Chapter 115: Family Concerns
The task force was cloistered for much of the next day, saving both Flack and Gus from any more practical jokes and also sparing their fellow detectives any retaliation from the pair.
"So the best course of action is to take them on their turf," Agent Bartlett was saying at the head of the conference table.
"But we have to hit them completely blind," Flack added, "otherwise they have a lot of fire power with our name on it."
"Early morning around a shipment is the best bet," Agent Rice added.
Gus took copious notes, much to Flack's amusement. "How come you never do this in department meetings?" Flack joked over her shoulder.
"Because we aren't planning an infiltration on one of the biggest movers of drugs and arms on the East coast at department meetings," Gus shot back. Gus noticed Flack watching the clock the later the afternoon and evening wore on.
She eventually shot Bartlett a knowing look. He caught it and stretched, "I don't know about all of you, but I have had all I can take of sitting in a conference room all day. Let's reconvene tomorrow, say 08:00?" The rest of the team nodded in assent, gathering up their things to leave.
"You are awfully antsy, Flack. There isn't something else going on that I should know about is there?" Gus said, her tone light but her face somber as they exited the conference room.
"I kind of promised my family we would come over for dinner tonight," he looked sheepish, continuing as he saw Gus' brow furrow, "it is Grams' birthday, so it's kind of a big deal. It's sort of a mandatory appearance, even Neil is coming."
"For me too?" Gus squeaked.
"I feel you should suffer some of the familial guilt I have been experiencing, seeing as you are the cause of a lot of it," he said, dimpling at her.
"Fine," Gus sighed, "though you should have told me earlier so I could get a present."
"We'll grab some wine on the way. And are you really fine?" Flack asked, a little surprised.
Gus grinned up at him, tugging on his tie, "of course I am, we have no food at home and I know what kind of spread the Flack's put on!"
Gus, as usual, was taken aback by the amount of noise roaring from the Irene Flack's house when the front door was opened. "I will never get used to that," she sighed following Flack in.
"It grows on ya," Flack smirked, heading straight to the bar in the living room.
"Donnie is that you?" Irene Flack called from the kitchen, poking her head out.
"Yeah, it's us Grams, we're getting a drink," Flack yelled back. Gus chuckled and waved.
"Hello, Gus dear. Everyone is everywhere," Irene rolled her eyes, "dinner will be ready soon."
"Do you need any help? You shouldn't be cooking on your birthday!" Gus asked, carefully avoiding any official addressing of Flack's grandmother seeing as calling her Mrs. Flack or Irene both seemed weird.
"I've got more than enough help. Make yourself at home," Irene smiled and then disappeared back into the kitchen yelling, "that stove is hot, hot, no touch!" to one of the small children within.
Flack handed a bemused and overwhelmed Gus a stiff drink, "we might have to work this weekend, but at least not any scenes," he said taking a long pull off his own drink.
They wandered into the den where the men were watching a baseball game. Gus noticed Bridget sitting on one of the sofas knitting and did a double-take. Gus elbowed Flack, but his attention was already turned to the television. Gus sat down beside Bridget carefully looking her over.
"What?" Bridget asked, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.
"Either you are in on the joke going around the precinct or you are pregnant," Gus finally said after discerning that Bridget was in fact knitting baby booties.
Bridget broke into a wide smile and dropped the yarn and needles into her lap, "while I am curious about this joke, it is the latter. 12 weeks and you are the first person to catch on, even though I have been sitting here for," Bridget looked up at the clock, "two hours now."
"I am hoping Neil is excluded from that!" Gus smirked.
Bridget rolled her eyes, "he clued in when I started craving bananas and cheese whiz." Gus made such a horrendous face that Bridget caught an uncontrollable fit of the giggles. She finally got herself under control and said, "Sorry. So how is living with my brother-in-law?"
"Not as smelly as one would guess," Gus joked back, "he came pretty house trained."
