Washington, DC

Charlie killed her interview. The panel loved her energy and her enthusiasm. They also liked that she had family in Los Angeles who could help support her transition. She smiled and walked back to her dorm room.

Her boyfriend was waiting. "How'd it go?"

"I nailed it." She kissed him. He was glad to see her happy, but he was apprehensive about her going away.

"Now, I got to get to work. I have a lot due tomorrow."

They started to study. Charlie was really special. He didn't see how no one in LA would notice. He didn't want to lose her, but it seemed inevitable.

Atlanta, GA

The lawyer called Joyce's father. His first question was how much money was she getting. He explained that he thought getting the property free and clear was a better option.

"Why not money?"

"This house is nice. Bobby built it himself, so he didn't pay all that much, and it's value has risen considerably over time. She can sell it, rent it and get a lot of cash. If she goes for alimony, if he loses his job, the money is gone. Also, going to court will cost a lot. It might be financially sounder to take the property now instead of litigating for several months. Also, she might lose the alimony petition."

"Why wouldn't she win?"

"Alimony is to help divorcees maintain their quality of life after the divorce. She has a trust fund available and is young enough to work. She's keeping the house, so Bobby has to pay for a new place to live. Courts will look at this. They might decide he needs his money to start over, and she gets nothing. Also, Bobby has a leg up on us."

"How?"

"It seems that Joyce wants out of this marriage asap. She has a new boyfriend. Somehow, Bobby found out. He knows she doesn't want a trial."

"Fine. If you think this is a good offer, take it. I'll get Joyce to sign."

"Thank you, Sir."

This wasn't orthodox at all. It should be about what Joyce wants, not what everyone else thinks is reasonable, but Joyce is a big Bitch. Even her lawyer was ready to write this off.

Prosecutor's Office

Brenda spent the day looking for signs of Sammy. She tried hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers, unclaimed bodies in the morgue. She finally got a response. He had been put in a mental hospital after climbing a barbed wire fence and trying to seize barrels of oil from a warehouse. They took him to a hospital, and he got committed after acting crazy for days. Brenda asked if he had been drug tested. They said he got a normal workup. "Did that cover PCP?"

"No. It's so rare, we seldom test for it."

"Well, it's likely that he has an addiction, and he's been under a lot of stress."

"We can have his sample reanalyzed."

Brenda thanked them and hung up. She called the FBI

"Found your informant."

"Alive?"

"Yes, actually, but he's in no condition to testify. He's currently in a psych ward."

"WHAT!"

She relayed the story.

"How could this have happened?"

"Let me see," Brenda was going to drag this out. "You found an unstable man with a drug addiction. Threatened to jail him if he didn't rat out his friends. Sent him to get more information for you, so you could prosecute his friends, and did nothing to safeguard him: no rehab, no counseling, nothing. You just left him alone against the world and hoped for the best. Somehow, his friends didn't find out his betrayal. The guilt tore him up along with the fear of retaliation, so he took a massive dose of PCP, lost what was left of his mind, climbed a barbed wire fence and tried to steal barrels of oil from a warehouse."

"You make it sound like we're not on the same side. This is law enforcement after all."

"We're here to protect and to serve. Who did you protect? Who have you served? I'm all for getting witness cooperation to take down criminals, but witnesses are people too. Did it ever occur to you that you owe a responsibility to people, when you put them in harm's way?"

"You're giving me a lecture on protecting witnesses."

"My witnesses don't end up in body bags." That was mostly true, other than Wesley, but he started killing his friends, so she couldn't help him there.

"Only your suspects."

"I found him okay. Maybe, you should try to give a damn about his well-being, but why would the FBI care now. He won't make a good witness at this point."

Brenda hung up. What arrogant oafs!

Tommy looked glum.

"What's wrong?" The chief asked him.

"This seems so rotten. Yes, they were breaking the law, but they didn't hurt anyone, and this poor guy is trapped in a looney bin. It seems like he's a nice guy. Everyone there loved him." Tommy had his fare share of partying in college. He didn't like the idea of him or any of his friends ending up like this.

Jackie rubbed his head.

"I talked to the ward. They didn't know about the PCP. Hopefully, they can get him into a rehabilitation center."

"Maybe we could visit," Jackie offered.

"I don't think they let non-family members visit."

"He doesn't have a family anymore, only child. Parents dead."

He really is alone against the world, Brenda thought.

Major Crimes

"Do we have anything to go on?" Sharon asked her team.

"No! What's there to figure out. He was unemployed, behind on rent, seems to have no family or friends in the area. There's no indication that his death was pre-meditated, or intentional. He probably got in a fight mugging the wrong dude." Flynn saw no reason to be investigating

"We can't just sit on our chairs. We have a case."

"We have no leads. We don't know where he got beat up or who he was trying to mug or anything else."

"We know something," said Tao. We know where he started and where he was branching out. If we do a sweep along the edge of where he did his muggings just before last Thursday, maybe we'll figure out where the intended victim had come from or maybe we'll find a security camera or something."

