"Lieutenant DeWitt, is it true that you went against regular protocol when you assigned not one, but six support vehicles, a communications van and two ambulances to help search for two of your detectives in an area that was out of your jurisdiction?"
Steve could hear Mike inhale sharply as they watched the news conference on the nearby TV that Ed had organized for them. Jeanie had left an hour ago, returning to the DeHaro house to unpack and work on some dinner while giving the two detectives time for a much-needed rest period between visitors. Eric hadn't said ten words since the Lieutenant had been brought downstairs to join them in the hospital room and Steve had grown highly amused at the wordless game of chicken going on between those two men. From what little he could discern; the young bachelor would have his hands full convincing his partner that he was indeed a worthy match for Jeanie.
"Here at San Francisco PD Homicide, we are incredibly lucky to have some of the most talented and dedicated Detectives on the police force. Men and women who work tirelessly around to clock to keep this city safe and solve violent crimes at a higher rate than any other homicide department in Northern California.", DeWitt retorted, his expression intentionally neutral, "This is not an easy job by any means. It requires great attention to detail, persistency, strong ethics, the mental ability to handle dead bodies on a daily basis, and foremost the willingness to put yourself in harm's way to solve a murder. Sometimes even pay the ultimate price. It's not a job for the faint of heart."
Roy paused and even though he could barely see the images on the small TV screen sitting on Mike's side table, Steve could hear the overwhelming emotion boiling beneath the Lieutenant of Homicide's calm facade.
"While conducting an investigation into a body found on Marshall Beach earlier in the week, two of our Detectives, Lieutenant Michael Stone and Inspector Stephen Keller travelled up north to follow up on a strong lead regarding the killer. We were unaware at that time that our body was not an isolated case. Our victim was in fact part of a large-scale serial killing spree that we will go into further detail later on this week, pending the results of large volumes of forensic evidence uncovered at our crime scene. We expect for our investigation to be completed by Friday."
"Lieutenant, why weren't the local authorities involved when the case left this town? Why send your own men up north and use tax-payer resources when the local law enforcement could have taken over the investigation?"
Steve recognized the voice belonging to Salvador Tidari, a new uprising news anchor for the San Francisco Transcript, an anti-government, police-belittling liberal network on channel twelve. Unfortunately for them, his one-sided, fact-missing way of reporting was quickly gaining momentum.
"We had every reason to believe that the local authorities at that time were both, limited on manpower per a phone conversation I had with the Sheriff before my men headed north; but also unreliable and possibly tied into this case. When we couldn't rule out that the authorities might actually be involved in covering up the crimes that had been committed in relation to this case, I authorized for my men to conduct their own investigation to ensure that proper and prompt actions would be taken to stop our killer."
"And yet the killer himself hasn't been caught yet, isn't that correct Lieutenant."
Steve rolled his eyes and sighed, Mike mimicked the gesture.
"This case is a lot more complicated than you are making it out to seem like, Mister Tidari.", Roy cautioned sternly, his voice growing impatient, "As a matter of fact, as my detectives approached the hideout of our killer, they encountered two innocent civilians who were held hostage at the time. Upon risking their lives to free the hostages, Lieutenant Stone and Inspector Keller were in turn taken hostage. At…ehm…5:30pm on Sunday, Headquarters was made aware of the situation by the fleeing hostages and we immediately decided to take action and gather what manpower we had to come to my detectives' aid. It was very obvious that they were in imminent danger of losing their lives given the situation, which prevented us from seeking alternative ways to handle this case. Time was running out fast, literally and figuratively."
"Was there any possibility that your men would have been able to escape their predicament without the additional support? Kind of, help themselves?", another reporter asked that Steve didn't know.
"Absolutely not.", Roy answered curtly, "I spent several hours with both, the Police Chief and the Chief of Departments this morning and the common consensus was that we did everything we could within our power to both, contain the investigation that had gotten out of hand, and save and protect the lives of our detectives. Both, Lieutenant Stone and Inspector Keller sustained severe injuries during their interaction with our suspects; that, combined with the deteriorating weather pattern they were exposed to for many hours, these officers were in critical condition by the time we located them. They are currently recovering at a local hospital and we truly appreciate all the well wishes received from the public thus far. We consider our intervention to be life-saving at this time. While we were unable to capture who we believe might be the hidden hand behind this recent murder streak, we can assure you that sketch artists and our forensics lab are working around the clock to produce some solid material to support our statewide manhunt for this man."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to assign more than one team of detectives to this case to begin with, Lieutenant DeWitt? I understand that Lieutenant Stone is your best detective in homicide, but even the best make mistakes from time to time."
"Listen to Tidari.", Steve growled and pulled the white bed sheet over his chest, "They can't even report clear facts and he tries to make you look bad."
"Don't worry about it, Smiley. He's just poking around in the dark…"
Mike's reassuring voice was both warm and calming on that late Monday; helping him move on from the anger building up the longer the press conference lasted.
"We've been able to rule out early on that there was any mistake made by my detectives. If anything, they both showed tremendous courage and strength in dealing with an extremely difficult case. Two-person teams have been the standard for most departments of the police force for decades, whether it be Robbery, Vice or Homicide. In the early stages, this case did not present itself in the matter it eventually unfolded, so we had no reason to believe that additional support would be required. Lieutenant Stone has nearly three decades of intense experience on the police force. I trust his judgement unconditionally when it comes to the safety of the public as well as that of his partner and himself. He has proven himself over and over in the field and quite frankly, I am glad that he and Inspector Keller were the Detectives handling this disturbing case."
"I understand that there might be an internal investigation into the Sherriff's Department in Lucerne. Are you afraid of any internal backlash on your end about the…unorthodox way this rescue was handled, Lieutenant DeWitt? How will you respond in the future if there is a similar call to arms, so to speak?"
