Are We Out of the Woods?

6. 104 X's

Street couldn't sleep. Chris could be in danger, and it made his stomach do somersaults. To busy himself in the middle of the night, he wondered how many "x" texts he had received from her and decided to count them.

She had sent him 104 x's since she smuggled that burner phone to him. It felt like ages ago, but it also seemed like quite a few messages considering her assignment.

He wished she would send him another one. He could use the boost of serotonin right about now, but communication between them could be dangerous.

In the morning, he arrived at HQ sleep-deprived and barely paying attention to his surroundings. He checked his watch and realized he should be getting his text from Chris any minute now. She always sent one right after she checked in with Hicks.

But, 15 minutes had passed and no text came. It felt like every nerve in his body was burning with worry. He knew something was wrong. He broke away from the team in the locker room and went into Hicks' office.

"Something's wrong with Marie," Street declared upon entering.

"We don't know that for sure," Hicks replied.

"She didn't check in with you this morning right after she said she was dangerously close to getting burned," Street explained.

"She did call me, though," Hicks replied.

"And did she say her code word?" Street asked.

Hicks thought hard for a moment. "I guess not... how do you...the burner," Hicks answered his own question.

"She always checks in with me after she checks in with you, and she hasn't texted me, which means she's in trouble. I'm right, right?" Street inquired.

"Protocol says we wait..."

"Forget protocol. We gotta get her out of there!" He shouted.

"Street, this is why I didn't want you involved. We can't let feelings cloud our judgement," Hicks warned.

"SWAT is a family. If anyone in this building even suspected Chris could be in danger, they would be making the same demand. Don't tell me you're not compromised on this, too."

"Chris is one of our best officers, and I want her back home safely, but I'm not exactly sure how to play this."

"Let me go to her apartment. I'll pose as a food delivery person just to see that she's okay," Street offered.

Hicks raised an eyebrow at him. "You go. You see her. Make sure she's safe, and then you get the hell out of there."

Street nodded his head in agreement. "What's the address?"

"Right, here..." Hicks began and wrote the address down, and then he handed it to Street. "I am really quite impressed that you two have been following the rules," he finished with a smile.

"We never want to compromise each other at work," Street replied simply.

"I know. Now, go quickly," Hicks directed.

Street left without another word to go to Chris' undercover apartment.

—————-

The building Chris was staying in was pretty run down. Guess her cover as a bartender didn't exactly pay well. He approached the door to her unit and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Cautiously, he crept inside.

"Hello? Delivery," he announced as he looked around.

Suddenly, he was hit from behind and everything went black.