Chapter 110: Jesus Cam
Heading back up to the crime lab, Gus encountered a dark-haired Latino man somewhere around her age wandering around the lab. Judging by his suit and stack of case files, she figured out he was a cop, but she knew he certainly wasn't NYPD. "Dawlin' you lost?" she asked raising an eyebrow at the man who gave her a slow grin.
"I'm looking for Mac Taylor, he said he was up here in a glass office but-" he broke off gesturing around at all the glass, "I can't seem to find him among all this."
Gus smirked, "don't get the impression it's all like this, my department is nicknamed the pit."
"Your department?" the man asked, giving her the once over.
Gus suppressed an eye roll at his scrutiny, "Detective Broussard, homicide. And you are?"
"Scotty Valens, also homicide, Philadelphia."
Gus gestured down the hall, "nice to meet you Detective Valens, I think, anyway, Mac's office is right through here, I was about to talk to him myself, but if you say he is expecting you..." Gus trailed off.
"See ya around then, Broussard, is it?"
"Yeah, but I usually go by Gus," she called after him.
"Why Gus?" Scotty asked his forehead knitting together.
Gus gave him a strange look, "because it's my name," she replied before walking back to the pit.
Flack was sitting at his desk, staring at his phone with contempt. Gus forced a smile and said, "so what did the phone do to you?"
"Nothing, it's just I can't get a hold of anyone relating to this kid and it's bugging me. Everyone seems to be at home for the day or otherwise unreachable."
"Well you know what that means," Gus suggested.
"Yeah what?"
"We call it a day too," Gus said, gathering her things to leave.
"I just hate that we haven't gotten further," Flack said, his voice weary.
"No kidding, but what are we going to do?" Gus stretched before switching gears, "so some Philly PD guy was here to see Mac, from homicide."
"Huh, wonder if it's something connected to a case here?"
"Who knows?" Gus shrugged, heading out the door.
First thing the next morning, with neither detective able to sleep with a case going nowhere, Flack and Gus wandered into a quiet homicide pit.
"I think I am going to go hit up the university, see what I can wrangle from them without warrants," Flack said, hovering over Gus.
"Just be yourself and you'll have the admin eating out of your hand," Gus said flipping open files on her desk, "I'll be here wading through Sid's report. Should be fun seeing as how Toby apparently had a camera embedded in his chest."
"Jesus-cam?" Flack asked with a smirk.
"Watch out for lighting, Flack," Gus said shaking her head.
"At least the kid's neck snapped right away," Gus was muttering, pouring over Sid's notes.
"Heard you found a fallen angel," Parker quipped, passing by her desk.
"Yep, weird one for sure," Gus replied, half-listening.
"Would have been better had Jess pulled the case," Parked said with a laugh.
"Huh? Jess, oh Angell and an angel. Parker, you need a hobby," Gus sniffed heading off to the lab.
Gus walked down the glass hallway, spotting the detective she had shown to Mac's office the previous night in with Danny and Stella.
Curious, but determined, she kept walking until she spotted Lindsay. "Hey, Linds, heard you got the camera from Toby Finch's chest."
Lindsay shuddered, "yeah, and it was fun recovering anything from that, let me tell you. I was about to find Mac and Hawkes to show them what I found, you can meet us in the A/V lab if you want."
"Thanks. Listen do you know anything about the Philly PD detective here working with Danny and Stella? Valens is his name," Gus asked, hoping her friend had some inside information.
"No clue, though now I am curious," Lindsay said walking off.
Gus stood with Mac, Sheldon and Lindsay watching as a girl set a shot and then herself on fire in an attempt to win a contest on a website. She shook her head not so much in shock as disgust after seeing a very drunk Toby be launched from a roof somewhere in the city.
Mac gave out instructions to Lindsay and Sheldon and turned to leave, Gus hurried after him. "ah, Mac?"
Mac turned and looked at her impatiently, his eyebrows raised, "Gus?"
"I just wanted to say I, um, saw the press conference and well...just if you need anything," Gus cut herself off taking in Mac's bemused expression.
"While I appreciate the sentiment, I am certain I will be fine, Augusta," Mac said before heading out of the A/V room.
"Of course you will, Super-Mac," Gus hissed under her breath.
Storming out back to the pit, angry that Mac was blocking her out as usual, Gus nearly collided with another detective storming out of the lab. "whoa, watch it!" he snapped.
"You watch it, what are you still doing here anyway?" Gus snapped back at Detective Valens.
"It's an ongoing investigation, and assuming any of you New York cops have a sense of procedure, that means I can't talk about it!" Scotty Valens yelled, exiting the crime lab.
"Well excuse me. And just what do you mean by any of us New York cops?" Gus chased after him, not willing to back down as someone was kicking her dog.
Valens replied with indignation, "I don't know, you guys have suspects falling cuffed off buildings, shooting unarmed men in the streets and CSI's turned suspects trying to take over my investigation!"
Gus couldn't help but smirk, "thought you couldn't tell me."
Valens' mouth dropped open before snarling, "God damn New Yorkers!" he cursed.
"First off, sugar, I am from New Orleans, secondly with cops like you they may want to change Philly's slogan!" Gus shoved past Valens and stormed into the pit.
"Rough day?" Montgomery inquired as she fumed at her desk.
"Not really, that's the sad part. Just a frustratingly slow case," Gus sighed, going back to the leg work on the Finch case while wondering if it was Stella or Danny that Valens was suspecting of something. She didn't think either had Philadelphia connections, but you never knew...
Her phone rang from Flack, who had spent the better part of the day at the university, who took over informing Toby Finch's next of kin.
