Chapter Text
~One Week Later~
Officer Albrecht stared out the shattered window onto the scene below. He watched as the paramedics covered up the absolutely shattered body of the man who had, less than an hour before, been thrown from where he stood. He turned from the sad scene outside toward the ongoing situation inside the loft. The place had been torn apart. Papers and photographs were scattered everywhere. Furniture was thrown across the room. Some of it looked nearly as splintered as- he shook his head, clearing that thought away. This case would be stuck in his mind long enough.
“Sir!” One of the paramedics shouted from across the room. “She’s holding on, but we have to get her to the hospital!” He held the hand of an absolutely brutalized woman. A clear mask pumped her system full of desperately needed oxygen, but the pain she was in couldn’t have been more obvious.
“What the hell are you waiting on?! Do it!” He shouted back. They got to work without another word. The paramedics lifted her onto a stretcher as quickly and gently as they could and rushed her out of the room. A few of the other cops in the room looked at Albrecht with pity. He’d made the right call from a moral standpoint, but they all knew he’d catch a write up for it from the detective.
He turned back to the scene, ignoring his co-workers' stares. A nearly pristine paper in the pile of scattered memories caught his eye. He leaned down and picked it up. He quickly glanced over the paper and sighed sadly. It was a wedding invitation, dated for the next day at sunset. He held onto the paper as one of the cops called him over.
“What have we got here?” The man asked Albrecht. He gestured at the now blood-splattered wedding dress.
Albrecht looked away from the dress. “Eric Draven and Shelly Webster. The wedding was tomorrow night.” He looked around, now noting all the preparations scattered amongst the chaos. A bouquet of flowers and the vase they’d been sitting in were scattered across the floor, water soaking into the floorboards. A basket of matching boutonnières was knocked over, with several of the delicate flowers crushed.
The other cop shook his head, knocking Albrecht out of his observations. “Who the fuck gets married on Halloween anyhow?” He said, his voice carrying a level of judgment that seemed inappropriate for the situation.
He took another look around, “Nobody, I guess.” He replied, his tone not matching his colleague’s. He stepped out of the loft and down the stairs. Outside, the woman, Shelly, was being loaded onto a rolling bed to be taken to the hospital.
The detective was shouting at the paramedics, “I did not give you permission to move her!” He whipped around as Albrecht exited the building. “Is this the victim?”
Albrecht shook his head and layered sarcasm on thick, “No sir, it’s Amelia Earhart. We found her, you missed it.” He chuckled, relieved as the paramedics used the detective’s momentary distraction to start loading Shelly into the ambulance. Albrecht ignored the detective’s biting remarks and rushed over to her side.
Sarah rolled up on her skateboard and froze, seeing the scene in front of her. She ran over to Shelly’s bedside. Shelly groaned and spoke, despite the oxygen mask in her way. “Where’s Eric?..” she asked, her eyes darting around, looking around for any sign of him.
Albrecht’s eyes wandered to the sheet-covered body still laying on the pavement for a split second before he shook his head. “Look, don’t worry about him right now.” He did everything he could to keep his tone neutral and calming. He helped the paramedics lift the bed into the ambulance.
“Tell him to take care of Sarah!” She said, her voice edging on panic. Albrecht nodded acceptance of her request, which seemed to calm her down just a little. The medical personnel piled into the ambulance and closed the door.
The officer stepped off to the side, pulling the teen away gently. “Are you Sarah?” He asked. Her slight nod was all the confirmation he needed. “Look, your sister.. she’s gonna be fine-“
Sarah cut him off. “She’s not my sister. Shelly just takes care of me. Her and Eric..” her words lost their bite as she glanced back over at the sheet. The wind from the storm rolling in had blown it back just a tiny bit. His cut and bloody hand was partially visible. “..You’re lying to her about Eric.” She turned back to the cop, still not meeting his eyes.
Albrecht kept his voice as gentle as he could. “I had too.” He internally winced at how patronizing that sounded, but rolled with it.
“And you’re lying to me about Shelly.” She said with the certainty of a child who’d already seen far more bad in their life than anyone should have too. “She’s going to die too, isn’t she?”
He couldn’t think of a true response that wouldn’t sound like a lie. “We’re going to do everything we can.” He said, knowing it was a half-answer at best. He shook his head and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You said they took care of you.. is there anywhere else you can go? Anywhere I can send word if she pulls through?”
Sarah nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. “Yeah..” her voice shook. “They’ll want to know what happened too.” She couldn’t help her eyes from wandering to the scene again. Eric’s hand had been re-covered. Her eyes instead wandered up to the shattered window that all of them had gathered around so many times to watch the few stars that shone bright enough to peek through the city lights. “I don’t know the address, but I can get there..” she forced her gaze back down to the officer.
