by Laura Acton
Bram put his hand on Loki’s shoulder to calm him. “I think all of Toronto heard you. Take it easy.”
Dan caught Loki’s eyes and gave him a wan smile. “Yeah, three is more than enough for me too. But I’m good.”
Jon entered the shop with NRB agent Kendall Stevens in tow. She had been accommodating when he asked to check on Dan first. Halting near Dan, Jon firmly declared, “Not until the doctor says you are alright.”
Dan chuckled a bit then stopped as his discomfort increased.
When EMS arrived Bram, Loki, Lexa, and Ray moved out of their way. Jon relaxed somewhat after seeing Dan and turned to follow Stevens out. The rest of the team observed the medics work and help Dan gain his feet after he proclaimed he would walk to the ambulance. Bram and Loki slipped in right next to Dan to provide support if needed as they made their way outside.
Ray released the breath he had been holding, glad this assignment was over. He glanced at the sheet covered subject and wondered what drove someone to behave as she did.
Lexa stood still as she replayed what occurred. She focused on Dan’s answer to the woman’s question. My God, he answered ‘yes’ when asked if he loves me. Another little piece of the wall around her heart crumbled and crashed to the ground. My wall is getting pretty weak, time for renovations to rebuild it stronger. I can’t afford to let anyone, correction, any man, breach my fortress. Too much at risk to allow that to happen.
Part of her recognized Dan answered truthfully, but another part needed to protect herself, so she modified his meaning. Dan loves me as a friend. There are many different kinds of love. Love of a parent, a child, an animal, a thing, a best friend.
She tried to keep her mind from saying the last thing, but it would not be denied as she completed the list. Or the love of soulmate, a mate for life, the person you wanted to work and raise children with … the love of a turtle dove.
Lexa took a steadying breath, maintained her professionalism, shelved her personal turmoil, and followed the guys out.
Two Lovey Dovies
7
December 13
SUV En Route to TRF HQ – 3:50 p.m.
Lexa glanced over at Dan as she drove, returning from St. Michael’s hospital. They had yet to talk about the events that transpired during the assignment. In the emergency room they had no privacy, and so far, they avoided any conversation on the drive back to headquarters. Dan promptly shut his eyes after sitting in the passenger seat, his body language shouting, closed for business I don’t want to discuss the kiss or my declaration of love.
Though, it might be better to pretend both never happened. At the hospital, Lexa had focused on other things. Namely ensuring they did every necessary test, Dan rested, and he fully complied with the doctor’s instructions. Lexa wished Dr. Fraser was on duty, but they ended up with a swamped on-call doctor with a non-existent bedside manner. It mildly surprised and concerned Lexa when Dan took the painkillers with no resistance.
Taking another peek at him, Lexa conceded perhaps she misread his demeanor. He must be hurting a lot to accept the pills, and he might also need time to decompress. She was worn out by the stress—Dan may well be too.
Perhaps his mind was as agitated by the outcomes of the sting as she … thoughts of what could’ve happened to him and witnessing the death of a disturbed woman. Death in any form was not the preferred outcome when they went on calls. The entire team strove to end all calls without loss of life. So they needed to process that too.
“How about we stop at Timmy’s for the team?” Lexa suggested.
Without opening his eyes, Dan said, “Sure.” He felt drained. Coffee would be a welcome pick-me-up. He should clarify to Lexa that his love declaration was all part of the assignment, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Better to avoid talking about it rather than lying to her. Maybe Lexa will forget and chalk it up to me staying in character. I can hope.
TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 4:00 p.m.
Lexa insisted on carrying the two trays of coffees, despite Dan’s grumbling about resting and her ability to handle both trays. She allowed him to hold his own coffee, though in truth he demanded it with a piercing glare when they got out of the SUV in the TRF garage. The two strode into the briefing room, shocked to be greeted with a round of applause from the guys, Justine, and Commander Gambrill.
Walter shook both Dan’s and Lexa’s hand. “Damn fine undercover work. You two made TRF proud today.” He directed his gaze at Dan. “Do you need time off?”
“No, sir. Only minor bruising. The doctor cleared me.”
