Page 6 of Broken By The Devil

“Hale, my office.” I roll my eyes at Cass and get up from my chair. I know what’s waiting for me, I know there will be repercussions for how I spoke to him last night. I wouldn’t blame him if he requested my transfer. I was stupid, I have now possibly ruined my only opportunity for reprieve, for more time with my family.

Kade doesn’t look angry. He is lounging in his chair when I walk in, casually assessing me before I take a seat opposite him. Before I can begrudgingly apologise to him he interjects, “I wanted to make it quite clear that the decision to strike was not mine, it was your father’s. If it were my decision I would have let it play out. What I want to know is why you feel so free to shout and scream at me when all I have seen is submission from you around not only your father but Sergeant Andrews too. You think you can speak to me like that and not have any consequences?” He questions. I can feel the panic rising from my stomach, not now, I can’t have an attack right now. My breathing hitches and my chest is visibly working harder than it normally does to drag in breath.

“How I behave around other men is none of your concern and that is the last thing I will say about the subject. I was actually going to apologise for the way I spoke to you last night but your arrogance certainly put a stop to that.” I’m hoping the abruptness in my tone is enough to stop the conversation from spiralling.

“Fine, if you don’t want to be honest with me, I’ll leave this conversation with one final bit of advice. Don’t talk about your vagina in the office, it sets a bad example for the rest of the unit.”

I laugh at his words, a deep guttural laugh. I haven’t experienced any emotion like this in years and here it is, provoked by the sergeant who despises me. “I didn’t actually say my vagina, I meant more, vaginas in general, but it’s nice to know you’ve been thinking about mine, Sergeant,” I purr. I bite my lower lip and smile before turning and walking out of his office. I notice Cass walking in before I exit and hear him say, “She hasn’t laughed in six years, what did you say to her?”

I feel like hitting Cass for disclosing that information, Kade doesn’t need to know he is the first person to make me laugh in years. He doesn’t need to know how he affects me. I don’t think I can fight it anymore, I think I’m starting to like him. Damn it!

* * *

I feel like I live in this place, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, anything is better than my apartment. I’ve changed the locks over twenty-eight times and still don’t feel safe. The truth is I don’t think I ever will. I don’t have the luxury of calling anywhere home, nowhere has ever felt like my home. My mother and sister were home, even my father felt that way for some time but not anymore. I prefer to be at work, keep my mind occupied, maybe help someone that really needs it.

“Hale, Morrison has taken three kids under protection, their father was killed this morning as a hit for the drug supply in the club the other night. He’s snowed under with the paperwork, so I need you to take the kids back to their house and collect as much of their belongings as possible. See if you can get any information from them too, they haven’t spoken a word to anyone since coming in.” From being not trustworthy enough to ride on my own to doing something important, the dynamic has truly shifted.

“Sure, no problem. Where are they?” I question. “They’re in Interview One, oh, and one other thing: I need you to take the rookie and show him the ropes.” He doesn’t hide the smirk on his face, he couldn’t even if he wanted to. I knew deep down he had a hidden agenda, after all, he does hate me. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of a reaction so I reply, “Sure, no problem at all, Sergeant, I’ll go down there now and talk to them first.”

I turn towards the hall and start walking down in the direction of Interview One, only to be tailed by the rookie and Kade. Perfect, I’m going to have an audience it seems. “We’ll be behind the screen, just try and get something. We need a lead on this today, Hale.” No pressure at all.

I walk into the room when all three faces turn towards me. The little girl can’t be more than eight years old, she has mousy blonde hair that’s hanging limp in a ponytail and a small pink dress that looks too small for her frame. Her eyes are sunken in, like she’s seen one too many horrors in her life, I know the feeling. The other girl looks to be about twelve years old, she’s a lot taller than her sister and too slim. She can’t be eating enough. Her brown hair is dirty, greasy and has an oily shine to it. It hangs lifeless passed her shoulders. She’s wearing a black tracksuit which looks like it could belong to her brother. He looks to be the oldest, I’d say around fifteen, he’s at least six-foot, athletic build but still quite slim, his arms and legs are exposed by his basketball shorts and vest. These kids look like they’ve gone through hell and back, their eyes filled with such loss and agony, they must be terrified. They’ve been thrown into this room by themselves and Kade expects them to open up. I have my work cut out for me.

“Hi, I’m Emilia, I’m a police officer and I’m here to help you. Could you tell me your names?” I’m met by complete silence, but I notice the little girl’s hands moving slightly, like she’s trying to communicate. So I start signing to her with my hands “Hi, I’m Emilia, what’s your name?” She looks right at me and smiles, the first sign of any happiness on her innocent face. She signs to me that her name is Elodie, her sister is called Marie and her brother is Malachi.

“Thank you for talking to me Elodie. I’m so sorry to all of you for what you’ve been through today but I’m going to do all I can to help you, all of you, okay?” I think they’re all hearing impaired as they seem to acknowledge what I’ve signed with a slight nod of their heads. “Good, I know it’s not going to be nice to think about this but we really need to know everything you saw earlier this morning, even the slightest detail could help us catch your dad’s killer. Is there anything you can tell me?” Malachi huffs at me and signs, “What the hell are you going to do to fix this? He’s gone, he’s not coming back and if we say anything, we’re all as good as dead too. I don’t trust you, I don’t trust any of you!”

