Sorry about the mix up with the titles - ffnet doesn't like fics with the same title by the same author in the same fandom. Who knew - oh, except everyone who read the publishing guidelines!

Title - Aftermath - The Madness of Kings

Rating – PG-13

Summary – An explosion at the recently opened Kingston Building forces Chief Ironside and his staff to confront the full impact and consequences of a previous case, both professionally and personally (Set after S5 E4 The Gambling Game)

Main Characters – Chief Robert T Ironside, Sergeant Ed Brown, Officer Fran Belding, Mark Sanger

A/N – With thanks to Realmlife for the beta and Swordznsorcery for holding my hand :) It is much appreciated!

A/N II – Here is the next incarnation of The Madness of Kings. I've borrowed some bits from that story, some of the situations and some of the text, but there is quite a difference in destination. So if you know that story, try not to compare them and use the first one to guess the outcome of the second.

This is a sequel to "Deadly Game", and so there are big spoilers. You don't need to have read Deadly Game to understand what's going on.

I was rereading that fic, and some of your lovely reviews, and thinking about it. It became clear that while the story was complete in itself there was plenty of room for a deeper exploration of the consequences of what happened, specifically on the Chief and Ed, who were the main people affected. There are two specific reviews that I'd like to shout out - one by Ne'ith5, who mentioned an exploration of the impact of what happened to the characters in Deadly Game; and one by LaneAI, who mentioned something that was missing from the original - Ed's point of view during the few hours while Ironside waited to drop off the extortion money. Both of these reviews have shaped what has become this fic.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or got in touch to say how much they have enjoyed my fics over the years. If I may quote Matthew Reilly "To anyone who knows a writer, never underestimate the power of your encouragement". -x-

WARNINGS - Description of violence and the impact of violence, PTSD, psychological torture. Language (occasionally!)

STATUS - Chapter 1/24

Aftermath - The Madness of Kings

An Ironside Fanfiction

Prologue

The girl held her breath as the night watchman walked past the dark corner under the stairs where she was hiding.

This was the most dangerous time. She was within touching distance, and if the guard turned the wrong way, or if she made any noise at all to attract his attention, all this would be over. Weeks ago, when she'd spotted this hiding place, she had been elated, knowing that it would be perfect for their plan, but she hadn't realised how cramped it would be, or how dark, or how close the guard would get. If she was caught… she shivered. She wouldn't be caught. This was too important.

They were hiding something in these rooms, something bad. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but nothing in this whole place was as it seemed, it was all one grand illusion.

No one else had the stomach to see this through. Not even Poppy. Not even Chad, and he was supposed to be their leader. What was the point in getting through college if their futures were controlled by people who cared for nothing but where the next buck was coming from, by people who had no morals at all?

The thought made her so angry, she could scream.

Being scared shouldn't have stopped them. She'd even needed a little artificial help to keep her nerve tonight, nothing heavy, just something to help her feel calm and keep her focused. It was one thing snooping round the labs at night, disrupting the experiments and messing with the storage. It was another to deliberately sabotage whatever crooked plan they might have had going on down there in the basement.

The night watchman flicked his torch up and down the corridor one last time, then turned to walk back up the stairs, over her hiding hole. At the top, he paused, then pulled the door shut behind him, and there was the sound of the key turning in the lock. She heard his footsteps fade out as he walked off. He wouldn't be back for hours. Now she was alone in the Kingston Building, no one else should be here until dawn. She would wait for a few minutes, just to make sure there would be no interruptions, then she would start getting into the basement. Those people wouldn't know what hit them.

They thought they could do anything. Those people who didn't care about ethics or morality, those people who thought might was right and money could buy everything. They thought they could do anything, they thought they could get away with anything.

Huddled in a tight corner in the basement, Katie Marshall scowled into the dark. Tonight, she was going to prove them wrong.

Chapter 1

The Other Side of Midnight

The attic office was quiet after a long, busy day, but Ironside was still working. Chief Robert T Ironside, special consultant to the San Francisco Police Department, didn't mind the awkwardness of living in the Justice Building any more, he rarely thought about it. He'd never been good at the separation between life and work, and in the five years since the sniper had stolen away the use of his legs, the thought he might be living anywhere else, or doing anything else, had faded into obscurity. The third floor attic room where Ironside lived was customised with everything he needed to make life bearable. He could work as late as he liked without worrying about getting home in time for dinner, not when his helper, confidant and good friend Mark Sanger lived here too.

