Chasing Shadows

by C Paradee

  Tony had forgotten about the game. Seeing the fleeting look of disappointment on Megan’s face, she thought, thank God I pulled days first. "We can still go. It doesn’t start until 7:05pm. I’m on days for the next three days, and then I’m off Sunday and work evenings Monday and Tuesday."

  Megan laid her hand on Tony’s thigh. Drawing an invisible design on her partner’s bare leg, she said, "Evenings? We won’t even get to see each other."

  Tony sighed, and said, "I know. Hopefully it won’t last long."

  Megan laid her head against Tony’s chest thinking about how long Monday and Tuesday evening were going to be without her partner while aimlessly running the tips of her fingers up and down Tony’s thigh. Feeling the muscles beneath her fingers tighten, she looked up and saw deep blue eyes gazing at her.

  "Oh," Megan said smiling lifting her hand only to have Tony grab it saying, "Don’t stop now," before guiding her hand back to her leg and capturing Megan’s lips with her own.

  Megan felt her body responding to the soft full lips of her partner and she moved her hand up cupping the area between Tony’s legs squeezing lightly through the shorts.

  "Oh… Megan," Tony murmured, her desire escalating. "I love you." Capturing an earlobe between her lips, she moved a hand underneath Megan’s top working her way up to the breasts fondling first one and then the other.

  Megan loved the effect her touch had on her partner, but that was only a fleeting thought when her body reacted to Tony’s hands on her breasts.

  Tony gently eased Megan onto her back. She wanted to see the full firm breasts her hands were kneading.

  Laying over Megan and supporting her weight on her elbows, she lifted Megan’s top and lowered her head running her tongue around the nipple of one of the full breasts. Kissing each nipple, she looked into Megan’s passion filled eyes. Lightly kissing her lover she said, "This couch is too small," before kissing each of the nipples again.

  Megan’s nerve endings were sending shivers up and down her body. Not wanting to stop, but her movement limited, she nodded in agreement, letting Tony help her up before they retired to the bedroom.

  * * *

  David opened the door and walked in. Mike was sitting at the table and looked up despondently.

  "What’s wrong?" David asked, walking over to his partner. "What did the doctor say?"

  "I’m allergic to cats," Mike said sadly, knowing how much David loved the two kittens.

  David breathed a sigh of relief. "God Mike. You scared the hell out of me."

  "But the doctor said we had to get rid of the kittens."

  "I’m just glad that’s all it is. I know we’ll miss the kittens. But you’re much more important to me than they are," David said, hugging his lover.

  "I just can’t believe that out of all the testing the only thing I’m allergic to is cats. It was nice having them around the house during the day when you’re gone."

  Wanting to make Mike feel better, he said, "Once we find a good home for Huggy and Velcro, maybe we can get a puppy. Where are the kittens?"

  "I had to put them in the den for a while. My eyes were really bothering me. You can let them out now."

  "It won’t hurt them to stay in the den for a little while. I’ll just play with them in there," David said. "You know those pictures we took? I’ll take one down to Trading Times tomorrow and run an ad. They’re so cute it should be easy to find a home for them."

  "Yeah, I guess. I still hate the idea of giving them to strangers."

  David looked at Mike and said, "Don’t worry. If we don’t both like who wants them, we’ll just wait until the right person comes along."

  Mike’s face brightened a little. "Ok. I guess I’m just a little overprotective of them."

  "I think we both are. Why don’t we go out and eat tonight? We haven’t done that for a while. We could go to Diana’s."

  Mike smiled, "Sounds good."

  * * *

  Sherman was sitting on the balcony in a lawn chair. He had spent parts of the last three evenings here. His surveillance equipment was set up, and based on the information gleaned, he had formulated a couple of different plans. Walking inside, he picked up the binoculars and trained them on the bay window across the street. It was early and the curtains were still open. He could only see the portion of the living room near the large bay window, but if this had been a regular case, Sherman would already have taken her out with a high-powered telescopic equipped rifle.

