A Liberated Decision - COMPLETED!

Chapter 10

Night had fallen upon everyone in the area. The stars twinkled and the night life had both died down and just began.

Stan snuck out on his own. He made sure that he hadn't been followed. He made sure that there was nothing suspicious going on as he inched his way to a hotel. He walked up to the room that he had been keeping on tab. He was sure that nobody had followed him as he entered his room.

He pulled out a hidden cell phone and dialed a number. He knew that it was late, but he also knew that his brother would be awake. He listened to the ringing coming through the phone as he waited for an answer.

"Stan?" His brother asked quickly.

"Yeah, it's me." Stan smiled at his brother's slight worry, but mainly excitement in his voice.

"How's it going? The streets getting to you yet?" He slightly joked, but in part was serious. He knew how dangerous the streets can get. He'd seen the consequences and the dangers first hand.

"Kind of I guess. I'm just surprised by how aggressive these guys can be. I knew before how things were, but it's different living with them and seeing what makes them tick. You know?" Stan rubbed his forehead. He kept thinking back to the situation with Ashley. Maybe he had been a little too rough with her. He wasn't sure.

"Yeah, it's rough." Tom agreed. "Hey, I was going to ask if I had heard from you tonight. How's Ashley doing? I ran into her at the station earlier today. She seemed on edge."

Stan let out a sigh. "She should be. Trent was pushing on her hard today. I don't like how he's being with her. I honestly wouldn't put it past him to rape her." He looked up at the ceiling and swallowed hard. He didn't understand why a girl like her would be involved in this. "I'm worried about her. Something's off. She's been different than usual. I caught her writing something down today and hiding the notebook. When I asked her if she was alright, she flipped out, Tom. I've never seen her react to that extreme before. She would have killed me, if I had given her a little bit more of a reason to, without hesitation. I think she might be getting ready to get out of all of this....or she's going to snap. It's hard to say."

Tom sighed at the update. He knew very well how Ashley could be. He'd watched her grow-up from a distance. It broke his heart seeing the things that she had went through in her young life already. "She was trying to hide her identity at the station today. I think she may have been seeing someone from a rival gang. It'd explain why she was so much more on edge than usual. What I don't understand is why. Maybe she's thinking about leaving for a different gang." Tom really hoped that he was wrong.

"I don't think that she'd do that. It'd be signing her own death warrant." Stan said slowly. He thought about it, but it just didn't make any sense. "I'll keep an eye on her. She's probably going to be more wary of me though." Stan said thoughtfully.

"Why's that?" Tom's interest was immediately peaked. "What'd you do?" He knew his brother well enough to know that sometimes he didn't think before he did things. He had went through plenty of partners after graduating the Academy and joining the Force because of his sometimes rash decisions.

"I pinned her hard against a wall to talk with her. It was the only way, Tom, to be safe. She had a gun on me." Stan was quick to explain. He didn't want his brother to think the worst of him like he usually did. He admitted that he probably deserved that, but he didn't want to risk being pulled off of this case because of a wrong assumption. He had changed since he had started this assignment. It hadn't been easy and he was still not as patient as Tom was, but he was better and that's what mattered.

Tom streaked his fingers through his hair. "Stan...." He fought for the right words. "She's a girl. You have to be gentle with her."

"I know that. You know that I have never treated a woman wrong. This situation called for the way that I handled it. I had no choice, Tom. I did what I should have done." Stan explained calmly. He could hear a little disappointment in his brother's voice. He hated hearing that, but there really wasn't any other option at that moment. "I was gentler than Trent or any of the other guys would have been. I was careful."

"Okay, Stan, I believe you. I trust you. You know that, right?" Tom reminded him. He knew that the situation that Stan was in was not easy. He needed all the support that he could offer him. He also knew that the fact that he was taking the time to call him was dangerous and could get him killed. He was glad for the updates, but was worried about mistakes being made.

"I know you do. I just hate to disappoint you, Tom. I always have." Stan sighed. He walked over to the window and closed the shades. He should have done that earlier. There was no need to advertise him being in that room on the phone. It was way beyond unsafe leaving a window shade open while being undercover. Dangerous couldn't even begin to describe it.

The comment took Tom by surprise. He hadn't thought about his words ever being perceived that way. He never intended his brother to think that he was disappointed in him. "You've done good, bud. I am beyond proud of you. Don't ever think that I'm disappointed in you. I just want to keep pushing you to be the best that you can be and you've went far above my expectations. Always remember that I'm proud of you. Dad would have been proud to see where you're at today, too." He hoped that that encouraged him. He meant every word of it.

Stan hated getting emotional, but he could feel his eyes dampen a bit. He hadn't expected to hear that out of his brother's mouth. He pinched his eyes shut to stop any tears and rubbed them away with his free hand. "No need to get me choked up over here, Tom." He joked around with a sniffle. "That means a lot to hear you say. Thank you."

Tom swallowed a lump in his throat. "I mean it, Stan. I want you to be careful out there too, okay?" He knew that they needed to be wrapping up their phone call quickly. Stan couldn't be gone for too long without drawing suspicion.

"I will be. I'm not taking unnecessary risks, Tom. I'm being good." Stan reminded him. "I need to go. I love you, brother. Be safe, too."

"You know me, Stan. I'm as by the books as I can be. I'll be safe. I love you, too." Tom smiled at his brother's comment. He was anything but unsafe. He only had worry for his brother.

Stan hung up the phone and slid it back in the drawer. He streaked his fingers through his hair and yawned. He wasn't all that excited about going back and sleeping on some random, hard floor. Sleep wasn't really in the schedule either, it was crucial to keep focused on what was going on around you while trying to get some shut eye. He never knew when someone was on to him or just plainly didn't like him. As a cop, he always needed to be alert.

Stan worked his way out of the room and checked out. Time was running out and he didn't want to come up with an excuse or explanation on where he had been. Trent wasn't always a good listener and no risk needed to be taken with him.

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Awwww, brotherly love <3

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