a thousand mistakes // psych

Chapter 7

Chief Vick's POV

Shawn Spencer has been nothing but trouble since I met him on the steps of the Santa Barbara Police Department that day so long ago. He's gotten results, sure, but not without goofing off and faking his way through everything in life, with a complete disregard for protocol along the way. Burton Guster, on the other hand, has always seemed to be the voice of reason at the Psych office, although rarely the leader of the two. It wasn't a surprise when Gus was the one to call and request backup. If it wasn't for his general lack of composure, working with Gus would probably be a delight.

He was clearly breathless on the phone, probably sprinting at the time. He'd explained that, along with Shawn and Chief Lassiter, he was tracking a suspect in the O'Hara case, someone named Sander Tilit. It made sense, all of a sudden, that Lassiter hadn't been the one to contact me; he cares so much for Juliet. His only concern, as always, was her safety.

I hadn't wasted any time formulating a plan, which wasn't like me. It was a little disorienting to leap into a car and feel the blood surging through my veins, my heart racing, knowing that the only thing I cared about was Juliet's safety. Shawn Spencer's lack of proper protocol suddenly made sense. I didn't have a warrant, I hadn't scoped out the target or completed a thorough investigation. All I knew was that Sander Tilit was our only suspect, and I didn't have time to find another one.

I didn't know what to do.

The tires squealed as I made the sharp turn into the parking lot of Jim Vance Dental. My gun in hand, I ripped open the door and made my way in the direction of the woods. It was when I saw the red scuff marks, just as Gus had described them, that I broke into a run. The rest of my team wasn't very deep into the woods; I caught up with them after a while.

"Mr Guster, Mr Spencer, Carlton," I said, trying to sound calm, "it's good to see the three of you working together again."

Lassiter grumbled something under his breath about "shenanigans," his eyes locked on the trail of sneaker marks. Shawn grinned at me, though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Chief Vick! Did you bring us guns? And badges? Preferably both," he said.

I chose to ignore his question, striding ahead of them. "Detect- er, Chief Lassiter, are you packing?"

"Yes," he said, as if it were obvious.

"Take out your gun. Be ready. Spencer, Gust- where's Guster?" I asked, terrified that he had wandered off the path and gotten picked off by our perp.

"I'm over here," he called. "I found something!"

The three of us hurried to his side, and followed his finger to a vaguely bunker-like shape dug into the ground on the horizon. Lassiter cocked his gun, maybe slightly prematurely.

I cleared my throat. "Are you ready?"

Lassiter nodded, and Gus managed a soft "yeah." I turned to Spencer.

"Ready?" I repeated gently. He rubbed his temple gently.

"Nope," he said simply, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

< :((( I'm almost finished with chapter 8, and then I'm going to put this story on hiatus for a bit to write that ham fic my fave (llamayette ) requested! >