Passing the Torch
By: Olivia
"One more murder in this town,/Don't worry the rain will/Wash the chalk marks from the
ground./Saturday night, shots ring out,/Add one to the body count./You come alive to see
another's end./Plead it to a lesser count,/D.A. says without a doubt,/In 3-5 you're on the streets
again./One more murder in this town/Don't mean a thing/You get accustomed to the sound/One
more murder in this town/Block off the street and /Wrap the crime scene tape around./Hosanna!
Hosanna!/I can't feel nothing at all."-Better Than Ezra- "One More Murder"
"You've got nada, zip, bupkes! What's less than zero?! Negative bupkes! How many more
times do I have to explain this?!" yelled Don at Mike and Lennie.
There was a knock at the door.
"What?!" yelled Don.
Don's office door opened a crack and Profacci's head popped through it. "There's a Lieutenant
here to see you. Says she has an appointment."
"What? Oh, yes, yes, send her in. And as for you two," said Don addressing Mike and Lennie,
"find some hard evidence we can give to the D.A.'s to take to trial, okay fellas?"
Mike and Lennie nodded. As they were leaving the Captain's office, they passed a woman,
presumably the Lieutenant that Profacci had mentioned. Lennie closed the door behind him.
"Hi, you must be Lieutenant Van Buren," said Don as he extended his hand.
Anita smiled and shook his hand.
"Please have a seat."
Anita sat down in one of the chairs Mike and Lennie had vacated.
There was an awkward pause.
"I wanted to thank you for the reports you sent over," Anita said breaking the ice.
"It was no trouble. I figured you might want to get a head start and be familiar with the current
cases we are investigating," said Don.
"I also looked over the personnel files you sent."
"Yes, the two men you passed coming in here were Detectives Briscoe and Logan."
Anita smiled. "Were you giving them a pep talk?"
Don laughed. "I guess I am rather loud sometimes. The office's walls are not sound proof."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I've heard good things about you from your superiors. Captain Delphino is an old friend of
mine. He had some high praise for you and I know he doesn't impress easily. I'm glad I'm
going to be leaving the 2-7 in good hands," said Don seriously.
"Thank you. I'm really looking forward to this assignment," said Anita earnestly.
Another awkward silence settled in. This was a reality check for Don. He was leaving. The
person who was going to take his place, sit at his desk, lead homicide investigations, run his
precinct, was here. There was no turning back now. She was here to stay.
Don then felt a sharp pain in his heart. For weeks he had denied that he would miss this place.
Maybe denied was too strong a word. He just hadn't allowed himself to think about it.
"If it's not inappropriate, can I ask why you have decided to leave?" asked Anita hesitantly.
Don shrugged. "The opening came up in the Anti Corruption Task Force and I decided to take
it."
Anita nodded. Don hadn't answered her question. He had neatly sidestepped it. She wondered
what problems the precinct had that she was inheriting. That had to be it. There had to be
problems. Why else would he leave and evade her question?
Don got up from his seat. He walked around his desk to his office window where he could see
the precinct floor. It was busy. Mike and Lennie were placing calls trying to gather more
evidence. Profacci was unsuccessfully trying to eat a glazed doughnut and type up a report at the
same time. Don was going to miss this.
"The truth is I needed a change."
"Excuse me?" asked Anita confused.
Don moved and sat in the chair next to Anita . He then started speaking more to himself than
Anita.
"The truth is I'm burned out. I'm tire of homicide. I just cannot bear to see one more life cut
short. I cannot bear to see the people they have left behind. And I cannot bear to hear one more
confession, one more excuse about why someone had to be killed."
A silence fell over the room.
Anita couldn't believe what she had heard and Don couldn't believe that he had revealed to this
woman, a complete stranger, something so deeply personal. It had been so deeply hidden inside,
that Don hadn't realized what had been driving him away from here. Mike and Lennie, the two
people he was closest to here, didn't even know.
"Please forgive me..." Don began. He was embarrassed. What must Anita think of him?
Anita cut him off and tried to put him at ease. "There's no need to apologize..."
Anita felt sorry for Don. She hoped this change would do him good. She hoped she would never
get to this point that this man was at.
Don smiled sadly. "Maybe I'll come back to homicide one day. But right now, I just need a
break. Anti Corruption should be a good change of pace. Not too many people die there."
Don paused for a moment and then looked at Anita. "This is a good precinct. There are good,
hard working people here. I know they'll give you their best as they've always done for me."
Anita smiled and nodded her head. "Of that, I have no doubt."
Don returned her smile. He liked this woman. This felt right to him. In his heart, he knew that
the precinct would be taken car of, which was what had been holding him back from leaving too
suddenly. He had worked hard to get this precinct where it was, and he wanted the next person
in his position to keep up their standard of excellence. And as for Anita, being that person, he
had no doubt.
"Well," said Don changing the subject, "How about I give you the tour?"
"That would be great."
The two stood up. Don held open the door for Anita and then pulled the door shut behind him.
Their first stop-Mike and Lennie.
******************************************************************************
"Sirens ring, the shots ring out/A stranger cries, screams out loud/I had my world strapped
against my back/I held my hands, never knew how to act/And the same black line that was drawn
on you/Was drawn on me/And now it's drawn me in/6th Avenue Heartache/Below me was a
homeless man/I'm singing songs I knew complete/On the steps alone, his guitar in hand/It's fifty
years, stood where he stands...Now walking home on those streets/The river winds move my
feet/Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams/They stood by me, just like moonbeams...Look out
the window, down upon that street/And gone like a midnight was that man/But I see his six
strings laid against that wall/And all his things, they look so small/I got my fingers crosses on a
shooting star/Just like me-just moved on."-The Wallflowers-"Sixth Avenue Heartache"
By: Olivia
"One more murder in this town,/Don't worry the rain will/Wash the chalk marks from the
ground./Saturday night, shots ring out,/Add one to the body count./You come alive to see
another's end./Plead it to a lesser count,/D.A. says without a doubt,/In 3-5 you're on the streets
again./One more murder in this town/Don't mean a thing/You get accustomed to the sound/One
more murder in this town/Block off the street and /Wrap the crime scene tape around./Hosanna!
