Background
Show: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Character: Taylor Dunn
Role: Taylor is a neighbor friend of Jake Peralta's. Taylor's aunt is a popular prosecutor who works with the 99th precinct.
Plot: A string of pawn shop robberies has the detectives in the 99 baffled and on the hunt for whoever is shaking these shops down. Taylor Dunn puts in his two cents when a family friend, an owner to a well-kept pawn shop called Lewis and Clark Pawn, asks for help when a few things go missing. Taylor asks his friend, Jake Peralta, to come investigate, and soon gets mixed up in a robbery gone bad and a revenge plot.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Pawn Shop Chaos
When Jake's shift was over, he and Taylor headed down to the pawn shop. Taylor had told Jake about his friend, Carl Lewis, who owned a pawn shop and had been experiencing some minor theft in the past few weeks. Taylor had given Lewis a small web camera and had asked Jake to come and look through some of the footage.
"Thanks for coming with me to look at this footage." Taylor said, as Jake turned and pulled up to the Lewis and Clark Pawn Shop.
"Yeah, no problem!" Jake said. They both got out of Jake's car, and Jake was impressed by the shop. He had been expecting a crummy looking pawn shop, like what most of them looked like in the city. This shop was drastically different.
It was nicely kept on the outside. The sidewalks were swept and clean, and the glass in the front window was shiny, with no cracks. A sign above the door had a compass on it along with the names Lewis and Clark Pawn Shop painted underneath the sign, above the door. Jake let Taylor lead the way into the shop. A bell tinkled as they entered. Jake could see an older gentleman behind a counter, talking to a man, whose back was to the door.
"Hey Mr. Lewis!" Taylor called out happily. Mr. Lewis, with a concerned look on his face, stared at Taylor.
"Um, not right now Taylor, could you wait outside while I assist this customer?" Jake furrowed his brow. Why was this man talking like he was scared? He also kept flicking his eyes to the man he was helping.
"But I brought my detective friend, Jake Peralta, from the 99th precinct to help check out those videos." Taylor said, confused.
"Detective?" The man at the counter turned around. He was wearing a clown mask over his face, and in his hand, he pointed a gun.
"Taylor, get back-oomph!" Jake crumpled to the ground. Behind him stood another man in a clown mask, holding a statuette that he had used to knock Jake out.
Taylor cried out and stared at the unconscious Jake. Fear and panic ran through his body as the second robber stepped over the detective and approached him. Taylor could only stare with wide eyes.
"You brought a police detective?" The man said. "That wasn't a good idea." He forced Taylor to turn around, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, don't hurt him! He's a kid, and you just assaulted a cop!" Mr. Lewis yelled, but the first man at the counter turned around.
"Nothing will happen if you just listen to what we say." He spoke. "Get in the safe and give us the major valuables." He forced a bag into Mr. Lewis' hands, and the older man nodded.
Taylor struggled in the second man's grip. He tried to crane his neck to get a look at Jake, who hadn't moved since being struck. The man wrenched Taylor back, and the teen watched desperately as Mr. Lewis piled merchandise into the bag. What was happening? Was Jake okay? Dread filled Taylor as he blamed himself for getting Jake hurt, and maybe even getting Mr. Lewis in this mess.
Once Lewis was done loading the bag with the valuables he had locked up, he gave the bag back to the first robber. The man took it and then motioned for Mr. Lewis to come out from behind the counter. The older man did, with his hands slightly up. He glanced at the downed detective, and then looked at Taylor.
"You've got what you want, so let the kid go and leave." He said sternly.
"Shut up!" Both robbers yelled in unison.
"Go to the back room." The first robber ordered, pointing Mr. Lewis to a hallway off to his right. Mr. Lewis obeyed, and the second robber pushed Taylor to follow.
"Peralta!" Taylor yelled.
"Be quiet! Or else you'll get hurt too." The man holding him hissed.
Mr. Lewis led all of them into his back office, which was cluttered and two filing cabinets. Taylor was pushed into the room and stood next to Mr. Lewis. The two robbers stared at them, and painful minutes ticked by in silence.
