Disclaimer: Not mine... blah blah blah. Believe me, nobody pays me for writing this!
This is the first story I wrote and translated in English. I almost wanted to tear it into bits because I don't like it very much (yes, I know it sounds encouraging!). But then I decided to change a few things here and there (enough to make my beta's work basically useless) and to post it anyway.
All the mistakes in this snippet are mine and mine only... and I'm very proud of them. Could as well say that I love them dearly, like a mother with her sons.
Spoiler: "Night Shift"
Blixa
It was a dark and stormy night... well more like, it was a dark and cold night when everything begun.
It started with a discussion, some kind of childlike discussion about an anthropology dissertation. But the result of so many hateful words almost changed many people's lives forever and surely gave a brand new meaning to the world "surrealism".
Naturally, things are never easy in Cascade... so that same night a strike had totally paralyzed the entire town, a kid had crashed in the precinct with a stolen car, an alligator had established his domicile in the police station's air conducts and an angel had declared to be on Earth to perform a miracle.
And Jim Ellison wasn't a happy man.
He felt betrayed by the man who, up until then, he had considered his best friend and the only person he could trust with his life.
Yet that same man who claimed to be his best friend, the other half of his soul, had talked about him in his damn paper like an insecure that couldn't stand intimacy and based all his personal choices on fear.
Yeah, okay, he shouldn't have read the draft, not after Blair explicitly forbade him, but finding the research so close... well it had been too much a temptation to let it slip.
And so... he'd discovered a side of his young roommate that he didn't know, and that he didn't suspect it could exist at all: the scientist's coldness. Because even more than the words for themselves, it was the way they had been written that disturbed him the most.
Cold and heartless
Carrying the distinct impression that he'd been a lab rat. A study subject for three long years and nothing more.
On the other side of the room, Blair wasn't feeling any better: if he didn't want Jim to read his introduction there had to be a reason: and it was a very simple one indeed! He needed the time to explain the cop one of the fundamental concepts of social sciences: that he was forced to detach himself if he wanted to expound data and statistics in an objective way to a university committee.
But later, when he had tried to apologize, to assure his partner that he was ready to get rid of his entire work, to tear it into bits because between a doctorate and a friendship he knew which one he had to chose, well... things hadn't improved as expected.
Jim had simply confirmed how betrayed he felt and, as if that wasn't enough, he had harshly reminded the young man who he had to thank for the job at the precinct and the place where he was staying
"Okay, then!" The anthropologist muttered, "If after all this time, this is what he thinks of me, all right! To hell with the thesis and to hell with him too!"
First thing, he mused, I'll call Bryce and I'll ask him if he's still interested in sharing the apartment with a brand new roommate. Maybe the rent is a bit too high for my actual income, but at least I can walk to university everyday and spare my poor car. He hadn't noticed that Jim was staring at him from the other side of the office, but when he lifted his eyes he found himself captured in Gabe's clear gaze and the "angel" seemed to silently admonish him with a slight nod.
At the same time, Simon and Megan were pacing back and forth, still engaged with the ticklish issue of the giant alligator that had just gobbled up an ultramodern micro camera and was still hiding somewhere in the conducts.
Plus there was the interrogation of Johnny Macado, the young man who had literally crashed in the police station a few hours earlier.
Well, it really was a very long night shift!
Jim returned to his desk, not at all surprised to find Blair sitting on it, head cupped in his hands, eyes stubbornly lowered, staring at his worn out backpack on the floor. The cop knew that if he wanted to make things up with his guide he might have just one chance and that he couldn't waste it. As a matter of fact, he had tuned on the short conversation between the anthropologist and one of his countless friend from the university, especially on the part about gathering all of Blair's belongings and move them to a new place in a couple of days.
"Sandburg?"
The young man didn't even raise his eyes and only gave him an icy: "Want your desk back?"
"No... look... I"
"No! Enough Jim!" the young man tersely cut his tentative speech short "Do you know what the problem is? I'm getting tired of this... from now on just don't count on me anymore if you need help! Ask Simon or one of your co-workers, the people who are paid to watch your back! I'm so out of here man, and sorry... don't think I'm too ungrateful!"
"Dammit Blair!" Jim was desperately trying not to lose his temper, but the other man's attitude had started to seriously grate on his nerves, not to mention that the thesis problem was still nagging at him... and it was a problem that was very far from being solved.
"Nothing... you're right. You'd better be gone and quickly. Clear out the loft: you've got two days from now, otherwise I'll throw the rest of your stuff down the balcony and... before you cross that door, drop your observer's pass. I'd say our partnership is really over!"
"As you wish Ellison... as you wish."
