by L. M. Vila
Meryl relaxed the weight of her body and rested on the battered and bruised wall and drank in this glorious moment of relief. Firefights were something hadn’t missed all that much back in her days in the LAPD and hoped to abandon once she joined the FBI. However, ever since she paired up with Michael again, her assignment to gunfight ratio had tripled. Although she would never admit it, Meryl enjoyed the extra action. One that adrenalin courses through her body, she felt like she could do anything; especially with Michael by her side.
Her eyes gazed over to his massive and slightly battered frame. He’d definitely been through the woodworks yet he looked as if he’d just spent an entire day at the office. While facing death itself countless times over, nothing ever seemed to bother Michael. He just did his job without question. Meryl admired him for that among other things. Their deep rooted friendship allowed her to ask the first painfully obvious question.
“Are you alright Michael?” Adding a well needed amount of concern.
She placed a hand on his arm and rubbed it gently between her fingers. It was warm but stiff, unwavering like his emotions. Michael nodded; his trademark response to practically everything. He stared coldly into the distance, refusing to focus on one single point. Meryl continued to glare into his eyes trying to pry into his thoughts. The mission was a success, at least their part of it, but Michael didn't appear as modestly content as he normally would be. The way he looked out while refusing to make eye contact made him seem distant, like his mind had departed this arena and traveled somewhere else. Meryl couldn't remain silent without showing some empathy to her partner and best friend.
SWAT cleared the area quickly. It seemed like only seconds had passed since their arrival and already the entire arena had fallen under their control. Though not all was as quiet as one would hope. Many of the wealthy and business moguls alike shouted at the top of their lungs. Some screamed about injustice. Others cried for legal representation. It was the typical scene for this kind of crowd. Even when caught with a smoking gun they still tried to retain their innocence.
This disgusting sight normally made Michael’s intestines twist. Watching men grovel on their knees like spoiled children just proved that when confronted with their own mortality, be it health or wealth, they all revert back to their inherent animalistic tendencies. However, Michael couldn’t keep track of any thoughts relating to the scene or the mission itself. Meryl’s instincts were correct. His mind had drifted elsewhere. The only thing drawing Michael’s attention was the man named Adriel and how to sneak away from this mess to find him.
Barely an hour had passed since the battle ended and the FBI had already locked down this monument to brutality. Much to their dismay, a few attendees had gotten calls out to their lawyers and the place was slowly turning into one gigantic argument of semantics and legal precedents. Watching them doing it while wearing handcuffs added a little sugar to this growing pile of feces.
Michael and Meryl were promptly greeted by some of the other agents on site. They traded information but mostly took notes of everything Meryl had witnessed from behind the scenes. The deception of swinging vulgarities left and right made it easy to mask her intentions. Medical treatment had been offered to both parties but summarily declined. Michael took his fair share of bumps tonight but nothing a good night’s rest with his accelerated regeneration factor wouldn’t fix.
Clean ups always irked Meryl’s patience. After an adrenaline surge, it was hard to keep her body still. All of that excess energy would go to waste and the refractory period afterwards dulled her senses and made the next passing moments slow down to a crawl. She kept her body wrapped in an emergency blanket provided by her fellow agents. Mostly to save her modesty above retaining body heat. With cameras going off at hundreds of angles, Meryl didn’t want to find a picture of her in this gaudy outfit nestled on some pervert’s hard drive or worse, floating around the infinite void of the Internet.
“Here.”
Meryl felt a rush of ice grace her cheek sending every hair on her neck stand at attention. She grabbed the source of this temporary discomfort and pulled the cold bottle of water to her lips. The refreshing and flavorless nectar flooded her cells with hydration after two big gulps.
“Thanks,” she replied with a relieving sigh.
Michael had returned with just the remedy she required without having to say a word. They knew each other better than anyone else after all. A bit of jealousy crept in when Meryl noticed her partner had the opportunity to change his attire. Now donning a plain black shirt instead of that wickedly out of date leather vest, Michael started to look like his old self again. Well, minus the leather flame adorned pants.
She planted her body against a nearby wall next to the southern exit door alongside Michael and indulged in a few more swigs of water. Her partner, on the other hand, had other intentions with his own bottle. Michael took the chilling liquid and dumped the contents over his head. The ice cold liquid rushed through the stained blonde locks of his raven colored hair and thoroughly removed any traces of the dye.
“Aw,” Meryl joked, “I was starting to like that look on you.”
“Likewise,” he shot back with his eyes staring at Meryl’s exposed belly.
“Shut up.”
Her arms quickly pulled the blanket over the embarrassing image trying not to give Michael any more satisfaction. They continued to stand together in silence, not knowing what to say to one another. With Michael’s mind drifting off into distant lands, Meryl was at a disadvantage. She could usually come up with a mutual topic of interest right off the top of her head. That was the growing tradition in the last year or so anyways. Michael’s conversation skills had barely improved quantity wise but the quality had seen a dramatic progression. So instead of fighting through the awkwardness looking for something to talk about, Meryl just enjoyed the bit of peace they could share together. It sure beat getting shot at on a weekly basis.
