Caged

Stalker

A\N: Okay. I personally hate this chapter but... Here it is. So. 😂 I thought I would throw a little credit to the New Year in. Enjoy! :)

When Malcolm walked tow

ards Dani

She reached her arms out to give him a hug but he pulled back. "Woah. Your not gonna choke me again, are you?" She chuckled a little bit. "No. I'm really sorry about that. Really." She said. She put her fingers on his neck tracing the bruises where she had choked him. She seemed to be completely lost in thought. "Dani." Malcolm whispered. "Huh, oh sorry. Yeah. Um-" "Why did you wanna meet?" "Oh, right. So I think I'm being followed." "Right now?" "No. I don't think right now but we do need to make this pretty quick." "Do you think it's the NYPD?" "No. No. I think it's the person who is framing me." "How can you tell?" "It's the way he follows me and acts around me. He treats me as if I'm delicate. Like a family heirloom worth millions of dollars. Sometimes he tries to lure me closer to the station because he knows that I need to get arrested so he doesn't. He's protecting himself through me. The other day I got in a fight with somebody and he walked over, without me seeing his face and started attacking the guy. He ran before I could catch him. It's weird." "Hmmm. How often is he around?" "Almost twenty four seven." "But you've never seen his face. How can you recognize him?" "The way he presents himself. He's never not been wearing a plad orange jacket." "Does anything he do maybe make it seem like he wants you to notice him?" "Why do you ask that?" "Well, I think it's pretty bold to wear an orange colored jacket all the time and then after following you around a bunch, openly do an act of kindness for you. To attack someone just because your arguing with them seems to be a very obsessive thing to do." "You mean like he's obsessed over me?" "Yeah." "A stalker?" "Maybe." "So he also has feelings for me? But wants me to get put in jail?" "I really don't know. I would need to observe his actions." "Then why don't you?" "That's a good idea let's track him. I'll have to do it at a discrete time when I'm not with anyone and when Gil and JT won't know I am missing." "Ok. I'll call you. Here's your phone back. Make something up on where you found it. I'll get a flip phone." He nodded his head. I would offer to pay for it but I guess I already am." She laughed. "Yeah. I'm sorry about that. Really I am sorry about all of this." "It's not all your fault." "Hey look." She said pointing to her watch. "2 minutes till New Years. What a way to celebrate." He laughed. "Yeah. Not exactly the best way to celebrate." "No. You know what." She said taking a seat against the brick wall while Malcolm did the same. "I'd rather celebrate it behind a Macy's with you than in jail or with my messed up family any day." He chuckled. "Well thanks." He said turning his head to face hers. "I'll  take it as a compliment." He said with a smile. She held up her watch. "Happy New Year." She said pretty unenthusiasticly. "Happy New Year"

He brushed the hair out of her eyes then took a sharp breath in and abruptly stopped realizing what he was doing. "Where do you sleep?" She leaned her head on his shoulder. "In your car." "Oh. Well I hope it's comfortable." "Very." She said sarcastically. He chuckled leaning his head on hers. He closed his eyes for a second. Or at least that's what he told himself he was going to do. But he soon drifted off to sleep.

Dani's headed darted up as she heard Malcolm yelling. He was next to her on the ground his body shifting back and forth his nails digging into the flesh on his arms. "Malcolm." She whisper spoke. "Malcolm, please." She knew it wasn't going to work but she tried anyways. They were going to be found if he kept being so loud. Dani stood up yawning from exhaustion and tried to get him up off the ground in a failed attempt. She worriedly went around the building and drove to where Malcolm was so she could get him in the car. She drag-lifted him as close to the car as possible as his nails dug into her back and neck. She lifted him quickly up into the back seat and closed the door abruptly. She tried shushing him. "Shhh. Hey. Hey. It's okay. Shhh." She sat on the floor in the back seat with him partly on his lap and partly on the floor. "Shhh." After about an hour the episode seemed to pass and Dani leaned her head back against the door. She let out a sigh. She could feel blood all over herself. Some his. Some hers. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

Malcolm let out a yell as his body wrenched forward. He could feel a wet liquid on himself and someone next to him. What? He observed his surroundings. It looked like a crime scene he turned and saw Dani. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh." He thought for a split second he had killed her but then saw her chest gently moving up down in a deep, peaceful sleep. He let out a huge sigh of relief.  "Dani. Dani." He said softly. "Huh? Hmmm?" She started to slowly open her eyes as she blocked the light with her hand. "What time is it?" He grabbed her wrist and looked at her watch. "9:50a.m." He read. "Shoot, I have to go. I'm so sorry are you ok?" "Yeah. She lied wincing as she sat up. He tried to hide the terror as he saw the amount of blood on her clothes from last night but she noticed. "It's okay, Malcolm. Really. I have a change of clothes." "You think I'm worried about your clothes? I'm so sorry, Dani. Oh my gosh. What did I do?" "Malcolm! Really it's fine." He opened the door and stood up. He had definitely ruined this suit. "He opened the passenger door and got out wipes. He opened the trunk and had Dani sit on the edge while he removed her jacket. He then carefully and gently started to wipe the cuts and the dry blood off. She winced and bit her lip but stayed quiet while he finished. "Thank you, but really I'm fine." "I'm so sorry." "Malcolm." She said looking into his eyes. "Go." He took a sharp breath in and out. "Right." "I will see you later. I hope." He added and with that He was gone. Dani laughed to herself and used more of the wipes to try and clean some of his car. She then got out and took the duffle bag she had been carrying with her and left the car sitting behind the building and she was off to try and get her stalker to follower her again.

The building was super busy when Malcolm came into work. It was 11:30a.m. He had changed and showered and then eaten some breakfast which all took awhile. "Oh look who decided to show up" JT sarcastically stated. "And you look like crap." JT also already looked exhausted. He must have been here early like they were supposed too. Gil stepped out of his office. "Bright! Office. Now." Malcolm pressed his lips together and JT gave him a oooh look while clicking his tongue.

"Why are you in so late today?" Malcolm made sure to maintain eye contact, blink, and sit still but not too still. "I had a bad terror episode. That's all." "Your chains broke?" "Yes." "Those are some deep cuts." Malcolm uncomfortably pulled his sleeve down further. Why did this feel more like an interrogation than actual sympathy? "I tried calling you. Last night. But you didn't answer. So I came over and you weren't there." Shoot "You're right. I was lying. I wasn't at my house because I fell asleep in my car." "The rental?" Malcolm just gave a nod of the head. "Hmmm. Better get it cleaned up. He said with a curious look. "Gil, I found something." JT came into the room. "Garret Thompson, the NYPD officer that Dani killed, was formally working undercover in the Cusm cult that Tom Grade was running. And get this. Henry Tarp assisted him in running it." "So maybe Tarp was trying to get out. And that's why he's missing." Gil said. "Or," Malcolm chipped in. "He's also a part of it all." "That gives us a motive. Let's go pay this cult a visit."