Chris leaned back on the stretcher. "I don't need to go to the hospital, King."
"I told you no argument. I'll be there as soon as I can."
The medic slid the stretcher into the ambulance. Percy climbed in beside it and sat down. "What happened?"
"The kid shot himself with my gun."
"I know, but why?"
"I guess to teach the bullies a lesson. The bullet he had in the pistol was meant for himself. When that plan failed, he pretended that he wanted to shoot me. The minute the other kids were gone he made me empty the clip onto the table and realized I lied about the gun being empty and he turned it on himself. It all happened so fast."
"What were you thinking bringing a loaded gun in there?" Percy said, punching LaSalle in his good shoulder.
"Hey, that hurt!"
"It was supposed to. Pride said he tried to convince you not to bring that gun in there."
"He did, but if the kid started shooting I was going to have to take him out."
"You said he only had one bullet in his gun."
"I didn't know that when I brought my gun in there."
"What happens now?"
LaSalle shrugged and cringed. "I. I don't know. I reckon there is going to have to be an inquiry."
"Do you think you'll lose your badge?"
"I've never had this happen before and I don't think Pride has either."
"He'll have to call the director."
"Yeah. I know."
"But you did everything you could to stop him."
"I did."
"And you got hurt doing it."
Pride picked up LaSalle's weapon with his gloved hand and put it the evidence back he was holding in the other. He stood up and looked around. "Sebastian, can you see if there are video cameras in this classroom?"
"Yeah. I can. You don't think LaSalle actually shot that kid, do you?"
Pride shook his head. "No. I believe him that the kid shot himself. His wound is definitely self-inflicted. I just want to be able to tell the director everything that I know."
"I'll go see about the video," Sebastian turned and walked out
"He really screwed up this time, didn't he?" Gregorio said.
Pride nodded. "I don't know if I can get him out of it, either."
"Have you talked to him?"
"Other than to make him go get his shoulder treated, no. Percy's with him though. She'll get the whole story."
"Do you really want to know the whole story?"
"I'm not sure I want to but I have to."
"What do you think the director is going to say?"
"I'm doing my best to avoid making that call until after I see that Christopher is okay."
"He may be okay physically, but what about mentally?"
"We'll have to address that when he's cleared for duty. Why don't you go see if you can help Sebastian with the video footage?"
Gregorio walked out without another word. Pride's phone rang. He looked at the screen. "Thank God it's only you, Loretta."
"You were expecting director Vance?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"No. I am not looking forward to that call."
"I wouldn't be either. How's Christopher?"
"On his way to the hospital to fix a dislocated shoulder. Percy's with him. Sebastian, Gregorio and I are still at the school."
"Where do you want me?"
"Can you go to the hospital and talk to him. Make sure he's mentally okay?"
"I can, but I'm not a psychiatrist, Dwayne. He's going to need to be cleared by the agency doctors. Not just me."
"But he'll talk to you. He won't talk to anyone else."
"You're going to have to make him talk to them. He's not going to be cleared to come back until he does."
Pride's phone beeped. "Loretta, that's the director. I've got to go. I'll be on the way in a few minutes."
"Alright, Dwayne. I'll see you later."
Pride clicked a button on his phone "Leon."
"Pride, what happened?"
"We were called to a hostage situation that turned in to a suicide. Thirteen year old kid."
"The boy shot himself with LaSalle's gun?"
"Yes, sir. That was my fault."
"I'm not blaming anyone, but we're going to have a nightmare on our hands. What do we know about the kid?"
"Not much. It was an NOPD request. No military connection. The other two hostage negotiators were already on calls. They requested LaSalle's help."
"And you let him go in there with a loaded weapon?"
"I'll take full responsibility for that."
"Why do I get the feeling that you're falling on your sword."
"Leon, Chris had that situation under control. We had all the hostages out. He was talking the kid out."
"I thought the kid had a gun."
"He did and LaSalle thought he could get his in there undetected, just in case."
"You tried to talk him out of it."
"Twice."
"Alright. I need a report on my desk by the end of the night. This goes without saying, but you need to take his weapon and his badge and hold it until further notice."
"What's going to happen now?"
"That all depends on LaSalle."
