Part 3

Chris entered the office space with a tray of coffees. No one but Traci was there. He smiled at her and offered up a cup.

"Thank you." Traci said taking it from him, it was nearly midday and she'd been up over twenty-four hours as it was, coffee right now was a godsend.

"No problem." Chris replied, taking up a spot leaning on her desk as he eyed the operation board across from him. "Dov filled me in this morning, pretty scary huh?" He asked, knowing Traci was among several officers to have taken gunshots to the vest during the raid on what was supposed to be a drug deal at the Docks last night.

Traci shook her head. "It was such a mess." She said taking a tentative drink of the coffee, she was in desperate need of the caffeine to keep her awake. She was grateful that Dex had already offered to have Leo stay with him after school today, it would give her some time to catch up on her sleep.

"One of the Narc guys was taking this morning," He whispered to her even though they were the only ones in the room. "Said there wasn't any trace of drugs in the place."

Traci wearily rubbed at her eyes. She glanced back at the board then got up.

"This guy, Mikka Kutzkov," She pointed to the picture of a face of a clearly dead man. "He's known for smuggling, drugs, guns, people, you name it he can get it."

Chris folded his arms across his chest and nodded, paying very close attention. "Our guys shoot him?"

Traci sighed, "We'll have to wait on ballistics." She pointed to the pictures of more men, all stuck to the board much lower than the polaroid of Mikka Kutzkov. "Three of these guys have self-inflicted gunshots."

"Yeah?" Chris replied, looking surprised. "They shot themselves?"

"Seems like it." Traci confirmed.

"Did you manage to arrest anyone?" He asked looking at the board again. There was a diagram of the hanger and aerial shots of the docks with arrows pointing out entrances. "Seems like a tough assignment, no offence." He said, trying not to speak out of line. It was all over the division that it had been a screwed up operation, with the main guy they were after dead in the morgue and nothing recovered, no cash, no drugs, no contraband of any kind at all.

"Three are currently in the hospital, none of them are expected to make it." Traci admitted, "We have no names on any of these guys," She pointed again to the board. "No one had any documents on them, all we have is a bunch of dead bodies and a hanger full of bullet casings and guns that we can't trace."

She moved back to her desk and sat down gingerly.

"You okay?" Chris asked having seen the awkward way she had taken her seat.

Traci snorted. "Just counting myself lucky for having my vest on."

"Yeah, could have been worse, the water guys, lost four and have two more in the hospital." Chris told her.

Traci put her head in her hands and groaned. It really had been a bungled operation. They hadn't had nearly enough officers on scene and they hadn't been prepared for such a deadly fire fight. Even with a team from SWAT, it just hadn't been enough.

Chris glanced around carefully then meandered over to the board. He slipped a cell phone out of his pocket and took a couple of shots of the board before tucking it away again.

"Well I'm just glad you, Steve and Nick weren't more seriously hurt." He said coming back over to Traci.

Traci opened her mouth to agree with him only for Steve to come into the room bristling in anger.

"I'll leave you guy's to it, enjoy the coffee." Chris said, giving Steve a polite smile before leaving the room.

Traci waited until they were alone before moving closer to her boyfriend. "What did they say?"

Steve had been hauled into a meeting with the Brass in headquarters along with the lead detectives from the drug unit, and water unit, to explain why they had nothing but dead criminals, shot up equipment and dead officers to show for the night's sting operation.

Steve shook his head and went over to his file, flipping through a series of pictures before pulling one out and tossing it down in front of Traci.

"Marcus Chzov, our snitch with the drug lead," He told her. "They just fished his bullet riddled body out of the lake this morning." He made a face as he tried to hold back his anger. Not only had they all been carpeted for the operation he had the memory of watching Traci get shot which he now had to live with.

It wasn't a good memory.

"We've got nothing!" He yelled turning away and slamming his hand against a pile of folders sending them scattering across the floor as his breathing increased.

"Steve?" Traci stood wanting to offer comfort to her boyfriend but Steve held his hand up to stop her approaching him.

"I gotta talk to Frank, see how Carl's wife is coping." He said, mentioning the recent transfer to 15 who had been shot in the thigh last night and bled out before the gun fire had stopped and anyone could get near him.

Traci just watched as Steve marched out of the room.