"We gotta finish the plan." The taller of the robbers said.
"But the kid-," The shorter one said.
"It doesn't matter!"
Taylor's eyes widened in fear as thoughts of being shot and killed crossed his mind. What have I walked myself into? He thought. What did I walk Jake into?
"Hey, hey!" Mr. Lewis said. "If you're going to do anything, do it to me. Don't do anything to the kid. He's innocent."
The two bickering robbers stopped to look at Lewis. "Didn't that kid say the detective's name was Peralta?" The taller one asked his associate.
"Yeah?"
"And is that the same Peralta that guy we owe was talking about?"
"Yeah." The two men continued to mutter to each other, as Taylor and Mr. Lewis looked on. They turned slightly, so their backs were to them.
Taylor suddenly remembered his phone in his pocket and gulped. He knew that he could easily get it out and covertly text Santiago, or even Captain Holt back at the 99. Gulping, he shot his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone. He held it behind him and looked at Mr. Lewis, who watched him out of the corner of his eye. The older man stepped a little in front of Taylor, giving him enough cover to look at his phone, search through his messages, and find the 99 group chat he had with the detectives. He found it and quickly tapped at the screen.
Taylor managed to type, "LC Pawn Jake down" before Mr. Lewis cleared his throat. He looked up to see the two thieves finish their conversation. He hit Send and then held his phone behind his back.
"What are you doing?" The taller robber demanded. He pushed Mr. Lewis aside, and grabbed at Taylor's arm.
"Hey, stop!" Taylor yelled, fighting back. The shorter robber had taken Mr. Lewis and pushed him to the other side of the office. As Taylor fought back, his arm brushed the thief's mask and pushed it off his face. He pushed at the thief, fully pulling off the mask.
"Damn it, Reggie!" The shorter man snapped as his partner, Reggie, yanked Taylor's phone from his hand and glared at him.
Reggie had dark green eyes and short cropped brown hair. He glared down at Taylor, holding his phone up in the air. He groaned as he yanked the teenager forward by the collar of his shirt. The two glared at each other.
"Big mistake kid." Reggie said and then looked at his partner. "And you idiot, you said my name!"
"Sorry," he replied.
"Whatever, go get that detective, I'll take care of these two." The shorter man left the office, and Reggie pushed Taylor to the ground. He landed on the rug covered floor with a grunt.
Mr. Lewis rushed to Taylor and helped him to his feet. Reggie looked at Taylor's phone, powered it off, and put it in his pocket. Outside, the sound of sirens rose in the air. Reggie froze, pointed his gun at Lewis and Taylor, then looked down the hall.
"The cops are here, and I can't get this detective by myself!" The shorter man yelled from inside the pawn shop.
Reggie swore and looked to the ground, thinking hard. When an idea came to his head, he looked at Taylor and Mr. Lewis. Without saying a word, Reggie reached forward and pulled Taylor out into the hall. Mr. Lewis tried to take hold of Taylor but was pushed back by Reggie. He stumbled into his desk, and Reggie pointed his gun and shot the older man in the knee. Taylor yelped in shock and Mr. Lewis cried out in pain.
"Never mind that stupid detective!" Reggie yelled, and his partner came back, pulling off his own mask. "We're taking this kid, Brian."
The world seemed to go silent and in slow motion for Taylor as the two men gathered up their loot and began headed to the back door of the shop that led to an alley. Taylor was dragged along, stumbling over his feet and wincing at the pain in his arm from where Reggie had a hold of it. They burst into the alley as the sirens became louder and tires squealed. In the alley was a black van, with its side door pulled open. The shorter man, Brian, rushed around to the driver's side of the van, turning it on in a hurry. Reggie pushed Taylor into the van and followed him, slamming the sliding door behind him.