"Mac needs access to the Chase building, but I am still working on things here, can you go charm them, sunshine?" Flack asked distractedly.
"Sure thing. Don't flirt with too many college girls," Gus teased hanging up the phone and gathering her belongings.
The suits at the Chase building only added to Gus' frustration. First she was kept waiting and passed along from annoyingly perky secretary to annoyingly perky secretary until she was ready to find roof access on her own, only to be dissuaded by building security who could have cared less about her badge.
Finally someone deigned to talk to her only to patronize her. "Well miss, I can't say we get many requests from attractive young women to see our roof, but I could see about arranging a personal tour," he leered.
"Sir, this is a formal request on behalf of the New York Police Department regarding an ongoing homicide investigation. It would require a team of forensic experts to access your roof," Gus said through a smile and gritted teeth.
"In that case, it sounds like a matter for our legal department. If you could just have a seat and my secretary can assist you," he said, disappearing into an oak-lined hallway.
"Because I just love dealing with attorneys!" Gus sighed while waiting for a 'legal representative' to make an appearance. The run around with the legal department sent her on the hunt for a warrant and the best she got from that was access to the roof the next day.
"I give up," she said, heading out of the courthouse.
Gus headed home wanting no more than a long soak in the tub and a glass of wine.
Arriving home though, Flack pounced on her the minute she got in. "Thought I was gonna have to send a search party after you," he said, jumping up the couch as she walked in.
"Ah!" Gus exclaimed, jumping in fright.
"You okay, babe?"
"I forgot you would be here," Gus admitted sheepishly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Flack questioned, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes looking serious.
"Nothing, just gonna take some getting used it. Now, it has been a long day and I'm going to take a bath" she called down the hallway.
"You need any help?" he flirted. Gus neglected to respond, leaving Flack to wander back to the couch and resume flipping channels.
After refilling the tub more times than she knew environmentally that she should and nearly a bottle of wine later, Gus crawled into bed beside the already sleeping Flack.
He stirred and turned on the bedside lamp, "you weren't hiding from me, were you sunshine?" he asked, propping his head on his hand.
"No, Don, I was not hiding from you as much as I was hiding from the world," Gus answered, kissing him on his forehead and then his nose.
"I heard you got the run around with the Chase building."
Gus snorted before snuggling under the covers, "to say the least."
"But seeing as Mac said to be there at first light, I assume you got it sorted out?" Flack turned out the light and moved in closer to her.
"Of course I did. I assume you got what you could at the school?" Gus punched her pillow into place.
"As much as I could get, not like the administrators have any clue what is going on" Flack sighed, "seems like I haven't seen much of you lately," he said after a pause.
"We aren't attached at the hip, dawlin'" Gus teased.
"I know," Flack said, his voice strained.
"Though I suppose I have missed you, since I love you and stuff," Gus smiled at him in the dark, trying to lighten the mood.
"And stuff?" he questioned smiling back at her and moving in for a deep kiss.
"Stuff, definitely stuff," Gus gasped between kisses.
Gus found herself stuck trying to soothe legal department and public relations representatives the next morning at the building as the forensic team descended in full force.
By the time she made it to the top of the building, the techs were already and full processing mode while Mac and Flack were involved in what appeared to be a heated discussion.
Gus steered clear instead asking Sheldon if there was anyway for her to help.
"Yeah, come here for a sec. What size are you?" he asked, moving her sideways.
"Excuse me?" Gus asked a little put off.
"Shoes," Sheldon said pointing bemusedly.
"7 or 8," Gus said, moving her foot beside the prints in tar.
"Bigger than mine, but she probably weighs less judging by the lightness of the tar," Gus pointed out.
"Good observation," Sheldon assented.
"Yeah, great, I hate this girl already," Gus joked.
"And we've already figured out that Toby has at least two people up here to help him," Sheldon said, taking photographs.
"Make sense, most kids don't do these stunts on their own. Group think tends to kick into action and once that pack mentality gets underway, whoo boy, sky is the limit," Gus breathed out, resting her hands on her hips and surveying Mac and Flack.
Sheldon followed her gaze, "so how are things going?"
"With whom?" Gus said, not sure what Sheldon was asking.
"I figure all this Mac stuff has to be putting a strain on you and Flack," Sheldon replied, matter of fact.
"I suppose somewhat. But it will all settle down eventually, right?" Gus flashed Sheldon a smile, "I'm still not going over there though."
Sheldon smiled back, "that's because you are smart."
"Do I even want to know what you and Mac were so intensely talking about?" Gus asked Flack as he walked away from Mac and toward her.
"The usual," Flack growled.
"Truby? Not freaking again!" Gus moaned.
"No, Dobson and about how I, well, we are going to have to testify if the department goes through with the investigation," Flack tapped his pen against his book.
Back at the precinct, Gus stumbled upon the other video of Toby Finch's flight.
"Hey, Flack, check this out" she exclaimed, flipping around her computer screen.
"Anonymous, but that is never true," Flack said, ringing up the Tech guys.
Quickly enough, they learned the video was uploaded at the university's library. "You coming along this time?" Flack asked her.
"If you want me to," Gus replied.
"Yeah, you do better with the bookworms," Flack smiled slightly and handed Gus her suit jacket.
Thanks to the wonders of modern campuses, Flack and Gus were soon knocking on the door of the student who had used the computer to upload the video of Toby to the web.
The brown haired boy answered the knock on his dorm room door, iPod dangling from his hand.
"TJ Lindmark?" Gus asked with a smile and a badge.
"Yeah, what?" the kid asked bewildered.
"You are going to have to come with us," she drawled.
"And I'm going to have to take this," Flack said snatching the iPod out of his hands.
