Chapter 4
Tasha and Patterson were in the back seat, sitting next to each other, close. Reade was on the far right. Kurt and Jane were in front talking. Tasha looked over at Patterson. She could tell something was wrong, and she was pretty sure she knew what, but she wanted to ask anyway. She leaned in and asked, “Hey – you okay?”
“I’m fine”, Patterson said, not leaning in or looking over.
“Patterson…”, Tasha said, letting it hang.
Patterson was silent for a moment and then huffed. “What was that all about?” she asked quietly, leaning in a bit.
“What?”
“Back there, in the office”, Patterson said.
“What are you talking about?” Tasha asked, even though she was sure she knew.
“You sounded like you didn’t want me to come.”
Tasha leaned back a bit. “Patterson, it could be dangerous.”
“I said I can handle myself”, Patterson huffed again and looked away. Reade looked over.
“But you’re not a field agent. I mean, you’re the best at what you do, but field work is different”, Tasha said. Patterson looked at her, and Tasha continued. “I mean, like the time you were…”
“Were what?” Patterson asked, staring at Tasha with her blue eyes.
Tasha stared back, momentarily silent. She thought about the time Patterson had been abducted in the antique store and how worried she had been. For a moment she considered continuing but decided to hold her tongue. “Nevermind. Look, like I said, it’s just that we won't be able to have the full team in there.”
“And you don’t want the responsibility of having to babysit me, is that it?”
“Patterson-“
“I’ll be fine”, Patterson said, resolutely. She was silent for a moment, staring straight ahead and then looked over again and leaned in a bit. “I mean, you’ll be there, right?” She stared at Tasha.
Tasha stared back for a moment and then said, “Yes, of course, I will be there.”
“Then I will be fine”, Patterson said again, but her voice softening. She cracked a small smile and gently bumped her knee against Tasha’s. Tasha smiled back a small smile, and Patterson, in a lower voice said, “as long as I have my brave little rogue thief to protect me.” Tasha, despite her worry, giggled slightly, and Reade looked over again and furrowed his brow.
Fifteen minutes later they parked half a block up the street from Molly’s.
“Okay, remember – surveillance only", Weller said. "You guys won’t have weapons, in case someone for some reason decides to search you. Just get in there, get a sit rep, and come out. If Liz and Powell are both there, then you guys come back out, get your guns, and we'll all head back in there. Now, Patterson has a wire in the compact mirror in her purse, so Reade and I will be able to monitor you guys by audio. If something happens, you shout, and we’ll come running. Remember – do NOT engage without us. Is that clear?” Everyone nodded, and the three women exited the vehicle.
“So, what’s our cover story?” Patterson asked as they walked towards the bar.
“Yeah, it’s kind of early for a drink”, Jane said. “Plus, this place isn’t exactly in bar central. Like, how did we even end up here?”
“We like to explore off the beaten path”, Tasha said. “Plus, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Now”, she said to Jane and Tasha as they approached the front door to Molly’s, “pretend I’m telling a funny story. Jane – you laugh, and Patterson – you say, ‘No way!’, or something like that”, she said, then pushed open the door. Jane laughed and Patterson said, “Oh my gosh, no way!”.
“I’m serious! That really did happen!” Tasha said with mock exaggeration, as the three women entered the bar, Jane laughing and Patterson smiling. The bar was empty except for a middle aged woman behind the bar. She looked up as the three women walked in.
“Bar’s closed, ladies”, the woman said.
Tasha looked at her, shock on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. The door was open-“
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean the bar’s open."
“Oh, okay, we were just looking for a place to get some lunch”, Patterson said. “Do you know of any places arou-“
“Colleen – they can stay”, a voice said. Tasha, Jane and Patterson looked over and froze. Sitting at a table near the back corner were Ashley Powell and Liz Wells.
“Oh”, Patterson said, still kind of frozen. “No, it’s okay, we can go. We understand you guys are closed. We’re just looking for a place to get something to eat.”
“How about a drink instead?” Liz said, staring right at Patterson.
“Well, um…” Patterson began, looking around.
“Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? As you Americans are so fond of saying”, Liz said, then smiled and got up and started walking towards them, continuing to look right at Patterson. Tasha stared at Liz. That was my line you just took, and that’s my…I don’t know…the girl that I like, that you’re eyeballing.
Patterson looked at Liz, then looked at Tasha and Jane.
“She’s right”, Jane said, forcing a smile, and elbowing Tasha, who also forced a smile. “Plus, it’s not like we have anything else to do today.”
“There, see?” Liz said. She reached the group and then reached out and took Patterson by the arm, winking at Tasha as she did. Tasha's gut lurched, and Patterson looked at Jane and Tasha, and then allowed herself to be escorted towards the bar. “You guys can saddle up over there”, Liz said to Jane and Tasha, nodding with her head towards a couple of stools at the bar. “Colleen – pour these two a drink, on me.”
“Hey, we have work to do”, Powell said loudly towards Liz.
“It can wait for a bit”, Liz said back. Powell started to get up and protest, but Liz said, “Hey – I said it’s okay. I’m the customer, remember?” She smiled at Powell, and Powell scowled. She didn’t want to be here any longer than she had to be, and especially not to just wait for Liz to hook up with some blonde, albeit a cute blonde. Plus, something was a bit off here, she thought. This isn’t the kind of place that gets many random patrons, especially at 11am. She sat back down and eyed the three newcomers.