I can’t blame the kid really. I have just walked into this room, a stranger, asking them to tell me things that could get them all killed. I understand his hostility towards me, he can’t trust me, I haven’t proven my loyalty to him or his sisters, so I sign to him, and him only, “I know you don’t trust me and I know you have no reason to but I’m asking you to please trust that I want to get whoever killed your father. I want to put him behind bars where he belongs, for taking the one person who meant the most to you in this world. I will do everything in my power to protect you and your sisters, just give me a chance.”

Malachi seems to consider it and looks to his sisters and nods. Elodie starts to sign to me, “6…4…7…A…C…G.” It’s a car plate, the little genius. I smile at her and sign, “You clever girl, did you see the driver or the colour of the car?” She shakes her head but Marie starts signing, “It was a black SUV, I think it was a mixed-race guy driving and a white girl with bleach blonde hair in the passenger seat.” I look at these kids before me with utter astonishment and pride. They have been through so much and yet here they are giving us what we need to catch a criminal. “You all did great, thank you. How about we take you home to grab your stuff and get takeout on the way back?” They all nod at me in thanks, “I’ll be right back to come and get you, I just have to speak to my sergeant and we’ll get going after.”

As soon as I shut the door, I don’t get a chance to say anything before Kade blurts out, “How did you know?”

I look at him confused. “What do you mean?”

“How did you know they were hearing impaired?” He gestures his arms in annoyance.

“Oh my sister was the same, that’s how I learnt myself. She would often struggle to voice things so she got agitated when someone would talk directly at her, and she would start moving and twisting her hands, like Elodie did at the start of the interview.” Kade just nods in confirmation, he heard what I said. “Ok, you two get going but I don’t want you there for long, pack up what you can and leave.” He turns to leave the screen room but not before he murmurs “Hale… good job.” Looks like it pains him to give me a compliment but I take it anyway, it’s the best I’m going to get out of him. I haven’t had to sign for years. I only ever used it to communicate with Thea. A wave of grief hits me out of nowhere but I suppress it. These kids need me.

“Come on Rook, let’s get these kids back home. You know what you’re doing, right?” I question him, hoping he says yes, but judging by the dumbfounded look on his face, I’m sensing he’s brand new. “This is my second week on shift, I think I can handle picking up some belongings.” I’ve already decided this guy is an arrogant piece of shit. “Ok, well, let’s get this straight, you do as I tell you, when I tell you to do it. You do not talk back to me, I give you orders and you follow them, understood?” All I receive in response is a grunt. “Let’s go and get this over with.”

These kids do not have a lot in terms of possessions, some clothes and stuffed toys, that’s it. I make sure to tell the rookie exactly what I expect of him before taking the kids upstairs. I make my orders very clear: keep watch from the car, note down any suspicious plates, notify dispatch and ask for backup if he sees the plate Elodie gave to us then come inside to back me up. He’s a man of very few words, as I just get a grunt, or maybe he doesn’t like being given orders by a woman. I think it’s the latter. I made sure to check in with him on my radio every few minutes, and each time the response is the same, “All in order, nothing to report.”

I sign to the kids, “You sure you’ve packed everything? We can’t come back here for a while.” They all nod in my direction, but something catches their attention as well as my own. The door security light is flashing in the hallway. I hear the front door open, “Rook?” I shout.

“Your rookie is sat in the car shaking like a leaf, poor thing, he knows you’re not going to live through this, so he’s coming up with his story to tell internal affairs.” The male voice chuckles, the sound runs a chill up my spine. I have no idea who this voice belongs to but I know enough to make the assessment that this is no friend.

I hear Kade’s voice through my radio, “Hale, we’ve run the vehicle through the database, it belongs to Dante Mills. He’s the leader of the red cleavers gang. We’re doing more intel checks as we speak, what’s your ETA back to station?”

“Well would you hear that. Looks like you know who I am already. This doesn’t have to be a long drawn-out process, just let me kill the kids and I’ll be on my way. I can’t leave any witnesses you know that.” I sign to the kids with frantic hand movements, I’m not even sure they understand what I’m signing “Malachi, take your sisters into that room and barricade the door behind you. I need you to protect them, hide them under the bed, do not open this door until I come for you, do you understand me?” Elodie has tears streaming down her face and Marie is sobbing. Malachi nods and starts pushing them towards the door as he glances over his shoulder back at me, so I sign to him, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Hale, you’re not answering me, what’s going on? Rook where’s Hale? I need an update dammit!” Kade shouts down the radio, I click my receiver button and wrap an elastic hair tie around it to keep it pressed down. I’m hoping Kade hears everything this way.

“Dante, I’m not letting you kill those kids alright, I’m not the rookie out there, I won’t hesitate to shoot you.” I place my hand on my holster and unclip my gun. I’m crouched behind the stair banister in the hallway, I inch closer to the end, one crawl after another and glance around the end of the banister. I’m just taking in his features as a bullet grazes past my head and leaves a flesh wound on my cheek. I pull back immediately, my chest is heaving, the adrenaline in my blood making me feel nauseous.

The unit will hear this and they’ll come. I’m a good shot, I might be able to eliminate him before the unit gets here or at least take Dante with me. Those kids are not dying on my watch.

“You still alive, blondie?” Dante scoffs like it would be an insult to him if I was still alive. “You can’t kill me off that easy, you will be leaving this house in a body bag Dante, make no mistake about it.” I turn at an inhumane speed and fire a shot towards the bottom of the staircase, but not before he gets two shots in himself. One hits the back of the wall behind me and the other lodges itself in my vest near my rib cage. The pain is so intense, my breath is taken from me in an instant—I might have cracked a few ribs. I know my shot hit true as I can hear Dante grunting and screaming in pain.