The mint-green Galaxy came to a halt with screeching tires, drawing the attention of several gapers nearby.
Three black and whites and an ambulance filled up much of Broadway, causing a massive traffic jam farther down the iconic strip. People were gathered along the sidewalk, braving the rain moving in to get a glimpse of their latest victim being hauled away to the hospital.
His trained eyes scanned the scene intently, looking for Steve and Dan amongst the crowds of uniformed officers.
He saw Haley first, leaning up against one of the concrete pillars near the entrance of Big Al's, eagerly talking to a couple patrolmen.
Several perturbed customers were leaving the erotic parlor through the shaded front doors with the distinctive gold rims, clearly not enjoying being put on center stage after the incident upstairs.
Walking across the road and ignoring the cold wind blowing his black overcoat all over the place, Mike flashed his badge at the patrol officer guarding the door, before entering Big Al's, feeling like a fish swimming upstream with the continuous flow of patrons leaving.
As soon as he reached the main foyer, his excellent hearing picked up the pitch of Steve's aggravated voice nearby. Looking around to find the source, he saw the young Inspector across the hall near the bathrooms, having pinned an equally upset David Forney against the wall.
Picking up the pace and trying to avoid the foot traffic in between, Mike arrived in time to watch Steve step closer to the slightly taller man, his body language an ounce more threatening than he'd like to see, green eyes fiercely penetrating Forney's.
"You and I both know what happened up there. What did she do to you, hm? Did she threaten to expose you?"
Unusually hostile, Steve had one arm pressed against the wall to form a barrier for Forney, the other one impatiently resting on his hips, as he leaned in closer, until his face was mere inches away from the other man's.
"I don't know if you're just dense or what, but you've got a roomful of witnesses that say I was there the entire time.", Forney fired back, his gleeful smile disappearing quickly, when Steve reached for the lapel of his expensive leather jacket and shoved him hard against the wall, making him hit the back of his head.
"Oh yeah? What did you tell them, hm? You were just going to the backroom to get some more booze? Or maybe take a smoke break? And instead, you snuck upstairs to eliminate a witness, isn't that right?!"
Deciding that it was time to interfere, Mike reached for his partner's upper arm, surprised to feel him resist for a moment. When he tightened his grasp significantly and jerked Steve backwards, the young Inspector finally moved his attention off the other man, his eyes widening in horror when faced with his partner's stern glare.
Catching on to the undermining of authority happening in front of him, Forney smiled broadly, then casually leaned against the wall.
"Why don't you go after the real thug, punk cop? Eric McMillan is the guy you ought to be after. Now there's a picture of corruption for you. There's no telling what else he's capable of doing. I have plenty of proof of my innocence, so unless you have something else to bring up, bug off."
Mike could tell that the irritating words were getting his partner fired up again when he tried to rush back, completely ignoring the order he'd been given.
"Stephen.", the Lieutenant finally growled, leaving no room for debate this time, as he pulled the young Inspector aside once again, his strong fingers undoubtedly leaving marks on his partner's upper arm by now.
Stepping in between both men, the Lieutenant straightened out symbolically, towering nearly one head over Forney, as he pointed his chin toward the dining area.
"Get out of here.", he ordered impatiently and waited until the presumptuous bar tender was out of sight, before inhaling deeply and facing his partner again.
Knowing he'd overstepped his bounds, Steve remained quiet, too ashamed about his actions to argue with Mike's choice to let the other man go.
After a few moments of silent standoff, the Lieutenant pointed toward the waiting Galaxy.
"Without an eye witness putting him upstairs, you've got nothing on Forney and you know that. So you might as well save that posturing for your lady friends. We have a lot of research to do back at the office…Oh, and your R&I report on Tre Summers came through."