"Whoa what's this all about?" TJ protested.
"We'll explain it all down at the precinct," Flack said.
"Do I need a lawyer?" TJ's voice wavered.
"I don't know, do ya?" Flack said, leading the kid down the hall.
"Don't think about running, TJ," Gus warned catching the look in the kids eye, "if I have to run too far in these heels, you won't need a lawyer, you'll need a doctor."
"Besides, you don't want to make a big scene in front of all your pals, do ya kid?" Flack said, slapping TJ on his back. TJ whimpered and complied.
"You wanna help me question?" Flack asked after TJ was settled back at the precinct.
"Think I'll observe this one, give you two a little man to man time," Gus said, quickly squeezing Flack's arm.
Flack shot her a dimpled grin and disappeared into the room. Sheldon, Mac, and Lindsay quickly joined her.
"Hail, hail the gang's all here," Gus quipped.
"He's the only person we have been able to track down so far," Mac pointed out.
"And his shoes look like they could match those on the roof," Sheldon added.
The quartet looked on as Flack grilled TJ, who kept protesting that he didn't have anything to do with cutting this cords and that all he did was put the video on the daredevil web site hoping to get his friend the 'e-lebrity' status he wanted.
Flack pressed TJ about Toby's girlfriend, but TJ insisted that Toby's girlfriend loved him and would never have cut the bungee cord.
"What's your take?" Mac asked them all as Flack continued questioning.
He turned to Lindsay first. "Scared, not lying."
Sheldon answered next, "he might know more, but not realize it. Not lying."
Mac looked down at Gus. "Flack's about to make him pee his pants, so I am betting not lying," she said.
"I agree." Mac crossed his arms over his chest, "I don't think TJ severed that rope."
"Then who did?" Sheldon asked.
Mac dropped his hands and looked intently from Lindsay to Sheldon, "we need to recover the rest of the images. Somebody severed that bungee. And it had to be after Toby got into that harness."
"We're on it," Lindsay said, moving off with Sheldon.
"Cut him loose," Mac said to Gus before turning to walk out.
"Great, leave me with pissed off Flack," Gus said, surveying Flack's face through the glass.
"Somehow, Gussie, I think you will be able to handle him," Mac smirked before exiting.
Gus rapped on the door before entering the interrogation room.
"Your lucky day, TJ," Gus said, her voice not amused. Judging by Flack's jawline, he wasn't very amused either.
"We'll take you back to campus, but I suggest you don't leave the area," Gus rapped on the table by TJ's hands.
"And stop posting videos on the web, you ain't Scorsese," Flack added.
After dropping TJ off, Flack remained silent and fuming in the car. "You going to tell me what's going on in there?" Gus asked, tapping him on the temple as they sat in traffic.
"This case, this friggin' case, someone had to have cut that cord and we just had to cut loose our only real lead!" Flack worked his jaw.
"No pun intended," Gus chortled, stopping when she saw the look he shot her, "fine, I get it, I'm frustrated too, but let's let Mac et al work on the evidence."
As soon as they got back into the precinct, Gus immediately said, "I'm going to check with the lab."
"Fine," Flack said, dropping down at his desk, not wanting to see or deal with Mac Taylor any more than he had to.
Mac was stepping out of the A/V lab as Gus entered the hallway. "You take TJ back?" he asked, looking downtrodden.
"Yeah. What about you?" Gus replied, looking at Mac with concern.
"Lindsay was able to restore the rest of Toby's video. He cut the bungee cords himself, expecting to hang- glide his way into internet history. Unfortunately, the slingshot's velocity caused the recoil to kill him. No crime was committed," Mac finished looking anything but like a man who had solved the mystery.
"He was a physics major," Gus remarked as she studied Mac. He turned to leave with a nod when Gus called out, "Uncle Mac?"
He slowly turned back, cocking his head at her use of uncle. "Gus?"
"Can we have dinner, please?" she ventured hesitantly.
Mac sighed, "I was supposed to meet Peyton."
Gus nodded, defeated, "Of course."
Mac sighed again, sensing something simmering below Gus' surface calm, "I'll work something out with her. Meet me at Angelo's in an hour? I got some paperwork."
"Me too," Gus shuffled her feet, "thanks, Mac."
Chapter 111: Talking Not Talking
Gus entered Angelo's late, and didn't see Mac immediately, though she was not surprised by this. She knew his paperwork in this case was going to be a lot more intense.
Gus surveyed the dining room, trying to decide between table or booth, when saw a familiar but not so welcome tonight face in a booth along the wall. She walked over, not shocked, but certainly disappointed.
"Peyton," she said, trying to smile and keep upbeat, at least growing up in New Orleans had given her the endless ability to act sweet as pie to people she would rather didn't exist.
"Augusta," Peyton replied, not sensing anything was amiss. She didn't entirely know what to make of Mac's niece or what she thought of her being Mac's life, especially since she was Claire's niece, but she knew that like Reed, Augusta was part of the package.
"I guess I am crashing your date, huh?" Gus sighed, sliding into the booth.
"Not entirely, I am on shift tonight. I was just catching a quick bite with Mac beforehand."
Gus didn't reply, instead becoming entranced with the menu. She had been working on trying to sort out what she had against Peyton other than her being so freaking perfect and that Mac seemed to be completely wound up in her, but look at her, what man would throw himself at her pedestal?
Gus groaned to herself, she was even being mean while trying to sort out her rational feelings, and petty on top of that.
Peyton sipped her water and looked at her watch. "I can't imagine what is keeping him so long and it is a bit odd he hasn't called either."
