Here is the next chapter...finally. Sorry it took so long.
Special thanks to mamaverd and Sairs J for their words of encouragement and for willingly taking on the role of sounding board. They definitely helped me get to where I wanted to go with this chapter.
Andy woke up the next morning with her t-shirt still resting beneath her head. She turned her face just enough and took a deep breath; the scent had faded but she closed her eyes and clung to the faint trace that was unmistakably Sam. Sam. She found herself replaying the too few, stolen moments they had together last night before she could even consider getting up.
When she finally moved to roll over, she felt more than heard herself moan, the earlier events of yesterday making themselves known through the stiffness and soreness of her body. She reached down to lift up the hem of her night shirt and take another look confirming that it was going to get worse before it got better. The bruise had already darkened and was definitely looking a lot more menacing.
She was immediately thankful that Best had told her to take the day off to recover, until she realized that meant too many hours with nothing to do but worry about Sam. She contemplated pulling the covers back over her head but she knew she had to get moving. It would be too easy to stay paralyzed in bed worrying and wondering, and she was not about to spend all that time driving herself crazy.
She rolled over and pushed herself to sit up gritting her teeth as she tried to stretch out the aches. She knew she'd made one move too many when the pain shot through her side and tears pooled in her eyes. Once the pain had reduced itself back to the familiar dull ache, she stood.
Having showered the night before, Andy headed straight for the kitchen. Last night's sandwich had long since left her system and she was more than a little hungry. Normally, she would have grabbed something as she ran out the door to make it to parade, but she had the luxury of time this morning so she made herself some eggs and toast and sat down to eat.
As she ate, she made her plans. The house was overdue for a cleaning and she obviously had the time so she might as well make use of it. Maybe the light activity would also work out a few more kinks.
She set to work as soon as the dishes were in the sink and by the time noon rolled around she was more than satisfied that everything was clean. She hadn't done this thorough a job in a long time, but it helped to keep her mind busy and her body active. She actually hadn't planned on doing that much, but she found that whenever her hands became idle, it had the opposite effect on her mind. If she didn't stay occupied, it was going to be an awfully long week, or two, or three…she wished she knew when Sam's bust was going down so she at least had something to look forward to.
Andy was pulled from her thoughts by a loud but not unwelcome buzz that let her know that someone wanted in. It was Traci; Andy met her at the door happy to find that she had stopped by with takeout for lunch.
Traci walked into the apartment and immediately shaded her eyes; it looked like every surface in the place was shining. "Whoa…I guess I don't have to ask what you've been up to today."
"Yeah…I may have been overcompensating a little." Andy admitted.
"Ya think?" Traci chuckled.
Andy allowed herself to laugh along with Traci as she sat down at the coffee table to start emptying the takeout bag.
"You sure we don't need a tablecloth or something? I should probably take off my shoes too. Is it ok if…"
"Shut up." Andy said through a snicker.
While they ate, Traci tried to get Andy to talk to her. Andy told her about seeing Sam on the weekend and about his phone call at the station but didn't tell her about seeing him last night. It wasn't that she didn't trust her; she'd just rather keep it to herself.
Knowing Traci didn't have a lot of time, the girls finished quickly before Andy convinced her friend to drive her into the barn with her. She still had some paperwork left over from the shooting, and since there was really nothing else left to do in the house, it was the only thing Andy could think of to keep her mind distracted.
She had been there about two hours when she felt herself starting to fade. She had long finished the paperwork on the shooting and was about half way through her backlog. She was just deciding how much longer to stay when Frank came out of his office and kicked her out reminding her that she was supposed to be at home recovering.
When he wouldn't take no for an answer, she started off for home. She was about a block away when she saw Boyd drive by in his car. He didn't see her though and she was sort of glad that he hadn't been at the barn when she was there…in case he asked about Sam. On the other hand, she would have liked to ask him how Sam's meeting had gone, but knowing Boyd he probably wouldn't have shared much…at least not with her.
When she checked her watch, it was still fairly early and she found herself walking by Sam's house. Of course, there was no activity but still it allowed her to feel closer to him. She closed her eyes and rested on the step for a few moments before standing up and heading for home.
Along the way, she made a decision to stop at a little diner and grab something to eat. As she opened the door, she got the distinct feeling that someone was looking at her. But when she looked back, all she could see was a couple of guys walking in the other direction. She shook her head; she had to be imagining things.
As she continued through the doorway, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned once again. She could have sworn that one of the guys had just looked away. She had been planning on taking the food home, but decided she'd rather eat in and make sure the two guys had left. She had no proof that they were up to no good, but Sam was always telling her to trust her gut and her gut said to stay put for awhile.
When she finally left, she took a good look around and when she was satisfied that there was no one there, she took off for home as quickly as she could. By the time she arrived at her apartment, she was exhausted. Between all the cleaning and the walking, her body had had enough and that meant a quick shower and off to bed.
On the other side of town, Sammy was even more restless than Andy. He'd had a crappy night's sleep and his frustration was only compounded by the knowledge that he would probably be doing absolutely nothing all day.