  Smiling Sherman acknowledged this was fun. Careful meticulous planning was his trademark. But this case presented a real challenge. He had to develop the perfect accident. Not only did it have to take out the target, but there could be no suspicion that it was anything but an accident. Everything was going well though. Sherman still couldn’t believe his luck at finding an apartment in such close proximity to his target’s.

  He had known the location of the surveillance case she was working on since Thursday. He had simply parked his car on a side street near the Federal building that gave him an unobstructed view of the garage entrance. When she left in the agency car with the other agent, he followed. This had actually been easier than he thought it would be. The early rush hour allowed him the luxury of blending in with the other drivers.

  Sherman never acted until he had enough information. The location of the surveillance site was not of immediate importance, but he wanted to know where his target was at all times. If a contingency plan became necessary, he would be prepared.

  When the lights went off in the apartment across the street, Sherman prepared to leave and return to the hotel. Smiling, he thought, soon.

  * * *

  Tony was getting irritated. They were at the Tower City station of the Rapid Transit and had been unable to board two other trains because of people pushing and shoving in front of them. She could see the headlight of another approaching train and decided she’d make sure they got on this one. She’d had enough of this particular crowd and just wanted to get home.

  Megan looked at Tony and saw the hardening of her face. She had been remarkably restrained considering they had literally been shoved away from the doors of two other trains. She wished she had thought about the Garth concert before suggesting they take the rapid to the Indians game. It was always crowded at the station after a game, but nothing like this.

  Placing her hand on Tony’s arm, she squeezed it lightly before letting go. She met Tony’s eyes and shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Next time we’ll drive, ok?"

  "It’s not your fault these idiots are so damn rude," Tony said, relaxing a little. Quirking a half smile, she added, "But I would rather drive next time."

  The train entered the tunnel and the jostling began again. After a particularly hard bump from someone standing behind her, Tony finally had enough. She had just started to turn around and let the asshole know she did not appreciate it when he stumbled forward losing his balance. Unable to stop her forward momentum with the weight of the man pressed against her, they fell from the platform onto the tracks and into the path of the oncoming train.

  Megan watched horrified when her partner and the man fell onto the tracks right in front of the train. Screaming, "Tony…" she was on her knees in a second leaning forward, her upper body protruding over the tracks holding out her hand for Tony to grab. Before Tony even saw her, she was roughly lifted to her feet and jerked back by someone who had grabbed her around the waist. Fighting wildly, her mind imprinted with an image of her partner pinned beneath the man on the tracks, she yelled desperately, "Let me go!" But the screams of people who saw what happened had attracted the attention of the transit police, and her sight was blocked when they started pushing people back. All she could hear was the screeching of metal against metal when the brakes were slammed on.

  PART 3

  "STOP IT," THE stranger said harshly. "You could have been killed."

  Megan stopped struggling. Turning her head to look at the stranger, her voice conveying a calmness she did no
t feel, Megan said, "Please let me go."

  The moment he released her, Megan began pushing through the crowd, her heart pounding painfully, please let her be ok, but knowing it would be a miracle if she was. Pushing past the transit cop, afraid to look but having to know, she stood at the edge of the platform and forced herself to glance at the tracks.

  When Tony felt herself begin to fall, her mind automatically registered that the ground was too close to do anything but ready herself for the impact. Adrenaline and reflexes honed by years of training took over, and the instant Tony landed she wrapped her arms around the man on top of her. Freeing her left leg, she drew it up until her knee was bent at a 45-degree angle. Using it to propel them, Tony shoved off rolling both of them over the track and out of harm’s way. On the far side of the tracks, she watched the train finally come to a stop several feet beyond them.

  Tony lifted herself off the man and slowly stood up, her mind assessing the damage to her body. Her right thigh was throbbing, but she could detect nothing serious. Ignoring the stinging of the scrapes along her arm and hands and the pain in her leg, she held out a hand to help the shaken stranger to his feet, asking, "Are you ok?"

