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Flangellized, chapter 19
This chapter contains the episode "Tales From The Undercard" which aired May 5th and Lucy Messer's first birthday because the episode that included her birth originally aired on May 6th. My characters for this chapter;
Maria Thorp (the vic) and her parents
Lucia (Aina's sister, married to Rico)
Aina (Lucia's sister, married to Alanzo, mother of Ramon)
Ramon (18 months old, son of Aina and Alanzo)
Hector (Lucia & Aina's younger brother)
Rico & Alanzo (from the red gang)
Sein & Timo (from the blue gang)
Captian Paul Hernandez, Gang Task Force Unit
SWAT Lieutenant Jose Diaz and his side-kick Bradley.
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
Flack spun the ring on his finger, as he lay only half awake on his bed. It had become the first thing he would do each morning. Each night, since his parents gave him his Grandmother's Claddagh ring for Angell, he would put it on his little finger before going to sleep. It only fit on half way, but he put it on anyway. It just made him feel close to her. He even put it on after the argument they'd had last night. Actually, he probably needed it more last night than any other. It was a stupid argument, neither budging on what they though was right, and he didn't like the feeling of distance it had left between them.
He gave the ring one last spin before removing it from his little finger and placed it back in the dark blue velvet box, then tucked it into his night stand. He'd made no decisions yet on when, where, or how to propose and give it to her. For right now, he just needed things to be right between them again.
Angell lay sprawled across her bed, which was a mess from her tossing and turning all night, and slowly opened her eyes. She immediately took in the scent from Flack's old academy shirt she was wearing, which in turn reminded her of the fight they'd had last night. The fact that they had disagreed at all made her heart ache, at the same time her head all but spun in frustration over his stubbornness. She kicked back the mess of covers and got up.
The day had kept them both busy, each headed in their own directions. Flack working on the murder of Joe 'the Gladiator' Carthage and Angell dealing with the rape and murder of seventeen year old Maria Thorp.
Interrogations with the Contorsi brothers left Flack agitated at the general population of spoiled rich kids. He entered the bullpen to see Angell at her desk, elbows on her knees, her forehead resting in one hand, a ME's report in the other, as she talked on the phone that was wedged against her shoulder. He sensed her frustration as he took a seat at his own desk.
"Yeah, I noticed that. Multiple perps. Sick perverts. Report shows no alcohol or drugs at all. Yeah, I will. Okay. I'll call you later, Lindsay." Was Angell's end of the conversation before she hung up. She left her head in her hands and tossed her phone on her desk.
She wanted to say something to him, to work things out between them, but they were at work where they lacked privacy, and right now her case had her mind pulled in a different direction. Seventeen year old Maria Thorp had been gang raped before being murdered, and to make matters worse, according to Sid's ME report, she was probably still a virgin by the way she was torn up from the rape. The very idea made her both sick and angry. She was determined to arrest the men who did this, then, when her mind was clear of these distractions, she was going to work things out with Flack. She took a glance up at him, working at his computer, not wanting to gauge how mad he still was right now since he hadn't spoken to her either.
He wanted to say something to her, but wasn't sure how mad she still was. Gauging her level of continued irritation with him would be a trial and error process he would just as soon avoid if at all possible. It didn't help that they were at work and lacked the privacy they needed for that kind of conversation. He spent several minutes returning e-mails while debating with himself if he should speak to her now or not, then was disappointed in himself when she left her desk, then left the bullpen. He should have said something.
THE NEXT MORNING....
Angell awoke the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing, Mac informing her that a tip had come in to the precinct about Maria Thorp's murder. Her shift started in two hours, but he wanted Lindsay to go with her to meet a possible informant now. 'Does that man ever sleep', she wondered as she sent Lindsay a text.
A half hour later Angell knocked on the Messer's apartment door.
"Hey, Linds, you're not read-" Angell began, then noticed the other woman's appearance. "Um, you're not ready."
Lindsay had the door cracked just enough Angell could tell she had a lacy red mid-thigh length robe barely wrapped around her, her hair messed up, and... was she... sweating?
"Angell." Lindsay said, a bit breathless. "Um, what brings you here?"
Angell stifled a smirk at what she had obviously interrupted, "I take it you didn't get my text." She stated.
"Text?" Lindsay repeated, running a hand through her hair at thinking how she must look at the moment. "Um, no."
"Precinct got a tip early this morning about Maria Thorp's murder. I know it's early and you're only on-call, but Mac wants us to go talk to a possible witness now. I opted for texting you, so I wouldn't wake Lucy with an early morning call." Angell explained.
"Oh. Well, my phone didn't go off. Um, can you give me a few?" Lindsay said, pulling up on the collar of her robe for more coverage.
"I'll just wait here." Angell said, preferring to stay in the hallway.
Lindsay nodded and shut the door, returning a few minutes later ready to go. "Sorry about the wait." She stated with a blush. "Apparently when Danny went to charge his phone last night, he grabbed mine by mistake. So it was his phone on the night stand next to me instead of mine." She explained, turning her phone on.
"Sorry for the interruption." Angell said, deciding to take the straight forward approach instead of letting the awkwardness continue. "But at least your phone is fully charged." She added.
Lindsay blushed again and changed the subject. "So, what's this lead we've got?"
AN HOUR LATER....
In the alley behind Maria Thorp's apartment, Angell had interviewed Lucia while Lindsay interviewed her sister Aina. They had called into the precinct's tip line, saying they saw a group of men they thought raped and killed Maria Thorp.
"I'm thinking something is off here." Lindsay said to Angell as they stood together to confer after talking to the sisters.
Angell looked over at the two women, standing together about ten yards away as Aina's young son Ramon playfully circled his mother's legs. "Does this not sound just a little too convenient to you. I mean, it's great to have witnesses to collaborate evidence, but-"
"But there's just something a little fishy about their stories." Lindsay finished for her as she too looked over at the women.
Angell nodded, "Their stories match perfectly. A little too perfectly."
"I don't know about other mothers, but when Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night, the last thing I want to do is leisurely stroll over to my window to check out the view." Lindsay commented, referring to the women's story.
"Tuck 'em back in and get back to bed." Angell assumed out loud. "And I'll bet you don't wake Danny up to ask him to help, either."
Lindsay raised a brow, "Danny would think I'd lost my mind. Same as I'd think if he woke me when it was his turn." She assured.
"Okay." Angell said with an arched brow, "Now that we agree that we don't believe either one of them. How do we want to handle this?"
But before an answer was heard, shots rang out.
SHORTLY AFTER....
"Hey, Danny." Flack greeted as he entered the ballistics lab. Messer looked up, "Hey, man. Heard you got to close your case."
Flack nodded, "Yep. Mac arrested Telly Gines last night, so I've just a little paperwork to finish. Thought I'd drop this off first."
"Alright, wha'd ya bring me?" Messer asked, eyeing the gift bag in his buddy's hand.
"Gee, Danny, I wasn't aware you liked butterflies and all things pink." Flack joked, spinning a pink gift bag with blue butterflies and yellow daisies all over it. "Hard to believe it's been a year already."
"Tell me about it." Messer replied with a slight shake of his head.
"Fastest year of my life." He added, taking off his gloves.
"Jess picked this out for Lucy." Flack stated, handing over the gift bag she had given him several days ago. "I only get credit for delivery."
"As do all us husb-" Messer started to say as he placed the bag on the table, but stopped, unsure how to correct his error.
Flack failed miserably at hiding a smile and opted not to say anything, then turned to leave. Even with he and Angell's current status of disagreement, he still couldn't help but smile at his friend's words, even though in error, for now.
Flack's smile did not go unnoticed, though. "Wait a minute." Messer called after him. "Hey, come back here, Flack!"
Flack rounded the corner, Messer hot on his heels, as Stella approached quickly. "Oh, good, I'm glad you're both here."
"What's going on, Stell?" Both men inquire as Mac approached.
Stella took a deep breath before speaking. She knew neither man was going to be okay with what she was about to say. "We've got a situation. Shots fired. 84th and Lincoln Blvd."
The realization hit Mac immediately, "****." He seethed, barely audible but getting their attention, "That's where I sent Angell and Lindsay this morning." He stated aloud.
"What?!" Flack and Messer said at the same time.
JUST FIVE MINUTES LATER....
Mac drove his Avalanche with Danny in the passenger seat, while Stella drove the SUV with Flack in the passenger seat, neither wanting the stressed and upset men to drive. They parked half a block down from the entrance to the alley, by a SWAT vehicle, and Lieutenant Sythe approached as they exited their vehicles.