It had been a bad night all around, and they still had no idea what the deal had been about. They'd been told it was a drug deal but as Chris had said, the drug dogs had been all over the hanger and the docks at first light and they hadn't picked up on anything.

She sat back down and stared at the informant then got up and stuck his picture to the board, scrawling dead next to it before sitting back down.

"Just another dead body now."

xxxxxx

Gail yawned and turned over in her bed.

A glance at her clock let her know she'd managed almost four hours this time. "Not bad." She muttered to herself as she pushed herself up and padded barefoot towards the shower in her bathroom.

After a long cold shower Gail wandered back into her bedroom as she continued to towel her hair dry, it was getting a little long, just past shoulder length now, and she contemplated a quick stop before meeting up with Dieter at the bar but shrugged. She'd get around to it later, she'd rather have a beer and catch up on any new developments before she went and did anything stupid.

She pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee, tucking the pair of rings hanging on a chain around her neck into the top before heading for her kitchen to try and find something edible in her apartment. It was a tough ask given she did very little here but sleep.

She was in luck, she found a box of cereal and a half jug of milk that smelt passable.

She took that and a mug of coffee over to the couch and turned on the TV to see if the news was carrying anything about last night.

Her cell phone buzzed across the table where she had left it along with her keys earlier that morning when she had got in. She took another mouthful of her breakfast and reached over for the device.

She snorted at finding 14 missed calls and 12 text messages waiting on her. "Sure, now you try and warn me, asshole." She muttered tossing it onto the couch beside her, she had no interest in listening to Chris apologise. Right now, if he thought she was dead then it was his own damn fault.

She turned her attention back to the news station she had on but so far nothing.

The house phone rang.

Gail frowned, finishing the last of her bowl of cereal before standing and taking it with her and over to the sink before picking up the still ringing phone.

"Yeah-lo?" She said into the receiver as she stuck it against her ear.

"Hey! You up for some gym time?" A male voice asked her cheerfully, sounding surprised to have his call picked up.

"I might." Gail replied after glancing at the time. An hour or two at the gym sounded great right now, and she might actually get to beat someone up.

"Sweet, you mind if some of the guys are there?" The voice asked.

Gail snorted, figuring this scenario was going to end with a bet on her fighting someone. "If they don't mind me taking their money."

"Alright!"

Gail rolled her eyes. "Give me a half hour." She said and then hung up.

Looking around Gail headed back over into her living space and picked up her keys and phone, she then wandered into her bedroom and pulled out her gym bag. She then changed into some jeans and a form fitting jumper before grabbing her jacket from the hall and heading out for her car.

She lived in one of the nicer areas of the city and while her apartment was sparsely decorated it was all she needed. She never spent much time there anyway but she did approve of the security desk at the front and the underground car park that had secure entry for residents only.

In her line of work it was worth spending the extra dollars.

Throwing her bag into the back seat Gail climbed into her Mustang and pulled out onto the main road and heading for the gym which was located on the other side of the city.

xxxxx

Gail grinned as her opponent wiped the back of his hand over his nose to check for blood after her light headbutt.

"You wanted down and dirty." She said to him with a grin as his hand came back bloodied. Gail watched the anger grow in his eyes that would make this easier for her because angry guys became stupid guys that soon found themselves on the losing end of a fight.

The room they were using had a completely padded floor so as he charged at her Gail didn't hesitate to put him on the mat by catching his punch arm by the wrist and using his momentum to carry him past her, allowing her to lift up the arm at an angle that forced him to his knees if he didn't want a broken arm. She followed that up with a twist at his elbow and brought her foot down lightly against the back of his neck.

Her group of onlookers cheered as the guy on the floor tapped out of the fight.

Gail kept him in the position though and looked around at the rest of the guys in her gym.

"If he had a knife this manoeuvre would have worked just as well, twisting his wrist back," She demonstrated with the hand she still held. "Would release anything he was holding, bottle, brick…whatever." She watched heads nod then released her captive.

She eyed him carefully as he got to his feet, purposefully turning her back on him as she went over to her bag and got a drink of water. When she was done she was pleased to see Jake over by the rest of the guys using a towel to clean up his nose.

The guy had a temper but apparently he didn't take being beaten by a girl too badly.

She stepped forward again. "Anyone else up for it?" She asked. She'd gone through her usual workout and had been in this room with some of the front of house guys from the bars and clubs Wolf ran showing off her takedown technique for the last half hour.

