Under Cover

A couple months passed and I was finally starting to get the hang of things. Though I still had a lot to learn it seemed as though Harry and I were making quite the team with multiple arrests, car chases, and takedowns under our belts. The one thing that I wasn’t prepared for was my first dead body….

There had been a string of murders lately, but today was the only one that I would actually witness first hand. Before now it was all just stories I heard among the rookies and chatter around the office, but nothing would prepare me for how gruesome this death would be.

The girl was in her mid to late twenties with dark hair and blue eyes that stared blankly at me as I looked down at her. Her skin was pale, lips a blueish purple color to suggest that she had been submerged in water which made sense because of where we found her. It wasn’t too far from the river and it went with the serial killer’s M.O. Her neck had bruises from where the killer had held her down and she had bruising on her chest from being given CPR multiple times.

From what we had gathered so far from the other victims, the medical examiner concluded that they were drowned multiple times. The killer would hold them under until they passed out then give them CPR to bring them back before drowning them again. This process was repeated as many times as it took before the victim finally died. It suggested that our killer had a God complex and liked the idea of being able to give and take life.

My stomach churned as I faintly heard Harry saying my name. Before I could answer him I quickly stepped away and emptied my stomach into a nearby bush, feeling his hand rubbing my back.

“You alright?” he asked me.

I nodded slightly, even though I wasn’t so sure. All of these girls looked similar and were around the same age. But what really got to me was the fact that they looked like me.

“We can let someone else take this, Charlie.” he said softly.

“No. I’m fine. I can handle it. It’s just…”

“I know. The first body is the worst, but don’t expect it to be your last or the worst you’ll ever see. You’d be surprised at the things these sick bastards come up with.” he said to me.

“Gee. Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.” I say sarcastically.

“Just telling the truth.” he shrugged.

We finally went back to the body and took down statements from the two joggers who found the body next to the trail before heading back to the station to do some research while detectives were talking with the family members and friends. As I looked over the case files I noticed that the first two victims had been at the same club the night they disappeared and if this girl ended up being the same then we would have our abduction point.

“Harry, I found something.” I say as I walked into his office.

He looked up from his desk as I went over and showed him the copies of statements that were written by the previous victims’ friends.

“Both Lacie Jeffries and Tara Wilson were at Skyline the night of their disappearance. Their friends said that the victims were with them one minute and the next they were gone. Two days later they show up dead. If Stacey Hill’s friend says the same thing then maybe this is where the killer is taking his victims from.” I explained.

“That’s good work, Gray. Now get me a coffee.” he said.

I furrowed my brows and glared at him as he smiled sweetly at me.

“Please and thank you.” he said.

I rolled my eyes and went off to get him his damned coffee, coming back as he was talking with the lead detective about what I discovered.

“If this guy sticks to his three day between killings plan then we have until tomorrow night to try to catch him.” Detective Mahoney said to Harry.

“Why not just send me in?” I suggested, causing them both to look at me. “I mean, I fit the M.O. I could go there and get information or maybe figure out who this guy is.”

“No.” Harry said.

At the same time that Mahoney said, “Yes.”

“Absolutely not. Are you crazy? She’s just a rookie. She has no experience with-” Harry started, but I cut him off.

“Actually I was top in my class at the academy when it came to undercover exercises.” I told him, which only seemed to piss him off even more.

“No. You’re not doing it.” he said.

“Well I think it’s up to her. If she thinks she’s ready then she can do it.” Mahoney said.

“I can do it.” I nodded.

“Perfect. Study up on how the victims were like the nights they were taken and find something similar to wear. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.” Mahoney said before leaving the room.

I turned to Harry who shut the door behind him then turned to look at me.

“Charlie, this is a bad idea.” he said.

“Harry, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” I said.

He looked at me for a moment then let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, but if you feel like anything is off you get the hell out. Do you understand me? I don’t care if you blow the operation. I made a promise to Tom to protect you and I plan to keep it.” he said.

I couldn’t help but smile at how worried he was. We had grown quite closer the past couple months and I had complete faith in him to keep me safe.

“Awe. You actually care about me. How cute.” I teased as I pinched his cheek.

“Shut up. I just don’t want to be held responsible for you getting into trouble.” he argued, though the smile that he was fighting back told me otherwise.

~.:o:.~

When the day finally came I was more than prepared for the character I had to slip into in order to attract the serial killer. I put on a short black dress and heels to match, styling my hair into waves just like the other girls had that night. Apparently all three girls had also been going through a rough break up so that was the reason for going out drinking, which shouldn’t be too bad to figure out.