Sythe could tell he was about to get bombarded with questions and held up his hand to stop them before it started, "I've been in contact with Detectives Angell and Monroe." He began, indicating his cell phone and using Lindsay's maiden name as not to confuse anyone with Danny since they were both present at the same scene. "They were here interviewing sisters Lucia and Aina about Maria Thorp's murder when shots broke out." He paused, turning so he could gesture as he continued. "The apartment complex on the left side of the alley faces 84th and falls into the territory of the red gang, the apartment complex on the right side of the alley faces 85th and falls into the territory of the blue gang. This alley is pretty much their dividing line. Lucia and Aina, live in what we've dubbed the 'red apartments', where Thorp lived as well. The first shots came from rival gang members from the 'blue apartments'." Sythe paused again, as someone approached whom he needed to introduce, "This is Capitan Paul Hernandez from the Gang Unit Task Force. What can you tell us, Paul?"
"Your interviewees are sisters Lucia and Aina, not only do they live here in the red apartments but are each married to members of the red gang. So I suspect two options. One; that they were more than happy to rat out the members of the blue gang that raped and murdered Thorp. Or two; they were wanting to falsely accuse members of the blue gang because it was really members of the red gang that did it." Hernandez explained.
"Angell said the sisters told identical and unbelievable stories. But before they got a chance to call them on it, shots came from the blue apartments. But at this point, shots are now coming from both gangs in both buildings." Sythe conveyed.
"Which doesn't help us narrow down our two options." Messer said, running a hand over his face, a motion Flack was already doing. "Nor is it really relevant right now."
"Danny's right. We can figure that out later. Right now, the question is, how do we get our detectives out of there safely?" Mac says, needing a plan to focus on.
"I believe I can help with that plan." SWAT Lieutenant Jose Diaz said as he approached. "I've got snipers on both roofs now. They're in positions that keep most of the shooters away from the windows and unable to keep taking shots. But they can't get all the windows covered, so Angell and Monroe are still pinned down in the alley."
"What about the apartments?" Flack asked Diaz, as he and Messer put their kevlar vests on.
"All exits are covered." Diaz said.
"Will they be evacuated?" Messer asked, checking his side arm.
"Can't." Hernandez said with a shake of his head, "Most of the occupants in the red apartments are affiliated with the red gang in some way. And those that aren't are either willing to help them or too scared of them to tell the truth. Ditto for the blue. So, an attempt to bring out the occupants of either apartment complex, would most definitely bring out gang members as well." He said.
A crackly voice came over Diaz's radio before he spoke into it. "Roger that. Send 'em over." They all heard him reply into it. "Mr. and Mrs. Thorp, Maria's parents, are coming over."
"Why weren't they in the building?" Mac questioned, grateful regardless of what answer he got.
"They went to St. Michael's after Mr. Thorp's grave yard shift, to meet with their priest about funeral arrangements." Diaz explained as an officer brought the couple over.
"What can you tell us about Maria and these gangs?" Flack asked, hoping for some incite into why this was all happening and the love of his life was in danger only fifty yards away from him.
"Maria was a good girl." Mrs. Thorp answered, politely yet adamantly. "She didn't want anything to do with the gangs."
"They used to taunt her." Mr. Thorp began, "Whenever they would see her. She tried to stay away from them. The guys in the gang, they would talk foul to her, saying such awful things." He paused, it was hard for a father to think about the things those men had said to his little girl, things they wanted to do to her. "She could ignore them, she did ignore them, but it was the women in the gang that were even worse."
"How so?" Messer asked, arms crossed over himself and rocking back on his heels.
"Maria was a good student, she got good grades, a scholarship even. She was going away to college next fall, out of this place." Mrs. Thorp supplied, a tinge of pride in her voice covering the sadness of losing her only child, even for just a moment. "But the women in the gang,... they wanted to bring her down to their level. They were angry with her. Because she didn't want anything to do with any of their men."
Another round of shots rang out at that moment, the Thorps being taken to cover as radios crackled to life with the obvious announcement of more shots fired. Someone was down, but it wasn't an 'officer down' call and Flack and Messer looked at each other with guilty sighs of relief.
They'd all made their way down to the entrance of the alley, SWAT member Bradley meeting them with an update. "One of the women they were interviewing is down. Her name's Aina, she's the mother of the toddler. When the shots died down for a while, she must've though it was safe, because she tried to make her way back into the red apartments. That's when more shots came from the blue apartments, one of the windows we haven't been able to cover yet." He explained.
"Where is everyone else?" Diaz requested, needing an update on exactly who was located where in that alley. Bradley unrolled a rough diagram out on the back of a squad car. "Detectives Angell and Monroe are both here, behind a dumpster up against the red apartments, therefore in the line of fire from the blue." He said, gesturing to a spot on the diagram. "Lucia and her nephew Ramon are here, by an old mattress up against the blue apartments." He added, gesturing to a spot on the other side of the diagram.
"No he's not." Flack interrupted, looking down the alley and spotting the toddler. "Oh God." He breathed out, fearful of what he though could happen.
They all looked down the alley at what Flack was seeing. A toddler with black curly hair had wondered out from the spot of safety with his aunt and was now crouched down in the middle of the alley by the body of his dead mother.
Another shot rang out from the blue apartment and everyone cringed when the bullet ricocheted off the concrete only a foot away from Ramon who became scared and began to cry, but didn't move away from his mother's body.
"We've gotta get him out of there." Flack said, stating the obvious.
"He's right out in the open, but I can't risk sending anyone in there after him." Diaz said, feeling bad at having to say it.
MEANWHILE....
"Come on, Ramon. Come over here." Lindsay said, calling out to the boy and hoping he would pick up on the motherly tone in her voice. But he just looked up at her with big sad brown eyes, pointing again to his mother, clearly not understanding that she wasn't going to get up and hug him.
"He's too scared, Lindsay." Angell said, with a sigh as they both watched the toddler crouch down and pat his mother's back as if trying to awaken her. "We're going to have to go get him."
Monroe took a deep breath to focus, "How do you want to play this?" She asked, letting her take the lead.
"I'm gonna have to be fast, and you're gonna have to do a good job of covering me." Angell said, holstering her weapon she had been returning fire with, needing both hands free for what she was about to do.... besides, she was now out of bullets.
"But I can't cover both sides." Lindsay said, checking out her line of shot. "I can only cover the windows over there." She added, referring to the three far windows of the blue apartments that they had been exchanging fire with. "What about the ones above us from the red apartments?"
"Ramon's parents are with the red gang, so I'm hoping they won't shoot at me for rescuing one of theirs. And we really don't have a choice because the blue gang obviously doesn't care about killing a toddler." She conferred back, taking up a sprinter's stance. "You ready?"
Monroe aimed her gun, "Ready." She stated, then shot at the windows to keep the blue gang from firing at Angell while she watched her via peripheral vision.
Angell shot out from behind the dumpster as fast as she could, heading for the toddler and scooping him up. She continued straight, heading for the closest cover she could see, another dumpster. A shot rang out again, and she registered it as coming from the red apartments just as the bullet grazed her arm, causing her to spin and stumbled. She scurried to her feet as fast as she could while hanging on to Ramon and continued as she could hear Monroe returning fire to cover her. She was surprised to say the least, she'd meant what she told Monroe about the red gang not firing as she tried to rescue one of their own. But Ramon was cradled on her right side and the bullet had gone through the back of her left arm, so they were probably aiming for her. Not a comforting thought, she told herself as she reached her destination against the back of the blue apartments.
Back at the alley's entrance, Flack winced as he saw Angell flinch and stumble. His heart racing as he mentally encouraged her to get up and get to cover again.
A moment later his radio crackled to life, "Angell took one to the arm." He heard one of the SWAT snipers from the roof confirm.
"SWAT is ready for my word to storm the front of both apartment complexes." Diaz announced, getting everyone's attention as he approached again. "As soon as they do, my men on the roof will propel down the back of both buildings to get to the windows the shots have been coming from. We need to come at this from every possible direction. Flack, I need you to join Angell and cover the back door of the blue apartments. Messer, I want you to join Monroe and cover the back door of the red apartments. Taylor, Bonasara, I need you two stationed at the entrance to the alley." He instructed, handing out extra magazines and getting nods of agreement from all.
"I'll call Angell and Monroe and tell them the plan." Stella said.
MEANWHILE....
"Shh. It's gonna be okay, Ramon." Angell spoke gently to the crying toddler clinging to her, trying to calm him. He was scared, not liking the loud noises the guns made around him and wanting his mommy that he kept pointing to. "Shhh."
"You okay, Angell?" Monroe called over at seeing the red on her white shirt.
"It's just a graze." Angell called back to assure her colleague and friend, even though her arm stung as blood was slowly seeping into her shirt. "I say we just stay put and wait it out."
"We don't have much choice, I'm out of bullets. Besides, SWAT's gotta be ready to move soon." Monroe stated just before ducking as a bullet ricocheted off the dumpster.
WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY LATER....
