Once Around The Block
By Lauri M
These characters of Nash, etc do not belong to me. They are property of Carlton Cuse, Don Johnson, etc.
Rated G
Nash grabbed a cup of coffee at Starbucks on his way to work. It was a small luxury, a treat before a long day. He knew he had administrative work to do and that made him tired before he even arrived at the SIU.
When he did finally arrive on the barge, the place was busy as expected for a Monday morning. Harvey and Antwon on their way out greeted him.
"Morning," he said with a smile.
"It's that alright," Harvey said dryly. "Although I haven't found anything good yet."
"Sorry," Nash shrugged.
They went on their way and he climbed the stairs to his desk. He hadn't seen Joe yet.
On his desk were piles of paperwork he'd been putting off for various reasons. But it was time to get it finished.
He looked through the stack of phone messages. Most were not that important or had been already addressed. But there was a new one from this morning. North side Medical Center, Sara. Please call. Urgent. And a number. He was sure he didn't know anyone at the North side Medical center. In fact, all he knew of it was that it was a low-income small in-patient facility that got a lot of street people and indigents who had no insurance and could not afford a big hospital bill. Donations and several wealthy philanthropists in San Francisco mostly supported the Center.
He picked up his phone and dialed the penciled in number on the message. He asked to speak with Sara.
"Nurses station, this is Sara," a woman's voice answered in a moment.
"Yes, this is captain Nash Bridges from the SFPD. I was returning your call."
"Good morning Captain Bridges. I'm calling because of a patient that was brought in last night. She was brought in by a homeless man and…a guy in an angel costume."
"Angel?" Nash asked out loud. He knew exactly whom she was talking about.
"Yes. Wings and all. Anyway, the patient was apparently hit by a car. Hit and run. She has no ID and nothing on her except your name and phone number. She received a severe concussion and has been in and out of consciousness all night. We were hoping you are a friend or someone who can help."
Nash frowned. "Well, sure. I guess I can come down there."
"We would appreciate it, and I'm sure she would."
"Well thanks for getting in touch Sara. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Nash was perplexed. Of course any number of people might have his name and number on them. It might not be someone he even knew. But then again, it might. And Angel, what did he have to do with it? So much for his paperwork.
Nash headed back down the stairs and met Antwon coming up.
"Mornin'," Antwon greeted.
"Harv, any word from Joe?"
"Yeah, he just called. He's running late. Some thing about Lucia and Inger being sick and his being up all night."
Nash frowned. He hoped it was nothing serious.
"He said he'd be in about ten," Antwon continued.
"Thanks. I'll be down at North side Center for a while."
"North side? What's up down there?"
"I'm not sure. That's what I'm going to find out."
Nash was surprised at the number of people waiting to be seen at the North side Center. It was a small 50 bed in patient hospital with an equally small ER, which generally handled a rush of cold and flu symptoms, dog bites, alcohol intoxication, DT's, and minor injured incurred mostly by San Francisco's indigent.
Nash's heart fell heavy when he saw the amount of children in the waiting area. Some with tired looking mothers in ragged overcoats; many without warm coats themselves; all with a general expression on their face that resounded hopelessness and helplessness. One woman who looked maybe 30 with long dark hair and exceptionally beautiful eyes, which would have been more beautiful if she hadn't looked so tired and sorrowful, caught his attention. She had a baby in her arms and two more toddlers, a boy and girl of maybe five and three by her sides. They were dressed in layers of semi tattered and well worn clothes. The two children through had not lost the light in their eyes. The little girl even smiled at him, smiling at her. He wished it were in his power to make their world brighter.
He went to the bulletproof window behind which a receptionist sat.
He showed his badge. "I need to speak with a nurse named Sara. She's expecting me."
"One moment," the woman said, her voice distorted by the partition. She got up to go get Sara.
Nash looked down and saw the little boy that belonged to the dark eyed woman. He was staring up at Nash and his badge with wide dark eyes and a tangle of dark hair.
"Hi there," Nash said, smiling.
"Jesse, don't bother," the woman told her son, who continued to look up- at Nash.
Nash escorted the boy back to the tired woman, whose small baby was fussing in its blanket.
Nash knelt on knee by the boy and girl.
"You wanna see some magic?" he asked. The two small children nodded, bright eyed.
Nash took out his handkerchief and a nickel from his pocket. He worked his slight of hand to make the coin disappear before their eyes. Then equally amazing to the children, instead of a nickel a quarter seemed to appear from behind both their ears. They were delighted and amused by the simple parlor trick. He gave them both the quarters. They looked questioningly at their mother, who nodded her approval to them and they quickly busied themselves examining the shiny coins to make sure they each had an equal.
"Thank you," the woman said to Nash, lowering her eyes a bit when she spoke.
"Well, you looked a little over burdened with these three."
She smiled slightly.
"I'm Captain Nash Bridges with the SFPD, by the way."
She fidgeted slightly, shifting the baby around in her arms. "Sasha Williams. That's Jesse and Tracy and this is Sean."
Nash smiled, looking into the bundled blanket at the baby who was about six months old.
"Captain Bridges?" the receptionist called.
Nash stood up. "Well, it was nice to meet you all."
The boy stuck out his hand for a handshake, like a small adult. Nash shook hands with the child and then, heart heavy, he walked back to the receptionist's window where she pushed a button that buzzed him through a heavy door to the left.
Through the door a woman with short dark hair in blue nurses' scrubs waited. She smiled and put out her hand.
"Captain Bridges, I'm Sara Dayton."
"Nice to meet you Sara."
"Well, follow me and we'll go see the woman I told you about."
"Has she regained consciousness?" Nash asked.
Sara shook her head as they walked down a hallway with rooms on either side. "Just briefly early this morning."
"What about other injuries? How badly was she hurt?"
"Apparently she was lucky. Nothing broken. Just banged up. The guy in the angel suit said she was hit by a car and flew up in the air but 'came down to earth on angel's wings', his words."
They turned into a room that was dimly lit and occupied by three beds. Sara led Nash to the far bed and drew the privacy curtain.
Nash looked at the woman and ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh man," he sighed.
"You know her?"
"Yeah. Her name's Alexandra."
"A friend?"
He nodded.
Sara seemed to want more information, but he wasn't willing to provide it right then.
"Uh, what ever treatment she needs, make sure it gets done. I'll give you my information and I'll take care of any bill. Can I stay for awhile?"
Sara nodded. "Sure. I'll find you a chair."
Nash stood next to the bed and touched Alex's hand.
"Oh, what have you gotten yourself into now?" he asked the unconscious woman.
She was beautiful, even with the black and blue hue around her cheek. He knew she had sparkling blue eyes, although closed now. Her dark blond hair was shorter than he remembered it. But there was no mistaking Alexa Taylor Rosetti. He hadn't seen Alexa since Nicole's funeral. He'd never met her before Nikki's death but at the funeral he learned of her existence. Alexa was Nicole's half sister. They shared the same mother. Not much else. They hadn't grown up in the same place after Nicole's mother divorced Alexa father Alexa and her father had gone back to live in Florence, Italy, where he was from, for a time, before returning to Florida. She was a private investigator in Miami. After Nicole's death, she's come back to San Francisco once, working on a case. She wasn't sure how to take Nash and he was blatantly unlike himself around her. She resembled Nicole too much for him to be comfortable around her.
At the time and she'd been butting heads with the SFPD on the case. He liked her feisty attitude and they ended up helping each other out on the case. Then he'd taken her to the airport. He'd told her good luck and then just like that she was gone. Now, in the same token, she was back, like the flip of a coin. He had been trying to resolve all his issues with Nicole's death, and seeing Alex now, so much resembling her looks, but with such a different style and attitude, was almost eerie.
But whatever the reason she was back, he had to help her. She was, in some distant way, the only connection he had left to Nicole.
And he knew she must be into something serious if she wasn't carrying any ID, or even her weapon.
I know they say if you love somebody
You should set them free
But it sure is hard to do
It sure is hard to do
I know they say if it don't come back again
Then it's meant to be
Those words don't pull me through
Cause I'm still in love with you…
Nash was leaving the Center and saw the same woman and three children that had been in the waiting room before. Sasha. She and the children were walking slowly down the street. It was bitterly cold with a sharp wind. Nash drew his jacket tighter and caught up with them. They were near the Cuda.
"Ma'am?" he got her attention.
"Oh, Captain Bridges? Hello again." She smiled, despite the circumstances. She had a tone and a politeness that seemed to Nash not to coincide with her current state.
"Listen, I'm not on my way anywhere particular and it's really cold out here. Can I offer you and your family a lift somewhere?"
The two children looked at their mother eagerly. She looked undecided and a little unsure of how to react. He knew she was probably wondering what favors he expected in return.
"Really, it's wouldn't be a problem. The kids and you can thaw out for a bit."
"Well-" She looked down at her two children in their clothes, meant for late fall but not cold winter. "Okay, if you're sure."
"I am." He opened the passenger door on the Cuda, with it's top up. He opened the seat and the two children eagerly got in, then Sasha and the baby sat in the front.
Nash got in the drivers side and started the car and turned on the heat.
"Where to?" he asked, like a cabby.
"Oh, down on 18th anywhere will be okay."
Nash started driving. He knew that was a low income neighborhood.
"Sasha, I know it's really none of my business, but you have a really nice family here, and you seem like you're from somewhere other than here. How old are you? If you don't mind me asking."
She shook her head. "I'm 25."
She was only a little older than Cassidy, and already she had three small children.
"How'd you end up down here?" he asked.
She gave him a smile. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Sorry. It's the cop in me."
"It's okay," she said. "I never meant to end up like this. My boyfriend, he was working real steady. We had a nice little apartment and everything, a nice car. He got killed over forty two dollars. I was pregnant and sick and I lost my job and then I couldn't pay the rent and they threw us out. We've been at the shelter ever since, but in another three weeks, we'll be out of there too."
Nash couldn't believe it. "Why?"
"Well, they say the baby is old enough now that I can get another job. I work some now, at the coffee shop up from the shelter, but it's so hard to find some of the other girls to watch the kids. And now the baby's been sick…" She looked at him with her big dark eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be giving you all my problems. You're a real nice man for giving us a ride. They frown on us bringing men upstairs, but if-"
He cut her off. "I'm not interested in anything like that Sasha. I guess I'm just feeling like I've been passing the buck on a lot of people like you lately. Maybe it's time for some of us to stop doing that."
They arrived, not on 18th street, but a few blocks over at a Denny's.
"I haven't eaten yet and I'm hungry. Will you let me buy the kids some pancakes or something?"
"I don't take charity Mr. Bridges. And I can't pay you back right now."
"I'm not offering charity. I'm offering breakfast. And there might be a way you can pay me back. Let's go in and talk."
The kids, excited over their first meal in a real restaurant in a long time, behaved like small adults and Nash couldn't help but be entertained. They spread their napkins on their laps, the older Jesse helping his sister and took small sips of the orange juice the waitress gave them.
The baby cried some, but Sasha nursed him dignifiedly under a blanket over her shoulder.
"Which one of you was seen at the Center?" Nash asked, sipping his coffee.
"The baby. He has an ear infection and bronchitis. The other two had it, but they got over it already. Didn't get bad enough for medicine. But the baby's been sick so long. I was going to take him to the Sherman Clinic, but after I went in there last week, some strange things started happening." She sounded tired.
Nash frowned. "Strange things? Like what?"
"Well, these guys tried to grab me the day after I went there. I recognized one of them from the clinic. He was like a doctor's assistant or something. This nice lady who'd been staying at the shelter, she saw what was happening and ran out back. She had a gun and they took off quick enough."
Nash wondered is it had been Alex.
"What other kinds of things?" he wanted to know.
Sasha clammed up. She didn't want to discuss matters of her world with a cop. "Oh, nothing. I guess I'm just being silly. I mean, why would a guy from the clinic mess with me? Or anyone else from the shelter."
