Strong Reflection: Book 2 of the Dark Series Trilogy (14 page)

All the ladies started laughing and doing seated synchronized body rolls.  Jack laughed and Kyle smiled shaking his head.  “After she taught me moves in private, she then took me to every club she could find every Friday and Saturday night.”

“Oh, hush, you know you loved showing those black guys you can get down with a black girl.”

Jack blew on his nails and then buffed them on his shoulder, “What can I say?
 I was the shit.”

They all laughed and Tasha hit Jack in the back of the head again before she turned an appraising eye on Kyle, “I could teach you.
 You got that strong-silent-type thing going on and whoa, if you could move like Jack, you’d have the women lined up around the block.”

Before Kyle could decline Tasha’s offer, Ashley spoke.  “I don’t think so.  The only one who is going to be teaching Kyle to dance like that is me.”

Tasha’s eyebrows met her bangs.  “Ooohkaay, it’s like that, excuse me, miss thang.”

Ashley confirmed with a vigorous nod.
 “That’s right girlfriend check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

“Umm Hmm, I heard that, skirrrd of you.”

The ladies busted out laughing.  Kyle and Jack smiled at their silliness.  Suddenly, Ashley’s bright smile disappeared and she tensed.  She stood up on her seat and stepped pass Kyle via the back ledge of the booth, jumped to the floor and took off.

Kyle and Jack reacted, taking off after Ashley.  Jack threw a “Stay here” over his shoulder before following Kyle into the fray.  

When they got to the center of the dance floor Ashley was holding back a man twice her size trying to get at another man just as big.  The man was doubled over with his arm twisted halfway up his back. Ashley had his wrist in a death grip. “Drop it!”  

Kyle then saw a huge knife in his hand.  The man struggled to get loose from Ashley’s grip but she was highly trained in restraining holds, even if the person being restrained was bigger and stronger.

“Bitch, get up off me.  I’ll fucking gut you, you stupid cunt!”

Before Kyle or Jack could reach Ashley a man closer to her pulled a gun and put it to Ashley’s head. “Bitch, you heard him, leggo!”

Jack and Kyle pulled guns from their holsters.  “Drop the gun and move away from her!”  Kyle ordered.

There were screams and shouts and the dance floor cleared quickly.  Soon, the only ones left were Ashley and the guy she restrained, the man with a gun to her head, Jack and Kyle and a few spectators on the side of the dance floor, mostly women Catlyn and Tasha included.  Catlyn was speaking with members of the club’s security team, pointing to Jack and Kyle most likely identifying them.

Ashley kept her tight grip on the perp but talked smoothly to the man with the gun.  “You’ve really stepped into it here, Lucky.”  She risked a glance at the armed man.  “Do you know who you got drawing down on you?” She tilted her head towards Jack and Kyle.

“I don’t give a fuck, either way yous a dead bitch.”

“Trust me when I say, you’re a deader bitch.  That there is Chief of Detectives and Asst. Director of the FBI.”

“Bullshit!”  The man suddenly looked a little nervous as he took his eyes off Ashley for a second to take in the menacing stances of Jack and Kyle.

“Oh, no, I bullshit you not,”  Ashley forced the guy she was restraining all the way to the floor and put her knee in the middle of his back as she took the knife. “Gentlemen, why don’t you show Lucky here some ID.”

Keeping their guns expertly trained on the man who held a gun to Ashley’s head they both reached into their pockets and simultaneously flashed their badges.

“Somemabitch!  Leroy, man, see, why you always gotta be in shit fo’?”  The gunman threw the gun down and his hands up and lay down next to ‘Leroy’.  He obviously knew the drill.  Can you say criminal?

“Nobody told yer dumbass to pull a gun on a cop 
and 
a fed.”

“Nobody told
 yer dumbass to pull a knife over some ratchet ass ho.”

“Ah, nah, mothafucker, who you callin’ ratchet ho?”  A woman among the spectators standing on the edge of the dance floor came closer.

Lucky lifted his head to pin ratchet ho with a look full of contempt.  “I’m calling you a ratchet ho, ratchet ho!”

“Kiss my ass Dwayne!”

