Chapter 25

Y is for You are Great

Two days after Don left the hospital, he had to deal with a certain student who had accidentally shot him. Don reviewed the reports and felt this student was not bad and needed some help, especially his help….

Alan sighed and settled down near his eldest who was out of hospital this morning and supposed to be resting nicely. He seemed fidgety; maybe he was having a nasty dream? Should he wake him up?

Much earlier it was a rather harrowing two days, high fever, sweating and then, high fever again. He didn't want to go through that anymore. He felt very old and tired. He was pleased that Don finally got home where he and Charlie could look after him.

It was good to be home, Don thought. The doctor didn't want him to be discharged, but he was sick of the hospital, the smells of sanitization, the smell of hospital food and even the smell of his room. The smell of medication and squeaky cleanliness of antiseptic made him want to puke.

He knew he had given his father and Charlie a fright four days ago when he was riddled with high fever which didn't abate for two days.
When the fever was gone, he slowly got better and much aware of his surroundings. Another two more days, he had enough of the smell and wanted to be out as soon as possible.

He told the doctor that since he was out of danger and had no fever, there was no need to stay.

His father and brother would look after him. After all, the wound was healing nicely, and his arm was fully mobile again.
It was funny, that while he was fighting infection and fever in bed, the inactivity in bed gave his bad arm the chance to get better.
The doctor gave him home care instructions and had Alan and Charlie sit in as well.
All the do's and don'ts were stated, and if Don had any slight fever, he was to come into the hospital.

After getting them to agree, he signed the discharge papers.

Don had David bring the report of the latest case to him. The case where he was in the case, him being the only injured victim. He was shot while trying to stop a student from jumping off the roof. His intervention caused a startled reaction, thus the gun went off. It had been almost ten days since he was shot.

When he read the report, he knew he was bound to help the student named Xavier Lionel Grant.

He remembered arresting a Grant who was now serving a 6 year jail sentence, for he was involved in a series of bank robberies. Though he never took part in the actual robberies, he was still listed as an accomplice for he was the driver of the car that was used.

He had found out that Xavier was Grant's son. The 'man' of the house, responsible for his mother (found out that she was sick) and his two brothers.

Don read the report. Xavier Lionel Grant had confessed to everything from helping distribute the drugs, having a gun in his hand.

But he said he never intended to shoot, and he was only told to go up to the roof. Frankie wanted him to get the agents up there.

He did not ask for leniency but promised to confess if they promised to take care of his mother and brothers. He didn't care that he would go to jail.

He needed the money for his family and not himself. He just took the drugs from Frankie and passed it on to another. He knew it was bad, but he had no choice. Working weekends in the supermarket did not bring enough food for his mother and brothers. Plus, his mother needed medicine.
This was the transcript from the interrogation.

Don wanted to go to the office and he wanted to talk to Robin. He believed that Xavier confessed without anyone to guide him. He was still a minor and another thing in his favor was that no drugs were found on him, in his locker or his home.

After they left, Don turned to Charlie, "Charlie, can you do an analysis probability that the gun would have not discharged if I had approached him in a different way. It would be like the one you did for last year when I was jumped from behind and had to shoot."

"Yea, I know what you are talking about. But you want me to put you in the wrong. You want me to prove that you shouldn't have jumped him and that because of it you were shot. You want me to say that…that student's gun went off accidentally and not purposely? Why? Don he shot you, and because of it, you nearly died." Charlie was angry with Don for being lenient with the student.

"Charlie, under the circumstances, who knows I might have done the same thing. He was wrong, but circumstances made him do it. After all, it was survival, to take care of his sick mother and brothers while their father was in jail. I was the one who arrested him."

Charlie looked at his brother. He knew what he was doing. He was blaming himself for arresting Xavier's father and putting him in jail. Because of that, Xavier had to do what he could to hold his family together. But, didn't Don know that Xavier Lionel might be purposely seeking them out, especially Don, to shoot him, take revenge. He looked at his brother.

"What about the drugs, Don? Wasn't he one of the minions recruited by Frankie."

"Yes, but he never had any on him. If he had a good lawyer, he might get away with it. As it is, he said he will confess if they agree to look after his mother and brothers. Again, I can get Robin to come up with something that will satisfy the court and the law. He already agreed to tell all, so that part's easy, now to satisfy the law part."

"What about the rest of the students who were involved."

"It will be up to their parents to bail them out. Xavier Lionel was a special case. I know he what he did was wrong, but I believe he needs our help."

"Don, are you doing this because of Megan? I knew what she said about children. Larry told me some of it."

"Maybe Charlie, maybe what she talked to me about rubbed off, and now I am thinking that not all minors who commit the crimes are guilty. I hope the DA will look at each case individually instead of grouping them all together.
But they don't have the privilege to do that. It would cost time, money and resources to do that."

Don continued, "This case I know I can help. I will do my best for Xavier Lionel Grant."

Don told Charlie about the conversation he had with Megan before she left. It was disturbing to see that she was so affected by the recent happenings. He saw her passion about children getting involved in the big man's world of crime. She said they don't have the privilege to be kids and do kids stuff. Some had been shoved into the world of criminal activities while in their early teens.

She said she will be leaving and had found a position to use her profiling and counseling abilities to help teenagers.
It was a very long talk they had, and Don had no choice but to wish her all the best and let her go.

Charlie was fascinated that all the people he knew Megan, Larry, Amita, David, Colby and Don, especially Don, were all so committed and full of passion in what they do.

He thought to himself, 'They're great, all great and you are great, my brother.'
He hoped his emotions weren't showing on his face.
He looked at Don and finally said, "Yes, Don I will help you. You're really great, you know . You care a lot, and I will do my best to help you. Always."

"Thanks Charlie, that will do. Don't have to go overboard with the greatness thing. We are all doing our job the best we can. Hopefully no slipshot, halfshot, all the way the best we can."

Don looked tired and Charlie got up and said, "OK bro, time to go to bed. You looked all tired out. Don't argue. Pity me, I was the one who saw you fighting infection not too many days ago. I don't want a relapse. Time to go, you don't want dad to come charging in, do you? He said you are not to stay downstairs too long, remember?"

"I'll get back to you, and I'll talk to Robin and your team. Don't worry."

Don's mind was already working. He was remembering what Colby said. "There was a coach in the court talking to some students."

He ran over the case in his mind. Could that coach be the man who hit Charlie? They had not found him yet, and there were no prints. He was wearing gloves? So many questions unanswered.

He thought about Jimmy. He might have taken some footage of people coming in and out of the school. That was a possibility he could look into. Only he had seen that man's face…..

He felt someone's hand on his back, "Don? Anything else?"

"Thinking about that coach, I wonder if he was the same guy." Don broke off.

Don's team had caught the main supplier of drugs to the students in the school, Frankie Kingston. Frankie refused to tell them anything. He said he didn't know anything and only got his supply from this one coach.

Xavier Lionel, in his written confession, mentioned one other person he knew by the name of "Coach" He sometimes heard Frankie talking on the phone. He was unable to describe him as he had not seen him at all.
This had confirmed what Frankie had told them.

Now they will have to start all over again to look for this so called 'coach.'

Charlie looked at his brother who was suddenly silent.

"Don? "

"No, Charlie just thinking." Don didn't want to delve into the past and hoped that Charlie had forgotten about that search.

tbc