NIKKI/NORA

Digging Deep

docwho2100 and Writerghost2000

Title: Digging Deep

Author: writerghost2000 and docwho2100

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Nikki & Nora. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors’ notes: Takes place almost a year after “In Even Deeper”

Digging Deep

docwho2100 and writerghost2000

11:49pm – Tuesday – 7/14/09

Nikki flew through the emergency room doors. The adrenaline pumping through her veins was a mixture of anger and worry. She’d gotten the call only twenty minutes ago and her brain was still trying to register what little information she’d been told.

As she stormed into the waiting area, she immediately zeroed in on Dan standing by the nurse’s desk. “Where is she?”

“Calm down,” he said as he put his hands on her arms.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. Where is she?” Nikki’s eyes scanned the room.

“She’s in surgery.” He tried to guide her over to sit but she wanted no part of it.

“What the hell was she doing going so fast? Nora could have….” Nikki started to cry.

Dan managed to get her to sit down and then pulled up a chair to sit in front of her. “Look, they are still searching for Carter. She fled the scene and no one has been able to find or contact her. I’ve got uniforms from all precincts out looking. When a Delaney is in trouble, everyone offers to lend a hand. After they find her, I’ll get the story during questioning. But, I can’t let you near her until we’ve talked to her, so I need you to leave it alone.”

Nikki wiped her eyes and snuffed away the tears, “I’m not sure I can do that, Dan. Nora’s hurt because of her! I should never have taken that assignment at the 8th, this never would have happened.”

“It’s okay, Nik,” he said as he rubbed her back.

“Has there been any word on Nora? When Henderson called to tell me what happened he only said they were taking her to the hospital.” Nikki started to cry again.

Dan dipped his head for a moment, “I know they had a hard time getting her because there was a lot of impact on her side. I was there when they pulled her out. They said she had internal bleeding so they rushed her into surgery.”

She appreciated his honesty but at the same time didn’t really want to know. Biting back tears, her anger ignited, “Five minutes alone with Carter, that’s all I ask.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

Nikki stood up, “If Nora dies because of this or can no longer do her job, I’ll get my five minutes with her. You can guarantee it.” She stormed off and went outside to get some air.

Dan rubbed his head in frustration with the situation. He knew Carter was at fault but there were so many unanswered questions he didn’t even know what to do or think.

TWO HOURS PRIOR – 9:32pm

“Carter, you read me?” Nora asked through her comm device. A few seconds passed without an answer. “Carter? Carter, where the hell are you?”

Still no answer.

Nora was on the roof of the warehouse trying to peek through the skylight and snap photos of the men inside. It was dark and raining and Nora cursed under her breath as she snapped a few and tucked the camera in her pocket as she stood up to leave.

“And who might you be?” a large man asked as he appeared at the edge of the roof.

“Just trying to find a place to sleep for the night and thought I’d…”

“Save it,” he said as he pulled out a gun and pointed it towards her. “Let’s go,” he said, motioning for her to come with him.

When he turned around she unclipped the badge from her belt and stuffed it into her pocket. The last thing she wanted was him to find out she was a cop.

She climbed down the ladder and he followed her, keeping the gun trained on her the entire time. But when they reached the corner of the warehouse she decided she needed to do something because she was about to be brought into a room of six armed men and her chances of leaving the building alive were pretty slim.

The man grabbed her by the elbow and dug the gun into her side as he dragged her along towards the entrance of the warehouse. In a quick movement, she moved backwards to get away from the path of the bullet that was sure to discharge from the gun, she grabbed him by the wrist and twisted him around. The gun fired and she quickly shoved him down as she brought her knee up to connect with his nose. He dropped the gun and she kicked it away from his reach as she bolted for where Carter was waiting a block away.

“Carter! This just went south. I’m gonna have a bunch of gun–toating men on my ass in about five seconds.”

::Delaney?:: Carter asked over the comm.

Thankful for the response, Nora felt only somewhat better as she hopped a fence and ran as fast as she could down the street. “I’m heading towards Brighton.” Suddenly, shots began firing behind her. Looking towards the area where they had parked the car, Nora found nothing but an empty space. “Shit! Carter, where the hell are you?”

::I’m…I’m on my way.:: Then there was a pause. ::Where is Brighton?::

Nora cursed under her breath as she ducked behind a parked car to avoid being shot. “Are you fucking kidding me?!?”

::I’ll find you.::

Nora pulled out her gun and returned fire, hitting one of the two men that were firing at her. During a lull in gun fire, she made a run for it.

Her legs were on fire as she raced down the street and turned onto Park Street. Carter was flying towards her and screeched to a halt as she slammed on the brakes. Nora jumped into the car through the open window and Carter stomped on the gas just as one of the men appeared and began firing at them.

Nora righted herself in the seat and leaned out the window to return fire.

Carter turned down a side street on two wheels causing Nora to hold onto the door handle. “Easy, I think we’re good now.”

“Fuckin’ a!” Carter cursed as she swerved the car and continued to speed.

“Carter, slow down,” Nora said as she put her seat belt on.

“We have to make sure there’s no one tailing us,” she said as she blew through a red light, nearly causing a collision with two cars. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and started mumbling. “This wasn’t supposed to go this way.”

“What? Carter! Stop the car right now! What’s wrong with you?” Nora looked at the woman beside her. She was sweating and her eyes were unfocused. “Pull over, NOW!” Nora realized that something wasn’t right and this wasn’t going to end well.

“No! We’re in too deep now! He’s gonna kill me.” She sped up and was now going 80 in a 30 mile an hour area.

“Fucking stop, Carter!” Nora demanded as they were heading towards another intersection with a red light aimed at them.

Carter didn’t let up.

Nora gripped the door handle as Carter got to the light. Silently, she prayed as she closed her eyes.

Without warning, Carter yanked the wheel hard to the left, causing them to slide across the wet pavement. The sudden shift blew out the back tire and sent the car rolling over and spinning through the intersection. An extremely hard impact slammed into Nora’s right side as a result of a car crashing into them, immediately knocked her unconscious.

