"Who sent you here?" I demanded.
His eyes rolled up into his head. "Thus is the word of our Lord. Thanks be to God."
"Amen," I said, continuing the service. I let go of his collar. The preacher's knees buckled and he dropped to the floor. The excitement taxed his already overworked neurons, and his head lolled against the glass.
A small crowd had gathered. Twice in one day I found myself fleeing the scene of, if not a crime, then, at least serious assault charges. Maybe it was the fear behind my eyes, but no one made a move to stop me.
New Jersey State Penitentiary Jan. 12, 2076Dee,
I feel like a blushing schoolboy. Every day at mail call I get hopeful that you've written, and I eye up all the packages in the screw's bag. Never anything for me. I'm not trying to guilt you, though I'll admit to secretly hoping it might work. After all, I hear you Catholic girls have an overabundance of guilt. Seriously, it's okay. There's a big chasm between us. It's going to take some work to get across. I know that.
They had all the evidence against me, Dee. You told the truth. There's nothing wrong with that. Sure, at first I figured you should have more loyalty to me. I'm your partner for Chrissake. I was LINKed to all the news coverage during the trial. There was a lot of brouhaha about the fact you tried to finagle a secret deal with the FBI: my premeditation for your anonymity. Of course, when Interpol seized jurisdiction you had to take the stand anyway, didn't you? I didn't think you'd really go through with it until I saw you there. I felt pretty betrayed all right.
At the time, I figured you were still pissed off about that night. I thought you were paying me back for trying to ... you know, get it on. Let me just say again I don't know what came over me. I completely lost it. I was just, just ... overwhelmed by lust. I know that really fucked with our trust. I never had any feelings like that for you before ... well, no, that's a lie. Of course, I thought you were attractive, but that just means I'm a het, right? I mean, half the straight guys on the force thought you were to die for. It wasn't anything more than that ever, Dee, I swear. That night came out of the blue. Scares me to think about it, really. I'm sure it must've scared you worse.
You never mentioned that night. You could have, you know. It would've made things worse for me inside. Nobody likes a rapist. And an attempted rapist is just some prick with no follow-through. Murderers, I've discovered, command some respect, at least. Without that reputation to hold people at bay, I'd probably be a dead man for being a cop.
* * *
I don't want to waste too much of your time, Dee. I just want to say, I don't harbor any of those resentments anymore. I know why you did it. You're a good cop. Telling the truth is what good cops do. Sometimes truth outweighs loyalty.
Daniel
Chapter 6
rain started up again, and my hair was soaked by the time I got back to the office. Though much of the sky was blocked by traffic tubes, water found a way to ooze though the holes to reach the ground. Ten minutes to spare, but Michael was there already. He leaned casually against the door. The tip of his broad shoulder covered part of my name and title stenciled on the frosted glass. The moisture in the air made his hair curly, but otherwise he was dry as a bone. Either he drove, or he'd been waiting a long time.
"You ready? The LINK awaits."
"Deal's off," I growled as I stomped up the stairs. I muscled past him to unlock the door. "Somebody is on to us."
He sprang upright with the speed of a snake. "What are you talking about? Who?"
"I don't know, but the preacher seemed to know a lot of details, too many details. I can't risk it. Not even for ..." the LINK "... for Danny."
The key didn't seem to fit. I jangled it angrily, trying to force it. The lock finally clicked open. I swung the door wide, with the intention of slamming it back onto the hinges with a lot of force. Tracking my thought process, Michael caught the edge of the door with enhanced speed.
"Deidre, be reasonable." His fist gripped the door over my head. The muscles in his arms jumped at the constant pressure I applied. "I understand your fear. You're taking a lot of personal risk, I know. But there's more than you at stake here."
"So you've said." I leaned harder on the frame. The door creaked, but his grip never wavered.
"You don't believe me."
"I don't even know who exactly you're working for, Michael. Why should I trust you?"
"Because it's the right thing to do," he said firmly. His gray eyes searched out mine. "And because I can give you what you need access to the LINK."
My mouth went dry. Swallowing hard, I lied bravely, "That's not enough."
"So you're telling me if I walked away right now and you never got connected you could live with that?"
"I'd have to, wouldn't I?" I said, but I couldn't look at him. I eased up the pressure on the door, then let my shoulders drop. "It'd be better than selling my soul."