Flack appeared like magic at Gus' side, "I heard that," he said leaning in to kiss his sister-in-law on the cheek, "and I also heard congratulations are in order. Though I don't know how I feel about you spawning again."
"Thanks Donnie, I can always count on your for support," she smirked.
"Gus? Gus is that you?" Sam said coming in and pushing Flack out of the way and flopping down beside Gus.
"Nice to see you too, Sammy," Flack teased.
"Guess what?" Sam asked, a huge grin on her face.
"It better not involve craving bananas and cheese whiz," Gus said with a warning tone.
Sam made a face similar to the one Gus had just pulled, "No, no ew. But I don't know what you said, but I got the job!" Sam threw her arms around Gus, pinning her to the couch.
"Sam, that's great," Gus struggled, "but I can't breathe."
"Whoops sorry," Sam said, pulling away and jumping up.
"Employed? Gus got you employed?" Flack joked.
"I just gave her a recommendation," Gus said, blushing.
Flack high-fived his sister, "Way to go, Sam!" he shot Gus a glance.
"It was one phone call," Gus replied.
They were interrupted by a crash from the kitchen, a high pitched wail before Irene informed everyone "dinner's ready, but there won't be any green beans as previously planned. And Bridget, dear, I think Keira needs an early bath."
Dinner was a rambunctious and chaotic but loving affair as usual. Gus tried to take in all the teasing, joking and catching up without feeling like an outsider, but she just didn't know how to fit in fully.
This was not helped when Flack's father asked in complete seriousness, "I guess you'll be going back to therapy full-time then? You could do well in private practice in the city, certainly are enough people with more money than sense."
Gus tried to not choke on the roll she had been stuffing in her mouth before Bobby could steal it from her plate.
Flack slapped her on the back.
"Well I just figured after you got married, you would be settling down. Someone has to give me grandchildren besides Bridget."
Gus stared at Flack's father in wide-eyed shock and was surprisingly at a loss for words.
Sam caught the panic in both her brother's and Gus' eyes and tried to save them by saying, "you know an increasing amount of couples are living together without ever getting married or having children."
"Thanks, Sammy," Flack muttered as Irene crossed herself.
"I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it, sir," Gus finally drawled out with a beauty queen smile.
"I got a tattoo," Bobby announced from Gus' side, firmly stealing the spotlight for the rest of dinner.
"Thank you," Gus whispered, elbowing Bobby at a calm before desert.
"No problem," he blushed back.
"So I doubt you want to see the real estate sections grams has been saving for the past few weeks, huh?" Sam asked drying the dishes Gus had been washing after dinner.
Gus tried to not drop the stack she had just taken from her.
"I was kidding, Gus. Don't let them roll over you, mind you they are pros at it," Sam laughed.
Bridget saw the look on Gus' face, "why don't we take it from here, you just sit and have some more wine."
The three women were alone in the kitchen while Neil and Bobby were playing with the kids down in the basement and Flack had gone with his father to walk the latest addition to the Flack household, a flea ridden terrier mutt who had taken up residence in the backyard.
Irene, her sister and Bobby's mother were embroiled in a game of rummy after being chased out of the kitchen. Gus sat at the kitchen table, staring into the wine glass feeling more than a little lost.
Bridget and Sam hurried to fill the dishwasher and finish up the last few dishes that wouldn't fit. They joined Gus in adjacent chairs. "They mean well, I swear," Bridget said, chasing an antacid with chocolate milk.
Sam snorted, "Or they think they do."
Gus sniffed again, "I'm sorry, it's just...me, there is something wrong with me." Bridget and Sam both stared at her like she had grown a second head.
"You, there's nothing wrong with you!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah there is. I mean y'all are fabulous and most women would be head over heels and ready to make a grab for the white picket fence and the minivan and all that, but I am missing that gene or something," Gus said, trying to not cry, "and that means I am not ever going to fit in and eventually your family will hate me and then so will Don!" Gus said, throwing back the glass of wine.