All of the guys in front of her had done time in prison for things like petty theft, robbery, assault, small time drug dealing. Nothing too serious but they were definitely all criminals that could get the customers what they wanted within reason.

It was good business but it paid to know how to handle yourself. Which was why Gail was willing to put on these little shows when some of the guys asked.

She'd learned most of what she knew from Dieter and Anan, the guy whose younger brother had called her to come down earlier. Anan, when he wasn't working a job for Wolf, worked as head of security for some of the city's busiest nightclubs. He had spent most of his life fighting in Israel before being recruited by Wolf several years ago in America.

"How about me?" Anan asked from the doorway as he entered the room to the sound of excited cheers.

Gail shrugged. It was always good to test how far she'd come, she didn't seriously think she could take Anan out but you never knew. "Romi still here?" She asked as they squared up against each other.

Anan nodded at his friend and calmly took up his position.

"You know he asked to come with me tonight?" She told Anan. "I can take someone else." She offered. Romi was a cleaver boy and Anan had him going to College right now and when he wasn't studying he did some work at Gail's bar near the campus. Anan didn't want his brother following the same path he had and Gail respected him enough to keep Romi out of most of her work but tonight she was just going to a bar to catch up with some friends. He was going to be there to make sure nothing stupid happened.

"He's looking forward to it." Anan told Gail with a grin.

Gail took that as consent. "Cool, well, at least I'm sure he'll get a laugh out of it."

Anan chuckled. "I told him to take pictures."

Gail rolled her eyes. She bounced on her toes and rolled her shoulders. Anan was a tall guy, taller than Dieter and his muscle was all functional. But Gail knew where to hit.

"Ready?" He asked eyeing her carefully.

"Oh yeah."

And with that they came together in a rush of punches and blocks and shouts from the rest of the room.

xxxxxx

"Are you sure you're okay?" Romi asked as Gail pulled up outside a bar. His mentor had a cut above her eye and he was sure that if her ribs weren't broken they were bruised up pretty badly.

"You're brother's an ass." Gail muttered as she painfully climbed out of her car.

Romi laughed as he came around to her as she leaned up against the car. "Yeah, well, I think his wife's happy she already has two kids because I don't think he's capable of producing anymore after you were done with his dick."

Gail snorted. It had been the only place she could grab after Anan had put her into a hold on the ground, she'd been pissed off enough to twist maybe more than she should have, but it had won her the fight and nearly five hundred dollars from bets. Everyone but Romi had gone with Anan.

"She should thank me then."

"Yeah, I'll tell her that." Romi muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Here." Gail muttered as she eyed the bar and the parking lot around them.

Romi opened his hands and accepted Gail's cell phone, car keys, wallet and house keys. "What about that?" He asked gesturing to the chain around her neck.

Gail touched the ring set at her chest. "It stays with me." She told him.

Romi nodded, "You sure about this?" He asked as they head towards the bar and he rushed to tuck all of her belongings into his pockets.

"Yeah, just stay at the bar and watch, don't do anything stupid." She warned him. This had the potential to go very badly. "And don't crash my car."

Romi sighed, he was twenty-two now and had tagged along with Gail enough to know what she wanted him to do tonight. He wasn't going to screw it up. "I know Bravo."

Gail winced. "Don't call me that in here."

"Sorry."

Gail watched him then smacked him hard on the back as she pushed through the front door of the bar. "Relax kid, you'll do fine." She told him then walked ahead of him to the bar and ordered a shot of whisky. She didn't pay any attention to Romi as he sat a couple of seats further into the bar and ordered his own drink.

"Long time no see." The barman said as he placed Gail's drink down. Gail gave him a nod but didn't strike up a conversation about the good old times, she wasn't here for that. Instead she downed the shot and then a second before glancing around and spotted what she was looking for but by the looks she was receiving she'd already been seen.

"Here goes nothing." She muttered to herself as she walked past Romi and dragged an empty chair over to an already full table.

"Well hello guys, long time no see." She said with a big grin as she took in the faces of her brother, Traci, Andy, Nick, Dov, and Chris. There was even a face or two that she didn't know but had been given background information on by Chris.

Her ex colleagues shifted nervously as they looked at each other unsure of what to say. The new faces looked on with puzzled expressions.

