Detective Frank Reagan is on the case...

Chapter 4

"Tony, take a seat, please," Frank instructed Renzulli as he led him over to the sitting area while Baker closed the door behind them. "I'm sorry that I made you dress up and come down here on your day off," he smiled.

"It's no problem, sir," Renzulli replied as he unbuttoned the jacket of his monkey suit. He'd been at home enjoying his day off when he'd gotten the call to head down to 1PP at the Commissioner's request. "I take it this is about the shooting?"

"In a way," Frank replied as he took a seat in the large arm chair. "I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about your partner."

"Jimmy?" Renzulli clarified, as if he had another partner.

"Yes," Frank nodded.

Renzulli's feathers ruffled a bit, feeling a surge of protectiveness for his young partner and a need to defend himself in case the brass was looking to accuse them of some sort of wrongdoing in the shooting. Why else would he be here anyway? "I thought the burrough shooting team cleared us?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, they did," he assured him. "Neither of you are in any trouble, Tony. There was just something about Jimmy when we met he other day that got me curious." It was the truth...but it just wasn't the whole truth.

"May I ask what that is, sir?" Renzulli inquired, still preparing to defend his partner just in case.

Frank avoided the question because he obviously wasn't ready to divulge his suspicions. And he was grateful for his rank, because a respectful officer like Renzulli knew well enough to answer the questions posed to him by a superior. "I was curious about is background."

Renzulli was still confused about why he was here and where this was going and considering how private Jimmy was about his family, he wasn't one hundred percent comfortable spilling the few beans he'd been privy to on his background. Maybe it was better that he didn't know much, he could claim ignorance and still not disobey orders. "Like family?"

"For starters," Frank replied.

"I'm not sure what I can tell you, sir. Jimmy's not a big talker when it comes to his family. I only just found out that he really doesn't get long with his mom because of the fact that we couldn't reach her the other day but he didn't go into any details. And with all due respect, sir, if he had, I wouldn't feel real comfortable revealing them to anyone."

"I understand, Tony," Frank said as he looked on expectantly.

Renzulli still wasn't certain what to make out of all of this, but figured he didn't know much more than what they already had in the kid's personnel file. "Well, his father's not in the picture, never was apparently, so he doesn't have anyone else. That's why I had him sign a new emergency contact form and had him list me on it. Last thing I want when he finally gets a new partner is, God forbid, for something to happen and for him not to have someone who gives a damn by his side.

Frank gave the man a small smile. "I had the same thought about that very issue. You're a good man for doing that, Tony."

Sensing that the Commissioner didn't appear to be on some witch hunt, Renzulli went on to praise his boot. "Jimmy's a great kid, Commissioner. He's still a little green, but when he's on patrol, he's sharp and assertive...smart as a whip, I mean, he should really be a doctor or a lawyer or something. And straight as an arrow too, by the book, I think he's got the whole damn patrol guide memorized. The department is lucky to have him...I don't think he really had the best childhood growing up in Buffalo. I think he has always had to depend on himself to make things happen which explains why he's so reserved when it comes to his personal life. The way he turned out is remarkable, not a lot of people who lack a support system have the drive to fend for themselves and stay on the straight and narrow the way he does."

"No, they don't," Frank agreed.

"He works hard to make his nut, lives in a real shit hole in Vinegar Hill - pardon my language - so he can pay off his school loans. Honestly, I don't think he knew any better when he moved to the city and looked for the cheapest rent he could find without ending up in the boondocks. I know the small bump from his rookie salary was a welcome relief when he got off of probation."

"I wish our patrol men and women could earn more for what they do, they deserve it."

"Yes, sir."

"Has he been discharged?" Frank asked.

"Yes, sir. I took him home yesterday morning. He's on medical leave until he sees the doctor again next week - " Renzulli paused suddenly when his eyes landed on the framed photograph of Joe Reagan which was sitting back in its customary spot on the shelf behind the Commissioner's desk.

Frank turned to glance over his shoulder. "Tony? Is something wrong?" he asked once he turned to face a stunned Renzulli again.

"Uh...no...it's just..." Renzulli stumbled as he debated whether he should tell his boss that his dead son reminded him of his partner. How had he not noticed the similarity over the past year? Jesus...and then there was that comment he made to Jimmy back at the hospital. The commissioner was staring at him curiously when he finally met his eyes again. "Looking at that picture of Joe behind you," he stopped to let out a deep breath, " I just realized he looks a lot like Jimmy and..."

