"Jesus, it's hotter than Satan's asshole."
Kate pulled off her sunglasses, squinting in the early afternoon sun as she used the hem of her t-shirt to wipe away the sweat in her eyes. They were in the midst of a midwestern heat wave, the mercury creeping closer to the hundred degree mark and the asphalt feeling sticky under their shoes.
Kevin snorted in amusement at her crass comment.
"You not put out last night or somethin'?"
Spinning her head in her partner's direction, she sent him a sharp look that had him lifting his palms in surrender.
"Well why else would we be out doin' knock an' talks in this heat when e'ryone else is back in the air conditioned district? You musta upset him or somethin'."
Kate rolled her eyes, returning the sunglasses to her face as they continued down the sidewalk to the next property on their list. There had been a recent spat of robberies and home invasions in the area and the two of them had been tasked with speaking to all of the neighbours in a four block radius to see if they had seen or heard anything suspicious.
"Guess it was just our turn, Kev."
Kate spotted a small convenience store at the corner of an intersection up ahead, batting Kevin's bicep with the back of her hand, she got his attention and pointed.
"I'm gonna stop and get some water...maybe see if they've got an ice-cream or something."
"You know I'm down!"
Jogging across the street, Kate pushed open the heavy glass door, the cool air washing over her heated skin as they moved out of the blazing heat.
"Uhhh, that's so good!" She groaned, snagging a couple of bottles of water from the nearby fridge before heading over to the chest freezer, sliding the glass back and dunking her head into the icy box.
"How can I help you today officers?"
The man behind the register was probably about her Mom's age with kind eyes and a genial smile.
"We're just looking to cool off before we get back on the beat, sir." Kate replied with a laugh, eyes scanning the ice creams in the trays below.
"Hey, what options we dealin' with in there?"
Kevin approached from behind but couldn't get a clear line of sight into the freezer.
"Okay, we got Kool Pops, we got Italian Sorbet, we got Vanilla, we got Rocky-"
Before Kate was able to finish her inventory of the freezer, the door swung open with a bang and three individuals in ski-masks appeared in the doorway, all of them armed as they took aim at Kevin, Kate and the shop owner.
"Open the register now!!"
Although they had masks covering their faces, they were all wearing short sleeved t-shirts and Kate immediately started taking mental images of their appearances.
Tallest about 6'2", others maybe 5'11" or six feet tops. All white males. One with a tribal tattoo on his right bicep.
"Hey you! Put your hands where I can see them!"
The man with the tattoo waved his gun in Kate's face who slowly pulled her head from the freezer, her hands palm up as she turned around.
"Take it easy."
"Shut up!!"
The shop owner wasn't keen to part with the cash and a struggle ensued despite Kevin and Kate pleading with the man to give them what they asked for. The bright flash of a muzzle and the subsequent pop made Kate flinch, the man behind the counter crumbling to the floor.
YOU ARE READING
Perfect Storm
Fanfiction[Book 1 of the Kate Meadows/ Hank Voight series] Chicago hadn't been an obvious choice but Kate knew getting away from New York was the right decision. What she hadn't counted on was the ghosts of her past following not too far behind her...oh, and...
