Everyone stood around, surveying what was now a crime scene. It had been the site of brutality and death.
Spinelli cradled her tiny, dead body , now full of bullets, in his arms. His Maximista was gone. He couldn't cry. To cry would be to admit the truth and he couldn't bring himself to do that; he was in total denial. He was also in shock, but not aware of that as he fought against the knowledge that his love had slipped away from him, joining her sister and her two previous boyfriends, and the cousin who had given her new life when her own was taken from her.
Mack was also in denial. Maxie was not dead, and he had not been the cause. No, this was not possible. Spinelli was the danger; Spinelli was the criminal. Mack was the cop, the one who always set things right by putting the criminals behind bars. Maxie had not died because of Mack's past actions.
Sam and Jason stood apart from them, giving them their last moments with the woman they both loved. Jason had his arm around Sam's shoulders. Her head rested against his shoulder as she cried silently for her only true female friend. Sam and Elizabeth were on friendly terms now, but not true friends. Alexis was her mother; Kristina and Molly were her sisters, so they were family more than friends. Now Maxie was gone, one less person in all their lives, because three gunmen had decided to get back at Mack for things he had done to them, first as a mercenary, then as a cop. Maxie had paid the price for her father's actions, things he had done before she was even born. It wasn't fair.
Patrick and Robin were there, too, staring in disbelief at the bloody corpse that had been feisty, vibrant Maxie. Robin sobbed in Patrick's arms. Patrick focused on Robin, not allowing his anger to boil over. Robin needed him to be the strong one now. There would be time for him to grieve later.
No one was sure how long they stood in the ruined alley behind Kelly's. Lulu had arrived, no one knew when, and Lucky was trying to keep her away from the crime scene. Mike eventually led her into Kelly's, away from the activity. Cops were collecting evidence; Jason had given up his gun for ballistic analysis and Spinelli and Mack were still on the ground, poor dead Maxie still cradled in Spinelli's arms, as if holding her would bring her back.
Lucky approached Mack and spoke softly. Mack looked at him absently for a moment, then allowed Lucky to help him up and lead him away.
Spinelli sat frozen, holding Maxie, not daring to let her go. Releasing Maximista would be a grievous error; every instinct in him told him that it was imperative that he not let her go.
He didn't react when Jason put his hand on his shoulder. Sam was beside Jason, speaking Spinelli's name softly in a husky, tear-choked voice. But Spinelli heard her only from a great distance and felt nothing but his Maximista's form in his arms. His mind wanted to insert the word "lifeless," but Spinelli forced it away. Keeping Maxi with him was all that mattered at this point.
"We need to leave, Spinelli," Jason said softly. "You need to let Maxie go and come with us."
He shook his head and it worried Jason to realize that his friend was responding automatically, that he was unaware of his own responses, or even that Jason was really speaking to him. There was no recognition or awareness in his dark brown eyes, only the glaze of shock.
"Maximista must not be left alone. The Jackal must stay with her."
"She won't be alone," Sam said.
"I'll be with her," Robin said, tears still streaming down her face. "You go with Sam and Jason; I'll stay with Maxie. I promise."
Spinelli nodded slowly, but didn't move. Robin took Maxie from him and Jason put his hands under Spinelli's arms and gently lifted him, putting an arm firmly around him and walking toward the SUV. Spinelli stumbled for a few steps, then seemed to know he needed to walk and complied.
"Why not comply?" he thought incoherently. "It's not real. Nothing is real. Maxie's not dead and Stone Cold is not leading you away from her, towards an existence without her. You'll wake up tomorrow with her in your arms, alive and well, and be fully aware that what's happening now was all a dream."
The next day or so was hazy for Spinelli. He remembered bits and pieces. In one memory, he was holding Lulu and stroking her hair as she cried. He wasn't sure why she was crying, only that his friend needed him. In another, Sam was hugging him and telling him it would be OK. He remembered lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling in confusion as Jason sat in a nearby chair, gently urging him to get some sleep. Later, Jason sat with him at the table, first urging him to eat, then ordering him, physically putting a fork in his hand. He remembered eating mechanically, but not what he ate.
