Chapter 7

Sorry it took so long guys.  I had a severe block in my creativity for a while on top of, when I finally got it back, rewrote quite a bit.  I'm happier with the end result and I hope you are too.  Brooke sure enjoyed it.  So without further ado.....Chapter 7.

Thanks for reading.

Chapter 7

Xander heard the glass shatter as him momentum took him through the glass of the office below the roof.  He rolled into the room and lay on the floor.  He could feel the cuts and scrapes begin to mend back together, but they still hurt enough that he didn’t want to move..   The cold floor felt good against his face as he lay on the tile.  It wasn’t until a bullet ricocheted off the floor two inches from his face that he decided to get up.
He scanned the room, bullets whizzing past him, and quickly went through the door.  In the hall outside of the office it didn’t take him long to find an exit sign that took him to the elevators.  He hit the button and the doors slid open.  He hit the lobby button and, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors slid shut.

Xander bounced on the balls of his feet, anxious for the elevator to reach its destination.  He wasn’t sure what his next move would be.  It was obvious now that his clan wouldn’t protect him, there was nowhere safe anymore.  As the events of the last couple days could attest, there was nowhere he could run from those looking for him.

He angrily jammed his clawed finger into the lobby button in an attempt to make the elevator move faster.  The ding of the elevator told him he’d finally reached his destination.

He moved out into the wide-open lobby.  The doors leading outside lay directly across from the elevators, behind what looked to be a guard desk.  He began to move toward them when he heard the distant shouting from outside.  Vorgrim’s guards had already made it to the building.  He’d hoped to have more time to get away.  He quickly looked around and found a hall leading off to the left.  He took it and quickly came to a left turn and took it.  It lead down a hall with another door to the outside at the end.

As he reached the door a light moved across the cement outside.  He moved back away from the door and around the corner to his left.  He caught the slight sound of hands rubbing against the glass and knew that someone was looking through the door.

He looked down the hall.  After a five foot span of wall the hall opened up to a room filled with cubicles.  Windows lined the same wall as the door to the outside.  If he went that way, whoever was outside, would be sure to see him.  He couldn’t go back down the hall he’d come from, if the man was still at the door, he’d be seen by him there as well.  He was trapped.

He began to rap his fist against his forehead, trying to think of something.  He looked around again.  On the desk a few feet away was a red stress ball.  It gave Xander an idea.  It was silly, but it just might work.  He moved over to it and picked it up, testing its weight.  It should make a loud enough sound.  He quickly moved back against the wall, as not to be seen through the window.  He took a quick glance around the corner.  He couldn’t see any movement through the windows, which made him think the man was still covering the door.
He cocked his arm back and was ready to let fly with the ball when the distant sound of sirens filled the air.  He must have tripped an alarm while making his way to the lobby.  He moved back to the door and peaked around the corner.  The man covering the door was gone, now was his chance.  He made his way toward the door when a police cruiser pulled in front of the door.  He was back to square one.
Xander moved back from the door and heard a clunking as the cop began pulling on door.  He heard a scratch of the walkie-talkie.  “Nobody’s came out this way.”
“Copy that.  The perp must still be inside.”  Came the reply from the other end of the radio.
“What’s our orders?” The cop outside responded.

“We’re in contact with the building manager.  He’s given us the okay to enter.”

Xander’s heart leapt into his throat.  He couldn’t get out of the building without being seen and he didn’t want to hurt any of the cops surrounding the building.  There was only one alternative.

The cop stood stunned for a minute before finally pulling his gun on the naked man walking toward him.

“Put your arms in the air!”  The command was asinine as Xander was already doing just that.

Jenny pulled up to the precinct  and threw the car into park.

Xander had called the church twenty minutes ago, letting her know that he now sat in an interrogation room, being questioned about his involvement with an attempt on Vorgrims life as well as a break-in at an adjacent building.

He’d also told her about being questioned about her disappearance, but wasn’t sure how he’d been connected to that.

Jenny walked up the stairs and into the precinct.  As before everything in the room just stopped when Jenny entered the room.  This time it was for a different reason.

