For the fraction of a second, his mind couldn't decide which way to look first. Then, as Mike was able to push his emotions aside just like he'd done in any horrific situation over the past three decades, he glanced over at Erica Holmer in time to see the bullet hit her in the chest and thrust her hard against the outer wall of her house. As her eyes glazed over and rolled to the back of her head, her legs gave out from underneath and she slid to the ground, her lifeless hands letting go of the .32 almost instantly.
Rushing forward, Mike kicked the revolver out of reach, crouched down and rested two fingers against the side of her neck, confirming what he already knew.
Then, with a breath stuck in his throat, he looked over at Steve who was leaning heavily against the wall, staring blankly at the body sprawled out in front of them.
Approaching slowly, Mike kept a keen eye on the young Professor, noting his unusually quiet demeanor as he lowered the hand holding onto the revolver with a death grip. Swallowing hard when saw the crimson stain seep through the pinstripe suit near his shoulder, the Lieutenant glanced around quickly, locating the phone he would use to call in backup momentarily, then focused back at his best friend standing just a few feet away.
"Steve."
Even if he was in pain, Steve wasn't showing it, as his eyes remained glued to the curled up dead body ahead in dreadful confirmation.
"Steve."
Growing worried when he never acknowledged his frantic call even after the second time, Mike stepped in his friend's line of vision, preventing him from dwelling on something he didn't have a choice on getting involved in to begin with.
"Steve?"
The ache in his heart returned with a vengeance when he recognized the terror in those blank green eyes, a deep, gut-wrenching pain he hadn't seen in years.
"Look at me, Steve."
When he didn't react again, Mike gently grasped his chin and tilted his head away from the disturbing scene, forcing him refocus.
"You didn't have a choice…and you saved my life, just remember that…"
Leaning forward himself, Mike waited until their eyes met in a quiet and private moment of unison understanding, wishing he could take the unbearable burden of guilt off his best friend's soul each time he had to take that shot.
And yet, even after all these years, the pain tearing through the young man in front of him was just as intense and heart-wrenching as the first time he was forced to kill a suspect.
It was truly a sad irony that the very reason he picked Steve as his new partner to begin with would eventually become his Achilles heel; and it weighed on Mike's conscience more than he would ever be able to admit to anybody.
Accepting a slight nod as a sufficient answer for the time being, he carefully pulled the lapel of Steve's dress jacket off to the side, hoping to get a good look at the bullet wound in his left shoulder. Although the lavender shirt was quickly becoming soaked with blood and would be a complete loss, he was grateful to see that his old partner had only been grazed by Holmer's bullet.
"You said you're not on those blood thinners any more, right?"
"I was correct. She was going for a murder-suicide…."
Steve's cryptic words didn't make sense at the time and Mike reached for a napkin in his breast pocket, then carefully shoved it between the young Professor's jacket and dress shirt to slow the bleeding, receiving nothing but a slight flinch as a response.
"Stephen, answer me…you said you're not on those blood thinners any more, right?", he repeated worriedly, noting the significant dilation in his old partner's pupils since he'd been shot.
A careless shake of the head would remain as his only answer for the time being.
Mike knew that shock was setting in quickly when he felt him begin to tremble beneath the hand he'd kept against the injured shoulder. Briefly glancing back at the phone and cursing the ten feet distance in between, he used the other hand to gently cup Steve's clammy cheek.
"You think you are going to be alright standing while I call in backup?"
Again, there was only a faint nod and Mike was ready to step aside but hesitated, when he felt Steve tip forward, as if the lack of support threw him off balance.
"It all makes sense now. Because when…when she was cornered and couldn't fulfill her plan, she opted for suicide by cop…She didn't mean to shoot me. She just wanted to make sure that I would shoot to kill."
Mike swallowed against the difficult, downright terror-inducing emotions brought on by the sensation of warm blood trickling through his fingers, along with the psychological insight Steve was providing on a case that was both disturbing and dramatic to the very end. As he put on a brave face and clenched his jaws, the Lieutenant glanced over at their dead suspect one last time, realizing how close they'd both come to lose their lives in the elaborate charade Erica Holmer had created.
And yet, like so many times before, they'd beaten the odds in their favor.
Exhaling slowly at the sorrow that Holmer's death marked the end of his police partnership with Steve, Mike looked back up at his best friend, surprised to see him return the gesture.
As the wordless dialogue continued on, reigniting their deep friendship under the most bizarre of circumstances, he reached for the nape of Steve's neck, shaking the young man affectionately.
"Just ehm…just skip the psychologist talk for now, alright Buddyboy? Let's call in support and get you patched up. You're starting to bleed all over my crime scene."