When he had finally came out of his room, the first thing he noticed was his cell phone clearly sitting in the middle of the coffee table. He refused to let his gaze to linger on it though; he couldn't let the boss see how badly he wanted to pick it up. He needed to earn back some trust and any kind of movement to get his phone or even any attraction to his phone would likely be seen as a sign of guilt. So Sammy did whatever he could to avoid looking at it at all.
As expected, Sammy wasn't allowed to do anything all day, and though he absolutely despised every minute of it, he tried to make the most of it. When nothing else was going on in the apartment, which was most of the time, he did his best to try and figure out how he could get back in the boss' good graces, how he could prove his loyalty and get back in the game. He needed back in if there was any hope of making the bust.
He wasn't worried…yet. He was pretty sure he still had a week so he wasn't going to rush things; if he looked too anxious, he was just going to raise more suspicion. He knew he would have to bide his time and simply take every opportunity as it presented itself. Still, it was hard; he wasn't used to doing nothing and it went against his very nature.
In between hours of inactivity, the boss would be on the phone, and Sammy made sure he was always close whenever that happened. He tried to look occupied or indifferent, but he was listening to every word trying to commit everything to memory. If he couldn't physically do anything, at least he could listen and hopefully garner some information.
He'd been there all day and only learned three things: one, they now had eyes on Vicero but there was no indication of a threat…yet; two, they'd added 5 more guys to their crew and they were now all taking shifts; and three, the planning for the buy was not going well.
Sammy really wasn't surprised about the last one; these guys weren't very good at winging it or speculating. If the deal was straightforward, they had enough experience to plan it all. But this time they had the variable of Vicero and they seemed to be at a loss.
Sammy gave an audible sigh as he pulled his hand through his hair. The boss turned to look at him. "You have something to say Sammy?"
"You know I could help."
The boss snapped; the pressure of the day had been looking for release and Sam had just made himself a willing target. "Listen up, Sammy, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. If you want to keep breathing and I'm guessing you do, you don't stick your nose into any of my business unless I tell you to stick it there. Got it?"
Loud and clear, Sammy thought. But before he had a chance to respond, the boss' phone rang again. He could tell by the immediate change in his demeanor that this was the big one; it had to be the gun runner. As the volume of the conversation increased, it was obvious that neither man was happy with the changes that were being forced upon them. When the boss finally threw his phone down, Sammy spent the next few minutes going over everything in his head committing every word to memory and trying to piece together what it could all mean.
And then there was that stupid buzz again. Not looking at his cell phone had been getting more and more difficult for Sammy. Periodically throughout the day, his phone had buzzed as it logged text message after text message. He wasn't overly worried; he knew Boyd wasn't an idiot. Any messages would be vague enough not to be suspicious. Still he knew that no answer at all sometimes spoke volumes and he knew Boyd was getting more and more worked up as the day went on.
Each time the cell had buzzed, he had felt the boss' gaze on him looking for any indication that Sammy was losing his cool. And unfortunately this time, Sammy's guard was down and he did not disappoint; his eyes only fell on it briefly but still it was enough.
Enough to push the boss to finally pick it up; he needed something to take his mind off that last call anyway. He flipped through the texts: 'Where'd u disappear 2?', 'Can u give me a call', 'Hoping to hear from u again.', 'When can I see u again?', 'Hope u haven't forgot about me.', 'Call me.'
"Looks like your 'lady' friend…" the boss scoffed with a heavy smirk on the lady, "is a little…needy. Sure you don't want to invite her over Sammy?" He asked, wiggling the phone under Sammy's nose like a bone to a dog.
"I'm good." Sammy answered indifferently.
"Looks like your 'friend' thinks so too." The boss sniggered at his own crude joke.
Sammy attempted a grin to humor the boss; he only hoped it didn't look like the grimace it felt like.
Sammy decided to change the subject. "We heading to the warehouse tonight?"
"Not tonight. We'll head over in the morning to go over everything. We don't have a lot of time."
Sammy raised his eyebrows.
"All in due time, Sammy, all in due time."
At the end of the night, Sammy lay down in his room and replayed all the information over and over. There was no way he could write anything down, but there was also no way he wanted to lose any of it either. Unfortunately with a one-sided conversation, what he had wasn't much. He went to sleep hoping tomorrow he would get his chance to get more involved. His best bet would be at the warehouse; if the guys were as incompetent as he thought, his time would come. He spent the next hour thinking of all the ways to help protect the deal if Vicero showed up.
The next morning, Andy got up with her alarm; she was still somewhat stiff but again tried to stretch it out. If Best noticed her favoring her ribs at all she would be on desk; as it was, it was still a distinct possibility.
After making her way to the barn, she got dressed in the locker room and took a deep breath ready to put on a brave face. She strode purposefully into parade and took her seat next to Traci. Frank asked her how she was and she assured him she was good to go. When Best assigned her to ride with Shaw, she grinned, happy to be back on the streets and kept busy.
