Bounty Duty Chp 8

Rating Pg-13
Genre: Action/Romance
Summary: Steph continues her investigations into Ramirez with the help of Kane.
Disclaimer: Kane and slavic belongs to EA games while Steph, Ramirez, Morelli and Connie belong to Janet Evanovich. Pick belongs to Arnold vosloo and Sid is 100% my own creation

The morning sun began to seep through the slatted blinds, Kane frowned slightly as the light hit his face, causing him to stir from his slumber and blink himself awake. He grumbled and squinted at his watch that he left on the side table. It read ten to nine, a time Kane knew was late if he and Steph were to get on and play detective. He threw the Duvet back and sat perched on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up.
“..................Come on Steph.............Connie's gonna have a fit again.”
Kane waited for an answer but there was to be none, he quickly turned round to see Steph had long gone, the duvet on her side was flung back and left, towels slung on the floor and all her draws were pulled out to a point. Kane put it down to her panicking that she was late again and she didn't want to disturb him but something inside was telling him it was because of last night, where the two of them were locked in the throes of passion.
Kane sighed and threw himself back onto the bed, his heart sinking a little as the thoughts came crawling into his head. Maybe she did want to use Kane as a means to get back at Morelli, make him jealous of what he done or maybe she made a mistake. Which ever one it was, doesn't matter as both outcomes were stinging Kane like crazy. He gathered up his clothes from off the floor along with the towels and headed to the bathroom, where he stayed for half an hour, standing in the shower watching the water trickle down, mulling over possible outcomes of Steph's sudden morning departure. He hopped out of the shower, got changed and headed into the kitchen. No note, no message, nothing. Kane just sighed and rummaged through the cupboards for some breakfast before being interrupted by his phone ringing, he picked it up and answered, checking the ID to see it was Pick.
“Hey Pick what's up?” Sighed Kane.
“I'm coming to pick you up........Steph's busy”
Kane peered out of the window to see his car was still in the car lot.
“No need.....I'll drive.....she didn't take my car this morning.”
“Alright.........Well.....I'll crack on with the case then Kane.”
“Wait why ain't Steph working on it?” Asked Kane concerned.
“She decided to take a day off the case...........she looks a little distracted mind.”
“She'll live.” Replied Kane coldly.
“Wait................has something happened between you?”
Kane was tempted to tell Pick what happened last night between them, what started it all off in the first place, how a day spent relaxing and getting to know each other a bit better suddenly turned into them jumping into bed with one another and why he woke up the next morning with Steph gone. However he knew he'd be in for a lecture from Pick about taking advantage of women while they were low and why you should not do it.
“.................I just told her a few home truths that's all.”
“And let me guess she didn't take it very well?”
“You could say that.”
“Well..........look call me when you are at the office and I'll tell you where I'm staking out.”
“Alright Pick.........I'll see you later.”
Kane hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket, sighing heavily and passing up on breakfast , Pick's words of Steph's reaction sticking in the back of his mind, going over and over again, reliving the night before and making his heart sink even lower then it did when he first realised what had happened. Some bitterness was slowly starting to creep into the back of Kane's mind, bitterness that was aimed at himself for allowing himself to go that far with her, he knew deep down he should have pushed her away and let her get over how she was feeling but instead he ignored common sense and went along with stupidity.. He pulled out his phone again and brought up Steph's number, contemplating to ring it to see if he can get an answer from her but would she see it as him being pushy? Would she ignore him? Or would she yell abuse at him and throw him off the case and out of her flat? He quickly put his phone back into his pocket again and groaned, she was right, he was inexperienced when it came to relationships and women.

Kane had arrived  at Pick's steak out point. It was a set of fancy flats, maybe snapped up by the rich that lived in Trenton, one of them being Ramirez. It was surrounded by a car park filled with flash motors, Porsche's, Ferrari's, any car that was over fifty thousand. Kane rolled up beside a black Subaru Impreza and shut off the engine. Pick got out of the drivers side of the car and walked over to Kane's, getting in the passengers side, Kane quickly glanced over at him then back at the block of flats.
