Chapter 25- The Robbery and The Little Girl's Identity
Finch and Brandi came back that evening after eating dinner. "So, what did you think?" Finch asked his daughter, referring to the expensive meal they had just eaten.
"I've never had a 75 dollar meal before. Did you and my father always eat like that?" Brandi asked, raising her eyebrows. Finch touched her face lightly with the back of his hand.
"When I became rich before you were born and your father and mother had a night off, yes. That restaurant was the one I took your mother to on our first date before she met your father. I always hoped that when and if I found you, I could introduce you to some of the best restaurants in New York City," Finch said, kissing her forehead tenderly.
"Yeah, that kinda blew Neron's out of the water. Mom couldn't cook so we ate at Neron's in Queens. A lot," Brandi said. (A/N: I looked it up. This place really does exist. I have never been to New York City, so I have to look it up.)
"I never heard of it. But I love taking you to these places and seeing the look on your face as you look around," Finch said, bracing her face with both hands and wrapping strands of her hair around his fingers.
"You don't have to do that, though, Dad. I can eat Taco Bell, Burger King, or the Panera Bread," Brandi said, burying her face in his chest. Finch chuckled dryly.
"The first two choices give me dyspepsia, but I've never had the third," Finch said, stroking her head gently.
"It's pretty good. I love the mozzarella and tomato sandwich with the broccoli soup," Brandi said.
"Sounds good," Finch said as his computer beeped.
"I know. What's up, Uncle John?" Brandi asked, lazily reaching over and pressing the button to turn on Reese's frequency.
"Hey, Finch, kid. Just got the call. Gang's picking me up. Get told the target on route," Reese said cryptically.
"You're not going in with them," Finch said in shocked surprise.
"Gotta watch Joey's back. Don't trust his friend Straub one bit," Reese said grimly.
"Uncle John, I did not understand "infiltrate the gang" to mean join them in their robberies," Brandi said as Finch sat down and Brandi wrapped her arms around his neck.
"No choice, kid. I'll keep the line open. You and your dad monitor the police band for me," Reese said as Brandi removed her arms from Finch's neck and sat next to him, chewing her lips nervously.
"He'll be fine, Brandi," Finch said, picking up her hand and gently kissing the palm.
Brandi tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes like her smiles normally did. "He won't be if they discover who he is, Daddy," Brandi said.
"Here," they heard a voice say, punctuated by the cock of a gun over the computer.
"Why the heavy artillery?" Reese asked.
"Target's a mob gambling joint. 445 Mulvaney. People inside guaranteed to be packing," the same man said.
"ETA, 60 seconds. Phones off, batteries out, radio comms only," another voice said.
"Oh no. We won't be able to hear him, Dad," Brandi said, near panic in her eyes.
"As long as we have the police band open, we will," Finch said, patting her hand next to his hand gently.
The sounds of gunshots and people screaming came over the feed. "Back against the wall! Put the money down!" Joey ordered as the rest of the gang issued their own orders.
Finch looked at the computer surprised as the police band sparked to life. "Reese, N.Y.P.D. dispatch just received a backup call for that address," Finch said urgently.
"Uncle John? N.Y.P.D. is on route. Do you hear us?" Brandi asked sharply.
"We gotta move out. Cops are coming," Reese said in a muffled voice.
"How do you know?" Joey asked.
"Police band. They have our address," Reese said.
"We gotta move. Leave the money," Joey said.
"I'm not going," Joey's friend, Straub, said.
"Leave the money. We gotta move," Joey ordered again.
"No way. I'm not leaving," Straub said stubbornly.
"That's it! Move now!" Joey ordered sharply as shots fired and more people screamed. "Let's go, let's go! Move it! Everyone over," Joey barked.
"Move across," they heard Reese faintly.
"I don't hear any cops! We left 100 grand! Straub shouted after Finch and Brandi heard them run down some metal stairs and then the sound of a police siren filled the monitor.
"Hear them now, Straub? Lucky for us he was listening in," Joey said calmly.
"Come on, let's go. This way," Reese said.
