Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
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Post by Poppy on Jan 29, 2007 1:23:55 GMT
Poppy had just started to relax into the seat of the police car, telling herself that everything was over and they were all safe now when a terrible screeching and grind of metal upon metal had suddenly screamed out from behind the. Instinctively she ducked down as though expecting something to come smashing through the car – although how she felt ducking down would save her was beyond her. Nothing happened and a second later she glanced behind her to see that the car that had been following them was gone.
She clutched Iris’s arm during the next few minutes, feeling the panic rise back up in her. The young student felt as if she was going to be sick, bile coming up into her throat. She swallowed it back down, trembling as they moved back towards what was a new crash site. Poppy waited with her sister and one of the uniformed cops as Wiles rushed back to the scene. She just hoped everyone would be okay, even as fire and rescue came screaming towards them, paramedics just behind them.
She bit her lip as she watched, waiting for some news of the three in the car.
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Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
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Post by Iris on Jan 29, 2007 4:14:44 GMT
While Poppy had ducked at the sound of the car wreck behind them, Iris's photographer's instincts had taken over and she had twisted around in her seat. It was one of those things. She had thought that everything was over- that they wouldn't have to deal with anything else until they got to the police station. When that had been proven wrong, she had done the only thing that she had known to do: take in the situation.
When Poppy had gripped her arm, Iris had turned her attention to her sister, putting her hand on the younger woman's shoulder in hopes of calming her. Though she had on a strong front for her sister's peace of mind, Iris trembled inside when they had started back to the scene of the crash. While she had turned to see what had happened, she didn't want to see it up close. That was a little too much even for her, but she kept that carefully hidden under an expertly placed mask.
When they had stopped, she had wanted badly to see if there was something she could do. To help in any way that she could. Iris didn't offer that though. Instead, she stayed with Poppy, watching and waiting like her sister.
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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 29, 2007 14:26:50 GMT
Katherine was not nearly so patient as her brother. She tapped her fingers against the edge of her seat, one hand covered her eyes briefly and then began to wipe at her bloody nose once more as the second car was pulled back noisily. The paramedic gave her a gauze cloth to hold under the flow and she took it silently. She knew she looked irritated, but she couldn't help it. She had never wanted out of a car so bad in her entire life. The firemen had been talking and gesturing around the car for a few minutes and now they were getting their equipment in place, they were going to cut around the trapped detectives in order to get them out with the least amount of movement possible.
Through wisps of displaced hair she looked sideways again, her neck aching as she did so but going ignored. Of all her aches and pains her neck was the least of her worries. Kath' had the feeling that she would have a better idea of just where hurt the most once all this was over. The paramedics were going about making sure they were protected from the inevitable sparks that would be flying soon but she could still see her brother. She didn't speak, after a moment it wouldn't have mattered if she had spoken, because the machinery clicked and screamed to life and Katherine did not envy Marcus his concussion.
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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 29, 2007 20:04:10 GMT
Marcus suddenly thought he had never heard anything so loud in his entire life. As soon as the firemen started working on cutting, he grimaced heavily, the sounds of grinding and protesting metal piercing his skull and making an already terrible pain worse, and on reflex, he half-raised a hand to brace his head, before reminding himself he might agitate whatever wound he had already suffered. And really, he wasn’t in the mood to make his own condition worse.
To try and distract himself, even though he thought he could hear the paramedic telling him to sit perfectly still, he wrapped his right hand around the wheel, so tight that his knuckles whitened. He forced his blue eyes open, fighting to focus them on the hand that gripped, to give himself something else to at least try and think about as they were slowly freed from the wrecked car.
His patience started to wear thin after a few minutes of putting up with the cacophony of the work though, but any protests he might have voiced would have been lost under the din, he knew, so he bit them back, no matter how desperately he suddenly wanted out of the car. Hell, even if he fell out of the car after they were cut loose, he didn’t care; he just wanted out.