"Finally, an idea. Can you get any security camera footage from Thursday, Lieutenant Tao? Everyone else, start canvassing."

"Bollocks," Provenza muttered.

"What was that I heard?"

"Nothing." Suck my bollocks

Sanchez and Sykes tried lots of shops and office buildings but no one remembered anyone suspicious lurking about. Flynn and Provenza were coming up empty too, until they saw a yoga studio. Provenza wondered in, plenty of attractive women in tight pants. He loved it. Flynn felt creepy. "We should leave he said?"

"Why, will Queen Hobbes punish you?"

"Shut it!"

"What? I bet she'd look great in yoga pants. You should buy her a pair or maybe I will."

"You will do no such thing!"

"Chill Andy, I'm just messing with you. Why would I spend money, so you could see her in yoga pants?"

"Can I help you gentlemen?" A man came to the front. He was not amused.

They pulled out their badges. "We're investigating a mugging that happened in the area. Did anyone report anything to you last Thursday?"

"No one said anything about that. We have the same classes every Thursday. You could, of course, come back at the same time and ask people."

"We'll do that!"

"Now, it's time to go."

They headed back to the squad room.

"Nothing!"

"Not totally nothing Captain." Tao had some news. "We have footage of our victim walking past a convenience store towards the west, and he's running back 20 minutes later. Look."

They watched the video. He was scrambling to get away. Unfortunately, it didn't show any fight. Can Buzz enhance the video when he's running? I want to see if we can see his face through the reflection of that glass.

Buzz enhanced it. Their victim was definitely beaten in that 20 minute span.

"That's right by the yoga studio," Flynn noted.

"We're going back there tonight, same time. Maybe one the regulars saw something."

"It's worth a shot." Of course Provenza wanted to work in a yoga studio.

Brenda/Fritz

The trio had dinner. Brenda and Bobby made burgers.

"I hear you gave an earful to Agent Humboldt today."

"I got fed up with the whole thing. They took this really unstable guy with a drug addiction and rode him to rat out his best friends, without any regard for what might happen to him. The poor guy is in an institution now. No family, none of his friends know where he is. He's all alone with white walls."

"You don't think they meant to do this?" Fritz was surprised at Brenda's position, especially when she got an alcoholic drunk to get him to confess to murder. Also, he got killed later.

"Of course they didn't mean to, but tell that to Sammy. Doesn't make an iota of difference to him."

Fritz realized this was a losing battle. Maybe that was a good thing that Brenda thought more of people than a means to a law enforcement end. "They were trying to take a dangerous supply network out of the market. Drugs hurt a lot of people."

"Dangerous network my foot. They were just rich partygoers popping bottles and screwing hookers."

"Sounds like a good time," Bobby said. "Not that I would ever consider such behavior."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Everything he told the FBI was probably a lie. Who would build an entire case based on the word of a PCP addict?"

"He's addicted to PCP?" The report didn't mention that .

"Yes, and the FBI thought he could make a reliable informant. He probably thought he was a lion the whole time."

"Did they even know that about him?"

"They didn't bother to find out, not that this is uncommon. Narcotics did the same thing, spent two years building a case based on the babbling of a meth addict. They thought they were chasing down a meth ring. It was just a 45 year old man selling car insurance."

"Great cover right, get you're meth from all-state, it will put you in a better state." Bobby loved making quips.

Brenda and Fritz bust out laughing. "You don't think all drug busts are a waste of time."

"Of course not Fritzi, but maybe the FBI could look harder for sober sources."

"Can't argue with that."

They finished their burgers and went on with their evenings. Bobby was taking Sharon swing dancing tomorrow. He needed to shine his shoes. Fritz had more paperwork to fill out. Brenda got a text from Gabriel. "Help."

She called right away.

Major Crimes.

Yoga studio

It was a great class. Eliza mastered a new pose. She felt fantastic, at peace with her inner demons. At the end of class, two older men appeared.

"Class," the instructor began, "these are two police officers. They would like to speak to you about a mugging last Thursday."

"Hi, everyone. There was a mugging last Thursday about the time this class got out, and we were wondering if there were any witnesses. "

Gabriel said they caught the guy already, Eliza thought.

"He's not still on the loose is he?" The girls were panicking.

"Ladies, Ladies. He will not be here tonight. We are sure of it. We just need to know if anyone saw anything."

Eliza didn't know what to do. Gabriel hit that guy pretty hard. She didn't want him to get in trouble. She also didn't want to see that dreadful man again. She kept her mouth shut.

Flynn noticed a girl wasn't looking at them. After class was over, he tried to talk to her, but she got away quick.

"I thought you had a girlfriend, Flynn." Provenza chided.

"Did you see the way she kept looking down? She saw something." Flynn got her name from the instructor.

Eliza hopped into Gabriel's car. "Drive, please."

He hit the gas. "What's wrong, Baby?"

"There were cops at the class tonight."

"Cops? Why?"

"They were asking about the mugging."