“Nice car.” Said Kane with a coldness.
“Thanks...........It's one my insurance company are letting me use till they can get me a new hummer.”
“Lucky you.”
Pick just merely nodded, picking up on Kane's sudden attitude change this morning. He didn't seem his usual relaxed self, he seemed wound up and agitated by something but he seemed to be tight lipped about it.
“So why exactly are we here anyway?” Asked Kane curiously.
“Few contacts I know say Ramirez is picking up a few things from home.” Replied Pick
“And you are hoping he'll make an appearance?”
“I'm hoping he'll be dumb enough to but I very much doubt it, though I am hoping we'll see someone and then we can track him or her back to Ramirez's hideout.”
“Like your style.”
“So now I have told you my plan, you gonna tell me what is playing on your mind?” Asked Pick, knowing he could have hit a nerve with Kane.
“......................I give up on relationships.” Sighed Kane.
“Never knew you was in one.”
“I'm not..............Just..........can't seem to get the one person I like to like me in the same way. She always seems to go for the jerks ya know?”
“Seems to be summat about Jerks, women like.”
“Yeah............Talking from experience are we Pick?”
Pick just went quiet and carried on observing the car park and the block of flats, his way of quickly changing the subject from the one they were on. A moment of silence as the two carried on observing, Pick flicked up his collar on his jacket and slouched down in the chair while Kane adjusted the peak of his hat and began lightly tapping on the steering wheel.
“So do you know which one Ramirez lived in?” Asked Kane
“Yep.........Left hand side, third floor up” Replied Pick.
“And how do you know this?”
“Contacts”
“You and your contacts. How come they ain't caught him yet?”
“Undercover and still gaining Ramirez's mens trust.”
“Have they seen him yet?”
“Nope but people have been talking and they know he's still in Trenton.”
“Probably explain why my Satellites ain't picked him up yet them.”
Pick glanced up at Kane with a raised eyebrow before looking back at the car park before them.
“I'm not even gonna ask.”

An hour had passed, there was still no sign of the suspected pick up from Ramirez and both men were growing impatient, flinching every time a car made an appearance, only for it to be someone visiting or a taxi driver dropping off someone. Kane frowned and pulled out his gun from the inside pocket of his jacket, He loaded it up and went to open the door.
“Hey what the hell are you doing?”
“Pick this is getting ridiculous..........we are flinching every time a car pulls up in the parking lot...and personally I'm getting a little bored of it.”
“And just what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Break in and wait for them.”
“NO! You have been in hospital once already. I'm not going back to Steph and telling her you got shot up again. It's the last thing she needs right now.”
Kane just glared up at pick and then decided to put his gun away, he didn't want another round tour of the hospital again and he defiantly didn't want to encounter anymore flirting nurses who would do anything that had legs.
“So we wait...............for another hour?” Grumbled Kane.
“You wanna find out where Ramirez is and help out Steph?” Asked Pick
“Yeah.”
“Well shut up whining and sit it out”
Kane was about to speak when a black pickup truck parked up in front of the entrance to the apartments. The door opened and the gym owner stepped out, holding a empty travelers bag. He was suited up, his clothes immaculate and his Jewelery polished to a high spec. He quickly glanced round the car park before heading inside, leaving his jeep running.
“And that's our man. We really need to teach him a lesson about leaving his car running.”  
“NO! DONT EVEN-”
Pick didn't have chance to finish his sentence. Kane had already fled to the pickup truck and was rummaging around in the back for clues, notes, any bit of dirt he could collect on Ramirez. Pick however found this to be what he calls “Face palm time” and the only thing he can do in these moments, was to arm himself and go with the flow of things. He opened up the glove box in Kane's car and had a handgun glinting back at him, predictable of Kane to have a back up for emergencies. He retrieved the gun, checked to see if it was loaded and then proceeded towards the car that Kane was busy scurrying around in.
“Kane if we get caught we are toast”
“No.......We run, head to our cars and split up. He can only afford to chase one of us”
“And it'll be you he'll hunt down.”
“Oh goody.”
