Chapter 10

Maura was surprised when she looked down at her ringing phone to see it was Jane. She must have caught a break on the case. She answered the call on the second ring. "I thought you'd be done now," she greeted.

"Maura," Jane said.

The tone of Jane's voice snapped Maura to immediate attention. Something was going on. "Jane? What's wrong?"

"It's Frankie. He's on his way to the hospital. Maura, I need you to get there and make sure he's alright."

All of this confused Maura. Jane was with Frost doing a notification. How had Frankie gotten involved in that and why couldn't Jane go to the hospital herself? Not that she wouldn't go be with Frankie but she just didn't understand what was going on. Given Jane's tone, she figured she would get answers later. "Which hospital?"

"Mass General. They just transported him. He's unconscious but breathing. No visible wounds but the EMTs couldn't get him to wake up. Please Maura. Please be there for him."

She already had her keys in her hand and was walking out the door. "Jane, are you alright?"

"Frost and I are fine. But there is….an issue. I can't leave here yet so I need you to go meet Frankie at the hospital. And you may have to call Ma because she is still working."

"I'm headed to the hospital. I'll handle Angela."

"He wasn't waking up Maura," Jane let out in almost a whimper.

"Hey, he's breathing and on his way to an excellent hospital. He will be ok Jane. You have to believe that."

Jane more nodded into the phone than spoke. "Thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can get away."

Maura hung up the phone and pulled out of the garage. She still had no idea what was going on or how Jane and Frankie ended up in the same place tonight. But now she was just worried about her future brother-in-law. If he was unconscious and EMTs couldn't wake him that could mean a head injury and Maura understood just how tricky those could be.

R&I

The warehouse scene had quickly unraveled into chaos once all the shooting had stopped. None of the men Frost, Jane or the mystery FBI agent shot sustained fatal wounds. All were mostly flesh wounds. All were being attended to by responding EMTs and the rest of the men were placed into police custody.

Jane just wanted to go to the hospital but police procedure required her to stay on site due to the discharge of her weapon. Both Jane and Frost were awaiting their immediate supervisor. Jane would have a lot of explaining she would have to do.

"Jane? Are you two alright?" Korsak asked as he approached both Jane and Frost. Jane was ready for his appearance at the scene and she was fairly certain that they would see Cavanaugh before the night was over as well.

"We are fine. Neither one of us was hurt." Jane answered. "It's Frankie I'm worried about."

"What the hell happened here?" he asked looking around.

"I think I'm entitled to that answer too," Cavanaugh stated as he too joined the group. Cavanaugh walked up to Frost and Jane trying to stay relatively calm. He was trying to understand what exactly his detectives were doing in the middle of whatever this was turning into.

"Sir, I received information that Frankie might be in trouble. Frost was driving me home when I got the information and he agreed to bring me here. When we entered to check out the building we initially found four men beating on a man tied to a chair and another man on the ground. We entered the room to secure the location and had the original four men in line until four more men entered from over there," Jane pointed across the room, "and two of them had guns drawn.

"Frost and I both engaged in a quick shoot out with the four coming from that direction injuring three of the four before the fourth yielded and put his down his gun. I thought we were good until that guy," and she pointed to the mystery FBI man, "shot one of the original four men who had pulled a gun and was about to fire at Frost.

"After that he identified himself as FBI, the scene was secure and I went to check on the two injured men. The man on the ground unconscious was Frankie. Both men are on their way to Mass General."

That pretty much caught Cavanaugh and Korsak up to date. "I understand that part. What I don't understand is how either of you got here in the first place. Jane, how did you know Frankie was in trouble?"

Jane knew she had to answer the question. There was no way around it. But she also knew it was going to get both her and Frankie in some trouble. "When Frankie went undercover I gave him a burner cell to carry on him at all times. I was afraid he may need backup at some point. It was enabled with GPS tracking. When Frost was driving me home I got a call from that phone but no one on the other line spoke. I assume Frankie only had time to place the initial call but then couldn't speak. Frost traced the phone and that's how we ended up here."

"Right smack in the middle of an FBI undercover investigation," Cavanaugh stated looking at both Jane and Frost and then over to the group of men surrounding the FBI agent who saved Frost.

At this point Jane had kind of figured that. "I didn't know anything about that Sir. All I knew or cared about was my brother's safety."

Cavanaugh was not unsympathetic. "Jane, you know that cellphone was a violation of department policy for an undercover assignment."

"Yes, Sir. I know. But he's my brother. It was his first undercover assignment. What did you expect me to do? Not answer the phone? Not respond?"

"Try not giving it to him in the first place Jane. There are protocols for these things and you cannot just pick and choose the ones you want to follow. You know better. Frankie should have known better." He didn't hide his frustration.