They sat silent for awhile while Nash pondered what she'd told him. He wondered if Alex had something to do with it.
"You said you worked at the coffee shop. What else can you do? Can you use a computer? File things?"
"I took computer classes in high school. Filing's just alphabetizing. Why?"
"I might know of a job."
She looked happy, but then shook her head. "I can't leave the kids, especially when they're sick. I can't afford daycare."
Nash considered this while the waitress brought them their food. The children's eyes opened wide when they saw the pancakes covered with strawberries and whipped cream, each on their own plate the waitress sat before them. A cautioning look from their mother, and they tried to remain patient and take small bites.
"If I can get you this job, I'll pay for a babysitter for a month. When you get ahead, you pay me back. Same with an apartment. I've got a friend who's got a small place over her garage she's trying to rent. It's nothing fancy and most people think it's too small. But it's better than the 18th street shelter. I'll put down the first month's rent. You pay me after you get on your feet."
Sasha looked utterly disbelieving. "I…I don't know what to say… or do?"
"Say it's a deal."
"You don't even know me. I could be a thief or a hooker."
Nash took a bite of his bagel. "Are you?"
"Well, no, but…"
"So what's the problem? If you don't pay me back, I come lock you up." The words sounded hollow and Sasha knew he didn't mean it.
He used his cell phone and called Ellen Bays, a Lieutenant in the PD.
"Hey Ellen, its Nash. You still trying to rent that garage apartment? Yeah, well I've got renters. You don't mind kids right? Yeah. Single mom, three kids. I'll be paying first month's rent. After that, she's on her own. No, I've seen the place. It's fine. Tomorrow? Great. See you then."
He hung up. "Done deal. You can move in tomorrow."
Sasha was still in shock. "You must be like, a knight in shining armor or something."
He shook his head. "I've been down on my luck. We all need a hand once in a while. I just hope that when you're having some good luck later on in life, you'll help someone else out."
They finished breakfast and talked a lot. Sasha was from the Midwest and she and her boyfriend had come out to California to pursue the usual dreams, but all had fallen through when he was killed six months ago. Sasha was clean of drugs and alcohol and hadn't resorted to selling her body, although she confessed that she had almost come to that lately. Nash had taken baby Sean from Sasha so she should eat and the baby slept peacefully in his arms. Nash enjoyed the feeling.
"Let's go get your things from the shelter," Nash said after breakfast. The two children had cleaned their plates and were sticky with strawberry syrup, but looked happy and content.
"I thought we couldn't move in until tomorrow."
"You can't, but that shelter needs the bed I'm sure for someone else as soon as possible. I've got plenty of room until then."
"Oh, no. There's no way I can inconvenience you like that. I mean, there's four of us."
"Look sister, if I didn't want to do it or it was an inconvenience, I wouldn't have offered. Besides, my dad lives with me and he'll be tickled to have some little ones around."
Nash could not be dissuaded and an hour later, with all their possessions in his trunk, little more than two suitcases, Nash drove the young family back to his loft. By the time they arrived, it was midmorning and the children, well fed and warm, had fallen asleep in the back seat of his car. Nash picked them up, each one weighing no more to him than a pillow, one in each arm, and carried them inside. Sasha'a eyes marveled when they got off his elevator. Nash knew there was a possibility she could clean him out, but he'd been running low on trust lately and figured he'd better start somewhere.
Nick was in his chair, reading the paper when he saw Nash, a sleeping child in both arms, and a woman with a baby in her arms, step out. He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
Nash took the two children into Cassidy's old room and put them in her big comfortable bed, pulling the comforter up around them. They hadn't stirred a bit.
He went back to the living room. Sasha and Sean stood where he'd left them.
"Nick, this is Sasha. She and her kids are staying overnight."
"Good. Does that mean we can have pizza tonight?" Nick looked at everything with a silver lining.
Nash chuckled. "I told you he wouldn't mind. Sasha, this is my father, Nick Bridges."
"It's nice to meet you sir," she said pleasantly, if only a little nervous.
"Aw, call me Nick. Calling me sir is like putting an elevator in an outhouse. It don't fit."
Sasha smiled. She liked both of them.
"Let me get something," Nash said. "I'll be right back." He went up to his storage room, above his apartment. He hadn't kept anything of Nicole's, but he'd kept a gift he gave her. He didn't know why, but he'd kept it.
Before Nicole was killed, he'd bought a beautiful oak bassinette in anticipation of their son. She'd been delighted with it. It was a cradle, really, a rocking cradle that was supposed to sit in their bedroom. Nash knew it had been silly to keep it, but he just hadn't had the heart to take it apart and give it away or sell it. He carried it down now and took it into the living room. Sasha and the baby sat on the couch and Nick was telling her about something he'd read in the paper. Nash sat down the cradle.
"Oh, how beautiful!" Sasha said. She remembered when she's dreamed of having something like that for one of her children.
"Son, I didn't know you still had that," Nick said.
"I'd forgot I did until now," Nash said. Nicole had taken time to find beautiful soft blue sheets for the mattress and a soft blue and green striped blanket. The little bed was all ready.
Nash went and gathered up little Sean, who was sleeping next to Sasha on the couch. He put the baby into the cradle and covered him with the blanket. He imagined it might have been how his son would have looked.
Sasha stood up, tears welling in her eyes. She went and hugged Nash. "Thank you so much," she whispered.
He hugged her back. "Don't let me down."
After her few tears subsided, he pointed her toward the bathroom. "Why don't you go get cleaned up. Take a hot bath. There's towels and everything else you might need in the cabinet. Help yourself. And there are lots of clothes in my daughter Cassidy's room. Pick something out. She's in Europe. She won't mind a bit. Nick will keep an ear out for the kids. I've got to get back to work for a while, but I'll be home later and I'll bring that pizza Nick wanted. Okay?"
She was only able to nod.
Sasha felt terribly guilty as she picked out some knit pants and a sweatshirt out of Cassidy's closet. It was the same with Nash's bathroom. From the look of the cabinet, there was a steady woman in his life, or had been. There was scented lotion, perfumes, a basket of hair clips and ties, a new bag of disposables ladies razors and everything from hair spray to 'feminine' products. There was also a basket of new, unopened toothbrushes in every shape and size. Sasha let the hot water wash away the guilt she felt and just let herself feel pampered. At the shelter, she was lucky to get a five-minute cold shower in the mornings. Even before, at the apartment with Mitch, their bathroom only had a shower. It had been ages since she'd had a bath. The bathroom was warm and steamy by the time she finished and smelled of the shampoo she'd used and silky conditioner. Lately she'd taken to using dish soap. It was cheaper and she could bath herself, the kids, wash her hair and all their clothes in it. Conditioner was a luxury her long, thick black hair hadn't seen in a while and she smiled as she used her own brush to comb it out and it felt so soft and clean. She slipped into the clothes of Nash's daughter.
When she finally left the bathroom, she found the big bed in the daughter's room empty. She panicked for a moment, but then went to the living room and there, on either side of Nick Bridges on the couch sat Jesse and Tracy. He was reading them a story and they looked perfectly content. The baby was still sleeping in the cradle. The children just looked up at their mother a moment and then went back to staring at the pages of the children's book Nick was reading.
Nash finally made it back to the SIU. Sara, the nurse at the Center had promised to call him when Alexa woke up.
Joe looked swamped and was busily juggling files when Nash came in.
"Nice to see you," Joe cracked as Nash walked up.
"Loose something?" Nash inquired.
"Yeah, everything! Ever since Betty Ann's been gone, I can't find anything," he told his friend. Their semi unstable secretary had gone off her medication and become convinced that Nash was a ruler of some distant planet and that she was destined to be the mother of his alien child. She finally had been taken away when she tried to hold Nash hostage with a gun. Last they'd heard she was in a psych ward upstate. But she had been a very effective office manager and secretary, handing an assortment of things that Nash and Joe had no idea how to start over now.
"Well Bubba," Nash said, getting coffee. "I may have some good news. I hired you a new secretary. She's young and doesn't have much experience, but I think she'll do just fine."
"No delusions I trust," Joe wisecracked.
"Not so far. I'll being her in after I get her settled in her new apartment tomorrow morning."
Joe shrugged. "Okay. I hope she can figure out what Betty Ann did with everything."
Nash laughed. "Don't push it."
Ronnie ambled over. "Nash, you've got a guest on the deck," he cocked a thumb upwards.
"Who is it?"
"The guy with the wings."
"Angel?" Nash walked upstairs and out on the deck. Sure enough, white robe, wings and all, stood Angel.
"Hello Nash," he said, without turning to see who was walking onto the deck his slightly twangy voice ever peaceful.
"Hi Angel." Nash joined him at the railing, even though it was cold and windy, Angel didn't seem to notice. "Can we go inside?" Nash asked, clutching his jacket around him.
"Of course." They went back inside the barge and Nash got Angel some coffee.
"So what's up?" Nash asked, wondering if Angel would tell him about Danielle.
"Did you get my message?"
"Well, what was it and I'll tell you if I got it."
"The woman who was sent to give you forgiveness and peace. She flew down on angels' wings."
"Alexa? The woman at the hospital?"
Angel nodded.
"The nurse said she was hit by a car and that you and another guy brought her in. Is that true?"
He nodded then said, "She brings with her danger as well as peace, Nash. She has come to help many but many want to take her life."
"Angel, can we not speak in parables? What's the story?"
"There are people disappearing Nash, down in that district. People who wouldn't be missed."
"Homeless people?" Nash asked.
Angel nodded. "They're being taken away by a thief in the night. Alex was trying to help."
Nash frowned. "Who is taking people away?"
"I don't know who, but they come in a big green truck and they take people away, sometimes only one, sometimes three or four. They come once a week."
"A big green truck? Like Army green, bright green? What?"
Angel nodded. "Dark green."
"When did this start happening?"
"A month, maybe two."
"Why hasn't someone gone to the police?" Nash wanted to know, but already knew the answer. Homeless were wary of going to the police about anything. Many were in hiding; many had run ins with authority before. And many just wanted to be left alone.
"Like I said Nash, no one would know or care that they were missing. Your new friend and her children came close to being taken three nights ago. Perhaps you really are a knight."
Nash hated it when Angel did that. "How did you know about Sasha?"
"I know many things Nash. She too will bring a message of peace to your heart."
"Oh boy. Okay Angel, we're going to check this out. Do you know anything about what Alex was working on? Did you see who hit her?"
"A blue sedan. I didn't see anything else. She was staying at the 18th Street Shelter."
There was a coincidence. That was where Sasha had been living. There were two people he needed to talk to.
"Angel, why don't you hand around here for awhile? Me and Joe will go take a look around, talk to some people."
"They won't be receptive to you Nash. They think that you, like everyone else, don't care."
Nash knew Angel was right. It would be hard to get information out on the street.
"We'll think of something."
Nash got his team together. It was smaller now; Cassidy had resigned from the department and was in Paris with her mother: Rachel had left amid a dark cloud that she'd been providing information to try and shut down the SIU to MCD. Nash had been trying to recruit some other cops over to his unit, but the budget cuts weren't allowing him to have any more staff than crucial.
Nash, Joe, Harvey and Antewon gathered for a briefing and Nash led the discussion of what Angel had told him. He filled them in a little on Alex.
"The main problem is that these people won't talk to us. We need someone on the inside, so to speak," Nash said, looking at Harvey.
"Oh man, I just took a shower this morning," he sighed. They all just kept looking at him. "Ok, Ok. I'll go see what smelly clothes I can dig up."
"Joe and I will go check out Alexa's room at the shelter. Antewon, see what you can find out from the people who work and volunteer in the area, the soup kitchens, the shelters. See if they've noticed any regulars missing. Find out who they are, where they stayed, if they had anything in common.
"Got it."
And they all left to their respective duties.
