“Well, you’re welcome”, he grinned and headed for the door.
Looking steamed in the face and barely able to contain his disdain for the rude fellow before him, Mike hurried forward with a clenched fist before halting as he noticed Detective Jake pulling out his firearm carefully.
Absent minded of the danger coming from behind him, Detective Jake whispered, “Someone has been watching us the entire time through”.
Mike responded with a raised brow and whisper. “You’re kidding right?”
Silence aired as they both pulled out their firearms and released the safety with their backs against the wall just behind the door.
“You go first and I’d cover”, Detective Jake spoke in hushed tone.
Mike shook his head strongly. “I will not be your shield… you go and I’ll cover your scared ass”.
Working with one another definitely wasn’t going to yield any result from what they could both tell. It was even worse when the sound of safeties being taken off guns in sync made them detach their focus from one another’s faces and to the south side of the room where the sound had come from. Detective Jake couldn’t believe his eyes and he definitely wasn’t happy to see the fellow… for the second time in the same day.
“Holy smokes!” he exclaimed, gently held up his firearm and surrendered.
Mike Rondon pinned his gun in the direction of the two pointing back at them with the intent to squeeze while his eyes remained solely fixated on the strange man whose strangeness wasn’t entirely comforting seeing they had met earlier.
“I don’t know what kind of math you did in school or if you had any at all, but in my opinion, two is way better than one”, the cocky tone relayed.
Detective Jake nodded, nudged on his colleague gently and urged him to put down his gun. “He is right you know?”
“Shut up Jake! He wouldn’t be right if you didn’t put down your gun immediately”, Mike yelled.
The trio stared hard at one another, while doing their bid not to blink. The air grew thinner and the room felt somewhat smaller as nobody seemed willing to settle things amicably.
“I want you two off of this case”, the cocky tone spoke again, smiling erringly but with an odd frown on his face. “I mean it”.
Mike let off a scoff. “You’d have to speak with our superior on it but even at that, we already got assigned the job before you came and began whacking our boss in the station”.
Detective Jake remained mute, seemingly perturbed by the manner of calm their opponent donned and the fact he didn’t at all seem perturbed with breaking into an active crime scene. His imposing physique was taunting too, while his age didn’t seem to matter either.
“Who are you?” Detective Jake asked.
Taking the first step forward, he passed upon seeing the man threaten to tighten his finger around the trigger. Detective Jake gently retreated his footsteps again with his eyes solely fixated on their opponent.
“My name is Sean Stein and I need you two to get out of my way, but after I collect everything you have gathered thus far about this case”, he replied.
Mike Rondon could barely help himself as he burst into a hysterical laugh. “Can you get a load of this guy? I mean, what audacity you must possess”.
Turning to look at Detective Jake whose odd silence was troubling, Mike momentarily took his eyes off their opponent and in so doing, barely saw the attack and his movement. Detective Jake had seen it though and it was devastating to say the least. His legs barely moved but he had arrived before him in a blink of an eye. Mike had not noticed anything until he was pinned to the wall with a large hand on his throat and another preventing him from making use of his gun talk less of directing it at his attacker.
Speaking in a tenser tone, Sean stared the man in the face. “You’ve got some fire in you boy… you’ve got some real fire in you”.
Mike struggled for his voice but soon gave up as his face slowly turned red.
“Seeing your partner right here is smarter than you, then it must be you who struck me back at the station, isn’t it?” Sean purred.
Detective Jake felt himself both appalled and impressed by the man’s audacity but his strength was unusual too. “Let him go!”
Sean looked to Detective Jake and smiled before knocking off the weapon from Mike’s hand to the ground and relieving his throat of the massive pressure placed on it.
“As you wish, but I still need whatever information you got from here”, he insisted.
Mike let out a high-pitched cough, while struggling to keep himself breathing. “What… the… hell!”
“Do you need some help buddy?” Detective Jake teased while lending a hand.
Mike knocked his arm off and frowned with his face regaining some paleness.
“We aren’t giving you shit!” Mike retorted. “I don’t know what your deal or story is, but you’ve got some nerves and I will… “.
Detective Jake interjected immediately, stepping in between his colleague and the stranger. “We will give you all we have provided you tell us exactly who you are and why they brought a CIA expert in combat aboard into this case”.
Mike gasped, stared at Detective Jake and then back at the supposed CIA combats expert. He couldn’t see it or make any sound connection and it puzzled him.
“How did you know?” Sean chuckled.
Detective Jake smiled, lifted up the gun he had lifted from the man’s coat without him knowing and sighed. “This is a standard issue handgun with no traceable details and only made for special ops and the CIA… I know some people”.
Mike gulped down hard in discomfort and shook his head. “That’s just some bullshit… stop cooking up crazy stories Jake!”
“He is right!” Sean split the words right out to the confused stricken and looking Mike
