This is a work of fiction. No copyright infringement intended.
Hunter and its characters belong to someone like Stephen J Cannell
Unfinished Business originally written by Morgan Gendal
OK - we all saw Unfinished Business right? So why did it happen? And what happened after? It helps if you can pretend that nothing from Streetwise onwards happened, except maybe in our nightmares. ;)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS - the whole story.
Chapter 3
The icy silence lasted only a few moments. Poking his head out his office door, Charlie bellowed their names. It was a summons that could not be ignored. McCall gave Hunter one final glare before throwing her pencil aside before heading for the Captain's office. With a puzzled frown, Hunter followed her. Dee Dee strode to the window on the far side of the office, putting as much distance between herself and Hunter as possible. It didn't go unnoticed by either Charlie or Rick. Devane began without preamble. "Alright, you two have been fighting like a couple of alley cats. What's going on?" Hunter wasn't too sure himself. "There's nothing going on." Charlie wasn't buying that. "Oh, crap!. I want both of you to sit down." Neither made a move to comply, so he continued anyway. "Alright, I've read your report. And whatever this is, it has nothing to do with losing that car. Something happened at the warehouse yesterday. I want to know what it is." "Look, all we had is a little miscommunication at the warehouse, that's all," Hunter said placatingly. He knew there was more to it than that, but he didn't see how getting Charlie involved in this right now would solve anything. "We almost shot each other," McCall revealed when Charlie turned to her. Hunter looked at her in exasperation. What the hell was she trying to do? Charlie was less than happy. "Alright, I want you to listen to me. Consider this: if you had actually fired shots yesterday you'd be required, by Departmental policy, to see the psychologist." "But you see, we didn't do that," Hunter interrupted. "Obviously you didn't do it, thank god. But I don't see there's any harm in you talking to the departmental psychologist." "We're fine," McCall protested vehemently. "It doesn't look that way to me. Now, I need the two of you to be focussed." McCall had obviously had enough. "Look, I cannot speak for you," she jabbed a finger in Hunter's general direction, "but I am just as focussed as I have ever been." She walked towards the Captain and Hunter - towards the door and noticed the large number of people who all miraculously appeared to have urgent business near the Captain's door suddenly find things to do back at their desks. "So with all due respect Captain, this is something that I'm just not interested in, OK?" Charlie nodded with resignation. They all knew that at this point there was nothing he could do to force the issue. They both turned to Hunter, who was gazing nonplussed at his partner. "Well, me either!" he blurted, caught unawares. McCall was already half way out the door. "Well, we have a lot of work to do on the Streiber case. So.." Devane and Hunter watched her go. "Something is wrong here." "Yeah." Hunter patted him on the back. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Privately he wasn't so sure. He had the unpleasant feeling he was losing her. They spent the rest of the morning working their way through the stack of paperwork, avoiding any conversation. Though there were no more heated exchanges the entire department was on tenterhooks, waiting for the next explosion. A collective sigh was heaved when McCall left for lunch on her own.