Liz and Patterson reached the bar. Liz turned towards Patterson and moved her hand onto Patterson’s hip, and Patterson’s breath hitched. “So, what brings you and your friends to the bar?”
Patterson smiled nervously and said, “Um, we, um…just heard about it and, uh…wanted to check out something off the beaten path.”
Liz stared at Patterson for a moment. “You seem nervous”, she said, looking right at Patterson with her intense eyes.
“What? No, I’m not”, Patterson said, as resolutely as she could. She glanced over at Tasha and Jane and then said, “I mean, it’s just that, um…“
Liz stared at Patterson for a moment, then glanced over at Tasha, and then back at Patterson. "Ahhhhh, I see", she said, nodding her head. "I thought so", she continued, and she then moved her hand from Patterson’s hip and solidly gripped Patterson’s arm. Patterson squirmed a bit but didn't pull away. "You’re hiding something, aren’t you? I could tell when you guys walked in.” Patterson froze, momentarily thinking they were busted, and then Liz flashed a smile. “Just ‘friends’, is it?” Liz said, glancing again right at Tasha.
Patterson looked over at Tasha again and then looked back at Liz, and then it hit her: Liz thinks Tasha and I are together, she thought.
Liz stared at Tasha for a moment and then turned her gaze back to Patterson and moved closer. “Well, you can do better than her”, she said, nodding her head in Tasha’s direction. She kept her hand on Patterson’s arm and circled her other arm behind Patterson’s back, pulling Patterson in closer.
Tasha started to move, but Jane touched her arm. Powell was watching them closely. “Easy”, Jane said, smiling for show since Powell was watching. She could tell that Tasha was getting upset, and she wasn’t exactly sure why, but she had picked up that something was going on between her and Patterson. She had noticed the way they had come in to the office together, then their minor spat right before they left about Patterson going into the field, and then their conversation in the car ride over. “Look, we got what we needed to know, which is that both Powell and Wells are here. Now, I’ll just go over there, politely grab Patterson, and we’ll leave. As soon as we’re outside we can holler at Weller and Rea-.”
But Tasha had already started to move. She walked up to Liz and Patterson and cut right in between them, facing Liz. “Hey”, she snapped at Liz. “What are you doing?”
“Whoa, easy lass”, Liz said, letting go of Patterson and staring Tasha down.
“What’s your problem?” Tasha said.
Liz smirked. “Is that any way to talk to someone who’s buying you a drink?”
“Leave her alone”, Tasha said.
Jane walked up. “Guys, let’s go”, she said to Patterson and Tasha.
“Wait!” Powell shouted and got up. She walked over and looked at Jane, Tasha and Patterson. She stared at them for a moment and then said, “Who are you?”
“What?” Patterson asked innocently.
“I said, who are you?” Powell was looking back and forth between Jane, Tasha and Patterson, and then looked at Liz. “Does this look like three tarts who just wandered in off the street?”
Liz didn’t answer, still busy staring Tasha down. Tasha, still focused on Liz, and unable to control herself, said, “Don’t ever touch her again.”
“Or you’re gonna do what?” Liz asked, cocking her head.
“Hey, let’s go”, Jane said again, more forcefully, making another attempt to get Tasha and Patterson out of the bar. "Look, we don't want any trouble", she said to Liz and Powell, then reached out and took one friend in each hand. Patterson moved but Tasha stayed still, her eyes fixed on Liz.
“No, don’t fuckin’ move”, Powell warned. She glanced at Colleen behind the bar, who was appraising the situation with close attention, then turned back towards the group. “Who are you people?” she asked again. “Why are you here?”
“Okay, look, we’re going to go”, Patterson said calmly, putting her hands up. “We’re very sorry to have bothered you today.” She took a step backwards towards the door with Jane, but Liz reached out grabbed her arm forcefully.
“Owwww!” Patterson yelped, pulling her arm away.
“Hey! I told you not to touch her”, Tasha seethed, getting right in Liz’s face.
“For the last time, who the fuck are you people?” Powell said viciously.
Liz stared right at Tasha, then glanced at Patterson, whose arm was red from Liz's grip. It looked like it might not be possible to keep the blonde from leaving, but she wasn't done taunting the Latina. She turned back to Tasha. “I told her she could do better”, she said with a smirk.
“What did you just say?” Tasha spat out.
Powell stared at Jane, Tasha and Patterson for another moment and then said, “Colleen”, and snapped her fingers. Colleen nodded and then headed towards the back of the bar.
“That can’t be good”, Jane said, registering that something bad might happen really soon. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, now.” She pulled Patterson and Tasha again, and both started taking backwards steps towards the door, when Liz licked her lips and stared predatorily at Patterson.
“Hey blondie, you should ditch this short little tosser and your stiff friend and come back”, she said, referring to Tasha and Jane. “I’ll rough you up nice and proper”, she said, then blew Patterson an air kiss.
That was all Tasha could take. She broke from Jane’s grasp and clocked Liz right in the nose. Liz went down, cursing. Powell stared at Liz for a moment and then turned back to Jane, Tasha and Patterson. “You motherfuckers!” she cursed. “Colleen!” she yelled, and a moment later Colleen returned with a gun in her right hand and two more in her left.
“Oh, shit”, Jane said as she started for the door. "Let's go!"
Patterson’s eyes went wide and then she grabbed Tasha’s arm. “Run!” she screamed, and the three of them bolted out the door as gunshots rang out behind them.