“If you change your mind, inform Sergeant Pastore. I recall how painful taking one in the vest can be the next day.” Gambrill turned to the other TRF team members. “Excellent work from each of you. A prime example of a successful team effort. I’ll leave you to debrief now.” He strode from the room with a smile on his face. He didn’t have to call William and tell him his son was injured again.
Lexa handed out the coffee, including one for Justine, then took her usual chair. Her eyes covertly followed Dan as he made his way to his seat.
Dan sat down a little stiffly, but he didn’t hurt too much now because he took the non-narcotic pain meds the nurse gave him. The hospital x-rayed and prodded his ribs, luckily the protective vest did its job, and all he had was tenderness and bruising. No cracked or broken ribs made him very happy because there would be no limited duty and no time in the truck.
Jon had finished with NRB quickly, the shot declared a justified use of lethal force. He tracked Dan’s movements around the table. He wondered how much pain Dan hid for their sakes. Now he knew what a talented actor Broderick could be after witnessing the show Dan and Lexa put on today. “So bruising only? No other damage? Do I need to bench you for a few days?”
Dan slid a note over to Jon and grinned. “No light duty. A clean bill of health.” Then for emphasis, Dan gave them all a WOW smile. “I’m alright.”
Lexa allowed Dan the dignity of keeping what she saw in the SUV to herself. She also noted the deep worry lines in the boss’ face relax and registered the concern in Jon’s voice. If Dan didn’t feel quite one hundred percent, he was doing well enough to ease the anxiety of the others. Though, she would offer him a lift home tonight—riding his bike wouldn’t be comfortable. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary since he got shot—something any of them would do.
The team began to debrief as Nick said, “Pope’s task force identified the subjects. Rosa Tortuga was the female. One of the men is her brother Esteve. The other man is Esteve’s buddy Teodor Colom.”
His knee bouncing anxiously Loki turned to Jon. “Why did you let her shoot Dan?”
Instantly defending Jon, Dan exclaimed, “Whoa! No! No. Don’t go there. I stood right in front of her and didn’t see her raise the gun.”
Loki turned to Dan. “He was Zulu One. I want him to explain why he allowed the subject to shoot you. That shouldn’t have happened.”
“Fair question.” Jon sucked in a breath. The same one he had beat himself up with all afternoon as he waited for word on Dan.
Lexa chimed in, “I disagree. Not fair! Tortuga gave no indication she would fire her weapon. None!”
After briskly rubbing his face, Nick said, “Let’s review all the angles and determine if there is something we missed, something we can learn from.”
The team spent the next hour scouring camera footage and discussing the incident. They determined that from Jon’s position he wouldn’t have seen the woman raise her gun even if she had, which she hadn’t. One camera captured Rosa tilting the weapon upwards a bit. It appeared to be a well-practiced motion rather than random. Rosa meant to kill without warning—a cold-blooded murderer. Knowing the mechanics of how it went down helped Jon come to terms with the guilt he carried for allowing a teammate to be shot.
Justine inquired, “Sarge, any idea why they were killing the men and raping the women? Robbery is one thing, but the other doesn’t make sense.”
“Neither Tortuga or Colom are talking. We may never know.”
Leaning back in his chair, Dan swiveled and glanced out the window in deep thought as the subject’s names rolled in his head.
Nick’s gaze landed on Dan who had a strange expression on his face. It troubled him even though the doctor gave Dan a clean bill of health. “Dan, are you sure you are alright?”
Pulled out of his conjugation, Dan said, “Yeah, why?”
“Well, you seemed a tad adrift or … unfocused. It worried me a bit,” Nick responded.
Dan scratched his head. “Sorry. I’m trying to remember Catalan. Been a very long time since I spoke or translated the language.”
Puzzled, Loki asked, “Why do you want to translate Catalan?”
What he searched for in his mind surfaced, and Dan grinned. “Their names struck me as odd. In Catalan, Tortuga means turtle and Colom means dove. Weird, huh? We were in Tourterelle Boutique which is French for turtle dove and the subject’s names when put together are turtle dove. There were two turtles and a dove.”
