The Once Future King
Part II: The Hidden Truths
An Evenstar Story

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Chapter Four:
A New Path

Nick weaved in and out of traffic. His lights flashing, his siren blaring as he sped down the freeway after his quarry. Just moments ago, a call came in announcing that Jake Novak has been spotted. The entire department piled into cars, sirens blared as they closed in on Jake's position.

Now, Nick stood with his gun drawn and his eye fixed upon Jake. He held the girl close to his leg. There was no question about her identity. She was Savannah Adler. She clung onto his leg, scared to death. Nick hated scaring the little girl by brandishing his gun, but this evil man needed to be brought to justice.

"Let go of the girl, Jake. We don't want to be forced to shoot you, come on, Jake you know I don't want to be forced to use this in front of the girl," Nick attempted to reason with the man. He knew it was almost pointless to argue with the deranged man. The girl cried harder against his leg and all Nick wanted to do was go over to her and take her away from that dangerous man.

"I want to go home," she cried softly. Jake hissed at her shutting her up.

"You know I can't let go of the girl," Jake called to the officers. "I'll, I'll just go back to jail if I, I do," he stammered.

"Jake, Jake, Jake," Nick stated. "You know we can't go around bending the rules for people who murdered innocent women. However, if you hand over the girl, I promise I will put in a good word for you."

"I didn't kill anybody," Jake continued to insist. "I… I tried to tell you that three years ago. Now, this is the only way," he cried.

Three years ago, Jake insisted that he never killed anyone, but the evidence was overwhelming against him. Sure, it was possible he was telling the truth. Back then, his story was nearly unbelievable. Yet no matter how hard they questioned him on it he never waivered and his ludicrously impossible story never changed.

"If you didn't kill her, why'd you jump bail, Jake?" Nick asked curiously. "Why kidnap a 7-year-old girl from her bedroom and bring her here, for what?"

"Freedom," Jake cried out. "I did it all so I could be free."

Out of all the years Nick's been on the force, he's never seen a man come completely apart before. He crumbled to the ground in heavy sobs. The gun dropped from his hands and little Savannah Adler ran into the waiting arms of Gilbert Grissom. He quickly carted her away allowing the Dallas Police Department to do their job.

Instantly Nick moved in on him kicking the gun out of his reach. He lowered his gun certain that he wouldn't need it now that this man was incapable of even saying a single thought aloud. Nick took the pained man in his arms and held him close, telling him it would all be all right, as another officer placed the cold steel cuffs on his wrists.

Back at the station, Nick took his statement. Hearing those pained words nearly tore him apart. It disgusted him to think about corruption in the legal system. Under the table wheeling's and dealings sickened him. He walked from the holding in a state of shock.

"Well, the blood from Emily's house is a match to Savannah, we have her as an accomplice," Grissom announced.

"That's great," Nick answered unenthused. "I have a judge who is dealing free passes to felons who complete certain tasks."

Grissom stared harshly at Nick making sure he heard him correctly. From the expression on Nick's face, he was certain he had heard him correctly and wished that he hadn't.

"Did he give names?" Grissom inquired.

"No, he said he didn't catch any of the names. He just knew they were judges. He did say that there was at least two, one here and one in Las Vegas. Grissom, I was reading his criminal record, two weeks ago, a Las Vegas State Trooper, Carl Travers pulled him over for a busted tail light. He ran his license found the warrants for his arrest and brought him in to custody. However, three hours later they suddenly found it necessary to release Jake. Twelve days pass and then he abducts Savannah Adler from her room. He just wanted to be free."

"What about that lady he killed?"

"I'm not certain he killed anyone, Griss. I mean, the more I read his case file, the more I realize how much stuff we probably missed. I'm not certain that he wasn't framed for Holly Granger's death."

