Water under the Bridge

by Sherryl Hancock

  The dog immediately let go of Tyler’s pants leg and looked up at Shenin, wagging her tail.

  “A dog?” Tyler asked, looking at Shenin.

  “She saved me,” Shenin said.

  “A dog,” Tyler repeated then, nodding.

  She started walking again, glancing back to see that the dog was still sitting where she’d been. Tyler whistled and Muffit came on the run.

  It was another hour before Shenin’s alarm went off. Tyler was still lying with Shenin against her. Muffit had noticed that Tyler was awake and had moved over to Tyler’s left side to be pet and snuggle with her other owner. Shenin stirred, which had Muffit crawling across Tyler to lick Shenin’s face.

  “Ugh! Good morning, Muffit, sheesh!” Shenin said, laughing.

  She looked up at Tyler then. “How long have you been awake?” she asked, knowing her wife well enough to know she’d been awake for a while already.

  “’Bout an hour,” Tyler said, grinning.

  “That’s not too bad,” Shenin said, moving to kiss Tyler’s lips.

  “Nah, I was tired,” Tyler said.

  “Uh-huh,” Shenin said, biting her lip her eyes shining.

  They got up a few minutes later. Shenin showered and got ready for work. Tyler pulled on jeans, black cowboy boots and an Air Force t-shirt and a security force hat, her long curly hair pulled back into a pony tail.

  She was shocked when Shenin walked out of her walk-in closet wearing faded boot cut jeans, her heeled Harley Davidson boots and an army-green shirt covered in studs and rhinestones, with the words Rock Star and two crossed guitars on it that clung attractively to her curves.

  “That’s your work outfit?” Tyler asked, leaning against the wall, her look shocked.

  Shenin looked at her through the reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair.

  “Well, I only wear my uniform when I know I’m going to the base. They are kind of an undercover outfit there at the DOJ, so they really try not to call attention to themselves. Uniforms tend to be a dead giveaway…”

  “Hmmm,” Tyler said, looking speculative.

  Shenin looked at her in the mirror, knowing that Tyler definitely didn’t like that she was wearing civilian clothes. As usual she wore makeup that matched the color of shirt she wore, and she added earrings and a dog tag style necklace with a rainbow stripe down one side. Tyler watched her every move. Shenin was used to Tyler watching her put on makeup and get ready to go places. It was one of the things she loved about Tyler; she was so fascinated with everything she did when it came to being a “girlie girl” as Tyler liked to call it. At the moment, however, Shenin was fairly sure that Tyler’s tension was rising with every accessory she added, with the exception of her wedding ring that she put on last.

  “Ready?” Shenin asked, refusing to comment on Tyler’s tension.

  She knew that she wasn’t doing anything different than she ever did in getting ready for work, so if Tyler wanted to make an issue out of it, she’d need to start it. In the kitchen, Shenin poured her coffee into a cup and looked at Tyler.

  “Do you want coffee?” she asked.

  “I’m good,” Tyler said, shaking her head.

  Shenin gave Muffit treats, getting her to sit and catch pieces of the treats in the air. Tyler watched, grinning.

  “She’s learning quick,” Shenin told her.

  “She’s smart, like her mom,” Tyler said, winking at the dog.

  They walked to the door, and Tyler picked up Shenin’s gear bag, shouldering it.

  Shenin smiled. It was the way her wife was, always picking up the heavy stuff for her.

  At her rental car, Tyler raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Shenin said, shaking her head as she opened the trunk so Tyler could put the gear bag inside. “Jet was just telling me how pathetic it was yesterday.”

  As Tyler got into the passenger seat, putting the seat back and looking around the interior, she commented, “Well, I imagine next to a Maserati, pretty much any car looks pathetic.”

  Shenin chuckled, as she started the car. “True.”

  They’d no sooner gotten on the road than Shenin’s phone rang. She turned down the radio and hit the hands free.

  “Devereaux,” Shenin answered.

  Tyler glanced over at her; it was strange to her that Shenin was using her maiden name. She knew that Shenin hyphenated her maiden and married name, but it just sounded strange to her that she answered the phone that way.

  “Hey Dev, it’s Cat.”

