Early mornings were never fun for Jamie Reagan. Not being able to get his morning runs in on the early tours during the winter usually sets him up for a long day despite getting off with daylight hours and warmer temperatures to spare. Jamie arrived at the precinct earlier than usual and noticed his partner, Eddie Janko, leaving the Women's locker room, still in her civilian clothes.
"Hey, Janko," he greeted. "What's with the plain clothes?"
"Sorry, Jamie," she looked apologetically. "I got a call from Ft. Dix, there was an incident with my dad, and I need to go figure out what happened. They said he is fine, but I need to go up there to make sure." Eddie had been trying to patch up the broken relationship with her father for a few months after his hospital stay earlier in the year.
"Sorry to hear that Eddie, do you need a wingman?" he looked at her, concerned.
"No, that's not necessary. I'm fine, but I did see that Taylor's TO banged in sick with the flu; maybe you can ride with her for this tour?"
They see a young officer grabbing a cup of coffee, her hands were slightly shaking, which could be attributed to the cold, but the expression on her face was like she had seen a ghost. Eddie placed her hand on his forearm to bring him in closer to a whisper as Taylor walked away toward the desks. "She needs someone to keep an eye on her; I noticed she hasn't been acting herself. Maybe you can talk to her to see what's up? I'm concerned for her. She was in my graduating class, and I had never seen her like this. I asked if everything was all right, and she told me to mind my business."
"K….so?" Jamie whispered back.
"Do you remember a time when I acted like that?" Eddie asked, giving Jamie the lightbulb.
"Singer," he exhaled. "you acted like that with Singer." Eddie nodded.
"I'll ask Renzulli if I can ride with her and possibly go into an easy sector so we can have time to talk without much action."
Eddie nodded. "I figured you would agree, so I already asked Renzulli to pair you two for the tour before he just stuck her with another random officer, particularly male, if my suspicions are correct. He agrees with my assessment. But see if you can figure out a way to talk and possibly get her into some help. I know you're resourceful."
Jamie nodded. "Agreed. Let me talk to Renzulli before I change. You get up to your dad and text me, letting me know you got there safe."
"Will do." She turns and jogs out of the precinct.
At Eddie's insistence, Renzulli switched the patrols up to where everywhere was covered and had Jamie and Officer Taylor's unit as a back-up. That way, they will only be called if shit hits the fan. Satisfied with the arrangement, Jamie heads into the locker room to change and make it to roll call.
When Jamie and Taylor got to the RMP, Jamie noticed that Taylor was already checking the vehicle and filling out the paperwork. Usually, when he and Eddie ride together, he would get it. However, she had the paperwork completed by the time he got into the driver's seat. Taylor gingerly gets into the vehicle and shuts the door to get situated. Jamie starts the car, and out into the city, they go.
The air was colder than the typical early winter they had been having. But, even with the heater in the RMP on, he could tell she was still shivering.
"Need something to warm you up? Coffee? Hot cocoa?"
"Sure." Her response was short and poignant.
"Look, I'm not going to lie to you here….is something wrong? Because you have been acting strange enough for Janko to specifically request that I ride with you today out of concern."
"Boy, you get straight to the point, Reagan" she exhaled a breath. "Yeah, there is something, but not 100% sure on how to go about it safely."
"Eddie noticed that you have been acting strange the last couple of weeks."
She nods. "The issue goes a bit further back."
"How far?" he asked.
She took a deep breath and sighed, "The Blue Templar." Jamie's eyes go wide.
"What do you know about it?" He quickly blurted out.
"They killed your brother, and in turn, almost killed you in your rookie year. Your family and family alone took them out either in jail or in a body bag."
"Why are you bringing this up now?" he asked, trying to keep his emotions in check.
She sighs again. "Before the Templar was shut down, they pretty much all hung out together, families included. We all knew what was going on, or at least the ones who were old enough to catch on. We never hung out with people outside of the Templar. I was on the way into the military, so my dad never discussed business in front of me, but my mom knew. It was kind of like the mob, easier to keep secrets that way. However, after the initial arrests, they kept low key until a couple of weeks ago."
