Detective Jackson "Sonny" Kiriakis dropped into the chair at his desk. He looked at the stack of open case files on his desk and sighed. At least there was one in there that he could close. He still had to do the paper work on the case that they had solved in the early morning hours yesterday. He usually isn't a procrastinator, though it is true that he doesn't like paper work… but he was putting off this paper work for two reasons, the first and foremost one was this case involved a child, and it was especially hard for him. The second one being that he knew he could possibly get his ass chewed out for a couple of the decisions that he made in the heat of the moment.
The door to the squad room opened and his partner, Mitch Jensen stuck his head in… "Safe to come in here?" he asked.
Sonny nodded and jerked his thumb toward the Lieutenant's office, "He's in with the Captain, the Chief, and the D.A.
"Ouch!" Jensen said…. "Sorry about that…. but you have to know that you did the right thing."
"Well, we got him anyway…" Sonny said. "That's what matters."
He pulled the file for the case in question out of the pile and opened it. He looked through the crime scene pictures one more time… and resolved that he would do it all over again. This monster deserved to be behind bars for the rest of his life… at the very least, but if Sonny was honest he would just as soon see him get the death penalty. People like Christopher Bennett made him sick, crimes against kids were always the worst possible ones.
A couple more officers piled filtered into the room. They just patted Sonny's shoulder as they walked by. None of them really wanted to be in his shoes…. But they also knew that he was a damn good detective and did not deserve to have his decisions picked apart by someone who wasn't even there.
The door to Lieutenant Williams office opened and Captain Haskins and Chief Morwessell left through the squad room without a word. A few minutes later D.A. Castleberry came out of the office. She looked at Sonny and narrowed her eyes, before she pushed her glasses up on her nose and marched out the door.
Sonny held back the urge to groan… that woman for whatever reason hated him, and he had never been anything but nice to her. He was still pondering the possible reasons when he heard the gruff voice of Lt. Williams. "Kiriakis…. Get in here."
Sonny pushed himself out of his chair and moved toward the office. "Yes Sir?" He said, reaching the door… "Shut the door." Lt Williams ordered.
Sonny closed the door and went to stand in front of the Lt's desk. "Yes Sir?" He said again.
"Take a seat." Lt Williams ordered. "Jackson," he said, "Sometimes in life, and in our jobs we have to do things that aren't right… things that we don't like and we don't agree with." He said.
"Yes, Sir that's right." Sonny said… "I am so glad that you understand that I had to do what was necessary." He said.
"Yes… I do understand what you did, from the perspective of another human being!" Lt Williams said. "But as your boss, and the leader of this squad, I don't understand it at all, and I can not condone it." He said.
"But Sir, we found everything that we needed.." Sonny argued, "And he was going to do the same exact thing to someone else's child… I had to make the call Sir."
"Yes, and between you and me, I know that you saved the life of his next intended victim.… But that does not change the fact that I have to demote you." Lt Williams said softly.
"With all due respect Sir, that's fucking bull shit and you know it." Sonny said, jumping up from his seat.
"Sit Down, Kiriakis!" The Lt barked.
Sonny took the seat again.
"What in the hell do you expect me to do, you disobeyed a direct order… and you executed a search without a warrant." Lt Williams said… "Bennett's sleazy lawyer is threatening to sue the city for wrongful search and seizure and defamation of character."
"That's ludicrous." Sonny said.
"No, what's ludicrous is that he may very well get away with it because of the shit you pulled out there." Lt Williams said. "I don't have to tell you that Haskins and Morwessell are on my ass about this."
"You have to fight this Sir…" Sonny said, "You can't reduce me to a paper pusher at a desk somewhere."
"Do you think that I didn't fight for you?" Lt Williams asked. "You are the best detective that I have on my squad… but it is out of my hands… there is nothing that I can do." "But, I am afraid that it is a little worse than being a paper pusher at a desk somewhere…. You are being demoted to beat cop, and you will be training a new rookie that shows some promise of being a detective…. But he is green… fresh out of the academy."
"You can't be fucking serious right now?" Sonny spat.
"Well… you can always turn the demotion down and take the suspension; it could be 6 weeks or longer, pending the review by the D.A." Lt Williams said. "Or you can take the demotion that is slated to last 12 weeks, but could be shortened, if I can pull it off." "Your choice."
"Fuck!" Sonny swore, "He really could walk?"
"Sorry to say it, but yeah, it is a good possibility." Lt Williams said. "I know how much getting this guy meant to you, and I know that is why your judgment was clouded on this…. But we can not make mistakes like the ones you made, they are too costly."
"What's it gonna be?" He asked, waiting for Sonny to consider his options.
Sonny sat silently in the chair… he was fuming.
"Jackson, it could be worse… you could have been fired, which I may add is what Castleberry was pushing for." "But I saw the memo about this Cadet at the academy that will be joining us on Monday and he is top in his class and has the potential to become a great detective… So I convinced them that we need you… the best detective we have, to train him."
"But beat cop?" Sonny asked.
"Yep, the Chief feels that you should be with him from the beginning." Lt Williams said.
"Fine!" Sonny said, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Good Decision, son" Lt Williams said, "Now finish the reports and then go home… report to precinct 4 Monday morning at 6 AM." "I will make sure they know what your assignment is."