"Okay, I need you to know who's who in there." Hernandez began as he laid out mug shots across the back of a squad car. "This is Rico, he's the leader of the red gang and Lucia's husband. This is Alanzo, Rico's right hand man, Aina's husband, and Ramon's father. This is Sein, he's the leader of the blue gang. This is Timo, Sein's right hand man. I've worked the Gang Task Force for years and can tell you that none of these men are going down without a fight. And don't underestimate any of their women, either. They're just as dangerous."
"I had Adam run phone records. Triangulation of their phones indicates that all four of them are here in these apartment complexes." Mac informed everyone.
"Not only are they dangerous," Hernandez said, then paused, "But they are very territorial." He emphasized.
"Let's go." Diaz said, then everyone departed to their positions.
A few minutes later Diaz nodded to Mac and Stella who were positioned at one side of the entry to the alley, confirming that they were ready. Then nodded to Flack and Messer, positioned on the other side of the entry to the alley and ready to head to the back doors of the apartments as soon as SWAT had scaled down the backs of both buildings to clear the shooters from the windows. They also nodded back that they were ready. Diaz then confirmed from his men on the roof that they were ready to scale down, then with his team at the front entrances to both apartments that they were ready, as their entrance would start a domino effect that needed to play out like clockwork. Once confirmed that everyone was ready, Diaz gave the order and SWAT entered the fronts of the apartment complexes. The first domino had fallen.
"Danny," Flack said quietly as they waited their signal to go. "I need you to do something for me." He stated, not taking his eyes off Angell. He could see just enough of her to watch her cradle the frightened toddler in her arms. He knew she was out of bullets and had just hunkered down, protecting the little boy and waiting to be rescued.
"Probably the same thing I need you to do for me." Messer stated, not taking his eyes off the dumpster his wife was currently taking cover behind. He knew she was out of bullets and he couldn't stand the waiting to get to her.
"We made a promise, Danny." Flack reminded his friend.
Messer nodded, "And we're gonna carry it out.... and the women are never going to know about it." He said.
"Right. On both counts." Flack agreed, feeling a sense of relief that they didn't need to say any more on the topic. He would do whatever he could to keep Lindsay safe and he knew Danny would do whatever he could to keep Jess safe. It was their promise to each other, one they hoped to never have to carry out. But here they were, both of them, about to do just that.
FLACK (AND MESSER'S) POV....
Flack heard the order in his radio, the go-signal for the SWAT members on the roof. He watched them propel down and enter the building via their target windows. But just as they disappeared from sight, several members of the blue gang rushed out from the back door of their apartment complex and started firing. He and Messer were at the corner of the red building so taking cover was fast and easy to do. The shots came close to them and they didn't dare extend an appendage for fear of losing it, nor did they dare take blind shots into the alley for fear of hitting one of theirs.
ANGELL (AND MONROE'S) POV....
Angell sat on the hard concrete, leaned against the side of the dumpster as close to the building as she could get to avoid being shot at again. She held Ramon tight and rubbed his back, despite the pain in her arm, trying to comfort the toddler who kept pointing to his mother's body and crying. She'd watched SWAT propel down and enter the windows, causing the shooting to stop, at least for now. She's also seen glimpses of Flack, Messer, Stella and Mac at the entrance to the alley just fifty yards away, surely they would be coming for them soon. Suddenly she heard a loud bang and multiple voices mixed in with gunfire coming from behind her. She peaked her head around the dumpster to see members of the blue gang pouring out into the alley, guns drawn and already shooting. She quickly shuffled herself back against the wall again, and watched two of them rush over to where Lindsay was behind a dumpster on the opposite side of the alley. They drug her out by her hair and she fought back until one of them stuck a gun in her neck. A noise nearby got her attention and she looked to see a shoe had kicked one of the dumpster's wheels, then two men appeared by her, guns drawn and aimed. She stood slowly with Ramon as she watched two others drag Lindsay over, one of the men wiping blood from his mouth where she had punched him. One of the men by her said something, but with all the shooting it was hard to hear, but she could tell by his gestures that she was to go with them. She put Ramon down, kneeling by him for a moment and pointing to his Aunt Lucia by the mattress nearby, telling him to go to her. She wasn't sure how well this would go over, but she wasn't about to let them take the little boy, too. As soon as Ramon reached his Aunt, Angell stood up, one man grabbing each of her arms and hauling her towards the back door they'd come out of, Lindsay right behind them in the same manner. As soon as they were inside, most of the shooting stopped.
Flack was surprised at how long the shooting had lasted, keeping them pinned down at the building's corner and unable to see what was going on. But it stopped almost as suddenly as it had started, and as soon as they dared, they peeked their heads around, just in time to see the back door of the blue apartments close.
"What the hell was that all about?" Messer asked. "Some sort of 'blaze of glory' or somethin'?"
"They're gone, Danny." Flack stated with wide eyes as Mac and Stella looked over at them. "Change of plans; you and me are going after them."
Messer did not ask his friend to elaborate. The thought of his wife unarmed and in a dangerous situation had him running into the alley right behind his friend. They paused only briefly before opening the door they had just watched close. Entering cautiously, they found themselves in the middle of a long hallway. They heard more doors closing, in each direction, leaving them not knowing which way to go. Jess and Lindsay could have both been taken the same way or separated. Only one way to find out.
"We're going to have to split up." Flack said, going to the right.
"Stay in contact." Messer called out, already heading left.
Both men ran as fast as they could in opposite directions, towards their respective doors, not knowing what they would find.
Lindsay was being pushed and pulled at the same time. The man behind her had her right arm twisted back and the man in front of her still had a fist full of her hair which he did not hesitate to use to guide her to their destination, wherever that was. Part of her was scared of the two armed men, not knowing what they had in mind to do with her, but she knew her husband would come for her and take her safely home to celebrate their daughter's first birthday.
Angell was being pushed by both men down another hall, each having an arm pinned behind her. She wanted to dig her heels in and stop suddenly, head butting one of them before breaking the other one's nose with her fist, but one of them also pressed a gun to her back, so she resisted the urge, for now. Her adrenaline rate was skyrocketing, but she kept herself calm and focused by remembering that Flack would be close behind.
Flack paused outside the door he'd come to, listening but hearing nothing. He opened it cautiously, finding himself in yet another hallway. He followed that hallway to the end and rounded the corner, seeing two gang members trying to force Lindsay into one of the apartments. "NYPD! Freeze!" He yelled at them, but the one with the gun who Flack recognized as Sein, their leader, tuned on him and fired, hitting the bottom edge of Flack's kevlar vest. Flack felt a wave of pain ripple through his side as he spun slightly and fell to his knees. He leaned his head against the wall trying to catch his breath as the gang members laughed at him. Dispite the pain he was in, he was more pissed off than anything, partly at himself for not getting a shot off first, and now because a gun was being waved back and forth between he and Lindsay, as if Sein was having trouble deciding who to shoot first. Well, Flack wasn't going to just wait and find out, so he raised his gun and shot Sein in the leg before he could get another shot off, sending him to the ground in agony as his gun slid across the floor just out of reach.
The other gang member looked unsure of what to do, but he had Lindsay in a choke hold, his heavily tattooed arm wrapped around her neck. "I'll kill her, man! I swear I will! I can hear her struggling to breath already!" He threatened, gripping his tighter.
Flack got to his feet and nodded but did not lower his gun, "Yeah. Yeah, you can cut off her air supply for a few more seconds, and she'll pass out. And as soon as she does,.... I'm gonna put a bullet right between your eyes." He said in a serious tone.
Flack watched as the man's expression changed, obviously rethinking the consequences of his actions which he now realized would result in his own death. He slowly released his grip on Lindsay and she slumped to the ground gasping for air. Flack cuffed him quickly, then used Lindsay's cuffs on Sein.
Lindsay could hear the clicking of her cuffs and voices of SWAT members headed their direction as the door to the apartment they had tried to push her into slowly opened. A woman stood in the doorway, probably one of their wives. Lindsay noted the expression on the woman's face as she raising a gun to Flack. Lindsay quickly grabbed Sein's gun on the floor next to her. "Don't do it!" She ordered, staring her down. "NYPD! Drop it!"
MEANWHILE....
Danny paused outside the door he'd come to, listened carefully, then opened it cautiously, finding himself in yet another empty hallway. He ran down to the end and rounded the corner, just in time to see two gang members trying to push Angell out a fire escape, but she was being slightly less than cooperative. "NYPD! Let her go!" Messer ordered, his gun raised.
"No way man! She's coming with us!" The one Messer recognized as Timo, their leader's right hand man, yelled back. He had her injured arm twisted behind her and jerked her head back with a handful of her hair.
"No she's not!" Messer yelled back at Timo, but kept his gun trained on the other man who held a gun that was pointed at him. He noted the blood on Angell's white shirt and was glad he could hear SWAT coming their direction.
