Richard Hale - Frozen Past

“We were not!” she said, shocked. “That was pajamas.”

“Looked like underwear to me. I saw your pink panties.”

She turned red.

“Anyway, you guys stayed under my window for a long time and Sheila kept saying she wanted to go home but you didn’t.”

She was smiling. “You came down and she got mad and left,” Ellie said.

“Then we got caught and put on restriction for two weeks. Your mother was so mad at you.”

She laughed. “So was Sheila’s mom.”

“I missed you those two weeks,” he said.

“You did? I thought girls were ‘ucky’ back then.”

“They still are,” and he pulled away from her making a face.

She pulled him back to her and kissed him. “Are you sure we’re ‘ucky’?”

“Totally.”

They stayed close and quiet for a minute and then he said, “I wanted you to stay with me back then. I even asked my mom.”

“I bet that went over well.”

“She actually considered it for a minute and I thought she was going to let me ask you and then she said no, it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“Well, I’m here now.”

“Yeah, but you’re even ‘uckier’ than before.”

“But I’m better at air hockey.”

“Ok-I’ll give you that.”

He reached up and brushed the hair behind her ear and let his hand linger at her neck. She leaned into it and closed her eyes. “Why does that feel so good?”

“Because I’m not ‘ucky’?” he said.

She smiled, but kept her eyes closed. “Guess again.”

“Uh-because I’m good at air hockey?”

“Just say it,” she whispered and opened her eyes, looking deep into his.

His whole being felt open to her as if she could see everything within him, feel everything he could feel, share everything he could share, everything that mattered. She was all around him, in him, part of him and the world faded away, her blue eyes the only thing he could see, the only thing he could feel, the only thing that was real. He couldn’t look away.

He finally whispered, “Because I love you.”

“Yes.”

Jaxon walked into the station with Victoria following behind him. The mood was still somber as the loss of one of their own was still fresh, like an open wound, but the appearance of an old friend, even one who had defected to the Feds, was an occasion to be happy. She reveled in their camaraderie and many of the old timers had stories to relive and jokes to tell. Stansfield came over and gave her a hug. Her old partner looked awkward around her, but Jaxon could tell he was glad to see her.

It felt surreal to be in this room, with these people, and her here with him. They stole glances at each other and for a moment, Jaxon felt the world tilt. Almost as if time had doubled back on itself, the old and the new merging. It lasted only a second, and then the real world came back, just as it always did. Victoria’s cell rang, and it was Holt.

She took the call in a quiet corner and Jaxon kept looking her way. He didn’t know what he expected, but whatever he was feeling, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. She laughed loudly at something Holt said, and Jaxon actually felt a pang of jealousy. Looking inward, which was something he hadn’t done in years, it had been too painful, he chuckled to himself and realized he would have to fight for this woman if he wanted to have her back. Holt was now the enemy, in a sense, and that felt weird. She ended the call and came over to his desk. He must have had a funny look on his face.

“Ok?” she asked.

“Yeah-you?”

She nodded. “He was checking in. I hadn’t called him since this morning. He was updating me on the hacker’s computers we sent to Quantico.”

“Anything?”

She shook her head. “The geeks are working on it, but the kid was good. They don’t want to lose any of the data and are taking it slow.”

He nodded, not expecting anything new from them.

“Something’s bothering you?” she asked, sitting on the corner of his desk, the bruise on her forehead a little more prominent. The makeup she applied at his place had been rushed and she hadn’t been able to fix herself up as good as before. He grinned knowing he had something to do with that. She saw him staring at her head and said, “What?”

“Nothing.” He turned away. “I have this tingling going on in the back of my mind and I’m trying to figure it out.”

“Spidy-senses kicking in?”

“Yeah. Right.”

“Let’s talk it through and see if it brings something to the surface.”

“An FBI tactic?”

“Yes. It works. Just try it, alright?”

He sat back in his chair and spread his arms wide. “Go for it.”

She grabbed the chair from the desk next to them and pulled it up close to him. “What did we learn today?”

“That I still got it?” He grinned.

“Will you stop it!” she whispered. “Seriously-come on.”

“Alright, alright.” He sighed. “We now have four more dead bodies.”

“Right. The Hacker and his family. Quentin Jenson. What did we see there?”

“Lots of flies.”

“Are you going to even try?”

“Well, there were. Let’s see-more animal decapitations with the heads missing and the boy’s head which is also missing.”

“But the adults he left intact.”

“He did, didn’t he? I wonder why?”

“He made it a point to keep the dogs’ heads and some of the kids’ as souvenirs, just like he’s done in the past. With a few exceptions.”

Jaxon saw it right away. “Michael.”

“Right. Why was Michael different?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Michael mean something different to him? I can’t make myself think like him. Michael keeps getting in the way. We’re too close to this.”

“I keep hearing his voice in my head, his real voice. He said Michael was nothing to him. I don’t believe him.”

“I don’t either.” She paused. “He also knew we had spent time with Luke and Ellie. He must have some way to see what they’re up too. We need to check Luke’s court and see if we can find any cameras.” She stopped. “Shit, he may know she’s there.”

“Even if he does, we’ve got guys crawling all over the house and neighborhood. His father owns a gun, too, and said he wasn’t afraid to use it.”

“I hope he won’t have to.”

He nodded. “Ok,” he said, “What else? He knows quite a bit about technology, yet he let himself be tracked by a bunch of kids.”

“He’s got to be arrogant,” she said. “We know he likes to taunt us, so he underestimated these kids. He’ll probably keep thinking he’s smarter than them and that may be a mistake. How did he know about the Hacker? That’s what’s bothering me.”

“Right-no cameras or web-cams in the Jenson area. Do you think he’s got a bug, or tap, on the Harrison’s phone? We never thought to check that.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. Let’s follow up on that.”

He made some notes.

“Let’s keep working backwards,” she said. “Before the Hacker’s house, we were at the Harrison house talking to the kids.”

“We discussed the Hacker and talked them into giving him up. Ellie had also received a message from Smith saying he knew her father.”

“Leonard Worthington, and her real name is Eliana Worthington. Or at least it used to be.” He was typing into the computer and watched as information came up on one Leonard David Worthington. The last known address was Ellie’s.

“Nothing on him since he lived there?” Victoria said. “I’m calling Holt and see if we have anything in the database.”

She called him and while she was giving him the info, he scanned the rest of the file. Driver’s License records were clean. No citations or DUI’s. No arrests, either, but an old domestic disturbance call showed up. It was Ellie’s address way back in 1997.