Chapter 3
Authors Notes: To all of you out there who thought it would never happen... here is chapter 3 (waits for the roar of the crowd…anyone…anyone at all…"clap…clap…clap") Thanks Mom
From here on out you may see this, (1). When you see this there will be a footnote at the end of the chapter to tell you what it means. I will be using slang and tech jargon for police work and other area of cop life. If I miss one please let me knowand I will correct it ASAP. And now, on with the show.
Florida State Police District 1 Headquarters
Pensacola Florida
11:13 AM
Major Crimes Unit Squad room
Jack is sitting at his desk in the Major Case bullpen(1) finishing some paperwork and getting ready for his vacation when his phone rings.
"Sgt. Dalton, Major Crimes…" Jack says into the phone receiver in his hand.
Jack listens to the woman on the other end for several minutes and then speaks.
"Yes ma'am, Inspector O'Neil is the primary on that case, if you will hold I will transfer you now" Jack said than pushed a few buttons on the phone. When the phone clicked he hung up.
The Desk Sergeant stuck his head in the room and yelled "Who's Catching (2)?"
"That would be me," a short Hispanic Detective said as he stood up. "What's the job (3)?"
"Assist to Fort Walton PD, take Byers with you." The sergeant points to a thin white detective with horn rim glasses and a brown suit.
"It never ends." Jack says quietly to him self as he picks up the phone and dials a number from memory.
"Holiday Travel," says a feminine voice on the other end. "This is Sara, how may I help you?"
"Hey Sara, How are you today?'
"Jack, it's good to hear from you again, what can I do for you." Sara asked.
"I need to make some travel plans, Can you watch the house and feed Capt. Cat for me?"
Capt. Cat was an overweight yellow tabby that showed up at Jack's door one day and never left. Jack took him in and rest is history.
"Yea I can do that. How long will you be gone?"
"At least a month, but probably longer." Jack said as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. "I will leave some money on the counter like last time. You still have the key, right?"
"Yup, I have it, my mom just walked in. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Yes please, and thank you Sara."
Jack waited a few seconds until another voice came on the line.
"Jack, good to hear from you. How have you been?"
"I'm good Crystal. How have you been?" Jack asked.
"Jack," Crystal's voice took on a hint of sympathy. "I heard about what happened. It was all over the news. How are you holding up?"
Jack took in some air and let it out. "I'm about as good as can be expected. Thank you for asking."
"If there is anything I can do for you just let me know. I owe you for getting me this job." Crystal said.
"Crystal," Jack said. "I just got you the interview. You got yourself the job, but there is something you can do. I need to arrange some travel."
"I can do that." Crystal chuckles. When do you want to leave?"
"I'm looking at the end of the week." Jack told her about Keichi and Belldandy.
"So that was what the trip to Hawaii was for, a wedding present. I have that all wrapped up and ready to go."
"Good, I'll come by and pick it up after work. As for this trip I will be going to Nekomi Japan."
"Aren't you just a little globe trotter?" Crystal joked and Jack could hear her already working the computer. Jack waited a few minutes and passed the time going through his e-mail. He saw a couple of messages but nothing that needed his immediate attention.
"Jack, will an early morning departure work for you?" Crystal asked.
"That's fine. I'll need a car too. Also I need the return date to be open, I'm not sure what day I'll be coming home."
"I can do that. Will you be needing a hotel?"
"Not this time. I will be staying with family."
"Then I think I have it." Crystal said. "I have you on Delta flight 1137 out of Pensacola Thursday morning at 4:10 AM. You will change planes in Atlanta and catch Air Japan flight 117 and arrive Tokyo International Airport at about 8:45 AM local time Friday morning. Your car will be waiting at the Hertz desk. Will Sara be watching your house?"
"Yes, we already set that up. You can put this on the same card as the Hawaii trip."
The Major Case Squad Commander came out of his office and waived for Jack to join him. Jack held up one finger, the universal signal for 'just a minute.'
"Crystal, you have been great, thanks." Jack said standing up.
