I'd Do It Again in a Heartbeat
"You know…I really don't mind your squirrelly nerd friends…." Matt said clapping Nigel on the shoulder once hard, jarring the spindly Brit and causing him to roll his eyes at his law enforcement companion. "Especially when they can figure out crap like this.." Matt nodded, waving a hand over the computer screen.
Nigel rolled his eyes yet again. "And….I'm sure they think you're just the cat's meow too luv." He mumbled and worked quickly to transfer the unscrambled files to his hard drive…before Lu and her flying monkeys could return for anything they might have missed.
"Whatever…" Seeley said shaking his head as he read the files over Nigel's shoulder. "THIS is the holy grail for this case man, Jordan and Woody…" he said nodding proudly. "This is what they were looking for all those months…THIS is what's going to get them out of the slammer…" he nodded and Nigel cast him a puzzled look, the young detective's choice of wording a stark contrast with what Nigel knew of his pedigree.
"Okay well…you go tell the Godfather and I'll tell Clamenza to pull the car around.." he said in a mocking New York Italian accent.
Matt gave him a searing look, the only thing on his body betraying his embarrassment, his pinking ears which he rubbed one of and turned to head out the door.
"Whatever…just print out the files will ya? I'm gonna go see Walcott." He said as he scurried out the door on his way to the elevator.
Nigel turned back to the computer, a feeling of hope swelling in his chest.
In the same way that hope was filling Nigel's chest, so at the same time was a deepening feeling of dread filling Jordan and Woody's.
It'd been several weeks since they'd been moved to their solitary confinement. Woody and Jordan had all of their meals brought to them. They were allowed an hour a day in the jail yard also alone.
While Jordan took solace in the knowledge that their friends were helping her and Woody on the road to freedom, Woody spent most of his days on a nearly sickening loop of activity.
For most of the day he slept. The first week he had watched so much TV that he began to get horrible eye strain. He was trying to use the TV as a crutch. Something to distract him from thinking about Jordan and the trouble they were in if their friends couldn't find the answers they needed.
If he'd known Jordan was the one persevering, knowing with all of her heart and soul that somehow their friends would save them and HE was the one quietly brooding, belief that they'd soon be released at the very end of a looooong tunnel of doubt, Woody would have thought it quite ironic.
Instead he knew nothing at all of Jordan except what Garret told him on his weekly visits. It was funny, Woody had told Garret once that he kind of looked at him as a father figure and now he was making weekly visits to both Woody and Jordan, keeping each other updated on the other as well as how Nigel and Seeley were doing with the evidence (when he could if a guard was not around at the moment).
Garret had seemed sincere in his description of Jordan's state. Not that Woody had hoped she'd be as downtrodden and heartbroken as he was at not having her near after so many months together, that wasn't the case. He just wished that she would have sent him some message, some little communication that let him know she was missing him as terribly as he was missing her.
It was during one such meeting that Woody had requested Garret not share with Jordan how bad he was doing in lockup.
'It's bad enough that she thinks she's the reason I'm in here to begin with,' he'd said raking a nervous hand through his hair. 'I don't need her worrying about how I'm not doing well with the accommodations…' Garret had simply watched Woody for a long moment, and then inquired into how he was really doing.
The fatherly gentleness with which he spoke the words opened the flood gates for Woody. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and begged the chief M.E. not to tell Jordan of the soul baring description of how tough life in solitary had been for him so far.
'I won't tell her anything…' Dr. Macy had promised. 'Technically, I CAN'T tell her anything but as long as it's not case related…' he had started, leaving the floor open for Woody to pass any quick messages.
Woody's bright blues quickly snapped to Garret's soft browns. 'Just tell her…tell her I'm thinking of her…a lot…and that I miss her…' he trailed off and fiddled with his fingers. 'In a lot of ways..' he mumbled, embarrassed to be discussing things like this in front of this man who was important to both himself and Jordan.
'Sure, I can do that.' Garret responded casually, not wanting to embarrass Woody anymore than he seemed to be and stood from his chair. 'I'll see you next week, just…take care of yourself detective, that's an order,' he said and Woody smiled, appreciating that he called him by his job title even with as little hope as there was of him being able to return to it.
'Thanks…I will.' Woody nodded, trying to put on a brave face for this man who he respected so much.
Woody watched Garret leave the visitors room and continue down the long hall to the front, not looking away until his head had disappeared around the corner.
'Let's go,' the guard said nodding towards the prisoner door leading back to his cell.
Woody nodded silently and stood, walking ahead of the guard on the slow walk back to his own private Hell.
Returning back to the morgue after one such visit to see Jordan and Woody, Dr. Macy was accosted in the hallway by a very energetic Nigel. He was rambling so quickly as he walked around Garret in a circle following him to his office.
"Woah, woah, Nigel…easy, what are you talking about? Start from the beginning." He said raising his hands at the doorway to his office.
Nigel took a breath, ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "Right..right..well, you know how Lu's come with her band of…" he searched for a word which Garret gave him.
"…Flying monkeys."
"Right… well, she didn't get that flash drive that Jordan had on her keychain because it was never REALLY a part of the investigation…Pollack put it on Jordan's keys knowing that something was going to happen to him and he wanted her to be the one to put the pieces together after he…well, when he was no longer able to.." Nigel said still trying to be calm.
"Is there a point to all this or are you just working distraction detail for someone trying to sneak a keg out of here?" Garret asked gruffly and folded his arms.
"There WAS something on those encrypted files…" Nigel said, his words betraying the seriousness of what was written in these files.
"What? What was it?" Garret asked and Nigel held up a print out of the Terracoal mining disaster story.