Ray chuckled. “How many languages are you fluent in, Dan?”
Dan shrugged. “Never counted. Most are too rusty even to consider speaking anymore.”
Nick grinned, relieved. “If no one has anything else for debrief, I say we are done. Go find something to do. Too cold to go patrolling.”
Jon glanced at Lexa and said, “How about some handgun target practice?”
“Sounds like fun to me. Dan, you coming?”
“Yeah, I could use a little practice with short range.”
Jon eyed him. “You can watch. Give your body a rest for now. The recoil will put stress on your muscles.”
Dan blew out a frustrated breath. Two days in a row, the cackling of the mother hens would never cease. “Yeah, sure. Fine. I’ll sit on the sidelines here, but if we get a call, remember, I received the all clear from the doctor.”
Bram held in his laugh. Man, Dan wasn’t pleased with Jon’s nursemaid attitude, but Jon had a point.
Loki’s eyes flashed with mischief. The talk about turtle doves sparked an idea. He stood. “I’ll be in my tech room if anyone needs me.”
Ray chuckled. “Gonna go ask Lucille to be your date?”
“Har de har har. And why not? Lucille would be a fun date,” Loki retorted.
Ray turned to Bram with a smile still plastered on his face. “Want to show me that move you used to take down Jon in hand-to-hand training last week?”
“Sure.” Bram stood, and they headed to the gym.
Justine turned to Sergeant Pastore. “Thanks for giving me a chance to work with your team today.”
“You did well. A pleasure working with you, Justine. Charlie Team is lucky to have you.”
As she stood, Justine said, “I’ll be heading home now. If there is ever an opening on Alpha Team, I would appreciate the consideration.”
Nick grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Justine picked up her coffee and headed out. She now understood why Colton spoke so highly of Pastore’s team. She’d love a position on the team, but not at the loss of any of them. The only oddity she perceived was the intense dynamic between Dan and Jon. Both struck her as stubborn.
Nick watched his team leave for various locations and grinned. Today could’ve been terrible, but they were all here and whole. The city was safer because everyone performed with a high level of competence. Jon was on target. Loki’s monitoring kept them all in the loop. Bram and Ray took down the armed men with no one else getting hurt. Both Lexa and Dan were to be commended for their undercover work too.
Though, a small part of Nick’s mind niggled at him as he wondered to what extent today’s playacting was real and how much was made up. Their kiss at the jewelry counter seemed authentic. Nick pushed the thoughts from his mind. They behaved professionally and even if his snipers felt an attraction, neither Lexa nor Dan would cross the line and break the rules.
Nick reflected on the two of them. There were no signs of anything more than a strong friendship developing between them much as Lexa had done with Ray and Loki. That was a splendid thing. Dan needed friends, he endured and overcame much strife in his life. It’s time for Dan to enjoy himself. Nick set to work on his ever-present paperwork.
TRF HQ – Gun Range – 5:55 p.m.
Lexa gave Dan a smug look as Jon griped. Their tactical leader didn’t like being bested in anything, and she won the last five rounds.
Jon examined the target shooting results again as he muttered, “Tighter groupings, better accuracy.” He lifted his head and glared at Lexa. “Putting in more hours at the practice range than you do here?”
Lexa smiled. “No.” She tapped her target sheet in Jon’s hand. “Ya know, when you’re talented, you excel. And I’m an exceptionally skilled sniper! Better than you today. Perhaps you need more time at the range? Just sayin’.”
Dan high-fived Lexa. “Care to go another round, old man?” Oh, crap, I just called Jon old man? Why? Am I going to pay for that?
Jon eyed Dan. Where the hell did old man come from? Did they give him narcotic pain meds? No. they wouldn’t let him return to work if they did. Whatever it was, he liked seeing Dan relaxed and enjoying himself. He chuckled. “Set em up, kid.”
Dan’s eyebrows raised at ‘kid.’ It sounded almost like when Winds called him a kid. He only grinned. His relationship with Jon was strange. It ran hot and cold, and Dan could never predict which way the wind would blow. Eventually, I’ll figure out how Jon ticks, well, maybe. He set up the next round of targets while Jon and Lexa reloaded.
