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 4
Tate closed the door behind her, then opened the waiting room door. His next appointment should already be waiting - Sergeant Hunter had called half an hour after his partner to make his own appointment. "Hello," he greeted the tall man flicking idly through a fishing magazine. "I'm Norman Tate." Sgt Hunter shook his hand and settled on the couch. He appeared more relaxed than his partner had, although judging from his record, he was not the sort of man who sat down at just opened up to strangers. He would have to tread carefully. "Have you ever been to a therapist before?" "No. You see, there's nothing a shrink can do for me that a good game of gold can't." Unfazed Tate decided to probe further. "You're pretty emphatic about that. Does being here bother you?" Hunter waved his hands in a conciliatory manner. "No. Look, I'm sure you're a very good doctor, helped many, many people. I'm here because my partner has a problem with us - therefore I have a problem with us. Now I'm here to try to make some sense of it - try to solve the problem. Normally she's quite reasonable about these things. But lately it's become, well ." "You're afraid it's going to get in the way of your work." "You're right." "You've been partners for six years now. Maybe you two are on burn-out." Hunter shook his head dismissively. Obviously he'd already considered that option. Time to beard the lion. "Has she ever been like this before?" "No." Hunter stopped and thought carefully. "Except for the D'Angelo case." Interesting. "What happened in the D'Angelo case?" "That was the year McCall took the FBI's forensic course at Quantico, Virginia. Another detective was temporarily assigned as my partner." "Who was that?" "Megan Malone." Hmmm. He sensed they were getting close to something here. "How did that work out?"
Hunter paused, wondering why that was relevant. "Sergeant Malone had a knack for making things happen. Which explains one of the reasons she's a lieutenant today." Other than that she was just another police office as far as he was concerned. He didn't really understand why his partner would have a problem with her. "I think McCall felt guilty about being away. I mean, especially after we opened up the D'Angelo case - that was her case. As a matter of fact, I had to talk her into taking some time off ." He tailed off. Tate didn't need to know about the Fredericks case. Instead he tried to fix in his mind what had happened when McCall returned.
He'd been sitting at his desk, going through a witness statement when McCall came into the office. "McCall, it's good to see you! You're finally back!" She dumped her briefcase on her desk, reclaiming her territory. "Well, no one knows the D'Angelo case better than I do." He indicated to Sgt Malone sitting meekly next to him, "Well, you know, Megan has some interesting points on that case. Why don't you fill her in?" Malone deferred to him. "You go ahead. I mean, I think Dee Dee should know where the case has gone." "Well, alright. Now, your theory was that D'Angelo killed his partner Clay because Clay found out that D'Angelo was embezzling from their company, right?" "Right," she confirmed. Megan took up the thread. "Well that, I mean, excuse me, wasn't the case at all. You see, Clay found out that D'Angelo had a mistress. Now, D'Angelo's wife was the one in the family with the money, and he couldn't afford a divorce, so Clay was blackmailing him." McCall was scornful. "Well that's a very interesting angle. Do you have any proof?" she asked caustically. "She's working on that right now," he informed her. McCall opened her briefcase and began slamming it's contents onto her desk. "Great," she said, looking daggers at both of them.
Hunter sat bolt upright, as if having been suddenly struck by a thought. "What is it?" queried Tate. Why hadn't he thought of it before? "Dr Tate, do you think Sgt McCall could be behaving this way out of professional jealousy?" "How so?" "Well, I mean, Megan did solve a case she couldn't." "It's possible. It does seem to strike me as more than just coincidental that Megan was around both times you noticed your partner acting strangely." He paused, and Hunter caught a glimpse of the strange expression that flickered across the doctor's face. "Would you and McCall consider talking about this together? You could do it here." Rick shook his head, amused. "You're not gonna get her to come in here, Doc. Not in a million years."
