Risk it All

by Fiona Price

  "You're going out to surf?" Alissa asked.

  "Waves are best at this time in the morning. Do you want to come with me?"

  Alissa agreed, walking out to the car with him, strapping a red, black and white surfboard on the roof next to his blue one. She figured the activity would allow her to take her mind off the case, and give her something to do. When they arrived at the beach, he waxed his surfboard and handed his dog's leash over to Alissa, who could really use the love from his dog.

  The sky was still an inky shade of blue, the remaining stars twinkling in the sky. It was about to start getting lighter and lighter before the sun rose, and the detective and the Lieutenant were the only surfers on the beach. Matt was catching some waves and Alissa sat on the board she was borrowing and pet his dog. As time passed, the sky lifted from its heavy midnight color as it slowly began to turn pink on the horizon. It was almost a magenta, and it blended with the blues and the hazy orange of the sun as it rose sleepily to break a new day.

  "You should get out there, Alissa. Trust me, you'll feel better." He said, taking his dog's leash and drying off with a towel. Alissa stood up and wrapped the board's ankle leash around her ankle and headed into the water. She paddled out onto the still ocean, studying the horizon for a wave.

  When she saw one coming, she turned around and paddled out standing up at just the right time, hoping that her knee would hold out, and it did. She carved through a pipe, dragging her hand on the inside of the wave as she went through. Alissa let out a smile while she left her feelings in the ocean behind her. She rode the wave into the surf, letting herself fall back into the ocean. The salt stung her eyes and lips, but it was a healing sting. When she rose to the surface, she pulled herself onto her board and paddled out to the sand. She put the board underneath her arm, and she carried it up the beach to meet Matt, who was extending his hand out to her with a Turkish towel, the light cotton absorbing the salty moisture on her skin.

  "You feel better?" Matt asked Alissa when she put her board down next to him and laid down, staring up at the sky, waiting for the sunrise.

  "Much." She breathed, laying there, counting her breaths for what seemed like hours.

  She realized a lot of things as she was laying there.

  She fully realized that Alex was dead, and she was never coming back. She realized that there was nothing she could have done to save her. She realized that there was something she could do now, which was solve her murder. She realized that she was alone. She realized that everyone around her was happy, and she was miserable. But, Alissa also realized that she would see some pretty fantastic sunrises, and she had to take it all in before it was too late. Just like it was too late for Alex.

  "It's hard to forget, isn't it?" Matt asked, breaking the silence.

  "What?" Alissa asked, caught off guard.

  "It's all you think about, her death." He clarified.

  "Yeah. I know I'll never forget, but I have to get over it. That's what I'm having the hardest time with."

  "It always is." he responded.

  "Now that she's gone, I can't help but wishing I had meant something to somebody else."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I know I meant something to Alex. I just hope that she wasn't the only person that I meant something to."

  "She wasn't. You have more meaning than you think you do. You always do." He said before standing up a few moments later, grabbing the leash of his dog and his board.

  "Let's go. We have a case to solve."

  It wasn't long before they pulled into the parking lot of their office. Alissa's hair was wavy and soft from the salt of the ocean, and she could still taste the tang on her lips. Inside, Shane was dealing out cards and organizing chips on the table. He had bedhead and the beginnings of a beard, showing he didn't shave in a few days. It wasn't hard to tell how his night went, as he looked sleepy but had a lazy smile on his face.

  Alissa was once again reminded that she once had what he had. A person to love that was always on your mind, anything they did, any time you were around them you were happy. She bit the inside of her cheek, sitting down at the table and reaching out for a set of cards. Tonight, the poker game was going down in flames.

  **********

  "I still think that Alissa would look better in this outfit." Scarlet groaned while adjusting her dress at headquarters before they left for the poker game.

  "Well, I can't exactly con people into giving me information with a knee brace." Alissa responded, reminded that she was still injured from the fight with Vicki.

  "You could try."

  "I would, knowing that I'm pretty good at poker, but the boss says that it's your job." Alissa responded. This was their shot at getting to the answers they needed.

  "We don't even know if this game will give us any information. I feel like we're just desperate, looking for answers in places we won't find them just to try and fix the pain of Alissa's fiancée dying. You can't justify her death no matter how you word it." Scarlet spoke, catching everyone confused. Alissa wasn't sure how to interpret it, but she knew that Scarlet didn't like the operation.

  "By the way you're telling it, it sounds like you think I killed her!" Alissa explained. Scarlet didn't hold back.

  "Yeah, I think you did! I think that you're setting us on a wild goose chase, and they believe you because they like you. To me, it's just a pathetic routine and you need to get over yourself already, because this act isn't fooling anybody."

  "Whoa, there. Watch it!" Shane said, knowing it went too far too fast.

  "I'm sorry, guys, don't want to be a part of this op anymore. I don't know how much more help I can be, hopefully you can get the answers you need without me." Alissa spoke, taking that interaction as her sign to back off the investigation. Maybe she was being a hindrance in solving the case.

