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Part 4
Alex closed her eyes a few times, only long enough to let them rest a little, but dared not let sleep take her. It was as Rhonnie had said earlier and Alex knew it was more than unlikely Mickey Lawton would even attempt to track them into the mountains. He was ruthless, powerful in the ugliest of ways and seemed to have allegiance to no one. Still, he was not stupid and rarely acted without thinking out every angle. She hated that. An impetuous or passionate killer was so much easier to catch. No, Mickey Lawton was nobody's fool. He was far too crafty and needed to be in control way too much to trek into an area where he would be at the mercy of nature. There was little doubt in her restless mind that Mr. Lawton was, even then, setting into motion some evil plan or other.
Rhonda moved slightly in her sleep, curling into a kind of ball and putting both arms about the detective's small waist.
"You're cold," whispered Alex. "The temperature has been dropping all night. It must be near zero out there with the wind whipping around like that. Here, let me just reach over and," Alex smiled as small arms held tightly against the slightest movement.
Green eyes flickered slightly before relaxing again. "Mmmmm. Don't go."
Alex stroked the golden hair and chuckled softly. "Like I could go anywhere with that vise-like grip of yours."
"Mmmmmm. Good."
Reaching the full length of her long arms, Alex pulled two of the larger pieces of wood toward her until she could grip them well enough to put them on the fire she had been tending all night. Then she snugged the sleeping bag back around Rhonnie and leaned back, fully enjoying the feel of the blonde holding her. Crossing her heavily socked feet at the ankles, the tall woman sighed.
"At least it isn't snowing like they said it would. We can thank that guy you don't believe in anymore for that. It's cold enough to make a polar bear consider relocating but at least we won't be sliding off the damned mountain." Alex spoke in a low whisper to no one in particular, partly because it helped her maintain focus and not fall asleep.
Only the barest blue-grays of dawn were making an entrance through the smoke hole when the chirping alerted Alex. She learned long ago the secret of nodding without allowing herself to fall into a full slumber. It was an essential skill for someone in her line of work. Unfortunately, it meant she lived with more than a little difficulty sleeping when she DID get the chance. Part of the job, she accepted silently.
"Morning Chief," Alex whispered.
"Alex Stoner, are you whispering? I don't think I've heard you whisper in years. Is something wrong? You're not in trouble are you?"
"You're just gonna talk like it's a holiday aren't ya?" Alex chided.
"Um, Alex." The worried tone made the detective sit up straight, waking the blonde in her lap.
"Mmmmm. What's going on? Oh, the Chief?" Rhonnie began to assess the situation and rubbed tight fists into sleepy green eyes.
Blue eyes smiled as dark brows waggled. "Yeah," Alex tried to cover the mouthpiece but found the tiny device made that difficult. "You look so cute when you first wake up. Don't ever change."
"Good morning, Rhonnie." The chief of detectives grinned into the phone.
"Chief!" Alex flashed blue lightening into the phone.
"Alex, it doesn't matter anymore. He knows, Alex." Listening to the sounds of his best detective and favorite brunette breathe in and out, Bartoni opened and shut two drawers, both empty. "Damn it, Alex. Are you all right?"
"Look in the back of the top, center drawer Chief. Yes, we're all right." Blue eyes closed for a three count. "I'm okay now. Go ahead and tell me. What does Lawton know and how do you know he knows? Please tell me he didn't kill anyone else on the force."
Rhonda sat up next to Alex and leaned into her shoulder, listening to the deep voice. She took the large hand not holding the cell phone in her own and put it in her lap. As the first rays of sunrise streamed into the cave, blue and green locked together.
"I love you," both women mouthed at the same time.
"A message was delivered to the station by private courier about an hour ago, Alex. It was checked with the same results as usual. It's clean but it's his." Chief Bartoni dreaded what he knew was coming.
Rhonnie watched the body shift as shoulders were squared and a strong chin lifted, jaw firmly set. She felt the hand try to gain freedom but held fast, moving it to her lips and kissing the palm without ever releasing those baby blues she loved with all her heart. Alex smiled and nodded, pulling the hands to her own lips to return the favor.
"OK, Chief. We're ready. What was in the message? Did he kill anyone to deliver it?" The tall woman inquired.
Anthony Bartoni opened his third Milky Way Fun Size Bar and popped it into his mouth. She was not going to like this. He would be lucky to still have his hearing in tact, he quietly groaned to himself. Nodding for his friend to close the door to his office, he resigned himself to the inevitable.
"Chief, talk to me. You're scaring me here." Alex was uncharacteristically candid.
"Alex Stoner scared? Somebody quick, call Satan. Hell just froze over." He attempted to win a smile.
"Yeah and it ain't the only thing frozen this fine morning but at least it's not snowing....yet." Rhonnie tried to reassure the man who had been more a father to her than her own ever was.
"Hey, short stuff. Ooops. I mean, morning Ms Bombshell." Chief Bartoni offered.
"Green eyes throwing more sparks than the fire, Chief," Alex smiled. She wanted to laugh a little. She knew he needed to hear her laugh but her gut was in a knot and she just couldn't.
"I'll bet," came a voice so familiar Alex and Rhonnie both gasped.
"M...Mom?" Alex swallowed hard and squeezed the hands holding hers.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Hi Rhonda. You have been sorely missed by that woman you're practically sitting on, you know?" Abigail Stoner winked at her old friend who was scavenging at the back of the open drawer.
Blushing, Rhonnie started to move slightly only to find herself pulled closer. Alex shook her dark hair and whispered, "Never again, Rhon. You're staying right here...if you want to."
Hovering over trembling lips, the blonde bombshell spoke knowing she would be heard on the other end of the line. "Good morning, Abigail. I'm not sitting on her at the moment but I've missed her too. I think we're pretty clear on that now. I'd ask how you are but if you're with the Chief you've been better. Right?"
Abigail Stoner thought she heard something but dismissed it as static on the line. "Yes, well, Tony called me about an hour ago and said I better see this. Sweetheart, I'm going to just listen now but you two be careful out there. I love you both very much. Rhonnie, don't let Ms. I Have to Save the World take any chances. OK?"
Rhonda covered the mouth before Alex could argue. "Don't worry, Abigail. I plan to keep her around for a long time. A very, very long time."
Licking the palm won her release and blue eyes darkened with the next words. "All right, Chief. Let's have it. I know it must be pretty bad if you got Mom out of bed before noon so just tell me, let me get mad and then we will go about the business of climbing this goddamned mountain. Sorry Mom."
Stanley Wheaton stirred and started to wake, then rolled back over. Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Chief Bartoni knew there was no way to avoid telling Alex about the message. She needed to know what was going on and they all had a right to know what they were going to be up against.
"Alex," the chief began. "No more officers have been hurt so far as we know. When our men got to the cabin there were two bodies but they've been identified as Lawton's own men."
"The Ball Brothers," Alex sighed. She knew they were as good as dead but took no pleasure in the news.
"Huh?" asked the chief.
"Oh. Nothing, just a nickname. Go on," the detective urged.
"Well they were a mess, his usual style. The guys checked the cabin out and you're gonna need a new door. Other than that and fumigating, I don't think anything was damaged."
"OK. Good. Now about the message?"
"Alex you're not gonna like it."
"Well, duh!" Alex teased.
"All right. All right. I get it. Rhonda you keep a firm grip on tall, dark and bad tempered, you hear me?" The man was about beside himself when his auburn tressed friend took pity on him and gave him some bubble gum. "He just wants to rattle your cage Alex. You know that."
"Chief!"
"Oh all right. You want me to read it word for word I suppose?" asked the brown eyed man who already knew the answer.
"Of course. But why don't you have Mom go for some coffee, okay?" Alex had read enough of Lawton's masterpieces to know she would rather her mother not have to hear another one.
"Shut up, Alexandra. I read the damn thing myself twice already. Tony just read it and let's get it over with."
Alex started to say something but Rhonda shook her blonde head, silencing her.
The chief picked up the note, carefully encased in plastic now. "Here we go, Alex.