Jamie is trying to concentrate on the road in front of him. "So what happened after?"
She stopped him at this point. "I think it would be safer if we have this conversation with your family, especially your dad. I really only want to tell the story once, and only once. If I have to tell it again, I might just get sick to my stomach."
"Ok, maybe take a trip to 1PP."
"No," she began. "There's ears and eyes there. I don't want it getting back to them that someone talked so soon."
Jamie thought for a minute. Against his better judgment, he looked at Taylor. "What do we do?"
"I've been working on that the last couple of weeks, trying to get a safe way to relay the info. Get me to the train station and park the RMP in the garage." Jamie does as told, and he pulls into the garage. She directed him to a space. They get out and walk up two ramps to an SUV. He recognizes it to be her car. "Were you planning on running?"
She unlocks the SUV and grabs a couple of bags, and hands one to him. "Only as a last resort if I couldn't reach you. I was constantly being followed the last couple of weeks. So I had to do some improvising."
"What is this?" referring to the bag she handed him. "We need to get changed," she said. "I hope I got the size right."
"How would you know my size?"
"Looked up your last uniform issue, then guessed from there. I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes. See if your brother, sister, and the Commissioner can meet somewhere safe. I'll let you pick the spot."
She locked her car and headed to the train station to change with him on her heels. Surprisingly, she was right getting him the right sized jeans and t-shirt. She even got him an oversized hoodie that was shockingly warm. He sent the necessary texts to the family that he needed everyone there and to come alone. Frank responds to tell him to meet at home in Bay Ridge. They exited the restrooms. She had pulled her hair into a tighter bun than what she had it before. She dressed in a plaid button-down shirt, white t-shirt underneath, khakis, and boots. She threw a leather parka around herself as they headed to her vehicle, and she handed him the keys. They get in, and Jamie begins to drive out of the city.
"Why change clothes and cars?" Jamie asked.
"I wasn't sure if we were still being followed or tracked." Making sense to him, he had to ask about his partner.
"Does Janko know about all this?"
She winced. "No, but she will find out soon."
"What do you mean?"
She winced again. "I was the one who told her there was an incident with her dad. Taking a completely wild guess that coupling me acting weird, she would more likely make sure I was put with you, someone she trusted to watch out for me. I couldn't tell her the truth and put her in harm's way." She then turned to look at him. "Believe me, I know…."
"Know what?" looking at her confused.
"I see the way you look at each other… same look my parents gave each other."
"Meaning…."
She smirked, "For a Harvard grad and even a pretty damn good cop, you're pretty damn stupid when the obvious in front of you… that you are in love with her, she's in love with you. And you both will go to any lengths to protect each other."
They remained silent the rest of the car ride to Bay Ridge. Then, finally, he pulls up to the house and sees that they are the last to arrive. "Is there a back driveway?"
Jamie nods. "Pull into there; I don't want to be seen from the street." He could tell she was nervous and afraid. But, to be honest, so was he. As he doesn't know how far the extent the Blue Templar has re-emerged.
Jamie crept the SUV into the driveway and hid Taylor from view as they headed to the back door. She leaned into the doorway, writhing her hands, getting more nervous as Jamie opened the backdoor.
"Dad?" he called.
Jamie's grandfather calls out from next to the coffee pot, "In the dining room waiting for you…" he turns and sees Taylor in the doorway. "Is this the famous Officer Janko?"
Jamie stepped inside with her right behind him. "No, Pop. This is Officer Taylor,… she was riding with me tonight and asked to see Dad and everyone about some family business."
Henry could only nod as he was fixing coffee. "Nice to meet you" She gave a curt nod and followed Jamie into the dining room, where the rest of the adult Reagans were sitting.
"Officer Taylor," Frank acknowledges.
"Just Callie…." And she sees Jamie taking his usual seat at the dining table.
