Chapter Twenty Two
If she’d had any God-given sense, she probably would have been dangerous. She had no idea how she’d gotten herself into this mess, but she knew it was insanely uncomfortable for her! Here she was, stuck in a tiny wardrobe box, with her only source of air and vision being a couple of holes to air out the costumes. She was pretty sure that unless JC and Melanie finished up their stupid conversation, she would be history. What a way to go.
She wanted desperately to shift in the box, but she knew doing so would cause either quite a racket, or cause the box to tip. That was the last thing she needed. She had come into the dressing room almost an hour earlier, with the intentions of doing an impromptu search. If Melanie had anything suspicious, most likely it would be concealed in the duffle bag she carried with her at all times. She had just located the bag when the sounds of two voices outside the door alerted her that Melanie was returning to the room, and with JC!
Deciding that the safest hiding place would be inside of the wardrobe box, she had quickly turned herself into a pretzel and managed to squeeze in, though just barely.
“I don’t know, JC,” she could clearly hear Melanie saying. “I just don’t think Alana likes me very much.”
Hmpf, smart chick, Alana thought bitterly. She rolled her eyes at the whiney quality of the blonde’s voice. What a cry baby! Somebody call the wah-mbulance!
“No sweetie. That’s not it all. It’s just… Alana is a… difficult person at first,” he said. “She’s kind of hard to get along with until you know. It’s not just you. She’s like with everybody!”
What?! Hard to get along with?! Difficult person?! Who the hell did he think he was?! And since when did she tell him he could call other girls ‘sweetie’?! Before she could stop it, a grunt of indignation slipped out, before she clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide.
JC cocked an eyebrow as he turned his head slightly towards the black wardrobe box in the center of the room. Had it just grunted at him?! A glance back at Melanie told him that she hadn’t heard it, thankfully. She was still rambling about why Alana didn’t like her.
“Listen Mel. I promise you. It’s nothing personal. I’ll even have a little chat with Miss Alana the next time I see her. It’ll all work out,” he assured her with a smile. A glance down at his watch told him that it was almost time to get ready for sound check. “Listen… Christina told me that the wardrobes got mixed up on the way in. I’ve got yours in my room. Can I get you to go tell the guys that I’ll be just a few minutes late? I’ll grab what I need out of here for now and then I’ll have one of the crew guys come down and switch them while we’re doing sound check.” He said, pleased when she nodded and obliged.
Glancing around at the clothes surrounding her, Alana cocked an eyebrow. Mixed up wardrobes? What? These definitely were not JC’s—
Oh shit.
Waiting until Melanie had left the room, JC strode over to the black box in the center of the room and tugged on the door, cocking an eyebrow rather sternly when Alana toppled out, her face about five shades of red.
“Alana Berkeley. Didn’t your momma ever tell you that eavesdropping was NOT nice?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was…”
“You were snooping around, after I expressly forbade you from investigating Melanie. I’ve told you. She’s not the one you’re after, okay? You need to drop it now.”
“But JC I really—“
“I know that you’ve had years of training, but whatever Al. I know Melanie. She’s not the one you’re looking for. Now I’m not going to tell you again. You leave her alone.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her face set in a deep scowl.
“But I really wish you would just—“
“I really wish you just trust and respect me. Drop the nonsense with Melanie. Now.”
“Fine,” she grumbled angrily. “But just so you know… I think you’re a… a… big BRAT!”
“Mmm… takes one to know one. Love ya baby!” He said, tossing a wink over his shoulder at her before heading out of the dressing room. Letting out a loud huff, she crossed her arms over her chest again. She definitely needed to call the bureau and check on the status of those prints!
~*~
“What the hell do you mean, Tony? I need those prints!”
Alana was furious. She had sent the fingerprints from the envelope back to DC almost two months ago. Apparently, they had gotten lost in the shuffle and had not been located yet. Someone was going to die. She could feel it in her bones.
“There’s nothing I can do about it, Al. I don’t know what more you want for me. I’m not the one who screwed up.”
“Well you find out who the hell DID screw up and I swear to God, Tony, I’ll… well, I don’t know what I’ll do yet. But you can bet your over grown ass that it’ll be baaaad. Mark my words!”
