A/N: Granger Family Saga one-shot
A shooting at the triplets' the high school
I know, I know, I'm in the middle of the London fic. But this little ficlet's been circling around in my head and I just had to get rid of it. Back to London tomorrow, I promise...
-----
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Damon's heart froze when he heard the three thuds behind him. He had been tormenting little Mary Louise, a scrawny little kid, a bit of an outcast, because she was an egghead and her daddy was rich. Just for the fun of it, Damon liked to pinch her and knock her around a little before taking her pocket money. He turned slowly and his heart sank like a rock when he saw the Granger triplets.
"Didn't think you were going to be back in school for another few days," Damon tried to brazen it out.
Not a word from any of the triplets. They never said anything, he reflected, backing up and away from them. They just stared. But their cold, hard stares made him nervous. Especially the cold, hard stare in Tyler's green eyes, even though Cameron was supposedly the meanest fighter of the three. And he'd always heard that when their backpacks hit the ground, it was time to run. Damon wondered if anyone had ever actually brawled with the triplets, then decided he wasn't going to hang around to find out. He ran.
"Are you alright, Mary Louise?" Cameron asked gently, holding a hand out to help her up.
She refused the hand, but smiled her thanks to the three of them as she settled her glasses back on her nose. "I'm fine now, thanks. I didn't think you were supposed to be back yet, either, but I'm really glad you are."
The triplets grinned at her as she waved before running to her next class. Brandon handed Cameron his backpack and they headed on to their own class.
"Wonder what havoc the bullies have been wreaking just because we're back in school a week late this year?" Tyler murmured, half to himself. The other two shrugged. It didn't matter. Things would settle back now that they were back. It always did.
"You missed the shootout, two days ago," Jonathan murmured as they slid into their seats around him. They stared at him in surprise. "Maybe that's why Dad packed us all back in the minivan a few days early," Brandon said in a low voice, as Mrs. Tate, the homeroom teacher came into the classroom.
Jonathan nodded, "It's possible. I know Dad called him." All four subsided into silence when Mrs. Tate glared at them.
Later, at lunch, Jonathan filled them in, "Some kid lost it, brought his dad's gun to school and started just shooting things up out in the hallway. Mr. Wickers is in the hospital, in critical condition. Mr. Wainwright's dead. Five kids were shot, they're in the hospital, just flesh wounds, I think."
"That's bad enough, don't you think?" Darla chimed in, as she and Keeley joined the boys. "Think of the shock. Did your Dad catch the case?"
Jonathan nodded.
Keeley was quiet. She had overheard her father on the phone with David Sinclair, Jonathan's father. And she knew that was the reason they'd come back early from vacation. They were supposed to have gone on a two week vacation, but her father hadn't been able to get away until the last week of summer vacation. Her mother had talked the school into letting them go back to school a week late. They'd all been excited about missing school for a week. Then her father had received the call, and here they were, back at school earlier than they'd expected. She looked at her brothers. Yes, they'd figured it out for themselves.
"Mom says they'll probably be back to interview people," Darla continued. Then she smiled at the triplets, "I hear Damon had a run-in with the three of you this morning."
Brandon shrugged, "News gets around fast."
Keeley smiled at her brothers. "I heard the principal say he was glad you were back. Apparently, you keep the bullies in line just by being here." Shd and Darla laughed as the triplets squirmed uncomfortably. But there was no denying that wherever the Granger triplets were, the quieter, shyer kids, kids who would otherwise be picked on, would be close by. The boys were always protective, they just couldn't seem to help themselves.
-----
Colby was right behind David as they walked into the principal's office. David had been out of his mind with worry and fear for Jonathan when he'd called and interrupted Colby's vacation. All Colby could feel was relief that his own kids were with him, and not at school when the shooting occurred. He'd been reluctant to keep his kids out of school, but Hannah had persuaded him that a week wouldn't hurt them, and he thanked his lucky stars that he'd listened to her.
"Agent Sinclair. Agent Granger." John Smithson greeted them. "Agent Granger, I must say I'm glad to have your boys back in school."
Colby quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "Are they that far behind already?"
"No, no," Smithson laughed. "They're my peacekeepers. Unofficially. The bullies seem to be afraid of them, for some reason, and no one fights while they're around. I've never figured out how they do it. They've never fought, and they don't mix all that much with the other kids. They're about as self-contained a unit as I've ever seen. But, whatever it is, it works."
David grinned at the slightly amused look on Colby's face. "Jonathan's mentioned it a time or two. Hard to believe, when they seem to fight each other all the time."
Smithson looked surprised. "They don't fight here."
Colby shrugged in resignation. "Pushing the envelope with me, Hannah says. They don't usually fight when she's alone with them. I'm not even sure if they realize that."
They brought their discussion back to the shooting.
-----
"Here they are," Jonathan murmured as his father and the triplets' father walked into the lunchroom. Silence fell, and all eyes followed the two agents as they moved towards their sons.
"Where are Keeley and Darla?" David asked his son.
Jonathan shrugged, "They said something about making up a lab."
Almost absently, Colby squeezed Tyler's and Brandon's shoulders affectionately, before resting a hand on Cameron's shoulder. "Do you know a Mary Louise Sorensen, boys?"
"She couldn't have done it, Dad!" Cameron said flatly.