Once, before the bullet and before Ironside's life had changed, that young man had been a delinquent, ground down by the system and beaten by the cards he'd drawn in life, heading for prison if he was lucky, or the gas chamber if he wasn't. But he'd risen to the challenge Ironside had offered in becoming his assistance, now with a law degree almost finished and a steady job with a good income, Mark was happy.

The two other members of his team had already left for the day. Sergeant Ed Brown had gone about seven, unwilling to stay for dinner tonight. Officer Fran Belding had lingered for a while, and then stayed for the chili on offer. Today was the deadline for her transfer from uniform, and she had been eager to get it finalised. At one point during food, Mark had jokingly offered good odds that Murray from Internal Affairs wouldn't show by the end of the day. Ironside didn't take him up on the bet, not because he thought Mark was right, but gambling on something so trivial in front of the woman who was about to become part of his staff did not feel appropriate, especially considering what had brought her to be on his staff in the first place. Not long after that he'd told Fran to go home, assuring her that if Murray had said the paperwork would be complete by the end of today, then it would be. So tomorrow morning he would have a full staff again and she would come in bright and early to help them celebrate by chasing down some leads for homicide.

Only problem with that rosy image was that there wasn't much left of the day.

After Fran had left, and the chores were finished, Mark had settled down to read a book over by the window, and was now lost in a different world. The Chief had strung out the final few memos as long as he could. His nightcap was in a glass on the desk beside him, untouched. He didn't want to drink before everything was finished up for the day.

The Chief had virtually given up hope, when there was a respectful knock at his door. He glanced to Mark, who uncurled himself from the chair and went to unlock it.

A short man, hunched at the shoulders, and with the morose look of a kicked puppy strolled down the stairs. Ironside smiled.

'It's good of you to drop in for a nightcap, Murray.'

The other man chuckled as he pulled up a chair beside the Chief and sat down.

'You know I'm still working,' he said. 'Internal Affairs is that sort of job.'

Mark appeared a moment later with another glass and offered one to Murray.

'Thanks, but I won't.'

Ironside took a generous gulp of his own drink and smiled as Mark returned to his book. He hadn't seen Murray in a few months, not since that mess with…, well that mess. He noted the paperwork that Murray put down on the table, relieved something was finally going to go right. They chatted for a few minutes about what was happening in the city, who was doing what and why. At first, the Chief was content to play along as it was only fair to let the other man build up to it. But as the minutes grew in number and the clock ticked onward, Ironside grew frustrated.

'It's not that I don't like visitors, Murray,' he said at last. 'But you said it wasn't a social call.'

Murray leaned back, putting Ironside on his guard. Maybe he had been wrong, maybe there was a problem getting her transferred. There shouldn't have been but maybe they had overlooked something. He frowned. He needed her, he needed Fran Belding on his staff. He needed some sense of balance back. It had already been too long.

'Here's Fran's transfer from uniform,' said Murray, handing the top file over to Ironside. 'All done and dusted and waiting for your signature. You've got a good one there. I don't know how you do it, but you always get the pick of the very best.'

The Chief gave the top page a cursory glance, instead thinking about what Murray had said. Hadn't he said that about Eve as well? Abruptly, he took a mouthful of bourbon to rid himself of the thought. That was in the past, and they had to move forward and not back. Bringing the glass down with a thud, he signed the page. Another small step on the way. It was done.

Ironside looked pointedly to the other file on the desk. Murray looked at it too.

'So are we going to discuss that?' Ironside asked.

'It's not like I enjoy doing this,' Murray started to say.

'That's what you get in Internal Affairs.'

Murray crossed his arms, looking uncomfortable.

'We've had complaints,' he said. 'About Brown.'

Oh yes. THAT. It wasn't totally unexpected, but still. Out of the corner of his eye the Chief saw Mark look up.

'Sergeant Brown needs to cut himself some slack,' Murray said, either not noticing or not caring that Mark was eavesdropping. 'He can't keep this up. You've got to get him to stop. Please. For his own sake as well as my sanity.'

The two men looked at each other across the table. Murray was one of the few people who knew what had happened to Ed a few months ago. Mark knew, Lieutenant Carl Reese was another, and of course the Commissioner. With a clever cover story and a few abrupt conversations to the lower ranks, no one had pried into what had happened at the start of the McDonald case. Ironside was grateful, and knew Ed was just as relieved. He hated being the centre of office gossip. It had been bad enough with Tom Dayton. They would never have heard the end of it if the rest of the department knew what Ed had gone through at the merciless hand of Anthony Richards.