"Anytime Jack." She said and hung up.
Jack straightened hid maroon tie and put on his sport coat as he knocked on the Captain's door.
"Come in."
The Major Crimes Commander was CAPT. Rick McCarthy, a bear of a man who treated the Officers under his command like family .Everyone said that CAPT. McCarthy was a stand up guy(4) and would do anything for his guys.
"What's up Cap?" Jack said as he sat down in one of the chairs in the office.
"I heard about your transfer to Homicide." CPAT. McCarthy said in a deep voice that could only be achieved with years of pack a day smoking.
"What transfer?" Jack asked trying, and failing to look innocent.
"C'mon Jack, we both know that Ray, excuse me, CAPT Woods wants you in his unit." he continued,"Everyone knows that he's your Rabbi(5) and if he wants you in his squad then he's grooming you for something bigger."
"I am giving it some thought." Jack said.
"Thought my ass," CAPT. McCarthy laughed, "You know as well as I do that your dieing here. Homicide is where you belong."
"It's no secret that I want to work with Capt Woods again, and because Major Crimes falls under Special Operations, same as IAD(6) Osborne will be on my ass every chance he gets."
"Look, Ray is right," CAPT. McCarthy said, dropping all formality. "You are wasted here in Major Crimes. Most of your time is spent sitting on wire taps, transcribing tapes, or writing warrants. Riding a desk is killing you and I can see it."
"Captain," Jack protested, "I have never once complained, I know how important this work is, and we have brought down some pretty heavy hitters in my time here..."
"And your work has been top notch." CAPT. McCarthy interrupted, " Honestly I wish I had more people like you, but the truth is you are not happy here. You need to be back in the field and I just don't have any field work to give you." he sighed, "Look Jack, I know that you just came in to finish some reports before you go on vacation, think about what we talked about."
"What about my case load?" Jack asked.
"Just make sure your reports are up to date, and brief Byers. He's getting his Sergeant's shield(7) on Monday. I'll put him in your slot and move Stewart up from Robbery."
"You seemed to have this all planed out Cap." Jack said as he stood up."
"Get outta here Jack and enjoy your vacation." CAP. McCarthy said with a laugh.
Author's footnotes: (1. Bullpen, the main office or squad room where all of the Detectives work. Normally an open room with many desks set up in pairs.
(2. "Who's catching?" Slang for Who is next in rotation. Detectives work new cases on a rotation, when a Detective "catches," or is assigned a new case his name goes to the bottom of the rotation. The idea is to give the Detective a little time to work the case and to keep the distribution of new cases as fair as possible , but that doesn't always happen.
(3. Job, slang for a case or an assignment. As in "Who is working the Gibbs job?"
(4. A stand up guy is someone that will remain loyal no matter what. A supervisor will always go to bat or "stand up" for the people under his command, even when that person is in the wrong. And a stand up guy will never, for any reason, even under threat of arrest and jail time, rat out a fellow officer.
(5. Rabbi. In the language of the police department a Rabbi is a mentor, a leader, and a father figure. Often a close family friend or relative, the Rabbi will take a younger officer under his wing and begin training or grooming that officer for later assignments, usually a position in the command staff.
(6 IAD, stands for Internal Affairs Division. IAD is the squad that handles complaints about Police Officers. Because their sole job is to investigate other Police Officers they are never liked by Officers in the Department and are most often housed in a separate building. Many Departments place IAD outside of the chain of command where they will answer only to the Chief Of Police. Commonly called "Rats" other Officers will go out of their way to avoid them. IAD is also commonly called "The Rat Squad."
(7. Shield, slang for an Officer's Badge. The Badge became known as a shield because many of the early Police Badges were in the shape of a shield. In fact many Police Departments still use the shield design. Think LAPD, Boston PD, ect... The "Shield" refers almost exclusively to Police Officers and not Deputy Sheriffs. Most, if not all Sheriff's Departments use a variation of the star design, therefor Sheriff's badges have become known as "Stars."