Trained To Kill (14 page)

“
Where are your
gloves?”

“
Upstairs.”

Alex shook his head. They looked at
each other for a moment, each remembering the kiss from last
night.

Isa looked away first. “It can’t
happen Alex.”

“
Why? After the case is
over…”

“
IT CAN’T,” Isa said with
such a strong conviction, Alex sat back in his seat in surprise and
regarded her silently. Turning away, he put the car in gear and
pulled out into traffic.

“
We can talk about it
later. What about DeCarlo? I thought you were going to send me
stuff anonymously.”

Isa was a little embarrassed about her
outburst, so she was happy to focus on DeCarlo. “Well, I don’t know
if it has anything to do with your case. But, I’m not sure yet. It
could.”

What she had seen in his computer
should not be there.

“
What was it?”

“
Me.”

“
What do you mean? He has
information on you?”

“
Yes. Everything.
Everything since I was a child until now. He has files and pictures
and some sort of journal about me.” Including my time with
Rosenthal and Riley, she added silently in her head. Isa felt cold
pricks of sweat pop out on her hair line despite the cold. Shit, he
could bury me. How did he know? How did he follow me? I had no idea
anyone was there.

The car was dead silent. If they
hadn’t been in the middle of NY traffic, you could have heard their
hearts beating.

“
So, he’s been stalking
you,” Alex said slowly.

“
Maybe. Or maybe he had
someone else do it. I don’t know. I’ve never met the
man.”

“
What was the
tone?”

“
The tone?”

“
Yeah, the tone. You know,
the vibe,” Alex gestured with his hand. “Was it like romantic, or
crazy, or was it like just facts, like a report?”

“
I didn’t have to time to
read all of it, but I guess it was like a report. There were some
things that seemed a little more romantic though, I guess. I don’t
know.” Isa rammed her elbow against the car door and ran a hand
through her hair, ripping off her toboggan.

“
Ok,” Alex’s voice was
soothing, the rough edges of it smoothing out her frayed nerves.
“Take a breath.”

Isa closed her eyes and went to her
lake. She smoothed the ripples on the water. She felt much calmer
when she felt Alex pull over and stop. She opened her eyes, to find
him watching her.

“
Where the hell are
we?”

“
My father’s house in
Brooklyn.”

“
What?”

“
I asked you to wait. You
said no.”

“
Jesus.”

“
Come in before we freeze
to death.”

Alex was looking forward to seeing his
family. He hadn't had much contact since he had been under. His
sister had gone and grown up, getting engaged to her long-time
college boyfriend, Mason. Coleen was the baby, little sister to
three big, overprotective brothers. So Mason had a lot to live up
to. But he had stuck it out. Alex didn't know him as well as Brian,
Matt, and their father, Mike. He had been underground for so much
of the past 7 years, he hadn't seen Coleen graduate.

He could tell from the cars parked
around the street that the whole family was here. His father lived
in a small, blue, shotgun house behind a chain link fence with a
postage stamp yard and cracked sidewalk. But, it was home. They had
grown up here. They laughed, they wrestled, and they rode their
bikes and skateboards. They had sat on the front steps and kissed
their first girlfriends. Dad had come home every night at 7:00 pm
through the red and white front door. Their mother's picture was on
the mantle, and school pictures hung on every wall. Trophies lined
the bookshelves.

Alex hauled his laundry basket though
that same front door without knocking and called out, "Hey, hey!"
He held it open with his foot for Isa, and gestured her in with his
head.

He kept going to the back through the
kitchen, stopping briefly to kiss his Aunt Marie's
cheek.

“
This is Isa,” he said in
introduction and continued to the laundry room. He dumped
everything in and started the washer going. He went straight to the
coffee machine and poured a giant cup. His aunt was leaning against
the counter smiling at him.

"Alex, you've been away
forever."

Smiling sadly, Alex said, "I know. I'm
sorry."

"Well, we understand. But it's good to
lay eyes on you."

Isa was leaning against the counter,
opposite of Marie, watching him. Aunt Marie was flipping her head
back and forth between them, smiling hugely. Penelope, the dog
Coleen had begged for when she was 16, came hobbling into the
kitchen to greet him and he squatted down to rub her
belly.

“
Alex, you didn’t say you
were bringing a lady.”

“
I didn’t know I was. This
is Isa, she and I are working together, sort of.”

“
I see. Well it’s lovely
to meet you dear. Alex hasn’t brought a lady here since high
school.” Marie laughed. Isa felt a smile tug at her lips. Marie
loved the fact that Isa and Alex were slightly uncomfortable. Isa
could appreciate a sadistic streak as much as the next
person.

They went into the living room and
Alex was hugged and punched almost simultaneously by his two
brothers. His father gave him a kiss and a hug. Mike had always
been a kisser, never afraid to show affection toward his kids.
Coleen gave him a hug too and he and Mason shook hands.

“
Everyone this is Isadora
La Beau. She and I are working together on a case. We had something
urgent to discuss, so we had to talk in the car on the way over
here. Isa, this is my Dad, Mike; brothers, Brain and Matt; sister,
Coleen; and her fiancé, Mason.” Alex pointed as he spoke and Isa
shook hands all around. Brian tried to give up his seat for her,
but she waved him back down, and the jumble of mismatched furniture
in the living room was packed, so she and Alex sat on the floor
next to Penelope. Setting his coffee on the floor beside him, Alex
continued to rub Penelope’s belly.

"So," Coleen began. "We wanted
everyone together so we could tell you all at once. I'm just glad
you could make it Alex." Coleen smiled brightly as Alex toasted her
with his coffee cup.

Isa made to stand up, “I can wait in
the kitchen.”

“
No,” several people
yelled, surprising her. “Sit,” Marie said. Isa sat. Alex smirked
behind his cup.