“I swear to god you love pain.” Replied Pick unimpressed.
“Makes relationships that little bit more interesting.” Quipped Kane
“What?”
“Sorry?”
Pick just glared at Kane who had the biggest grin on his face that could be seen from miles around if given the chance. Ever since Pick could remember about their friendship, Kane was the one that dragged them into trouble while Pick was left to clear up and drag them out of trouble and it was a routine that wasn't going to stop now, not by a long shot.
Kane bundled into the back of the pickup, while Pick kept lookout, keeping a tight grip of the pistol he acquired from Kane's car. He could see movement on the glass stairwell, a Shadow on the wall opposite, holding a fully loaded bag and closing a door behind. Pick quickly glanced at Kane then back at the stairwell, noticing the guy from the gym was making his way to the stairs.
“Grab whatever it is you are looking for and get the fuck out..........NOW!” Growled Pick.
“Pick it's like a treasure trove in here and I coul-”
“THE GUY IS COMING DOWN THE STAIRS, GRAB WHAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT AND RUN!”
Kane grumbled, picking up random things from out the pickup and then bolting from the vehicle back to his, clutching hold of a small leather notebook and a wallet. He dived into his car and looked over at Pick who was sitting in the passengers seat, casually, focusing on the car in front of him.
“Got one thing to say to you Kane.”
“What?”
“You left the door open.”
“...........................Ah.”
Both of them looked up to see the Gym owner standing in front of his pickup, gone out, he quickly looked over to their way. Kane and Pick quickly ducked under the Dash to get out of view, Pick praying the guy wouldn't come over and inspect their cars. They waited till they heard the pick up's engine pull away before surfacing once more.
“You get the license plate of that car?” Asked Kane.
“Yeah-No you DONT!”
“I'm not going after it.”
“Good cause that's my job.” Replied Pick.
“You're not either........I put a tracker in it”
“For the love of..........Where do you nod boys get those toys?” Asked Pick Curious.
“If I told You I'd have to kill you.” Replied Kane with a smirk
Kane reached into the back of his car and pulled a bag into the front with him. He unzipped it and pulled out his laptop, flicking it open and accessing one of the many satellites he had at his command. Pick leaned over and caught glimpse of the gym owners car, then quickly looked up at Kane to see him smirking to himself.
“All we gotta do now is wait for him to stop for more then ten minutes and we got an idea where our buddy Ramirez is.”
“I wouldn't say he was our buddy”
“You hungry?”


They had pulled up at a local burger king fifteen minutes later, parked up and tucked into their lunch or lunch come breakfast for Kane. The laptop was parked on top of the Subaru's dash while the pair watched it eagle eyed, trying to figure out where the hell this truck was going; Pick had advised Kane to leave his car back at Steph's apartment just in case they got caught out.
Pick leaned back in his chair and began chowing down on his burger, tutting when Ketchup came dribbling out and ran down his hands, this in turn causing Kane to chuckle to himself as it was the fourth time Pick had done it.
“I warned you about applying way too much ketchup” Chimed Kane.
“Hey.......you can't have too much ketchup”
“Good job these joints give out these nifty lemon wipes because that burger can't handle anymore ketchup buddy”
“Hey whats the point in having free sauce if you don't take of advantage of it?” Asked Pick.
“Free Lemon wipes” Replied Kane with a grin.
“...........I always knew you was one of them kinds of guy.”
“What does that-”
“Hey Kane the truck has stopped...............in the middle of a car park fifteen minutes away”
Kane blinked and looked at the screen. The truck had stopped slap bang in a  car park in the grounds of an abandoned warehouse, there was no action coming from the truck and there was no other cars joining it. Both Kane and Pick watched the motionless truck for ten minutes before deciding to go along and investigate, Pick loading up his shotgun before heading off. Kane sat in the passengers side watching the truck cautiously, something didn't feel right about it all, a part of him was telling him to stay back and watch from afar while another part wanted to go and investigate, get into trouble to spite Steph.
“Pick........you think this is a setup?”
“You think the pope is Catholic?”
