ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS – CHAPTER 5
I know what I said earlier sounds funny, but I really believe that Hobson saved my wife and me just so I would give him a free pass when he asked for one. I mean, for all I know, that blond friend of his slipped Meredith something so she would pass out and Hobson could save the day. I wonder as well if he knew about the baby she was carrying. I believe he is cold blooded enough to have waited until she was pregnant to increase the dramatic impact. I know he's saved me more than once and he's helped me on cases as well. I can only figure that he believed that I would be so grateful the first time that I would do anything for him; or maybe he was simply using me to get rid of some competition. Anyway, when I made it clear that I wouldn't cut him a break, he just kept doing it so he could tell me 'I owed him'; which I guess I do, but I'm never gonna look the other way for him. I know what he is.
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Meow . . . . . . Thump
"Traffic along the Dan Ryan is backed up due . ." Gary was confused for a second. The alarm had shut off, but he hadn't done it. Then he realized he was on his couch, and ho wondered if he had simply dreamed the last day. He sat up and saw a very feminine form in his bed yet again. But this one had his Cubs jersey on and no socks and brown hair; definitely not Brigatti. He was just sitting there looking at the woman in his bed, when the events of yesterday came slamming back into his mind and finally Cat's yowling was able to cut through his fugue state and he got up and opened the door. Cat gave him a rather hard glare; Gary was convinced that Cat was mad about yesterday as it sauntered in. Gary picked up the paper, for whatever reason, he had a bad feeling about today. His suspicions were confirmed as soon as he saw the front page. Some guy that had failed the CTA test for the seventh time had decided to take out his frustrations by shooting the motormen on the El trains at the Dearborn Street station. The shooting was supposed to start in an hour and a half. He was gonna shoot six motormen, three cops, and five bystanders before killing himself. Seven others would be wounded. He had a bit of time, so he checked the rest of the paper. There seemed to be only two other incidents that required his attention. A car was going to hit an electric pole and the driver would be electrocuted getting out of the car, and a painting scaffold was going to collapse, killing the painter and injuring five bystanders. Fortunately these were in the afternoon so Gary could devote his morning to dealing with the gunman. He tried to figure out how to handle it while feeding Cat, and kept coming up with the same solution. He picked up the phone and dialed Brigatti's cell.
"Brigatti"
"Toni, its Gary, there's something you should know about."
Brigatti had been getting ready to take a shower and now she stopped. Hobson was asking for help. She knew it had to be pretty bad because she had seen him take care of some pretty nasty stuff on his own. "What's gonna happen Hobson?"
"This guy is gonna have a real bad day and start shooting anyone or anything that moves at the Dearborn Street station at eight this morning. He's supposed to kill fourteen, including three cops.
"So, how do you want to handle this?"
"Well, we'll meet there; try to figure out who it is before the gun comes out. If we can do that then I tackle him and you arrest him for possessing an assault rifle. If the gun is already out then I try to talk him down, while I'm doing that, you get as close as possible. If he doesn't go for what I say then you take him down."
"What do you mean, 'take him down'?"
"You know, hit him on the head, disarm him, that kind of thing."
"You don't want me to just shoot him on sight?"
"Christ no Toni, that would be murder; not to mention how you would justify it to your colleagues."
"Just checking Hobson; I don't want to end up being your personal hit squad."
"How could you think I'd want anything like that?"
"Sorry, just chalk it up to my cynical nature, OK?" Toni was beginning to realize how huge a mistake she had just made. Not only had she accused Hobson of being the kind of person that could casually kill someone, she had also suggested that he had created this relationship with her solely to get someone who would be willing to kill for him. She saw some major apologizing in her future; she just hoped he would give her the chance to do it.
"Whatever Brigatti, 8 o'clock at the Dearborn Street station, if you can get there by 7:45, that'd be great."
"Sure Hobson, I'll see ya there." She hung up the phone, feeling worse than she had in a long time.
