Chris spent all morning in the squad car, dictating to himself his request for a new partner. All the years he'd known Al, from a little kid when his Dad first partnered with the Irishman, Chris thought the world of him. Now that he was partnered with Aloysius Fitzgerald himself, Chris didn't think he could stand him another second.
Even at the Academy, Chris had never been so inundated with procedures, due process, rules and regulations, and maintaining the good image and ideals of the police force. He hadn't watched and listened to his Dad all those years not to know what being a good cop meant, and he meant to be a good cop. He didn't need an old maid aunt harping on the specifics of it every second of every day.
"Mom said to ask what you're doing next week for St. Patrick's Day?"
Chris hoped to derail the current lecture – the perils and pitfalls of using excessive force. "She's having ham and cabbage."
"Oh thank her for me, but we'll be going to my mother's house. My sister and her husband are coming up from Baltimore, and my baby brother is going to finally grace us with a visit¼how's that brother of yours doing?"
"Good – he's doing real well in school¼" Chris was grateful that the conversation had been turned. "He'll be a senior this September, he's looking into colleges now. I can't believe he's that old already."
"No matter how old they get Chris – they're always your baby brother. My Will is in his forties now, but I still see the ragged little boy our mother couldn't keep out of rain puddles."
"Ha! And I bet 'your Will' likes being called baby brother as much as Vin does. Like he thinks sixteen is as old as old can get."
Al laughed, but turned a wise eye on Chris.
"Don't be thinking twenty-eight is the end of the ages either, lad. It ain't over till it's over."
"Yeah¼" Chris waved that off.
Al parked behind the precinct house, and they went in to finish their shift and go home. The desk sergeant stopped Chris.
"Your Mom just called looking for you. Something happened with your brother and she wants you home right away."
M7*M7*M7
Siren blaring and lights flashing, the regulations and proper procedure went by the wayside as Al raced Chris to his parents' house. They'd barely pulled to stop before Chris slammed open his door and took the front steps three at a time.
"What happened? Where is he?" Mom and Jim were in the kitchen, near the stairs leading upstairs.
"I don't know honey." Sera told him. "He came home early from school – he went right up to his room and locked the door. He won't come out, he won't say anything. I tried calling the school, but the Principal wasn't available and the secretary didn't know anything."
Chris went up the stairs to Vin's room; the door was locked, but he'd lived in the house long enough to know a few tricks. He gave the knob a sharp twist while pulling back on it and the door popped open.
"Vin?" His brother was a thin lump under the blankets on his bed. He even had his head covered. "Vin?" Chris sat on the bed, near the end of the blankets he figured was Vin's head. "What's going on?"
To his surprise, Vin threw the blankets back and sat up to grab Chris hard in his arms. He didn't say anything, just pressed himself into Chris' chest. He still had his jacket on.
"What happened?" Chris could feel him shaking hard. Something had to be terribly wrong. "Dammit Vin – tell me what's going on?"
Vin only shook his head against Chris' jacket and didn't say anything. Jim and Sera stood in the doorway.
"C'mon on now Vin¼" Chris tried to get him to sit back and look at him, but Vin wouldn't let go.
"Okay." Chris held onto him just as tightly, and bent his head down to Vin's. "It's okay Vin." He spoke softly. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know you can. Did something happen at school?"
After a hesitation that seemed to last forever, Vin nodded, and his hair brushed against Chris' cheek.
"What happened?" No answer, and Chris wondered if they'd be reduced to playing Twenty Questions.
"Something happened at school Vin?"
Nod.
"Did you do something at school?"
No answer.
"Did somebody else do something at school?"
Nod.
"Did somebody else at school do something to you?"
Another long hesitation.
Chris pretty much expected a yes. Vin was as prone to being teased as any other boy at school, and he generally tolerated it well. But he was still a teenager among teenagers, and sometimes these things could get out of hand.
Instead of nodding though, Vin pressed against Chris until it felt like he was trying to burrow himself into his brother. His body shook even harder. That worried Chris even more.
"Vin? Did one of the kids at school do something to you?" and Vin shook his head. "C'mon Vin, you can tell me. Did one of the kids –." But Vin shook his head again, before Chris could say anything else. "Let me at least finish the¼"
Chris voice dropped off as he considered the implications of Vin's answer. He cleared his throat and tried to swallow down the anger he could feel building in himself. He leaned down even closer to Vin, and held him tighter in his arms.
"Vin – did somebody else at school do something to you?" and for the few seconds it took Vin to answer, Chris could feel his blood pressure go off the scale.
Nod.
"Okay Vin, that's good." Chris forced the calmness into his voice. "See, you can tell me¼" he swallowed again, and brought one hand up to touch Vin's head.
"Vin – did a teacher do something to you?"
Pause.
Nod.
"Which teacher was it?" The question almost sounded casual, Chris was trying so hard to stay calm. He felt Vin take a couple of sharp breaths.
"Mr. Wickes¼" a very small voice answered, muffled against Chris' jacket.
"And what did he do Vin?" Chris asked, still casual, knowing it was too much to hope for an easy answer. He could feel Jim and Sera's anxiety, standing at the door, straining to hear every word. But he got no answer. God, he didn't even want to think about the possibilities. "Vin – did he touch you?"
Pause.
Deep breath.
Nod.
Swallowing his anger was getting harder for Chris.
"Where did he touch you Vin?" but Vin didn't answer. Chris rested his cheek on the top of Vin's head. "You can tell me Vin, you can tell me."
"He said nobody would believe me¼" the small, muffled voice admitted.