Later That Evening…
Nash got home, dead tired. Nick had left on a small lamp in the kitchen. Nash saw that it was all quiet.
He went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. He stood there, looking out over the city, sipping the cold water, and trying to put his day to rest. He sensed a presence behind him and turned.
Sasha stood there, wearing Cassidy's old bathrobe. She looked clean and pretty and fresh. Her long dark hair hung silky and loose.
"Hey, what are you doing up?"
She smiled. "Oh, the baby just went back to sleep. But they're all sleeping better than they have in ages. The kids haven't even stirred."
"How about you? You doing okay?"
She nodded. "The bed is so soft and the bath…it was like heaven."
"I hope you had everything you needed."
She nodded again. They were silent for a moment, he finishing his water. Then he told her about Angel and what he'd told him about the homeless people being taken away. Nash also told her about Alex and asked if she was the woman who's helped Sasha escape from the two men who tried to take her.
Sasha confirmed all of what Nash relayed. She said she knew of five who'd gone missing. And she also confessed that Alex had told her she was trying to help. But like everyone, Sasha was reluctant to accept help, or even accept the fact that she'd needed it. Nash was beginning to see that it was a very tight knit world.
"Do you think you'll really catch those guys?" she asked finally.
"I do. With your help, and Alex, and help from the people down there."
She looked distantly out the window. "I can't believe all this," she said with a sigh. "I mean, I'm going to have a job and a place to live, to raise my kids. No one's going to take them away from me." Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Nash, you have no idea how much you've done for us."
He saw her tears spill and she looked like she needed a hug. He took her in his strong arms to comfort her.
"I think I've needed to help for a long time, but wasn't given the opportunity. I'm just glad that you let me."
She wiped at her face and looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes, her long dark lashes casting shadows in them. "I…I just don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you…or thank you enough." She wanted to kiss him. More than anything she'd ever wanted. And before Nash could stop her, that's just what she did. For a moment, he let her soft, full lips play on his, let himself feel what any man might under the circumstances. But suddenly, he snapped back to reality.
He broke from her.
"Nash-" she began, confused. She knew what she had felt.
"Sasha, I told you in the beginning," he explained, trying to quell his own feelings. She was almost his daughter's age for Heaven's sake! She was standing here in his daughter's robe. Her three children were asleep in the other room. "That's not what I'm interested in. I mean, you're a beautiful woman." He smiled. "Very beautiful. But you could be my daughter. And I didn't help you because of your looks, or because I wanted something in return. I know that someday, you'll find a man, someone closer to your own age, who will care about you as much as I do, even more, who will take care of you."
She looked a tad disappointed, but she nodded with understanding.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
He only smiled. "Don't be sorry. I'm not. I want to be your friend. I value that. I don't want to spoil it."
"Well," she said, now a little embarrassed, "I guess I better get back to bed."
He nodded. He kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Sleep well."
She smiled now, all it seems, was well. "I will."
He watched her walk back to the room. He let out a deep breath. That had taken a lot of will power. He decided it wasn't another glass of cold water he needed, but a cold shower.
In the morning, Nash and Nick helped Sasha and the children move into their new apartment. It was furnished with couch, table and chairs, television, a dresser and two beds, one double and one twin in the bedroom. The living room, kitchen and dining room were all one big space and a small bathroom and bedroom adjoined. It was above Lt Ellen Bays' garage, though not attached to her house. It had its own door and staircase outside. Sasha only had two bags with clothes and a few mementos to 'move in'. Tracy and Jess immediately began to explore their new surrounding, checking to see if the water in the bathroom ran or the drawers in the dresser opened, or if the TV worked.
"It's wonderful!" Sasha exclaimed.
LT Bays had come to let them in. She was a charming woman in her forties and had been on the force almost as long as Nash. She was touched by Nash's gesture and her heart had been warmed by Sasha's plight.
"My daughter lives three houses down," she explained to Sasha. "I already spoke to her. She has a one year old herself and she said she's be more than willing to look after yours till you get on your feet and can afford a regular daycare. I know Nash, down at the SIU, will be working you ragged for the first couple of weeks."
Sasha was touched. "I can't tell you all how wonderful this is, or how happy I am, or how many thanks I owe you."
"Seeing children happy and safe is all the thanks I need," Lt Bays told her. "I also got together some clothes, some from me, some from my daughter. We figured you wouldn't have much in the way of secretarial work outfits. Hope at least some of it fits. There are several bags in the bedroom closet. And some things for the baby. Why Tammy's boy outgrows things so fast, it's a shame that almost new clothes go to waste."
Sasha had tears threatening to spill over again.
"I think we'll let you all get settled," Nash said, as Tracy and Jesse trotted circles around his legs. "I've got some work to do."
He hugged each of the children and gave Sasha a quick kiss on the cheek. He knew she was going to need some time to adjust. So he and Nick left and Ellen Bays stayed to help Sasha and explain about utilities and the bus route that Sasha would be taking to get to work and to introduce her to Tammy.
A little later…
Nash went back to the Center as soon as he got the message that Alexa was awake. He went directly to her room this time. There was now one empty bed in the three person room. He went to Alex's bed, the last one. She was awake, sitting propped up on a pillow.
"Hi ya'," he greeted.
She didn't look surprised to see him and smiled a little sheepishly. "Hi Nash."
He pulled up the chair he'd occupied before. "Dammit woman, when are you gonna learn to stop playing hardball alone?" He sat and took her hand. "You keep making people who care about you worry about you."
Alex gave him a weary smile. "There's not a lot of those left in my life. Ones that worry or care."
"Well I do, sister. I do both, real good. So let's cut the crap. What were you working? I'm on the team now like it or not."
This is the long goodbye
Somebody tell me why
Two lovers in love can't make it
What kind of love keeps breakin a heart…
So she began to talk and Nash listened while casually stroking the back of her hand. It was like being close to a special friend.
She told him about being contacted by a reporter friend from San Francisco who had 'sources' on the street, amongst the homeless. The reporter had told her about them being stolen in the night. And then the reporter had enlisted Alex's help by paying her fee as well as piquing her curiosity. So she's come again to San Francisco. She knew she'd wanted to see Nash as well as take the case. The reporter, who'd been more of a friend to Nicole, knew Alexa was a private detective who, since she was not in San Francisco, could be trusted.
When investigation turned up too many unwilling to talk, Alex went under cover, staying at the 18th street shelter. She had been witness to Sasha'a attempted abduction and helped to thwart it. The next day was when she was chased and run down by the blue car.
"So we don't know who any of the players are?" Nash asked.
"No. But Sasha and I both got a good look at the two who tried to grab her. One of them was in the car that hit me. And I do have a name, but I don't know who or what it is. Zarco." She said it and then spelled it out of Nash. "One of the thugs dropped a paper with that name on it when they tried to grab Sasha."
Nash made a point to tell Alex that Sasha was now safely off the street and stashed away at the arranged apartment with a job to go to in the morning.
"I talked to a lot of the people at the shelter too. There are at least six people missing, three women and three men. The only thing I could find that they might have in common was that they'd all been to the Sherman Clinic in the last three weeks. Bea, this one woman I met, she said they'd all had some kind of flu and gone to the Sherman Clinic and gotten antibiotics."
"Why Sherman?" Nash asked.
Alex shook her head. "It's one of the places that charge the least. It's not an inpatient place, like here. Just a medical clinic for the street people.
"Nash, you have no idea how many people out there have a story just like hers," Alex said with pain in her eyes. "I mean, I guess I always thought they were crazy, or unwilling to work, or just didn't want to be in society. But so many of them are just like you or me, except they were just too close to the door when the roof fell in."
Nash understood her analogy. He knew too that many people tottered on the brink of poverty and any added financial burden, or a death, or some other overwhelming conflict happened in their life and it was too much; they lost their homes, jobs, children and other loved ones. It wasn't that they didn't want to work, but many were caught in a vicious circle: you had to have an address to have a job and to have an address; you had to be able to afford the rent.
Nash nodded, silent in thought.
Finally, Alexa spoke again. "Maybe you can clear something up for me. I keep dreaming an angel brought me here. Am I crazy or what?"
Nash chuckled. "You're not crazy. Angel is, well, he's different. He's a friend. He's down at the SIU right now going through mug shots to see if he can pick out the men in the car."
And at that, Nash's cell phone rang.
"Nash."
"Yeah, it's Harv. I had Angel go through the shots and he picked out one of the guys in the car."
"Great. Check with Sasha. See if it's the same one who tried to get her."
"Already done boss man. That's an affirmative. She ID'd him from the night before, behind the shelter. His name is Paul Tobin."
"We know where he is?"
"We got a last known from his P.O."
"Good. Take Joe and pick him up. Have Antewon stay on the computer and see if he can find out anything about Z-A-R-C-O. Who or what that is. And have him check out the Sherman Clinic. Danielle tells me all the people who've gone missing visited that clinic in the past few weeks."
"10-4. We're on it." Harvey hung up.
Nash relayed all this to Alex.
Well get me out of here!" she demanded, pulling aside the blanket. "I want in."
Joe and Harvey went to the last known address of Paul Tobin. It was an apartment in the Haight.
"I hate coming down here," Harvey whispered on the stairwell. "It reminds me of the old days."
Joe nodded and kind of smiled. "I know what you mean. Makes me want to dig out my old bong."
They found Tobin's apartment on the third floor that was putrid with the odor of patchouli.
They both had their weapons drawn and stood on either side of Tobin's door. Joe knocked loudly.
"Open up Tobin! SFPD!"
There was no answer or sign of any movement from inside. Harvey unceremoniously kicked in the door.
Paul Tobin was there all right. He lay sprawled in the middle of the living room floor in a pool of his own blood, which was already coagulating.
Joe checked for a pulse by force of habit. It was useless as he could see the extent of the head wound suffered by Tobin.
"Well, I guess someone else found him first," Harvey said.
Joe nodded. "So much for that trail."
"I guess that means I go back out on the street." He sighed as Joe called dispatch.
Harvey took his undercover work very seriously. He'd found an old Grateful dead Tee shirt, some old baggy pants and a jacket a size too big. He'd made his way around the streets for a while, filling an old bag with aluminum cans and other junk he thought might come in useful. He'd made his way to the 18th street shelter and gotten in line for dinner. He looked around, his heart swelling when he'd seen all the people trying to get a meal. There were all ages, all races. There were mothers and children, elderly, crippled, every one all in the same boat, no matter what their lives used to be like.
Harv got his tin tray with some kind of beef stew, a roll, and an apple and a cup of coffee and went to a long table in the big dining hall. He sat next to an older woman who looked like an army drill sergeant right down to her fatigue pants and combat boots. Only the bright pink, slightly worn, ribbon in her graying hair didn't fit.
"Hi," he said, sitting down.
She gave him a once over, and then deciding he was okay, spoke.
"Hi. Ain't seen you around before."
"Just got in from LA. Figured the weather might be better," he joked.
She didn't laugh. "There's no work here," she replied.
Harv nodded, and then began to eat the pretty tasteless but filling stew. "Yeah, I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here. I've been hearing that guys like me are turning up missing."
She gave a harsh chuckle. "Ain't just guys Dimples. They're takin' us too."
"Who?" he asked.
She gave him another stern look.
"What'da I care? As long as I don't wind up in that green truck."
Harvey wasn't going to push for info.
"Say, you got a place to stay yet?" she asked.
"Well, no. I was hoping maybe here-"
She shook her head. "Naw. There ain't any rooms. You want, you can bunk up at my place. I've only got six for the night?"
Harvey was not thrilled at the prospect, but he was under cover. This was about as under as he could get.
"People call me Mama Bee," she continued. "I keep tryin' to help some of you youngsters. But I ain't gonna do it forever mind you." She became her stern drill sergeant. "You gots to help yourself too. You can stay for thee days, then that's it. You gotta be on your own."