'I've given him as much of a chance as I can,' Murray continued. 'I spoke to him two weeks ago.'

That Ironside did not know. He picked up the file. At the front was a list of the complaints from uniform and narcotics and homicide, even Donally from Traffic. Ironside skimmed through the summaries. They all said the same thing.

'Let me get this straight,' Ironside said angrily. 'People are complaining because he's working too much?'

'Look, no-one's infallible. And sometime soon he's going to make a mistake and there'll be no way back.' Ironside opened his mouth to interrupt but Murray continued. 'It's getting out of hand, Bob. I've managed to keep it quiet for now, because everyone is grateful for the help and the extra effort, but this can't go on.'

Ironside looked down the list at what Ed had done. He turned the page, then again twice more. Then again. In surprise, he glanced up at Murray. He had known Ed was doing a bit of overtime, but nothing this extreme.

'I know,' Murray said, shaking his head in amazement. 'I don't know how he's had the time. I'm not even sure he's slept for the past three weeks.'

From the paperwork, it didn't look like he'd had the time to sleep, or eat, or do anything else but work. Murray kept on frowning at the file.

'Is there something else?' asked Ironside grimly.

'There's one from the Commissioner as well. At the end. That's the real reason I'm here.'

Ironside flicked through the pages to the back, seeing Commissioner Randall's signature on the bottom. He pulled it out and read, growing more annoyed by the word. He glared at Murray.

'Money?' he hissed.

'His list has gone through the roof, but his overtime's gone down. The Commissioner was bound to notice. And before you say anything, it's a good job he did. Brown's not putting in for overtime, so officially he's not on duty.'

Ironside hadn't know that either. Doing a couple of things without getting paid was part and parcel of police work these days, and though there was always a little backtalk, everyone did what they had to do and the whole system ticked along just fine.

'These could all be seen as work on the side,' said Murray. 'If any of the briefs on these cases see that list, it's going to look like we have a man on the force with a very serious grudge.' There was a deeply unpleasant pause. 'Or a very serious problem.'

Ironside didn't reply. Murray pushed himself out of the chair and turned to leave.

'Well, I've said what I had to say. Thanks for the time, Chief. Just get him to stop. He doesn't have many warnings left.'

They exchanged a final, understanding glance and Murray left, giving Mark a causal wave goodbye.

Ironside waited as the other man left, resting his hand on top of the file. What the devil was he going to say to Ed? Stop working? Stop breathing, more like! Was he out there just now, unable to stop himself? The Chief thought back to when he'd last seen Ed this evening. He'd been quieter these past few months, maybe. Less inclined to stay late and socialise at the end of the day. There had been the usual jokes and questions about his date for tonight. Ed had answered as obliquely as always, and Ironside never asked for more. He glanced down to the file. There was no way that someone could do this much work and have any social life at all. Had Ed just lied about it?

That truth stung. The Chief had thought, after Eve had left, that he had managed to keep the remaining members of his team together and focused on the job. Had he inadvertently pushed it too far the other way? Hadn't they all been through enough with Richards? It wasn't enough that Eve was gone? They all missed her. He pushed that thought away. It didn't make Murray less right. At some point Ed was going to make a mistake, either through bad luck, inattention or just plain old tiredness. Then what would happen?

He clenched his fist suddenly, unwelcome and unexpected emotions gripping his chest. He couldn't lose Ed too. Not after everything that had happened. Shouldn't he have seen this coming?

Mark joined him at the table, sitting in the same chair Murray had just left. He looked at the file under the Chief's hand.

'So?' he asked.

Ironside shook his head.

'Not tonight, Mark.'

'Why not? He's probably out there right now.'

'Not. Tonight.'

'You could put an APB-'

'So the whole Department knows?' snarled the Chief. 'You know what they're like.'

Mark did know. Ed had asked them to keep it under wraps, fearing he would never be free of the gossip and the looks if his fellow officers found out the details of what had happened. Ironside knew from personal experience how difficult it was to keep his mind on the job when people continually talked about you behind your back. There would be sympathy no doubt, and those who admired his resolve. But in reality his reputation would be left in shreds, and there would always be some joker who would use it to be cruel. Who could blame a man for wanting to avoid that?

'Well, what are you going to do?'

That was an excellent question. At that moment, Ironside didn't know. But what he did know was that this was a conversation for a different day, after he had been given a bit of peace to think it through.