"No one is going to hate you, Gus. Whether you want the whole picket fence dream later or never, you have definitely been the best thing to ever happen to Donnie," Sam said, covering Gus' hand with her own, "though I would count on him proposing to you a couple of more times, despite you already having turned him down."
Bridget's eyes grew wide, "he proposed?" she asked, curious about this development.
Sam blanched, "er, no one was supposed to know, I'm an idiot," she back peddled as Gus' head thunked down onto the table.
Flack entered the kitchen looking flushed, taking in Bridget's expression, Sam's paled face and Gus' head planted firmly on the laminate of the table, "I think we should head home," he said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, please," Gus whimpered.
"Congrats again, both of you," Flack said to Sam and Bridget, shaking his head in disbelief over the whole evening.
"Bye," Gus said, heaving a huge sigh.
"Night, Gus. Call me if you need to," Sam said. Gus just nodded and followed Flack out of the house and down the front walk.
"Well that was fun," Flack finally said halfway home.
Gus couldn't help but burst into laughter, "fun would be a word," she said finally, wiping her eyes.
"They mean well," Flack cut in with a smirk.
"So I heard," Gus replied.
"And apparently my father's even more old school than I thought, didn't think that was possible," Flack said, drumming on the steering wheel stopped at a light.
"I'm not a suburbs kind of girl, Flack" Gus sighed, slumping against the window.
"I am well aware, sunshine," Flack retorted.
They continued home in silence until stepping out of the car at the apartment building. "I am afraid I'm never going to fit in with them, Don," Gus said, staring up at the night sky.
"I think you already do, Gus" Flack countered, slipping an arm over her shoulders, "and it was kind of fun giving my father a good talking-to, not a lot of chances to do that."
"I can only imagine," Gus smiled slightly, "and Bobby was really a life saver."
Flack broke into laughter of his own, "especially since he has been hiding the damn thing for years."
The next few days were a flurry of planning and re-planning and reconnaissance for the big bust. Not to mention a lot of haggling and turf battles and heated tempers.
Gus was more than ready for the damn thing to be done and over with before the day of reckoning even arrived. Gus and Flack were running on empty and adrenaline, slipping into bed with pure exhaustion and no time for anything for anything other than sleep. Finally late in the evening the day before the raid, they all had a plan they agreed on.
"Now let's all go get some sleep, we got an early day and full day tomorrow," Bartlett announced. The rest of the task force nodded in agreement.
"You still sure you want in on this?" Flack asked Gus as they were heading out of the precinct.
"Yes, Flack, I am. I didn't bust my ass in ensuring I qualified to back out now," Gus replied determinedly. "
Hey, heard tomorrow's the big day," Stella called, heading back into the precinct with a cup of coffee. The pair nodded. "Good luck," she said, disappearing back inside.
They ran into Danny and Lindsay on the way to the parking garage. "Hey y'all," Gus said to them, laughing as they jumped about ten feet from one another. Flack snickered and Danny punched him on the arm.
"You wanna come grab a drink with us?" Lindsay asked, but was giving Gus a pleading look to say no with her eyes.
Gus forced a yawn, "Nah, we gotta meet up at 5."
"Sucks for you," Danny teased.
"Have fun you two," Flack teased back and pulled Gus to him. Neither replied as they took off in the direction of Sully's. "What you put on the pool for them?" Flack asked.
"Not telling," Gus smiled, snuggling into his side.
"Not even a hint?"
"Not even."
Gus and Flack had just stepped foot in the apartment, take-out bags in their arms when the land line started ringing. "That better not be Bartlett with any last minute changes," Gus growled answering "Broussard."
"Good evening, Gussie," Mac replied stiffly, "just wanted to wish you luck tomorrow and tell you to be careful."
Gus was momentarily taken aback by the concern in his voice, "I'll be fine Mac, we've run through every scenario," she paused, "but thanks anyway. I love you too," Gus added before ringing off.