Harvey nodded. "Well I appreciate it."
"You better," she cautioned. "And no funny business! I don't tolerate no drugs or drinking in my place. No floozies either."
Harvey shook his head. "I don't do any of that."
She went back to eating her meal. "Well, we oughts be working out just fine then."
Mama Bee's 'place' was an old abandoned factory down by the piers. She had her own 'apartment', as many homeless occupied the building at night. But Mama Bee's place was off limits to anyone she didn't invite. It was a second story room with 'beds' for about ten people. It was decorated with old signs and milk crates for chairs and shipping crates for tables. Mama Bee had an old Army cot for herself in her corner. The other five people already there had sleeping arrangements from blankets to sleeping bags. Harvey figured as far as class of homeless people went, these were pretty lucky.
"We're a motley crew," mama Bee told Harvey, "But everyone here is honest. You'll wake up with your shoes."
Harv was somehow grateful for that. He'd brought his 'satchel' with him, containing his own sleeping bag from home. He decided not to unroll it until after all the lights were out so no one would see how new it was in comparison to theirs.
As the evening went on, Harvey met the group at Mama Bee's. There was Walter-he was in his fifties, a Vietnam veteran who seemed a little slow. Mama said it was because of his injuries. He lived here, she said because his family didn't want to take care of him anymore. They sent him forty dollars to the Western Union every Friday. Then there was Billy-he was a street performer in his twenties. He'd been a runaway since he was 14, with no family. He'd been dodging the law when Mama found him and took him in. He used what little money he made on the street to help Mama and her place. Mary was a middle-aged woman who worked some as a seamstress. She'd lost her home in the earthquake and had gone into a severe depression. She'd never had the nerve to try and get back up. Carl was a former banker who'd gone through a nervous breakdown after his company had gone bankrupt. His wife had taken all he owned and left him with nothing. He too had not been able to recover.
Harv talked with all of them to some extent and learned more than he'd known about the lifestyle, the problems and the perils that these people felt on a daily basis. He had a deep feeling in his heart when he finally made it into his sleeping bag on a corner of floor that night. It was a sadness burdened with respect and admiration as well as sorrow.
Sasha showed up to work bright and early. She'd left her three children in the care of Lt Bays' daughter Tammy. The other mother was bright and bubbly and the children had warmed up to her right away. Sasha wore an old outfit of Tammy's, a denim skirt and a yellow sweater and some shoes that Lt Bays had given her. She looked like any other working woman.
Joe was happy to see her. He handed her a sheet of paper as soon as she'd put her jacket on the coat rack.
"I can't find any of these files?" he said, almost whining. "I haven't been able to find anything since our last secretary, uh, left. Can you help me? Please?"
Sasha smiled. She liked Joe. "Of course." She took the paper and went to work.
Antewon immediately noticed the new clerk. She was young and pretty and had the most gorgeous hair he'd ever seen. When she came near his desk, while he was busy at the computer, he gave her a wide smile and she returned a shy one.
"Hi, I'm Antewon."
"Sasha. I'm the new secretary."
"Glad to have you."
She happened to glance at his computer screen where he was going over the files of all the employees at the Sherman Clinic. The screen was on Davis Plummer, a Nurses Aide.
"Hey!" She exclaimed. "That's the other guy! The one from the clinic, the other one with Tobin who tried to pick me up!"
Antewon looked at the file. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm positive! He works at the Sherman Clinic."
Antewon nodded. "He sure does." He scrolled down the screen and saw that the aide had a few petty criminal offenses on his record. He had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court on a DUI violation. That was plenty enough reason to visit the Sherman Clinic and pick him up.
"Well that's good work new girl Sasha," Antewon told her, getting up. "Keep it up." He gave her another winning smile.
Sasha was more confident in returning it. He was a very handsome cop indeed.
Nash and Alex drove to the 18th Street shelter. He hadn't heard from Harvey and that wasn't OK.
They searched the shelter. The older woman, known as Mama Bee recognized Alex from her brief stint there. Alex asked her about Harvey.
"Oh, honey, I thought they'd got you too," the woman said in a voice that sounded a bit like John Wayne on hormones.
"No. But I'm looking for my friend. He's got grayish curly hair and was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt. He's been staying here the last couple of days."
"Oh yeah, Dimples! I saw him yesterday. He stayed at my place last night. He gave me a whole sack of aluminum cans, can you believe it? I took 'em right down to the recycler and got almost eight dollars! He's a cutie that Dimples."
"Have you seen him today?" Alexa prodded.
"Oh no. He hitched a ride on the Taker Truck."
"What's a 'Taker Truck?" Nash asked.
"That green truck that come by every week and loads up some of us. They never come back you know. I think they're like UFOs."
"What do you mean he caught a ride? They didn't take him?"
"No," she insisted, shaking her head. "They only took one. Dimples ran after the truck and jumped on the back, snuck in under the tarp."
Nash didn't like the looks of this.
As they left, Nash got a call. It was Antewon.
"I'm headed to the Sherman Clinic to pick up the second suspect."
"We're a block away," Nash told him. "We'll be right there."
Two Hours Later
Harvey finally found a phone. His cell had gotten lost when he jumped on the back of the truck. He'd jogged about six miles from the compound he now knew was Zarcon. But at last, at a gas station, he was able to call Nash.
"Nash."
"It's Harv."
"Dammit, thank God! We've been going crazy looking for you. Where are you?"
"I'm in the middle of nowhere. I found Zarcon. It's a big compound run by some kind of Dr Mengala- want- to- be named Tobias Stoker. He's using these homeless people like guinea pigs, Nash. It's like a concentration camp." He went on to describe in detail what he'd seen and how to get to Zarcon. Nash, at the SIU, was preparing the team.
Six Hours Later
Nash and Joe were interrogating Tobias Stoker at the SIU. He'd been charged with 12 counts of kidnapping and 4 counts of attempted kidnapping on Sasha and her three children. It had taken much police manpower to round up all Stoker's crew at Zarcon and get the 12 homeless people back to safety. But Nash and Joe were far from through with the middle aged Dr who seemed to think he was the salvation. He had only told them that the 'vagrants' would provide the world with cures for 'every disease known to man' and he was sure he was the one who would find those cures. Using the homeless people for his experiments, of course. Antewon had gone to the Sherman Clinic and picked up a less than willing Davis Plummer. He had been busy spilling his guts to the big burly Inspector and Harvey Leek in another interrogation room. He had been paid by Stoker to look for very vulnerable, not to mention fairly healthy, homeless persons whom no one would miss.
Ronnie suddenly dashed in. Nash hadn't seen his burly officer move that fast at the office in a long time. His face was pale.
"Joe, you've got a phone call! Nash you better go too!" He grabbed up Stoker and escorted him back to a cell.
They heard the urgency in Ronnie's voice and Joe went to the nearest desk to get the call. Nash followed close behind.
"Dominguez," he answered. A moment later, color drained from his face. "What?! When? Well she's-Okay, okay. I'll be right there!" He slammed down the phone.
"What?" Nash asked, seeing his partner's face he was concerned. He knew it was serious.
"It's Lucia. She's at the hospital. She has appendicitis and they're taking her into surgery."
He was rushing for the door. Nash was on his heels. He had no intention of letting Joe drive.
They found Inger pacing the waiting room of the pediatric ward. Joe went to her.
"Oh Joe!" she cried and fell into his arms. He held her.
"What's going on?" Joe asked worriedly.
"Her appendix burst," Inger cried in her Swedish accent. "She's in surgery. Our baby is in surgery!"
Nash looked on, concerned.
"She'll be fine, honey," Joe tried to comfort her. "I'm sure she'll be just fine.
Alex came to the hospital some time later. She wanted to see if there was anything she could do. She found Nash at the coffee vending machine.
"Hi," she said softly.
"Hi," he returned, surprised to see her. "You didn't have to come," he told her.
She nodded. "I know. But I wanted to make sure the little girl was okay. And see if anyone needed anything."
"Thanks." He got his coffee. "She's still in surgery. We're just waiting for news." They walked back to the waiting room.
Joe and Inger were sitting beside each other, holding hands, looking tired and weary, eyes filled with worry.
Nash and Alex sat down on a sofa in a corner of the room.
"I've wanted to talk to you Nash," Alex said. "I know now's not a great time, but-"
"No, go ahead. I can't do much else."
"I've been thinking about staying, in San Francisco, I mean. My business in Florida isn't going anywhere. I was thinking maybe it might be time for a change."
Nash had spoken to her days before about needing more help at Bridges and Dominguez, their investigating agency.
"I was thinking if you were still interested, maybe I could help out at you agency for awhile."
Nash shrugged. "Well, we can always use the help. Right now, Joe and I don't have half the time we need to put in there."
Alex ran a hand through her honey-chestnut hair. "Nash, I…I need to know how you would feel about this. I mean, I know I have to remind you of Nicole. We always did resemble each other. I don't want to cause you any more pain than you've already had."
Nash had to give her a weary smile. "Sometimes I do see Nikki in you, but you're so different in so many ways. And you don't cause me pain. I enjoy having you around. I guess in a way, I feel a little closer t her with you around. Besides, you're a damn hard worker and I know you could do the work at the agency. I'd be happy to have you."
She smiled a little. "Thanks Nash."
A green scrub clad doctor came in to the waiting room now and they all stood looking at him for information.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dominguez," I'm Dr George. You're daughter is out of surgery. She's doing just fine. She's in recovery and you can see her in a few minutes."
"OH!" Inger cried tears of joy now.
Joe looked as though the world had lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you so much Dr." He shook hand with the MD profusely.
The Dr smiled. "I'll be back in about ten minutes to get you."
They nodded in unison. The doctor left again and Nash came over to his friend with a smile. He gave Inger a hug.
"I knew she'd be fine. She's got your spunk," he told her. Then he turned to Joe and gave his partner and friend a hug as well.
"Thanks for being here, man," Joe told him.
"Don't give it a second though. Nowhere else I'd be. When you see my God-daughter, you give her a big kiss for me, okay?"
"Will do brother."
Some time later, Nash and Alex left together. Inger and Joe stayed by their daughter's bedside at the hospital, but were confident now that she was going to be okay.
"Did you drive down?" Nash asked as they walked out into the frigid and foggy night.
"No, I had a patrol unit drop me off."
"Well, I'll give you a lift to…Where to?"
"Well, I guess back to my hotel."
They got in the Cuda, parked not far away.
"It's been a long day and a rough evening," Nash said, "Why don't we go have a drink and get something to eat?"
Alex smiled. "I'd like that Nash. If I'm going to be working for you, I'd like to get to know you."
So Nash and his new business partner went to dinner, and all the while he kept thinking about Alex and Nicole, two sisters very different from each other, and about Angel's message. He was at last, feeling some peace. Maybe it had been helping Sasha and her family. Or maybe it was the new hope Alex was brightening his life with. But whatever it was, it was as if the rain had washed him clean and he had been given a new chance, a new day.
Take that look of worry I'm an ordinary man
They don't tell me nothing so I find out all I can
There's a fire that's been burning, right outside my door
I can't see but I feel it
And it helps to keep me warm
So I..I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
Seems so long I've been looking,. Still don't know what for
Theres no point in escaping, I don't worry anymore
I can't come out to find you I don't like to go outside
They can turn off my feeling like they're turning off the light
But I…I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
Oh I…I don't mind
So take…take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
I've been a prisoner all my life and I can say to you
Take that look of worry; mine's and ordinary life
Workin when it's daylight;, sleepin when it's night
I've got no far horizons and I wish upon a star
They don't think that I listen but I know who they are
And I…I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
I don't mind
So take…take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Oh Lord,I well I've bee a prisoner all my life and I can say to you…but I don't remember…
Take…take me home
Take..take me home
"Take Me Home" Phil Collins
By Lauri M
These characters of Nash, etc do not belong to me. They are property of Carlton Cuse, Don Johnson, etc.
