Solving for Myself

Chapter 13: What she means

Carson dialed his mother who after 3 rings, finally answered with a "Hello sweetie...you finally returned my call". He sighed and "It's not like that, you know I've been working a top-secret serial killer case in LA and I couldn't have outside communication". She said"I take it you're finally done now that you're calling then?" he said, "Yes I am". His mother giggled and said"Well now you can finally make some time to settle down and meet a nice woman and maybe give me some grandkids" Carson said, "Mom, Lisa already gave you three grandkids". She said, "I know but we all worry about you...I mean it's fine and all to be able to say that your son is a wonderful detective but what's the use when you know he's always too busy to enjoy his own life".

Carson frowns and says"I have time to enjoy my life...I just chose not to" His mother said in a sarcastic tone"Wonderful, I have a workaholic son who would rather be around death all day than alone with himself ooh that sounds even better". Carson grinds his teeth before saying"Ugh, if it makes you feel better I am seeing someone but I'm not telling you anything until she's comfortable". His mother screeched in joy before Carson said"Calm down" Before he could say anything else, he heard gunshots from inside and immediately hung up his phone and headed back inside but he was too late.

When he got back inside and up the stairs, he was pulled behind a desk by the chief who handed him a pistol and said"Stay down". Carson looked at him and said"What the hell happened" and the chief said, "Officer Hugh and 2 guys from that cult came in here with automatic guns, shot 3 officers, took Stella, and left".Carson said, "Who the hell is Hugh and why does he know about the case? I thought we strictly agreed that no one else would be informed about the continuation of the case unless they were involved". The chief said, "I know, but he's the lieutenant; my second in command and I needed help filing the work and sending it through the proper channels...I never expected him to be a mole".

Carson sighed and said" That explains why the older files were sabotaged, how Stella got poisoned, and why the Governor and Mayor were on our tails so quickly. Everything that we reported to you was getting leaked via him...and now Stella's...she's-" The chief cut him off and said"I'm sorry Carson but you both knew the risks". Before Carson could say anything, someone yelled "clear...everyone you can come on up but hands where I can see them". Carson and the chief complied and stood up and found the person connected to the voice was a swat unit. The guy swung his gun from left to right before saying over the radio"2nd floor clear, no armed individual but 3 are slightly injured".

Afterward, he said"Everyone stay here but feel free to resume your activities" before he headed off. The chief said," Everyone I know it's shitty but we are on the night shift, so once the building is clear, go back to your squad cars and start looking for these assholes". Everyone nodded as the chief and Carson went into his office. It wasn't even a few seconds after the door was shut when Carson said"I'm going after her" The chief said, "If you do then I'm afraid your career will be finished and you will be arrested for interfering in the FBI's investigation". Carson looked at the chief and said" fuck my career and fuck the consequences, I'll be damned if I let her die".

The chief said, "Calm down son, your emotions are getting the better of you...stop and think". Carson said"I have been thinking and I know now that what I've shared with Stella wasn't just a fling, it was something meaningful to me; she is something meaningful to me. I've been at this for over 10 years and it felt like the same thing every day but when she came in it was like a fresh gust of wind had blown in and rejuvenated all the stale air and made everything bright again. I enjoyed our intellectual conversations and similar ideas and sharing them with her ".

Carson continued and said"Although she can be a pain, I've come to love her and her no-nonsense yet stubborn attitude, I love that we both are equally smart and that I don't have to pretend to act normal or dumb things down for her like I've had to in the past. In this partnership, we were both on equal footing and understood each other and I'll give anything to get that back...I can always find work elsewhere but I can't and won't look for another Stella".The chief smiled and said"y'know, I saw this coming from the start but I can't really make fun of you because this was the same way I met my wife. I used to be a loose canon, being flung from department to department until something made me stay here and begin to straighten up; and that something was my wife Carla".

He smiled and said, "We started out like you two did, but we gradually learned things from each other and became better people and we realized that it only happened while we were together".The chief continued and said, "You better arm yourself and get ready; We'll be assembling a swat team for that church within the hour". Carson smiled and said"Really?" the chief said, "Sometimes you gotta bend the rules to have your candy and eat it too...besides I don't think they'll be too angry with all the information we've got on the cult so let's do it".Carson nodded and left the chief's office, headed for the briefing room, ready to do what he had to do to bring her home.