ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS – CHAPTER 8

I remember the first time I saw Hobson. He was trapped in this carpet warehouse that had collapsed. At the time, I was intrigued by his friends, how they cared so deeply about him. It was only after his rather miraculous rescue that I started to wonder. Why was he there in the first place? Was he trying to cause something and screwed up or was he the victim of a rival? Eventually I started digging into the history of that building. Originally it was owned by Frank Nitti, he was Al Capone's number one hitter. At one time that particular building was where the bodies were stashed before they could be disposed. Since then the ownership of the building has been shrouded in mystery. No one is really clear on who owns it or what it is used for. The only clear bit of evidence I could find was a lease signed by a typesetter for the Sun-Times named Lucius Snow. Now according to the archivist at the Sun-Times, this guy left stuff for Hobson to be delivered after his death. A look at Snow's career turns up as many holes as Hobson's. The guy was in trouble with the law for a bunch of years, then all the sudden, he never has a problem again. Now this Snow was good friends with a cop named Mike Killebrew. Now Killebrew lost it for a bit, until he was reclaimed by Hobson. Killebrew was a good friend of Crumb who is Hobson's friend and bartender. Did Killebrew tell Hobson where the holes were in the department? Did he make an internal network known to Hobson, or did he make sure that Hobson got a free pass and now Crumb is now some sort of emissary between Hobson and the police. Was this the passing on some kind of legacy between two men, some sort of criminal network that was bequeathed from one generation to another? Did Hobson take over Snow's network, was he related to Snow; did they have a connection? If so, what was it? Once I find that, I'll know how Hobson does what he does and why.

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It was a slow night at McGinty's. It was one of those rare nights when every team seemed to be either traveling or resting, so there were no games to watch, unless you counted Australian Rules Football (which was nearly impossible to understand, but suitably violent). Gary was shooting a rack of nine ball with Meredith and Marissa was behind the bar chatting with Crumb when Brigatti finally walked in. She had to admit, she was a bit jealous when she walked in, but the fact that Hobson immediately stopped his game and came over to hug her made it a lot less. She started to speak, but found that he was kissing her, not that she minded but it did make conversation a little bit difficult. For the next minute or so the rest of the world ceased to exist for Toni as she focused her whole being on the man holding her, the man she was enthusiastically kissing back.

"So" she said once she had caught her breath "how was your day Hobson?"

"Not bad Toni, just happy to see you."

"Yeah, I figured that what with the vapor lock you just applied and in front of everyone too." She wanted to sound upset, but the public display did a world of good for her ego.

"Sorry, I'll try to contain myself in the future." He had caught the fact that she wasn't really upset from her tone, and though he was doing his best to sound contrite, he couldn't help but curl his lip up in the ghost of a smile.

"Yeah, you better watch it Hobson, or I'm libel to bust you one" she threatened, but without meaning it at all. "Listen, I've got some information for Marissa about the whole waitress thing."

"Good and we've got some things that you need to know too."

"So where do you want to hold the troop meeting?"

"My table, I'll send Marissa over and be there as soon as I finish wiping the table up with Meredith."

"OK, but you gotta watch that competitive streak of yours Hobson, you'll get an ulcer."

He laughed and swung by the bar to drop a word with Marissa, then headed back to the pool table, still laughing. Toni was thinking that she loved the sound of his laugh as she made her way to Gary's table. She was still smiling to herself when Marissa sat down across from her.

"So, do you have some news for me Detective?"

"Yeah, I do, but call me Toni or Brigatti or something, Detective just sounds too formal."

"OK Toni, what have you found?"

"First of all, can you tell me if the girl has an accent; Southern, Midwest, whatever?"

"Actually yes I can; she has a distinct southern accent, although she works hard to hide it."

"Alright then, you waitresses real name is Teressa Walters of Memphis Tennessee. She's seventeen, at least for a couple more months, and has been living with her dad for the last year. Her parents divorced when she was a lot younger and she stayed with her mom. Her mom died recently and she had to move in with her dad. My source tells me that she wasn't too happy about that."

"Do you know why?"

"Not really, there was a bit of speculation but nothing concrete."

"Speculation about what?"

"Sexual abuse, not uncommon in divorce cases. Wife swears it's going on, husband denies it; the social worker didn't find anything, of course that doesn't mean it didn't go on."

"Is there anything that we have to do, I mean from a legal standpoint?"

"Well, I do know that there is a runaway report on the girl, but you really should talk to that fiancé of yours and see what the dos and don'ts are."

"Good idea and I should have already done that. So other than tracking down our waitress, what went on in your day?"

"Closed another case today. A husband rigged the brakes on his wife's car. She dies in the wreck and he collects on the insurance and covers his gambling debts so the loan sharks don't break his legs. Anyway, he slipped up and left prints on the lines and he used acid to eat away at the lines so the holes were too clean. When a line lets go the holes are ragged, so that was our first tip off. So the forensics nailed the bastard, and then when I hit him with the evidence he just breaks down. I love that part of my job; burning scum like him. Anything new and different in your life?"

