ℍ𝕚𝕤 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℝ𝕠𝕕// 𝔸 𝔹𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝔸𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪

Chapter 1

"Hey Maya we have to go to a fresh crime scene... it might have to do with Mardon brothers," Joe said coming into the loft like space that me and Barry working.

"They back?"

"Seems like it... where's Barry?" I tried to think of an excuse for him, but I came back blank.

"He slept in again, didn't he?" Joe asked with this look like I just better come clean instead of trying to cover for him.

"Yeah, he did."

"Again?! Well let's get going, he can catch up later."

We headed to the scene, and when we got there captain Singh was already asking where Barry was. Joe and I were holding him off, but if Barry doesn't show up in the next few minutes, he might now have a job anymore. Sigh said he'll check back in a few minutes and Barry better be there.

"Second robbery this week"

"The teller ID Clyde Mardon as the shooter."

"What? Oh, geez, the Mardon brothers are back."

"Didn't we already put those low-lives in prison?"

"Yeah, on a 10-20 stretch, which in Central City's warped mess, comes to two-year time served."

Joe and I walked to where they marked the scene. "What do we got?" I swear Barry better get his ass here. Three people don't need to lose their jobs. I keep calling him but I keep getting "you have reached the voicemail of Barry Allen leave a voicemail at the beep... beep".

"Perps took the bank, shot out the cameras, and as a chaser, killed the security guard over there."

Wow, Clyde really went all out on this one. If I were back in Virginia, I would say Clyde is escalating rapidly and his m.o has changed because in the last Mardon brother case I worked. Neither of them killed people. They would shoot to scare but not kill. So something this time triggered Clyde to kill, so what was it.

"What do you think, Maya?" Joe asked.

"Well, I think Clyde is escalating because his m.o changed..."

"What do you mean?" Joe's partner asked.

"I mean that neither one of them killed people, but something made Clyde kill that security guard... In Virginia we call that a stressor...so what led to him killing." Joe was smiling like an idiot. "Wow, I didn't think of it that way," Joe's partner said. I just looked at him like no shit you didn't. "Well, of course you didn't... with your level of expertise I wouldn't expect it since you are not trained to think in between the lines." Yeah, I would say that wasn't the smartest thing to say, but he had it coming. He's always degrading my work like I'm dumb when I'm not. Joe was trying so hard not to laugh. "She's good at what she does," Joe stated.

In the distance I could hear captain Singh talking to someone, "I got units kicking in doors of known Mardon brothers associates." "Has CSI been over it?" "Uh, no." SHIT! Where the hell is Barry? Singh walks over to us, "Where's Allen?" Joe and I just stayed still trying to come up with something. "You can't keep covering for him.." As soon as I heard I heard the voice of someone that should've been here a long time ago, but thanks to the lord he answered the prayers and brought Barry's ass to work. "CSI! CSI!! Coming through."

"If he's not here, I'm going to have to carry on this investigation without him." Singh stated, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry I'm late, Captain Singh." Barry said out of breath.

"What was it this time, Mister Allen? Did you forget to set your alarm clock? Before you answer, I should remind you, the excuse you gave last time was car trouble... Wanna know why that one was memorable?"

"I do not own a car."

"He was running an errand for me... Barry, did you get me what I asked for?" Joe blurted.

"Yeah... yeah, I did... I have it right here. I had a few bites of it."

Barry is lucky that Singh has a liking towards him or we would all be toast right about now. Joe, Joe's partner, and I followed Barry and watched him do his thing. "Getaway car is a Mustang Shelby GT-500. Shelby's have a rear super-wide tire specific to that model." I was in awe, not just because of how cute his concentrating face is, how not all the pieces of his hair got gelled down, how those loose pieces moved in the wind, his scent, but just in utter awe at how he works. All around he's perfect, to me that is.

 He is smart, funny, caring, family orientated, and my first love. I swear to myself that I bury these feelings, but Barry makes it so hard. He was always there when I needed him, even when I pulled away. He comforted me, gave me nice tight hugs like I had been on deployment and I just got back home. I could stay in his arms forever. I feel safe, like that is where home is. I just know he would be an amazing husband and father. We could grow old together, we could be Anakin and Padme. I got pulled out of my thoughts by his voice, "Hmm, there's something else... thanks."

"Fecal excrement... animal, I'd guess." Barry said, examining what was on the pen tip putting it into an evidence bag.

"My dad gave me that pen... before he died," Joe's partner whined.

"Sorry."