Chapter Sixty Two: What Do You Do

For the first time in the history of their partnership Maggie was driving the Squad Car. When it was her and Burgess the two of them took turns with Roman he was by far the better navigator so it was an unspoken rule that he do the driving. Over the past few weeks that they had worked together Maggie hadn't minded, it meant she could keep her eyes on the street in order to detect any potential signs of a crime. Her and Roman worked well together in that way, playing to each other's strengths was something that worked well for the both of them.

"Not that I'm not glad to be behind the wheel..." Maggie began as they drove down Roosevelt, pausing at the traffic lights as they switched to red. "...but what's with the change up?"

Roman shrugged his shoulders in response to her words before removing his cell phone from his pocket and glancing at the screen.

"You need the distraction more than I do." he remarked, using deft fingers to tap on the touch screen.

Maggie pursed her lips together tightly at the remark. He was right and she appreciated the consideration. Antonio had been gone a few days now and Maggie was getting the impression that his undercover work may stretch even longer. Erin had been great at keeping her in the loop, she knew for now he was safe and that he was still being monitored by Intelligence and that was the best she could hope for. However as stupid as it was to admit, she missed him.

"Thanks." Maggie said, bobbing her head slowly in agreement. "I know I've been a bit of a pain."

Roman returned his phone to the exterior pocket of his uniformed jacket, zipping it up before he turned his attention to his partner. Despite her words she hadn't been a pain, she was still as focused and tenacious as ever and he applauded that. It couldn't be easy dealing with what was going on in her life. He commended the way she stepped up to help out with Dawson's kids in his absence, Roman thought that showed some mettle. He knew Dawson would appreciate it. He didn't know what he would do if he was in her position. When he thought of those lonely few weeks without Kayla it made his chest literally ache. It was a different situation but the sense of absence was still acute. He knew what it felt like to be laying in bed thinking about someone you couldn't be with.

"A little distant maybe." Roman informed her with a lilt of humor. "But I can't complain about that."

"Not when I had to put up with you sulking like a teenager over Kayla." Maggie returned as she flicked the indicator on to signal the fact she was about to park up.

"I prefer the term 'brooding'." Sean retaliated glancing at the bodega they were pulling up along side. "It's what all those guys in the Twilight books do."

Maggie raised her eyebrows as she unfastened her seat belt.

"So you admit you have read them?" she prompted, the edges of her lips twitching.

"Behave yourself." Roman snorted before undoing his own seat belt as Maggie pressed the button down on her radio and spoke into it.

"Squad, hold us down on a personal at 4215 Roosevelt."

The operator's voice responded loud and clear through the speaker on her shoulder."Copy that. 4215 Roosevelt."

Maggie opened the car door, stepping out and waiting for Roman to do the same before locking the car.

"You need to drink less coffee." Roman said disapprovingly, recognizing the movement of Maggie shifting from foot to foot with unease.

Maggie rolled her cobalt eyes towards the sky at his remark before entering the bodega and asking the clerk for the key to the bathroom. Roman sighed as he watched her retreating back before busying himself with perusing the shelves. He got that Maggie wasn't sleeping too great, she could try and hide the bags under her eyes with as much make up as she wanted but he recognized the signs. He could have just stayed in the car and waited like he had all the other times she'd had to take bathroom breaks over their last couple of shifts but he'd needed to stretch his legs and a change of scenery wouldn't do him any harm. He picked up some gum and a selection of Twizzlers from the counter before something on that that circular carousel caught his eye.

It was Captain America's shield on a thick, circular key ring. Kayla would love it, he knew that in a heartbeat and he found himself slapping it down on the counter along with his other purchases before handing over a five dollar bill from his front trouser pocket.

Maggie appeared alongside of him, thanking the clerk for the bathroom key before Roman handed her the paper bag of strawberry Twizzlers, slipping the gum and the keychain into his jacket pocket before zipping it up.

"You really do know how to cheer a girl up." Maggie told him, selecting a Twizzler before handing the packet back to him.

"I find sugar is the best medicine..." he trailed off sensing Maggie's change in demeanor as her gaze focused on something on the opposite side of the glass window.