The car skidded to a stop on it’s roof, leaving behind a trail of sparks.

Carter shook her head, trying to clear it before unbuckling herself. “Nora?” she called out to the unconscious woman beside her.

She climbed out of the car as by–standers came over to assist them. The scene was chaotic and Carter’s mental state made it hard to concentrate. “I need to get out of here,” she mumbled to herself as she managed to slip away from the scene as everyone’s attention was on trying to get Nora out of the mangled car.

She took one glance back and then ran off into the night.

Chapter 2

1:12am – Wednesday – 7/15/09

A doctor entered the waiting room and took a seat next to Nikki and Dan. “I’m Doctor Oliver. Normally we only release details to immediate family…”

Nikki’s heart hammered away in her chest. “I am her family. How is she?”

The doctor gave Nikki a long measured look, then caught a nod from Dan. He nodded his head and answered. “She’s going to be fine. We stopped the internal bleeding. She has three broken ribs and one of them punctured her lung. She’s got a broken wrist and arm and a lot of cuts and bruises – all on her right side. We also found a gunshot wound. Nothing major, just a flesh wound to her shoulder.”

Nikki kept her anger for the situation at bay as she heard the list of Nora’s injuries. “Can I see her?”

“It’s probably best if you see her tomorrow. She’s in I.C.U. right now and heavily sedated because of the ventilator. Don’t worry, she’s in good hands.”

Nikki looked up and saw Nora’s parents coming down the hallway, her mother clearly distraught. She was torn, not knowing whether to leave or stay and greet them. She hadn’t seen them since she and Nora had gone to dinner that night when Nora confessed their love for each other.

Mrs. Delaney dabbed at her nose with a tissue. “Nikki.” Her tone was short and void of emotion.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Delaney. I’m sorry, I wish there was more I could do.”

“Not your fault, dear.” She held onto her husband’s arm and turned her attention to the doctor. “I’m Nora’s mother. I’d like to see my daughter.”

Dan put his arm around her, “Come on Nikki, let me take you home. We’ll come back in the morning.”

She’d felt like the world had crumbled down around her and leaned on Dan to support her as he walked her out to the car. She looked back, seeing Nora’s parents going into Nora’s room with the doctor. A bitter pang gnawing at her that she was shut out once again, unable to fully participate in Nora’s life. This time however it was more than missing a family dinner.

The two rode in silence the entire way home.

7:15am – Wednesday

AN: character thoughts in ~~ ~~

Nikki set her coffee and bagel down on her desk and glanced up at the empty chair across from her at Nora’s desk. Tears welled up in her eyes and she cleared her throat as she tried to gain her composure.

She noticed that some of the other officers were looking at her but no one said a word.

Just as she was about to sit, Dan walked up to her desk. “I thought you were going to stay home today?”

“I couldn’t sleep and my mind is scattered. I’m going to see her in another hour so I just figured I’d come in.” She really wanted to say that not having Nora next to her in bed was like torture.

“Can I umm…can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” Nikki said as she followed him into his office.

“Grab a seat.” He shut the door and slowly turned towards her. “I…um…”

Nikki felt a sense of panic as she watched Dan struggle to form a sentence. “What? It’s not Nora is it?”

Dan sat down behind his desk and rubbed his eyes. “No. No. It’s not about Nora.” Dan rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Carter’s still missing.”

“What?!?” Nikki gasped as she launched out of her chair. “I can’t even believe this,” Nikki said as she began to pace wildly.

“Nik, we’ll find her.”

Nikki quickly turned towards him and pointed a finger in his face, “Don’t even try to tell me to be calm or to let you handle it. I want a fucking piece of her! She’s running for a reason, Dan.”

Dan put his hands out in front of him to try and calm her, “We still need to talk to Nora to find out what happened. I understand you’re angry and maybe it would be best if…”

“Don’t you DARE tell me you’re taking me off this case.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Nikki said as she ran her hands through her hair. “I should have never listened to you and Captain Murgen. I know you said trying to work apart until all the talk died down would be best.” She kept pacing, not really talking to Dan anymore as she worked out thought that she had been carrying the last few months as she and Nora had been working with different partners and on different cases.

Dan followed Nikki with his eyes, but kept quiet, he had a pretty good idea what was running through Nikki’s head. Well, he knew realistically he didn’t know, but he wanted to and so kept believing he did.

“I was the one who convinced Nora we could do this; that it would help our skills by seeing how others worked cases; a fresh perspective.” She ran both hands through her hair as she pivoted to make another lap. “And it did help with others talking and shifting attention elsewhere. But… it’s not right. I’m not that effective on the caseloads, I can’t gel with the people I am working with. It takes three times as long to close anything… and now, now I let Nora down. This is not working.”

Dan nodded, silently agreeing. Nikki and Nora’s productivity, timing and morale had been down. He’d watched Nora over the last few months slip into a rut; just doing things by the books and routine with no interest or spark to make that incredible leap the blonde often did on a case. It was the Nora he had been first partnered with; the Nora he had seen disappear as they worked together and the Nora that he thought had been totally vanquished once Nora and Nikki had been partnered. But now… now he was watching two good cops become two mediocre officers.

“And Carter. Come on! Did you think I wouldn’t check up on her? She’s a loud mouth and a renegade. She has spent most of her career ratting on fellow cops or going so far off the books that she should be the one behind bars. They don’t get rid of her because they’re scared of her. P.I.B. is afraid she’s got something on them so they just let her do whatever the hell she wants.” Nikki threw her hands up. “Well, even though she almost killed Nora I’m sure they’ll just give her a slap on the wrist.” She shook her head as she finally stopped pacing. “If I get my hands on her so help me God.”