“Oh, look who’s here.” Meryl’s eyes darted to the opposing exit door.
Commander Wells and the incorrigible S.A.C. Adrian Fischer walked into the arena without the same grandiose entrance as their two employees.
“We’ve finally got our ride,” Meryl stated turning to Michael or at least where he once stood.
He disappeared without a sound, smell, or trace as if he were never there in the first place. Whatever the reason, Meryl knew he’d be back. It’s not like he had any other place to go tonight.
Surveying the scene provided Nicole a pleasant and relieving feeling. All of their hard work had not gone to waste and at the very least, it would spare her of Agent Fischer’s condescending wrath. Granted her agents had flights leaving within the hour for a far more prestigious assignment but the successful results of tonight stand on their own. The scene before her eyes danced in a mist of controlled chaos. Dozens of Las Vegas agents surrounded the scene, taking diligent notes, and performing their duties to the book much to the chagrin of Nicole’s subordinate. Vegas’ S.A.C. Thomas Prince had his hands full making sure of that.
A familiar face started walking up the stairs. Charles Logan was being carted off by two SWAT members on each arm with his wrists neatly bonded together with the tight chrome chains of justice. Fighting the urges to let him pass without a witty retort or snide comment proved too much for Nicole to handle. She wasn’t about to let this rich prick off the hook without tormenting him a little bit. Besides, if she could put a few cracks in his shell, it would make the rest of the legal matters an easier battle.
“It’s a pity to see such an honorable and respectable member of the community being carted off in handcuffs. Tell me Charles, with all of your staff members busy with this investigation, who’s going to validate my parking?”
“This isn’t over. Your combined government salary doesn’t even match up to what I spend on a bottle of wine. I’ve got the kind of money that can afford me enough lawyers to fill this building up twice over.”
“Not after tonight you
don’t.”
“You’ve got nothing on me and you know it.”
“You may be right,” Nicole stated.
Then her eyes drifted to the rounded up crew of businessmen and politicians that made up his audience.
“But I’ll bet my meager government salary that they do. And I’m sure they’ll all squeal their little hearts out to spare themselves from the embarrassment. Care to place a bet? I’ll give you ten to one odds.”
Logan scoffed and turned his head in disgust as the SWAT officers carried him away. He may have lost a battle and maybe a small fortune but he certainly wasn’t defeated. Lawyers would be chomping at the bit just to get a piece of this action. He’d have a hardened legal team built within the next twenty four hours and without spending a single night in jail. Unlike his deceased meal ticket, Logan preferred to fight his battles in the legal arena. That’s where he always held an edge. Everyone’s got a price, be it money, power, or sex. Logan’s deep pockets always carried an ace or two to get him out of any jam. Tonight would be no different. This even would be a minor stain in Charles Logan’s illustrious career.
Just before any more good times could roll in, Meryl arrived to greet her superiors deciding once and for all to forgo the blanket. Modesty be damned, she still looked great no matter what type of clothing touched her skin. That and the fact that no one else would dare flash a camera in Nicole’s direction. Her reputation as the Ice Queen of Los Angeles was well known down the F.B.I. pipeline.
“Hello Agent Lewis,” Nicole greeted while scaling her unique outfit.
This was the first time Nicole caught a glimpse of her in costume. Out of all the other undercover assignments notched in Meryl’s belt, this one took every slice of cake.
“I like your new look. A bit too much black for my taste but still, fashionable and trendy.”
Meryl got hit with the weirdest feeling of déjà vu just now. Her superior’s sense of humor had a certain flair to it that touched her memory in a familiar way. Casting those thoughts aside, Meryl responded in kind.
“Thanks but I think I’m done wearing outfits meant for women whose age is higher than their IQ.”
Grasping the wig in hand and ripping the tight elastic grip from her scalp allowed Meryl’s head to breathe fresh air once again. She shook her gentle brown locks from side to side allowing its radiance to caress the cool subterranean air.
“Well, I’m glad to see there were no complications.”
“Indeed,” Fischer said cutting in, “Excuse me Commander Wells. I appreciate your desire to bring levity to the situation but Agent Lewis and Agent Madison have a plane to catch.”
“Speaking of which, where is Michael?” Nicole pondered peering into the busy environment.
Someone like Michael Madison would stick out like a sore thumb in any crowd. That’s why Nicole was instantly troubled when she couldn’t find him.
“He was with me a second ago,” said Meryl pointing to the opposite exit. “I’m not sure where he went off to.”
“We need to find him immediately Agent Lewis,” Fischer snapped.
His words grew increasingly aggressive with each passing syllable.
“Calm down Agent Fischer,” hissed Nicole without even bothering to give him a look. “Michael couldn’t have strayed too far.”
Before she could finish that thought, Agent Prince arrived ready to greet Nicole with some interesting news.
“Well, it looks like things are coming together nicely Nicole. We appreciate all of your help in nabbing this one. There’s probably billions of illegally gained cash that’ll go right back to the city after some arduous court battles. It’ll be a long night for my guys given the sheer volume of suspects we need to gather statements from and detain. But for now, the hard part’s over.”
