Deborah Mello - Reunited By The Badge

“We can go back to my house…” Simone started.

“No. Now that they’ve seen us together, I don’t trust that they won’t find us there.”

“Then we should go to the police station.”

“Let’s just get a hotel room. I don’t think we should involve the police just yet.”

“Someone shot at us, Paul! We need to file a report! My brothers need to know!”

“I know that, Simone! But I need to think this through. Please, just give me a minute to think!”

“We might not have a minute, Paul!” Simone’s voice rose an octave and the tension between them suddenly increased ten-fold. Before either could blink, the conversation took a sharp left turn and they were yelling back and forth, each determined to prove a point when there was none. It was Bickering 101 and reminiscent of when their relationship had gone all kinds of wrong.

The no-tell motel they’d found by the highway was fetid, reeking of debauchery and sin. The smell of cigarettes, marijuana, sex and body odor was pungent through the late-night air. Simone distorted her face with displeasure as Paul closed the door to room thirty-eight and tossed the key card on the laminated dresser. He sat down on the foot of the mattress beside her and exhaled his first sigh of relief since leaving the restaurant. Simone had finally stopped shaking and Paul felt like he could breathe normally again.

Neither spoke. Both were still reeling from the fight they’d had in the car. Simone had wanted them to drive straight to the police station. Paul had refused, insisting that it would only make things worse. He was adamant that they needed additional proof to substantiate his claims and the only way to get that was if no one knew where they were or what they were after. Simone knew her family wouldn’t take them disappearing lightly and she trusted her brothers would look for them. They still hadn’t come to an agreement. The argument had been contentious, the intensity of their emotions palpable.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Simone finally said, breaking the silence. “No one we know would think our not going to the police is a smart thing to do.” There was still an air of hostility in her tone.

And a hint of defiance in his as he responded. “No one knows what we’re up against. Even we don’t know yet, Simone.”

“Which is why going to the police would make sense. I know my brothers would back us up.”

“I don’t agree. All that’s going to happen is that the police will dismiss my concerns because the proof I have is shaky at best. The preliminary test results Oliver sent me still need to be analyzed and there’s more testing that needs to be done. Lender will be tipped off that we’re on to them and we won’t be able to prove what they’re doing or stop them.”

“In the movies when people don’t go to the police, they die. They fall off cliffs, demons get them, all kinds of horrors,” Simone said facetiously.

“In the movies I’ve seen the police get it, too.”

“You’re watching the wrong movies.”

“You watch too many.”

Simone tossed up her hands in frustration. “I’m an officer of the court, Paul! I have a responsibility to uphold the law. I have a damn badge, for heaven’s sake!”

Paul cut his gaze in her direction, a smile pulling at his mouth. “Why do they issue you a badge anyway? You’re a prosecutor.”

Simone shifted her body, turning to stare at him. “Are you making fun of my badge?”

“I just asked the question!”

Her tone was laced with attitude. “It makes me official. It says that I represent the courts of the state and that I took the Attorney’s Oath and I’ve promised to honor its tenets. Don’t you dare make light of what I do, Paul Reilly. It’s as important to me as the Hippocratic Oath that you doctors take.”

“I’m not, Simone. I was just curious about the badge. They don’t give us doctors one.”

“No, they give you those white jackets with your names embroidered over the breast pockets. Same thing, different medium.”

“I cannot believe we’re sitting here arguing over a tin emblem.” He lay backward on the bed, pulling his arms over his head.

“We’re arguing about involving the police. Don’t change the subject.”

Paul blew a soft sigh as another wave of silence swept between them. Both sat listening instead to the noise in the room. An alarm clocked ticked loudly from the nightstand next to the bed and water leaked from the faucet in the bathroom. There was a steady rhythm of clicks and plops, both just loud enough to be annoying. Minutes passed before he spoke again. “I’ll do whatever you think is best, Simone.”

“You will?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled as he folded an arm over his eyes.

She nodded. “I’ll call my brother. We need to at least tell him that we’re safe. We can also tell him what we know in an unofficial capacity. If they can help work it from their end, it can’t hurt. Until we figure out what the hell we’re doing, we can use all the help we can get.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Really?”

“Yeah, baby, okay.”

A noise outside the door pulled Simone upright. “Did you hear that?”

Paul mumbled, “No. I didn’t hear anything.”

Simone stood and moved to the window to peer through the blinds. Outside, three working women were gathered in the parking lot changing their clothes. Bare asses and boobs were on full display and no one seemed to be concerned. Laughter rang through the late-night air, their good time fueled by the bottle of booze being passed between them. Simone exhaled, turning back toward the bed. “I don’t know if I can stay here…” she started.

The rest of her comment stalled in midair, warm breath the slightest whistle past her lips. Paul had fallen into a deep sleep, jet lag and exhaustion fully claiming him. He snored softly and for a quick moment Simone realized just how much she missed hearing him beside her at night.

Shaking the thought, she grabbed her cell phone from her purse and her food from the meal bag. She took a seat on a cushioned chair in front of the small desk and dialed Parker’s number. As she waited for someone to answer, she took the first bite of her macaroni and cheese.

“Where are you?” Parker questioned. “I’m sending a patrol car.”

“We’re fine, big brother. You just needed to know what happened. I also took the bumper off some guy’s car, I think. You’ll handle that for me, too, right?”

“If they knew Paul was at that restaurant, they’re probably tracking his cell phone. They may even be tracking yours.”

“We thought that, too, so we tossed the sim card in his phone and powered it off. I’m using my other phone. The one that’s in mom’s name. My primary phone was dead, so I left it at the house on the charger.”

“You need to come in, Simone. Until we figure out who shot at you, we can’t trust that either of you is safe.”

“We can’t, Parker. Paul truly believes this company is killing patients and he’s determined to stop them. If we come in, we might lose our window of opportunity to prove his theory.”

“I wasn’t asking, Simone. That was an order.”

“I stopped taking orders from you when I was ten.”

“Then I’m calling Mom and Dad.”

“Don’t you dare! I just need you to trust me.”

Parker yelled, “You don’t know what the hell you’re doing! Neither of you has a clue what you’ve gotten yourselves into! Now, where are you?”

Simone sighed. “I love you. And I’ll be okay. I promise.”

“Don’t you dare hang…”