"And?" Frank pushed him along, sensing that Renzulli was feeling a lot like he did at the hospital.

"Well, the similarities in appearance didn't really hit me until just now, but it also reminded me of something I told him at the hospital."

"What was that?"

"I told him...," Renzulli paused again, not wanting to make his boss uncomfortable when he said the following words, but he went on. "I told him he reminded me of another rookie I trained once."

Frank pressed his lips together. Maybe he wasn't so crazy. "My Joe."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir, if I -"

Frank held up a hand to stop Renzulli. "No, please. I'd love to know what you meant by that."

Renzulli smiled sadly as he thought of Joe Reagan. "Joe had something special, a real unique way with people, knew how to read them...and he had the patience of a saint. I'd never seen it in any other young cop until Jimmy came along."

Frank felt some validation in hearing those words come out of the sergeant's mouth. His heart filled with hope that there was something to this crazy notion he was having while his mind warned him not to get too carried away just yet. But it gave him the courage to go one step further on his own.

Jimmy Riordan opened the door to his apartment and his eyes widened comically at who he found waiting on the other side. "Commissioner Reagan?"

"Officer Riordan. I hope this is not an imposition. I spoke to your sergeant and he told me you'd been discharged to recuperate at home," Frank said with look of amusement at the panic on the young man's face.

"Yes, sir," he squeaked as he glanced quickly at the armed member of the commissioner's detail standing guard in his gloomy hallway.

"May I come in?" Frank asked with a raised brow.

"Uh...," Jimmy uttered as he looked back at his tiny studio apartment. No one ever had reason to visit him here...hell, he hardly ever brought dates back to his place. It was clean but definitely not big enough to entertain in, although he couldn't say no to the Police Commissioner. "Of course, sir. Come in, please."

Frank took a few steps into the tidy apartment but he really didn't have very far to go after that. He was standing in the middle of the kitchen with a view into the rest of the living area which was sparsely furnished with a day bed, sitting chair, bureau and television, not that much else would fit in the limited space. The building was a dump, of that Renzulli was correct, but the apartment, despite it's size, was well maintained, orderly and had been freshly painted sometime in the last year as far as Frank could tell and he would be willing to bet it's occupant had taken that task upon himself.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I don't have anything to offer you," Jimmy said regretfully as he motioned toward his kitchen which desperately needed to be restocked. "The last few days have been..."

"Hectic to say the least," Frank finished for him with a smirk. "And don't worry about me. I don't need anything more than a place to sit down...May I?" he asked while pointing to the side chair.

"Yeah, yes. I'm sorry, this is just a surprise," Jimmy said as he snatched a sweatshirt off the back of the chair. He then sat down slowly on the edge of his bed with a hand pressed against the stitches on his side.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing," Frank explained while watching Jimmy's stiff and careful movements.

"I'm fine, sir, really. Thank you for asking," Jimmy replied politely while his brow crinkled and he wondered what this was really about.

Frank smiled at the curious expression on the younger man's face. Renzulli was right, the kid knew how to read people and he was picking up on the fact that there was more to this than a friendly visit with an injured officer. "You look like you got a question to ask me, Jimmy. May I call you Jimmy?"

Jimmy laughed nervously. "Of course, I think you can call me whatever you want, sir," he pointed out as he ran his sweaty palms against his thighs.

"So? What's the question?" Frank prompted the young man.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing really," Jimmy begged off, already feeling uncomfortable sitting in his cramped apartment with the Police Commissioner who was dressed impeccably in his three-piece suit while he sported a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Come on now, I'll answer any question you got. We're on your home turf and it's the least I can do considering I've dropped by unannounced."

Jimmy smiled bashfully, but considering the offer, he said, "It's just, well, I didn't know the Police Commissioner made house calls to wounded members of service."

Yup, the kid was sharp. "Well, it's something I'm trying to do more often," Frank claimed, but if he actually did it from now on, it wouldn't be a total lie. "It shouldn't just be a three minute visit in between briefings to check on my wounded men as far as I'm concerned. And I wish there was more time to get to know the men and women that work for me when we're not in the middle of an emergency. Maybe this is one way I can do that."