“Good point.”
They arrived at the car park of the abandoned warehouse. It was quiet, the pick up was parked at a skew, it's engine dead. Kane frowned as he noticed the pick up truck was empty, there was no explanation for the truck to be empty unless they missed something vital while they were massacring their burgers and fries. Pick had his shotgun locked and loaded and had his hand on the door handle, ready to bolt headstrong into the unknown situation.
“Hey wait a second Pick, What if he has that armed with remote explosives?”
“He didn't even know we was coming!”
“Well it's just a little freaking odd he's disappeared.”
“And the longer we sit here scratching our heads, the more of an obvious target we become!”
“Fine. You stay in the car and I'll go outside and get my head shot off or get blown up, shall I?”
“.............Kane-”
“I'm sick of people thinking I'm a fucking idiot or use me to get to someone else and when I try and be sensible and rational, people just freaking ignore me and go ahead and do the dumb stuff they are gonna do. Well it stops right now. I know where he is, I'm going after him you just sit in the car and stay safe!”
Kane angrily placed his laptop on the dash, pulled out his gun and stepped out of the car, angrily slamming the door behind. Pick blinked then looked at the laptop, noticing the image had gone from a normal vision to Infra- red vision and sure enough Kane was heading straight for the guy they needed to get hold of. He made sure he was out of the guys line of sight before pouncing on him, Tackling him to the floor, punching him in the face a few times before picking him up off the ground and dragging him back to the car in a headlock. Pick quickly hopped out of the car and clamped a set of cuffs onto the gym owners hands and throwing him into the back of the car.
“What's your name?” Asked Kane menacingly
“I ain't telling you!”
“You ain't got a choice! I got a loaded gun and my buddy here has a loaded shotgun. You wanna take your chances!?”
The man gulped and glared back at Kane.
“ Eric Howles.” Replied the man with reluctance.
“That weren't hard now was it? Pick Make a stop at the office on the way to the police station.”
“You ain't got shit on me to get me arrested.”
“I'm sure we can find something.”
Pick shook his head with disapproval at Kane's tactics but if it got them squealing some kind of needed information then Pick wasn't gonna complain about it too much. He threw the car into gear and screamed out of the car park, heading straight for Vinnie's office so Kane could get anything to put Eric behind for a little while and possibly slow down Ramirez a little. Pick didn't really get the idea but he knows there is some kind of madness involved in Kane's logic thinking.
Pick pulled up outside the office with the engine still running while Kane stepped out of the car and ventured inside, greeting Connie with a nod before putting across his request to her. She headed to the files and flicked through them.
“Hey...........You got any idea why Steph is in such an awkward mood today?” Asked Connie intrigued, hoping to probe something from Kane so that she could use it as gossip among her close friends.
“......................Nope.............I woke up this morning and she was long gone.”
“You think Morelli pissed her off again?”
Kane just shrugged his shoulders.
“Maybe................You never know with those two.”
“That's true..........but I did hear from other sources she had her eyes on someone else because she was growing tired of Morelli using her.”
“She should take a leaf out of her own book then” Muttered Kane.
“Did you say something?”
“No. Find anything on Eric?”
“Yep..............a lot of unpaid parking tickets. You get him in we'll give you three hundred dollars. How does that sound?”
“Like a fair deal. Cheers Connie.”
Connie just smiled politely as Kane headed back to Picks car, she watched him leave the office before poking her head round to Vinnie's office to check on Steph who was curled up on the chair looking down.
“So.............You wanna tell me what's going on between you two or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?” Asked Connie
“There is nothing going on.............I just can't face him today that's all.” Replied Steph Dejected
“You slept with him didn't you?”
“ How the hell did you jump to that conclusion!?”
“Well you two are acting like you had a lovers tiff that's why.”
“Whatever.....................I'm going home Connie......................I don't feel so good.”