Frank could see she was scared and offered her a glass of scotch, which she gladly took and took a sip as she sat down.
Henry came back in with coffee. "So what is all this secrecy about, and Jamie, aren't you guys on tour?"
Callie looked at the elder Reagan. "I was concerned that we were being followed, so I had to create some countermeasures to make sure we got here safely." She tried to explain with a shy smile.
Danny looks at Callie. "So, what is all this about?"
"Does Donavan Frishie ring any bells?" Danny's face goes white.
"Yeah, he was in the ring with the Blue Templar. Got sent to jail for killing my brother."
She nods, looking at the glass of scotch. "It's my dad. After the bust, my mom changed her name to her maiden name of Taylor and got out of New York. I was in the military and married at that point. So when I divorced and got out, I changed my name to hers."
Frank nods. "All of this about the Blue Templar," she nods. "The Children of the Templar vowing to restore their families names in the good graces of the NYPD…..or so we thought."
"Thought?" It was Erin's turn to speak.
Callie looks to Erin. "Old habits tend to die hard, and the apples don't fall far from the trees with the likes of them. It didn't take long for them to fall into that trap of history repeating itself. Granted I joined the NYPD this past year after I left the military, but even then they were reluctant to bring me into the fold as it were. I joined for the sole purpose to help others. The COT changed their motives not long after I joined the force."
"COT?" Henry asked.
"Children of Templars is what we called ourselves." He motioned her to continue.
"It started off just us hanging out and talking stories on the job, I inserted a few deployment stories to spice things up. The last month after I graduated from the Academy, however, I started to notice their behaviors change. They became more secretive and sort of clique-ish. Almost like they were militarizing themselves. Some of the group were regular officers like me; some were Sergeants and a couple LT's. It seemed the core group you guys took down created a vacuum. Hence, when they got pinched, the associates in the outer circles, filled the void and continued doing the same stuff before but keeping an even lower profile. When the kids came up and out in the Academy, they knew to keep their noses clean and off the radar. However, the older ones have been becoming not so subtle, and it is causing the lower ranks to do the same."
"Such as?" Danny is intrigued, to which she replied.
"Keep in mind, I didn't know what the extent of their actions was. They never said anything or showed me any reason to report things, if they did, and I could prove it. I would have…..I can't just accuse without proof or I would be marked for dead." All of the Reagans at the table nodded, realizing she is genuine.
"A couple weeks ago, there was a BBQ with the group, with typical stuff, food, music, beer, etc. I walked into the house and see a few of them snorting cocaine. I wasn't sure if they saw me, but I quickly moved back outside and was about to leave until I heard one of them talking about a few of the "hits" they did."
She lowers her head and rubs her face and looked to Jamie. "You lost a partner before right?" Jamie nods. She exhales….. "It wasn't the gang in the Bitterman housing. They knew killing another Reagan at that time was a bad move and just chalked it up to wanting to scare you off the job." Jamie was getting whiter. She looked to Danny. "Did they ever figure out who TRULY torched your house, and did they tell you how the helicopter engine failed, causing the crash that killed your wife?" All mouths, including Frank's agape.
"They have plotted and planned to cause much chaos within the NYPD ranks, in the community, and even politically, to get even and bring you guys down even if it meant targeting the ones around you."
"You mean our partners?" Jamie asked. She nods. "Then why send Janko to Dix?"
"Because again, it would look very suspicious if you, I, and Janko all of a sudden turned up here. At the house of our boss. Like I told you in the car, I needed her to get out of dodge. I like Janko, she's a great kid, and with you training her, she will be an amazing cop."
"What about Baez?" Danny asked. "anything you guys did to her?"
She shakes her head. "I am not sure, and I didn't hear any mention of her."
Jamie put his hand on her shaking arm. "Is that what started all of these behavior changes?"
