Canon Chronicles I: Chapter 6 of 6

     The clicks of Alexa's black pumps on the marble floor echoed through the courthouse hallway as she read the file in her hands, drank a cup of coffee, and walked at the same time. It was a skill that she had mastered in college, and one that had managed to stick with her.

 

     "Lexi!"

 

     Alexa smiled, and looked up at Detective Mikhail Canon rushed down the hallway towards her. Like her, he had dark hair and blue eyes, but he was much taller. He wore a dark blue dress shirt and gray slacks, with an almost floor-length gray overcoat. She loved that coat, and to Mikhail's dismay, she tended to steal it on his visits home.

 

     "Hey, Mik."

 

     "Looks like the case finally made it to you, huh?" he asked, "You ready for it?"

 

     The case of Ross Supner and his drug-weapons ring had finally reached her. He had been on the CIA and FBI's hotlist for a while, and had been a fugitive for almost twice that time. Many of his crimes had been committed in New York, and in the end, the case had been transferred to her. When it had finally made it to her desk, Alexa had looked at it as an opportunity to start over.

 

     "Yeah," Alexa smiled, "I'm ready for it."

 

     Mikhail glanced over her shoulder and whistled, "Woah. Supner has a sheet longer than I am tall," her brother reached over her shoulder to leaf through the pages, "Illegal drugs and arms trafficking, human trafficking, murder, attempted murder, assault, blackmail, and..." his eyes grew wide, "...the assault and attempted murder of a CIA agent."

 

     "This man will be put away for a VERY long time by the time I am finished with him," Alexa batted Mikhail's hand away and folded the file shut, "I'm actually going into the Grand Jury session now to hear the testimonies. I have a feeling they weren't even needed though. This case will go to trail."

 

     He nodded in agreement, and the scowled as his phone rang. As he looked at the ID, Alexa got the distinct feeling that Mikhail didn't want to answer the phone, "What is it, Mik?"

 

     "My boss wants to give me a temporary assistant while I'm filling in for senior detective. He's calling me now to meet up with whoever-it-is," Mikhail gave a defeated sigh, "Sorry that I have to miss you're big questioning debut, Lexi."

 

     "It's alright. You'll probably hear about it later anyway," she kissed his cheek, "Mom and Dad want to have dinner tonight too. See you there?"

 

     Mikhail smiled warily, "If the office doesn't drive me to flee the country by then."

 

     Alexa patted his arm, and headed towards the Grand Jury room. Standing outside the door was Attorney David Brown, who was the lawyer that she was working with on the case. He was in his mid-forties, and was sly to a fault.

 

     "Are you ready, Alexa?" he gave her an encouraging smile.

 

     She took a quick check of herself, and nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready."

 

 

     The first hour of testimonies was easy. Alexa had expected to feel some sort of panic when she entered the court, but found that she was in complete control. Ross Supner glared at her from behind the defense table, like he was trying to burn her head off her shoulders with his eyeballs. He could try as long as he wanted for all she cared.

 

     As the last witness stepped down, David drew up the file for the next person. To preserve his indentity as much as possible, the room was instructed to a gag order before the process began, and the witness had been instructed to wait outside. Alexa took a seat next to David, who was going to be interviewing the witness himself, as he had been the only one given clearance at the time.

 

     She huffed slightly, and sat back in her chair, although she did her best to not show her annoyance. The next witness was the CIA agent responsible for the bust on Supner and his gang, and who was also the agent that had been held captive. Despite Alexa's general contentment with her job, this was the first time since her shooting that she had really felt distaste for the courtroom.

 

     "...this session of court will be closed for confidentiality purposes. Anyone who wishes to dispute this is welcome to file and appeal with the court," Judge Ramsden replied. He then turned to the prosecution, "Does the prosecution have any further witnesses?"

 

     "The prosecution would like to call the CIA agent to the stand responsible for the arrest of Ross Supner, as well as the same CIA agent who was held prisoner by Supner."

 

     "Granted. Bring the witness forward."

 

     The doors were opened by the police officers in the back, and everyone turned to see who was entering. Standing in the doorway, dressed in a black suit with his hair combed neatly back, was the last person Alexa ever expected to see.

 

     David Brown, however, knew exactly the relationship that Alexa had with the witness, the CIA agent had informed him during the interview sessions. As the agent made his way through the room, he was sworn in, and he took the stand.

 

     "Well you state your name and occupation for the record?" David asked politely.

 

     "Special Agent Liam Gray of the CIA," he replied. There was a slight pause in his speech as he risked a glance at Alexa. All the color had drained from her face, and she looked like she was going to break in front of him, "Special Operations, undercover."

 

 

     Alexa couldn't believe what she was seeing. Liam had strolled into the court room like it was second nature to him, and taken the stand not twenty feet from her.

 

     She suddenly felt the need to run. It took all the concentration she had to focus on the questions that David was asking.

 

     Five months ago, Alexa had woken alone in the cabin back at the Rockies only to find that Liam had left. On the first day she had simply done her chores numbly, thinking that he would return any minute. On the second day she had broken down and cried until she hadn't been able too any longer. The pain that she felt the day of the shooting paled in comparison to the day that Liam left her.

 

     After another three days, she had packed her things and headed home. It had been impossible to stay in the cabin and not think of him. Liam had simply invaded her thoughts and her soul, and at the time, there had been no way of getting him out.

 

     Her mother had known there was something wrong, but didn't complain when Alexa returned to work. They had gone to the spa the very next week, and then Alexa had vowed to never think of Liam again.

 

     "Can you tell us about your experiences during your imprisonment?"