  "The last time I checked, it's still a crime scene." Scarlet reminded. She was really, really mean, but they kept her around since she was a brilliant agent, despite not being able to play well with others.

  "I have somewhere else I can go. Good luck with the op, Commander, detective." She addressed, trying to escape the building as fast as possible. She didn't have a car since she rode to the office with Matt, and she wasn't expecting to find them running after her. Catching her breath in the warm Miami air in the parking lot, Matt approached her.

  "Come on, Alissa. I can take you back." He spoke softly, unlocking his car and opening the door for her.

  "Thanks," She spoke, appreciating his gesture.

  "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened. Scarlet doesn't take well to strangers and likes things to go her way. She was insensitive, and I'm apologizing for her actions." Matt spoke after he started his car.

  "Thanks, Matt." She answered, without saying how deeply she was really hurt. Matt already knew.

  "So, where can I take you?" He asked, directing the conversation elsewhere.

  "Just head down the interstate and I'll tell you where to go after that." Alissa instructed as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  "You know, I don't even really care about what she said. I kind of just don't want to deal with it, I just want things to be over. But that just doesn't seem possible for me." Alissa spoke.

  The rest of the car ride was silent until they arrived at Alissa's family beach house. They got out of the car, and Alissa took a moment to look out on the block that the house was located on and her mind brought her back to the vivid memories she had there. She could almost smell the Cuban food coming from the boardwalk if she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

  Matt was following behind her to catch her if she ended up falling, and he stood next to the door, giving Alissa a moment to process what was happening. She unlocked the door, the air of the beach house slightly musty. There was a thin layer of dust on the picture frames and tables, but everything was as she had left it, completely undisturbed. Alissa was able to recall the last time her family was there all together, and she stepped inside and slow
ly walked to her bedroom, which still had clothes in the closet from when she visited last. She put her things down, knowing that this would be her new permanent home, right back in the place where it all started.

  When she came out of her bedroom, she saw Matt picking up picture frames and dusting them off with his tie, trying to do what he could to make it seem less lonely, less abandoned. He was trying to do his best for her family, even though she was the last one. Alissa went and got a clean glass from the cupboard and filled it with cold tap water from the sink and she sat on the couch as she sipped it. She secretly admired Matt as he looked at the pictures around her living room as he tried to wipe away the evidence of time from their frames. It was a gesture that she’d never experienced before, but he wanted her to feel at home. He wanted her to feel as if somebody cared about her and her family. He wanted to wipe away the dust and give her a new start.

  "Is this your father?" He asked, turning the picture frame to her.

  "That's him." Alissa answered with a melancholy smile.

  "You look just like him." He mused before sitting down on the other end of the couch. "Tell me about him."

  "My father was a great guy, and among all the shitty dads in the world, he wasn't one of them. He loved my mother and I more than anything else in his life. To him, we were the most important things, but bad things happen to good people. That's just how it is."

  "Can I ask what happened to him?"

  "Cancer happened. He was gone before I knew it."

  Matt was silent, not knowing what to say to Alissa. She didn't blame him, no one knew what to say in situations like this, and I concluded that it was because no words were able to be said. There was nothing he could say to make the pain hurt any less. There was nothing he could say to turn things around and make things alright, to make her forget. So, they sat in silence. Alissa could feel the regret radiating off of him from just asking what happened. He sat closer to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and doing the best he could to assuage the hurt. It didn't work.

  "I don't think you should work tonight. You've got enough on your mind and I think you should rest and stop pushing yourself to the point of no return. I know it's going to be hard not thinking about the case while we're still investigating, but you deserve to get some rest. I promise you, we'll close this case. We're doing everything we can for you and Alex." Matt spoke to Alissa before his phone rang.

  "Yes, Shane?" He answered.

  "Hey, we're heading to the game now, are you coming or not?"

  "Right now, I'm sitting with Alissa in her beach house, I'll leave now and meet you guys in the surveillance van. Sound good?"

  "Yeah, that's fine. Just hurry up and tell Alissa to take the night off, clear her head for tomorrow."

  "I'm way ahead of you, babe."

  "Good. We've got the game plan all set and ready and I think it would be the best thing for her just to sit back and relax."

  "That's what I told her. I'll be there in a few minutes."

  Matt stood up, gathering himself and this things. He was trying to tie his bowtie after buttoning up his dress shirt all the way. Alissa could tell that he had let loose a bit since he came down from Brooklyn, unbuttoning the first two buttons and loosening his tie to go along with it. She chuckled a little bit, stood up and fixed it for him.

  "You can't tie a bowtie?" She questioned.

  "Well, I'm glad that you can." He stated as he put his tux jacket on and headed for the door.

  "One of us will be back later to check on you, tell you how things went. Okay?"

  "I'll be here." Alissa confirmed.

  Despite being given strict orders not to work, she couldn't help but worry about the detective and the commander. From what she had heard, the poker game seemed to be very high-stakes, and if they said the wrong thing or made the wrong move, the whole operation would be blown. She just had a gut feeling that whatever Alex was involved in wasn't good, and it wouldn't end well for the team.