Gary was trying not to think about what Brigatti had suggested. In all honesty he was more worried about anyone being hurt. Completely oblivious to Meredith, who was still in his bed, he began to change.
"Uhm, much as I appreciate the show, you may want to change in the bathroom."
Gary nearly jumped out of his skin when Meredith spoke up, then he immediately started backing towards the bathroom and stammering his apology. He finally found the bathroom and with a final "sorry" slammed the door.
Meredith got up and saw the headline '14 People Dead'. As she scanned the rest of the front section, she realized how much she missed the Sun-Times, both the people and the stories they told. She loved the intensity of DC, but she hated the constant hunt mentality for her fellow journalists. She was after stories, they seemed to just be after heads, the bigger they could bring down, the better they believed themselves to be. Frankly it made her wonder if they were really after the truth or just fame. She sat back in a very comfortable chair in Gary's loft wondering what the hell she was really doing with her life.
Gary came out of the bathroom and saw her sitting there with the paper and a lost expression on her face. He froze for an instant, but then reminded himself that she already knew the consequences of what she held in her hands.
When she saw him, she silently handed it back to him. "Did you call Brigatti about this front page?"
"Yeah" he muttered "she asked me if I just wanted her to shoot him on sight."
Meredith was surprised that the detective had said something like that, and she could see Gary was upset. "Hey, remember she's still getting used to the reality of this thing; and finding out you've got to stop a mass-murder isn't a great way to start your day."
Gary just grumbled something.
"At least give her the chance to apologize, OK."
He paused for a second then a sigh "OK Meredith, I will."
"Hey, you two be careful as well, alright."
"We will, see ya later" and with that, he was out the door.
Marissa was in, but Gary just blew right past her without a word being spoken. She realized what it meant when he left that way and knew that whatever he had to deal with would be bad. She grabbed an extra cup of coffee and headed up to the loft to see if Meredith could fill her in on what was going on.
She could hear the reporter moving around in the loft, she so walked right in. "You in the mood for coffee?"
Meredith jumped a little when the blind woman walked right in, but she knew that Gary trusted her with his life. "Thanks Marissa, coffee sounds like a winner."
"I just heard Gary charge out of here, it must be bad."
"In more ways than one." She proceeded to tell Marissa about both the story and what Brigatti had said. "I know she didn't mean what she said; I just hope he gives her a chance to apologize."
"He will" Marissa answered, "I'll make sure he does."
Meredith looked surprised and a bit amused at the tone the elegant black woman had used. For just an instant she could see a bit of the iron that was under that sweet exterior.
"So Meredith, other than worrying, what does the day hold for you?"
"I was gonna stop by the Sun-Times and catch up with some old friends; see what's changed, that kind of thing."
"Sounds like fun, shay hello to Morris for me if you see him."
"Absolutely"
With that Marissa walked back down to the office and just sat, not doing anything; she knew she wouldn't be any good until she knew Gary was safe.
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It was 7:50 when Brigatti finally showed up at the Dearborn Street El station. "Sorry Hobson, traffic"; which was partially true. But the guilt for what she had said had slowed her down as well.
Gary just waved the explanation off. "You take the paper, and remember the plan. Keep an eye on the headline, cause it'll probably change once or twice."
"You sure about this Hobson" Brigatti asked, waving the paper Gary had given her.
"Of course, I trust your judgment" and he did.
They walked in, trying to look casual and wondering who the nut job was, and where he was. All the screaming answered the second question. Brigatti eased over into the crowd by the wall on the left; sidling down towards the head of the tunnel. This allowed her to keep an eye on Hobson and the gunman. It also provided enough cover to let her call her precinct on her cell phone and detail the situation. She told the officers to come quiet and easy; she didn't want the guy spooked. Then Brigatti saw an opportunity. Very slowly she eased towards the main part of the station, trying to will the guy with the gun to stay cool and not notice her; and most definitely not shoot the man she might be in love with.
Gary just walked casually into the main part of the station. He approached the man cautiously with his hands in plain sight, but also with a bit of confidence. "You don't want to do this Walter."
