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intheheartTitle: Part Six
Rating: PG-13 for swearing.
Summary: In which Zack gives up on getting to his meeting, Summer gets her long-awaited breakdown, and some jerks just don't know when to stay gone.
Date: December 29th, 2028
Notes: Immediately follows Part Five.
Zack shoved through the MEs and random bystanders until he got to Officer Michelle Clarence, trying heroically to preserve the scene now that she'd realized no one was shooting anymore. "Mish," he shouted, and got her attention with a wave. "Mish, I gotta take Dr. Kendall out of here."
Michelle frowned. "Against procedure," she said, and shoved someone away from the chairs. "What the hell part of crime scene is so hard for you people?"
Since that question was both rhetorical and not directed at him, Zack ignored it. "I know, but she's about to have hysterics. I'm gonna calm her down, take her statement, and I'll get it to the 'tec tomorrow. Pass it on?"
Michelle shrugged. "Your ass on the line, your call. Go on."
He went back to Dr. Kendall, shooing a few other people out on the way. She still had her hands pressed to her ears, her eyes squeezed shut, and that terrified expression, so he took her elbow again, gently. "Come on," he said, and tugged her towards the door.
"No," she said, and tugged the other way, towards the stairs. "No, please, the back door..."
Zack hadn't even been aware that there was a back door to the morgue, but then he didn't work here... and come to think of it, there had to be some way they brought the bodies in. They sure as hell couldn't get the gurneys down the stairs. "Okay," he said. "You show me where it is."
Oddly enough, that seemed to steady her a bit. When they got away from the crowds-- Dr. Kendall almost fleeing down the stairs-- she steadied a bit more, even taking her hands away from her ears. She didn't speak, though, until they had reached the heavy door at the end of the long hallway that bisected the morgue.
"Thank you," she said, her hand on the metal bar that opened the door, and for a wonder it seemed sincere.
"You're welcome," Zack said, a bit at a loss. He was not used to Dr. Kendall being polite to him. "You didn't get hurt, did you? That asshole wasn't exactly aiming very well."
She shrugged, and, stepping away from the door, held out her arms. "I'm fine," she said. "No blood."
There might not have been any blood, but there were two vividly red lines striped across her palms. "Good Lord," he said, and took her hand, angling her palm so the light fell on it. "How tight were you hanging on to that yardstick?"
"Um," Dr. Kendall said. "Fairly hard. It wouldn't have done anyone any good if I'd lost my grip."
He looked up sharply at the uncertainty in her voice, and surprised a look of... hell, it looked like shyness. Dr. Kendall? Shy? "Yeah, well, it must have had some metal in it or something. Look at this, you almost broke the skin."
She pulled her hand from his, abruptly, and hugged her arms to her chest. "It doesn't count if there isn't any blood," she replied. "Can we go, please?"
Zack shrugged his acquiescence, wondering what had spooked her. "Sure. You want to go home, right? You have a car?" He hoped she did, because he didn't own a car and he really didn't want to deal with a mental breakdown on the subway.
He could, he guessed, have taken her statement in the morgue. But the place gave him the willies.
Somewhat to his surprise, Dr. Kendall shook her head. "Usually I just take a cab," she said, her tone almost apologetic. "Or the bus. I don't have a driver's license."
Hell fuck shit damn. Zack hated the goddamn bus. "You don't have a... okay," he said, trying to cover. "Fine. Can you even catch a taxi around here?"
Even more to his surprise, since it had been mostly a rhetorical question, she nodded. "There's a lot of police around here," she said. "The drivers feel safe. And Mr. Agarwal knows me, so he hangs around here at night if they don't have anything else to do." She shrugged, still hugging herself. "He should be here. Or I could call."
"Let's just go see if someone's there," Zack said. He shoved the door open.
To his eternal shock, there were three taxis there. Zack hadn't seen three unoccupied taxis at once since he'd moved to this godforsaken city.