"Mac?" Flack asked from his food.
"Worried Uncle Mac was making an appearance," Gus said with a smile before padding over to join him on the sofa.
Chapter 116: Not Taking No
The next thing Gus knew, the alarm was bolting them both out of bed. It was early, before the sun had even thought about rising.
"We're up before God," Gus joked a bit later into her coffee.
"I agree," Flack said with a stretching yawn, revealing a line of skin between his undershirt and his jeans.
Gus had the urge to kiss that line, partially from desire, partially from the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins.
It had hit her fully that this was a big deal, a really big deal, busting in on one of the biggest drug and weapons trafficking families on the Northeast coast, not something every cop got to do everyday. Certainly not most homicide detectives, but it had been their CI that led them to this, and Flack's impeccable record and Gus' ability to prove herself no matter what the situation that had them in the lead of this task force. Sure they had pissed off ATF and Homeland Security, but Flack could care less about protocols and chains of command, he cared about putting away the bad guys. And Gus, well Gus was used to pissing people off and she was stubbornly set into a belief that justice needed to be served no matter what.
"You lost in thoughts over there, sunshine?" Flack asked rinsing his coffee cup out in the sink and ruffling her hair on the way to the bedroom to finish getting dressed.
"Everyone ready?" Flack barked as they readied to storm the warehouse. Everyone gave their assent. "Alright, let's do this" Flack replied, pumping his shotgun.
Gus wiped a line of sweat from her forehead. Agent Rice nodded at her, "You'll be fine."
Gus nodded and readied her own weapon, following the first wave of law enforcement in.
The warehouse had already erupted into chaos and gunfire. Gus felt her heart pounding violently in her chest. While they hadn't been ready for the police to burst in, they certainly weren't unprepared.
Time seemed to speed up and slow down all at once. Gus and Snachez cut around one side of a semi-trailer while Flack and Bartlett cut around the other.
A sudden explosion caught Rice. Bartlett fell back to check on him while the rest forged ahead.
Gus sailed around the edge of the trailer, bullets flying around her, smoke filling the air. She froze seeing Flack in the face of a guy holding an AK-47, knowing that it was going to end badly for one of them.
Gus didn't even hear the man come from behind her until she heard the unmistakable click of a trigger being engaged. She was tackled by Sanchez. Pushed down head first into the concrete, her head snapping back and the world going black as the world to her left exploded.
Gus came to shortly after, with a groan from the officer on top of her, "Sanchez, crap! Are you alright?"
"I think I got hit in the shoulder," he said, his eyes starting to roll back in his head.
"Oh no you don't," Gus said, grabbing at him and covering the wound with her hand. She ripped her shirt sleeve off while yelling for a medic, happy to see that the guy who was about to take her out had taken a bullet to the knee and probably wouldn't be walking for some time.
She glanced up to see Flack staring down at the body of the man who had faced him with the AK, a large shotgun wound opening up his chest. He didn't see her staring at him, seemed to be in a daze.
The medic got in quick, Homeland and ATF linking up anyone left standing, taking over for Gus.
She drifted more then walked over to Flack, who still didn't see her, focused on the dead man. "Don," she said softly, touching him on the shoulder. He shrugged her off. "You did what you had to do," she said evenly.
He turned to her then, seeing the cut on her cheek, "Gus, did you get hit?" he said, the slight of her blood knocking him out of his haze.
She shook her head, "Sanchez, shoved me out of the way. He...took the bullet in his shoulder," she wavered then realizing how close they had come to getting killed.
Flack moved in to steady her, to draw her into an embrace, when one of the tacticals said, "hey, Detectives you might want to look at this," and led them over to the cab of the semi, the open glove box revealing the head of a man.
Gus looked at it quizzically, "is that?"
"Gavin Moran, head of the Clan," Flack said, his face going even more somber.