"You know paperwork and maybe he got another visit from Gerard or Sinclair?" Gus suggested, still not lowering her menu to look at Peyton.
Gus waved the waiter over, ordered wine and forced herself to make civil chit chat with Peyton.
Like her or not, Mac reportedly was happy with this woman and that's what matter right? That's what Claire would have wanted, wasn't it? Of course Gus felt that Claire would have picked someone different for Mac, but who knows maybe she was up there orchestrating the whole thing.
Gus realized Peyton was asking her something and shot her head up.
"He hasn't ever taken a vacation has he?" Peyton was saying.
"I don't think Mac has ever been big on vacations. He really isn't the whole sit on the beach drinking Mai Tai's is he?."
"No, I would think not, but maybe something a little more cultured?" Peyton inquired.
Gus felt like she had missed something, but played along anyway, "yeah cultured is good."
She realized Mac was also very, very late and hoped this hadn't been some sort of set up for her and Peyton to become best friends or something.
"I am sorry to say, Augusta, but I simply must leave otherwise I am going to be late. If Mac ever arrives, do tell him to call me" Peyton said, gracefully exiting the booth in a way that Gus would never be able to achieve.
"Sure thing. Have a nice shift, Peyton" Gus said, taking a gulp of her wine.
Her phone pinged a couple of minutes later. Held up, incident, will be there soon -Mac
"Incident?" Gus muttered, "Great."
Mac arrived a few minutes later looking disheveled.
"Do we need to reschedule?" Gus asked.
"No, no, I need to eat anyway," Mac said, sliding into the area Peyton had exited from.
"Incident, huh?" Gus inquired after Mac was settled.
"A father with a missing daughter believed Dobson had kidnapped her and he was none to happy that Dobson is dead and blamed me for not being able to find his daughter," Mac answered, looking over the menu stoically.
"Blamed you? How does that equal incident?" Gus pressed on.
Mac raised his eyebrows, but did not look at Gus. "He pulled a gun on me in front of the precinct."
"Pulled a gun? Are you all right?" Gus exclaimed.
"I'm fine, though it was intense for a while. But it was resolved as well as such things can be," Mac said, waving the waiter over to take their order.
"Um, Mac...where is your badge?"
"I assume Sinclair has locked it up somewhere for safe keeping."
Gus looked at him in shock, only closing her mouth when the waiter came by with their salads.
Mac cleared his throat, "I have been placed on modified duty pending the department's investigation."
"That's crap!" Gus glowered, digging into her salad, "but I am somewhat relieved that you hadn't put me on a set up."
Mac put his fork down, "Set up?"
"With Peyton, that you weren't just throwing us together until I love her," Gus grimaced.
"Is this going to be a continued issue with you?" Mac asked, not angrily, but certainly not happily.
"I wouldn't call it an issue as much as-" Gus cut off and dropped her cutlery to the table, "Fine it is an issue and I don't know why it is. Peyton is great, she's intelligent, she's gorgeous, she's skinny, she's freakin' perfect. You should love her to bits and go forth and multiply and I will just get over it, I'm good at that," Gus sputtered out, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.
Mac's gaze on her was intent, but he didn't say anything.
"But are you happy? Truly and completely, as happy as you were with 'Ti Claire?" Gus asked, her eyes suddenly glistening and coming to realize that her problem with Peyton was not so much with Peyton but that Peyton was here, alive and well and her aunt was not.
Mac's breath caught in his throat, Gus had called Claire, Claire for as long as he knew her, had only called her 'Ti Claire as a child. Mac stared at Gus, seeing the lost girl in there, the child she wasn't ever really allowed to be.
"Claire was-" Mac's voice cracked, he took a long sip of water, "nobody will ever make me as happy as Claire made me. But yes, I am happy with Peyton."
"I just..." Gus played with her napkin, "...I feel ridiculous," she slumped over, "I'm an adult, I need to act like it," she finished pulling herself back up to straight posture.
"You are allowed to still grieve," Mac pointed out.
"It's just Peyton is so proper and not, well, not like Claire other than the pretty and smart part. I don't know, I just thought if you were going to end up with someone else it would be someone more like..." Gus trailed off.
Mac was more than slightly curious, "like?"
Gus shrugged, "someone that is more your ying or yang or whatever. Someone that makes you not be Mac Taylor, Marine all the time. If Peyton does that, maybe I just haven't seen it. And it is really none of my business anyway, now is it?"
Gus rambled on, thankful their food had arrived, "so let's just eat."
"Speaking of matters that are none of each others' business," Mac said, after Gus had forked down and huge bite of pasta.
"Unfair," Gus mumbled through her bite and quickly swallowed, "I know you are not dancing around asking about me and Don," she said, after her mouth was empty.
"No, I am outright asking," Mac said, a bemused smile playing on his face.
"I don't know," Gus admitted. "Sometimes I think things are perfect, too perfect and then other times I think I am not cut out for this" Gus pushed her food around her plate.
"Cut out for?" Mac questioned.
"Relationships, being a cop, New York, any of it. I feel like I am a fraud a lot of the time and I am just waiting for someone to call me out on it," the words poured out of Gus without her meaning to unload on Mac who certainly had more than his share of worries right now.
"It's normal," Mac remarked with a grin.
"What do you mean normal? When have I ever been normal, Mac Taylor?" Gus joked.
"Your age, I went through it, Stella went through it, every intelligent professional goes through it."
"What murders, mayhem, hurricanes and bad relationships?" Gus quipped.
"So maybe not on your level, but I am trying to say don't worry about it too much you are doing just fine. And you have created a pretty good life for yourself here," Mac patted her hand.
