Race Against Time

I covered myself more with my towel and nodded.
"Don't say a word about it to anyone. I swear, if you make fun of my scars, not only will Levi make your life a living hell, but I will too", I warned. He gave me a look.
"I may be a jerk most of the time, but I would never make fun of anyone based on what they've been through. My ma raised me better than that", Flack replied. I looked down at my lap.
"Well, I'd better get back to Levi's. He doesn't like being kept waiting, I'm sure you would understand that", I said awkwardly. He chuckled.
"Levi is a very impatient man", he agreed.
"He was hell growing up, lemme tell you", I said, rolling my eyes. We both stood up and I walked to get my clothes, Flack close behind. I smirked and waited till he was right by the edge. I scooped up my clothes and gave a mighty shove, knocking him into the pool.
"Payback's still biting at you, ain't it?" I called, pretending like I was over what I'd said earlier. He gave me a death glare and I smiled, waving with the tips of my fingers before disappearing into the locker room. I hated that I let myself get into that situation. I vigorously washed my hair, blow-drying it and my undergarments as I thought to myself. My phone beeped and I answered it. It was my beloved sister, Mackenzie.

"Gurrrrllll!!! I heard from Sarah that you been hangin' around with one of Levi's old police buddies!" she said, that knowing note in her voice. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my sister to jump to conclusions.
"He's helping with the case, Kennie. That's all", I replied.
"Yeah, and from what I've heard, he's totally hot too. Don't tell me any different, Isabella Rae", Mackenzie said. I had to giggle. She wasn't exactly wrong.
"So what if he is? I'm only here a week, you know", I pointed out.
"That's why you gotta strike now", Mackenzie replied in her 'duh' voice.
"Mackenzie, no! There's plenty of hot guys in Wilmington then there's a new crop of them in the summer", I said. She laughed.
"Duh, but most of them won't go for almost-thirty year old women. They'd go for young and hot twenty year old women like me", she replied.
"Mackenzie, you honestly doubt I could get a man? You've seen me operate", I said. It was true. I was called 'Siren' because when I put my mind to it, I could get a guy under my spell.

"I know, but that's why you gotta strike while the iron's hot, chick", she replied. I rolled my eyes and finished drying off my clothes.
"What's that noise?" Mackenzie yelled.
"I had to jump into a pool to get my keys. I lost to a total master", I replied.
"You? No way!" Mackenzie gasped. Me and Levi were the reigning champions of pranks.
"Yeah. I got him back though. I shoved him into the pool", I replied.
"Dang, what'd he do to piss you off?" she asked.
"Well, he changed the language on my phone to 'Russian' so I waited till he was on break, grabbed his keys and his personal cell and hid them. I locked his keys in his car, and put his phone in the ceiling tile above his desk and jammed his desk drawers so they only opened two inches", I replied. Mackenzie burst out laughing.
"I love your devious mind, Izzy", she giggled. I finally finished getting dressed, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. We chatted a few more minutes before I ended the phone call.

I heard wolf-whistles and catcalls as I walked out of the precinct. Police officers were on night shift, so I ignored them. I almost took the subway, but my claustrophobia thought better of the idea. I shrugged and walked towards Soho, to where my brother lived. I looked around uneasily as I heard footsteps behind me. I couldn't stand it when people walked behind me. I walked faster and the footsteps grew faster. I felt something press against my back and point me towards an alley. I froze, not daring to turn around.
"It's you", a husky voice whispered in my ear. I nearly shrieked in fear. It was him...