"I'll call Mac," Gus said, dialing her phone as Flack walked back to the body of the man he had was swept up in the debriefing and the chaos of the scene, brass knowing that the bust would make a good photo-op and media quickly descending as close to the scene as they could, having already been on alert as soon as tactical went in to the warehouse.
She barely spoke to any of the team, except for Mac barking at her to get her cheek looked at.
She was happy to comply as it marred her face enough to get her out of the damn press conference that Flack was being roped in to.
Gus stood off to the side, watching Don handle the media with more finesse than most would have been able to muster under the circumstances. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to escape somewhere quiet with just the two of them. Flack finished with the media circus, catching her eyes with his.
His eyes were heavy with something and Gus couldn't tell if it was just the weight of having killed someone in the line of duty or something more.
Flack was relieved to be done with the media hounds, he was unsure how much more he could take of them. He wished he could rewind the clock to the early morning hours in the apartment, how he wished he would have done what he wanted to do then, instead of now after he killed a man, after Gus had almost gotten shot, after chaos interrupted their lives yet once again.
He caught Gus' green eyes staring at him from the sidelines of the madness, they were heavy with something that he thought was a mixture of fear and something he couldn't put his finger on. But he did know he had yet to have the chance to hold her close to him, to feel the reassurance of her heart beating against his chest, of knowing that they were both fine and safe.
He crossed over to her in long purposeful strides, grabbing her hand, and sticking his hand in his pocket, he had just opened his mouth to say, "Gus," when a hand slapped him on the back.
"Good work, the both of you, and the team. This will look great for the department as a whole which is wonderful considering all the unpleasantness we have been through recently," the Captain said, coming up behind Flack, who dropped Gus hand in a nanosecond.
"Thank you sir," Gus stammered. Flack said nothing, not even a smirk playing across his face.
The Captain felt the air heavy between them, "well yes then, why don't you two go get some breakfast and clean up a bit. I'll see you back at the station for the mountains of paperwork that come with situations like this."
"Looking forward to it, sir," Gus strangled out. The Captain turned and walked away.
Flack carefully slipped his hand out of his pocket, even more perturbed now. "I am pretty damn hungry and this vest is itchy," Gus said, scratching at her collarbone.
This brought Flack's first genuine smile since busting in to the warehouse, "you can take it off now, sunshine," he said, ripping open the velcro tabs.
"I know how you get with me and vests," Gus quipped back, wiggling out of it.
Sweat had plastered her knit shirt to her body under the vest, Flack hooked a finger up under the hem and yanked it away from her, "Wouldn't want the boys getting too much of an eyeful."
"Thanks," she said with a wistful smile, still studying him carefully, "you going to tell me what's going on behind those blue eyes of yours?" she asked
"Not here," he said, pulling her close to him and away from everyone else. He gently shoved her around the side of the building, pressing her against the wall with a kiss, not giving a damn about professionalism.
Gus caught her breath in her throat at the intensity of the kiss, one that caused her to be weak in the knees and the stomach, she snaked her hands between them and up around his neck.
"I love you, Gus," Flack said, short of breath when he pulled away.
"Wow, I love you too, Don," Gus said, feeling flushed, and unsure of who's heart was beating faster.
Flack moved only slightly away, thrusting his hand back in his pocket. He leaned back in, his face practically touching hers, "I can't handle the thought of losing you, I think I just got that smacked in my face pretty damn clear in there. And I know you love me and you know I love you, so I am not taking no for an answer again, you are going to marry me Augusta Broussard, if I have to drag you down the aisle."
With that he shoved what had been his grandmother's wedding ring on her hand, not wanting a repeat of the diamond fiasco. Gus was overwhelmed, she reached up and pulled him in for another kiss, tearing up as she did so.
"Is that a yes?" Flack said with a wicked grin.
"I still don't think you asked me anything, but it is a yes. And I'm still hungry and want to change."
"Such a romantic."
