L is for Limp
Danny took a step into the cold morning air and rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm them as he walked to his car. He groaned and rolled his eyes as he felt a dull pain creeping back into his lower leg and ankle. He pushed the pain away, but couldn't do the same with memories it brought back...
Danny smiled as he opened the letter from Linda and read it's contents. Out fell a picture of Jack in an army camo onesie smiling in his bouncer.
"Looks just like his mom. Hopefully for his sake, it stays that way!" Pete said with a smirk, coming up behind him.
"Your just jealous because a toddler looks better in his uniform than you do!" Danny returned, with his own smirk. Pete threw his hands up, and walked back to his cot. Danny joined the silence of the others in the tent who were either reading, writing, or sleeping. Tomorrow was gonna be rough day, Danny could already tell.
A horn from the car behind him snapped him back to present day. He reaziled he was still sitting at a green light. He pushed the thoughts away once again, and finished his commute to the precinct.
He gripped the railing a little tighter today as he made his way up the stairs towards his floor. He greeted the usual people as walked towards the coffee machine in the break room. As he was pouring his morning drink, he looked at the calender next to him, and it soon made sense where the thoughts were coming from tis morning. Just before he could slip off again, Baez walked to join him.
"Morning partner!" Maria said in her usual cheery voice. She'd always been a morning person.
"Mornin. Any new cases?" He asked, and walked with her towards their desks.
"Nope, not as of now. Just paperwork. You alright?" Maria asked as she fell back a few paces.
"Yea, why?" Danny said nonchalantly.
"Your limping." She said.
"Ah it's nothing. Just an old injury from my marine days that acts up when it's cold." Danny said dismissively.
"What happened?" Baez asked, taking her seat.
"Reagan, take your unit down to the compound from the east woods. Parks, yours comes out from the water on the south side. Harris, you cover the north from the ridge, and Lewis, you've got the West road leading in. No one moves until my signal, got it?" Sergeant Renolds announced, laying out the game plan.
"Yes SIR." Each captain responded in unison.
"Good. Suit up. We roll out in 20." The men dispersed and grabbed their gear. Danny strapped his vest on, slid the picture of Jack in his front pocket, and threw his gun over His shoulder.
"So I guess your not gonna tell me?" Baez asked.
"What?" Danny asked with a dazed look, coming back from his daydream.
"How you messed up your ankle. It's not the same one you tore the ligament in." She said.
"Oh. Uh, yea. It was from an ambush on my unit one-" Danny started.
"Detectives Reagan and Baez story time can wait. You caught a homicide." Sergeant Danson called from the doorway of his office. Danny shrugged, breathing a sigh of relief on the inside. It had been nearly 16 years since that day, but he still hatedtalking about it.
Later...
"Over here detectives. Marcus Wade, 30, single gunshot wound to the temple. Signs of a struggle." And officer led them to where the M.E. was looking at the body.
"Looks like our vic got into a pretty messy argument with someone. Blood on the walls, but not from splatter." Danny said.
"Yea, well he held his own. Theres blood under his nails. Maybe we can get a match." Baez said.
"Any witnesses? Who found the body?" Danny asked.
"We got a lady waiting outside Detective." Another officer said. Danny nodded, and followed Maria out.
"Can you tell us what happened ma'am?" Baez asked.
"I was out walking my dog like I do every morning. I heard a loud noise coming from the house, but at first it just sounded like someone dropped something. Then Zues started barking more. Then there was a gunshot, and this big guy ran out. He took off down the alley when he came out cause She's spooked him." She said.
"Can you tell us what he looked like?" Danny asked.
"No. No, I only saw his face for like a second." She answered.
"Ok, what about distinctive markings? Did he have any tattoos or scars that you could see?" Baez asked.
"Uh...yea. Yea, he had a big ratio on his bicep. I remember it because I kept thinking how crazy he must be to be out in this weather in a muscle tee." She said, then described the tattoo. She got halfway through, then Danny's face contorted.
"Did it look like this?" He asked, loosening his tie and shirt buttons before pulling it down slightly to show his own tattoo on his chest.
"Yea. It was exactly like that. How'd you know?" She asked.
"Because it's the tattoo of the U.S. Marine Corps. I got mine as soon as I got home from my second tour." He said, fixing his tie. He thanked the witness for her help, gave her his card in case she remembered anything else, and sent her on her way.
"As much as I hate to say it, it looks like our killer is an ex-marine." Danny said.
"Yea, but what provoked such a violent argument?" Baez asked.
"Only time can answer that." He replied.
Later...
Danny scrolled through his computer, glad that they had a case to keep his mind from wandering.
