Chapter 14
"Damn, Ashlyn,” Ali said. She stared at Ashlyn as Ashlyn got up. Ashlyn started to walk towards Ali and was about to hand her the gun when they heard a voice calling from the street.
“Sosa! What the fuck is going on up there? I heard shots!”
Ashlyn walked to the balcony doors and opened them. She peered out and saw another man crossing the street. The man looked up just as Ashlyn raised her gun and took aim.
“Shit!” the man yelled and started backpeddling.
Ashlyn steadied her hands for another second and then squeezed the trigger. It was a far shot and a tough shot, especially in the dark with a 9MM, but she grazed the man in the arm.
“Fuck!” the man screamed. He scrambled towards the car behind the one that Ashlyn had seen the other four men come out of. Ashlyn took aim and fired again but missed. The man jumped in the car and started up the engine. Ashlyn fired again and the rear window on the driver’s side shattered. It was too dark, and the target was too far out of range to hit with a 9MM, even for someone as good as Ashlyn. The man swore again and sped off. Ashlyn stared at the departing car for a moment and then went inside the living room and ran towards the front door.
“Ashlyn!” Ali yelled. Ashlyn stopped and looked at Ali. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m gonna run that guy down and put two in his head.”
“Ashlyn!”
“What!”
“Stop! J-j-just stop!”
“What! He’s getting away, Ali!”
“Jesus Christ, Ashlyn. Look around you.”
“What?”
“You just killed four people!”
“Yes, I did. And it’d do it again." Ashlyn stared at Ali. "These guys came here tonight to hurt you, Ali.” Ali stared at her, so Ashlyn rolled on. “Do you know what’s in that bag?” She pointed to the duffel bag. “Duct tape. Pliers. A blow torch. They were going to torture you.” Ali’s mouth dropped open. Ashlyn looked at her and said, “They needed to die.”
Ali stood there, staring at the gym bag, quiet for a minute, as the gravity of what might have possibly happened sunk in. Then she looked up. Her big brown eyes stared into Ashlyn's. “Thank you", she said.
Ashlyn smiled slightly and nodded.
"Ashlyn", Ali spoke after a moment. "You didn’t have to kill them. We could have taken them in.”
“What? ‘Taken them in’?" Ashlyn asked. "And what's this 'we' business, Ali?"
“Well, I could have taken them in. Sosa, and the guy I shot. They were still alive. I could have arrested them and taken them in.”
“And how were you going to explain that?” Ashlyn asked. “Like you took out four armed men by yourself, killing two of them and critically wounding two others? I mean, Wambach wouldn’t believe you’re that good. She’d know you had help.” She stood still for a moment and then walked over to Ali and handed her gun back.
“Right – I would tell her, I did it with your help", Ali said.
“Ali, I can’t be here. What would have happened if your fellow agents showed up, and I’m standing here, in this room? How are you going to explain that? That you and your “civilian” girlfriend took out four armed men? What do you think would happen next? They would question me and find out who I am. They’d put it together, and they'd realize that I'm the one who's been taking out the trash.”
Ali thought for a moment and then said, “Ashlyn – y-y-you went…crazy...” she trailed off.
“Well, if I hadn’t been here…” Ashlyn let is trail off, not even able to verbalize the awful thoughts that crossed her mind.
“I know, and…you know I’m forever grateful. But still...I mean…just seeing you…just go off like that…” Ali trailed off. She had never seen anything like that. It had been like watching something out of a Steven Seagal movie. Sure, as a law enforcement agent she was more desensitized to violence than the average person, but seeing Ashlyn take out three men by hand, and then, especially, seeing her take the gun and pull the trigger at point blank range on the two that were still alive…just to actually really see something like that, up-close and personal, well…it had unnerved her. It's one thing to know that someone's a sniper. It's another thing to see someone snap a neck, crush a windpipe, break arms, legs, wrists and hands and then shoot people in the head at point blank range right in front of you. Especially if that someone is a woman who just crawled out of your bed five minutes ago. “Ashlyn, you lost control”, Ali said.
“And you don’t have enough control!” Ashlyn flashed anger. “How were you going to 'control' this, huh? These guys came here, and they were going to hurt you. They deserved to die.” Ashlyn stared hard at Ali and then said, “Someone had to bring them to justice.”
“But that’s our job, Ashlyn. To bring people to justice.”
“Well, you’re not doing your job well enough! If you guys were doing your job, then people like this wouldn’t even be out on the streets. Look - I’ve brought down six major crime figures in the last week, and a few of their henchmen as well. Just me alone. What have you and your whole organization done? Nothing! You wait around, and you follow your rules and you laws, and you get nothing done, while bad people go on, murdering and robbing and raping and hurting, like these guys were going to do to you tonight!”
“But we need rules, Ashlyn! We need laws and rules to have a well-functioning society. If we start just taking the law into our own hands and shooting people whenever we feel like it, were no better than the criminals we try to protect people from.”
“Don’t fucking compare me to these assholes! I don’t go around killing, mugging and raping innocent people. I take out people like this, so good people can live their lives without having to worry about being attacked. I’m nothing like these criminals. I just happen to have what it takes to stand up and fight against people like them.”
“Ashlyn – you are a criminal! I mean, by killing people the way you just did…” Ashlyn just stared at her with an incredulous look, so Ali said, “Well, technically, you’re a criminal. Look – I understand you were protecting me tonight, and…of course you how much that means to me. But, God damn it, Ashlyn…I mean, Jesus, look at this”, Ali said, as she held her arms out to the room.
Ashlyn stared at Ali and then took a half-step towards her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll kill anyone who threatens you, and I’m not afraid to say that or do that. Bad people must go down.”