Gus protested, "but is it the life I am supposed to have? I still sometimes feel like I abandoned my home, that I am no better than a turncoat."
Mac shook his head, "maybe because you haven't been back. It is easy to play the 'what if' game, Gus. Take a break, take a leave of absence or something, do some volunteer work down there. Department could use the good PR, they would approve it in a heartbeat."
Gus snorted, "Somehow I don't think 'New York cop helps New Orleans' is going to take the heat off you, Mac."
"Somehow, I agree," Mac teased, "but you have options, none of them bad. And since I keep having to push myself to do so, don't forget to allow yourself to be happy and just enjoy life."
"Easier at some times than others," Gus sighed.
"Don't I know" Mac agreed and went back to his food.
Slipping into the apartment, she was not shocked to find Flack still up. Though the fact that he was sitting on the living room with the television and lights off did cause her to raise an eyebrow. "This doesn't look good, blue eyes," she called softly after slipping out of her shoes and jacket.
"Just thinking," Flack replied.
"Good thoughts or bad thoughts?" she hesitantly asked. His shrug indicated neither. Gus let him sit in silence and went into the bedroom to change. Flack was still sitting on the couch when she came out, but he had at least turned on a lamp. She sat beside him, poured herself a drink from the whiskey bottle and took a sip, remaining silent.
Flack studied her for a long moment, making her nervous before finally asking, "you love me right?"
Gus gave him an odd look, it wasn't like Flack to be the insecure one, "of course I do."
Flack's words spilled out quickly, "and I love you, so forget everybody else and just agree to spend the rest of your life with me."
"Er..." Gus trailed off and then finally spit out after realizing what he was getting at, "why do we have to get married to do that?"
Flack shot back immediately, "why not, you can't give me any reason not to."
"Have you been talking to your grandmother tonight or something?" Gus half teased, "what's wrong with us the way we are?" She didn't expect him to have an immediate answer.
But of course he did, almost like he had already played out this conversation,"Gus we can't stay in limbo forever, you have got to figure out what you want to do."
Gus started, feeling like he had known what she and Mac had been talking about, the only thing she could stammer out was "why?"
"Whadda mean why, because you do, because I am not going to hang around forever, because I'm starting to think you are regretting even us living together." Flack's words stung her to the core.
"It's not that, Don, it's just..."
"Just what?" he demanded.
"What if I can't do this?" she pleaded.
Now it was Flack's turn to be confused, "what are you talking about?"
Gus sighed, her fears bubbling to the surface, "what if I can't do us the way I'm supposed to?"
"Supposed to, there is no supposed to with us. I thought we decided we were always gonna make our own rules!" Flack's reply was slightly agitated.
The exact uncertainty she had been discussing with Mac shortly before bubbled over, "Don, you deserve someone so different from me. You deserve someone that wants to live in the suburbs with 2.5 kids and a minivan and..."
Flack's cut off was terse, "stop right there, Gus, that isn't what I want. I want you, I love you, I want spend my life with you."
Gus shook her head in disbelief, "you say that, but then you'll want to change me as soon as you can."
"I say what I mean, have I ever lied to you?"
"No, but what happens one day when the novelty of me being a cop wears off?"
"That's not gonna happen, it isn't a novelty. You are as much a cop as I am," Flack demanded.
"But what if I'm not, what if this isn't where I am supposed to be? What if you and I aren't supposed to be?"
"Well where else are you supposed to be then?" Flack questioned.
Gus shrugged, "back there."
"Why would you want to go back to New Orleans?" Flack looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Maybe I am needed there more than I am here," she said.
Flack took a deep breath and another drink, "this isn't what I had planned on at all," he sighed.
"Oh so you had an actual plan for this attack?" Gus quipped, "that's comforting."
"It wasn't supposed to be an attack," Flack stretched his back.
"Well where is this all coming from then?" Gus inquired.
"Talking to Grams," he admitted with a dimpled grin.
"Can't you just talk to her about the weather or something?" Gus teased, leaning into him and hitching a finger under the neck of his t-shirt and pulling him towards her.
"Nope, weather and sports are reserved specifically for talking to my father," Flack said leaning in to her tugging.
Gus slid her legs around his waist and settled into his lap."Well if you lie low for a couple of days, I am sure someone else if your family will have some sort of drama and she will forget all about you and us," she said with a nibble on his ear and neck.
"Can we please not talk about my family while you are doing that?" he groaned.
"How about sports or the weather?" she breathed, darting her tongue around his ear.
"Hows about not talking at all?" he moaned
Chapter 112: Cross Examination Fire
Needless to say neither got a lot of sleep that night and when they dragged themselves into the precinct they were greeted by a slightly bemused but haggard looking Lieutenant. "Well, well look what the cat's dragged in," Daddino remarked.
"What we're on time!" Gus protested.
"I just kinda find it funny that you two leave together, come in together are always, ya know, together," he waggled his eyebrows.
"Are you implying there is something wrong with that, Loo?" Flack questioned, coming up with coffee for them both.
"I was just observing, I do still get to do that even from my desk. And you two need to get down to the courthouse now, hearing room 6-3," Daddino rocked on his heels.
"Hearing room?" Flack gripped at his cup a little harder, "Taylor?"
"They are going through with a hearing already? Even though Mac had a gun pointed at him last night?" Gus protested.
Both men looked at her in shock, obviously news had not traveled.
"Due process and all of that. Besides we don't want Mac on modified duty for longer than he has to be right?" Daddino winked at the two of them and walked on.
"Why couldn't he have gotten the promotion?" Gus grumbled.
"Because he won't play the game," Flack replied, leading her out.
