12 Days, Day 9 - Fanfiction: Better Late Than Never
Title: Better Late Than Never
Characters: Mary/Marshall
Rating: some violence, but this is pretty mild
Spoilers: Small ones for Trojan Horst
A/N: This writing stuff is hard work! And I'm still not sure it came out very well. Thanks, thanks, thanks to my dear friends likelike_love, pipisafoat, and 31stcentury who made me do it anyway and helped sooooo much. !
Better Late Than Never
July 3, 2010
1745
Sarah Lieberman refused to fly. She agreed to testify against the Reynolds brothers in Ohio, but only if everyone understood that ground transport was essential. That was how Mary and Marshall came to spend their Fourth of July weekend driving cross-country with a moping witness in the back of the GMC.
“I had plans, you know,” she said sullenly, after three hours of tense silence. “You brought me here to start a new life and then when I start one, you whisk me away from everything to do this.” She gestured at her surroundings.
Mary gave Marshall a look that said: This is your witness. You shut her up.
“Sarah.” He tried to keep his tone light, but his patience was wearing thin. He’d had to cancel a promising first date for this transport. She wasn’t the only one who had plans. “You agreed to testify when you came into the program. They’ve postponed your testimony three times because you had obligations. Everyone knows you are the victim here, but the goodwill of the court only extends so far.”
“And if you would get on a plane we could have left Tuesday evening and you wouldn’t have missed your barbeque.” Mary, half turned in her seat, couldn’t resist one last dig.
“I’m not flying.” The familiar phrase came out as a whine.
Marshall shot Mary a look and willed her not to start the argument again. “Look, it’s six o’clock. We’re all tired. We’re hungry. Let’s find something to eat and then a hotel for the night.”
Mary’s lips twitched but she nodded in agreement. Seven hours on the road and the two of them were just getting warmed up, but Marshall was the peacekeeper and they had plenty of time to get to Ohio.
The Best Western had free wifi, HBO, and an indoor pool. They had adjoining rooms on the second floor. Marshall placed the order for two large pepperoni pizzas to be delivered. No more than two seconds after he hung up, Sarah was in her swim suit with a towel flung over her shoulders.
“Call me when the pizza gets here.” She called through the open connecting door.
“Yes, mistress,” Mary muttered as the door swung shut.
They didn’t feel the need to chaperone her in the pool. No one but Stan knew where they were, and in the greater scheme of things, Sarah wasn’t a high profile witness. The Reynolds brothers had family that would take care of Sarah if she was available, and vulnerable, but they weren’t far-reaching enough to have people looking for her all over the country.
Mary flopped face down on the bed. “She’s a piece of work,” she mumbled through the bedspread.
“She told me that she’s owed something for all of this.” Marshall pulled his laptop out of his bag and carefully sat it on the table.
“Something more than being kept alive?”
“Yeah, she would like us to make her independently wealthy.”
Mary snorted. “She is aware that this is the US Government she’s talking about?”
“I’m working on it,” Marshall replied dryly.
Twenty minutes later the pizza arrived. Mary and Marshall demolished half a pizza each. Sarah watched disdainfully as she picked at her second slice. Suddenly, she stood up and brushed off her hands.
“I’m going to my room, and I would like some privacy this evening.”
Mary looked at Marshall and he shrugged. It was too much trouble to argue with her. “Fine, but leave the adjoining door unlocked,” he said.
“Well, I guess you’re stuck with me tonight.” Mary said as she rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bathroom. She emerged ten minutes later with wet hair, wearing a pair of men’s pajamas.
Marshall cocked his head in surprise. “Mare, it’s like seven thirty. Isn’t it a little early for bed?”
“I’m not going to bed, but if we’re in for the evening I might as well be comfortable.” She tossed the towel she’d been using to dry her hair at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a girl in pajamas before.”
“I never pictured you in pajamas.”
“What did you picture me in?”
“I, uh,” Marshall stammered and Mary laughed.
“Never mind. Maybe you shouldn’t answer that.” She looked at him suggestively and watched as he blushed all the way down to his collar.
July 4, 2010
0035
Bang, Pop, Roar
The sound of artillery woke Mary from a sound sleep. She rolled off the bed, glock in hand, before registering that her partner was standing calmly at the window, looking outside.
“Fireworks.” He crossed the room and knelt beside her. “Some kids are shooting off fireworks in the parking lot.” The glow from the streetlights outside threw eerie shadows across her face, and her eyes looked wild. “Mary, fireworks. It’s the Fourth of July.” He saw the instant she focused on his face and relaxed her grip on the gun.
He saw the flash of embarrassment and turned away while she composed herself. Mary didn’t like to acknowledge her vulnerability. By the time he reached over and flipped on the lamp between the beds, the haunted look was gone. Mary moved to sit on the edge of the bed and her gun was resting on the nightstand again.
She met his gaze cautiously. If the situation were reversed and he’d gotten spooked, she’d razz him endlessly, but he would be laughing with her. She would be wounded by his teasing, so he’d never do it.