Rated G
Nash grabbed a cup of coffee at Starbucks on his way to work. It was a small luxury, a treat before a long day. He knew he had administrative work to do and that made him tired before he even arrived at the SIU.
When he did finally arrive on the barge, the place was busy as expected for a Monday morning. Harvey and Antwon on their way out greeted him.
"Morning," he said with a smile.
"It's that alright," Harvey said dryly. "Although I haven't found anything good yet."
"Sorry," Nash shrugged.
They went on their way and he climbed the stairs to his desk. He hadn't seen Joe yet.
On his desk were piles of paperwork he'd been putting off for various reasons. But it was time to get it finished.
He looked through the stack of phone messages. Most were not that important or had been already addressed. But there was a new one from this morning. North side Medical Center, Sara. Please call. Urgent. And a number. He was sure he didn't know anyone at the North side Medical center. In fact, all he knew of it was that it was a low-income small in-patient facility that got a lot of street people and indigents who had no insurance and could not afford a big hospital bill. Donations and several wealthy philanthropists in San Francisco mostly supported the Center.
He picked up his phone and dialed the penciled in number on the message. He asked to speak with Sara.
"Nurses station, this is Sara," a woman's voice answered in a moment.
"Yes, this is captain Nash Bridges from the SFPD. I was returning your call."
"Good morning Captain Bridges. I'm calling because of a patient that was brought in last night. She was brought in by a homeless man and…a guy in an angel costume."
"Angel?" Nash asked out loud. He knew exactly whom she was talking about.
"Yes. Wings and all. Anyway, the patient was apparently hit by a car. Hit and run. She has no ID and nothing on her except your name and phone number. She received a severe concussion and has been in and out of consciousness all night. We were hoping you are a friend or someone who can help."
Nash frowned. "Well, sure. I guess I can come down there."
"We would appreciate it, and I'm sure she would."
"Well thanks for getting in touch Sara. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Nash was perplexed. Of course any number of people might have his name and number on them. It might not be someone he even knew. But then again, it might. And Angel, what did he have to do with it? So much for his paperwork.
Nash headed back down the stairs and met Antwon coming up.
"Mornin'," Antwon greeted.
"Harv, any word from Joe?"
"Yeah, he just called. He's running late. Some thing about Lucia and Inger being sick and his being up all night."
Nash frowned. He hoped it was nothing serious.
"He said he'd be in about ten," Antwon continued.
"Thanks. I'll be down at North side Center for a while."
"North side? What's up down there?"
"I'm not sure. That's what I'm going to find out."
Nash was surprised at the number of people waiting to be seen at the North side Center. It was a small 50 bed in patient hospital with an equally small ER, which generally handled a rush of cold and flu symptoms, dog bites, alcohol intoxication, DT's, and minor injured incurred mostly by San Francisco's indigent.
Nash's heart fell heavy when he saw the amount of children in the waiting area. Some with tired looking mothers in ragged overcoats; many without warm coats themselves; all with a general expression on their face that resounded hopelessness and helplessness. One woman who looked maybe 30 with long dark hair and exceptionally beautiful eyes, which would have been more beautiful if she hadn't looked so tired and sorrowful, caught his attention. She had a baby in her arms and two more toddlers, a boy and girl of maybe five and three by her sides. They were dressed in layers of semi tattered and well worn clothes. The two children through had not lost the light in their eyes. The little girl even smiled at him, smiling at her. He wished it were in his power to make their world brighter.
He went to the bulletproof window behind which a receptionist sat.
He showed his badge. "I need to speak with a nurse named Sara. She's expecting me."
"One moment," the woman said, her voice distorted by the partition. She got up to go get Sara.
Nash looked down and saw the little boy that belonged to the dark eyed woman. He was staring up at Nash and his badge with wide dark eyes and a tangle of dark hair.
"Hi there," Nash said, smiling.
"Jesse, don't bother," the woman told her son, who continued to look up- at Nash.
Nash escorted the boy back to the tired woman, whose small baby was fussing in its blanket.
Nash knelt on knee by the boy and girl.
"You wanna see some magic?" he asked. The two small children nodded, bright eyed.
Nash took out his handkerchief and a nickel from his pocket. He worked his slight of hand to make the coin disappear before their eyes. Then equally amazing to the children, instead of a nickel a quarter seemed to appear from behind both their ears. They were delighted and amused by the simple parlor trick. He gave them both the quarters. They looked questioningly at their mother, who nodded her approval to them and they quickly busied themselves examining the shiny coins to make sure they each had an equal.
"Thank you," the woman said to Nash, lowering her eyes a bit when she spoke.
"Well, you looked a little over burdened with these three."
She smiled slightly.
"I'm Captain Nash Bridges with the SFPD, by the way."
She fidgeted slightly, shifting the baby around in her arms. "Sasha Williams. That's Jesse and Tracy and this is Sean."
Nash smiled, looking into the bundled blanket at the baby who was about six months old.
"Captain Bridges?" the receptionist called.
Nash stood up. "Well, it was nice to meet you all."
The boy stuck out his hand for a handshake, like a small adult. Nash shook hands with the child and then, heart heavy, he walked back to the receptionist's window where she pushed a button that buzzed him through a heavy door to the left.
Through the door a woman with short dark hair in blue nurses' scrubs waited. She smiled and put out her hand.
"Captain Bridges, I'm Sara Dayton."
"Nice to meet you Sara."
"Well, follow me and we'll go see the woman I told you about."
"Has she regained consciousness?" Nash asked.
Sara shook her head as they walked down a hallway with rooms on either side. "Just briefly early this morning."
"What about other injuries? How badly was she hurt?"
"Apparently she was lucky. Nothing broken. Just banged up. The guy in the angel suit said she was hit by a car and flew up in the air but 'came down to earth on angel's wings', his words."
They turned into a room that was dimly lit and occupied by three beds. Sara led Nash to the far bed and drew the privacy curtain.
Nash looked at the woman and ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh man," he sighed.
"You know her?"
"Yeah. Her name's Alexandra."
"A friend?"
He nodded.
Sara seemed to want more information, but he wasn't willing to provide it right then.
"Uh, what ever treatment she needs, make sure it gets done. I'll give you my information and I'll take care of any bill. Can I stay for awhile?"
Sara nodded. "Sure. I'll find you a chair."
Nash stood next to the bed and touched Alex's hand.
"Oh, what have you gotten yourself into now?" he asked the unconscious woman.
She was beautiful, even with the black and blue hue around her cheek. He knew she had sparkling blue eyes, although closed now. Her dark blond hair was shorter than he remembered it. But there was no mistaking Alexa Taylor Rosetti. He hadn't seen Alexa since Nicole's funeral. He'd never met her before Nikki's death but at the funeral he learned of her existence. Alexa was Nicole's half sister. They shared the same mother. Not much else. They hadn't grown up in the same place after Nicole's mother divorced Alexa father Alexa and her father had gone back to live in Florence, Italy, where he was from, for a time, before returning to Florida. She was a private investigator in Miami. After Nicole's death, she's come back to San Francisco once, working on a case. She wasn't sure how to take Nash and he was blatantly unlike himself around her. She resembled Nicole too much for him to be comfortable around her.
At the time and she'd been butting heads with the SFPD on the case. He liked her feisty attitude and they ended up helping each other out on the case. Then he'd taken her to the airport. He'd told her good luck and then just like that she was gone. Now, in the same token, she was back, like the flip of a coin. He had been trying to resolve all his issues with Nicole's death, and seeing Alex now, so much resembling her looks, but with such a different style and attitude, was almost eerie.
But whatever the reason she was back, he had to help her. She was, in some distant way, the only connection he had left to Nicole.
And he knew she must be into something serious if she wasn't carrying any ID, or even her weapon.
I know they say if you love somebody
You should set them free
But it sure is hard to do
It sure is hard to do
I know they say if it don't come back again
Then it's meant to be
Those words don't pull me through
Cause I'm still in love with you…
Nash was leaving the Center and saw the same woman and three children that had been in the waiting room before. Sasha. She and the children were walking slowly down the street. It was bitterly cold with a sharp wind. Nash drew his jacket tighter and caught up with them. They were near the Cuda.
"Ma'am?" he got her attention.
"Oh, Captain Bridges? Hello again." She smiled, despite the circumstances. She had a tone and a politeness that seemed to Nash not to coincide with her current state.
"Listen, I'm not on my way anywhere particular and it's really cold out here. Can I offer you and your family a lift somewhere?"
The two children looked at their mother eagerly. She looked undecided and a little unsure of how to react. He knew she was probably wondering what favors he expected in return.
"Really, it's wouldn't be a problem. The kids and you can thaw out for a bit."
"Well-" She looked down at her two children in their clothes, meant for late fall but not cold winter. "Okay, if you're sure."
"I am." He opened the passenger door on the Cuda, with it's top up. He opened the seat and the two children eagerly got in, then Sasha and the baby sat in the front.
Nash got in the drivers side and started the car and turned on the heat.
"Where to?" he asked, like a cabby.
"Oh, down on 18th anywhere will be okay."
Nash started driving. He knew that was a low income neighborhood.
"Sasha, I know it's really none of my business, but you have a really nice family here, and you seem like you're from somewhere other than here. How old are you? If you don't mind me asking."
She shook her head. "I'm 25."
She was only a little older than Cassidy, and already she had three small children.
"How'd you end up down here?" he asked.
She gave him a smile. "You ask a lot of questions."
"Sorry. It's the cop in me."
"It's okay," she said. "I never meant to end up like this. My boyfriend, he was working real steady. We had a nice little apartment and everything, a nice car. He got killed over forty two dollars. I was pregnant and sick and I lost my job and then I couldn't pay the rent and they threw us out. We've been at the shelter ever since, but in another three weeks, we'll be out of there too."
Nash couldn't believe it. "Why?"
"Well, they say the baby is old enough now that I can get another job. I work some now, at the coffee shop up from the shelter, but it's so hard to find some of the other girls to watch the kids. And now the baby's been sick…" She looked at him with her big dark eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be giving you all my problems. You're a real nice man for giving us a ride. They frown on us bringing men upstairs, but if-"
He cut her off. "I'm not interested in anything like that Sasha. I guess I'm just feeling like I've been passing the buck on a lot of people like you lately. Maybe it's time for some of us to stop doing that."
They arrived, not on 18th street, but a few blocks over at a Denny's.
"I haven't eaten yet and I'm hungry. Will you let me buy the kids some pancakes or something?"
"I don't take charity Mr. Bridges. And I can't pay you back right now."
"I'm not offering charity. I'm offering breakfast. And there might be a way you can pay me back. Let's go in and talk."
The kids, excited over their first meal in a real restaurant in a long time, behaved like small adults and Nash couldn't help but be entertained. They spread their napkins on their laps, the older Jesse helping his sister and took small sips of the orange juice the waitress gave them.
The baby cried some, but Sasha nursed him dignifiedly under a blanket over her shoulder.
"Which one of you was seen at the Center?" Nash asked, sipping his coffee.
"The baby. He has an ear infection and bronchitis. The other two had it, but they got over it already. Didn't get bad enough for medicine. But the baby's been sick so long. I was going to take him to the Sherman Clinic, but after I went in there last week, some strange things started happening." She sounded tired.
Nash frowned. "Strange things? Like what?"
"Well, these guys tried to grab me the day after I went there. I recognized one of them from the clinic. He was like a doctor's assistant or something. This nice lady who'd been staying at the shelter, she saw what was happening and ran out back. She had a gun and they took off quick enough."
Nash wondered is it had been Alex.
"What other kinds of things?" he wanted to know.
Sasha clammed up. She didn't want to discuss matters of her world with a cop. "Oh, nothing. I guess I'm just being silly. I mean, why would a guy from the clinic mess with me? Or anyone else from the shelter."
