All in a Day's Work

Shipping: FlackOC, possible DL & MS

Spoilers: Through the end of Season 2; later chapters may reference Season 3, but I'll be sure to let you know if they do.

Summary: When a case hits close to home, Flack and the team must rush to keep one of NYPD's own from being killed.

Sunday, October 8, 2006

It was early in the morning on a cool October day in New York City. It was twenty minutes to six and most of "the city that never sleeps" was still in bed. Despite the early hour, there were still plenty of people around. Bright yellow taxis roamed the streets, honking when weary civilians got in their way. In the fresh fish markets, fishermen set about displaying the catch of the day, while in diners across the city, waitresses started fresh pots of coffee for the hordes of people soon to emerge unto the streets. One NYPD detective was about to start a day unlike one he'd ever had before.

Donald Flack Jr. smiled at the waitress behind the counter as she handed him a fresh cup of coffee to go. Though not a bad cook, on days when he had to work the early shifts, he preferred to simply buy himself breakfast instead of trying to make something himself; today was one such day. Don had just opened to door to the diner to head out to his car when he felt his phone go off. He grimaced as he spilt hot coffee all over his hand in his haste to answer his ringing cell phone. None too gently setting his cup of coffee on the top of his squad car, he grabbed his cell phone from his coat pocket and flipped it open. The phone was a fancy gadget far superior to his previous phone, and had been a gift from Mac upon Don's release from the hospital.

"Flack," Don answered tersely as he open his car door. Scowling at the coffee on his hands he quickly set his cup in the cup holder and pulled out his memo book.

"We have two female bodies found dumped in a dumpster in an alley off of ­­­­West Broadway and Canal Street. Officers are on the scene and it's being secured. Would you like me to notify the Crime Lab?" said the police dispatcher.

"Yeah; I'm on my way. I'll be there in five minutes." Don replied before flipping the phone shut and starting the car. He took a quick drink of coffee and almost spewed it out as the scalding liquid burned his throat. Coughing to ease some of the pain he sighed. Christ, what a way to start the day!

Within ten minutes he'd arrived at the scene, parked, and spoken briefly to the two uniforms who had secured the scene. Two guys, both workers at the convenience store around the corner, had come into the alley to have a smoke and to take out the garbage. When they'd flipped the lid of the dumpster up, they'd found two bodies. Well, more precisely, they'd seen three legs, which they apparently assumed were female and had rushed to call the cops.

Pulling on a pair of gloves, Don walked over to the dumpster, which was a good fifty feet from the entrance of the alley to have look inside. Maybe he'd get lucky and find a purse or a wallet with an ID so he could begin making some calls. Looking inside, Don frowned. Two of the legs were sticking straight up, though they were only visible from mid-calves to the woman's feet. The other leg was visible from the mid thigh down, and the positioning made Don think the body was in a seated position. Knowing he'd have better luck searching for ID with the seated body, he cautiously moved the cardboard that hid the rest of the body.

The woman probably would have been beautiful if not for the cuts and bruises marring her face and the bloodstains covering her dress. The woman's arms were crossed over her abdomen, almost in a defensive position and held in her arms was a black purse. Don reached down to lift out the purse and had the scare of his life when her eyes, bright and green, suddenly opened.

"Holy shit!" Don yelled. Turning to face the alley entrance where, the uniforms were standing, Don called out, "Call an ambulance, we've got a live one!" Facing the girl once again, Don could hear the officers calling out on their radios for immediate medical assistance. Now that he had a live victim, his priority was to keep her that way. Don reached into the dumpster to pull her out but she shrank from his touch, terror obvious in her eyes. Don pulled out his badge and showed her.

"I'm a detective, I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna help. Is it okay if I pull you out?" Her relief was obvious as he identified himself and she nodded at his question. As he pulled her out, Don noticed the rips in her dress and the blood running down her thighs, and grimaced. She was a rape victim then. Don pulled off his coat and set it on the ground so she could sit on it, since her legs were obviously not strong enough to keep her standing.

"What hurts the most? Have you been shot or stabbed ma'am?" Don asked her as he kneeled next to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Panicked she began to grab her throat, trying to speak. "Okay, I understand, you can't talk. Do you at least remember who you are? Just nod if you do." She began to nod frantically then began to search around for something. Not knowing what she wanted, Don stood by helplessly. She was bleeding freely from several places, but the abundance of blood on her dress made it difficult to tell if she had any serious injuries. Her face was bruised and swollen so badly it looked lopsided. Her right eye was blackened and swollen shut and cuts and scrapes covered her face. What made Don truly wince was the white residue that was smeared on her cheek and chin. It was fairly obvious it was semen, and would possibly explain her inability to speak if she had been forced.

