Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2007 4:35:54 GMT
It wasn’t often that Katherine swore, so when she did, Marcus forced his eyes to open through the agony, and looked to her, realising after a moment what was wrong. She couldn’t move; her belt had her pinned. They were both stuck. And that was when he — perhaps shamefully, given the delay — remembered there had been a third person in the car.
He tried to look around behind him, but his ribs flared again, a sharp ‘no’ from within, and he gritted his teeth against the yell he wanted to give to release the sensation of pain, looking to his sister as he tried to take in a deep breath. “Where… is he okay?” It hadn’t even occurred to him, perhaps as a result of the head injury, to try and call back to Deiniol himself. He didn’t even think to try and look in the rear view, which, sometime during the crash, had been jostled, and moved, turned away from him.
Swallowing against the discomfort, he tried to heed his sister’s command to stay still, and pushed out the words, “My knife,” before he had to bow his head over again, touching it carefully to the top of the wheel as he continued trying to breathe. He briefly tried to twist an arm around to the back of his belt to grab it himself, but his own body told him he wasn’t going to be able to, and he gave another curse as he gave up.
Where the hell was Wiles?
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 22, 2007 5:02:08 GMT
"I didn't see..." She turned to look for herself, realising that she had heard the rear windshield smash a few minutes ago but had done nothing about it. She'd been concentrating on the situation in the front of the car and by the time she had gotten around to looking over her shoulder their charge had already been gone. "Jesus Christ... someone must'a took him right out the back window..." she said under her breath, her accent slipping into a thicker New York slur. She twisted back to face forwards again and found that in that position it was nominally easier to breathe. She had a worrying inkling that the 'someone' was the woman from the Church. Worrying because Kath' had learned that her inklings were usually right on the money.
At the mention of his knife Kath' looked at her bother, wiping more blood from her upper lip. The red moisture had dripped onto her shirt and jacket and into her lap and it wasn't stopping anytime soon, just getting into her mouth. She spat to the side, just to clear it off her tongue so she could talk and then looked at Marcus as he strained.
"Don't." she said, "Don't... twist for it." She said. She didn't want him to hurt himself more, do more damage for her sake. She slipped her hand underneath the chest strap and tried to lift it a little, intending to duck underneath it maybe so she could at least try and breathe. There was no give, however, and she just cursed again in frustration. She reached for her cell phone, almost as an after thought to the whole thing but it was not in its usual place and she had no radio on her to call it in. She wondered where the patrol car was. No way they could have missed the crash.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2007 5:12:15 GMT
“W-what?” Marcus looked to her, and then carefully reached up quickly to twist the rear view. “Shit.” She was right. Deiniol was gone. And even though he wasn’t aware of her thought process, he was thinking the same thing himself; someone had said the woman from the church had been overly interested in the secretary. And now, he was gone, and it was their fault; they had promised to get him back to the station. He was meant to be safe while he was with them.
Mostly out of frustration, but fuelled by the pain and dizziness he felt, he hit his hand against the centre of the wheel, trying to get the car to call out for them; it was only a tiny saving grace of sorts, but the horn blared briefly before he dropped his hand away again, draping his arm over the wheel once more to try and relieve pressure on his side. His hand was still rested over the protesting ribs, where the belt was pressed into him, and he tried to focus out of his side of the car, but beyond the glass being fractured completely, and therefore nearly impossible to see through, the car that had rammed them was still next to them, its body blocking what view he might have had.
And then he heard a shout. At first, he thought he imagined it, but when it repeated, he realised he wasn’t just hearing things, and he looked to Kath’, mumbling, “‘Bout damn time.” It was Wiles, and from the sound of his approach, he was running down the steps, taking them two at a time, speaking hurriedly on his cell phone.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 22, 2007 5:28:32 GMT
She looked at Marcus and then out the window, trying to see past the car that had rammed them. It obscured from view anything that might have been of note. She pulled a face, "I'm takin' that partner of yours runnin' if this is what he calls a response time..." she said stiffly, somehow managing to conjure Rivera grade bravado that was practically famous in their family. She too had heard the approach of the third detective from the scene, he was certainly on the phone for backup and she couldn't help but display relief at the thought that they would be out of the car in the very near future.
She had pressed her palms forwards against the dash. Her feet were starting to throb and she really wanted to get up and walk it off, like sitting in one position too long and suddenly realising your foot had fallen asleep, but the dash wouldn't budge and her seat was rammed forwards and her toes were starting to tingle a little. She decided her circulation must have been cut off. She was trying not to think about Deiniol. They had been in charge and that psycho from the Church had just taken him right out from under their noses. Right out from under her nose. Though she tried to tell herself that even if she had been fully aware of what was going on at the time she wouldn't have been able to do much. She was pinned in and strapped down.
