Little Bean

Finding Out

Erin entered the darkened room tentatively, carefully balancing her weight between her feet so as to be prepared if someone came charging at her, gun draw in her right hand, held out in front of her, flashlight held above it with her left hand, breath slow and steady. She could hear Jay moving further down the hall behind her.  They'd come upstairs to clear the bedrooms while Kevin and Adam cleared the main floor. So far the house appeared empty.

Erin stepped fully into the bedroom so she could check the far side of the bed and the closet. Silently she stepped closer to the bed. The sudden slam of the door behind her made her turn quickly on her heals. Her flashlight caught the features of a tall, broad shouldered man lunging towards her. Erin fired a shot at him but her reaction time was too slow and the shot went wide as her assailant took her too the ground, his shoulder pounding into her ribs as they hit the floor. Her head hit the floor hard making light burst behind her closed eyelids. Her gun slipped from her hand and slide across the floor.

Sharp pain from the impact made her inhale quickly. Through the haze of pain she could here her team shouting in the background and quickened footsteps moving in her direction. She pushed the pain down and struggled to free herself from under her attacker. A quick upswing of her knee made contact with his groin and she was able to shimmy out from under him as he hunched in pain.

Erin scrambled towards her gun but felt herself pulled back abruptly by her hair. The assailant began pounding his fist into her abdomen. Erin grabbed at the hand fisted in her hair and yanked her body down, twisting towards him quickly, forcing his wrist to crack with pain. He yelled out and released her hair. Erin delivered a solid kick to his groin and when he bent forward cracked his jaw with her knee.

The door behind her burst open, splinters of wood flying as Kevin broke his way in. Someone flipped on the light and her assailant was quickly tackled and secured by her three partners. Erin grabbed at the bedpost to steady herself and clutched her side, trying to steady her breathing. The warmth of a familiar hand landed gently on her back.

"You good," Jay asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice. She'd kill him if he fussed over her too much while on the job. Erin nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, he got a couple good shots in, just need a minute." She breathed out, watching Adam and Kevin escort her attacker not so gently out of the room.

"He's a pretty big guy," Jay observed, impressed by the obvious damage Erin had inflicted on her attacker.

Jay handed Erin her fire arm to holster. Erin nodded her thanks as she awkwardly put her gun away. Jay noticed the slight shake in her hand, shallow breathing and pale skin.

"Maybe we should take a swing by med on the way back to the district, just to make sure nothing's broken?" Jay hedged.

Erin shook her head no, dismissing his concern. "I'm good. Just need to catch my breath. Think he knocked the wind out of me. We should go, I want first crack at interrogating that asshole." She said, shuffling her way to the door.

Jay blew out a breath but didn't fight her. He made a note to keep a close eye on her the rest of the day and followed her down and out of the house. As they approached the car Erin passed him the keys and made her way to the passenger side.

"You sure you don't want to go to med?" He tried one last time, looking at her over the car. Erin just glared at him before sinking down into the car.

Erin sat with her head resting against the cool glass of the window while Jay drove. The pressure on her lungs had let up a bit but her stomach still felt the impact of the repeated blundering it endured. Her head was throbbing too. She closed her eyes and tried focusing on something pleasant to distract from the pain.