On their walk to the courthouse, Gus surveyed Flack in the harsh outdoor light, "you are looking a little scruffy there, blue eyes," she smirked.
Flack covered a smile by working his jaw, "well excuse me, but somebody waylaid me from shaving this morning."
"Way-laid," Gus snorted.
Flack punched her playfully, "stop it" he chastised, "besides you are hardly looking court-ready yourself." Gus' mouth popped open. "I didn't mean it harshly, sunshine, I mean you usually do this whole sexy librarian thing when you know you are going to court. And today you aren't," he shrugged.
"Crap, I'm going to see what I can do to fix this," Gus gestured and headed off to the bathroom.
Gus attempted to repair herself in the bathroom, managing to lose her earring down the sink drain. By the time she flagged down a maintenance guy to help her retrieve it she was certain Flack was going to think she had fallen in.
She ended up leaving the bathroom looking marginally more made up but certainly not any more put together.
"Did you fall in?" were of course the first words out of his mouth.
"Lost an earring, had to get it retrieved and why does it look like I missed something?" Gus said, remarking on the commotion that still seemed to be occurring behind the closed doors of the hearing room.
"Mac," Flack said, looking slightly amused and slightly afraid.
"What about Mac?" Gus asked, rocking from foot to foot.
"He left the hearing, stormed out, said he wasn't going to listen to them call him a murderer," Flack shrugged, settling back in on the bench.
"Can he do that?" Gus asked in shock.
"Apparently he can, because he did," Flack said, adding, "and it is causing quite a stir by the sounds of it."
"So what do we do?" Gus was still flummoxed.
"We sit here and wait to see if we are getting called today," Flack patted the bench beside him.
Gus wrinkled her forehead, "we just sit and wait?"
"Well your other choice is to go after Mac and try to get him to come back here," Flack pointed out.
Gus dropped to the bench beside him, "I like waiting."
They waited all day only to finally be informed they were not getting called that day and told to 'get their asses back to work' by brass but they would be on first thing the next morning.
Mired in paperwork and none to happy about a lost day, Flack threw his case files down on his desk in frustration, "well I am glad we could waste today," he glowered.
"Could have been worse, we could have gotten stuck dumpster diving."
Adding insult to injury they were switched to the third shift and just before they were about to punch out they got called out to a scene.
"This will require more coffee," Gus groaned.
"What doesn't for you, sunshine?" Flack teased.
"At least we can say we've clubbing" Gus quipped entering the nightclub.
"Very funny," Flack said, going over to one of the first on scene uniforms.
Gus shook her head at the scene of overly made up women in various states of duress crowded at one table.
She finally pieced together that it was a bachelorette party and overheard Flack exclaiming, "John McEnroe, come on!" to one of the uniforms.
"Where's the scene?" Gus asked Flack as he left the uniform shaking his head.
"Men's bathroom," he replied still looking disbelieving.
"Fun," Gus grimaced, though she was pleasantly surprised as the door swung open to the men's room that it was not disgusting.
What was disgusting however was the young man impaled on the vending machine on the bathroom wall. "Is that a condom machine?" she asked incredulous.
"Sure is," he said shaking his head, "uniform said he's already been id by his fiancée, she was here for her bachelorette party. Tony Russo."
"Would have taken a hell of a lot of force to do that!" Gus remarked.
"Yep. Bartender and several people in here report that John McEnroe was in here earlier and went into the bathroom right before Tony here bit the dust. Publicity is having a fit," Flack was furiously scribbling in his memobook.
"I can only imagine. Am I to assume I am taking the hysterical women?" Gus replied, flipping open her own book.
"For now. Danny, Stella and Peyton are on their way" Flack said, still cocking his head and observing the body.
"Fiancée got a name?"
"Yeah, Angie Cusato, Staten Island, both of them. Supposed to be getting married tomorrow," Flack sighed.
"I am doing everything in my power to refrain from cynical comments right now," Gus bit her lip.
"Thanks for that" Flack smiled, "anyway I'll walk them through the scene and then I'll help you question."
"Thanks because there is a whole pack of them and I am a little scared of them," Gus smirked walking out of the restroom.
"Chin up, Gus!" Flack called.
Gus entered the group of women who all seemed to freeze and stare at her at exactly the same time. "Uh, hi, I'm Detective Augusta Broussard with NYPD. Which one of you is Angie?"
Gus had already tagged the most distraught looking blond as her, and was quickly rewarded with a sobbing, "I'm, I'm Anggggiiieeee" the woman wailed.
"Alright, hon, let's get you some water and ladies, we are going to have to question each of you separately. Sorry about that, but it's what we have to do."
A couple of the women nodded, some others looked panicked, all looked more than a little traumatized.
After extracting bottles of water from the bartender like they were gold, she sat down with Angie trying to get her calm enough to talk.
Gus was able to get the woman to a semi together state and pull a few pertinent details out of her before Stella came over to relieve her.
"Looks like you could use a break," Stella said.
Gus flashed her a small smile, "yeah, thanks, I'll go start talking with the rest."
"Flack should be right behind me to help. Peyton and Danny are working to remove the body and vending machine."
"They are taking him still attached?" Gus whispered so Angie wouldn't overhear.
"Yep," Stella said with a wry look.
The story from all the girls was essentially the same, the only discrepancies tending to be directly proportional in how much each woman had drank versus how much they had observed. Most of them had quickly sobered up considering the most recent turn of events, but all of them looked like they desperately wanted to keep drinking. Gus couldn't blame them one bit.
