by Ladew, Lisa
She paced around the tiny apartment as Coleton watched her, silently.
"What are you going to wear tomorrow?" she asked him, a harsh edge to her voice for the first time in days.
"Jeans and a shirt. It's all I have."
"Do you have a jacket?"
"Yes, I bought one."
Aria found a backpack she had brought with them the first day and rummaged through it. She pulled out a heavy piece of clothing and shook it at him. "You'll need to wear this under your shirt."
Coleton wrinkled his nose and sat on the couch, seemingly unconcerned. "Is that a bullet proof vest?"
Aria nodded and tossed it his way. "Try it on."
Coleton stood and did as he was asked. "It's too small," he said. "Is it really necessary?"
Aria came close and pulled the Velcro out to as far as it would go. "Yes it's necessary. This one will have to do until I can get you another one."
Coleton nodded and took it off slowly. Finally some of her urgency seem to be seeping into his demeanor. He reached out and grasped her hand and pulled her close. "You seem upset," he said.
"Well aren't you?" she snapped at him then immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I don't know what to expect tomorrow and I'm scared that somehow your dad is going to get the upper hand."
Coleton gazed at her, fire in his eyes. "I'm not," he said.
"You're not?" she breathed.
He ran his thumb across her lower lip and then kissed her gently, once. "No. I know that you are better than him. I know that you can outsmart him. It's going to work. I know it."
Aria shook her head. "There's so much we haven't thought of. So much could go wrong."
Coleton sat back on the couch and spread his arms wide along the back cushions, his stance relaxed. "That's true. But that's always true."
"No poems," she warned him.
He shrugged and watched her, his eyes dancing. "I promise nothing," he said, but didn't speak again.
Aria shook her head. He was exasperating sometimes. She ran into the kitchen and began opening drawers. "Are you sure we don't have any paper?" she called out.
Coleton came slowly into the room. "I'm sure. I've been through every drawer in here and we didn't bring any with us."
Aria looked around the room for anything they could write on. "Do we at least have a pen?" she said.
"Nope."
She turned on him. "We're going to have to go to the store."
"Is that a good idea?"
"Well no, I don't want to go to the store, but we have to have something to write on. We need to flesh out our plan to get you in there safely tomorrow."
Coleton stared at her, his eyes far away. Finally he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back into the living room. He grasped the TV tray by its edges and pulled it away from the wall.
"Will this do?" he said. Aria walked past him to look at what he was presenting to her. All she saw was the slanted back of the ancient TV.
He noticed her confusion and reached out a hand to rub a finger to the dust of one corner. "I wiped all the dust off the top of the TV, but there's still all of this. Can you use it?"
Aria smiled and her heart felt lighter. She reached out her own finger and drew a mini courthouse in the dust, then drew the streets around it.
"Yes, this is perfect," she said, then pressed her lips to his for a quick kiss. He smiled down at her and she saw something deep and heartfelt in his eyes. She looked away quickly. She didn't want to know what it meant. Not when both of their futures were so precarious.
***
Coleton watched Aria spell out her plan and marveled at the simplicity of it. He didn't know when she had worked it out, seeing as how he kept her quite busy over the last few days, but it was genius. She was concerned someone would try to ambush them on the way in but she was also concerned the regular parking lot would be watched, so they were going to park in the employee lot of the diner next door and use the cover of trees to reach the back entrance. He could see how it was their best option.
Then she laid out a plan B in case plan A didn't work. He watched her cool blue eyes as she assessed his reactions and questions, and reworked the plan as she thought necessary. He listened to the natural leadership in her voice and marveled at her competency. He couldn't have felt safer if he were going with a presidential entourage.
Not that he felt completely safe. He knew that Aria could get him safely into the courtroom and his father could still have someone blow his brains out, vest or no vest, while he walked up to the stand to testify. Somehow, his father had that kind of influence on people. He'd seen it done before.
