Learning to Drive... Him Crazy (27 page)

"It still seems strange to me. I'm glad
you're back because we've really been short-handed." Almost
immediately he said, "I'm sorry, I'm jumping to conclusions. Are
you ready to come back? I guess I should make sure you even want to
come back. Did this put a bad taste in your mouth for police
work?"

"Oh, no. Yes, I'm definitely coming back,
the sooner the better. I want to get back to my normal life as soon
as I can."

"I can understand that. Good. Now, I
understand you get the pleasure of escorting Agent Kline to his
cell?"

"I do," John said, "and I've got to tell you
I've been eager to see Joe's face when he sees him in
handcuffs."

"I'll bet you have been, John. I heard about
their plan to rescue each other."

John paused a moment before asking, "Have
you talked to Joe? I didn't see this coming at all. I've found
myself wondering what made him do this."

"None of us saw this coming, John. We've
talked about that. We're surprised about all of them, but
especially him and the chief. No, I haven't talked to him. He's
refused to talk to any of the guys, other than when they were
questioning him. I'm wondering if he'll talk to you, since you guys
were partners. Are you going to try talking to him?"

"I don't know. Not right away, for
sure."

"I understand. Agent Kline's in
Interrogation Room 1. Agent Brad Barstow just got here a few
minutes ago. He's back there, too, so whenever you're ready, go
ahead. We're putting Kline in the cell at the clear end to make
sure we keep them apart. They won't even be outside for exercise
time at the same time."

"Perfect. Thanks, Lieutenant."

John went to the interrogation rooms and
shook hands with Brad. "Are you ready to do this?" Brad asked.

"You don't know how ready I am," John
assured him. "Let's go." They walked into the interrogation room
and John was very friendly as he said, "Good evening, Agent Kline.
You were such a good host when I was staying at your establishment,
I'd like to return the favor now that you're staying in mine. I
believe your room is ready now. Like at the place you furnished, I
think you'll find everything you need in your room. Breakfast will
be brought in for you in the morning, and we, too, have clothing in
all sizes on hand. I see you've already found some in your size. If
you're ready, I'll take you to your room now."

"Cute, John, real cute," Agent Kline
said.

"Here in this establishment I'm Officer
Humphries. Stand up." Once he stood John pulled his arms behind him
and put handcuffs on him before leading him out by the arm. He took
him down the elevator to the jail floor. The officer that worked at
the jail went ahead of John and the new prisoner. As they neared
Joe's cell the officer said, "Joe, we're getting a new guy in
today. You may want to say hi."

Joe looked up at him and immediately saw
John and Larry Kline. John was watching Joe, and he wasn't
disappointed in his reaction. He was surprised to see John, but
shocked when he saw John's prisoner. Joe's eyes moved again to
John's, and John felt nothing but disgust for the man who had been
his partner for two years. He tugged on Kline's arm again and went
on down the aisle to the cell Kline was to be kept in. He unlocked
the cell door and deposited Kline in it without saying a word. He
turned and went back up the aisle. He paused at Joe's cell again,
as Joe caught his eyes, but John shook his head in disgust and
walked on back to the elevator.

Back up on the main floor, Brad asked, "You
okay, John?"

John sighed before answering, "Yeah, I'm
fine. It was harder than I thought it would be seeing my old
partner."

"I understand," Brad assured him. "I thought
I wanted to talk to Larry after he'd been arrested. I wanted to ask
him what happened, what caused him to do this. But then the first
time I saw him I was so furious with him I couldn't even talk to
him. He was supposed to be one of us, not working against us."

"Disgust," John said. "I felt disgust when I
saw him." Brad, who truly felt like a good friend now, nodded in
agreement. John realized Brad did in fact know exactly what he
meant.

Neither Cal nor Kelli was eager to go inside
again. It was a nice day out and since they had some time, they
decided to go for a walk in the park. Kelli liked to feed the
ducks. Cal got a kick out of watching Kelli enjoy it.

