A/N: I have a love-hate relationship with the episode, You'll Do where Baitfish murders Savannah and this story has been on my mind for a long time. So I've decided to let the muse free and play with the idea of Savannah surviving and completely wiping out that cheesy stand off scene between LaSalle and Baitfish from How Much Pain Can You Take.
This story is largely a Pride/LaSalle epic as I so enjoy the idea of the father-son relationship that the series first introduced us to.
The romantic dinner for two was just about complete as Savannah Kelly set a vase of fresh flowers in the center of the table and lit a candle in time with the creak of the Iron Gate.
"Chris, that was fast," Her heart accelerated with the bright a smile that spread across her face. Traffic must have been light; she hadn't expected him for another 20 minutes or so. Imagine her surprise when she looked up to see a gunman wearing black gloves.
"Oh God," the thump of her heart beat changed from madly in love to outright fear, terror.
"Where's LaSalle? I need tuh get a message to his boss," Baitfish asked calmly, delighted by the undeniable terror in her eyes.
"I don't know, I swear," A hard lump gathered in the back of her throat, tears of terror gathering on her lashes as he surveyed her beautifully set table.
You'll Do
One hour later, the mermaid as she had been dubbed by an ATF agent she'd never met, sat on a gurney in the ER with the jacket of an EMS worker wrapped around her shoulders (the jacket covering the crimson splatter on her white sweater).
Dwayne Pride pushed back the curtain his heart sinking. The beautiful young woman who fancied his surrogate's son's heart looked completely broken. Her long red hair, hanging slightly in her face couldn't mask her crestfallen and dismal expression.
"Savannah?" Pride said, gently trying to garner her attention. She was looking right at him, yet her normally pretty green eyes weren't seeing him. The senior agent knelt before her, placing a hand on her knee.
"Savannah, can ya hear me?"
Unconsciously, the red head drew her vacant gaze to his.
"Can ya tell me what happened?" Pride asked, staying in place. He'd seen people in shock before, hundreds of times but there was something about the look her eyes that got to him. She looked like an empty soul.
"M-m-man with…a...gun…shot Chris in the chest," she whispered, as if she couldn't speak, longs streams of tears burning a path down her face. "There was so much blood. Oh God, he was bleeding so much and I-" She held out her hands for the man Chris thought of as a father to inspect.
Pride nodded slightly, swallowing back the lump that had gathered in his throat.
"This blood on your sweater, its Christopher's?" he asked earning a nod. He was certain the paramedics had checked her out, but something inside of him needed to be sure.
If it was Chris' blood then there was a chance his young friend was dead.
"After he shot Christopher then what happened?"
Savannah averted her gaze, squeezing another river from her eyes. "He said, he wanted to send a message to-to-you."
Pride closed his eyes. It was personal before, but it had become even more personal now. "What did he say?"
Savannah swiped at her face, as she spoke, her voice quavering, "he said to have you call Chris' phone and ask for Baitfish."
Baitfish? Pride's insides liquefied. Coming after him he understood, but Christopher? Savannah? The only rational he could fathom was that his former CI was smart enough to know he'd have extra eyes lookin' out for Laurel.
So he went for the next best thing: his best friend and surrogate son.
Chris let out an unconscious groan as Baitfish, dropped him onto the hard concrete floor like a sack of potatoes flat on his back. There was no need for restraints the bullet wound in the agent's chest was more than enough to keep him from fighting back.
"Wasn't expecting you to come in through the side door and blindside me, like ya did, LaSalle. Now I've to got to change my plans a bit. Don't matter though; things'll end up the same way for you. Little more painful than I originally intended, but that's all right yer a big tough lawman, the hero who saved the girl!"
Baitfish, knelt down so that he could get a better look at his handy work. It was a little hard to see given the black t-shirt LaSalle was wearing, but from what he could tell the placement of the bullet was accurate. Not, a direct shot to the heart, but significant enough that the agent would more than likely bleed to death before Pride arrived.
The phone at his hip began to buzz, lighting up an eager smile as he pulled it out out from his pocket and saw the name: Pride.
"You just remember what I tol' ya and play along, that way that pretty little girlfriend of yours will stay alive."