“I’m going to check on Sarah,” he said evenly. He waited until she nodded to turn away. The room next door was dark and quiet. He could make out Sarah’s blonde head in the light that leaked from their room, but he made a show of looking for a few seconds before closing the door.
When he turned back, Mary was under the covers, reclining against the head board.
“Turn off the light and go back to sleep, doofus. We have a lot of driving tomorrow.” She smiled to soften the words.
He was half asleep before she spoke again. “It wasn’t fireworks.”
“What?” he muttered sleepily.
“We were in that damned gas station with Horst again.”
Marshall blinked, suddenly wide awake. Mary never said much about that day. She wasn’t there when he woke up, and her presence was scarce during his recovery. Stan had been there and told him Mary was having a hard time. Marshall didn’t push her. Everything with Mary was in her own time.
“Mare?” He spoke to the darkness.
“If I hadn’t been so pissed I would have been paying better attention.” The words sounded pained.
“I should have told you about the interview.”
This was the heart of the matter, the thing that neither of them had ever brought up after the incident. The letter was gone when Marshall came back to work and he never questioned it. It was a ghost that lingered in the back of each of their minds. It popped up at inopportune times and would never really go away until they dealt with it.
He sighed quietly. “I went on that interview as a favor to my buddy Steve. I thought about it, but I never really considered taking that job. You and I were going through a rough patch. But I love having you as my partner, my friend.”
Her silence continued.
“My nightmares are of you getting killed in some futile firefight and I’m helpless to do anything but watch.” Marshall admitted slowly. “When I first woke up I couldn’t remember what had happened. Stan was there and I thought he, I thought,” he stuttered.
“You thought I was dead?” Mary saw Marshall’s shadow nod. “I didn’t think you were going to make it. You were in the back of that truck and you weren’t saying anything. Then when they put you in the ambulance you were as white as a sheet. We caught Horst, but it didn’t mean anything without you there.” Mary swallowed audibly. “I was writing my letter of resignation when Stan told me you were going to make a complete recovery.”
“No one ever told me that.” Marshall said quietly. “Thank you for telling me now.”
He felt the bed dip slightly, as she slid in next to him. He scooted closer to the center to give her some room, but she followed and laid her head on the shoulder with the scar. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she didn’t object. They were both emotionally wrung out. She didn’t say anything else. In minutes he could tell by the change in the rhythm of her breathing that she was asleep. Marshall stayed awake listening to her breathe for a long time.
July 4, 2010
0725
Mary was already dressed when she woke Marshall with a nudge. “We should get moving. I got Sarah up. I’m going to run down to the lobby for the continental breakfast. What do you want?” She was in a hurry, all business, but she took a few extra seconds to look into the blue of his eyes.
“Whatever,” he yawned sleepily. Mary knew what he liked.
He was ready when she got back. She took first shift behind the wheel to give Marshall’s caffeine a chance to kick in, plus she liked a mid afternoon nap against the window of the car.
Sarah was sullen once again. Mary rolled her eyes so only Marshall could see and he stifled a giggle. The morning was quiet. Mary and Marshall bickered good-naturedly over the radio station. Mary argued driver’s choice, but Marshall reminded her that she argued passenger’s choice when she wasn’t driving. They settled on an oldies station that they could both live with.
Their charge grumbled about the music quietly, but they overruled her. They had pulled over on the side of the highway to change drivers and Marshall was sitting behind the wheel, looking at a map, mumbling about how map reading would soon become extinct as more and more people blindly followed the instructions of the GPS. Mary was still sitting in the passenger seat, bare feet up on the dash, basking in the sunshine.
Sarah climbed out to stretch her legs. Without warning, she grabbed Mary in a headlock through the open window. A two shot derringer pressed tightly against her temple. Mary’s eyes went wide as the door handle dug into her side.
Mary couldn’t see, but Marshall held his hands out placatingly. “Sarah, what is this? Let go of Mary, and we can work this out.” To the untrained ear Marshall sounded calm, but Mary could hear the stress in his voice.
“Today is the Fourth of July. I told you I had plans, and you abducted me anyway. Then you play this music that is trying to steal my thoughts. You cannot steal my thoughts.” Sarah pressed the gun into Mary’s temple hard enough to make her flinch, and her tone became more shrill with every word.
“Sarah, I’m sure we can work this out.” Marshall aimed to soothe, but the words only seemed to further enrage their witness.
“No, I want the car. I want this car! Get out, get out, get out!”
“Okay.” Marshall couldn’t see another option but to do what Sarah wanted. “I’m getting out. Right now, see?” He reached for the handle, careful not to make any sudden moves.
“Come stand on this side of the car.”
Marshall did as she bade. He was disinclined to do anything that would get Mary killed.
“Sarah.” Marshall stood as close as he dared. “Sarah, you can have the car. Just let Mary get out. We don’t care about the car, and I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Sarah wrapped Mary’s ponytail around her hand and pulled until Mary’s head bounced painfully off the window frame.
“Get out then. Get out and let me have the car.”
