What Are You, Mick St. John? [ch.1] PG13
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:01 am
Author's note: Well, here's the next part (in sequence) that I have written. Any suggestions/encouragement are welcome!
Beta: Much thanks and appreciation goes to Barb, a.k.a. Bank1115.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
What Are You, Mick St. John?—Chapter 1
Carl had called the station several times that day to check in. His shift didn’t start till the late afternoon, and he didn’t want to miss Mick St. John coming in to give his statement. He didn’t have to worry; Mick showed up a few hours into his shift.
“Thanks for coming in, Mick,” Carl shook his hand and gestured for him to take a seat in the chair beside his desk.
“Sure. Sorry I didn’t stick around yesterday, but I was beat and a pushy reporter drove me away,” Mick flashed a grin.
Carl snorted. “Yeah, I know how it is. That’s Beth for you.” He watched as Mick lowered himself into the chair. He looked a little rough, like he hadn’t slept much. “Sore?”
“A little, nothing major,” Mick replied.
“Any visible bruising?”
“Nah.” He winced and held up a hand to shield his face from the setting sun. “I’m a little light sensitive at the moment, though, do you think we could drop the shades?”
“Sure.” Carl yanked the blind down. “Better?”
Mick nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Good. Let’s get started, then. Tell me everything that happened last night,” Carl flipped open his notebook.
“Okay,” Mick nodded. “Well, after we got the phone call—”
“—What phone call?” Carl interrupted. He’d already heard about it from Smythe in Public Affairs, but he wanted to hear what Mick would say.
“From Lee Jay, at Beth’s house,” Mick clarified. “He’d seen my video statement that Beth posted on Buzzwire.”
“Okay,” Carl made a few notes. “And what did Lee Jay say in this phone call?”
Mick hesitated for a few seconds, looking away.
“Mick?” Carl prompted.
“Right.” Mick’s eyes snapped back to Carl’s. “Um, well, Beth answered the phone. It was Julia at first. You’ll have to ask Beth for those details. I, uh,” Mick bent his head, scratching behind his ear, “didn’t hear what was said, of course.
“Then I guess Lee Jay grabbed the phone and ordered Beth to put me on the line.”
“And what did Lee Jay say to you?”
“He said he wanted me to go to the nearest police station. To turn myself in. I said I didn’t do anything, so I wasn’t going to say I did. He told me if I felt that way about it, Julia’d end up like Ilene. He told me I had one hour. He put Julia on again so I could hear her beg. ‘Hard to say no to, isn’t it?’ were his words. Then he hung up.”
“Yeah, Spalding turned out to be a real bastard hypocrite, didn’t he?”
Mick didn’t smile. “Not ‘turned out to be.’ Was. He always was.”
“Right.” Carl looked down at the pen in his hand. “Anyway, go on.”
“Josh said he had a friend in public affairs that he might be able to get to issue a statement that I’d turned myself in. He went to do go see him. I had put a tag on Julia’s car earlier. Beth came with me to keep an eye on the GPS tracker while I drove.”
Carl made a notation on the pad. He didn’t mention the recording. Interesting.
When he looked back up, Mick was regarding him carefully. He shifted slightly. “Okay, then what happened?”
“We found the warehouse. I gave Beth the gun from my glovebox, told her to wait in the car. Then I went in. I didn’t see Lee Jay, but his two goons were there. They—”
“Wait a minute,” Carl held up his hand. He sat back in his chair. “How’d you enter the building?”
Mick raised an eyebrow. “Through the door, like everybody else?”
Carl flipped back a few pages in his notebook. “In Miss Stevens’s statement, she claimed you jumped down from the…rafters.”
Mick laughed. “Let me guess, I had red underwear and a cape, too, right?” He sobered and shook his head. “Julia was lying down on the couch, looking sideways. Everything’s distorted from that angle. I came in and jumped the guy closest to me. In her terrified state, she must’ve mistook that motion for me coming down from the sky.”
Carl stared at Mick for a few moments. Mick returned his stare evenly. Finally, Carl shrugged. “Fine. Okay, go on.” He motioned for Mick to continue.