Nick collapsed into his desk chair completely exasperated. His eyes were tired, his body and mind ached for relief, yet he was unable to find the comfort he's been craving. He didn't know what to do any more. Nick could deal with this case if it were only the sinister actions of one crazed individual. However, that's clearly not the case. It disturbed him to know, to think that the judges of this country were capable of doing such things. The news of corrupt judges troubled him greatly. Oh, Nick's been aware of awry judges since he was a tyke, but he never thought he'd uncover a potential series of corrupt judges.

What troubled Nick further was that Jake Novak sat in jail. In his mind, he knew that it was just a matter of time before the less than honourable Judge Anderson paid Novak a visit and that visit would undoubtedly shed light to his knowledge of his corruption. Time was against him in this case, and he knew the consequences of choosing the wrong side. Through the years, Nick's heard horror stories about corrupt judges killing anyone who oppose them. After all, it was no secret to Nick that power is what a judge sought after and power is what they got. Some, he knew would kill to keep that power, if they knew that would solve the threat.

He sat there on his desk with his face buried in his palm. "I don't know what to do," he sighed to Grissom. Grissom just sat there watching the pained man unable to help him through this quandary. "It won't take long for the judge to figure I know about him if Novak talks. Judge Anderson's a smart man. He's going to figure out that I know."

"Yes, that is quite the problem," agreed Grissom.

"If I stay silent, he'll leave me be, if I sing his sad little song of naughty doings, then it'll be my head. I don't know what to do," Nick continued to fret. Now more than ever Grissom's offer sounded very appealing to him. "You know what," his mind is finally made up. Grissom looked at him with a critical eye. "I'm going to take you up on that job offer."

"You're sure?" Grissom asked taken somewhat by surprise. He wasn't expecting Nick to take up the offer. However, the more he thought back on the last few days, he began to realize Nick's need to do so.

"Yeah," Nick pulled himself from the chair feeling more empowered than before. His mind was made up and he was now ready to wrap up the loose ends in this case. If the honourless judge pays him a visit, he has decided he won't talk until the evidence is secure.

There was still a lot that needed to be done with Emily Channing. The pair drove back out to her place with a warrant in hand. She stood irritably on her porch with Officer Meshner as Grissom escorted Nick inside showing him all the tools of the forensic trade. He taught Nick how to observe and let the evidence talk for the people. "Evidence never lies," was Grissom's mantra and Nick quickly remembered these three convenient words. Nick listened intently to everything Grissom said. The words of wisdom he spoke, the actions he took intrigued the young Dallas officer.

After two long hard weeks of working together, and the Adler case was finally wrapped up. Jake Novak sat in jail charged with kidnapping, and Judge Anderson sat in an inquest over his questionable activity over the past few months. To say the least, Nick was satisfied how things worked out. Yet, he still felt uncertain about moving to Las Vegas.

Deep down, he knew it was the right decision. He was just nervous about the backlash from his father. After all, it was his life and he could make his own decisions, his father be damned. Throughout his life, Nick's always been afraid of standing up to his father's will. He was a big man, who knew how to intimidate people and impose his will upon others. That was how he got the job at the Dallas Police Department. Now, he was ready to break away from the controlling force of his life. Ready to sail the winds and see where they take him. He was ready for this quantum leap and at this point, he didn't care how angry his father was at his decision, because he knew it was the right one for him.

For too long now, Nick's felt lost in the dark, upon these rough seas. For too long now, has he followed his father's wishes. It was time for a change. The first part of that change entailed getting himself fixed. Throughout the two weeks working with Grissom learning the tricks of the criminologist trade, he couldn't help but think about Singing Wolf's words. The only question left was if Nick was ready to face his deepest darkest demons.

Grissom was gone, the case was solved and Nick leaving him to stand at his bathroom mirror in the mornings after Gil's absence. Inside his reflection, Nick saw the helpless scared boy Singing Wolf had mentioned. The boy within begged to be freed from his imprisonment, and screamed at the top of his lungs. Nick felt that freeing this lost little boy might be the absolution he's been looking for.