“You DO know that threatening people through a third party is really pretty ineffective, right?” He asked, fighting his laughter.
“Are you smirking at me, Anthony? WIPE THE SMIRK FROM YOUR FACE! I will reach through this phone and—“
“Al, is it that time of the month for you?” He asked her. “You’re extra… @#%$ today,” he commented. “I could hang up and call next week if that suits.”
“Shut up Tony.”
He let out a sigh, putting all joking aside. “I know you need the prints, kid. I’m still at home and there’s not much I can do from here, but if you want to, I’ll see if the wife can drive me to the bureau and I’ll bust some heads in for ya.”
“No, I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous,” she said, letting out a loud sigh. “I just… can I just… confide in you for a minute?”
“You know it.”
“I know who it is, T. I just… I have a feeling. And I have more than enough circumstantial evidence to bring her in, but Josh—“
“You’re letting him get in the way of investigations?”
“I can’t help it Tony!” She told him. “He’s… we’re… well, we’re dating!”
“Alana, you know—“
“Please don’t lecture me Tony! I can’t help my feelings. And I have a feeling that he’s not the kind of guy to take no for an answer.”
“That’s all fine and good, Alana. But you’re there to protect him. Not to play kissy face. Do you realize you could lose your job over something like this? Is it really worth it?”
She bit her lip and paused. For a moment, Tony had thought she had hung up on him. Not that he would have blamed her if she had.
“Al? You th—“
“Yeah Tony. He IS worth it.”
He let out a sigh. He was feeling very conflicted. On one hand, he knew just how good JC could be for Alana. She was a good kid with a good heart. It was just hard for people to get past her tough exterior shell. But on the other hand… She was a good agent. One of the best the bureau had. She was up for a promotion at any time and she was willing to risk it all on one man.
“You know you’ve got my support.”
Alana was slightly alarmed at the wet feeling on her cheeks at his words. She hadn’t even realized that the tears she’d been fighting to hold back had leaked from her eyes, but they had. She had never had someone who was willing to stick up for her through everything, even if they didn’t necessarily agree with what it was she was doing.
He heard her sniffle on his end of the line and he would have given anything to be there to hug her. “You’d better stop all the crying before I have to fly to wherever the hell you are this week and kick your skinny ass!”
She let out a little laugh as she brought her hand across her face to swipe the tears away. “So what am I supposed to do about Josh, Tony?”
“You mean about the chick you’re suspecting?”
“Yeah. It’s a dancer and he’s really close to her. He thinks it’s absurd to suspect her, but Tony… I just… I have that feeling.”
“You’ve never second guessed yourself before, Alana. I know I told you I’d give you my support but if he’s affecting your work this much then I don’t—“
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Tony… just…” she let out a whimper. “Just tell me what to do. Please.”
“I can’t do that, Alana,” he told her. He didn’t want to say this out loud to her, but no matter which way she went, essentially, she was screwed. If she didn’t follow her instincts, JC could end up seriously injured… or worse, if this chick was indeed the culprit. However, if she wasn’t… then Alana could easily get her heart broken. “Maybe I should suggest putting someone else on the case…”
The suggestion made her feel like she’d been punched in the stomach. She had to actually sit down. Could she go through with that? Could she leave him in someone else’s hands?
Tony was afraid he’d offended her. “Alana… I didn’t mean that… you weren’t capable of the case,” he said soothingly. “I’m just… I’m worried about you kiddo. You’re getting yourself in deep here. I don’t think—“
“Will you suggest it?” She asked him, her voice hoarse. “I can’t… I don’t think I could call in and actually go through with it… but if I stay on this case… I’ll end up making the wrong decision Tony. I just… I can’t hurt him and that’s exactly what I’m going to do if I stay.”
He was a little bit surprised that she had conceded. He had thought she would have fought him, yelled at him, called him every name in the book. But she hadn’t done any of that. She had given in. “I… I’ll put the call in first thing on Monday.”
“Thanks Tony,” she said quietly “I should… I should probably go. I’ll need to make sure I’ve got all my notes in order.”
“Alright Al. Take care sweetheart.”
When the other end went dead, Tony glanced at the phone in his hand. “What the hell have you done to her, Chasez?”
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