The details may have seemed unusual to many, but Gus had seen some pretty damn wild parties in the Quarter. It seemed all of the south came to New Orleans when they wanted a weekend of pre-wedding debauchery. It wasn't sometimes referred to as the 'Big Sleazy' for nothing. All the wild elements were there: girls who had been sorority sisters together, limo, lots of drinks, lots of clubs, ridiculous tiaras and sashes and party games.
Gus' personal favorite was the condom game where Angie had to ask every guy at every club for a condom. She wondered why such good friends loved trying to embarrass the hell out of their others friends just because on of them was getting married. She figured it was single girl's punishment, but a lot of these girls were already married.
Flack certainly seemed to be getting a kick out of the friend's purse that was full of condoms.
Where the story got weird was the fact that everyone in the group seemed to be in agreement that John McEnroe was the guy that killed Tony.
Apparently, Angie had had him bite off one of the candies on her necklace, "yet another ridiculous game" Gus thought with an internal eye roll and then asked him to get a condom for her. But apparently her fiancée had called to check up on her and came down to the club since it was around the corner from where they were living.
"What's that all about?" Gus asked one of the women, "Tony a little overly possessive or something?"
"No, not at all. It's just Angie" the girl lowered her voice, "she gets a little wild when she drinks. Maybe a lot wild."
Apparently since Angie has asked John McEnroe for a condom he went into the bathroom, several of the girls said they saw Tony follow him in to the bathroom but that Angie didn't even know that Tony was there.
"Everyone is sure it was John McEnroe," Flack said coming up to her after she left the last girl she was questioning.
"Same here, but that's just weird. I don't think he would go clubbing alone or here," Gus remarked looking around, "but who knows, I didn't even know he lived in the city."
"You never know with celebrities, right? But I mean the guy can do serious murder to a tennis ball so why not..." Flack trailed off as Stella walked up.
"Bartender agrees it was John McEnroe. He even emailed in the star sighting to NY Stalker," Stella said.
"NY stalker?" Gus and Flack asked at the same time.
"According to the bartender it is a celeb-obsessed website. Helps drum up business when you can report a star is in your place," Stella shrugged.
"That's just ridiculous" Gus shook her head, "I don't get it. They are just normal people under all that glitz."
"You said it," Stella agreed.
What seemed like days later, they were finally finished questioning everyone they needed to at the scene. Getting in touch with John McEnroe certainly was not going to happen in the middle of the night, getting his information was going to be enough fun as it was.
"Have fun with that Ms. Second in Command" Gus joked to Stella.
"Thanks, ya gotta love the glamor of the job," Stella joked back as they were getting ready to leave.
"Home, sunshine?" Flack asked coming up to her as Gus watched Stella walk away.
"I like the sounds of that" Gus gave him a smile.
Gus was better prepared for court first thing the next morning. Killer black tailored skirt suit, red blouse, vicious pumps, briefcase, hair and make-up all business.
"See, sexy librarian. I told ya," Flack said tapping on her glasses, and sliding his hand around her waist.
"You ain't looking to shabby yourself," she said, adjusting his tie, "but we don't have time for your overtures, blue eyes," Gus joked, slipping out of his grasp.
"Damn hearing," Flack growled.
Gus took the stand at the hearing, sizing up the female attorney and pegging her type right off the back. 'Ball buster with a lot to prove, often lets personal vendettas cloud her professional life' Gus thought locking eyes with Attorney Natalie Greer.
"Is it Detective or Doctor Broussard?" was the woman's first question and Gus could tell it wasn't meant nicely.
"My current ranking with the NYPD is Detective, 3rd grade. I also do hold a doctorate of psychology and I am licensed with the State of New York," Gus volleyed back.
"So both, is it, because I am a little confused if you are a psychologist or a police officer," she said, turning with a little deprecating motion.
"I don't believe they are mutually exclusive," Gus said with a charming smile while thinking it was irrelevant.
"You aren't from New York are you, detective?"
"No, I moved here from New Orleans," Gus replied.
"But not of your own choice?" Natalie forged on.
"I don't think having your city destroyed by a category five hurricane would be anyone's choice," Gus said steadily with raised eyebrows.
"Ah New Orleans, lots of corruption in New Orleans, isn't there?" Natalie smirked.
"Not more so than anywhere else," Gus smirked back.
"But it is well known that the NOPD covers its ranks, its brotherhood. Isn't it?" she pressed Gus further.
"I have heard some things to the effect, but I was never a cop in New Orleans," Gus threw back.
"But your father was, wasn't he?"
"Until he was murdered, yes," Gus hissed.
Natalie paused for a moment and then switched her line of questioning, "you were forcibly removed from New Orleans after defying National Guard members telling you to leave the city, correct?"
"I would not agree with forcibly," Gus smiled again.
The attorney narrowed her eyes, "but your reason for ending up in New York was that Mac Taylor who just happens to be your uncle, somehow managed to swing you a cushy job with the New York Police Department?"
"My reason for ending up here was that my city was flooded from one hurricane and about to be flooded by another and the federal government didn't seem to be giving a damn!" Gus snarled, wincing at herself and trying to calm down.
Natalie knew she had gotten Gus riled up, "but why here, it is rather far from New Orleans. Mac Taylor had nothing to do with you coming here?"
"Mac Taylor who was married to my aunt who died in the World Trade Center attacks, happened to know that there was an opening in the psych department, he put me in for it, yes, but I am pretty sure I got hired on my own merits."
"So blatant nepotism was not a part of it?" Natalie grilled her.
"No, nearly everyone was unaware that Mac was even my uncle. Mac Taylor is an honest and demanding man with exacting standards. He would not have allowed me to be hired for a job if he did not think I was the best person for said job. He is not one for giving hand outs or ignoring people's weaknesses," Gus said, her voice more controlled but certainly not anymore friendly.