"Maggie, what'd you see?" Roman prompted, following her gaze and seeing nothing but the abandoned storage place across the street.

"Two guys headed in there. One may have had a gun." she told him, slinking out of the door to the bodega, Roman jamming the Twizzlers into his jacket pocket before he followed her across the road.

"You saw a gun?" he questioned as they made it to the sidewalk, his hand already shifting towards his weapon.

"I think I did." Maggie clarified, unclipping the holster on her hip and drawing her Glock from it.

"You think you did, or you did?" Roman asserted trying to get a read on the situation.

"I don't know." Maggie told him, her voice even and level as they headed to the door around the side

Roman knew that tone, he had been in enough situations with Maggie to know that the cop in her was taking over. He appreciated the honesty and he was happy to let her lead for the moment.

"Do you want to call it in?" he asked her as they approached the door slowly, guns out as they tread carefully.

"No." Maggie stated, shaking her head to drive home her point. "I want to knock and see what's what."

Her hand was already balled up into a fist, pounding at the door as hard as she could so that the noise echoed through the empty alley. The door swung open revealing a guy of Asian origin in a grey woolen hat filling up the doorway.

"Sir, we're gonna ask you to step outside." Maggie begun, gesturing for him to step away from the door. "We're with the police department..."

The Asian man fell forward face first, his head hitting the ground with a resounding crack. Maggie holstered her weapon before dropping into a crouch alongside him, her keen cobalt eyes assessing him before she spoke.

"Roman, he's been shot..." she trailed off, the words dying in her throat as she she could sight of the glossy black Beretta pointed directly at her partner's head by another Asian man.

"We're just trying to help him." Maggie spoke softly, tilting her head towards the man lying on the floor.

Roman's azure hardened as they focused on the body in front of him before he cast a glance at Maggie kneeling before them unarmed. She was in a vulnerable position right now, despite the fact he was the one with a gun pressed to his head. His hands were free and he was close to the perp, he at least had some moves left.

"Give me your guns and your radios." Their captor ordered, jamming his gun into Roman's temple making him, grit his teeth at the sensation.

"We're not gonna give you our guns." Roman snapped, his voice full of aggression.

Suddenly the gun was turned on Maggie, she found herself staring back at the dark, vacuous hole as their captor barked at them again.

"Give me your guns or I shoot her in the face."

Her heart was thumping against her rib cage a mile a minute; she could feel her pulse in her throat as she allowed her cobalt eyes to flicker up towards Roman, gauging their next move. Resignation flickered in his azure eyes as he clamped his lips together grimly.

Both Maggie and Roman reached for the belts on their waists. It took just under a minute to strip both the belts and the radios from their uniformed before handing them over to their captor, who tossed them into the darkness behind him.

"Now, both of you, get in here." he commanded, the gun never wavering the entire time it spent pointed at Maggie. That was a bad sign, it meant that the perp was in control and he had no qualms over the next steps were going to play out.

"Look, man, there's no way we're going in there..." Roman was interrupted by their captor once more jabbing the Beretta forcefully in Maggie's direction.

"I'll kill her in the next three seconds." he told them, his voice as hard as iron as his cold eyes focused on his potential victim.

"Do not shoot her!" Roman yelled out loud, his hands raised as he shuffled towards the perp. "I'm doing what you said."

Their captor's arm shot out, his hand grasping Roman's jacket and yanking him through the doorway before shoving him in to the corridor. Roman let out a grunt of pain as he hit the wall, causing Maggie to flinch.

"Now you too." he snarled, the gun trained on her as she slowly rose to her feet.

Over his shoulder she could see Roman, those azure eyes of his met hers for the briefest of seconds, the expression on his face set in stubborn determination. She knew he was going to do something stupidly heroic. In this scenario he would come out the worst, they both knew that but he took that chance. He would do anything to save his partner, anything at all...

He lunged at the gun man, his left arm driving the gun upwards as he gripped the other man's shirt hurling him to the right and away from Maggie so that she was clear of the line of fire. Maggie screamed his name, lunging for the door, her fingers barely scrapping the slippery surface before the metal plated door slammed shut in her face.