"Well, he was wrong." Dead wrong, Chris thought. He waited another minute.
"Vin, you can tell me. You know I'll believe you, Mom and your Dad'll believe you Vin. You can tell me."
"He – he –." Vin's body jerked with his breathing. Chris just held onto him. "He put his hand¼he said I had to see him after class¼he said he'd fail me and I'd never get into college if I told anybody¼"
Chris let him work the story out with the pain.
"He – the other boys said stuff about him before – but I never¼and he walked up behind me and¼there was nobody else there¼he grabbed me when I tried to leave¼he put his hand – down my jeans¼"
Jim punched the wall and Chris heard him storm down the stairs, Sera following him.
"Then what happened Vin? Can you tell me what happened then?"
"I ran away from him. I got my jacket and I ran home."
"That's good Vin, that's real good. Thank you for telling me." Chris pressed Vin closer.
"I shoulda run sooner - I shoulda listened to what the other boys said." Vin berated himself.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of Vin, you didn't do anything wrong. Okay? You believe me?" and Vin nodded. "Okay, okay¼I'm gonna have Mom come back up, and Al and Jim and I are going to go have a little talk with Mr. Wickes."
"No don't go!" Vin hung on for dear life.
"I'll come back, I promise. It won't take long. I'll send Mom back up OK?" Vin shook his head and wouldn't let go. "He can't get away with this Vin. He won't get away with it. Okay?" He waited until Vin nodded, then stood up, letting Vin go slowly.
His baby brother looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes. Chris stopped long enough to give him another hug.
"I promise you Vin – everything will be okay."
Chris hurried downstairs to find his mother dialing the phone, Al urging him out the door, and Vin's father nowhere in sight.
"Who're you calling? Where's Jim?"
"I'm calling the news, the District Attorney, and the school – in that order. Jim left already. He's gone to kill that monster." Chris nodded and headed for the front door.
"Don't expect me to stop him." He said.
"I expect you to help him."
M7*M7*M7
Wickes turned out to be a short, wide, bald, math teacher. Chris and Al followed the sound of shouting down the hallway to his classroom to find him already pinned in the corner by Jim Tanner, who had apparently just grabbed him by the throat. A classroom of freshman students stared in fear and fascination from their seats, the principal was threatening Jim with arrest, and the elderly secretary excitedly announced:
"Principal Franklin? Channel 7 News is outside and the District Attorney's Office is on the phone¼"
Al put a hand on Chris' shoulder.
"You hang back." He said, and didn't give Chris a chance to answer as he shouted over the noise. "All right! Everybody out! Let us handle this! That means you!" he pointed to the students who shot out like rabbits, and to the secretary who seemed unreasonably gleeful over the proceedings. Chris fumed, knowing Al was going to go by procedures and regulations, when all he wanted to do was rip Wickes in two.
"I want that man arrested!" Principal Franklin said, pointing to Jim, who was still throttling Wickes. Al let one hand rest on his holster. The other thumb he jerked toward the door.
"You wanna just let us do our job?"
The principal sniffed his disdain, but left. Chris expected Al to tell Jim to let go. Instead, he shut the classroom door and leaned against it. He seemed to draw himself up a little, and his body filled the window of the door. For a moment, no one said anything, no one moved. Jim looked from Chris, then to Al.
Al just shrugged and folded his arms, and watched Jim give Wickes a wallop that slammed him into the wall. Al still didn't move.
"Well aren't you going to do anything?" Wickes sputtered through a bloody lip. "Don't you see what he did?" Al shrugged again.
"Nope, I didn't see anything." He moved then to open the door and said loudly, "I'm placing you under arrest for assault of a minor. You have the right to remain silent¼"
M7*M7*M7
When Chris got back to the house, he found his mother in the kitchen. "How is he?"
"He's better honey. Jim took him out for a drive and had a good talk with him, they're upstairs now, Vin's gone to bed already, and he didn't want to be alone."
"I'll just go up and say goodnight to him then." Chris gave Sera a kiss as he walked past her. "And I'm going to remember that you wanted me to help Jim kill that bastard."
Vin had taken a shower and changed into his pajamas even though it was still early. He was sitting up under the blankets with his arms around his knees and his head on his arms. Jim sat on the edge of the bed, one hand firmly gripped around both of Vin's. They both looked up when Chris came in the room.
"How're you doin' Vin?"
"I'm okay."
"Can I sit with you a bit?"
Vin nodded and Jim stood up, patting Vin's arm.
"I'll be downstairs kid."
"Okay Dad."
Chris took off his jacket and holster and motioned Vin to move over, so he could sit on the bed next to him, with his back against the headboard.
"You really okay?"
Vin nodded and moved closer. Chris put both arms around Vin and held him.
"Dad told me what happened at school." Vin said and pulled his knees up again to huddle against Chris.
"Four other students came forward Vin, he'll never touch another kid." Vin nodded and leaned against Chris. "You'll need to give a statement too, tomorrow or the day after. Whenever you can."
"I know - Dad told me. He told me - he said - that you and him would help me."
"Yep we will. You know we will." Chris felt Vin settle his head just under his chin.
Tomorrow, or the day after, Vin would be a regular teenage kid again, and shy away from any sign of affection from his big brother. But tonight, just for tonight, his fear and anxiety made him be just what he was, and would always be to Chris - his baby brother.
"I was so scared, I didn't know what to do."
"You did the right thing Vin – you told me. Remember, you can always tell me anything. Okay?" And he felt Vin nod.
"Okay."
To be continued