The drivers had been leaning against their taxis, two of them smoking and all of them talking in low tones. One of them, an elderly man in the turban of a Sikh, popped out of his slouch when he saw them and waved. "Dr. Summer!" he called. "Need a ride?"
"Yes, thank you," Dr. Kendall replied. Zack was the only one close enough to see how her hands tightened on her arms. "I need to go home."
"All right," he replied. "Hop in." He held the door while she did so, and gave Zack a long, suspicious look when he slid in beside her.
Zack fought the urge to defend himself. The guy was a taxi driver, for God's sake.
The ride passed in heavily disapproving silence.
Dr. Kendall didn't seem to notice the tension. She leaned her head against the glass of the window and stared out at the streets and the buildings, and barely made a sound the entire time. Poor kid, Zack found himself thinking, as he watched her. She just looked so goddamn young. Poor kid.
"I grew up in New York City," she said, suddenly, as the driver turned down a residential street. Much nicer, Zack noticed with some resentment, than the one he lived on.
He blinked, and asked more than said, "Okay?"
Dr. Kendall pushed herself up off the window and glanced at him. "That's why I don't know how to drive," she said. "Because I grew up in New York City. Papa owned a car when I was little, but he sold it before I turned sixteen. And Mama didn't bother, she just took the subway to work. I think Aaron can drive, but he lives in the suburbs so of course he'd need to, and I know Ivy doesn't bother..." She trailed off as the cab came to a stop, and smiled at the driver. It looked like it had taken some effort. "Thank you, Mr. Agarwal."
"You're welcome," he said, and beamed at her. "Same time tomorrow, hey?"
"I hope not," Dr. Kendall said, with the ghost of a more natural smile. "But probably. Good night." She swiped her credit card through the reader, punched in a tip that sent Zack's eyebrows rising upwards again, and got out of the taxi.
More precisely, she got halfway out of the taxi before she fell back in, screaming.
Mr. Agarwal, to his credit, did not panic, or at least not visibly. He slammed on the gas as soon as Dr. Kendall was fully inside, and the taxi was accelerating away before Zack had even registered what was happening. His body had moved without him, though, grabbing Dr. Kendall by her jacket and hauling her back across his lap, leaning as far out as he could and slamming the door shut.
A bullet pinged off the metal of the door just as he got it shut. That sure as hell registered.
He ducked down, over Dr. Kendall, and fucking well stayed down until they were way the hell away from that street. Mr. Agarwal glanced back, his eyes wide but his expression otherwise set and calm. "Where are we going?" he asked, simply.
Zack thanked God for Dr. Kendall befriending the taxi drivers, and said, "Southeast Eleventh and Pennsylvania. I'll give you more directions when we get there." The motel Paige managed was near there. She'd sneak him into a room overnight, and he'd figure out what to do in the morning.
Right now, all he knew was that he didn't want Dr. Kendall anywhere near anything that whoever was shooting at her might know about. Paige, he hoped, was suitably remote.
Mr. Agarwal didn't wait for any further instructions. He nodded tightly and sped off, breaking several traffic laws, not that Zack was inclined to do anything about it.
Instead, he bent over Dr. Kendall. She had gone totally quiet after that first scream, lying limp across his lap. Were it not for a faint, almost undetectable shivering, he'd be a lot more afraid right now. "Dr. Kendall?"
She didn't respond. She was hugging her arms to her chest again, clutching at her own biceps with white-knuckled force, and her eyes were squeezed shut.
Fuck. Zack sighed, and touched her arm. "Dr. Kendall..."
That got a response; a shriek that made Mr. Agarwal swerve wildly, and a flinch that almost had her on the floor of the taxi. Zack grabbed for her, threw a wild-eyed look at Mr. Agarwal in the rearview mirror, and said, "Hey, hey! It's okay! It's okay, you're safe!"
Her eyes flew open and met his, startlingly blue. And then she curled into a fetal position, still draped across his lap, and began to cry harsh, tearing sobs. Zack thought he caught the word "mama" in there, too.
He was going to get that son of a bitch.
Judging from what he could see of Mr. Agarwal's face in the rearview mirror, he would not be alone.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing.
