rolling inexorably
across him, it took only a couple of heavy strokes before Rafe’s whole body
arched off the bed. Mack felt his own completion clawing at his senses.
“Yes!
Oh god!” Mack choked as he came.
Beneath
him Rafe was convulsing with pleasure, his breath reduced to short, shallow
gasps, “Oh, oh, Jim!” he shouted, as at last the final and most intense wave
of desire smashed into his nervous system.
Mack,
still trying desperately to catch his breath, stared down at the younger man in
amazement. Slowly, he withdrew and fell onto the bed alongside.
When
the full realization of what had happened hit him, Rafe pushed himself up into a
sitting position. “Oh shit, Mack. I’m sorry,” he said sadly.
Mack
forced a smile, “Hey, kid. No problem, don’t worry,” he said reassuringly,
“It’s not like it’s the first time it’s ever happened to me.” He
stroked his hand down Rafe’s arm gently.
“That
was unforgivable. I... I don’t know where my head was…I” Rafe stammered,
his face red.
“It
was with Jim Ellison. Where I guess it usually is, huh?” Mack asked. His tone
was gently and un-accusing, but Rafe could hear the hurt in his voice.
“I’m
so sorry, Mack. Believe me, you’re a dream come true for me. There’s nothing
between me and Jim, not now, not ever. I...”
“He’s
your fantasy,” Mack said pulling the younger man down into his arms, “We all
have them. Don’t sweat it. Come on, let’s get some sleep. That’s if you
want to stay?”
Rafe
looked down into those dreamy blue eyes, “Of course I do,” he answered.
“So,
“ Blair began, speaking into the phone as he pointed to the storage cupboard.
The student nodded, then proceeded to put the new artifact in the wrong place.
Blair sighed, “Sorry, Jim. As I was about to say, It’s probably going to
take a couple of days to sort out the mess here.”
“That’s
okay, Chief. I’m still officially on vacation until tomorrow, but I think
I’ll drop into the PD today, just to see how things are going,” Jim’s
voice instructed.
“I
can’t believe it, we’re away for a few weeks and everything goes to hell!”
Blair said with rising irritation, as the same student failed to obey a simple
command yet again.
“Take
it easy, Chief. Just remember what a great vacation it’s been,” Jim’s
voice held a smugness that made Blair join in.
“Oh
yeah,” the younger man said, suddenly savoring the memory of three weeks of
eating the wrong foods, drinking good wine and endless wild sex.
Jim
laughed, “You take care you don’t work too hard. Don’t want you exhausting
yourself,” he sniggered.
“I’ll
see you later, man,” Blair grinned, then glancing around to see if anyone was
watching, he added, “Love you.”
“Me
too,” Jim replied.
“Baxter,”
Blair yelled, “Not that left, the other one… no, that’s straight
ahead….”
Jim
entered the PD with a smile. Clare on the front desk almost fainted when she
spotted the badge proclaiming: ‘Detective James Ellison’. She was sure that
the real Jim Ellison, had been abducted by aliens and this must be his ‘pod’
version.
“Hey,
Clare. How you doing?” Jim asked.
Blinking
twice, she smiled, “Fine, Detective. How are you? Have a good vacation?”
“Great,
thanks,” Jim grinned and almost skipped his way up to Major Crimes.
“Hey,
Ellison. Looking good!” Henri Brown smiled as Jim wandered into the bullpen.
“Thanks,
H. I’m feeling pretty good too,” Jim smiled, slapping the young detective on
the shoulder.
Suddenly
a commotion erupted from the elevator. A man shouted obscenities and threatened
to kill a cop.
“Welcome
home, man,” Brown grinned.
“Yeah,
ground zero.”
Amidst
much pushing and shoving, a huge bear of a man appeared, looking for blood.
Suddenly, he pointed to Jim and bellowed, “That’s him,” without warning, a
huge fist flew through the air, landing squarely on Jim’s jaw, sending him
sprawling. “You fuck with my wife again, and I’ll rip your fucking head
off,” the giant stormed.
Several
detectives grabbed the man and he was cautioned and escorted away. Simon Banks,
drawn by the noise, hurried to pick his dazed friend up off the floor.
“Hey,
Jim. Welcome home,” he smiled, setting the dizzy detective down on a chair.