Harry sat in the back of the surveillance van with me while we waited for the all clear from everyone else who was also undercover inside and outside of the club to make sure nothing bad happened to me. I let him put an audio microphone on me disguised as a necklace, biting my lip gently as he stood close behind me to put it on.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” He asked me as he knelt down and turned my chair
around to face him.

“I’ll be fine, Harry. I got this.” I assured him, though I honestly felt like I was going to puke.

He sighed softly and reached up to cup my cheek.

“Remember the code we came up with? Brush your hair behind your ear if you feel like something is wrong and I’ll come get you okay?” He said.

I nodded slightly, seeing the worry in his eyes throwing me off focus for a moment until a banging on the van door snapped me out of it. Harry dropped his hand and I took a deep breath.

“Wish me luck.” I smiled weakly then got out of the van and headed inside.

I took my spot at the bar, ordering a drink that I knew I had to fake drink out of in order to stay focused on the task of figuring out who our killer was. At first I was just ordering drinks and thankfully the owner of the club had been working with us so he allowed Liam Payne, another officer and friend of Harry’s to work as a bartender so he mostly gave me watered down drinks with club soda. Despite only having water for the most part I acted a little more drunk as the night went on and danced with a few guys before returning back to the bar.
It was then that the other bartender who had been working that night seemed to take interest in me. He brought me a drink on the house which I knew I couldn’t actually drink, especially since he could be a suspect.

“What brings you out tonight?” He asked with a smile.

“Trying to get over my dickhead of an ex.” I slurred my words slightly and went to take a sip but pulled it back to say something else. “You know he was such a dick. He slept with my best friend you know. And the night of our engagement party, too.”

“Wow, he sounds like a real ass. I’m sorry that happened to you, but you’ll find someone better.” He assured me.

“I hope so. I'm so tired of attracting all of these horrible men.” I sighed.

“Drink up. Forget about all of them and have some fun tonight alright?” He smiled.

I smiled and nodded, taking a drink but I really just let it go into my mouth then back into the cup without actually having a sip. He seemed to lose interest after that, but then another guy sat next to me and it didn’t take long for him to try to get me to leave with him.

“I don’t know about that. I’m just getting over a breakup and the last thing I need is more drama.” I said as I tucked some hair behind my ear, signaling Harry that I had a feeling this guy was the one.

I saw him perk up out of the corner of my eye as he sat on the other end of the bar, stepping closer just in case he needed to get me out of the situation.

“Come on. It’ll be fun. You can forget all about him.” He said as he grabbed my arm and tried to pull me off the stool I was sitting on.

“Hey, let go of me.” I said as I tried to pull my arm away, but he kept at it so Harry finally rushed over and grabbed onto him.

“She said leave her alone.” He growled, grabbing the man by the front of his jacket.

“Fuck off, asshole. I saw her first.” The drunk man huffed as he pushed Harry away.

Of course he didn’t like that so the next thing I knew Harry was dragging the man outside to throw him into a waiting unmarked cop car to take into custody for questioning.

“Good work, kid. Let’s get out of here.” Jensen said into my ear piece.

I subtly nodded, but as I stood up I suddenly felt dizzy and shook my head slightly. Something didn’t feel right and I felt myself starting to panic a little as I went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face. Maybe Liam put a little more alcohol than he should have in my drinks? The room began to spin and I gripped onto the sink.

“H-Harry… Something’s wrong.” I said, hoping he would hear me.

“Charlie? Where are you?” I heard his voice a moment later.

“Bathroom… I think I’ve been drugged… I-”

My voice slurred and I caught the sight of the other bartender in the mirror before falling to the ground as everything went black.

Harry’s POV

“Charlie, answer me.” I said as I rushed through the crowd in order to get to the bathroom.
I burst through the doors, scaring some girls who were drunkly applying their makeup.

“Charlie?” I called as I looked everywhere in the bathroom. After asking the girls a few questions I realized that she had been taken and I immediately ran outside through the back door just as a car was speeding off. Of course since we thought we had our guy no one was watching the exit so the psycho took off with Charlie without anything in his way.

“Fuck!”

I ran my hands through my hair, feeling a sense of panic wash over me at the thought of this guy having his hands on her.

“Harry? What’s going on?” Jensen asked as he came out the back exit.

“He’s got her. He’s got Charlie.”

Notes