"So he doesn't ignore things like the temper tantrums of his team or the breaks in chain of command or illicit affairs between partners?" Natalie rolled the last few words off her tongue like she was baiting Gus, which is exactly what she was doing.
"I am not aware of any of those things occurring, but I don't spend all my time in the lab, I am assigned to homicide," Gus said, refusing to take the bait.
"So you aren't sleeping with your partner, detective?" Natalie fished again.
Gus shot the judge a look, who didn't look pleased with Natalie's continued badgering. "How does that relate to this hearing and the issue at hand?" Gus asked, sounding slightly dumb and innocent.
Natalie knew she didn't have a good answer, "you work with Mac Taylor and the CSI Team quite a bit don't you?"
"They are called out to every suspicious death in the city, so as a homicide detective, yes I work with them a lot."
"You were working with them on the Clay Dobson case, weren't you?" Natalie questioned.
"Yes, I was called out to the Emma Pierce scene. I was at autopsy when it was revealed her eyelids had been cut off."
"And what did you think about that?"
"As I said earlier being a cop and being a psychologist are not mutually exclusive. I immediately thought we might have a serial killer on our hands as it appeared to be a very unique signature."
"A serial killer? That would certainly not look good for New York, would it? So finding said serial killer as quickly as possible was top priority, wasn't it?"
"Finding any killer as quickly as possible is top priority," Gus seethed.
"But Mac helped push you in the right direction didn't he, mentioned Clay Dobson was free and that the charge he was put away on was a similar case to the Emma Pierce one."
"I took that in account when I did a profile. Clay Dobson met several of the criteria for an organized serial killer," Gus responded.
"So in your mind, as it was in Mac Taylor's mind, Clay Dobson was a dangerous threat?"
"Yes," Gus said, wondering what was coming next, Katie Lawrence had already identified Clay as her abductor, so it was as if they could doubt Clay's guilt.
"A dangerous threat that need to be extinguished by any means necessary?"
"That is a bit extreme, what is the point of the justice system if you don't use it?"
"Yes indeed, a very interesting point, one that Mac Taylor doesn't seem to share," Natalie said with a shake of her head.
"Mac Taylor understands more than anyone I know what it means to be a just and noble person," Gus said, starting to shake.
"So in your opinion, he never would throw a cuffed man off the roof?"
"No."
"Not even if it meant righting past injustices?"
"Two wrongs don't make a right," Gus protested.
"After your partner shielded you from the scene of Clay Dobson falling-" Natalie started in.
Gus cut her off. "Detective Flack did not shield me from the scene, he was trying to protect me from a rather large object hurtling towards us!"
"How sweet," Natalie dripped, "actually let's back up. Detective Flack did not make it to the rooftop right away because he was waiting for backup, wouldn't you as his partner be backup?"
"I was comforting Katie Lawrence in the basement of the Weddington. As soon as I was aware Mac and Don had left the scene, I had a uniform drive me."
"Comforting Katie Lawrence as opposed to chasing a suspect, perhaps it is hard to balance being both cop and shrink?" Natalie let the question lie there. Gus remained silent.
"Moving on, so you eventually made it to the scene and were 'protected' from seeing what happened and you eventually made it up to the roof to find Mac Taylor appearing...how? What was Mac's state? In your professional opinion."
"He was in shock. I would even venture to say traumatized."
"Traumatized over what? His fear of loosing his job, over pushing a handcuffed and beaten man off a roof?"
"Traumatized, just traumatized," Gus said, her voice cracking.
"Just traumatized. That doesn't seem like a very professional opinion, maybe you should just stick to being a cop," Natalie snapped turning away, "nothing further."
Gus stepped off the stand, shooting daggers at the judge with her eyes and wanting to snatch back Natalie's ponytail and slap her silly. Her legs shook as she made her way out of the courtroom.
Flack took one look at her and was afraid she was going to fall over, "Sunshine, I think you better sit down."
"Warning, the attorney doesn't play fair," Gus said, falling onto the bench.
"No one said they have to. Either do Gerard or Sinclair," Flack said, sitting beside her, wanting to put his arm around her, but knowing she wouldn't like that.
"What do you mean?" Gus said, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes.
"They came by, Sinclair gave me a friendly little warning over how this might effect my career," Flack shrugged.
"I don't even denote a warning?" Gus said not opening her eyes but shaking her head, "great."
"He was probably afraid you would have kneed him in the balls, he knows you don't have to be a cop," Flack replied.
"According to the princess of darkness in there, I do," Gus said, slowly opening her eyes and stretching. Flack grinned but didn't say anything.
"Chin up," Flack dimpled back as he was called into the courtroom, "see ya out here?"
"Yeah, good luck!" Gus said.
Flack came out looking a little haggard, "you weren't kiddin' about princess of darkness were ya?"
"Wish I had been. What was her take with you?" Gus sighed, standing and stretching.
"The usual you weren't there can you say for certain. Mac putting Truby away let an evil serial killer out, and so on. Crap, all crap. That the same she do to you?"
"Add in nepotism and our illicit affair that Mac is ignoring and yeah, big steaming piles of crap," Gus made a face.
"Illicit affair, huh? How did you handle that one?"
"I ignored it," Gus smiled.
"Figures. Illicit though, kind of make it sounds like we are going at it in supply closets," Flack gave her an eyebrow wiggle.
"We are not supply closet people, if anyone was going to go at it in a supply closet it would be Danny and Lindsay," Gus quipped.
Flack looked shocked for a minute and then said, "you think they have hooked up yet?"
"Who knows?" Gus replied, "now let's get back and see if we can get in touch with John McEnroe's people."