FRIENDLY FIRE: A 9-1-1 fanfiction

Part Twenty-Four: Bottle Half Empty

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ATHENA

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"Larry Mains?" I knocked on the door of the shoddy house quickly, looking around the derelict garden over the top of my sunglasses.

It looked like no one had lived here ever, let alone a family of three only weeks ago. The grass was overgrown and trash had been dumped in it from passers-by but also from the inhabitants of the house. Two of the windows had been boarded up with planks of wood, and two 'keep out' signs hung over them.

I knocked again, less patiently this time, "Mr Mains? LAPD, open up."

A fumble of noises came from the other side of the paint chipped door and I took a step back, my hand falling onto my taser, just in case.

Buck and Eddie had told me he'd been a little hysterical when his daughter hadn't agreed to go with him but they hadn't suggested he'd be violent. It was always better to be safe than sorry though.

The door opened slowly, the hinges creaking loudly before a round, flushed face appeared in the doorway, "Hello?"

I eyed him carefully, clearing my throat, "Mr Mains?"

"Correct," he mumbled uncertainly, opening the door slightly further, not enough for me to see inside but enough for me to see him.

"My name is Sergeant Grant, I'm following up on an incident that occurred last night, with your daughter, Riley Mains? Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Mains blinked, his breathing coming out in a short stutter before he tried to smile, "That was a misunderstanding, officer. My daughter was supposed to come spend the weekend at my house, I went to see her when she didn't show up."

"Is that why you tried to force her into your car?" I raised an unimpressed brow, looking over the structure of the house again.

"I didn't—I didn't try force her—" Mains stuttered, anger sparking across his face, "she's my daughter. She should listen to her father, she—"

"Sir," I raised my head slightly, giving him a pointed stare, "I double-checked before coming here. You do not have custody of your daughter, she does not have to visit you. You cannot force her."

Mains swallowed harshly, looking away from me, part of him appeared to want to argue further but then he just shook his head. "Yes, officer."

I nodded slowly, taking another step back, onto the porch steps, "You have a nice day now, make sure to keep out of trouble."

"I will," Mains coughed, moving back to close his door.

Then, something fell inside the house.

Mains paused and so did I.

I stopped moving, resting my hand on my taser again, "Is everything alright, Mr Mains? Is there someone else in the building?"

Mains coughed again, more harshly, moving to close the door faster, "No, no, of course, not. It's just me."

"I see," I mumbled. I didn't believe him for a second but it wasn't like I could just barge in and look around.

Mains seemed to sense my apprehension too because he quickly added, "I have a cat."

I nodded again, going down the rest of the steps, "Alright then, have a good day, Mr Mains."

"You too, officer!" He slammed the door shut before anything else could escape it.

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EMMA

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