"If you are insinuating about any form of favoritism or mishandling of tax payer's money, Mister Tidari, I can assure you that this couldn't be farther from the truth. As I already stated at the beginning of this conference and as you will learn later on this week; we're dealing with an unusually heinous and complex case here. These…crimes committed against innocent human beings are nothing short of bone chilling. The fact that our concern regarding the local Police Department in Lucerne has been taken seriously by IA and is currently being investigated should serve as enough proof of the integrity and legitimacy of our detectives' research. As far as your other senseless and enraging discussion points are concerned, I can reassure you that as Police Officers, we never forget our role as public servants. So before you offer your one-sided, narrow-minded approach of thinking next time, I encourage you to trade sides with my detectives for a week and get a first-hand glimpse of the barrel of a loaded shotgun aimed at your position, as you are trying to save innocent lives. Or the look of utter terror on an injured man's face as he takes his last breath and begs for you to help him. Or walk up the stairs to your partner's house to tell his wife that he won't be coming home tonight because some cop-hating teenager pulled a gun on him and shot him dead in a strip mall parking lot as he was waiting to grab dinner…We're here to protect the lives of the citizens of San Francisco. And sometimes we sacrifice our lives to keep people just like you safe. So unless you or anybody else has any other questions regarding this case or the integrity of my detectives, whom I stand behind one-hundred percent, I will call this press conference to an end."
When nothing else was said, Mike carefully reached forward to turn off the TV and ran a hand through his silver hair. Steve watched his partner ponder quietly for many long moments, the case still wearing heavily on his mind.
"You know…Danny is dead."
This disturbing piece of information had been haunting him since he regained consciousness back in the emergency room, with a stressed-out Tanner informing him of all their findings and hoping to tie as many clues together as his weary mind could remember.
"Bill…eh…he told me just as they were beginning to do surgery on your shoulder. Seems like the doctor lined them up and shot them execution style, then tried to set the place on fire and fled in one of the tow trucks. I have no idea how he got those restrains off, or maybe Danny released him. At any rate, the doctor's trail went cold somewhere on the northside of Lucerne. Roy is trying to get the Feds involved. After he didn't visit her the day before, Danny's mother called several police departments and listed him as missing. They…ehm…they were going to have her come downtown and make a positive ID because they didn't know if we'd regain consciousness in time. Thankfully that didn't need to happen."
Not looking over, Mike sighed quietly before resting his good arm on his stomach and closing his eyes for a moment.
"He bought that bullet a long, long time ago."
His partner's profound words made him think for a moment, causing both detectives to fall silent except for the EKG machine Mike was still hooked up to. Delightfully free of any needles and electrodes, Steve nervously played with the large bandage covering his chest, feeling for the thick gauze padding on his side.
"I just have one question…What really happened after they dragged me away and he volunteered to kill you, Steve? Barring any divine intervention, there's no way you could have overpowered Bobby. Danny switched sides, didn't he? Decided to save your life."
Danny's haunting monologue returned to his mind so quickly as if it had happened mere minutes ago. Remembering the ghostly look on the young man's face and his determination to kill him, Steve drew in a shuddered breath, trying to come up with the right words to ease his partner's troubled mind.
The fading pain coming from the side of his neck was a grim reminder of just how close he'd come to losing his life.
"He didn't switch sides to save my life. He switched sides to save yours."
"What are you talking about?"
From a few feet away, he could see Mike's bright blue eyes snap open, as he glanced over at him curiously, already returning back to full-fledged detective mode.
"Was it something I said?", he then asked, when Steve remained quiet for a moment.
"I don't think anything either one of us could have said would have changed his mind. He was too far gone for that. I really think what changed him was seeing your humanity in the face of utter despair, Mike. That's what turned him around. You didn't just preach to him, you actually showed him. You showed him a better way. A leading example for empathy and love. I don't think he'd ever seen anybody care as much about somebody else as you did when…you know…"
"Hm…", Mike grunted in silent agreement before turning his head away, undoubtedly suffering from the same haunting images Steve did.
Watching his partner quietly for many long moments, Steve finally leaned back against his pillow and stared at the ceiling above, envisioning what had to have been going through Mike's mind the entire time he was talking to Danny. The pain, the uncertainty and the sheer terror of what happened in that godforsaken basement was something that would trouble him for a very long time.
"Why didn't you tell me what he did when we were back at the house? I asked you how you'd gotten freed."
Mike's open-ended question made him tense up, especially when the Lieutenant never turned around to face him. Instead, he was using all his other senses to read between the lines.
Drawing in a deep breath, Steve let his mind drift back to the filthy basement floor, feeling the needle in his neck move beneath Danny's trembling hands.
"He made it very clear that after he helped free me, he'd switch sides again. That this would be his only act of kindness, so to speak. I guess, I was worried that if there'd been another shootout with him, and if you were put in a position to have to make that call and fire at him…I didn't want that on your conscience. Knowing that Danny would not hesitate to go after us again if ordered, I felt it was easier for everybody involved to make you believe he hadn't switched."
"Including him…", Mike added and turned to face him again, a wave of sorrow washing over his tired eyes, "He knew this was going to cost him his life. He knew he wouldn't be able to disguise the fact that he didn't kill you. I think in the end, part of him realized what he did. And in doing so, he sacrificed his life to save ours."
"What are you going to tell his mother if…you know…if she asks about his involvement and what led up to his death? Somebody has to break the news to her yet."
"She deserves to know the truth.", Mike explained warmly, a faint smile spreading on his sorrowful features, "She deserves to know that her son died saving the lives of two San Francisco Police Officers. As for anything else, well, it's just like you said…we wouldn't want that on her conscience."