Angell had had enough of this, Timo had released her hair in favor of pinning her other arm behind her. This actually worked in her favor and provided her leverage as she suddenly threw her head back as hard as she could, head-butting Timo in the face. She heard a crunch and was sure she'd broken his already ugly nose. He held tight to her arms while she pushed herself back against him, pressing him into the wall behind them. Then she kicked the other blue gang member into the opposite wall, the gun in his hand being sent to the floor.
The other gang member was a big guy, not so much tall, but definitely big otherwise, and much faster than Messer anticipated as he made a move for the gun on the floor.
Messer aimed and shot the floor, just inches from the gun. "Don't do it, man! Don't do it! Or the next bullet is meant for you." He threatened, and watched him stand up and back away. "Kick it over here." He ordered, and the man reluctantly did, sending the gun sliding across the floor near Messer's feet.
Messer tossed the man a set of cuffs and ordered him to cuff himself to a pipe there on the wall, then without taking his eyes of Timo, he carefully picked up the gun. "Let her go." Hernandez had been right, Timo wasn't going down without a fight and glared back at Messer as he shook his head.
"No way, man, no way!" He shouted, causing his own blood from his broken nose to drip into his open mouth as he pulled tighter on Angell's arms, causing her to grimace in pain.
Messer could see the blood now dripping off her finger tips and was sure Flack would have put a bullet between Timo's eyes by now if he were here. But hey, he could work with that idea.... So he walked slowly over to Timo, till his gun was pressed against his temple. "You can go out of here in cuffs, or in a body bag. I really don't care which. Now, don't make me tell you again."
Timo's heavy breathing could be easily heard as he fumed in anger over his lack of options. It took several moments, but he finally gave a slight nod before slowly released his grip on Angell's arms.
Angell leaned against the far wall, rubbing her sore arms as Timo was being cuffed. Although, he did get in one final act of rebellion and swung an elbow in resistance, this resulted in a split lip and bloody shirt for Messer who decided to make sure the cuffs went on nice and tight.
Several minutes later Lindsay emerged from the back door of the blue apartments, leading a cuffed, argumentative and limping Sein. She was followed by Angell who led a cuffed Timo who had cotton rolls stuck up his crooked nose. Messer and Flack followed behind them, escorting the two other gang members who had helped grab the women. Hernandez brought up the rear with Sein's wife who had tried to shoot Flack.
They headed out of the alley to an ambulance on the street. Mac and Stella were right there, waiting to photograph and collect evidence. First was Flack's kevlar with the bullet in it, causing the paramedics to want to take him in to have his ribs x-rayed. Fortunately, Dr. Hawkes was there as well and assessed that he was only sore and had bruised ribs, which were wrapped for easier breathing. The sleeve of Angell's shirt was cut off and placed in an evidence bag before Hawkes decided she needed stitches before being bandaged up, which he of course took care of. Monroe needed only aspirin for her headache, a result of having her head yanked around by her hair, and Messer got an ice pack for his mouth once Stella had photographed his bruised jaw and split lip. Paramedics then took only Sein and Timo to the hospital to get patched up, leaving the four behind, as no trip to the ER was now necessary for them, thanks to Hawkes. The rest of the blue gang members were on their way to interrogation, which would be handled by Hernandez and the Gang Unit Task Force.
"Lucia is being booked right now and Ramon is with Child Protective Services until a more wholesome family member can be located. I should have a full story for you by morning, Detective Angell." Hernandez said as the ambulance and police cruisers pulled away. "But I expect us to find that Lucia and Aina abducted Maria Thorp."
"But what about the rape?" Angell inquired.
Hernandez sighed heavily, he knew the logic didn't make sense, even when explained. "Some of the residents told us that the women wanted Thorp for their little brother Hector."
"Wanted her?" Monroe repeated. "Geez, it makes her sound like a pet."
"You have to understand, Detectives, that these gangs treat their women like possessions, like property. And for Thorp to be a virgin like the ME's report suggests, just made her that much more desirable to them. So when she turned Hector down, it was viewed as an insult to the entire gang. It was probably every male in the gang, except Hector, that raped her." Hernandez explained, realizing it all sounded so Neanderthal.
"So she was either going to be punished for rejecting him or shamed into being his. Either way,-" Angell said, but didn't finish.
"I know, it's twisted logic." Hernandez said.
"That it is." Was everyone's sentiment.
"Welcome to my world." Hernandez added.
Angell and Monroe needed to get back to the precinct to give an official statement before they could call it a day, and since neither one of the guys drove themselves there, they needed a ride.
Angell and Monroe were flanked by the men, Messer next to his wife, Flack next to his girlfriend. Each of the guys had their arms slung over the ladies' shoulder as all they walked side-by-side to the car. Messer made a fist and extended his arm, Flack noticed and did the same.
"Did they really just fist bump each other?" Monroe asked Angell with an eye roll as they all continued walking.
"Yep." Angell drug out with a smirk, still looking straight ahead.
Both men just smiled. They didn't care at the moment. They were just relieved the whole ordeal was over, the women they loved were safe, and of course that their little pact remained a secret.
THAT EVENING....
"Wow. This place is great." Angell said as they entered the model apartment.
"I can't believe you're still thinking about moving." Flack stated as he followed her in.
"Just because I want to check these units out, doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to move." Angell said, picking up a brochure from the table. "An open house announcement was posted on the bulletin board in the lunch room and I just want to see what they're like."
"I'm starting to remember why we argued. You're stubborn." He said, looking at the diagram of the building's layout. Until that moment he hadn't given another thought to their previous argument, an argument that seemed so petty in hindsight of the days events. The fact that she was safe was all that mattered to him now.
"Why did you want to tag along if you disagree with me so much? And for the record, I'm not near as stubborn as you." Angell assured him after not giving him a chance to answer the question. She had wondered if they would be addressing their previous argument or not, and their current slights indicated that this may be their way of doing just that, which was fine with her. Disagreements would come and go, and as long as they were dealt with, one way or another, she knew they would be just fine.
They spent a few minutes wondering around the model apartment, until suddenly, "I'm ready to go." Angell announced.
"Already?" Flack asked, wondering if she wanted to leave so soon because of him.
Angell nodded and handed him the brochure she'd been carrying around and had finally looked at. "Don, I couldn't afford a one room studio unit in this place. Heck, I probably couldn't afford a closet in the basement in this place."
"Holy cow." He exclaimed in a hushed tone while taking in the prices in the brochure. "I hope that price includes maid service. And a cook."
"How are you folks this evening?" A man whom they both assumed was a real estate agent for the complex asked as he approached. "Are you with the NYPD?"
"Yes, we are." They both answered.
"Well, we built this apartment complex with the NYPD in mind; just four blocks from the precinct so you can walk to work if you want, and private underground parking with video surveillance so it's safe. Plus all units are eco friendly with lead-free paint and water conserving appliances, larger units have their own laundry set-up." The real estate agent rambled off, obviously hoping he was going to make a sale.
"Well, it's not quite going to work for me, but thank you anyway." Angell said as politely as she could before turning to leave.
Flack could tell how disappointed she was and that the agent was surprised, "One thing you didn't factor in 'with the NYPD in mind'." Flack commented to him.
"Oh, what's that?" The man asked.
"Cop salaries." Flack said as he took his leave to follow Angell out, leaving the man speechless.
Flack and Angell stood quietly as they waited for the elevator to arrive. He knew she was disappointed that none of the apartments in the complex were even close to being in her budget and wasn't sure what to say, so he was glad when his phone made some noises. "So, would cake make you feel better?" He asked a moment later as he looked at his phone.
"Cake?" Angell asked, "Where did that random suggestion come from?"
Flack switched from the text he'd just received from Messer to the photo he'd sent right before, then handed it to Angell. "Apparently the birthday girl crashed after the sugar high she was on an hour ago." He said. Angell took the phone and looked at the image of a sleeping Lucy, still wearing the outfit they had given her. "Danny says there's plenty of cake and that we should stop by." He added with an arched brow.
"Hmm,... I think that's something we can both agree on." Angell mused as they entered the elevator. Maybe this evening won't be a total wash after all. "I wonder if they have ice cream, too."
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
Well, I couldn't have our awesome couple mad at each other for very long, so all is well between them again.... hey, ice cream can fix a lot of problems!
Only 3 chapters left to finish off season 6!
Oh, and when you review please leave your guess about Flack's proposal. When? Where? How?
Maria Thorp (the vic) and her parents
Lucia (Aina's sister, married to Rico)
Aina (Lucia's sister, married to Alanzo, mother of Ramon)
Ramon (18 months old, son of Aina and Alanzo)
Hector (Lucia & Aina's younger brother)
Rico & Alanzo (from the red gang)
Sein & Timo (from the blue gang)
Captian Paul Hernandez, Gang Task Force Unit
SWAT Lieutenant Jose Diaz and his side-kick Bradley.