~~Office politics and departmental recommendations be damned, this is my Unit…~~ Even as Dan made the silent decision to rectify the matter, he pushed the topic to the background; for now he had to focus on the current situation. “We’ll find her. They’ve got an A.P.B. out on her and canvasing…”

“Dan, I know how it works and it’s all a bunch of bullshit.” She grabbed the door knob and yanked the door open. “I’ll be at the hospital. Call me if you can somehow manage to do your damn job and find her.” Nikki slammed his door shut, nearly shattering the glass.

Chapter 3

8:14am – Wednesday

Nikki slowly opened the door to Nora’s room, biting her bottom lip as she took in the sight before her.

When she got to the side of the bed, Nora’s eyes slowly opened and a small smile formed on her face. “Hey, baby,” Nikki whispered in a soothing voice as she leaned over and kissed her softly.

“Hi,” Nora groaned in a dry–throated and tired voice.

Nikki rubbed her shoulder and moved a few stray hairs off her face, “You okay?”

Nora’s eyes struggled to remain open and her voice was shaky, “Yeah.” She wanted to tell Nikki what had happened but she was so damn tired.

Nikki’s heart shattered at the fact that Nora wasn’t up for talking and it was clear that she was in pain. “I’m so sorry that I took that assignment and left you to get partnered up with that asshole. I never should have pushed the whole idea on you.”

“Not…not your fault,” Nora whispered and then winced.

“Are you okay?”

Nora closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

Nikki started to cry and took Nora’s hand. “I wish there was something I could do for you, sweetheart.”

Nora took a careful deep breath and blew it out slowly, opening her eyes slightly. “Just you here…is enough.” Her eyes closed again.

“I’m going to make sure that Carter answers for what she did.” Nikki ran the back of her fingers down Nora’s cheek.

“Tried to…make her ssstop.”

“Shhh, don’t talk anymore. Rest. We’ll talk about it later. I just wanted to at least come by and see you for a few minutes and make sure you’re okay.”

“Out of it,” Nora mumbled.

“They’ve got you on some serious pain meds, I’m sure. It’ll be okay, baby.”

Nora’s brow creased as her eyes fluttered open and struggled to stay open. “Not me.” The drugs were powerful and rendered her unconscious as soon as she got the words out.

Nikki set her jaw as she rubbed Nora’s shoulder. Her anger towards Carter intensified with each passing second.

Two detectives appeared in the doorway, pads of paper in–hand. “The doctor said she’s awake.”

“Was.” Nikki turned her gaze back to the sleeping blonde. “You can get her statement later.”

“We’ll need to wake her and take it now,” one of the detectives said to her as he stepped closer, having no regard for the volume of his voice. “You’re not supposed to be in here with her until she’s given her statement.”

Nikki stood and ushered the two men out into the hallway. “In case you haven’t noticed, that’s my partner in there. I don’t need you two rookies coming in here telling me what I can and cannot do when my partner was almost killed last night. You’ll get your statement when she wakes up again. Until then, stay the hell away from her.” Turning, she walked back into Nora’s room to stay by her side.

Down the hall, Nora’s mother puckered her lips a bit as she watched the exchange. Seeing the one detective start towards the room, the other calling someone on his cell phone, the older woman strode forcefully down the hall. “I believe gentlemen you are to return later. Now, if you feel the need to continue badgering my daughter, I will kindly take your badge number and give it to my husband who is currently meeting with your superior.”

She grinned in triumph as the two men cast a last glance at the hospital room and then retreated down the hallway.

10:14am – Wednesday

Going back to the station was bittersweet.

She wanted to stay by Nora’s side until she woke again, hoping that she could act as a shield of some sort when the time came to take her statement. But she knew she wasn’t going to be allowed in the room for that, her mind was just playing games. She knew they were just doing their jobs, however green they were, being rookies and all, but it was her Nora. Her fragile and broken Nora.

It pained her to think of Nora that way because Nora was indeed far from being fragile and could easily handle herself amongst the burliest of men, but she’d been through so much over the past seven months. Hell, the bumps, bruises, bullets and breaks she’d received since joining the force couldn’t be ignored and were just gruesome additions to the growing list. It has to take a toll on someone physically, even with Nora being in such good shape. A bullet doesn’t care how many sit ups you’ve done or how much weight you can lift. It just wants to damage you and bring you pain.

The same holds true for a perp. They don’t care that you’ve got a badge. They just want to get away from you no matter what it takes.

Nikki shook her head as she looked at a photo of Pam Carter that had been circulating around the city and surrounding area.

“Sucks when it’s one of our own, doesn’t it?” Jack Tilton said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and sat down in the chair next to her desk. Tilton had been on the force for at least thirty years and was well respected in the department. He was also a friend of the family and always felt like he needed to keep an eye out for Nikki; had been keeping an eye out for her ever since she first joined.

“Yeah,” she responded, trying not to become emotional. “Listen, I know I’m not supposed to be asking questions because I’m not part of the investigation but…”

Tilton held up a hand before smoothing out his tie and taking a glance around the room. “Someone called in a tip last night saying they saw her down in the junkyard, if you know what I mean.”

Nikki immediately got to her feet.

“Woah. Hold on. Sit down,” he whispered.

She complied, not making a sound.

“Guys went out there and suddenly no one had anything to say.”

“Well, we need to get back out there and get them to talk. We can’t waste anymore time.” Adrenaline rushed through her as the new surge of energy fueled her desire to find Carter so she could look her in the eye before handing her ass to her.

“No. You need to stay FAR away from this case.”

“Jack.” Nikki leaned in closer towards him to be sure no one was listening. “You know this is personal.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you to stay out of it.” He watched her stew for a moment, knowing how hard it was having to sit on the sidelines. “Look, there’s been some talk going around about you and Nora. You know I don’t have a problem with it but there are guys here that still live with their heads up their proverbial asses and can make things difficult for the both of you if you’re not careful.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you need to play by their rules. If they want you off the case, than you stay away. If you make waves then there will be a monsoon coming back at you.”

“Who?”

“Excuse me?”

“Give me names.” Nikki looked him dead in the eye.

“I can’t do that. And honestly, I don’t know how deep this all goes. Frankly, I shouldn’t even be telling you this.” Jack stood up, hoisting up the waistband of his trousers.