“They were about to kill Julia. I took them out. Then—”
“Hold on. What’d you do to them? How’d you take them out?”
Mick exhaled slowly. “I dunno, it all happened kinda fast, I was running high on adrenalin. I think I snapped the first guy’s neck. Second guy, I think I pushed or kicked him hard, and he fell into something and hit his head.”
Carl nodded. “What next?”
“Uh,” Mick sighed, “I went over and untied Julia. Told her to get out of there. She ran. That was when Lee Jay came out of hiding. He fired at me, but nothing hit me. Must’ve been a bad round. I hit the deck anyway.”
“Julia Stevens said he shot you.”
Mick raised his hands. “Hey, man, she was running scared. And like I said, I heard a gunshot, I hit the floor. It probably just looked like he shot me.”
“All right, all right. Then what?”
“I was just getting up when Beth suddenly ran in. Lee Jay wasn’t expecting her, so he was caught off guard. I took my chance and moved on him. We struggled. He got away and tried to shoot me again, but he was off balance and missed. I grabbed him. I think I broke his neck, too.”
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“An old buddy of mine who was in the army showed me some moves one time.”
“Okay.” Carl flipped his notepad shut and tapped it with his pen. “Well, that’s all I need from you for now for this investigation. We’ll be in touch.”
Mick stayed put in his chair. “Investigation?”
“Yeah.” Carl tossed his notebook on his desk and sat back in his chair. “Standard procedure. But the witness statements are relatively consistent, if you explain away some of Miss Stevens’s more dramatic claims, and I’m sure the forensics will back up your story, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“Right. Of course.” Mick stood stiffly and held out his hand. “Thanks, Carl.”
“You bet, Mick.”
Carl’s eyes stayed on the PI as he sauntered across the room. When Mick reached the doorway, he paused and looked back. He nodded once at Carl, then he was gone.
“Something’s definitely off with that guy,” Carl mumbled. He picked up his phone.
“Yeah, I need to speak with ADA Josh Lindsey, please.”
To be continued...
Beta: Much thanks and appreciation goes to Barb, a.k.a. Bank1115.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
What Are You, Mick St. John?—Chapter 1
Carl had called the station several times that day to check in. His shift didn’t start till the late afternoon, and he didn’t want to miss Mick St. John coming in to give his statement. He didn’t have to worry; Mick showed up a few hours into his shift.
“Thanks for coming in, Mick,” Carl shook his hand and gestured for him to take a seat in the chair beside his desk.
“Sure. Sorry I didn’t stick around yesterday, but I was beat and a pushy reporter drove me away,” Mick flashed a grin.
Carl snorted. “Yeah, I know how it is. That’s Beth for you.” He watched as Mick lowered himself into the chair. He looked a little rough, like he hadn’t slept much. “Sore?”
“A little, nothing major,” Mick replied.
“Any visible bruising?”
“Nah.” He winced and held up a hand to shield his face from the setting sun. “I’m a little light sensitive at the moment, though, do you think we could drop the shades?”
“Sure.” Carl yanked the blind down. “Better?”
Mick nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Good. Let’s get started, then. Tell me everything that happened last night,” Carl flipped open his notebook.
“Okay,” Mick nodded. “Well, after we got the phone call—”
“—What phone call?” Carl interrupted. He’d already heard about it from Smythe in Public Affairs, but he wanted to hear what Mick would say.
“From Lee Jay, at Beth’s house,” Mick clarified. “He’d seen my video statement that Beth posted on Buzzwire.”
“Okay,” Carl made a few notes. “And what did Lee Jay say in this phone call?”
Mick hesitated for a few seconds, looking away.
“Mick?” Carl prompted.
“Right.” Mick’s eyes snapped back to Carl’s. “Um, well, Beth answered the phone. It was Julia at first. You’ll have to ask Beth for those details. I, uh,” Mick bent his head, scratching behind his ear, “didn’t hear what was said, of course.