They sat silent for awhile while Nash pondered what she'd told him. He wondered if Alex had something to do with it.
"You said you worked at the coffee shop. What else can you do? Can you use a computer? File things?"
"I took computer classes in high school. Filing's just alphabetizing. Why?"
"I might know of a job."
She looked happy, but then shook her head. "I can't leave the kids, especially when they're sick. I can't afford daycare."
Nash considered this while the waitress brought them their food. The children's eyes opened wide when they saw the pancakes covered with strawberries and whipped cream, each on their own plate the waitress sat before them. A cautioning look from their mother, and they tried to remain patient and take small bites.
"If I can get you this job, I'll pay for a babysitter for a month. When you get ahead, you pay me back. Same with an apartment. I've got a friend who's got a small place over her garage she's trying to rent. It's nothing fancy and most people think it's too small. But it's better than the 18th street shelter. I'll put down the first month's rent. You pay me after you get on your feet."
Sasha looked utterly disbelieving. "I…I don't know what to say… or do?"
"Say it's a deal."
"You don't even know me. I could be a thief or a hooker."
Nash took a bite of his bagel. "Are you?"
"Well, no, but…"
"So what's the problem? If you don't pay me back, I come lock you up." The words sounded hollow and Sasha knew he didn't mean it.
He used his cell phone and called Ellen Bays, a Lieutenant in the PD.
"Hey Ellen, its Nash. You still trying to rent that garage apartment? Yeah, well I've got renters. You don't mind kids right? Yeah. Single mom, three kids. I'll be paying first month's rent. After that, she's on her own. No, I've seen the place. It's fine. Tomorrow? Great. See you then."
He hung up. "Done deal. You can move in tomorrow."
Sasha was still in shock. "You must be like, a knight in shining armor or something."
He shook his head. "I've been down on my luck. We all need a hand once in a while. I just hope that when you're having some good luck later on in life, you'll help someone else out."
They finished breakfast and talked a lot. Sasha was from the Midwest and she and her boyfriend had come out to California to pursue the usual dreams, but all had fallen through when he was killed six months ago. Sasha was clean of drugs and alcohol and hadn't resorted to selling her body, although she confessed that she had almost come to that lately. Nash had taken baby Sean from Sasha so she should eat and the baby slept peacefully in his arms. Nash enjoyed the feeling.
"Let's go get your things from the shelter," Nash said after breakfast. The two children had cleaned their plates and were sticky with strawberry syrup, but looked happy and content.
"I thought we couldn't move in until tomorrow."
"You can't, but that shelter needs the bed I'm sure for someone else as soon as possible. I've got plenty of room until then."
"Oh, no. There's no way I can inconvenience you like that. I mean, there's four of us."
"Look sister, if I didn't want to do it or it was an inconvenience, I wouldn't have offered. Besides, my dad lives with me and he'll be tickled to have some little ones around."
Nash could not be dissuaded and an hour later, with all their possessions in his trunk, little more than two suitcases, Nash drove the young family back to his loft. By the time they arrived, it was midmorning and the children, well fed and warm, had fallen asleep in the back seat of his car. Nash picked them up, each one weighing no more to him than a pillow, one in each arm, and carried them inside. Sasha'a eyes marveled when they got off his elevator. Nash knew there was a possibility she could clean him out, but he'd been running low on trust lately and figured he'd better start somewhere.
Nick was in his chair, reading the paper when he saw Nash, a sleeping child in both arms, and a woman with a baby in her arms, step out. He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
Nash took the two children into Cassidy's old room and put them in her big comfortable bed, pulling the comforter up around them. They hadn't stirred a bit.
He went back to the living room. Sasha and Sean stood where he'd left them.
"Nick, this is Sasha. She and her kids are staying overnight."
"Good. Does that mean we can have pizza tonight?" Nick looked at everything with a silver lining.
Nash chuckled. "I told you he wouldn't mind. Sasha, this is my father, Nick Bridges."
"It's nice to meet you sir," she said pleasantly, if only a little nervous.
"Aw, call me Nick. Calling me sir is like putting an elevator in an outhouse. It don't fit."
Sasha smiled. She liked both of them.
"Let me get something," Nash said. "I'll be right back." He went up to his storage room, above his apartment. He hadn't kept anything of Nicole's, but he'd kept a gift he gave her. He didn't know why, but he'd kept it.
Before Nicole was killed, he'd bought a beautiful oak bassinette in anticipation of their son. She'd been delighted with it. It was a cradle, really, a rocking cradle that was supposed to sit in their bedroom. Nash knew it had been silly to keep it, but he just hadn't had the heart to take it apart and give it away or sell it. He carried it down now and took it into the living room. Sasha and the baby sat on the couch and Nick was telling her about something he'd read in the paper. Nash sat down the cradle.
"Oh, how beautiful!" Sasha said. She remembered when she's dreamed of having something like that for one of her children.
"Son, I didn't know you still had that," Nick said.
"I'd forgot I did until now," Nash said. Nicole had taken time to find beautiful soft blue sheets for the mattress and a soft blue and green striped blanket. The little bed was all ready.
Nash went and gathered up little Sean, who was sleeping next to Sasha on the couch. He put the baby into the cradle and covered him with the blanket. He imagined it might have been how his son would have looked.
Sasha stood up, tears welling in her eyes. She went and hugged Nash. "Thank you so much," she whispered.
He hugged her back. "Don't let me down."
After her few tears subsided, he pointed her toward the bathroom. "Why don't you go get cleaned up. Take a hot bath. There's towels and everything else you might need in the cabinet. Help yourself. And there are lots of clothes in my daughter Cassidy's room. Pick something out. She's in Europe. She won't mind a bit. Nick will keep an ear out for the kids. I've got to get back to work for a while, but I'll be home later and I'll bring that pizza Nick wanted. Okay?"
She was only able to nod.
Sasha felt terribly guilty as she picked out some knit pants and a sweatshirt out of Cassidy's closet. It was the same with Nash's bathroom. From the look of the cabinet, there was a steady woman in his life, or had been. There was scented lotion, perfumes, a basket of hair clips and ties, a new bag of disposables ladies razors and everything from hair spray to 'feminine' products. There was also a basket of new, unopened toothbrushes in every shape and size. Sasha let the hot water wash away the guilt she felt and just let herself feel pampered. At the shelter, she was lucky to get a five-minute cold shower in the mornings. Even before, at the apartment with Mitch, their bathroom only had a shower. It had been ages since she'd had a bath. The bathroom was warm and steamy by the time she finished and smelled of the shampoo she'd used and silky conditioner. Lately she'd taken to using dish soap. It was cheaper and she could bath herself, the kids, wash her hair and all their clothes in it. Conditioner was a luxury her long, thick black hair hadn't seen in a while and she smiled as she used her own brush to comb it out and it felt so soft and clean. She slipped into the clothes of Nash's daughter.
When she finally left the bathroom, she found the big bed in the daughter's room empty. She panicked for a moment, but then went to the living room and there, on either side of Nick Bridges on the couch sat Jesse and Tracy. He was reading them a story and they looked perfectly content. The baby was still sleeping in the cradle. The children just looked up at their mother a moment and then went back to staring at the pages of the children's book Nick was reading.
Nash finally made it back to the SIU. Sara, the nurse at the Center had promised to call him when Alexa woke up.
Joe looked swamped and was busily juggling files when Nash came in.
"Nice to see you," Joe cracked as Nash walked up.
"Loose something?" Nash inquired.
"Yeah, everything! Ever since Betty Ann's been gone, I can't find anything," he told his friend. Their semi unstable secretary had gone off her medication and become convinced that Nash was a ruler of some distant planet and that she was destined to be the mother of his alien child. She finally had been taken away when she tried to hold Nash hostage with a gun. Last they'd heard she was in a psych ward upstate. But she had been a very effective office manager and secretary, handing an assortment of things that Nash and Joe had no idea how to start over now.
"Well Bubba," Nash said, getting coffee. "I may have some good news. I hired you a new secretary. She's young and doesn't have much experience, but I think she'll do just fine."
"No delusions I trust," Joe wisecracked.
"Not so far. I'll being her in after I get her settled in her new apartment tomorrow morning."
Joe shrugged. "Okay. I hope she can figure out what Betty Ann did with everything."
Nash laughed. "Don't push it."
Ronnie ambled over. "Nash, you've got a guest on the deck," he cocked a thumb upwards.
"Who is it?"
"The guy with the wings."
"Angel?" Nash walked upstairs and out on the deck. Sure enough, white robe, wings and all, stood Angel.
"Hello Nash," he said, without turning to see who was walking onto the deck his slightly twangy voice ever peaceful.
"Hi Angel." Nash joined him at the railing, even though it was cold and windy, Angel didn't seem to notice. "Can we go inside?" Nash asked, clutching his jacket around him.
"Of course." They went back inside the barge and Nash got Angel some coffee.
"So what's up?" Nash asked, wondering if Angel would tell him about Danielle.
"Did you get my message?"
"Well, what was it and I'll tell you if I got it."
"The woman who was sent to give you forgiveness and peace. She flew down on angels' wings."
"Alexa? The woman at the hospital?"
Angel nodded.
"The nurse said she was hit by a car and that you and another guy brought her in. Is that true?"
He nodded then said, "She brings with her danger as well as peace, Nash. She has come to help many but many want to take her life."
"Angel, can we not speak in parables? What's the story?"
"There are people disappearing Nash, down in that district. People who wouldn't be missed."
"Homeless people?" Nash asked.
Angel nodded. "They're being taken away by a thief in the night. Alex was trying to help."
Nash frowned. "Who is taking people away?"
"I don't know who, but they come in a big green truck and they take people away, sometimes only one, sometimes three or four. They come once a week."
"A big green truck? Like Army green, bright green? What?"
Angel nodded. "Dark green."
"When did this start happening?"
"A month, maybe two."
"Why hasn't someone gone to the police?" Nash wanted to know, but already knew the answer. Homeless were wary of going to the police about anything. Many were in hiding; many had run ins with authority before. And many just wanted to be left alone.
"Like I said Nash, no one would know or care that they were missing. Your new friend and her children came close to being taken three nights ago. Perhaps you really are a knight."
Nash hated it when Angel did that. "How did you know about Sasha?"
"I know many things Nash. She too will bring a message of peace to your heart."
"Oh boy. Okay Angel, we're going to check this out. Do you know anything about what Alex was working on? Did you see who hit her?"
"A blue sedan. I didn't see anything else. She was staying at the 18th Street Shelter."
There was a coincidence. That was where Sasha had been living. There were two people he needed to talk to.
"Angel, why don't you hand around here for awhile? Me and Joe will go take a look around, talk to some people."
"They won't be receptive to you Nash. They think that you, like everyone else, don't care."
Nash knew Angel was right. It would be hard to get information out on the street.
"We'll think of something."
Nash got his team together. It was smaller now; Cassidy had resigned from the department and was in Paris with her mother: Rachel had left amid a dark cloud that she'd been providing information to try and shut down the SIU to MCD. Nash had been trying to recruit some other cops over to his unit, but the budget cuts weren't allowing him to have any more staff than crucial.
Nash, Joe, Harvey and Antewon gathered for a briefing and Nash led the discussion of what Angel had told him. He filled them in a little on Alex.
"The main problem is that these people won't talk to us. We need someone on the inside, so to speak," Nash said, looking at Harvey.
"Oh man, I just took a shower this morning," he sighed. They all just kept looking at him. "Ok, Ok. I'll go see what smelly clothes I can dig up."
"Joe and I will go check out Alexa's room at the shelter. Antewon, see what you can find out from the people who work and volunteer in the area, the soup kitchens, the shelters. See if they've noticed any regulars missing. Find out who they are, where they stayed, if they had anything in common.
"Got it."
And they all left to their respective duties.