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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 30, 2007 18:07:49 GMT
They obeyed the orders to stay perfectly still and the firemen worked hard and fast to get the trapped Detectives free. There was a lot of scraping metal and sparks flying all in the inside of what had probably once been a very nice store in Downtown LA. Bits and pieces came away, the doors came off relatively quickly and Kath was grateful when the seat belt that had jammed so tightly was sliced free. She could breathe properly again, through there was a burning sensation where the belt had been. She looked to the side at Marcus most of the time, seeing him struggling with the obvious pain the loud noises were inducing if anything made her more impatient and irritable.
They had brought gurneys down awkwardly for the pair. Katherine however was not all that inclined to get onto one if she cold help it, she was stubborn. However as the dashboard came away from her legs it was all she could do not to yelp, her head rocked back and her eyes squeezed shut as pain jumped and skipped with her nerves. Maybe getting ton the gurney wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, for saying that she couldn't really feel hr legs so to speak which was nauseating enough, they hurt like hell.
As they helped her out of the remains of the car that had been hacked to pieces to free them a glance told her they were moving Marcus too. He was hurt worse then she was, he had taken the brunt of the rash and she was much more concerned about his well being over her own so seeing that they were making steady progress was reassuring to say the least.
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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 30, 2007 20:26:16 GMT
As his own belt came free, Marcus realised it didn’t make it any easier to breathe; if anything, it just made his own pain that much sharper. It felt as though his head and ribs were competing, to see which could hurt him the most, and frankly, he didn’t appreciate the contest. He didn’t particularly want either of them to win. With the removal of the door and the belt, his own escape from the car was perhaps easier than Katherine’s; the collision had warped the steering column, but at a kind of upward angle, away from his legs, thankfully. As he moved to get out of the car, with the help of paramedics, he realised his arm and leg on the left side ached in a dull, constant way, no doubt from the impact.
Moving proved problematic for another reason. His concussion didn’t appreciate the activity, and his head immediately started throbbing even worse, and the area around him almost seemed to pitch at an angle. With a struggled intake, he stumbled back. The paramedics caught him, not without difficulty. They steadied him back against the car, and brought one of the gurneys over. But, being a Rivera, Marcus refused to lay on it. Sitting was fine for now.
As they finally checked the severity of his head wound, he looked to Katherine, reassuring himself as only a younger brother would that his sister was alive, and right there, and he could see her, even though he was at a distance. He was vaguely aware of Wiles jogging back onto the scene. The fact that he was out of breath and sorely lacking in the company of one church secretary didn’t make Marcus feel any better, either, and he closed his eyes as the paramedics continued their examination.
Dammit.
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Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
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Post by Poppy on Feb 5, 2007 4:23:46 GMT
Her hands didn’t let up in their firm grasp of Iris’s arm as she watched what had once been a normal car wrenched away, glass windows shattered and metal frame work twisted horribly out of place. With the car out of the way she could see much clearer into the destroyed shop front and at the people being treated below.
Poppy blinked a few times, stepping forward slightly in order to get a better view of the scene going on below them. She ignored some of the mutterings and looks sent her way from some of the other people crowed around the scene. She knew that to some of the workers, she would seem like one of those ghoulish onlookers, who delighted in car accidents. There was no way for them to know she knew those inside, even if only slightly. She had rather liked the male Detective Rivera, he had been kind to her.
“I only see two people…” she muttered softly, head whipping around to look at Iris, a worried look in her dark eyes. There had been three in the car… Where was Denny? The female was clearly not him and the male was recognisable as the detective.
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Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
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Post by Iris on Feb 5, 2007 4:36:25 GMT
Iris had moved forward willingly with her sister, wanting to both check on the state of the people who had been in the car as well as keep a close watch on Poppy. She didn't particularly care what sort of looks might be coming her way- goodness knew that she got them all the time when she was toting around her camera trying to get accident scene photos and such for the paper.
When Poppy commented about only seeing two people, Iris felt as if her heart skipped a beat. Had it been anyone but her sister, she would have said something like 'That can't be. There has to be three.' But she knew that Poppy was right and it took her only a brief moment to figure out who was missing.
