| Fan Fiction |
by mushroom_banana
If I have to listen to another country song one more time, I could very well be the first person to die from boredom. Shutting the car radio off, I welcomed the sudden peacefulness and shifted to the left side so that I was facing the windows instead. Even though the view wasn’t any better, it sure beat having to stare at dingy buildings or the depressing yellow neon lights. All around us were either garbage disposals or dark vacated lots; our only source of light came from the flickering streetlight that was threatening to give out any second now. I don’t know what it was, but everything tonight seemed to hold a gloomy vibe. A whole evening had almost passed by and we hadn’t found anything remotely suspicious or even useful.
For the last few hours, Chun and I had been camping out in the middle of the highest crime rated district. We were tracking our next potential suspect, but so far, we had no such luck in finding any type of evidence proving him guilty otherwise. I guess that’s how many stakeouts are like; lots of waiting but no real rewards. In a way, that’s how life works too. How many times have we waited in earnest anticipation for something only to be disappointed in the end? Too many times I suppose.
“Isn’t it supposed to be Nic and Danson’s turn to gather information? Why is it us again?” I complained aloud.
“Because they think they are doing us a favor,” Chun answered flatly as if it was the most straightforward thing to him.
“And what is that?” I asked, oblivious as to what ‘favor’ it is that he was referring to.
He turned to look at me with an amused expression and smiled. I instantly regretted my question when I saw what was the beginning of a familiar glint dancing in his eyes. “It’s obvious isn’t it? They’re giving us an opportunity to spend time together alone, in a small car, just the two of us,” he added with a suggestive wink.
I raised my eyebrow at him. This was my trademark response whenever Chun decided to play around. Sometimes, even I couldn’t differentiate when he’s joking and when he’s serious. However, his innuendoes have been harmless, so I never gave much thought to his actions and have always off-handedly ignored his remarks.
“Come on Ella, just admit that you love being by your mighty handsome and intelligent partner on a Friday night,” he continued. I scoffed and threw a tissue at his arrogant face.
Though I’ve known Chun for four years and have witnessed all his good and bad habits, I find it funny that I still couldn’t figure out whether to believe his casual teases or not at times. Sometimes, he acts way too possessive and other times, he's cool and professional. Of course there were exceptions that when the occasion calls for it, he would behave in ways telling me there’s something else behind his actions. One time, there was a case which involved a friend’s death that became all too personal for me. During the whole time, Chun had been extremely supportive and sensitive of my feelings the entire time. He had shouldered my burdens without a word. The unmistakable concerned looks he directed at me also couldn’t have been solely my imagination. But whenever these incidents were over, he’d turn back into his callous self and act as if nothing happened.
I looked closely at his side profile. I didn’t understand how a man like him has remained single all this time. He obviously is not getting deducted on his looks or outer appearance. In fact, I know plenty of female coworkers who’d give anything to be in my place just to be close to him. And whenever we go out in the field to do investigations, I notice many interested glances thrown towards him. Surprisingly, he never notices the stares in spite of his usual perceptiveness. My guess is, he's just too engrossed in work to notice these things. Now personality wise, is another topic.
It’s true that Chun holds one of the highest rates of solving crimes, but he also has absolute zero skills in getting along with others. He may have amazing talent in making connections in the most difficult and complicated cases and he may notice details where others wouldn’t even think twice about, however, the fact that we work with a team of others means nothing to him. His idea of working in a team is equivalent to me being in charge of maintaining work politics while his interaction with others remains non-existent.
In addition, he never follows by the book, that is, he’s probably broken every single rule there is in our profession that even my record has been ruined. I sometimes marvel at how someone as antisocial and hot-tempered as him has managed to be where he is now, yet, how I’ve managed to stay with him all these years has been a mystery even to me.
“Name three animals you like and why.”
Without even asking me why the sudden request, he answered me after a moment of reflection. “Horses because they are free spirits that possess great strength. Lions because of their fierceness and prowess. And lastly, I choose porcupines because they can protect themselves well.” Chun looked over at me expectantly for an explanation.