Eventually Cal took her to her apartment and
they went inside. "Are you hungry?" Kelli asked. "I'm not sure if I
have anything here that's still good, but I can check."

"No, John and Alana are coming by after
John's done at the jail. We thought maybe you two would like to go
out for a nice dinner at one of your favorite restaurants tonight.
You've been forced to stay inside long enough."

"That sounds wonderful, Cal. I was kind of
torn, actually. I kind of thought an evening alone with you would
be nice, but on the other hand, I have missed eating out, and the
idea of cooking and eating at home again wasn't real inviting."

"We'll go out for dinner, and then come back
here and have some time alone. I know it'll make a rather late
night, but I think we've earned a late night our first night back.
I do have a question for you about our first night back,
though."

"What's that?"

"Well, I hate to bring up unpleasant
thoughts right now, but we still have some unfinished business
between us. Do you want to take care of that tonight and get it
over with, or would you rather wait until tomorrow. Those are your
only two options."

"Unfinished business?"

"Kelli, you know exactly what I'm talking
about. If you want me to spell it out for you, fine. I was trying
to be a bit more delicate, but I can ask you outright if you'd
rather. You know you've got a good sound spanking coming. Do you
want me to blister your sweet butt tonight, or would you rather
think about it another day and we'll take care of it tomorrow?"

"Cal, can't we just forget about it this one
time? Trust me, after what we've been through, I've definitely
learned my lesson."

"What lesson have you learned, Kelli?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you don't need a spanking because
you've already learned your lesson. What lesson did you learn, so
you don't need spanked?"

Kelli looked at him, but didn't answer. She
looked confused.

"Assuming I'm still going to give you the
spanking you've earned, what is this spanking for?"

"For this whole mess."

"That's what I thought. No, Kelli, it's not,
and yes, you will be getting a spanking. You need a good spanking
so you know what it is you did to earn the spanking, and to make
you think twice before doing it again. We'll do that tonight after
we get back, Kelli, and you start thinking about what it is this
spanking is for. I'll ask you again tonight, before I begin the
spanking. If you still can't tell me what it's for, I'll know it
needs to be a harsher spanking than I had planned."

Before Kelli could say anything, there was a
knock on her door.

Cal went to answer it, but said, "Think
about that during dinner tonight, honey. I don't want to have to be
harder on you than necessary." He opened the door and invited John
and Alana in. They talked about where everyone wanted to go, and
decided on a favorite steakhouse. The men could get a big old steak
and the women could get some grilled chicken and a fresh salad.
That decided, they headed out.

Everyone was eager to hear about Joe's
reaction when he saw Larry Kline being led off to a cell of his
own. Over dinner, John told them about Joe's reaction, and his own
thoughts and feelings. He finished by explaining, "I was surprised
by what I felt when I saw Joe look at Larry. It was obvious to me
that Joe was upset because Larry was supposed to be his ticket out
of jail after a relatively short stay. His concern was himself, not
what he'd planned to do to any of us. It was as if panic was
starting to set in. He was realizing he could be in jail for
considerably longer than he'd expected. That whole idea just made
me feel disgust for the man."

Alana could tell his feelings for Joe were
bothering him, and she said, "John, I understand why you would feel
that way. This man was supposed to be your partner."

"He was my partner. For two years we went
into dangerous situations together. He had my back. Now I find out
that was only when it was convenient."

"Well, he'll have a long time to think back
over the last couple years, John," Cal said.

"In a way I feel kind of sorry for him,"
Kelli said.

They all turned to look at her.

"Well, look at us. We laughed about feeling
like prisoners in that house, and they were both nice houses. We
couldn't go outside, but we could go anywhere in the house we
wanted whenever we wanted, and we knew it was only temporary. It's
probably just now sinking in to him that his freedom is gone. He
can't go to the kitchen and get a drink of iced tea when he's
thirsty, or stay up late tonight to watch a good movie on TV. If he
wants to. And it's not just for a week or two."