"It began as such. I kept thinking I was being followed and watched after that until….." she finishes the remaining scotch. She leans the glass toward the bottle, and without hesitating, Danny poured a little more in. "someone tossed my place a week ago, I called it in, it was processed, I cleaned it up afterwards. I then reach out to the officer who took my statement and found that no statement was entered into the system. At that point, I started to plan an exit strategy. I have left a bag in my car at the train station, a set of clothes in the lockers. I knew before I got the hell out of dodge, I needed to come clean with you, with what I knew. Even if it meant leaving the job. Last night, Captain Turk was paid a visit in the 4-3 and another one I remember seeing that worked in 1PP. They uh…made it very clear they knew I was up to something and would go to extreme lengths to make sure I kept my mouth shut…they cuffed me and proceeded to assault me, taking multiple turns. Took my clothes, threw me in the shower, and gathered whatever other "evidence" they may have dropped…" she gulped the rest of the scotch." I was a mess. I hate breaking chain of command, but I couldn't if the chain is corrupted."
Erin placed her hand on her arm. "I don't blame you for coming forward like this."
Frank finally opened his mouth to speak. "She is right. I told Jamie before when all this started that he should have come to me. I appreciate you coming forth when it was the first opportunity, and with facts, not assumptions."
"What do we do now? The thing is, I have no idea how deep this goes and far up to 1PP that it is. They already suspected that I was gone at this point. Maybe even … "she points to Jamie.
"Well, Renzulli pretty much put me on babysitting duty with you for the shift. I need to get the RMP back to the station. I can send him a text that I dropped you off on the way home since your car is in "the shop." She nods at his idea. Frank looked at Callie, concerned. "Until we figure out how deep this thing goes, I would prefer if you stayed put. We have empty rooms that you are more than welcome to stay in. Erin, could you show her to where she can go and get cleaned up?" Erin nods and leads her away.
"Danny," Frank began. "Take Jamie to the car, check and follow his RMP to the station for drop off. Jamie, if you can get Janko to report here and Detective Baez, their place of duty will be here. It would be best to have a few changes of clothes until we figure things out. I don't want you guys out of my sight. We already lost a lot to the Templar, and I don't want to lose more."
Jamie's phone begins to ring. "It's Eddie." Frank looks back at him. "Take it and see if she can make it here."
Jamie nods as he gets up to take the call.
"Eddie?"
"Jamie, I was calling to let you know that something is weird up here."
"What do you mean?" His face of concern got the other's attention.
"Everything was a false alarm, but everyone was acting weird, even when I went to see my dad make sure he was ok."
"Weird how? Is he ok?"
"Yes, he is good, and he asked if you were still taking care of me." She lets out a small chuckle. He does as well.
"Listen, I need you to do me a favor. Do you have my key?" The men's eyebrows arch.
"Yeah, when you asked me to drop food off when you banged in sick?"
"I have a go-bag next to my front door. Can you stop off there, grab it, and pack yourself a go-bag as well and meet me at the station?" He is looking concerned.
"Sure. I can meet you in an hour." He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, partner. I will see you there." He hangs up with several sets of eyes looking at him. "What?"
"You exchanged keys?" Danny was wagging his eyebrows. "I didn't know it's the newest trend for couples these days."
"We're not….." he began, but Frank cut him off. "Deny it all you want, son. As a father, I know your private life is none of my business, but the safety of my officers is. I like Eddie, I think she compliments you well on the job, but I see you look at her like I looked at your mother. With everything going on, I have a feeling the new Templar sees it too. Which is why I want everyone closely connected to us under one roof."
Erin came down with Callie as she was dressed down. "What about the boys?" Danny asked.
Callie looks at Danny. "I doubt they will go after kids directly, honestly. I don't see that being their MO. They would only inflict suffering by showing them your downfall as they witnessed in their own families crumble." Danny nods. "Well, I am going to see if they can stay at a friend's house until all of this dies down."
Jamie motions to Danny, "Let's go get the RMP; I'll pick up Eddie and the stuff and come back here."
Both men went out not knowing that the next 24 hours would be an all-out war and family was going to be smack in the middle of it.