Mending Fences – Chapter 21 "Bait"

I'm very sorry for the delay in the update of this story. Hope this chapter will make up for it. Enjoy!

Five years ago…..

When the first limousine pulled in, it drove past him to the far left of the building. It was Jarrett but he remained inside. When the second limousine pulled in, it drove in and parked on the right side of the building. There were a lot of heavily armed men scattered throughout the place and for the first time Rick was having second thoughts about the safety and viability of busting this operation. Even if he gave the all clear to raid, there is a high possibility that there could be mass casualties on both sides. On cue, Jarrett and the other man came out of their cars and walked towards each other.

"Mr Welch."

"Mr Jarrett."

The men shook hands. Mr Welch raised his hand and the hood of his trunk popped open. Two of the hired muscles look out three large suitcases and brought it over to the men. Mr Welch opened one of the packages to reveal a pure blue powder substance. The look in Jarrett's eyes showed that the product wasn't what they had discussed.

"What's this?"

Welch grinned but then nervously batted away Jarrett's hand in a panic when he reached down to touch the substance.

"Don't f*cking touch it!"

"Why?"

"This sh*t is the raw, uncut compound used to make Lady X. It's f*cking lethal! It burns your skin on contact and if it gets into a cut or your eyes or any other opening…you wouldn't have time to say a pray. You're gonna be dead." Welch laughed. "We call her Mama X."

Jarrett eyes almost popped out of his head at the information and he actually looked scared. Welch was amused by Jarrett's reaction. He pulled out two pairs of gloves from inside his jacket.

"If you want to test the quality you need to wear these." He handed one of the gloves to Jarrett. He was hesitant at first but eventually he took the gloves and put them on. Then carefully, he rubbed the powder between his thumb and index fingers. His face expressed that he was impressed with it.

"Why are you bringing this to me? What about the middle man who you deal with?"

"F*ck the Rico brothers! They are getting too greedy. They raised their cut to make the pills from 8 to 15% in three years."

"If they are dealing with this stuff…" Jarrett pointed to the suitcase. "then it may be justified. Don't you think?"

"It's risky for my men too getting this stuff in its raw form. I've lost men."

"So what are you proposing?"

"I say cut the Rico's out. You own some empty buildings. We could set these up as labs."

"None of my people knows how to deal with this stuff and quite frankly, I don't want them getting close to it."

"Don't worry about that. One of Rico's grossly underpaid employees is willing to jump ship…set up and run the lab for us. He could show some of your men as well as mine how to handle the drug and the chemicals used to break down the toxicity. He could also get the equipments."

"What's his cut?"

"He's willing to take 10%, half of what the Rico's is charging you."

"And you?"

"He's taking 10%. With the Rico's gone, we control the lab, pay less in manufacturing and widen our profit margin. It's perfect."

Jarrett walked over and tested Mama X one more time. Taking off his gloves he began rubbing his chin in deep thought.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rick's heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he listened to Jarrett and Welch discuss Mama X in a casual chilling conversation. He thought Lady X was the devil herself but little did he know that she was just the spawn.

Mama X is Lucifer itself and she is coming to the city…his city. The city where his family is…where his children goes to school…where Carol and Morgan children…his nieces and nephews go to school. Where the children of his colleagues goes to school.

He wished that he could have recorded the conversation safely or that Michonne was here herself to hear this. He wished that she could see what he is seeing…the calculating efforts of these criminals. She would have been terrified and now she may have understood why he had to be here.

He was protecting her from dealing with crazed patients with violent withdrawal symptoms at the hospital. He was protecting their kids from ever having to see, hear or come into contact with this drug.

He was just protecting his family the best was he knew how…by being a cop and a good one at that. The only one he trust to protect his family is himself. After gathering his thoughts Jarrett spoke again.

"If we are to do this we have to make Lady X less lethal. She's killing at a rate that doesn't benefit me."

"What do you mean?"

