Learning to Drive... Him Crazy

by Misty Malone

  "They did," he confirmed. "But I asked Brad if they could have it put back in order after they got everything they needed. How'd they do?"

  She looked around a little bit. "They did good. There are a few things out of place, but not too many. Thank you, John, for having this done."

  John turned her to face him and leaned down to kiss her. "You're welcome, honey. It's so good to be able to kiss you in your apartment again." He gave her another, more passionate kiss that proved the truth in his words. When he was finally able to pull himself away from her he said, "Honey, I better get down to the police station, before I get myself into trouble here."

  Alana giggled. "Trouble with who?"

  He reached back and smacked her playfully on her bottom while he held her in his arms. "Trouble with myself. You deserve my respect, you little brat, and I intend to give it to you, no matter how hard it is to control myself." When she giggled again and reached up for another kiss, he gave it to her. "Are you going to be okay here for a little bit while I go show Agent Kline to his new temporary home?"

  "I'll be fine. Tell me all about it when you get back. I'm anxious to hear about the look on Joe's face when he sees his buddy that's supposed to be getting him out of jail."

  After one more quick kiss, John left. Alana called Kelli, then got busy rearranging a few things in her apartment.

  John was nervous on his way to the station. He wasn't sure what kind of reception he'd get from his fellow officers. When he got there, though, he was relieved. As soon as he walked in the front door, two officers that were talking in the lobby yelled out, "Humphries is here!" They went to him, shook his hand and congratulated him.

  Lieutenant McConnel came out to the lobby, smiling. "Welcome back, Officer! Good work!"

  John heaved a sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure how I'd be received," he admitted.

  Lieutenant McConnel assured him, "I think you'll be receiving a hero's welcome. At least that's the attitude I've detected among everyone."

  "I have a lot of catching up to do," John told him. "Are you the chief now?"

  "Acting chief. I'm really not sure what the mayor's going to do eventually. I think he's going to take a little time to think about it. He's got to replace several officers, and I'm not sure if he's going to promote men already here to fill some of the positions and hire new young guys, or if he's going to hire experienced officers to fill vacant spots, or some of both. Jansen was a sergeant that had just gotten promoted. The mayor needs to at least replace him, the chief, another sergeant, and a detective, along with another patrolman or two."

  "I'll be anxious to see what he decides to do," John said. "In the meantime, it's going to seem a little strange around here."

  "It still seems strange to me. I'm glad you're back because we've really been short-handed." Almost immediately he said, "I'm sorry, I'm jumping to conclusions. Are you ready to come back? I guess I should make sure you even want to come back. Did this put a bad taste in your mouth for police work?"

  "Oh, no. Yes, I'm definitely coming back, the sooner the better. I want to get back to my normal life as soon as I can."

  "I can understand that. Good. Now, I understand you get the pleasure of escorting Agent Kline to his cell?"

  "I do," John said, "and I've got to tell you I've been eager to see Joe's face when he sees him in handcuffs."

  "I'll bet you have been, John. I heard about their plan to rescue each other."

  John paused a moment before asking, "Have you talked to Joe? I didn't see this coming at all. I've found myself wondering what made him do this."

  "None of us saw this coming, John. We've talked about that. We're surprised about all of them, but especially him and the chief. No, I haven't talked to him. He's refused to talk to any of the guys, other than when they were questioning him. I'm wondering if he'll talk to you, since you guys were partners. Are you going to try talking to him?"

  "I don't know. Not right away, for sure."

  "I understand. Agent Kline's in Interrogation Room 1. Agent Brad Barstow just got here a few minutes ago. He's back there, too, so whenever you're ready, go ahead. We're putting Kline in the cell at the clear end to make sure we keep them apart. They won't even be outside for exercise time at the same time."

  "Perfect. Thanks, Lieutenant."

  John went to the interrogation rooms and shook hands with Brad. "Are you ready to do this?" Brad asked.

  "You don't know how ready I am," John assured him. "Let's go." They walked into the interrogation room and John was very friendly as he said, "Good evening, Agent Kline. You were such a good host when I was staying at your establishment, I'd like to return the favor now that you're staying in mine. I believe your room is ready now. Like at the place you furnished, I think you'll find everything you need in your room. Breakfast will be brought in for you in the morning, and we, too, have clothing in all sizes on hand. I see you've already found some in your size. If you're ready, I'll take you to your room now."

  "Cute, John, real cute," Agent Kline said.

  "Here in this establishment I'm Officer Humphries. Stand up." Once he stood John pulled his arms behind him and put handcuffs on him before leading him out by the arm. He took him down the elevator to the jail floor. The officer that worked at the jail went ahead of John and the new prisoner. As they neared Joe's cell the officer said, "Joe, we're getting a new guy in today. You may want to say hi."

  Joe looked up at him and immediately saw John and Larry Kline. John was watching Joe, and he wasn't disappointed in his reaction. He was surprised to see John, but shocked when he saw John's prisoner. Joe's eyes moved again to John's, and John felt nothing but disgust for the man who had been his partner for two years. He tugged on Kline's arm again and went on down the aisle to the cell Kline was to be kept in. He unlocked the cell door and deposited Kline in it without saying a word. He turned and went back up the aisle. He paused at Joe's cell again, as Joe caught his eyes, but John shook his head in disgust and walked on back to the elevator.