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
Flack spun the ring on his finger, as he lay only half awake on his bed. It had become the first thing he would do each morning. Each night, since his parents gave him his Grandmother's Claddagh ring for Angell, he would put it on his little finger before going to sleep. It only fit on half way, but he put it on anyway. It just made him feel close to her. He even put it on after the argument they'd had last night. Actually, he probably needed it more last night than any other. It was a stupid argument, neither budging on what they though was right, and he didn't like the feeling of distance it had left between them.
He gave the ring one last spin before removing it from his little finger and placed it back in the dark blue velvet box, then tucked it into his night stand. He'd made no decisions yet on when, where, or how to propose and give it to her. For right now, he just needed things to be right between them again.
Angell lay sprawled across her bed, which was a mess from her tossing and turning all night, and slowly opened her eyes. She immediately took in the scent from Flack's old academy shirt she was wearing, which in turn reminded her of the fight they'd had last night. The fact that they had disagreed at all made her heart ache, at the same time her head all but spun in frustration over his stubbornness. She kicked back the mess of covers and got up.
The day had kept them both busy, each headed in their own directions. Flack working on the murder of Joe 'the Gladiator' Carthage and Angell dealing with the rape and murder of seventeen year old Maria Thorp.
Interrogations with the Contorsi brothers left Flack agitated at the general population of spoiled rich kids. He entered the bullpen to see Angell at her desk, elbows on her knees, her forehead resting in one hand, a ME's report in the other, as she talked on the phone that was wedged against her shoulder. He sensed her frustration as he took a seat at his own desk.
"Yeah, I noticed that. Multiple perps. Sick perverts. Report shows no alcohol or drugs at all. Yeah, I will. Okay. I'll call you later, Lindsay." Was Angell's end of the conversation before she hung up. She left her head in her hands and tossed her phone on her desk.
She wanted to say something to him, to work things out between them, but they were at work where they lacked privacy, and right now her case had her mind pulled in a different direction. Seventeen year old Maria Thorp had been gang raped before being murdered, and to make matters worse, according to Sid's ME report, she was probably still a virgin by the way she was torn up from the rape. The very idea made her both sick and angry. She was determined to arrest the men who did this, then, when her mind was clear of these distractions, she was going to work things out with Flack. She took a glance up at him, working at his computer, not wanting to gauge how mad he still was right now since he hadn't spoken to her either.
He wanted to say something to her, but wasn't sure how mad she still was. Gauging her level of continued irritation with him would be a trial and error process he would just as soon avoid if at all possible. It didn't help that they were at work and lacked the privacy they needed for that kind of conversation. He spent several minutes returning e-mails while debating with himself if he should speak to her now or not, then was disappointed in himself when she left her desk, then left the bullpen. He should have said something.
THE NEXT MORNING....
Angell awoke the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing, Mac informing her that a tip had come in to the precinct about Maria Thorp's murder. Her shift started in two hours, but he wanted Lindsay to go with her to meet a possible informant now. 'Does that man ever sleep', she wondered as she sent Lindsay a text.
A half hour later Angell knocked on the Messer's apartment door.
"Hey, Linds, you're not read-" Angell began, then noticed the other woman's appearance. "Um, you're not ready."
Lindsay had the door cracked just enough Angell could tell she had a lacy red mid-thigh length robe barely wrapped around her, her hair messed up, and... was she... sweating?
"Angell." Lindsay said, a bit breathless. "Um, what brings you here?"
Angell stifled a smirk at what she had obviously interrupted, "I take it you didn't get my text." She stated.
"Text?" Lindsay repeated, running a hand through her hair at thinking how she must look at the moment. "Um, no."
"Precinct got a tip early this morning about Maria Thorp's murder. I know it's early and you're only on-call, but Mac wants us to go talk to a possible witness now. I opted for texting you, so I wouldn't wake Lucy with an early morning call." Angell explained.
"Oh. Well, my phone didn't go off. Um, can you give me a few?" Lindsay said, pulling up on the collar of her robe for more coverage.
"I'll just wait here." Angell said, preferring to stay in the hallway.
Lindsay nodded and shut the door, returning a few minutes later ready to go. "Sorry about the wait." She stated with a blush. "Apparently when Danny went to charge his phone last night, he grabbed mine by mistake. So it was his phone on the night stand next to me instead of mine." She explained, turning her phone on.
"Sorry for the interruption." Angell said, deciding to take the straight forward approach instead of letting the awkwardness continue. "But at least your phone is fully charged." She added.
Lindsay blushed again and changed the subject. "So, what's this lead we've got?"
AN HOUR LATER....
In the alley behind Maria Thorp's apartment, Angell had interviewed Lucia while Lindsay interviewed her sister Aina. They had called into the precinct's tip line, saying they saw a group of men they thought raped and killed Maria Thorp.
"I'm thinking something is off here." Lindsay said to Angell as they stood together to confer after talking to the sisters.
Angell looked over at the two women, standing together about ten yards away as Aina's young son Ramon playfully circled his mother's legs. "Does this not sound just a little too convenient to you. I mean, it's great to have witnesses to collaborate evidence, but-"
"But there's just something a little fishy about their stories." Lindsay finished for her as she too looked over at the women.
Angell nodded, "Their stories match perfectly. A little too perfectly."
"I don't know about other mothers, but when Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night, the last thing I want to do is leisurely stroll over to my window to check out the view." Lindsay commented, referring to the women's story.
"Tuck 'em back in and get back to bed." Angell assumed out loud. "And I'll bet you don't wake Danny up to ask him to help, either."
Lindsay raised a brow, "Danny would think I'd lost my mind. Same as I'd think if he woke me when it was his turn." She assured.
"Okay." Angell said with an arched brow, "Now that we agree that we don't believe either one of them. How do we want to handle this?"
But before an answer was heard, shots rang out.
SHORTLY AFTER....
"Hey, Danny." Flack greeted as he entered the ballistics lab. Messer looked up, "Hey, man. Heard you got to close your case."
Flack nodded, "Yep. Mac arrested Telly Gines last night, so I've just a little paperwork to finish. Thought I'd drop this off first."
"Alright, wha'd ya bring me?" Messer asked, eyeing the gift bag in his buddy's hand.
"Gee, Danny, I wasn't aware you liked butterflies and all things pink." Flack joked, spinning a pink gift bag with blue butterflies and yellow daisies all over it. "Hard to believe it's been a year already."
"Tell me about it." Messer replied with a slight shake of his head.
"Fastest year of my life." He added, taking off his gloves.
"Jess picked this out for Lucy." Flack stated, handing over the gift bag she had given him several days ago. "I only get credit for delivery."
"As do all us husb-" Messer started to say as he placed the bag on the table, but stopped, unsure how to correct his error.
Flack failed miserably at hiding a smile and opted not to say anything, then turned to leave. Even with he and Angell's current status of disagreement, he still couldn't help but smile at his friend's words, even though in error, for now.
Flack's smile did not go unnoticed, though. "Wait a minute." Messer called after him. "Hey, come back here, Flack!"
Flack rounded the corner, Messer hot on his heels, as Stella approached quickly. "Oh, good, I'm glad you're both here."
"What's going on, Stell?" Both men inquire as Mac approached.
Stella took a deep breath before speaking. She knew neither man was going to be okay with what she was about to say. "We've got a situation. Shots fired. 84th and Lincoln Blvd."
The realization hit Mac immediately, "****." He seethed, barely audible but getting their attention, "That's where I sent Angell and Lindsay this morning." He stated aloud.
"What?!" Flack and Messer said at the same time.
JUST FIVE MINUTES LATER....
Mac drove his Avalanche with Danny in the passenger seat, while Stella drove the SUV with Flack in the passenger seat, neither wanting the stressed and upset men to drive. They parked half a block down from the entrance to the alley, by a SWAT vehicle, and Lieutenant Sythe approached as they exited their vehicles.
Sythe could tell he was about to get bombarded with questions and held up his hand to stop them before it started, "I've been in contact with Detectives Angell and Monroe." He began, indicating his cell phone and using Lindsay's maiden name as not to confuse anyone with Danny since they were both present at the same scene. "They were here interviewing sisters Lucia and Aina about Maria Thorp's murder when shots broke out." He paused, turning so he could gesture as he continued. "The apartment complex on the left side of the alley faces 84th and falls into the territory of the red gang, the apartment complex on the right side of the alley faces 85th and falls into the territory of the blue gang. This alley is pretty much their dividing line. Lucia and Aina, live in what we've dubbed the 'red apartments', where Thorp lived as well. The first shots came from rival gang members from the 'blue apartments'." Sythe paused again, as someone approached whom he needed to introduce, "This is Capitan Paul Hernandez from the Gang Unit Task Force. What can you tell us, Paul?"