That didn't help Deiniol much though. Nor did it sate the responsibility she felt settling as a guilty weight in her stomach.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2007 5:39:26 GMT
Marcus caught the end of his partner’s phone conversation as the other man approached, and he looked to his sister as an acknowledgement of her annoyed comment, as opposed to nodding or actually saying anything. Dizziness swarmed again, and staying quiet and still for a minute seemed like a good idea. To his surprise, Wiles appeared leaning over the hood, looking through with a concerned, perhaps-louder-than-necessary call of, “You guys all right?”
“Ow…” Marcus grumbled. The volume hadn’t been necessary. He was concussed, not deaf. “Just get us outta here,” he called back as loud as his burning ribs would allow, “and we’ll be just great.” He glanced to Katherine, and dropped his head gently again; it was too heavy to keep up, but if he held it down for too long, a trickle of blood kept trying to run towards his eye, prompting him to lean it back, but slowly, so he wouldn’t strain himself or make himself nauseous in any way.
“Okay, okay. Fire and ambulance are on the way,” Wiles told them, assessing the situation. “Jesus… what… what the hell happened?” He was trying to see if he could be of some help before the emergency services arrived, but he quickly came to the same conclusion the Riveras had both reached; the car was royally screwed, leaving them well and truly stuck. He shook his head. “One second you were behind us, and then we heard a crash and you’d vanished from the mirror.” He cursed under his breath.
Marcus didn’t particularly feel like bringing his partner up to speed through the crumpled chassis of a car, and on top of that, he sorely lacked the energy, eyes closed as he tried to breathe smoothly and steadily. The sooner they got out of the remains of the vehicle, the better…
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 22, 2007 17:54:48 GMT
She placed her hand, with effort, on her brother's closer shoulder, watching cautiously as he struggled for breath. The sooner they were out of the car and down at the Hospital the better. The idea of some nice strong painkillers was the only thing keeping her from losing her temper completely and she aimed her gaze at Wiles, after a moment of scanning the car again.
"That crazy bitch rammed us off the road an' grabbed Fey right out the rear window, that's what happened. Came tearing outta the intersection..." Kath' said, wincing as she wriggled a little bit, finding all efforts in vein. She and her brother would probably have to be cut out of the vehicle. She looked at Wiles. Of course she didn't know it had been the woman from the Church. She had only seen her from the back then and she hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of the person who had smashed their window in. But apart from her gut feeling it made logical sense. Who the hell else would do something like this? The events occurred too close together to be unrelated.
Through her somewhat dizzied thoughts she realised that there was something more important going on. She looked to Wiles "You gotta get uniform lookin' for Fey." She said, "We're alright, he's more important right now."
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2007 21:40:28 GMT
Wiles looked conflicted. He had half-climbed onto the hood of the car, still looking the smashed vehicle over to see if he could be of some use to the two trapped detectives before the professional help arrived, and Marcus sighed. His partner was a great cop, and determined, with his heart in the right place, but dammit if he couldn’t be a royal pain in the ass sometimes.
“I should—”
Marcus didn’t give him a chance to finish. “Get off the damn car, and look for Fey,” he snapped loudly, his voice somewhat struggled but still managing to be commanding somehow. He knew he would feel bad for being so short later, but Wiles wasn’t listening, and Marcus had the feeling his own reaction had been more to do with his own pain and frustration than anything else. But he could apologise later.
As he rested his bloodied head down on his arm, which he folded loosely along the top of the wheel, he heard his partner shuffle himself off the crumpled hood of the car. He already felt guilty for snapping… dammit. Instead of concentrating on that, he focused on his sister’s hand around his shoulder, trying to think only about that contact, instead of the burning in his side, and the persistent, thick grogginess.
Stay awake, he told himself stubbornly, no matter how tempting it was to disobey his own internal command.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 22, 2007 22:03:28 GMT
She watched as Wiles cast a last look over his shoulder at the car, apparently still in two minds about what to do but then she was fairly certain she saw conviction harden his gaze and he was on his cell phone again, moving a little further away. Her eyes moved back to the distorted dash board and the one hand that remained on it pushed against it feeble. It wasn't an attempt at moving it per se; she knew she had no hope of freeing herself. It was more of a movement, a flexing of muscles to try and stave off the further refining of the painful haze she had been sitting in.
