Police say the assailant is in custody. He used a syringe, authorities say, to spray an unknown liquid on the congresswoman. Statement from
@Ilhan office: “During her town hall, an agitator tried to attack the Congresswoman by spraying an unknown substance with a syringe. Security and the Minneapolis Police Department quickly apprehended the individual. He is now in custody. The Congresswoman is okay. She continued with her town hall because she doesn’t let bullies win.”
Trouble's worst nightmare is playing out in real time, with someone gently holding his hand to walk him into the heart of it.
Thanks to broidcanymore for letting me borrow Lucas -- he's perfect for this 😈
Read it here or over on ao3. 2102 words. Enjoy 🩹
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Lucas followed some of the med tech’s advice, retrieving a blanket from the trunk of his work vehicle. He wrapped it around Trouble’s shoulders, then coaxed him into the backseat. At least he’d stopped crying once the two of them were alone.
“The ride isn’t long.”
“‘M dizzy.” Trouble curled up on his side in the backseat, drawing the blanket over his head.
“You can rest for now.” Lucas stayed bent over, watching as Trouble wiggled into a more comfortable position. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know she was going to sedate you.”
As he watched, Trouble whined softly and clutched the blanket tighter around himself.
“Once you’re feeling up to it, I can help you file a formal complaint if you wish.” Lucas paused, giving Trouble a moment to answer. “Her treatment was biased. I’ve seen it before.”
“‘Cause of how I am?”
“I believe so, and she had no right to behave that way toward you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
The blanket moved until he could see Trouble’s eyes peering out at him.
“You don’t have to decide now.” Lucas smiled. “I can remind you about this later.”
“...thanks.” Trouble relaxed on the seat and let his eyes drift closed. “You’re nice.”
“It’s my job to keep you safe while you’re with me.” Lucas straightened up. “I’m going to close your door now. Try to stay still and calm.”
“Okay.”
...
Trouble stayed hidden in the blanket for the drive, swallowing back the urge to vomit. As much as he didn’t want to be questioned, it was soothing to listen to Lucas’ voice for the drive. He sounded so calm. Trouble kept his responses vague and monosyllabic. Fucking tech. He felt shaky and dizzy from whatever she’d given him. So much for trying to ditch Lucas on the way into the station. Maybe, once they were inside, if he was left alone for long enough...
“We’re here.”
“Great,” he breathed, feeling cold all over in spite of the blanket. It didn’t help that the whole front of his shirt was wet with blood. He’d botched grabs before, and proper disposal had taken practice, but getting caught under a body with blood on his teeth? It couldn’t have gone worse. How had he missed the gun?! Trouble cursed under his breath as Lucas got out of the vehicle and opened the door for him.
“Do you need help to stand?”
“Nah.” Trouble sat up slowly, one hand pushing off the seat while the other kept the blanket closed around him. The world still had an unsettling tilt to it. He gritted his human-sized teeth as he scooted toward the door, then got both feet on the ground. As soon as he was standing, the ground seemed to lurch under his feet. He flailed -- and Lucas caught his arm.
“I have you.”
Trouble stared at Lucas, then past him at the police station. Color drained from his face while his stomach churned with nerves.
“I know you still aren’t feeling well. Let’s get you inside.”
He whined, but let Lucas guide him toward a side entrance. As unsteady as he felt, Trouble couldn’t help leaning into Lucas as they went inside. He lowered his gaze and tightened his grip on the blanket until his fingers went numb, moving with Lucas while trying to ignore the people they passed. With his ears still shifted, Trouble caught snippets of conversation -- things that didn’t have anything to do with his presence, and things that did.
“Is that the one?”
“Never thought Carson would let anyone go.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“There’s never been a survivor before.”
Trouble whimpered and stuck so close to Lucas that he nearly tripped them both.
“Whoops. Sorry.” Lucas put his arm around Trouble’s shoulders, holding him steady. “There’s a room just here where you can wait.” He opened the glass door and brought Trouble to a small round table, pulling one chair out for him.
He sank onto it with a sigh, trembling all over while huddled under the blanket. The room was small, with one solid wall and three of glass. Though two of the walls gave a clear view of working personnel and cubicles, all the voices and sounds from the office cut off as the door drifted shut behind them. Trouble kept the blanket close and his head down.
“Please don’t mind my colleagues. You’re safe here.” Lucas went to a set of switches near the door and flipped one, turning the two office-facing glass walls an opaque white. The remaining window faced an inner courtyard with thin trees and sparse patches of grass.
Trouble wished he was back in the parking structure with Carson’s corpse.
“Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“D-don’t you need my statement?” Trouble looked at the surface of the table while he hid his arms under the blanket.
“That can wait. Is the sedative still making you feel ill?”
Trouble gave a small nod, still not making eye contact. If he walked out of the room without Lucas, it would be into a sea of people. Armed people, in uniforms. He bit his lip to hold in a whine.
“Would it help if you had something to eat?”
He cringed and hunched over the table.
“I’ll be right back.”
“No.” Trouble looked up, but Lucas was already moving for the door. “Wait.”
“This won’t take long and I will come straight back here. Okay?”
His ears drooped under the blanket, tucking back against his head. He whined softly as he nodded. Trouble flinched as the open door let the voices of strangers pour in. His shoulders stayed tense even once he could no longer hear them. He wanted to pace, get out the energy that was making his heart pound. Of course, even sitting, the sedative still made everything tilty and gross.
Trouble slouched onto the table, arms crossed under his chin. He needed to get out. Maybe he could answer some of Lucas’ questions if it meant getting to leave.
...