As uniformed officers were entering the pawn shop, and finding the unconscious Peralta and wounded Mr. Lewis, the robber's van sped into a side street and away
Jake groaned and squeezed his eyes as he began to come to. The last thing that he remembered was going to the Lewis and Clark Pawn shop with his teenaged neighbor/friend, Taylor. They had entered the shop, and Jake had realized right away that something was wrong. The shop's owner was jumpy, and the customer standing at the counter hadn't moved. When he looked closer, Jake saw that he was wearing a mask: a horrible looking clown mask that was revealed when he turned around. He had told Taylor to get down, and then the world had gone black and painful.
"Taylor?" Jake groaned, rubbing his head and sitting up. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was laying on an ambulance stretcher. He sat up, then grimaced as pain shot up in his head.
"Jake! Take it easy, you might have a concussion." Amy Santiago, Jake's wife, suddenly appeared at his side, pulling him into a hug.
"Amy, where's Taylor? Where are the robbers?" Jake asked as he pulled away from her. He had an uneasy feeling when he saw his wife's worried expression.
Jake knew that Amy didn't need to tell him that Taylor was hurt or gone. Jake looked around at the uniformed officers taping off the area. He saw Charles Boyle and Rosa Diaz standing at another ambulance, questioning Mr. Lewis, the shop's owner.
"I gotta talk to the owner." Jake said, struggling to sit up and get off of the stretcher. He could feel the bandage wrapped around his head, but he was determined. Amy tried to get him to stay on the stretcher, but sighed and begrudgingly helped him up and towards their friends.
"You said that these guys talked about owing some guy?" Rosa was saying when Jake and Amy approached.
Mr. Lewis, though looking pale, was laying on a bed in the ambulance. His right leg at the knee was wrapped up, and blood was showing through the bandage. Jake winced, feeling guilty that he could not have protected the man from being shot. Mr. Lewis opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he saw Jake.
"Detective Peralta!" He said, "Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that," Jake said, smiling softly.
"I'll live, but I was telling these two what those men were saying before you and Taylor came in." Jake could see the look of shame in Lewis's eyes when he mentioned Taylor.
"Apparently," Rosa Diaz said. "The thieves came in complaining about owing someone and needed money."
Jake nodded solemnly. Things had happened so fast, and he could have kicked himself for not seeing the second thief who had gotten the drop on him.
"Yeah, some man named Figgis." Jake almost threw up. He retched and Amy called out, holding on to him.
"Figgis?!" Charles exclaimed.
Jake's world spun, and Amy had to lead him to the street curb to sit down. His mind spun as the name Figgis shot memory after memory through his mind. Jimmy "The Butcher" Figgis had been a major mob boss that had made Jake and Captain Holt go into witness protection after taking down his operation. It had been hellish living in Florida under a different name, away from his friends and Amy. Jake had been taken hostage by Figgis when they lured him to Florida, but they had managed to subdue him and send him to jail. So, why, were these burglars owing Jimmy Figgis if he was in jail.
"How is that possible? Figgis was sent to prison." Rosa said disbelievingly.
At this time Lewis's ambulance was closed up, and rushed him back to the nearest hospital. Rosa and Charles stood by Jake and Amy, looking concerned and a little outraged. Jake rubbed his head where he had been struck gingerly. His head hurt, and felt like it was on fire.
"Jake, we really need to get you check out by an EMT." Amy said softly to her husband. She put her head on his shoulder and he just numbly looked at his feet.
"We have to find Taylor." Jake muttered and Amy nodded.
"We will, Jake," She said, sitting up. "We'll find Taylor-,"
"And we need to figure out if Figgis really is out of the jail." Amy nodded.
Reluctantly, Jake let Amy take him back to the EMTs and get checked out. He had a mild concussion, but other than that he was fine. He knew that his lovely wife would take care of, but he still worried. His mind, though in pain, kept spinning with ways to find out where Taylor had been taken, and if they could recover him before Figgis showed up.
Later in the evening, Jake was resting on the couch in his and Amy's apartment, holding a bag of ice to his head wound. Amy was in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes when there was a knock on the door. Jake barely turned in head as Amy went to the door and opened it. Lieutenant Terry Jeffords and Captain Raymond Holt came in looking somber. Amy led them into the living room where they took up seats in some armchairs.