Coleton willed the image out of his mind. Tomorrow was tomorrow. For now he would enjoy what could very well be his last night of passion with Sergeant Aria Gale. He knew that everything could change once they entered back into the real world. Even if he managed to live another day, the police chief could still assign some other police officer to him tomorrow, or Aria could have a change of heart - anything.
Not that he could think of anything more awful than Aria not wanting him anymore. She was the most amazing woman he had ever met in his life and they fit together like puzzle pieces. Fear gripped his heart at the thought of their few days of bliss ending. But he knew it was likely. And it destroyed him. He kept the damage locked deep inside himself though, wanting nothing to blur the last night he had with Aria.
Chapter 24
Aria drove into town the next morning, Coleton quiet in the seat next to her, her eyes constantly scanning the road and the buildings surrounding them. They both wore caps pulled low over their faces, providing precious little disguise, but better than nothing. She didn't think they were in any danger until they got within a block of the courthouse, but she wouldn't take any chances.
Her body did the job of watching for danger of its own accord. Her mind ran over the plan one more time. It would have to be good enough. It was all they had. Her thoughts jumped to the man next to her. The man who was currently in more danger than she had ever had to face in her life, even in her career as a police officer. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of what awaited him over the next few weeks. Constant vigilance, and constant danger. Every time they had to enter the courthouse would she feel as sick as she did right now? Would she even get a chance to accompany him? Or would the chief or the assistant chief pull her off the case today as soon as she walked in the door?
Tiredness threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought it back. She had clung to Coleton for hours the night before, begging him to make love to her again and again, not wanting to lose even a few precious hours with him to sleep. He seemed to have felt the same way. He had spoken very little, only touching her, caressing her, plying her body with his fingers and tongue, going over every inch of her with his frantic touches.
When they had left this morning, they had packed everything they brought with them, knowing the chances were good they would never return to that apartment. Aria had looked around before she closed the door, and felt a lump lodge in her throat. She'd been so happy there. It felt like she was leaving to go to a funeral march. Whose funeral, she didn't know.
Coleton reached over and squeezed her hand briefly, perhaps catching some errant thought of hers, knowing she needed his comfort. She gave him a small smile, then returned to her constant vigilance.
When traffic slowed on the highway in front of her, she felt almost panic-stricken, sure that somehow they had manufactured the traffic slowdown, that in a moment, large men with guns would burst from the vehicles around them and pump the car full of bullets, cutting off any chance or hope they had at something more.
But nothing happened. They sat in traffic for twenty minutes and then began to move again.
When they passed the courthouse on their way to the diner beyond it, Aria swore lightly under her breath.
Coleton jumped forward. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just we're late for court."
"Oh. That's bad, isn't it?"
Aria nodded dully. "Definitely bad."
Aria pulled into the parking lot of the diner across the street and wedged the tiny car in between a dark blue Suburban and a silver minivan, her mind spinning. She thought it could be a good thing that they were late in one way. Arriving early or late would give Coleton the best chance of making it inside unscathed. And hopefully they did not have an antsy judge who would charge either one of them with contempt for being late. The last thing they needed was to be thrown in jail overnight.
Aria parked the car and got out first, scanning the rooflines of the buildings around them, then looking across the street at the courthouse. It was large, with huge, white columns in front, and an expansive lawn with large maple trees dotting it.
She motioned to Coleton to get out of the car, her eyes on constant alert. Coleton did and they started across the street, walking quickly and deliberately. As they passed under the large trees dotting the lawn of the courthouse, Aria looked up, half expecting teams of ninjas to drop down from the branches and surround them. When they reached the front door, she breathed a sigh of relief. Coleton flashed her a heartbreaking smile, then pulled the door open.
Aria pushed in front of him and entered first, relieved to see the corridor almost empty. There were only two security guards standing at the metal detector. She walked up to them and flashed her badge, going around the metal detector, then waited for Coleton to walk through it. A lump formed in her throat when she thought about how easy it was for her to get into the courthouse with her gun. All you had to do was show a badge. They didn't even check her ID.