"I'm sorry," Jane offered.

Korsak turned to Frost. "Did you know about this?"

Jane answered before Frost could say a word. "No. He did not know about the phone or anything until it rang tonight. If I had been driving myself tonight he wouldn't even be here. This had nothing to do with him." Jane was not going to let Frost take any heat for simply being an excellent partner who had her back. "The issues you have are with me. And me alone."

"That's just the thing Jane. It's not just about you. This was an on-going federal investigation that you entered into and I've already had calls from the captain and our FBI liaison asking why two homicide detectives show up in the middle of the night and ruin a six month undercover sting. And your answer to me is that you, a veteran detective, broke protocol and got involved to help your brother. Which is an admirable thing but it will not sit well with Captain Haynes, with the FBI or with the US Attorney's office."

"Sir, I don't know a thing about whatever it is….or was…that the FBI was doing. As far I knew, Frankie was in some kind of danger and I needed to get to him. He wouldn't have used the cellphone unless he was in trouble. I understand that I broke protocol. And I accept the consequences for my actions." There wasn't much else for Jane to say in that moment.

"Both of you turn over your guns to Korsak until the ISB can clear the discharge. That shouldn't be an issue. There were no fatalities and from what I've been told by you and the FBI you both tried to contain the situation without engaging in gunfire."

Jane and Frost handed over their guns to Korsak who next spoke. "You both need to prepare statements about what happened here," he immediately saw Jane tense. "Relax Jane. I won't need them until tomorrow. I know you want to get to the hospital to check on Frankie. But I need them by 9 am tomorrow."

"Jane, I know you are trying to take the burden of this on your shoulders but you do understand that Frankie is just as guilty of protocol violations as you. Frost, you are cleared of this after ISB finds the shootings justified. She's your partner and you were backing her up. But Jane, this could get sticky for both you and Frankie."

"I realize that Sir. It will be whatever it needs to be. Can I please go and see how my brother is doing?"

Cavanaugh nodded. Frost and Jane took off for the hospital.

Korsak turned to Cavanaugh, "Just how bad is this?"

"They are pissed. She may have broken up an operation at the absolute worst time for the feds. I'll do what I can to walk this back but that may not be too easy."

"It was her brother Sean. What was she supposed to do?"

"I know Vince. But we have rules for a reason. They both broke them. There is only so much I will be able to do to protect them both."

R&I

Maura got to Mass General's emergency room about five minutes after Frankie's ambulance arrived. Her status as the Chief Medical Examiner helped her jump through the standard bureaucratic procedures and she was taken straight back to the ER to see Frankie. She had been relieved to hear that he had regained consciousness in the ambulance. That was a very good sign.

"Maura," Frankie said and she rounded the curtained area that now housed the young officer. With his long hair and beard she barely recognized him.

"Hi," she greeted and walked forward. "You gave us all a scare."

"Where's Jane?" Is she ok?" he asked looking around for his sister.

"She's fine. But she's tied up at the scene. She'll be here as soon as she can. I sent Tommy to get your mother. They are also both on their way."

"But she's fine?"

"From what she told me on the phone she and Frost are just fine," she tried to be as reassuring as possible.

She knew the doctor would want to do a complete workup on Frankie so she was about to excuse herself but he stopped her. "Tell her I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Maura asked not understanding.

"I didn't want to involve her but I panicked. And given all of this, I think I just got her in some serious trouble."

Maura still didn't understand any of what was happening but she knew one thing for sure. "Frankie, Jane can handle trouble. What she could never handle is if something had happened to you. Now, let the doctor check you out and I'll be back when he is done."

She stepped out and briefly spoke to the doctor before letting him start the examination. She headed out to the waiting area to wait for Tommy and Angela. And at some point Jane.

Tommy and Angela arrived first. "Maura, oh my! Where's Frankie?" Angela asked in a panic.

"Angela, relax. Frankie is going to be fine. He's awake and they are just running some tests to be sure," Maura squeezed Angela's hand to try to reassure her.

"He's going to be ok?" she needed confirmation.

"It looks that way. He has a concussion so they will keep him here overnight. But the CT scan didn't show any fractures to the skull and there is minimal bruising which is good. It helps eliminate the concern about pressure and swelling. There were no broken bones. He's got some bruised ribs and it will be mildly painful for him to take deep breaths for a few days. He has bruises and cuts on his face but nothing serious. They are still awaiting his chem panel and tox screen but at this point no one expects to find anything unusual."

"Can I see him?" she hadn't seen him in a month and no one had wanted their first reunion to be in a hospital.

"The last of the tests is being run but you should be able to see him in a few minutes."

"Maura, do you know what happened?" Tommy asked.

