Thread: To Finish the Job {{Soul +&+ The PG}}

Brandon had just been about to call an ambulance when Melanie showed up from seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately he noticed her bare feet, but with typical awareness and intelligence she was able to avoid the glass without a warning. Something about her touch woke Jaime from her sudden physical state, and Brandon knew that she no longer needed EMT's. When the questions began, the only thing he was able to slip in was that Tony, fucking Bloody Tony, had already given them the slip and when Melanie gave him a questioning look asking why he had not chased the nightmare of a man, he could only shake his head. It would not have made a difference. The man was like a shadow with a sickening appetite for young girls and toying with cops. The only thing that a rookie cop could do was report the situation, and Brandon fired up his radio on the way to the back. He gave his report in brief, concise, and slightly angered words that any good cop would when faced with a situation where they could little with all their considerable power to help. The fresh air was a relief, and Brandon took a deep breath. He had not realized that he was as tense as a coiled snake. As Melanie comforted, consoled, and began to build Jaime's confidence all Brandon could say or do with the fiery woman there was nod and give terse, brave answers to her machine-gun style questions. Yes, of course he would take Jaime home, and yes, of course they'd watch over her. The fear was real, not only for Jaime, Melanie, and the other victims of Bloody Tony but the police as well. This man, if he was indeed a man, seemed to slip through their fingers like a ghost whenever they came close to catching him. The worst part was that whenever Bloody Tony had a victim in his grasp, his fingers were like steel traps that did not come undone until his victim was dead. Except for Jaime, and I'm going to keep it that way. Brandon decided with a final curt nod to Melanie as she walked briskly off back into the club to invariably set everything right for giving Jaime a few days off. I wont say it around her, she murmured quietly, her voice trembling, choked with emotion. And I dont know why Im saying it to you now, but Im scared, Brandon Im scared to be alone His heart gave a tug and all of Brandon's emotions threatened to spill out right then. He wanted to tell Jaime that she didn't need to be alone, and he could be there for the rest of her life if she would have him. Not a good time for a proposal, dufus. That thought bottled all the emotions, save two, right back up. The first was anger, anger at himself for not having been able to protect not only a civilian, but Jaime, the girl everyone knew and everyone loved from the evil that still lurked in their city. Anger at himself for not having been able to come forward earlier and give Jaime just the ounce or two more of courage that could have made it possible for her to speak up moments ago enabling Brandon to catch the piece of shit that had ruined her life and was trying to do it again. Finally, anger at the rest of the force that he was proudly a member of for not catching this dickbag sooner. The man was pure evil, and whatever was protecting him was certainly either unnatural or at least powerful enough that the simple forces of good could do nothing. The second emotion came on even stronger with a quick glance at Jaime. She was scared, frightened, lonely, and so vulnerable that a surge swam through Brandon's heart, lungs, and head briefly leaving him unable to speak. It was empathy. He felt bad for her, for failing her, for the police that failed her, for the failure of protecting her father before her, he felt absolutely horrible and he wanted to fix it. Deciding that he needed to speak, and to do something he sat on the chair next to Jaime. Careful not to get too close, but also placing his powerful and steady around her shoulders. He gave her a brilliant smile, one that he reserved for nieces, nephews, and his sisters. I'm going to make it okay. He knew that common platitudes would not work, and besides he had decided that he was going to make it okay. It wasn't just going to be okay, he would make it so. Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and tucked her small body into his larger frame. Inhaling her scent briefly, for a moment, everything seemed alright until the world came swirling back into focus. He had stuff to do. Brandon broke the embrace after a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Reaching first for his radio, he decided against it quickly as this wasn't official business just yet. Instead he pulled his cell phone and first dialed his partners number. - Michelle Maria Chavez was lazing in her comfortable, but untidy apartment on one of the overstuffed sofa's she purchased on her Sergeant's salary. Not a typical girl in anyways, she was approaching thirty rapidly much to her own chagrin, and she'd taken perhaps one of the hardest careers for a women headfirst. Being a cop was tough, being a Latino cop was harder, and being a female Latino cop was even harder then that. It probably