by Fiona Price
Alissa tried to push back her feelings, as she admitted to him why she just couldn't bear to stay. They had both gotten out of her car and were looking at each other under the dim lighting of the street lamps in the parking lot, and he took Alissa in his arms and hugged her tighter than anyone has ever hugged her before. He understood her pain.
Shane's phone buzzed, and a text from Matt appeared. Matt wanted to know if he was okay, and if they were around so they could interrogate the suspect. Walking with Alissa, they made their way down to the interrogation room to meet one frustrated Brooklyn detective and the key to their investigation, Nico Valdez.
"I can't get anything out of this guy." He spoke, exasperated. "Lieutenant, why don't you do the honors and question this guy?"
"I think you can make Nico talk, Alissa." Shane supported.
"I think that he's putting up a front for us, one that will make him seem impossible to crack." Alissa pitched in.
"And?" Matt questioned.
"And, I think when he sees my face and I've told him what he's done, he'll start talking."
"I hope so, I’m getting fed up with the amount of nothing we got from him. He's playing us, and I don't like to be played."
Alissa wasn't sure what she could possibly say to get Nico to talk, but she sure as hell knew that she wasn't leaving that interrogation room without answers. She owed it to Alex to solve this case for good, and she was so damn close she could taste it. She promised herself, and Alex, that she would do whatever it takes to bring Alex justice, and she was sure as hell going to keep that promise.
Matt buzzed her into the interrogation room, and it was mere seconds before she was standing alone in front of Nico Valdez. And Alissa wasn't leaving without answers.
V
Alissa walked into the interrogation room, prepared for anything from him, and sat down. She examined his body language and held a solid stare in his eyes. She knew that Matt and Shane were watching from the other side, the reflective one-way glass the barrier between them.
"You killed my fiancée." Alissa said emotionless to him, looking him dead in the face.
"I didn't kill her." He said, an evil smile edging at his lips. She knew that Matt was about to throw a fit, as she got him to talk immediately. Matt didn't get one single word out of him.
"We have proof that you emailed her and wanted the money back that you assumed she stole from you, just so you can get into this poker game?"
"She was in on it, too."
"Let me get this straight, you stole from her so you can get in the same poker game as she, but you killed her to accomplish what?"
"I didn't kill her." he repeated.
"Then do you know who did?"
"I'll tell you what I know."
"Okay, I'm listening."
"I sent those emails. She was good at covering her tracks, but she was scamming money off of her clients."
"How do you know that?"
"I have a friend who can hack."
"And how do I know that he didn't hack into my fiancée’s account, change the data, wire some money and claim it was all her?"
"Good point, but he only set up the computer so my friend could see what she was doing on her computer screen."
"Does this friend have a name?" Alissa asked, with no response.
"Stop protecting them." She snapped. "You want to tell the rest, or what?"
"The only reason I could think of that someone would want to kill her was for the money that she was scamming."
"And as for the poker game?"
"She was the inside agent. He needed entry into that game to get access to the head of the cartel, because your fiancée was doing business with him on the side."
"What kind of business?"
"You still think it's me."
"I know it's you! You know all of this, and I saw you at the crime scene, fleeing!"
"It wasn't me, I keep telling you."
"Then you'll be happy to let me search your house."
"For what?"
"Evidence."
"To try and link me to a murder I didn't commit?" Nico asked.
"If you didn't do it, there won't be any evidence to prove it was you." Alissa rebutted.
"You're sharp, you know that?"
"Enough with the sweet talk, keep talking." She shot down, not wanting to take any gross misogyny that day.
"That's all I'm saying." Nico said before he shut off. It wasn't a lot, but it was a hell of a lot more than Matt was able to get out of him.
With that, Alissa walked out of the interrogation room and met the two in the hallway lit by industrial blue lights. It was hard to believe that in the time span of just a few days, Alissa went from sitting in that same metal chair that Nico was, being interrogated as a suspect by Matt and Shane to interrogating another suspect and reporting back to them. It was all happening so fast.
"I can't believe you got him to talk." Shane said to Alissa.
"I can't believe it either." Matt responded.
"I told you, Shane. It was just a matter of time before he saw my face. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Whatever it was, it worked. Let's head out to his house and we'll go from there." Matt responded to Alissa and Shane went back in the interrogation room.
Matt opened the passenger's side door of his Camaro for Alissa before he walked around to the driver's side. Alissa got in the car, putting her seatbelt on and grabbing Matt's aviator sunglasses from the cupholder beside her. Matt looked at her like she just had insulted him personally, and she looked at him with a look of determination that she was going to keep the sunglasses on. He tried to make the argument that he was the driver and needed to see the road without the sun shining directly in his eyes, but it was just an empty complaint. Alissa knew that he liked the way they looked on her and was probably going to let her keep them.
On their way to Nico's house, they were making small talk and humming along to the radio, but Alissa knew something was bothering him. When they got out of the car and were poking around in Nico's house, Alissa got it out of him. She didn't think he would have said anything if she hadn't asked, which made her wonder about what he was thinking in that head of his.