"Your interviewees are sisters Lucia and Aina, not only do they live here in the red apartments but are each married to members of the red gang. So I suspect two options. One; that they were more than happy to rat out the members of the blue gang that raped and murdered Thorp. Or two; they were wanting to falsely accuse members of the blue gang because it was really members of the red gang that did it." Hernandez explained.
"Angell said the sisters told identical and unbelievable stories. But before they got a chance to call them on it, shots came from the blue apartments. But at this point, shots are now coming from both gangs in both buildings." Sythe conveyed.
"Which doesn't help us narrow down our two options." Messer said, running a hand over his face, a motion Flack was already doing. "Nor is it really relevant right now."
"Danny's right. We can figure that out later. Right now, the question is, how do we get our detectives out of there safely?" Mac says, needing a plan to focus on.
"I believe I can help with that plan." SWAT Lieutenant Jose Diaz said as he approached. "I've got snipers on both roofs now. They're in positions that keep most of the shooters away from the windows and unable to keep taking shots. But they can't get all the windows covered, so Angell and Monroe are still pinned down in the alley."
"What about the apartments?" Flack asked Diaz, as he and Messer put their kevlar vests on.
"All exits are covered." Diaz said.
"Will they be evacuated?" Messer asked, checking his side arm.
"Can't." Hernandez said with a shake of his head, "Most of the occupants in the red apartments are affiliated with the red gang in some way. And those that aren't are either willing to help them or too scared of them to tell the truth. Ditto for the blue. So, an attempt to bring out the occupants of either apartment complex, would most definitely bring out gang members as well." He said.
A crackly voice came over Diaz's radio before he spoke into it. "Roger that. Send 'em over." They all heard him reply into it. "Mr. and Mrs. Thorp, Maria's parents, are coming over."
"Why weren't they in the building?" Mac questioned, grateful regardless of what answer he got.
"They went to St. Michael's after Mr. Thorp's grave yard shift, to meet with their priest about funeral arrangements." Diaz explained as an officer brought the couple over.
"What can you tell us about Maria and these gangs?" Flack asked, hoping for some incite into why this was all happening and the love of his life was in danger only fifty yards away from him.
"Maria was a good girl." Mrs. Thorp answered, politely yet adamantly. "She didn't want anything to do with the gangs."
"They used to taunt her." Mr. Thorp began, "Whenever they would see her. She tried to stay away from them. The guys in the gang, they would talk foul to her, saying such awful things." He paused, it was hard for a father to think about the things those men had said to his little girl, things they wanted to do to her. "She could ignore them, she did ignore them, but it was the women in the gang that were even worse."
"How so?" Messer asked, arms crossed over himself and rocking back on his heels.
"Maria was a good student, she got good grades, a scholarship even. She was going away to college next fall, out of this place." Mrs. Thorp supplied, a tinge of pride in her voice covering the sadness of losing her only child, even for just a moment. "But the women in the gang,... they wanted to bring her down to their level. They were angry with her. Because she didn't want anything to do with any of their men."
Another round of shots rang out at that moment, the Thorps being taken to cover as radios crackled to life with the obvious announcement of more shots fired. Someone was down, but it wasn't an 'officer down' call and Flack and Messer looked at each other with guilty sighs of relief.
They'd all made their way down to the entrance of the alley, SWAT member Bradley meeting them with an update. "One of the women they were interviewing is down. Her name's Aina, she's the mother of the toddler. When the shots died down for a while, she must've though it was safe, because she tried to make her way back into the red apartments. That's when more shots came from the blue apartments, one of the windows we haven't been able to cover yet." He explained.
"Where is everyone else?" Diaz requested, needing an update on exactly who was located where in that alley. Bradley unrolled a rough diagram out on the back of a squad car. "Detectives Angell and Monroe are both here, behind a dumpster up against the red apartments, therefore in the line of fire from the blue." He said, gesturing to a spot on the diagram. "Lucia and her nephew Ramon are here, by an old mattress up against the blue apartments." He added, gesturing to a spot on the other side of the diagram.
"No he's not." Flack interrupted, looking down the alley and spotting the toddler. "Oh God." He breathed out, fearful of what he though could happen.
They all looked down the alley at what Flack was seeing. A toddler with black curly hair had wondered out from the spot of safety with his aunt and was now crouched down in the middle of the alley by the body of his dead mother.
Another shot rang out from the blue apartment and everyone cringed when the bullet ricocheted off the concrete only a foot away from Ramon who became scared and began to cry, but didn't move away from his mother's body.
"We've gotta get him out of there." Flack said, stating the obvious.
"He's right out in the open, but I can't risk sending anyone in there after him." Diaz said, feeling bad at having to say it.
MEANWHILE....
"Come on, Ramon. Come over here." Lindsay said, calling out to the boy and hoping he would pick up on the motherly tone in her voice. But he just looked up at her with big sad brown eyes, pointing again to his mother, clearly not understanding that she wasn't going to get up and hug him.
"He's too scared, Lindsay." Angell said, with a sigh as they both watched the toddler crouch down and pat his mother's back as if trying to awaken her. "We're going to have to go get him."
Monroe took a deep breath to focus, "How do you want to play this?" She asked, letting her take the lead.
"I'm gonna have to be fast, and you're gonna have to do a good job of covering me." Angell said, holstering her weapon she had been returning fire with, needing both hands free for what she was about to do.... besides, she was now out of bullets.
"But I can't cover both sides." Lindsay said, checking out her line of shot. "I can only cover the windows over there." She added, referring to the three far windows of the blue apartments that they had been exchanging fire with. "What about the ones above us from the red apartments?"
"Ramon's parents are with the red gang, so I'm hoping they won't shoot at me for rescuing one of theirs. And we really don't have a choice because the blue gang obviously doesn't care about killing a toddler." She conferred back, taking up a sprinter's stance. "You ready?"
Monroe aimed her gun, "Ready." She stated, then shot at the windows to keep the blue gang from firing at Angell while she watched her via peripheral vision.
Angell shot out from behind the dumpster as fast as she could, heading for the toddler and scooping him up. She continued straight, heading for the closest cover she could see, another dumpster. A shot rang out again, and she registered it as coming from the red apartments just as the bullet grazed her arm, causing her to spin and stumbled. She scurried to her feet as fast as she could while hanging on to Ramon and continued as she could hear Monroe returning fire to cover her. She was surprised to say the least, she'd meant what she told Monroe about the red gang not firing as she tried to rescue one of their own. But Ramon was cradled on her right side and the bullet had gone through the back of her left arm, so they were probably aiming for her. Not a comforting thought, she told herself as she reached her destination against the back of the blue apartments.
Back at the alley's entrance, Flack winced as he saw Angell flinch and stumble. His heart racing as he mentally encouraged her to get up and get to cover again.
A moment later his radio crackled to life, "Angell took one to the arm." He heard one of the SWAT snipers from the roof confirm.
"SWAT is ready for my word to storm the front of both apartment complexes." Diaz announced, getting everyone's attention as he approached again. "As soon as they do, my men on the roof will propel down the back of both buildings to get to the windows the shots have been coming from. We need to come at this from every possible direction. Flack, I need you to join Angell and cover the back door of the blue apartments. Messer, I want you to join Monroe and cover the back door of the red apartments. Taylor, Bonasara, I need you two stationed at the entrance to the alley." He instructed, handing out extra magazines and getting nods of agreement from all.
"I'll call Angell and Monroe and tell them the plan." Stella said.
MEANWHILE....
"Shh. It's gonna be okay, Ramon." Angell spoke gently to the crying toddler clinging to her, trying to calm him. He was scared, not liking the loud noises the guns made around him and wanting his mommy that he kept pointing to. "Shhh."
"You okay, Angell?" Monroe called over at seeing the red on her white shirt.
"It's just a graze." Angell called back to assure her colleague and friend, even though her arm stung as blood was slowly seeping into her shirt. "I say we just stay put and wait it out."
"We don't have much choice, I'm out of bullets. Besides, SWAT's gotta be ready to move soon." Monroe stated just before ducking as a bullet ricocheted off the dumpster.
WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY LATER....
"Okay, I need you to know who's who in there." Hernandez began as he laid out mug shots across the back of a squad car. "This is Rico, he's the leader of the red gang and Lucia's husband. This is Alanzo, Rico's right hand man, Aina's husband, and Ramon's father. This is Sein, he's the leader of the blue gang. This is Timo, Sein's right hand man. I've worked the Gang Task Force for years and can tell you that none of these men are going down without a fight. And don't underestimate any of their women, either. They're just as dangerous."
"I had Adam run phone records. Triangulation of their phones indicates that all four of them are here in these apartment complexes." Mac informed everyone.
"Not only are they dangerous," Hernandez said, then paused, "But they are very territorial." He emphasized.
"Let's go." Diaz said, then everyone departed to their positions.