  Alissa ordered a pizza for herself, trying to settle in and let the team do their jobs. As if it was on cue, when she had just taken a huge bite of pizza, Shane called her cell phone and she knew that couldn't have been good. Alissa picked up the phone, preparing herself for whatever news would come out of the Commander’s mouth.

  "Shane, what's going on?"

  "They found out Scarlet was wired, and now we're on plan B." He responded as he was running, Alissa could hear his footsteps and his heavy breathing.

  "What's plan B?!"

  "Run like hell and track Nico down."

  "Are you kidding me?! I knew she was going to blow it!"

  "It wasn't all her fault, we knew it would happen eventually, they'd find her out."

  "And you called to tell me this?"

  "Yeah, just to let you know." He asked as it was obvious he was fighting hand-to-hand. "I know we told you to rest, but things didn't go well, and you should know that."

  "She's fine, do you want to call back when you're not throwing punches?"

  "No, I'm good. I'll call you back with any updates."

  "Stay safe, Commander." She spoke before the call went silent.

  "The guy has time to call as he's shooting his way to a suspect." She laughed in disbelief.

  When her phone began ringing again, she picked it up immediately. Shane sounded tired and pissed off, and Alissa knew things couldn't have ended well by the tone of his voice. For all she knew, they got him, but he was still tired and pissed off. Alissa wouldn't blame him, though.

  "Hey, what's the situation?"

  "We got Nico, he's with Matt back at Headquarters now."

  "Good, is he talking?"

  "No, and Matt's doing the bad cop routine. Nothing."

  "Where are you if you're not at Headquarters with him?"

  "I'm in the hospital, but before you freak out, I'm fine."

  "To your standards or mine?"

  "I got shot in the arm. It bled a lot, but it really was only a scratch. I'm going to be released soon, and we could use your help talking with the suspect. You might be able to get him to break. I could also use a ride to get there, if you don't mind."

  "I'll be there soon; what hospital are you at?"

  "Miami General Emergency Room."

  "Okay. How come you didn't call Vicki or something?" Alissa asked as she was walking out the door.

  "She was fighting tonight."

  "Gotcha. Hey, speaking of her,"

  "Oh man." He laughed.

  "I see the way that you look at her, and I think you need to make things official."

  "You sound like Matt." He chuckled.

  "Your feelings for her are obvious. I know it might not be my place to tell you what your feelings are, but I think it's time to tell her how you feel and not make things a 'when I'm in town' thing. You said yourself that there was immediate chemistry and passion, and I think she's waiting for a proposal."

  "You know, I’ve heard that a few times.” Shane chuckled. “See you soon?”

  "Yep, I’m heading out now.”

  Alissa hung up and took the keys to the car off of the rack in the garage and unlocked the cherry red convertible, the only car she had in the garage that hadn't been touched in years and no one else knew about. It was a special gift to her from her father, and she wanted to keep his memory close to her heart and not spread it around too much. She turned the keys in the ignition, hoping it would spring to life. To her relief, the engine turned over and roared to life. Alissa pulled out of the garage and out onto the street, heading for the hospital. When she got there, she parked in the lot and found her way to the wing of the ER where Shane was sitting on the end of the bed. He had his tux jacket next to him on the bed, his dress shirt only on one arm as a doctor was wrapping white bandages around his right bicep. His tie was completely undone around his neck and his scruffy cheeks had scrapes on them from fighting.

  "You look like hell, Commander." Alissa said as she pulled up a chair.

  "Well,
thank you. I try." He smirked. She sat next to him until he was cleared to go out, and they walked together to Alissa's car. He didn't believe that the shiny convertible was hers, even when she got in it and put the keys in the ignition.

  "Well, Scarlet was in the game with plenty of time for us to gather the information we needed, and then things went wrong. We got him, though, and since Matt hasn't called yet, he's probably still stuck in the interrogation room with him." Shane elaborated to Alissa on the situation.

  "He'll talk, I know he will. Maybe if I get a chance to crack at him, he'll say something."

  "I hope so, because we can't hold him forever on circumstantial evidence. We need some other forms of evidence besides the emails. A confession would be nice."

  "I'd like this all to be over, yeah. A confession would really be great. That way I can move back home to New Jersey, hell, maybe back to Boston and forget about all of this."

  "I get how you don't want to stay here, and this is the only thing that's holding you down. Jersey, huh?"

  "Jersey. My family has a house up there, too."

  "Matt does too." Shane spoke, and Alissa wasn't so sure why he mentioned that.

  There was a pause before he looked back up at Alissa and said

  "I think you should stay here."

  "How come?" Alissa asked in response.

  "Because you've already established a life here, Lieutenant. You could end up being part of my team after this, I think you'd be a great fit, and I think Matt would really miss you."

  "I just think I need to start over. I thought I had my life on track, I thought I was going to get married, but everything changed when I figured out that I didn't know my fiancée at all, and it ended up getting her killed right in front of my eyes. I'm not sure how much longer I can be around this place because there's just a lot of pain here."