His next clear memory was of Sonny and he thought later that it was clear for two reasons; first because Sonny's behavior was so out of character where Spinelli was concerned and second because his visit was what shattered Spinelli's fragile cocoon of shock and denial.
Sonny had come by to discuss something with Jason; the conversation between Mr. Sir and Stone Cold was the one part Spinelli couldn't remember. He had looked at Spinelli oddly and Spinelli was sure he was going to throw him out of the room or start yelling at him. Instead, he had looked at him with compassion and put a hand lightly on his shoulder before leaving.
"He's still in shock," Jason said. "I don't think it's hit him yet."
Spinelli glanced at Jason with confusion. What hadn't hit him yet? Why would The Jackal be in shock?
"I'm really sorry about Maxie," Sonny said softly to Spinelli in a tone totally foreign to him, at least concerning himself.
He had seen Sonny angry, resentful, even furious. Spinelli tended to annoy him under the best of circumstances, but now Mr. Sir, of all people, was being nice to him. What about Maxie? Why would he be sorry about Maxie?
Sonny took his hand from Spinelli's shoulder, told Jason he would see him later, then left. It was no secret that he didn't like Jason's strange young friend, but Spinelli didn't deserve this. It was obvious even to Sonny, who didn't really care about either of them one way or the other, that Spinelli and Maxie had loved each other deeply. Now Maxie was just another innocent paying for the actions of someone she loved. As a father, Sonny ached for Mack. As someone who had lost women he loved in violent ways, he also felt for Spinelli.
Jason looked at Spinelli, half hoping there would be a reaction to Sonny's words and half hoping there wouldn't. He knew that when the shock wore off, Spinelli would be inconsolable. But he also knew that Spinelli needed to accept reality and deal with his grief.
He seemed to be watching Jason thoughtfully, as if Jason held the key to something important. He was trying to figure something out. Jason looked back silently, letting him think.
Spinelli looked more through Jason than at him, trying to fit the pieces together.
"I'm really sorry about Maxie," Sonny had said.
Lulu had been crying; Spinelli had held her. Sam had told him it would be OK. What would be OK?
Then he remembered. Maxie had been in trouble last night. Spinelli and Jason had tried to save her, but it had been too late. The three gunmen had already fired the bullets that had taken his Maximista from his life as surely as Diego Alcazar had taken Georgie.
Maxie had sent him a text message saying she was in trouble, but that was all she'd had time to say. He tracked her phone's GPS system and determined that she was in the alley behind Kelly's. What was she doing there and what kind of trouble had she gotten into?
Mack had also received a text message, from Maxie's captors. They were challenging him to find her before it was too late. They were former friends of his from his mercenary days. They were also criminals he'd arrested when he'd become a cop. He had betrayed them to the cops as a mercenary and sent them to prison. Then they had gotten out and begun committing further acts against the public and Mack had incarcerated them, making the arrest himself this time, and earning himself a promotion. Now they had his daughter and were planning to kill her if he didn't stop them.
Like Spinelli, Mack also had her GPS tracked and determined their location. But by the time he arrived, there was nothing he could do. They'd all still been alive at that point, but everything happened too quickly; there was no time to react.
Sam and Jason had been there when Spinelli had received his text message. They were still trying to build a case against Claudia, searching for proof to give to Sonny that she had been behind Michael's shooting. But Jason knew that Spinelli would not be able to focus until Maxie was rescued. Besides, Maxie was Sam's friend and Jason had also grown to like her; he had to admit that she and Spinelli were good for each other. So he offered his help even before Spinelli had a chance to ask.
"We knew your father years ago," they heard a man with a gruff, angry voice telling Maxie.
Spinelli wished Stone Cold and Fair Samantha would go in with guns blazing and take out her captors before they could harm his Fair Maximista, but he also knew that his friends were assessing the situation before they acted. Any other course of action could get Maxie killed, and possibly the rest of them along with her.
