Black Tie Event

Chapter Ten

"You didn't tell me you had family friends in Green Falls," Beckett commented ironically as we got back in the car. 

"You know what he meant by family," I said. "They're connected."

"Well, that's two more to take off your list. You're going to be fine, Hayden."

"Fine? They're walking all over this town. We left the house for five minutes and ran into two of them."

"Hey, I'm the one who went chasing them down, okay? It's on me."

"It doesn't work like that. Yes you were after them, but they're not after you."

She sighed, coming to a stop at a red light. "They're after you."

I was quiet for a long while.

"I'm not looking for any--"

"Sympathy, I know. You don't want everyone watching your ass. And don't worry, because honestly I don't have the time to be watching out for you. But Hayden, you're my partner now, and you know what partners have to do."

"Well, don't think this is all about me. Now they know we're partners."

"That drug deal was pathetic," she dismissed. "That wasn't top of the line crack cocaine they were moving, it was two quarters of cheap pot. I doubt the gang will be crushed."

"They will be if you got in the middle of something more serious," I warned. "Allison, when I investigated that homicide, I had no idea what I was doing to them. They're this big sporadic network, and just walking in on a snippet of their lives isn't substantial. You never know what scheme they're in the middle of, or what part of it you're screwing up."

"Kim, you busted a first degree murder. You had to know there was something big going on."

"Yeah, but what I didn't know was that I'd taken out the area's biggest narco-king and shone the light on all of his connects."

"Until you got shot," she gathered.

I sighed. "Yeah, until I got shot."

"What's it like?"

I made a face. She'd caught me off guard. "Getting shot?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Allison, um...it hurts a little, but, you know, more like just a slight pinch. There's a little bleeding, but usually it goes away..."

"Okay, Hayden, you've made your point." 

"Honestly," I began on a more serious note. "The pain didn't last long. It was...blinding, when it happened, but, I passed out so soon after, I wasn't feeling it for long."

"Thank God for small favors," she said grimly.

"Hey, it's not that bad. Someday you'll get shot and you'll understand."

"Not all police officers get shot, Kim."

"I never said they did. But the way you piss people off, it's inevitable."

Her face fell. "You're a real bitch, Hayden."

I shrugged. "I have my days."

***

"God, was that the most ridiculous fucking list ever?" Beckett complained as she took an innumerable amount of bags from the backseat to bring them in. We both felt completely emasculated  carrying groceries instead of bodies and evidence, and the comparison was obviously in both of our minds. We felt like true housewives, which had never been either of our styles. I couldn't speak for Allison, but I knew at least personally that when I went grocery shopping for myself, I rarely came back with more than one bag, and what came home in the bag, rarely turned into anything edible.