It was eight before Kane came back to Steph's apartment, Pick was with him making sure Ramirez or Mancuso's men were not gonna launch a surprise attack on him on the stairs or something daft like that. Kane padded himself down to find the spare set of keys Steph gave to him, He opened up his jacket and pulled them from his inside pocket, placing the key into the lock and opening the door. He noticed Steph's shoes at the entrance of the apartment, her hat and coat slung on the floor and her bag parked against the entrance. Kane let out a heavy sigh before fully opening the door and stepping in.
“.................Look...............I don't wanna get involved here Kane...............but what really happened between you two?” Asked Pick Concerned
“I told you.............I just told her some truths she didn't like.”
“Well to me it goes a lot deeper then that but knowing the infamous Kane he won't tell me.”
“Yeah.....................Because you will kill me if I told you what really happened.”
Pick raised an eyebrow and adjusted his stance, his hands were now firmly by his sides, he was standing up straight and he tilted his head slightly to the left. He meant business and was determined to make Kane uncomfortable in order for him to spill the truth to him.
“I'm having a guess you two done more then just talk about certain issues.”
“Yeah.................We played Chess.”
“So that's what they call one night stands these days?”
“Pick-”
“No wonder she's fucked up. She's got Morelli shagging everything that moves and then you come along and take advantage of her vulnerable state. What did you do Kane, use your injury as a sympathy sweetener?”
Kane quickly turned and wrapped his hand round Pick's throat, slamming him into the wall behind him, his eyes turning slightly dark in colour.
“I didn't take advantage of her! If anything she was the one that came onto me! She seduced me and lured me into her trap so she could get back at that scum bag Morelli! And I fell for everything!”
Pick gulped as Kane loosened his grip round his throat and let him drop unceremoniously to the floor.
“I'm the one who feels used Pick.” Growled Kane.
Pick dusted himself down and picked himself up off the floor.
“Al right.................Fine. If it's that bad Kane I can put you up till the case is over, give you two some breathing space.”
“................I can't accept that offer................It's best if I stay here and make sure she is safe. Maybe it will be a little frosty for a few days but let the dust settle and we will see where we stand.”
“So what.....in the meantime you'll just not talk to one another and be strangers under the same roof?” Asked Pick
“ If that is what it takes.........then yeah but I refuse to leave her alone while that rampaging woman raping bastard is lurking about”
“You know you could just hire police to watch her.”
Kane just gave Pick a look of disapproval and then headed into the apartment, gently closing the door so it wouldn't make so much of a sound. The apartment was silent with Rex occasionally breaking the silence by having a jog in his wheel. Kane frowned slightly not liking the sudden silence with in the flat, Usually when Steph comes home the TV is on and she was usually in another part of her apartment doing something else other then watch the TV. He slowly removed his boots and quietly moved around the flat, scoping it out in case someone had busted in and was holding Steph hostage in her own apartment but there was no signs of such a deed. He looked over at the bedroom door and noticed it was slammed shut so he quietly moved over and slowly turned the handle, moving him out of the way slightly just in case but all that greeted him was Steph face down on the bed fast asleep, still fully dressed, clutching hold of the duvet. He walked round to the side she was sleeping just to make sure she was still breathing and was not suffocating herself.
Her eyes were gently closed shut, her face stained by tears that had rolled down her skin, her breathing shallow as she laid in a dreamless sleep.
Kane gently wiped away a tear that was starting to roll down her cheek and then sighed slightly feeling he was to blame for her sudden change in emotions. He slowly pulled half of the duvet over her to keep her warm, she stirred slightly, mumbling something incoherent before finally settling back down again. Kane slowly started to make his way out of the door when he heard the Duvet suddenly being thrown back, he quickly turned around to see a half awake and rather disgruntled Steph staring back at him.
“ What you doing in here?” She snapped.
“I was..............Just gonna go out for a walk and get something to eat..............thought I'd check on you before I went”
“Or trying to make a move on me, hoping to get into bed with me again.”
Kane pulled a face and quickly spun round to face the door.
“Don't try and avoid the subject.” Growled Steph
“I don't want to argue Steph, I just came in to check on you and then I was going to go out.”
“To drown your sorrows with Pick, crawl into the house late and wake up with a hangover?”
