**Hey y'all! Welcome to the continuing saga of the Cody family. I want to state that this story will take place during season 3 of the show as if it weren't obvious anyway. Anywho, enjoy the next ride because it's still full of family drama : ) **Reanna.
CHAPTER 1-BLOOD IN THE WATER
A neighbor had been watching from her front porch hoping that the ambulance was going to come sooner than later. She had heard the gunshots ring out and called 911 but that was the most she was going to do. The woman knew who she lived next to, who Baz was related to and did not want to get involved in anything. The paramedics would know more than her, would be able to help and that was a risk she was going to take.
When the paramedics arrived, they parked on the other side of the house, in front of the neighbor. She slipped inside quickly, and the members jumped out of their ambulance as fast as they could. It was clear what had happened, they didn't have to look for wounds or even victims.
"We've got two victims; they need the hospital right now so everyone move!" A man called out which stirred Jessica from her half-awake slumber.
Her eyes shifted over and she couldn't tell how many where running their way as her vision became blurrier. It wasn't until she felt four pairs of hands on her that she knew two people were trying to help. Jessica's mind drifted, wondering if she had worked with these people at the hospital or if they were even going to save her life. The man ordered two stretchers; two women were pulling them from the back as fast as they could.
"Come on guys, I don't want to call for back up. The police will back us in here" He commented as he sent the other paramedic to check on Baz.
One of the female's had followed the driver over to Baz who hadn't moved. They ripped Jessica's plaid shirt away which was soaking wet and checked him over. "He's losing a lot of blood, he's going to go into hypovolemic shock, get him on the stretcher. Hey Jonas, what's her condition?"
"She's losing a good amount over her, her blood pressure is dropping, and her breathing is not looking so good" Once the other stretcher came her way, he had quickly strapped her in and wheeled her to the ambulance. "I see three gun shot wounds, what about him?"
"I'm seeing four and it's not looking good, one hit by his neck"
The paramedics moved the best they could as the cops showed up. They didn't have time to tell them anything as Jessica and Baz needed medical attention immediately. Once they piled them in the back of the ambulance, Jessica went to speak but one of the women had put a face mask on her. She took the air eagerly, and the others had brushed off the police.
As they rode quietly except for the paramedics every once and a while calling something out, Baz moved his hand as much as he could to touch Jessica's. They had been lying side by side, trying to concentrate on nothing but surviving…And the outcome wasn't promising. The two of them had been drifting between consciousness so everything that they heard was hazy. Jessica hadn't reacted to Baz's touch and as much as he tried to grab a hold, he couldn't. His fingers refused to move, she wouldn't reply, and the paramedics had finally arrived at the hospital.
Hopping out of the ambulance as quickly as they could, they slid Baz out first and seconds later came Jessica. A couple nurses as well as a doctor ran out after one of them put in a call about the shooting. The ER doctor called for backup and a trauma surgeon ran out behind them.
"What's the call? Surgery?" He asked them, following the couple down the hallway of the hospital. The man was taking a look between Baz and Jessica, trying to assess the wounds in his head to see if he was needed. While moving down the hall, a nurse had put an oxygen mask over Baz.
"We need to get them into the OR immediately, he's losing too much blood…Get the paddles ready, he's going into hypovolemic shock right now"
"Her lips are turning blue" As they pushed Baz straight into a surgical room, they started to move Jessica faster into a second one. "My guess is a collapsed lung, her heartbeat is dropping quickly, doctor, we need you in here now!"
As they rushed to help the dying Bonnie and Clyde twosome, the Cody family was officially going to be short one family member. Once they got to work on Jessica, a nurse had popped into the room. "We lost him. Time of death is 5 am"
Cops had decorated Baz's home, something that Smurf would have been panicking about if she knew the situation. They all knew to stay away from police, they knew to cause trouble but to never get caught. This time around, two had got caught with a disastrous outcome.
Detective Piece parked down the street as the area had been blocked off due to the attempted murders. He knew the house; he knew the person who lived there, and he knew the Cody family. Actually, he knew Smurf really well as he had gotten her out of trouble when he first started his career as a cop. He was one of the many who never went after the Cody family despite the Oceanside PD wanting to look into them.
