Thanks so much to my reviewers! Your words of praise have made me brave enough to post the 2nd chapter.


Silence reigned in Lundy's Jimmy as the partner's headed back to Resner's. Lundy had just parked in the parking garage when LaFiamma spoke, "You're the one who said Hollinger would be in Mexico before we could even call it in," LaFiamma announced in defense of his actions.

But Lundy shot LaFiamma a deadly look, "Don't even try to justify what you did!"

"What I did was arrest Hollinger!" LaFiamma railed back.

"No!" Lundy shouted back, "What you did was court death! And for what?! So Hollinger can do four months jail time?!" He paused a moment, searing a look of judgment into LaFiamma, "Or did ya do it so you can get off on a rush?!"

LaFiamma's eyes blazed with fury, "I was doing my job!"

"Bullshit!" Lundy bellowed. "You get high off of taking risks!"

LaFiamma wanted to rail back at Lundy but his sense of humor was kicking in instead. "High, huh?" he smirked at the unconscious play of Lundy's words. "I certainly got "high" on today's stunt, didn't I?"

If looks really could kill, LaFiamma would have turned to ash that very second. Without another word, Lundy surged from the Jimmy and strode for the steps.

"Ah, come on, Lundy," LaFiamma called to Lundy's back as he climbed from the truck. But his partner gave no indication he had heard LaFiamma or even acknowledged that he had a partner.




All heads turned as Lundy entered the major crimes department. Jo Bill called out, "Where's your partner, Evil Knievel?"

"Jackasses always bring up the rear, you know that Jo Bill," Lundy snidely replied, earning laughter around the room.

But a minute later, LaFiamma entered the department and was greeted by applause. Smirking at the attention, LaFiamma took a bow and humbly thanked his adoring fans. This earned him yet another glare from his now seated partner. A glare Joe decided to ignore. Levon would get over his anger soon enough.

But Lundy held onto his fury the complete rest of the day. And he didn't utter one word or spare one look at his partner, not even when he left for the day.

"Lundy doesn't seem to be a fan of Evil Knievel, "Esteban remarked as he leaned against LaFiamma's desk a minute after Lundy's departure.

A momentary look of sadness crossed LaFiamma's features, "No, it's me he's no fan of." Just as suddenly, LaFiamma drew back behind his usual façade, "But there's a critic in every crowd," and he smiled up at Esteban.

But Esteban's expression was serious. "To Lundy, the risk you took today wasn't worth the results....any results." With that, Esteban patted LaFiamma's back and walked away.





"You just gonna eat my food and drink my Tequila and say nothing," Chicken questioned indignantly as he stood before Lundy.

Not looking up, Levon replied gruffly, "Yup."

Chicken sighed. He hated when he knew his friend was hurting but wouldn't talk about it. "Tough day to be a cop?" he prodded but it earned him no response.

Chicken came around the counter and claimed a seat by Lundy. He knew of three things that made Levon Lundy take up drinking: his job, his past, and his partner. Chicken instantly ruled out Levon's past as the culprit for tonight's drinking binge and he had already ventured a wrong guess at it being his job. That left one last choice: Lundy's stubborn, Italian, partner.

Studying his friend closely, Chicken asked with put upon innocence, " So where's your partner tonight?"

Lundy's head snapped up and he glared at Chicken. " How the hell should I know!?" before he took polished off another shot of Tequila. "May be he's out partnerin' up with Evil Knievel. Knowing LaFiamma, he'll insist on jumping first, before Evil!"

"Levon, you ain't makin' any sense," Chicken countered.

"No! What don't make sense is leapin' onto a helicopter that's already off the ground!" Levon snarled but Chicken sensed the anguish in the other man.

"LaFiamma did that?!"

Lundy looked away from Chicken and bitterly concluded, "I don't know why I'm dwellin' on it. Fool wants to commit suicide, he can be my guest." He paused a moment and when he spoke again anguish had overtaken his bitterness, "Long as I don't have to watch."




"LaFiamma and Lundy are at it again," Joe Bill laughed as he leaned against Lt. Beaumont's office door and watched the familiar scene unfold.

"Where was I?! Where were you?! I told you to meet me at my snitch's place at noon?!" Levon Lundy yelled back at this partner, Joseph LaFiamma.

"You didn't say noon! You ordered me to question that witness ...again and then come meet you. Well, you know that old man barely says a word an hour. And what he told me was nothing we didn't already have down in his statement. Talk about "a waste of time"!" Lafiamma shot back, taking a menacing step toward his partner. "Then I waited for you at that fleabag hotel...for an hour and you never showed!"

"What time was that?! Four o'clock!?! I was there when I was suppose to be, it was you who wasn't!" And Lundy jabbed a finger into LaFiamma's chest.

"Lundy! Lafiamma!" ripped through the air mere moments before the confrontation could turn physical. Both men obeyed the command and faced their Lieutenant. "Get in here, now!"

"Alright I wanna know what's wrong?" Lt. Joanne Beaumont demanded of the two men she had sitting in her office like truant school boys.

"I waited half the day for my partner to show!" Lundy growled even as LaFiamma gave his own version of the trouble.

"I've got to work with some Neanderthal that can't communicate?!"

Lt held up her hand to silence any more words. She took her seat and stared at the two men. "Now that you've said what your problem is today, I wanna know the real problem. The problem that's put you two at odds for the past two weeks."

"It's personal," came instantaneously from both men.

Joanne sighed and thought, 'Least they agree on something.' But her tone was harsh as she spoke aloud, "No, it stopped being personal the second it effected your jobs." She let that one sink in and was glad to see a look of shame cross their features. "I'm tired of playing referee guys." Then her voice fell to regret, "And I'm tired of worrying that these arguments may mean you're not backing each other up like you should and that's gonna get one of you killed."

Lundy and LaFiamma looked at one another for the first time since entering the office. Their eyes met and they knew they agreed on one thing, Joanne was right and today proved it. Then they looked back to Joanne and neither said a would of denial or in defense. Both men had lain awake nights worried about the same thing she was.

Joanne sadly shook her head, "You two have something very few partners have and you're throwing it away." But this statement was met with silence so she forged ahead, "You're being reassigned new partners starting today."

This finally got a reaction out of the two men. "What?!" LaFiamma exclaimed as he leaned forward in his chair even as Lundy surged to his feet, "Now hold on a damn second Joanne.."

"No you hold on Levon. I've kept you two together ...against the captain's better judgment, because I could justify your partnership results. But lately..lately you two haven't even worked together on your cases." Both men raised surprised eyes to her. "Yeah I know you've been working the cases separately, collaborating only to make arrests and complete reports. But that's not a partnership. What woulda happened if one of you got into a bad situation?! Alone?! I can't believe you suddenly don't give a damn about each other?!" if she thought that would invoke a response she was disappointed. "Ah, to hell with talking to you two. LaFiamma you're partnering up with Esteban and Lundy you're with Joe Bill. Now get outta my office."

TBC