“No! To get something to bloody eat and stay out of your face for a bit”
“Well I'd like that idea very much Kane!”
“So do I. It suits me fine!”  Growled Kane.
He angrily adjusted the collar on his jacket and headed out of the apartment, slamming the door loudly and causing the locals to pop their heads out to see what all the commotion is about. He quickly ran down the stairs, took a glance at his car and decided against taking it, instead he went with the idea of walking to Pino's  in order to clear his head and stay out of Steph's face like he said he would. The wind was cold and snow began to fall again but it didn't phase Kane, it didn't phase him that he was walking potentially dangerous streets in the dark and events earlier from today certainly didn't phase him. Right now he didn't care if Ramirez had a gang coming after him or if Mancuso was planning his immediate murder, he was too pissed off to care about the things that surrounded him.
Kane lifted his head up to see the welcoming sight of Pino's, the air changing to the welcoming smell of pepperoni, cheese and tomato. It made Kane's stomach rumble as he entered the restaurant and placed his order to take away. He watched the waiters in the restaurant rushing around, dodging one another as they shifted pizzas around on one hand and a drinks order on another, waiting in anticipation for one to collide into another and either chuck drinks over each other or have a pizza slide down their front and ruin their uniform. A chuckle escaped his lips as he envisioned the catastrophe unfolding before him, it would be humours for a few minutes before guilt would set in and Kane would find himself helping them out. He sat down on the bench and waited, looking out the window and raising a brow at a group of hoodies on the other side of the road, huddled round tightly, hands firmly tucked into their pockets and heads bowed. Kane just shrugged it off and looked over at the selection of magazines on the table, contemplating between reading one about history or one about womens gossip, none really being the type to grab him, unless he was a woman and wanted something to discuss among friends.
He waited roughly ten minutes before his order came through, which meant he was to go back outside into the bitter cold once more and begin his walk back to the apartment. He adjusted his collar, picked up his pizza and ventured out into the cold, the warmth from the pizza keeping his hands warm for the time being. There was nobody around, only the gang of hoodies that mysteriously appeared while he was in Pino's , not even homeless people scattered the streets begging for food or spare change. The snow began to fall again, Kane grumbled as the bitter cold wind attacked his face and nipped at his fingers. He stopped, flicked open the box and removed a slice from the box, munching on it as he slowly walked back to Steph's apartment. He paused slightly, hearing the snow crunching beneath heavy feet behind him. He quickly turned round to see the gang of hoodies circle around him.
“................................Hi.” Said Kane concerned.
“Give us a slice buddy.” Replied the gang leader huskily.
“I'm not your bud-”
Kane slumped to the floor unconscious as the guy behind stands over him with a baseball bat, checking to see if he was knocked out, he gave the ring leader a nod who ordered a group of them to heft him up. A black Van pulled up alongside them, they hurled Kane into the back and sped off, the only sign of the scuffle being the pizza box thrown on the floor and left. No witnesses to report the crime at least that's what they thought.

Steph stirred and looked at the clock. It was ten at night and there was no sign of Kane and she knew it didn't take two hours to get to Pino's, get a pizza and come home. She pulled out her phone and tried to contact Kane but she got no response, she was straight through to the answer machine which was highly unusual for Kane to have his phone off. Concern began to sink in, things starting to come into her head like if she didn't snap at him he wouldn't have gone out into the cold on his own. Her heart began to race as she feared the worse. There was a loud knock on her door that made her jump, she nervously approached her door.
“.....................Who is it?” Asked Steph nervously.
“It's Pick Steph. Open the door something has happened to Kane.”
“Is it bad?”
“If you wanna call Men belting him with a baseball bat and chucking him into a black unmarked van as Bad? Then yeah it's bad.” Replied Pick.
Steph quickly flung the door open and allowed Pick in, he was wearing his long black jacket that was lightly dusted with the snow that was falling and had his shotgun strapped to his back.
“Ranger is tracing the plates of the van.”
“................You mean to say you didn't follow the van?”
“I did up until a red light.”
“And you didn't think to just go-”
“There was a heavy goods truck coming in the other direction so no.”
