A/N: Thanks much for the reviews again!
Chapter 34: On Acts of Cowardice
On any other day the cliché of doughnuts and coffee would have Bahorel laughing; as far as he's concerned it's something that belongs in comics and cartoons lampooning cops. 'Funny how the reality plays out,' he muses as he takes an obscenely large bite of a strawberry jelly doughnut. "Karen should be here soon. She's just confirming the warrant," he drawls over the clinking of a spoon against a cup.
Bossuet puts down the offending piece of cutlery and ducks his head to avoid the glares of the other customers in the diner. "So we've got a warrant for this Mr. Deeds, Simon Garbe, or whatever name he is using, but we're actually letting Fouche run about? Isn't that rather counterproductive?"
"Not if one is simply trying to solve the attempted murder of Magnussen and the murder of Johannes Samson," Enjolras chimes in as he sets down his own cup of coffee and hands a steamed bun to Feuilly. "Garbe can be readily tied to those. We need more direct evidence to ascertain Fouche's involvement."
"He's already in plain sight, Chief. If it wasn't for having to be all legal, we would have nabbed him by now," Bahorel gripes. Before he can launch off into another diatribe about the entanglements of the legal profession he espies Karen sauntering up to the small cafe. "Now you're the best thing I've seen all morning," he greets.
"It must be the blues," Karen jokes, gesturing to her neatly pressed uniform. She sits down and picks up a doughnut from the box. "As a rule, we don't bring civilians along during an arrest. If this Garbe figure is as dangerous as all anecdotes and profiling make him out to be, there will be some trouble involved."
"What do the profiles say?" Feuilly asks eagerly.
"That's confidential, but we can all guess that he'll be willing to use unnecessary force," Karen replies before taking another bite of her doughnut. "Definitely not a risk I'm letting you boys take."
"Alas for excitement," Bahorel groans. "I'm only joking of course!" he adds when Karen shoots him a withering look.
"As you can see, I'm not on the apprehending team," Karen says, swatting his hand. "There are limits even on the force."
"She's the one with a gun license and the badge. If she's not in on the action, there's not much we can hope for ourselves," Bossuet points out. "Sorry, but the lady has the point on this one."
'Which is what worries me,' Bahorel almost says before he deliberately takes a sip of his hot coffee to check the thought. Just looking at Karen is enough to make his stomach twist; he's seen more formidable-looking individuals taken down by a single blow or bullet, and the idea of Karen facing something similar is not something he wants to openly consider.
Suddenly Karen looks down and pulls her phone out of her pocket. "Well, speak of the devil," she mutters. "Looks like you got what you wanted, Remy. Garbe just bolted."
"Wait, what did I do?" Bahorel sputters as Bossuet groans while Enjolras merely shakes his head.
"Haven't you forgotten the universe's law of attraction?" Bossuet says. "Self-fulfilling prophecies, willing things into action-"
"It is simply dealing with a worst-case scenario," Enjolras remarks. "I take then, he is headed this way?" he asks as Karen gets to her feet.
"Don't say another word," the police officer warns as she begins walking more quickly to the door. "I'll update you all once this is done."
Before anyone can stop him, Bahorel races out of the booth and follows Karen out the door. "Let me at least get you to a rendezvous with your team," he insists as he grabs her arm.
Karen shakes her head. "You'll be a liability on the scene. No. Just no." She looks down, as if checking her belt for her gun. "You guys need to lie low. Don't make me arrest you for getting in the way," she adds before she crosses the street.
'The thing is she would do just that,' Bahorel realizes as he skulks back into the diner, only to find his friends already settling the bill. "So what do we do now?"
"Keep our eyes open and let the police do their work," Enjolras replies evenly. "Now is not the time for rash action."
Bahorel grits his teeth as he hurls a bill onto the table. "Deeds is on the run. Once he gets past the city limits, he's as good as gone."
"He will not stray too far from his protectors," Enjolras points out. "Courfeyrac said he'd be at the courthouse all day. Perhaps we should see how he is getting on."
Bossuet nods affably. "By the way, if you're here and Eponine is at work, who's looking out for Tess?"
"She'll be spending the day with Grantaire and Darren," Enjolras replies bemusedly.
Feuilly raises an eyebrow. "Is that the wisest idea?"
"It is one she is amenable to," Enjolras replies.
"Better than dropping her off at the Fauchelevents' home. I would not dare to inflict her on Fantine, God bless that dear lady," Bahorel remarks. He cannot imagine anything as disastrous as Fantine's demure manners meeting Tess' brasher ways. 'How long can she stay safe though?" he wonders even as they all part ways for the day: Enjolras to the courthouse, Feuilly to a community meeting, Bossuet to the Bureau of Investigations, and Bahorel himself to his own apartment to watch and wait. For once, the absence of evidence to examine at the crime lab is not reassuring.
He does not know exactly what time he closes his eyes, but the next thing he knows he hears his phone ringing at an ear-splitting volume, right on the armrest of his sofa. He groans at the now golden sunlight filtering through the blinds as he reaches out to grab the gadget, only to bolt upright when he sees the number on the screen. "What's up there, Eponine?"
"We've been trying to get a hold of you, Bahorel," Eponine replies in a hushed voice. "Karen says you aren't picking up."
Bahorel winces on seeing all the missed calls on his phone. "Why, where is she?"
"Here, at Saint-Michel," Eponine replies. "She was wounded at that shootout versus Simon Garbe, at the halfway house. She's out of danger though."
"You don't mean-"
"He thought that Tess was still there."
Bahorel snorts. "A costly mistake."
"It is, on both sides." Eponine pauses to take a deep breath. "Cecily and some of the girls were wounded. Mother Asuncion is in a bad way."