“Sarah, you’re going to have to let go of Mary if you want her to get out of the car.
“Sarah.” He inched closer, and dropped his voice. “No one has to get hurt today. Just take the car and do what you need to do.”
Marshall could see as the tension started to drain out of Sarah. She released her hold on Mary’s hair. The gun was still pressed tightly against Mary’s head but she reached down with her free hand and pulled on the door handle. Mary almost toppled from the seat before she could get her feet under her.
Sarah shoved her roughly toward Marshall. She climbed in through the passenger side door and slid across to the driver’s seat. The wheels squealed as she pealed out, kicking up dirt and small pieces of gravel in her wake.
Marshall grabbed Mary by the elbow and pulled her back onto the shoulder. She flinched as the gravel dug into her bare feet.
“Are you hurt?” He pushed at a few stray hairs escaping from her ponytail to see where Sarah had pressed the gun into Mary’s face. There was a faint mark that looked like the outline of the muzzle was going to leave a bruise. Otherwise, she appeared uninjured, but as he ran his fingers up and down her arms he could feel tremors running through her. He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. He knew she felt vulnerable when she didn’t resist.
“What the hell just happened, Marshall?” The wobble in Mary’s voice betrayed her.
“I think Sarah has some issues that we didn’t know about,” he said soberly. “I’ll call Stan, get him to set up a roadblock. They can pick her up, and then send someone to pick us up.” He felt his pocket and then frantically felt the other side. “Damn, my phone is in the center console of the truck. It digs in when I drive.” He looked hopefully at Mary. “Do you have yours?”
A quick check, and Mary shook her head no. “It’s on the floor with my mother-humping shoes.” Mary blanched. “My back-up weapon is in the console with your wallet. It’s a secure area,” she said defensively. “And it rubs on long car trips.”
Marshall looked concerned and then angry before he realized that there was nothing they could do about any of this while standing on the interstate in the middle of nowhere.
He chuckled and Mary looked at him strangely. Relief made him giddy. “I’ve never hitched before.”
Mary rolled her eyes. “Of course you haven’t.” She picked up on the change of mood. “Leave it to the master.”
Mary tossed her jacket to Marshall, unbuttoned two extra buttons on her shirt, and stepped forward on the side of the road. It wasn’t long before an old, rusty pickup truck was idling on the shoulder.
Marshall tried to climb in first, but was stopped by a single shake of the bearded man’s head.
“Put the lady in first, I don’t fancy sitting hip to hip with a feller.”
Marshall started to protest but Mary put her hand flat against his chest. “It’s fine,” she mumbled. “The next town can’t be that far away.” She met Marshall’s eyes and smiled reassuringly.
Mary climbed in and straddled the gear box. Marshall pressed himself tightly to the door, giving her as much room as possible.
“I’m Mary. This is Marshall. We need to get to a town and a phone.”
“Chet.” The man nodded, taking the opportunity to look down Mary’s shirt. Mary could feel Marshall tense beside her, but she willed him to stay quiet.
“The closest town is forty-five minutes from here. There’s still a pay phone at the Qwick-Mart. There’s also a Walmart and a motel on the edge of town.”
Chet grabbed Mary’s knee instead of the gearshift. He held on two seconds too long. Mary could feel Marshall start to speak. She moved her leg and nudged Marshall gently. They needed to call Stan and get backup. They couldn’t afford to stand on the highway until someone less skeevy came along. Mary leaned into Marshall and didn’t object when he put his arm around her shoulders.
The miles passed and Chet made only mild invasions into Mary’s personal space. Mary chatted lightly with Marshall. She made him recount the creation of the interstate highway system and knew that if he had his way, neither of them would ever hitchhike again.
Chet dropped them off in front of the Qwick-Mart and Mary made a collect call to Stan.
“Stan? Stan, it’s Mary.” She plugged her free ear, trying to hear over the cars coming and going in the parking lot. “Yeah, I know I’m calling collect.” She turned and caught Marshall’s eyes. “We had a little trouble. I know, I know.” She surrendered the phone to Marshall and threw up her hands in exasperation.
Marshall spoke quietly for five minutes while Mary leaned against the cold concrete wall, trying not to step on the glass that glittered on the ground.
“Okay.” He turned to her as he hung up the phone. “Stan is going to put out a BOLO for the GMC and he’s going to arrange for a car and a cash transfer.” He looked pointedly at her feet. “We have to find you some shoes. Then we’re going to head back toward Albuquerque, see if we can catch up to her. She wasn’t thinking straight. We might run into her on the road.”
They made the treacherous journey across the highway scanning not only for cars but also hazards that might destroy Mary’s bare feet. Stan had worked some USMS magic, and there was a money order waiting for them at Walmart’s customer service desk.
Mary picked out a pair of white sneakers and socks while Marshall hurried to the electronics department and grabbed a disposable phone. He met her in the snack aisle. She grinned at him.
“Cheetos or Doritos?” She held up both bags.
Marshall shrugged. “Get both, I’m hungry.”
