Get Ready, We Are Here

MADISON POV

I have been a district attorney for L.A. for almost three years now. Never in all my years have I met someone like Detective Marks. His unique point of view in everything he does just amazes me. I knew that when I saw him the first time in the bar that this man will be the death of me.

The first time that he put his hand in his hair and casually comb it backward, I knew that I was going to be consumed by him. The way that his muscles bulge from under his tight shirt that he insists to put on, drives me insane.

Now he has the nerve to ask the Captain to take him to a gadget shop? What is this guy doing? He just keeps on intriguing me. I turn and look at him, then Captain gets angry and says;

"And why the hell would we want to do that? We are on our way to a murder scene!"

"It's for the case, sir, sometimes a new perspective is needed"

"I'll make a stop quickly, if you're not back in two minutes, your walking to the scene, you got that?"

"Yes, sir, I get it. And thank you"

TOM POV

After a few blocks, the Captain pulls off and says;

"Two minutes starting now, Detective"

I open the door and run into the store. I look at the drones to find the best one...uhm not this one. Oh, there it is. I grab it and there is a line waiting to pay, I can't wait. I walk up to the cashier and say to him;

"Hey man, I'm in a hurry"

He looks at me disgusted and says;

"Sir, everyone in the shop is in a hurry, get back in line"

I look at Captain Taylor staring at me through the window. I look at the line and then back at the Captain. I pull out my badge and say to the cashier;

"Listen, this is a police matter, either I walk out of the shop without paying and you can put in a claim against the city because I can do that. Or I can pay for the drone now and we are all happy. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

I look at everyone in line, they are all shaking their heads as if they have no problem with what I'm saying. The cashier says;

"Fine, pay and just leave"

I pay and run to the car where they are waiting for me. I get in and start to open the box. Madison turns and asks;

"And what is that for?"

While I'm unpacking the drone and setting it up with my phone, I look up and say to her;

"My dad was in the Rangers. He used to teach me, surveilling and collecting data is the first step before you run into the enemy compound"

MADISON POV

I knew there was something different about him and when he told me about his Dad, everything started to make sense. I find him very interesting and then I ask.

"Oh really, that's interesting, and what is the second step?"

"If you can't do the first step, then you kick the doors in"

TOM POV

The Captain all of a sudden goes;

"Hooah!"

I look up and ask the Captain;

"Did you serve, Captain?"

"Six years for the US Army"

"And you, Detective, did you serve?"

"I did not have the privilege of serving, sir. Most of my family was in some type of law enforcement. Some served locally, while others served internationally. I chose to do policing like my grandpa. My dad was more away than at home. Loved him, understood why he had to go. But for me, I want to be home, but still serve my country."

Then the Captain says;

"Get ready, we are here"

There are people everywhere. Police have the scene marked off with yellow tape. They lift the border tape as we drive into the scene. We get out. I just stand there and take it all in. The news crews trying to take photos of the scene and the Police trying to hold them back. Nobody walks onto the scene that's not authorized to be there. Crime Scene Investigations are taking photos of the body and the surroundings.

As I'm standing and taking it all in, a guy walks towards us. As he gets closer, the Captain introduces him.

"Good morning, Detective Woodward, this is Detective Marks. He just joined the L.A. family, he's your new partner"

Detective Woodward holds out his hand and says;

"So, you're the one that was in jail this morning, heard about you"

While we're shaking hands, I hear someone in the background shouting;

"If it was my choice, he would have stayed there"

I look back and see Officer Pierce standing there with a few other cops around him, all laughing. The Captain then says;

"It's good that the two of you are getting along, let's get back to the scene"

As I walk with them I say to the Captain;

"I'm happy to be working where I can, with who I can, sir"

Detective Woodward then looks at me and say;

"Perfect, I'll give you an update of what we've found so far"

We walk straight to the body, looking over it. Detective Woodward says;

"Single, white female, joggers found her lying here. It's a well-traveled path for joggers, they are busy giving their statements as we speak. On the first inspection of the body, it seems that she was stabbed, I would say 10 to 15 times."

I look at Detective Woodward and ask;

"Any identification?"

"Nope, we didn't find anything with her, not even a wedding ring, or any jewelry, only her. We think that she worked the streets because the last victim was also a prostitute."

My eyes are scanning the scene for anything that can tell us something about what's going on. I put on my gloves and take a closer look. I whisper;

"I'm so sorry this had to have happened to you, we will find him..."

I get down on my knees and start investigating her. I turn her from side to side, looking up and down her body. Then the Captain asks

"So what do you think?"

I look at all of them while I stand up and say;

"I don't believe she was a working girl. If she was, she must have started recently. Her hair, it's soft, like it has been washed recently. She's got immaculate teeth which tells me either she or someone else took good care of her. Her right earring is in between her hair, so it fell off when he moved the body. It seems the left earring is still missing or could be under her hair somewhere."

Then I turn her on her side and look even closer and say;

"Her bra is too small for her body, as the bra couldn't be hooked in on the back. Her nails also look like it was done recently. Based on all of this, I would say we need to look at missing person reports"

Everyone just stares at me while I continue;

"The killer wanted us to find her. Why? I don't know"

Officer Pierce screams in the background.

"What an asshole, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about."

I turn to him and angrily ask him;

"Hey fuckface, did any of you find the other earring on the scene? Any person that's good at their job, will look at the scene and say that she was killed somewhere else..."

Officer Pierce looks again at the body and I finish my sentence saying to Mr. Know-it-all;

"There is not enough blood on the scene, you fucking asshole. She was killed somewhere else and dumped here. No wonder you didn't get the promotion, you can't even detect shit while you're standing in it"

All the Officers run to stop Officer Pierce from doing something he might regret. I turn and look at the Captain and say;

"Captain, there's one thing that stands out, it is that her underwear is too small for her body"

"Okay? Explain?"

I get on my knees again, turn the body, and point to the bra strap on the back.

"See, it's too small for her body, he couldn't get it hooked in"

The captain looks at me with surprise and a frown on his face;

"Wait you said he? You mean...you think the killer is a man?"