'I have my men back. It was most generous of you to leave them gift wrapped for me. Stupid but generous. Naturally, they paid for their failure and incompetence with their worthless lives. I guess their families can thank you for that, eh Stoner? How is wussy Wheaton doing? Piss his pants yet? Tell him I'm taking the cost of the watch out of his next paycheck. Oh yeah, dead men don't draw paychecks. Just as well, he was wearing on my nerves anyway. Such a little coward, but you know that by now, don't you Stoner?
Hey I saw from the luggage and the journal, you have a pretty little friend with you now. You know Stoner, she's got it real bad for you, the little pervert. Maybe you should take your time getting back into Denver. It will be a lot healthier for the Blonde Bombshell.' "
"Fuck him!" Spat Rhonnie.
Blue eyes shot hot hate into the cave wall. "You do and he's a dead man!"
OooooooooooStanley was awake now.
Alex ground her perfect teeth and Rhonda snatched the phone. "Read the rest, Chief. What else did the bastard have to say? Oh, sorry Abigail."
Abigail Stoner smiled and shook her head slightly. She always wondered how long it would take the little blonde to find her nerve. Lord knew her daughter would have taken the torturing secret to her grave, God forbid.
"There's just a little more. He says: ' But then you are the perfect cop, aren't you Stoner? Just like your dear old Daddy. Did anyone ever tell you it was one of my guys that blew him away? No? Well, it was. He was just too nosy for his own good. That sister of yours stumbled onto the truth and we thought she was gonna spill her guts. I only made it look like an accident, Stoner. I figured the guilt would make a good silencer. Did it work? Well, here's the deal, bitch. No way am I climbing that dumb ass mountain in a snow storm. You have to bring him to Denver and I will be waiting for you. Be a few hours late and your pretty friend will live. I might even convince the guys not to have too much fun with her. Deliver the witness and you all die...but the Blonde Bombshell, she gets to watch you die first. Personally, I hope you deliver him. I'm itching to kill me another Stoner.' That's it, Alex. It's a trap. You both need to know that."
"Fuck him!" repeated the angry blonde.
"Don't even think about it, sweetheart. You wouldn't like it. Dead men are not very good in the sack." Blue eyes twinkled into flashing green.
Abigail covered her mouth and laughed right out loud.
"Like any man ever stood a chance, Alex. Anna knew it when I was only five. Only you kept missing the clues."
Pulling Rhonda's body firmly against her own, Alex spoke into the phone. "Chief. You just be at the pick up point. We will be there. Mickey Lawton has killed his last Stoner. He's a walking dead man." Then the tall detective took the smiling coral lips in a kiss that made them both tremble.
Rhonnie couldn't stop the moan from escaping.
"Well, I'll be damned." Anthony Bartoni looked at Abigail Stoner. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep," smiled the redhead. "My brilliant daughter just caught a clue...by the lips."
Everyone was up and breakfast, such as it was, had been eaten. Rhonda refilled the canteens and the spare water jugs as well as rolling and tying the sleeping bags. Alex removed three pairs of gloves from her pack and tightened the straps back down. Both she and Rhonnie had discarded any remaining packaging and buried their trash, a habit developed during childhood outings. The detective was burying the fire with snow from outside for the fourth time when she looked at Stanley and sighed deeply. Rhonda knew it was time for Alex to tell the witness about the day that lay ahead of them. He was not likely to be thrilled.
"Stanley," Alex began. "I wish I could say the worst was past us but the unpleasant truth is that yesterday was the easy part."
"Easy? That was the EASY part?!" Hazel eyes filled with fear just as Alex knew they would.
"Stanley, listen to me now. You can do this. Amateurs make climbs far worse than this all the time. Every year people with less experience or climbing skill than you climb all the way to the top of Pike's Peak....and many of them do it in one day, too. You have the benefit of having two very experienced climbers with you." She winked at the blonde. "Rhonnie and I have been climbing things tougher than this most of our lives. Right, Rhonnie?" Alex hoped her friend would not feel obliged to mention that those climbs had not been in sub-freezing temperatures with a homicidal maniac on their minds. She drew the lucky straw, for once.
"Really, Rhonda?" asked the still frightened man.
"Absolutely!" assured the blonde bombshell. "Alex and I have been climbing hills tougher than this since before puberty." For her part, Rhonnie hoped calling the mountain a hill would make it seem less scary to the panic-stricken city boy.
"Good." Alex clapped her hand on Stanley's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Much as I would like to sit around this lovely home and chat till the sun was higher in the sky, we really must be on our way."
The other two campers nodded in understanding.
"Here's the thing, Stanley. It's very cold out there and I mean VERY cold. That can be a climber's worst enemy." The detective handed the witness and her friend each a pair of lined, leather gloves. "These will help warm your hands when you use 'em. Some people find it difficult to climb with gloves on, they say it makes it harder to grip. That's up to you to decide. I can only tell you what I do. I climb without them as long as I can, taking time every few minutes to blow on my fingers or warm my hands in my arm pits or between my legs." Alex flashed Rhonnie a look that told her not to even go there. Green eyes smiled into serious blue.
"I think I can do that," Stanley said.
"Good man," came the detective's praising response. "We'll take it as slow as possible with time to warm your hands often. I will go first. Stanley, you'll be in the middle and Rhonda will be after you. No ropes linking us and I'm not even gonna take the time right now to explain that, but I have my reasons. Please trust me."
Rhonda nodded, knowing the dangers of a rope on this particular climb far outweighed the possible benefits.
Stanley smiled a weak smile. "It would be a little late in the game not to trust you, Alex. You've already saved my life more times than I care to think about right now. What else do I need to know?"
"Thanks, Stanley. I'll try not to let you down. Just a couple of things and we'll get going. First, keep your face to the rock in front of you. Don't look up or down beyond Rhonnie or I. Just pretend the only part of the mountain that exists is the section that begins with Rhonda's feet and extends only as far as my fingertips. Think you can do that?"
"I'll try," the worried witness answered honestly.
"Best anyone can do, Stanley." Alex knew if she said much more he might crumble. "One more thing and we go. Try to put your hands and feet where you see me put mine but never...this is important, Stanley...NEVER....grab hold of a protruding root, a large rock, anything and put your weight on it without testing it first. Like this." Alex went to the cave wall and put her hand on a rock that appeared to the unlearned eye to be firmly imbedded in stone. She pulled hard on it as if using it to pull her up the wall; the result was the rock coming off in her hands as quite a bit of loose stone and dirt around it was dislodged and scattered along the cave wall.
Hazel eyes grew wide. "That looked solid."
"Exactly." Alex patted his shoulder. "Exactly, Stanley. That's why you test every hand and foot hold first."
He swallowed. "I'll try. I will Alex...but I'm scared and I won't pretend I'm not."
"Perfect. As long as you're honest with us and do your best, we'll be just fine. Now let's go."
The three started out slowly, just like the detective promised. It was even colder than she expected and she found herself wearing the gloves more often than not. She was glad this was the easier part of the climb and prayed the sun would take some of the chill out of the frigid air by lunch-time. Stanley kept mumbling into the mountainside about the short-sightedness of his career choices and Alex found it hard not to smile at his murmurings.
Rhonda paid close attention to the wall in front of her, lifting her eyes only as far as Alex's powerful form only a short distance above her. Constantly watching the witness carefully mimic each hand and foothold Alex took, Rhonnie saw it almost before it happened. Stanley missed. Maybe after nearly six hours of climbing, the mountain in front of him was starting to all look the same. Perhaps his eyes were tired. Cold hands might have simply missed their mark by a few inches. How ever it happened, Rhonda saw it and reached up with her right hand to press Stanley's leg into the wall, warning him.
Lack of experience and panic are not a good mix. Feeling the rock pull free of the stone wall and come off in his hand, Stanley's eyes grew wide. A few small stones skittered to the ground as Rhonnie pressed her face to her chest, missing the inexperienced hand grabbing at the protruding 'growth'. Green eyes lifted just in time to see the rotting limb jerked free by the weight displacement as Stanley tried to use it to lift himself up a few more inches.
"No!" Alex shouted, seeing the gloved hand reaching for the dried limb that had probably been frozen in place sometime during the night before.