Bahorel sits back down on the couch. 'No one could have done anything to prevent this,' he thinks even as he feels his throat go dry. "Tell Karen I'll be there in a while, without fail."
"Good. We'll see you," Eponine says loudly over the blaring of an alarm just a second before the connection fades out.
Bahorel's fingers shake as he sends a text message to Karen by way of apology, then hurries to wash his face and change into a clean shirt. He nearly gets pulled over several times for speeding as he drives, but he merely takes more detours till he finally succeeds in finding a space in the hospital parking lot. He barrels right into the emergency room, only to nearly run smack into a gurney being rushed out of the emergency room. "Combeferre!" he shouts, recognizing one of the men pushing the stretcher.
"Not now, Bahorel!" Combeferre hollers over his shoulder. "Karen is in there, in the observation room."
'How much artillery did that Deeds fellow have on him?' Bahorel wonders silently as he walks into the jam-packed emergency room. Gurneys and stretchers are crammed into every possible corner, and most of these makeshift beds are occupied by young girls. He finally catches sight of Karen sitting near a screened off cubicle. "What did that bastard do to you?" he sputters as he takes in the sight of her right arm wrapped up in a sling.
"Tried to get me in the clavicle and very nearly did," Karen asks, smiling weakly. She grabs his arm with her free hand to lead him off. "I'm fine, or at least better off than some of the team."
"How many men down?" he asks.
"Two." She looks away and shakes her head. "I'll be fine. It's not the first time it's happened."
Bahorel nods even as he takes a step towards her. In that moment she seems so far away even if she is right next to him, lost perhaps in the recollections of the day. "At least you got him," he points out, managing a grin.
"He's in that room there," Karen replies, pointing towards one of the emergency room's isolation areas. "We had to handcuff him to the bed, and there's a guard in there with him."
This time Bahorel laughs at the mental picture, only to quiet down when he catches sight of Eponine and Navet entering the emergency room. Navet is in his regulation red scrubs, while Eponine has switched out her uniform top for a looser fitting green t-shirt with her drawstring pants. "How's everything?" he asks them.
"Touch and go," Eponine replies wearily. "I've already told Tess what happened, but I'm not asking her to come here yet. It's a bit much."
"It's a bit much even for you," Navet points out. "You might bring on your labor if you're on your feet any much longer."
Eponine shakes her head. "I do worse than this on most days." She looks up and waves to Enjolras and Courfeyrac. "Took you guys long enough."
"Traffic," Enjolras replies. He lets out a breath as he makes eye contact with Eponine. "For a moment I was worried that you had been at the halfway house."
"I won't be there for a while. Till we get this mess sorted out and we can get Tess a safer situation, I have to limit my involvement there to simply being 'on call'," Eponine says, giving her partner a knowing look. "Besides, I'm starting to get mobility issues."
Enjolras cringes before squeezing Eponine's shoulder. "So when these girls get discharged, where will they go?"
"I have to contact some places that can put them up." She nods to Karen. "If you need a medical certificate or anything, I'll write it up for you."
"I could use a day or two off," Karen concurs. She nearly jumps at the sound of a thump followed by cursing coming from the isolation cubicle. "Hey! No brawling in there!"
"He spat at me!" a policeman roars as he marches out of the room. "That filthy-"
Karen gives her colleague a reproving glare as she walks past him to throw the door open. From the doorway Bahorel can see a clean shaven man sitting up in bed, with his right wrist handcuffed to the side rail. This man's blue button-down shirt is torn and spattered with crimson, but the way he moves betrays the fact that he is not the origin of these stains. He is all too aware of this fact as he sits up straighter and laughs. "Well, what's this army?"
Karen crosses her arms as she looks the suspect over. "You might want to behave yourself, Mr. Deeds. Every word you say can be taken against you."
Simon Garbe gives them a filthy look. "What, or your lawyer friend is going to run me into the ground?"
"I could," Enjolras remarks. "It would be wise for you to remain silent."
Garbe sneers at him before looking at Eponine from head to toe. "If you'd been at that house, I would have shot you in the belly first."
Bahorel sees Enjolras go white with fury and he just manages to grab his friend's fist before it connects with Garbe's face. "Enjolras, no. He's not worth the effort," he mutters.
Enjolras looks Garbe in the eye. "Indeed. What you said is a coward's move," he says slowly.
"What, you aren't going to hit me? Do it. She's standing right there," Garbe taunts.
"Auguste, you do that and I'll put you out of the ER myself," Eponine warns sternly as she tugs on Enjolras' elbow. "Come on."
'I hope that she and Navet were stingy on the lidocaine when stitching him up,' Bahorel thinks as they all leave the room. "What are you going to do with him?"
"Transfer him to the prison infirmary. I need to get that room cleaned up," Eponine says with a shudder. "More like disinfected."
Enjolras checks his phone. "This just came in. The Condors Security Group is disavowing any involvement with this Garbe fellow."
"A cover-up, that's what. They're running scared," Karen scoffs.
"That could be the case, but if it's true, then this means he's been working rogue or for Fouche personally," Enjolras points out."Whatever it is, that doesn't change the fact that he attacked civilians and evaded arrest."
Suddenly a phone rings from the nurse's station. "Hey docs! There's a code at the Surgical ICU!" a nurse shouts, holding up the receiver.
"That's Mother Asuncion-" Eponine breathes.
"I'll get that," Navet insists. "You shouldn't be doing the chest compressions, Doc."
Eponine nods reluctantly as Navet rushes out of the ER. "I'll have to follow right back up though, Just to be sure, just to pronounce if ever-"she trails off before shaking her head. "I will not know what to tell the girls."
"Isn't there a course for how to break bad news?" Karen asks.
Eponine bites her lip as she sits down again. "Not really. We just pick it up from the senior doctors while we train. No matter how many times one has to do it, it never ever gets easier."