A few minutes later Diaz nodded to Mac and Stella who were positioned at one side of the entry to the alley, confirming that they were ready. Then nodded to Flack and Messer, positioned on the other side of the entry to the alley and ready to head to the back doors of the apartments as soon as SWAT had scaled down the backs of both buildings to clear the shooters from the windows. They also nodded back that they were ready. Diaz then confirmed from his men on the roof that they were ready to scale down, then with his team at the front entrances to both apartments that they were ready, as their entrance would start a domino effect that needed to play out like clockwork. Once confirmed that everyone was ready, Diaz gave the order and SWAT entered the fronts of the apartment complexes. The first domino had fallen.
"Danny," Flack said quietly as they waited their signal to go. "I need you to do something for me." He stated, not taking his eyes off Angell. He could see just enough of her to watch her cradle the frightened toddler in her arms. He knew she was out of bullets and had just hunkered down, protecting the little boy and waiting to be rescued.
"Probably the same thing I need you to do for me." Messer stated, not taking his eyes off the dumpster his wife was currently taking cover behind. He knew she was out of bullets and he couldn't stand the waiting to get to her.
"We made a promise, Danny." Flack reminded his friend.
Messer nodded, "And we're gonna carry it out.... and the women are never going to know about it." He said.
"Right. On both counts." Flack agreed, feeling a sense of relief that they didn't need to say any more on the topic. He would do whatever he could to keep Lindsay safe and he knew Danny would do whatever he could to keep Jess safe. It was their promise to each other, one they hoped to never have to carry out. But here they were, both of them, about to do just that.
FLACK (AND MESSER'S) POV....
Flack heard the order in his radio, the go-signal for the SWAT members on the roof. He watched them propel down and enter the building via their target windows. But just as they disappeared from sight, several members of the blue gang rushed out from the back door of their apartment complex and started firing. He and Messer were at the corner of the red building so taking cover was fast and easy to do. The shots came close to them and they didn't dare extend an appendage for fear of losing it, nor did they dare take blind shots into the alley for fear of hitting one of theirs.
ANGELL (AND MONROE'S) POV....
Angell sat on the hard concrete, leaned against the side of the dumpster as close to the building as she could get to avoid being shot at again. She held Ramon tight and rubbed his back, despite the pain in her arm, trying to comfort the toddler who kept pointing to his mother's body and crying. She'd watched SWAT propel down and enter the windows, causing the shooting to stop, at least for now. She's also seen glimpses of Flack, Messer, Stella and Mac at the entrance to the alley just fifty yards away, surely they would be coming for them soon. Suddenly she heard a loud bang and multiple voices mixed in with gunfire coming from behind her. She peaked her head around the dumpster to see members of the blue gang pouring out into the alley, guns drawn and already shooting. She quickly shuffled herself back against the wall again, and watched two of them rush over to where Lindsay was behind a dumpster on the opposite side of the alley. They drug her out by her hair and she fought back until one of them stuck a gun in her neck. A noise nearby got her attention and she looked to see a shoe had kicked one of the dumpster's wheels, then two men appeared by her, guns drawn and aimed. She stood slowly with Ramon as she watched two others drag Lindsay over, one of the men wiping blood from his mouth where she had punched him. One of the men by her said something, but with all the shooting it was hard to hear, but she could tell by his gestures that she was to go with them. She put Ramon down, kneeling by him for a moment and pointing to his Aunt Lucia by the mattress nearby, telling him to go to her. She wasn't sure how well this would go over, but she wasn't about to let them take the little boy, too. As soon as Ramon reached his Aunt, Angell stood up, one man grabbing each of her arms and hauling her towards the back door they'd come out of, Lindsay right behind them in the same manner. As soon as they were inside, most of the shooting stopped.
Flack was surprised at how long the shooting had lasted, keeping them pinned down at the building's corner and unable to see what was going on. But it stopped almost as suddenly as it had started, and as soon as they dared, they peeked their heads around, just in time to see the back door of the blue apartments close.
"What the hell was that all about?" Messer asked. "Some sort of 'blaze of glory' or somethin'?"
"They're gone, Danny." Flack stated with wide eyes as Mac and Stella looked over at them. "Change of plans; you and me are going after them."
Messer did not ask his friend to elaborate. The thought of his wife unarmed and in a dangerous situation had him running into the alley right behind his friend. They paused only briefly before opening the door they had just watched close. Entering cautiously, they found themselves in the middle of a long hallway. They heard more doors closing, in each direction, leaving them not knowing which way to go. Jess and Lindsay could have both been taken the same way or separated. Only one way to find out.
"We're going to have to split up." Flack said, going to the right.
"Stay in contact." Messer called out, already heading left.
Both men ran as fast as they could in opposite directions, towards their respective doors, not knowing what they would find.
Lindsay was being pushed and pulled at the same time. The man behind her had her right arm twisted back and the man in front of her still had a fist full of her hair which he did not hesitate to use to guide her to their destination, wherever that was. Part of her was scared of the two armed men, not knowing what they had in mind to do with her, but she knew her husband would come for her and take her safely home to celebrate their daughter's first birthday.
Angell was being pushed by both men down another hall, each having an arm pinned behind her. She wanted to dig her heels in and stop suddenly, head butting one of them before breaking the other one's nose with her fist, but one of them also pressed a gun to her back, so she resisted the urge, for now. Her adrenaline rate was skyrocketing, but she kept herself calm and focused by remembering that Flack would be close behind.
Flack paused outside the door he'd come to, listening but hearing nothing. He opened it cautiously, finding himself in yet another hallway. He followed that hallway to the end and rounded the corner, seeing two gang members trying to force Lindsay into one of the apartments. "NYPD! Freeze!" He yelled at them, but the one with the gun who Flack recognized as Sein, their leader, tuned on him and fired, hitting the bottom edge of Flack's kevlar vest. Flack felt a wave of pain ripple through his side as he spun slightly and fell to his knees. He leaned his head against the wall trying to catch his breath as the gang members laughed at him. Dispite the pain he was in, he was more pissed off than anything, partly at himself for not getting a shot off first, and now because a gun was being waved back and forth between he and Lindsay, as if Sein was having trouble deciding who to shoot first. Well, Flack wasn't going to just wait and find out, so he raised his gun and shot Sein in the leg before he could get another shot off, sending him to the ground in agony as his gun slid across the floor just out of reach.
The other gang member looked unsure of what to do, but he had Lindsay in a choke hold, his heavily tattooed arm wrapped around her neck. "I'll kill her, man! I swear I will! I can hear her struggling to breath already!" He threatened, gripping his tighter.
Flack got to his feet and nodded but did not lower his gun, "Yeah. Yeah, you can cut off her air supply for a few more seconds, and she'll pass out. And as soon as she does,.... I'm gonna put a bullet right between your eyes." He said in a serious tone.
Flack watched as the man's expression changed, obviously rethinking the consequences of his actions which he now realized would result in his own death. He slowly released his grip on Lindsay and she slumped to the ground gasping for air. Flack cuffed him quickly, then used Lindsay's cuffs on Sein.
Lindsay could hear the clicking of her cuffs and voices of SWAT members headed their direction as the door to the apartment they had tried to push her into slowly opened. A woman stood in the doorway, probably one of their wives. Lindsay noted the expression on the woman's face as she raising a gun to Flack. Lindsay quickly grabbed Sein's gun on the floor next to her. "Don't do it!" She ordered, staring her down. "NYPD! Drop it!"
MEANWHILE....
Danny paused outside the door he'd come to, listened carefully, then opened it cautiously, finding himself in yet another empty hallway. He ran down to the end and rounded the corner, just in time to see two gang members trying to push Angell out a fire escape, but she was being slightly less than cooperative. "NYPD! Let her go!" Messer ordered, his gun raised.
"No way man! She's coming with us!" The one Messer recognized as Timo, their leader's right hand man, yelled back. He had her injured arm twisted behind her and jerked her head back with a handful of her hair.
"No she's not!" Messer yelled back at Timo, but kept his gun trained on the other man who held a gun that was pointed at him. He noted the blood on Angell's white shirt and was glad he could hear SWAT coming their direction.
Angell had had enough of this, Timo had released her hair in favor of pinning her other arm behind her. This actually worked in her favor and provided her leverage as she suddenly threw her head back as hard as she could, head-butting Timo in the face. She heard a crunch and was sure she'd broken his already ugly nose. He held tight to her arms while she pushed herself back against him, pressing him into the wall behind them. Then she kicked the other blue gang member into the opposite wall, the gun in his hand being sent to the floor.
The other gang member was a big guy, not so much tall, but definitely big otherwise, and much faster than Messer anticipated as he made a move for the gun on the floor.
Messer aimed and shot the floor, just inches from the gun. "Don't do it, man! Don't do it! Or the next bullet is meant for you." He threatened, and watched him stand up and back away. "Kick it over here." He ordered, and the man reluctantly did, sending the gun sliding across the floor near Messer's feet.