"Shit!" was all the blonde had time to say before several buckets worth of rocks, ice and dirt tumbled into her face temporarily blinding her. With her right hand pressed into the witnesses leg, only her left hand gripped the mountain and she began to slide downward. This side of the mountain was not known for being friendly to climbers and it was about to earn its reputation, once again.
Rhonnie felt the rough, jagged rock wall scrape into her legs and was glad she wore long underwear beneath the heavy denim jeans as she slid several feet before feeling something grab her by the wrist.
Stanley was stunned by the swiftness of his protector. It seemed to him, he'd no more than heard the shouted "No!" when he saw Alex shove her boots into something and dive toward her friend's falling form. He still couldn't figure out how the tall woman grabbed him with one hand, practically tossed him onto a ledge barely four feet above them and still managed to grab Rhonda's wrist....all without falling herself. Having never seen anyone upside down against a mountainside, he watched in a breathless mix of astonishment, relief, horror and pure wonder as Alex pulled Rhonda toward her.
"Thanks," groaned the smaller woman, already feeling the bruises forming.
"No problem," smiled Alex against the burning sensation in her left shoulder. "Didn't think you could get away that easy did ya?"
Sitting on the ledge that she knew marked the 'half way point' and catching her breath, Rhonnie let her green eyes wander into blue pools. Alex wasn't saying anything but the tears spoke volumes.
"Hey. It's all right, Alex. It's over. I'm fine. Come on honey, don't cry. I'm okay. Honest." Rhonda slid the few inches between them and took Alex Stoner's tear streaked face in her still gloved hands.
Alex couldn't say anything coherent. She blinked madly to erase the images racing across her mind, pictures of a life without Rhonda. The tears stopped and the trembling began.
"Alex! Hey, I'm right here. Look at me, Sweetheart. Come on, open those baby blues and look at me." Rhonnie covered the salty face with small kisses. "I'm right here, Alex. I'm all right. Stanley is all right. We did fine. We made it. Look, we're more than half way, Honey." Small, quick kisses grew slower and warmer as the trembling gradually subsided.
Crystal blue eyes, filled with unbelievable sadness opened and peered into loving green. "I nearly lost you, Rhon. Jesus! What would I ever do without you. I'd have no choice but to just let go of this goddamned mountain and follow you. You know that, don't you?"
"Alex Stoner! Don't you ever say that again. You'll do no such thing. I..."
Interrupting the beautiful blonde, Alex spoke from her very soul. "Rhonnie, I'd rather be a smudge on the side of Hell Mountain than go a single day without you in my life. I love you so much it aches inside." Alex whispered as she drew the small face toward her own.
"Hell mountain," said Stanley to no one in particular. "HELL? HELL mountain? She said Hell Mountain," he seemed now to be conversing with the ledge itself. "Now she tells me your name." The ledge did not reply but Stanley would have sworn he 'felt' it smirk.
Rhonda heard the witness a million miles away as she felt herself moving closer and closer to paradise. The tiny space between her lips and those she longed to feel against her was charged with so much energy the tiny hairs on her lip stood at attention.
"I love you, Rhonnie. I love you. I love you. I love you." Alex spoke more slowly and clearly than ever in her lifetime, punctuating each sentence with a kiss longer than the one before until finally, she felt Rhonda's warm tongue slip into her mouth.
Rhonda reached into the pack lying next to her, removed an orange and tossed it to Stanley, never once releasing the kiss.
"Great," Stanley said to the blessed ledge beneath him. "Lunch on Hell Mountain. Just what I always wanted."
"Doesn't this just about sum up my life?" Stanley asked the stone he sat upon. By now he was accustomed to the silent reply, and rambled on, considering that if the ledge wasn't listening maybe the orange was. "Just look at them." He tossed his head to the side, indicating the two women who seemed oblivious to even the most basic of human survival laws: breathe. "I buy every magazine, poster and cut out ever made and SHE gets the girl!"
Rhonda giggled into Alex's mouth. She couldn't help it. Wonderful as it was, the ledge was NOT that large. The women could hear every word the disappointed man muttered. For her part, Alex grinned against the soft lips but absolutely refused to release them. 'Let Stanley get his own woman' reasoned the tall detective.
Holding the half eaten citrus aloft, Stanley Wheaton glared at his 'companion'. "No, it's true. My apartment is a virtual shrine to the Blonde Bombshell over there. Honest. I ran out of wall space two years ago and began staple-gunning the posters to the ceiling. Let me tell you, my sweet friend, THAT was a stroke of pure genius. Now when I..."
"Wheaton! Look around you. Any idea how many people accidentally fall off this here ledge every summer?" Alex bore a hole right into the man's head with two crystal blue lasers and was not surprised to find it empty.
"Um...I...they do? I...."
Rhonda to the rescue. "Alex, you stop that. You're scaring poor Stanley half to death. Models and celebrities," Rhonda hesitated for a moment and looked as if she had eaten bad tuna fish. "God but I hate that term. Anyway, I know some people go a little overboard with the fan thing."
"OVERBOARD! Overboard? Rhonda Reynolds! The man practically said he looks at your picture and......."
"Alexandra!" Rhonnie clapped her small, still gloved hand firmly over the words about to escape. Green eyes twinkled and danced in the sunlight. "I know what he PRACTICALLY said, Alex. I am trying to forget it. Now don't you go saying it right out loud and put an image in my head that will make me lose the lunch I have yet to even consume."
Stanley felt his shoulders hit his knees. "There goes that fantasy."
"GOOD!" Blue eyes dared either the wus on his butt or the woman in her arms to say another word.
After a long moment of silence, everyone laughed. Alex handed Rhonda an orange and some trail mix, tossing another orange and some trail mix to Stanley with the other hand. She took the last orange for herself and sat down, wincing slightly when she forgot and reached behind her with her left arm. Rhonda didn't see the facial expression because she was busy trying to sit down without causing her jeans to tighten against very sore limbs. Alex noticed her friend's hesitation but decided to keep her silence. There was nothing she could do at the moment. They would have to get moving again and soon. Stanley was not going to like what they had to do next but it wasn't as though they had any good options left. The detective offered up a mental prayer that she was wrong about her shoulder, but even as she thought it, she knew she wasn't.
Far from the frigid mountainside, Mickey Lawton threw back his fifth scotch. "Turn the goddamned heat up again and bring me another steak. See if they can get it right this time, too. If it ain't bleedin', I don't want it. Tell 'em either this next one bleeds or they do!"
"Yes, Mickey." Lawton's maid actually bowed at the knees before hurrying out the hotel room door.
"How'd you get her to do that, boss? Bow like that I mean?" asked Jake.
"Simple. I told her the last two refused."
"And that worked, boss?" Jake didn't see how that would have helped but he knew the boss usually got what he wanted. Correction, always got what he wanted. Even in the privacy of his own mind, Jake dared not permit himself to question the boss.
"Like a charm, Jake. 'Specially when I told her how I killed the last two and fed them to the mountain lions." Mickey Lawton laughed and a cold shiver crawled up and down Jake's spinal column.
"Damn," whispered the flunky.
"Yep. You know, Jake. I really hate all this nature shit. Let the stupid bitch have her fun in the snow. She has to bring the little prick to the courthouse tomorrow morning. Maybe we'll just have to throw her and that pervert friend of hers a welcome home party. Whadda ya say?"
Even Jake knew better than to interrupt the boss by answering.
"Yeah, I figure we'll just ALL have to go."
"All of us boss? That's a lot of firepower to get into the courthouse, boss." Jake remembered the new metal detectors and cameras he saw on the news a few weeks back.
Mickey smacked his employee upside his already sore head. "Don't be a moron, Jake. We don't have to take the guns IN the courthouse. We just need to get Stanley OUT. This will be the perfect time to field tests those special blades I had the guys at the crystal plant make for us. I knew having a legit business would pay off in the long run. And we still have all those miniature wooden ball bats that idiot in Pueblo couldn't GIVE away last year at the goddamned flea market. You boys did kill that jackass, right?" asked Mickey.