“I don’t care, you know.”

“Just remember what I said then forget what I said, got it?” With that comment, he walked away.

Nikki felt rattled and it was as if the whole room was watching her. She glanced up in hesitation to check but was able to breathe a sigh of relief when it was just her imagination.

She had so many questions: did it stem from the last case? Do some of them know what really happened? If so, how did they find out? Who else knew besides Nora?

Huffing, she thought back to when Nora had said that “guys talk just as much as women do”. She was right.

It just added to the shit pile of a burden that Nikki was carrying around. Not only did she need to find Carter, but now she needed to find out who in the department was gunning for them.

“First take care of Nora, make sure everything is alright there, then…” She paused, rapping her knuckles on the corner of the desk. “Then I’m coming for you. Whoever you are, watch out, I’m coming…”

Chapter 4

8:25am – Thursday – 7/16

Nikki entered Nora’s room quietly, trying not to wake her if she were sleeping. A smile formed on her lips as green eyes greeted her.

“Hi,” Nora said softly, reaching out her hand towards Nikki.

Nikki held it and sat down on the bed next to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay.”

“Did they wear you out with all the questioning?” She rubbed the back of Nora’s hand, soothing her.

“A little.”

“Sorry. They busted in here this morning and wanted to wake you but I wouldn’t let them see you. Your mom even came to your defense too. Threatened them and everything. I heard her outside in the hallway.”

Nora’s eyes opened a little wider. “My mom was here?”

“Both of your parents were here last night and then just your mom this morning.” Reaching over, she stroked the side of Nora’s face, being careful of the cuts and bruises that marred her beautiful skin.

“Did she see you?”

Nikki nodded. “We had a very brief but cordial encounter. I can’t say that I got a hug and the ol’ welcome to the family speech.” Nikki smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Nora smiled back. “Don’t hold your breath. She’s so stubborn.”

“Wonder who inherited that trait, huh?”

“Don’t patronize me, I’m injured.”

Nikki chuckled and kissed Nora’s hand. “Do you want to tell me what happened? Dan won’t tell me anything. He wants me off the case entirely.”

Nora prepared herself to speak, taking in a slow and deep breath. “Well…we went to this warehouse. I had to take pictures. Weapons dealers.” She stopped to let the pain subside. “Some guy found me. I got away but Carter wasn’t there.” Nora looked at Nikki. She could tell something was wrong because she lost eye contact. “What? What is it?”

Nikki closed her eyes for a moment. “I didn’t want to tell you this until you were a little stronger but it’s nagging at me.”

“What is it?”

“Carter took off after the accident and we can’t find her.”

Nora sighed heavily as her head rolled to the side and sank into her stack of pillows. “I knew something was wrong.”

“How so?”

“She was out of it. High, is my guess.”

Nikki shook her head, “Shit. You tried to tell me that and I didn’t pick up on it.”

Nora shook her head. “I kept begging her to stop.” Nora stopped talking, squeezing her eyes shut, flashing back to the accident and remembering the sound of crushing metal.

Nikki squeezed her hand tighter. “I’m going to find her and when I do she’s going to regret the day she was born, I promise you.” Tears rolled down Nikki’s face as she gripped Nora’s hand.

Nora couldn’t control her own either. “I want to help.”

“You need to concentrate on getting better, I’ll take care of this.”

“Let me help. Please.”

Nikki sighed. She did need Nora’s help since Dan wasn’t giving her any information and purposely keeping her far from the case and Nora might have information that would be useful in tracking Carter down. “Fine, BUT we play by my rules.”

“No rules. I don’t like rules.” Nora winced as she shifted in the bed.

“I don’t care. I’m not the one who has a punctured lung so I will allow you minimal duty on this one.” Nikki gave her a quick kiss. “You’ll be good as new in no time.” Winking, Nikki stood up. “Get some rest and I’ll be by in the morning to check on you, okay?”

Nora smiled and closed her eyes. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Nikki exited the room more determined to find Carter, no matter what it would take.

9:13pm – Tuesday – 7/21

Nikki got home and trudged through the house, making her way towards the bedroom. It had been a long and exhausting day. No leads as to where Carter might be and she felt as if each second that she wasn’t found meant her chances of ever being found were slipping away.

It was hard being purposely kept out of the loop and it appeared that Dan was going to great lengths to do so. The guys who usually shared bits of information about their cases were now silent and defaulted to the same line over and over again – “Nikki, you know I can’t talk to you about that.” It was all bullshit in Nikki’s mind. Dan knew this should be her case or at the very least be included in the proceedings. But then again Dan knew that if she did find Carter they’d never hear her side of the story because she would have ripped out her throat and beat her with it.

Upon entering the bedroom, her brow creased as she noticed a small gift box sitting on the edge of the bed. Smiling, she sat down next to it, thinking that Nora must have come home and left it for her. “Nora?” she called out. “Nora did you come home early, babe?”

No answer.

She got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, hoping that she’d find Nora soaking in the tub and waiting for her to join her. But she wasn’t there.

Going back to the bedroom, she began unwrapping the gift, eager to see what was inside. Her heart leaped into her throat as her eyes set upon a knife lying in a bed of red tissue paper. Closer inspection revealed it to be the knife she’d stabbed Nora with.

Quickly, she closed the lid and tossed it onto the dresser, disgusted and chilled. “God damn you Blade.”

The cop in her kicked in and she scoured the entire house, making sure nothing was disturbed. There was no sign of forced entry which put her on edge. “You bastard,” she mumbled under her breath, fists clenched by her sides. Even though it wasn’t Blade himself that went through her home, it didn’t make it any easier to take.

She thought about packing a bag and staying at her father’s house for the night, but that would mean he’d won and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Instead, she locked the house up tight and decided that a warm bath would sooth her frayed nerves.

