They stood around the door waiting, but the door never opened, or was even unlocked. Shavian was shocked at the way Elliott hopped through the shattered window. The man showed no coordination with a gun or talking; in fact, at times walking seemed to be an issue. But the second he believed they’d found Junie he had the moves of a Cirque du Soleil performer.
Find Junie, find Junie.
It was his sole drive from the moment they lost her.
If she was that important to him, why did he kidnap me? I’d have been safe at home. Her mouth twisted into a frown. “He has seriously forgotten about us,” she muttered, and kicked at the door.
Roger was leaned up against the building, while Higgins and Fipps were still trying to figure out why their battering ram didn’t work; Jackson sat in the back door of the van, looking sullen.
“Well then, you know what to do, lass,” Roger said.
“Shoot him?” she said without hesitation.
“It’s a thought, but first I was thinking…” He nodded over his shoulder at the window.
“Are you kidding? You go through it! I can’t believe Elliott didn’t cut himself to ribbons on the edge of the frame. He dove through it like a some… some love sick puppy.” She crossed her arms.
“You see, I would, but I’ve moved from linebacker to linemen,” he said, patting his stomach.
“You mean linebacker to humpback,” she said, earning Roger’s glare.
“Twig.” Shavian turned at Higgins’ words. That one honestly hurt.
“Just because I’m the only one that knows what a salad is…” Her eyes went wide as she noticed that Fipps was right next to her.
“The thing is, Red… sorry,” Fipps said, grabbing her by the arm as she tried to dash past them. The three men closed around her, picking her up as she spit, kicked, and cursed every one of them to hell.
They tossed her through the window into the dark building. She landed on her rump and Roger looked in. She lay in a pool of light that pored through the window.
“Is this any way to treat a prophet of God?” she said.
“Well, I hope prophets know how to turn a deadbolt.” He waved to her and walked away.
She stood up and dusted off her jeans, turning around and found she was in a small room with no door. It looked like some kind of office, and beyond it was dark and no Elliott. “He can apparently see in the dark as well,” she grumbled. Walking slowly, Shavian ran her hand along the unfinished sheetrock of the wall as a guide. Coming to the corner she found the front door: it was outlined in a halo of sunlight where the seals were old or nonexistent.
She took a step forward and from the other side there was a loud BANG. Both doors flew inward, splintering around the locks. Shavian covered her face as the dust was kicked up.
“What the hell!” she shouted. Higgins and Fipps held the battering ram, looking at it in amazement.
“You’re right, it works a lot better when you set the weighted piston,” Fipps said and they tossed it to the ground, all funned out.
“I was-” She pointed to the way she came. “You tossed me…” She threw her hands up and turned around to walk away but ran into a large moving burlap sack of coffee.
Sure that she was about to be bitten Shavian scrambled backwards, falling on her already bruised backside. Junie poked her head around the side of the bag she was holding in a bear hug.
“You really should be careful, this place is full of things you can cut yourself on.” She then walked on around her and out the door. She headed to the SWAT van and, as Jackson was still in the way, she tossed the bag in his lap. “Start loading this up, I’m going to see if the old van starts.” Jackson oofed with the weight of it and watched her silently: if Fipps had done anything he’d gotten him to shut his mouth.
“Umm, Junie?” Roger said, he’d moved back to his door fame perch.
She was stepping carefully around Shavian again. “Yes Roger?”
“You didn’t happen to see a frantic Elliott did you?”
“Oh yeah, he’s passed out in the roaster room,” Junie said, in her unconcerned tone.
Jumping to her feet, Shavian took a step towards Junie. “You left him alone, passed out in some dark room?” she said in amazement.
“I put his head on a bag of only the best coffee beans,” Junie said.
“I-I don’t know what he sees in you!” she said, turning to find him.