"Yeah boss. We done him," answered Jake. He still thought killing the man for poor judgment was a bit harsh but his was not to question why. His was to do or join the poor schmuck in the rapids.
Mickey continued planning out loud. "We stashed a 357 in the stairwell last month and I think with the clubs and the glass gut pokers it will be more than enough. Besides, if they cover his skinny ass too good then I'll just have to grab me a blonde bombshell. Either way, I'm home free. If we get Stanley, he's eternally mute. If we grab the blonde, Stoner will freak and do any little thing I say. See, Jake? It ain't so hard to beat a Stoner. They all have the same flaw."
"Flaw, boss?" questioned Jake.
"They love, Jake. Loves eats muscle, my boy. Leaves ya powerless and weak. I never touch the stuff myself."
He didn't know it yet but Mickey Lawton could not have been more wrong if he tried.
Alex looked into the green eyes she adored and asked, "you doing all right? I know it hurts, Rhonnie. I want to have a good look and clean those scrapes where your jeans are torn but we really have to get going if we're gonna get to the top before sunset."
Rhonnie nodded. "I'm all right, Alex. It hurts but I'll be fine once we're moving again. At least the wind has stopped and the sun feels good, too."
Blue eyes weren't entirely convinced.
"Alex, there is no IF and we both know it. Besides, I'm not the real problem here. I'll tough it out. You know that. But Stanley," the blonde whispered, "is not going to like this at all."
"I know," Alex sighed.
"Excuse me," Stanley interrupted the not really private conversation.
Alex and Rhonda looked first at one another and then at Stanley. "Yes?" they both asked.
"What exactly is it I'm not going to like? It's not like I'm in the next county, you know?" The frustrated witness was cold, tired, and sensing it was about to get even worse.
Rhonnie squeezed the hand in her lap and nodded gently to the tall beauty. Alex returned the loving gesture and lifted her chin in half a nod.
"Stanley, I know we all had a pretty bad scare just now, but we have to keep going. We can't stay here much longer. Time is ticking by and every minute counts because we need to reach our destination BEFORE the sun sinks beneath that mountain." Alex indicated a tall, snow covered peak in the distance before continuing. "No one with a brain would be where we're going to be for the next few hours after dark. It would be suicide and since the whole point of all this has been to keep you alive I don't think any of us are suicidal. Do you, Stanley?"
Hazel eyes widened slightly. "No. Alex, where is it we're going? I mean, I've figured out the general direction is up, but where?"
Alex stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge, motioning for Stanley to join her. His eyes indicated his fear but, to his credit, he joined her. The detective smiled.
"Stanley, without leaning over, I want you to look out and up. What do you see?"
The city boy tried to do as he was instructed but, in truth, could only see parts of the stone wall rising toward the sky. "More mountain, straight up," he answered and hurriedly moved back from the edge.
"Well, not totally straight up, but close enough I suppose."
"Don't panic, Stanley. You can do this," Rhonda soothed. "Alex wouldn't have started this climb if she hadn't believed you could do it."
The worried man was not fully convinced. "Come on, Rhonnie. We all know we're here because of me and it's not like Lawton left us any other escape. That's the real truth, isn't is Alex?"
"No, Stanley that is not the real truth. We're here because you witnessed a crime and decided to do the right thing."
"I decided to protect my sorry ass, you mean." Stanley finally said aloud what tortured him in silence.
"Doesn't matter." Alex moved away from the edge and squatted in front of her witness. "Stanley, you listen to me now. You are doing the right thing, that can't be diminished by your desire to stay alive, to protect your 'sorry ass', as you put it."
"So says you," spoke the man with the frozen butt and hot tears.
"Yes, I do. Stanley, it's not a crime to be afraid. Mickey Lawton is a cold, heartless bastard. You were right to be afraid. Hell, Stanley, I'm afraid." Alex hadn't meant to reveal that last tidbit but figured maybe he needed to hear it. She hoped Rhonnie wasn't disappointed but the small hand caressing her back banished those thoughts, almost immediately.
The pale face looked up into blue eyes. "You? I didn't think you were afraid of anything."
Alex snorted. "Wheaton, only a fool is entirely without fear. Didn't your Mamma ever tell you about courage, man?"
"What about it?" he asked.
"Hell, Stanley. Courage isn't the absence of fear. True courage can't even exist without fear. Stanley, courage is the ability to stand up in the face of fear, even terror. The right thing is still right no matter what motivates us to do it. You think I should think less of you because you're motivated by the desire to survive. Should you think less of me because I'm only doing my job? Should you think less of me because my real motivation is the unbridled hatred I feel for the rotten son of a bitch who killed my sister? My beloved Anna?" Alex lifted her hand to stop the reply. "Bottom line here, Stan. We will survive. You will testify and we will get Lawton, once and for all. To do that we need to get to the top of Hell Mountain before the sun sinks behind that peak. This is going to be the hardest thing you've ever done. Make no mistake. But you CAN do it."
"Alex, I'm not so sure. Look at what I caused a few minutes ago." He shivered against the thought. "I could have gotten her killed, for God's sake."
Rhonda stood up, stretching her small body before speaking. "Stanley, let it go. I'm fine. We're all fine. We don't have time for this. We're burning daylight as it is. Besides, you've learned from that. Right? You won't make the same mistake again and if it makes you feel any better, there's better places to put your hands and feet on this next section."
"There are?" asked the small voice.
"Sure are," agreed the detective. "The hard part is it's very rocky, extremely steep and because of a variety of elements, you can't see the top until you're practically there. You absolutely MUST look only at the wall in front of you and just keep going until you pull yourself up and the wind rushes across your face. That's the real reason they call it Hell Mountain, Stanley. Years ago, some people climbing it in a January blizzard named it that because they said it was an unending torture with no end in sight...pure hell. Hell Mountain. The name stuck."
"Oh," came the soft response as the witness considered her words.
"Well, Stanley, how scary can Hell Mountain be to a man who's already worked with the devil himself?" Rhonda asked.
Alex lifted a brow at the blonde. Stanley gave one quick laugh and moved his head in full agreement. He had to admit, she was right on the money on that one.
Standing, the witness squared his shoulders. "OK then. Just tell me what to do, Alex. Might as well get this little troop of ours on its way."
"Good man," said Alex. "Look at the bright side, Stanley. This next section is very intense and it will take the rest of the day, but when we get to the top you can relax. I promise you a good meal. Relax, my better half will cook."
Stanley grinned at the joke but Rhonda heard something else entirely in the selected phrase.
Alex continued, all the while guiding them slowly up the wall. "Like I said, a nice hot meal and then you can get some real sleep. No one can get to us tonight Stanley. Lawton can't even reach us without our seeing and hearing him way in advance and for that reason, if no other, he won't even try. A hot meal, a good night's sleep and then tomorrow morning we fly out of here. You will testify before the Grand Jury, the feds will take you into protective custody, give you a new name and life. This time tomorrow night it will all be over, Wheaton. Just think of every pull up this mountainside as another step toward freedom."
That's just what the man did, too. Every time a jagged rock pressed into the gloves or the cold wall he hugged made him shiver from the bones outward, he said it again. "Freedom. I will be free of that lunatic, once and forever."
Alex glanced between her arm and the mountain every few minutes, ever watchful of both her witness and her love. She saw the unguarded grimaces Rhonnie made when she pressed too close to the stone surface and Alex knew the fall earlier was taking its toll on the blonde's body. Still, she kept climbing. When the worry threatened to distract her too much she would let her focus wander to the burning sensation in her left shoulder that was so intense it sometimes made her stomach clench with nausea.
Rhonda tried not to think about how badly her legs ached or the sharp pain beneath her right breast. She nearly laughed out loud thinking that even her breasts hurt and wondering what her tall friend would recommend they do about that. This was a train of thought quickly banished as far too distracting as the green eyed beauty forced herself to 'just keep climbing'.
The unlikely trio had been ascending Hell Mountain for several hours when Alex felt the pain's intensity crank up a notch. Stilling against the mountain, she took deep breaths through her mouth to ward off the overwhelming urge to throw up.