"We found out about Figgis," Terry said, and Jake instantly sat up.
"It seems that six months ago, Jimmy Figgis managed to escape his work detail from prison. No one knows how he escaped, but they knew he was gone." Captain Holt said. He look crossly into his hands and then sighed.
"Why weren't we told?" Jake asked. "We should be on top of Figgis's list of people to get revenge against.
There was silence for a moment, then Terry cleared his throat. "It seems the FBI were keeping tabs of Figgis's actions. Once he escaped jail he went out of state. They didn't want to worry you or Holt, or cause distraction to our jobs."
"That's a fat load of BS!" Amy snapped. Terry, Holt, and Jake nodded in agreement. "How do these two lowlifes who took Taylor figure into this?"
"Reggie Vastly and Brian Roberts. Small time crooks who supposedly took some money from Figgis and lost it. The pawn shop owner told us that before they took Taylor, they were initially going to take you, Jake." Terry explained. The last part made Jake twitch and stare wide eyed at his friend.
"Yes, it seems that as they were arranging to take you Taylor managed to get that text message to our group chat. Luckily some of Amy's uniformed officers were in the area." Captain Holt added. "We believe that because you were unconscious, Taylor was an easier target to take with them."
"But why take him at all?" Amy asked. She put an arm around Jake, and he leaned into her slightly.
Terry and Captain Holt shared a concerned look and Jake's rapidly beating heart seemed to sink. He had a bad feeling that he knew why these two robbers would take Taylor instead of him. However, he still wished that he had been taken instead of Taylor.
"We think that Vastly and Roberts are going to offer Taylor to Figgis so he can use him as bait against you."
Taylor sat with his back to the far side of the van. His hands were bound in front of him at the wrists with several rounds of duct tape. He had spent the night in the van, exhausted and terrified. For a long time after being taken he had fought against his captors, yelling and causing a scene in the hopes that someone would find the van suspicious. Nothing happened except Taylor being hit a few times then finally tied up. He had slept for a little bit, but not much.
Brian and Reggie had argued constantly since. They had gone to a block of empty warehouses, where the sounds of the city were extremely faint. Taylor had no idea where they had ended up parking, but he knew it was early in the morning, and they were waiting for someone. The two men had thrown the name Figgis around a few times, and Taylor thought the name sounded familiar.
The sliding side door of the van scraped open and Taylor looked up at Reggie, who stared expressionlessly at him. He said nothing as he leaned in and grabbed the bag of valuables he and Brian had stolen. Reggie left the door open, and Taylor could hear the sound of an approaching vehicle. Before stepping away from the van, Reggie looked back at Taylor.
"Stay quiet, or you're dead." He warned darkly. Taylor didn't say or do anything.
He couldn't see the approaching vehicle, but Taylor could hear it stop, and people get out. Car doors slammed and voices muttered. Outside, Reggie and Brian stood across from a group, headed by the formidable Jimmy "The Butcher" Figgis.
"You got something for me boys?" He said and Reggie nodded. Brian took the bag and handed it to one of Figgis's men.
Silence built up as the man looked through the bag, evaluating the items within it. When he was done, he leaned over to Figgis and whispered in his ear.
"My man here says that you're still short." Figgis stated.
Reggie nodded. He looked to Brian and nodded, then Brian turned and walked back to the van.
"Let's go kid," Brian said, and Taylor scooted forward hesitantly. When he was close enough, Brian grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. He led the teenager to the group, then pushed him to his knees between them.
Figgis furrowed his brow. "I don't deal this way, friends." He spoke. Behind him, one of his three goons pulled out a pistol.
"Wait!" Reggie barked. "This kid ruined our last score. Came walking in spouting that he had brought his cop friend with him. A detective named Jake Peralta."
Figgis's eyes widened in surprise and then looked down at Taylor, who stared back in mute fright. "Jake Peralta?" Figgis echoed.