"Got the results from the lab. The blood under out vics nails belongs to a Nathan Wade. Our vics...brother. You were right Danny. Says here Nate served four tours in Iran. He was released on medical leave after his convoy was hit by an air missile. Took his left hand and a piece of his skull. He was in the physic ward at the VA for severe ptsd and violent outbursts. He was released a month ago to live with Marcus." Baez read the details off her computer, but Danny missed the last part, because he went back to September 15th as soon as she said air missile.
"East, West, and South units move in. We need Jabar alive. Other than that, we have strict orders to shoot to kill." Danny heard Renolds orders in his ear.
"Grizzly on the move." Danny whispered his units code name into the radio, and listened as the others responded.
"Croc moving in."
"Wolf on the move."
"Eagle watching over. No sign of movement from the camp."
Danny motioned to his team, and they made their way down the hill.
"Hey! Reagan?! Did you hear anything of what I just said?" Baez said, snapping her fingers. Danny shook his head to draw himself out of the daze once again.
"Yea. Severe ptsd, anger, depression, the guys a basket case. Probably started him and pulled the pin on a grenade. It would make sense for all the violence." Danny said.
"Sounds likely. While you were off in la la land, I got an address." Baez said, waving a paper in front of him.
"Good. Let's go get him. Your gonna want your vest and SWAT for this one. Trust me, you don't want to be unprepared when your confronting a pissed off marine in a trance." Danny said. Baez nodded.
Later...
Baez looked into the interrogation room where the burly man sat, cuffed to the table. He had his head on the table.
"Looks like he finally calmed down." She said.
"Ok. Let me lead this one. He knows I'm a marine, he might trust me more." Danny said. Baez nodded again then opened the door. Danny walked in and sat the note pad in front of Nate on the table.
"Here's a pen. Start writing your confession." Danny said.
"I...I still don't remember anything." Nate stuttered.
"Really? Not even standing over your brothers body? Look, we already tested the blood under Marcus' nails. It's yours. Seems like it was an even match until you shot him." Maria said. She backed off when she or a look from Danny. She could see the sympathy in his eyes.
"I...I...all I remember is that he started shooting at me first! He...he joined the rebels! I thought he was trying to kill me! Then I blacked out, and the next thing I knew, Marc was d...dead. And I was holding the gun." Nate said, before breaking down.
"He didn't join anything. He was watching Lone Survivor. It was a movie. You should be stayed in the hospital. They can control your ptsd." Danny said.
"Oh yea? And how'd you know?" Nate snapped.
"You remember I said I was a Marine? Today, 16 years ago, my unit was carrying out a mission to capture Salem Jabar alive from his compound in the Afghan desert. He was a drug lord that had killed 10 of our men two weeks before for no reason. My team was moving in from the woods when we hit a landmine. Threw me 30 feet over the side of a hill. Broke 16 bones. I still carry shrapnel from the bomb in my ankle and knee. Of the 6 people in my team, only me and one other guy went home that day. I know all about that." Danny finished his story by pulling his pant leg to the knee to show the jagged lines of scars. Baez had never heard the story before. She knew he had been through a lot, but never how much. She stood in shocked silence.
"Ok...so What do I do now?" Nate asked.
"You get yourself a good lawyer and plead insanity. But first, you write your statement." Danny said, before opening the door to walk out. The partners sat back down at their desks.
"So that's what the limp is from. How come you've never told me about that?" Maria asked.
"16 years and I still hate talking about it."
Danny heard a barley detectable click, and looked over at Matthews. Panic filled him as he cursed under his breath. Before he had the chance to say anything, he felt himself being propelled back through the air. When he felt the ground beneath him once again, it was met with immense pain. He heard multiple bones snap as the momentum tossed him like a pin ball down the rocky hill side. He wasn't graced with being knocked unconscious, and when he finally stopped rolling, he lay there, trying to catch his breath through the pain.
"This is Eagle. Grizzly has fallen! I repeat, Grizzly is down." Danny listened to Dean in the earpiece. Then he listened as gunfire started to rain down. The land mine had spooked the rebels. He slowly picked up his head, looking down to see as large shard of metal sticking in one side of his knee and coming out the other. When he looked further, he saw his femur through his pant leg. Wether it was the sight of his own skeleton, or his adrenaline wearing off, he finally passed out.
"They found me on that hill side after 6 hours. Reinforments came and took Jabar away while the rest of the 45th devision searched for team Grizzly, my subunit. Pete Matthews missed the birth of his daughter. Stevens missed his wedding. Downs missed his sons graduation. Edmonton missed walking his daughter down the isle. And somehow, I got to come home." Danny shook head. He looked down at the dog tags he was running through his fingers. Baez sat listening in silence, not knowing what to say.
"Its crazy when you realize that guy in there? That could've been me. If it wasn't for Linda and the boys, it wouldve been." Danny said, motioning to the room where Nate sat.
"Well I'm glad it wasn't. This city would be lost without you in it." Baez said. Danny smiled, and sat a while longer reflecting.