It was 9am and all three detectives seated in the Chief's office shifted uncomfortably, as they waited for the man himself to hang up the phone. In part Steve's discomfort was due to general fatigue and a sharp, throbbing pain in his right side – a testament to his adventures the previous day. In part it was due to his cold, which this morning had hit with a vengeance, leaving him aching and thick headed. But for the most part, it was the situation he found himself in, not his physical indisposition that was causing the problem.
To his left Tanis Archer sat stiffly, her jaw set with determination. Her face still carried scars from the flying glass, there were dark shadows under her eyes and her left hand was lightly bandaged, but it was clear that she had other things on her mind than her injuries. To his right sat FBI agent Ron Wagnor, arms crossed, face rigid, equally unyielding. Both were staring straight ahead, studiously ignoring the other.
Right now Steve felt like he was caught in the middle of a cold war. Trouble was he didn't know which side he was on. Last night he had been sure of his position, his irritation at Ron's arrival barely constrained. This morning the situation wasn't so clear. As Tanis had predicted, finding out the name of the owner of Suzie's dinner had blown the case apart, particularly for him. That name brought with it a whole host of issues and as much as he hated to admit it, a part of him was sorely tempted to step aside, let Ron work the case. But then there was the other part of him, the stubborn part, that urged him to face up to his fears, to prove to Ron and himself that he didn't need help from anyone, not even the FBI.
Irritably Steve reached for his handkerchief and blew his nose, wincing as even that slight movement tugged painfully at his injured side. Tanis looked at him sharply.
'Are you sure you shouldn't be on medical leave?' she asked
He rolled his eyes 'I'm fine, okay' he said wearily.
'You know Steve if you're not feeling 100% then you should just say so' Ron chimed in from his other side 'Despite this freaky weather, I can have 10 of my guys down here by this afternoon …'
'I'll just bet you can' Tanis muttered under her breath.
'Hey', Ron turned to her 'if you've got a problem with the way the FBI handles its cases then you can take it up with my boss. But in the mean time …'
'I don't have a problem with the way the FBI handles it's cases' she cut across him angrily 'just the way it's handling this case.' She threw up her hands in exasperation 'How many times do I have to tell you that this is not an FBI case'. She spoke slowly, as if talking to a child 'Suzie's Diner' is owned by a notorious LA mobster, it's obvious that someone is trying to take him down to further their own position in the mob hierarchy'.
Ron shrugged affably 'It's possible' he allowed reasonably 'but whoever it is, used a bomb to do it and that makes them potential terrorists and that makes this a federal case'.
'Look ..' Tanis began
Between them Steve groaned. He hadn't meant to, but the interminable bickering was grating on his headache 'Could ya knock it off guys please' he said. 'I'm really not up for refereeing right now.'
Tanis winced 'Sorry' she said sheepishly.
Ron smiled ruefully and placed one of his large hands on Steve's shoulder 'You know Steve I meant what I said, if you need to take some time off ..'
'Ron, I'm fine' Steve said.
'Glad to hear it' Chief Masters interrupted. He'd finished his phone call and was now sitting forward in his seat giving them his full attention 'Cause I'm going to be needing you, all of you ..' he looked at them all meaningfully 'to crack this case'.
Tanis opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand to silence her 'Now I know that there are sometimes problems when the Feds and the LAPD combine forces' he said 'but you're all responsible adults. I'm sure you people can come to …' he paused and gave them a half smile 'a workable relationship'.
Ron and Tanis exchanged a look, the message behind which was pretty clear. Massaging his forehead, Steve groaned again – this was not gonna be good.
'So how's Steve feeling this morning?' Jesse Travis asked, helping himself to a jelly donought from the paper bag in front of him. The doctors' lounge was empty, save for the three of them and even they had only a few precious minutes before they had to get back to work.
'Pretty sore I think' Mark said. He put down the morning paper with a rueful smile, and looked up at Jesse over the rim of his spectacles 'But you know Steve' he said with a sigh.
