Chapter 6

In New York...

Jamie had just graduated from Harvard Law. His graduation was bitter sweet. He was happy that he had finally finished school, and all his hard work payed off, but he missed his mom. Mary Reagan had died two years to the week prior to Jamie's graduation. It was still hard, even after two years. He still cried himself to sleep some nights, and he thought about her all the time. She was his mom, after all. She'd been the first person to love him. The first person to truly care for him. She was his first love.

Even though he loved her, he also loved the idea of being a cop. He knew if she were still alive, she wouldn't have approved of him entering the academy, but that's what he wanted. He had wanted to be a cop long before he got into Harvard, but he wanted to make his mom happy.

His academy training was halted just two weeks in when he received news that his brother had been killed in the line of duty. He was granted leave to go home and take some time.

"I can't believe this happened." Jamie said to his dad, as they sat in the living room together. Frank had just explained what had happened.

"Neither can I, son." Frank said, his voice raw and scratchy. He had obviously been crying.

"When's the funeral?"

"Tomorrow."

With that, Jamie went up to his old room to grieve the loss of his brother, his best friend.

Over the next few weeks, things took a turn for the worst. Jamie stopped eating, barely drank anything, he lost a lot of weight. He was depressed. He was even hospitalized to two days due to dehydration and the beginnings of malnutrition. Once he was released, he went right back to barely eating and drinking. Frank practically had to drag him to the therapist.

By some miracle, therapy actually helped. Jamie finally started eating and drinking again, he smiled more, he built up muscle again. He was back on the right track. He still thought about Joe everyday, and missed him dearly, but it was getting better.

Nearly 2 months after Joe's death, Jamie re-entered the academy. He knew it would be hard, but he had to. Joe was actually the one who encouraged him to follow his dream of being a cop.

He finished his training at the academy, and he was officially an NYPD Police Officer. The whole family went to his graduation. They cheered so loud for him. The only two people that were missing were his mom and Joe. He knew they were looking down proudly.

Jamie started on the job soon after his graduation. He'd been partnered with a TO named Renzulli. He happened to be the same TO Joe had had. Renzulli was tough, but educational. He pushed Jamie in ways he knew Jamie could handle. He also never failed to remind him to not become like Danny.

Pretty early into the job, Jamie had been approved by FBI agents, who claimed they knew Joe. They claimed they knew the real reason behind Joe's death. He'd been killed by the Blue Templar. They wanted Jamie to help them infiltrate the Blue Templar and bring them down for good. Of course, as any young cop would be, he was unsure. He loved his brother, and wanted to avenge his death, but he barely had any experience. He knew they were plenty of other more qualified people to do the job. Hell, they could even use Danny.

In all this mess, anther mini mess sprang up. Jamie had visited Angie, Joe's girlfriend, and she'd given him a box of Joe's stuff. He'd put it in his trunk, excepting it to stay in there forever. One day, he got curious. He opened the box and looked at the contents. He found Joe's iPod. He listened to a few of Joe's favorite songs, and then found a voice memo titled 'Don't hate me.'

"Jamie, if you ever find this, don't hate me. You have a kid. A daughter. Her name is Josie. I was actually at her birth, it was an accidental home birth that Renzulli and I got called to. I was sworn to secrecy by her mother. I've only seen her a couple times. Her mom isn't really into the idea of you finding out, and she's scared that I'll accidentally or purposely tell you. I can't tell you who her mom is. I want to protect her privacy. Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. You'll probably never find this, so I really don't have anything to afraid of."

Jamie ended the recording. 'I have a kid,' Jamie thought. 'Fuck. I gotta find her.' Jamie scrolled through some other recordings until he found the one of the Blue Templar. 'God, why can't this just end?'