Later That Evening…
Nash got home, dead tired. Nick had left on a small lamp in the kitchen. Nash saw that it was all quiet.
He went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. He stood there, looking out over the city, sipping the cold water, and trying to put his day to rest. He sensed a presence behind him and turned.
Sasha stood there, wearing Cassidy's old bathrobe. She looked clean and pretty and fresh. Her long dark hair hung silky and loose.
"Hey, what are you doing up?"
She smiled. "Oh, the baby just went back to sleep. But they're all sleeping better than they have in ages. The kids haven't even stirred."
"How about you? You doing okay?"
She nodded. "The bed is so soft and the bath…it was like heaven."
"I hope you had everything you needed."
She nodded again. They were silent for a moment, he finishing his water. Then he told her about Angel and what he'd told him about the homeless people being taken away. Nash also told her about Alex and asked if she was the woman who's helped Sasha escape from the two men who tried to take her.
Sasha confirmed all of what Nash relayed. She said she knew of five who'd gone missing. And she also confessed that Alex had told her she was trying to help. But like everyone, Sasha was reluctant to accept help, or even accept the fact that she'd needed it. Nash was beginning to see that it was a very tight knit world.
"Do you think you'll really catch those guys?" she asked finally.
"I do. With your help, and Alex, and help from the people down there."
She looked distantly out the window. "I can't believe all this," she said with a sigh. "I mean, I'm going to have a job and a place to live, to raise my kids. No one's going to take them away from me." Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Nash, you have no idea how much you've done for us."
He saw her tears spill and she looked like she needed a hug. He took her in his strong arms to comfort her.
"I think I've needed to help for a long time, but wasn't given the opportunity. I'm just glad that you let me."
She wiped at her face and looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes, her long dark lashes casting shadows in them. "I…I just don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you…or thank you enough." She wanted to kiss him. More than anything she'd ever wanted. And before Nash could stop her, that's just what she did. For a moment, he let her soft, full lips play on his, let himself feel what any man might under the circumstances. But suddenly, he snapped back to reality.
He broke from her.
"Nash-" she began, confused. She knew what she had felt.
"Sasha, I told you in the beginning," he explained, trying to quell his own feelings. She was almost his daughter's age for Heaven's sake! She was standing here in his daughter's robe. Her three children were asleep in the other room. "That's not what I'm interested in. I mean, you're a beautiful woman." He smiled. "Very beautiful. But you could be my daughter. And I didn't help you because of your looks, or because I wanted something in return. I know that someday, you'll find a man, someone closer to your own age, who will care about you as much as I do, even more, who will take care of you."
She looked a tad disappointed, but she nodded with understanding.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
He only smiled. "Don't be sorry. I'm not. I want to be your friend. I value that. I don't want to spoil it."
"Well," she said, now a little embarrassed, "I guess I better get back to bed."
He nodded. He kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Sleep well."
She smiled now, all it seems, was well. "I will."
He watched her walk back to the room. He let out a deep breath. That had taken a lot of will power. He decided it wasn't another glass of cold water he needed, but a cold shower.
In the morning, Nash and Nick helped Sasha and the children move into their new apartment. It was furnished with couch, table and chairs, television, a dresser and two beds, one double and one twin in the bedroom. The living room, kitchen and dining room were all one big space and a small bathroom and bedroom adjoined. It was above Lt Ellen Bays' garage, though not attached to her house. It had its own door and staircase outside. Sasha only had two bags with clothes and a few mementos to 'move in'. Tracy and Jess immediately began to explore their new surrounding, checking to see if the water in the bathroom ran or the drawers in the dresser opened, or if the TV worked.
"It's wonderful!" Sasha exclaimed.
LT Bays had come to let them in. She was a charming woman in her forties and had been on the force almost as long as Nash. She was touched by Nash's gesture and her heart had been warmed by Sasha's plight.
"My daughter lives three houses down," she explained to Sasha. "I already spoke to her. She has a one year old herself and she said she's be more than willing to look after yours till you get on your feet and can afford a regular daycare. I know Nash, down at the SIU, will be working you ragged for the first couple of weeks."
Sasha was touched. "I can't tell you all how wonderful this is, or how happy I am, or how many thanks I owe you."
"Seeing children happy and safe is all the thanks I need," Lt Bays told her. "I also got together some clothes, some from me, some from my daughter. We figured you wouldn't have much in the way of secretarial work outfits. Hope at least some of it fits. There are several bags in the bedroom closet. And some things for the baby. Why Tammy's boy outgrows things so fast, it's a shame that almost new clothes go to waste."
Sasha had tears threatening to spill over again.
"I think we'll let you all get settled," Nash said, as Tracy and Jesse trotted circles around his legs. "I've got some work to do."
He hugged each of the children and gave Sasha a quick kiss on the cheek. He knew she was going to need some time to adjust. So he and Nick left and Ellen Bays stayed to help Sasha and explain about utilities and the bus route that Sasha would be taking to get to work and to introduce her to Tammy.
A little later…
Nash went back to the Center as soon as he got the message that Alexa was awake. He went directly to her room this time. There was now one empty bed in the three person room. He went to Alex's bed, the last one. She was awake, sitting propped up on a pillow.
"Hi ya'," he greeted.
She didn't look surprised to see him and smiled a little sheepishly. "Hi Nash."
He pulled up the chair he'd occupied before. "Dammit woman, when are you gonna learn to stop playing hardball alone?" He sat and took her hand. "You keep making people who care about you worry about you."
Alex gave him a weary smile. "There's not a lot of those left in my life. Ones that worry or care."
"Well I do, sister. I do both, real good. So let's cut the crap. What were you working? I'm on the team now like it or not."
This is the long goodbye
Somebody tell me why
Two lovers in love can't make it
What kind of love keeps breakin a heart…
So she began to talk and Nash listened while casually stroking the back of her hand. It was like being close to a special friend.
She told him about being contacted by a reporter friend from San Francisco who had 'sources' on the street, amongst the homeless. The reporter had told her about them being stolen in the night. And then the reporter had enlisted Alex's help by paying her fee as well as piquing her curiosity. So she's come again to San Francisco. She knew she'd wanted to see Nash as well as take the case. The reporter, who'd been more of a friend to Nicole, knew Alexa was a private detective who, since she was not in San Francisco, could be trusted.
When investigation turned up too many unwilling to talk, Alex went under cover, staying at the 18th street shelter. She had been witness to Sasha'a attempted abduction and helped to thwart it. The next day was when she was chased and run down by the blue car.
"So we don't know who any of the players are?" Nash asked.
"No. But Sasha and I both got a good look at the two who tried to grab her. One of them was in the car that hit me. And I do have a name, but I don't know who or what it is. Zarco." She said it and then spelled it out of Nash. "One of the thugs dropped a paper with that name on it when they tried to grab Sasha."
Nash made a point to tell Alex that Sasha was now safely off the street and stashed away at the arranged apartment with a job to go to in the morning.
"I talked to a lot of the people at the shelter too. There are at least six people missing, three women and three men. The only thing I could find that they might have in common was that they'd all been to the Sherman Clinic in the last three weeks. Bea, this one woman I met, she said they'd all had some kind of flu and gone to the Sherman Clinic and gotten antibiotics."
"Why Sherman?" Nash asked.
Alex shook her head. "It's one of the places that charge the least. It's not an inpatient place, like here. Just a medical clinic for the street people.
"Nash, you have no idea how many people out there have a story just like hers," Alex said with pain in her eyes. "I mean, I guess I always thought they were crazy, or unwilling to work, or just didn't want to be in society. But so many of them are just like you or me, except they were just too close to the door when the roof fell in."
Nash understood her analogy. He knew too that many people tottered on the brink of poverty and any added financial burden, or a death, or some other overwhelming conflict happened in their life and it was too much; they lost their homes, jobs, children and other loved ones. It wasn't that they didn't want to work, but many were caught in a vicious circle: you had to have an address to have a job and to have an address; you had to be able to afford the rent.
Nash nodded, silent in thought.
Finally, Alexa spoke again. "Maybe you can clear something up for me. I keep dreaming an angel brought me here. Am I crazy or what?"
Nash chuckled. "You're not crazy. Angel is, well, he's different. He's a friend. He's down at the SIU right now going through mug shots to see if he can pick out the men in the car."
And at that, Nash's cell phone rang.
"Nash."
"Yeah, it's Harv. I had Angel go through the shots and he picked out one of the guys in the car."
"Great. Check with Sasha. See if it's the same one who tried to get her."
"Already done boss man. That's an affirmative. She ID'd him from the night before, behind the shelter. His name is Paul Tobin."
"We know where he is?"
"We got a last known from his P.O."
"Good. Take Joe and pick him up. Have Antewon stay on the computer and see if he can find out anything about Z-A-R-C-O. Who or what that is. And have him check out the Sherman Clinic. Danielle tells me all the people who've gone missing visited that clinic in the past few weeks."
"10-4. We're on it." Harvey hung up.
Nash relayed all this to Alex.
Well get me out of here!" she demanded, pulling aside the blanket. "I want in."
Joe and Harvey went to the last known address of Paul Tobin. It was an apartment in the Haight.
"I hate coming down here," Harvey whispered on the stairwell. "It reminds me of the old days."
Joe nodded and kind of smiled. "I know what you mean. Makes me want to dig out my old bong."
They found Tobin's apartment on the third floor that was putrid with the odor of patchouli.
They both had their weapons drawn and stood on either side of Tobin's door. Joe knocked loudly.
"Open up Tobin! SFPD!"
There was no answer or sign of any movement from inside. Harvey unceremoniously kicked in the door.
Paul Tobin was there all right. He lay sprawled in the middle of the living room floor in a pool of his own blood, which was already coagulating.
Joe checked for a pulse by force of habit. It was useless as he could see the extent of the head wound suffered by Tobin.
"Well, I guess someone else found him first," Harvey said.
Joe nodded. "So much for that trail."
"I guess that means I go back out on the street." He sighed as Joe called dispatch.
Harvey took his undercover work very seriously. He'd found an old Grateful dead Tee shirt, some old baggy pants and a jacket a size too big. He'd made his way around the streets for a while, filling an old bag with aluminum cans and other junk he thought might come in useful. He'd made his way to the 18th street shelter and gotten in line for dinner. He looked around, his heart swelling when he'd seen all the people trying to get a meal. There were all ages, all races. There were mothers and children, elderly, crippled, every one all in the same boat, no matter what their lives used to be like.
Harv got his tin tray with some kind of beef stew, a roll, and an apple and a cup of coffee and went to a long table in the big dining hall. He sat next to an older woman who looked like an army drill sergeant right down to her fatigue pants and combat boots. Only the bright pink, slightly worn, ribbon in her graying hair didn't fit.
"Hi," he said, sitting down.
She gave him a once over, and then deciding he was okay, spoke.
"Hi. Ain't seen you around before."
"Just got in from LA. Figured the weather might be better," he joked.
She didn't laugh. "There's no work here," she replied.
Harv nodded, and then began to eat the pretty tasteless but filling stew. "Yeah, I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here. I've been hearing that guys like me are turning up missing."
She gave a harsh chuckle. "Ain't just guys Dimples. They're takin' us too."
"Who?" he asked.
She gave him another stern look.
"What'da I care? As long as I don't wind up in that green truck."
Harvey wasn't going to push for info.
"Say, you got a place to stay yet?" she asked.
"Well, no. I was hoping maybe here-"
She shook her head. "Naw. There ain't any rooms. You want, you can bunk up at my place. I've only got six for the night?"
Harvey was not thrilled at the prospect, but he was under cover. This was about as under as he could get.
"People call me Mama Bee," she continued. "I keep tryin' to help some of you youngsters. But I ain't gonna do it forever mind you." She became her stern drill sergeant. "You gots to help yourself too. You can stay for thee days, then that's it. You gotta be on your own."