“What
the *hell* was that all about?” Jim gasped.
“Hell,
Jim. You’ve been back in the PD for what, five minutes? And someone already
wants to kill you. I think this is an all time best for you,” Simon chuckled.
“I
didn’t do anything… What wife? What’s he talking about?” Jim shook his
head to clear the sound of bells.
“Come
on, in my office. I’ll get you a coffee,” Simon smiled, helping his friend
to his feet.
Sitting
down sharply, Jim rubbed his jaw painfully. A small trickle of blood wound its
way down his chin and dripped into his lap. Simon handed Jim a large, clean
white handkerchief and grinned. “So, Jim. What *have* you been up to while we
thought you were vacationing?” he teased.
“I
wish I knew,” Jim gasped, “Maybe I cut his wife up on the freeway, or
something.”
“Sounded
like something a little more intimate than that to me,” the bigger man
chortled.
“Simon,
I’m a homosexual for God’s sake!” Jim hissed.
“Hell,
Jim. You’ve been dallying with women for years. ‘Homosexual’ or not.”
“That
was then. This is now,” Jim blushed slightly, “You know that I’m faithful
to Sandburg. Trust me, it’s a case of mistaken identity.”
Simon
clapped his hand on Jim’s shoulder, “I know, Jim. I’m just teasing. How is
the kid anyway? Enjoy his vacation?”
“Yeah.
I’m glad you two bullied me into it. We had a really great, relaxing time. No
one shot at us, Blair didn’t get taken hostage once and no terrorists stormed
the hotel,” Jim grinned.
Simon
chuckled, “Glad to hear it. The Hawaiian detective arrived, he’s been
helping Rafe out. He seems like a good guy,” he explained.
“They
had a whisper that he was holed up down in the harbor district, they’ve been
staking the place out. Nothing more yet.”
“So
what’s he like?” Jim asked.
Simon
thought for a moment, “Well, kinda like you in a lot of ways,” he said,
“Except for the, erm,” Simon wiggled his fingers in front of his eyes.
“I
trust by that you mean sentinel senses?” Jim said barely covering a smile. It
always amused him, how difficult Simon found it to put into words Jim’s unique
abilities.
“You
know what I mean,” Simon sighed, “Anyway, tell me about the vacation.”
Pulling
into the underground parking garage of the Cascade PD, Rafe stopped the car and
turned to smile at Mack. “Another wasted day,” he sighed.
“Not
for me,” Mack grinned, sliding his hand across Rafe’s thigh, “I got to
spend it with you.”
“You
old charmer, you,” Rafe smiled back.
Mack
snorted, “Hey, not so much of the old. There happens to be life in this old
dog yet,” he slowly moved across the car and captured Rafe’s lips.
At
that moment, Blair Sandburg wandered into the PD garage, looking for Jim’s
truck. “Oh Jim, be here,” he muttered, “I really don’t want to have to
walk home. That damned car has got to go, classic or not…” he ground to a
halt abruptly as he saw the silhouette of two men kissing in a car. A smile
played on his lips. How many times had he and Jim done that very thing in here,
knowing where to park so that the camera didn’t catch them? Sniggering to
himself, he continued past. Suddenly, the voyeur in him made him take one last
glance, just to see if he knew them.
Shit.
He
knew them all right. Rafe and Jim.
Stunned
for a moment, he stared. Then, without thought, he fled from the garage and back
out into the street. How could Jim do that to him? And with *Rafe*? Fuck, they
hadn’t been back from their vacation five minutes and he couldn’t wait to
try a little ‘new meat’, he was obviously sick of the ‘old stuff’.
Feeling
tears of anger sting his eyes, he set off for home, to pack his bags.
Jim
Ellison strolled out of the PD nursing a sore jaw and a split lip. <What a
day>, he thought miserably All he wanted to do now, was to go home and curl
up with Blair, lose himself in that Blairish aroma and fall headlong into those
big blue eyes. A nice meal and a little loving was all that the tired old cop
ordered.
Rafe
and Mack exited the elevator, just in time to collide with Captain Banks.
“Hey
guys. You just missed Jim,” Simon smiled.
“Jim’s
back? Already?” Rafe said with an annoyingly excited tremor to his voice. He
almost felt Mack stiffen beside him. The mention of Jim’s name had caused the
older man’s smile to evaporate.