Colby quirked a half smile at Cameron's protective tone, "I just need to ask her a few questions. She got the closest look at the shooter."
"That's her over there, with the glasses, blue backpack and torn shirt, " Tyler said quietly, shaking his head slightly when Cameron threw him an indignant look. "Dad's not going to hurt her, Cameron!"
"You have my thumbscrews ready, David?" Colby quipped dryly when Cameron showed no sign of easing up. He smacked Cameron lightly on his head, "Ease up, son. I just want to find the shooter. I'd feel a lot better about you being here when we get the shooter." He was relieved to see the mutinous look disappear, replaced by one of understanding.
"Mary Louise?" Colby asked gently as he and David sat down at the table with her.
She nodded nervously, then said softly, "You must be the triplets' dad." Colby grinned. She relaxed and laughed shyly, "Cameron looks just like you. Especially when he smiles."
David glanced at Colby and smiled slightly in amusement. High school. Mary Louise had a crush on Cameron. He tilted his head in a slight nod, encouraging Colby to continue.
"Mr. Smithson thinks you might have been the closest to the shooter, Mary Louise. Do you remember anything about him?"
Mary Louise hesitated, "I got a good look at him. He doesn't go to school here."
Both agents were surprised. "Are you sure? A lot of kids go to school here."
"Yes, but I remember all their faces. I have a good memory for faces, and I help with the photo IDs. The shooter wasn't from here. And I don't think he's a kid either. He looked young, but I don't think he's in high school."
David leaned back in surprise as Colby continued, "Do you think you can describe him well enough for a sketch?" She nodded emphatically. "Alright. We'll call your parents and take you to the office."
"Can't Brandon do the sketch?" she pleaded, "I've waited all week for the sublimation experiment in Chemistry!"
Colby laughed, "I wish my boys were enthusiastic about Chemistry, Mary Louise! Sure, Brandon can do the sketch."
"You're wrong, you know," she said loyally, "The triplets are very good in school. Especially Cameron."
He smiled gently at her, "I know. They just like to give dear old dad a hard time."
-----
"That's Damon's brother, Quentin." Cameron's voice was brittle with fury, as Brandon completed the sketch. Mary Louise looked scared.
Colby eyed Cameron. "Did Quentin go to school here?"
"He was expelled when he busted up Mr. Wainwright's class too many times last year." Tyler answered calmly, as he sent a quelling look in Cameron's direction.
"Why didn't you recognize him, Mary Louise?" Colby asked her quietly. Cameron bristled at the question.
"He had already been expelled when she joined us mid-way through the school year, Dad," Brandon said quickly before Cameron could dig a hole for himself. Dad would only tolerate so much of Cameron's attitude. "I wonder if that's why Damon was hassling her this morning?"
"You're going to get into trouble if you don't ease up, Cameron," Tyler murmured as he watched his father thank Mary Louise before he left.
"Felt like he was picking on her." Cameron was annoyed.
"But he wasn't, Cameron, he was just asking questions." Mary Louise tried to explain.
Brandon smiled at Mary Louise, "Don't bother. Cameron just likes to butt heads with Dad. He hasn't figured out yet that Dad's always going to win."
Tyler and Jonathan laughed at the aggrieved look that Cameron threw Brandon. But he ruined it when he grinned. Brandon was right, Cameron did like to see how far he could push his father.
-----
"So it really turned out to be Quentin?" Smithson looked regretful. He wondered if he and Wainwright could have handled the situation differently. Wainwright might not have died. Those kids might not have been hurt.
"I interrogated him, Mr. Smithson, and Quentin didn't think he did the wrong thing. Sometimes, there's just isn't anything you could have done differently," Colby tried to console the principal. He'd decided to stop and let the principal know, even though it wasn't something they normally did. He thought he might take his kids home from school and maybe do something together to make up for the shortened vacation.
"Mr. Smithson! There's an altercation out front! Damon has a knife." A teacher interrupted them breathlessly.
Colby and John Smithson arrived in time to see Damon waving the knife in Mary Louise's face. The Granger triplets were standing evenly paced around them in a half circle, backpacks in hand.
"Don't do it, Damon," Tyler said in a low soothing voice. "Don't throw your life away over Quentin's mistakes."
Damon's hand was shaking, "You'll stand by your brothers, no matter what. I've seen it. I've seen you cover for each other. I've seen you protect each other's backs. Even when you don't agree with each other, you stand by each other. I'm doing the same."
"It's not the same thing, Damon," Cameron said quietly. "We suffer the consequences of our own mistakes. God knows I'd rather we didn't have own up sometimes, but it would be an insult to the badge my father carries for anything less than honesty with ourselves. Quentin has to bear the consequences of his own actions. They're rather more serious than pinching somebody or taking their pocket money, don't you think?"
For a moment, the triplets thought Damon was wavering, then he said in a fury, "She's going to pay for ratting him out!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Damon looked alarmed when the triplets dropped their backpacks and dropped into their ready stances. Then he dropped the knife and ran. Smack into Colby who promptly cuffed him. He knew that Mary Louise would more than likely not press charges. But it wouldn't hurt for Damon to talk to a counselor.
Colby watched in amusement as Mary Louise ran up to Cameron to hug and kiss him. He laughed to himself at the silly grin on Cameron's face. But somehow, the boys arguing and fighting in the back seat as he drove them home that day didn't annoy him quite as much as it sometimes did.