"And you were JUST on your way to bring me this flash drive when you accidentally dropped it into the USB port on a computer and these files popped up?" Renee Walcott deadpanned as she briefly raised her eyebrows from the stack of files on the Terracoal mining disaster and connections JD Pollack had made to the circumstances surrounding the suspicious deaths of survivors of the collapse. And then there was Gordon. Even without criminal law degree Garret and Nigel had easily connected the dots, sure that this judge had somehow been involved in some kind of cover-up regarding the disaster and the following deaths of those that survived it.
Garret gave Nigel a disapproving look that only reached as far as his chin.
"Yeah sure, that'll do." Nigel mumbled and moved over to stand next to her, ready to argue his case again if need be. "You see…this judge he's named here…Gordon..his name is connect.."
Renee held up a hand. "Yeah…easy hot shot, I know what I'm looking at here…" She said moving away from Nigel and sitting against the edge of her desk.
After a few moments of reading she looked up and glanced between the two hopeful faces in front of her, a seldom seen tight smile pulled across her lips as she did.
"Good evening Detective Hoyt…" Renee Walcott said as a guard buzzed her into solitary confinement.
Woody's brow furrowed and he sat up slowly on his cot, a look of puzzlement on his face. "Detective? Are you just being really mean or really nice Ms. Walcott?" he asked weakly.
Renee took in the sight of the man in front of her…or what was left of him. "Well, not to say that being on the DA's good side for the past several years was a good plan of action for you…." She started and had the guard open the door to Woody's cell. "But…being on the DA's good side for the past several years was a good plan of action for you…" She shrugged.
"That Judge, Judge Gordon, that you and Dr. Cav…Jordan had named over and over in your…" she stopped a moment and smirked. "fugitive notes.." Woody rolled his eyes slightly but nodded for her to continue, still not comfortable enough to make any move to step out of the cell he'd been calling home for so many weeks now. "He's connected to the Terracoal mining disaster a few months back," She started and held out a computer printed news story. "As well as the suspicious deaths of the survivors of that disaster…" she said and Woody's eyes filled with hope..
"So…so then we've…we've got him…that's it…" Woody said, the excitement raising in his voice but quickly fading with the look on Walcott's face. "What? What happened?" he asked holding the paper at his side now.
Renee looked at the guard who stepped back around the corner before she continued. "Judge Gordon killed himself at 10:37 this morning. Jumped out the window of his office to the ground below…" she said softly.
"He couldn't handle the guilt.." Woody said raising the paper again and looking at the smiling face of one of the young miners who had lost his life.
Renee nodded. "Well…be that as it may, it still means that you and Jordan were right…and we were able to connect Gordon to the bar tender there the night of Miss Lebowski's engagement party…and to the head of Terracoal who we believe personally delivered the message to J.D. Pollack to back off of this story by putting a bullet in his back…" she finished and Woody stepped finally out of the cell.
"So that means…" he said with a deep breath.
"Congratulations, Detective…you're a free man…" she smiled softly and Woody looked past her.
"And Jordan…" he started to ask and she cut him off.
"Is being given her street clothes and reinstatement as a Massachusetts Medical Examiner…" Walcott said and called for the guard.
"So…you're here to…" Woody said shrugging.
"Apologize to you on behalf of the DA's office and the Boston Police department and return your badge and gun to you once you get changed and leave the building." She said and Woody nodded slowly, still trying to get his wits about him as he was led to a room where he could change.
He was free. Jordan was free. And he knew exactly where he wanted to go as soon as he was released.
Jordan was still sitting in the middle of her dark apartment perched on the couch when Woody knocked. Suddenly free from the loneliness she'd had to live with for those weeks she wasn't sure what she should do, where she should go. She was only sure who she wanted to see.
In fact, she was dialing his cell phone when there was a knock on the door.
"Not…to be cliché…" Woody smiled softly as she opened the door and leaned against the door jam. "But man are you a sight for sore eyes.." he said and stepped forward, taking her cheeks in both hands and lowering his lips to hers for a long, passionate kiss.
When they pulled back Jordan's hands were still wrapped around Woody's wrists as she looked up into his eyes.
"Hi." She whispered with a smile.
"Hi yourself." Woody whispered back and looked into the apartment behind her. "Mind if I come in? I heard there was a past fugitives of the law reunion going on here tonight and I…" he started and for the umpteenth time that night was cut off by a woman standing in front of him.
"….Shut up you idiot…" Jordan said with her first laugh in weeks and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him inside and pushing the door shut with a foot.
Their reunion was gentle and slow, not at all rushed by having not been in each others arms since weeks and weeks ago.
Afterwards, they lay together in Jordan's bed holding each other close amidst the rumpled sheets.
"I think…my body is going into shock…" Woody chuckled. "Solitary for a month and now…" he grinned rubbing his nose against Jordan's cheek. "Not so solitary…" She smiled and turned over with her head on his chest.
They lay together quietly for a long few moments before Jordan lifted her head. She took in his pale skin, dry hair, the bags under his eyes that seemed to droop down to the dimples in his cheeks.
His face was more gaunt, more tired. He looked like he'd lost some weight again. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that because of me.." she said quietly.
Woody could let her hold the guilt for a lot of things she'd done over the years but this was one thing he couldn't let her feel guilty for.
"I chose to do that FOR you Jordan..you didn't ask me…" he said looking down at her. "You tried to keep me away from it…but I had to help you…I care too much about you to let anything happen to you…and besides…" Woody smiled, turning over onto her quickly. "I never believed, not even for One. Damn. Second that you killed Pollack. That's why I followed you. That's why I believed you. And that's why I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