“I’m going to call you hoover from now on,” Mary mumbled. She added the snacks to her growing armload of merchandise, and followed him to the register.
They walked out of the store to see two police cars with lights flashing and a solid black Crown Vic parked between them. Marshall walked over to the police officers while Mary struggled to pull on her shoes without sitting down. She watched as he flashed his badge. He nodded and shook his head several times in succession. After several minutes, Marshall turned and waved Mary over.
“This is my partner, Mary Shannon,” he introduced. He quickly explained that Stan had arranged for them to borrow the unmarked car from the police. Mary nodded her thanks and climbed into the passenger seat.
The older officer leaned through the open window. “I really wish you wouldn’t eat in the car.” He eyed the snacks lying at her feet.
Mary looked surprised and nodded wordlessly. Marshall slid into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition.
***
Two hours later, at the point where Mary had almost given up on finding Sarah on the highway, they spotted a GMC with government plates sitting quietly on the side of the road. Marshall slowed, and pulled ahead of the truck. He parked on the shoulder 100 feet away.
Mary turned and tilted her head, trying to see if Sarah was sitting in the front. “It looks empty,” she said finally. “She could be anywhere by now.”
“What do you want to do? We can wait for back up.”
“Call for backup but I don’t think we need to wait for them. We can take one little girl.”
“Not five hours ago that little girl was holding you at gunpoint by the hair.” Marshall was incredulous. “I don’t think you should underestimate her.”
“She took us by surprise last time. She won’t get the drop on us again.”
Marshall looked uncomfortable but nodded his agreement as he pulled the disposable cell out of his pocket. He let Mary lead these things because she needed to.
There was no hiding their presence. They drew their weapons and made themselves small as they crept toward the vehicle. Mary took the driver’s side and Marshall went around to the back passenger door. He craned his head to look in the corner of the window. He couldn’t see anything. He could hear the scrape of the gravel on Mary’s shoes several feet away. He lifted the handle and eased the door open a few inches. He still couldn’t see anything inside the truck so he opened the door a little more.
The gunshot ricocheted against the inside of the car. Marshall jumped back against the tire. He could still hear Mary on the other side as she scrambled for cover. He calmly counted the shots. Mary’s back-up glock was loaded with ten rounds. It only took seconds for Sarah to fire all ten. He was still listening to the momentary silence when he heard the sounds of a struggle. His partner had beat him to their witness. By the time he got around to the driver’s side, Mary had Sarah face down in the dirt. She held Sarah’s hands behind her and hand one foot pressed into her lower back. The younger woman was thrashing and spitting, cursing the two of them for stealing her thoughts.
Marshall pulled out his cuffs and placed them gently around her wrists. She wasn’t a criminal; she was a troubled girl in a very bad situation. He helped Mary pull her to her feet and sit her on the running board.
Mary smiled and turned to him. “Not quite the day I planned when I woke up this...” she trailed off. Her expression changed to fear, and she was at his elbow in an instant. “Marshall, you’re bleeding.” Her voice was high, almost shrill, as she started to pull at the buttons on her shirt.
Marshall finally looked down. Crimson blood had soaked his left arm all the way down to the fingers, but he hadn’t felt a thing.
“Wait.” He stopped her from undressing. He pulled at the snaps on his shirt and carefully pulled it off his shoulders. There, on the outside of his bicep, was a four inch gash. A bullet crease. It was barely bleeding, and even now that the adrenaline was wearing off, it barely stung. “It’s just a scratch. Mare?” He looked over at his partner. She had her hands propped against her thighs, head down. “Mary?” He put his hand on her arm and she turned and melted against his chest. “Mary, what’s wrong?”
She pushed away from his chest so she could see his face, but didn’t let go of his forearms. “We come to work every day. And every day there’s a risk of things going sideways, and one of us won’t come home. This was supposed to be a routine transport of a nonviolent witness. And you almost, you could have ...” Her voice broke. “I don’t want to lose you to a new job, or a bullet wound, or another woman. Someday some woman will realize that you’re as wonderful as you are insane, and it’s a lot of trouble to get rid of people like that.” Mary felt like she was on the edge of hysteria. The blood reminded her too much of that day when she almost lost him.
She took several breaths to compose herself and reached up and touched his face. “We think we have forever to get things right. But what if right now is all there is. Would you know that I ...” She pulled away, hesitating.
Marshall locked eyes with her, wordlessly begging her to finish the sentence.
“Would you know that I love you?” She whispered.
Marshall grabbed her, and pulled her roughly into his arms. “I have always loved you.” He whispered into her hair.
From somewhere along the highway the pair could hear sirens singing as their back up approached.
July 4, 2010
2330
Several hours later, after thirty-two sutures, one tetanus shot, and a psychiatric evaluation for their witness. Mary sat quietly on Marshall’s couch. Her shoes were off, her feet were on the coffee table, and her hand was firmly clasped in her partner’s. They were quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. A silence that spoke of things to come.
“Happy Fourth of July, Mary.”