When the Chief made no reply. Mark's expression grew angry in turn. Then, with an exasperated sigh, he stood abruptly, heading towards the Chief's room. Of course, Ironside wasn't the only one who missed Eve and was worried about Ed. Of all the surprises that came from hiring Mark and promoting Ed and Eve to his staff, the biggest one was how well the three of them had gotten along together. By the time Eve left, the three of them were close friends. There had been a time Ironside had imagined they would stay as his team until he retired, maybe even afterward. But that wasn't the way it had worked out.

The thudding and rustling noises from his room told him that Mark was getting ready to help him through the long and tiresome process of getting into bed, even though he was in no mood to sleep any more. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day. There was nothing to be gained from sitting at his desk brooding. He glanced at the clock. It was tomorrow already.

Three hours later, all of downtown San Francisco was woken by the sound of an explosion.

That morning, in an effort to maintain some sort of normality, Ironside was content to stay out of the way and remain in his office.

Not that he wasn't burning with questions and curiosity like everyone else, but in the immediate aftermath of an emergency like an explosion, the fire and other police officers didn't need him and his metal prison rolling around getting in the way. He knew Dennis would find out the details soon enough. And, if it looked like a criminal case and not a gas main, then Dennis would most likely show up at the Chief's office before too long.

In the intervening hours since they were all so abruptly woken, he'd thought about how he was going to talk to Sergeant Brown. He spent breakfast mentally rehearsing what he would say and finding solid, logical replies to the other man's objections. Expressing his concern was one thing, but reasoning with his sergeant was the most obvious way to go. Ed would understand that he needed to concentrate of this department. He had to stop the extra work at night when he wasn't been paid. They couldn't afford to pay him for a day's work as well as a whole night's overtime, which is what he had appeared to have been doing. Ed would understand, he knew the job and knew that justice came first. He would see sense.

Mark hadn't mentioned their slight disagreement last night, but was busy in the kitchen ignoring him by loudly washing dishes and rearranging the crockery.

Over by the window, Fran was sitting, reading the files from homicide, beaming from ear to ear. At least someone was in a good mood today. She'd arrived on the dot at seven, and not even an explosion at some ungodly hour could cloud her excitement at her first proper day on his team.

Her straightforward enthusiasm warmed the Chief's heart more than he could say this morning. This was a step in the right direction, a small step perhaps, but it was on the road that went up, not down.

There was a noise as the elevator started to whir. Finally, though Ironside. It was almost eight and Ed still wasn't in, a surprise since he would have expected him to be in a.s.a.p. because of the explosion. He didn't officially start until eight, but over the past few weeks six-thirty had become the usual time, with very few exceptions. Maybe today was just one of those exceptions. Ironside wasn't annoyed, but he would rather have spoken to Ed without Fran overhearing. That would require an explanation, something he wanted to avoid at almost any cost. This was a private matter between the department and Brown, and he didn't want to make life more awkward for Ed.

Ironside steeled himself for Ed's arrival and the start of a difficult conversation as the elevator stopped and there were footsteps in the hall. So it was a great surprise when Commissioner Dennis Randall appeared though the door. He was always welcome, being the Chief's boss and friend, but Ironside was still feeling frosty after reading the report on Ed's overtime. Specifically about reading it, and not discussing it with the Commissioner instead.

'And what brings you here on such a fine San Francisco morning?' asked Ironside with a thin smile. 'Do you need a recommendation for some good glaziers?'

'That's funny, Bob,' replied the Commissioner sourly, walking down the wheelchair ramp. 'And below the belt.'

Randall settled himself into a chair opposite Ironside, who let the silence stretch out, daring the other man to break it first. Which he did.

'Have you spoken to Ed yet this morning?' Dennis asked, far too casually. Ironside scowled at the file he'd left on the other desk. This was not a something he wanted to talk about with Fran in earshot.

'No,' Ironside replied, 'and I don't appreciate you doing that,' he gestured to the file, 'without telling me. It was the easy way out to send Murray instead.' Dennis took a shifty glance to the table. Ironside scowled, his very best scowl. 'We are not going to have this conversation just now.'

Not today, he thought. And especially not in front of Fran.

'Good, as that's not why I'm here,' the Commissioner said. Ironside gave a harrumph of annoyance. If Dennis didn't want to admit he was at fault, then that was his own look out. 'I'm here about the explosion.'

'I suppose that does beat all our other problems today,' admitted Ironside.

'I'm not sure that's true,' muttered Dennis.

