Choices and Chances (a ppg fanfiction)

chapter 2

For many hours, Rhea Timmons sat beside Arias Callahan quietly. He just roamed the streets, occasionally shifting to radio for rock music. Rhea thought to make small talk many times but his serious face didn’t give her courage.
Dr. Rhea Timmons had worked many times with Townsville PD behind curtains. She was a psychiatrist by profession. Her area of expertise was to get hidden information from notorious criminals. Her new abilities were very helpful in her current profession. If Chief had come to her to crack a person like Callahan, that meant this person must be very good at hiding his self.
She studied her subject. It was obvious that Arias Callahan was deliberately trying to be inconspicuous. Also, he was ignoring her with all his might.
But 5 hours of silence was way too much to bear. Callahan had his car in the parking, merely resting his head with his eyes closed.
She gathered her energy and finally spoke up.
“So you grew up in Townsville?” Her voice came out too polite. She cringed on her own too sweet voice. Talk about cliché.
“Hm.” That was his response.
“Is that a yes?”
He opened one eye. A warning in his gaze. She held her ground against his piercing and uncomfortable gaze.
He responded after all. “Yes, and now don’t talk. Let me rest.”
“Aren’t we on a duty?”
“ There’s nothing for us to do right now. I can slack off.” But his mind saying, “This should be fun.”
“A tease, huh?”  she scoffed.
“Got ya, Timmons” This caused her to move her head involuntary towards him.
Her change in emotions caused Callahan to become uneasy.
“I have to focus on.”  She thought. “If I am to find everything about him in three months, I have to focus.”
She was not given much time to crack this person who was exceptionally good at hiding his thoughts. She remembered his profile. Apparently, Arias Callahan emerged in Townsville at the age of 18. He joined the police academy and graduated with flying colors.
His police record was too clean to be true. His accomplishments were off the charts. A kind of a super cop but he always kept a low profile among his colleagues. Most would say that he is a loner. Previous Chief favored him a lot.
His personality was a bit shady which raised some suspicions in the eyes of the new chief.
“You are weird, Timmons.” Callahan’s words pissed her off.
She started to ignore him.
All the time he was humming metal rock or raps in his mind.
She picked up no distinct thought.

The next day started on a little bit easy note.
As Rhea stepped inside the office, he smiled.
She had taken his advice and dressed up in jeans with a chocolate shirt and a black jacket. Her long dark hair was up in a ponytail yet they were still reaching her hips.
For the first time, Callahan noticed that she was actually very pretty.
“ She seemed like out of beauty pageant,” he thought, making her feel bashful.
Her feelings hit him. He met her eyes and Rhea smiled shyly.
“Sometimes, it seems like she is reading my thoughts”
Fear hit him like a tsunami. He quickly for anything that could indicate her sudden change of emotion. But she calms herself down instantaneously.
“I hate partners, too many emotions in this close vicinity. Especially if a girl is involved.”  He thought bitterly. Her calmness increased in magnitude making him calm too. “Who am I kidding, huh? Mind-reading? My ass!”
“Long day ahead, Timmons.” He spoke his first words of the day as he picked up his car keys.
Rhea was hoping to get some clue that could give her a chance to get information about her target, but to her disappointment, her second day with officer Callahan was no different from the first one.
…………………….
“Get up, red-cap. It’s time.” Mr. Kinnamann called Brick. Brick quietly got up. He remembered one time when he didn’t listen to Kinnaman, he ended up in the isolation area for two days without food. Kinnaman led him to the meeting room. ‘two hours with Bubbles!’ he let out a huge sigh. Bubbles smiled at him when he entered.
“How are you, Brick?” she extended her arms towards him. He ignored.
“Come on, Brick. Is that a way to treat a friend?” she said.
“You ain’t my friend! My friend, a Powerpuff?” he gritted his teeth, “Never.”
She looked at him, stunned. She thought his icy outer surface was melting the ng. She looked down.
“Why do you care about us?” he asked loudly. “Why do you? We are nothing but enemies.”
She looked up, her eyes were glistening with tears. He made a sound in disgust.
“Even enemies deserve compassion, Brick.” She said in a small voice.
“Go away, pigtails!” ha e said.
“As you don’t want me here, I guess, I should go.” She got up. He turned to her. She had been nothing but nice to him.
Remorse tried to fill in Brick's heart.

He wanted to apologize

He wanted to say sorry.

“No,”  he thought “I won’t stoop that low.”

Then she turned and placed a brown paper bag in front of him and left quickly. He emptied it on the table. It contained a packet of his favorite gum, a novel, his favorite genre “a thriller” and five DVDs of most recent action movies.

He placed his head on his hands, pulling his hairs.
The pain was way too intense to bear.