“Happy Fourth of July, Marshall.”
Characters: Mary/Marshall
Rating: some violence, but this is pretty mild
Spoilers: Small ones for Trojan Horst
A/N: This writing stuff is hard work! And I'm still not sure it came out very well. Thanks, thanks, thanks to my dear friends likelike_love, pipisafoat, and 31stcentury who made me do it anyway and helped sooooo much. !
Better Late Than Never
July 3, 2010
1745
Sarah Lieberman refused to fly. She agreed to testify against the Reynolds brothers in Ohio, but only if everyone understood that ground transport was essential. That was how Mary and Marshall came to spend their Fourth of July weekend driving cross-country with a moping witness in the back of the GMC.
“I had plans, you know,” she said sullenly, after three hours of tense silence. “You brought me here to start a new life and then when I start one, you whisk me away from everything to do this.” She gestured at her surroundings.
Mary gave Marshall a look that said: This is your witness. You shut her up.
“Sarah.” He tried to keep his tone light, but his patience was wearing thin. He’d had to cancel a promising first date for this transport. She wasn’t the only one who had plans. “You agreed to testify when you came into the program. They’ve postponed your testimony three times because you had obligations. Everyone knows you are the victim here, but the goodwill of the court only extends so far.”
“And if you would get on a plane we could have left Tuesday evening and you wouldn’t have missed your barbeque.” Mary, half turned in her seat, couldn’t resist one last dig.
“I’m not flying.” The familiar phrase came out as a whine.
Marshall shot Mary a look and willed her not to start the argument again. “Look, it’s six o’clock. We’re all tired. We’re hungry. Let’s find something to eat and then a hotel for the night.”
Mary’s lips twitched but she nodded in agreement. Seven hours on the road and the two of them were just getting warmed up, but Marshall was the peacekeeper and they had plenty of time to get to Ohio.
The Best Western had free wifi, HBO, and an indoor pool. They had adjoining rooms on the second floor. Marshall placed the order for two large pepperoni pizzas to be delivered. No more than two seconds after he hung up, Sarah was in her swim suit with a towel flung over her shoulders.
“Call me when the pizza gets here.” She called through the open connecting door.
“Yes, mistress,” Mary muttered as the door swung shut.
They didn’t feel the need to chaperone her in the pool. No one but Stan knew where they were, and in the greater scheme of things, Sarah wasn’t a high profile witness. The Reynolds brothers had family that would take care of Sarah if she was available, and vulnerable, but they weren’t far-reaching enough to have people looking for her all over the country.
Mary flopped face down on the bed. “She’s a piece of work,” she mumbled through the bedspread.
“She told me that she’s owed something for all of this.” Marshall pulled his laptop out of his bag and carefully sat it on the table.
“Something more than being kept alive?”
“Yeah, she would like us to make her independently wealthy.”
Mary snorted. “She is aware that this is the US Government she’s talking about?”
“I’m working on it,” Marshall replied dryly.
Twenty minutes later the pizza arrived. Mary and Marshall demolished half a pizza each. Sarah watched disdainfully as she picked at her second slice. Suddenly, she stood up and brushed off her hands.
“I’m going to my room, and I would like some privacy this evening.”
Mary looked at Marshall and he shrugged. It was too much trouble to argue with her. “Fine, but leave the adjoining door unlocked,” he said.
“Well, I guess you’re stuck with me tonight.” Mary said as she rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bathroom. She emerged ten minutes later with wet hair, wearing a pair of men’s pajamas.
Marshall cocked his head in surprise. “Mare, it’s like seven thirty. Isn’t it a little early for bed?”
“I’m not going to bed, but if we’re in for the evening I might as well be comfortable.” She tossed the towel she’d been using to dry her hair at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a girl in pajamas before.”
“I never pictured you in pajamas.”
“What did you picture me in?”
“I, uh,” Marshall stammered and Mary laughed.
“Never mind. Maybe you shouldn’t answer that.” She looked at him suggestively and watched as he blushed all the way down to his collar.
July 4, 2010
0035
Bang, Pop, Roar
The sound of artillery woke Mary from a sound sleep. She rolled off the bed, glock in hand, before registering that her partner was standing calmly at the window, looking outside.
“Fireworks.” He crossed the room and knelt beside her. “Some kids are shooting off fireworks in the parking lot.” The glow from the streetlights outside threw eerie shadows across her face, and her eyes looked wild. “Mary, fireworks. It’s the Fourth of July.” He saw the instant she focused on his face and relaxed her grip on the gun.
He saw the flash of embarrassment and turned away while she composed herself. Mary didn’t like to acknowledge her vulnerability. By the time he reached over and flipped on the lamp between the beds, the haunted look was gone. Mary moved to sit on the edge of the bed and her gun was resting on the nightstand again.
She met his gaze cautiously. If the situation were reversed and he’d gotten spooked, she’d razz him endlessly, but he would be laughing with her. She would be wounded by his teasing, so he’d never do it.