  Back up on the main floor, Brad asked, "You okay, John?"

  John sighed before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine. It was harder than I thought it would be seeing my old partner."

  "I understand," Brad assured him. "I thought I wanted to talk to Larry after he'd been arrested. I wanted to ask him what happened, what caused him to do this. But then the first time I saw him I was so furious with him I couldn't even talk to him. He was supposed to be one of us, not working against us."

  "Disgust," John said. "I felt disgust when I saw him." Brad, who truly felt like a good friend now, nodded in agreement. John realized Brad did in fact know exactly what he meant.

  Chapter 16

  Neither Cal nor Kelli was eager to go inside again. It was a nice day out and since they had some time, they decided to go for a walk in the park. Kelli liked to feed the ducks. Cal got a kick out of watching Kelli enjoy it.

  Eventually Cal took her to her apartment and they went inside. "Are you hungry?" Kelli asked. "I'm not sure if I have anything here that's still good, but I can check."

  "No, John and Alana are coming by after John's done at the jail. We thought maybe you two would like to go out for a nice dinner at one of your favorite restaurants tonight. You've been forced to stay inside long enough."

  "That sounds wonderful, Cal. I was kind of torn, actually. I kind of thought an evening alone with you would be nice, but on the other hand, I have missed eating out, and the idea of cooking and eating at home again wasn't real inviting."

  "We'll go out for dinner, and then come back here and have some time alone. I know it'll make a rather late night, but I think we've earned a late night our first night back. I do have a question for you about our first night back, though."

  "What's that?"

  "Well, I hate to bring up unpleasant thoughts right now, but we still have some unfinished business between us. Do you want to take care of that tonight and get it over with, or would you rather wait until tomorrow. Those are your only two
options."

  "Unfinished business?"

  "Kelli, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you want me to spell it out for you, fine. I was trying to be a bit more delicate, but I can ask you outright if you'd rather. You know you've got a good sound spanking coming. Do you want me to blister your sweet butt tonight, or would you rather think about it another day and we'll take care of it tomorrow?"

  "Cal, can't we just forget about it this one time? Trust me, after what we've been through, I've definitely learned my lesson."

  "What lesson have you learned, Kelli?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "You said you don't need a spanking because you've already learned your lesson. What lesson did you learn, so you don't need spanked?"

  Kelli looked at him, but didn't answer. She looked confused.

  "Assuming I'm still going to give you the spanking you've earned, what is this spanking for?"

  "For this whole mess."

  "That's what I thought. No, Kelli, it's not, and yes, you will be getting a spanking. You need a good spanking so you know what it is you did to earn the spanking, and to make you think twice before doing it again. We'll do that tonight after we get back, Kelli, and you start thinking about what it is this spanking is for. I'll ask you again tonight, before I begin the spanking. If you still can't tell me what it's for, I'll know it needs to be a harsher spanking than I had planned."

  Before Kelli could say anything, there was a knock on her door.

  Cal went to answer it, but said, "Think about that during dinner tonight, honey. I don't want to have to be harder on you than necessary." He opened the door and invited John and Alana in. They talked about where everyone wanted to go, and decided on a favorite steakhouse. The men could get a big old steak and the women could get some grilled chicken and a fresh salad. That decided, they headed out.

  Everyone was eager to hear about Joe's reaction when he saw Larry Kline being led off to a cell of his own. Over dinner, John told them about Joe's reaction, and his own thoughts and feelings. He finished by explaining, "I was surprised by what I felt when I saw Joe look at Larry. It was obvious to me that Joe was upset because Larry was supposed to be his ticket out of jail after a relatively short stay. His concern was himself, not what he'd planned to do to any of us. It was as if panic was starting to set in. He was realizing he could be in jail for considerably longer than he'd expected. That whole idea just made me feel disgust for the man."

  Alana could tell his feelings for Joe were bothering him, and she said, "John, I understand why you would feel that way. This man was supposed to be your partner."

  "He was my partner. For two years we went into dangerous situations together. He had my back. Now I find out that was only when it was convenient."

  "Well, he'll have a long time to think back over the last couple years, John," Cal said.

  "In a way I feel kind of sorry for him," Kelli said.

  They all turned to look at her.

  "Well, look at us. We laughed about feeling like prisoners in that house, and they were both nice houses. We couldn't go outside, but we could go anywhere in the house we wanted whenever we wanted, and we knew it was only temporary. It's probably just now sinking in to him that his freedom is gone. He can't go to the kitchen and get a drink of iced tea when he's thirsty, or stay up late tonight to watch a good movie on TV. If he wants to. And it's not just for a week or two."

  It was quiet while they all thought about what that would be like.

  "That's true," Cal said. "That would be a real depressing thought about now."

  Alana nodded in agreement. "Yes, it would. But he's a cop."

  "Was a cop," John quickly corrected.

  "You're right," she admitted. "He was a cop, so he certainly should have known what would happen if he got caught."

