Race Against Time

I strolled into work, a bit lighter. My CO, Scythe, walked up to me, slapping me in the chest with paperwork.
"You got a call from the manager at that grocery store in Midtown, says he just saw Maxwell and he just bought dry ice", he said. I raised my eyebrows.
"I'll grab the boys and we'll get this guy", I replied, taking the papers and pulling out my phone. I sent a mass text to my team. Isabella came out of the elevator, looking highly pissed off. She was on the phone.
"I'm not losing this case. It'll be a cold day in hell when I lose another case to the FBI, Michael. You can tell them that, too", she hissed into the phone.
"Yes, I know I'm being difficult, but it's part of my winning charm. I'm too stubborn to let this go". I walked up to her, holding up the paper. A slow smile started to form on her face.
"Flack, you just made my day", she said, taking the phone away from her ear. I shrugged.
"I have a tendency to do that to people", I replied. Isabella put the phone back to her ear.
"If we get this collar, they ain't done anything. They aren't getting the credit for the collar and investigation, that's like me taking credit for the Camaro", she said. I nearly laughed.
"Anyways, I have to go, I have a job to finish up here. Tell the FBI that if they want this case, they're gonna have to fight me for it and you know it's a losing battle", she said, snapping her cell shut. It was her work phone and she shoved it into her pocket.

"FBI busting your chops?" I said. She nodded, rolling her eyes.
"Because Jay's killed across state lines allegedly, the FBI is getting involved and they want credit for the collar and the investigation", she replied. My eyebrows shot up.
"That's a losing battle. Mac won't let that happen", I said. She threw her arms up.
"Exactly! Adams wants to hand it over to them, but since I'm the lead detective on the case, it's up to me and I'm going to fight for this. They've taken other cases from me and they're not taking this, I've put too much time and effort into this", she replied. I followed her out into the street.

"Gotta admit, I'm gonna miss you when you go", I said, packing my gun onto my hip. She laughed.
"Don't worry, you'll find someone else to poke fun at. I'm coming back when Sarah has the baby too, so I won't be gone forever", she teased. She loaded her gun, setting it into her holster and walking along on the street. The boys practically had to jog to keep up with her.
We approached the store and Isabella and I walked in. The place had been closed off, the manager on the floor. Blood surrounded him. Isabella bent down to check his pulse.
"He's still alive, get an ambulance, ASAP", she yelled out the door. Something moved in the back room and a door opened. Isabella shot after him, before any of us could react. I ran out the door, going to cut him off at the alley.

"Suspect on foot, headed west towards 82nd Street. We're on pursuit, get me backup, now!" I said into my radio. I charged after them.
"Stop, Wilmington PD and N.Y.P.D!" Isabella yelled. She rounded a corner and disappeared. I approached the end, not seeing her. I ran fast, looking through every alley until I heard gunshots. I found the right alley and turned in. Isabella and Jay Maxwell were standing twenty feet apart, guns pointed at each other. I pulled my gun, careful not to say anything.
"Drop your weapon, Maxwell", Isabella warned. Her gun was raised and pointed right at him.
Jay Maxwell was wild-eyed and shaking. He looked like he was about to shoot.
"Drop your weapon", I echoed Isabella, positioning my gun. He was shaking and wild-eyed. His finger went to the trigger and I took my shot. I pulled the trigger and the bullet entered his shoulder. He dropped his gun onto the ground and it bounced, going off and shooting a trash can. He slammed against the wall. Isabella kicked the gun away, throwing him onto his stomach and cuffed him.

"Jay Maxwell, you're under arrest for the murders of seven people in the states of New York and North Carolina", she said, standing him up. She shoved him out of the alley, reading him his Miranda rights. A squad car pulled up a minute later. I panted, leaning against the wall. Isabella shoved him into the squad car and took a deep breath, holstering her gun.
"We did it", she panted. She smiled up at me and started laughing.
"You okay?" I asked.
"It's finally over. That psycho is behind bars", she said, leaning her head against a brick wall.
"Now the real work begins. We can get him for shooting the manager, but we have to get him to confess to the murders of those people", I pointed out.
"The killer with the same MO winds up in New York, buying the same supplies Maxwell does. Unless he has solid alibis for his whereabouts, we got him", Isabella replied.
"I admire your optimism. C'mon, let's get back to the precinct", I said, waving her on. We walked back to the precinct. O'Riley strode towards Isabella, completely ignoring me.
"Yo, Pacino, Messer's got Jay Maxwell in the interrogation room", he said. Isabella nodded. We walked into the observation room. Lindsay and Mac were in there.

"Good job on the arrest, I heard about it", Lindsay said.
"He's squealing for medical attention, who fired the gun?" Mac asked. I raised my hand.
"He was gonna shoot either me or her, so I had to shoot", I replied.
"If he claims police brutality, I hope you two have consistent stories", Mac said.
"He shot the manager of that store", Isabella spoke up.
"You might have saved his life", Mac replied. She smiled and looked into the glass. I saw her looking at his hands. His fingertips were black.
"He's our guy", she said, her smile widening.
"Frostbite", Mac agreed.
"He was dumb enough to handle dry ice with his hands", I said, chuckling. He was standing up and yelling at Danny. Isabella frowned then gasped.
"Get another officer in there now", she said, watching Jay. She left the observation room and walked into the interrogation room.

"I hope to God she knows what she's doing", I said.
"She's dealt with him before, Don. I've read her files, she was the arresting officer", Mac replied. It wasn't reassuring.
"Well, that's dedication. She followed a dangerous killer all the way to New York to drag him home", Lindsay said. Mac was clearly studying them. Jay was clearly scared to death of Isabella.
Danny and her were relentlessly interrogating him. After an hour, he finally stopped talking. We took a break and Isabella walked out, growling.
"He's going to claim insanity, I know it. He's lawyering up", she said, hitting the wall with her palm.
"He won't get it. He's claiming it now instead of then", Mac replied.
"If he walks, I'm going to lose it", Isabella said, resting her forehead against the wall.
"He won't, don't worry. Danny's a bit peeved that you came in, you should go explain what's going on to him", I replied. She walked over to Danny and they walked up to the lab.
"I'm gonna miss her when she goes back. It was nice to have another country girl around", Lindsay said, watching them leave.
"Yeah, she's a good cop too. It'll be a shame to lose her", Mac agreed.
"Feisty little thing though. Pranked me left and right", I said. Lindsay laughed.
"Danny told me about that. She got you good", she replied.

"I missed that, what happened?" Mac asked.
"I grabbed Isabella's phone when she wasn't looking and changed the language to Russian", I replied. Mac chuckled, shaking his head.
"Then she took my phone and my keys. She changed the contact names on my phone and put it up into the ceiling above my desk and had people calling it for two hours and locked my keys in the Buick", I said. Lindsay giggled, shaking her head.
"Don't forget when she jammed your desk drawers too. Moved all of your stuff into other drawers and rigged them to open two inches", Lindsay reminded me. I laughed.
"Then I grabbed her keys and chucked them into the deep end of the precinct pool. She got revenge by pushing me in", I said. Mac shook his head.
"Sounds like you've met your match", he replied.
"In pranks, maybe", I relented as we walked up to the lab. Isabella was shaking her head, leaning against the wall of the trace lab. This was not good news.