by Marsh, Kaley
Table of Contents
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
“Natalia is assigned to Precinct 13 as an investigative reporter for her local television. Her life would forever change when she was given a tip about a possible shooting at a location. She tells the story of how her relationship with Robert the Detective changed from contempt to desire when caught in a life threatening situation.”
Part One
“You broke it you son of a bitch!” She screamed in fury, “Hey don’t walk away from me!” The man pretended not to hear her and kept walking. “Hey, you’re gonna pay for this!”
Natalia’s blood pumped hotly in her veins as she tried to assemble her camera. It was only two weeks old and she’d saved up for three months to get it. Now it was broken. The warranty did not cover these kinds of ‘accidents’ so this was a huge loss for her.
“That bastard,” she cursed under her breath. “You’ll hear from me with a bill.”
“Miss, you’ve got to move from here. This is a crime scene,” a policeman said as he approached.
“I’m a reporter,” she started.
“Ma’am, you’ve got to move!”
The memory of those first months when she worked with him came back to her in a rush. It was so infuriating that she could not do her job. Natalia was assigned to the investigative department of WTLH television. Her job was to keep abreast of what was happening in the police department. Cops don’t like reporters and it was clear in the treatment they gave her. She knew it wasn’t because she was black because her fellow African American officers were the same to her.
She touched her tummy and sighed at those memories. Her mind drifted off again. This time there was no denying that something dramatic was about to take place. Her life forever changed that day when…….
She was in the precinct when the call came in about a stabbing. The detective on duty should have informed her but he was the worst of the lot. He treated her like a pariah. Without a word to her, Detective Robert Cullum signaled to his partner and rushed out the door. She had jumped in her car a followed them to the location which was on the outskirts of town.
Athens was a mid-sized city in Georgia. It was small compared to Atlanta but held its own history. The crime rate is just like any other major city and the news had to be told. This part of town was mostly populated by working class African Americans. It was peaceful for the most part but the occasional dispute would surface.
Natalia had blindly followed her instincts and followed the detectives in a bid to get her job done. She had stepped into a domestic dispute gone awry because there was blood on the front porch of the house. Her camera was all ready to take pictures and she was about to do that when the dark brown haired detective ordered her to stop.
“What?”
“Step back Miss,” he repeated.
“Just a few pictures. I promise I won’t touch anything.”
“Are you deaf? What’s the matter with you?” Robert’s face distorted in an angry line. His blue eyes became icy as he glared at her. “I’m warning you…,” he started.
“Why are you being like this? You know this is my job and I was assigned to your precinct. You even left without telling me anything, I had to follow you here,” Natalia stated.
Robert was annoyed. He hated reporters. He believed that they sensationalize the facts in order to sell the news. Why can’t they just tell it as it is? There is always some plot or something to uncover. The police were also scrutinized by the media and Robert had had enough. The cops always came out looking like the bad guys and he wasn’t going to give in no matter how pretty the new reporter was.
He walked across the yard to where the woman of the house was standing and glanced in Natalia’s direction. Her golden brown skin glimmered in the light of the fluorescent bulb on the front lawn. He had to admit that she was something to look at. Her lips were soft and especially pretty when she pouted. It was very hard for him to concentrate when he was around her. At least that’s what he told her afterwards.
He could clearly see that she was upset because he wouldn’t let her near the victim who was being tended to by the paramedics. Robert had just decided that maybe he would let her talk to the wife after they were done and maybe get a few pictures after they collected whatever evidence there was; when he saw her pushed beyond the yellow tape and started taking photos.
Angrily he stormed over to the reporter and without thinking he pushed her camera. The device fell on the concrete driveway and he could hear the crack as it hit the ground. Without as much as an apology he turned and walked towards the porch of the house. Soon after another officer came and asked her to move.
Natalia was pissed and for good reason. Ever since she was assigned to the department the detective gave her a warm time. She had no idea why he hated her so much. Now her brand new camera was broken and he was showing no signs of remorse. She wasn’t going to let it slide and she was determined not to leave the scene without photos so she took out her phone and started snapping.
Robert was busy and had taken his mind off the pesky reporter. He thought she would be busy piecing back her camera together. He had no idea it was broken for he thought her outburst was typical. They all yell that their cameras were broken in order to get attention.
Natalia didn’t get to talk to the wife nor the husband who was suffering from multiple cuts on his arm and a shallow stab wound. However she got an earful from the nosy neighbor who told her that the husband was cheating and was caught with his pants down. It was a very funny story and she could not help giggling under her breath as the neighbor told her about it.
“I tell you, he deserved it. Glad it wasn’t worse but that poor woman has…,” the neighbor was saying as her phone went off.
“Excuse me,” she said and walked towards her car, “hello?” It was this phone call which forever changed her life.
“I got something for you,” it was one of her sources.