"Dead kids and junkies doesn't bring in money. Addicted ones do. If they are alive and hooked, they will beg, steal and borrow from friends, relatives and whoesover else they can to get buy the product."

"Hmmmm. I will talk to the Rico's soon to be former employee about tweaking the composition of the pills."

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?"

"I don't trust anyone but he is a disgruntled employee ready to stick it to his employer."

"We are going to be his new employer. What will prevent him from trying to stick it to us in the future?"

"We are giving him what he wants. Besides, if that day should come I already have certain contingencies in place."

"Good."

"Speaking about trust…I heard you had a certain 'rat' problem within your organisation."

Jarrett laughed mechanically.

"That was taken care of."

"So all the 'rats' are out of the nest."

"Trust me…I will not be having a 'rat' problem anymore." Jarrett began walking back to his limousine. "Set things up. The buildings are yours when you're ready."

Rick had had enough. He gave the signal.~*~*~*~*~*~*

It has been forty-five minutes since the two limousines went in and Captain Fletcher was beginning to get nervous. He had deployed officers to the surrounding buildings within a safe distance just in case Jarrett and his business partner decided to do a search of the surrounding buildings of the meeting.

Luckily for them, that didn't happen. He kept his eyes firmly on Rick who he saw shifted on his feet several times. He was about to reach for his cup of coffee when Rick scratched his right cheek.

"That's it!" He roared grabbing the walkie talkies. "Rick just gave the signal! It's a go! I repeat! It's a go! Move in now!"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jarrett was on his cell phone whilst Welch was barking orders to his men when they heard shouting outside. Then the first shot rang out. Everyone in the building froze. Welch looked at Jarrett perplexed but Jarrett was looking at Rhaze, one of his personal bodyguards who were standing a couple of feet from Rick.

"COPS!" a voice screamed from outside and rapid gunfire began.

Everyone in the building began cocking their guns and dashing behind crates and cars for cover. Suddenly, several of Jarrett's and Welch's men came running inside the building, cursing and firing their automatic weapons.

Officers ran into the building behind them also firing their weapons. The first officer Rick recognised was Simmons. Rick pulled his gun and when he turned in Jarrett's direction, he was tackled to the ground by Rhaze.~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was screams and shouts from both thugs and cops. Bullets were flying in all directions. Rhaze and Rick wrestled on the ground. Rick's gun was knocked from his hand as he fell heavily backwards.

Rhaze was on top and managed to land two solid punches to Rick's face before Rick was able to kick him off. Rick pummel Rhaze in the ribs twice, once one each side causing Rhaze to gasp for air.

Despite that, Rhaze mustered enough strength to roll over and flip Rick back on his back again but Rick didn't give him any chance to get in any more blows. Rick gave Rhaze a solid uppercut, sending him flying to the side.

Rick jumped on him and land blow after blow after blow in quick succession. There were yelling from both sides…cops and criminals. Bullets whizzed past Rick's head left and right and one caught him in the shoulder, forcing him to fall back. He screamed out.

"F*ck!"

Holding his shoulder, Rick slithered back on his back between two piles of crates. He checked his shoulder…the bullet went straight through. He saw Rhaze crawling away on his belly but his main concern was Jarrett.

He surveyed his surroundings. There were cops and criminals bobbing and weaving between cars. Three of Welch's men and two of Jarrett's men were on the ground lifeless. Welch was yelling into his phone as two of his henchmen guarded him and firing at Rick's colleagues.

He looked over in Jarrett's direction. He too was also guarded by his men as he lay low on the floor by his car. It was a clusterf*ck. He searched for his gun and saw that it was a few feet away from him.

He was surprised where it was as he was sure it was knocked in another direction. However with all the bullets whizzing by and the unexpected tackle by Rhaze, he could be wrong. He couldn't get to the gun so he pushed one pile of the crates in the gun's direction to use it for cover.

As he crawled to his gun using the crates as cover, rapid gun fire started in his direction. He had to stop for a couple of seconds for the reload. When that time came Rick scrambled on his hands and knees for his gun.