“That was a psychological test that analyzes the type of person you are. The first animal represents what you want others to perceive you as, so that means you want other people to think of you as someone who has free will and enjoys freedom. The second animal is what other people actually perceive you as, meaning others see you as something that is revered but also feared, much like the lion. Finally, the last animal represents what you actually are. That would mean your nature is actually similar to the porcupine, you have a strong sense of self protection and that you tend to distance yourself from others,” I explained.
To my surprise, the test came out more accurate than I expected. Based on the results, I agree that it correctly pointed out what kind of person Chun is and how others perceive him as. He does have that prickly nature where he puts up a strong front to avoid getting hurt. It’s also true that other people have a hard time getting close to him because Chun just does not trust someone easily. Like the porcupine which is a solitary animal, Chun also likes to keep to himself. His occassional temper flares also isolates him from the rest.
But aside from all his negatives also comes his positives. He's very passionate about our work and would focus whole-heartedly to solve crimes. He'a also a loyal friend and partner who supports me both personally and professionally. Yes, he can be overprotective at times, but I can see where he's coming from. And finally, I don't think there's anyone who understands me the way Chun does. One eye contact and he'd know what I was thinking.
“What animals did you choose?” he asked me in return.
“What do you think?” I bounced the question back to him. It was my way of telling him I wasn't going to elaborate any further and he respected it.
We fell back into comfortable silence. I looked at the clock, it read eleven pm. That meant a couple more hours until the backup team takes over. I focused my attention back to the entrance of the building, but as seconds turned into minutes, I felt my eyelids grow heavy as sleep quietly crept up on me.
As I was on the verge of slipping into blissful sleep, a flash appeared before my eyes. The sensation was as if I was watching from a distance away, but I was still able to feel the actual experience. I saw me and Chun in his car chasing after a black van. It was dark, but I could see we were running at ninety miles per hour. We were so close to our target but our car suddenly lost control and swerved over to the opposite lane. The next thing I knew was that our car got turned over and was swiveling in circles. I was gripping on the hand rest so hard that my knuckles turned stiff from overexertion. Everything around us was getting hazy, but I could still see what was going on. I looked over at Chun, he was mouthing words to me but I couldn’t hear a single syllable he said. His eyes though, told me not to worry. I believed him because he never lied to me. I looked out the window and saw a pair of large white headlights blaring at us and before I knew it, it came upon us like a sudden sneeze that couldn’t be stopped nor suppressed. I raised my arms to shield my face….
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“Ella! Ella! What’s wrong?” I heard Chun’s worried voice asking me as he placed his hands over my shoulders.
I looked up; my arms were held up in front of me like a shield. I panted heavily while my hand was damp from perspiration. “What happened?” I asked him confusedly.
“I should be asking you that question. You zoned out and then started waving your arms as if you were trying to block something. Did you have one of those flashes again?”
“It felt so real Chun. I could still smell the gas leaking from the tank. Our car was turned upside down and we were trapped inside with no way out. Then, a huge truck rammed into us. I felt it,” I told him shakily. Having to see yourself getting flattened was something you’d never forget or even want to imagine.
“You had a bad dream, probably from the lack of rest. You’re always overworking yourself Ella. After this case, you’re taking a vacation. How about Peru? I know how much you love ancient civilizations.” His response told me he didn’t believe me.
I know it sounded unbelievable, even preposterous. But every time I had these premonitions, it really happens. And I only get these foresights when it's something bad. The first time it happened was before my parents died. Back then I thought it was just a dream and thought nothing of it, so I couldn’t believe it when my parents actually died in the same manner as my so called ‘dream.’ That had been the most painful period in my whole life knowing I could have done something to prevent their deaths. The second time I had a premonition was related to a friend getting into an accident and even then, I wasn’t able to prevent it. Over the past year, I’ve stopped seeing things and I thought I was finally free from this cursed sight. I just couldn’t believe that this time, the subjects happen to be both me and Chun. I know Chun was skeptical of my premonitions because he was the kind of person that only believes in what he sees. I couldn’t force him to believe me, but I can’t just pretend I didn’t see anything.
I shook my head. “No Chun. I know what I saw. It’s not a dream and I’m sure of it,” I said definitely. “You’d never understand how painful and scary it is to see your own self trapped in such a situation.”