TRF HQ – Dispatch Desk – 6:15 p.m.
Loki held a stack of papers in one hand as he leaned on Tia’s desk attempting to appear calm and confident. His other hand nervously pushed the lock of hair from his forehead. He would bite the bullet today. “So, Tia, I was, um, well wondering if you might like to um, I mean if you don’t already, um not that you wouldn’t, but if you, um don’t, then um, …”
Tia’s smile faded. Oh god, he is going to ask me out. Now I’m going to hurt him by saying no. I don’t want to do that, he is such a sweet guy. Tia interrupted his rambling request before he asked. “What do you have in your hand?” She pointed to several dozen sheets of paper he clutched in his hand.
He glanced down at his hand. “Oh, a little something to finally prank Dan.”
“Really? I thought you gave up on trying to haze Dan.” Tia ran with a new subject to distract him from his previous line of thought.
Loki’s grin widened as he lifted the papers and set them on the desk. “No, never. Granted he is hard to prank, but I never gave up. Only changed tactics. Can’t seem to get him with anything else, sneaking up on him is impossible. I swear he has eyes in the back of his head like Ma.”
Tia laughed. “So what are you going to do?”
“Promise you won’t give it away?”
Making a cross over her heart with a finger, Tia said, “Cross my heart.”
Loki flipped over the sheets and showed Tia his creation. “Gonna cut these out and tape them all over headquarters after the team leaves tonight. I can’t wait for Dan’s reaction tomorrow morning.”
Tia’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes rounded. “Do you have a death wish?”
Confused, Loki replied, “No, why?”
Tia noted Dan, Jon, and Lexa coming up behind Loki. She murmured, “Nice knowing you.”
Becoming more baffled, Loki stared at Tia. The sound of Lexa talking to Jon behind him crystalized what Tia meant in one blinding second. Not only am I pranking Dan, but I’m also pranking Lexa. She will kill me. Crud! Loki hastily flipped the papers over hiding his creation as Jon stopped next to him.
“What you got?” Jon queried as he noted the pile of paper.
“Um, nothing.” Loki tried to fold the printouts.
Lexa noticed Loki’s furtive behavior. He was hiding something. “Doesn’t appear to be nothing.”
“Uh, just specs for Lucille.” L
oki turned ready to make a break for it. He bumped into Dan’s chest. Feeling bad for running into him, knowing he might have made Dan hurt, Loki said, “Sorry. See you all later.”
“No problem. Why the rush?” Dan stepped back a bit.
Loki’s eyes darted from Dan to Lexa. Oh crud, I’m a dead man if they find out. “Not rushing. Just um, need to read the specs.”
Tia couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that escaped. Oh boy, Loki sure is going to be in hot water this time.
Jon knew something was up. What is the master prankster up to now? He reached out and grabbed at the sheaf of papers. He made contact as Loki pulled away, resulting in about a dozen sheets dislodging and floating to the floor.
Loki paled as he stared at the ground. I’m dead! His eyes lifted as Jon burst out laughing.
Dan stared the image while Jon chortled. His incredulous eyes turned towards Lexa as she bent down and picked up a few sheets. When she straightened up, both nailed Loki with a murderous look, Dan’s eyes turned to shards of blue ice while the gold flecks in Lexa’s revealed a blazing inferno.
Loki initially waggled his eyebrows, but swiftly read the deadly expressions of Dan and Lexa. Self-preservation kicked in as Loki turned tail and ran.
Bolting after him, Dan tackled Loki before he reached the hall, flipped him over, and straddled Loki pinning him down.
Loki began laughing as he held up his hands in defense. “Wait, wait, wait. Let me explain.”
Dan only glared. Lexa strode up and waved the photoshopped image of a screen capture of her and Dan kissing in the boutique pasted onto the bodies of doves. “Loki, you better have a damned good explanation, or you won’t be seeing tomorrow.”
Jon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk still chuckling. He wanted to see how Loki was gonna get out of this one.
Tia moved so she could also observe wanting to know what possessed Loki to create the image.