"Says the man who just shoved a ring on my finger next to a dumpster in Brooklyn. Much better going on the ring this time by the way," Gus said, actually getting a good look at the antique band.
Gus was still in a bit of a daze even after a shower and food. The mountain of paperwork and suspects to process from the morning's raid didn't help.
To make matter worse, the labs had been evacuated due to a gas leak but they were reassured that the old building was more than fine and to carry on like normal.
"Sure everyone else gets a snow day," Gus grumbled typing away.
She was deep in reports when she heard Flack answer his phone in a wary tone, "Detective Flack."
As Flack stood from his chair and turned away from her, Gus felt her heart drop and the hairs on the back of her neck raise. Something was wrong, really wrong.
"It isn't a real gas leak is it?" she murmured, looking wildly around the pit.
Flack caught her gaze and held up a finger to stop her, "Danny. Warehouse. Hostages!" he barked. Gus nodded and called it in to dispatch, cursing all the while.
Chapter 117: Walking Away
With a bad sense of deja vu, Flack and Gus piled into a cruiser and joined a mobilization back to the Brooklyn warehouse.
By chance, most of the feds hadn't scattered, so they were as well prepared as one could be for a hostage situation.
As the poured out of the cruiser, Flack barked orders into his radio.
He caught hold of Gus' vest and pulled her toward him. He tightened the tabs and ordered, "watch your back."
She nodded and took off to consult with TARU, her mouth feeling like it was full of cotton.
Mounds of paperwork aside, this was supposed to be a good day, now it was turning into anything but. "I am really and truly cursed," Gus sighed.
"Thermal imaging is up," one of the tacticals informed Gus, she gave him thumbs up and walked over to the screen beside Flack.
"Those are our guys in there. We're handling negotiations," Gus informed the feds, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Flack nodded in approval, "this is bad."
"Worse than bad, and too well organized," Gus replied.
"Think someone tipped them?" Flack glowered.
Gus shrugged and studied Flack carefully, "Danny is in rough shape isn't he?"
Flack shut his eyes, "he's tough, but I don't know if he is this tough." Gus crossed her arms over her chest and stood beside him in silence.
Gus was talking with one of the feds when she saw Lindsay come up. Flack said a few words to her and Lindsay's face fell.
Gus interrupted the fed, "I'll be right back," and walked over to them. "Linds," she said softly.
Lindsay was distractedly trying to see what was happening in the warehouse.
"Did you know about the gas leak?" Flack demanded.
Gus shot him a look, "yeah, it was broadcast all over the building."
Flack's jaw tightened momentarily as he caught her eyes with his and then he stated softly, "I had a coupla things on my mind," before turning his attention back to the screen.
"I am assuming it was a decoy. I hope someone else has caught on to that," Gus replied wrinkling her
"Apparently all communications are down," Flack paused before continuing, "and Mac is unaccounted for."
Gus wavered for a nanosecond before squaring her shoulders, "I'm going to talk to Bartlett."
Gus was getting briefed by Bartlett when she saw Flack talking on a radio. It wasn't until she heard him say, "why don't we swap, me for the hostages, I'm the one that put you out of business, after all," that she realized what was happening.
"I didn't say he would do the negotiations," Gus hissed rushing back beside Lindsay and Flack. "What the hell is he doing?" she snarled into Lindsay's ear.
Lindsay didn't respond, only turned paler and started shaking. "Linds, what is it?" Gus asked, her tone turning much calmer.
Lindsay just shook her head, finally gulping out, "we. Last night." Gus nodded knowingly, putting an arm around her and trying to hone in on what Flack was saying over the radio.
"They want the guys we arrested this morning released," Flack said, setting the radio down.
"Not exactly a shocker," Gus.
"What now?" Lindsay queried.
"We let 'em sweat," Flack replied.
"Is that the best idea?" Lindsay countered.
"Yes, Linds, it is," Gus reassured her.
Time crept by until a bit later the radio squawked back to life, "cop you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Flack replied.