could only have been harder if her Uncle Alejandro hadn't also been a cop. She had worked her tail off every step of the way, first fighting her way through the academy and making sure she passed every physical and mental standard at least better than half of the men. Then she had to work her way through the prejudice that already existed on the force. That had taken saving not only a few lives, but having the good grace to ask for help when she'd needed it. Michelle, or 'Chavez' as she was typically referred to had learned that the hard way after being shot twice in the back during what was supposed to have been a standard traffic stop. Once she had learned what being and having a partner meant, it had gotten much easier. The guys thought of her as one of them now. They treated her like one, except that they were slightly overprotective of course, and made it quite hard to get a date unless it was with one of their own. She'd dated a few, but never from her precinct and never above or below her pay grade, just to make sure all the proper appearances were equal. Chavez quickly became known as a good partner to have, especially in the Latino parts of town where her heritage and first language enabled her to quickly calm down most situations that arose. She was quickly promoted to Sergeant, but only a few of the most racist cops had begrudged her that. They all understood that she was more than qualified, and had fully deserved it. The hard part for Michelle was now she was teaching young kids, and it was tough to realize she was getting older and the rookies were getting younger. It wasn't so much a headache, as a worry, always praying that they'd survive long enough to learn enough to become good cops. Brandon, her current partner-in-training, was well on his way to becoming a good cop. The hardest part about teaching him was all the questions he asked, on-and-off duty, and the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous. It was becoming harder and harder to keep to her own rules of only dating equals when she was stuck in a patrol car for ten hours with a man that was not only good looking, but kind, gentle, and incredibly intelligent. She almost disliked him for being so... Good. If only he was a douchebag... He'd be so much easier to ignore in that respect. Chavez also dated women, and her only defense at this point were a string of one night stands with either sex that kept her from salivating over her young partner. Almost as if it could hear her thoughts, her phone rang, and it was Brandon. Hello? Chavez, I'm at Golden Eagle... Jai saw him, saw Bloody Tony. What!? Did you get him!? Nope, he was gone before anyone knew it was him. He... He might have been checking in on Jai, and well, she's a bit shaken up. I'm going to take her back to her apartment... Do you think we could talk Chief into getting us assigned to her for a couple days, until we can set up something more permanent? Uhhh, maybe, I'll give him a ring. I'll meet you over there later and let you know. Is Jaime okay? Yes, she'll be fine, I- we'll make sure of it. Okay Brandon, talk to you soon. With that Michelle hung up with a sigh. She knew the story, everyone on the force knew the story, but she knew a bit more about why Brandon would want to be the one protecting Jaime. Of course it had to be today. When he was going to finally grow some cajones and talk to her. Chavez knew she was the one who had convinced him, in an effort to push him away and give her another reason not to be interested in him. If there was one weakness Brandon had, it was talking to someone he really liked. It wasn't as if he was shy, he could flirt and pick up just about any woman in any bar, but Brandon definitely had an issue talking to Jaime. And she was the only one he had ever shown any real interest in. With another sigh, Chavez decided to call the Chief, she knew he would approve until they could work something out. With Jaime the cops would bend over backwards, they had to, she was one of them whether she liked it or not. - Brandon led Jaime by the hand to his patrol car after Melanie had taken care of everything in the Golden Eagle. He sat her in the front seat, and took his customary place behind the wheel. She hadn't said much, and he wondered if she was just deciding how much she could trust him or if it was something else. A glance told him it was probably something else, of course she trusted him! He was a police officer for crying out loud, that comforted him enough to start the car and head out, but not towards Jaime's house. He explained a second later, I don't sleep in my uniform. He added a grin for the sake of lightening the mood. Stopping at his apartment he brought Jaime up with him, and let her carry a bag full of his clothes and toiletries back down to the car while he carried a cot, not trusting that her couches would be comfortable enough. The ride to her apartment was quiet, and so was the walk up the steps. Once they were inside, Brandon closed and locked the door behind them. Sergeant Chavez will probably be here soon to let us know what's going on... Where should I set up, or, do you wanna order some chow first?