"Nick honey, are you all right?" Adrianna stood at the doorway concerned about her soon to be ex.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." For the first time in a long time, he actually meant it. So many times, he gave that answer and it had been a lie. This morning was the first day of his life, when he'd take that first step that would lead him down the road to recovery.

He dressed in his officer blues and walked down to the station. His head was up as he walked through the double glass doors. Confidently, Nick stepped into Detective Stefan Coufal's office shutting the door softly behind him.

Without a word spoken he tossed his gun and badge onto Coufal's desk.

"You're quitting?" the Detective asked confused by Nick's sudden move.

"Yeah," Nick answered affirmatively. "I have some things I need to work out."

"If this is about Rezak's death, we can get you counselling or something."

"It's not about Rezak. He knew the risks as well as anyone. It was his time."

It hasn't been easy letting go of Brandon, but over the past months, he's accepted the fact that Brandon's time for this world is over. It wasn't an easy thing to accept, but if he wanted to move on it was something he had to do. Just like he had to quit the Dallas P.D. It was time for a change in his life.

"Are you really sure you want to quit the force?" Detective Coufal asked. He had to be sure that Nick was thinking this through. Nick was a fine officer with a good head upon his shoulders and he would hate to lose someone like him. "Are you certain you don't need more time to think about this?"

"Believe me, I've though about this plenty," Nick replied firmly.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that you'll be leaving us. You're a fine officer and a great person. I'm sure I speak for the whole department when I say we're going to miss you. But if you're sure, then I guess I have no choice but to accept that."

"Thank you for all you have done for me," and without another word, Nick turned around and left Stefan Coufal's office for the last time.

Oh, he wouldn't hear the end of it. Coufal was pretty much right in his father's pocket. At this very moment, Nick knew Coufal was on the phone to his beloved father telling him exactly what happened. That was one of many reasons he dreaded going home.

When he pulled up to his house, he could see his father's truck parked in the driveway. For a second he debated whether he wanted to get his pack or not. He didn't know how long it would take him to get to Singing Wolf's place. He really wasn't specific where the land of his people was.

Taking a deep breath, Nick parked his truck and walked slowly into the house, popping a few aspirins in his mouth bracing for the impending assault from his father. Just as he expected, his father met him in the living room, lounged back in the armchair. His eyes were like ice, and Nick knew then that his father was not pleased about his decision to quit the force.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING BOY!" His father shouted. The vein in his forehead had popped. He was beyond angry Cisco was downright pissed. Nick didn't understand why his father had to be like this. By Nick's reckoning, it was his life and he should be able to decide what is best for him.

Nick tried not to say a word. Saying anything at a time like this would only escalate his father's fury, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Stefan Coufal called me today," Cisco stated much calmer, but the anger still remained.

"Oh, did he?" Nick stood at odds with his father. For the first time in his life, he was willing and ready to stand against the man with the iron will.

"Do you know what he told me?"

"I haven't a clue," Nick stated.

"He told me you quite the force today." Cisco's eyes blazed with anger as he waited for his youngest son to explain himself. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself, boy?"

"I'm not a child any more dad. I can fucking decide what I want to do with my life. I don't have to do what you want me to," Nick retorted venomously.

"Like hell you do," his father raged onward. Never before had Nick ever seen his father this angry. Sure, the man's been angry plenty of times. However, to this day he's never seen this kind of anger from the man.

"I'm twenty-three years old, dad. I think I'm old enough to run my own life."

"Apparently not," Cisco spat the cruel words in his son's face.

"You know what, I don't need you to run my life. I don't care what you say, I can run my life the way I see fit. I don't see fit to run it around your wishes," Nick turned sharply on his heel and picked up his daypack stuffed with snack food galore. He turned from his fuming father and walked briskly for the out. Before he reached the back door, he heard his father exclaim, "Yeah, I've seen how well you've done for yourself."

"Fuck off!" he cursed his father and mounted the stead he readied that morning. His father stood at the door and watched as his son rode off into the distance.

To Be Continued...