  “Good morning, what’s up?” Shenin asked.

  “Just checking on my air support this morning,” Cat said, smiling at her end.

  Shenin narrowed her eyes in thought. “I’ve got you with a C-12 King Air at eleven, meeting them at Burbank airport. Your pilot is Jaffee.”

  “Got it, thanks!” Cat said.

  “No problem, be safe,” Shenin said.

  They hung up then. Shenin glanced over at Tyler and saw that she was looking over at her.

  “You use Devereaux?” Tyler asked.

  Shenin looked back at her for a long moment, and then shrugged. “Yeah, it’s easier to say than Devereaux-Hancock when I answer the phone.”

  “Hancock would be easier,” Tyler said.

  “For you,” Shenin countered, her look mild.

  Tyler wasn’t sure if Shenin meant because it was Tyler’s given last name or that it would be easier on Tyler if Shenin would use her married name only.

  Shenin’s phone rang again before they could discuss the matter further.

  “Devereaux,” Shenin answered, looking over at Tyler pointedly.

  “Good morning…” Jet said, her tone smooth, and Shenin could hear the wide grin that she knew was on the other woman’s face.

  “Shut it, Jet,” Shenin said, grinning too. “Did you need something?” she asked then, her tone brightening.

  Jet chuckled, knowing that Shenin had picked up the habit of telling her to “shut it” from Skyler. “Do I have air support this morning?” she asked then.

  “I have you with a C-12 King Air, at ten in Long Beach. I don’t have your pilot’s name yet, but as soon as I get it, I’ll text you.”

  “So it’s not Sky?” Jet asked.

  “Jet, a King Air is fixed wing, you asked for a fixed wing and Sky’s not certified on fixed wing, only copters. And while I’m sure she could probably fly it, the Air Force is funny about pilot certifications and things…”

  “Oh, yeah, huh?” Jet said, grinning. “Sorry, forgot I requested fixed wing and I have no idea what a King Air thing looks like.”

  “Well, it doesn’t look like a helo, that’s for sure,” Shenin said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

  “Hey, I’m not the pilot here, what do I know?” Jet said.

  “Well, Sky flies either a Pave Hawk or a Huey, so just remember those names.”

  “Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Jet muttered.

  “Watch it,” Shenin said, grinning. “Or I’ll pull your air support and send you a drone.”

  “I’ll be good,” Jet said laughing. “Thanks Dev. Talk to you later.”

  “Okay, be safe!” Shenin said.

  After Shenin hung up with Jet, Tyler looked over at her.

  “So, Jet is a cop,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Shenin said, nodding. “She’s LAPD, but she’s assigned to LA IMPACT right now. She was actually handpicked by Kashena.”

  “Kashena is…” Tyler asked.

  “Oh, that’s right she and Sierra weren’t there last night. Kashena Windwalker-Marshal is the Special Agent Supervisor in charge of the team Jet’s on. They’re COID, which is Covert Operations and Informant Development.”

  “And getting handpicked is not how it usually happens?” Tyler asked.

  “No,” Shenin said. “Kashena’s team needed help, so she went looking for people to pull in, and Jet’s got so much experience at informant development and operational planning that Kash wanted her.”

&n
bsp; Tyler nodded, not sure how she felt about her wife being so pro-Jet.

  “And Skyler’s a pilot?” she asked then.

  “Yeah,” Shenin said, knowing that Tyler was trying to gauge whether or not she wanted to like these people. “She was a Blackhawk pilot in the Army over in Iraq.”

  Tyler nodded again. “And how do they use air support?” she asked then.

  “Well, sometimes for counter surveillance, other times for officer safety, or both.”

  “Counter surveillance?” Tyler asked, knowing what it meant, but not sure how it applied in this case.

  “When the undercover officers are following a suspect, doing surveillance, sometimes the suspect will do counter surveillance maneuvers, like going into a blind alley, or into a cul-de-sac to see if he’ll be followed. Without air support, the officers might follow and blow their cover. With air support, the observer or the pilot can let the officers know what the suspect is doing, so they don’t blow their cover.”

