TWO SIDES OF THE COIN
"You are wrong."
"And you are biased." She wanted so badly to pull her gun and smack him over the head with it or maybe shoot him. How could he not see…? She took a deep breath in an effort to calm down trying to match his façade of calm although she could feel the icy rage pulsing off him.
And suddenly she saw it the chasm that separated them suddenly so obvious that all she could feel was helpless and she refused to continue the useless conversation. She sighed and got up and walked away well aware that his gaze bore into her all the way out of the café.
She sighed again as her phone rang. Unknown, so she ignored it and went on down Clinton St. After 4 rings it stopped and it beeped advising her of a text message. "Pick Up Detective". Again she sighed but answered when the phone rang.
"Detective." She refused to answer so waited for him to continue 15 seconds later. "I understand that there are strong…"
"You know exactly what the issue is Mr. Finch. You can see the resemblance even if he cannot or will not admit it."
"Well there…"
"There is we both know it."
"Detective we are not sure yet which way this is going to go. You know it is a case of he said she said. You must admit there is some bias on your part too…"
"What?" she came to a dead stop causing another pedestrian to bump into her. The burly man scurried away from her scowl. "You better explain yourself." She growled.
"What I mean detective is that the man is also playing to how you…"
"You mean because he is doing things in a legal manner that I will discount the allegations raised? Allegations by the way that a court and jury found nothing to support to bring charges against him. I. have. Experience. Interrogating. Suspects. I. can. Tell. When. I. am. Being. Played." She bit out each word out carefully trying to control the rage she felt against both men at the moment. "You know what I cannot deal with either of you on this one but I will ask you to look at the bigger issues here. You cannot deny the possibility that her resemblance to his ex is influencing him in this case. He works for you. You watch out for him. I will do my job and see this thru on my end too." She hung up resisting the urge to drop kick the phone into the nearest trash can.
Finch sighed because he knew that Detective Carter was not completely wrong and he feared that John was the only one who could not see or accept it. He couldn't well bring up the issue as this was one of the many issues that were not discussed by them. He sighed; he so hated the cases that brought up their emotional baggage to the forefront. When he had got the number that led them to Silvia Reynolds he had felt a stab of unease at noting the resemblance to the late Jessica Arndt. That Timothy Reynolds had been referred to Detective Carter by none other than Special Agent Donnelly at the same time was bound to put Carter and Reese on different sides of the case. When they worked together he had to admit they were good but when they worked against each other they were scarily better.
Unfortunately he did not have enough to understand the situation completely. There were sealed records that he had yet to get access to so all they had was what version Silvia Reynolds was telling John. And what she was telling he had to admit was touching all their protective instincts. A woman whom the system failed trying to protect her child so she bypassed the law. A husband who had some contacts that got Carter involved did not help the situation. He feared that however this ended it may cause a rift between Carter and Reese that would not be easily fixed.
He wasn't completely sure what to make of their relationship. Reese had from the first been too interested in Detective Carter even before Finch brought her into the fold. He understood the attraction as she was the epitome of an honest and upright cop and not an unattractive woman either. She was not afraid to tell Reese off when she had to when she felt he was being too much of a vigilante in his actions. Although he had no reservations in regard to how grateful she had been for them saving her son she still held to her principles when she dealt with them. And his admiration for her grew because of it so yes he too really did like Detective Carter, so her distancing herself in this case bothered him too.
He winced when Reese beeped his line. Considering how his meeting with Carter had gone he was not going to be in a pleasant mood.
"Carter is being unreasonable" Reese growled in his ear and yet Finch could hear the petulance in his voice and inwardly sighed.
"Detective Carter is seeing the other side of the coin John. I think neither have enough of the truth to…."
"She wouldn't even hear me out. She just shut me out. I don't think we are going to be on the same side on this one."
He couldn't see how this would end well. Both had strong personalities and now pride had come into the picture. "How is Mrs. Reynolds?'"
"She is at the hotel safe for the moment."
"Get some rest Mr. Reese I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day."
"So what did you two do to piss Carter off?" Fusco inquired as he inhaled a donut.
"There is a difference of opinion…"Finch started and then frowned as Fusco grinned and showed his breakfast.
"Some difference." He snorted. "If I didn't know better I would say watch your asses because she is itching to shoot you both." He remembered something and handed Finch a sealed large envelope. "She did tell me to give you this. You better let her know that it was sealed and that you verified her signature. I do not need her pissed off at me. Apparently she wants whatever she has kept on the down low but she was too pissed to even meet to give this to you personally. That tells me to cover my ass on this too."
"You have a brilliant grasp of the obvious Detective."
"Yeah well I am brilliant enough to stay off Carter's SOL list." He snorted and shook his head. "Well I am off I do have a day job." He started to walk away and came back a small worry frown on his brow. "Seriously you need to fix whatever is going on. Carter is a good cop and you do not want her back to chasing you both because this time it will be no holds barred." He raised his hands in an appeasing manner. "Hey if it comes down to it I will side with your bad ass boy. He has me by the short hairs but I will root for Carter any day. She is good." He pursed his lips "in all ways."
Finch tried to keep the worry at bay but if even Fusco was worried then he had good reason to be concerned. This was not going to end well.
As he read over the file that Carter had sent he felt his worries grow. She had gotten the sealed court records. On closer review he realized that the source of it had been the FBI. So Donnelly was assisting her in a closer manner than they knew. Why because Mr. Reynolds was a friend? Or because Carter…? What he couldn't even begin to guess. He realized Donnelly liked Carter but could it be more that professional? Not that it was his business but knowing Carter not on her part. And she wouldn't encourage if she was aware of it for any reason. Interesting because John was her polar opposite he saw nothing wrong with taking advantage of his looks and charm to his advantage. While Reese felt the violence was justified by the ends Carter felt that law and order should prevail. That is why they were good together they balanced each other out but only when both stood at same level if one got the advantage then the equation would be esquewed. Yes this would not end well.