"Oh, no... Denny..." She let her eyes scan the area quickly, hoping for some sign of him but found none. There was nothing to help her figure out what might have happened to him and that made her extremely worried. There should have been some sign and she very highly doubted that he would have been able to get out and walk away of his own accord, especially considering what shape the car and the detectives within it were in.
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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 Feb 5, 2007 22:43:31 GMT
It was an odd sensation, to not be able to feel the legs that were holding you up and yet to know that they hurt. Katherine didn't dare to look down, she felt sick to her stomach and her head was spinning as various hands helped her to the gurney and finally got her strapped up in a sitting position. Both siblings seemed adamant hat they did not need to lie down and from her vantage point she too spotted Wiles moving back towards the scene; without Deiniol Fey.
She let her head rock back and her eyes close as the gurney beneath her started to move. The man had been in their care when he'd been snatched and even though she had the feeling that they would hardly be blamed for the circumstances that led to his kidnapping, which was one hundred percent what it was in Kath's mind, she couldn't help feeling responsible. Maybe that was adding to the light headed nauseous sensation. She only forced her eyes open so that she could remain sure Marcus was alright, that he too was being moved and her brain turned reluctantly from the past events to the future ones.
Mainly the Hospital.
She was not looking forwards to it. The questions, the examinations. The parents. As selfish as the thoughts were they didn't last long. Soon enough she was back to fretting about their lost charge, the reaction of Captain Hodge the least of her worries. It had been a long time since she'd fumbled on the job and without exception she hated herself for it afterwards.
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Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
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Post by Poppy on Feb 5, 2007 23:50:10 GMT
She had been hoping she was wrong. That perhaps she was just going mad or the shock of the night was taking its toll and making her tired, missing tiny details… like a tall, suited Welshman. Still, Poppy had been hoping she was wrong and that Iris would laugh at her and point out Denny sitting by the ambulance or something. Instead she had to hear Iris’s tone, the worry in it making her insides clench painfully. Poppy didn’t like it when her sister got upset or worried.
The gurney’s that held the Detectives inside the shop front began to move and Poppy pushed forward again, knowing that Iris was right behind her. Part of her wanted to question them, to find out where Denny was but she was almost afraid of the answer. The larger part of her was just worried about them and wanted to reassure herself that they at least, were okay.
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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 Feb 6, 2007 3:37:15 GMT
Marcus saw them wheel his sister past as a mask was slipped over his face just to, apparently, ensure he could catch his breath as he tried not to sit with too much of a slouch; his ribs wouldn’t thank him for that, as he knew, and as Wiles approached, he saw the concern in his partner’s gaze, but that wasn’t what was on his mind. He pulled the mask off, ignoring the paramedic’s advice to keep it on, and said, “Where is he?” His voice sounded slightly strained.
Wiles shook his head, cell phone in one hand, and replied, “I’ve got uniforms patrolling the surrounding area, and I’m gonna get cars on the streets beyond the immediate vicinity; the ones that can’t be easily covered on foot.” He changed the topic, “You okay, man?”
Before Marcus could respond, he heard an officer telling someone they needed to move back, and turned his head, carefully, shutting out the sound of the paramedic’s frustrated sigh; no doubt they were mumbling about how they couldn’t examine his head wound if he wouldn’t sit still. When Marcus saw who the uniform was trying to shoo, he summoned his voice; “Hey! Hey… she’s okay. Let ‘er through.” It was the younger sister, her sibling in tow; Poppy. That was it. Marcus believed they had a right to know what was going on, especially if he and Kath’ were bound for St. Benedict’s.
“Detective, you really need to keep the mask on,” one of the paramedics insisted, moving to take it from his hand and reapply it.