He got it, turned, aimed and shot all three of Jarrett's bodyguards dead each with a single shot to the chest. Jarrett froze when Rick turned the gun on him. Despite all the noise and shouting around them, both Rick and Jarrett didn't blink...their eyes completely focused on the other.

His jaw was numb, his shoulder pain was excruciating and his back ached but Rick intended to keep his gun on Jarrett as long as it takes until the shooting was over. He finally had his man. That means he was going home to Michonne and the kids.

He missed them and Michonne and the kids would be so happy especially Judith and Logan. They were babies when he left and he already missed one year of their young lives. Jarrett's eyes bored into his.

He made a sudden move to test Rick's resolve and Rick narrowed his eyes and tighten his grip on his gun. He shook his head and Jarrett stopped moving. Abruptly, a large black van came roaring into the building automatic guns blazing from the windows.

It stopped in the middle of the building and continued with its rapid fire in the direction of Rick and all the other cops. They had to take immediate cover. Rick was forced to roll behind one of the building's concrete pillars to avoid getting shot.

He watched in bitter frustration as Rhaze dragged Jarrett to his limo. As Rick and the others take cover, the two limos sped out of the building. The black van reversed slowly out of the building, still shooting at the officers.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As soon as the van left the building, it was deafeningly quiet. Captain Fletcher called out to everyone.

"Is everyone ok?!"

Officers began coming out of their hiding places slowly and cautiously.

"Yes Captain." An officer answered.

"Give me a head count!" he ordered.

While the officers were gathering Rick walked over to the spot where he had Jarrett in his sights.

"He was right there." He murmured.

In a fit of rage, Rick picked up several pieces of wood that was strewn around and began pelting them. It drew the attention of the captain and his colleagues.

"Rick!"

"HE WAS RIGHT THERE!" Rick screamed in anguish. "I f*cking had him dead to rights! I f*cking had him!"

Captain Fletcher walked up to him and rested his hands on Rick's shoulders. Rick pulled away in frustration and walked outside.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Captain…you need to come over here."

When he did, there was the body. It was Officer Tiggs. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rick was immediately taken to the hospital for the bullet wound to his shoulder. Hospital officials wanted to keep him overnight but he told them that on no uncertain terms he was speeding one more night away from his wife and children.

From the hospital, he went to the station to pick up the necessary forms to file a report about the raid that went so horribly wrong. Captain Fletcher ordered Rick to do his report from home and he'll have someone pick it up when it's ready. He left the station under a heavy cloud.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As soon as Rick entered the house, Michonne began checking his body. She had tears in her eyes and cried when she saw his bandaged shoulder. Then she hugged him tightly and peppered him with kisses.

The disastrous raid was already all over the news. When he asked for the kids, she told him that they were at Carol's and they will remain there until he settled back in. She told him that the kids wanted to see him so badly and that Judith and Logan cried. She fixed him some dinner but he said he wasn't hungry.

"Go and change. I'll run you a hot bath."

Before he walked towards the stairs Michonne kissed him again and told him that she loved him.

"I love you too."~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They have been soaking in the tub for the past twenty minutes. Rick's eyes were closed as Michonne watched him. They were sitting on opposite ends of the tub. She had heard on the news that one officer died and that he had left behind a pregnant wife. She knows that this was weighing heavily on him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Rick opened his eyes for the first time since entering the tub.

"I had him Michonne! I had him! He was right there!" He gestured to the empty space between them. "He was so close and I still couldn't get him!" His voice was strained.

"Tiggs is dead because of me!" Rick's eyes watered.

Michonne rushed over to him. Straddling him, she pulled him close into her chest, holding him tightly.

"You didn't kill that officer." Her voice was smooth and Rick squeezed her tightly in his arms. "You are not to blame for his death."

"I shouldn't have given the signal. Then Tiggs would have been alive."

Michonne cupped Rick's face in her hands and she kissed him.

"You listen to me. You did the right thing. What you thought was right."

She took his hand and placed it on her chest.