“We’re glad we could be of assistance Thomas,” Nicole happily chimed perfectly masking her actual intentions. “Is there anything else we can help you with evening?”
“I believe we’re all set here. Vegas P.D. just arrived to help with crowd control. My guys can handle everything else. Agent Madison already got the message.”
“Say what?” Fischer stated nearly cracking.
Agent Prince had a dumbfounded look on his face.
“I saw him leave a few minutes ago. He borrowed one of the P.D.’s bikes saying something about validating evidence. I assumed it was on your orders.”
“Sergeant!” Shouted an increasingly agitated Agent Fischer.
A member of the Las Vegas Police Force heeded his call within seconds. Before he even had a chance to speak, the S.A.C. bellowed his orders.
“Call all your units in the area. One of our agents has gone AWOL driving a police vehicle. He must be apprehended immediately.”
“Belay that order Agent Fischer,” snapped Nicole with a scornful look on her face that cemented her title as the Ice Queen.
“But Commander.”
Nicole’s face sat within inches of her subordinate, angry and unyielding.
“Let’s get one thing clear Agent Fischer. As long as there is air in my lungs, I’m in command. Don’t you dare issue an order like that without consulting me first. Agent Madison is the best field agent in the country. I’d trust his reasoning and judgment above all else.”
Surprisingly enough, Agent Fischer didn’t seem intimidated nor impressed.
“Given his prior history I believe I have proper cause for concern,” he countered. “Whatever the reason, he still has a job to do. Not going through with it is a direct violation of protocol and direct orders from the Director, I might add. One’s which supersede even your authority Commander.”
The propensity of that logic didn’t even dent Nicole’s armor.
“Even so, Michael Madison is still under my command and therefore my responsibility.” She turned her attention to Meryl, “Agent Lewis will still leave tonight. As soon as I get into contact with Agent Madison, we’ll put him on the next available flight. The peace negotiations don’t start for another week which still gives us some breathing room.”
Nicole returned her gaze to Agent Fischer.
“I trust our best agents do not require a six day orientation to prepare for a simple babysitting job.”
“I was merely stating protocol Commander.”
“Even so,” she started, her tone dropping considerably from angered to relaxed. “I’m sure the Director won’t mind the delay after he finds out what his two favorite agents accomplished tonight.”
Despite the powerful argument presented by his superior, Adrian remained firm. This issue was far from settled in his mind but he couldn’t risk continuing the fight. At least in the presence of this company.
“Understood Commander.”
Adrian chose to ignore his superior for the next few minutes. Trying to reason with her under any circumstance was like trying to quell a raging inferno with a dry blanket. This rang especially true when it concerned Agent Madison. It was of no consequence now. Their frivolous battle had ended but the war would certainly continue.
“Agent Lewis, we have a change of clothes waiting for you in the Mobile Command Center along with the rest of your equipment. A police unit has been designated to drive you straight to the airport as soon as you’re ready. Follow me please,” he ordered.
The added illusion of kindness hoped to radiate that he had no hard feelings over the matter that transpired or at the very least masked his true emotions. Adrian immediately walked through the exit without a second glance back.
Watching the two of them bicker over assignments become a spectator sport. Meryl was pleased to see Nicole stand her ground. She was proving to be a good role model day after day.
Meryl gave her superior a soft look and said, “Well, if there’s nothing else, I think I’ve had my fill of looking like the poster child for teenage angst.”
“Indeed,” Nicole smiled. “I think you better follow Agent Fischer P.D.Q. unless you want to rattle his cage as well.”
The
Commander’s dry sense of humor always poked Meryl’s funny bone. After spending all day in this get up a little relief was well over due. The worst of the lot was that horrid ink stench from the paint tattoos staining her formally blemish-free skin. All of the sweat she accumulated during the firefight seemed to enhance the odor tenfold. It only goes to show how much trouble women are willing to go through in order to look edgy. In Meryl’s case, she’d opt for a more sensible undercover assignment. This case in Washington would help alleviate some of the stress gained from tonight. Taking the redeye flight to get there would hopefully be the last obstacle.
“Meryl.” Nicole halted her subordinate’s progress through the exit without evening turning a gaze.
“Yes Commander?”
“Take care of Michael for me. He has a knack for rebelling authority.”
“Will do,” Meryl happily winked, not that Nicole could see it. She sprinted up the stairs and through the mob of investigators towards the bright encompassing light of the moon.
As Meryl exited, Nicole pondered if she had revealed too much. The added quip at the end should have hid her true sentiments but it still left her in a pit of uneasiness. Nicole knew she could trust Meryl, however, that wasn’t her decision to make. On paper, the extent of Michael and Meryl’s relationship has been nothing more than professional. Michael hasn’t spoken much about her outside that context. Nevertheless, the subtle changes Nicole has witnessed in Agent Madison’s attitude spoke otherwise. Whether he would admit to it or not, Meryl Lewis held a special place in Michael’s heart. That thought caused a trickling of pain in Nicole’s chest and not the kind she was used to having because of her condition.
March 23rd, 2013 11:05PM
Aria Casino
Las Vegas, NV