"Matt, I know you want to say something, what are you waiting for?" Alissa opened her mouth and asked as she was rooting around in Nico's desk drawers. He was doing a quick search of his closet.
"What are you talking about?" He asked in response, his attention somewhere else.
"Don't make me interrogate you, you're tense." Alissa said, causing him to turn around and snap.
"I am not tense, alright?!"
"Yes, you are." Alissa laughed. "What's going on?" She kept questioning, and he sighed deeply.
"None of this makes sense. None of it." He answered. That wasn't the answer to the question she was asking.
"No, I'm not talking about the case." She clarified.
"Neither am I."
"Spit it out, come on."
"It's not important." He tried to avoid Alissa's question.
"Apparently, it is, if you're all worked up like this about it." She shot back, standing up and walking into the next room. A minute later, he came in as well.
"I'm sorry I'm snapping at you, I just haven't had a lot of sleep these past few days."
"Your thoughts keeping you awake?" She prodded further.
"Don't even ask me that, because then you'll just ask me what kind of thoughts, and then I'll have to continue avoiding the subject."
"Can you just tell me?"
"If it'll make you stop questioning my life and soul."
"Gee, I didn't think I was doing that. But probably, yes."
"I know it's early, I know you're gay and I know you just lost your fiancée, but I figured I would ask anyway to get Shane off my back. It's been a rough week for both of us, so do you want to go get a drink after work? I'm buying."
"Sounds like a plan. Now was that so bad?" Alissa agreed, then asked him.
> "Emotionally, yes!" He responded.
"How come?"
"You could have said no, I'm so gay, I just lost my fiancée, it's too early to go out for drinks with this schmuck, or you could have said yes, I need a drink. So, my mind was going back and forth, deciding if it was even worth asking."
"Your mind must be a miserable place." Alissa pointed out.
"Sometimes, yeah, but I got the vibe that yours can be too." He vaguely answered.
"You're not wrong." She responded, not wanting to hide her pain any longer.
Just after she responded, Matt found a pair of boots with a tread that looked similar to those that he found at the crime scene. Matt picked them up and showed them to Alissa, who was close behind him.
"Is that evidence enough?" Alissa asked.
"Looks pretty solid to me. We'll run the soles of that shoe and compare them to what we found at the scene, good job. Let's keep looking."
When they arrived back at Headquarters after dropping off the boots at the crime lab, Shane told Matt and Alissa information about what Alex was doing with the cartel, and what kind of business that she might have been doing with them. He said he had called up Vicki, who was on her way into the office, to see if she could help them with anything on the computer.
After work, Matt and Alissa got in his car and headed to the bar. Alissa once again put his sunglasses on her face and tied her hair back, taming the mess of light brown that was windblown and tangled. She knew she did not look good from the day's work, but it didn't seem to be obvious to Matt. The day was still warm, but the sun was beginning to sink low on the horizon, and this was the time between the heat of the day and the nightlife. Matt had the windows down, the breeze hitting Alissa's face pleasantly. Her white cotton blouse was slightly sticking to her skin from sweating earlier in the day when the heat was sweltering, but it was loose enough to move with the breeze.
At the bar, there were a good number of people there but not enough for it to be awkward and crowded. The two took a table on the patio, which led right to the beach and the waves, and the air smelled like food being cooked on an open barbecue, but not enough to be overwhelming. Alissa felt comfortable, and she didn't think she would have. Matt wasn't awkward either, he sat, relaxed, sipping at the fruity, stereotypically girly mixed drink he ordered while Alissa wanted nothing more than a good, cold beer.
The sun was almost completely set, and the sky was an array of pastel colors and Alissa could see the silhouette of sailboats on the horizon. The bar was playing soft rock, and he took the last sip of his drink before standing up and giving Alissa his hand. She looked up into his eyes, and he emphasized that she take his outstretched hand.
"I love this song, let's dance. Come on," He said, motioning his head towards the dance floor where other couples were already dancing. She took his hand and stood up, following him onto the floor.
When they were there, he smoothly put his arms around Alissa's waist, and she reached up to put her arms around his neck. She felt comfortable in his arms, in his embrace, especially because she didn't feel so alone anymore. They swayed to the music, hearts close. Alissa rested her head on his shoulder, felt his steady, constant breath on her neck, and felt calm. She accepted the things she couldn't change, she realized that the past was in ashes, and she freed herself of everything she was holding back. And, she liked the way it felt when he touched her. Even after the song was over, they still stayed close. He moved his chair more towards Alissa and they ordered dinner, staying much longer than happy hour. Neither of them looked at the clock or were in a big hurry to go somewhere else, since this was right where they wanted to be.
Alissa stole a forkful of his entree, he stole some of hers, and they spent the night under the stars on the beach, sharing a bottle of red wine. They tested at least three different desserts, sharing them and laughing at nothing. Alissa was just happy to be around him tonight. It turned out much better than either of them expected it to, and it was perfect. The smile didn't leave their faces until long after they got home, but before then, they took off their shoes and walked along the surf. It was just the break Alissa needed from the death, the investigation, from everything that had happened to her.