The man jerked and pointed his gun at Gary. "Who the hell are you, how do you know my name, are you a cop" the man shrieked.
Very calmly, well aware of where the gun was pointed, said "my name is Gary, no I'm not a cop although I do know a few and I know you're frustrated. But you've got to know that this isn't the way to deal with it."
"What do you know about me?"
"I know you've taken the transit test seven times and haven't passed and believe me, I know what its like to have a dream that's so close, but you can never seem to quite reach it. I don't know how frustrated you are, but I know how frustrated it made me." While he was speaking, Gary had been slowly advancing towards Walter; and he, as if to maintain distance, had been backing up.
He didn't even realize he had been moving until he felt the muzzle of a gun at the back of his head. He became aware of another calm voice speaking to him. "Walter, my name is Detective Brigatti, please put the gun down and step away from it. If you don't, I'll be forced to shoot you."
Walter froze; he was being forced to think instead of just act and he wasn't sure what to do.
"Walter" Gary said "think about your wife and kid; do you want them to think of you as this crazy person who murdered innocent people or as the man they know you to be?"
"There are two endings to this Walter" said the voice behind him, "one good and one not so good. You can pull that trigger and get off about five rounds, maybe kill a couple of random people including Gary there, then I'll react by firing my gun and blowing most of your brain out your forehead. Or you can put down the gun. You'll probably go to jail, but maybe not; but you'll definitely live to see your wife and child again. Now, what's it gonna be?"
Walter thought for a moment, picturing his wife and son in his mind, then relaxed. Toni didn't, guys who did that simply had made a decision, she didn't yet know what that decision was. Walter slowly lowered the gun to the ground.
"Good deal, now hands on top of your head and back towards me. Gary, make sure his rifle doesn't go anywhere, but don't touch it. OK Walter, I'm gonna cuff you now, you understand?"
Walter nodded and Brigatti noticed that he was sobbing. She clicked the handcuffs, which sounded loud in that echoy station, and a though a switch had been thrown, the crowd that had been frozen, started cheering and applauding.
Just then the uniforms that she had called for arrived. Toni passed Walter off to one and had another take the rifle. "I need to take a statement or two, tell Armstrong I'll be at the precinct in about an hour." They just shrugged, the two doing what Brigatti had told them and the rest taking statements from the crowd.
Moving towards her, Gary noticed that the cheering of the crowd seemed to be making Brigatti blush, something he would have sworn was impossible to do in public. "Come on Hobson; let's get the hell out of here." Silently they headed back to McGinty's.
As soon as they had walked in the door, Marissa was there; "Gary are you OK, Meredith told me what was happening." Then turning to Toni said "and how are you Detective?"
Brigatti just froze for a second, and looking at Gary asked "how does she do that?"
Gary smiled down at her, the first real smile she had seen from him that day "you don't want to know, but you should get used to it. We're fine Marissa; everyone's OK including the guy with the gun."
"Thank God, I was so worried", again she turned to Toni "thanks for keeping him safe."
Brigatti didn't think she could feel any worse about what she had said this morning, but to be hit with Marissa's thanks and Hobson's smile just raised her level of guilt by a factor of ten.
"You're welcome, you both are. Now I hate to sound needy, but could I get some tea or something soothing real soon" Toni asked as she collapsed onto a stool.
Gary and Marissa both looked understanding; "shakes"?
Brigatti just nodded.
Together they crossed over to her and Gary poured her a cup of coffee with a generous helping of brandy in it. He turned and handed it to her. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely get the cup to her mouth, and even then she came close to missing it. "Sorry" she said after the first swallow "I've always gotten the shakes bad, ever since I was a Marshall."
"No problem" Gary said "so long as you don't get them during."