Hunter went back to Tate the next day, despite his misgivings. He realized there was more at stake than his personal dislike of psychologists in general and Tate in particular. For some reason his partnership was on the line. So far there had been no more arguments, but the atmosphere was decidedly more chilly than the season warranted. The whole department felt the tension. He got back to the office a little late from his 'lunch break' to find McCall at her desk wading through reports. She didn't look very happy. She looked up as he approached. "Where ya been?" "Hospital. Seeing a sick friend." Honesty was definitely not the best policy at this point in time. He figured the more he said to her the more likely she was to find some excuse to blow up at him. She stood up. "Well, come on. We've got a lead on the guy who might take us to where Streiber is." Without another word she strode off towards the elevator, leaving him floundering in her wake.
They pulled up across from a mechanic shop on Allen Street, in a seedy, run down neighbourhood. The man they were waiting for was just as seedy - one Earl Bingham, a known associate of Nick Streiber. As they sat waiting for Bingham to put in an appearance McCall decided she should make some attempt at normal conversation with Hunter. The constant feeling that she was going to explode every time he opened his mouth was very tiring. She thought she'd start with an easy topic. "How's you friend doing?" "He's doing just fine." Not much of an answer, monosyllabic, but it was a start. "What's wrong with him?" "Got a bad liver. Had to take it out." Take his liver out? "What do you mean 'had to take it out'?" Hunter was getting tetchy. "Just what I said. He has a bad liver and they had to take it out." "You can't remove someone's liver." "Yeah, you can. They do it all the time. Medicine can do incredible things now." "What are you, crazy? Medical science has proven that you cannot live without your liver!" Her uncle had died from liver failure. She ought to know something about it. Now he was really irate. Defensive, even. "So what are you, now? A Surgeon General? OK, they didn't take his liver out at all! They took everything out, except a little piece of it. He now has a liver the size of a hamster's, OK?" Before she could snap out a suitable reply, she noticed movement across the road. "There's our guy." Argument almost forgotten they moved in. 'Take out his liver' - what sort of an idiot did Hunter take her for?
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 4
Tate closed the door behind her, then opened the waiting room door. His next appointment should already be waiting - Sergeant Hunter had called half an hour after his partner to make his own appointment. "Hello," he greeted the tall man flicking idly through a fishing magazine. "I'm Norman Tate." Sgt Hunter shook his hand and settled on the couch. He appeared more relaxed than his partner had, although judging from his record, he was not the sort of man who sat down at just opened up to strangers. He would have to tread carefully. "Have you ever been to a therapist before?" "No. You see, there's nothing a shrink can do for me that a good game of gold can't." Unfazed Tate decided to probe further. "You're pretty emphatic about that. Does being here bother you?" Hunter waved his hands in a conciliatory manner. "No. Look, I'm sure you're a very good doctor, helped many, many people. I'm here because my partner has a problem with us - therefore I have a problem with us. Now I'm here to try to make some sense of it - try to solve the problem. Normally she's quite reasonable about these things. But lately it's become, well ." "You're afraid it's going to get in the way of your work." "You're right." "You've been partners for six years now. Maybe you two are on burn-out." Hunter shook his head dismissively. Obviously he'd already considered that option. Time to beard the lion. "Has she ever been like this before?" "No." Hunter stopped and thought carefully. "Except for the D'Angelo case." Interesting. "What happened in the D'Angelo case?" "That was the year McCall took the FBI's forensic course at Quantico, Virginia. Another detective was temporarily assigned as my partner." "Who was that?" "Megan Malone." Hmmm. He sensed they were getting close to something here. "How did that work out?"
Hunter paused, wondering why that was relevant. "Sergeant Malone had a knack for making things happen. Which explains one of the reasons she's a lieutenant today." Other than that she was just another police office as far as he was concerned. He didn't really understand why his partner would have a problem with her. "I think McCall felt guilty about being away. I mean, especially after we opened up the D'Angelo case - that was her case. As a matter of fact, I had to talk her into taking some time off ." He tailed off. Tate didn't need to know about the Fredericks case. Instead he tried to fix in his mind what had happened when McCall returned.