"We were going to bring Peralta, but the cops came." Brian explained. "This kid seems to be friends with all those detectives who took you down." He flinched when Figgis snapped up and glared at him. "Kept telling us that his 'friends' at the Nine-Nine would come and stop us."
"Friends with all of them, huh?" Figgis mused, returning his gaze to the boy on his knees in front of him.
No one said anything for a long moment. Taylor felt his heart beating practically in his ears. He fidgeted, trying to find weak points in the tape that bound his wrists together.
"Well, boys," Figgis finally said. "This is a great find, however," Taylor looked up as the mob boss's tone seemed to change curiously. "You're still short."
Figgis snapped his fingers and one of his men quickly shot Brian and Reggie. Both men fell to the ground, dead. Taylor cried out, ducking down and covering his head. One of the men went to the bodies and fished out three cell phones. He showed them to Figgis who looked them over.
"Which one of these is yours, kid?" Figgis asked. Taylor straightened and hesitantly pointed out his cell phone. Figgis took it and turned it on. Once it was all loaded, he opened up the camera app and pulled Taylor to his feet.
"Smile!" Figgis said sarcastically as he snapped a picture of him and Taylor together.
Once the picture was finished, Figgis pushed Taylor to one of his men, who grabbed him and held onto his shoulders tightly. Figgis did some tapping on the screen before holding the phone up close to his mouth. A dull ring tone sounded out from the cell, and after five rings someone picked up.
"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" A female voice asked.
Figgis placed the phone close to Taylor who looked perplexedly at it and then him.
"Tell then who you are and what happened." Figgis ordered.
"My-my name is Taylor Edwards, and I-I was kidnapped yesterday from the Lewis and Clark Pawn shop." Taylor stuttered. Figgis nodded approvingly.
"Tell them that you are at the abandoned wharf district outside Brooklyn, and to send Detective Jake Peralta." Figgis said.
Taylor repeated what Figgis said to the operator who tried to ask more questions that Taylor was afraid to answer. When he was finished, Figgis hung up, and gave the phone to one of his goons. The goon placed the phone by the dead bodies.
"Well then, shall we?" Figgis clapped his hands, and started for the SUV.
The Nine-Nine swarmed on the scene, blaring with sirens and screeching tires. Jake and Amy were first out of their car, weapons drawn and at the ready. Lieutenant Jeffords and Captain Holt reached the van and looked inside. They called clear, and everyone descended on the bodies lying not far from it. Amy checked their pulses.
"Dead, both of them. Gunshot wounds." She said looking around. "Jake, phone!" She pointed to the cellular device on the ground next to Reggie's body.
Jake jumped and picked it up. He pressed the screen and a picture popped up. Jake's face paled as he showed the screen to everyone around him. The picture on the screen showed a triumphant looking Jimmy Figgis holding onto a scared looking Taylor grimacing and trying to pull away.
"It's Taylor's phone." Jake mumbled.
"And Figgis has him." Amy moaned as she holstered her gun.
CSI came and processed the scene, and Jake, Amy, Terry, and Holt headed back to the office. Holt had called Charles and Diaz to meet them in the briefing room to discuss the new developments. They were seated when all four of them arrived.
Jake sat down and said nothing as Terry briefed Charles and Rosa on what they found. He placed Taylor's phone on the table in front of him and looked at it. Depression and shame crashed on him. He felt responsible for Taylor's situation, even though it had all been by chance they came across the robbery. It was also a coincidence that the two robbers had debts to pay to Jimmy Figgis. But he felt angry too.
Why hadn't the FBI informed him of Figgis's escape from jail? Why had they been left in the lurch with this impending danger hanging over their heads. Jake wanted to know who had dropped the ball, because he agreed with his wife in that everything about this seemed like a load of BS. He absentmindedly bit his lower lip, thinking about what to do next when Holt called his name.
"Peralta, are you okay?" Captain Holt asked and Jake started.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jake said. "I'm fine, and I'm ready to work this." He straightened up in his chair and rested his elbows on the table.
