Don't Look Like a Seal Pt. 02

"That he does," I nodded.

"I take it that you were the lead on your team?" She asked to change the topic.

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

"T. J. called you sir in there," She reminded me.

"Did he? I didn't even notice," I shrugged.

"So were you?" She prompted as we continued walking back to the ICU area.

"We didn't really have a command structure on the team. Everyone just knew their job and we went from there. T. J. probably called me sir just to try and get a rise out of me," I told her.

"It didn't seem like that was the reason," She pointed out.

"How would you... oh yeah, detective... I nearly forgot," I chuckled.

"I busted my butt for my shield, Ken. Don't forget it," She warned me playfully.

"No, ma'am," I nodded.

"And don't ma'am me either or I'll slap these cuffs on you and haul you over the 4th myself," She stated.

"Can't let that happen," I laughed. "No bail money this week, so just Detective then?"

"You seem to be doing all right with that for now but I don't want to give you too much leash. God knows where you'll run off to if I did," She flirted then checked her watch. "I'm going to check in with Bobby. I left him with the tech guys to see if they could pull anything usable from the video in the ICU. I'm worried that he might have shot them by now. Do you plan on being here long?"

I checked my watch and shook my head.

"Afraid not," I answered. "I'm due back on duty in forty-five."

"Just enough time to check in on your friend," She stated.

"True," I nodded.

"If my partner or the techs come up with anything I'll track you down either here or at the estate," She told me.

"I'd appreciate that," I assured her.

"Be seeing you then," She nodded and I watched her as she walked away.

"Yes, you will," I said to myself before I headed toward the ICU.

****

A flash of lightning illuminated the mansion followed closely by a loud crash of thunder that felt as if it shook the whole mansion.

"This turned into one heck of a storm!" Joe said in my ear.

I had been on duty for a few hours already. I had been assigned to walk the fence line again but when the storm kicked up I, along with the others that were working outdoor duties, were pulled inside due to lightning.

"Yeah, I thought that it might when Det. Young and Det. Lang stopped by a little while ago. The clouds were getting darker and darker just before we lost the sunlight," I commented.

"Did they have anything new to share?" he asked.

"Just that they had a decent shot of the guy that showed up at the ICU and they were running it through their databases," I answered.

"Let's hope that works out and they catch the guy. He can lead them back to who is behind all this and it'll be over," He stated.

"I hope it's just that easy," I said. "Det. Young didn't sound too positive about it."

"I noticed that the two of you had a nice little chat while you walked her to her car," He chuckled.

"Big brother is always watching huh," I commented. "I going to have to remember that."

"Probably a good idea," He shared.

"She wanted..." I started to tell him then paused. "This stays between us for now. Cool?"

"As the other side of the pillow," He assured me.

"She wanted me to snoop around Scott's place and see if I could find anything that could... help," I answered.

"Sounds sneaky," He commented.

"Yeah," I nodded then shook my head as I tried to peer out the glass doors in the kitchen that led to the backyard.

I could only see about three feet because of the heavy downpour of rain. Another brilliant flash of lightning lit up the night sky and caused me to see spots for a few seconds.

"Remind me again on how we're set if the power fails?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes to try and clear them.

"The main generator kicks in after thirty seconds of the power going out. Smaller ones kick in to power emergency lighting so we aren't trapped in darkness. The one that powers this room is the other that kicks in asap so we don't lose data or have to reboot. Sorry but you're on your own in the guest house if the power goes out. Want me to head over there and get your teddy bear before that happens?"

I chuckled and continued to gaze out at the rain.

"Two days on the job and you're already giving me grief huh Joe? What makes you think I left my teddy bear in the guesthouse, anyway?" I asked.

"Ex-Navy SEAL with a teddy bear. That must be one heck of bear," A familiar female voice called out from behind me.

I turned slowly and found Michelle standing in the doorway backlit by the faint light seeping in from the living room. Even though her face was in shadow I was already imagining the wide smile she must have had.

"So first you learn about my lack of game and now this," I remarked.

Joe in the meantime was about to go into convulsions from all the laughing so I dislodged my earbud to avoid having him damage my hearing any further.

"Pretty soon you'll know all my little secrets," I told her.

"Just like your teddy bear does I'm sure," she replied.