Turning to leave, Blair noticed that everybody was openly staring at them: there had been discussions before, but they had never reached the point to threaten their partnership and, above all, their friendship.
"I need some air," the young man muttered in a low voice, while he ventured toward the exit. But instead of going to the garage he reached the roof, seeking comfort in the beauty of the sparkling starry night.
Someone joined him, a dark shadow suddenly materialized by his side, but when he turned, expecting to face an angry Jim, he found himself eyes to eyes with Gabe, the angel.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, "You shouldn't wander around like this, you've witnessed a murder. Your life could be in danger!"
"Don't let the anger of a moment blind you Blair, don't allow it to ruin three years of friendship. Don't you think you should do something to avoid this separation? You're two halves of the same soul so you can't live without one another... and this is more important than your pride and all your words on paper"
"Why are you here Gabe?" Blair was confused now and a tad scared as well. This man was so strange, he seemed almost... heavenly.
Of course he is... he's an angel!
"Because I'm going to perform a miracle and the hardest part of a miracle is to make it look like an accident."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing more of what I've just said. Our Lord's glory will shine upon this town... do you believe in God, Blair?"
"I'm Jewish, Gabe, I don't know if we are talking about the same God here."
"So what? I didn't ask which religion you profess... I just want to know if you believe in God, then call him with the name you want, I'm sure he isn't bothered."
"I don't know. Maybe."
But Gabe was already back to his obscure verses, his rambling of demons and angels, and the anthropologist lost himself again in his deepest thoughts.
It was quickly getting cold up there, so after another ten minutes of star-gazing, Blair went down the stairs and entered an even more crowded bullpen.
Less than a minute later, shots were heard inside the interrogation's room and, suddenly, all hell broke lose. Johnny, the kid who had crashed in the precinct, now witness of a murder, ran in Blair's direction. Jim, Megan and Simon appeared, guns in hand, from the garage where they had just found the real animal control guy, bound and gagged inside his van.
Things happened so quickly that they didn't immediately realize how dangerous the entire situation was. From the crowd that hopelessly tried to scatter and hide in every possible direction, the killer appeared, rifle clenched in his hands. Megan yelled something, probably "Freeze", or anyway the standard procedure in a gun situation, but the man didn't seem to pay much attention and another round of shots exploded sending glasses flying around them. The gunshots were not really aimed at anyone in particular, but Gabe found himself on the trajectory because he was the only one standing in front of the killer, facing him with his usual peaceful look
Before the bullet hit his mark, someone dashed the angel to the ground and that someone was Blair who received the full impact of the shot in his chest.
The world seemed to stop then, both for Jim and the other detectives of the Major Crime team who witnessed the brief scene, unable to stop the unavoidable. There were at last ten seconds of total silence, then the scream of a woman begging to call for an ambulance broke the spell and things slid back to normal speed again. The sentinel took aim and shot, and one second later, the killer laid dead on the floor, with a bullet hole between his eyes.
The only word Jim could utter as his gun fell soundly to the ground was a chocked..."Blair"
If Blair dies I will never be able to fix things between us! What will I do then?
He kept asking himself, unable to gather enough courage to use his senses and check for the heartbeat of the most important person in his world. Kneeling down beside his best friend, before he could say anything, he felt a gentle hand squeezing his shoulder. It took him a second to divert his attention from Blair's face to the disturbing gaze of Gabe who whispered:
"The hardest part of a miracle is to make it look like an accident."
He suddenly noticed that Blair had his eyes wide open and he was struggling to sit up.
"No Chief... don't move... lie still, please."
"What happened?" He sounded confused but not in pain.
"You played the hero and saved Gabe and the killer got you instead."
"Funny. It doesn't hurt" then he placed his left hand over the upper pocket of his jacket right beside his heart, and he felt the presence of an object there.
Amazed, he pulled out a small necklace deformed by the impact of a bullet still embedded in it.
At first sight it looked exactly like a small silver angel.
"But what...?" Jim couldn't even manage to end the sentence, his surprise mirrored in the eyes of all the people around them.
"Jim... it's not mine. I've never had such a necklace."
His words were unnaturally loud in the silence. No one knew what to say and what to think as well. Except that it was a miracle.
"It's not mine" he stubbornly repeated, challenging anyone to contest his statement.
The hardest part of a miracle is to convince people that it was an accident.
He looked around but he already knew it: Gabe had gone, as mysteriously as he had appeared just a few hours before. He put the pendant around his neck, tucking it under his shirt and smiled.
FINE
Okay, I told you it wasn't much! Let me know what do you think (please) at Blixa_chan@yahoo.it
This story is for my cat Pikachu that is on the desk, chewing my paper for Visual Communication... I hope my teacher will enjoy the little holes in the sheets!