The captain opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when the phone in front of Jake began to ring. The room grew deathly quiet as the generic ring tone rang. A phrase popped up instead of a name: "Pick Me Up."
"Put it on speaker. No one except Jake talk." Terry ordered and everyone nodded. Jake slid the icon and answered the call.
"Hello?" Jake said. There was a pause, and then a dark chuckle.
"Peralta, it's been a while." Jimmy "The Butcher" Figgis's voice replied.
"Figgis." Jake answered angrily. "Where's Taylor?"
"Oh, your little friend is fine, Jake." Figgis said.
"Tell me what you want, Figgis." Jake snapped suddenly. "If it's me you want, I'll gladly switch places with Taylor." Charles and Amy shook their heads in protest, but were stopped by Captain Holt, who held up a finger.
Figgis laughed. "I bet you would, but I have a bit more planned out for you and your whole team." His voice turned dark and sinister. "Keep the phone on you, I'll make another call in four hours." There was a click, and the line went dead.
Jake resisted the urge to chuck the phone across the room. Instead, he slumped in his seat, and Amy rushed to the one next to him and took his hand. No one spoke for a long moment, but Jake broke it with a disgruntled sigh.
"Four hours," He said, and the others nodded. "That's four hours to try and figure out Figgis's plan.
Figgis chuckled darkly as he hung up the cell phone and placed it in his pocket. He was confident that he had kept the conversation short enough that there would be no way to track it.
He was in a room formatted into an office. There was a simple desk and chair and a bookcase with lots of empty space. It was one of his own "safe houses" that he had set up during his time of Crime Boss Operation. In reality it was an apartment in an unassuming part of Brooklyn. The apartment was a larger one, and had at least four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Figgis left the bedroom that was an office and went down the hallway.
They had arrived at the safe house apartment a few hours ago. It had been a last-minute choice, as Taylor had been a surprise find. The plan had been to collect their money from the two brothers and then head out of New York for a while. He needed time to rebuild his operation, but this was a happy segue.
He walked into the living room and chuckled again, but this time at the sight before him. A wooden chair from the generic dining room set had been pulled into the middle of the living room. Sitting on the chair, with his hands bound behind him, his ankles bound as well, with duct tape was the boy Figgis had ended up with Taylor Edwards. Figgis sat in an armchair in front of the boy and smirked.
"Did Jake tell you about me?" Figgis asked after a long, tense moment of silence.
Taylor hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah, and he told me about Florida."
Jake had actually spun the suspenseful tale one night when his wife, Amy, had worked a night shift. Taylor had run into Jake in the hallway of their apartment building, and the detective had ended up in Taylor's apartment to play Call of Duty. Between games, Jake had regaled Taylor with his stories of action and intrigue. When Jake was finished telling the story about Figgis and Florida, Taylor could practically feel the stars gleaming in his eyes.
Well, those stars weren't gleaming in his eyes anymore.
Jimmy smiled as he sat back in the armchair. "Good, so you know how serious this is."
Taylor couldn't control his tongue, "Jake and Captain Holt took you down in Florida, they're going to do it again." He glared at the crime boss; whose smile faltered for a moment.
The man leaned forward and snatched the collar of Taylor's shirt, pulling him painfully towards him. Figgis glared at Taylor as the young boy struggled to free himself and stop the pain of the chair digging into his lower arms. Figgis growled and pushed Taylor back into the chair then stood up.
"We'll see about all of that." Was all he muttered as he stalked out of room and down the hall.
Taylor was left in the living room alone, which was how he preferred it. He hated Figgis and his men, who all snickered and smirked at him whenever they could. The isolation also gave him a free time to try and worm his way out of the duct tape on his wrists. When someone came in, whether in passing or to sit by him, Taylor would stop, and then wait for them to leave again. With Figgis gone again, and no one else in the room, Taylor again started moving his arms, stretching and craning when he tried to see if he was making any progress.
When he was about to give up and rest, Taylor felt a little give in the tape. I must have made a small tear, he thought to himself. He resisted the urge to smile triumphantly.