“Suck my dick ho, maybe it’ll fix them crooked ass teeth!”  Dwayne a.k.a. Lucky was pissed.

“Suck my pussy when I’m on it, bitch!”  Ratchet ho fired back.  “Betta yet suck dem dicks in county!”

The floor suddenly overflowed with uniforms.  Two officers quickly cuffed Leroy and ‘Lucky’. As they were being led off the dance floor Kyle stopped him.  “’Lucky’, you don’t know how lucky you are, because if you would have hurt that woman your ass never would have seen daylight.  It’s a federal offense to harm a federal agent.”

“I didn’t harm no agent.  I didn’t even point my gun at yous.  I just pointed it at the bitch.”

Kyle’s eyes glittered with anger.
 “Yeah, well, that ‘bitch’ is Supervisory Special Agent Ashley Mackenzie of the FBI.”  Kyle gave Lucky a hard gut punch before adding quietly in the doubled over man’s ear, “And, my woman.”

Lucky looked up, seeking out Ashley’s eyes, his held a question.  Ashley nodded.  He lowered his head, muttering, “Damn, damn, damn.”

CHAPTER 8

Kyle was pissed.  The silence in the car was deafening. He knew if he started to talk he would erupt in anger all over Ashley.  So he sat in the front passenger seat steaming as Jack drove them home from the police station.

Tasha had taken Catlyn home at Jack’s direction.  Jack hadn’t wanted her standing or sitting around waiting while the three of them gave their statements.   He had used his rank to do a skeleton report.

Ashley was just as quiet in the backseat.
 Kyle spared her a glance.  She was looking out the side window.  She looked so vulnerable.  Ha, he knew that wasn’t true!  What in the hell possessed her?

She had picked up on the trouble in the club and instead of telling him and Jack and letting them handle it she just jumped into action.
 It pissed Kyle off so much.  He could have lost her tonight over a stupid club fight!

He didn’t understand her need to help everyone under the sun.  He was an agent and he had a sense of justice, a very strong, deep seated need to help those in trouble.  But, he wouldn’t have done half the things Ashley had done to get the job done.  It was like she didn’t have a filter.  

Kyle was willing to overlook some of her other more daring rescues for the truly innocent, the kids, women who were kidnapped, taken against their will, the law abiding average Joe.  But, he refused to let her actions slide tonight, especially as it turned out that the person she was protecting from being stabbed turned out to have wants and warrants, someone who turned out to be a criminal.  Criminals she had given her oath to capture and defend against.

“Jack, hurry, there is something wrong!”  Ashley suddenly said from the backseat.

Jack was just about to turn down his long private drive when Ashley sat forward with the demand.  Jack looked at Kyle.  Kyle could only shrug.  He obviously didn’t see what Ashley did.

Jack, however, didn’t need clarification as he put his foot down on the gas and sped up.  About half way to the front doors Jack and Kyle saw what Ashley had obviously seen back at the entrance to his property.

There were two cop cars, an ambulance and an animal control vehicle vying for prominence in front of Jack’s house, lights flashing. Before Jack slammed on the brakes, Ashley was out of the still moving car and headed straight for the front door.

Jack and Kyle were right behind her.  Jack rushed pass the various uniformed personnel, seeking Catlyn. He ran to her on the sofa.  A paramedic was checking her over.

“Catlyn!”
  Jack went to his knees, grabbing her hand with one of his and the other went to her face. “Baby, what happened?”

She pulled Jack to her, putting her face against his chest.  “H-he was in our house.”

“What?” Jack turned towards Tasha who was nervously wringing her hands.  “Tasha what the hell happened?”

Kyle and Ashley stood on either side of Tasha, trying to comfort her.  She obviously was upset too.  “It was disgusting, a-and… I-I-I did-didn’t know it was in there or I-I-I would have gone with her.  And her sc-screaming was so scary.  My heart almost stopped.  I got to her as fast as I could.  S-sshe was passed out on the fl-floor.”

Jack looked at Kyle and Ashley, asking silently if they had understood any of what Tasha had just said. Kyle shook his head and Ashley shrugged.  “Tasha, I need you to be clear.”