"Alex?" Rhonda called upward as they all stopped without Alex's usual warning that they needed to warm their hands or drink something. "You all right?"
Stanley sensed something was definitely not all right with his tall protector but, kept his mouth shut.
After several minutes, which seemed an eternity to the worried blonde, Alex was able to speak. "Just needed a breather. Sorry."
"No problem. You just scared me. Are you really all right?" asked Rhonda. Of course, she knew far better than to expect an honest answer from Ms I Can Do Anything And Ain't About To Admit It If I Can't.
"Fine, Rhon. Pr...Fine, really. Look at the sun, sweetie. We're almost there."
Rhonda knew then her friend was in trouble. She heard Alex edit out the word promise and that was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all. "Yeah, I see that. Not much further Stanley. You hanging in there?"
"Hanging on is more like it," Stanley quipped.
"Good man. Never lose that sense of humor," Alex replied. "OK. Onward and upward."
Desperately needing to take her mind off her shoulder, Alex did what her father had taught them to do when they were children: Anna, Rhonda and herself. She sang. With every note she pulled herself nearer the top with the others close behind.
..........The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart longs to sing every song it hears.
My heart wants to run with the brook as it trips and falls
Over stones on its way..............
Stanley kept climbing, but couldn't help the breath he sucked in when the magical voice seemed to surround him and he realized it came from just above him. Before he could say anything another voice joined in and he wondered if he had fallen and was being greeted by the angels he'd heard about as a child.
...........I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more.........
Just when the man was absolutely certain he was in the presence of angels, Alex reached long fingertips across the last bit of Hell Mountain and felt the wind whip across her face.
"Well, all-fucking-RIGHT!! We did it!" shouted the detective just before she kissed the peak and lifted her aching body onto the soil of success.
Smiling to himself, Stanley mumbled into the wall: "It may not be your kind of angel Lord, but she's sure as Hell Mountain angel enough for me!"
Alex kissed the cold ground one more time before stretching her long body against the mountaintop and peering over the side. Smiling, she found herself nearly nose to nose with Stanley. Pressing into the rock, the tall detective reached over and took the man by the wrists. Alex hoped no one would notice she barely used her left arm as she lifted him to her side and over the top. Then she grabbed the back of his belt and heaved him past her where she heard him shouting his love to the soil he lay upon.
"Ready Rhonnie?" asked Alex.
Snickering, the tired blonde answered. "You gotta ask?"
Taking the love of her life by both forearms, Alex pulled Rhonnie to her lips for a quick kiss. "Guess not. Up ya go." She lifted the covergirl off the side of Hell Mountain just as the sun painted their world red and gold.
Rhonda straightened out her stiff limbs and stretched her back making several loud, popping sounds in the process. "Mmmm," sighed Rhonda, "that felt grrreat."
Alex rolled onto her back and grinned. "I bet. How you doing, Stanley?"
Stanley P. Wheaton was filled with surprise. "Wow. I thought it would be small up here. You know, barely any room at the top and all. This is incredible. It's huge...and beautiful."
"Yes, it is." Alex had to admit the top of Hell Mountain was somewhat unusual to most people.
Once you reached the top, it kind of stretched out against the sky. There were a few trees, scattered bushes of pine and berry, some wildflowers in the spring, and a small pool of fresh water from the melting snow lay nestled against the back of a small stone wall. There was no cave here, but the small wall formed a shelter of sorts with its concave formation and the roof-like ledge just above it. In reality this was not the VERY top of the mountain. It was the top from THIS SIDE. That was one reason it seemed so huge. It led to the small wall which lifted another ten or fifteen feet to the actual peak. Alex knew from past experience that there was no shortage of animals to be found nearby because the tiny pool was fed by the larger one above them. This was not one of those mountaintops made for one person to stand upon and barely have room to plant a small flag. No, this was quite large and not even considered particularly tall by the locals.
Dipping her cupped hands into the cool water, Rhonnie drank deeply from the clear, clean pool. "Oh, Alex. It's as wonderful as ever. Stanley, have a drink. You won't taste anything like this in those bottles they sell."
"Like this," Alex instructed. "Here, Stanley. Put your hands together like this. That's right. Form a sort of bowl with your palms and fingers overlapping at the edge. Hold them tightly together. Good. Now dip them just into the water and move it to your lips quickly. There ya go. Good man. So, what do you think?"
Watching the exhausted man dip into the cool liquid for the fifth time, Alex laughed and tugged lightly at his forearm. "Take it easy, Stanley. It's not going anywhere."
Joining in with a chuckle of his own, the witness dried his hands on his borrowed jeans. "So, Alex. What now?"
Rhonda answered as she stood and stretched again. "Well, Stanley, it will be dark soon so Alex is gonna go to the neighborhood meat market and produce counter while you and I set up a camp of sorts. Right, gorgeous?"
Blue eyes blinked. It wasn't that no one ever told the dark haired woman she was good looking. They had. They did, in fact. Somehow, none of the words ever meant anything before and when Rhonnie said it, well, it took her by surprise. Alex wondered to herself whether that would ever change.
Green eyes twinkled and blonde brows waggled. "Weeeelllll?"
Removing her back pack long enough to empty most of its contents into Rhonda's, Alex gave the blonde a full face smile. "On my way, oh patient one." The detective double-checked the bow and quiver before starting toward the small wall. "I'll be back shortly. Don't make any passes at my woman while I'm gone now, Stanley." Alex winked at Rhonda. "OK. I'm off to go kill us some din-din."
Rhonnie giggled and watched Alex start up the wall.
Alex stopped about four feet up and spoke into the wall, loudly. "Rhonda Reynolds, stop staring at my ass and start a fire."
"Ooops, caught again," laughed the blonde. "No problem, Al. I think the fire's already started."
Stanley wondered if he would live long enough to tell this little story. He couldn't repress the snicker as he thought to himself: 'Inquiring Minds Want To Know.'
"What's so funny?" asked the woman gathering firewood.
"Nothing. Just thinking what a great story this will be to tell...IF I survive." Stanley nearly found kindling up his nose.
Green eyes narrowed to fiery slits. "THAT," growled the blonde, "would NOT be a good idea, Stanley."
"Absolutely. Bad Idea. Silence is Golden. Gotcha. Um..how about I get some of that firewood. I think I know how to do that now."
Rhonnie smiled. She didn't mean to frighten the man but she was not really ready to have every photographer and reporter in the land on her doorstep either.
"OK. That would be a big help. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just very weary of public life, Stanley. I know I've been a disappointment to you and I'm sorry for that. Please try to understand. I've loved Alex nearly all my life. I never dreamed I stood a chance, so I left right after graduating High School. Alex was out of college and on her own. Anna told me I should stay, but I was afraid if I did I'd have to watch Alex fall in love and marry. I knew I would never survive that. So when the modeling agency asked me to move to New York, well, I just did it. I'd never really hurt you, Stanley. Don't hurt Alex."
Stanley laid the surprisingly large bundle of wood next to the fire the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen had started. He gently took her trembling hands and looked into the emerald eyes with firelight dancing in them.
"Rhonda, you could never disappoint me. Not really. I've been a jerk and a loser most of my life. Whatever happens tomorrow, these last few days belong to the three of us. No one else. I owe you and Alex a lot more than my life. Even us city boys have hearts, Rhonnie." Stanley was so intent on reassuring his new friend he didn't hear the boots behind him.
Stopping right behind the man, Alex leaned down until her mouth was next to his ear. "Thought I told you not to make a pass at my woman," Alex purred.
Poor Stanley couldn't see the pearly smile and very nearly fell into the fire. They all giggled. Alex handed the blonde a half dozen fish, cleaned and carefully strung onto a stick.
"Sorry, no veggies tonight. Rabbits and deer beat me to whatever there was. Guess it's good I saved this, huh?" Alex beamed as she produced a large loaf of banana nut bread she managed to keep hidden until now.
"You," Rhonnie kissed the detective's cheek, "are a sneak."
"Hey! I'm a detective. Being a sneak is part of the job requirements." Alex winked at her witness.
Alex and Stanley looked on in amazement as Rhonnie worked her magic with the fresh fish, a few herbs from her pack and some snow. "What?" asked the blonde.