It was quiet while they all thought about
what that would be like.

"That's true," Cal said. "That would be a
real depressing thought about now."

Alana nodded in agreement. "Yes, it would.
But he's a cop."

"Was a cop," John quickly corrected.

"You're right," she admitted. "He was a cop,
so he certainly should have known what would happen if he got
caught."

"He just didn't think he'd ever get caught,"
John said. "But he did, and I still feel disgust for the man. Maybe
I'll get over it and feel sorry for him some day, but today, not so
much."

They all chuckled as they decided they felt
like John. It would be tough what Joe was going through, but he
brought it all on himself.

They switched the conversation to something
lighter and happier to finish their dinner.

After John and Alana left Kelli's apartment
later, Cal took Kelli's hand and brought her to the living room. He
sat down on the sofa and pulled her to stand in front of him.
"Okay, Kelli, why are you about to get spanked?"

She took a deep breath and blew it out
slowly before saying, "Because you told me not to drive unless it
was for something necessary, and I took Alana to Newjangles. I also
wasn't supposed to help her spend money on things she didn't need,
and that's what she did at Newjangles when I took her there. And I
knew that's what she was going to do when I took her there." She
hung her head, staring at the floor, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry,
Cal."

"Thank you, Kelli. I'm glad you know what it
is you did to earn this spanking."

She nodded. "I really wish I would have let
you spank me for this when we were still at the safe house."

"I do, too, honey, but let's get it done now
so we won't have to worry about it any more." She nodded, and to
his surprise, she didn't fight him when he pulled her over his lap
and got her situated. She whimpered, but didn't even fight him when
he reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans, or even when he
pulled her jeans down.

"Okay, sweetie, you've waited long enough
for this, I'm not waiting any longer." With that he brought his
hand back and started the spanking. He talked to her about friends,
and that friends should help each other, not help them do things
they shouldn't be doing. He asked if she knew Alana was trying to
save her money to buy a car when she got her license, and Kelli
admitted she did know that.

Then they talked about why he told her not
to do certain things. "Kelli, when I told you I didn't want you
driving unless it was necessary for two weeks it was to get your
attention. I hoped every time you thought of going somewhere, you
would remember you were being punished and weren't to drive. I
hoped that would make you stop and think, and realize that being a
good friend means you help her save money for what's important in
the long run."

Kelli was squirming more and he was sure she
was sore. She was crying softly, but hearing Cal's latest words,
she lost control and started to sob. She also stopped fighting. She
lay draped over his lap, taking the spanking, tears streaming down
her cheeks unchecked. He gave her several more swats before he
stopped. He let her stay over his lap, but rubbed her back and told
her, "It's over now, Sweetie. Take some short breaths to get some
air, then try bigger breaths."

He continued to rub her back until she was
breathing a little better. Then he helped her sit up on his lap and
took her in his arms, holding her against his chest. She leaned her
head against him and used one hand to grab onto his shirt. She held
onto his shirt like it was some kind of lifeline. He kept murmuring
softly in her ear, words and phrases he hoped let her know how much
he cared about her. When he heard her breathing start to slow and
return to normal he looked down at her, planning on kissing her. He
was shocked to see she'd fallen asleep!

He had to chuckle at his little minx. She'd
been through an awful lot lately, and as much as she tried to
convince everyone, including herself, that she wasn't too worried
about the spanking she knew she had coming, he knew better. Now
that it was over, her anxiety was gone, and so was the guilt she'd
been carrying around with her. He took it as a compliment that she
now felt relaxed enough to fall asleep. He leaned down and kissed
the top of her head. He scooted back into the couch and leaned
against the back, simply watching the lady that he had to admit to
himself was quickly stealing his heart.

He decided he'd hold her a little while
before taking her into her bedroom, where he'd lay her on her bed
and cover her with a quilt.

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