  Grabbing her hand, and heaving himself up, he said, "Yeah. I’m ok. I think," and then added, "thanks."

  "Then would you mind telling me why you were shoving so hard? You could have killed us both." Tony said, her voice hard.

  The man looked at the woman standing there glaring at him and was suddenly very afraid again. He had just narrowly escaped death and this woman looked like she was ready to kill him herself. "Someone behind me pushed me. That’s why I lost my balance. I was trying not to fall into you. I’m really sorry," he sputtered.

  Tony looked for any signs of deception and found none. It didn’t make sense anyway. He wouldn’t have lost his balance if he was just trying to push forward. "Did you see who was behind you?"

  "No. First thing I knew I was falling into you," he said, anxious to convince her that he wasn’t responsible for their fall.

  Just then, transit personnel spotted them and began shouting. "Over here! They look ok."

  Megan heard shouts, but amidst all the chaos on the platform, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Yanking her arm out of the grasp of the transit cop who had ordered her back, she jumped down onto the tracks. Crossing in front of the train to the opposite side, she saw several people making their way up the far side of the tracks, and one was unmistakably her partner. Megan broke into a run, never noticing the tears of relief that were steadily streaming down her face.

  Tony saw Megan come around the front of the train and begin running. Separating from the group, she opened her arms to meet her partner.

  Megan threw her arms around Tony and felt her partner’s arms encircle her. In Tony’s comforting embrace it impacted on Megan how close she had come to never knowing this feeling again, and she began crying harder unable to say anything. Tony held her tightly saying, "Sshh. It’s ok."

  The other victim and the transit workers stood around uneasily. Tony looked up, her eyes hard, and asked in a tone that indicated there was only one answer, "Could you give us a minute?"

  "Yeah, sure," one answered, and they turned and resumed walking up the side of the track.

  Tony continued to hold Megan, both comforted by the contact. Megan gained a semblance of control and looked up at her partner. "I thought you…" and stopped, unable to continue.

  Raising her hand to Megan’s wet face, Tony wiped some of the tears away with her thumb. "So did I," Tony admitted.

  Taking a hold of the dry bottom of her tear soaked T-shirt, Tony lifted the edge to Megan’s face wiping it off. "We better go before they come looking for us."

  * * *

  Tony unlocked the door and pushed it open letting Megan enter first, and then following her. She was tired and her leg was protesting angrily, but she was worried about Megan. Her partner had been uncharacteristically quiet.

  The paramedics had checked Tony over when she refused to go to the hospital. Since some of the passengers on the incoming transit train had been jostled when the driver slammed on the brakes, total chaos had reigned. There were no serious injuries, but it took over an hour before the police had completely established order allowing time for some of the local reporters to appear. When the police finally took her statement, Tony had been questioned for over an hour about the bizarre accident. It was just good to be home.

  Megan was exhausted. The emotional anguish she had endured for those few minutes tonight had taken their toll. It had driven home again just how important a part of her life Tony was.

  Turning and hugging Tony, Megan’s mind was still coming to grips with the fact that her partner was safe, that against incredible odds, she was right here. The familiar feel of Tony’s arms around her, and her chin resting on her head, began melting some of the tension out of her body.

  "You ok?" Tony asked, softly.

  Looking up at the concerned blue eyes watching her, Megan felt a twinge of guilt. Tony had hurt her leg and her arm was scraped up pretty badly, and yet she was still worried about her. She should be taking care of Tony.

  Smiling wanly, Megan said, "Yeah. How does your leg feel?"

  "It’s a little sore," Tony admitted. "Nothing serious though."

  "I want to look at it."

  Tony kissed her saying, "Ok." She was willing to do anything to make Megan feel better. Removing her jeans she watched Megan examining the bruises on her legs. The largest was on the outside of her right thigh extending from just below her hip halfway to the knee. Tony knew that was where she took the brunt of the weight of the man when hitting the tracks.