  Tyler nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “And in the case of a suspect that decides to run a red light or some other crazy evasive maneuver to shake any possible tails, the officers are able to follow at a safer distance and in the event the suspect does skip through a light, the officers can stop at the light, while air support keeps track of the suspect to let the ground know where he’s headed.”

  “Therefore, keeping the officers and the general public safer,” Tyler said.

  “Right,” Shenin said, nodding.

  “Interesting…” Tyler said, having to admit that she was impressed. “And you coordinate it all?”

  “Well, I make sure they have the right aircraft for the job and the personnel to fly it. We use some Air Force pilots and other PD or SO pilots as well.”

  Tyler nodded. “And Jet and Skyler are obviously friends?”

  “Uh, yeah, they are best friends actually,” she said, her look pointed. “And they were actually a couple a long time ago.”

  “Really?” Tyler asked, surprised by that. “You didn’t tell me how good looking they both were.”

  “I didn’t think it would matter, since they aren’t the least bit interested in me that way,” Shenin replied.

  Tyler’s look was skeptical. “You never think anyone is interested you in that way, Shen.”

  “Well, in this case I’m right.”

  “Are you?”

  “Jet’s involved with Fadiyah, you met her last night, and since she went all the way back to Iraq to rescue her, I’d say she’s probably pretty hung up on the girl, wouldn’t you?”

  “She went back to Iraq to rescue her?” Tyler asked.

  “Yeah, Jet was caught in an IED blast, kind of like you were. The two men with her were killed, and she would have been dead if it hadn’t been for Fadiyah’s family taking her in. Fadiyah nursed her back to health.”

  “And she managed to bring the girl back from Iraq with her?” Tyler asked thinking that it was highly improbable.

  “No,” Shenin said. “She eventually went back to rescue her in ISIS controlled territory.”

  “Holy shit…” Tyler said.

  “Yeah,” Shenin said. “So I seriously doubt you have anything to worry about with Jet. She’s pretty much in love with Fadiyah.”

  Tyler’s lips twitched, she didn’t like feeling stupid, but she did at that point.

  “And before you think it, you’re wrong about Sky too,” Shenin said. “She and Devin got married right before I started here. She even rescued Devin from a mudslide at one point…”

  “How?” Tyler asked, sounding shell-shocked.

  “She was a rescue pilot for LA Fire, and she and her crew were just going on shift when Devin called her. Her car had gotten caught in a mudslide on Highway 1. Skyler flew the helo to where Devin was, and she and her crew rescued her.”

  Tyler looked surprised as she shook her head. “Okay, these people are a bit much,” she said, her tone awed.

  “Yeah, and that’s not everything, but trust me, this whole group, those people you met last night, are probably the most incredible people I’ve ever been around, besides you.” The last was said softly, her smile proud.

  “Uh-huh,” Tyler said. “I’ve never saved your life.”

  “No?” Shenin said. “How about Jean’s life?” Tyler looked back at her, narrowing her eyes slightly. When Tyler had been caught by the IED, she’d saved a fellow soldier’s life by pushing her out of the way at the last second.

  “And what about when you sent me that ticket to Washington, D.C., and got me transferred there to be with you?” Shenin said, her tone serious. “You know you saved my life then.”

  Tyler grimaced, she did know that. Shenin had been depressed and considering making the ultimate decision to end her life. Tyler had been sick with worry and had pulled strings to get Devin transferred to Andrews with her, and had proposed at the airport the day Shenin had arrived.

  Shenin nodded, looking vindicated.

  They pulled into the lot of the building, and Tyler was distracted by the line of cars in the lot.

  “Holy shit…” She muttered.

  Shenin chuckled. “Yeah… they definitely love their cars here.”

  “You ain’t kidding,” Tyler said.

  Shenin parked and got out. Tyler got out and moved to the trunk to get Shenin’s gear bag. As they walked by cars, Shenin told Tyler what belonged to who.

  “So, that’s the Mas,” she said, pointing to the car she was parked next to. “Obviously Jet’s. The white Nismo is Skyler’s; the blue Z is Cat’s; the motorcycle is Raine’s. Oh, and Jericho obviously rode her bike in this morning too, that’s the Harley I was telling you about…”

  Tyler stopped, and walked around Jericho’s Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe with its custom orange and black paint and literally all the trim possible.