  "He just didn't think he'd ever get caught," John said. "But he did, and I still feel disgust for the man. Maybe I'll get over it and feel sorry for him some day, but today, not so much."

  They all chuckled as they decided they felt like John. It would be tough what Joe was going through, but he brought it all on himself.

  They switched the conversation to something lighter and happier to finish their dinner.

  After John and Alana left Kelli's apartment later, Cal took Kelli's hand and brought her to the living room. He sat down on the sofa and pulled her to stand in front of him. "Okay, Kelli, why are you about to get spanked?"

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before saying, "Because you told me not to drive unless it was for something necessary, and I took Alana to Newjangles. I also wasn't supposed to help her spend money on things she didn't need, and that's what she did at Newjangles when I took her there. And I knew that's what she was going to do when I took her there." She hung her head, staring at the floor, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Cal."

  "Thank you, Kelli. I'm glad you know what it is you did to earn this spanking."

  She nodded. "I really wish I would have let you spank me for this when we were still at the safe house."

  "I do, too, honey, but let's get it done now so we won't have to worry about it any more." She nodded, and to his surprise, she didn't fight him when he pulled her over his lap and got her situated. She whimpered, but didn't even fight him when he reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans, or even when he pulled her jeans down.

  "Okay, sweetie, you've waited long enough for this, I'm not waiting any longer." With that he brought his hand back and started the spanking. He talked to her about friends, and that friends should help each other, not help them do things they shouldn't be doing. He asked if she knew Alana was trying to save her money to buy a car when she got her license, and Kelli admitted she did know that.

  Then they talked about why he told her not to do certain things. "Kelli, when I told you I didn't want you driving unless it was necessary for two weeks it was to get your attention. I hoped every time you thought of going somewhere, you would remember you were being punished and weren't to drive. I hoped that would make you stop and think, and realize that being a good friend means you help her save money for what's important in the long run."

  Kelli was squirming more and he was sure she was sore. She was crying softly, but hearing Cal's latest words, she lost control and started to sob. She also stopped fighting. She lay draped over his lap, taking the spanking, tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked. He gave her several more swats before he stopped. He let her stay over his lap, but rubbed her back and told her, "It's over now, Sweetie. Take some short breaths to get some air, then try bigger breaths."

  He continued to rub her back until she was breathing a little better. Then he helped her sit up on his lap and took her in his arms, holding her against his chest. She leaned her head against him and used one hand to grab onto his shirt. She held onto his shirt like it was some kind of lifeline. He kept murmuring softly in her ear, words and phrases he hoped let her know how much he cared about her. When he heard her breathing start to slow and return to normal he looked down at her, planning on kissing her. He was shocked to see she'd fallen asleep!

  He had to chuckle at his little minx. She'd been through an awful lot lately, and as much as she tried to convince everyone, including herself, that she wasn't too worried about the spanking she knew she had coming, he knew better. Now that it was over, her anxiety was gone, and so was the guilt she'd been carrying around with her. He took it as a compliment that she now felt relaxed enough to fall asleep. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He scooted back into the couch and leaned against the back, simply watching the lady that he had to admit to himself was quickly stealing his heart.

  He decided he'd hold her a little while before taking her into her bedroom, where he'd lay her on her bed and cover her with a quilt.

  * * * * *

  All four of them were eager to get back to work the next day. Kelli was surprised when her boss, who had been very difficult to work with lately, treated her with much more respe
ct. Her co-workers treated her similarly. She had a better day at work than she'd had in some time.

  John was at Alana's apartment ten minutes after she got home. "Are you ready to go driving?" he asked.

  "Ooh, absolutely," she answered enthusiastically. She headed for the door, only to be stopped by John. "Where's your permit?"

  "Oh, yeah," she said, going back to get her purse. She turned around to head back to the door, but stopped short when she saw the stern look on his face. "I'm sorry, John. It's been so long since I got to drive, I'm excited, but a little anxious, too."

  "Anxious about what?"

  "What if I forget what you taught me?"

  "I'm not worried about you forgetting what I taught you about driving. I am concerned, though, that you may be forgetting what I taught you about driving legally. When you drove when Kelli was drunk, we had a long talk about how important it is that you not only follow all the rules of the road, but that you follow all the legal rules for you to drive, as well. Do you remember that?"

  Alana dropped her head as she said, "Yes, I do. I'm sorry. I was excited and I forgot my purse, but you're right, that would have been driving illegally."

  John took her in his arms and said, "Alana, I understand you've had a lot on your mind lately and you're eager to drive again and make sure you're ready to get your license. For those reasons I'm just going to remind you about it this time, but laws for driving are very important to me. I'm a policeman. The next time I see or hear about you driving illegally, your cute little bottom will feel the wrath of my hand. Do you understand?"

  "I do," she assured him.

  "Good. Now, get your permit and let's go let you drive."

  Alana drove for half an hour, then John had her drive them across town to a restaurant, where they had dinner. Afterward she drove almost another hour before driving them back to her apartment. When they got in her apartment John said, "Honey, go ahead and make an appointment to take your test again. You're ready."