Maura shook her head. "I don't. Jane didn't have time to explain everything to me over the phone so I don't think we will get details until she gets here."

"How did they end up together?" Tommy asked.

"I really don't know," Maura answered. Jane apparently had a lot to fill her in on.

R&I

A nurse called back Angela and Tommy to see Frankie. Maura stayed behind to wait for Jane. She had spoken again to the doctor and except for the concussion Frankie was going to be fine. The rib injury was minor with no breaks. Jane arrived about five minutes after Angela was called back.

"Maura! How is he?" Jane practically shouted across the waiting room.

"Moderate concussion. He woke up in the ambulance on the way here. No broken bones. His ribs took a bit of a beating but nothing broken. Nothing wrong with his oxygen levels and the tox screen was negative. They are keeping him overnight due to the concussion but he's going to be ok."

Jane pulled Maura into an immediate embrace. Maura felt the tension lift from Jane's whole body.

"Jane, what happened tonight?" she asked as she pulled out of the embrace.

"Is Ma with Frankie?"

"Yes. Tommy too. Jane. What happened tonight?"

Maura just looked at Jane. She knew she didn't need to explain the look on her face. Jane fully understood she wanted further details. Jane exhaled and made a move to sit down on one of the couches in the waiting area. She indicated for Maura to have a sit which Maura correctly interpreted as a concession that she was going to fill her in. Maura sat down next to Jane and waited.

"Frankie came to see me before he agreed to the undercover assignment. He wanted my advice on whether he was ready for such an assignment. I told him that he was. I even believed it. He really was ready. I wasn't surprised when he said yes to the undercover work. After he said yes, we spent time going over pointers on how to immerse himself into his environment. I taught him everything I could think of to help his transition.

"I really thought he was ready but he's still my little brother. I was worried about him. So we agreed that we would meet once a week just so I could see for myself that he was ok. So, for the last four weeks I've seen him."

"Is that why we took separate cars to lunch today?" Maura asked. Jane nodded.

Maura looked at Jane. She wasn't exactly surprised that Jane was sneaking in visits with Frankie. Jane was furiously protective of her family and the ones she loved. So there wasn't much of a shock to that. She was a little disappointed that Jane hadn't told her from the beginning and she would address that issue in the near future but for the moment she understood that she hadn't heard everything Jane needed to say. "What happened tonight Jane?"

"Besides our weekly meeting, which was against all department protocols, we broke another rule. I got him a disposable cellphone to use if he needed any backup." Jane looked over at Maura. She didn't look mad yet. Curious yes, but not mad. "He used the cellphone tonight. Frost was driving me home and he called. It dialed but he never spoke on the line. But I knew he needed help. Frost pinged the phone and we got a location. Frost and I ended up at a warehouse and we went in looking for Frankie."

"Apparently you found him," she stated.

"Yes, we encountered initially four men assaulting another male and Frankie was unconscious on the ground. Frost and I moved in to secure the location and that was handled until four more men arrived. We exchanged gunfire," Jane watched as Maura tensed, "Maura, I'm fine and so is Frost. We put down that threat but not before a FBI agent had to step in and help. Apparently we interrupted part of a federal undercover sting."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Jane admitted. "They aren't real thrilled with me so I don't even understand what their investigation involved. But according to Cavanaugh I may be just have ruined a pretty big operation."

"Jane you didn't know," Maura said instinctively wanting to defend Jane.

"I know. But I did know I was breaking the rules with Frankie. Cavanaugh is going to try to smooth things over but this may get us both in trouble. I'm sorry."

Maura looked at Jane confused. "Now why are you sorry?"

"I should have told you what was going on. It wouldn't have changed what happened tonight but I should have told you I was seeing Frankie. But I was afraid that you would get caught in the middle or in trouble too if Cavanaugh found out you knew I was breaking policy. I didn't want to jeopardize your job."

"Jane, I can't say that I'm happy that you didn't tell me. In fact," she paused thinking about the envelope she found in the car, "there are a few things you haven't told me recently. We are going to be married. We are going to share our lives together. At some point Jane, you are going to have to let me all the way in. I won't settle for anything less."

Maura held Jane's eyes trying to communicate her emotions along with her words. It always hurt her a little when Jane withheld information. She knew it wasn't that Jane didn't trust her it usually had more to do with Jane's fool-hearted belief that she was protecting Maura from something. She needed for Jane to understand that the best way to protect their relationship was to be open and honest with each other about everything.

They were both quiet for a moment but Maura finally stood up and reached for Jane's hand. "Come on, let's go see Frankie."

They would continue this conversation later. Maura wanted answers about what she found in Jane's glove box. And she was going to get those answers. First from Jane. And then from Doyle.