“Then I guess Lee Jay grabbed the phone and ordered Beth to put me on the line.”
“And what did Lee Jay say to you?”
“He said he wanted me to go to the nearest police station. To turn myself in. I said I didn’t do anything, so I wasn’t going to say I did. He told me if I felt that way about it, Julia’d end up like Ilene. He told me I had one hour. He put Julia on again so I could hear her beg. ‘Hard to say no to, isn’t it?’ were his words. Then he hung up.”
“Yeah, Spalding turned out to be a real bastard hypocrite, didn’t he?”
Mick didn’t smile. “Not ‘turned out to be.’ Was. He always was.”
“Right.” Carl looked down at the pen in his hand. “Anyway, go on.”
“Josh said he had a friend in public affairs that he might be able to get to issue a statement that I’d turned myself in. He went to do go see him. I had put a tag on Julia’s car earlier. Beth came with me to keep an eye on the GPS tracker while I drove.”
Carl made a notation on the pad. He didn’t mention the recording. Interesting.
When he looked back up, Mick was regarding him carefully. He shifted slightly. “Okay, then what happened?”
“We found the warehouse. I gave Beth the gun from my glovebox, told her to wait in the car. Then I went in. I didn’t see Lee Jay, but his two goons were there. They—”
“Wait a minute,” Carl held up his hand. He sat back in his chair. “How’d you enter the building?”
Mick raised an eyebrow. “Through the door, like everybody else?”
Carl flipped back a few pages in his notebook. “In Miss Stevens’s statement, she claimed you jumped down from the…rafters.”
Mick laughed. “Let me guess, I had red underwear and a cape, too, right?” He sobered and shook his head. “Julia was lying down on the couch, looking sideways. Everything’s distorted from that angle. I came in and jumped the guy closest to me. In her terrified state, she must’ve mistook that motion for me coming down from the sky.”
Carl stared at Mick for a few moments. Mick returned his stare evenly. Finally, Carl shrugged. “Fine. Okay, go on.” He motioned for Mick to continue.
“They were about to kill Julia. I took them out. Then—”
“Hold on. What’d you do to them? How’d you take them out?”
Mick exhaled slowly. “I dunno, it all happened kinda fast, I was running high on adrenalin. I think I snapped the first guy’s neck. Second guy, I think I pushed or kicked him hard, and he fell into something and hit his head.”
Carl nodded. “What next?”
“Uh,” Mick sighed, “I went over and untied Julia. Told her to get out of there. She ran. That was when Lee Jay came out of hiding. He fired at me, but nothing hit me. Must’ve been a bad round. I hit the deck anyway.”
“Julia Stevens said he shot you.”
Mick raised his hands. “Hey, man, she was running scared. And like I said, I heard a gunshot, I hit the floor. It probably just looked like he shot me.”
“All right, all right. Then what?”
“I was just getting up when Beth suddenly ran in. Lee Jay wasn’t expecting her, so he was caught off guard. I took my chance and moved on him. We struggled. He got away and tried to shoot me again, but he was off balance and missed. I grabbed him. I think I broke his neck, too.”
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“An old buddy of mine who was in the army showed me some moves one time.”
“Okay.” Carl flipped his notepad shut and tapped it with his pen. “Well, that’s all I need from you for now for this investigation. We’ll be in touch.”
Mick stayed put in his chair. “Investigation?”
“Yeah.” Carl tossed his notebook on his desk and sat back in his chair. “Standard procedure. But the witness statements are relatively consistent, if you explain away some of Miss Stevens’s more dramatic claims, and I’m sure the forensics will back up your story, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“Right. Of course.” Mick stood stiffly and held out his hand. “Thanks, Carl.”
“You bet, Mick.”
Carl’s eyes stayed on the PI as he sauntered across the room. When Mick reached the doorway, he paused and looked back. He nodded once at Carl, then he was gone.
“Something’s definitely off with that guy,” Carl mumbled. He picked up his phone.
“Yeah, I need to speak with ADA Josh Lindsey, please.”
To be continued...
*scream* *scream* *thud*
