Chapter 10

Drop Your Guns

Jim, Khandi, Cosmo and Sam finished a case, as they got in the car. Sam who was in the back along with Cosmo broke the silence, "You guys are with out a doubt the most sorriest bunch of cops I've had to work with."

"Really now?" Jim asked, looking back at Sam in the review mirror.

Khandi smiled, "And he's your LT."

"Hey where are we heading for lunch, I'm staving." Cosmo whined in the back of the car.

"We could always go to the restaurant over by the station." Jim suggested.

"That sounds good." Sam answered.

/Drop Your Guns/

Sergeant Adams and his rookie partner, Officer Bell had tried to pull over a car when a Chevy Caprice, with four Hispanic 'gangbangers' cut in. In the back of the Chevy Caprice was Roofie and Stuckey, they broke the back window and started firing AK-47's at Adams and Bell. Bell kept in contact with Dispatch when Sergeant Carroll and Officer Davis joined in with the pursuit.

/Drop Your Guns/

Khandi, Jim, Cosmo and Sam were walking into the restaurant when they heard the call come over the comm.

"What the fuck?" Cosmo asked.

Sam looked around, "That's not too far from here."

"444?" Khandi frowned, "That's an 'Officer Involved shooting', and a pursuit."

"Let's go." Jim said as the four of them took off running to Jim's Charger. He opened the door and Khandi grabbed the roof and swung in and the rest all climbed in.

"Comm check on channel three." Sam ordered.

"Check." They all said after another.

/Drop Your Guns/

"They're heading off of Jefferson onto Third." Adams told Bell who then reported it to dispatch as Roofie and Stuckey kept firing at them.

Jim, Khandi, Cosmo and Sam joined in on the chase through the working class neighborhood.

"They're firing AK's!" Sam commented.

"These guys are hardcore," Khandi added.

"What?" Jim asked.

"It's like they get dumber when they're in packs." Khandi answered.

"Who's dumber?" Cosmo asked.

"Scum." Jim replied.

At the T-intersection, the Hispanic driver, Lucky, swerved off Jefferson onto Third, and hit the curb, which threw the car on to another and flipping it – the gas tank exploded as the gangbangers got out of the car.

As the gang members piled out of the car, trying to take cover, they continued to fire blindly at the patrol cars as the cars stopped in a V like pattern on Jefferson. Jim positioned his car behind the patrol units.

"You've done this before?" Khandi asked as she took cover behind the open passenger door.

"No!" Sam answered taking cover behind the Charger, "Not like this!"

"Keep your head down!" Cosmo yelled at Khandi.

"I know what to do!" Khandi yelled as she fired off a few shots.

"Keep low, Khandi!" Jim yelled after her.

Jim who was behind Davis and Carroll's car kept firing at the gang members along with Khandi, Sam and Cosmo who were still by the Charger. They continued to fire back and forth. It was full-on, close-range combat now. The gunfire continued like in the John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies. The sound of the gunfire seemed to never end. Leggy the fourth gang member moved to take better cover.

Cosmo fired and hit Leggy in the right thigh and he went down. Roofie and Stuckey, out of ammo, tossed their AK-47s and switched to their own 45-automatics.

"Their out of rifle ammo!" Adams shouted.

Roofie and Stuckey took off running. Officer Carroll and Davis stood up and chased after them on foot. Lucky who was trapped behind the Caprice, kept on firing at Adams, Bell, Khandi, Jim, Cosmo and Sam. They all started to track him, as Bell stood up he suddenly went down just as fast, shot in the chest first then the neck.

"Shit!" Khandi and Sam say in unison as they came around the Charger. Lucky took this time to take off running.

Jim, Khandi, Sam and Cosmo came to Bell's help, "Go get the son of a bitch, I'll stay here." Adams said.

As they came up to the Caprice, they saw Leggy and split up. Sam went with Jim, and Cosmo went with Khandi. As Khandi split from Jim she saw Leggy, writhing on the ground, and his leg bleeding profusely, "Cuff the bastard." She directed an officer, as she and Cosmo continued towards an alley east of the Third with their guns drawn.

"Ambulanceo!" Leggy screamed.

"I don't speak Spanish," The cop replied.

