Title: Police Academy – Becoming Blue
Chapter 14 – Secrets

Jamie slowly slips into the darkened quiet house, kicks off his shoes and tries to head to his bedroom unnoticed; it doesn't completely work.

"Busy night son?" Frank's warm voice entreats, forcing Jamie to slightly jump and utter a small gasp.

"Dad…you scared me…sorry I didn't see you," Jamie gently stammers as he leans against the doorframe to the living room.

"Danny called here looking for you earlier…everything okay?"

"He did? I um…yeah I dropped my phone and it broke," Jamie nervously fishes around for his phone before showing his father and then stuffing it back into his backpack; the backpack that Garth had left inside the small closet.

"Everything okay?"

"Sure um…with what?" Jamie wonders.

"With school…you and Danny."

"Yeah…sure…everything's fine," Jamie nods and swallows at the same time. "Just tired you know."

"Did you have supper?"

"Yeah I had to stop by um...work and Danny came to get me and we had dinner. It's all okay."

"If something is bothering you...or if there is something feuding between you and Danny..."

"No...we're good," Jamie insists in haste. "Just tired."

"Sure. Goodnight son."

"Night dad."

Frank watches Jamie leave and frowns; a feeling inside was telling him that something wasn't right but he could only push Jamie so far without it backfiring. So tells himself that observation now was the key; observed and then move in.

Jamie closes the door to his bedroom, takes off his jacket and then literally collapses onto his bed. He utters a small grunt as he rolls under the covers, his mind trying desperately to erase the past few hours but knowing inside his gut that the night ahead was to be fraught with horrible nightmares courtesy of Garth Robinson. And that gut feeling would be right.

XXXXXXXX

Garth and Aaron arrive mid-Sunday morning the same place they had been the night before; the dirty, fish smelling shack; pulling up outside and then getting out, no one around as per the normal.

"Let's go see how our little captive slept last night," Garth snickers as he slaps Aaron on the back and hands him the black ski mask.

"Man I'll bet he was scared and didn't sleep a wink," Aaron answers with an uncaring tone as they enter the small building and both pull on their ski masks.

"Well I hope he's ready to give in."

The two of them near the closet, nothing looking out of place; Aaron grabbing the door handle while Garth stands in front, his arms folded across his chest and ready to laugh at Jamie's predicament. However, as soon as the door is pulled open the sight that awaits them isn't the same as the night before.

"What the hell?" Garth hisses in anger at the items that await him. Jamie was gone, replaced with a pile of duct tape snipping's below a picture of himself taken at from his Police Academy ID and taped beneath a heading that read: 'wanted for kidnapping.'

"Oh damn," Aaron curses as he looks at Garth in shock. "Man...this is bad."

"He's gonna pay for this…golden boy is gonna pay for this!" Garth growls as his fist slams into the nearby closet door, nearly breaking it.

"Let's go."

"How he the hell did he get out of all that!"

"I don't know but um...I don't want to find out. Let's go."

"He'll pay for defying me!"

"Come on man…let's get the hell outta here," Aaron advises.

"I wanna know how the hell he got out!"

"I don't know but…we need to haul ass outta here!" Aaron reminds him as he looks back outside, nervous wondering if they were being watched. "Someone musta saw us."

"He tells anyone and he's dead!"

"Garth…what?"

"You heard me!" Garth growls as he turns and glares angrily at Aaron. "Dead!"

"Okay man look…I backed you for some of this stuff but um…dead? You're kidding right?"

But without saying another word, Garth's fist hits the door once more, this time making it bounce against the wall and slam back into its doorframe with a loud bang.

From his hidden vantage point Danny watches Garth exit the door and quickly removes himself and hurries after him, his heart racing from the threat and his fists wanting to get around Garth's neck, ring it and then punch him in the face a few times; before kicking his ass – literally.

"Where are you going?" Demarcus asks in haste from his hidden vantage point.

"I'm going after that jackass," Danny curses with a heavy sigh.