Alex just shook her head and lifted her brows in pure respect for the wonder that was Rhonda.
Stanley shrugged his shoulders. "You carried that skillet all the way up this damn mountain?" Continuing, he gave no time for a reply. "And herbs too. That is just unbelievable to me, Rhonnie. Here we are on the top of Hell Mountain, dead tired, sore and battered, and you manage to prepare a feast few restaurants could top. What, indeed."
Rhonnie laughed, but was touched by the compliments she was getting; especially in light of the fact most of her small body screamed in pain. "Well, I've made this climb before, remember? I knew we were gonna need a good meal. Mind you, I never doubted Alex would provide the nourishment; but I don't like rabbit tartar and I hate sushi."
Stanley snickered as Alex pretended to stick her finger down her throat.
"You might want to withhold final judgment until you've at least tasted it," the blonde bombshell advised.
"Totally unnecessary," Alex assured her. "The smell alone is to absolutely die for."
"Alex!" Rhonda objected.
"Ooops," winked the woman with the long legs stretched out in front of her. "To live for. I'm sure I meant to say to live for."
The meal was wonderful. It was hot, nourishing, delicious and satisfying. In fact, it was so satisfying Stanley dozed right off without even finishing the last of his portion. Alex lifted and carried him a few feet to nestle him into the sleeping bag close to the wall. She zipped him in and started a smaller fire close to where he lay, just to make certain he would be warm enough. Clearly, the snoring man was out for the night.
Watching her dearest friend lay out their sleeping bags near the fire, Alex sighed. If only she knew some way to get Rhonda out of here and away from this nightmare until she could settle things with Lawton. That just wasn't going to happen though and the tall brunette knew it.
"Rhonnie, I need to go over behind the trees for a minute. I won't be far and I'll be right back." Alex explained as Rhonnie opened the bags to let the heat penetrate the linings.
"OK. Don't be long." Rhonda watched as Alex slipped behind the trees and out of view.
After several minutes Rhonnie began to think about why her friend felt the need to be so completely out of sight. Stanley was sound asleep and hadn't she and Alex been camping together for nearly twenty years, off and on? Green eyes closed as fingertips drummed a nearly perfect chin. An imaginary VCR hit rewind and played the events of the day again and again.
Alex emptied her bladder, zipped her jeans and moved a few feet to a boulder where she could sit down. Carefully removing the layers of clothing until she reached her T-shirt, the servant of justice winced and gritted her teeth against the intense pain and nausea. Leaning slightly to her right, Alex scooped a large handful of snow and pressed it against the swollen, purple joint and surrounding area. When the snow melted too much to be of any further use, Alex tossed it aside and repeated the procedure. As unpleasant as the frozen crystals were, they actually felt almost good against the fevered shoulder.
"MmmmmmHmmmmm. I thought so," whispered the blonde bombshell. You did this saving my fat ass, didn't you?"
"Watch your mouth, woman. I happen to be very fond of that.....you're not fat." Seeing mossy, worried green eyes Alex moaned. "Oh, Rhonda. It's just that damn shoulder that always goes out. I'll be fine. You can't seriously think I would have done anything else."
Rhonnie grimaced remembering the first time her friend had dislocated that shoulder and the whooping they all took for disobeying Alex's father. Even back then, Alex did whatever it took to keep her safe, she smiled. "I know, sweetheart. Now come on back to camp and let me have a look at that in the light."
Alex did as she was asked, given that she knew perfectly well it was actually a command.
Alex watched Rhonda carefully tend to the injured shoulder, noting how often green eyes slipped toward the V of the cotton shirt.
"Rhon. Honey if you touch that shoulder any more the fever is gonna spread."
"Huh?" Green eyes lifted to smiling blue ones. "I think the fever is letting up, Alex. It feels cool to the touch now."
Alex snickered. "Yeah, well there's two very good reasons for that. One, you've been putting snow on it for nearly thirty minutes. Two, the fever has moved now and you're touching the wrong area to feel it."
Blonde brows lowered and Rhonnie's forehead crinkled. "That's impossible Alex. The fever couldn't possibly have spread that fa....Mmmmm." The sentence was ended when Alex took the beautiful face in front of her and kissed the lips she so treasured.
"Now," Alex whispered into her love's mouth. "Drop your pants."
Rhonda gasped. "Here? Now? Alex....I..."
The detective kissed the cold nose. "Rhonnie, much as I like the way you think, I meant so I could have a look at the damage done by the fall earlier."
"Oh. I knew that," blushed the blonde.
Rhonda stood up in front of her seated companion. She started to unbutton her jeans but felt Alex's hand on hers.
"Here," Alex interrupted. "I'll do that."
Rhonda swallowed and took a deep breath as Alex first unbuttoned her pants and then proceeded to slide them down trembling legs. Taking a deep breath of her own, Alex slipped long fingers beneath the waist of the long johns.
"Alex, wait. There's nothing....I mean.."
"It's all right. I know. Why wear underwear under underwear, right?" The detective spoke softy, reassuringly, while her pulse began to pound in her ears.
"But Alex. Stanley is.."
"Asleep, Rhonnie. Stanley is sound asleep and I really need to look at those abrasions and put something on them." As she spoke, Alex began to slip the long johns toward Rhonda's knees. "Oh my gods," she breathed before swallowing loudly several times.
"What? What?! Is it that bad? Alex! How bad is it?" Rhonda pleaded as she held tightly to Alex's head for balance.
"Oh dear god in heaven," moaned the detective before she heard her friend's question. "Bad? Uh uh. No way. Del...um, no it's not so bad really, babe. Some scraping, lots of bruises and your right knee is looking kinda nasty but.......here. We better get you covered up before you catch cold. I think you'll be all right till we can get you to a doc tomorrow. I know it hurts like hell but ....here ya go." Alex's hands were shaking so badly she couldn't seem to rebutton the jeans. "Damn. I...babe I think my hands are too cold to finish here. Can you?"
Rhonda looked down at the flush on Alex's face, the perspiration on her forehead and the trembling hands before realizing the full impact of the situation. She never noticed before that when Alex was sitting, and she was standing, her tall friend's eyes were just a few inches shy of hip level.
"Alex, I'm so sorry. I didn't think. I..."
"Yeah, well just one more reason to hate that bastard Lawton. Figures I would finally be alone with you practically naked in my arms and I'd be on friggin' duty," Alex half joked.
"I love you, Alex Stoner."
"I love you, too, Rhonnie Reynolds. Now.. I need to tell you something and you won't like it, so just hear me out. OK?" Alex kissed her beloved as she slipped into the detective's lap.
"Listening."
"Sweetheart, Lawton is gonna be there in the morning. We probably won't see him but he will be there. I know this asshole, babe. If he can't get Wheaton, I think he'll go after you. He knows if he gets you it's all over," Alex explained.
"You listen to me Alexandra Stoner. No matter what happens YOU stick to your principles. I mean it!"
Blue eyes peered into green depths. "I will.. because I have no principles worth losing you for."
"Alex!"
"Rhonnie, no discussion. I'll get him. You have my word on it but don't think for a moment I would EVER choose the law, or justice, or revenge or any principle on the planet over one millisecond of your safety."
Rhonda snuggled closer to the love of her life. "Well then, let's just pray Lawton doesn't know that."
Alex smiled. "Pray?"
Rhonnie rolled her eyes. "Yes. Pray. This climb made me believe again, all right? I wonder if Anna had anything to do with that."
"Well," smiled Alex, "she always was looking out for us, wasn't she?"
Rhonnie felt strong arms pull her closer and kissed the soft, warm flesh nearest her lips. Slowly she became aware of the legs wrapped snugly around her own and breathed in the scent that was Alex Stoner. The blue-gray shades of sky signaled the approaching dawn and Rhonda wondered, for a moment, just when they had decided to share the same sleeping bag.
Alex smiled as Rhonda's tender mouth kissed the exposed rise of her left breast. She felt the small body press nearer and squeezed powerful legs around the lower limbs of her love.
"Ow," came the unbidden response from the blonde with the very sore body.