When he walked up the driveway, he glanced down at the shells the littered the ground, the pools of blood they hadn't washed yet and the five cops that were either checking for evidence or taking notes. Detective Pierce saw cop standing over by the black jeep, searching through a matching-colored bag.
"This is something that doesn't happen on this side of town. What happened?" He asked once he approached him. The young cop whose named read Officer Daniels questioned who he was until he saw a badge.
"A shooting, can you believe that?" Pierce determined that the Officer was no more than twenty-three years old so he hadn't had enough time to get into the dirtiness of Oceanside. "One male and one female victim. Their current condition is unknown, I'm waiting for a call from the hospital, but the neighbor heard the shots and saw two people down"
Nodding at his words, he looked over the side of the house before looking back at the young man. "Anyone identified them?"
"We didn't have to, they both had their ID's in the car" Reaching his hand out of the bag, he held up two drivers licenses and set the bag on the hood of the car. "One is Barry Blackwell and the other is Jessica Cody"
Reaching out for them, Detective Pierce figured that Baz was one of the victims. It was about time that the Cody family ending up paying for their criminal ways while someone finally getting crossed out. Looking over the idea, he laughed faintly with the shake of his head.
"Baz…" He said aloud with the Officer giving him a confused look. "He goes by Baz; he was taken in by Janine Cody when he was younger. She's better known as Smurf. Jessica is her daughter"
"Wait, you know them?" He asked, leaning over to look at the IDs again.
"Everyone in Oceanside knows the Cody's. I take it you haven't been here long" The Detective had learned that the man has only been on patrol for 3 months and moved from San Francisco. "All of her kids with the exception of one have done jail time. Pope just out of prison, Deran for B&E, Craig for public intoxication, Julia for buying drugs. Baz has some offences and Jessica's the only one that doesn't have a record"
"I guess you have to have one normal kid of the bunch"
"She's been arrested before, minor misdemeanors for trespassing and damage to property but those got written right off her record, paid fines with no jail time" It was clear that the Detective was implying something suspicious as all of the Cody's got away with everything. "She's also a drug addict, numerous rehab trips but hey, you can consider that normal"
Infamy lived within the Cody family and the police were their fans. Detective Pierce and the Oceanside police were going to have a field day, especially if both of them die. The family didn't have many friends, but they sure had a lot of enemies which would lead the police down a rabbit hole.
"Has anyone informed the family about what happened yet?" Tossing the licenses onto the hood of the car, Officer Daniels scrambled for them again.
"Not that I know of, I'll send two officers down there now"
Detective Pierce nodded and began to walk away from the young man. He was ready to crack this case and find some sort of information on this family…Even if he had helped Smurf in the past.
"I'm heading down to the jail, let Smurf know about this tragic event and hopefully she'll be able to give me information. Send them to the house, one of her sons are bound to be there"
As the Officer was trying to gather some of his fellow coworkers together, he hadn't thought about what Detective Pierce said. "Wait…The Mom's in jail now?"
Pope had been outside of the family home cleaning his truck. He was hoping that Lena was going to be coming back from Disneyland sooner than later as she was supposed to arrive later that night. He was polishing, washing, waxing his black truck as if his life depended on it.
He was trying his best to distract himself of what happened the night before. The conversation with Baz had him in a forgiving mood, completely different than the suicidal one he had before. Pope was reassured, reconnected, and felt that he could breathe after what Smurf made him to. It still plagued him however; Cath's death would eat him alive. Now that Baz knew, things were different, and he didn't feel it weighing on his chest anymore.
The family dynamics would change once more but the trust and love that his brother had for him would stay the same. Pope needed a lookout, someone to take care of him and rip him out of Smurf's hands. Smurf on the other hand would hold onto her oldest as tight as possible with her now in jail however, Pope could be free of her clutches.
Paying close attention to his car wasn't taking his anger or hurt away, but it made him feel in control of something. He could really look at the details of it rather than lose himself in his own mind. Moving to the front of his truck, he drug a rag across the top and rubbed on a spot he found. What he didn't hear were officers approaching the home, he left the gate open in case Lena came back.
"Excuse me sir? We're looking for Janine Cody" Two male officers walked up the driveway, staring at the eldest Cody. Clearly Officer Daniels didn't give them the memo about Smurf. "We were told that she lives here"
Whipping around at the voice, Pope held the rag in his hand and stared them down. He was taught to never like police, taught to never get close or become friends with them. "She does but she's not here…What's this about?"
