by Kelly Goode
Tom’s eyes seemed to naturally seek out the only woman in the room. Doctor Helen Peters was sitting at a desk leafing through a report. Her long red hair was tied up on top of her head and he noticed she chewed the end of her pencil as she read. While he had Lydia covering the lab, Peters was covering the medical duties for Doctor Malone in his unplanned absence. She didn’t have the clearance to know what the people she was charged with treating actually did for a living, but claw marks were hard to explain and he knew it wouldn’t be long before she started asking questions.
Tom switched his attention to Matt and Blake, as they conversed beside the vending machine. They seemed angry and he could guess the subject that had led to such an intense disagreement.
Carson.
As if thinking about her had conjured her up, she slammed through the double doors with her usual confidence strapped in place like armour. Tom inhaled sharply, as he felt his legs weaken beneath him. In that split-second, it was as if her mother was standing before him and it wrenched his already broken-heart from his chest. He’d always known Carson would end up looking like Karen and it was something he’d learned to deal with over the years, but now it was like staring at the ghost of a dead woman. A woman he’d loved and still missed every single day. A chill ran down his spine when he recalled her dying words.
‘Don’t tell Carson about the aliens.’
He’d fucked that up good and proper. It was a good job he didn’t believe in ghosts, as Karen would be haunting him day and night for the direction Carson’s life had taken.
‘What’s she doing here?’
Doctor Peters’ voice cut through his contemplations, as she slammed down her papers and got to her feet.
‘I called her in,’ Tom replied.
‘Against my direct orders, Chief Melman. What were you thinking? Carson, you don’t have to return to work if you don’t want to. I recommended rest for a reason. Have you tried the sleeping pills yet?’
‘No need, I’m fine,’ she said firmly.
‘She said she’s fine,’ Tom repeated, and Doctor Peters’ eyes narrowed.
‘Then I’m no longer required,’ she said, scooping up her papers and slamming them into her satchel. Some of her red hair had escaped from its band and fallen in front of her face. ‘I only helped out your department as a favour for my boss, and yet I’m still here at some ridiculous time in the morning. And for what? You don’t care about my medical opinion. I must be off my trolley. This department doesn’t need me. It doesn’t need anyone. You’re a law unto yourselves.’
‘Come on, of course I need you, doc,’ Tom replied in an attempt to placate her. ‘Who else is going to sign Carson as fit to return to work?’
The colour continued to bloom across her face like a rose opening its petals, turning her creamy white cheekbones a deep shade of crimson.
‘As you seem to think you have your own PHD in medicine, Chief Melman – YOU can sign her fit to work. I’m out of here.’
26
‘The doc is talking sense. I thought Carson was out for the foreseeable future, chief.’
Carson regarded Sheridan as he rested against the vending machine, sipping from a steaming plastic cup. His dark eyes assessed her, and not in a good way - like the way a man looks at a woman when he’s interested in her - more like he was trying to work out whether he could prove she’d slept with someone higher up the chain of command in order to secure a place in the department.
‘I’m recovered,’ Carson said, deliberately ignoring both Sheridan and Blake, and concentrating solely on Tom. He was the one who’d called her back so she didn’t care what the rest of the team thought about her, and that included Doctor Peters.
Tom cleared his throat and took a step towards her.
‘You look better, Towers.’
‘I feel better, sir.’
‘Come off it, she looks like shit,’ Sheridan said.
‘Watch your tone,’ Tom said sharply, and Carson knew that by defending her, he was letting her know that things were alright between them. Yesterday’s disagreement would be forgotten and she could get back to doing what she did best.
Killing things.
‘I really am fine, sir,’ Carson said firmly and Tom nodded in agreement.
‘Good enough for me,’ he said, and then addressed the rest of team. ‘Right, anyone that pulled a double shift needs to go home and sleep. Come back in eight hours and I’ll have new assignments for you.’
‘I’ll stay,’ Blake said, and Carson deliberately disregarded the concern in his green eyes. She was still pissed off with him and he was standing far too close, his scent filling her nose and doing strange things to her stomach.
‘No, you need to go home, Blake,’ Tom replied. ‘You need the rest more than anyone as you’ve been up all night.’
Sheridan sniggered.
‘I bet he has. Rumour has it Carson’s bed is a tiring place.’
Carson looked up at Blake in alarm. His dark blond hair was wild around his shoulders and the black stubble on his chin only highlighted the set of his jaw. He looked like he wanted to rip someone’s head off, so she reached out and lightly touched his arm, her way of telling him she’d handle it.
‘Have you got a problem, Sheridan?’ she asked, keeping her voice as even as possible. It was no secret that Matt had issues with her. Tom said it was because they had similar temperaments and saw the worse in each other, but Carson just thought it was because he was a chauvinist pig.
Sheridan shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’m sure you two think you’re being secretive, leaving it five minutes before you come into the office separately every day, but we all know what you’re really doing when you’re out in the field together.’
‘Do yourself a favour and shut up,’ Carson snapped. ‘You don’t know shit about my life or Blake’s.’