[Flack's Point of View]

I walked out of the precinct, soaking wet. Isabella had some serious gall pushing me into the pool like that, but I deserved it. No one asked why, it was like they knew. I shook my head to myself. I at least had the good sense to take my phone out before I tricked her. I walked past an alley and heard begs and pleads. I poked my head in and saw a man pushing a woman against the wall, an arm twisted behind her back. Something struck me as familiar in the woman, but nonetheless, I had to help.
"Whoa, there, friend. N.Y.P.D, what's going on here?" I said, holding up my badge. The man saw me and tensed. I saw a long knife in his other hand. The woman turned her head. It was Isabella. She looked beyond terrified. It was the manager who'd assaulted her all those years ago.
"Thomas Sanchez, step away from the officer", I said, slowly going for my weapon. He stepped away and Isabella fell to her knees, her eyes frozen. She was almost hyperventilating, she was breathing so fast. He lunged for Isabella, who grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall. She was clearly shaking as she pulled out her cuffs and slapped them on.

"You're under arrest for assaulting a police officer", she said, shoving him out. She was shaken very badly. I shoved him into the precinct, Isabella looking like she was about to pass out. "Lock him up", I said to Ariel. I helped Isabella out, careful not to touch her. I somehow knew that if I touched her, she'd flip out and knock me down or something.
"I'm okay", she said finally after we got out into the cool air.
"You froze up. What happened?" I asked.
"I was on my way back to Levi's and I felt something press against my back and veer me into the alley. I didn't fight back, because it was a knife and I'd lose that battle fast. It was Thomas Sanchez and he said 'it's you' and then started swearing he'd get revenge for me getting him locked up. He said he didn't care that I was a cop, it'd just make revenge sweeter", she replied. I helped her sit down.
"Did he say what he was going to do?" I asked. I couldn't help but feeling sympathetic for the poor woman. She'd gotten injured by him all those years ago and seeing him earlier had brought it all up again.
"He said he was going to recreate that night and this time, I wasn't going to live", she replied. He was going to go away for attempted murder one on an officer, plus assault. I would see to it.
"Here, I'll walk you back to Levi's. You've been in New York for three days and you've managed to get yourself into a spot of trouble", I said, helping her up. She looked terrified.

"I'm a trouble-magnet. I hate that I'm being seen like this. I'm not usually this messed up", she admitted.
"You're human. You came face-to-face with a major crisis from your past. Honestly, you did better than most victims did. You smashed his face against a wall, most victims would just shut up and let him do it", I replied. We had started walking, Isabella seemingly less shaken.
"Thanks, by the way, for saving my ass", she said. I shrugged.
"No problem. Thanks for shoving me into the pool", I replied, nudging her. She chuckled.
"Like you didn't have it coming. You tossed my keys in and made my phone speak Russian", she said.
"You locked my keys in the N.Y.P.D police-issued car. And you jammed my desk drawers. And you also put my phone in the ceiling and kept having people call it. And you changed my contact names. You had that coming too", I pointed out. She laughed.
"It's juvenile, I know. Those weren't even my best pranks. There is nothing I do better than revenge though", she replied.
"What's the best prank you've ever done?" I asked. She was quiet for a second.
"Well, my first day as a CSI, I put my boss's stapler in Jell-O. I think it still puts Jell-O on paperwork, if I remember correctly", she replied. I laughed.

"You must've been hell as a kid", I said, picturing little Isabella and Levi pulling pranks.
"My twin brother hid my horse and told me it was stolen", she replied. I laughed, shaking my head.
"That's an awesome idea!" I said. She glared at me.
"I mean, that must have been very terrible", I corrected myself. I was trying to keep her mind off what had just happened and it seemed to be working or she was just humoring me.
We approached Levi's townhouse.
"See you tomorrow, Donnie Dorko", she said, smiling. It was a sad smile, not her usual, adorable smile.
"Try not to get in any trouble", I replied, smiling in return and shaking my head. Levi threw open the door, enveloping his little sister in a huge hug.
"Levi, I'm fine! No harm done", she said, rolling her eyes.
"Did he touch you? Are you hurt?" he asked, spinning her around. She rolled her eyes again.
"Nah, I got there before any real damage was done", I spoke up.

"Oh, hey, Flack. You bailed my innocent little sister out of trouble?" Levi said. I had to contain my laughter as he called Isabella 'innocent'. If he only knew...