  Megan’s trained eyes and hands were closely checking over her partner. "Ooh. This is really nasty," Megan said, looking at the angry gray and purple discoloration. The skin was swollen and warm to her touch.

  Megan stood up and said, "We need to get some ice on that. It’ll help with the pain and swelling."

  Tony kissed Megan on the forehead, and said, "Ok. But I want to take a shower first."

  Megan raised her hand to Tony’s face and softly stroked her cheek, reaffirming that her lover was indeed safe, before saying. "I’ll get the ice ready."

  When Tony went to take a shower, Megan got out a bottle of peroxide and some square cotton patches. Getting a zip lock gallon size baggy she went to the freezer and poured the contents of the ice cube bin into it. Closing the bag, she put it in the freezer along with the ice cube trays she had refilled.

  Tony stood under the soothing warm water, an unbidden curse escaping her lips when it hit the raw skin on her arm and leg. Washing the dirt from her body, being particularly careful with her arm and leg, she thought about the unusual accident.

  It didn’t make any sense. The guy that fell into her said he was pushed. But everyone on the platform was pushing and shoving. It would have taken a powerful shove to cause him to lose his balance. Why would anyone be shoving that hard?

  When she got out of the shower and dried herself off, she was no closer to making sense of the events of the evening. Shaking her head, she decided it was probably one of those fluky things that sometimes happened.

  After donning a sleeping shirt, Tony walked to the kitchen limping slightly. She eased herself down into one of the chairs, taking care not to aggravate her leg.

  Megan had put the peroxide and cotton squares on the table and was waiting for her. Picking up a cotton patch, she thoroughly dampened it with peroxide.

  "Let me see your arm." Looking at the scraped skin, she frowned and said, "You really got your arm good, didn’t you?" and started cleaning the wound.

  Tony flinched when the peroxide came into contact with the raw area on her arm.

  Megan looked up and said, "Sorry… I know it hurts. I’ll be done in a minute."

  Once Megan had applied the peroxide to Tony’s arm and hands, she said, "Let’s go into the living room. You need to lay down so I can put the ice on the worst
of that bruise," Megan said.

  Tony laid down on the couch on her side watching her partner. She grimaced when Megan laid the cold ice against the warm angry bruise. Looking into her partner’s sympathetic eyes, Tony wondered for what was probably the millionth time how she had ever gotten so lucky.

  Taking a hold of Megan’s hand she said, "I love you."

  Megan bent down kissing Tony on the cheek. "I love you too." Standing up, she placed a hand towel over the ice bag and said, "Hold this in place. I’m going to take a shower," pausing a moment, she added, "and keep the ice on ok?" giving her partner a warning look.

  Tony grinned at Megan. "Ok."

  Megan insisted she keep the ice on for twenty minutes. Even though her skin was protected from the ice by a thin cloth, after about ten minutes Tony decided her leg hurt more from the ice than the bruise. When Megan returned to the living room, she removed the ice bag. When Tony started to get up, she said, "You might as well stay there. In twenty minutes it goes back on again."

  "I think we should just go to bed." Tony suggested, smiling.

  Megan returned the smile. "We will after the next time. Tomorrow you’ll be glad we did this," she said before taking the ice bag back into the kitchen and putting it in the freezer.

  Tony wasn’t so sure about that, but Megan sat on the coffee table right next to her the whole time, and when her leg began aching from the ice, looking into the caring hazel eyes somehow made it hurt a lot less. But she was still glad when Megan finally removed it, allowing them to go to bed.

  The fresh smell of rain wafted through the window, carried across the room on the cool breeze. Megan’s eyes slowly opened, the morning light brightening the room through the curtains. Her head was resting against Tony’s chest, the steady heartbeat echoing a soft cadence in her ear. Her arm lay across her partner’s midsection, and she could feel Tony’s arm resting across her back.