Albrecht shook his head. “You shouldn’t be out on the streets by yourself.” He looked around, knowing he had to get back on the scene. “Look,” he pulled out a piece of paper from one of his pockets, “I don’t like you being alone, but I have to find out who did this. If you need anything, let me know, okay?” He handed her one of his cards from his days as a detective. The number on it was still good, even if the title was inaccurate.
Sarah nodded and shoved it in one of her jacket pockets. “Thanks..” she took one last look at everything and turned away. Partially because she knew she needed to leave and partially to hide the tears threatening to fall. She walked for about a block, trying unsuccessfully to force herself to calm down, before she put her skateboard on the pavement. The rain began to pour as she headed toward Gunner and Brion’s place.
~~~
Gunner raised an eyebrow when a knock rang out. He glanced at the clock. The bright red numbers showed that it was after midnight, nearly one am. He rolled off his spot on the couch and over to the door. The chain lock jangled as he pulled open the door a crack. “Sarah?” He said, a little shocked. She was clearly soaked to the bone. “What are you doing here? Give me just a second.” He closed the door and undid the lock before throwing the door back open. “What’s wrong?” He ushered her inside and locked the door behind her. “Brion, get a towel!”
Sarah dropped her skateboard and bag in a heap. She collapsed on the couch, her whole body shaking from the cold rain and the tears that she finally felt safe enough to let fall. She opened her mouth to try to explain why she was there, but all that she could manage was a croak before she had to curl back in on herself and sob.
Brion stumbled into the room. His glasses were off-kilter on his face like he’d just slapped them on. He flipped the light switch on, flooding the room with a warm yellow light. It took him a second to process what was going on in the living room. As soon as it hit him he rushed over. He wrapped Sarah’s shoulders in the towel and a hug. “Hey, hey, it’s alright.” He paused when Gunner sat down on the other side and pulled the couch blanket over her lap. “Take your time, we’re here.”
The three of them stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but the clock claimed was less than an hour. Sarah crying it out, trying to compose herself, and Brion and Gunner doing everything in their power to help. They held off asking her anything again until her breathing finally got closer to even and she stopped shivering.
Gunner was the first to speak. “Are you okay?” He asked. Sarah nodded, then, after a moment, shook her head no. “Are you ready to talk, or do you still need chill time?” His voice was gentle, much more than usual.
Sarah took a deep, shaky breath. Then another. On the third she felt steady enough to say, “I’m sorry for waking you guys up..” she shivered, though it was less intense than before. “Especially like this..” Thunder rolled outside as the rain continued to pour. She couldn’t help but think of how hard it would be to track anyone down in this weather.
Brion let her go enough to look her in the eye. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” He let her go the rest of the way, but stayed close, just in case she still needed a hug. “Our door is always open. Though I have to ask,” he glanced at Gunner for a second, who gave a small nod, “Why’d you come here in this storm instead of going to Eric and Shelly’s? They’re closer, and you know how dangerous it is to be out tonight. It’s Devil’s Night.”
Sarah winced, biting back another round of tears. They needed to.. they deserved to know. “I..” she started, “I know it’s not safe.. but I couldn’t stay there.” She had to stop herself.
Gunner’s mind immediately began running through possibilities. “Why not?” He asked carefully. “You know they would never turn you away. And even if those night owls were already asleep, you’ve got a key to get in..” he watched Sarah’s face closely as he spoke, trying to figure out what had gotten the usually unshakable teen so upset.
She nodded. “I know.. I couldn’t stay there because.. because it’s a crime scene…” She stuttered. She took another deep breath. “Because Eric’s dead and Shelly’s probably not going to make it!” She blurted out. The shocked silence that followed was palpable. She began shaking again as the two beside her processed.
A few times Brion opened his mouth to ask if he’d heard her right, but the tears beginning to fall again told him everything he needed to know. “..what?” He said, finally breaking the silence. His voice was barely a whisper. He tried to meet her eyes, but she had them closed, trying to block out the world for a moment.
Gunner stayed frozen for nearly a full minute longer. When his brain finally caught up with him, he said nothing and stood up. He moved robotically to the phone mounted in the wall. Without even having to look he dialed the number for Tex and Moe’s current place. Despite how often they had to move, he always memorized the number. If his mind could have more than one thought at a time in that moment, he would have thanked himself for that. The phone rang for quite a while. Well past when he normally would have given up on getting ahold of them.
On the other end of the line, Tex rolled off the lumpy mattress, having been awoken by the phone. Moe was still passed out. That man could sleep through anything. He picked up. “Who the hell is calling this late tonight of all nights?” He said, his tone short and groggy.