"He was a fellow mercenary, only he betrayed us! He got away when we went to jail. Later we found out he ratted us out to the cops. Then he became a cop himself and put us in jail again, this time arresting us himself, as if he'd never been one of us! But we're out now and it's payback time. He took years of freedom from us, so now we're taking you from him!"
The leader already had his gun to Maxie's head. The other two drew their guns as one, as if the leader's words had been a signal. Jason's gun was already draw n and he fired immediately at Maxie's three captors. Sam's gun was also drawn, but she didn't have the chance to fire.
It only took one shot for each of them; Stone Cold's aim, as usual, was true and deadly accurate. But it was too late for Maxie; they could see that even before they approached her. The leader's gun was held against her head and he fired before Jason could kill him.
The leader's bullet struck Maxie at point blank range. Even if the others had not fired at the same time, even if Jason had managed to kill them before they could draw their guns, Maxie would have died.
She was lying, motionless, already dead, on the ground. Spinelli ran to her.
"No!" Mack had screamed as the gunmen's bullets struck his daughter.
He had arrived just before the shooters opened fire. They had been looking directly at him as the leader spoke to Maxie. He knew that it had been his arrival, not the leader's words, that had signaled the other two to draw their guns.
"Maximista," Spinelli cried in a small, pleading voice.
He saw that one bullet had entered her head, another had entered her heart and the third struck her throat. She had probably been killed by the first bullet. She never had a chance.
Spinelli was completely unaware of the small crowd that had come running out of Kelly's at the sound of the gunfire. Mike, Robin, Patrick, Lucky and Elizabeth stood back away from the crime scene, staring in horror at the people in the alley. The last thing he remembered clearly before Sonny's visit was Jason leading him away from his love and back to the mob mobile.
"The danger came from him," he said now in a soft, flat, matter of fact tone.
Jason could see that the shock was wearing off. It seemed to be a slow process and he knew that Spinelli might still be confused.
"From Sonny?" he asked.
"No, the Commissioner. He always said The Jackal would put Maximista in danger, but it was he whose actions and past associations endangered his daughter's life. He betrayed them and they killed her."
His breath was coming shallow and ragged now and Jason could see the impact of the realization on his face.
"They killed her," he said again in a disbelieving, horrified, outraged tone. "Maxie's gone."
He started to cry. Jason wordlessly put his arms around him. He hated physical contact under most circumstances, but Spinelli needed him now.
"They killed her to punish him," he sobbed against Jason's chest.
"I know," Jason said quietly.
He held Spinelli until he stopped crying, then sat on the couch with him, saying nothing, waiting for Spinelli to talk if he wanted, but letting him know that he was there whether or not Spinelli chose to speak. What he needed now was his friend's presence, as evidenced by the tight grip he'd kept on Jason when he realized Maxie was really gone. When he'd said it out loud, "Maxie's gone," it had been spoken with such loss and grief that Jason could almost feel it, as if Spinelli had somehow managed to project his feelings. He didn't have the word for it, but Spinelli would have recognized it as empathy and under any other circumstances, he would have told Jason what it was without being asked.
Later, Diane came to drop off some business papers for Jason to sign.
"Maxie treasured you," she said gently to Spinelli. "Anyone who saw you together could see that."
He began to cry again. Diane hugged him.
"I'm so sorry."
It seemed to Spinelli that everyone who came in contact with him for the next few days expressed how sorry they were. He accepted their condolences, keeping his rage to himself. It was Mack he was angry with; Mack and the fates who had cruelly torn his Maximista from him, not these well-meaning friends who honestly cared for him.
On the day of the funeral, Jason told Spinelli that he was not going out of respect for Mack.
"He wouldn't want me there an the last thing anybody wants today is for Mack, or anybody else, to cause a scene."
"Mack doesn't get a say," Spinelli responded sharply. "He's the reason Maxie's dead."
Sam had come to offer Spinelli a ride. She and Jason looked at each other now with concern. They had never seen such rage on Spinelli's face, not even when Maxie had been attacked by the Russians.
Jason thought of reminding Spinelli that Mack was her father and did have a say, but decided that would only make things harder for Spinelli. Jason would go, anyway, for Spinelli's sake. If Mack wanted to throw him out, Jason would cross that bridge when he came to it. He went upstairs to get dressed.
