Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

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librarian_7
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Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

This one was written for Challenge #167: Take It Easy. Many thanks to the lovely and talented Allegrita for her keen eye for typos and her excellent suggestions for everything else that needed fixing! As I commented to her, I’ve been watching way too much Criminal Minds lately…

Easy

“This is nothing but a fishing expedition, and you know it.” The suspect leaned back as far as his manacled wrists would allow, and smirked at the police detective on the other side of the table. “You’ve got nothing. You might as well cut me loose.”

Enough was enough. Lt. Carl Davis slammed his hand down on the scarred wood in frustration. “You’re not going anywhere. Not for a very long time.”

The interrogation had been going on for hours, and it was going nowhere—and damn, but it was hot in here. They didn’t call the interrogation rooms “hot boxes” for nothing. The perp—and Carl was absolutely sure he was a perpetrator, not just a suspect—might be cool and collected, but personally, Carl was about to melt. He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket, and wiped his forehead with the white cotton. “I’m going out for some air,” he said to the other cop in attendance. “Don’t take your eyes off this scumbag, Sgt. Rich.” He turned on his heel as crisply as he could, and marched out of the room.

He glanced at the clock. Four a.m. and they were no closer to getting a location than they had been at four p.m. the day before.

Outside, he leaned against the wall, taking in deep breaths of the night air. He didn’t think he’d seen the sky for three days. This guy—this bastard—had taken a girl, and wouldn’t give up her location. Much longer, and any chance of finding her alive would be gone. But the prisoner wasn’t talking. He hadn’t lawyered up, he just wasn’t talking. Carl was at his wits’ end. Usually, he could interrogate any suspect, and get the answers he wanted, but not this time. He wondered if anyone could. He sighed.

Somewhere out there was a 13-year-old girl. He had stared at the picture her mother had given them so long, he thought he’d remember her face forever. Smiling, curly dark hair, braces on her teeth. She should be talking on the phone, texting with her friends. Squealing over the latest cute kid in a boy band. If the evidence was right, she was the fourth girl this maggot had taken, and Carl had seen the pictures of how the others were found. He’d been a cop for quite a while now, and seen his fair share of horrific things one human being had done to another—but this was sickening. And if Kaley was still alive—pray God she was still alive—she was likely in pain, and trapped somewhere.

That man in the interrogation room knew where. He was the only one who knew, and he wouldn’t let them save her. Carl thought the desperation in his questions was probably giving the suspect a great deal of satisfaction. And he hated that, almost as much as he hated the thought of what Kaley was going through right now.

The lieutenant was a great one for the rule book. He never approved of the men who bent the rules, didn’t follow the proper procedures. That sort of crap was fine for movies and television, but not in real life. So it was with great reluctance that he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and placed a call.

No more than fifteen minutes had passed, when a figure slid out of the shadows, to join him at the station wall. Dressed in black, and wearing a long duster, despite the sultry summer temperature, the newcomer moved silently. Carl had seen it before, but it was still unnerving.

“What can I do for you, Lt. Davis?” Mick asked. He’d been mildly surprised to receive the call; he’d gotten the impression that Davis didn’t have much regard for him.

“I’ve got a problem, St. John,” Carl replied. He ran down the facts of the case quickly, as Mick’s thoughtful frown deepened.

“So what do you want me to do?”

Carl looked him in the eye. “I remember when Josh Lindsey got killed. You asked for a minute with Bustos…and you got results. I don’t know what you said to that guy, but you scared him half to death without laying a hand on him.”

Mick looked uneasy. He had gotten results, all right, but he’d lied to the police about what Bustos had said, so he could take care of Tejada himself. That hadn’t been one of his best nights, no doubt about it. “Yeah, so?”

“If I get you in to talk to this guy, you think you could get some answers out of him?”

Mick shook his head. “I don’t know, Lieutenant.”

Carl grabbed Mick by the biceps, his fingers digging in with bruising force. “Look, St. John, I wouldn’t ask you if I had any other options, okay? But we’re out of time! If we don’t get him to talk, it could mean that girl’s life. I’m not asking you to do this for the cops. Do it for her, Mick. Please.”

Mick took a deep breath. Somewhere, out there in the city, a girl was trapped, maybe hurt, maybe dying. He had a sudden picture of Beth in that position. What wouldn’t he do, to save her? And this girl, she had parents, friends, a future. And maybe, just maybe, he could help.

He nodded once and shrugged out of Carl’s grip, without the least effort. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it.” Then he smiled, and the expression was almost enough to make Carl change his mind about the idea. “If this guy is what you say he is, it’ll be my pleasure.”

Carl nodded back. “Okay. I can give you five minutes.”

“Okay,” said Mick, his mouth set in a grim line. “You clear the room, and I’ll take care of the rest. Easy.”
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by darkstarrising »

Brava, Lucky :hug: !! Not only did you incorporate all the aspects of the challenge, but you your story depicted a situation that was anything but easy. Very clever twist.

After 12 hours, the suspect was making Carl's job as difficult as possible. He wasn't going to talk, forcing Carl to make an even tougher decision - call Mick and let him have a go at it. By the time Mick was through with him, I'm sure the suspect regretted his decision to play hard ball with Carl. Great answer to the challenge :rose:

BTW - Criminal Minds scares the crap out of me. :chair:
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by AggieVamp »

ohh! I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Mick gets the POS alone.... :teeth:

Love it!

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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by allegrita »

I, too, loved the juxtaposition of the title with the situation Carl is facing. :yes: This is the very antithesis of easy for Carl, and somehow I can see him gritting his teeth a bit at the fact that St. John, that out-of-the-box P.I., gets results when he and his police procedures can't. But Carl showed us that he had a heart underneath those snappy suits, and it really shows here.

This felt very true to the show, and I love the way you paint the scene so deftly. Great answer to the challenge! :clapping:
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

Thanks so much for the comments! I really love the short vignette, from time to time--and one of the fabulous things about writing fic, is that one doesn't have to spend a lot of time setting up characters, background, etc. I think everyone knows Mick, and Carl, and we can just go from there.
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

This gave me the shivers. Great answer to the challenge! :thumbs:

(And I would be perfectly willing to read a sequel about what happened in the interrogation room when Mick went in. I'm just sayin'. :whistle: )
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

Thanks, MLC. Shivers are good... :devil:
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

I didn't remember this one, but I had the same reaction now as I did then... it gave me the shivers! :gasp:

Carl hated having to call in Mick, but he knew if anyone could get answers, it would be Mick. With a young life on the line and time running out, he made the call. And Mick answered.

Lucky could always set the scene, couldn't she?
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Re: Easy - Challenge #167 - PG-13

Post by allegrita »

Couldn't she just! :gasp: I remember my reaction when she sent me this story to beta. Definite shivers! I love the way she juxtaposed opposites here: the heat and oppressiveness of the interrogation room, and the cool of tge night air outside; Carl's frantic frustration and the kidnapper's relaxed smugness; and, of course, Mick's out-of-the-box style contrasted with Carl's by-the-book police procedure. Hard, and easy. And bookending the story, Carl's fear and frustration turning to a glimmer of hope.

I wonder what Carl would think if he knew how very out of the box Mick's interrogation methods really are. :dracula:

Thank you for bumping this. It's so good! :clapping:
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