“Tex. It’s Gunner.” He kept the shakiness out of his voice, but only barely. “You and Moe need to get your asses over here. Right now.”
Tex raised an eyebrow. He glanced out the window just as lightning flashed. “In this weather? The roads will be soup! What the hell could be so-“
Gunner cut him off. “Something happened at the loft.” His voice broke, unable to keep himself composed any longer. “Sarah saw the aftermath.. Eric is dead. Shelly’s hurt really bad, too.” He took a deep breath.
The line was silent for too long of a moment. “No, no there’s no fucking way.” His mind raced. “Moe and I are going to go by the loft first. See what’s going on.” He shook his head, refusing to believe it. “Maybe.. maybe she didn’t see what she thought she did.”
“Please just get here. We’ll go together.” He practically begged.
Tex pulled the phone cord as long as he could and reached over to Moe to shake him awake. “Fine. But I want you all ready to jump in the van the moment we pull up.” Moe began to stir, his groan audible even over the phone. He went back over to the phone hung up without another word.
The line went dead. “Fuck.. fuck.” Gunner paced around the room. He shook his head. One of them had to be practical here, and judging by the shaky hugs happening on the couch and Tex’s reaction, that job fell to him. He made his way back over to Sarah and Brion. “Hey..” he said, his voice gentle. “Moe and Tex are on their way.” He looked at Sarah, “I’m so sorry, I know this is a lot, but I need to know. Is Shelly still there or have they taken her to the hospital?”
Sarah looked up at him. “H-hospital..” she wiped her face on her sleeve. “They.. they were putting her in the ambulance when I got there..” she wrapped the towel and blanket around herself further.
Gunner nodded. “Okay. That’s good. There’s a chance she’ll pull through.” He paused. He took a shaky breath and braced himself for the answer. “..and Eric?”
Sarah buried herself further into Brion’s arms. She shook her head, needing a moment to form more words. “He..” her voice was muffled, “He’s gone..” she gulped in air. “..he was on the street in a pile of glass.. the window was broken.” With that her voice gave out into more tears.
Brion pulled her in closer without saying a word. His own face was streaked with tears, but he was doing his best to stay strong for now. He picked her up and stood from the couch all in the same motion. The towel and blanket were still wrapped around her. He looked at Gunner. “Grab a couple extra blankets..” His voice was nearly as unsteady as Sarah’s. “She’s still freezing.. and we could be in the hospital for a while.”
Gunner nodded, quickly ducking into the bedroom. He glanced at the pair of secondhand suits he and Brion had for tomorrow’s wedding hanging in the closet for just a moment. He bit back the wave of pain that threatened to break his composure and forced himself back on task. He grabbed several spare blankets and slung them over his shoulder. He pulled a couple more towels from the bathroom cabinet as well, just in case. He went back to the pair. Brion still had Sarah held to his shoulder. He couldn’t help but think about how terrible the scene must have been for someone with as strong of an independent streak as her to allow herself to be held like a child. He pushed the thought out of his mind for now and added her things to the pile in his arms. He sighed and unlocked the door. “C’mon.” He said as he held the door open for them. Brion shuffled through the doorway, careful to keep Sarah from bumping on the frame. Gunner followed and locked the door behind them. He double and tripled checked the locks. Worrying about their apartment getting broken into was low on his current list of priorities, but it was always a possibility.
The trio stood half in the doorway, half under the entryway awning as they waited for the telltale rumble of Moe’s van. They didn’t have to wait long. Tires squealed as Moe took the corner far faster than usual and slammed into a full stop in front of the apartment.
“Shit.. he wouldn’t drive like that unless he’s seriously pissed off.” Brion muttered. Only Sarah heard him over the rain, but Gunner was thinking the same. They all rushed the few steps through the rain and into the back of the van. They half expected for Moe to peel off the moment the door shut behind them. Instead, the interior was uncomfortably quiet. No radio played. The only sound was the rain hitting the metal roof and the click of seatbelts.
Once they were all in, Moe finally released his white-knuckle grip on the wheel. He shifted the van into park and turned around. Anger was clear on his face. “What the hell happened?” He said, his eyes on Sarah. “Who did this? Do you know?” His shoulders shook from the tension in every fiber of his being.
Tex placed a hand on his shoulder as Sarah shook her head no. She curled in on herself a bit at his tone. “Moe, Gunner said she only saw the aftermath.” Tex said as gently as he could. “Don’t take this out on her.”
Moe unwillingly relaxed his shoulders a bit. “I’m sorry.” He forced his tone to be as calm as he could, but it wasn’t much less than it was before. He turned back to the wheel, “Let’s just get to the loft. Maybe one of those fucking cops will actually make themselves useful.” Finally, he shifted the car into gear and sped off.