‘I know you’re a liability… and a sure thing.’
It took Carson a few seconds to process what he’d actually said, but Blake reacted straight away. He growled, and it was a deep angry sound that sounded more animal than human. His teeth were clenched so tightly that it changed the entire shape of his face and for a few seconds he didn’t even look like himself.
‘Say one more fucking word about her,’ he threatened. ‘One more fucking word and I’ll kill you. I swear it.’
Blake sounded as if he’d follow through on his warning, but she didn’t need him to fight her battles. Carson crossed the room and stood toe-to-toe with the other agent. They were roughly the same height and their faces were only centimetres apart.
‘Everyone knows you two are involved,’ Sheridan said, and he even had the audacity to smile.
‘Involved?’ she repeated. ‘Of course we’re involved. We’re partners, like you and Finch.’
Carson wondered where Finch was, as the older agent usually acted as Sheridan’s filter and kept him out of trouble. He was a decent agent, but he hated conflicted and lacked that killer instinct that the rest of the team had. He preferred working with computers than people.
Sheridan sneered as he looked her up and down. ‘Oh, I seriously doubt that, Towers. For one, Finch and I don’t share a bed when we’re on assignment.’
Carson’s jaw clenched and she raised her arm, ready to knock the smirk from his face but winced as the movement strained her already bruised muscles. Blake took a step forward and it was only Tom’s booming voice that stopped things descending into chaos.
‘I’ve heard enough.’
The red mist that surrounded her was intense and she deliberately stepped far enough away that she couldn’t hit Sheridan, even if she wanted to.
‘What the hell has got into everyone?’ Tom continued. ‘As if it’s not bad enough that I have one missing doctor and one that has just walked out on me, you two are acting as if you’re in the school playground.’
‘He started it,’ Carson said, nodding towards Sheridan.
‘And I’m finishing it. Holloway and Sheridan, you’re both
dismissed. Go home and sleep. I’m putting everyone’s outbursts down to tiredness. It’s affecting people’s judgement, so when Finch arrives, he’ll work with Towers. I don’t want to hear any arguments.’
Blake had opened his mouth to do just that but he quickly shut it again and stalked out of the room. Matt followed quickly behind him.
‘Sheridan has made a serious allegation about you and Blake,’ Tom said once the door slammed shut. ‘Do I need to be worried about it?’
‘Of course not. I’ve never lied to you before, and I’m not about to start now.’
Carson maintained Tom’s eye contact, willing him to believe her, hoping that he would trust her enough to realise she was being sincere.
‘I believe you,’ he finally said. ‘Just don’t make me regret it.’
‘Thank you.’
Tom headed back into his office and Carson sighed. It was almost true that she’d never lied to him. There was one time when she’d sworn she wasn’t sleeping with the boy that came over to tutor her for maths, but that was only a little lie and she’d aced that algebra test.
27
Carson took a moment to compose herself in the ladies room. Never having been one to cry, she was doing her best to keep her rage in check. She’d splashed cold water on her face and taken some mediating breaths. It was supposed to calm her, but the feelings of betrayal and anger still pulsated through her body. She’d never wanted to hit someone more than she’d wanted to hit Sheridan, alien-scum included. He’d called her a liability but she was no more of a burden than he was, and certainly no more because she was a woman. It wasn’t Matt, Blake, or even Tom’s job to look after her. She didn’t expect them to be responsible for her.
Carson walked slowly back to her desk. The floor was eerily empty, but for Tom pacing inside his office, mobile phone in his hand. He seemed agitated as she came to stand outside his door. She tried to piece together snatches of his conversation. The door was open so she wasn’t strictly eavesdropping, but she flinched when he mentioned the warehouse and then her name. Tom halted when he saw her and a slightly guilty look crossed his face before he mumbled something into the mouthpiece and put his phone down.
‘Stop lurking, Towers,’ he barked, and Carson stepped fully inside his office.
‘I wanted to say thank you again, before I left to meet Finch. I appreciate you backing me up in front of the team.’
‘Sheridan has always been impulsive, but he’s a strong agent. He obviously has a problem with you and Blake working so closely together.’
‘Nothing is going on between us. I know you don’t like agents dating and I can assure you the thought hasn’t even crossed our minds.’
Carson’s fingers were crossed behind her back as she thought about that scorching kiss they’d shared. It wasn’t a lie, as that had nothing to do with dating and everything to do with tearing each other’s clothes off.
Tom swallowed deeply. ‘It’s not just the fact you work with Blake. I hate the thought of you being romantically involved with anyone. You’ll always be a little girl in my eyes. If I had my way, you’d still be playing with dolls and tea sets.’
‘I don’t think I ever played with dolls.’
‘Sure you did. Whenever I used to visit your mother, you would carry that doctor’s case around with you everywhere and operate on your dolls. Severed limbs or decapitation, you put them right again. You would’ve made a good surgeon, Carson.’
‘Maybe, but Mr Walker changed all that,’ she replied softly.
There was a flash of pain in Tom’s eyes as they both recalled the mauled bodies in the school science lab and the cover up operation he’d instigated.