"Do you feel that? That's my heart. My heart believes in you. I believe in you. Now you know the other players in the game. You could testify against them. They will go to prison. You did that."

She caressed his cheek.

"I know because of Tiggs death and you recovering only some of the drugs, it may all feel like it was for nothing but you saved a lot of lives today. A lot of children lives."

She kissed him.

"You saved Carl's life…"

She kissed him.

"You saved Sophia's life…"

She kissed him again.

"You saved Andre's life…"

She kissed him again

"You saved Judith's life…"

She kissed him again.

"And you saved Logan's life."

She wiped away his tears.

"You did good baby! You did good and I'm so proud of you."

"They embraced again.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michonne watched her husband sleep. Slowly, she slipped out of bed and went downstairs. It was 8:30pm and she had promised to call the kids when their father came home. She dialled Carol's landline and it was answered after the first ring.

"Mom?!"

"Yes Carl. It's me."

"Is dad ok? Was he hurt?"

"He was shot but he's ok."

"Can we talk to him?"

"He's sleeping."

"Mom please…we want to see him. Andre, Judith and Logan have been crying all day."

"Where's Sophia?"

"She already cried herself to sleep."

"Put Aunt Carol on the phone."

There was a pause, then Carol came on."

"I'll have Morgan bring over the kids right now."

"Thanks Carol."~*~*~*~*~*~*

Forty five minutes later, there were headlights in the driveway. She opened the door just in time.

Carl was there with Sophia and Andre.

"He's upstairs sleeping. Please try not to wake him up."

They rushed inside as Michonne walked towards the car. Morgan was carefully taking Judith out of the back seat. Both she and Logan were sleeping. She picked up Logan and they walked inside.

When they reached upstairs Carl, Sophia and Andre was on the bed curled up next to their father just watching him. Sophia was staring at the bandage on his shoulder and she looked at her mother.

"He's alright." She whispered to her.

They moved aside so Michonne and Morgan could put Judith and Logan to sleep next to Rick. When they left the room, Carl, Sophia and Andre were all repositioning themselves on the bed to sleep. She closed the door behind them and she and Morgan went downstairs.

"All the news stations are carrying the report that the buss went south. A cop got killed.

Michonne folded her arm, despondent.

"Rick blames himself for everything. He blames himself for Tiggs getting killed."

"Rick will be fine. He has you, the kids, Carol and me. He has a support system."

"I really hope so. I told him its' not his fault."

"I think he knows that deep down inside. He was just hoping for a better result and none of his colleagues getting killed. That's all."

Michonne hugged him tightly.

"Thanks for watching the kids."

"You don't have to thank me for looking after my nieces and nephews Michonne."

They walked to the door.

"Keep me posted on everything ok."

"I will."

Morgan left.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Michonne pushed the door to their bedroom, everyone was fast asleep. Rick was on his side of the bed, facing inwards with his arms protectively around the two youngest Grimes. Carl was on Michonne's side of the bed facing inwards as well and his arms were around Sophia and Sophia's arm was around Andre.

There wasn't any more room on the bed for her but she didn't mind. The kids' happiness is paramount and they are happy being home with their father. So she is happy. She covered them with two blankets, kissed her husband and each of the children goodnight, took off the light and left the room, closing the door behind her.

She took a blanket for herself from the hall closet and went downstairs and sat on the sofa. The room was in complete darkness. She couldn't sleep…her mind was racing. She knew that there was going to be some rocky times ahead of them. They needed to prepare.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michonne didn't know that she had fell asleep on the sofa until she felt someone shaking her gently. She opened her eyes. It was Rick.

"Babe...why didn't you come to bed?"

"This time is just for you and the kids. They need you right now...to be close to you."

"I need you."

"Besides...it doesn't have anymore room on the bed. It's full."

"There is always room for family." He took her hand.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rick and Michonne watched the children as they sleep.

"Room...huh?" Michonne whispered.

"Well...maybe not on the bed."