There was a unique cheerfulness in her voice that I found surprising for someone that was awoken by the storm.

"Mind if I hit the lights?" She asked me. "I kind of want to see how red your face is right now."

"You're going to do it despite what I tell you so you might as well go ahead," I told her.

She reached out and, to my relief, only turned on the lights above the island in the kitchen which bathed the area in a soft golden hue.

"Well?" I asked as she stepped closer to me.

She paused for a moment and seemed to really study my face even pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose which I found endearing.

"I thought it'd be worse," She frowned. "I guess you hide it well."

"Either that or I'm not as embarrassed about my teddy bear as you think I should be," I smiled.

"I guess I should be the one that's embarrassed," She sighed.

"I would agree that Tinkerbelle pajamas would be a little embarrassing but you make them work for you," I commented.

She looked down and seemed that she had forgotten what she was wearing. She frowned then looked up at my smiling face.

"I'll bet your teddy bear is pink isn't it?" She accused me with an angry look on her face.

"Pink can be a manly color," I answered with as straight a face as I could manage.

"Uh huh sure it is, Kenny," She said then shook her head. "Damn it, I'm doing it again."

"Doing what again?" I asked.

"Scott's your friend and he's fighting for his life right now and here I am acting like... like...," She stammered for the right word.

"Like a friend," I supplied for her.

"I was going to say idiot," She said.

"You're not an idiot," I assured her.

"What about the whole don't look like a seal thing?" She sighed and leaned back against the counter.

She folded her arms under her breasts which pushed them up and created an impressive amount of cleavage in her Tinkerbell tank top style top. The frown that was on her face told me that she wasn't doing it flirtatiously but rather it was a defensive posture. I leaned back against the counter and forced my eyes to her lowered head.

"I thought the seal thing was pretty funny but it was kind of mean that I didn't explain that I didn't explain the double meaning to you I suppose," I said.

"So you're saying that I can blame you for this anxiety I've been carrying around today?" she asked as she looked up.

She looked a little surprised that she didn't find my eyes on her chest when she looked up. A smile briefly appeared on her lips as she met my gaze.

"I guess so?" I answered with a shake of my head. "Hey, did you come down here to apologize to me only to turn the tables and have me apologize to you? Oh, you're good, Michelle. You are very good."

"No, that was just a happy coincidence," She smiled.

"A happy coincidence huh?" I said.

"Still think that soon to be marine biologist is still as nice as she seemed to be?" She grinned.

"I heard that she helped my friend with some suggestion of hers so I think I was right about her being even nicer than she appeared," I answered.

"Okay, I made you blush and now you've made me blush so let's call it even," she said. "Scott is my friend too so there's really no need to thank me. I'm just glad that it worked. He's a great guy and he makes Lissa happy so anything I can do for them both, I'll do it. I owe her a lot."

"I know how you feel," I nodded. "Scottie's saved my life more than a few times so I owe him big time."

"Oh, is that why you're here now?" She asked.

"Paying off part of that debt? I guess you could say that's one reason I'm here," I answered.

"I was in Orlando when I got the call about what happened. I hopped the first plane out to be with Lis," She shared.

"Oh, you live in Florida?" I asked.

"No, I live here. Well not here here. Myrtle Beach here. I have a place, a house actually, well my parents have a house but it's mine now. Well, it's still theirs but I live there now or again. God, I sound like such an airhead!" She exclaimed.

"I promise you that I don't think you're an airhead," I told her. "It does sound like you might have had too much caffeine which explains why you're up at two in the morning."

"Thank you for not instantly thinking I'm some dumb blonde because I was babbling," She said. "No caffeine except for with my morning coffee. I have insomnia. I've had it since I was nine."

"Nine really? Wow, that's a long time to deal with something that tough," I said.

"I guess that I'm just used to it," She shrugged. "I usually watch some movies or something."

"Movies huh? I've heard Mr. Voss has quite a collection of movies," I commented.

"He does have quite the collection," She shared. "I'll watch some old Bogart or Hitchcock movies here when I can't sleep. I watch them late at night because Addison isn't a fan of black and white movies."

"And you are?" I asked surprised.

"You sound surprised," She giggled.

"I am," I answered. "You don't look like any film buffs that I know."