“Tell me,” she replied.
“437 South Avenue, eleven tomorrow night….click,” before she could respond he hung up.
This was not strange behavior for the guy was constantly looking over his shoulder. He was a member of the Blood Fire Posse. She believed he was and undercover cop but could not prove it. He always gave her very valuable information but she also knew he liked her. Natalia could not figure out his angle and that often made her anxious.
Eleven was pretty late for her to be alone but she could take care of herself. Usually she would check out the location in daylight to get an idea of where she would hide herself then she would park her car a block away and get there earlier in order to see what was happening. She found that worked best for her for she didn’t like surprises.
At ten thirty the following evening Natalia found herself crouched behind the hedges of an abandoned lot. Across the road was 437 and in front of the red brick apartment building was an unmarked car with two men drinking coffee. Directly in front of the car was an abandoned vehicle without tires. The car was on her side of the street in the shadows but it was obvious to her who the men were. She shook her head. Natalia had no idea where the target was but there was the detective and his partner on a stake out.
“This isn’t good,” she whispered to herself. “They’ve been busted! Jeez, what have I got myself into?”
As she pondered her options a shadow stepped from behind the huge dumpster at the far end of the building. The area was a bit dark and the car with the detectives was facing the opposite direction. Another shadow appeared from the building next to the apartment, still behind the car. As the two shadows approached
the parked vehicle a bit stealthily the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She could sense that something was amiss.
Peering through the darkness she could make out the silhouette of a gun in the hand of the man who came from behind the dumpster. The other man was still in the deep shadows so she wasn’t sure if he was packing but her instincts told her that they were up to no good.
It was when he crouched and started moving slowly towards the car that Natalia realized it was a hit. Without thinking she got her phone out and dialed the detective’s number. He wasn’t going to like it and he may not even answer but she had to give it a shot.
“Yes,” his deep smooth voice came over the phone. It surprised her for she hadn’t expected him to answer after just one call.
“You’ve been set up,” she whispered.
“Who is this?” the man asked.
“Your stake-out as been compromised!”
“How’d you…who the hell is this?”
“You idiot, I’m trying to save your miserable life. Get away now, there are two men approaching your vehicle with arms!”
It was at that moment she heard the explosions.
Part Two
“Tony? Tony!” he shook his partner but no response.
There was a huge gash in his shoulder where the bullet had hit him. His left arm had started to get numb at this point. Robert wasn’t sure what was happening but that call saved his life for he had crouched down just before the gunfire started but Anthony refused to belief that anything was amiss and was getting out of the car to go piss.
“It’s just a prank; you remember the Santana case last year? You woos, it’s the guys trying to scare us. Who else knows about this?” and he had laughed as he opened the door on the driver side.
The first shot hit Tony in the chest and he fell back unto the seat. After that there were multiple shots fired that Natalia lost count. Crouching behind the hedge of the abandoned lot she covered her ears to block out the explosions. It happened so fast that within two minutes it was all over. She gingerly peered over the hedge to get a glimpse of the vehicle and to see if Robert was hit. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw his unmoving body slumped against the dashboard.
For even though she hated him, she had never seen a more gorgeous cop in her life. There was no love lost between the two but Natalia had to admit that he was sexy. She’d gotten a glimpse of him without shirt in the locker room once and his arms and chest were very chiseled. He had blue eyes which could pierce a hole into you if he stared you down which he often did. What was surprising about him were his lips. They were well defined but soft looking and kissable. She closed her eyes and willed herself to get those thoughts out of her head.
The two men were cursing under their breaths about running out of ammunition. They stared at the bodies of the cops for a long time before signaling to each other. They then disappeared behind the huge dumpster which concealed the entrance to a tunnel leading to their hideout.
Natalia waited a few moments before warily stepping from behind the hedge where she had hidden. Slowly she moved towards the police car. With trembling hands she took her cell phone out of her pocket but as she tried to dial the thing fell onto the pavement smashing into fragments.
“Ugh! I can’t believe this. How am I going to call for help?” She bent to gather the pieces of her cell phone and retrieve her SIM card.
“Hmmmm,” sounded faintly from the car and he raised her head to see Robert trying to open the door.
Her heart pounded loudly as she saw that the obnoxious detective was still alive. Quickly she peered through the darkness for any shadows then ran towards the car. He was in pain and his partner was apparently dead. Upon opening the door Robert fell to the ground in. He hadn’t realized that he was also shot in the leg.
“Help me,” he pleaded weakly.
Natalia had a feeling that the men would be back so she quickly placed her arm around his shoulder to support him as he tried to walk. They had to hurry because if the men came back and found Robert missing they would start searching for him. In a bid to get help she picked up Roberts phone only to see that a bullet had smashed into it. There was no time to search for Anthony’s phone so she helped him crawl over the hedge of the abandoned lot.