Simon
beamed, “Yeah. He walked into the bullpen and straight into someone’s fist.
Hell, he hadn’t been on the premises five minutes and someone wanted to kill
him. What a cop!” he chuckled.
“Yeah,
so I’ve heard,” Mack smiled.
Rafe
glanced up at the bigger man and inwardly sighed. Mack had said that what
happened didn’t matter, but the hell it didn’t. It had hurt him, deeply.
Rafe couldn’t think of what he could do to truly make it up. Anything he said
sounded like an excuse and anything he did appeared like ‘payment’ for his
transgression.
Shit,
what a mess.
“So,
gentlemen, any luck with our man yet?” Simon asked.
“No,
Captain. He seems to have gone to ground,” Rafe replied.
“No,
he’s biding his time. He always does this, after a couple or three killings he
goes quiet so the cops think he’s moved on, but he always starts back up again
with a couple of weeks,” Mack said gravely, “Trust me, he’s not finished
with Cascade yet.”
Jim
Ellison pushed open the door and entered his home, looking for a little sympathy
and maybe a cuddle or two from his lover. What he found was Blair Sandburg
storming through the loft like a tornado.
“Hey,
Chief. What’s going on?” Jim asked puzzled by the sight of a suitcase on the
dining room table.
“What
does it look like?” Blair snapped.
Jim
frowned, his jaw ached like hell and now his head was joining in too, “I
don’t know, Sandburg. That’s why I asked. I’d have said that you were
donating clothing to charity if I hadn’t seen the leather jacket I bought you
last birthday, just disappear into that suitcase,” Jim said with annoyance.
Blair
stopped and glared at his partner angrily, “Were you at the PD earlier? Around
three?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Doing
what?” Blair demanded.
Jim
sighed, “Talking to Simon, saying ‘Hi’ to the guys, getting my face beaten
to a pulp, just generally being friendly,” he finished the sentence by
flinging his arms wide.
“Oh,
‘being friendly’, is that what you call it? So, if I start to play tongue
hockey with Simon, you’d call it being friendly?”
“Don’t
give me that, you fucking bastard. At least be man enough to admit that you were
screwing around with Rafe in the garage!” Blair ranted.
“I
didn’t see Rafe,” Jim insisted.
“Oh,
so you had your eyes closed? Surprise! Pity it wasn’t your legs,” Blair
gathered up the case and pushed his way to the door.
“Sandburg,
I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. Will you put that thing
down?” Jim grabbed at the case only to be roughly shoved out of the way.
“Get
outta my way, Jim. I need to go somewhere and calm down. When I can think
rationally again, I’ll come back and talk to you,” Blair opened the door and
struggled through, slamming it behind him.
Jim
watched him go in amazement. Suddenly he kicked the chair, “Where *am* I? The
fucking *twilight zone*?” he yelled.
Mack
Wolfe sat in Murphy’s bar toying with his own troubled thoughts. He knew that
he was being a total jerk over what happened with Rafe, but he couldn’t quite
get over how much it damned well hurt. The most shocking part for him was the
fact that it had bothered him at all. Rafe had been nothing more than a quick
fuck to relieve the tension of this damned case, or at least he’d thought he
was. But somehow this cute, smart young guy had eased his way into Mack’s
affections. And, damn it, begun to matter.
Mack
swilled back his third beer, he’d felt pretty low lying to Rafe about being
busy tonight, but he just needed a little breathing room and a little time to
work out what it was he actually wanted from this guy.
Suddenly
someone sat down heavily two barstools away. Mack paid the stranger no
attention, being so wound up in his own torment.
“Murph,
gimme a beer,” a voice rang out wearily.
Mack
smiled to himself, hell that guy sounded like he felt.
“Hey,
Ellison,” Murphy beamed, “Have a good vacation? How’s Blair?”
Mack’s
head shot around to finally get a look at the legendary Jim Ellison. What he saw
was a guy about his size and with similar coloring with a matching ‘what a
shitty life I have’ look on his face.
Jim
sighed and took the bottle from the bar tender, “Murph, if you’d asked me
that this morning I’d have said ‘I had a great vacation and Blair’s
fine’. But right now I think I stumbled into one of those ‘alternative
universes’ they have on sci-fi shows when they run out of script ideas,” he
took a swig, “Everybody has gone nuts!”
