“It ain’t ballet,” Ella said, another Ripleyism.
“But would I do this again?” Paige dropped off the wall to her feet, flinching upon impact. She double checked her wounds then composed herself. “Yes, I would.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. I was a bit worried about having you out here at first, especially when you hurled in that autopsy room. But if I had to do this with someone other than Ripley, then you’re my number one candidate.”
“Number one?” Paige laughed.
“Alright,” Ella conceded, “top three. Let’s leave it at that.”
Paige grinned. “I’ll take it. What now?”
“Speaking of partners, I’ve gotta see how Ripley’s doing. She’d holed up in hospital back in D.C. You ready to head home?”
“Err, I did kinda wanna visit Scranton. How far’s that?”
“About 200 miles.”
“Oh, forget that.”
“If you do this job long enough, you’ll visit every state ten times over,” Ella said. She checked her phone, finding a text from Ben.
Not far from your place. Are you back yet?
Ella replied saying she’d be home around midnight.
Paige said, “Maybe another time then. Let’s get going.”
Ella slid off the wall, fumbled for her keys and unlocked her car.
Another unsub down, a lot more to go.
And with this out of the way, she could turn her attention to the number one psychopath in her life.
Her phone vibrated. Ben replied. Meet you there around then? Got something for you.
She replied saying sure. She could use the opportunity to pick some stuff up too. Her apartment was still in the process of being cleaned after the fire, but everything other than the living room was still useable. Who knows, maybe they’d only need the bedroom anyway?
It was an exciting thought.
On the way to their cars, Paige said, “I forgot to ask. You got a husband or anything? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”
“I’m not sure,” Ella said. “Ask me again in the morning.”
***
Nearing midnight, Mia Ripley turned off the TV and readied herself for sleep. Her new injuries had delayed her discharge time another day, but with any luck, she’d be out of here tomorrow, able to heal up at home. She never thought she’d miss work, but being in here 24 hours a day could make her miss a headache.
Her phone began to buzz on her bedside table. Ella’s name flashed up on the screen. Ripley had never been so happy to hear from her partner. Anything to distract her from the mind-numbing boredom of being in hospital.
“Dark! Give me some good news.”
“Done and dusted,” the rookie said. Ripley corrected her internal monologue. Looked like Ella was a rookie no longer. Now she was a teacher, keeping the wheel of law enforcement turning as it should. Just last year, that young rookie would have jumped into a den of assassins armed with nothing but a flimsy theory. Now, she was catching the world’s predators and involving the next generations of agents in the experience. Ripley would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little proud.
“Excellent work, Dark. Looks like you don’t need me by your side after all? Who was the unsub?”
“Some young guy, making up for years of parental neglect. His mom used to abuse him rotten. Took it out on these poor women.”
“Classic,” Mia said.