"Go to hell!" Yes, it seemed stupid to have made a deal with the treacherous drug dealing prick to use him as bait for Pride, but it had kept Savannah was alive. Doutbless, Pride would be smart enough not to fall for whatever trap was being set.
Baitfish's eyes lit up, "I probably will but ya know what? You and Pride will both beat me there." The child murdering bastard then pushed to his feet, answering Chris' phone. "I see you got my message. LaSalle's girlfriend make it to the hospital all right?"
"Baitfish-"
"I'm not your Baitfish anymore, I done growed into a whale." Paul Jenks looked down at the dying agent on the floor, "I shot your partner, Pride. Could have killed him and his girlfriend, but instead LaSalle and I struck a little deal. I let his girlfriend go in exchange for the two of you."
"Let him go, Baitfish and you can have me."
"I'll do that." Jenks replied, "Just as soon as you come pick him up." For good measure he put his foot right dead center into Chris' wounded chest, just so that Pride could hear his friend cry out.
"Jenks!" Pride's voice echoed.
"Ya better hurry, Pride I'm not sure how much time your boy has left." He knelt again, pressing the phone to mute before looking directly into LaSalle's eyes. "You keep the line open the entire time, talk to Pride. I want him to hear everything otherwise-"
He didn't need to finish the sentence as he released the mute button.
"Come alone, Pride"
"Let me talk to LaSalle."
"He wants to talk to you," Baitfish purposely set the phone just out of LaSalle's reach before he rose to his feet. Judging from the amount of blood pooling on the floor, the agent wouldn't have enough strength to try and reach it. This way, he could have the satisfaction of Pride listening to his young friend die.
"Christopher?"
Chris looked in the direction of phone, panting as his body began to struggle for breath. "I hear ya, King."
"You listen to me, Chris. I'm comin' to get ya. You hang on until I get there-"
"King, Savannah-" her name was hanging on his lips, the last image of her cyin' and screaming burned through his mind. No matter how this ended up, she was never going to be the same. Even if he managed to survive he'd never be able to undo the horror of the her having to watch him be gunned down and then dragged off to the slaughter.
"She's fine. I've got Loretta and several NOPD watching out for her. I promise she'll be here waiting for ya when we get back." Pride's voice should have been somewhat soothing but it wasn't. For Chris LaSalle, could already feel his soul attempting to flee from his body.
Baitfish rolled his eyes in his eyes in disgust as the senior agent continued to offer false words of encouragement to his dying young friend.
"I hate to break up this father-son moment y'all are havin' but times a wastin'" Sadistically, he placed the heel of his boot at the base of Christopher's throat, slowly increasing the pressure. He took great pleasure in knowing that surrogate son of Dwanye Pride was under the umbrella of his mercy. Stubborn cuss Baitfish thought as his dying captive refused to beg or make more than a weak whimper gurgling sound in effort to breathe.
"You willin' ta die for die for Pride, are ya?" Baitfish grinned looking down at the anguish in the agent's face, he was hurting but the stupid loyal bastard was also determined to stay true to his surrogate father.
Idiot. What had Pride ever done for the agent to cause such a fierce look in his eyes Jenks wondered, staring down at his prey with his own evil glare. Had Pride used him, to do this dirty work like himself? Well, if that was case then the young man was in for a rude awakening. Maybe it would be better to let the stupid fool live so that one day he might see his beloved mentor for what he truly is?
But then again...
"Ya better hurry Pride if ya want a chance at savin' LaSalle 'cause he's fadin' pretty fast. In fact, mab'be you'd prefer I went ahead and put him out of his misery for ya?" Baitfish looked down at his captive as Chris made a feeble attempt to grab at his ankle and push him off of his wounded chest.
"How much more pain do you think he can take, Pride?"
"How much pain can you?" the senior agent snarled. "Hear me because I will never stop until I end you!"
"The harder you come at me, the more bodies will drop, startin' with ya partner here." Pulling his weapon, from the back of his jeans, Baitfish removed the silencer tossing it aside, the sound would resonate through the phone hitting Pride straight where he lived.
A/N: Angsty One-Shot that's ends in a not so certain future of the Bama Boy or would you like to see more?