Chapter 20: Busted!

“Phones off, messengers on!” Sara ordered as she pulled hers out of her purse after she and Van had made their way back to the office. “Ian, catch,” she added, tossing him the monitoring device and earpiece. “Deaq, you stay here and watch the screen, make sure everything is recording. Van, you and I are watching Ian’s back. When I give the order, I want you to call in SWAT and get Gallo’s sorry ass. Ian, I want you to ask Gallo who pulled the jobs in New York , but not flat out, just casually, ya know? Don’t make it seem like you know something.”

They all nodded in agreement and took their positions soon after. Sara and Van jumped into the Aston Martin as Ian sped off in the Escalade. With a few minutes to spare before things began moving at the speed of light, Van looked over at Sara to see she was still a bit edgy.

“So, what happened tonight?” he asked.

“The Witchblade took over my mind,” Sara angrily retorted as she looked down at the bracelet. “I told you it had a mind of its own. It happens when I lose control and give in to things. That’s probably what made me do what I did with Jake.”

“Why didn’t you talk to him about it?” Van continued to question. 

“Because I thought he was going to brag about it like he does with every other girl that he’s slept with. If anyone found out about our one night stand, I would never hear the end of it, especially from my captain. And I couldn’t face that. I was already the odd one out in the department, being the only woman working homicide. I really didn’t want my reputation to go down the drain,” Sara was on the verge of tears.

Van reached over to take her hand and squeezed it. “That’s the advantage of working with only two… three other people, rumors don’t fly,” he replied. “Your secrets are safe with me. I promise I’ll never tell anyone.” He pulled her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on top of it.

“You’d better be true to your word, or I just might have to sic the Witchblade on your ass,” Sara joked, finally feeling a little better. Before she had time to add to her comment, she felt her messenger begin to vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and read the message then began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Van asked as he looked over at her.

“Deaq’s whining. He says, ‘I’m bored out of my mind! I try to start a conversation with Ian, and all he does is grunt and stay quiet,’” Sara read his message aloud. “’What’s the deal with him anyway? Is he always like this?’” She typed in her own response and sent it to him. “He’s thinking. Leave him alone. He’s got a lot on his mind.”

Then can I bug you?

Yeah, I guess. 

Are you and Van an item?

Didn’t we answer that question earlier?

Have you had sex yet?

Sara burst out in laughter. Can your questions be anymore probing?

He needs to get laid by someone on the right side of the law. He’s in the midst of a dry spell, if you know what I mean.

Sara looked at Van and asked, “How long has it been since you’ve been with one of the good girls?”

He glared at her. “What did he tell you?”

“He needs to get laid by someone on the right side of the law. He’s in the midst of a dry spell, if you know what I mean,” Sara read, giggling.

“He is so dead when we get back,” Van growled.

Van’s going to kill you.

Not if he can’t find me. ;) Later, Pez.

Bye, Deaq.

“Okay, we’re here,” Van said as he pulled into an empty space across the street from the hotel. By that time, Ian was already inside talking to Gallo. Van pulled out his messenger, quickly asking Deaq for an update. When he didn’t get an answer, he knew something was happening. “Let’s go,” he told Sara.

They darted across the street, staying in the shadows as they made their way to the back of the hotel. Sara could hear someone speaking outside as she crept closer.

“ Nottingham , I have to say, I’m impressed. You really outdid yourself on this one, and making it look like one of the local gangs did it, priceless. Why don’t you come back to New York with me this weekend and we can discuss some more business? It seems like I’m having problems with my men. They can’t do their jobs right. The dumb ass I had pull a couple of jobs for me last week completely screwed up. He left such a trail that Pezzini almost caught me,” Gallo was saying from inside his first floor room.

“Is that why you had me kill her?” Ian replied. Sara could almost feel him contain his cringe.

“That and she was getting ready to bust me for killing her little friend last winter, which, I have to say, was fun. The bitch deserved what she got. She was nothing but a doped up hooker,” Gallo said.

Sara was seething. She was ready to burst inside and riddle his body with bullets, but Van continued to hold her back even as the Witchblade began to glow an angry shade of red, threatening to change its form. Sara began taking deep breaths, seeing that Van had already messaged the SWAT team positioned outside in a delivery truck. Gallo’s time was almost up. It would only be a matter of seconds before Sara finally got her payback.

“Okay, now!” Van told her as they sprang up from their hiding place, guns drawn.

“Freeze! Hands up!” Sara was yelling as she pointed her gun towards Gallo. He spun around, the look on his face priceless when he realized that she wasn’t a ghost. “Payback’s a bitch, Gallo, especially after hearing you confess to a few of my unsolved murders back in New York . And the DEA is definitely gonna be happy when they hear about all those drugs you need to move,” she said, a sly grin appearing on her face. “Oh, and thank you for finally putting some closure in my life about Maria. I can’t wait to see you rot in jail.”

Just then, the SWAT team came up behind them, guns drawn and ready to shoot the first thing that moved. “Take him away,” Sara ordered as she slid her gun into the waistband of her pants. Just watching Gallo get cuffed and taking down to the local police station was worth the long months of waiting.

“Good job, Pezzini,” Van said as he turned to her and held out his hand.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Ray,” she replied, taking it and pulling him in for a tight hug. As they pulled away from each other, Sara made her way to Ian, who stood far away from them. “ Nottingham , thanks for helping us make this bust. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t think this case would have been solved any time in the near future,” she told him.

“Anything for you, my Lady,” Ian said as he took her hand and kissed it.

Sara blushed, this time letting him see. “You’ve really gotta stop doing that. It makes me lose some of my toughness,” she joked. “I should you hook you up with Billie when she comes back. She could use someone like you to loosen her up a bit, ya know, pry that boot out of her ass.”

“What’d I hear about someone prying a boot out of Billie’s ass?” Van questioned as he walked up to them, hearing the last bit of their conversation.

“I was just telling Nottingham that I should hook him up with her to soften her up a bit,” Sara replied as she slipped into his arms.

“Yeah, maybe then she’ll stop hounding us for every little thing that we do wrong,” he said, holding her tightly. “Thanks for your help, Ian. Too bad we can’t stick around and talk about it. Sara and I need to go because tomorrow the shit hits the fan.”

“Uh, paperwork,” she cringed. “I hate the legalities as much as I love the bust.”

“Come on,” Van replied as he led her away from the back of the hotel and back to the Aston Martin. “You hungry?”

“Starved!” Sara exclaimed. “Let’s order a pizza and head back to my place to watch a movie.”

“Sounds good to me."

Chapter 21: Darkness in the Light

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