"Wait a minute on that…don't do anything rash to ruin this."

"He just threatened my brother!" Danny growls.

"Well…he threatened someone. He didn't mention names."

"Damn it," Danny groans as he watches Garth's car peel away and then just shakes his head. "Do you record all that?" Danny asks over his phone as he pulls out a small camera.

"Loud and clear. You get your stuff?"

"Yeah," Danny frowns. "We might not be able to pin this on him yet but I heard the threat and if he tries something again, he'll really pay."

"A death threat? Danny that's serious business."

"I'm not laughing. Come on, let's go."

XXXXXXXX

Jamie lies in bed, his mind remember Danny telling him that he'd take care of it and not to go back to the pier, but to go to school on Monday as normal. He gazes over at his bag on the floor before reaching for the cordless home phone and calling Tom.

"So you really okay or what?" Tom asks.

Jamie's free hand automatically rests on his tender ribs from where Garth had kicked him the night before and frowns; his mind begging him not to tell that he was once again feeling the ill effects of Garth Robinson's wrath.

"Yeah am fine. I was um…mugged and my phone broke…sorry about all that."

"Jamie…"

"Tom really…it's okay."

"Did it have anything to do with Garth?"

"He's just a jerk."

"He's a jerk with means. You better watch yourself around him," Tom warns firmly.

"Yeah I will. How'd last night go?"

Jamie talks to Tom a bit longer before he calls Sydney, Danny having told him that he had called her also.

"So where were you really last night?"

"I told you my phone broke and I had to work but I got um…mugged on the way there. Yeah am okay…how was your night?"

"Jamie…"

"Really I'm fine. They didn't take anything, just broke my phone. I'll get a new one today. So how was dinner with your sister last night? What's life like in London these days?"

Jamie concludes his conversation with Sydney, cementing a date for the following weekend and then tells himself it's time to finally get up and get the day started. Last Sunday he almost feared Danny's presence at family dinner because of the tension that was allowed to fester between the two of them the preceding week. But tonight his anxiety at seeing Danny would be for a different reason – wanting to know if he was there when Garth went back to check on him.

After his shower, Jamie heads into the kitchen to help his grandfather with breakfast and just relax.

"Hey kid…sleep well?" Henry greets Jaime with a warm smile.

"Yeah," Jamie answers as he heads for the counter to pour himself some coffee.

"How's Sydney?"

"We're going out next weekend, hopefully," Jamie frowns. "She still talks about this great job that that loud mouthed Jake took with some firm and how when she told her parents they were impressed. But that didn't last too long and we talked about her sister and stuff…I don't know…" Jamie pauses as he takes a sip of his hot coffee, drawing Henry's gaze in his direction.

"Still having doubts huh."

"Yeah and here I thought it was usually the bride that gets cold feet," Jamie smirks, bringing a small chuckle to Henry's lips.

"A good remedy for cold feet is..."

The two of them enjoy some friendly banter until Frank joins them; Jamie doing everything in his power to keep the conversation away from school or any of the events the night before; knowing that Danny had called home a few times checking to see if he was there. Breakfast goes off without a hitch; afterwards he then heads to his room to try to study, wanting to get his mind back on track for the following day.

But every few minutes, he'd glance upward at the clock and his time to concentrate on anything other than what happened when Garth arrived and found he was missing – was moot. He just had to know from Danny what went down. He had already tried Danny once and after having only gotten his voice mail, decided to wait.

"I'm going to get a new phone, be back in about an hour," Jamie calls out as he takes his leave, heading outside into the crisp fall air. As much as he tries to tell himself that Danny would handle Garth in whatever way he deemed appropriate, he can't help but now get the creepy feeling that he's being watched – followed even? He nervously looks around, not really seeing anything too out of place and then looking forward again toward his destination.

"You are gonna pay Reagan," Garth hisses under his breath as he watches Jamie from a distance. He had dropped off Aaron and proceeded alone – his mind reeling after he had returned to find Jamie missing and a stupid picture there waiting instead. "Whoever set you free is gonna be sorry!" He growls loudly as he pounds his fist into the steering wheel and then pulls back; his car still hidden from Jamie's viewpoint.