Her legs were throbbing like crazy above the dash. The blood wasn't getting down past it to her feet, she could tell because her toes felt cold and a little bit tingly and worryingly the feeling was spreading upwards, already at her ankles. She was vaguely aware of the idea that she was lucky that she hadn't broken either leg in the impact. The way they were jammed under the twisted plastic now was not all that reassuring. She blinked and tried to reclaim focus. She could already hear sirens somewhere off in the distance. They wouldn't be here much longer.
"Stay with me." She said, obviously to Marcus. Head wounds were tricky things. Falling asleep could be fatal and she wasn't about to sit there and let that happened. Numb feet be damned. "Talk to me, yeah? Let me know you're still awake in there..."
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2007 22:21:55 GMT
His sister’s voice roused him from the numb state he’d descended into, and he tensed a little, like someone starting to wake after a particularly heavy sleep, even though he hadn’t quite passed out again. He gave a low groan, and let out a breath in a wavering sigh. “I hate this car…” he grumbled, obeying her command rather feebly, but obeying it all the same. He pretty much lacked the energy to lift his head now; it was like the worst migraine in the world, and he didn’t feel like fighting through it. Right at that moment, all he wanted was painkillers, and sleep, even though he knew he couldn’t have either.
Dammit.
Marcus didn’t really hear the sirens, listening instead to the dim drone of his own blood pumping in his ears. Just as he felt like he was going to slip into the darkness again, he forced himself to hook the fingers of his bracing arm over the edge of the belt that pinned him, even though it sparked more discomfort; it woke him up, at least, and he was thankful his face was down-turned, away from Katherine. He didn’t want her to see him grimace, or grit his teeth to keep from gasping.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 25, 2007 3:03:20 GMT
Kath' nodded, not laughing but wearing a cross between a smirk and a genuinely amused smile at her brother's words, "I don't think you can call it much of a car anymore..." she said simply, looking sideways and then back at Marcus, keeping her eyes on him and her hand on his shoulder reassured her that he was still there and as long as the Ambulance didn't take it's sweet time in getting to them he would be okay. They both would. By nature she wasn't the most optimistic person, but Kath' knew that that was what she had to hang onto.
It took her mind of her legs too. Damn they were starting to hurt from the lack of feeling in them, the contradiction apparent to the detective but in no way amusing.
They didn't have to wait much longer it seemed. The sirens steadily got louder and soon they were accompanied by blue and red flashing lights. Paramedics arrived at the Driver's window, gloved and ready to assist, shining flashlights into the cab to assess the damage done to the two trapped detectives. Hopefully Fire and Rescue wouldn't be far behind.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 25, 2007 5:11:30 GMT
Marcus wanted to laugh at her remark, true as it was, but reminded himself not to. He knew better than most, from experience, what a mistimed laugh could do when you had a rib injury of any kind; even if it was just bruising, a sudden, even if only brief, laugh, could cause pain, and right at that moment, he didn’t exactly want any more than he had to have. “Remind me to tell the Captain to check these damn things,” he said, head still down. “They should have airbags, right?” Of course, he’d only just really noticed they hadn’t worked; his thoughts were a little scattered, and with good reason.
When flashlight beams penetrated the cracked glass of the battered vehicle, Marcus winced, glad he hadn’t had his head up at the time. He knew it wasn’t so much a normal migraine as it was the concussion, but the bright light was bad enough for the suddenness of it, having appeared without warning. He sighed, wondering if he ought to lift his head to show he was actually alive.
He groggily registered the second set of sirens, hearing them somehow beyond the voices of the paramedics outside the car, and hoping that it was Fire and Rescue, and not another ambulance; he just wanted out of the car, treatment be damned for the time being. Even though he wasn’t remotely claustrophobic, it was beginning to feel too cramped, and it was making him almost nervous, ridiculously.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 26, 2007 2:14:15 GMT
Kath snorted slightly but winced, "I was wondering what must'a got cut from the budget to make room for that new copier and fax system. I guess we found out the hard way, uh?" She was straining around to try and see whether it was Fire and Rescue or another ambulance but a Paramedic who had climbed over the hood of the car once he decided it was stable enough to do so, was telling her not to. Forcefully too. The other was assessing the damaged done both to and around Marcus, she might have pointed out that she thought he had concussion if it wasn't apparent that the paramedic had already come to that conclusion.
