HOME | DD

Description
Detective Mal Fallon & Agent Natara Williams walked up to a run-down apartment, guns in hand. "You're sure this is the place?" Mal asked. "Positive", Natara replied, "This is where John Stone lives, & he matches both the psychological profile & eyewitness descriptions of the Sable Street Slicer." "Well, guess I can't argue with that", Mal said, "Let's hurry up & nab this guy." Natara nodded & knocked on the door. "Mr. Stone?" she shouted. "This is the SFPD." From inside, a shadow moved across the dark room, hastily grabbing objects. "Dammit, he's rabbiting!" Mal shouted. Natara nodded, then reared back & kicked the door down. "I'll go after him", she said, "You wait by the street in case he tries to cut around!"
Natara took off after the shape, carefully making her way through the dark house. She lifted her gun & said, "Mr. Stone, you're making a big mistake. Just surrender peacefully, & I'm sure we can make some kind of agreement." Suddenly, a hulking man stepped out of the shadows, holding an enormous knife. "Die!" the man yelled. Natara rolled to the side as he slashed. She lifted her gun & said, "Drop the knife, Mr. Stone. You really don't want to try me." John stood still for a moment, as if thinking, then hurled the knife at Natara & bolted out the door. Natara dodged the knife & followed him. "Mr. Stone! Stop!" she yelled as she ran. John turned around & shouted, "Never! I'm not going to prison!" As he ran past a trash can, he tipped it over, spilling its contents all over the concrete. "So we're playing this game, huh?" Natara said. With nimble footwork, she danced across the trash, stepping on the bare concrete. As Natara got close enough, she hurled herself at John & wrestled him to the ground. "John Stone", Natara said as she slapped cuffs on his wrists, "You are under arrest for murdering Shelly Smith, Chanelle Curduroy, & Michelle Freeman. Not to mention resisting arrest & trying to kill me." Mal ran up, panting, & said, "Nice job. Let's get this guy back to the precinct, then grab a bite to eat." Natara's phone rang & she whipped it out of her pocket. "Hello? Yes...okay...alright, yes sir." "Who was that?" Mal asked as Natara hung up. "That was Lieutenant Anders", she replied, "We're needed back at the precinct ASAP."
20 minutes later, Mal & Natara walked into the precinct, John Stone in tow. They were completely stunned at what they saw. Half of the west wall of the precinct was missing, dead & wounded officers scattered around it. "Good work, you two", Anders said, walking up, "Bartaugh'll take 'em from here." Officer Joe Bartaugh led John away, & Anders said, "I'm glad you got back here so quickly. I need your help on something." Natara & Mal raised an eyebrow at each other, then followed Anders into his office, where Detectives Blaise Corso & Jeremy Redbird sat. Anders took a seat behind his desk, then said, "Today, there was a bombing. I assume you could tell by looking at the wall." "No shit", Mal said, "Now cut the crap & let's start the investigation. Where do you want us? Crime scene analysis? Suspect interview?" "Actually, you're being split up on this assignment", Anders said, "Mal, you're on crime scene analysis with Kalaba & Chen. Natara, you'll be interviewing witnesses with Corso & Redbird." "Yes, sir", Natara replied, "Anything else?" "Not at the moment, Agent Williams", Anders said, "Thank you for your time, Detectives, & Agent. You're dismissed."
Natara walked with Blaise & Jeremy into the emergency room where several police officers sat or lay, wounded. She looked around, spotting a few familiar faces. Walking over to Officer Anna Willis, Natara said, "How are you feeling, Anna?" "How do you think I'm feeling?" she snapped. "I almost got killed by an explosion in what I considered the safest building in this whole city." "Did you see anything unusual before the explosion?" Natara asked. "No", Anna said, "But I heard a rumor that one of our own officers might be behind this." Natara felt her blood go cold upon hearing these words. One of our own, a bomber? What a frightening thought... Her thoughts were interrupted by a weak voice, "Agent Williams? I think I know who caused the explosion." Natara walked towards the direction of the voice, finding Samuel Martinez lying on a stretcher, his arm in a sling. "Who was it, Sam?" she asked. Martinez's face went sour & he said, "Jack Smith, from Evidence." "Jack handles ammunitions & explosives", Natara said, "We have a suspect. Thanks, Martinez." He nodded, then lay back down on the stretcher. Natara walked over to where Blaise & Jeremy were interviewing Narcotics Officer Jim Davis. "Martinez gave me a potential suspect", she said, "We need to put out an APB for Jack Smith."
Mal walked up to the damaged wall, scorched black by the explosion. Forensic Tech Kai Kalaba stood knelt over a small bit of red plastic. "Tell me you've got something." he said. Kai darted to his feet & said, "Actually, I do. That bit of red plastic is the type they use to make dynamite with." "So we're looking for some amateur", Mal said, "Not a highly skilled bomber." "Not that a highly skilled bomber would be able to get in here anyways..." Kai said. "You're really looking to get hit today." Mal growled. His phone rang, & Mal stepped off to the side to answer it. "Hello? uh huh...okay...all right, sounds good." Walking back over, he hung up & said, "Looks like we got a suspect. Jack Smith." Bartaugh looked up & said, "Jack Smith? Hate to break it to you, Mal, he bit the dust during the explosion." "Detective", Amy Chen, Data Analyst, said as she walked up, "One of the victims' wives is here. She wants to speak to you. A...Lauren Smith." Mal smiled & said, "Bring her to the interrogation room."