"I would think that's an impossible task with a force of thirty-five thousand men and women," Jimmy stated.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I can't try."

Jimmy nodded, not quite believing his boss, but there was no reason for him to lie as far as he knew. Still, he found this whole encounter strange and a little nerve-wracking. He never thought he'd have a one-on-one meeting with the highest ranking member of the department in his studio apartment.

"So your sergeant tells me you should be back to work in week or two," Frank filled the silence to ease the boy's clear discomfort.

"I'll be back on full duty in probably two weeks," Jimmy nodded. "Doc said I'll get the stitches out in a week and he won't clear me for patrol for at least another week after that."

"He'll clear you when the time is right and not a moment before. There's no need to rush these things," Frank said with a pointed look. "He also told me about how you handled the perp in the bodega. Sergeant Renzulli had nothing but good things to say about you, Jimmy. He expects great things from you."

"Sergeant Renzulli's a great training officer," Jimmy replied shyly. He was always uncomfortable when he was on the receiving end of a compliment.

Frank noticed his discomfort and made a mental note of it for later. "What are your plans with the department?"

"Plans?"

"Yes. Where do you see yourself in a few years?"

Jimmy's eyes widened a little at the unexpected question but it wasn't hard to answer because he wanted nothing more than to get his gold shield. "Uh, well, I hope to make detective some day," he shared.

"Oh, yeah?" Frank perked up at his answer.

"Yeah. I love patrol, I really do, sir, but..." Jimmy stopped as he debated on how best to answer. "Can I be candid, sir?"

"Sure, just the two of us here," Frank shrugged.

"I know I've only been on the force for a year but it's disappointing sometimes to see everyone else getting to solve the puzzle, you know? Most we get to do is take it out of the box and put a few of the edge pieces together," he explained.

"I understand, Jimmy. I gotta say, I felt the same way my first few years on patrol," Frank smiled, feeling a real connection to the boy the longer they talked.

"May I ask how long it took you to make detective, sir?" Jimmy asked as he felt himself begin to relax.

"Yes you may and three years. And my son, Danny, he made it in three and a half," Frank said proudly.

"Good genes," Jimmy commented with a grin.

Frank smiled...and hopefully you got them, he thought. "Do you play basketball?" he asked when he spotted a ball tucked away in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, I do. I go down and play pick up games at the Y sometimes."

"Something else you got in common with my son. He plays in a weekly league against the smoke eaters. You should join him."

"Oh, uh, I wouldn't want to impose," Jimmy said, not sure that the commissioner's son wanted or needed to be forced to play with some newbie.

"Nonsense! Danny would also be a good person for you to speak to about your goal of making detective. I'm sure he can offer you some guidance in that respect," Frank insisted. This would also be the perfect way to find out a little more about him.

Jimmy's brows shot up at that idea. He knew he was years from having a shot at making detective but in order for that to happen, someone needed to take an interest and mentor him or offer him some type of hook. And while he didn't want to rely on a hook to get him his gold shield - not that he'd ever have one anyway - talking to Detective Reagan might teach him a thing or two about what he needed to do. If he was going to make that happen for himself, he would need to start somewhere. "Would he be willing? Because that would really be great," Jimmy said.

"Of course he would! And Danny wouldn't sugarcoat it for you either. He's notorious for telling it like it is...I gotta warn you though, sometimes he lacks a filter between his brain and his mouth, but you can always trust him to steer you in the right direction," Frank said. He was now eager to speak to the rest of the family and look deeper into this. If he could arrange to have Danny meet Jimmy, he'd probably see that there was something to this hunch he had.

"Okay, yes, if he's willing," Jimmy accepted.

"Great. I'll have him reach out to you, Jimmy," Frank promised as he stood to leave; he'd made Baker free up a tiny chunk of time on his schedule to squeeze in this visit and had no desire to annoy his assistant any further than he already had. "I've got to head out, but I'm glad to see you doing well, son."

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate you coming all the way out here to check up on me," he said as the commissioner extended his hand.

"Well, I hope to see you again soon, but not for this reason," Frank smiled before leaving the apartment.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Jimmy said and remained at the door to his apartment as he watched the Police Commissioner and his security take the stairs down to the ground floor, still in disbelief that he'd really stopped by just to check on him while never more certain that he had made the right choice in coming to New York City.

And the big family meeting is coming up next!