He'd been sitting at his desk, going through a witness statement when McCall came into the office. "McCall, it's good to see you! You're finally back!" She dumped her briefcase on her desk, reclaiming her territory. "Well, no one knows the D'Angelo case better than I do." He indicated to Sgt Malone sitting meekly next to him, "Well, you know, Megan has some interesting points on that case. Why don't you fill her in?" Malone deferred to him. "You go ahead. I mean, I think Dee Dee should know where the case has gone." "Well, alright. Now, your theory was that D'Angelo killed his partner Clay because Clay found out that D'Angelo was embezzling from their company, right?" "Right," she confirmed. Megan took up the thread. "Well that, I mean, excuse me, wasn't the case at all. You see, Clay found out that D'Angelo had a mistress. Now, D'Angelo's wife was the one in the family with the money, and he couldn't afford a divorce, so Clay was blackmailing him." McCall was scornful. "Well that's a very interesting angle. Do you have any proof?" she asked caustically. "She's working on that right now," he informed her. McCall opened her briefcase and began slamming it's contents onto her desk. "Great," she said, looking daggers at both of them.
Hunter sat bolt upright, as if having been suddenly struck by a thought. "What is it?" queried Tate. Why hadn't he thought of it before? "Dr Tate, do you think Sgt McCall could be behaving this way out of professional jealousy?" "How so?" "Well, I mean, Megan did solve a case she couldn't." "It's possible. It does seem to strike me as more than just coincidental that Megan was around both times you noticed your partner acting strangely." He paused, and Hunter caught a glimpse of the strange expression that flickered across the doctor's face. "Would you and McCall consider talking about this together? You could do it here." Rick shook his head, amused. "You're not gonna get her to come in here, Doc. Not in a million years."
Hunter went back to Tate the next day, despite his misgivings. He realized there was more at stake than his personal dislike of psychologists in general and Tate in particular. For some reason his partnership was on the line. So far there had been no more arguments, but the atmosphere was decidedly more chilly than the season warranted. The whole department felt the tension. He got back to the office a little late from his 'lunch break' to find McCall at her desk wading through reports. She didn't look very happy. She looked up as he approached. "Where ya been?" "Hospital. Seeing a sick friend." Honesty was definitely not the best policy at this point in time. He figured the more he said to her the more likely she was to find some excuse to blow up at him. She stood up. "Well, come on. We've got a lead on the guy who might take us to where Streiber is." Without another word she strode off towards the elevator, leaving him floundering in her wake.
They pulled up across from a mechanic shop on Allen Street, in a seedy, run down neighbourhood. The man they were waiting for was just as seedy - one Earl Bingham, a known associate of Nick Streiber. As they sat waiting for Bingham to put in an appearance McCall decided she should make some attempt at normal conversation with Hunter. The constant feeling that she was going to explode every time he opened his mouth was very tiring. She thought she'd start with an easy topic. "How's you friend doing?" "He's doing just fine." Not much of an answer, monosyllabic, but it was a start. "What's wrong with him?" "Got a bad liver. Had to take it out." Take his liver out? "What do you mean 'had to take it out'?" Hunter was getting tetchy. "Just what I said. He has a bad liver and they had to take it out." "You can't remove someone's liver." "Yeah, you can. They do it all the time. Medicine can do incredible things now." "What are you, crazy? Medical science has proven that you cannot live without your liver!" Her uncle had died from liver failure. She ought to know something about it. Now he was really irate. Defensive, even. "So what are you, now? A Surgeon General? OK, they didn't take his liver out at all! They took everything out, except a little piece of it. He now has a liver the size of a hamster's, OK?" Before she could snap out a suitable reply, she noticed movement across the road. "There's our guy." Argument almost forgotten they moved in. 'Take out his liver' - what sort of an idiot did Hunter take her for?