Her mind flew back to a statistic she had read once. The Westwood Harbor Police Department, over the last ten years, had reported one hundred and twenty-two lost or stolen police badges.
Aria pulled her mind away from that fact, reminding herself to be extra vigilant. She could only deal with the threat she faced in front of her, not one she invented in her mind.
Aria checked the court docket on the wall and quickly discovered what room they were in. She set off down the hallway at a quick pace, hearing Coleton following behind her. When she reached the doors, she paused to take a deep breath. The moment of truth. Judgment day. It all came down to this. Pick your cliché, she was never going to be ready for it, so she pushed the doors open and walked inside.
The large room held at least a hundred and fifty people. The judge already sat at the bench, which was definitely bad. A line of potential jurors queued up in the middle of the room, between the spectator's benches. As she swung the doors open, the voice that had been talking fell silent and almost every eye swung their way.
One set of eyes felt particularly heavy to Aria. She looked for them and found them almost immediately, to the left, sitting at the defense attorneys table. An old man, his dark face lined heavily, his mouth in a moue of contempt. Fiore Savoy. Coleton's father. He was dressed in a suit with his hands unshackled. She felt him marking her, storing up her face for later. He looked agitated, riled up, ready for blood. Aria had a chance to think for an instant how his rage and insanity made him look younger and more powerful than he should look.
Coleton saw his father marking Aria and he stepped in front of her quickly, staring his father down defiantly.
No, Aria thought, her attention pulled to all four corners of the room at once. Just because they were in a crowded courtroom did not mean Coleton was safe. One hundred witnesses did not stop people from committing murder. There were many people willing to go to jail if it meant something greater to them.
Aria pushed lightly at Coleton's back, whispering for him to find a seat and sit down, but before he could even move, the prosecuting attorney weaved his way through the crowd and spoke in Coleton's ear, motioning savagely towards his desk. Coleton nodded and looked at Aria with warmth in his eyes. He motioned he had to follow the attorney and Aria motioned for him to go. He wasn't hers anymore.
Aria moved silently down the aisle, finding a seat as close to Coleton as she could get. The judge motioned for the defense attorney to continue and he did, calling names and asking the potential jurors questions. Aria's eyes scanned the room, marking every person they fell on as a potential danger or not.
Within moments, someone sat heavily behind her and leaned forward. Aria whipped around to see who it was. Assistant Chief Foley. His expression was barely restrained. "Thank God you're okay. We've been worried sick about you for days. Why didn't you ever call in?" he said.
Here we go, Aria thought. This was her chance to find out if Harrison had been telling the truth or not. And if he hadn't been? That was going to change a lot of things in her mind. She was glad it was Foley talking to her, and not Harrison. "I did call in. Assistant chief Harrison answered. He tried to get me to tell him where I was."
Confusion passed over Chief Foley's face. "Wait a second. When was this? What line did you call?"
Aria opened her mouth to answer, certain that things were about to get crazy, when things did exactly that. But not in the way she expected.
Fiore Savoy grunted and stood on his chair. Aria heard gasps around her and that's when she turned to look at him. He was standing tall and straight, his eyes scanning the crowd, his right arm extended in front of him, his fingers shaped like a gun. He turned back and his eyes locked with Coleton's. He opened his mouth and a booming voice came out, which left no doubt that he was telling the truth. "Anyone who testifies against me or makes a judgment against me will get to know me up close and personal!" His eyes finally moved away from Coleton's and they scanned the long line of potential jurors. "That's what you want isn't it?"
Fiore Savoy's lawyer tried to shove him down off the chair and Fiore danced away, surprisingly agile for a man his age. He took a step up and stood on the small table, then aimed a kick at his lawyer's head. Aria half stood, not sure how this was going to play out. Would he climb down and go for Coleton?