“Here,” Robert held out a cigarette lighter to her as they landed on the grass. He was sweating profusely and grimaced in pain
“What’s that for?” she asked.
“Set the car afire, it will give us time,” Robert’s voice cracked a little.
“How?”
“Gas tank,” he breathed before passing out.
“Robert, Robert…,” she patted his cheeks to urge him to stay awake. It would be harder to carry him unconscious. He groaned and opened his eyes but she could see he was losing consciousness again. She opted to set the car afire first then she would figure out what to do. If the men thought that both cops were dead they would not search for him.
She propped him up against the inside fence and climbed over the hedge one last time. Peering carefully in the dark she made sure no one was there before crouching and moving stealthily towards the car. Robert’s partner’s body was on the other side of the vehicle and she would be exposed if she went around to driver’s side. She contemplated ripping her own shirt but thought it was a waste. Gingerly she climbed unto the passenger seat which Robert had vacated.
She knew the men would return; she could feel it. It was only five minutes or so since they had left. Everything afterwards had happened so fast it seemed like ages. Natalia found an old rag on the floor of the car and thanked God that she didn’t have to rip her own clothing.
The dead man was still propped up in the seat where he fell back when he was hit. As she was climbing out of the vehicle she heard a familiar beep like a text message. Looking towards the sound she found the dead cops cell phone on the ground. This was good which means she could call for help.
Time was of the essence so the reporter quickly climbed out of the vehicle and opened the gas tank where she pushed the tail of the rag in. She had to get as much of the cloth in the tank as possible in order for it to reach the gas. It took four tries to set the rag aflame because it was damp. She went back to the hedge where she crouched and waited to make sure the thing didn’t go out.
Nervously she checked her wrist watch for the time. Two minutes had gone since she returned to the hedge. Natalia was contemplating returning to the car to make sure the rag was lodged securely when she heard footsteps. Three men appeared out of the darkness behind the dumpster and confidently approached the vehicle. But before they could reach it there was a huge explosion and the car went up in flames.
One of the men was caught in the burning furnace and his body writhed as the fire consumed him before he fell the ground. Fearing that the light from the flames would reveal her presence Natalia quickly climbed over the low hedge to find that the cop was completely unconscious.
Now in a sticky situation she was hard-pressed to contact a friend whom she could trust. It was risky because Devon was in hiding from both the law and some very bad people. They had gone to school together but he ended up working for the wrong people. He was framed for murder and she was yet to prove it. There were clues but no hard evidence so he was in hiding until his name could be cleared. She knew how dangerous it would be for him to come out in public but she had no one else to turn to.
Instead of calling, which she knew he would not answer since it was not her phone, she sent him a text along with a special message. Almost instantly the phone rang.
“Devon,” she whispered.
“Natalia, are you alright?”
“I need your help.” She told him what happened and he agreed to take them somewhere. It was a huge risk because if Robert should wake up to see Devon, it would be all over for the fugitive.
“I’ll help you but I’m nervous,” he told her.
Beyond the abandoned lot was a warehouse and behind it was an old train track whic
h was never in use. It was a place where prostitutes went with their hook-ups because it was one of the few places which no one frequented.
Within half an hour Devon came on foot since Natalia’s car was parked a block away. It was agreed that she would bring the car around to the train line and Devon would try carrying Robert there. They drove along the tracks then turned left which led to an old back road. They were leaving the city and Devon took them to an old abandoned farm about thirty miles out. Until they figured out what was going on Robert had to be thought of as dead.
What happened was obviously a hit and she didn’t know why. She had no idea what they were working on or who would want them dead but she knew that both their lives were now in danger; if nothing else. She left Devon with the unconscious police man to go get a first aid kit and food. Devon said he would help her get the bullet out from his leg before he leaves.
By the time she came back with the supplies it was past two in the morning. She brought antiseptic, bandages, antibiotic cream and food. Devon took the car and left by four after performing the very clever task of removing the bullet from the thigh. The bullet hole in the shoulder was shot right through so no surgery needed there.
“Can you get it out?” she had asked Devon. He shook his head in consent.
“You have to keep him cool. Wash him if necessary.”
“Yes,” she replied as she looked down at the broad shoulders of the man who made her work more difficult than it should be. What am I doing here? She asked herself.
“Natalia,” Devon called.
“Huh,” she had been thinking of all the times she’d cross paths with the cop and how he made her mad. But seeing him lying there unconscious made her heart soften just a little. His dark hair was wet with perspiration and a lock had curled on his forehead which she brushed away. The touch tingled her fingertips.
“Bring me the boiled water please,” Devon asked, looking at her strangely.
She returned with the water and watch Devon do his magic. She examined the face of her nemeses and wondered why on earth she risked her life to save him. As Devon doctored him, he grimaced a few times.