Releasing her grip immediately, Alex looked into gentle green eyes. "Sorry sweetheart. Hurts pretty bad, huh?"
Resting her elbows on the detective's breasts, Rhonnie slipped her chin into upturned palms. "Little, yeah. Anyone ever tell you how absolutely dreamy you look in the morning, Alex?"
Waggling dark brows, Alex winked and smiled. "No one who mattered. I could get used to waking with you in my arms, though."
"I'd like that." Rhonnie pulled herself upward until she could run the tip of her tongue across the soft, pink lips of Alexandra Stoner.
After a few minutes, the cop inside Alex's head woke up and the kiss ended. When the blue eyed beauty began to sit up and look around the small campsite, Rhonnie understood perfectly. It was nearly dawn. Their ride would be there soon. Without saying anything aloud, the two women slipped into the extra layers of clothing and looked around for their boots.
A few minutes later, Stanley woke to the whipping roar of a large helicopter as dust and snow flew about the small camp.
"No way am I getting into that thing," whined the waking witness. "Where the hell are the doors?"
Alex did not have time for this. "I kicked em out, along with the last witness who gave me bullshit after seventy two hours of guarding his gutless ass."
Stanley boarded the chopper...quietly. Rhonda grinned and winked at Chief Bartoni who smiled back at her.
"How ya doing there, Little Bit?" he asked.
"She's hurt, chief. Be careful of her legs and ribs. Her knee looks pretty bad too," Alex warned.
"Thank you," glared the blonde before turning back to the worried man in the body armor. "I'm fine, despite what my tall protector says."
The surrogate father grinned at the women who had not changed all that much since they were little girls daring the world to come between them.
"Alex," he finally said. "We made quite a show of loading up and starting out and we were downright careless with our flight plans." The chief waited to see if his best detective was getting his meaning. "No one tried to stop us, Alex. No one followed us either." He watched her face as he added the last bit of information. "Our man on the street says traffic around the courthouse is especially heavy, already this morning."
Stanley sighed in sheer relief, "Thank God! He gave up."
Chief Bartoni scowled but said nothing. Alex's blue eyes darkened with fear and concern. Rhonda knew this was not good. Not good at all.
The helicopter landed on the new pad at the top of the courthouse and was surrounded by a veritable curtain of men and women in blue, armed to the teeth. Stanley's hazel eyes opened wide and he looked to Alex, terrified.
"This means I'm still in trouble, doesn't it?" asked the witness of the person he trusted most in all the world.
"Mr. Wheaton, I assure you these fine officers will protect you with their very lives." The Chief needed the witness to calm down. Panic could be as dangerous as Lawton's goons.
Alex clasped the familiar shoulder of the man who was family to her. "Chief, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather Stanley here stuck with me." Motioning one of the officers inside the chopper, Alex turned to her charge. "Stanley, give me that god forsaken jacket we borrowed."
The witness looked puzzled but Bartoni chuckled at the woman's thinking. If this worked out, this young cop was gonna deserve one hell of a promotion.
"Perfect," grinned blue eyes as she mussed the rookie's hair. "Part of the look. Sorry."
"Um. No problem, ma'am. Glad to be of service. Good luck, detective." The rookie pretended not to be afraid but his eyes betrayed him.
Detective Stoner smiled into the frightened brown eyes. "Lancer. OK, Officer Lancer, meet my best friend in all the world: Rhonda Reynolds, and Stanley P. Wheaton, whose hide you're about to save. It's perfectly all right to be scared shitless, Lancer. I know I am." She watched brown eyes fill with surprise. "Look out there, Lancer. That blue curtain is gonna wrap you up and never let you go. I'd trust em with my life. Do it every day, in fact. Now get going. Just act like the original Chicken Little and Lawton's men will never know the difference."
Rhonda giggled. Stanley scowled. The curtain descended and the play began.
Alex turned to the chief and her best beloved friend. "Chief, I want you to take Rhonnie here and meet me back at headquarters in a bit."
"NOT A CHANCE!" came the stereo reply.
Alex started to explain all the reasons they should do as she requested but her speech was silenced by warm lips and soft hands. Stanley sighed, wondering if he would ever truly get used to seeing his dreams go up in smoke, as it were.
Chief Bartoni said one word: "Finally."
The radio sounded, alerting them to the attempt made on 'Stanley' as the stand-in and curtain of blue had entered Courtroom Number One A. "Attempt aborted. Witness secure."
"Damn," muttered Rhonnie.
"Rhonnie, please," Alex began.
"Don't say it, Alex. I'm not leaving your side so let's just do this and get it over with so you can take me to breakfast." Rhonda rubbed noses with Alex but made it clear, there was no need for a reply.
"And a doctor," added Bartoni. Then he took Alex's arm. "Put this on, Alex and don't give me any bullshit. Body armor is regulation in cases like this and you know it so just shut up and put it on. You too, Little Bit. Stanley, yours is behind you."
"Chief?" questioned Rhonda.
Alex kissed her cheek. "Put it on, honey. He's right.....and I don't have any candy so let's not piss him off," she winked.
Taking a last look around the perimeter, Detective Alex Stoner stepped from the helicopter, clearly taking the lead. With a nod she indicated Rhonda was to go next, taking the position nearest the brunette. For the blonde bombshell this was never even a question. Chief Bartoni urged Stanley forward as the seasoned cop formed the end of their little "line".
Stanley could hear his heart pumping in his ears. Even his vision seemed to throb in terror as his pulse rate headed into the red zone. Just when the frightened city boy thought he might bolt and run he felt the strangest thing....an odd sense of peace kind of washed over him like a warm spring shower. Wheaton thought maybe he was hallucinating because he would have sworn he saw Alex hovering in the air in front of him and smiling the most gentle smile he ever saw.
Rhonnie felt a familiar hand on her face, but no one was touching her. Alex heard the familiar voice and spun to look into stunned green eyes. The women looked at one another as they whispered the same word: "Anna?"
"Anna?" asked Stanley. "I thought you said Anna was dead." Before he could get hysterical he heard the voice. It seemed to be coming from inside his head.
"It's going to be all right, Stanley. Just trust Alex," soothed the whisper.
Stanley stepped closer to Rhonnie and Alex as the Chief closed ranks. A door slammed somewhere nearby and footsteps could be heard moving in their direction. Loud, rapid footsteps.
That was when they knew Mickey Lawton was there. Neither Alex nor Rhonda could see him, but he was there and they knew it. Chief Bartoni pressed the witness between Alex and Rhonnie, just as the quiet voice in his head demanded. The man shook his head wondering how he would ever explain his actions or their motivation.
Lawton and four hired killers burst onto the scene, in the final stairwell before reaching the Grand Jury Room. Two large men, armed with clubs of some sort and knives that seemed to be made of heavy glass, threw open the door just as Lawton and the other two leaped from beneath the concrete stairs. Only Mickey Lawton had a firearm. The others carried replicas of what may have been the most peculiar weaponry the chief had ever come across, even when he worked the inner city.
Alex pushed Stanley into the stairs and watched the chief cover the terrified man with his own body. Rhonda stunned everyone when she took the first two men down with a shout and four quick kicks to their heads. The detective swept one thug's legs out from under him and knocked him unconscious with his own club, while kicking the blade several feet away. From one corner of azure eyes, Alex saw Mickey Lawton draw his weapon and aim it at the chief. Throwing her body across the distance and tackling the murderer like a football dummy, she screamed in agony as her shoulder dislocated. Hearing the sound was more than the blonde bombshell could stand. She kneed the remaining flunky in the groin so hard he hit the wall two feet behind him before dropping, soundlessly, to the floor. Green eyes saw the hand reaching for the gun and she stomped, with all her might, onto the thick fingers.
Hazel eyes peeked around the body holding him against the hard stairs to see five men in varying degrees of unconsciousness. As the chief stood and helped the witness to his feet, nearly a dozen uniforms burst through the doorway with another five coming from the levels just above and below them.
"Alex!" shouted the angry cover girl. "You're hurt!"
"And you are one kick ass lady," groaned the detective through clenched teeth.