2:12am – Wednesday – 7/22

Nikki now found herself downstairs, huddled in a ball on the couch, hands wrapped around a mug of tea as she stared into space. So much for the bath soothing her nerves. She knew she needed to sleep, her plans for tomorrow would require every bit of energy and focus she could muster. Yet, the dream… she shivered, spilling some of the hot liquid on her hand, the woman not even noticing as she was drawn back into her dream

Hands stroking along skin.

Legs tangling, a toe drawing up along the curved calf muscle, tickling the back of her knee.

Fingers walking along skin, treading over muscles, curling along curves, pushing into intimate places.

Sighs, moans, gasps, pleasure.

Two bodies tangled in sheets, the air heavy with the scent of sex and love.

The sheen of sweat indicating the intense activity, the pumping and grinding, hands and fingers stroking and thrusting. Bodies synced in a punctuated rhythm at first, then a wild, carnal need to finish.

Nikki woke, panting, her body curled against her lover, her fingers threaded through blonde hair. She hummed in delight as she remembered their earlier lovemaking, the way Nora touched her always drove her wild. Closing her eyes, she took in the scent of her skin, enjoying how she felt against her.

Moving her hand down towards Nora’s middle, she frowned as her hand came upon something other than Nora’s tanned skin. Propping herself up, she looked over her lover, drawing in a breath as she saw a knife protruding from Nora’s belly. “Nora!” she screamed in a panic, rolling Nora onto her back. Frantically trying to find a pulse, she couldn’t find one.

She leaped from the bed, backing herself against the wall and slid down to the floor, sobbing. Hesitantly, she looked up at the bed, bracing herself for the vision of Nora’s lifeless body lying amongst bloody sheets, but Nora wasn’t there and neither was the blood.

Feeling only partially relieved, Nikki got to her feet and inspected the bed. There was nothing there. Nora was gone. The empty feeling as shattering as seeing the lifeless body.

Nikki closed her eyes as a few tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.

Blade sending her that knife was like stabbing her in the heart. She and Nora were just getting past what had happened and considered Blade to be part of the past. It scared her how easily seeing the knife had opened up a wound; a wound that Nikki had to close on her own. Nora was in no condition to be dealing with this now. She knew what she had to do.

Setting her mug down on the coffee table, she wiped her eyes and headed back to bed.

Chapter 5

11:12am – Wednesday – 7/22

Nikki tried hard not to use her status for “favors”. She knew it irked Nora and because this favor was seated in their world of law enforcement, her request probably would get back to her partner. However, she had decided the severity of recent events overrode the scolding she would get. The timing of the little present yesterday mixed with Nora’s failed bust had driven her to make a few calls last night. The peachy little dream she’d had during her splintered sleep proved to be the final straw, fraying her nerves with a generous helping of guilt and anxiety. So she’d stepped up the favor–making this morning managing to unlock doors to get her into see a certain drug dealer. When she got the call back that her request for a meeting had been approved by the dealer, she was already on her way to the prison; she knew he would agree to see her.

Now she was pacing in a private meeting room, one normally used by lawyers to meet with their clients. A room that was free of recording devices and other prying eyes. The excuse she had used for the meeting went along the lines that she was clearing up some details from the conviction and trying for some possible names as the detective had a new case. Both she and Blade knew the real reason she was there. That knowledge giving Blade the smug cockiness he displayed as he was ushered into the room, his hands cuffed.

“15 minutes. Any knocking, yelling or other shit and the meeting is done. And don’t go trying anything, I’ll just shoot everyone and sort it later.” The guard gave both Nikki and Blade a glare; the expression one that backed the earlier statement. Nikki nodded and took a seat on one side of the small table in the center of the room, not bothering to look up as she heard a clink and rustle to indicate Blade had taken the other seat.

Her skin crawled just having him sit opposite her. Just knowing she had allowed him to touch her in places usually reserved for Nora’s hands made her stomach churn. But at the same time she knew it was her fault, allowing herself to take the drugs and give up her control. She worked to control her actions and emotions, the lack of sleep not helping her in this chore. She could feel his stare, his smugness keeping him quiet. She knew this was a play for control. How many times had she and Nora worked a person in the box. The sessions a meeting of minds, wits and always a play for control.

With a vivid jolt, Nikki realized it had always been about control. And she had given it away when she had walked into this so many months ago. She’d not just given away her control, but also Nora’s. It was time to take back control.

“Enjoying your games, Danny?” She looked up as she spoke, the use of his name intentional. He was just a simple man with a simple name, Danny Stout. Nothing about it spoke of the cruel and coldness that comprised him, that’s why he preferred the name Blade. It made him feel powerful. Nikki didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of giving him any power today.

“Completely.”

“I am glad.”

“Really? Just like you enjoyed our games earlier. You know, like stick a knife in the dirty pig.” A sick, sarcastic smile grew across his face as he licked his lips and stared at her. “That’s why I thought you should have it. To always remember our time together.” His stare almost burned a hole in her skull. “She bled so easy, didn’t she? Bet you have a hard time looking at those scars when you make love to her, don’t you?”

Nikki rested her arms on the table, leaning forward on them, refusing to react to his words. “That was only the warm up. You’ve not seen what I can really do…” She leaned forward even more, face to face with the man. “But you will. I’ll give it to you that you won the first round, Danny. But the final game will be mine.”

“You know, I like your sass. You showed the same spunk when you were riding me hard and begging for more.”

Inwardly Nikki recoiled, ashamed this was even a possibility. Disgusted she could never completely deny or refute if that had been true. She thought about something Nora had said the night they had first slept together after everything had happened.

They had been reconnecting, relearning, healing… and just as Nora had begun to slip inside her, Nikki had pulled away, curling up, a flash of a memory from when they had been undercover flooding her senses. Nikki had sobbed out the memory, afraid to hide anything else from her lover, but scared this would be the final straw. Sure as Nora heard what she had done, how she had lost control, that Nora would be as sickened as she was and never want to touch or even see her again. She’d been ready to flee, to run, to accept she had lost Nora. A hand to her shoulder had caught her before she could take flight. Rough hands pulled her back, made her face Nora, face the truth. Those strong hands had prevented her from running, had brought her back to the present. Green eyes bored deep into her soul that night. Questions asked, one after the other, and Nikki had answered everyone. She owed Nora; she would never deny her partner again.