"Not really, just keeping things running around here. You don't really want to hear about what goes on in my world."

"Why not, to me, hell to most of us; you are the island of serenity in an ocean of chaos. Seriously Marissa, knowing that there are good and decent people like you in the world makes my job that much better, because I can put a name and a face to the people I'm protecting. So let's hear about your day."

Marissa was talking about changes to the menu when Gary and Meredith finally made their way over.

"I won fair and square." Meredith loudly maintained.

"You whacked my arm when I was shooting."

"It was an accident, I didn't notice your arm sticking out until it was too late."

"Uh-huh"

Toni was again a little jealous because of their laughter and playful banter, but Gary immediately sat next to her, and kissed her on the cheek. "It looks like you had a good day."

"I did, I've already filled in Marissa about the waitress, she can tell you about it later, and I closed another case, so I've got a touch more free time." She looked over at Meredith "so you got shot at today?"

"Yeah, I'd say it's a good bet that it wasn't random either."

Brigatti just snorted at the understatement "so who was it?"

Meredith proceeded to tell about the shooting from her point of view and debating whether it was the mob or the government. "My money's on the Mob, I mean no one is stupid enough to try something like this in their own car. By the way, do you all have protection on Molly Green?"

"Come on Meredith, you're a reporter, you know how stupid people can be. As for Molly officially we don't but yeah protection's there. Believe it or not Winslow was a bit smitten with Miss Green so he's playing watchdog tonight and he pulled a few strings to get some black and whites driving through the neighborhood on a regular basis. So she's pretty well protected, or at least as well as we can do without a lot of presence."

"Winslow" Gary asked.

"Yeah Winslow, poor sense of humor aside, he's a good cop; the gossiping little weasel."

"If you think he's good enough, then OK."

"So Gary" Meredith asked, leaning forward with a smile "what kind of saves did you have besides me?"

"Uhmm, just a kid on a skateboard, she was gonna be hit by a truck."

"Why, was the truck gonna loose control or something?"

"Not really, you see; she was in the street, right in the middle of the street."

"In the middle of the street, why was she there" Marissa asked. "And what was she doing there in the middle of the day, didn't she have school?"

"Well she kinda played hooky and was just a bit drunk, and just a bit naked."

"WHAT?"

So Gary gave the whole story about Alex the drunken, naked skateboarder. His companions had trouble hearing the whole thing because he kept getting interrupted by their loud laughter. Eventually he finished up, turning red in embarrassment the entire time.

The game on the big screen was over everyone supposed, not knowing the rules and all, and the crowd starting to thin out when the four of them decided to call it a night. Marissa went back to help Abby with the books and Meredith went to talk to Crumb as Gary escorted Toni to the door. "See ya tomorrow Brigatti." He leaned in for a kiss. Right before he got to her lips, she stopped him with her finger.

"I want you to think about something Hobson."

"Sure Toni, what?"

"Do you love me?"

He thought for a second and closed his eyes 'did he love her'. He pictured her in his mind, smiling and laughing with him, and a warm glow suffused his being. He knew his answer, and as he opened his eyes he could see that Toni knew it as well, without him having to speak a word. She leaned forward and up, and pressed her lips to his in a very long and satisfying kiss.

"Me too" was all she said as she walked out the door. He stood there a moment with a bemused look on his face, as though someone had slipped him some narcotic, then he shook himself to his senses and went up to the loft.

When he got there, the first thing he noticed was Meredith, staring out the window with tears streaming down her face.

Snapping completely out of his romantic reverie he crossed over to her and asked "what's wrong Meredith"?

"I can't do this anymore Gary."

"Do what?"

"Pretend that it's not killing me seeing you with someone else."

"What do you mean, I thought you liked Toni."

"I do, I like Toni and Marissa, but I still love you, and I haven't stopped loving you in the last five years. I thought that if I stayed away it would fade, I'd move on with my life, but I'm stuck in the same rut that I was when I got on that train to DC. I'm in love with you Gary Hobson and you are the one person I can't have. I know you care about me, you wouldn't have done everything you have if you didn't, but you can't love me the way I love you, and it's eating me alive." Abruptly she stood, and almost tripped over Gary "I've got to get out of here." She moved to go past him, but he stopped her.

"I'm sorry Meredith; I didn't realize how uncomfortable you were. Listen, get some sleep and we'll look for somewhere else for you to stay tomorrow. OK?"

"Where were you thinking?"

"Either with Crumb or Brigatti, maybe Marissa or Molly, but somewhere safe."

"No, I don't want to put them in any danger."

"Come on Meredith, you think I'd let anything happen to the people I care about, that includes you by the way."

She looks a little abashed, "I know you wouldn't Gary, I'm just dealing with a lot here."

Carefully he took her into his arms "I know you are, and I know it'll work out; and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I wish I could love you the way you love me, that I could love you the way you deserve to be loved; but I can't, and I'm sorry for that". He tightened his embrace and for a sweet eternity he held her and thought about 'what if', but he didn't let his thoughts stray for very long, and he broke the hug and looked at her. "I know it's stupid to ask if you're all right, but do you think you will be?"