Summary: In which Zack gives up on getting to his meeting, Summer gets her long-awaited breakdown, and some jerks just don't know when to stay gone.
Date: December 29th, 2028
Notes: Immediately follows Part Five.
Zack shoved through the MEs and random bystanders until he got to Officer Michelle Clarence, trying heroically to preserve the scene now that she'd realized no one was shooting anymore. "Mish," he shouted, and got her attention with a wave. "Mish, I gotta take Dr. Kendall out of here."
Michelle frowned. "Against procedure," she said, and shoved someone away from the chairs. "What the hell part of crime scene is so hard for you people?"
Since that question was both rhetorical and not directed at him, Zack ignored it. "I know, but she's about to have hysterics. I'm gonna calm her down, take her statement, and I'll get it to the 'tec tomorrow. Pass it on?"
Michelle shrugged. "Your ass on the line, your call. Go on."
He went back to Dr. Kendall, shooing a few other people out on the way. She still had her hands pressed to her ears, her eyes squeezed shut, and that terrified expression, so he took her elbow again, gently. "Come on," he said, and tugged her towards the door.
"No," she said, and tugged the other way, towards the stairs. "No, please, the back door..."
Zack hadn't even been aware that there was a back door to the morgue, but then he didn't work here... and come to think of it, there had to be some way they brought the bodies in. They sure as hell couldn't get the gurneys down the stairs. "Okay," he said. "You show me where it is."
Oddly enough, that seemed to steady her a bit. When they got away from the crowds-- Dr. Kendall almost fleeing down the stairs-- she steadied a bit more, even taking her hands away from her ears. She didn't speak, though, until they had reached the heavy door at the end of the long hallway that bisected the morgue.
"Thank you," she said, her hand on the metal bar that opened the door, and for a wonder it seemed sincere.
"You're welcome," Zack said, a bit at a loss. He was not used to Dr. Kendall being polite to him. "You didn't get hurt, did you? That asshole wasn't exactly aiming very well."
She shrugged, and, stepping away from the door, held out her arms. "I'm fine," she said. "No blood."
There might not have been any blood, but there were two vividly red lines striped across her palms. "Good Lord," he said, and took her hand, angling her palm so the light fell on it. "How tight were you hanging on to that yardstick?"
"Um," Dr. Kendall said. "Fairly hard. It wouldn't have done anyone any good if I'd lost my grip."
He looked up sharply at the uncertainty in her voice, and surprised a look of... hell, it looked like shyness. Dr. Kendall? Shy? "Yeah, well, it must have had some metal in it or something. Look at this, you almost broke the skin."
She pulled her hand from his, abruptly, and hugged her arms to her chest. "It doesn't count if there isn't any blood," she replied. "Can we go, please?"
Zack shrugged his acquiescence, wondering what had spooked her. "Sure. You want to go home, right? You have a car?" He hoped she did, because he didn't own a car and he really didn't want to deal with a mental breakdown on the subway.
He could, he guessed, have taken her statement in the morgue. But the place gave him the willies.
Somewhat to his surprise, Dr. Kendall shook her head. "Usually I just take a cab," she said, her tone almost apologetic. "Or the bus. I don't have a driver's license."
Hell fuck shit damn. Zack hated the goddamn bus. "You don't have a... okay," he said, trying to cover. "Fine. Can you even catch a taxi around here?"
Even more to his surprise, since it had been mostly a rhetorical question, she nodded. "There's a lot of police around here," she said. "The drivers feel safe. And Mr. Agarwal knows me, so he hangs around here at night if they don't have anything else to do." She shrugged, still hugging herself. "He should be here. Or I could call."
"Let's just go see if someone's there," Zack said. He shoved the door open.
To his eternal shock, there were three taxis there. Zack hadn't seen three unoccupied taxis at once since he'd moved to this godforsaken city.
The drivers had been leaning against their taxis, two of them smoking and all of them talking in low tones. One of them, an elderly man in the turban of a Sikh, popped out of his slouch when he saw them and waved. "Dr. Summer!" he called. "Need a ride?"