Tasha just wiped at her tears and said, “Kitchen.”

Jack tried to rise and go to the kitchen but Catlyn pulled him to her with a tight grip.  “No, don’t leave me.”

Jack soothed, “No, Kitten, I’ll never leave you.”
 

Jack tilted his head towards the kitchen.  Kyle and Ashley both responded.  They hastily went to the kitchen. The scene was like from a horror movie.  Blood stained the floor in several places.  One wall next to the stove dripped crimson letters
‘Black bitch for the black bitch’. 
  There were lab techs taking pictures and an animal control officer kneeling next to what Ashley soon realized was a chunk of a dog. Horrified she looked around the kitchen seeing several other bloody chunks which were once a rather large black dog.

“Dana, can I start the cleanup, the chief’s lady was really freaked out.  I just want to get her kitchen back to the way it should be.”

The tech taking pictures answered, “Sure, go ahead.  I don’t blame her.  Poor Professor Lyte, the lady doesn’t deserve this after all she went through to catch the Newburgh Slasher.”

“Well, you know, before she started teaching at the college it was her job to put these psychos away.”

“God, I don’t know how she did it.  It couldn’t be me.”  Dana said as she packed up her camera.

A plain clothes detective walked into the kitchen from the other entrance.
 He came over to Kyle. “Director Strong, good to see you again, wished it was under better circumstances, not sure if you remember me.”  The man offered his hand.  “We met when Agent Mackenzie was in the hospital, Detective Carl Rider.”

Kyle shook hands with the detective.  “Yes, I do remember you.  Thanks for coming out.  Do you know how he got in here?  I saw Jack engage the alarm system.”

Rider pointed towards the entrance he came through earlier.  “There is a patio door that Jack just installed some fancy glass he had on back order.  He forgot to re-wire the new door into the alarm system.  The perp entered the house that way.  There is a trail of blood that leads to here.”

Ashley shook her head, taking in the carnage, the smell of blood making her queasy and reminding her of the night she lost her family.  “Oh, my God, Catlyn saw this?  She must have been so scared.”

Kyle went around to each piece of the dog, checking for anything left behind.  “Did Catlyn recognize the dog?”

Carl Rider checked his little note book.  “No, she didn’t.  But, among the, uh, left overs of the dog we found a tag from the Eastside Animal Shelter.  I had a uniform go over and confirm the dog was a rescue and a young Caucasian male; late teens early twenties, came in yesterday morning, claiming to need a birthday present for his younger sister, all the information he used to complete the adoption/rescue was bogus.”

A team of three women in black coveralls enter the kitchen.  “Oh, good the CTS Decon team is here.” Carl walked over to the women.  “Thanks for coming so fast.  This is the chief of detectives’ house.  His fiancee is pregnant.”

The woman in charge of the group nodded and then proceeded to assess the cleanup areas.

“We’ll get out of your way and get Jack caught up.”  Kyle put a guiding hand to the small of Ashley’s back.

Back in the living room, Catlyn was resting comfortably in Jack’s arms.  Tasha was walking the ob/gyn out and thanking him for making a house call.

“Is she asleep?”  Ashley asked.

Jack nodded his head, “The doctor gave her a medication to keep her lightly sedated.”  Jack caressed her gently, pushing her hair back off her forehead.  “She was still hysterical.”

Kyle frowned, “After seeing the mess in the kitchen, I can see why she’d be hysterical.”

Jack balled the fist that wasn’t touching
 Catlyn, frowning, “Was it him?  What’s in the kitchen?”

Kyle quickly recapped what he saw in the kitchen and his conversation with Rider.

“Shit, this is my fault.  I totally forgot about re-wiring the patio door.  I was just so happy to have a more substantial door installed.”

“Come on, Jack, you know the drill.  Don’t do that to yourself.  Guilt isn’t going to help.  It’s not your fault.  It’s the asshole’s fault who is doing this to you and Catlyn.”  Kyle assured.

Tasha returned with a harassed looking blonde.  He rushed to Jack, kneeling next to him and Catlyn. “Jesus, Jack, I came as soon as I heard.”