Jim and Sam crossed a parking lot, and both heard Carroll yelling; "Stop! Police!" followed by gunshots. They exchanged quick glances and then took off running towards the sound. Soon they come upon Carroll covering Roofie at the dead end alleyway. The gangbanger had his hands up in surrender. But when Carroll turned to acknowledge both Sam and Jim, Roofie had a gun in his hands. Carroll when he turned back around instinctively fired three shots into Roofie's chest. Sam and Jim both kept their guns trained on Roofie as they made their slow approach. Jim kicked the weapon clear as Carroll cuffed the dead gang member.

As this was happening, Khandi and Cosmo round the corner and spotted Officer Davis. Since he was out of ammo Stuckey was about to put a few rounds into him. But Khandi with out a second thought put three rounds into Stuckey, before he could pull the trigger.

"Remind me not to piss you off," Cosmo comments.

Khandi shook her head, it was a close call – pulling out her radio she reports to Jim, "Jimmy, we got the bastard in custody."

"Roger. Dispatch this is Brass. We got three suspects in custody, one is on the run."

Officer Davis was about to pick up Stuckey's gun when Khandi noticed, "What are you doing? Put that down."

"Yeah… uh… sorry. I was just securing his weapon." Officer Davis replied.

"Well he won't be needing it anymore," commented Cosmo.

/Drop Your Guns/

All the officers were leaning against the LVPD van. First it was Jim who had his arm around Khandi, than Sam and Cosmo, "We got three very unhappy dead suspects." Cosmo commented.

"Yeah, but the world would be such a better place with out morons." Sam sighed, "You should have worn boots, Khan."

"And remember a vest." Cosmo answered.

"Well, next gun fight." She answered.

"Ortega, whoopee! Now things are really gonna screw up!" Jim commented seeing Ortega in the crowd.

"What about him?" Cosmo asked.

"He's had a Rectal Cranial Inversion." Khandi answered.

"What?" Sam asked.

"He's got his head up his ass." Jim explained.

Just then Gil and Catherine walked up to them. "What happened here?" Catherine asked.

"I was one of the shooters, as were these guys. So that's really all I can say."

"I'll stay with these guys and collect their weapons," Catherine said to Grissom.

"All right, good. Good luck," Grissom said to Jim.

"Thank you," Jim replied.

Cosmo pulled a cigar out of his pocket, bit the tip off and lit it. Just then Ortega walked up to them. "Stick around guys. We'll have a patrol car take you to the PD." He stopped in front of Cosmo, "Put that thing out."

"Bend over and I'll put it out." Cosmo snapped.

Ortega didn't say anything. He just walked away.

/LVPD - Hallway/

Jim started walking down the hallway toward Khandi when Under-Sheriff Jeff McKeen stopped him. "You did a good job out there."

"Yeah, not good enough." Jim replied. "Has Bell's wife been notified?"

"His partner has gone over there."

"You know she's pregnant with their third child?" Jim asked.

"Look, we all know the risks. It comes with the job." McKeen said and patted Jim's shoulder as he walked away.

Jim tilted his head and looked at Khandi as he walked over to her. "Hey? How you doing?"

She looked up at Jim. "I've been better." Jim sat down next to her and took her hand.

"How long you think this will take?" Cosmo asked.

"As long as Ortega wants it to," Jim replied.

"Yeah well, I'm not gonna let that little prick intimidate me," Sam said.

"It's not like you're easily intimidated Sammy," Khandi replied with a small smile.

Just then Ortega came by and pointed to Jim. "You're first."

Jim patted Khandi's arm. "It'll be okay," he said, getting up and following Ortega.

"Good luck, Jimmy," Cosmo called after him.

Jim stopped and turned around, "Thanks, Cos."

"He'll be fine," Cosmo assured Khandi.

"Yeah, Jim's tough. He'll get through this," Sam added.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Or Jimmy."

/Jim's Interrogation/

Jim sat down at the table across from Ortega and Catherine. Ortega placed a mini recorder on the table in front of Jim. "This is Detective Nestor Ortega in interrogation room A taking a statement from Captain James Brass. CSI Catherine Willows is also present to collect Captain Brass' firearm." He looks at Jim. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"So, you, Captain Brass, Lieutenant Renfro and Lieutenant Gerard elected to join the officers in the pursuit?" Ortega asked.

"That's right," Jim replied.

"You're all Detectives. Why would you elect to get involved in a police chase?"

"We just finished a case and were going for a bite to eat when the call came over the radio."