"Gail, I'm not sure you should be here." Steve said and by here he meant at The Black Penny, it was a cop bar after all and she wasn't exactly the most upstanding citizen anymore.

"Cramping your style brother? Or do you like to pretend I don't exist anymore, just like mom and dad." She asked.

"You know it's not like that." Steve replied with a tired sigh.

But Gail's attention had already been caught by something else and she put her hand up to Steve. "Hold that thought." She told him as she got up and wandered off to the corner of the bar where Frank, Noelle, Celery and Oliver were sat drinking.

Frank spotted her first and his face clouded over but she ignored everyone but Ollie. "Hey!" She said as he saw her and got to his feet with the help of a walking cane. She stepped forward into his arms and they hugged.

"You look good old man." She said as they broke apart but Oliver kept hold of her arm.

"Hey, less of the old, and geez, you're feeling pretty solid there!" He told her feeling the muscle in her arm.

Gail chuckled and poked at his protruding stomach. "You too." She replied. And then she became aware of how uncomfortable Frank and Noelle were becoming, but Celery had the grace to smile at her.

"I'll leave you to it, but it was good seeing you again Oliver." She said only to get pulled into one more hug from her old partner.

"Look after yourself kid." Oliver whispered in her ear.

Gail closed her eyes for a moment, remembering, then smiled and released him. She bid the rest of his table goodbye then headed back over to her brother's table.

"So, sorry, I'm not sure we've met before," Gail said eyeing the two unfamiliar faces at the table. She held out her hand to the woman sat next to Traci. "I'm Gail Peck, Steve's infamous little sister." She said with a wry grin and was pleased to have her hand gripped and shook in greeting.

"Holly Stewart."

Gail smiled at the woman, she looked more attractive in person than she did from half a room away, and her old photos didn't do her justice.

Gail reluctantly let the hand go and offered hers to the other new face but Dov stopped the woman from taking her hand. She scoffed at her old friend who, like most of the table, was eyeing her suspiciously. "Nice crowd you're mixing with." She commented to Holly.

"That's enough, what do you know about last night?" Nick cut in leaning across the table at her with hard eyes.

She grinned at him, wondering if he had recognised her last night, her distinctive blonde hair would have been hard to miss, but still, there was no way he would have had a good look at her face with the cars headlights at her back aiming into his eyes.

"I heard about that, some cops died right?" She asked playing dumb. "I hope you got the bad guys at least." She added with a smirk.

Nick shot up out of his seat and rounded the table, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her up from her seat and against the bar. "Gail Peck, you're under arrest." He told her and worked his spare cuffs out of his pocket.

Gail winced as he'd slammed her sore ribs against the bar. 'Ow' she mouthed to Romi who was right next to her trying hard not to laugh into his drink. She rolled her eyes as she was cuffed from behind.

A shot of whisky was placed in front of her and Gail eyed the barman.

He smirked at her. "Looks like it's going to be one of those nights."

Gail put her lips around the glass she knocked her head back to down the drink, a hand appeared below her chin and she let the glass fall back into the barman's hand.

"Aren't they all?" She told him.

"Come on." Nick muttered pulling her up straight.

"Wait, wait!" Romi said as he lined his cell phone up and snapped a picture. "Cool!" He said looking down at his phone.

Gail watched him stand and throw some money onto the bar top before leaving. She then looked over at her brother's table but no one except Holly was even glancing her way. She smiled at the brunette just before Nick pushed her from behind and she was heading out of the bar.

"What exactly am I being charged with?" She asked her ex boyfriend.

"Whatever I can get to stick." Nick told her as he kept hold of her as he waited for a squad car to turn up and transport Gail to the Barn.

Gail rolled her eyes. "That'll work."

"Hey, I know you were there last night so fuck you!" He said jostling her.

Gail just chuckled.

"You know for someone whose just been arrested you're not acting very worried about what I can charge you with." He told her.

Gail shook her head. "That's because I'm not worried at all, you've got nothing on me Nick, and I mean nothing." She turned to eye him as best as she could given their positions. "You however should be worried."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" He couldn't stop himself from asking just as a squad car arrived.

"That guy that took the picture? He works for me and it wasn't my picture he was taking, it was yours." She enlightened Nick as a cop got out of the car and took hold of her from a stunned looking Nick.

"Yeah, I'd watch your back for a while Nicky boy." She warned him before she was bundled into the back seat and driven away.