“I’m not gonna stop breathin’ if I don’t put it back on this second,” Marcus ‘snapped’, meeting the other man’s gaze insistently. “Just gimme a minute…”
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Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
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Post by Poppy on Feb 6, 2007 3:54:39 GMT
As far as Poppy was concerned, Detective Rivera was the most amazing man she had ever met. He had just come out of a car crash and while he wasn’t walking, he looked like he was hurt bad and yet he was still talking, still refusing to be treated until other things had been dealt with. It didn’t hurt that he wasn’t bad looking either and while Poppy had a horrid feeling she was maybe, just maybe developing a slight crush on him, it wasn’t something she was going to admit to anytime soon. Not when she should be thinking about his health, his sister’s health, the whereabouts of Denny and of course, the most important thing of all – her own sister.
Her breath caught in her throat as the detective looked in her direction, saying it was alright for the two to pass and Poppy and Iris moved again, Poppy’s fingers still not having left her sister’s arm. She rather thought they might have frozen in place.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly, blushing a little as she spoke and nervously chewing on her lip. Behind her, Iris stood, no doubt ready to ask the questions Poppy wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answers to. But then Iris had always been so much braver than her.
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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 Feb 6, 2007 4:14:20 GMT
He might have nodded had it not been for the very-likely concussion he was suffering from. His head was pounding enough as it was, and he didn’t need to encourage it to hurt anymore, not when it was paining him less than his side. The paramedics were still doing… whatever it was they were doing, and Marcus was trying to keep doing his job at the same time, even if they wouldn’t let him move around.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” he said to the younger sister, managing a fleeting smile to reassure her. The speed with which it fled his face was probably evidence that he didn’t quite feel the expression, and the gravity of the situation was playing on his mind. He and Kath’ were hurt, the man they had promised to protect was just gone, and their suspect was at large. He only hoped the CSIs could find something in that bloodbath back at the church; without it, they only had the statements of the two sisters to go on, and he knew from experience what nerves could do to a memory. People forgot details, or confused descriptions; he couldn’t fault them, but he couldn’t help but feel negative as he sat there on the gurney, listening to the stream of muttered conversation between the two paramedics.
“Thanks,” he added to Poppy after a second, appreciating the thought. She looked frightened, and he wished he had something to say to her that could make her feel better, but as he shifted slightly against the pressure one paramedic was putting on his back to judge the damage he’d sustained, he had to admit to himself that he didn’t have anything. He could see from the older sister’s face that she had questions she was eager to ask, and despite the fact that he knew he should be on his way to the hospital, he was willing for her to ask them. His own pain aside, he was still on duty; if they needed answers, he would try and provide them.
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Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
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Post by Iris on Feb 6, 2007 4:45:28 GMT
Iris had followed Poppy forward, moving past the police officers and allowing herself to be drawn closer to the detectives. She would have moved forward on her own eventually, but Poppy pulling her along didn’t allow her to hesitate on that. That was just as well, though. The sooner she moved forward, the more likely it was that she would get to ask the question on her mind. She understood what had happened- it was, after all, very easy to see- but there was something that couldn’t be explained simply by taking a look around.
“Where’s Denny?” She was glad that the detectives were alive- of course she was- but Denny’s absence was rather glaringly obvious and she simply couldn’t see how he could have gotten out of the car on his own if the detectives who had been with him were in such rough shape.
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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 Feb 6, 2007 20:36:11 GMT
Marcus gestured for the paramedic to move away as vehemently as he could with his injuries, and looked to Iris, the older sister, as she asked her question; it had been the inevitable one that, frankly, the detective had been afraid of, in his own way. He held off sighing because of the strain it would put on his ribcage, and looked from his partner to the sisters.
Wiles opened his mouth to try and answer, but Marcus beat him to it; it was his place, after all, really. “During the crash, we both lost consciousness, or near enough.” He made a small gesture to his own sister, and continued, “When we came to, the back window of the car had been broken right through, from the outside. We… believe… he was taken from the vehicle.”
Sometimes the truth just plain sucked, but Marcus believed in honesty, and since he and Kath’ weren’t going to be able to go over this at the station with Poppy and Iris, he wanted them to be aware of the situation now, while he had the chance to tell them himself.
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