His expression softened as if he understood my fears and the seriousness of the situation. He knew of my history and the impact it had on me. “Alright, let’s say it is true. Now that we know it’ll happen, we can prevent it. I’ll be extra careful when driving, I promise.”
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-Three hours later-
“Mr. Wu, you may leave now. Make sure to come back ten days later to get the stitches removed. And be careful driving from now on,” the nurse instructed Chun as she handed him his medication and papers. The doors parted automatically as we stepped out of the hospital. With an arm around my shoulder as support, we slowly walked over to our waiting taxi. Chun limped uncomfortably as we got into the car.
“Remember not to get the dressing wet or else, it could get infected,” I reminded him.
“I know the drill. Wow, good thing only my leg got injured. What would happen if my handsome face got scratched up too?” he joked.
I looked at him and smiled lightly. His leg was bandaged up, a bruise had taken form on his wrist, and a small cut could be seen above his brow. Though nothing serious, he still looked like he went through a bad fall. It was usually during times like this when my guard is down that I show concern for my partner. As much as I don't want to admit, he is the only one that can make me agitated, worried, and still smile at the same time.
“You still have the mood to joke? We barely managed to escape from a major accident. Had we been thirty seconds later, I don’t think we’d be sitting here talking about your handsome face,” I chided him.
I shivered just thinking about the close call we just experienced. Though we had been careful driving, the accident happened nevertheless. We were lucky and didn’t get seriously hurt except for some minor sprains and cuts. As the saying goes though, 'luck doesn't last forever.'
“You know what Ella? I’m beginning to think you’re better suited to be a fortune teller than as a detective. Maybe you should go become a psychic. I know of a few people who can get you started,” he said taking out his cell phone for effect.
“You’re right. And right now, I see a handsome guy. He doesn't know it, but he's about to get hit.” With that, I whacked his head with my bottle of water. That was for his jokes that always came at the wrong time. And to think I’d been worried for him. The guy never knew when to shut up.
After paying the taxi, we made our way up to Chun’s apartment. I was hoping to help Chun get settled in and then leave so that I could get home to rest, but that idea hopelessly flew down the drain as we neared his place. Standing by his front door was his neighbor Jiro. Looking left and right suspiciously, he pulled us through the doors into his apartment albeit our loud protests. It wasn’t that I hated them, although it’s not categorized under like either, but I really was tired from the whole night’s events and would’ve liked to spend the rest of the night as trouble-free as possible.
“Hey, look who decided to drop in?” Jiro announced loudly. I sighed inwardly; I didn’t know if I had enough energy in me to deal with my partner’s weird bunch of neighbors, who are also the only people I’ve seen Chun interact with on his own free will. How he became friends with them is another long story. Though Chun himself was familiar with them, I wasn’t overly close to them. I met the trio three years ago, a year after I became partners with Chun.
Chun’s neighbors consist of three highly secretive and unique individuals. Outsiders who see them would think that they’re just a normal group of friends. But behind everything, they are an underground group who specializes in gaining intelligent information. Together, this paranoid group of three vastly different individuals work together to form a perfect team that is far more advanced and efficient than any other teams I’ve seen in the enforcement.
First, there is Jiro. He is actually the only ‘normal’ person in the group, the only one I can talk to and hold a normal conversation with. Usually, he’s the sane one in the group and also the voice of reason. His specialty is in collecting and organizing the vast amount of intelligence that comes in to them. I don’t think there is anything that he can’t get information on. His library of information is so large that a whole building wouldn’t be enough to hold it all.
Then there’s Arron, the youngest one in this interesting cohort. Arron doesn’t talk much because he’s usually too immersed in whatever he’s doing most of the time. Nine out of ten times, he'd be hunched over the computer furiously typing away. Though he doesn’t say much, I could tell behind those passive eyes that he is actually a warm person. His area of expertise is in designing programs and creating software that is so advanced that he would probably be win a Nobel prize for his creations. His work could create many possibilities and even shake the the world of technology.