“Say,
sorry to butt in, but are you Jim Ellison?” Mack asked.
Jim
turned to look at the stranger with a frown, “Yeah, what of it?” he growled.
“I’m
Mack Wolfe,” Mack held out his hand, “I’ve been assigned to your case
while you were away. I work for the Hawaiian PD.”
Jim
grasped the hand firmly and shook it, his face softened slightly, “Hey sorry I
sounded like a bear with a sore head, it’s been a hell of a day. Welcome to
Cascade,” he smiled, “Want to join me?” he held up his beer.
Mack
grinned and pointed to the fourth bottle to appear on the bar, “I’m way
ahead of you,” he said with a smile.
Blair
sat in his car, which was parked in the Cascade PD underground parking garage.
Suddenly, he saw Rafe emerge from the elevator. Taking a deep breath he wound
down the window. “Hey, Rafe. Can I talk to you?” he asked.
The
detective smiled, “Sure Blair, nice to have you back,” he said slipping into
the passenger seat beside the young anthropologist, “Did you have a good
vacation?”
“What
are you doing messing with Jim?” Blair said, not hearing Rafe’s pleasant
banter.
“What?”
Rafe’s voice took on a tremor.
“I
want to know how long this thing between you and Jim has been going on,” Blair
demanded, barely handling his anger, “Was it happening before we went on
vacation?”
Rafe’s
mind whirled. Mack would surely have not said anything about the ‘little
incident’ and certainly not to Blair? Swallowing hard, Rafe tried to sound
calm, “Blair, I don’t know what you mean,” he said.
“Fuck,
Rafe, I saw you!” Blair ranted, “I saw you kissing him. You had your hands
all over him, don’t try to tell me that you don’t remember.”
“Blair,
I swear that there is nothing going on between Jim and me,” Rafe struggled
find an explanation. Suddenly, the answer hit him, “When did all of this
happen?” he asked.
“Please,
Blair.”
“He
is *mine.* You got that?” the younger man said finally, his temper giving way
to the jealousy that rose in him like a tidal wave.
“When
and where?” Rafe insisted again.
“This
afternoon. Here,” Blair spat.
Rafe
smiled, “Now it makes sense,” he chuckled.
“Can
you see *me* laughing?” Blair snarled, looking dangerously at the detective
beside him.
“You
don’t understand. That wasn’t Jim.”
Blair
threw up his hands, “Oh gimme a break! You think I don’t recognize him?”
he gasped, “I *live* with him, I *sleep* with him, but I don’t recognize him
getting physical with another guy?”
Rafe
turned further to face Blair, “I swear. That is Mack Wolfe, a cop from Hawaii
who has been helping me on the case. Ask Captain Banks, he’ll tell you how
like Jim he is.”
Suddenly
Blair’s cellphone trilled, “Sandburg,” he said sharply.
“Hey,
Blair, this is Murphy from the bar. Could you come get Jim? He’s had a little
too much to drink and he’s sitting on my bar with some other guy singing old
sea shanties!”
“Just
throw him out, Murph,” Blair said angrily.
“Blair,
he’s going to hurt himself if you don’t get down here. I can’t do anything
with him,” the bartender sighed into the phone.
“Okay,
I’m on my way,” Blair snapped the phone shut and turned to Rafe, “I gotta
go get Jim. But we’re not through with this yet.”
Mack
and Jim sat back to back in the middle of Murphy’s bar singing. When the song
was over and the applause had died down, they slumped against the bar and began
to talk.
“He
just walked out,” Jim said drunkenly, “For the first time in my life I
wasn’t being a jerk, and he left me.”
“Guys
huh?” Mack hiccuped, “Ya can’t live with ‘em and ya can’t live without
‘em.”
“Do
you know how much I love that guy?” Jim asked, his face only inches from
Mack’s, “I love him more than life.”
“Wow,”
Mack whistled, “That’s a lot!”
“Fuck,
I love him more than… than… than the best seats at a Jags game!” Jim
slurred.
“That
much, huh?” Mack looked at Jim sadly, “I envy you. I envy anyone who’s
found the right guy and hasn’t fucked it up,” he said swilling back another
beer, “Me? I fuck it up all the time.”