"Thank you Sir." Sonny said, he got up and shuffled out of the office.
Thankfully the squad room was now empty, so he finished the report as quickly as he could and then dropped it in the Lieutenant's box on his door. He grabbed his jacket and headed home.
"William Robert Horton" his name was called, and he walked across the stage receiving his diploma. He was now an official graduate from the police academy. It felt good, he felt accomplished. He had grown up idolizing his Grandpa Roman, and his Aunt Hope, and John Black, the man who was married to his Grandma Marlena. For a brief time his mom had even been married to a detective and Will has grown very fond of him as well. He had told his Mom from the time that he was old enough to walk and talk that he wanted to be a "cop" like his grandpa, he wanted to catch bad guys like Aunt Hope… She had always laughed and ruffled his hair.
He knew she never took him seriously and that is of course why she fell apart when he told her that he had joined the academy. She went on and on about the dangers of being a cop, blah, blah, blah. He had to reiterate to her on several occasions that he his mind was made up. But apparently so was hers, and the good lord above knew that Sami Brady could be as stubborn as hell when she wanted something. He was in the physical training portion of the program when he had been pulled aside and asked to join the detective part of the program, they offered him a spot on the cyber crimes unit. Which basically ensure that he would spend his days in an office by himself in front of a computer. He had declined the offer, thanking them very much for the interest, but after that day it seemed to him that the physical training were less grueling and the other parts of the training were more intensive.
Will was determined not to let this deter him, he went to the gym and worked out on his own time, he stayed after everyone was gone for the evening to train on the obstacle course. He even signed up for target practice at the nearest shooting range. In the end he was graduating at top of the class in every area.
As he stood there waiting for the rest of the cadets in his class to get their diplomas and certificates of completion he considered the different ways of telling his mother that he wasn't coming home to Salem, not now and maybe not ever!
After the ceremony was over and they were dismissed he went to find his family. To his surprise he saw that every member of his family that he had ever looked up to and even Rafe was there to congratulate him. He sure hoped that there was someone left back home, to keep the order.
They moved their party over to a local restaurant for a nice dinner. When the plates had been cleared away and the wine glasses refilled. Sami stood up, "Will honey we are so proud of you, and of what you have accomplished. Congratulations on graduating today and on being the newest member of the Salem Police Department." She said raising a glass.
Will cleared his throat and stood up. "Thank you all for coming and for supporting me!" he said. "It means soo much, but I have to say no to the job at the Salem Police Department."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Sami asked. "You just went through all of that training for nothing?" she said incredulously.
Will cleared his throat uncomfortably…. "Um No, that isn't exactly what I mean." He said, "Guess there is no time like the present to tell everyone that I will not be moving back to Salem, I have been accepted as an officer with the Chicago PD." He said proudly.
" Will!" Sami said, "You can't mean that!"
"Yes Mom, I can and I do." He said. "And I am excited, to start my new life here."
"EJ, Dad, You have to do something!" Sami screeched.
"There is nothing you can do, there is nothing anyone can do." Will insisted. "They know all about my family and they know that this is what I want."
Sami looked at her dad who shook his head, indicating that she should let this go, at least for now.
Later that night Will hugged them all good bye and assured them for the one hundredth time that he was fine and he was going to be fine. Sami left, but Will could tell that she wasn't happy about it.
Will used the weekend to get things done, to get ready to get to some real police work. He wanted to be a detective but he wanted to get there just like every other detective had gotten there. By hard work and proving that he was good… not because his Grandpa was the Commissioner of police in the small town that he grew up in. He wanted to learn and to prove his worth.
He was excited that he was going to get his chance. He had interviewed with the Chief of police of Chicago, a couple of weeks before he had finished the academy. He wasn't sure that was how it was supposed to be done, but he figured that maybe at least part of that could be attributed to the fact that had graduated at the top of the class… that had to count for something, right? Well that and it probably hadn't hurt that the admissions officer there had imparted to the Chief that Will had been going above and beyond on his own time, to make sure that he got the training he felt he needed, even though his family had strongly suggested that he get more intellectual instruction than anything else. William Horton was a self starter and had the potential to go as far as he wanted to in his career.
Sunday he went to bed early, tossing and turning. He couldn't decide if it was nervousness or excitement….
On Monday morning he woke bright an early, and dressed in his uniform, it was Navy blue and if Will didn't know better he would swear it had been tailored to fit only him. He was at the station by 5:30 am. He went to the office of the chief first and an officer there checked the personnel folder for him and told him that he was to meet his new partner at precinct 4 just down the hall.
He went the short distance down the hall, and reported in to the officer at the desk, who acknowledged him briefly and then instructed him to have a seat. "You are going to be partnered with Jackson Kiriakis… he will be here shortly, have a seat over there and wait for him.
Will sat there for what seemed to be forever, but in reality it was only about 10 minutes. He was studing his fingernails when the door opened and another officer came through the door, dressed in the same uniform he was wearing, looking pissed at the world.
He addressed the officer at the desk. "Gaston, I am expecting a new partner this morning, some asshole straight from the academy, let me know when they get here, will ya?" He said as he continued on toward the coffee pot on the back table.
"Umm Sir.." Gaston said, tilting his head over toward Will… "He's here now sir.."
"Great!" Sonny said, "A fucking suck up!"
To be continued….