Lastly, there is Calvin and he is the hacker. He would be the person to go to if you need access into anything that needs decoding. Though he is a computer and anything electronic related genius, he is also a philandering playboy. Each time I come over to enlist their help in cases, Calvin treats me with his ‘special’ attention much to Chun’s annoyance. His love for cold jokes and silly personality is also something that keeps the atmosphere light. He calls themselves the ‘Three Computeers,’ how cheesy but in a weird way, it also fits them.
Chun and I settled onto their makeshift sofa. It's the closest descriptive word I could compare it to aside from boxes and cloth. All over the apartment were computers and laptops, at least eight of them were visible. The extensive wires made their apartment resemble those seen in many sci-fi movies.
“Hey guys,” I greeted them as we sat down. “What are you up to now?”
“We’re trying to hack into the national health records, I believe the government is conspiring to hide important information from us,” Arron answered. I was somewhat surprised that he took the initiative to reply back.
I nodded. It’s true that what they’re doing is against the laws, but because their work is for the general public and not for any selfish benefits, I respect their line of work. It was also their efforts that helped us solve many intricate crimes.
Calvin, who was by the kitchen counter, called out. “Listen to this. Wife stabs unfaithful husband with steak knife at restaurant. Ha! Talk about being stupid. If the husband was going to confess, the number one rule is to do it in a hazard free environment, i.e., no dangerous weapons. What was he thinking, the steakhouse? Serves him right for not thinking.”
“Wow,” he continued while twisting the knife he had in his hand. “It must’ve been painful,” he reflected as he waved the sharp knife in the air.
As I focused on the glistening knife under the lights, Calvin’s voice faded into the background and turned into a faint and distant hum. I looked around and realized I was no longer sitting in their cluttered apartment. Instead, I was surrounded by trees and not by one, but many. Several feet in front of me were the two people, a man and a woman. The man was on the ground while the woman whose back faced me was appling pressure to the man’s chest wound. I saw a sharp knife and a red pool of blood by the person lying on the ground. Cautiously, I took a step closer. I don’t know why, but my heart suddenly felt heavy as if a huge boulder was sitting on top on it making harder and harder to breath. The closer I got, the more smothering and pressing it felt, and with each step nearer, the more familiar the voices became. Though I couldn’t see their faces, I heard perfectly what was being exchanged.
“You blockhead, why do you always pretend to be the hero? It was meant for me, not you.”
“I could never stand back and watch you get hurt, that’s what partners are for, right?”
“Why did you do that? It’s not worth it.”
“If it means you can go on living, then it’s worth it.”
“You’re going to be alright.”
“One more thing, I-”
“Don’t say anything anymore, you need to save your energy.”
“I’ll - always be with you Ella.”
“Chun, what are you saying? Chun? No, don’t close your eyes….Chun!”
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I jolted in my seat. Everyone in the room paused what they were doing and looked at me with curious expressions. Quickly and hastily, I hurried into the bathroom before anyone could ask me what was wrong.
Inside the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face to calm myself down. My heart beat wildly, just as how chaotic my mind felt at the moment. I couldn't erase the horrible image of my blood stained hands that stuck in my mind like glue, neither could I forget how defeated my voice sounded. I felt so disoriented that I don’t think I was fit enough to make sense of what I saw a short moment ago. I swallowed down the hard lump in my throat and when I was sure my voice wouldn’t break down, I went out. Chun looked at me as I expect he would; I could see the question marks in his eyes, but I wasn’t ready to face him yet. I picked up my things and walked to the door.
“Good night guys. I’ll see you next time,” I said dully and left the boys to their own conceptions.
Outside the door, I let out the breath I’d been holding. I thought about my past premonitions and what they warned me of. The question was why me, what do I do now? If seeing into the future is meant to be a warning, I was going to have to act fast.
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I know it's been awhile, but hope everyone's doing well. How was the chapter, any confusion? It'll take awhile for the next update as there's still a lot of groundwork to be done, but I'll try to be quick. ^_^
I probably won't be able to reply to each person, but I still want to thank those who commented and also to all readers. Special thanks to Riz-2611, Kasumi, Maan, ChristaLuvsDrama, Kimuchi_08.
July 21, 2009