"Look, I'm fine," she huffed sitting back all the same and letting the guy take a proper look at her. Her head was spinning a little if she was honest and the blood was still steadily making its way down over her upper lip. "I'd be better if I wasn't still trapped in this thing..."
The paramedic nodded, "Fire and Rescue just arrived Ma'am-"
"-Detective." She cut across him sharply. She wasn't sure why the distinction was quite so important right now but it just... was. "Get 'em over here already."
"Detective. Things are moving as fast as they can now, please sit still while I examine you?" He sounded patient and Kath' sighed, a sigh that broke into a cough. Her chest hurt like hell and she was simply trying not to think about her legs too much. The guy at her window and shone his torch down there and given a concerned noise a few moments ago and she assumed that that meant they would get her, and more importantly Marcus out of the crumpled remains of the car soon.
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 26, 2007 3:19:37 GMT
He wanted to laugh at his sister’s joke, knowing she was trying to lighten the mood, and at the same time, keep him conscious and responsive, but he settled for a strained kind of chuckle of a noise, and a shift of his head to show he heard her, and appreciated the effort. He could hear movement outside and on the car, and found himself lifting his head, eyes narrowing and brow furrowing in a pained wince as the action caused a new bout of dizziness, and the flashlights inspired a new throb in his skull.
Whereas the window on Kath’s side of the car had shattered out of its frame completely during the roll, Marcus’ was, albeit badly fractured and loose, still in place. That made the paramedic’s job harder, and the man had been forced to, carefully, climb through the hole that had once been a windshield in the back of the car. He managed not to fall on his face in the back of the car, coming up between the two front seats holding a cell phone. “This was on the floor,” he said to the two of them, offering it to Katherine as a kind of afterthought after he saw the male detective’s dazed expression.
Deiniol’s phone… Marcus had forgotten all about it. “His… his mom, he was talking to his mom…”
“Okay, Detective,” the paramedic said to him, “just take it easy so I can check you out, all right?” He looked Marcus over. “Can you sit back for me?”
Inwardly, Marcus groaned, but attempted to do so anyway, managing to straighten himself a little before a sharp twinge in his side made him stop, abruptly, eyes closing tightly and jaw clenching.
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Katherine
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I built my life around you.
Posts: 79
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Post by Katherine on Jan 26, 2007 20:21:58 GMT
Katherine took the phone and looked at it. The screen was cracked and blank. It looked like the call had cut off during the crash and she was relieved that Deiniol's mother wouldn't have heard much. At least she hoped the woman hadn't. There was also the selfish aspect that she wouldn't have to deal with talking to the woman immediately, if there was need to later on she would be contacted and Kath' knew that the task probably wouldn't fall to her. So she held the cell phone in one hand and tugged at her strap with the other while the paramedic assessed her, checking for head wounds, rating her responses and pupil dilation. It was only a minute or so more when the Fire and Rescue crew came into view and Kath breathed a painful sigh of relief.
Finally they were going to get out of this wreck.
They spent some time checking around the outside of the wreck, for stress points or something. Kath' was pretty sure she heard them saying they were going to tow the secondary, unoccupied vehicle out of the way before they started cutting. She looked at Marcus and the paramedic looking at him and then at her own, through the window, "If my belt wasn't jammed and my legs weren't trapped I could just climb outta this thing you know," she glanced back, "Any chance of a rush?"
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Marcus
Human
LAPD Detective: Homicide
I don't need to fight to prove I'm right; I don't need to be forgiven.
Posts: 97
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Post by Marcus on Jan 27, 2007 1:06:24 GMT
Marcus’ own paramedic seemed to be of the same opinion as Katherine; from where he was positioned in the vehicle, he couldn’t assess just how bad the younger detective’s head wound was.
A brief conversation ensued about the paramedics staying where they were during the cutting of the damaged car, and even as they spoke, the other vehicle was being secured and towed back; the groaning and grinding of it as it was pulled back up the stairs made Marcus’ ‘migraine’ worse, but he kept quiet, knowing the necessity of it, settling for a hearty grimace instead. It wouldn’t be long now. Even as he thought that, a fireman appeared at his window, making him start suddenly; his aching side didn’t appreciate the movement, but for a second, he was too surprised to react, and even when he felt the pain, he fought against it. They were working as fast as they could, and even if only inadvertently, he didn’t want to pressure them.
“You guys just stay completely still while they work, okay? It’s safe, but we don’t wanna tempt fate, right?” The paramedic in the back seat glanced from one detective to the other. Marcus felt like reminding him they were injured, not idiotic, but held his tongue. Sarcasm wouldn’t help…
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