'Well, you always have the budget to deal with,' said Ironside coldly, feeling the need to add irony to the conversation.

'Now, look here Bob…!' the Commissioner started to say, the familiar warning tone in his voice, but Ironside continued, determined to be difficult.

'And what makes you think this should be my case? Do we even know what happened?'

What was Dennis playing at? The man looked like he'd swallowed glue. The Chief was used to Dennis trying to butter him up to take on cases, especially the awkward ones, the tricky ones, and the downright dangerous ones. He prided himself on being the leader of a team that could get the job, any job, done with the minimum of fuss. So why was the Commissioner being so flamin' evasive this morning?

'Let's start somewhere,' the Chief said. 'Which building?'

'Bob, I'm trying to tell you why you'll want to look into this one,' said Dennis.

'Which building, Dennis?'

To give him his due, the Commissioner knew when he was out manoeuvred. He sighed, his shoulders sagged.

'It was the Kingston Building at the new campus. But that's not why…'

'The Kingston Building? Dennis, you should have said.'

'Bob, please listen.'

'No wonder you're here for my help,' continued the Chief. 'I told you what would happen if Curtis Kingston was allowed to build that hideous steel and concrete monstrosity.'

'You did not say it was going to be blown up!' Dennis snapped.

'What I said was that it was thrown at the skyline rather than built. No wonder it came crashing down.' Ironside glared at his friend, knowing full well that this time Dennis had no effective response. 'What happened? Did they forget to put the rivets in? Or were they made of putty rather that metal?'

'It didn't come down on its own, Bob. First indications from Frank are that it was deliberate. There had been a report of a robbery, some sort of disturbance inside. There are some details of what happened just before.'

That was an awkward way of putting it, and the Chief was immediately on his guard.

'Details?' Ironside asked.

'Someone got up and walked out of the building afterward. They called it in.'

Ironside looked up in amazement.

'That's someone with a guardian angel who works overtime,' he said with feeling.

Dennis didn't respond immediately, and if Ironside hadn't known better he'd have said that the Commissioner was struggling to find the right words. That was ridiculous. He didn't have time for this today, not with an explosion on top of everything else.

'You don't have a very good way of getting my help,' said Ironside. 'I am a special consultant, you can tell me to do what you need me to do.'

'You'll want to look into this one,' repeated Dennis.

'Because I always get the tricky ones. And Curtis Kingston is always tricky.'

'That's not why you're on the case, Bob,' said Dennis. There was a pointed pause in the conversation and Dennis gave Ironside a very odd look. For a moment Ironside couldn't see what he was meaning. Then a phrase he hadn't given much thought to reappeared in his mind. "They had called it in". Not "they called the police", meaning they were the polic-

It was all suddenly so clear, and the insight shocked him into silence.

'Chief? Chief? You ok?' said Mark suddenly. 'You've gone white.'

'He's alright!' said Dennis quickly, holding up his hand. 'He'll be fine.'

'That should have been the first thing you said when you came into this office,' bellowed Ironside. Of course it was him. After everything Ironside had learned last night, of flamin' course it was him. It was never going to be anyone else.

Ironside glared ferociously at the Commissioner, who just stared back. No one spoke. After a few moments, realisation struck Mark as well.

'Oh, man,' he said. 'That's all he needs.'

A raging torrent of conflicting emotions surged through the Chief defying his attempts at coherent thought.

'Why in the BLUE BLAZES are we still here and not at the hospital!' he shouted.

Dennis stood up and got in his way as Ironside tried to wheel himself towards the door. His hands were raised is a calming gesture that only made the Chief more angry.

'He's on his way home. A black and white picked him up.'

Unfortunately, Ironside couldn't think of any way to argue with that, though the news he was well enough for discharge went some way to helping Ironside calm down. Instead, he contented himself with more glaring at the Commissioner.

'He walked out of there, Bob. Be grateful for what we have.'

The wave of fury rolled through him again. What had happened? How has this gone so wrong? Why-

'Chief?' it was a quiet question, but it brought Ironside's thoughts to a crashing halt. It was Fran.

'Chief, who are you talking about?' Fran asked, her glace flicking between one man and another round the table. 'What's going on? You're scaring me.'

What exactly was he going to say? And how was he going to keep the questions away after this?

'The person who got up and walked out of the Kingston Building,' Ironside paused and looked at the Commissioner, praying that he would correct him. But all Dennis did was give a small nod. Ironside closed his eyes and cursed. Then he looked at Fran.

'That man was Ed Brown.'