But Mack was in no condition to argue. He had clearly gotten little sleep in the past few days and Jason thought he might have been drinking quite a bit, too. It was either alcohol or shock that lent him that frazzled, not quite there look.
Felicia had come home for the funeral, as she had with Georgie. Again, Frisco was absent. Felicia seemed literally to be holding Mack up during the times when they had to stand. At the grave side service, Mack broke down completely.
Jason's first assumption had been correct. Mack had been drinking quite a bit, although not nearly as much as he would have liked. Robin wouldn't let him; she kept pointing out that Maxie would not want him to become a drunk, that he owed it to her to stay sober, especially at her funeral.
"Yeah," Mack had slurred the day before, "well, Maxie's not here, is she? Georgie's not here either. I've failed both my girls."
Even through the haze of alcohol fogging his brain, Mack was very much aware of the anger, bitterness and self-loathing in his voice.
"I'm your girl, too," Robin had shouted with tearful anger. "I'm still here and I need you!"
Her voice turned then, from an angry woman trying to make her inebriated uncle listen to reason to that of a scared and lonely child.
"Uncle Mack, please."
He couldn't stand up to that small, pleading voice and those hurt, lost, angry eyes. He had allowed her to sober him up and had not touched a drop in the last twelve hours. Robin had been right; for her sake, and for Emma's, and especially for Maxie's, he would not resort to the bottle again. He would not allow his guilt to turn him into someone his remaining family had to take care of and could not rely on when they needed him.
But his drunken binge did nothing to stop the last few moments of Maxie's life from replaying themselves over and over in his head. Neither had his genuine resolve to stay sober. He hadn't seen Spinelli until the shots had been fired and he was running to her. It was then that the full impact of Mack's past had struck him. He had acted so superior to Spinelli, who had in reality never picked up a gun and killed someone. His weapon was his computer; Mack's had been guns since before Maxie was born. He had been the one to put Maxie in danger, not Spinelli. He couldn't blame Spinelli or the mob for Maxie's death. He had betrayed his fellow mercenaries, then had hypocritically incarcerated them when he'd become a cop. He was two-faced and that alone had gotten Maxie killed. He would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
"It was me," he said to Spinelli in a choked whisper. "I said you would kill her, but it was me. Oh God, Maxie, I'm sorry! God, I'm sorry!"
He began to sob and fell to his knees. Everyone stared at him, not quite sure what to do.
Suddenly, all of Spinelli's anger at Mack evaporated. Mack was hurting, too. Spinelli had been selfish to forget that in his own grief. He squatted beside Mack and gently touched his arm.
"Maximista loved you, Commissioner; you must know that. She would not blame you for her death and you must not blame yourself either. Maxie thought the world of you. She knows that it was the men who shot her; they are the ones responsible for her death, not you."
Mack looked up at him with red, bewildered eyes.
"How can you, of all people, be nice to me after this?"
With his free hand, Spinelli wiped at his own streaming eyes. When he spoke, his voice was choked and not quite steady.
"It is what Maximista would wish of The Jackal."
Mack nodded, took a deep breath, wiped his eyes and thanked Spinelli before allowing him to help him to his feet.
They stood together at the grave. Mack put some dirt in Spinelli's hand and they each threw a handful on Maxie's coffin, along with Felicia, Patrick and Robin. Mack would never like Spinelli as long as he worked for Jason, but they would always have their love for Maxie in common. Her death did not bring them together as Georgie's had Spinelli and Maxie, but it had brought them to an understanding. For Maxie's sake, Mack would at least be civil to Spinelli, and Spinelli himself would try his best to stay out of Mack's way. He knew instinctively that trying to reach out any further to The Bereaved Patriarch would only serve to make both their recoveries more difficult. He had acted on behalf of Maximista today, but now he would have to leave her father alone. Mack had his friends to help him deal with his grief and Spinelli had his. They each had a long and painful road ahead. They were each mourning the same woman, but would have to grieve separately. Only time would heal them.