Don was taken off guard as she lunged at his belt. Momentarily frozen, he was stunned when she waved his own badge at him. She gestured at the badge, and then herself several times until Don realized, with dawning horror, what she meant. This woman, who had been beaten and raped, and left for dead, was a cop. She made another gesture, like she was carrying something. Her purse! Don had left it in the dumpster in his haste to get her out. He quickly reached over into the dumpster and pulled out her purse. Rifling through it, he found her badge, and just under it, her wallet. The bag, he noted, was too light to be holding her weapon, and he wondered if her attacker had taken it. Don flipped the wallet open and then quickly flipped it shut. Holy shit! Handing her purse to her, Don pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial. Two seconds later, Mac picked up.

"Taylor."

"Mac we have a serious problem, you need to get to the scene right now."

"Why, what's happened?"

"One of our victims is alive."

"That's good; maybe she can help us identify the perp."

"Mac, the victim is Detective Elizabeth Armstrong. She's been beaten and raped."

"I see. I'm calling everyone off of their cases; we need to find this guy immediately. Lindsay and I are almost there."

"Good, 'cause the ambulance just pulled up. I'm ridin' with her to the hospital."

"Keep me posted." Mac said before hanging up. Don swore as he put his phone away. He waved the paramedics over as he reached down to grab Elizabeth's hand. She gave him a watery and lopsided grimace, as the paramedics lifted her onto a gurney. They began to check her over as they rushed down the alley towards the ambulance.

"She's bleeding profusely from cuts on her thighs, and she's got a knife wound to the abdomen. We're going to need a blood transfusion immediately. She's got severe trauma to the head, and bruising to the torso, with possible broken or bruised ribs. We'll need X-rays as soon as we get her some blood. Victim also appears to have been raped," said one paramedic as he radioed in to the hospital. Don winced as the man listed the damage done to her.

They had just lifted the gurney into the ambulance when Don saw Mac and Lindsay arrive. Pausing for a moment to fish the keys for his squad car out, he tossed them at Mac, and then climbed in next to Elizabeth. Grabbing hold of her hand he looked up just in time to see the ambulance doors close.

Mac was driving the Crime Lab S.U.V. with Lindsay in the passenger seat. She was busy packing a few more supplies into her kit when Mac's phone rang. Grabbing the phone from its holder, Mac answered the phone.

"Taylor."

"Mac we have a serious problem, you need to get to the scene right now."

"Why, what's happened?"

"One of our victims is alive."

"That's good; maybe she can help us identify the perp."

"Mac, the victim is Detective Elizabeth Armstrong. She's been beaten and raped."

"I see. I'm calling everyone off of their cases; we need to find this guy immediately. Lindsay and I are almost there." Mac knew they were only minutes from the crime scene. They'd gotten the call twenty minutes ago, but since they'd been in the lab, it had taken them a while to arrive on the scene.

"Good, 'cause the ambulance just pulled up. I'm ridin' with her to the hospital."

"Keep me posted." Mac said before hanging up. He quickly hit the speed dial button for Stella. She, Danny, and Hawkes were working a robbery-homicide at a bodega and he needed them on this case immediately.

"Bonasera," Stella answered.

"Stella. I need you, Danny, and Hawkes at West Broadway and Canal Street immediately. You're being reassigned."

"I thought you and Lindsay were working that case."

"We all are. One of our victims turned out to be alive. It's Elizabeth Armstrong, Stella." Mac heard Stella gasp in surprise.

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Flack's going with her to the hospital. Once I know where she's been sent, I'll call you. I'm going to need you to do a rape kit on her."

"Oh no, Mac!" Stella said softly.

"Just hurry," Mac urged before hanging up.

"Mac?" Lisdsay asked. "Who's Elizabeth Armstrong?"

"She's the niece of Police Commissioner Wilson, and daughter to the Chief of Detectives."

A/N: I've been toying with this idea for a while and decided to work on it while I tried to fix some of the plot holes in my other fic City of Angels, which I will continue eventually. I already have the next few chapters of All in a Day's Work written and will be posting them in the next couple of days, following some proofing, since this fic starts in the present and will have several flashbacks. I hope you liked it!