Where Secrets Lie

A lone white door stood out in the darkness of the night. Kara approached it and reached for the brass handle with dread. This was her home, but something seemed out of place. A tingle of uneasiness crept up her spine. As if sensing her fear, the door suddenly flew open to expose a horrifying scene. At first, she thought a burglar had broken in and ransacked the house. The plush white sofa on which she and her sister Alyssa spent many late nights watching horror films had been ripped to shreds. Shards of ceramic lamps, vases, and other unrecognizable debris lay scattered across the burgundy carpet like snow.

As her gaze traced the horrific scene, the most terrifying sight of all caught her attention. Bright red smears covered the walls that lead upstairs to her adoptive parents' bedroom. For a moment, she simply stared at the red smears, too frightened to move an inch. Finally, as if something kicked her, she stepped forward. Slowly, she ascended the stairs, her gaze never leaving the trail of blood. Her body felt as if she were floating, and she prayed that this was all just a dream.

This isn't real, this isn't real...

The trail stopped exactly where she feared it would: her parent's bedroom. She burst into the room and with a pained sob, she dropped to her knees. Her parents lie side by side on the floor. They looked unreal, pale and cold. A pool of blood formed beneath them and their dark and empty eyes stared at her as if blaming her for what happened. They were right. It was her fault. If she made it back just a few hours earlier, she could have saved them. Now, it was too late.

Rrrrring....rrrrrring....rrrrrring

The sound of her phone jolted Kara out of her nightmare. Sweat soaked her pillow and her thick blonde hair, making strands stick to her neck uncomfortably. She replayed the events of the dream in her mind. This wasn't the first dream like this she had, and it wouldn't be the last.

The blinding sunlight peeked in through her window shades, causing her to squint her eyes. She felt a migraine approaching. She reached across her nightstand and shifted through some paperwork to find her phone lying underneath. Sitting up and answering the phone took more effort from her than it should have.

When she first told her sister about her trouble sleeping, Alyssa suggested sleeping medication. At the time, Kara shrugged it off, but she was starting to reconsider it. So far, her lack of a good night's sleep hadn't affected her work, but soon, she feared it would cause a mistake, and mistakes in her line of work meant life or death.

She glanced at her phone and rolled her eyes. Of course, as usual, it was work-related.

"What do you want Grant? You're interrupting my day off." She answered the phone in mid-yawn as she clutched her crystal necklace that hung from her neck.

"Well good morning to you too, beautiful, I just thought you might like to know that your boy just came out of hiding." His Boston accent was as thick as usual.

"Mancini?" Kara jumped to her feet, no longer feeling weighed down by fatigue.

"The one and only. Looks like they're getting ready to make a drop-off. We're down at the warehouse by the pier."

"I'm on my way." Kara pressed the end button before hearing Grant's response. No way, she'd let anyone take down Mancini without her.

She fought her way into a pair of faded denim jeans and carelessly threw her hair into a messy ponytail. She grabbed the black leather jacket hanging on the hook by the door and pulled it over the grey tank she slept in. Lastly, she placed her holster and badge. Lately, it seemed to be a permanent part of her outfit these days, something that left her with mixed feelings.

When she arrived at the warehouse, a team of officers surrounded her partner David. He and another cop were in the middle of a heated discussion.

"Sir, we need to move in now!" he said. The tone of his voice was strained as he struggled with expressing the urgency without being disrespectful to a higher ranking officer. The frown on his face, however, made it clear his patience was waning.

"Kara will kill us if we get to him before she does," replied Grant, never taking his eyes off of the warehouse doors.

"Excuse me for saying so, but if we let him get away, we'll have a lot more to worry about than Kara's temper."

"You've obviously never seen her angry." Grant chuckled.

Just as Kara approached the two arguing men to put an end to the fighting, the warehouse doors flew open. A tall man wearing a business suit ran out and headed toward a nearby alley. A smaller man in a brown jacket and jeans emerged after him, but he headed in the opposite direction.

Kara leaped into action. "Grant, get the short guy, I'm going after Mancini."

Before he had time to respond, Kara was already gone. Grant wasted no time in following her orders.