"Can't judge a book by her cover, Kenny. I've always loved films. They even inspired me to become a Marine Biologist," She shared.

"You're going to need a bigger boat," I quoted the movie Jaws and her eyes lit up.

"I love Jaws! It scared me so bad when I first saw it that I wouldn't even take a bath! I insisted on showers for about a month until mom got me a book on sharks. I read it cover to cover about a gajillion times and became fascinated by them," She enthused.

"A gajillion huh," I chuckled. "I'm not entirely sure that's a real number."

"Sure it is," She smiled then paused for a second. "Okay fine, it's not but I did read it until the cover came off."

"That I can believe," I said.

"Because I look all nerdy?" She asked.

"I didn't say that," I countered. "I think you look quite... uh, you said something about movies."

"You are a smooth one, Kenny," She grinned then let me off the hook. "I did. I have spent a lot of my sleepless nights watching movies from Mr. Voss's collection. I know most of the dialogue by heart!"

"Maybe if I wasn't on duty, I'd take you up on a friendly contest of who knows what movie best," I told her.

"I can keep an eye on things for you," Joe said.

Both Michelle and I jumped at the sound because he was standing in the darkened kitchen doorway.

"Jesus, Joe, having you yammering in my ear is one thing but popping up in the dark is unnerving," I told him.

"You haven't put your earbud back in. I just came down to make sure you didn't forget," He told me then looked a Michelle. "Hi."

"Hello," She said and gave him a slight wave.

"Michelle, this is Joe, he's the genius who came up with this security system," I introduced them. "He can see everything that goes on in this place but just happened to not mention that you were creeping up on me."

"I was not creeping," She defended. "I was merely coming down for a glass of water. You're the one standing around in the dark talking to yourself. That's creepy, Kenny."

"Weren't you supposed to be apologizing to me?" I asked. "I could have sworn that someone said they were going to apologize and not be horrible."

"You haven't seen my horrible, Kenny," She warned me then turned to Joe. "It's nice to meet you, Joe. I guess he wasn't exactly talking to himself I suppose."

"Nice to meet you too, Michelle. And no he was chatting with me about the storm and looking creepy standing alone in the dark," Joe said then turned to me. "Sorry about that, boss. I thought it'd be funny to see if she could sneak up on you but if you prefer to embarrass him but beating him in the movie trivia or whatever, feel free to. I'll keep an eye on things and give you a head's up if anything's going on as long as you put your earbud back in place."

"Yes, mother," I teased him. "I'm putting it back in place now."

"Cool," He nodded. "Now I can get in touch in case I need you or you need help with your movie lines."

"No cheating," Michelle told us.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I answered innocently. "Night, Joe."

"Yes, goodnight, Joe," Michelle said. "It was very nice meeting you."

"You too," He said then headed for the stairs.

"I was not being creepy," I said as we left the kitchen for the theater room.

"You were being very creepy," She responded.

"I was watching the storm," I shared.

"Uh huh," She nodded. "Sure you were, Kenny."

"I was. You can't see out there with the light on in here which why I was standing in the dark," I explained.

She cocked her head and listened to the rain outside. It was coming down so hard that it was a dull roar even inside the massive house.

"It's raining so hard that you couldn't see outside with it like this anyway," she said.

"You do have a point there," I conceded.

"So you were just being creepy then," She smiled.

"I... I'm not going to win this argument am I?" I sighed.

"I don't see how you could at this point," She laughed.

"Me either," I shook my head. "So do you still want to watch a movie with a creepy guy that stands in dark kitchens?"

She paused in the hallway and pretended to think it over for several long moments before she shrugged.

"Karly did vouch for you earlier so I guess that I could show you the benefit of the doubt and watch one with you," she said.

"Karly is an excellent judge of character," I commented.

"Have her tell you about Slice sometime and you'll rethink that opinion," She told me.

"Slice. Right. Almost forgot about that guy," I said. "You've got me there I guess but how about you get to pick the movie we watch?"

"Very gallant of you, Kenny," she said.

"The bet is off if you trick me and pull out some Katherine Heigl flick for us to watch," I warned her. "I don't have clue one about the dialogue in those movies."

She turned to me, smiled and told me, "I'm sure that your pink teddy bear knows all those lines though."