"Yes, thank you," Dr. Kendall replied. Zack was the only one close enough to see how her hands tightened on her arms. "I need to go home."
"All right," he replied. "Hop in." He held the door while she did so, and gave Zack a long, suspicious look when he slid in beside her.
Zack fought the urge to defend himself. The guy was a taxi driver, for God's sake.
The ride passed in heavily disapproving silence.
Dr. Kendall didn't seem to notice the tension. She leaned her head against the glass of the window and stared out at the streets and the buildings, and barely made a sound the entire time. Poor kid, Zack found himself thinking, as he watched her. She just looked so goddamn young. Poor kid.
"I grew up in New York City," she said, suddenly, as the driver turned down a residential street. Much nicer, Zack noticed with some resentment, than the one he lived on.
He blinked, and asked more than said, "Okay?"
Dr. Kendall pushed herself up off the window and glanced at him. "That's why I don't know how to drive," she said. "Because I grew up in New York City. Papa owned a car when I was little, but he sold it before I turned sixteen. And Mama didn't bother, she just took the subway to work. I think Aaron can drive, but he lives in the suburbs so of course he'd need to, and I know Ivy doesn't bother..." She trailed off as the cab came to a stop, and smiled at the driver. It looked like it had taken some effort. "Thank you, Mr. Agarwal."
"You're welcome," he said, and beamed at her. "Same time tomorrow, hey?"
"I hope not," Dr. Kendall said, with the ghost of a more natural smile. "But probably. Good night." She swiped her credit card through the reader, punched in a tip that sent Zack's eyebrows rising upwards again, and got out of the taxi.
More precisely, she got halfway out of the taxi before she fell back in, screaming.
Mr. Agarwal, to his credit, did not panic, or at least not visibly. He slammed on the gas as soon as Dr. Kendall was fully inside, and the taxi was accelerating away before Zack had even registered what was happening. His body had moved without him, though, grabbing Dr. Kendall by her jacket and hauling her back across his lap, leaning as far out as he could and slamming the door shut.
A bullet pinged off the metal of the door just as he got it shut. That sure as hell registered.
He ducked down, over Dr. Kendall, and fucking well stayed down until they were way the hell away from that street. Mr. Agarwal glanced back, his eyes wide but his expression otherwise set and calm. "Where are we going?" he asked, simply.
Zack thanked God for Dr. Kendall befriending the taxi drivers, and said, "Southeast Eleventh and Pennsylvania. I'll give you more directions when we get there." The motel Paige managed was near there. She'd sneak him into a room overnight, and he'd figure out what to do in the morning.
Right now, all he knew was that he didn't want Dr. Kendall anywhere near anything that whoever was shooting at her might know about. Paige, he hoped, was suitably remote.
Mr. Agarwal didn't wait for any further instructions. He nodded tightly and sped off, breaking several traffic laws, not that Zack was inclined to do anything about it.
Instead, he bent over Dr. Kendall. She had gone totally quiet after that first scream, lying limp across his lap. Were it not for a faint, almost undetectable shivering, he'd be a lot more afraid right now. "Dr. Kendall?"
She didn't respond. She was hugging her arms to her chest again, clutching at her own biceps with white-knuckled force, and her eyes were squeezed shut.
Fuck. Zack sighed, and touched her arm. "Dr. Kendall..."
That got a response; a shriek that made Mr. Agarwal swerve wildly, and a flinch that almost had her on the floor of the taxi. Zack grabbed for her, threw a wild-eyed look at Mr. Agarwal in the rearview mirror, and said, "Hey, hey! It's okay! It's okay, you're safe!"
Her eyes flew open and met his, startlingly blue. And then she curled into a fetal position, still draped across his lap, and began to cry harsh, tearing sobs. Zack thought he caught the word "mama" in there, too.
He was going to get that son of a bitch.
Judging from what he could see of Mr. Agarwal's face in the rearview mirror, he would not be alone.