Dee Dee sat in one corner of the vast couch, examining Dr Tate's office as he studied her, and feeling very uncomfortable. She didn't really know why she had made the appointment, and if he hadn't had an immediate vacancy she probably would have cancelled. But she was here now, and like the Captain said, it wouldn't do any harm to talk to this guy just once. "How long have you two been partners?" Tate asked suddenly. Dee Dee gave him a long look, still trying to get his measure. Obviously Charlie had talked to him. "Almost six years now." Has it really been that long? "That's a long time to be together. Things must be pretty good between you two." Not right now, she thought. "For the most part they are. This isn't exactly a nine-to-five job. So, occasionally, you do get on each other's nerves." "That could be happening right now. Maybe that's all this is." "You think so?" The truth was, she didn't have a clue why she was so angry with Rick, or why her temper had snapped this morning when he'd tried to apologise. But she'd get no magic-genie answers from Norman Tate. "Do you think so?" Oh, great. Answer a question with a question. Would I be here if I knew? "You don't make this very easy, do you?" "Sometimes it isn't." Aware that she was losing patience, he tried a different tack. "At the warehouse, when you came around that corner, tell me how you felt when you saw Hunter with his gun pointed at you. Describe the moment." This was easy enough. "Well, it's just like everything goes into slow motion. My heart was really pounding, and my finger was just starting to pull down on the trigger. I came around the corner, we saw each other, we froze." Just retelling it she could feel the tension again. "And in that instant one of you could have died." A valid point, but he had the wrong end of the stick, if not the wrong stick altogether. She had told Charlie about that only the hopes of finding some explanation for what was happening between her and Hunter. "Yeah, but sometimes things like that do happen. That is part of the job." She fidgeted for a moment, adjusting the collar of her jacket unnecessarily and brushing back her hair. "It was what happened afterwards that's . We had gone back to the scene, and we're doing our job just like we always do, and up steps this Lt Malone from Robbery who just completely takes over." "And that bothered you." "Yes, it bothered me." It was bad enough being blasted by her partner about making a mistake with another officer stepping in and taking over like she couldn't do her job. "I'm just standing there and all of a sudden she and Hunter are just talking up a storm about all these old times. And I felt like . I felt like I wasn't even there." "The Lieutenant's a woman?" The wrong stick again. "Right, yeah, she's a woman. That's not really the issue here. It's . you see, this is the second time this has happened." "Tell me about the first time." "Well, I don't know. I don't think it's that important." It was so long ago, what possible bearing could it have? "It won't hurt to tell me." She took a deep breath. OK, then. "Well, it was three years ago. I had just gotten back from this six week training course that the FBI gives over at Quantico. I walk in, and there's Hunter with Megan, who's sitting at my desk. And they're both very wrapped up in the D'Angelo case, which, by the way, was mine before I left ."
The scene replayed itself in her head as she told the story. Megan Malone was sitting at her desk, talking to someone on the phone. Hunter was watching her intently. Malone hung up as she walked into the office. "I talked to a friend in the DA's office. The warrants are no problem," she informed Hunter. "You do such good work." He glanced up and saw McCall approaching and greeted her with a marked lack of enthusiasm. "Hi. I was just on my way back from the airport, and I figured I'd stop by." Hunter performed the introductions, but Sgt Malone was in a hurry. "Rick we don't want to be late for the DA's." "You're right." He jumped up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "Hot case - the D'Angelo case," he explained. "D'Angelo? I thought that was thrown out in arraignment." Malone was already half way out the door. "We reopened it," she tossed over her shoulder. "Yeah, we got some new leads." Hunter glanced back at her. "Listen, we'll take care of this. Why don't you go home? Rest, relax . change your clothes."
Tate's question intruded upon her thoughts. "How did you feel about that?" She'd never thought about it before, but now it was obvious. "I felt left out. It was like I wasn't even there, he wasn't glad to see me. I felt very left out." She pouted like a small child. That was exactly how she'd been made to feel yesterday at the crime scene, too. "It seems to me that you and Sgt Hunter have some unfinished business. This is a pretty safe place to talk about it. Would you be willing to talk with him here?" "What, me? Well, yeah." The thought of Hunter talking to a shrink was almost enough to make her laugh, except she was in no mood to do so. "But he would never come in here." Tate's smirk disturbed her somehow. "People change." Mr Banana-smoothies-for-breakfast-every-morning change? That would be the day. "Keep it in mind. Anyway, our time is up. I'd like us to keep talking. You game for another appointment?" Dee Dee considered it. It hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. It hadn't been particularly helpful at this stage, either. Dr Tate had leaped on the obvious answers, all of which she'd considered herself and rejected. But still, she wasn't getting anywhere on her own, and sometimes a fresh perspective helped. "Yeah, I guess so." He held the rear door open for her. "Good. Same time tomorrow?" "Yes. Thanks."