"You release my boys?" the voice asked.
"I talked to my supervisors, they are going to see what they can do."
Lindsay looked at Gus, panic rising on her face. Gus circled around in front of Lindsay placing a hand on each of her shoulders and looking her friend in the face, "Lindsay, Flack is doing this by the book, okay? You have to keep calm." Lindsay nodded and Gus could only chant the same thing to herself.
The pair heard yelling and then Flack screaming, "Wait! Wait! Wait!" into the radio.
They turned their attentions back to the screen. Movement was happening rapidly on screen.
"It's going down," Flack called out giving the signal.
A confused Lindsay froze up, while Gus pulled her weapon from her hip and fell into flank. Like a few hours earlier, she stormed into the warehouse in formation, though with less people on both sides this time.
Gus dropped on one knee behind Flack's right side as they faced off against two masked men holding automatics. Bile rose in her throat as her finger gripped back on the trigger.
Panic and relief rushed through her simultaneously as Adam came charging through screaming, "don't shoot, they are cops! Adam pulled the hoods of the men, revealing their duct taped mouths, "the other guys are back there!" Adam implored.
Flack snapped, "let's go" and took off with feds back toward one of the trailers.
Gus caught sight of Adam bloodied face and hand and rushed over to him. "Adam, Jesus!" she exclaimed taking in the burns on his hand, "they got you bad, huh?"
Adam tried to shake it off, grimacing, "nothing I haven't had done before."
Gus knew Adam was referencing the horrors he had faced at the hands of his bully father and she felt her heart breaking for her friend.
"Doesn't make it right, Adam," Gus replied, waving a medic over.
"Take good care of him," she warned, feeling her knees start to buckle trying to let the darkness take over.
"Don't fight them, Adam" she warned as she heard Flack call for EMS.
Gus moved shakily towards his voice seeing Lindsay supporting a battered Danny against her side.
"Broussard," a uniform called to her before she could reach the trio.
"Where y'at?" she sighed.
"Gas company uniforms," he said, pointing the in the trunk of one of the cars.
"Get Flack over here," she said pulling out her radio, "no one damn well listens to me!" she snapped calling it in.
"We got to get back to the crime lab," she heard Flack bark into his radio as he passed by her.
"No shit, Sherlock," she snarked chasing after him.
Gus glowered at Flack on the way back downtown. "What?" he asked, trying to gather as much information as he could before they arrived.
"I told you I thought it was a decoy when you asked me if I had heard about the gas leak," Gus said, carefully annunciating each word and trying to keep irritation out of her voice.
Flack shut his eyes momentarily while listening to his radio he was about to speak as they drove up alongside the new building.
Gus spotted Sheldon running up from underground parking and was out of the car before it was stopped.
"Gus," Sheldon said, slightly out of breath, "Flack," he called as Flack came up beside him. "We got a 10-13 in progress," Sheldon informed them.
"How many?" Flack asked.
"At least 3 armed and mobile, I already blocked the parking garage exits, Mac and Stella are still inside," Sheldon gave them all the information he knew.
The two men charged ahead while Gus felt herself become rooted to the spot, "Mac and Stella still inside" echoed in her head.
Shaking off her feeling of foreboding she followed behind Flack, Sheldon and a couple of tactical team members. The encountered the fictitious firemen immediately upon entering the building.
Gus stood behind the rest of the grouping, bringing her weapon up and readied to shoot for the third time that day.
"Freeze, drop the bags and put your hands up," Flack ordered.
They didn't comply until Sheldon cocked his gun and demanded, "bags down now."
At that moment a heavily armed Stella stepped out of the elevator. "Where's Mac?" Flack asked her immediately. Panic choked her voice as Stella responded, "I don't know."
Gus backed out of the building, knowing something bad was about to happen. Flack just opened his mouth to speak when Gus felt her world rip apart once again.
The explosion rocked the building and knocked an already unsteady Gus into a concrete planter.