The morning was fairly uneventful, but they soon got a call for a disturbance outside a bar. They pulled up out front and Andy's mouth dropped open in surprise. She immediately turned her head away from the bar and slunk down in her seat. Oliver had his door ajar and was moving to get out when he noticed Andy wasn't following his lead. He looked at her; normally all of the rookies were chomping at the bit and jumping out hoping to be the first one into the fray.
"What the hell are you doing, McNally. Let's go."
"I can't"
"McNally, move. You told Frank you were good to go…so go."
"I know that guy; well I don't know him, know him, but…"
"Today!"
Before he could stop her, Andy grabbed the radio. "1519 requesting backup." "10-4, 1519"
Oliver looked at her the confusion clear in his eyes; it was just two guys.
"I was at this bar on Saturday…."
"Do I look like Dr. Phil?" He grumbled as he jumped out of the car alone knowing full well she wasn't coming with him.
"Well maybe with a mustache…" He heard her mutter as he headed to break up the fight. Dov and Chris pulled up right behind him, wasting no time in joining him.
While the three men were breaking up the fight, Andy called in again asking for another car for transport. Oliver was still shaking his head at her behavior, but he wasn't stupid; there had to be a pretty big reason she didn't want either of these guys in a car with her. They put one guy in with Dov and Chris and the other into Noelle's car before Oliver got back behind the wheel and turned to Andy. "Seriously, McNally…what? You sleep with him and forget to call?"
She glared at him; did he really think she would do that. Did he know her at all?
"No wait, let me guess; he got a little too friendly and you took him down. Or maybe you got a little handsy and he wouldn't put out? You know what…who the hell cares. McNally I don't give a shit if you shot the guy down, or he shot you down or who didn't call who, you needed to get out there."
"He couldn't see me like this." She insisted.
"Like what?"
"Like this." She said, gesturing to her uniform before continuing. "I was at a bachelorette party on Saturday night." She held up her hand knowing Oliver was about to interrupt with some smart ass remark. She looked him square in the eye. "I saw Sam."
Oliver's eyes widened. "You saw Sam, but he's…"
"Undercover…I know. He was at the club with a group of guys, including one of those guys you just arrested. He hadn't been able to contact Boyd because they took his phone and he didn't dare contact any number attached to the old phone. He needed a new number to call and I got it for him under the guise of giving him mine."
Oliver was a little embarrassed at jumping to conclusions. "And if that guy had seen you as a cop..."
She nodded her head. Neither one of them needed to spell out how much trouble it would have meant for Sam.
"I'm…I shouldn't have…"
"It's fine." She brushed off the apology; it wasn't important right now.
"Well, okay then. I guess we need to steer clear of the barn for awhile. I should probably give Boyd a heads up and make sure he takes a listen, maybe puts a tail on these guys when they get let go."
"I'll call Traci and ask her to let us know when they're released."
"In the meantime, guess that means you're buying me lunch."
Sammy's alarm that same morning came in the form of a fist pounding on his door. He was surprised; he almost never slept in, but then again he had stayed up the better part of the night going over plan ideas in his head. "Yeah, yeah…I'm up. I'm up."
"You got 15." Came the grunted reply.
Sammy jumped up, pulled on his jeans and shirt. Already used to skipping showers, he brushed his teeth and splashed water on his face and was ready to go.
When they got to the warehouse, Ray was noticeably absent. Sammy decided he must be out keeping an eye on Vicero with one of the new guys. Sammy watched from a distance as the boss reviewed the plans with the rest of the crew. He wasn't allowed anywhere close, but he was definitely chomping at the bit.
His eyes took in every move of the boss, and it was easy to see that he wasn't a happy man. It wasn't long before he started yelling wondering how the hell these plans were any different than the ones they had just thrown out. There appeared to have been no contingency for the possibility of Vicero showing up.
Sammy was trying not to grin, knowing that it was only a matter of time now. All he needed was a catalyst that would force the boss' hand and finally push him to let Sammy 'stick his nose in'.
"Problems?" Sammy asked, pressing his luck a little.
Vic looked up; he knew that Sammy was good and he knew how well he thought on his feet. They needed him. He looked to the boss and was about to plead Sammy's case when his phone rang.
Everyone listened as he muttered and swore under his breath before hanging up. "Shit!"
They all looked at him expectantly and he quickly informed them that Ray had been involved in a scuffle with one of Vicero's guys on their turf. They'd both been arrested.
Everyone knew that if Vicero wasn't on alert already, he would be now. It looked like a confrontation was going to be inevitable.
The boss was fuming. As they all waited for the cursing to subside, Sammy was running through his own list of profanities, at least internally. If Ray was arrested in or near Vicero's territory, it was more than likely that he was in 15th division. Sammy could only hope that Ray didn't run into Andy, and knowing her luck, the odds weren't that great.
He was happy when the boss called his lawyer to go bail Ray out, thankful that at least no one else who 'knew' her would be going over there. Sammy waited a few minutes after the boss hung up, finally clearing his throat.
The boss looked over; he didn't look happy about it but he no longer had a choice. "Sammy, you're up."
Yes!