"Well that prick was gonna shoot you, goddamn it!" hissed Rhonda.
Snickering could be heard in nearly all directions as the fallen men were, patted down, hand-cuffed and taken into custody. "Should we call an ambulance, detective?" came the smirking but timid question from the guy with the radio.
"Yes, please. I think she hurt that one pretty badly," grinned blue eyes as she lifted a brow in the direction of the man holding his crotch and moaning.
"Alexandra Stoner. This is not funny," complained the surprisingly well trained blonde.
Chief Bartoni interrupted them. "Alex, they're ready for us in the Grand Jury Room. Think you can hold out till we deliver Stanley? Then we'll get you to a doc?"
Straightening to her full height, "Let's go, chief. I started this job and thanks to Anna and my little blonde bombshell here, I will damn well see it through."
"Anna? That was Anna?" asked Stanley.
"Not now," came the triple reply.
The grand jury questioned Stanley for three hours before taking only forty seven minutes to decide there was, indeed, enough evidence for an arrest and trial. Bartoni pulled the already prepared Warrant from his pocket and handed it to one of the officers.
"Take this to the jail and tell them to forget holding that rat bastard for assault. He's under arrest for homicide," said the chief.
Listening to the radio against his ear the young officer, grimaced. "Um, Chief. They took Lawton to the hospital first and.....well...um...the thing is, Chief. They can't seem to find him."
"Great," sneered Alex. "Just fucking great!"
Stanley was taken into protective custody by Federal Deputies who handed over the necessary documents and assured everyone the witness would be kept safe and given a new identity once the trial was over. They further informed the frightened man that the trial was to be held at an as yet unknown location, due to the fact it included the cold blooded murder of several police officers. Mickey Lawton was now wanted by city, state AND federal authorities. There was no place left to hide, the deputies announced.
After taking his favorite duo to the hospital, Anthony Bartoni informed the bandaged, medicated women a certain Abigail Stoner expected them for dinner.
Alex looked at Rhonnie, who was almost in tears. "Um, actually chief, we were hoping for something a little more..........private."
The chief smiled. "She'll kill me. You do know she'll kill me?"
Blue eyes searched green for the answer. "Um, tell her she's not losing a dinner guest, she's gaining a daughter. Right?" Alex held her breath, awaiting Rhonnie's response.
Dancing green eyes never looked so good.....or happy. "Right," came the soft reply.
"But she....oh my God, did you just?" Chief Bartoni felt an invisible hand press the Milky Way into his palm. "All right, Anna, but she'll still kill me."
Alex started to say something but found her mouth otherwise occupied. Surrender was looking better by the minute, thought the tall beauty. After all, why fight destiny?
The end?
Abigail Stoner did NOT kill Chief Bartoni. Instead she had a lovely dinner of Pot Roast and all the fixings with her long-time friend, Anthony Bartoni. She did, of course, make him squirm a bit - dangling out there on that limb and all - before taking pity on him and admitting she never really expected them for dinner. In fact, she assured him that if Alexandra had been foolish enough to actually show up at HER house for pot roast after waiting nearly a life-time for Rhonda.....Well, let's just say, the detective was not too old to spank. Anthony Bartoni laughed, just imagining the look on his detective's face when he told her.
Stanley found himself hustled away to a large, very heavily guarded room......in a DOWNTOWN hotel. He took a hot bath, changed into the newly bought clothes, ate two steaks and three pieces of chocolate cream pie. Then and only then did he stretch out across the huge bed and go to sleep. This, he mused, was definitely more like it.
Mickey Lawton nursed his broken arm, cracked ribs and bruised ego. Only his habit of planning for every possible outcome saved him and he knew it. It truly paid to have his hands in so many pies. No matter where he went, it sometimes seemed, he owned somebody. That doctor he bought two years before at one of his casinos came in handy, just as he knew he would. Still, some of his people were in jail now and he would need to eliminate that possible problem as soon as possible. Then, he sipped his fruited drink, he would do what he started out to do. It would take time to gather what he needed but the Stoners had not heard the last of him. Not by a long shot.
As for Alex and Rhonnie, well, they had a lot of catching up to do. 'But first things first,' thought Alex, as she paid the kid in the window beneath the golden arches.
"Alex. I would have been happy to cook, you know. And why are you driving? You're supposed to be keeping that arm still. That's why the doctor put it in that crazy sling sized version of a straight jacket!" Rhonda complained, good naturedly.
"MmmHmmm," came the reply from tall, dark and distracted. It was all the detective could do to keep her eyes on the road when she realized they were finally, alone together. Well, if you didn't count the traffic on the cloverleaf, that is.
"Alex Stoner. You didn't hear a word I said," grinned the blonde as they pulled into the long drive. Looking around and noticing this was not her parents' house, Rhonda asked: "I thought you were taking me home?"
Shutting off the engine, Alex opened one of the bags and grabbed a French fry. "I am. I did. You're home. My home. Our home. I mean....aw hell..." the tall woman rambled before reaching across the gear shift and kissing the woman she loved.
Rhonda started for a burger listening to Alex answer her question. In her mind, the words began to roll around. 'You're home. My home. Our home....' Green eyes lifted as the meaning settled in, and she found herself wrapped up in Alex's lips and arms and pressing against a most unwelcome gear shift. When the detective pulled back enough to run her tongue across Rhonnie's warm lips, Rhonda moaned slightly.
"Alex. You. Me. Food. Lips. Inside, please."
Before the blonde bombshell could even wink, Alex was out her car door and opening Rhonnie's. "Here," said Alex as she shoved the sack into the small lap and slid her right arm beneath the giggling blonde. "Lean on my good shoulder and get the house keys out of my breast pocket."
"Alex! You'll hurt yourself! Ooooooooo, your breast pocket? Mmmmmm. Gladly," she grinned wickedly as she needlessly fumbled for the keys easily within her reach.
"Gods, baby. If you keep that up we not only won't get any breakfast, we won't even make it into the house." Alex snickered but pressed into the roaming fingertips.
"Hey," giggled Rhonda. "Speak for yourself. I have my breakfast."
Just when Alex lifted a brow at the large sack, Rhonda licked the pulse point where the detective's neck and shoulder joined. This action made the brunette moan slightly but when Rhonnie began to suck and swirl her tongue against the flesh, Alex very nearly dropped her. Quickly and gently pressing Rhonda's form against the hood of the Jeep, Alex's hand did some roaming of it's own.
It was at this moment, Detective Stoner's nearest neighbor pulled into the driveway next door.
"Hey, Stoner! Who's the babe? We were kinda getting worried 'bout you here lately. Thought maybe you'd sworn off the......Jesus H. Christ! Isn't that?" The man stopped mid question.
Groaning, Alex wished she'd walked a little faster with her 'bundle'. "Tod, Rhonnie. Rhonnie, Tod. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some unfinished business to take care of. Right, Rhonnie?" asked Alex as she lifted Rhonda into her arms again.
"Mmmm. Very," winked green eyes.
"Great," said Tod. "Maybe we can get together later then?"
Rhonda laughed out loud and waggled her famous blonde brow at the man in the driveway. "Way later, Tod. Waaaaaaaaay later."
"Oh, you are so bad." Alex swatted the firm behind as she sat Rhonda down, just inside the door.
"You have no idea," smirked Rhonda as she panned the large room. "It's beautiful, Alex. Oh, and you even have a fireplace. Somehow I knew you would."
Alex nodded and took the offered hand, leading Rhonnie to the floor near the fireplace. "Yeah and it's magic, too." Alex waggled her own brows as she flipped the hidden switch and the rushing hiss signaled the roaring fire was about to be ignited.
"Oh. A cheater, I see." Rhonda giggled as she snuggled closer.
Alex handed Rhonnie the forgotten burger and they ate and kissed, kissed and ate. They nuzzled and sipped at the long since cold coffee. Though interrupted by yawns and closing eyes, the women continued to taste one another's loving kisses. Nearly two full hours later, lips still joined, the exhausted bodies gently stretched together in front of the fire, asleep.
= )
Coming soon: The sequel: "Not Without Me, You're Not!"
Thanks for reading.
Sam