Meredith looked into his lovely green eyes and said "yeah, I think I will be". She closed her eyes and prayed that she wasn't just fooling herself.

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Gary woke up from a dream where he was smothering to discover Cat sitting across his throat. He jerked upright, spitting fur out of his mouth as Cat went flying off him with a rather annoyed expression. Before Gary could say anything Cat made a low, rumbling growl while staring straight at Gary. This unusual behavior stopped Gary and made him think, when had Cat acted like this before. The quick answer was 'when Gary had been in trouble'. He sat still, all his concentration focused on his hearing; 'there' a noise where it shouldn't be. Someone was trying to jimmy the back door. Realizing that it was probably the same group that had already tried to kill Meredith twice, Gary decided that running, while not the bravest option, was definitely the smartest option. Quietly he crept over to the bed and woke Meredith. Fortunately he was smart enough to have a hand lightly over her mouth so the guys breaking in didn't hear her yell. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, telling her what was going on and what they would have to do to get away. Finally the panic left her eyes and she nodded at him to show that she understood what he had said. They got dressed as silently as possible and made their way out of his loft and into the storage room across the hall. Gary had actually planned for this possibility so there was a clear path through the room, all the way to the window above the fire escape. He silently raised the window, and helped Meredith out onto the landing. Not wanting to alert the thugs that their quarry was outside, he refrained from dropping the metal ladder and instead threw a rope over the side; a rope that was tied to the railing. This way they could escape with a minimum of noise. Gary helped Meredith over the railing, when she was down, he climbed down himself. Clinging to the shadows as much as possible, they made their way to the McGinty's van and got inside. Trying to act calmly, Gary started the van and eased onto Illinois. He was headed for the only place he could think of that wouldn't be immediately linked to either McGinty's or the Sun-Times; he just hoped he wouldn't get shot.

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Toni Brigatti jerked awake at the sound of her back door opening. She lay still for a moment or two and heard movement in her kitchen. Sliding out of bed, as quietly and smoothly as oiled smoke, she pulled her Smith and Wesson 10mm (she liked making big holes in her targets) and prepared to open the bedroom door. Much to her surprise, she could see the hallway light come on, it was shining through the gap by the jamb, and under the bottom of the door. These must be some pretty ballsy crooks if they're turning on lights, either that or they're just plain dumb. She went to open the door again, but again she hesitated, because she thought she recognized one of the voices. She made sure her gun was still on safe, then whipped open the door and yelled out "Hobson, is that you?"

"Yeah Toni it's us, we need your help."

Brigatti cautiously moved through the hallway until she could see into her kitchen without being clearly observed. Gary and Meredith were there, and from the disharmony of their clothes, she could guess that they had gotten dressed in the dark. Lowering her weapon, she moved to where the whole kitchen was visible; seeing no one else, she moved into the light and asked "so what the Hell is going on, and how'd you get in here?"

"Your 'hide-a-key' is really obvious" Gary said "and we had some unexpected guests at McGinty's, so we thought we'd come over to visit."

"Tell me you called the cops Hobson, and didn't just leave your business open to a bunch of government thugs."

"Well of course I called them, but what I'm really here for is to drop off Meredith, if that's OK."

"Sure, but why here?"

"No direct connection to me or the Sun-Times, not to mention that party favor in your hands."

Brigatti looked down, surprised to see that she still had the Smith in her hands. Quickly she put it down on the counter, but then she realized that she was only wearing a T-shirt, excusing herself she went back to her room for a robe. It was tough finding one because people just never came over, so she never had a need for it. Finally she found it under some shoes in the back of her closet. Putting it on and belting it, she went back to get some water. "Sure, you can stay here Meredith, for as long as you need to. I'll even drop you off at the Sun-Times in the morning, if that's OK with you."

"That would be great" Meredith said "but right now, I'm just whipped, just point me in the direction of the guest room and I'll be out of your hair."

Toni showed the other woman where the room was, and where the bathroom was, and left her to herself.

While Meredith was occupied, Toni looked at Gary and asked "what's up, she looks like hell, and I'd be willing to bet it's not because she was chased out of your place."

"She's having trouble dealing with the fact that she loves me, but while I love her, I'm not in love with her."

Toni just nodded in understanding. Seeing this Gary said "I take it you've been in a similar situation"?

"Yeah" Brigatti sighed "I know where she's commin from".

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not for a while Hobson, not until we decide that this is a bit more serious."

"It's serious for me."

"For me too, but these aren't normal days right now, lets see what all this looks like when people aren't trying to kill us, OK."

"Fair enough Brigatti and I think it's time you turned in". As he said this he got up and moved to the back door.

"Goodnight Hobson" she called after him.

"Goodnight Toni, and thanks" came floating back.

With a small smile, Toni picked up her gun, turned out the lights and went back to bed.