  “That’s hot,” Tyler said, her voice reverent.

  Shenin chuckled. “Yeah, and she drives a Challenger Hellcat too.”

  “I like her more already,” Tyler said, grinning.

  “You should see Quinn’s Mach, and I’ve heard she’s got a nineteen seventy Charger too…”

  Tyler sighed, shaking her head. “So many cars, so little time…”

  They walked into the building then, and Shenin signed Tyler in.

  Two hours later things were hectic. Shenin had the radio on for each of the missions going on. She was monitoring the progress of all three. Tyler couldn’t figure out how she did it. She was constantly updating things on the computer, making phone calls or emailing. After three hours, Shenin finally stood up and stretched. She opened a desk drawer and took out her cigarettes and a lighter.

  “Come on,” she said to Tyler.

  She led Tyler out to the patio area where most people in the units went to smoke.

  As Shenin sat down on a bench, leaning against the wall, she pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

  “Still doing that, huh?” Tyler said, her tone even.

  “Yep,” Shenin said, looking unapologetic.

  Tyler nodded, not looking happy, but saying no more about the topic.

  They were both quiet for a while. Shenin looked at her nails as she smoked. Tyler watched her, still trying to figure out how to get past this barrier her wife had up around her. There were times when Tyler felt Shenin was with her completely, like the night before when they’d made love, but those times were fewer and farther between lately. It was frustrating to want to be so close to someone, but to feel them almost physically pushing you away.

  “So, after today, do you have a couple of days you can take off?” Tyler asked, her tone cautious.

  Shenin looked over at her, considering. Tyler wondered if she was trying to think of an excuse to say no. Finally Shenin nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “Great!” Tyler said, smiling. “I was thinking maybe we could head up to Sacramento to see your mom and Steve, and then maybe back to San Francisco…”

  Shenin smiled, remembering thei
r last trip to San Francisco. Tyler had just gotten out of Officer Training School and was awaiting her assignment. They’d spent time in Sacramento, where Shenin was from. Tyler had met Shenin’s mother Trish and her brother Steve. They’d also taken a trip to San Francisco, Tyler’s first trip there. Unfortunately, on the way there Tyler had gotten her assignment, which had been when she’d gotten Andrews Air Force Base, on the exact opposite side of the country from Shenin. It had been rough news, and Tyler had actually tried to break up with Shenin while they were in San Francisco, but Shenin hadn’t allowed that. Tyler wasn’t sure if Shenin would still feel that way now and it bothered her endlessly.

  “We could do that,” Shenin said, nodding. “But let’s get a direct flight, I don’t want to use transport, it’ll take too long.”

  “Or we could drive,” Tyler said.

  Shenin grimaced. “That’s a long drive, Ty.”

  Tyler nodded, wondering if the real reason Shenin didn’t want to drive was that they’d be stuck in a car for hours and might possibly talk about things she didn’t want to talk about. It worried Tyler that Shenin was so quiet, it was never a good thing when Shenin was quiet. And she’d been quiet a lot lately.

  “Okay, so we’ll catch a flight and rent a car,” Tyler said, nodding, pulling out her phone to look up flights.

  Shenin stubbed out the first cigarette and lit another.

  “Chain smoking now, huh?” Tyler said, without looking up from her phone.

  “Technically it’s only considered chain smoking if you light the next cigarette from the one you’ve just finished,” Shenin said, her tone even.

  Tyler glanced over at her, her look saying, really?

  “I smoke, Ty, don’t give me a bunch of shit about it, okay?” Shenin snapped, narrowing her eyes as she messed with the butt of the cigarette she’d just put out, not looking at Tyler.

  Tyler pursed her lips, knowing she wouldn’t have taken that kind of tone from anyone else without an equally heated response, but she didn’t want to fight with Shenin. So she pushed down the response she wanted to give.

  “Okay, but if we start talking about kids again, you know you’d need to quit…”

  Shenin’s look was sharp and then she looked away, swallowing convulsively, but she said nothing. Tyler felt it almost like a physical blow, so she didn’t want to talk about having kids anymore either? Tyler stood up, walking toward the doors to the patio and going through them.