“I’m going to check on Sarah,” he said evenly. He waited until she nodded to turn away. The room next door was dark and quiet. He could make out Sarah’s blonde head in the light that leaked from their room, but he made a show of looking for a few seconds before closing the door.
When he turned back, Mary was under the covers, reclining against the head board.
“Turn off the light and go back to sleep, doofus. We have a lot of driving tomorrow.” She smiled to soften the words.
He was half asleep before she spoke again. “It wasn’t fireworks.”
“What?” he muttered sleepily.
“We were in that damned gas station with Horst again.”
Marshall blinked, suddenly wide awake. Mary never said much about that day. She wasn’t there when he woke up, and her presence was scarce during his recovery. Stan had been there and told him Mary was having a hard time. Marshall didn’t push her. Everything with Mary was in her own time.
“Mare?” He spoke to the darkness.
“If I hadn’t been so pissed I would have been paying better attention.” The words sounded pained.
“I should have told you about the interview.”
This was the heart of the matter, the thing that neither of them had ever brought up after the incident. The letter was gone when Marshall came back to work and he never questioned it. It was a ghost that lingered in the back of each of their minds. It popped up at inopportune times and would never really go away until they dealt with it.
He sighed quietly. “I went on that interview as a favor to my buddy Steve. I thought about it, but I never really considered taking that job. You and I were going through a rough patch. But I love having you as my partner, my friend.”
Her silence continued.
“My nightmares are of you getting killed in some futile firefight and I’m helpless to do anything but watch.” Marshall admitted slowly. “When I first woke up I couldn’t remember what had happened. Stan was there and I thought he, I thought,” he stuttered.
“You thought I was dead?” Mary saw Marshall’s shadow nod. “I didn’t think you were going to make it. You were in the back of that truck and you weren’t saying anything. Then when they put you in the ambulance you were as white as a sheet. We caught Horst, but it didn’t mean anything without you there.” Mary swallowed audibly. “I was writing my letter of resignation when Stan told me you were going to make a complete recovery.”
“No one ever told me that.” Marshall said quietly. “Thank you for telling me now.”
He felt the bed dip slightly, as she slid in next to him. He scooted closer to the center to give her some room, but she followed and laid her head on the shoulder with the scar. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she didn’t object. They were both emotionally wrung out. She didn’t say anything else. In minutes he could tell by the change in the rhythm of her breathing that she was asleep. Marshall stayed awake listening to her breathe for a long time.
July 4, 2010
0725
Mary was already dressed when she woke Marshall with a nudge. “We should get moving. I got Sarah up. I’m going to run down to the lobby for the continental breakfast. What do you want?” She was in a hurry, all business, but she took a few extra seconds to look into the blue of his eyes.
“Whatever,” he yawned sleepily. Mary knew what he liked.
He was ready when she got back. She took first shift behind the wheel to give Marshall’s caffeine a chance to kick in, plus she liked a mid afternoon nap against the window of the car.
Sarah was sullen once again. Mary rolled her eyes so only Marshall could see and he stifled a giggle. The morning was quiet. Mary and Marshall bickered good-naturedly over the radio station. Mary argued driver’s choice, but Marshall reminded her that she argued passenger’s choice when she wasn’t driving. They settled on an oldies station that they could both live with.
Their charge grumbled about the music quietly, but they overruled her. They had pulled over on the side of the highway to change drivers and Marshall was sitting behind the wheel, looking at a map, mumbling about how map reading would soon become extinct as more and more people blindly followed the instructions of the GPS. Mary was still sitting in the passenger seat, bare feet up on the dash, basking in the sunshine.
Sarah climbed out to stretch her legs. Without warning, she grabbed Mary in a headlock through the open window. A two shot derringer pressed tightly against her temple. Mary’s eyes went wide as the door handle dug into her side.
Mary couldn’t see, but Marshall held his hands out placatingly. “Sarah, what is this? Let go of Mary, and we can work this out.” To the untrained ear Marshall sounded calm, but Mary could hear the stress in his voice.
“Today is the Fourth of July. I told you I had plans, and you abducted me anyway. Then you play this music that is trying to steal my thoughts. You cannot steal my thoughts.” Sarah pressed the gun into Mary’s temple hard enough to make her flinch, and her tone became more shrill with every word.
“Sarah, I’m sure we can work this out.” Marshall aimed to soothe, but the words only seemed to further enrage their witness.
“No, I want the car. I want this car! Get out, get out, get out!”
“Okay.” Marshall couldn’t see another option but to do what Sarah wanted. “I’m getting out. Right now, see?” He reached for the handle, careful not to make any sudden moves.
“Come stand on this side of the car.”
Marshall did as she bade. He was disinclined to do anything that would get Mary killed.
“Sarah.” Marshall stood as close as he dared. “Sarah, you can have the car. Just let Mary get out. We don’t care about the car, and I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Sarah wrapped Mary’s ponytail around her hand and pulled until Mary’s head bounced painfully off the window frame.
“Get out then. Get out and let me have the car.”