The judge slammed his gavel on the bench and as if it were a signal, a woman screamed in the line of potential jurors. Two of the jurors bolted and ran right out the door.
"Order, order!" The judge screamed from the bench. "Guards, take him down. Get him down and remove him from the room!"
The row of seats behind Fiore Savoy and his lawyer was taken up by a dozen men in orange jumpsuits. Aria was not sure if they were prisoners charged with the same crimes that Fiore was, or if they had somehow received the right to attend court with him. They stood up as the four courthouse guards moved across the room, slowly converging on Fiore.
"Ah, fuck," Assistant Chief Foley cursed. "This is gonna be bad." He stood and lifted his chin at the closest guard. "I'm with you," he said. The guard nodded.
Aria stood up from her chair and grabbed Coleton by the sleeve, pulling him back with her. "If they start fighting, we take off," she told him. He nodded, his eyes disbelieving and plastered on his father.
People pushed and shoved in the aisles, trying to get away from the guards and the intimidating men. The doors in the back opened and potential jurors streamed out, some screaming, some crying, most of them on their phones or taking pictures as they retreated.
The guards converged on the table, taking Fiore Savoy down easily. He didn't resist at all and Aria almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then the men in the orange jumpsuits made their move.
The one at the far end yelled, "Now!" and they all rushed the guards, lifting their shackled hands, shuffling their shackled feet. Aria saw each of the four guards have shackles thrown about their necks as the prisoners pulled and tried to strangle them. One guard managed to get his Taser up and tase the prisoner trying to make him pass out. Aria jumped back and pulled Coleton with her.
One of the prisoners noticed them and headed their way. "Chief!" Aria shouted, pushing Coleton towards the exit. They couldn't get far though, because throngs of people blocked their way.
Assistant Chief Foley grabbed the prisoner stalking Aria and Coleton, throwing him on the
ground, then handcuffing him to a bench. Another prisoner came up behind him and hit him on the back of the head. Foley stumbled, then turned to fight.
The judge yelled louder, then dropped his gavel and stood up, his face warring between absolute anger and incredible fear. He backed up, then darted forward and spoke into his microphone.
"Court adjourned until tomorrow at 9:00. All juror candidates and spectators leave the room at once. All juror candidates return tomorrow at 9:00 or I will charge you with contempt." He banged his gavel once on the bench for effect and fled out of the room, leaving the guards locked in combat.
Aria took Coleton by the hand. "We're out," she told him, throwing one last look at his father. Fiore Savoy stood off to one side of the melee with no one holding him or guarding him at all. His eyes were locked on Aria and Coleton as they struggled to make their escape through the crowd of people attempting to flee. A large man fell on the ground in front of Aria, almost knocking her to the ground in the process.
When Coleton pulled her to her feet and she was able to look back, Fiore Savoy was gone.
Chapter 25
Out in the hallway, the courthouse corridor stood awash in frightened people. Only a few of them actually headed for the exits, most milled around and got in Aria and Coleton's way. Outside, Aria could hear sirens in the distance. Would they be too little, too late? New courthouse guards and sheriffs swarmed the room they had been in, adding to the pandemonium.
Aria looked around frantically, her mind trying to think what she would do if she saw Fiore Savoy. She knew what her body would try to do - arrest him. But he had all this planned, she knew, and trying to arrest him would no doubt leave Coleton in danger. Fiore probably had a weapon of some sort, and people waiting for him outside, maybe even right here in the corridor.
Aria pulled on Coleton and headed for the closest exit.
They ran full speed towards their tiny car, with no attempts at watching for ambushes, even though Aria knew there could be one behind any tree. They made it to the car unscathed and climbed inside, slamming the doors. Aria jammed the keys into the ignition and threw the car into reverse, squealing tires as she pulled away quickly, then drove out of the parking lot and took a right on the main street, simply because it was easier.