“Me
too,” Jim shoved Mack lightly, “Until Blair. That time, I got it right.
He’s ‘the one’. The other half of my soul. He’s, “ Jim searched for
the right words, “Perfect.”
Suddenly
a shadow fell across the bar, “Perfect huh?” Blair said with a slight smile,
“I’ll remember that next time we’re throwing insults at each other.”
Jim’s
face lit up, “Blair!” he grinned and promptly slipped off the barstool
landing heavily on his ass, “Oof.”
Blair
shook his head and grabbed Jim’s arm, dragging him back to his feet and
dropping back on the stool, “Nice to see that you were so grief stricken at my
leaving you, that you felt the need to go out and celebrate. A guy could take
this entirely the wrong way.”
“No!”
Jim said aghast, “It wasn’t like that, I swear.”
“I’m
just teasing, Jim,” Blair replied with a deadpan expression.
“This
is Mack Wolfe,” Jim said suddenly, grabbing the other cops sleeve and tugging.
Blair
turned around and almost fell over backwards. Shit, if it wasn’t true, this
guy was Jim’s twin. For a fleeting moment, the vivid image of being the meat
in a Jim/Mack sandwich flitted through Blair’s mind, causing him to blush,
“Oh. Hi, I’m Blair Sandburg,” he said holding out his hand.
“Mack
Wolfe, and my buddy Jim here is right, you are cute,” Mack leered
“And
taken,” Jim added, “*Regularly.*” he sniggered.
“Jim!”
Blair warned, fighting off a smile, “Come on, time to go home. But first, just
let me make a call.”
Mack
leaned across the bar, making swirling patterns in the spilled beer. Suddenly
from behind came a voice.
“I’m
going to have to arrest you, Sir. Please put your hands in the air so I can body
search you.”
Mack
turned around and with a frown, tried to focus on the man in front of him. Rafe.
“I
have only one offensive weapon and I refuse to surrender that,” he sniggered.
“Not
right now and I don’t think you do either. Come on, Detective, you’ve had
enough. I’m taking you back to your hotel,” Rafe grabbed Mack’s arm and
dragged him to his feet. He looked over at the bartender and nodded, “Is he
all paid up, Murph?”
“Yeah,
Rafe, no problem. Thanks.”
“You
want to dance then?” Mack sniggered into Rafe’s ear as they struggled across
the bar room floor.
“Not
tonight Romeo,” Rafe smiled.
The
walk out to the car seemed like a million miles. Mack’s hands wandered and
Rafe did his level best to be professional and appear to be a buddy helping
another drunken buddy out.
With
difficulty, he shoved Mack into the passenger seat and slipped into the car.
“How
about we make out in the backseat?” Mack grinned mischievously.
“Somehow,
I doubt you’re in any shape to make out at all,” Rafe replied.
“You
want to put money on that, fly-boy?” Mack said indignantly.
Rafe
shook his head and continued to drive.
Wiping
the sweat from his brow, Rafe set Mack down on the end of the bed. The fact that
Mack was singing loudly only added to the young detectives harassed state.
“Mack?”
he said in a determined voice, “Be quiet! You’ll wake the whole place. Come
on now, get undressed and into bed. You are going to feel like shit in the
morning.”
“You
getting in with me?” Mack growled grabbing Rafe’s ass.
Pulling
away, Rafe grabbed the wandering hands, “No. You need to sleep this off. We
have work to do tomorrow, remember? Catch the nasty bad man?”
Mack
sighed, “Yeah, I remember. Sorry,” his voice suddenly serious, “And I’m
sorry I fucked everything up, Rafe,” he whispered.
“Like
us.”
Rafe
stared at the bigger man in surprise, “I seem to remember that it was *me* who
fucked things up between us, loverboy. Not you,” he blushed slightly at the
memory, “Wasn’t I the one who screamed some other guys name?”
“Yeah,
but I’m a jerk. I mean, I know I’m not a bad lay, I just… have problems
giving parts of myself... that…” Mack stopped. The words he so desperately
wanted to say refused to materialize. He was messing this up too.
“Mack,
let’s save this until tomorrow,” Rafe said dragging off his pants and shirt
and pushing him onto the bed, “You get some rest and I promise we’ll talk
about it over dinner tomorrow night, okay?”