Jamie disappears into the phone store, his anxiety easing during his shopping and then finally dissipating as he steps back outside and heads for home. The feeling he had earlier of being watched had somewhat lessened, but the calm feeling he had experienced in the store not more than five minutes ago was disappearing in favor of blossoming turmoil. I know it was you Garth, Jamie's mind groans as he heads back toward the bus stop. Well I'm not going to let you beat me! His mind utters with silent conviction.

However, that conviction is suddenly rendered moot, when a car matching the same one that Garth had locked him in the night before drives by and his anxiety skyrockets. The driver was a woman and it wasn't exactly identical, but it was close enough to send his heart all aflutter – and not for the right reasons.

"Damn it," Jamie curses himself as he gets onto the bus, trying to convince his mind to focus on the coming school week when they'd be doing their preliminary gun training and not on what stupid stuff Garth Robinson was up to. He reaches home in time to stow his new phone and jacket in his bedroom and then join his father and grandfather in the kitchen as they prepare dinner for their family that would be arriving soon.

About half hour later, Jamie watches as Danny pulls up and his family slowly piles out; Jamie's lips automatically offering a smile as he watches the two boys teasing their father about something; his mind frantically wondering if he'd ever have a loving family to call his own as Danny has.

"Anyone home?" Danny calls out with a smirk as he pushes the door open and watches Jamie appear from the kitchen with something to set on the table. "Hey kid," Danny tries to greet as normally as he would.

"Hey," Jamie tosses back a casual smile as his two nephews rush toward him, each with their own story to tell their adoring uncle. Jamie patiently listens to their stories and then tries to break free to talk to Danny; but each time his progress is impeded by another family member and soon it was time to sit down and enjoy their meal. After grace is said and the portions started to be handed out, Frank glances over at Jamie and notices him barely picking at his meal, even last week he seemed a bit more upbeat; tonight he actually seems – nervous?

"So Jamie…" Frank starts, forcing Jamie to instantly look up, feeling all eyes upon him. "What's on deck for this coming week?"

"We are starting on the um…the gun stuff," Jamie replies honestly, his two nephew's instantly plying him with questions about what kinds of guns he'd be shooting, what would he be shooting at and when would he be as good as their father.

"He's got a long way to go before he can shoot like me," Danny teases, drawing a small eye roll from Linda and a smirk from Jamie.

"You know no Reagan has gotten anything less than a perfect score when it comes to marksmanship," Henry boasts.

"Yeah no pressure kid," Danny winks at Jamie, making him purse his lips and his frown deepen.

"Way to go pop," Frank chides. "Shooting an unmoving target in a controlled setting isn't what really counts."

"You don't have moving targets?" Jack pipes up.

"You wanna volunteer?" Danny goads, earning a huffed 'Danny' from his wife and a few chuckles from the rest of the family.

"But how can Uncle Jamie learn if the targets don't move? People move…unless they freeze," Sean mulls over.

"My boys…the geniuses," Danny grins. "Okay so here's how it works..."

Thankful for the deflection to calm his rising anxiety about facing Garth at the academy tomorrow, Jamie finishes his meal, able to calm the tension in his stomach long enough for him to actually enjoy his Sunday dinner and then linger a bit longer with dessert.

"Got a sec…" Jamie finally gets to talk to Danny alone in their father's study after supper.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah fine…what happened with Garth? Did you talk to him?"

"No," Danny replies in haste. "He woulda denied it, we need proof."

"I told you he took…well one of them took a picture. Danny I swear there were pictures taken."

"Right and if I woulda mentioned it he coulda come back with the whole get a warrant bit and then in about two seconds erased the pictures and my time would be wasted. He was pissed as was to be expected. That other guy Aaron was with him and he tried to calm him down a bit."

"Calm him down? Danny what happened?"