Hosanna!/I can't feel nothing at all."-Better Than Ezra- "One More Murder"
"You've got nada, zip, bupkes! What's less than zero?! Negative bupkes! How many more
times do I have to explain this?!" yelled Don at Mike and Lennie.
There was a knock at the door.
"What?!" yelled Don.
Don's office door opened a crack and Profacci's head popped through it. "There's a Lieutenant
here to see you. Says she has an appointment."
"What? Oh, yes, yes, send her in. And as for you two," said Don addressing Mike and Lennie,
"find some hard evidence we can give to the D.A.'s to take to trial, okay fellas?"
Mike and Lennie nodded. As they were leaving the Captain's office, they passed a woman,
presumably the Lieutenant that Profacci had mentioned. Lennie closed the door behind him.
"Hi, you must be Lieutenant Van Buren," said Don as he extended his hand.
Anita smiled and shook his hand.
"Please have a seat."
Anita sat down in one of the chairs Mike and Lennie had vacated.
There was an awkward pause.
"I wanted to thank you for the reports you sent over," Anita said breaking the ice.
"It was no trouble. I figured you might want to get a head start and be familiar with the current
cases we are investigating," said Don.
"I also looked over the personnel files you sent."
"Yes, the two men you passed coming in here were Detectives Briscoe and Logan."
Anita smiled. "Were you giving them a pep talk?"
Don laughed. "I guess I am rather loud sometimes. The office's walls are not sound proof."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I've heard good things about you from your superiors. Captain Delphino is an old friend of
mine. He had some high praise for you and I know he doesn't impress easily. I'm glad I'm
going to be leaving the 2-7 in good hands," said Don seriously.
"Thank you. I'm really looking forward to this assignment," said Anita earnestly.
Another awkward silence settled in. This was a reality check for Don. He was leaving. The
person who was going to take his place, sit at his desk, lead homicide investigations, run his
precinct, was here. There was no turning back now. She was here to stay.
Don then felt a sharp pain in his heart. For weeks he had denied that he would miss this place.
Maybe denied was too strong a word. He just hadn't allowed himself to think about it.
"If it's not inappropriate, can I ask why you have decided to leave?" asked Anita hesitantly.
Don shrugged. "The opening came up in the Anti Corruption Task Force and I decided to take
it."
Anita nodded. Don hadn't answered her question. He had neatly sidestepped it. She wondered
what problems the precinct had that she was inheriting. That had to be it. There had to be
problems. Why else would he leave and evade her question?
Don got up from his seat. He walked around his desk to his office window where he could see
the precinct floor. It was busy. Mike and Lennie were placing calls trying to gather more
evidence. Profacci was unsuccessfully trying to eat a glazed doughnut and type up a report at the
same time. Don was going to miss this.
"The truth is I needed a change."
"Excuse me?" asked Anita confused.
Don moved and sat in the chair next to Anita . He then started speaking more to himself than
Anita.
"The truth is I'm burned out. I'm tire of homicide. I just cannot bear to see one more life cut
short. I cannot bear to see the people they have left behind. And I cannot bear to hear one more
confession, one more excuse about why someone had to be killed."
A silence fell over the room.
Anita couldn't believe what she had heard and Don couldn't believe that he had revealed to this
woman, a complete stranger, something so deeply personal. It had been so deeply hidden inside,
that Don hadn't realized what had been driving him away from here. Mike and Lennie, the two
people he was closest to here, didn't even know.
"Please forgive me..." Don began. He was embarrassed. What must Anita think of him?
Anita cut him off and tried to put him at ease. "There's no need to apologize..."
Anita felt sorry for Don. She hoped this change would do him good. She hoped she would never
get to this point that this man was at.
Don smiled sadly. "Maybe I'll come back to homicide one day. But right now, I just need a
break. Anti Corruption should be a good change of pace. Not too many people die there."
Don paused for a moment and then looked at Anita. "This is a good precinct. There are good,
hard working people here. I know they'll give you their best as they've always done for me."
Anita smiled and nodded her head. "Of that, I have no doubt."
Don returned her smile. He liked this woman. This felt right to him. In his heart, he knew that
the precinct would be taken car of, which was what had been holding him back from leaving too
suddenly. He had worked hard to get this precinct where it was, and he wanted the next person
in his position to keep up their standard of excellence. And as for Anita, being that person, he
had no doubt.
"Well," said Don changing the subject, "How about I give you the tour?"
"That would be great."
The two stood up. Don held open the door for Anita and then pulled the door shut behind him.
Their first stop-Mike and Lennie.
******************************************************************************
"Sirens ring, the shots ring out/A stranger cries, screams out loud/I had my world strapped
against my back/I held my hands, never knew how to act/And the same black line that was drawn
on you/Was drawn on me/And now it's drawn me in/6th Avenue Heartache/Below me was a
homeless man/I'm singing songs I knew complete/On the steps alone, his guitar in hand/It's fifty
years, stood where he stands...Now walking home on those streets/The river winds move my
feet/Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams/They stood by me, just like moonbeams...Look out
the window, down upon that street/And gone like a midnight was that man/But I see his six
strings laid against that wall/And all his things, they look so small/I got my fingers crosses on a
shooting star/Just like me-just moved on."-The Wallflowers-"Sixth Avenue Heartache"