"Where did you join the pursuit?"

"We joined the pursuit on Desert Springs," Jim replied.

"And the suspects were already firing on the officers?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Could you tell the types of firearms being used?" Catherine asked him.

"The two guys in the back had rifles, probably AK's. The two guys in front had handguns, couldn't tell what kind."

"And they were shooting the whole time?" Ortega asked.

"Yeah. It was like those movie guns. They never seemed to run out of bullets."

"I don't go to the movies."

"Oh," Brass said, squinting his eyes.

"What happened next?" Ortega asked.

"The next thing... I, uh... remember," Jim said, choking back his tears. "The next thing I remember... is Bell," he said, fighting the tears even harder. "Bell went down." Catherine looked at Jim trying to fight tears of her own. "He was, uh... he was just a kid.

"So uh. So the suspects saw that we were distracted helping Bell. They took the opportunity; I went in foot pursuit, along with Lieutenant Gerard. I can't run as fast as I used to." Ortega rolled his eyes at Jim. "That's when I heard the shots. They were coming from... the East."

"How many shots were there?" Ortega asked.

"Three. No... Four."

"What happened in the alley?" Ortega asked.

"Lieutenant Gerard and I came around the corner into the alleyway."

"Did the suspect have a gun?" Catherine asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I kicked it away when we cuffed him."

"How many shots did you let off in the alley?" Catherine asked.

"I didn't need to. He was already down."

"Hand your gun over to CSI Willows for inspection." Ortega ordered.

Jim picked up his gun and pulled it out of its holster. He placed it in front of Catherine. "Any magazines?" she asked.

Jim pulled the magazine holster off his belt and held it up. "I must of used them."

Catherine ejected the magazine from the gun and a bullet from the chamber. "Captain Brass' firearm was received with an empty magazine and one live round in the chamber."

"It would be smart to have ammo before you go running into a gun fight."

Jim just glared at Ortega.

/Khandi's Interrogation/

Catherine took Khandi's gun. "Captain Brass' gun was received with three live rounds left in the magazine and one live round in the chamber."

"During the gun battle, were you aware of the other officer's positions?" Ortega asked.

"They were in front of me and to my right. No... My left." Khandi replied, her voice shaky.

"Did you continue to be aware of their positions after the suspects took off running?"

"Bell was in front of me. But he was down behind his car."

"Do you remember Officer Bell being shot?"

Khandi hesitated, remembering Bell going down in front of her. "Sorry, what was the question?"

"I asked if you remember Officer Bell being shot?"

"Do you need some time?" Catherine asked her.

"No, no. She'll be just fine."

"Check Bell's vest. I think he took one in the chest."

Detective Cavalier opens the door and asks to see Ortega and Catherine out in the hallway. Catherine follows Cavalier out but Ortega stops by Khandi. "We're not done." he said, and walked out of the room.

Khandi sat at the table going over everything in her mind. She was so sure that she was the one who shot Bell. She could see his face so clearly in her mind. It frightened her. Suddenly Ortega and Catherine came back in the room and sat opposite Khandi.

"Why did you leave a downed officer?" Ortega asked her.

"Sergeant Adams said he had it under control. So Lieutenant Renfro and I followed Officer Davis and caught up with him in the East alley. Davis' slide was locked back, he was out of ammo..."

"The suspect had a gun pointed at Officer Davis?" Catherine interrupted.

"Of course. That's why I fired."

"100 sure?" Ortega cut in.

"Yes."

"What did you do next?"

"I saw Officer Davis pick up the suspects gun, I ordered him to put it down and he complied. He was acting on instinct, not training. It's understandable under those circumstances."

"I don't think so." Ortega said.

Khandi and Catherine looked at each other and then at Ortega.

/Cosmo's Interrogation/

"Lieutenant Renfro, where were you positioned during the gun battle?" Ortega asked him.

"I was taking cover behind the Charger."

"Where were the other officers?"

"Jimmy was to my left, Sammy was in front of me and Khandi was also in front but was on my right. The other officer's were in front and to the left of me."

"What happened when Officer Bell was shot?"

"I saw him stand up. That's when he took one to the chest. The force sent him falling back." Cosmo explained. "Once Bell was down the suspects took off running and we gave chase."

"By we, you mean?"

"Khandi and I followed Officer Davis down one alley, while Jimmy and Sammy followed Officer Carroll down the other."