When Alissa went in to work the next morning, Matt wasn't there. Everyone was wondering why, but Alissa wasn't going to ask, due to the risk that followed with it. It seemed that they all knew what went on as they saw them leave together, but she wasn't going to open her mouth. Alissa parked her red convertible in the spot where Matt usually parks his car, just to play with him in case he came in late, and even though they had no other leads, she still felt happier than she had before.
"So, we've actually got something." Shane said as she walked in the building.
"Do we? When did we get something?"
"Just now, we made a connection between this case and the cartel, and other cases that went unsolved. We've got good stuff to link them to the deal. They've got motive."
"Well, book em!"
"We're getting ready to go against them now, actually. Get your tac vest on and go use the bathroom now, we've got a long car ride awaiting us."
"How long are we talking? Wouldn't this have been a local deal?"
"Apparently, the head of this cartel is halfway across the state, and the guys we think targeted Alex were people sent to do the dirty work. But as you know,"
"If you take out the head, the rest will come falling down after it."
"Exactly."
"We need Matt for this, but he hasn't come in, I see."
"Trust me, he'll be there." He promised, but Alissa had a slightly bad feeling about all of this, and she was glad that she did.
On their way out, they stopped by Matt's house to see if they could grab him for the mission. Shane and Alissa got out and knocked on his door, with no answer. Shane took the key that was taped on the bottom of his mailbox attached to the side of the house and unlocked the door, finding that none of Matt's things, like his car keys or his phone were on the table next to the door where he usually dropped them. They both immediately sensed that something was wrong, and Shane put his arm out to the side to make Alissa stay behind him. He had his hand resting on his waistband where his weapon was, and they searched through the house. It was clear, but what was strange was the fact that his car was parked in the garage through all of this. If he didn't take his car but his keys and phone were nowhere to be found, where was he?
Shane had the look on his face that made it clear that he knew exactly where Matt was. He knew him better than anything and Alissa could see him going through a list of possibilities in his mind, narrowing it down to where he ultimately started driving to. It was a little too far off of the deep end, Alissa thought, but she was going with his instincts in all of this. Shane thought that the cartel had taken Matt. The thought of it seemed crazy at first, but it did make sense. He was their leverage, their advantage, and the team would do most anything to get him back. It was smart. Shane called for backup.
When they were in his house just a few minutes earlier, Matt's dog, Dieter, came running out to them. Shane backed up and out of the way while Alissa let the dog tackle her. She pet him lovingly, making sure he was fed and watered before she hooked his leash onto his collar and let him sit in the backseat of the car. She didn't know how long Matt had been gone from his house, but she figured he would like to see his dog and she wanted to make sure Dieter was taken care of. Shane refused for him to go in the car, making the point that it was dangerous. Alissa made the point that he could help us find Matt, since dogs have a great sense of smell. Alissa knew he refused to admit it, but Shane loved Matt's dog, and it was proven when he asked for a Kevlar jacket to be put on the dog. He wasn't risking anything today.
"I hope you know we can't just go barging in on the cartel, who obviously have their shit together." Alissa spoke to Shane.
"Why can't we?"
"You really don't have the 'fear' sense, do you?"
"No, not really.
This a mission, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that we're all safe and accounted for. Cover me."
Needless to say, barging in on a powerful cartel isn't a smart plan on any occasion. Even though they had the SWAT team as backup, Alissa couldn't help but feel that this was not well planned out and that bad things were going to happen really fast. She knew that she had to trust Shane, he was a Navy SEAL after all. Matt said that he didn't really recognize situations that were dangerous to himself and to others. Her stomach dropped like a rock when Shane kicked down the door and they had the entire cartel pointing guns at them. Alissa's mouth instantly became dry and she froze in place until Shane grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. She put her back against his, shooting at anyone who shot at them.
They worked through the warehouse, kicking down doors until they found the head of the cartel sitting with Nico Valdez and had Matt taped down to a chair. He had a deep gash on his forehead, but he was being a smartass anyway. It was nearly instantly that they saw them coming and started shooting, but Nico escaped into thin air before they could get to him. It was unlikely that they got through their security, but they did by some miracle. The head, Fernando Anselmo, managed to get shots out before Shane got a chance at him. While Shane was cutting the tape off of Matt's wrists and helping him up, Alissa was leaning against the door frame, realizing a bullet missed her vest and that she was bleeding. She put her hand over the spot on her lower abdomen as she was bleeding, but she realized that it could have been much worse, and the wound wasn't deep. She heard Shane say to Matt in the meantime
"Even in the face of death, you are annoying. You're lucky I haven't fed you to the sharks yet."
It got a laugh out of Matt and Shane smiled, but then they turned to Alissa and they knew something was wrong immediately. She groaned and took her hand off the wound for Shane to take a look at it after he asked Alissa, concerned, how bad it was. Matt was standing next to Alissa and he wiped the blood from his forehead with the sleeve of his white tee shirt, then brushed a piece of hair out of Alissa's face, which comforted her for the moment.
