He'd been torn between delight and horror when a familiar set of bloody fingers appeared around the doorframe, grasping the wood like a much-needed lifeline.
Ignoring the pandemonium of mixed emotions that had clouded his mind until just about then, and immediately switching to damage control mode once again, Mike waited patiently for his partner to enter the room, the sight thereof bringing on a whole new slew of tormenting and unwelcome distractions.
"Are you alright?!", he asked hurriedly, almost whispering, taking in the scene of blood covering most of his young partner's mandarin dress shirt, blotches that stained his collar, the left side of his chest and even his back .
It was a horrifying sight that brought him back to some of the darkest moments of a time spent on the other side of the globe, watching humans kill other humans just for the sake of killing, blood covering building and roads and furniture…those crimson stains so prevalent that it soon became a color his brain refused to acknowledge even existed.
"Yeah…", Steve answered with a strained breath, then bent down to unlock his handcuffs, "Took me a while to get Cassidy off my chest…literally."
Smiling at the weak attempt of a joke considering their situation; Mike waited until his left hand was freed, before carefully using it to lift his partner's chin, wordlessly acknowledging the inch-long cut along his throat, grateful that it missed its intended target, though not by much.
"Are Cassidy and Davis dead? Where did the others go?"
"Cassidy is dead…", Steve explained matter-of-factly, then leaned back once his partner's hands were freed, "Davis is on the ground, but he won't be going anywhere. Literally…again. The other two went after Milan. She fled through the back window when they showed back up. Then ran toward the ravine. We need to go after her to make sure they don't reach her first. They're gonna try to kill her in order to silence her."
Taking a brief second to rub his raw wrists, Mike gratefully accepted his partner's outstretched hand to get back on his wobbly feet, groaning at the pain from his stiff knees, before pointing at the LTD parked outside.
"You sure you're ok though? Why is there blood on your lower back?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I am fine.", Steve countered hurriedly, his eyes drifting to the floor to avoid those of his partner.
"Go after her. I'll call in the cavalry, then follow you. It's about time we bring in some backup."
The young Inspector nodded obediently, but hesitated for a moment.
"I saw a police scanner on the kitchenette table. You can maybe use that…"
"Good idea, Buddy Boy, good idea...", Mike praised, holding onto his partner's elbow just as Steve was about to run out the door to go after Milan.
"You sure you're ok to do this?"
With a determined nod, the young Inspector reached over to cover the Lieutenant's hand with his own for a fleeting moment, squeezing it tightly, then shot off into the distance.
As much as Mike wanted to believe his best friend, his gut told him that the worst was far from over.