Well, phooey on uploading the docs earlier. My apologies for all of the gibberish. If I upload as plain text, I guess it works better.
After putting in the sandwich order, Steve grabbed four cans of soda: two for now and two for later. After coughing up a little more for the tab that Mike's original tenspot was to cover, he and Roy grabbed their drinks and found a table in the corner. After settling in and popping the tops on their drinks, Roy studied Steve for a moment.
"You look like something's eating at you, Steve," Roy began, being as transparent as possible.
"Ah, yeah. I guess. Actually, I dunno, Roy," Steve shrugged as he slouched down and crossed his legs. "This was such a godawful case. I mean, one of our own, a guy who was about to retire. He's leaving behind a widow who will give up her dream - their dream - of retiring into the sunset and traveling. And on top of that, he was Mike's best friend going back decades."
Roy agreed, pulling out a cigarette and grabbing the ashtray from the middle of the table. "You smoke?"
"No thanks," Steve said.
"Picked it up in the service," Roy said. "It calms my nerves."
"Oh yeah, I know what you mean. I do it occasionally, but after being told I smell like an ashtray…."
"Who said that?" Roy asked.
"Who do you think? He had the nerve to say that once after he interrupted one of my dates to go on a stake out." Steve chuckled at the memory. In his best Mike voice, he continued, "'All those fancy duds you wear, you are destroying them, Buddy Boy. Don't do it!' So I cut back – or I do extra mouthwash and douse of cologne – whatever the situation dictates."
"So the truth comes out," Roy commented, happy to see a small smile in the young officer's eyes.
After a few beats, Steve continued. "I guess Gus was a bit of a mentor to Mike, although I don't think there was much of an age difference, right?"
"You're right, Gus was a bit older – maybe two or three years. I believe the story was that Mike knew Gus's younger brother from school. They'd hang out, but when Gus hit eighteen, he enlisted and ended up in the Pacific. He left around the time Mike's older brother did, if I remember the story correctly."
"Alex, yes. He's mentioned his brother before," Steve said quietly.
"Did you know Gus's younger brother, Mike's schoolmate, was killed in Iwo Jima?"
"So they both lost brothers in the war. That's heavy stuff," Steve commented as he took a sip of Coke.
"Yeah, it is. So when Mike returned from Japan, he and Gus naturally gravitated to each other. Gus talked to Mike about joining the force and one thing led to another."
Steve nodded, "So they had a pretty tight history together. I get it. I know that's a big part of Mike's reaction, but was there something else? Why did Mike feel like he had to go it alone with Gus's shooting?"
"Yeah, so I wasn't the only who noticed that. He shut everyone out and was hellbent to solve this on this own." Roy reflected a bit as he took another drag from his cigarette.
Steve nodded, not saying a word.
Roy continued. "You heard Mike give me a dressing down in front of you and Stell. That stung like hell, especially coming from a former partner. It was like I didn't know him - or worse, some rookie he had no time for."
"That's not like Mike, but I know what you are saying. I mean, here I am getting sandwiches even after Mike said I was such a 'bright boy'," Steve added with emphasis. Instantly regretting the snarking remark, he acknowledged to himself that it felt like a slap in the face. Like Roy's exchange with Mike, it stung like hell.
Roy chuckled. "I see where you are coming from. Sounds like Mike basically asked you to wait with the women and children while he did the work."
"Well, 'you're a bright boy, but stay out of my way' was more like it. And believe me Roy, it pains me to say that. I'm grateful for everything Mike's done for me. I should just let this go, but I can't stop the feeling that there's something else going on."
"There is another side to this, Steve Baby," Roy added with another smirk and then turned serious. "There is something that you don't know about and now that I think about it, it's ringing true."