As she had laid there, brown eyes locked with green, she’d made herself ready to accept what ever Nora gave. To finally lose everything important to her, to lose Nora’s love and respect.

Nora’s words hit her hard. Nora’s words saved her. Nora’s words had given her back much of the control she had loss.

“I love you Nikki Beaumont. Never, ever, forget that or doubt that. I love you. When all else gets fucked up, just always know, it’s me, you and love.”

Nikki could sense him watching her, like a predator tracking and playing with its prey. She stood then.

Danny’s smile faded, the drug dealer clearly not expecting this. “What, have nothing to say because you know it’s true? That you enjoyed what I did to you and Nora. What you did. That it wasn’t the drugs that made you do what you did.”

“I did what I did to catch a dirty criminal and make the streets safer. Considering you are in here and I am the one walking away, I would say I did everything I needed to do. Didn’t I? I control everything I do. Who controls these days what you do, Danny?”

Danny jerked at his handcuffs, the metal scraping across the table as he tried to turn and get Nikki to look at him. “I’m not done with you; I’m far from being done with her.”

“That’s too bad, see, we’re done with you. Goodbye Danny, enjoy your prison, while I enjoy my freedom.”

She never looked back as she heard the chair scrape, then hit the wall with force, the guard rushing in past her, yelling at Danny. She knew Danny was saying other things, could hear the drone of his voice, yet, the words were garbled, faded into the background like in a dream. She was done with him, she wanted to move on. It was time to take that precious gift Nora had given her, forgiveness. It was time to heal.

8:00pm – Wednesday – 7/22

Nikki went up to the front door, finding it unlocked and slightly ajar. Cursing that she’d not had a locksmith over to change the locks yet, her hand immediately went to her gun, pulling it free from it’s holster and aiming it in front of her as she quietly moved it open with her foot.

There were no lights on downstairs so it was hard to see if anyone might be hiding behind something, but this was her territory. She could have walked through the entire house blindfolded and not bumped into anything.

It was quiet and still in the house and as she neared the staircase, she figured that whomever had broken in was probably long gone at this point. Still, she continued to snake her way up the stairs as quietly as possible. She was tired of the games Blade was playing.

As she got to the top of the stairs she immediately noticed the light on in the bedroom. Her heart rate sped up as she quickened her steps to reach the room.

In one quick movement, she stormed through the doorway, gun aimed forward – right at Nora who was sitting on the edge of the bed holding the box.

Feeling as if all her blood had drained from her body, Nikki let her arms fall before returning the gun to it’s holster. “Nora! You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing home?” She thought it best not to address the issue of the box and it’s contents – hoping that it would miraculously disappear and not have to be discussed.

Nora’s body was rigid. “Where did you get this?”

“Nora, sweetheart, when…when did you get home.”

“Stop avoiding the question. WHERE did you get it?” Nora asked again with a stronger tone.

Nikki hung her head as she sat next to Nora. “Who do you think gave it to me?”

Nora licked her lips and shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me? When did this happen?”

“You had enough to worry about so I figured I’d tell you later. I got it yesterday but it’s fine.” Nikki’s attention went to Nora’s arm that was bound in a sling. Her nervous energy made her finger trace Nora’s fingers that peeked out of the cast.

“FINE?” Nora asked, eyes widening at Nikki’s insane comment. “How do you figure?”

“I took care of it. Now enough of that, why didn’t you call me to come get you?” Nikki began rubbing Nora’s arm only to have it pulled away as Nora stood.

“Because you didn’t answer your phone. Bobby came to get me.” Nora paced, still holding the box, remembering every twinge of pain the contents had caused her.

Nikki dug her cell from her pocket and quickly realized the battery had died. “Shit. My battery is dead, that’s why I missed your call. I’m sorry. I should have made sure I charged it in case you called.”

Nora stopped pacing and held the box in front of her. “Throw this out. I don’t even know why you kept it. You should have tossed it out the second you opened it.”

“I thought maybe you would want to do that.”

“Nik, I thought all of this was over and done with, a part of our past where we swore we’d never go again.”

Nikki stood up and took the box from her. “I didn’t ask him to send it, Nora. Do you honestly think that I intended to re–hash all of this all over again? Are you serious?”

Nora sighed and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”

“Would you have preferred that I kept it from you and never told you about it?”

Nora’s head snapped back up. “No. We talked about keeping things from each other and I definitely don’t want that.”

“Then I will give this to Darius to get rid of so that neither one of us has to touch it.” Nikki started to exit the room when Nora’s hand came down around her elbow, stopping her.

“What did you mean when you said you took care of it?”

Nikki’s eyes dropped away from Nora’s stare.

“Nik.”

“I went to see him. Told him that I’m through playing games and I’m in control now, not him.”

“Are you crazy? Wait! Don’t answer that.” Nora ran her fingers through her hair. “God, Nik. You know they told you to stay away from him or what really happened could come back to haunt you.”

Nikki shook the box. “It already has.” She exited the room, leaving Nora to question what Nikki’s next move would be.

Chapter 6

7:30am – Thursday – 7/23

Nikki’s phone rang on the night stand by the bed. “Ugh. I wanted to sleep in,” Nikki groaned as she reached over and grabbed it. “Beaumont.”

“Nikki, it’s me.”

“Daddy!” Nikki bolted upright in bed, waking Nora. “Are you okay? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart, but I think you need to come down here right away.”

“Wh…what’s wrong? I thought you said you were okay.”

“I am. But I found something in my office that would require your department and I thought I’d at least call you first. I know how the boys like to keep you and Nora out of the game sometimes.”

“I…we’ll be right there.” Nikki hung up the phone, still shocked.

“What’s wrong?” Nora asked, rubbing her eyes.

“He didn’t give me details but my father said he found something in his office that we should take a look at.”

