Darkness had long fallen over the city at his feet when Roy heard the door to the Homicide Bullpen open with a determined thrust, the set of ensuing footsteps heading straight for his position.
Bidding his fleeting moment of peace farewell, he turned around, once again shaking off the unease of residing in Mike's office but feeling a distinct sense of belonging here until the Lieutenant himself would be back in his chair, safe and sound.
It was no surprise that a visibly upset Jeannie appeared in the doorframe, her cheeks flushed with agitation, huffing several tense breaths before clearing her throat.
"Jean, hun, I told you to stay at the house where we stationed the patrol units and not come down here. It's too dangerous until we know what is going on."
"I need to know what is going on with Mike, Roy? Nobody will tell me anything. Why aren't there people out on the streets looking for him? He could be hurt."
Burying his own doubts once again under a painfully thick layer of guarded neutrality, Devitt nodded, before gesturing for Jeannie to sit down.
"That's because they're not looking for him right now.", he answered curtly, unable to hide his own displeasure with the situation while causing Mike's daughter to gasp in anger.
"What do you mean nobody is looking for him? You said it yourself; he and Steve could be in the hands of dangerous killers. You need to go through this town top to bottom to save them."
"I wish it was that easy, hun.", Roy tried soothingly and walked around the desk, then leaned against the gray file cabinet, using the opportunity to covertly scan the bullpen for any listening ears and not finding any, "Conden got the Feds involved. Nothing will get done until everyone has arrived and we're closer to sunrise. He put a firm stop on any rescue attempts until everyone involved is here and we have daylight to search an area up north where we suspect Mike and Steve may be held captive."
"That is ridiculous…", Jeannie spurted out, her father's fiery anger streak shining through on the edges.
"And as much as I agree with that, I gotta obey the orders from the guy who signs my paycheck…", Roy returned evenly and took a deep breath, "Believe me, Jeannie, I hate every minute of it. I have driven myself crazy trying to figure out where exactly they are, why these guys kidnapped them, if there is any remote chance, any…loophole I can use to get around this order but I haven't come up with anything."
"They…they could be dead by the time everyone is ready."
When her voice broke, Roy glanced up, seeing tears forming in Jeannie's eyes and understanding the reaction too well.
"It's a chance we are forced to take. Conden has made it very clear that he does not want anybody else put into undue danger. And as much as it pains me to admit that, part of me understands. And Mike would too. They knew the risk when this case began to spiral out of control."
"Now, what kind of an excuse is that? It might help you sleep better at night but it sure doesn't help bring my father back."
"He's a cop, Jeannie.", Roy reminded her sternly, "Every day out on those streets there's a chance that somebody decides to kill him. Could be a known crook, or somebody recently released who decides to bestow their revenge on the guy who put him away. Could just be a distracted driver not paying attention to Mike crossing the road. It could be countless different scenarios. And he knew that death could come on any given day. And he accepted that, otherwise…well, otherwise you can't do this job."
"Please spare me all the law enforcement rhetoric; I get enough of that from Mike."
"Then you should also know that whatever will come out of this, he will understand. He gets it. He will be at peace. He and…he and Steve have been through some pretty serious stuff together before. They…will figure a way out of this mess if there is one. And if there isn't…well…at least I find peace in the fact that they are together, no matter what happens."