Harvey nodded. "Well I appreciate it."
"You better," she cautioned. "And no funny business! I don't tolerate no drugs or drinking in my place. No floozies either."
Harvey shook his head. "I don't do any of that."
She went back to eating her meal. "Well, we oughts be working out just fine then."
Mama Bee's 'place' was an old abandoned factory down by the piers. She had her own 'apartment', as many homeless occupied the building at night. But Mama Bee's place was off limits to anyone she didn't invite. It was a second story room with 'beds' for about ten people. It was decorated with old signs and milk crates for chairs and shipping crates for tables. Mama Bee had an old Army cot for herself in her corner. The other five people already there had sleeping arrangements from blankets to sleeping bags. Harvey figured as far as class of homeless people went, these were pretty lucky.
"We're a motley crew," mama Bee told Harvey, "But everyone here is honest. You'll wake up with your shoes."
Harv was somehow grateful for that. He'd brought his 'satchel' with him, containing his own sleeping bag from home. He decided not to unroll it until after all the lights were out so no one would see how new it was in comparison to theirs.
As the evening went on, Harvey met the group at Mama Bee's. There was Walter-he was in his fifties, a Vietnam veteran who seemed a little slow. Mama said it was because of his injuries. He lived here, she said because his family didn't want to take care of him anymore. They sent him forty dollars to the Western Union every Friday. Then there was Billy-he was a street performer in his twenties. He'd been a runaway since he was 14, with no family. He'd been dodging the law when Mama found him and took him in. He used what little money he made on the street to help Mama and her place. Mary was a middle-aged woman who worked some as a seamstress. She'd lost her home in the earthquake and had gone into a severe depression. She'd never had the nerve to try and get back up. Carl was a former banker who'd gone through a nervous breakdown after his company had gone bankrupt. His wife had taken all he owned and left him with nothing. He too had not been able to recover.
Harv talked with all of them to some extent and learned more than he'd known about the lifestyle, the problems and the perils that these people felt on a daily basis. He had a deep feeling in his heart when he finally made it into his sleeping bag on a corner of floor that night. It was a sadness burdened with respect and admiration as well as sorrow.
Sasha showed up to work bright and early. She'd left her three children in the care of Lt Bays' daughter Tammy. The other mother was bright and bubbly and the children had warmed up to her right away. Sasha wore an old outfit of Tammy's, a denim skirt and a yellow sweater and some shoes that Lt Bays had given her. She looked like any other working woman.
Joe was happy to see her. He handed her a sheet of paper as soon as she'd put her jacket on the coat rack.
"I can't find any of these files?" he said, almost whining. "I haven't been able to find anything since our last secretary, uh, left. Can you help me? Please?"
Sasha smiled. She liked Joe. "Of course." She took the paper and went to work.
Antewon immediately noticed the new clerk. She was young and pretty and had the most gorgeous hair he'd ever seen. When she came near his desk, while he was busy at the computer, he gave her a wide smile and she returned a shy one.
"Hi, I'm Antewon."
"Sasha. I'm the new secretary."
"Glad to have you."
She happened to glance at his computer screen where he was going over the files of all the employees at the Sherman Clinic. The screen was on Davis Plummer, a Nurses Aide.
"Hey!" She exclaimed. "That's the other guy! The one from the clinic, the other one with Tobin who tried to pick me up!"
Antewon looked at the file. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm positive! He works at the Sherman Clinic."
Antewon nodded. "He sure does." He scrolled down the screen and saw that the aide had a few petty criminal offenses on his record. He had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court on a DUI violation. That was plenty enough reason to visit the Sherman Clinic and pick him up.
"Well that's good work new girl Sasha," Antewon told her, getting up. "Keep it up." He gave her another winning smile.
Sasha was more confident in returning it. He was a very handsome cop indeed.
Nash and Alex drove to the 18th Street shelter. He hadn't heard from Harvey and that wasn't OK.
They searched the shelter. The older woman, known as Mama Bee recognized Alex from her brief stint there. Alex asked her about Harvey.
"Oh, honey, I thought they'd got you too," the woman said in a voice that sounded a bit like John Wayne on hormones.
"No. But I'm looking for my friend. He's got grayish curly hair and was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt. He's been staying here the last couple of days."
"Oh yeah, Dimples! I saw him yesterday. He stayed at my place last night. He gave me a whole sack of aluminum cans, can you believe it? I took 'em right down to the recycler and got almost eight dollars! He's a cutie that Dimples."
"Have you seen him today?" Alexa prodded.
"Oh no. He hitched a ride on the Taker Truck."
"What's a 'Taker Truck?" Nash asked.
"That green truck that come by every week and loads up some of us. They never come back you know. I think they're like UFOs."
"What do you mean he caught a ride? They didn't take him?"
"No," she insisted, shaking her head. "They only took one. Dimples ran after the truck and jumped on the back, snuck in under the tarp."
Nash didn't like the looks of this.
As they left, Nash got a call. It was Antewon.
"I'm headed to the Sherman Clinic to pick up the second suspect."
"We're a block away," Nash told him. "We'll be right there."
Two Hours Later
Harvey finally found a phone. His cell had gotten lost when he jumped on the back of the truck. He'd jogged about six miles from the compound he now knew was Zarcon. But at last, at a gas station, he was able to call Nash.
"Nash."
"It's Harv."
"Dammit, thank God! We've been going crazy looking for you. Where are you?"
"I'm in the middle of nowhere. I found Zarcon. It's a big compound run by some kind of Dr Mengala- want- to- be named Tobias Stoker. He's using these homeless people like guinea pigs, Nash. It's like a concentration camp." He went on to describe in detail what he'd seen and how to get to Zarcon. Nash, at the SIU, was preparing the team.
Six Hours Later
Nash and Joe were interrogating Tobias Stoker at the SIU. He'd been charged with 12 counts of kidnapping and 4 counts of attempted kidnapping on Sasha and her three children. It had taken much police manpower to round up all Stoker's crew at Zarcon and get the 12 homeless people back to safety. But Nash and Joe were far from through with the middle aged Dr who seemed to think he was the salvation. He had only told them that the 'vagrants' would provide the world with cures for 'every disease known to man' and he was sure he was the one who would find those cures. Using the homeless people for his experiments, of course. Antewon had gone to the Sherman Clinic and picked up a less than willing Davis Plummer. He had been busy spilling his guts to the big burly Inspector and Harvey Leek in another interrogation room. He had been paid by Stoker to look for very vulnerable, not to mention fairly healthy, homeless persons whom no one would miss.
Ronnie suddenly dashed in. Nash hadn't seen his burly officer move that fast at the office in a long time. His face was pale.
"Joe, you've got a phone call! Nash you better go too!" He grabbed up Stoker and escorted him back to a cell.
They heard the urgency in Ronnie's voice and Joe went to the nearest desk to get the call. Nash followed close behind.
"Dominguez," he answered. A moment later, color drained from his face. "What?! When? Well she's-Okay, okay. I'll be right there!" He slammed down the phone.
"What?" Nash asked, seeing his partner's face he was concerned. He knew it was serious.
"It's Lucia. She's at the hospital. She has appendicitis and they're taking her into surgery."
He was rushing for the door. Nash was on his heels. He had no intention of letting Joe drive.
They found Inger pacing the waiting room of the pediatric ward. Joe went to her.
"Oh Joe!" she cried and fell into his arms. He held her.
"What's going on?" Joe asked worriedly.
"Her appendix burst," Inger cried in her Swedish accent. "She's in surgery. Our baby is in surgery!"
Nash looked on, concerned.
"She'll be fine, honey," Joe tried to comfort her. "I'm sure she'll be just fine.
Alex came to the hospital some time later. She wanted to see if there was anything she could do. She found Nash at the coffee vending machine.
"Hi," she said softly.
"Hi," he returned, surprised to see her. "You didn't have to come," he told her.
She nodded. "I know. But I wanted to make sure the little girl was okay. And see if anyone needed anything."
"Thanks." He got his coffee. "She's still in surgery. We're just waiting for news." They walked back to the waiting room.
Joe and Inger were sitting beside each other, holding hands, looking tired and weary, eyes filled with worry.
Nash and Alex sat down on a sofa in a corner of the room.
"I've wanted to talk to you Nash," Alex said. "I know now's not a great time, but-"
"No, go ahead. I can't do much else."
"I've been thinking about staying, in San Francisco, I mean. My business in Florida isn't going anywhere. I was thinking maybe it might be time for a change."
Nash had spoken to her days before about needing more help at Bridges and Dominguez, their investigating agency.
"I was thinking if you were still interested, maybe I could help out at you agency for awhile."
Nash shrugged. "Well, we can always use the help. Right now, Joe and I don't have half the time we need to put in there."
Alex ran a hand through her honey-chestnut hair. "Nash, I…I need to know how you would feel about this. I mean, I know I have to remind you of Nicole. We always did resemble each other. I don't want to cause you any more pain than you've already had."
Nash had to give her a weary smile. "Sometimes I do see Nikki in you, but you're so different in so many ways. And you don't cause me pain. I enjoy having you around. I guess in a way, I feel a little closer t her with you around. Besides, you're a damn hard worker and I know you could do the work at the agency. I'd be happy to have you."
She smiled a little. "Thanks Nash."
A green scrub clad doctor came in to the waiting room now and they all stood looking at him for information.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dominguez," I'm Dr George. You're daughter is out of surgery. She's doing just fine. She's in recovery and you can see her in a few minutes."
"OH!" Inger cried tears of joy now.
Joe looked as though the world had lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you so much Dr." He shook hand with the MD profusely.
The Dr smiled. "I'll be back in about ten minutes to get you."
They nodded in unison. The doctor left again and Nash came over to his friend with a smile. He gave Inger a hug.
"I knew she'd be fine. She's got your spunk," he told her. Then he turned to Joe and gave his partner and friend a hug as well.
"Thanks for being here, man," Joe told him.
"Don't give it a second though. Nowhere else I'd be. When you see my God-daughter, you give her a big kiss for me, okay?"
"Will do brother."
Some time later, Nash and Alex left together. Inger and Joe stayed by their daughter's bedside at the hospital, but were confident now that she was going to be okay.
"Did you drive down?" Nash asked as they walked out into the frigid and foggy night.
"No, I had a patrol unit drop me off."
"Well, I'll give you a lift to…Where to?"
"Well, I guess back to my hotel."
They got in the Cuda, parked not far away.
"It's been a long day and a rough evening," Nash said, "Why don't we go have a drink and get something to eat?"
Alex smiled. "I'd like that Nash. If I'm going to be working for you, I'd like to get to know you."
So Nash and his new business partner went to dinner, and all the while he kept thinking about Alex and Nicole, two sisters very different from each other, and about Angel's message. He was at last, feeling some peace. Maybe it had been helping Sasha and her family. Or maybe it was the new hope Alex was brightening his life with. But whatever it was, it was as if the rain had washed him clean and he had been given a new chance, a new day.
Take that look of worry I'm an ordinary man
They don't tell me nothing so I find out all I can
There's a fire that's been burning, right outside my door
I can't see but I feel it
And it helps to keep me warm
So I..I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
Seems so long I've been looking,. Still don't know what for
Theres no point in escaping, I don't worry anymore
I can't come out to find you I don't like to go outside
They can turn off my feeling like they're turning off the light
But I…I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
Oh I…I don't mind
So take…take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
I've been a prisoner all my life and I can say to you
Take that look of worry; mine's and ordinary life
Workin when it's daylight;, sleepin when it's night
I've got no far horizons and I wish upon a star
They don't think that I listen but I know who they are
And I…I don't mind
No I…I don't mind
I don't mind
So take…take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Cause I don't remember
Take take me home
Oh Lord,I well I've bee a prisoner all my life and I can say to you…but I don't remember…
Take…take me home
Take..take me home
"Take Me Home" Phil Collins