“You don’t think Blade sent something to him related to…”

“I don’t know but we need to hurry and get there.”

8:10am – Thursday – 7/23

The two women entered Mr. Beaumont’s office and stopped dead in their tracks.

“Holy shit,” Nora gasped. “Uh, sorry, Mr. Beaumont.”

“Don’t apologize, Nora. I said a little more than that when I laid eyes on her when I walked in this morning.”

Carter was seated in his chair, eyes open and a mixture of cocaine and blood around her nose.

“She looks like she’s been dead for at least ten hours, but I’m no expert on that.” Nikki walked up to her body and hesitantly looked her over. “You bitch,” she mumbled by Carter’s ear, hoping there was some way she could hear her. “Looks like someone beat me to it.”

“Nikki,” Nora scolded her.

“What? This piece of shit almost killed you because she was too busy getting high.” No sooner had she said it, she really realized what she said.

Nora gave Nikki a look because it was all so similar. “I’ll call it in.”

When Nora left the room to make the call, Arthur pulled his daughter aside. “There is a lot of chatter going on and I think the two of you need to think about transferring.” He waved a finger towards Carter. “If this isn’t a blatant warning that I don’t know what is.”

Nikki thought back to her conversation with Tilton but stayed quiet. “We can’t just walk into Dan’s office and ask for a transfer. Not only will they think they’ve won but this is going to follow us wherever we go. It’s too late now.”

He grabbed her arm, pulling a little tighter. “I love you beyond words, Nikki. I have plenty of money to help you two walk away from this job and not only be happy but be safe.”

Nikki kissed her father on the cheek. “Thank you, daddy. This will be okay. Trust me.”

Nora walked back into the room. “Back up’s on the way.” Nora stared at Carter, chilled by her blank stare.

“Come on, let’s go out in the hall and wait. Plus, you need to sit down, you’re a little pale.”

Nora didn’t argue and followed Nikki into the hallway.

8:57am – Thursday – 7/23

Uniformed officers and fellow detectives arrived on the scene, including Dan.

“Technically, neither one of you should be here right now, especially you, Nora.”

“Good morning and good to see you too, Dan.” Nora half smiled at him but she knew him well and knew that he was saying these things for show.

Dan waved the photographer into the room to photograph the body. “I’m assuming your father made the discovery?”

“Yes,” Arthur chimed in before Nikki could.

Dan leaned in towards Nikki’s ear. “I’m going to overlook the fact that he called you first instead of us.”

Nikki responded with a pat on Dan’s shoulder.

Charlie walked down the hallway and immediately greeted Nora with a hug. “Hey, darlin’! I don’t want to squeeze you too tight. I’ve missed you.”

“Really? Or have you missed me bringing you beignets?”

“Both,” he said, smiling.

“Thought so!”

“Listen, I need to talk to you two when you have a moment. Maybe when I finish up here?”

“Sure, Charlie. What’s up?”

Charlie looked around at the swarms of officers. “Not here kinda thing.”

“Gotcha. Come by the house because Dan’s probably going to kick me out any minute now.”

Charlie winked at her and then entered Arthur’s office.

Nikki came out into the hallway to check on Nora. “Hey. You okay?”

“I’m fine. You want to take me home? Charlie said he needed to talk to us after he was done in there.”

Nikki felt uneasy. “He say why?”

“No. Must be something unrelated to this because this just happened.” Nora looked up to see Dan approaching. “I know. I know. I’m leaving.” Nora grabbed Nikki’s arm. “WE’RE leaving right now.”

“Good answer,” he said he straightened his tie. “Nikki, I’m sorry it has to be this way. My hands are tied.”

“I know it’s not you.”

Chapter 7

11:30am – Thursday – 7/23

Charlie walked out to the courtyard, finding the two women sitting at a glass table. “Ladies.”

“So. What do you make of the whole Carter thing?”

“Someone’s trying awfully hard to make it look like a suicide. But they’re pretty stupid because who commits suicide in your father’s office.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’ll know more when I get at her in the lab, but from what I saw at the scene, she’s been dead for at least ten to fifteen hours.”

Nora nodded at Nikki in reference to her guess of ten hours.

“So she had to have been killed elsewhere because daddy didn’t leave his office last night until around eleven.”

“I’ll check her for signs of being dragged to confirm, but my best guess is that she definitely did not die in your daddy’s chair. Someone’s sending you a message, darlin’, and I don’t think that Mr. Stout is the only one.”

Nikki didn’t flinch but Nora’s interest was piqued. “What do you mean?”

“You know that I have you gal’s backs and don’t buy into any of the bullshit boys games that are played. I think people think that because I’m a lab rat I’m not part of the team and so people speak a little too freely sometimes. I went down to the vending machine for an afternoon Snickers bar and before I rounded the corner I heard your names come up in conversation between detectives Hampton and Lee.

Nikki said nothing despite the hairs beginning to stand up on the back of her neck. Gerald Lee was Tilton’s partner. All sorts of questions began roaming around her head as she began thinking over her conversation with Tilton.

“What were they saying?” Nora asked as he watched him, intently.

“Well, I came in mid–conversation so I didn’t get all of it, but there was something about using Nora to get at Nikki. They seemed a little ticked off about Nikki coming from money and having bought her way into the department.”

“What?!?” Nikki exclaimed.

“They said a lot gets covered up when money talks and they’re going to make sure you gals know the rules. That’s really all I heard but it’s enough to be certain that either something’s going on or it’s about to.”

Nora sat back in her chair and looked at Nikki. She started to wonder if the rumors she’d heard back when Nikki joined the academy were true and that her father’s influence and money played a role in her getting a spot. She hated questioning it at all.

Nikki shook her head. “I can’t believe this. My father had nothing to do with me becoming a cop.”

“I think this goes deeper than this nonsense of your daddy buying your way in. Something ain’t right.” Charlie looked at his watch and stood up. “I better get back. I’ll let you know what I find out about Carter.”