Rick stepped out into the hallway and came back with a thick blanket and spread it on the floor at the base of the bed. He sneaked a pillow from Carl and lay down on the blanket. Michonne joined him.

"See...there is always room."~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ten minutes later, Logan began to fuss causing his other siblings to stir in their sleep. Rick hadn't fallen asleep, so he picked him up and holding him to his chest, he lay back down on the floor. Minutes later, Logan fell asleep and so did he.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It has been five days since Rick came home. He had filled out the report forms and it was collected three days ago. Now Rick was on the phone in the kitchen talking to the Captain. She saw how tense Rick's body was so she knew that it wasn't something good. He hung up the phone.

"I.A wants to talk to me."

"For what? I read your report. It was clear and concise. What else do they need?"

Rick kissed her.

"I'm going to find out."

"Shouldn't you call your union rep first? Or even an attorney."

"For what? I didn't do anything wrong. Everything was done by the book. I have nothing to hide."

She watched worried as Rick left.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Rick walked into the station, he immediately felt the hostile mood in the atmosphere. Some officers greeted him sparsely while others were downright aggressive. Captain Fletcher called him into his office.

"Grimes!"

He walked in.

"What did I just walked into Captain?"

Captain Fletcher breathed heavily.

"Have a seat Rick."

Rick eyed the Captain and didn't like the stoic vibe that he was getting from him. He peeped outside and saw most of the officers looking in. He turned back to the capain.

"No thanks. I think I'll stand. Say what you have to say so I can get back to my family."

Before the captain could respond a man walked into the office. It was Detective Colbert.

"I thought I told you to notify me as soon as he comes in."

"What's I.A doing here Captain?"

"You know what I.A does Detective Grimes. We investigate dirty cops and cops misconduct."

Rick glared at Fletcher.

"Captain? What's going on?"

"Let me fill you in Detective. This way."~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Detectives Colbert, Sandy, Walcott and ADA Reyes sat opposite Rick on the conference room. They each had copies of his report infront of them reading and making notes. They were ignoring him…he knew the tactic. He have done it before.

"Why am I here?"

Detective Colbert looked up first.

"You're here because a cop died as a result of a raid you gave the green light for and the ADA is here to determine whether to charge you with his murder."

"I can speak for myself Colbert."

"What the f*ck are you talking about? Murder?!"

"The charge is not murder but it could be negligent homicide."

"I didn't negligently kill anyone!"

"Look. I'll cut to the chase." Detective Walcott finally spoke. "You were in a volatile situation."

"Don't try to patronize me asshole!"

Detective Walcott ignore his outburst and continued speaking.

"Guns were blazing. Bullets were firing everywhere and at everyone. It was a clusterf*ck. You were trying to apprehend a dangerous suspect and sometimes you will have to use excessive force to get the results you need."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that while trying to apprehend Jarrett and his partner you shot and killed Officer Tiggs."

Rick jumped out of his seat.

"Now hold the f*ck up! I didn't shoot any cop!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! What the f*ck is this?!"

"In your report you said that a Mr Rhaze tackled you. Then tell us what happened from there."

"Everything is in my report infront of you."

"Indulge us Detective."

Rick pinched his nose and took a laboured breath. Maybe Michonne was right. Maybe he should have his union rep or an attorney present."

"I'm not saying another word without my union rep or an attorney present."

Detective Colbert chuckled.

"Are you sure you want to go down this road detective? Once they get involve, it will be harder to negotiate with you."

Rick folded his hand.

"Have it your way. Your union rep will be here in an hour."

The men left Rick in the room.~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rick was on the conference room phone with Michonne.

"Are they seriously trying to pin Tiggs' death on you?!"

"They are implying it but I asked for my union rep. Then I'll see what evidence they have."

"I don't like this Rick."

A man walked into the conference room accompanied by Captain Fletcher.

"My rep is here."

"Call me when you're finished."

"Ok. I love you."

"I love you too."~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rick briefly spoke to his union rep Mr Keens and when all parties were seated once more Detective Walcott spoke.