“Sarah, you’re going to have to let go of Mary if you want her to get out of the car.
“Sarah.” He inched closer, and dropped his voice. “No one has to get hurt today. Just take the car and do what you need to do.”
Marshall could see as the tension started to drain out of Sarah. She released her hold on Mary’s hair. The gun was still pressed tightly against Mary’s head but she reached down with her free hand and pulled on the door handle. Mary almost toppled from the seat before she could get her feet under her.
Sarah shoved her roughly toward Marshall. She climbed in through the passenger side door and slid across to the driver’s seat. The wheels squealed as she pealed out, kicking up dirt and small pieces of gravel in her wake.
Marshall grabbed Mary by the elbow and pulled her back onto the shoulder. She flinched as the gravel dug into her bare feet.
“Are you hurt?” He pushed at a few stray hairs escaping from her ponytail to see where Sarah had pressed the gun into Mary’s face. There was a faint mark that looked like the outline of the muzzle was going to leave a bruise. Otherwise, she appeared uninjured, but as he ran his fingers up and down her arms he could feel tremors running through her. He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. He knew she felt vulnerable when she didn’t resist.
“What the hell just happened, Marshall?” The wobble in Mary’s voice betrayed her.
“I think Sarah has some issues that we didn’t know about,” he said soberly. “I’ll call Stan, get him to set up a roadblock. They can pick her up, and then send someone to pick us up.” He felt his pocket and then frantically felt the other side. “Damn, my phone is in the center console of the truck. It digs in when I drive.” He looked hopefully at Mary. “Do you have yours?”
A quick check, and Mary shook her head no. “It’s on the floor with my mother-humping shoes.” Mary blanched. “My back-up weapon is in the console with your wallet. It’s a secure area,” she said defensively. “And it rubs on long car trips.”
Marshall looked concerned and then angry before he realized that there was nothing they could do about any of this while standing on the interstate in the middle of nowhere.
He chuckled and Mary looked at him strangely. Relief made him giddy. “I’ve never hitched before.”
Mary rolled her eyes. “Of course you haven’t.” She picked up on the change of mood. “Leave it to the master.”
Mary tossed her jacket to Marshall, unbuttoned two extra buttons on her shirt, and stepped forward on the side of the road. It wasn’t long before an old, rusty pickup truck was idling on the shoulder.
Marshall tried to climb in first, but was stopped by a single shake of the bearded man’s head.
“Put the lady in first, I don’t fancy sitting hip to hip with a feller.”
Marshall started to protest but Mary put her hand flat against his chest. “It’s fine,” she mumbled. “The next town can’t be that far away.” She met Marshall’s eyes and smiled reassuringly.
Mary climbed in and straddled the gear box. Marshall pressed himself tightly to the door, giving her as much room as possible.
“I’m Mary. This is Marshall. We need to get to a town and a phone.”
“Chet.” The man nodded, taking the opportunity to look down Mary’s shirt. Mary could feel Marshall tense beside her, but she willed him to stay quiet.
“The closest town is forty-five minutes from here. There’s still a pay phone at the Qwick-Mart. There’s also a Walmart and a motel on the edge of town.”
Chet grabbed Mary’s knee instead of the gearshift. He held on two seconds too long. Mary could feel Marshall start to speak. She moved her leg and nudged Marshall gently. They needed to call Stan and get backup. They couldn’t afford to stand on the highway until someone less skeevy came along. Mary leaned into Marshall and didn’t object when he put his arm around her shoulders.
The miles passed and Chet made only mild invasions into Mary’s personal space. Mary chatted lightly with Marshall. She made him recount the creation of the interstate highway system and knew that if he had his way, neither of them would ever hitchhike again.
Chet dropped them off in front of the Qwick-Mart and Mary made a collect call to Stan.
“Stan? Stan, it’s Mary.” She plugged her free ear, trying to hear over the cars coming and going in the parking lot. “Yeah, I know I’m calling collect.” She turned and caught Marshall’s eyes. “We had a little trouble. I know, I know.” She surrendered the phone to Marshall and threw up her hands in exasperation.
Marshall spoke quietly for five minutes while Mary leaned against the cold concrete wall, trying not to step on the glass that glittered on the ground.
“Okay.” He turned to her as he hung up the phone. “Stan is going to put out a BOLO for the GMC and he’s going to arrange for a car and a cash transfer.” He looked pointedly at her feet. “We have to find you some shoes. Then we’re going to head back toward Albuquerque, see if we can catch up to her. She wasn’t thinking straight. We might run into her on the road.”
They made the treacherous journey across the highway scanning not only for cars but also hazards that might destroy Mary’s bare feet. Stan had worked some USMS magic, and there was a money order waiting for them at Walmart’s customer service desk.
Mary picked out a pair of white sneakers and socks while Marshall hurried to the electronics department and grabbed a disposable phone. He met her in the snack aisle. She grinned at him.
“Cheetos or Doritos?” She held up both bags.
Marshall shrugged. “Get both, I’m hungry.”