The
big detective smiled and gently brushed Rafe’s cheek with his hand, “Okay
beautiful, anything you say.”
Cascade
PD next day, somehow resembled a weird Hitchcock movie as two almost identical
men lurched through the door of Major Crimes with almost identical expressions.
“Oh
man, Jim, you look like shit!” Henri Brown whistled.
“Thank
you for those few kind words of support,” Jim whispered. Bringing up the rear
was Blair Sandburg, who probably totally coincidentally, looked quietly smug.
“Don’t
sympathize with him, H. It’s all self inflicted,” Blair smirked, “You’d
think that at his age, he’d have gone past the point where he needs to go out
and get wasted, wouldn’t you?”
“Fuck
you, Sandburg,” Jim grunted miserably.
Suddenly,
Rhonda grabbed Jim and planted a kiss on his cheek, “Welcome back, Jim,” she
beamed, “I have no idea who that guy was yesterday, but he wasn’t our Jim
Ellison, he smiled too much,” she laughed.
Jim
pulled a face, “That’s what I love about working here, you’re all so
supportive,” he sneered.
Suddenly,
a figure wandered from the elevator. A deathly white pallor had replaced Mack
Wolfe’s tan and his shades hid more than those dreamy baby blues this morning.
“Oh
my God, we have a matching pair,” Rhonda sniggered, “Morning Mack.”
The
handsome detective nodded slowly, “Morning,” he muttered.
Simon
Banks wandered into his bullpen and chuckled loudly, “My God, what a sight,”
he snickered, “I hope you gentlemen are ready to work?”
“Just
point me in the right direction and shout ‘get ‘em’,” Jim said
sarcastically.
Simon
Banks shook his head and called the men to his office. Rafe already sat in the
corner, looking sheepish as the two delicate detectives filed in.
“Oh
look,” Mack grinned, “Teacher’s pet is already in.”
Jim
smiled, “Yeah, let’s all beat him up in the break room afterwards for being
a sneak?” he sniggered.
“When
you kids have finished?” Simon sighed, “We’ve had a report from the owner
of one of those flop houses down on the waterside, that a man fitting our
description has been staying at her establishment. She even has the times he
left and returned most evenings in the last couple of weeks.”
“Thank
God for ‘nosy neighbors’, huh?” Blair smiled.
“So,
Rafe and Wolfe can check that out, while Ellison and Sandburg can take a trip to
the morgue,” Simon grinned.
Jim
Ellison turned a whiter shade of pale, “The morgue?” he said quietly.
“That’s
right, Detective, the morgue.”
Sitting
outside 823 Melrose, Rafe and Mack surveyed the area for signs of the mysterious
‘Mister Smith’ who had been resident in said establishment for the past
couple of weeks. From the general scumminess of the abode, it was clear to both
men that a serial killers life was obviously not all wine and roses. That was
if, in fact, this was their man.
“Maybe
he did move on?” Rafe suggested, “It’s been over a week since he killed
last.”
“No,”
Mack stated, “He’s still here. I know it.” He took a deep breath, “He
won’t give up, Rafe, he’ll keep killing until I stop him. How many more
innocent deaths must I be responsible for?”
Rafe
stared in shocked silence at the usually high-spirited and laid-back detective.
“How is this your fault?” he asked.
“I
let him get away,” Mack whispered.
“He
shot you in the chest!” Rafe exclaimed.
“He
went on to kill a *fourteen* year old girl, Rafe. A *child*,” Mack said
between gritted teeth, “If I’d stopped him, she’d still be alive. I made a
stupid mistake, letting my arrogance get the better of me. I went in without
back up. ‘Indestructible Mack Wolfe’. I fucked up, Rafe, and all of these
people are dead because of it.”
“Mack,”
Rafe slid his hand across onto Mack knee, “You made a mistake. Anyone could
have done the same.”
“No.
No they couldn’t. I was stupid and so full of my own importance that I messed
up. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for that.”
Rafe
sighed, “We all screw up, Mack. What about every other cop that didn’t quite
get there in time to catch him? Does that mean that they’re all as guilty?
Stop beating yourself over the head with this. We’ll get him this time.”
Mack
turned on a smile and glanced over at the younger man fondly, “Anyone ever
tell you that you’re pretty special?” he asked.
