The next day was very uneventful for Teagan. She spent the day reviewing case notes, evidence, and dispositions for her current case. She got so lost in her work she lost track of time, not eating lunch until after three in the afternoon. She had made the snap decision to order in from a local Asian delivery restaurant. Teagan was the last to leave the office and made sure it was locked up tight. Her house was about a ten minute walk past a few bars, diners, and dark alleys. Teagan knew that she was lucky she didn't get hassled more than what she did, but it did not bother her either. Teagan got out her keychain mace and put her finger on the trigger, then crossed her arms, hiding it, as she started her walk home.
As Teagan walked, her high heels clicked loudly on the wet street. She felt how much tighter they were now at the end of the day then this morning when she first put them on. She started noticing the familiar neon signs as she got closer to home, the thoughts of a nice hot bubble bath in her not too distant future.
As Teagan continued walking she started to hear rustling noises, men talking, and thuds. She tried to walk lighter with her head down so they wouldn't notice her when she passed the alley. Teagan was almost past when she heard something unexpected… a whimper.
Shit, she thought to herself. Don't let it be a woman, finishing, as she paused for a moment longer.
Then she heard it again, a whimper, followed by another thud and men laughing. They were beating her… and laughing, Teagan realized. Teagan felt rage boil over her skin as she started to remove her high heel shoes, starting her march down the alley. She stopped behind a conveniently placed dumpster and looked around it, double checking that she had heard correctly. Sure enough, a woman was sitting on the ground, crying, and two men were circling her. One of the men started to draw his hand back, as if to hit the woman again.
"Hey!", Teagan screamed.
Both men's heads snapped up, the woman was barely able to hold her head up. Teagan was suddenly at a loss of words.
"You better stop!" Teagan continued, feeling like she now sounded embarrassingly like her mother.
"What are you going to do about it bitch?" one of the men laughed as he started towards Teagan.
"I've already called the cops, they are on their way" Teagan lied, trying to hold her voice steady.
"Is that so?" the man asked, looking back at his friend. "Somehow I find that hard to believe", he continued.
"Well you better, because it's true! They will be here any minute."
"So tell me then", the man was stepping closer towards Teagan, making her more nervous. This is what she had wanted, the attention off that poor woman, but now what? "Why would you risk stepping out here if the fuzz was really almost here?" he finished.
Crap. Teagan thought to herself.
Teagan flinched, as if she were going to run, triggering the man to lunge towards her. The man was leading with his head, perfect to grab as she stepped to the side and slammed the mans head into the dumpster behind her. Teagan could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, pushing her to keep going. Teagan ran straight towards the other man as he struggled to retrieve something from inside his jacket. Suddenly, he let out a scream as he fell to one knee. The woman had kicked him in the leg. Teagan spotted a glass bottle on the ground and grabbed it as she closed in on the two. She used to bottle to smash the screaming man over the head. As he fell to the ground, the gun he had been struggling for broke free of his jacket, sliding across the ground. Teagan grabbed it as she helped the bloody woman to her feet.
"We've gotta hurry" Teagan said, half to the woman and half to herself. Both man were groaning, but getting back up. "Shit", Teagan sighed as she shuffled the woman towards the main street and away from the dark alley. They still had to get past the man by the dumpster, who was almost entirely upright once again. Teagan and the woman continued to shuffle against the wall, towards the street, and she pointed the gun at the man by the dumpster.
"You gonna shoot us with our own gun, lady?" the man laughed.
Teagan and the woman were now at the closest point to the man, passing him.
"If I have to" Teagan replied, clicking the safety off and cocking the gun in one swift movement, so as to not knock the woman off balance.
Something flashed across the mans eyes as he realized Teagan knew how to handle the gun and probably wasn't bluffing.
"Can you run?" Teagan asked the woman as they backed out of the alley, gun fixed on the man who was now pulling his hair in frustration.
"Maybe", the woman whimpered in response.
"Let's try", Teagan urged as they cleared the alley and were back in the street. Teagan took as much weight from the woman as she could as they quickly limped down the road. Teagan glanced back but saw nothing, relief sweeping over her.
As they started to pass the second street light since they fled, the woman pulled on Teagan, urging her to turn.
"The police station is this way" Teagan informed the woman.
"No, this way, please?" pleaded the woman as she continued to pull at Teagan.
"Fine." Teagan gave in and started to move in the direction the woman was leading. Teagan chanced another glance behind them, she was more afraid of the men catching them then possibly going in the wrong direction.
Teagan checked behind them three more times before they started to slow. They were both breathing hard, Teagan's legs were screaming and the woman was obviously in a lot of pain.
"We need to get you somewhere" Teagan breathed heavily, looking around for businesses that might let them use a phone.
"Almost there", the woman whispered as she started to slip lower down Teagan's arm.
"Almost where?" Teagan asked, surprised that they had an actual destination.
"There", the woman pointed down the street, almost seeming to give up as her shoulders sagged and she let out a big breath.
Teagan's head shot up, looking for what the woman was talking about as fear flooded her. The woman had stopped and didn't seem to be able to go on anymore. As Teagan's eyes scanned the street hopefully, she noticed two men at almost the exact time they noticed her. They were leaning against a wall, smoking cigarettes. Both men flicked their remaining cigarettes into the street and started to walk towards Teagan and the sagging woman.
"Oh God, we gotta go", Teagan breathed in, pulling the woman back the way they came, but the woman didn't move. "I know your tired, but you gotta come on" Teagan urged as she pulled again. The men exchanged looks then began jogging towards them.
"It's okay", the woman whispered.
"What!?" Teagan screamed, "Are you crazy? Come on!"
The men were now close enough that Teagan could see that they were not the attackers, in fact they seemed puzzled and concerned.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" one of them yelled at Teagan. "Ginny, you ok? What's going on?" the other man yelled questioningly.
Teagan was relieved that they seemed to know this woman, but also intimidated by their size and intensity.
"Ginny, oh my God, come here" one man said, sweeping the woman off her feet and into his arms. The woman rested her head comfortably on his shoulder.
"Is she going to be okay?" Teagan blurted out, catching both men's attention.
"Did you see what happened?" the man not holding anyone asked firmly.
"She saved me" the woman breathed quietly. Both men seemed to soften a little, then the same one turned back to Teagan, "better come with us then".
Teagan was once again struck with fear, she wanted to make sure the woman was taken care of, but she did not know these men, she did not know what was going on at all. It all suddenly seemed much bigger than she had anticipated.
"Look lady, you can either walk with us or I can carry you, your choice" the man continued as he noticed Teagan pulling away from them.
Teagan nodded, swallowing hard. She really did not want to be tossed like a sack of potatoes, and the way this guy looked at her right now made her think he would not hesitate to do so.
They did not walk far, just down to where the men had been leaning against the wall when Teagan originally noticed them. They stopped at a set of stairs, that led down under the building, and they started their descent. The man holding Ginny went through the door at the bottom of the stairs first, followed by the other man and Teagan.