Panic erupted as people yelled, "What was that?" and "Clear the area" intermittent with falling glass and screams.
She was dimly aware of Flack screaming something and Stella yelling back, "Flack we have to go back in there."
Floating outside of herself, Gus saw Sheldon, Flack and Stella storm back towards the building as the crushing weight of imaginary water and darkness pulled Gus under yet again.
"Please no," she heard herself cry.
Gus heard nothing, felt nothing, saw nothing until a vision appeared before her eyes. A vision in the form of Mac exiting the building, dropping the clip from his gun and unchambering a round.
She continued to watch from outside herself as Stella embraced him, Sheldon gave him a look of relief and Flack shook his hand.
Her world continued to spin in opposing directions as she caught the sight of Peyton running towards Mac out of the corner of her eye. As Peyton launched herself into Mac's arms, a sob caught in Gus' throat. She caught the word, "London," coming from Mac as he walked off, holding Peyton.
Gus sank to the ground, hugging her knees and remained there unmoving as her teammates smiled on.
Stella caught sight of her first and nudged Flack, "Don," she said pointing at Gus' trembling figure, "I think she's in shock."
"Sunshine," Flack said over her getting no response. "Gus? Don't make me take you to the hospital."
Gus stiffened and shook her head in terror, slowly taking Flack's offered hand. "You alright?" he asked, not knowing what the answer would be. She shook her head again.
Stella came up to them, "I think maybe you should get looked at, Gus." She turned to Flack, "I could use some help clearing the lab." Both nodded in agreement.
Flack squeezed Gus' hand, "I'll meet you in the pit." Gus nodded again but still did not speak.
Hours later, after having waiting for a medic to tell her she was in shock and might be experiencing PTSD, to which Gus growled at the medic for and plowing through twenty different kinds of forms for twenty different government agencies, Flack finally made an appearance in the pit.
"I think we should get out of here," he said, jerking his head toward the door.
Gus nodded meekly and followed after him. Once on the street, crime scene tape curling in the window like ominous banners, they faced each other. "What a day, huh?" Flack asked, looking down at her.
Gus took a deep breath before speaking, "I can't do this, I can't, I just can't! I can't be with you, I can't get marri-"
Flack looked at her crossly, cutting her off, "no way, you already said yes. And this ring didn't cost me a dime. You aren't backing out."
Gus held up a hand in protest, "Don, I want you to know that I love you deeply, but you cannot marry me!"
"Are you crazy, have you hit your head again recently?" Flack dimpled, trying to figure out if this was some horrible joke.
"I'm serious," Gus said.
"So am I, I want to marry you more than anything I have wanted in a long time," Flack immediately retorted.
Gus nodded in agreement, "I know that, and it's why I'm leaving, because I know you want to marry me and I know you love me and I know you would do anything for me. You won't get the life you are supposed to have unless I walk away."
Flack shook his head in utter disbelief, "don't do this, don't walk away, you don't really mean it."
Gus kept her resolve, "I mean it because it is what is best for you in the long run, it is what will keep you safe. I'm sorry, I do love you. Goodbye, Flack."
"Gus wait, you can't just leave, where the hell are you gonna go, we live together!" he gripped at her arm. Gus shook him off, "I've got places."
And then she disappeared, like a ghost into the night, Flack didn't realize until he got back to the empty apartment that she had slipped the ring into his shirt pocket.
A/N:If this is your first read through, I hope you don't hate me and haven't thrown your device across the room. Also, don't forget to check out "The Saints Aren't Coming" (the angst-fest sequel that takes Gus through seasons 4 and 5) and "To New York With Love" (which picks up around 6x08 and delves deeper into Gus' before New York backstory).
If you have read this before and are wondering where some of the storylines went, I did cut some drama out because after knowing how much I put Gus and Flack through in the sequels, I felt I needed to give them a couple of breaks here. Thank you, as always, for your readership and reviews. Xoxo, Mads