****

"You're in luck, Kenny," Michelle called out as she flipped through the movie selection. "No Heigl movies though there is an inordinate amount of Reese Witherspoon flicks here though."

"Would you say that it's a creepy amount of Reese Witherspoon movies?" I asked with a grin.

"Cute," She said as she looked at the titles. "I think they have every movie that she's ever been in."

"Addison's?" I asked.

"Addison likes things like Dune and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Oh and if she ever tries to get you to watch this movie called Eye's of Fire, do yourself a favor and just run," She warned me.

"That bad huh?" I asked.

"You'd rather spend a day at the DMV while having a toothache as they do construction inside the building than try and sit through that movie," She stated.

I cringed at her description.

"Sounds like I should run if she suggests for me to watch a movie with her," I said.

"As fast and as far as you can," She smiled.

She spent another couple of seconds looking over the collection then found the one she wanted.

"How about this one? It seems appropriate," She commented as she showed me the title.

"Key Largo, huh?" I asked then launched into a little of the dialogue from it. "You don't like it; do you Rocco, the storm? Show it your gun why don't you? If it doesn't stop, shoot it!"

I did my best Bogart impression with the line and saw Michelle's eyebrows rise with surprise. She eyed for a moment then shook her head.

"You're a Bogart fan huh? I should have figured," She said. "I think I might be in trouble with this bet."

"You can pick another movie if you want," I told her.

"No, I'm good and like I said it feels appropriate," She said.

A peel of thunder rumbled overhead just then as if it agreed with her.

"Winner gets to mock the loser right?" She asked.

"I don't know. I mean you've been mocking me since we met. I'm not sure how much more I can take," I chuckled.

"Then I suggest you don't lose," She winked as she pressed play on the movie.

I took a seat on the opposite end of what I still think was the comfiest couch I had ever sat on while Michelle sat on the other.

"Someone should have made popcorn," She stated as the movie started.

"I'm going to be in enough trouble with Mr. Williams if it gets out that I'm watching a movie," I said. "If popcorn makes an appearance things will just be worse I think."

"Cassidy's not so bad," She said. "Don't you work for Mr. Kortesis though?"

"I do but since we're here to supplement the onsite security we defer to Mr. Williams as lead," I explained. "He was not a fan of us coming in especially where I come in it seems."

"That's odd, he's always been very friendly to me." She shared. "You ever think that maybe it's just you?"

"Only everyday since I was around ten," I chuckled.

"Well Karly and I think you're okay," She smiled. "You're bordering on all right even."

"All right, huh?" I laughed. "I'll do my best to get there then."

We spent the next several minutes doing dialog, her for Bacall and me for Bogart, with neither of us messing up too badly.

"You really know this movie," I commended her.

"While it's not a classic per say, I still like it. I mean, it's got Bogart, Bacall, Robinson, Barrymore, mobsters, a hurricane and a shootout on a boat," She enthused.

"And it was Bogart and Bacall's last movie together," I threw out my bit of trivia about the movie.

"Exactly," She agreed showing her own knowledge. "I like To Have and Have Not a little better but this one's still great. I've watched most of these movies about a dozen times each over the years."

"I guess that you have a lot of time to watch them with the insomnia and all," I guessed aloud.

"When I was younger that called them night terrors now it's insomnia but it's always the same. I get to sleep just fine and then... something happens causing me to wake up in a panic then I have trouble getting back to sleep. Movies help. Sometimes," She shared.

"I kind of know where you're coming from," I said. "I'll wake up in my bed covered in a cold sweat after some nightmares about things that happened while I was in the service. Sometimes I can go back to sleep but not most times."

We watched a bit more of the movie quietly for a few moments. I wondered if she was wondering why she was opening up so easily to perfect stranger. God knows that I wondered myself.

"Cat naps help," She said. "I catch one here or there during the day."

"I can't ever sleep during the day," I commented then did a line of Bogarts then added. "I've tried for years but I just can't do it."

"Blackout curtains help," She told me then switched gears. "Any special meaning behind your tattoos?"

I missed her question because I was doing one of Bogart's line.

"I'm sorry, I missed that," I apologized. "What did you ask me?"

"Your tattoos," She repeated. "I noticed that you have the same shark themed one as Scott and was wondering if there was a significance to them."