"I need to finish up here and get to the hospital. Chris hurt himself trying to stop the kid. Percy's with him and Loretta's on the way there."
"I'll be in touch, Pride."
"Yes, sir."
A nurse handed Chris a cup with two pills and a glass of water. "This will help with the pain."
"Can't you give him something in his IV?" Percy asked. "Something strong enough to knock him out."
"No. The doctor said he doesn't need to keep him so we don't need to give him anything too strong. You still can't drive, but you can go home later."
"Thanks," Chris said. He watched as she walked out of the room. "Thanks for being so concerned."
"I watched as they put it back in place. It looked like it hurt like hell."
Chris nodded. "It did." Chris flexed his shoulder. "But it feels a lot better now."
"You must have done that before."
"Twice, playing football. Team doctor popped it back into place and I went back out onto the field."
"You think you'll be cleared for duty?"
"No reason why I shouldn't be."
"I can think of one reason."
"I'm not going to talk to a shrink. I am fine."
"Yeah, until you decide to do the same thing with your own gun or o.d. on your pain killers."
"You know me better than that, Percy."
"I know you. I've never known you after a traumatic situation like this."
"You and I both shoot bad guys for a living. How is this different?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"The kid was going to kill himself all along. That was his plan. It didn't matter if I had a gun or not."
"If you didn't have the gun he wouldn't have had a way to kill himself."
"Thanks."
"LaSalle, I'm sorry."
"No. It's okay."
"No, it's not. I shouldn't have said that."
"Can we at least change the subject?"
"I'm more than happy to do that."
"What do you want to talk about?"
There was a knock on the door. Loretta walked in. "Actually, I think I should go."
"Percy, it's just Loretta."
"I know, but Pride probably sent her to talk to you. I'd be in the way. I'll be back later."
Percy got up from her chair. Loretta shut the door. "Are they treating you okay?"
"Yeah. I just took some good pain meds. Should be kicking in anytime now."
"Look, if you don't want me here just say so and I'll leave."
"It's not that. I just didn't want Percy to leave."
"So why didn't you try harder to make her stay?"
"Whatever you all think is going on between the two of us, you're wrong. She's my partner and my friend. It's good to have a familiar face when you're laid up in a hospital emergency room."
"And what am I?"
"I'm not saying you're not a familiar face, but King sent you to evaluate my mental state."
"I told him I wasn't going to be able to clear you."
"And I'll tell him the same thing I told Percy. I'm not going to see a shrink."
"Well then you'll never get your badge back, Christopher. It's not his rule. It's the agency's, but Pride has to follow it."
"What did he tell you?"
"Just what he knew. The boy shot himself with your gun."
"The gun that should have never been in there in the first place."
"Hind sight is always twenty-twenty, Christopher. You can say what could have been that doesn't change what happened."
"I know, "Chris said, shifting slightly in the bed. "I know. I just can't believe it happened that way."
"I can't imagine a thirteen year old boy having a reason to kill himself."
"He was being bullied. I guess he figured he'd commit suicide in front of his classmates to show them how sorry they should be for bullying him."
"What happened that he ended up taking them hostage?"
"The teacher tried to wrestle the gun away from him and it went off. He only had one bullet in the gun."
"So taking the others hostage was not part of the plan."
"I don't think so. He turned the gun on himself as soon as the others left the classroom. I almost had him convinced to give me the gun when he just pulled the trigger."
"How many bullets were in your gun?"
"One. I had expelled the clip already and left one in the chamber just in case. I never thought he'd pick up gun."
"Did anyone talk to the boy's parents to see if they could help?"
"I don't know. I never heard if they got a hold of one or the other or not. I was too busy trying to save him."
"I'm sorry, Christopher. I don't know what else to say."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm going to have to repeat my story to twenty other people as it is before this whole mess gets straightened out."
"Dwayne was having Sebastian look for video footage of the classroom. Hopefully, it will tell your story for you."
"Pride always says there's no substitute for words."
"That's the truth. As long as your story is solid and you tell it the same every time, the video can only confirm what you say."
"I highly doubt that's going to be any comfort to a family that has to bury their thirteen-year-old son."
"Why don't you get some rest? I'll sit with you until Dwayne gets here."
Chris nodded. "Thanks Ms. Loretta."