Captain Leo Carter met her halfway to his office.  His face a mixture of anger and relief.

“Cooper!  Where the have you been?”

“That’s a long story captain.”

“Well I hope you have time to explain it to me.”

He lead Jenny to the observation room adjacent to the interrogation room where they kept Xander.  He looked pitiful.  The man was mostly bare save for a pair of basketball shorts that someone had put on him.  His hands were handcuffed behind him and he stared at the table, a look of defeat on his face.

“Do you know this guy?”  The captain said motioning with his head toward the two-way mirror with Xander on the other side.  “Apparently he tried to kill a man tonight while raving about how he was going to kill you as well.”

“Who told you that?”  She asked, eyes on Xander.

“The man he tried to kill.”  He flipped open the file that he’d been carrying.  “A Mr. Evan Vorgrim.  He runs the Chicago branch of the White Wolf Corporation.  Apparently this guy busted into his building, took out quite a few security guards and tried attacked Vorgrim.  All the while ranting that he was going to take down the evil corporations running this country and not even the police could stop him.  That’s when he brought up your name.”

Jenny was as confused as, she was sure, Xander was.  Vorgrim was Xander’s clan chief and was supposed to protect him, not throw him to the wolves.  Literally.  Jenny looked back at Carter.

“He’s not crazy.”

“Then why did our men find him naked.”

She was sure how to explain that one.  “That I’m not sure, but this guy was helping me on my case.”

“For the two homicides and the missing kid?  How’s he connected?”

“That’s a little hard to explain.”

“Well I’m not going anywhere.”

“I mean I can’t explain.  You just have to trust me, he’s not the guy you think he is.”

“We find naked man in the middle of a closed office building.  We have a witness that says he was attacking people in his office building and says that this man kidnapped you.  Which makes sense because you’ve been missing for a couple days, and you say he’s not who I think he is!  And you can’t explain!  Can you tell me anything that makes me believe you’re telling the truth.”

At this point Jenny noticed that Xander was staring at the glass.  He could probably hear Carter’s yelling.

“No sir.”  Was all she could get out.

Carter began rubbing his forehead.  “Well I can’t release him on that and unless you can explain where you’ve been and what your involvement with him is,  I can’t let you continue with your normal duties.”

“What are you saying sir?”

“You’re suspended until further notice detective Cooper.  Please put your gun and badge on the table.”

Jenny wasn’t surprised at the turn of events.  She could hardly blame Carter for his decision.  Still it took her by surprise that Carter would take her badge so quickly.  She pulled her gun from the holster and laid it on the table.  Her badge quickly followed.

“Can I talk to him?”

Carter looked at Xander through the glass.  Xander continued to watch the glass intently.  “I don’t think that would be wise.  He’s a suspect and, right now, you’re not high on my list of trustworthy people.”  He turned and opened the door.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

She exhaled a sigh of defeat.  Again she couldn’t blame him.

Shortly after the conversation between Jenny and her superior the detective that had previously questioned Xander re-entered the interrogation room.  He was a tall good looking man with short cropped brown hair, parted to the side.  He had a square jaw and a cleft in his chin.  He reeked of cockiness.

He pulled out a chair and sat opposite to Xander.

“Well we’ve had a visitor here at the precinct that helps you.  With her emergence it might be beneficial to talk.”

“Jenny.”

The cop raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“Now how would you know that?  You have to admit, it’s quite convenient that we let you have a phone call and all of a sudden Detective Cooper shows up here.  Did you call an accomplice and he threatened her that if she didn’t get us to let you go you’d kill her?”

“Is that what she said?”

The detective sat back and crossed his leg over the other.  “No she didn’t.  As a matter of fact, she wouldn’t say anything in regards to how she knew you or how exactly you were innocent.”  He made air quotes when saying the word innocent.

The detective go up and began pacing back and forth in front of Xander.  “Now things don’t look too good for you at this point.  We found you in an office building wearing nothing but a sheath with a large knife.  An eye witness stating that you were assaulting people and even threatened to kill him.”