“He's been gone two hours.................ANYTHING COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM BY NOW PICK!”
“This is Kane Steph.”
“THEY CAN STILL KILL HIM!” Snarled Steph.
Steph quickly grabbed her bag and rummaged around for her car keys, Pick just rolled his eyes, picking up a set of keys off the table and throwing them at her feet.
“Found them.”
“That's Kane's car keys Pick!”
“Exactly my point.”
Steph blinked at him angrily before cottoning on to what he was trying to get at, by the time they have found Kane in the Buick he would have been stone cold dead, at least in Kane's car they would stand some chance of getting to him. She picked up the keys, ushered Pick out of the apartment and locked up behind her. She didn't have time to wait for the lift so she galloped down the flight of stairs, Pick struggling to keep up as he lumbered down the stairs with his hefty shotgun attached to his back. Anybody coming up the stairs would certainly wait for him to go by or ring the police, telling them some gun crazed lunatic was chasing after an innocent unarmed woman.
Steph pulled out the keys and beeped the car open. Picks phone went off, he quickly patted himself down before finding his phone and answering.
“What's the latest Ranger?” Asked Pick hurriedly
“The Van was last spotted at the graveyard an hour ago, some men jumped out with a casket”  
“What about tools?”
“Nope. On this report it just says a casket, no tools. I went up there half an hour ago and the van was long gone”
“ Damn it! Ranger keep tabs on it, me and Steph need to go to the graveyard.”
“Why?”
“Paying our respects.”
Pick slammed the phone down on ranger and made his way over to Kane's car, Steph was already sitting in the drivers side, belted up and had the engine ticking over, Pick looked over at her and could see the worry etched over her face, yes they may have had a bust up at some point during the course of the day, words may have been said but Pick could see that the nasty words didn't mean a thing, they were just said in the heat of the moment, now Steph was regretting it, probably blaming herself for Kane being thrown into the back of a black Van, unconscious and surrounded by goons either hired by Mancuso or Ramirez.
“Sure you don't want me to drive?” Asked Pick calmly.
“No................Ive driven this car before Pick.” Replied Steph quietly yet sternly
“Alright.............Just asking beca-”
“Because what!? Because it's got more grunt and you think that I can't handle it because I own a Buick!?” Snapped Steph.
“No.”
“Then why ask? Kane never had a problem with me driving him home from hospital in it!”
Pick went quiet and noticed a tear rolling down her face. Steph just sighed and wiped her face, trying not to let her emotions show in front of Pick but it was too late, he had seen the tear and she knew it. She looked at pick and took a deep breath in.
“Kane told me about Morelli.” She managed.
“Was he telling the truth Pick or was he hallucinating?”
Pick nodded.
“He was telling the truth...........we saw him and this nurse disappear into a cupboard or something and they never came out till about half an hour later.”
“Maybe they were doing inquiries?” Steph asked brightly, clinging onto something to not make her feel as bad as she was right now but Pick shock his head.
“I'm sorry Steph, it wasn't an office, it was a stationary cupboard and when they were done they both came out scruffier then when they went in.”
Steph looked down at her feet, she felt her heart get heavy with the guilt of pushing Kane away yet at the same time it was hurting, hurting at the prospect that she may have pushed away her one chance at experiencing a relationship that was a potential to be filled with a lot more then what Morelli was giving her, with Morelli it was just about the sex and nothing else, with Kane there was the possibility of being respected, being cared for, understood and more importantly loved for, yet she threw it all away when she exploded in his face, lashing out at him because she woke up confused by her feelings and couldn't bare to face him because she felt she had done the wrong thing by going with the flow as they say.
Pick gently rested his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it to get her attention, Steph raised her head and looked at him.
“Hate to break it to you but the longer we sit here the more unlikely its going to be before we find Kane alive.” Suggested Pick softly.
“I know...........It's just a lot of things hurt right now Pick” Sighed Steph.
“I know but we need to get on and go and get him before the worms do.”
