When they entered the great hall, they were greeted with thunderous applause and shouts of bravo. For a moment he accepted the approval of his colleagues, then he raised his hands and waited until it was quiet. At the edge of the boxing ring he spotted Mumford and Rocker, in the entrance to the operations center Captain Cortez and Commander Hicks. Hicks nodded to him. Hondo cleared his throat.
"Thanks, people. One less serial offender can terrify our city. Three women are dead. One is fighting for her life in these minutes. No matter what or who you believe in, please include Christina Brown in your prayers. Thank you."
He glanced around, to the people who were silently looking down at him, then he turned on his heel and went into the locker room, where he began to take off his blood-stained combat suit. Only in shorts, he grabbed his towel and ran into the shower to wash off the remains. He watched the pink-gray water in the drain without moving.
When he was dressed again, he sipped the next coffee while standing in the kitchen before getting a tablet and starting to write his report. His phone stayed silent. He kept it with the adage that no news is at least not bad news, and typed with concentration.
"Hondo?"
He finished the sentence and looked up when Jess spoke to him a second time.
"Hondo, are you okay?"
Instead of answering, he raised an eyebrow.
"Fine, another question. Your team says you're acting pretty weird. Are you operational? Or do you want to take a break and talk to Wendy first?"
"I'm okay. - Could we have found her sooner? Having done something different?" He asked after a moment.
Jessica put her hand on his. "You did everything you could. And you did well, otherwise she would already be dead. Stop doubting yourself."
The alarm from his cell phone saved him from answering. He grabbed the phone and tablet and headed for the operations center. Luca and the others came towards him.
"Armed robbery and shooting in Bridgedale. More information will follow ", Deac reported shortly and threw him his protective vest.
"Thank you," Hondo replied and they boarded Black Betty. Luca drove off with screeching tires.
The drive to the scene took a good twenty minutes, during which they were silent for most of the time. Only Deacon broke the silence by providing them with further information about the incident. The robbers had holed up in a shop with two hostages, several police cars were already on site. When they arrived the situation was a bit confusing, but after a short consultation and negotiation, Chris got the opportunity to shoot the robber well in the shoulder, so that he was disarmed and they could get the both hostages out unharmed. It was a success, but it only lifted their spirits a little. On the way back he checked his cell phone, but again it didn't show any new messages. He exchanged a quick look with Deacon, who nodded slightly before reaching for the cross on his necklace and closing his eyes.
Hondo was already holding the handle of the coffee pot in his hand when he roughly calculated how many cups he had that day. He grimaced, put the pot back, and got a water bottle from the fridge. He glanced at the clock over the door. It was almost one in the afternoon, which explained the growling of his stomach, even if he had zero appetite. His mother would scold him if she could see that he was ripping open another protein bar, but he didn't feel like having cold pizza leftovers and there wasn't much else to choose from. His phone gave a subtle beep. He read the incoming message.
'Christie transferred to ICU. Still critical. FBI in touch, possible previous case in Oregon. Santiago.'
Mom would have washed his mouth with soap for the curse that escaped him. Street, whose arrival he hadn't even noticed, merely cleared his throat.
"Cortez wants to see us."
He followed his colleague to the operations center. In addition to Captain Cortez and his team, Mumford's were waiting there.
"Captain?"
"First of all, I would like to pass on information I received from RHD. East will be handed over to the Feds later in the day. Apparently they found two other murder cases, one in East's hometown of Medford and one in Sacramento. Both match his initial phase in terms of type and MO. Christina Brown is at Cedas Sinai ... "
Hondo cut her off. "I got a message, she is now in ICU, her condition is still critical."
"Thanks to you, she is still alive. Commander Hicks and I fine-tuned the rosters a little. The 20-Squad has an early day off until the day after tomorrow. Everyone was involved in this case, but you were the ones who were directly on scene. Wendy is at your disposal. Chris, we'll be talking about the ... loans from the neighbors before you leave, the department is paying for that. The others can go home. Thank you," the captain dismissed them and the room emptied.
He waited for Jessica and Chris to list the laundry items she had brought from the garden and Jessica having signed a check.
"I'll drive you there," he explained as Chris pocketed the paper.
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I'm going to get my things."
When Christina left the room, Jess measured him with a scrutinizing look. He raised a hand slightly, then went to the locker room to grab his bag.