Isa listened with half an ear as
Coleen spoke, and studied Alex’s family. She recognized them from
the pictures in his apartment.

"Since neither Mason nor I have had a
vacation or a Spring Break because we've always worked,” Coleen
continued, “we've decided to take our savings and get married in
Hawaii!" Coleen’s brownish-reddish hair was exactly like Alex, Mike
and Brian. The Jackson family’s Elven-like features went well with
her freckles and brown eyes.

"Oh that's wonderful!" Aunt Marie
cried. Marie’s brown hair was a bit fairer and she had a prunish
mouth and colored-in eyebrows. Isa saw she looked like Alex’s
mother, if the pictures on the wall were any indication. Her
sister.

"Hey that's great!" Matt said. He was
stockier than either of his brothers and bulkier. He lifted
regularly, she could tell. He favored their mother, with lighter
brown hair and blue eyes.

"Congratulations!" Mike was an older
version of Matt, stockier than Brian and Alex, but nowhere near as
bulky as Matt. His features were careworn. His hair was going gray,
but she could still see the resemblance to Alex’s.

"I hate flying." The last was said by
Brian, ever the cynical brother. They ignored him. He looked the
most like Alex, Isa concluded. They had the same color hair and
eyes, and they were the same height. Alex had a bit more muscle
definition though, and Brian wore glasses, the only one in the
family that did as far as Isa saw.

"Thanks everybody. We're really
looking forward to it. But, you know we understand if you can't all
make it, especially you Alex." Seven heads turned toward him, eight
counting Penelope.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Alex
said. "I'm thinking of transferring out of Narcotics and
undercover." This was followed by a stunned silence.

Then Aunt Marie cried out, "Oh thank
you Jesus!" and they all laughed.

"What happened?" his father
asked.

"No one thing really. I just want a
change." Alex changed the attention back to Coleen's wedding. "I'll
do everything I can to make it there little sister. Do you have a
date?"

His father continued to look at him in
concern. Alex returned his gaze and gave him a small smile to
reassure him.

"Right after graduation. May 22nd, we
think." Mason said. "We'll let you know right away so you can start
booking flights. And we'll have the hotel information for you."
Mason was the outsider. He was blonde and blue eyed. With ruddy
skin and a frat boy build. Isa felt better that he was there. She
didn’t stand out quite as much with her pale, blonde
head.

Aunt Marie and Coleen immediately
began to discuss ceremony details, and Alex tuned them out. He got
up and went back for more coffee and started cooking some eggs. Isa
followed behind silently. She sat at the table watching him. He was
going to die with nothing but caffeine in his stomach.

“
You want any?” Isa shook
her head, but got up and helped herself to some coffee. His father
came in while he was scrambling his eggs and gave him a
look.

"What?"

"You know what," Mike said. "What's
going on? Are you in trouble? Are you in danger?"

"No Dad." Alex plated his eggs and sat
at the kitchen table with his father and Isa. She looked a silent
question at Alex, and he shook his head. Mike patted her hand and
smiled at her.

After taking several big bites, Alex
continued. "I'm just...tired," he said with small shrug. "It's
starting to get to me and I want out before I burn out."

"Did you talk to Able about this?"
Captain Williams and the Jackson's were close.

"Yea, briefly. I'm still in the middle
of a case right now,” he said, cutting his eyes toward Isa, “so
it's nothing official yet." Alex finished his eggs and rinsed his
pate at the sink. "He actually seemed a little relieved so maybe I
should have done this awhile ago." Alex thought for a minute. "I
missed Coleen's graduation. I missed Brian's wedding for Christ's
sake. I barely know Mason. I can't go into details, but my cover
was blown so I took it as a sign that I should get out while I
still can."

Isa’s head came up sharply at that.
She hadn’t known his cover had been blown. She had just thought he
had had to make an arrest quickly.

"Is everything ok with your case,"
Mike asked looking between them. Alex knew what he was asking. Was
he going to be gunned down by a drug dealer?

"It is what it is Dad." Alex always
answered the same way. Cops families all lived with the same fear.
They had to live with it or they couldn't live.

Isa glanced at his father and looked
back down in to her coffee cup.

"What would you do if you
transfer?"

"I'm thinking Major Cases.” Alex
paused. “If I can get in."

Mike nodded. "Ok. I'm glad you're
thinking about it. I hate not knowing where you are or what you're
doing, for all of us. You always got in trouble when you were a
kid, and I can't you out of this kind of trouble. You know how
proud I am of you?"

"I know Dad. Thanks."

"So, how is everything else? Got a
girl yet?” He elbowed Isa and winked. She smiled shyly and shook
her head. She wasn’t used to dealing with affectionate family
members.

Alex laughed, "Not exactly
Dad."

Alex went to put his clothes in the
dryer and he couldn't help but listen to Mike asking Isa questions.
She answered honestly, if vaguely. Mike was thrilled that she was
such a young business owner. He told her about opening Mike’s
Mitts, his baseball shop when he was her age.

Brian walked in and got some coffee
and took Alex’s vacated seat. “They’re still on about dresses in
there,” he said. “So, Isa how did you meet my troublemaker
brother?”

“
Well, his case involves
one of my businesses.”

“
Oh. Did you do something
illegal?”

“
Brian! What the
hell?”

“
Not since last night,”
Isa smiled with fake innocence.

Brian laughed. “I like her Alex. You
should keep her.”

Alex narrowed his eyes at his brother.
He could laugh; he didn’t know she was telling the truth. He
glanced over at her and they shared a private look. They both
looked away quickly before they started to laugh. Alex shook his
head, he shouldn’t be laughing; he was a cop.

“
What about you Isa?
Seeing anyone?” Mike asked.

“
Um…”