“I’m going to call you hoover from now on,” Mary mumbled. She added the snacks to her growing armload of merchandise, and followed him to the register.
They walked out of the store to see two police cars with lights flashing and a solid black Crown Vic parked between them. Marshall walked over to the police officers while Mary struggled to pull on her shoes without sitting down. She watched as he flashed his badge. He nodded and shook his head several times in succession. After several minutes, Marshall turned and waved Mary over.
“This is my partner, Mary Shannon,” he introduced. He quickly explained that Stan had arranged for them to borrow the unmarked car from the police. Mary nodded her thanks and climbed into the passenger seat.
The older officer leaned through the open window. “I really wish you wouldn’t eat in the car.” He eyed the snacks lying at her feet.
Mary looked surprised and nodded wordlessly. Marshall slid into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition.
***
Two hours later, at the point where Mary had almost given up on finding Sarah on the highway, they spotted a GMC with government plates sitting quietly on the side of the road. Marshall slowed, and pulled ahead of the truck. He parked on the shoulder 100 feet away.
Mary turned and tilted her head, trying to see if Sarah was sitting in the front. “It looks empty,” she said finally. “She could be anywhere by now.”
“What do you want to do? We can wait for back up.”
“Call for backup but I don’t think we need to wait for them. We can take one little girl.”
“Not five hours ago that little girl was holding you at gunpoint by the hair.” Marshall was incredulous. “I don’t think you should underestimate her.”
“She took us by surprise last time. She won’t get the drop on us again.”
Marshall looked uncomfortable but nodded his agreement as he pulled the disposable cell out of his pocket. He let Mary lead these things because she needed to.
There was no hiding their presence. They drew their weapons and made themselves small as they crept toward the vehicle. Mary took the driver’s side and Marshall went around to the back passenger door. He craned his head to look in the corner of the window. He couldn’t see anything. He could hear the scrape of the gravel on Mary’s shoes several feet away. He lifted the handle and eased the door open a few inches. He still couldn’t see anything inside the truck so he opened the door a little more.
The gunshot ricocheted against the inside of the car. Marshall jumped back against the tire. He could still hear Mary on the other side as she scrambled for cover. He calmly counted the shots. Mary’s back-up glock was loaded with ten rounds. It only took seconds for Sarah to fire all ten. He was still listening to the momentary silence when he heard the sounds of a struggle. His partner had beat him to their witness. By the time he got around to the driver’s side, Mary had Sarah face down in the dirt. She held Sarah’s hands behind her and hand one foot pressed into her lower back. The younger woman was thrashing and spitting, cursing the two of them for stealing her thoughts.
Marshall pulled out his cuffs and placed them gently around her wrists. She wasn’t a criminal; she was a troubled girl in a very bad situation. He helped Mary pull her to her feet and sit her on the running board.
Mary smiled and turned to him. “Not quite the day I planned when I woke up this...” she trailed off. Her expression changed to fear, and she was at his elbow in an instant. “Marshall, you’re bleeding.” Her voice was high, almost shrill, as she started to pull at the buttons on her shirt.
Marshall finally looked down. Crimson blood had soaked his left arm all the way down to the fingers, but he hadn’t felt a thing.
“Wait.” He stopped her from undressing. He pulled at the snaps on his shirt and carefully pulled it off his shoulders. There, on the outside of his bicep, was a four inch gash. A bullet crease. It was barely bleeding, and even now that the adrenaline was wearing off, it barely stung. “It’s just a scratch. Mare?” He looked over at his partner. She had her hands propped against her thighs, head down. “Mary?” He put his hand on her arm and she turned and melted against his chest. “Mary, what’s wrong?”
She pushed away from his chest so she could see his face, but didn’t let go of his forearms. “We come to work every day. And every day there’s a risk of things going sideways, and one of us won’t come home. This was supposed to be a routine transport of a nonviolent witness. And you almost, you could have ...” Her voice broke. “I don’t want to lose you to a new job, or a bullet wound, or another woman. Someday some woman will realize that you’re as wonderful as you are insane, and it’s a lot of trouble to get rid of people like that.” Mary felt like she was on the edge of hysteria. The blood reminded her too much of that day when she almost lost him.
She took several breaths to compose herself and reached up and touched his face. “We think we have forever to get things right. But what if right now is all there is. Would you know that I ...” She pulled away, hesitating.
Marshall locked eyes with her, wordlessly begging her to finish the sentence.
“Would you know that I love you?” She whispered.
Marshall grabbed her, and pulled her roughly into his arms. “I have always loved you.” He whispered into her hair.
From somewhere along the highway the pair could hear sirens singing as their back up approached.
July 4, 2010
2330
Several hours later, after thirty-two sutures, one tetanus shot, and a psychiatric evaluation for their witness. Mary sat quietly on Marshall’s couch. Her shoes were off, her feet were on the coffee table, and her hand was firmly clasped in her partner’s. They were quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. A silence that spoke of things to come.
“Happy Fourth of July, Mary.”
“Happy Fourth of July, Marshall.”