Vorgrim.

“Now if you’d be more forthcoming with your name and why you were in that building this whole situation may turn out a lot better for you.”

Xander began staring at the table again.  The detective became infuriated again because he slammed his hands down on the table in front of Xander.  It seemed very cliche to Xander.

“Who are you and what were you doing in that office building!”

Xander looked into the almost frantic eyes of the man across from him.  He had a feeling that this guy hadn’t dealt with failure too much.  Xander smirked.

The detective flew off the handle at this point.  He grabbed Xander underneath the chin and pulled him to his feet.  He then threw him back first into the wall.

“I’ll find out who you are!  When I do, you’ll go away for a long time.”

This brought a smile to Xander’s face.  “Which one did you learn that from?  Starsky?  Or Hutch?”

He was suddenly met with a fist to the jaw.  It didn’t hurt so much as took Xander off balance.  He hit the floor and the detective was on top of him.  He had a fist cocked back when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a group of cops.  He recognized the voice of Carter yelling to “get him out of here.”  The detective was dragged out of the interrogation room.

A couple of cops pulled him to Xander to his feet.  They faced him toward Carter.  “Put him in a holding cell until I figure out what to do with him.”

Xander smiled to himself as the two cops walked him out of the room.

Xander pulled the policeman’s cap low over his eyes as he rode the elevator up from the holding cells.  It didn’t take much to overpower the two cops who’d taken him down there.  He’d waited until they were in a deserted hall before using his strength to slam the two together.
One of them went unconscious instantly.  The other, although dazed, tried to attack him.  It took a quick shot to the face and then slamming him into the concrete wall before he went down in a heap.
He shoved them both into a holding cell and, lucky for him, the one without the bleeding nose was his size.  He’d stripped the cop and donned his uniform.  One of the cops was also taking his dagger to evidence, so he was able to retrieve that as well.  He just hoped he could sneak through the main floor of the precinct without being recognized.
The doors slid open and no one gave him a second glance.  He lowered his head a bit and began walking as quickly as he could without drawing attention through the maze of desks.  The place seemed busy enough that everyone had something they were doing and couldn’t be bothered by a beat cop walking through.
He was almost to the door to the lobby area when Captain Carter turned the corner in front of him.  Xander lowered as much as he could and still be able to see where he was going.
Carter was scanning a file, Xander figured it was his, as he passed.  Xander caught him glance his way as they passed.  Xander continued walking even though he sensed the man stop behind him and turn around.
“Hey!”  He heard Carter call behind him.
He almost bolted if it hadn’t been for a familiar voice call “Captain!”  from off to the side.
Xander turned turned his head to the side as Carter’s attention turned to Jenny walking up to him.  Xander turned his attention back to the door and, in no time, was through it and in the lobby.
He made his way toward the door and before he knew it was out in the cool night air.

Jenny was making her way to her car with a box of her belongings.  She’d packed up her desk in preparation for the fact that she might be on suspension for a while, that is if she came back at all.  She was glad she had.  She’d glanced up in time to see Xander, a few desks away, walk past in a police uniform.  She’d watched him headed for the door and pass Carter.  Carter had turned and called for him and that’s when Jenny jumped into action.
She’d caught Carter’s attention and Xander had slipped away.  She’d made up some story about how she’d wanted to know if Carter had wanted her business cards left at her desk.  Carter gave grumbled that it didn’t matter, but watched the door that Xander had left from.
That’s when chaos ensued.  Three beat cops, one in only his boxers, burst out of the elevator, yelling about an escaped prisoner.
Jenny had felt it a good time to take her leave.
She slipped into the front seat of her car.
“You know I don’t usually make it a habit to help suspects escape police custody.”
“I’ll try not to make a habit of it.” Came the reply from the back.  Xander poked his head between the two front bucket seats.  “I appreciate the assist though.”
Jenny smiled as she started the engine.
“What now?”
“We need to go back to the church.”  Jenny said solemnly.  “Something's happened you need to know about.”