"Ashlyn, you can’t just keep killing people", Ali said. "You need to get under control. I mean, for you to just snap like that…”
“I didn’t snap, Ali! I was protecting you!”
“You had already protected me! These guys were down. You didn’t need to take my gun and shoot them point blank in the face.”
"I told you I wouldn’t think twice about killing someone if it meant saving you. You don't just give people like this a slap on the wrist.” Ashlyn stared at Ali. She wanted to wrap her up in a hug right now, but there was something in Ali's face that said ‘don’t’. Ashlyn stared at her for a moment longer and then went over to the bodies and started trying to clean up the mess.
Ali watched Ashlyn in silence for a minute and then said, “How did you know about the meeting between the Maranos and the Disciples?”
“What?” Ashlyn said, as she started hauling bodies towards the front door.
“You knew about the meeting. How did you know?” Ali asked. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, “Wait – did you hack into the JOCT database?”
“Yup, I sure did”, Ashlyn said. “And I’m going to be at that meeting, and I’m going to wipe out Marano and that dirtbag Kody Mitchell and the rest of their crew, too.”
Ali stared at Ashlyn. Of course Ashlyn had hacked the JOCT database. That was also how she had gotten Ali’s address and office line. She stared at Ashlyn for another moment as Ashlyn gathered up the dead men’s guns and put them in the gym bag. “They’re going to cancel the meeting”, Ali said.
“What?”
“They’re going to cancel the meeting. Mitchell will hear about this, especially with Sosa missing, and the Disciples will cancel the meeting.” The impact of that hit Ali as she thought about what Wambach and Hope had said, that this meeting may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that netting the entire cast would be a big win for them.
“Well, then I’ll find some other way to take them down.”
Ali rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Jesus, Ashlyn. If you hadn’t killed Sosa and that other guy, we could have taken them in”, she said again.
“And done what?!” Ashlyn said indignantly, staring at Ali.
“Questioned them. Leaned on them. Offered them a deal. Had them turn state’s evidence. We could have used them somehow to get to Giusseppi Marano and Kody Mitchell.” Ali stared at Ashlyn. “If we had followed the law, we would have them in custody right now.”
“Jesus Christ, Ali. Really?” Ashlyn shook her head, incredulous.
“Yes, really. That’s why we should have followed the law.”
“There were four men coming here to torture you and maybe kill you, and you’re worried about ‘following the law’? Even after what just happened?” Ashlyn shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I don’t need another meeting to be set up. I’ll find the rest of these guys the way I found the first ones. And I definitely don’t need a damn law for that.”
Ali was silent for a moment as she looked around. “Look at this mess…how can I explain this?”
Ashlyn took another step towards her. “I’m cleaning it up. All you have to do is clean the blood off of the rug, or just toss it.”
“Cleaning up is not the point, Ashlyn. You’re out of control. And…"Ali trailed off.
Ashlyn heard something in her voice. She looked up and said, "And what?"
"And…" Ali trailed off again.
Ashlyn continued to look at Ali. She could tell what Ali was about to say. Something along the lines of, "I don't know if I can be with someone who operates the way you do." Ashlyn walked over towards her. She reached up slowly and cupped Ali’s cheeks with her hands, then put her forehead against Ali’s and closed her eyes. “I-I-I’m falling for you, Ali. I’m falling for you, and I won’t let anyone ever hurt you. And, if people try…they need to be punished…because that is justice…” They stayed like that for another minute, foreheads touching, and then Ashlyn pulled back. She looked into Ali’s eyes and gave her the gentlest kiss on the lips. Then she pulled back and walked to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Ali asked.
“I’m going to get the car these guys came in. I’m going to pull it around the alley and put the bodies in the back. Then I’ll drive the car and dump it somewhere on the south side.” Ashlyn looked at Ali and then said, “And then I’m going to find Mitchell and Marano, and I'm going to kill them, too.” She looked at Ali for another moment. In the far distance she heard a siren. Someone must have heard the shots and called the police. Ashlyn looked at Ali and said, “We can leave the man you shot here, if you want. You can tell the cops that he broke in, and that you had to shoot him. That will explain the shots and the shouting in the apartment. They’ll believe you. You’re in your own home, and he’s a gang member, and you’re a law enforcement officer. If they don’t believe you, get Hope involved. She’ll vouch for you.”
Ali looked at Ashlyn for a moment. Part of her wanted to pull her gun on Ashlyn and turn her in, to contain her before she went ballistic again, for her own protection and for that of other good people around her, but part of her was glad that Ashlyn had just reduced the world's criminal population by four, as grisly as she had done it. Underneath it all, it was true - Ashlyn had saved her life. She thought for a moment and then nodded her head. Ashlyn was right. They had to make it look real enough to provide a plausible explanation, at least for now. Ashlyn and Ali dragged the body of the man who Ali had shot back to the middle of the living room, right where he had fallen, then Ashlyn took a gun out of the gym bag and put it in his hands. It was sloppy, Ashlyn and Ali both thought, and Ali knew that Hope probably wouldn't ultimately buy it, but it would at least pass for now, until the fingerprint and other lab tests came back. Then she would cross her fingers that Hope would help cover for her. Ashlyn went out the door, and Ali just stood there.
Ashlyn came back ninety seconds later. She loaded Sosa’s body and the two other bodies minus the body of the man that Ali had shot into the car, then came up for one last look around and grabbed her shoes. The sirens were getting nearer. She put her shoes on and then looked at Ali. Ali stared at her for a moment and then said, “You’re out of control, Ashlyn”, Ali said. “I think you need help. The law-"
“You’re welcome”, Ashlyn cut her off, and then walked out the door, closing it behind her.
Ali stood there, staring at the door for another moment. She heard a police car screech to a halt outside, and then she found her phone and called Hope.