She smiled up at him, her hands already noticeably steadier, "that won't ever happen, don't worry." She looked back down at her cup for a second and then met his eyes "Hobson, I'm sorry about my comment earlier. It was so far out of line, I can't even tell you how sorry I am. It wasn't nice and it wasn't fair. I understand if you don't want to be around someone that would think that of you, but for what it's worth, I am sorry." She sat there cringing, afraid of what he would say next.
Don't worry about it Brigatti, I could have been using you. You're a cop, you're gonna be suspicious about motives and stuff; I just wish you weren't so darned blunt."
"Any way I could make it up to you?" Toni literally could not believe what she was hearing. Nice guys like this didn't exist anymore, did they?
"You mean aside from keeping me from getting shot the way you just did?"
"Yeah, aside from that."
"Buy me dinner sometime this week, your choice of where, and we'll call it square."
"Damn, you're easy on me Hobson."
"All part of the charm; you need me to come down with you for a formal statement?"
"Yeah, but first we need to work out a story to keep Armstrong happy, his hackles go up whenever you're involved in anything."
"Let's get moving then, hanging out here won't make him happy either." As Gary got up Marissa said "Uhm Gary, could you place a bet today?"
Gary understood that it was going to pay a private investigator to look into Melanie's background. "Sure Marissa, not a problem."
Toni wasn't sure what was going on, but figured if it was something she needed to know, Hobson would spill the beans sooner or later. Putting down her coffee cup, hands steady as rocks; she stood up and said "come on Hobson, no time like the present."
They got up and headed for the door, already animatedly discussing their excuse.
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It took two minutes to remind Meredith how much she loved the Sun-Times. The smells the sounds the people; all totally different from The Post. In her heart she knew that the move had been necessary and it had brought her fame and notoriety, but she still felt it was the worst decision she had ever made. She walked into the foyer and all the guards still remembered her and waved her on through. She spent time with the different section heads, most of whom had been senior reporters when she had been there; talking about Hawkes and Scanlon and some of the others that weren't there any more. In every conversation she brought up the subject of Hobson casually, and she kept getting the same three responses; Molly Green, Miguel Diaz and Morris the archivist.
Meredith knew that she needed to talk to these three people, but work first. She had noticed an empty cubicle on her way to meet with the new associate editor, a man that had nurtured her career almost as much as Hawkes had. On her way back, she simply sat down and started dialing the number of one of her contacts.
"Hello"
"Mr. Donald Ellis?"
"Yes"
"Mr. Ellis this is Sandy Newman with the Chicago Sun-Times, I was wondering if you had a comment to make on the disappearance of Meredith Carson, after all you were one of her informants."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"She was a friend of mine and she sent me a letter a while back, saying that if she ever vanished to call this number because you would know what had happened. So, why did she disappear Mr. Ellis?"
"I don't know."
"But she tried to contact you several times in the last week and you never returned her call."
"I was told not too. These guys came around and said she was being investigated for treason. They suggested that it would be best if I broke off contact with her. Now you say she's vanished, Holy Shit."
"Indeed Mr. Ellis, did the gentlemen that persuaded you have names?"
"Anderson and Smith, their ID said they were with the Department of the Interior."
"Thank you Mr. Ellis, I will make note of that in my story."
"Please, be sure my name isn't anywhere in that story."
"Of course Mr. Ellis, I understand." Then she hung up the phone. Pay dirt on the first try; not bad. It was not by accident that she had called Don Ellis first. The guy had been a doctor until he got busted for using, now he was a janitor; but a very smart and observant janitor. She used the computers to check the DC crime sheets to see if any names jumped out at her on the morgue list, or if any of the John Doe descriptions rang bells; but no soap. Ah well, she had a very good idea who was on her now, and that was half the battle, she'd just have to trust Gary and Toni to take care of the other half.
She went to the basement and chatted with Morris for a bit, and passed on Marissa's greeting. Then she headed back to McGinty's hoping that Gary and Toni had had decent days.
Not long after Meredith left the Sun-Times building, an E-Mail showed up on a computer in an obscure office in DC. 'She's in Chicago' was all it said, but that was enough.