Messer tossed the man a set of cuffs and ordered him to cuff himself to a pipe there on the wall, then without taking his eyes of Timo, he carefully picked up the gun. "Let her go." Hernandez had been right, Timo wasn't going down without a fight and glared back at Messer as he shook his head.
"No way, man, no way!" He shouted, causing his own blood from his broken nose to drip into his open mouth as he pulled tighter on Angell's arms, causing her to grimace in pain.
Messer could see the blood now dripping off her finger tips and was sure Flack would have put a bullet between Timo's eyes by now if he were here. But hey, he could work with that idea.... So he walked slowly over to Timo, till his gun was pressed against his temple. "You can go out of here in cuffs, or in a body bag. I really don't care which. Now, don't make me tell you again."
Timo's heavy breathing could be easily heard as he fumed in anger over his lack of options. It took several moments, but he finally gave a slight nod before slowly released his grip on Angell's arms.
Angell leaned against the far wall, rubbing her sore arms as Timo was being cuffed. Although, he did get in one final act of rebellion and swung an elbow in resistance, this resulted in a split lip and bloody shirt for Messer who decided to make sure the cuffs went on nice and tight.
Several minutes later Lindsay emerged from the back door of the blue apartments, leading a cuffed, argumentative and limping Sein. She was followed by Angell who led a cuffed Timo who had cotton rolls stuck up his crooked nose. Messer and Flack followed behind them, escorting the two other gang members who had helped grab the women. Hernandez brought up the rear with Sein's wife who had tried to shoot Flack.
They headed out of the alley to an ambulance on the street. Mac and Stella were right there, waiting to photograph and collect evidence. First was Flack's kevlar with the bullet in it, causing the paramedics to want to take him in to have his ribs x-rayed. Fortunately, Dr. Hawkes was there as well and assessed that he was only sore and had bruised ribs, which were wrapped for easier breathing. The sleeve of Angell's shirt was cut off and placed in an evidence bag before Hawkes decided she needed stitches before being bandaged up, which he of course took care of. Monroe needed only aspirin for her headache, a result of having her head yanked around by her hair, and Messer got an ice pack for his mouth once Stella had photographed his bruised jaw and split lip. Paramedics then took only Sein and Timo to the hospital to get patched up, leaving the four behind, as no trip to the ER was now necessary for them, thanks to Hawkes. The rest of the blue gang members were on their way to interrogation, which would be handled by Hernandez and the Gang Unit Task Force.
"Lucia is being booked right now and Ramon is with Child Protective Services until a more wholesome family member can be located. I should have a full story for you by morning, Detective Angell." Hernandez said as the ambulance and police cruisers pulled away. "But I expect us to find that Lucia and Aina abducted Maria Thorp."
"But what about the rape?" Angell inquired.
Hernandez sighed heavily, he knew the logic didn't make sense, even when explained. "Some of the residents told us that the women wanted Thorp for their little brother Hector."
"Wanted her?" Monroe repeated. "Geez, it makes her sound like a pet."
"You have to understand, Detectives, that these gangs treat their women like possessions, like property. And for Thorp to be a virgin like the ME's report suggests, just made her that much more desirable to them. So when she turned Hector down, it was viewed as an insult to the entire gang. It was probably every male in the gang, except Hector, that raped her." Hernandez explained, realizing it all sounded so Neanderthal.
"So she was either going to be punished for rejecting him or shamed into being his. Either way,-" Angell said, but didn't finish.
"I know, it's twisted logic." Hernandez said.
"That it is." Was everyone's sentiment.
"Welcome to my world." Hernandez added.
Angell and Monroe needed to get back to the precinct to give an official statement before they could call it a day, and since neither one of the guys drove themselves there, they needed a ride.
Angell and Monroe were flanked by the men, Messer next to his wife, Flack next to his girlfriend. Each of the guys had their arms slung over the ladies' shoulder as all they walked side-by-side to the car. Messer made a fist and extended his arm, Flack noticed and did the same.
"Did they really just fist bump each other?" Monroe asked Angell with an eye roll as they all continued walking.
"Yep." Angell drug out with a smirk, still looking straight ahead.
Both men just smiled. They didn't care at the moment. They were just relieved the whole ordeal was over, the women they loved were safe, and of course that their little pact remained a secret.
THAT EVENING....
"Wow. This place is great." Angell said as they entered the model apartment.
"I can't believe you're still thinking about moving." Flack stated as he followed her in.
"Just because I want to check these units out, doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to move." Angell said, picking up a brochure from the table. "An open house announcement was posted on the bulletin board in the lunch room and I just want to see what they're like."
"I'm starting to remember why we argued. You're stubborn." He said, looking at the diagram of the building's layout. Until that moment he hadn't given another thought to their previous argument, an argument that seemed so petty in hindsight of the days events. The fact that she was safe was all that mattered to him now.
"Why did you want to tag along if you disagree with me so much? And for the record, I'm not near as stubborn as you." Angell assured him after not giving him a chance to answer the question. She had wondered if they would be addressing their previous argument or not, and their current slights indicated that this may be their way of doing just that, which was fine with her. Disagreements would come and go, and as long as they were dealt with, one way or another, she knew they would be just fine.
They spent a few minutes wondering around the model apartment, until suddenly, "I'm ready to go." Angell announced.
"Already?" Flack asked, wondering if she wanted to leave so soon because of him.
Angell nodded and handed him the brochure she'd been carrying around and had finally looked at. "Don, I couldn't afford a one room studio unit in this place. Heck, I probably couldn't afford a closet in the basement in this place."
"Holy cow." He exclaimed in a hushed tone while taking in the prices in the brochure. "I hope that price includes maid service. And a cook."
"How are you folks this evening?" A man whom they both assumed was a real estate agent for the complex asked as he approached. "Are you with the NYPD?"
"Yes, we are." They both answered.
"Well, we built this apartment complex with the NYPD in mind; just four blocks from the precinct so you can walk to work if you want, and private underground parking with video surveillance so it's safe. Plus all units are eco friendly with lead-free paint and water conserving appliances, larger units have their own laundry set-up." The real estate agent rambled off, obviously hoping he was going to make a sale.
"Well, it's not quite going to work for me, but thank you anyway." Angell said as politely as she could before turning to leave.
Flack could tell how disappointed she was and that the agent was surprised, "One thing you didn't factor in 'with the NYPD in mind'." Flack commented to him.
"Oh, what's that?" The man asked.
"Cop salaries." Flack said as he took his leave to follow Angell out, leaving the man speechless.
Flack and Angell stood quietly as they waited for the elevator to arrive. He knew she was disappointed that none of the apartments in the complex were even close to being in her budget and wasn't sure what to say, so he was glad when his phone made some noises. "So, would cake make you feel better?" He asked a moment later as he looked at his phone.
"Cake?" Angell asked, "Where did that random suggestion come from?"
Flack switched from the text he'd just received from Messer to the photo he'd sent right before, then handed it to Angell. "Apparently the birthday girl crashed after the sugar high she was on an hour ago." He said. Angell took the phone and looked at the image of a sleeping Lucy, still wearing the outfit they had given her. "Danny says there's plenty of cake and that we should stop by." He added with an arched brow.
"Hmm,... I think that's something we can both agree on." Angell mused as they entered the elevator. Maybe this evening won't be a total wash after all. "I wonder if they have ice cream, too."
FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA
Well, I couldn't have our awesome couple mad at each other for very long, so all is well between them again.... hey, ice cream can fix a lot of problems!
Only 3 chapters left to finish off season 6!
Oh, and when you review please leave your guess about Flack's proposal. When? Where? How?
CSINYDDF |
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, Apr 29 2011, 9:04 AM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| elenaricardo | Chapter 9- Review | 1 | Apr 30 2011, 2:56 PM EDT by Runner043 | ||
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Thread started: Apr 24 2011, 11:10 PM EDT
Watch
Loved it. Adorable. Good crime writing plus Flack & Messer/Monroe stuff. It left me wanting more! er 4-24-2011
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| CSINYDDF | Ch,9 review | 2 | Apr 16 2011, 6:00 AM EDT by CSINYDDF | ||
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Thread started: Apr 14 2011, 6:34 PM EDT
Watch
This was soo amazing to read!! ( as always ^^" ) And hooray for ice-cream!! XD
Anyway, my guesses... I've been thinking about this when I first saw the epsidoe of 'Unusual Suspects' sooo.. (It may sound simple and stupid) But I've been thinking that since Flack was getting along so well with Sam he would get the idea that it's time, he would propose toher, he would want to have kids wth her... <just a thought, although it didn't answer the when where and how :S sorry..... I am dyyyying to know what will happen, this will absolutely, positively be 'PERFECT' !!!! |
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