Carter sighed and closed her eyes. She was so tired. She hated the whole situation more since she now knew that they were working at cross purposes. Was she wrong? Nothing screamed at her that Reynolds was lying to her. She also had an inside track thanks to Donnelly. She liked Donnelly if for no other reason other than that he believed completely in doing things by the book. He had no imagination but he was a good agent. That he had asked for her help for his friend did make her wary but if he trusted him enough to put his reputation on the line said much.
Was she prejudiced because Silvia had an uncanny resemblance to the late Jessica? She was well aware that John would never surpass the guilt he felt for and because of Jessica. Knowing what she knew about New Rochelle she understood but could not ignore the danger such guilt possessed. Particularly in this case and for John specially. Despite what she told Finch she did feel an obligation to protect John even from himself. Okay she needed to take a step back. Was her own bias blinding her?
She hated this case because it brought out all her fears about working with Reese and Finch. She had had Fusco give Finch the files she had got from Donnelly in the strictest confidence thus breaking her own rule. But she realized that she needed them to be on the right side. Hers. Instead again she was feeling like she was on the outside alone and exposed. She had known that at some future time a case was going to come along that would put them on different sides. It did not stop her from seriously resenting the situation and them too.
At this point the only thing she could be thankful for was knowing that at least Snow was keeping his distance at the moment.
She rubbed her forehead. She was just spinning in circles. She needed to get some air and a clearer perspective. Thankfully Taylor was spending the night at a friend's so she left her brownstone to find some coffee and pie.
As she stepped onto the sidewalk she was stopped when a woman turned and smiled at her. At the moment she recognized her she felt a sharp blow and then darkness engulfed her.
Finch felt his heart drop to his feet. They had been wrong. Worst he had lost contact with John over half an hour ago. Now to make the situation if possibly worst Carter was out of reach too. It really was out of character for her phone to be off. He felt a cold premonition crawl up his spine and he pulled up the cameras near Carter's brownstone. What he saw made his blood run cold.
Not only had they been wrong but now Carter was in serious danger. He had to get Fusco and maybe Donnelly and the whole NYPD plus the FBI to assist him if necessary if he couldn't get to John. They could not lose Carter.
If they lost her? Now was not the time to go down that road.
Carter let the silence envelope her as she stared of at the far off figure of the statue of Liberty. She really did love this part of Brooklyn Heights with it views of Manhattan, Staten Island and the bridges. It was the eye of the hurricane that was NYC. She was grateful to be alive even with the pounding headache and double vision. Pain meant you were still alive and kicking. She was also grateful to Fusco for dropping her here and taking Taylor along with his son to catch a ball game. She was scheduled to meet up one last time with Reynolds with his daughter Debbie. She needed to see the child with her father for her own peace of mind.
She could feel being watched but couldn't pinpoint the location but she was distracted as at that moment when she heard a car pull up. She turned to see Reynolds get out then open the back door for a small blond girl to skip out. She was a pretty little thing that smiled happily up at her father. Carter felt the residual tightness in her chest loosen up. She had not been wrong. Watching them approach she felt the last of her reservations slip away and even her headache seem to ease somewhat.
She was leaning against the green metal fence looking towards Manhattan when she felt someone come stand to her left.
"Very heartwarming scene." A voice said quietly.
It took an effort but she didn't react just kept looking off into the distance. It figured that Reese would want to do this on his timeline. She really wasn't ready but that would not stop Reese so she wouldn't make this any easier than she had to.
She felt his gaze bore on the side of her face. She turned and faced him. "You look like I feel." She said as her gazed continued and she saw Finch sitting on a bench 10 feet away. He looked exhausted too. She brought her gaze back to Reese. He wore a dark gray suit with a white shirt. He was pale and exhausted but the look in his eyes almost broke her heart. So she mentally braced herself this was not going to be easy. "Is it broken?" she nodded to his right arm that hung on a sling. He gave her a small half smile that meant yes.
"I'm sorry Carter."
So no round-about games this time. She wasn't sure if she was glad or disappointed. So she would take the bull by the horns too. "I do know Reese but it doesn't change things. You want my trust but you showed a decided lack of trust in me in this case." She could see him deflate before her eyes. She didn't want to hurt him but this needed to be said. "We all have baggage that comes with the lives we have lived but if we cannot trust each other enough to be able to speak the truth when needed then this," she motioned to them three, "will not work. At this moment the only one I feel comfortable trusting is Fusco." She gave him a bitter smile.
"What…How do we fix this?" he asked
He looked so hurt and lost that for a second she wanted to reach out to him, the look so reminding her of her own son when life gave him an unexpected blow. And that was the crux of the matter wasn't it. She sighed and shook her head "You can be so smug and pompous that all I want to do is put my foot up your backside. Then you go and do something so stupidly heroic that makes me want to shoot you." She sighed again and moves so that she stands directly in front of him. "There is nothing you can do to fix this." She reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. "It pisses the hell out of me to admit this but there is nothing to fix. You have saved my life, you have saved my son's life, you've given Fusco a second chance, to mention just a few. It would be petty and ungrateful of me to be resentful of you acting human like the rest of us; short-sided, biased and a bigger pain in the ass than normal."
Finch with an effort swallowed the lump in his own throat as Carter allowed Reese to pull her into a one armed hug. He now knew why they so badly needed Carter. She was their heart and their moral compass and she helped them not be afraid to be stupidly human. They would be unable to survive her loss.