OK - we all saw Unfinished Business right? So why did it happen? And what happened after? It helps if you can pretend that nothing from Streetwise onwards happened, except maybe in our nightmares. ;)
UNFINISHED BUSINESS - the whole story.
Chapter 3
The icy silence lasted only a few moments. Poking his head out his office door, Charlie bellowed their names. It was a summons that could not be ignored. McCall gave Hunter one final glare before throwing her pencil aside before heading for the Captain's office. With a puzzled frown, Hunter followed her. Dee Dee strode to the window on the far side of the office, putting as much distance between herself and Hunter as possible. It didn't go unnoticed by either Charlie or Rick. Devane began without preamble. "Alright, you two have been fighting like a couple of alley cats. What's going on?" Hunter wasn't too sure himself. "There's nothing going on." Charlie wasn't buying that. "Oh, crap!. I want both of you to sit down." Neither made a move to comply, so he continued anyway. "Alright, I've read your report. And whatever this is, it has nothing to do with losing that car. Something happened at the warehouse yesterday. I want to know what it is." "Look, all we had is a little miscommunication at the warehouse, that's all," Hunter said placatingly. He knew there was more to it than that, but he didn't see how getting Charlie involved in this right now would solve anything. "We almost shot each other," McCall revealed when Charlie turned to her. Hunter looked at her in exasperation. What the hell was she trying to do? Charlie was less than happy. "Alright, I want you to listen to me. Consider this: if you had actually fired shots yesterday you'd be required, by Departmental policy, to see the psychologist." "But you see, we didn't do that," Hunter interrupted. "Obviously you didn't do it, thank god. But I don't see there's any harm in you talking to the departmental psychologist." "We're fine," McCall protested vehemently. "It doesn't look that way to me. Now, I need the two of you to be focussed." McCall had obviously had enough. "Look, I cannot speak for you," she jabbed a finger in Hunter's general direction, "but I am just as focussed as I have ever been." She walked towards the Captain and Hunter - towards the door and noticed the large number of people who all miraculously appeared to have urgent business near the Captain's door suddenly find things to do back at their desks. "So with all due respect Captain, this is something that I'm just not interested in, OK?" Charlie nodded with resignation. They all knew that at this point there was nothing he could do to force the issue. They both turned to Hunter, who was gazing nonplussed at his partner. "Well, me either!" he blurted, caught unawares. McCall was already half way out the door. "Well, we have a lot of work to do on the Streiber case. So.." Devane and Hunter watched her go. "Something is wrong here." "Yeah." Hunter patted him on the back. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out." Privately he wasn't so sure. He had the unpleasant feeling he was losing her. They spent the rest of the morning working their way through the stack of paperwork, avoiding any conversation. Though there were no more heated exchanges the entire department was on tenterhooks, waiting for the next explosion. A collective sigh was heaved when McCall left for lunch on her own.