Blushing
slightly, Rafe laughed, “Not often enough for *my* ego,” he said with a
smile.
“Yeah
well, you are. And my ego is bigger than your ego,” Mack teased.
“Well…
okay, I’ll concede that one,” Rafe replied with a grin.
Reaching
over, Mack stroked his finger lightly down the younger man’s face, “Hey, how
about we give ‘us’ another try, huh?” he asked unsurely.
“Sounds
good to me,” Rafe nodded, “All previous transgressions forgotten?”
“Sure,”
the big detective smiled and returned his gaze to the street.
They
seemed to have sat there for hours. Rafe was convinced that he would never get
the feeling back in his ass as he shifted uncomfortably on the seat. The long
hours of watching and waiting were allowing not only his body to quietly numb
but also his mind to wander. It, unfortunately, had a tendency to wander in the
direction of his companion, who sat silently gazing through the car window.
The
one thing on Rafe’s mind was how it was going to feel when Mack returned to
Hawaii and he was left with nothing but memories and his unending lust towards
Jim Ellison for company.
“What’s
up?” Mack said suddenly, making Rafe jump.
“Nothing,
just thinking.”
“Whoa,
remember you’re a cop. That’s not allowed,” Mack grinned.
“Do
you have ‘someone’ in Hawaii?” Rafe asked, suddenly shocked that he felt
the need to know.
“You
mean like someone ‘special’? No, not really. I won’t pretend that I’m
the shy, virginal type, but it’s all been pretty transitory to date.”
Mack
chuckled, “Holli? Hell, no. She wouldn’t have me as a gift. We work well
together and we’re friends, but nothing more. Why, you thinking of moving out
to the islands?” he turned to look at Rafe with a hopeful expression on his
face.
“I
don’t know,” Rafe felt himself blush. He’d really walked into that one. It
sounded like he was angling for an invitation, when all he really wanted to know
was that Mack wasn’t screwing around on someone else while he was here.
Having
a man you’re falling in love with walk away and never seeing him again was one
thing. But knowing that he was just using you in the first place was something
else entirely.
“You
could come with me you know? Transfer to the H.P.D.”
“It’s
a big step, Mack,” Rafe watched the street with calm deliberation, but his
mind and his heart were racing.
“Promise
me you’ll think about it?”
Rafe
tuned his head slightly, “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
Suddenly,
they heard footsteps. Peering into the fading light, they saw a man walking
towards them, shoulders hunched, head down. He wore old clothes but they were
clean and pressed. A man of such ‘ordinariness’ that not even they would
have paid him any attention if he hadn’t turned into 823 Melrose and shortly
afterwards the light blinked; the signal that this was the man who had turned up
at the right time in the right place.
Grabbing
the radio, Rafe spoke into it, “I think we have a bite.”
“On
our way, Rafe. Hang tight, we’re right behind you,” Blair’s voice echoed
back through the radio speaker.
Checking
their guns, both men climbed from the car and entered the building. The small
squinting guy on the desk twitched nervously and nodded towards the stairs.
Mack
stood to the side of the door and rapped twice, “Mister Smith? Phone call for
you.”
“Tell
‘em I died!” the voice yelled back.
“They
said it was urgent. Look, I ain’t paid to be no fuckin’ messenger boy!”
Mack glanced over at Rafe and shook his head. The creep wasn’t buying it,
which meant them forcing entry, always a more dangerous option. “You gonna
come take this call, you lazy mother-fucker?”
Hearing
a noise from inside the room, the two officers stood back, suddenly the radio
spluttered into life.
“Get
down out there, he’s got a damned canon in there!” Jim Ellison yelled.
At
that moment the entire wall behind Rafe exploded, sending him hurtling forward
into the wall, his shoulder erupted in a cascade of red and he slid onto the
floor like a rag doll.
“No!”
Mack Wolfe threw himself across the corridor to shield the younger man from
further harm, just as the killer blasted again, missing him by a hairs breadth.
A
crack from the window in the room caused the man to fall to the floor, clutching
his side. As Mack glanced up, he saw Jim Ellison framed in the light from the
window, gun aimed.
Dropping
his gun, the murderer scrambled away down the corridor, with Mack in hot
pursuit.
