“That’s… amazing,” I say, truly stunned. “We weren’t sure you’d secure them all.”
“Well… I went through some videos you sent. I couldn’t watch them all. It was too much. But let’s just say it spurred my motivation to get every one of them.”
“Yeah, it was the same for us. Did you find more of the women on the tapes?” Andrea asks.
“A few. Some of them were willing to cooperate. Some weren’t. But when this blows up, they might change their minds. Especially when they realize they can get reparations when the trials begin.”
“That’s good. We gave you the files on the one we found, but it seems a lot of them didn’t make it past a few years after their assault.”
“It was the same for most of the women we found. I’m working on bringing them justice, regardless. Anyway, I wanted to thank you two for trusting me. We had our disagreements in the past, but I’m glad you could see beyond that and reach out to me.”
“You were only doing your job,” I say with a shrug. “We wouldn’t hold a grudge over that. Thank you for hearing us out, regardless of your suspicions.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Coleman. I won’t be able to contact you again for a while, but watch the news. I get the feeling this operation will be heavily covered.”
“Right,” Andrea chortles. “Oh, don’t forget the gloves in Becker’s office.”
“Don’t worry. I got your backs. I need to go, but let’s meet up for drinks when all this settles down? I’d love to hear how you pulled that off.”
“Yeah, and you’ll come with a bug and arrest us, too. Nice try,” Andrea replies with a frown.
“I joined this career because I wanted to arrest bad guys. As Mr. Coleman said earlier, I was only doing my job. But I see the bigger picture now. Arresting people who do good by society doesn’t make much sense, does it?”
“Glad we finally see eye to eye.”
Someone calls out for her, and she uses that to excuse herself and hang up.
Andrea almost vibrates with excitement next to me, impatient to see it all go down. She checks the time in the screen’s corner and groans. “Four hours and seven minutes until it happens. It’ll feel like forever,” she whines.
“We’ve been waiting for literal months, Andrea.”
“Haven’t you learned by now that I’m impatient as hell?”
“Oh, I have. But I’ve also learned you’re easily distracted.”
I stand from my chair and pick her up from hers. She lets out a high-pitched giggle, and she holds onto me. “Where are you taking me?” she asks.
“To the moon and back, my love.”
“That’s a long journey. Are you sure we’ll have enough time?”
“With my special rocket? Absolutely.”
She snorts and slaps my chest. “My God, that was so bad,” she laughs uncontrollably. “But there’s a pun about a cockpit in there.”
“I’ll let you think about it while I work on thetake off—of your clothes.”
She giggles again and presses an adamant kiss on my lips.
Only four hours and five minutes to go, and our lives become ours again.
I can’t fucking wait.
About ten minutes before the string of arrests is supposed to start, Andrea and I settle in the home cinema, showered and dressed, with everything we need to stay glued there for ten hours straight. Food, drinks, blankets, charged phones… We’re ready to watch it unfold the whole afternoon and evening.
CNN feels like the right move for now, so we put that on while we wait. Even though I fucked her within an inch of her life, Andrea is jittery next to me, like an overcharged battery, unable to stay in place. Her growing stamina is something I should probably start to worry about, but there are other concerns at the moment.
When she comes closer and wriggles to rest in the crook of my arm, with her temple against my shoulder, I adjust my position to welcome her before pressing a soft kiss on her forehead.