"What happened in the alley?"

"When Khandi I turned the corner into the alley, we could clearly see that Officer Davis' gun was out of ammo. That's when Khandi shot the suspect."

"Was the suspect pointing a gun at Officer Davis?" Catherine asked him.

"Damn straight he was. Khandi wouldn't have fired otherwise. She's a damn good cop." Cosmo snapped, defensively.

"Did you see Officer Davis pick up the suspect's gun?" Ortega asked.

"Yeah. The idiot! Khandi told him to put it down and he did."

"Give your gun to CSI Willows."

Cosmo handed over his weapon. "Lieutenant Renfro's gun was received with one magazine, containing three live rounds and one live round in the chamber."

"All right. We're done here." Ortega said.

Cosmo got up and left the room. "What an asshole!" he said when he saw Sam in the hallway heading for the interrogation room.

/Jim's Office/

Jim was sitting at his desk playing with his wedding band. He just kept twisting it around on his finger. He looked up and saw Khandi standing in the doorway. "Hey, honey. Are you okay?" Jim asked concerned.

Khandi came into the office and went around the desk to Jim. He sat up and pulled her onto his lap. "No, Jimmy, I'm not okay." Khandi started to cry.

Jim wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "Shh, it's gonna be all right. I promise."

"Jimmy? I shot Bell. I know I did."

"Why would you think that?" Jim asked gently.

"Because. He was right in my line of fire. Every time I close my eyes I see his face. He looked right at me when he got shot. As if he knew."

"Khandi, honey. You gotta get that shit out of your mind. It's poison."

"I can't help it. It's gonna take a while before it goes away."

"Listen, when Sammy and Cosmo are finished we'll go home and spend some time with Little Jimmy okay."

"Oh God, Jimmy!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"He could have lost us today. Little Jimmy could have lost both his parents."

"But he didn't. We're still here. And we're gonna be here for a long time, okay?"

"I hope you're right, Jimmy. I can't stand to think about Little Jimmy growing up without us."

"Come on. Let's go get some coffee, while we waiting for Sam and Cosmo."

"Okay," she said, getting up from Jim's lap. He stood up and took her face in his hands. He gently kissed her and pulled her into a hug.

"You have no idea how much I needed that right then," Khandi said, as she took his hand and followed him out of the office and down the hall, in search of coffee.

/Sam's Interrogation/

"So, Lieutenant Gerard? Why did you get involved in this shooting?" Ortega asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Sam snapped.

"Just answer it."

"I got involved because there were officers in trouble. That's why."

"What was your position?"

"I was in the back, driver's side of the car. Then Jim moved behind the patrol car, so I moved up to the front driver's side."

"Were you aware of the other officers?"

"Like I said, Jim moved behind the patrol car. Khandi was on the front passenger's side and Cosmo moved from the back passenger's side to the back of the vehicle. Officer Bell was in front of me. The other officer's were to my left."

"After Bell was shot, what did you do?"

"We ran to assistant him, Adams said he had it under control, so we took off after the suspects."

"Which direction did you go?"

"I followed Jim down the West alley and Khandi and Cosmo went down the East. Jim and I caught up with Officer Carroll in the alley, he turned to acknowledge our arrival and when he turned back, the suspect was holding a gun, so Officer Carroll fired."

"You're sure the suspect had a gun?"

"Yeah. I saw it in his hands. And Jim kicked it away from him."

"Hand over your firearm."

Sam gave his gun to Catherine. "Lieutenant Gerard's firearm was received with one magazine containing one live round and one live round in the chamber."

"You can go." Ortega said.

Sam got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

/CSI Breakroom/

Sam walked into the break room, fuming. "That asshole is prosecuting without wanting to know the truth," he said to Jim, Khandi and Cosmo who were seated around the table drinking coffee.

"Yeah, I know. That prick deserves to have his ass kicked," Cosmo replied.

"Hey, guys. There's nothing we can do now, but wait. So why don't we all go home and try to relax." Jim said.

"That's a great idea. I can't wait to hold Little Jimmy. After today, I'm never letting him go." Khandi replied.

They all stood up and made their way out of the precinct. Wishing that today had just been one horrible nightmare and that they'd wake up and none of it had happened. But they all knew that wasn't the case. Like it or not, it was real. They just have to make the best out of this bad situation.

TBC…