Dee Dee sat in one corner of the vast couch, examining Dr Tate's office as he studied her, and feeling very uncomfortable. She didn't really know why she had made the appointment, and if he hadn't had an immediate vacancy she probably would have cancelled. But she was here now, and like the Captain said, it wouldn't do any harm to talk to this guy just once. "How long have you two been partners?" Tate asked suddenly. Dee Dee gave him a long look, still trying to get his measure. Obviously Charlie had talked to him. "Almost six years now." Has it really been that long? "That's a long time to be together. Things must be pretty good between you two." Not right now, she thought. "For the most part they are. This isn't exactly a nine-to-five job. So, occasionally, you do get on each other's nerves." "That could be happening right now. Maybe that's all this is." "You think so?" The truth was, she didn't have a clue why she was so angry with Rick, or why her temper had snapped this morning when he'd tried to apologise. But she'd get no magic-genie answers from Norman Tate. "Do you think so?" Oh, great. Answer a question with a question. Would I be here if I knew? "You don't make this very easy, do you?" "Sometimes it isn't." Aware that she was losing patience, he tried a different tack. "At the warehouse, when you came around that corner, tell me how you felt when you saw Hunter with his gun pointed at you. Describe the moment." This was easy enough. "Well, it's just like everything goes into slow motion. My heart was really pounding, and my finger was just starting to pull down on the trigger. I came around the corner, we saw each other, we froze." Just retelling it she could feel the tension again. "And in that instant one of you could have died." A valid point, but he had the wrong end of the stick, if not the wrong stick altogether. She had told Charlie about that only the hopes of finding some explanation for what was happening between her and Hunter. "Yeah, but sometimes things like that do happen. That is part of the job." She fidgeted for a moment, adjusting the collar of her jacket unnecessarily and brushing back her hair. "It was what happened afterwards that's . We had gone back to the scene, and we're doing our job just like we always do, and up steps this Lt Malone from Robbery who just completely takes over." "And that bothered you." "Yes, it bothered me." It was bad enough being blasted by her partner about making a mistake with another officer stepping in and taking over like she couldn't do her job. "I'm just standing there and all of a sudden she and Hunter are just talking up a storm about all these old times. And I felt like . I felt like I wasn't even there." "The Lieutenant's a woman?" The wrong stick again. "Right, yeah, she's a woman. That's not really the issue here. It's . you see, this is the second time this has happened." "Tell me about the first time." "Well, I don't know. I don't think it's that important." It was so long ago, what possible bearing could it have? "It won't hurt to tell me." She took a deep breath. OK, then. "Well, it was three years ago. I had just gotten back from this six week training course that the FBI gives over at Quantico. I walk in, and there's Hunter with Megan, who's sitting at my desk. And they're both very wrapped up in the D'Angelo case, which, by the way, was mine before I left ."
The scene replayed itself in her head as she told the story. Megan Malone was sitting at her desk, talking to someone on the phone. Hunter was watching her intently. Malone hung up as she walked into the office. "I talked to a friend in the DA's office. The warrants are no problem," she informed Hunter. "You do such good work." He glanced up and saw McCall approaching and greeted her with a marked lack of enthusiasm. "Hi. I was just on my way back from the airport, and I figured I'd stop by." Hunter performed the introductions, but Sgt Malone was in a hurry. "Rick we don't want to be late for the DA's." "You're right." He jumped up and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "Hot case - the D'Angelo case," he explained. "D'Angelo? I thought that was thrown out in arraignment." Malone was already half way out the door. "We reopened it," she tossed over her shoulder. "Yeah, we got some new leads." Hunter glanced back at her. "Listen, we'll take care of this. Why don't you go home? Rest, relax . change your clothes."
Tate's question intruded upon her thoughts. "How did you feel about that?" She'd never thought about it before, but now it was obvious. "I felt left out. It was like I wasn't even there, he wasn't glad to see me. I felt very left out." She pouted like a small child. That was exactly how she'd been made to feel yesterday at the crime scene, too. "It seems to me that you and Sgt Hunter have some unfinished business. This is a pretty safe place to talk about it. Would you be willing to talk with him here?" "What, me? Well, yeah." The thought of Hunter talking to a shrink was almost enough to make her laugh, except she was in no mood to do so. "But he would never come in here." Tate's smirk disturbed her somehow. "People change." Mr Banana-smoothies-for-breakfast-every-morning change? That would be the day. "Keep it in mind. Anyway, our time is up. I'd like us to keep talking. You game for another appointment?" Dee Dee considered it. It hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. It hadn't been particularly helpful at this stage, either. Dr Tate had leaped on the obvious answers, all of which she'd considered herself and rejected. But still, she wasn't getting anywhere on her own, and sometimes a fresh perspective helped. "Yeah, I guess so." He held the rear door open for her. "Good. Same time tomorrow?" "Yes. Thanks."