Seeing
the man disappear into the stairwell, Mack radioed Jim for assistance. He
wasn’t making the same mistake again, this time the guy was going down,
whatever it took and whoever it took to help him.
Reaching
the roof, Mack tentatively pushed open the door. Badly lit and filled with
places to hide, this was a cop’s nightmare. This guy was a cold and calculated
killer who seemed to care little for his own safety, preferring the thrill of
the mayhem he caused to the knowledge of his own well-being.
Staying
low, he crept out onto the roof, trying to peer through the darkness, to catch a
shadow.
“Mack?
It’s Ellison. I’m at two o’clock, don’t shoot. Back up is on its way.”
“Jim?
Can’t see a damned thing. You see the scumbag anywhere?”
“No,
gimme a minute.”
His
back to the wall, Mack edged along the rooftop, his eyes constantly scanning the
area. It wasn’t so much the fear that was making his adrenaline race, more the
knowledge that he was so close to nailing this bastard and he could still slip
from his grasp, even now.
Along
with the nagging voice that screamed over and over ‘What if Rafe’s dead?
What if *you* got him killed? The man you love and you killed him.’ Shaking
his head, Mack tried to wipe away those thoughts, they were far too dangerous
right now. But, they did prove one thing, Mack Wolfe was ‘in love’.
“Mack,
twelve o’clock, watch out!” Jim yelled. Suddenly something hit Mack squarely
in the face sending him sprawling. “Police
officers, drop the weapon, or I shoot!” Jim Ellison was moving across the
rooftops quickly.
The
man reached for Mack’s gun, kicking the stunned officer before firing off a
couple of rounds at random, causing Jim to take cover.
“You
should have died last time I shot you, mother fucker!” he snarled and kicked
Mack viciously in the stomach, “This time, I’m going to make a better job of
it.”
…A
shot rang out of the darkness and the killer slumped to the floor, blood
bubbling from his lips. Falling heavily at Mack’s side, the police officer
heard the last breath rush from the man’s lungs as he slipped into death.
“Good
shooting Ellison,” Mack coughed and spat blood from his mouth.
“Thanks,
but it wasn’t me,” Jim called.
“That
bastard shot me… through a *wall*,” a pained voice groaned. Rafe stood
slumped against the wall, his shoulder spilling blood and his energy bleeding as
profusely as his wound.
“Rafe?”
Mack scrambled across the roof and grabbed the younger man as he slid to the
floor, “Oh God, are you okay?”
Gathering
the younger man into his arms, he held him tightly, “I thought you were dead,
Oh God, I thought I’d gotten you killed.”
“Not
this time hotshot.”
At
that moment, Blair Sandburg appeared from the stairwell, EMTs in tow and Captain
Simon Banks bringing up the rear.
“Everyone
okay?” Banks barked.
“Yeah,
Simon, we’re all okay,” Jim clapped his hand on the bigger man’s shoulder,
“In fact, I’d say that some of us are *more* than okay.”
The
bullpen looked like a field hospital, walking wounded everywhere. Rafe sat
perched on the edge of his desk, his arm in a sling and slightly pale, but none
the worse for wear. The Armani jacket however, had been given a decent burial a
few days before at a nice, private little ceremony just for friends of the
deceased.
Mack
Wolfe grinned and joked with Blair Sandburg, the urge to flirt having been
clamped down upon to save any unpleasantness. He was sporting a broken nose and
two impressive black eyes, split cheek, a couple of broken ribs, but his sense
of humor was undamaged and the physical scars would eventually heal.
“So,
Mack, we’re losing you today then huh?” Blair smiled, “I just don’t get
why you’d want to give up the glorious weather in Cascade for all that awful
Hawaiian sunshine?”
“Hell,
it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.”
“How
you feeling now, Rafe?” Jim Ellison asked, placing a hand on the young mans
shoulder.
“I’m
okay. I’m taking some time off to rest and get healthy.”
“Going
on vacation?”
“Yeah,”
Rafe blushed slightly, “I’m… er... going to Hawaii for a few weeks.”
A
smile spread across Jim’s face, “Right! Good idea, I hear that the scenery
is beautiful.”
Shooting
a glance over at Mack Wolfe, Rafe grinned, “Oh yeah, you could say that. Who
knows, maybe if the sunshine agrees with me, I might just stay.”
The End