Natara strolled into the interrogation room, where Mal & Lauren Smith already sat. "What is this?" Lauren cried. "Did you find my Jack?" "Yes", Natara said grimly, "He's dead, & he's being investigated for causing the explosion." "What?" Lauren shouted. "Jack would never do such a thing! He worked his whole life to get that position at your precinct! He wouldn't just throw all that away." "Please calm down, Ms. Smith", Mal said coolly, "We're just trying to find the truth." Lauren sat back down & sighed, "I know, it's just...I can't believe he's gone. And that now, when he's resting in peace, you're trying to slander his good name." Mal scowled & said, "Ms. Smith, did you notice any abnormal behavior in your husband? Leaving the house periodically for sometimes large quantities of time? Buying unusual items..." Mal thrust the bag containing the plastic into her face. "Such as the exact type of red plastic used to make dynamite?" Lauren scowled & said, "You have no way of knowing John bought that." Mal smirked & said, "Kai?" Kai bounded into the room, slapping a finance report down in front of her. "I looked at Jack's finances over the past few months, & it shows he bought red plastic with a serial number matching the one on the bit before you. He also appears to have bought gunpowder...and fuses." Mal grinned & said, " Doesn't seem to me like those things go together for anything besides dynamite." Defeated, Lauren hung her head & said, "You're...You're right. But I had no idea what he was using it for! He told me he was helping a friend blow away some rock in his backyard." Natara & Mal glanced at each other, then he said, "Ms. Smith, you're free to go. Contact us if you find something out." "I will, Detective", she said, rising, "And thank you for your time."
Walking out of the interrogation room, Mal waited until Lauren was out of earshot, then turned to Natara & said, "I think she's hiding something." "So do I", Natara said, "I think there's more to the story of the dynamite than she's telling us." "There goes our night." Mal groaned. Natara smiled & said, "You'll get another one, tough guy. Try not to look so down." Mal smiled & said, "Let's get going. If we get this done quickly, we can probably squeeze dinner in."
Mal & Natara walked up to the Smith residence, an old, decrepit building with classic Victorian-style architecture. "Lovely." Mal muttered. "Let's make this quick", Natara said, "We don't even have probable cause. Maybe it would be better if it was just me doing this." "No", Mal said, "I'm coming with you." Natara smiled & said, "Don't think I can handle it on my own?" "Why would you want to", Mal said, grinning, "When you can handle it with me?" Natara rolled her eyes & slid in through the open window. Drawing her gun, Natara swept through the lower floor, slowly going room to room. "Clear." she called upstairs. "Hey, Natara! Get up here, quick! I found something!" Mal called. Natara walked up the stairs, following Mal's excited shouting. "Mal, what is it?" she said, walking into a small, quaint office. Mal stood up from his position hunched over the desk, which was covered with instruction manuals on how to build dynamite. "This is an incredible find, Mal", Natara said, picking up one of the manuals, "I think we have enough right here to put Jack away." "One teensie problem", Mal said, "This isn't Jack's office. It's Lauren's." "So Lauren was the mastermind behind the bombing", Natara said, "And she used her husband as the bomber, setting him up to take the fall, ridding her of any blame." "Very clever, Agent Williams", Lauren said as she stepped out of the shadows, pointing a pistol at Mal's head.
Natara drew her gun & said, "Lauren, drop the gun. You're making a big mistake." "Oh, I know", Lauren said, an evil grin etched onto her face, "But I don't think it'll matter once you two are dead." "You just try it, sister." Natara growled. Mal whipped out his gun & fired, the bullet burrowing deep into the wall beside Lauren. She lifted her gun & fired in Mal's direction, emptying her clip as she darted out the door. Natara ran over to him, examining the wound. "I'm fine", Mal groaned, "Just don't let her escape!" Natara darted up the stairs after Lauren, following her onto the roof.
Natara burst out onto the balcony, tackling Lauren & knocking her gun out of her hand. Lauren pulled herself to her feet & kicked Natara away, grabbing her gun. "Not so fast, Agent Williams", Lauren said, waving the gun, "Don't forget-I'm the one with the gun here." "You murderous bitch", Natara muttered through gritted teeth, "You made a suicide bomber out of your husband, an honest cop!" "No", Lauren said, "Not me. Someone else. But you're never going to know their name." And with that, Lauren turned Natara's gun on herself & fired, a hole forming in her chest, spewing red. "Agent Williams, you naughty girl", Lauren tutted, "You shot an unarmed suspect." Lauren's eyes went glassy, & she tumbled off the edge of the roof. "Nat, you okay?" Mal shouted as he rushed up. "I heard gunshots..." Mal looked over the railing to where Lauren's body lay sprawled in the street, blood pooling around it. "Damn, Nat. That's just...Damn." he said. "I know she was a murderer, but you didn't have to shoot her." "What?" Natara said, shocked. "No, Mal, I didn't shoot her!" "I'm sorry, Nat", Mal said gloomily, "But I have a hard time believing that." He pulled out his radio & said, "Dispatch, this is Fallon. Suspect is dead."

To be continued...