"Let's mover," Joey ordered. Brandi breathed a sigh of relief, resting her head next to Finch's hand. Finch stroked her hair gently, feeling equally relieved.
Finch and Brandi looked up as Reese entered the library. "Uncle John, are you okay?" Brandi asked, walking over to Reese and giving him a hug.
"I'm fine, thanks to you and your dad. I never thought I'd say this, but for a kid, you aren't half bad in a fight. I guess it's your tough Irish and Jewish roots," Reese said dryly.
"I guess it's in the blood. You know, the fighting Irish and the Maccabees and the warriors at Masada. But unlike the warriors at Masada, I'll never kill myself. Call me chicken, but I'd be too scared to do it," Brandi said, walking over to Finch, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"You'd also have a father who'd be broken-hearted if you did, sweetheart," Finch said as his computer beeped.
"Looks like someone is calling Latimer, Daddy," Brandi said, looking at the screen as Finch pushed the button with one hand and stroked the back of Brandi's neck gently with the other.
"I don't know what happened. Hardly got in there before the cops were on us. Joey and the new guy said to leave the money," Straub's voice said over the feed.
"What a slimy rat!" Brandi muttered under her breath.
"Yeah. How thoughtful of them. You guys let me down, Straub," Latimer said with venomous sarcasm.
"I'll make it up to you. You gotta give us another chance," Straub begged.
"Okay, one more. The big one," Latimer agreed.
"Can you tell me what it is?" Straub asked.
"In good time. And keep an eye on the new guy. You might need him going in. Not sure you'll need him coming out," Latimer said, ending the conversation.
"How can we wrap this up? It can't go on, John. Somebody's gonna get killed," Finch said gravely.
"Let me talk to Joey first," Reese said.
"To what end?" Finch asked confused.
"I want to find out what his guilt trip is. Try to cure him of it," Reese said.
"Might be more complicated than you think. I stumbled across this last night when Dad was fixing himself some tea. I got into Joey's bank accounts. Last four months he's paid nearly $10,000 dollars into a 529 savings plan for the little girl, Amy Myles. It'll pay for her to go to college," Brandi said after pulling up Joey's bank statement.
"Amy has to be Joey's kid," Reese said, pointing to the picture of Amy.
"But she's not. Hospital records show that her daddy was called Frank Stephens," Brandi said, pulling up a photo of a man dressed like a soldier.
"Was?" Reese asked.
"I lost my dad on 9/11 at Ground Zero. Amy's dad was killed in Afghanistan. He was a soldier in the 107th," Brandi said flatly.
"Same unit as Joey's," Finch said as he and Reese looked at the pictures of Joey and Frank Stephen's widow.
"It doesn't take much to figure out what Joey's agenda is. Her dad was Joey's best friend. It stands to reason that he would make sure that Frank Stephen's wife and daughter would have no financial issues. Uncle O.B. was the same way. He was friends with my dad and he watched out for me and two other kids who lost dads and a mom when the Trade Center fell and they went in as First Responders. He said he owed it to our parents to keep us safe," Brandi said.
"The difference between Joey and O'Bryan was O'Bryan would never break the law to make sure you were okay. I met O'Bryan when your father graduated. He wouldn't rob a bank just so you can go to college," Finch said, resting his hands on Brandi's shoulders.
"I'm going to go talk to Pia," Reese said, putting on his jacket.
"Joey's girlfriend? I don't think she will have anything for us to go on," Brandi said.
"You care to wager on that, Brandi?" Reese asked.
"No. If you question her and she knows nothing, I'm gonna have to tell you I told you so," Brandi said, standing up and facing Reese.
"Finch, can I borrow your daughter? She can come with me when I talk to Pia. I want her to see if her theory is right," Reese said.
"Last time I trusted you with my daughter, she almost was killed by an assassin," Finch said stiffly.
"She won't be this time. I'll just talk to Pia and then send Brandi back here," Reese said.
"All right. As long as you promise she'll be safe and not give me a reason to regret this," Finch relented after a long minute.