He began to wonder if they were going to search the house for her case. Honestly, Pope didn't have any clue why cops would show up to the house when they never showed him. Maybe it was about the case, maybe someone was digging more dirt on her.
The men exchanged looks before the one on the right spoke. "Are you related to Miss Cody?"
"I'm her son" Pope simply stated.
"Okay…I take it you know a Jessica Cody and a Barry Blackwell then?"
Nodding his head slowly, Pope narrowed his eyes at them. "They are my sister and brother…What is this about?"
The cops exchanged looks again, took a couple steps towards him and glance around the outside of the home. "Around three this morning, there was a call to an address reporting gun shots. Miss Cody and Mr. Blackwell were the victims, and they were transported to the hospital. As of right now, your brother…"
Not listening to another word, Pope's hearing went, and he hardly heard anything the officer said. Hearing their names together along with the words victims and shooting made him freeze in place. The rag he was using slipped out of his hand and rolled around on the concrete. He expected Baz to be angry at him for a while, not for him to get killed.
Pope didn't even have enough time to gather anything as he had to inform the others about what happened. He was tempted to go to the hospital first, but it was more important that the others knew. Calling Craig first, he left a voicemail before dialing Deran's number immediately. Craig was too busy in Mexico that he more than likely didn't even have his phone on him, and he didn't know why Deran wasn't picking up. The next mission was to find J who wasn't home, and Pope didn't even know where to start. Once again, he dialed his number, but J had left his phone on the kitchen counter, so it was no use. Now he was going to drive around Oceanside to find him starting with The Strand.
Nicky and J were walking on the sidewalk of The Strand with it being her idea. They were bored in the house the night before and Nicky thought it would be fun to get breakfast and enjoy the early sun.
"I think we should have a party tonight. Tara is home from college and she like knows everyone we went to school with" Nicky was referring to a girl that was two grades higher than them and hosted a party like it was no one's business.
"I don't know Nicky, I've got some stuff to look over for Smurf tonight and I don't want a thousand people over, especially if Pope is at the house"
As if Pope had overheard J say his name as a black truck rolled up next to him and stopped hard on the breaks. Rolling his window down, Pope looked towards the young couple who also paused in their tracks. "Get your asses in the truck, now!"
"Did Lena come home already?" J asked him to wonder why Pope was out this early, let alone bossing orders. "What's wrong?" He could tell that something was bothering him but couldn't put his finger on it.
Pope turned his attention back to the street and held in a breath. He was still trying to comprehend the situation and it even hurt for him to say the next words. "Baz and Jessica got shot last night"
Those words made Nicky and J's jaw drop and pile into the car as quickly as possible. Nicky took the backseat while J jumped straight into the passenger. Pope hadn't even waited if their car doors were shut as he began to drive away.
"What? What do you mean they were shot?" Nicky asked, sitting in the middle and didn't even bother to buckle herself in. Her eyes were filling with tears as she had just spoken to Jessica not too long ago.
Pope looked in the rearview mirror at her for a second. "Cops came to the house and said that they were shot in his driveway"
"Are you serious?" J asked him, in disbelief before rubbing his face. He wasn't close to either of them and was never going to be after the money stealing situation happened. It was the fact that someone would do that to them and could possibly put a target on the rest of the family. "Are they…Are they dead?"
"Jessica is in critical condition" He stopped at a red light and Pope also stopped talking. What he was going to say would hurt and carve into him, more so than hearing Smurf was in jail. "Baz is dead"
"What?" Nicky questioned again before sitting fully back. She covered her hand over her mouth and let the tears fall from her eyes.
The truck became silent as they rode through Oceanside, trying to process the news they just heard. The Cody family would now be broken and changed in more ways than they could count. The news wasn't just shocking because they lost a family member, it also had them lost. Smurf in jail was one thing but with Baz being killed, they no longer had a leader in the family.
"Are we going to the hospital?" J asked, finally breaking the tension and looking over to his Uncle.