 

     David's question rang over her storming thoughts. Alexa looked up to hear what the reply was going to be, and she felt a quick stab of sorrow as she recognized the small flash of emotion in Liam's eyes. She remembered him the day she had found him. Whatever had been done to him she had known it had been brutal, and now she was going to hear the whole story.

 

     "I was undercover as one of the men in Supner's syndicate. They called me Blue," Liam glanced over at Supner who looked murderous, "One of my contacts was paided handsomly to betray me. For that, I was held captive for a week."

 

     "I realize this is difficult for you, but can you tell us what occured?"

 

     "Beatings, torture, to be blunt," Liam looked away for a moment, and then he caught the tears in Alexa's eyes.

 

     "How did you escape?"

 

     "I dislocated my shoulder, got free of the ropes, and popped the joint back into place. A trick I learned on a past missions," he said, "Then I was able to slip out of the window. It was the middle of nowhere, but as long as I could get far away as I could, I would have a chance."

 

     David Brown nodded once more, "Thank you, Agent Gray, you are free to go."

 

     Alexa could barely sit still for the rest of the session. She questioned her own witnesses, and it took all of her energy to stay focused. Would he still be there when she was finished? Part of her wished he wouldn't be so she could at least have peace.

 

     But she would never truly have peace, she was still in love with him and always would be.

 

 

     As the judge dismissed the room, Alexa exchanged a few words with David, had a few greetings and welcomes, and then marched towards the exit as fast as she could without looking foolish. Rushing into the hallway, her gaze darting up and down the corridor, and when she didn't spot Liam she continued down the hallway towards the main exit.

 

     Please. Please be here. Don't leave me again.

 

     Alexa found herself standing on the top of the marble steps of the courthouse. She breathing quickly, even though she hadn't been running that much. Glancing around the large staircase of stone steps, her heart sunk in her chest as she saw nothing.

 

     She didn't even bother to go back inside and tell David she was leaving, he would be fine taking care of the arrangements for tomorrow's session without her. Alexa folded her coat over her arm and made her way down the stairs. Spotting the park across the street, she jaywalked over the road when there was an opening, and made a beeline for the nearest park bench.

 

     It was a slightly secluded area. The trees and bushes lined either side, and she plopped down, dropping her bag and coat in her lap. She felt like an idiot, and now she was afraid she was going to start crying again. Seeing Liam had shocked her beyond reason, and now she was going to have to start building her confidence up all over again.

 

     "Damn you," she smeared the tears out of her eyes, "Damn you, Liam."

 

     "Damn me, if you must. I deserve it."

 

     She froze, afraid to even look up. There was a shadow in front of her, and Alexa was terrified that it wasn't him, or rather, that it actually was him. After a few seconds, she raised her head to stare up at him.

 

     Liam stood in front of her, one of his hands tucked into his jacket pocket, his hair still neatly combed. He had a stoic expression on his face, but his eyes were filled with such a mix of emotions that she couldn't track them all.

 

     "Liam..."

 

     Before she could speak, he stepped forward and yanked her into his arms. Alexa tried to gain her barrings, but her face was being kissed, arms wrapped around her. He kissed her lips, tasting her mouth, and then drew back to bury his face into her neck.

 

     "Oh god," he whispered into her skin, "I missed you."

 

     Tears sprang into her eyes again and she didn't bother to stop them, "You left..."

 

     "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Liam told her, pushing her backwards to make her sit on the bench again. He knelt down in front of her, holding her hands in his, "Trust me when I say, that if it had been possible, I would have given up everything just to stay in that cabin with you for the rest of my life."

 

     "You didn't even tell me you left!"

 

     "I know. I know, and I'm sorry-"

 

     "You can't just say you're sorry!" she shrieked at him, "I was worried about you, Liam! When you wake up in the morning and find that the person you love is suddenly gone, I'll tell you right now that it's not exactly the memory of a lifetime!"

 

     It was Liam's turned to be pale. He expected her to scream and curse him, but the information she had just given him was not what he had expected, "Alexa-"

 

     "I love you, damn it!" she cried, "I love you, and you just got up and-"

 

     "Okay, okay," his arms were around her again, "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you anymore."

 

     "Liam," she clung to the front of his jacket, "I don't even really know who you are."

Liam was smiling down at her, brushing the hair from her eyes, "If you give me a second chance, I'd like the opportunity to show you."

 

     Her mouth opened, and then she shut it.

 

     "I love you, Alexa," he pressed his forehead to hers, "I really, truly, honestly, love you. This is Liam Gray speaking. Not the CIA agent you met in the woods or the courtroom. Just me, though god knows all those parts of me love you too. Please give me another chance. I'll beg if I have to."

 

     Alexa's blue eyes moved back up to gaze at him. There were a few seconds of silence between that felt like years to Liam. He finally had a chance of having her, and he wasn't going to mess it up.

 

     A small smile broke across her face, and she gently brushed her own lips over his, "Begging won't be necessarily, but," she cupped his cheek in her hands, "It wouldn't hurt."

 

     For the first time in a long time Liam Gray smiled a real, honest, smile as the woman he loved pulled him into her arms. He held her back, and knew that everything was going to be alright. From over Alexa's shoulder, he glanced towards the path that led to the woods. A smile spread across his face as he watched the figure disappear into the shadows.

 

     Thank you, Ice, for everything you've done for me. I swear I'll take care of her for the rest of my life.

 

     "Alexa?"

 

     "Hm?"

 

     "Let's go grab a bite to eat," he helped her to her feet, "And I'll tell you about myself."

 

     Alexa grinned, and looped her arm around his, "That sounds wonderful."