Nora stared off into space as she suddenly recalled something Carter said in the car that night.

“Nora? You okay?” Nikki asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Nora snapped back into the conversation. “Um. Yeah. I…I just remembered something Carter said just before we crashed. She said ’this wasn’t supposed to go this way’.”

“I’ll let you know if I hear any other chatter.” Charlie patted Nora on the shoulder before turning to leave.

Neither woman said a word as both were lost in their own thoughts.

7:20pm – Thursday – 7/23

The sound of the doorbell ringing caught both women off guard as they were sitting at the table eating dinner. The two had become slightly paranoid over things that normally wouldn’t cause a second thought.

“I’ll get it,” Nikki said as she tucked her gun in the waistband of her pants and headed towards the door.

Nora followed behind her, not wanting to be too far away if something should happen.

Nikki opened the door and sighed as she found Charlie standing there. “Charlie. Wha…”

He didn’t wait for an invitation to come in and quickly pushed past her to go inside. “Sorry to barge in on you gals and I also apologize for not calling you sooner, but I’ve spent the past few hours dodging questions about Carter’s autopsy and my preliminary findings. All sorts of people are eager to learn what killed this girl which raises a flag or two.” Charlie reached over and shut the front door. “Let’s go in the kitchen. I don’t want prying eyes to see me here.”

The girls looked at one another, intrigued by the cloak and dagger act.

“Why? What gives?” Nora asked as they followed him into the kitchen.

Charlie reached into his jacket and pulled out a small evidence baggie with a piece of paper in it. “Found this jammed in her throat.”

Nikki took it from him and began reading it through the clear bag. “Beware of the boogeyman. He’s closer than you think.”

“I know this goes against everything, but I didn’t tell anyone about this. I wanted to show it to you and let you decide whether you want it to disappear or not.”

Nora shook her head. “We can’t destroy evidence. Besides, if we cover it up and it ends up coming out later then we’ll be in even more trouble.”

Nikki continued to stare at the note. Just looking at it made her feel like Blades hands were roaming all over her body. It made her sick to her stomach.

“I can take it back to the lab then and just say that I made a last minute discovery, but you gals better be careful.”

“Nik? You okay?” Nora touched Nikki’s arm, trying to break her trance.

“Huh? Yeah. Yeah.” She handed the bag back to Charlie. “What else did you find?”

“A few undigested Oxycodone’s in her stomach. There was cocaine residue around her nostrils, as you saw. Toxicology probably won’t come back with amounts for a few weeks, but she definitely took a decent hit of the stuff because it was all inside her nasal cavity. Looked like someone might have forced her to snort it because there were chunks of it in there.”

“Do you think there was enough in there to kill her?”

“Could have. But I think her cocktail of OxyCoke was what put her over the edge. She had some scrapes along her esophagus that indicates the pills might have been forced down her throat.”

“Did you see any drag marks on her?”

Charlie nodded. “Her armpits and shoulders had slight bruising where someone grabbed her and hauled her around. No fingerprints, I’m afraid. She had a lot of other deep bruising that might have been from the accident.”

Nora flinched at the sound of the word “accident”, immediately recalling the sound of glass shattering, tires squealing and metal crunching. It was something she couldn’t get out of her head and it only took little things to trigger the memory.

Nikki noticed Nora’s discomfort and put an arm around her. “We really appreciate you bringing this, Charlie. You better be careful as well. If someone finds out…”

“They won’t,” he assured them as he tucked the baggie back into his pocket. “I’ve got a hike back to my car that I parked about four blocks away so you ladies have a good evening. Or at least try to.” He smiled and walked out the door, cautious of his surroundings.

Nikki hugged Nora. “This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”

Nora chuckled. “Oh yeah. This is great.” She closed her eyes and took in Nikki’s scent. “We’re in big trouble, Nik.”

Nikki moved away from her in order to look her in the eye. “I’m not going to let them win, you hear me?”

“It’s not about winning. This isn’t a game.”

“To them it is.”

“To me it’s not. Our lives are on the line.” Nora paused for a moment, moving away from Nikki. “I think Carter set me up to get me killed at the warehouse.”

“What?”

“When I came back to the station that day after lunch, she just kind of grabbed me and told me we had to go, that there was a lead at this warehouse. She just gave me vague details while we were driving over there. She looked nervous and I just chalked it up to being nervous about the case.”

“Did she look like she was under the influence then?”

“I don’t think so. Nothing like when she came to pick me up.”

Nikki started pacing. “So we need to find out where she went when she was supposed to be waiting for you out in the car. We figure that out and maybe we find out what’s going on around here.”

“She couldn’t have been too far away from the warehouse because…” Nora’s phone rang, interrupting her train of thought. “Delaney.” Nora listened for a second before her eyes widened. “What? When?”

Nikki looked at her intently, wondering what was going on.

“Geezus. Yeah, I’ll let Nikki know. Thanks for calling, Bobby.” She snapped her phone shut and shook her head.

“What? What is it?”

“They just pulled Tilton’s body out of Lake Borgne.”

Nikki sank to the floor and put her head in her hands.

Nora put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she eased herself down beside her. “I’m sorry, Nik. I know he’s not just a fellow cop but a family friend.”

“This is spinning out of control and we need to stop it.” Nikki wiped at the tears in her eyes before springing to her feet.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to pay Detective Lee a visit and find out where his sorry ass was when this happened. My guess is he’s got a convenient alibi in the form of Detective Hampton. Damn bastard.”

Nora winced slightly as she got up, her side still sore. “Wait. You’re not going anywhere near him. You do that and you’ll make this worse.”

“Worse?? Can it get any fucking worse, Nora?”

“Yeah, it can. We can both wind up in the Lake.” Nora grabbed Nikki’s arm and rubbed it, trying to soothe her. “Let’s stop for a second and think this through. A nice bath would be relaxing for the both of us. Let us heal a little more before we start digging, yeah?”

Nikki breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly, trying to calm herself. “Maybe you’re right.”

“You know I am.”

END…..for now…..