Catlyn instantly sprang up from her reclined position in Jack’s arms.  She grabbed Jack to her and stared hard at the newcomer.  Her eyes bore holes into him.

The man gave a wry smirk before saying, “Black burnt brownies.”  As if the man had cited a magical incantation Catlyn collapsed back into sleep and Jack’s arms just as suddenly as she had come awake.

What the hell?  Kyle raised an eyebrow in question.  Jack answered, “Assistant Director FBI, Kyle Strong meet former Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, my partner in our security firm, Jason Dark and fugitive Jon Dark’s identical twin.”

The man came to his feet.  He was about 6 feet tall with an athletic build.  He offered his hand to Kyle. Kyle shook it slowly, taking in every detail of the man’s face.  He wanted to be sure he’d recognize Catlyn’s tormentor and rapist if he ever encountered him.

Before Kyle could say a word Ashley was in the guy’s face.  “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here.”

Jack intervened, “Mackenzie!  You’re out of line.”

Tasha spoke up.  “Jack, he shouldn’t be here.”

The man’s jaw rippled with his obvious restraint.  He stood toe to toe with Ashley, looking down into her angry eyes.  “Yeah, I remember your opinion of me.  Believe me, ‘I’ve come to Earth’. And, I have every right to be on it as the next person.”  Jason pointed to Catlyn.  “I’ve failed this lady one time before and I have no intention of ever letting that happen again.”  He took a threatening step closer to Ashley, “And, I don’t give a fuck whether you’re okay with that or not.”

Kyle stepped in between Jason and Ashley, putting her protectively behind him.  “Hey, let us back off a bit here.”  Kyle made sure to look over his shoulder to include Ashley in his look.  “We are all here for Catlyn and obviously wish to protect her and that makes us on the same team not at cross purposes.”

The tension seemed to rush out of Jason’s body.  He looked at Kyle.  “You’re right.  I am sorry. It’s just getting a little nerve wrecking looking exactly like a homicidal psychotic.”

The simple words were said with such grief and anguish Kyle suddenly felt sorry for Jason.  

“We’ll get him!”  Jack said with fierce determination, bringing everyone’s attention back to the couple on the sofa.  “Jason, have you heard anything from your contacts?”

Jason shrugged, “Until tonight, I would have said my contacts were gold, but, they reported a sighting of Jon in California as of yesterday.  I was headed there tomorrow to coordinate a search with the locals.” Jason shook his head in confusion.  “But, my contacts can’t be right if he was here taunting Catlyn.”

“Don’t you think it’s kind of stupid to go to a town where a fugitive is being sought for the most heinous of crimes and the fugitive just happens to be an exact double of you?”  Ashley asked as though his intelligence was seriously in question.

“Although our DNA is identical, Jon messed up at the site of three murders and two rapes by leaving his prints.  Thankfully, twins don’t have identical fingerprints.  I’ve already been ruled out as the perp for those crimes.”

Ashley shook her head, “Whatever, it’s still a dumb move on your part.”

Jason gave her a slanted grin, “Well, as we all know, I am not too smart.”

Jack stood carefully, cradling Catlyn to his chest.  “Kyle and Jason I need you guys to re-wire the patio door into the security system and make sure the entire house is secure.”  He made his way slowly towards the stairs.  “Tasha has all the security codes and access to the computer.  I am going to lay down with Catlyn for a little while until I know she is deeply asleep.”  Jack looked over at Jason, “What’s the new code?”

“Yellow yards of yarn.”  Jack shook his head at Jason’s creativity.

At the bottom of the steps, Kyle reassuringly touched Jack’s shoulder.  “Don’t worry Jack.  We will make the house secure!  I’ll keep watch over the cleanup until they’re all gone.”  

Jack gave them all a grateful look before carrying Catlyn up the stairs and out of sight.

Kyle turned to everyone standing there looking after Jack and Catlyn.  “Ok, people, let’s get it done!”

****  

Ashley let the warm water sooth her body as her mind ran rampant with thoughts.  Today had been a long day.  She fell just a little more for Kyle, enjoyed spending time with him at play.  She liked seeing him happy and carefree.  Some of the worry lines disappeared from his face when he relaxed, making him appear years younger.