"Just keep your eyes open at school and no going into any dark areas alone."

"Not funny."

"Well I ain't laughin'," Danny replies with a heavy frown. "Now I'm working on something but this hasta be by the book or it's not good."

"By the book? You?" Jamie arches his brows.

"Fine blame Demarcus this time around. But he's right…we come at him with only your word and soon it's a he said he said kinda war…"

"In which I end up looking like some kinda tattle tale that can't hold his own," Jamie groans as he shakes his head and walks away a few feet. "Was he really that pissed?"

"He threatened death."

"What?" Jamie lightly hisses as he turns back to Danny in shock. "And you couldn't arrest him for uttering a threat."

"Okay what section are you on in there Harvard?" Danny huffs. "First off he only referred to you as golden boy or he…he never said Jamie or Reagan so again we have no evidence that he was uttering the death against you personally – no arrest would stick. He could say it was someone else and he'd be right. Second…do I believe him…yeah…yeah I do," Danny sighs as he looks at Jamie in concern.

"Well I won't quit."

"I don't really expect you to, in fact I want you to kick his ass in there more than ever," Danny smirks, making Jamie's face slightly soften.

"But seriously how can I expect to concentrate on anything with him…Danny he's always there and now that he knows that I escaped with help…"

"If he asks you about it…you call me right away okay? But I doubt he'll do that because he won't want to tip his hand that it was him."

"He might be angry enough to mention it," Jamie sighs. "And even if he doesn't I'm gonna be thinking about him asking me and what I'll say…ah I hate this."

"Yeah well I hate this too but until we have something concrete against this clown…"

"Would the pictures help?" Jamie asks weakly.

"Any direct evidence with you in it will help…yes," Danny resigns. "But you must promise me that you won't do anything stupid like try to get his phone and check okay?"

"Danny…"

"Promise me kid," Danny warns firmly. "He erases those pictures…if he even still has then and we got nothing but your word…which I believe but it's not enough to even get him expelled this term."

"Fine," Jamie reluctantly agrees. "I just want this all to stop."

"Yeah me too."

"Couldn't dad pull him…you know get him transferred out or something?"

"Sure he could…but if it's just that you are getting some guy kicked out because you can't handle being called a few names…"

"Then again I seem like a big baby or something."

"But we get him expelled doing something illegal…then he won't have a leg to stand on and the Reagan name isn't…"

"Soured by me?" Jamie grumbles.

"Sorry but we've all worked too hard to keep that name what it is."

"I know…I just want him to go away…for good."

"Yeah…me too."

"Think dad suspected something?"

"I do and I doubt it'll be much longer but this is your fight and you'll tell him when you're ready," Danny assures him. "That's not my place."

"Okay."

They head back into the main living room, as suspected Frank watching with a wondering glance, his mind knowing it wouldn't be long before he sat Jamie down and got the whole truth out of him; if something was bothering his sons to the extent that they were starting to act withdrawn and keep potentially life-threatening secrets from him, it was time to act and end it. But not just yet…a bit longer. But at the same time, he was more than happy to see Danny finally starting to act a bit more protective of Jamie.

The family starts to disperse and Jamie heads for his room, wanting to study a few hours before calling it a night; knowing that his sleep wouldn't be that restful and Monday fraught with anxiety and stress. He gets up early Monday morning, his stomach doing flips in anticipation of seeing Garth Robinson face to face.

Jamie enters the academy yard, quickly scanning for any of his friends but not seeing them yet and so heads for the locker room with a tight stomach and almost damp neck and back. He rounds the corner to the locker room and stops short as he notices Garth look up and glare right at him; his throat instantly dry and unable to swallow his rising tension.

Today…is gonna be hell.

A/N: So what will Jamie face at school this week? And now that Danny knows the threat will he do anything on his own about it? Hope I am not boring anyone with this story and I do apologize if I am and to the readers/reviewers that left I am sorry. To the rest I hope you are still liking it and feedback would be most appreciated. Thanks so much and stay tuned for more!