‘You had to grow up pretty quickly after that,’ he conceded.
‘I gave up the rest of my teenage years so you could train me to kill aliens. We couldn’t really go back to baking cookies together after something like that.’
‘I suppose not.’
‘I am what I am.’
He nodded.
‘I know that. So do what you do best, go with Finch and find me another damn alien to question.’
Tom’s mobile phone started ringing again.
‘I saw the news report about our warehouse,’ she said. ‘Reporters were swarming like ants at a picnic. Any idea why?’
‘I’ve not seen the full footage yet, but they’ll have no story. Someone called in an anonymous tip, but it’s a prank. The place is clean, we always leave it clean. Something bigger will happen and they’ll move onto the next rumour. I have to answer this.’
He lifted the phone to his ear.
‘Hello? Yes, this is Chief Melman.’
Carson busied herself looking around his office so he wouldn’t think she was listening. It was neat and organised as expected. His home was the same, and some of his minimalistic ways had rubbed off on her over the years. She felt a stab in the chest as she recalled her family home, before her mother’s death, which tended to look like it had been turned upside down and shaken from her father’s excessive drinking sessions. As her gaze returned to Tom, she froze. His face had turned grey and his lips were drawn together in a tight line.
‘Are you ok? You look like you’re going to have a heart attack.’
Carson watched him slowly disconnect from the call and place his mobile once more on his desk. His face was set like stone and his dark moustache created a perfect downturned arc.
‘What’s happened? You’re scaring me now. You’re pale and silent. What’s going on?’
Tom hung his head.
‘They found something.’
‘At the warehouse?’
Her voice came out as a whisper and her throat felt as if it had closed in on itself.
‘Yeah, they found a body,’ Tom replied. ‘A little girl’s body.’
28
‘You have ten seconds to explain what you’re doing on my crime scene, lady.’
Carson’s hands froze around her phone at the booming voice above her– busted –she was down on her knees with nowhere to go. She’d been examining a pile of bones, which had definitely not been near the warehouse yesterday. Blake had scoured every square inch of the place and he wouldn’t have missed them. She looked for Finch, but he was talking to a crime scene officer outside a small white tent. She hoped he was having better luck than her in getting information about what had happened here.
‘Five seconds left.’
Carson slowly rose to her feet and stealthily concealed her phone in her trouser pocket, as she didn’t want anyone to know she’d taken photos of the bones. At the same time, she pulled out a fake I.D. badge, praying her sleight of hand would remain undetected.
‘Hello, my name is Carson Towers.’
She turned around and held out her badge for inspection.
‘Your WPC already cleared me,’ she added. ‘I signed the log.’
‘Is that so?’
She nodded at the scowling man who looked as if he’d come directly from the eveningwear section of a catalogue. His grey suit was immaculate and there was not a single smudge of dirt on his trousers from wading through the forest. He had tanned skin, which looked hereditary not faked. His dark hair was slicked away from his face and he had equally dark brown eyes, but there was no warmth in them. They were hard, sceptical, and staring right into hers.
‘Towers you say, I don’t know any Towers. Have we worked together before? I think I would have remembered you.’
Carson swallowed deeply. This man wasn’t going to make it easy for her, so she took a deep breath and squared back her shoulders. The smell of wet trees and pinecones reminded her of Blake and she wished he were here. He was always good at talking them out of a situation. She tended to think more with her gun than her brain.
‘Are you the lead inspector on this one?’ she asked.
‘What’s it to you?’
‘I’m from animal control,’ she replied, and for the first time, he actually looked down at her badge. She tried not to fidge
t as he scrutinised her I.D.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked.
‘I was asked to check whether the bones could have been left here by an animal.’
‘Did a stray do that to you?’ he asked, nodding at the purple, scarred welts on her arms and she wished she’d remembered to wear long sleeves.
‘Yeah.’
‘Must’ve been one hell of a dog.’
Carson thought about the numerous aliens that had left their marks on her body.
‘Something like that,’ she replied dismissively, but surprisingly the man smiled and it changed his entire face. His dark eyes crinkled and she found herself smiling back automatically.
‘Ok, so I get why you’re here and I apologise for snapping. Have you finished picking through my bones? Did an animal do this?’
He moved a step closer, but she held her ground.
‘Your bones? Wow, you’re possessive.’
‘I heard it’s a good quality in a man,’ he quipped as he extended his hand, which she shook. ‘I’m DI Raider. How long you been with Animal Control?’
‘Long enough.’
‘Do you like your job?’
‘Of course.’
‘Have you got any other remarkable talents?’
‘Like what?’ she asked, puzzled at his line of questioning.
‘Are you good at anything else? Accountancy? Singing? Waitressing?
‘No.’
‘Well I’d suggest you try to find another skill to fall back on, as you’re clearly not very good at catching animals, judging by the state of your arms.’
Carson realised he was trying to make her smile again and it worked. She watched as he circled the area, probably checking to see if she had touched or taken anything.
‘So now that you’ve seen the bones, what’s your conclusion?’