"We need to tell Deran first"
Deran was dreading opening the bar for the day because he had a pounding headache. He was up all night with Adrian and had only gotten three hours of sleep. It was his time to vent to somebody and he was willing to tell Adrian everything. The topics of Smurf in jail, Craig heading to Mexico plus Baz and Jessica being together was brought up and talked about for hours. Deran felt a sense of protection that he could tell someone his problems and not get judged for it.
As he was sleeping in the little cot above his office, Deran could hear pounding on the front door but chose to ignore it. It was probably someone wanting to come in early for drinks and Deran was not going to let them in. The noise had stopped for three seconds before picking up again.
Groaning loudly, he rolled out of the space and threw a t-shirt on. He was already in pajama pants, so he ruffled his hair and pulled it into a bun while walking towards the main entrance. "Hold on a minute, damn. I'll be there in a second!" Looking over at the clock in the bar, he saw how early it was a and couldn't believe someone was bothering him that early.
Undoing the lock and popping the door open, he looked over his family and Nicky. "What the hell are you guys doing here? It's like seven in the morning"
Pope did his usual dead stare at his younger brother. "Baz and Jessica got shot"
"What?" Deran could feel his ears begin to burn; the words were ringing in his head. He had the same reaction as the others, shock which turned into concern and finally confusion. This was something that no one would have ever called or guess. "What do you mean they got shot?"
"They got shot Deran!" Pope hissed, making his younger brother lock the front door before staring at it. "Someone shot them last night and I don't know who did it"
He filled him in on the conversation he had with the police this morning, also giving J and Nicky more information. The teenagers sat at the bar with Nicky looking around for some tissues. Deran froze in place, not wanting to think of the alternative.
"Are they okay? I mean…" He trailed off momentarily to face his family. "Please don't tell me that they are dead" His voice was quiet and low, Deran stared at Pope, trying to brace himself.
"Baz is dead" Pope's voice had cracked which made Nicky cry a little heavily again. "They only told me that Jessica is in critical condition, I haven't been to the hospital yet"
"Craig…Craig probably doesn't have reception in Mexico" Moving over towards the bar, Deran began to look for his phone to inform their other brother. Honestly it was something that pushed him forward, he needed to do something.
Deran wasn't big on showing emotions and he was hiding what he was feeling. His blue eyes had filled with tears, and he began to blink quickly in order to push them back. He hadn't always been close to Baz, but he was still his brother, he grew up with him. Jessica on the other hand was his full-blooded sister, they had been close the second Deran was born. She had done everything and anything for him, besides Baz, Jessica was closest to him. He couldn't lose his sister; he could lose any of his siblings.
J leaned back on the bar stool and mumbled under his breath. "Isn't that a coincidence. Craig leaves during the day and now Baz is dead. Jessica could be too for all we know"
Deran was on the phone trying to reach Craig, so he hadn't heard much of what J said. "It wasn't Craig alright, he wouldn't ever do that"
"I'm only saying that Craig happened to disappear and then this happens"
Pope had been standing in the middle of the room and focused his attention on his nephew. If looks could kill, J would have dropped dead right then and there. "It was Javi's crew. The whole situation doesn't add up, they wanted to get back at Smurf"
J shook his head. "No, Javi wanted to get back at Smurf, no the crew. My bet is on…"
"It wasn't Craig so stop saying that!" Deran shouted from behind the bar which had everyone's eyes going wide. He wasn't going to let J blame his older brother when he knew that it would never happen. "And Jessica isn't dead…" He said with a shaky breath, giving a quick look to Pope.
"What about Lena? Who's going to tell her?" The only woman in the room, Nicky spoke slowly remembering the young girl. Her eyes trailed towards J but slowly made their way to Pope.
Pope had a perplexed look on his face, honestly, he forgot about her. He had been too shocked by the news that it never dawned on her that they are missing part of the puzzle. All eyes turned to him, and the elder Cody didn't even have words.
"I don't know…" He trailed off, remembering how said she has been since Cath's death.
"What are we going to do about a funeral?" Deran broke Pope out of his thoughts with a question that currently didn't have answers from any of them. "I mean, Baz needs one and if Jessica dies…"
Placing his elbows on the bar, Deran ran his hands through his blonde locks. He eventually placed them over his eyes as he couldn't fight the tears anymore. The reaction made Pope turn away, not wanting to seem vulnerable either.