Steph nodded and threw the car into reverse, revving the engine slightly before reversing out of the space  and then heading out of the parking lot, engine purring before hitting the open road and roaring into action, Steph hoping Pick was right, hoping that the car would be fast enough for them to get there in time, she don't think she could ever forgive herself if her one chance at being happy was pushed away and ended by her own hands.

It was pitch black, There was no outside noise, no sign of life and it was eerily still just the noise of Kane breathing was the only soundtrack. Kane groaned as his thumping headache began to kick in, little reminder of the scuffle he had with the gang of hoodies just outside Pino's. He went to  raise his hand up to his head before feeling it brush along a wall of some description, there was no friction so it wasn't made of brick but it did feel smooth. He stopped and ran his hand down this wall in order to get an idea as to where abouts he was, it was smooth and it wasn't cold so it couldn't have been metal, ruling out the idea that he was possibly locked in a car boot and abandoned. Kane then clenched his fist and knocked on the wall, it wasn't hollow but it did have a woody sound to it. Possibly a door out of where he was but surely they could not have been that dumb to leave a door unguarded and unlocked.
Kane pondered to himself where he could be, the car option was ruled out after he figured out the wall in front of him was not metal but wood and the only thing he could think of that was made out of wood was a door. He tried pushing against it but there was no give, he tried to find a handle but there was none, he was just in a small place with a wooden wall. The atmosphere was beginning to get stuffy quickly, Kane was starting to get frustrated and in his frustration he went to stretch out but couldn't, his hands were greeted with a soft texture, a mix between silk and satin, he couldn't figure it out right now but feeling it certainly made him freeze in his tracks. Only one wooden box had an interior lined with either silk or satin and it was the final box everyone would go in before either being fed to the furnace or being fed to the worms. Kane put his hand in his pocket and quickly pulled out his phone, pressing buttons to get the screen to light up, he quickly turned it up and used it as a torch. It only confirmed his worse fears. He was in a coffin and looking at his non existent signal he could only imagine he was buried alive, six feet under with a load of topsoil dumped on top of him. No escape.
Kane started to panic, he didn't mind being shot at, having grenades thrown at him, mines chucked before his feet or orbital ION cannons being aimed at his head but being trapped in a confined space and being chucked into the ground was the limit, for some reason it freaked him out. He once described a similar experience as being trapped with your inner demons and being forced to watch the re-runs of every bad thing you had done in your life, sitting on an emotional roller coaster while your demons spewed up nothing but negativity and evil; he shivered slightly and started banging on the lid of the casket, hoping someone was above him, could hear him and was hopefully on their way to find help but hope faded when he saw the time on his watch, highly unlikely someone was gonna be lurking the graveyards at half past ten at night. Kane growled and carried on hitting the lid in a desperate hope but the panic only fueled his demons, certain flashbacks from his life started to make an appearance, stupid mistakes he made, accidents he had caused by his own fair hand, the what ifs and if onlys started circulating his mind.
“Not now, not now, NOT NOW!” He snarled
His mind was swimming with these thoughts, these cursed memories that made him sick to the stomach, sick with himself and guilty at not being able to correct them when he should have. He paused briefly in hitting the lid of the coffin, trying desperately to gather his thoughts but the flashbacks became a lot more stronger and a lot more vivid. He saw himself before a soldier, the soldier was snarling at him, Kane looked down in his memory and saw the spike being pushed into his body, ripping his skin and piercing his internal organs, blood didn't seep from his wounds but the cold feeling rushing through his body one more time was enough to make him scream out, it didn't stop the memory, it only carried on, carried onto the point where Kane could remember laying on the ground, writhing in pain as this soldier walked away from him, the sharp unforgiving feeling searing up from his scar on his abdomen and connecting up to the one on his back, causing him to reach out and thump the lid once more. He hated the old days coming back to haunt him again but there was one memory he didn't want coming back out into the open once more, it was the memory for why he was there in the first place and he knew the longer he was down there, the stuffier the atmosphere was going to get and the memory was eventually going to creep out.
He banged harder on the lid with both fists and called out louder, hoping someone would save him before he would go under and drown with the memories that came flooding back.