"The line of memory"
She takes one deep breath, then another, ignores the men breathing heavily behind her. Alice needs to concentrate, needs to feel it, the adrenalin flowing through her veins, her heart beating a little too faster, the smell of fear and sweat. She enjoys it, the danger, the inevitable. Someone might die today and Alice only wishes it could be her.
Torres is checking his gun and couple of men behind him do the same, he’s a legend, so is she and they believe they could get them out of this alive. These men aren’t from a tactical unit, they’re regular cops but they can’t wait, neighbours heard shooting and them waiting could mean more victims. Alice looks briefly at Rob, waits for a nod but he just shakes his head.
He doesn’t know yet. It could mean the someone is still alive.
She pushes her shoulder in the wall and turns her head slightly, catches Torres’ eyes and he understands, motions to the men behind him and the smell of fear is even more powerful. Alice enjoys it, wishes she could be like them when taking the first step. Today it’s her turn, they had been arguing about it for too long when someone suggested to them they should be taking turns. She wasn’t particularly happy with it but Torres agreed and she hoped she could throw herself before him if needed.
Her shoe doesn’t have a chance to touch the floor, when “Dancing Queen” erupts from someone’s phone behind her and Alice turns sharply, her gun drawn and glares at the young cop who almost drops his phone. They have to move now, seconds are ticking off someone’s life and she doesn’t wait for them to pull back together, she reaches the door and kicks.
The apartment looks clean, too clean, everything is white and sterile and she can’t help but imagine the walls stained with blood. The men follow her through the hallway and kitchen, not one thing seems out of place and Alice wants to curse the curious neighbour but then they reach the last door and they’re closed and she is about to kick them when Torres stops her.
“Listen,” he whispers, his hand reaching for her shoulder. She needs someone to steady her, to stop her from acting too quickly. He knows.
She does, concentrates on the quiet sound coming from behind the closed doors. It sounds like sobbing, someone is crying, heart-wrenching sobs muffled by the door and knowledge that there’re ten armed men behind them. But Alice could hear them clearly, feels the pain herself and closes her eyes keeping it inside her.
Too much time passed since she was reminded of this kind of heartbreak, the one that made her into the person she was now.
“I’m going in,” she whispers back without looking at Torres, the memory opened a door she was desperately trying to close for years but he, Rob, was right there, in front of her, every single day like a giant sign. Showing what she had lost, telling her about it on daily basis and right now Alice wants to tell him all this, let him vanish into thin air and never come back. He knows, naturally, Rob reads her mind now, like he always did and apologizes before disappearing through the closed door.
Torres motions for the men to stay put as Alice reaches for the door handle. She pushes and a bullet misses her head just by millimetres. It makes her jump into action taking into consideration the scene in front of her.
A woman is lying on the bed. She is sprawled on her back, her eyes are rolled inside her skull and her clothes look like they never met a washing machine. Her blood is slowly soaking the covers and at her feet a man is kneeling, holding a gun which fired the shot just missing Alice’s head. He looks broken, almost catatonic but then he notices them, jumps to his feet and holds the gun in front of him. Alice is sure he doesn’t want to kill anyone, the look Rob sends her speaks for it but she doesn’t want to risk anything.
Torres yells at the man, instructs him to put the gun down but he shakes his head, holds his ground and Alice takes advantage of the distraction her colleague is providing. She jumps using the bed as leverage and knocks the man to the ground. The officers immediately swirl around the man; one of them touches woman’s neck for pulse. He shakes his head and they nod, watch the man crying and sun making the woman’s face even whiter.
Only then Alice finally looks at Rob, he’s talking to somebody she can’t see, she suspect the victim. He’s smiling reassuringly, his arm reaches into nothingness and she looks away.
Torres is checking his gun and couple of men behind him do the same, he’s a legend, so is she and they believe they could get them out of this alive. These men aren’t from a tactical unit, they’re regular cops but they can’t wait, neighbours heard shooting and them waiting could mean more victims. Alice looks briefly at Rob, waits for a nod but he just shakes his head.
He doesn’t know yet. It could mean the someone is still alive.
She pushes her shoulder in the wall and turns her head slightly, catches Torres’ eyes and he understands, motions to the men behind him and the smell of fear is even more powerful. Alice enjoys it, wishes she could be like them when taking the first step. Today it’s her turn, they had been arguing about it for too long when someone suggested to them they should be taking turns. She wasn’t particularly happy with it but Torres agreed and she hoped she could throw herself before him if needed.
Her shoe doesn’t have a chance to touch the floor, when “Dancing Queen” erupts from someone’s phone behind her and Alice turns sharply, her gun drawn and glares at the young cop who almost drops his phone. They have to move now, seconds are ticking off someone’s life and she doesn’t wait for them to pull back together, she reaches the door and kicks.
The apartment looks clean, too clean, everything is white and sterile and she can’t help but imagine the walls stained with blood. The men follow her through the hallway and kitchen, not one thing seems out of place and Alice wants to curse the curious neighbour but then they reach the last door and they’re closed and she is about to kick them when Torres stops her.
“Listen,” he whispers, his hand reaching for her shoulder. She needs someone to steady her, to stop her from acting too quickly. He knows.
She does, concentrates on the quiet sound coming from behind the closed doors. It sounds like sobbing, someone is crying, heart-wrenching sobs muffled by the door and knowledge that there’re ten armed men behind them. But Alice could hear them clearly, feels the pain herself and closes her eyes keeping it inside her.
Too much time passed since she was reminded of this kind of heartbreak, the one that made her into the person she was now.
“I’m going in,” she whispers back without looking at Torres, the memory opened a door she was desperately trying to close for years but he, Rob, was right there, in front of her, every single day like a giant sign. Showing what she had lost, telling her about it on daily basis and right now Alice wants to tell him all this, let him vanish into thin air and never come back. He knows, naturally, Rob reads her mind now, like he always did and apologizes before disappearing through the closed door.
Torres motions for the men to stay put as Alice reaches for the door handle. She pushes and a bullet misses her head just by millimetres. It makes her jump into action taking into consideration the scene in front of her.
A woman is lying on the bed. She is sprawled on her back, her eyes are rolled inside her skull and her clothes look like they never met a washing machine. Her blood is slowly soaking the covers and at her feet a man is kneeling, holding a gun which fired the shot just missing Alice’s head. He looks broken, almost catatonic but then he notices them, jumps to his feet and holds the gun in front of him. Alice is sure he doesn’t want to kill anyone, the look Rob sends her speaks for it but she doesn’t want to risk anything.
Torres yells at the man, instructs him to put the gun down but he shakes his head, holds his ground and Alice takes advantage of the distraction her colleague is providing. She jumps using the bed as leverage and knocks the man to the ground. The officers immediately swirl around the man; one of them touches woman’s neck for pulse. He shakes his head and they nod, watch the man crying and sun making the woman’s face even whiter.
Only then Alice finally looks at Rob, he’s talking to somebody she can’t see, she suspect the victim. He’s smiling reassuringly, his arm reaches into nothingness and she looks away.