"Before we continued I want to ask again. Are you sure that you did not shoot Officer Tiggs?"

Mr Keens interjected.

"My client already told you this. Now what do you have?"

Detective Colbert handed Mr Keens a folder. He opened his eyes slightly before handing it to Rick. He skimmed through the document, shaking his head vigorously.

"This isn't right!"

"Be specific."

Rick stared at Colbert.

"I never fired five shots!"

"How many rounds were in your clip?"

"Fifteen."

"But there are only 10 rounds left."

"I said I did not fire five shots! I shot exactly three bullets and they met their intended target!"

"Who did you kill?"

"Three of Jarrett's bodyguards. Then I had my gun trained on Jarrett himself until the black van came in and started shooting at us. We had to retreat. I never fired my gun before OR after that."

"The bullets in your gun matched the bullets found in Officer Tiggs. He was shot twice in the chest."

"I didn't do this!"

"Isn't it possible that you could have discharged your gun more than three times?"

"NO! It isn't possible! I only pulled the trigger three times!"

"You thought you pulled the trigger three times."

"My client already said he didn't! Move on!"

"Isn't it possible that you could have shot Tiggs by accident?"

"How can you shoot someone twice by accident?"

"You were under a lot of stress."

"Yeah? Well it didn't happen to me. I DID NOT SHOOT TIGGS!"

There was silence in the room after Rick's outburst.

"Is there anything you would like to add for consideration?" ADA Reyes asked.

"For consideration? Consideration for what?"

ADA Reyes rose to his feet, waiting for Rick's answer.

"Consider this! I did my job. I'm not a cop killer!"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Since the news of the failed drug bust and the death of Officer Tiggs, there has been a clamour for the arrest and prosecution of his killer. Since his meeting three days ago with IA and ADA Reyes, Rick had been uneasy.

He has barely eaten and this is causing concern for Michonne. Abe contacted a former client who owes him a favour and he is on standby should Rick need his services. They were in the kitchen when Michonne pushed a plate of hotdogs and chips infront of him.

It was junk food Saturday. Carl. Sophia and Andre were outside playing with some friends who were over visiting while Judith and Logan was sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. He shook his head.

"You didn't have breakfast this morning and you barely ate dinner last night."

"I'm still not hungry."

Michonne shook her head in disappointment. Angrily, she grabbed the plate and emptied the food in the garbage disposal. She threw the plate in the sink and it broke.

"F*ck!" She cursed out before looking over at Judith and Logan embarrassed. They hadn't heard her. They were still asleep.

Rick sprang to his feet and walked over to her. When she picked up the plate, it cut her. She whimpered and started to cry. Rick spun her around and pulling her close to him, he put her bleeding finger in his mouth and sucked on it.

She watched Rick…his eyes were closed as he was concentrating on stopping the bleeding. She put her face in the nape of his neck and when he felt her tears he stopped.

"Please don't cry." His voice was soft and tender.

"How can I? You don't eat…you don't sleep. You are slowly killing yourself infront of me."

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear as he rubbed comforting circles on her back. "Fix me something again. I'll eat…for you."

She looked at him and he wiped away her tears.

"Not just now. You have to eat for yourself. I know the situation is weighing heavy on you but we are going to fight this…as a team. You and me."

He nodded. Michonne began preparing a sandwich as Rick stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. His body was pressing against hers and his hand was resting on her tummy. When she was finished she handed him the sandwich. He lifted and place her to sit on the kitchen counter.

"Feed me."

When she put the sandwich to his mouth, he bit into it slowly and mischievously. Michonne giggled girlishly. She then bit a piece of the sandwich and held the end of it out so Rick can nibble on it. He pulled Michonne's hips forward and braced himself firmly between her thighs. They kissed passionately for about five minutes then pulled away before things get out of hand in the presence of their little innocent ones a few feet away from them.

"We are going to be fine. Trust and believe that."

"I do Rick. I do."~*~*~*~*~*~*~