'So what you mean is that he went into work as usual' Amanda said raising her eyebrows disapprovingly.
Mark nodded sheepishly.
After refusing to stay at the hospital over night, Steve had been up early that morning. He was already on his way out the door by the time Mark had stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, still dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown. Knowing his son as he did, Mark was perfectly well aware that this had been a ploy on Steve's part, to avoid being pressurised into a return trip to the hospital or at the very least a day's bed rest at home. But knowing it didn't make Mark feel any better. Shaking his head he determined to give Steve a call before he began rounds, just to put his mind at rest.
'You know' Jesse said with a grin 'I think it's most likely to be Steve's head that's sore today, if last night's argument is anything to go by!'
'Argument?' Mark asked his eyes widening 'Have Steve and Tanis had a fight already? And they were getting along so well.'
'Not Steve and Tanis' Amanda said patiently 'Tanis and Ron.'
'Tanis and Ron?' Mark said, scratching his head in bemusement 'Ron's here? Now?' Not privy to the revelations of the previous evening, for once he was finding it hard to keep up.
'Don't ask' Amanda said gloomily 'its making my head hurt just thinking about it'. She frowned irritably 'You should have heard Ron this morning. He is so determined that this is a federal case and that the FBI should be running the show. Honestly if I have to listen to one more quotation from the FBI book of statutory regulations …'
'I know' Jesse agreed, reaching for his second donought 'and boy, Tanis was just as bad, insisting it was a case for the Task Force'.
'You know Steve was pretty adamant it was an LAPD case too, at least until he found out about the task force being involved' Amanda said seriously.
'That's right' Jesse said through a mouthful of donought 'I thought I was gonna have to restrain him when Ron first arrived, but once Tanis started talking about the Task Force he deflated quicker than a leaky balloon'.
Amanda rolled her eyes, although whether it was at his lack of table manners or his poor use of imagery Jesse couldn't be sure.
Mark stroked his moustache 'That explains it' he said letting out a breath 'I knew he had something on his mind.' He shook his head 'You know he didn't mention any of this last night. I guess we were both pretty tired, but I'm surprised he didn't tell me'.
Jesse pulled a face 'He probably didn't wanna go through it all again, things got pretty heated last night'.
'Mmmh' Mark said thoughtfully 'You know I think it's more than that. I think Steve has a real problem with the Task Force'.
'Really?' Amanda said 'But Tanis leads the Task Force.'
Mark nodded, a rueful smile playing across his face 'I think that's part of the problem' he said. 'I don't know anything for sure, but I think the Chief once offered Steve a place on the Task Force' he paused and looked at Amanda and Jesse thoughtfully 'Steve turned him down'.
'Oh!' Amanda said raising her eyebrows.
'And now Steve's stuck between joining the Task Force or letting someone else take over his case' Jesse said with a rush of realisation.
Amanda shrugged 'You know how proud he is' she said 'No matter what he thinks of the Task Force, he'll never bow out and hand the case over to Ron'.
Mark sighed and put down the paper 'To be honest honey, I'm guessing that at the moment Steve doesn't know what to think'.
Jesse and Amanda both nodded, their faces showing their concern. Mark smiled 'But I know what I think' he said.
'You do?' Jesse said
'I do' Mark said firmly.
'And what do you think?' Amanda asked suspiciously.
Mark looked at them, a benign smile playing across his distinguished features.
'I think it's time we did a little investigating of our own' he said.
Jesse and Amanda exchanged looks 'When do we start?' they said in unison.
Back in front of his chessboard, the solitary man smiled. He'd caught the morning papers; the devastation had been satisfying, yes most satisfying. Everything had gone to plan, everything had happened just as he'd decided it would. Now that he was sure that he'd gotten the doctor's attention he must wait for his move, for move he surely would. And it would be a good one. Dr Mark Sloan was no slouch. The man drummed his fingers pleasurably on the table in front of him. It was all starting to get most interesting!
TO BE CONTINUED ……