Lucas had a smile ready as he knocked, then opened the door. He had a drink caddy in one hand and a bag looped over his shoulder.
Trouble shot up so fast that his chair tipped over and the blanket slipped down his shoulders. He clutched at the edge of the table with both hands, staring at Lucas and his offerings, chest heaving.
“It’s only me,” Lucas said quietly, still smiling. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” Keeping his movements slow, he set the caddy and cloth bag on the table between them. “Do you want help...?”
“Nah.” His exhale was shaky. Instead of righting the fallen chair, Trouble readjusted his grip on the table and hung his head. The muscles in his arms were still visibly trembling. “Wait. Yeah. Please?”
“Of course.” Lucas walked around the table and righted Trouble’s chair, placing it next to him. He held the back of it and waited. “Here. Please sit, and I’m sorry again.”
“It’s fine.” Trouble perched on the edge of the chair and rucked the blanket back up, drawing it tight against his neck.
“I didn’t know which you would prefer, so I brought water, tea, and coffee.”
“...water’s good.”
“I’m glad.” Lucas picked up the correct disposable cup and set it in front of Trouble, close enough that he wouldn’t have to reach far to get it. “I also brought you something to eat, if you’re hungry.” Lucas reached into the cloth bag and drew out the zippered lunch bag at the top. He opened it and slid it slowly across to rest beside the water. “There’s a sandwich, fruit, and cookies.”
“A sandwich?” Trouble seemed to shy back, grimacing.
“Fresh made this morning.”
“I, uh,” he went for the cup of water and cradled it in both hands, not drinking. “I’m not very hungry.”
“Oh.” Lucas smiled. So much for following the med tech’s ideas. “That’s okay. If it’s the sedative, we can wait until the effects wear off.”
“We don’t have to.” Trouble looked up from his water cup, meeting Lucas’ gaze. “Look, I really wanna go and...forget about all this. Can’t you take my statement?”
“If you’re sure. You’ve been through quite an ordeal--”
“I’m sure,” he interrupted, then looked away, ears drooping. “I’m just dizzy. I can talk.”
“I believe you.” Lucas cleared his throat and reached into the cloth bag again. He pulled out a first aid kit and set that out on the table next. “How about this: I can clean and tend your graze, and while I’m doing that, you can tell me about what happened with Carson.”
“Carson?”
“The person who attempted to shoot you.”
“...okay.” Trouble swallowed, then nodded. “You can.”
“Do you mind if I record our conversation? It will help me remember all the details you share about the incident.” Lucas moved his chair closer to Trouble’s, then opened the kit. “No one outside the investigation will have access to the recording.”
“Sure.”
“Thank you.” He set his comm on the table and tapped it twice to start recording. Then, he opened a pack of gauze and a bottle of sterile rinse. “I’ll clean your wound first, and I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
...
“Y-yeah.” Trying not to lean away from Lucas, Trouble closed his eyes and tensed up.
“How did you first come into contact with the man who shot at you?” The first wet dabs at his cheek were light and steady.
“Um.” Trouble could smell Carson’s cologne again. It hadn’t been overly strong, something woody and peppery. “I was out. Crave. It’s a newer place. I wanted to dance, and have a drink or two. He came up to me.” He liked when the forward guys gave off a hint of something dark. “Offered to buy me a glass of whatever I wanted.” Like so many of them, Carson had been handsy right off the bat.
“Did you accept?”
“Yeah. He seemed nice,” Trouble lied. He’d had to keep slipping out of Carson’s reach to keep hands from wandering under his boxers. “And fun.” He’d been looking forward to breaking those hands. Maybe biting off a thumb or two. It wasn’t as much of a risk to take off fingers, not if he tied their wrists together extra tight right after. “We danced a little.”
“How long were you together in the club?”
“I’m not sure.” Too long. Trouble had been suppressing the urge to shift each time Carson pulled him close, forcing giddy laughs instead of biting down on his shoulder. “He got me another drink, but I wasn’t done when he asked if I wanted to go somewhere quieter.”
“He asked you to leave the club with him?”
“Yeah. He--” Trouble inhaled sharply and opened his eyes, but he didn’t flinch.
“Apologies. The burn is more sensitive than the graze.” Lucas lowered his hand. “Ointment will help with the pain.”
Trouble watched as Lucas squeezed clear gel onto a square of gauze.
“What happened when you left the club?” he prompted.
“He said his apartment was close by if I wanted to see it.” Trouble sighed as the stinging in his cheek faded to cool numbness where Lucas applied the gel. “I said I would, and he brought me to where he parked. Then he...tried to hurt me.”
“What did he do?”
“He pinned me against his car.” Carson’s move hadn’t come as a surprise; Trouble had been waiting for it. The zip ties were a new one, though. Nothing he couldn’t break while shifted, but he’d given Carson a good show, squirming and whimpering while all three were tightened around his wrists. “He said he didn’t want to wait to get started.”
“What did you do?” Finished, Lucas set the first aid supplies aside.
“I got scared, so I tried to run, but he forced me into the backseat. He told me to stay down.” Trouble pulled his ears back and made his eyes water. “He was stronger and I didn’t want him to hurt me.”
“I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”
“It was awful,” he whimpered, pretending to shudder. Trouble had broken through the zip ties the instant Carson slammed the door closed. It had almost been funny, the shocked look on his face when he’d reached to start the car and Trouble had broken his wrist. “I didn’t know what he was gonna do, and then he had a gun and h-he pointed it at me,” Trouble shook his head, looking straight into Lucas’ eyes as the first tears spilled over. “It all happened so f-fast...”