"What went wrong"

"I didn't want to tell them about the fight."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want you to get in trouble."

"Why would I get in trouble?"

"I don't know. You hurt him pretty bad."

"I was protecting you. He had a knife."

"I know that, but I'm afraid of the police. I don't want to testify."

"You're not afraid of me."

"You're different."

"What if they find me."

"How would they find you?"

"This one officer tried to talk to me. I fled."

"You fled."

"I didn't run. I just walked briskly and didn't stop."

"You have an expressive face. He's going to come looking for you. Did he say his name?"

"Lieutenant Flynn."

David's face fell.

"Is that bad? Do you know him?"

"We used to work together. He's going to know something's up."

"I can't go home. What if they're waiting for me?"

Gabriel texted the Chief and kept driving. Ring Ring

"Hello, Chief."

"What's wrong, David?"

"I have a problem. The police came to Eliza's yoga class."

"Why?"

"They wanted to ask about the mugging. Eliza fled before they could talk to her."

"Why would she do that?"

"She was afraid to get me in trouble. She got scared."

"I could understand that."

"You can. I can't."

"She cares about you. Every woman wants a man (or woman) who can keep her safe. The last thing she wants is for him to be punished for it."

"I guess I could understand that, but I don't understand what's going on. If they already have the guy, why would they be looking for witnesses. Wouldn't the victims suffice?"

"I don't know either. Sharon was pretty nondescript on the phone."

"What should I do?"

"Call your union rep? You need advice before you talk to them. This whole incident might trigger an FID investigation."

"Not another one!"

"Maybe you two should come here. I bet Eliza could use some rest."

"Thanks Chief."

They arrived 20 minutes later. Brenda grabbed her a blanket and made her some cocoa. David was on the phone with his union rep. Fritz was surprised to see them there. "Brenda, can we speak in the bedroom?"

"What's going on here? Who's the distraught girl."

"It's David's girlfriend. That mugger tried to mug her last week and she's shaken up."

"You said they caught the guy."

"They did. The police came to the studio looking for witnesses, but she doesn't want to be a witness, so she bounced."

"We're hiding a witness from the police."

"We're not hiding her from anything. She just needs to get some rest."

Eliza calmed down. Gabriel slipped his arms around her. "You're going to be fine." He kissed her cheek. She fell onto his chest.

"Her name is Eliza Hendricks," Flynn told Provenza. According to her yoga registration form, she lives in a loft.

They called the Captain. She said to pay Eliza a visit. They drove by her place. "She's not here Captain. I suspect she won't be tonight."

"Well at least we have something."

"Sounds like nothing to me," Provenza muttered.

"We have a lead. Let's resume tomorrow."

Friday

Eliza stayed with David at his apartment. They both were thankful that he had an apartment at that point. His union rep said to call him if the police wanted to ask him questions. Eliza could ask for an attorney, but she didn't commit any crime, so she could be compelled to testify if need be. David kissed her on her head. "Just tell the truth. It will be okay."

Major Crimes

Flynn got the stats on Eliza. "She's a sculptor, sketch artist and painter. She has a collection opening up in two weeks. Apparently, she's a hot shot."

"Maybe her boyfriend beat him up, so she doesn't want to talk."

"Do we know who that is?"

"No."

Flynn got an idea. He called the yoga studio. "Hey, did Eliza come with anyone last week?"

"She came with a tall guy."

"Did tall guy have a name?"

"Let me look. He signed in as David, I can't read the last name."

"Can you fax us the sign in sheet?"

"Sure."

Tao got the fax. He froze at the sheet. "I know why Eliza didn't want to talk to you."

"What is it?" They all looked up.

"It appears, she went with one David Gabriel." Michael Tao sighed.

"What?" Provenza was not happy

"He must be her boyfriend or something." Sykes offered

"Why didn't he report this when it happened?" Flynn was confused

"Maybe he knew he hit the guy too hard." Sanchez would have killed the man if he came after his girlfriend.

"Maybe he didn't think anything of it?" Raydor said. "If Gabriel hit the guy and the guy ran off, he might have thought it was just a failed mugging. Our victim didn't die until several days later, and he wouldn't have died if he got treatment earlier."

"So Gabriel punched a dude to death?" Provenza couldn't believe this.

Sharon thought back. That's why Brenda called me. I thought she was just nosing in on my case.

Prosecutor's Office

Gabriel got the dreaded call. He called his union rep and came to the station.

He walked into Major Crimes, on the wrong side of the line, yet again. It was never this bad though.

"David, are you alright?" Tao was worried.

He nodded, not in a talking mood.

"Interview one, we need to get FID."

"My union rep is on his way." Provenza patted his shoulder. Flynn gave him a sheepish look. Even Sanchez felt like Gabriel didn't deserve this.

Sgt. Elliot was sent to start the interview. "Please state your name for the record?"

"You know my name."

Elliot stared at him.

"Detective Sgt. David Gabriel."

"Now, would you kindly recount the events of last Thursday evening."

"Eliza and I were walking home. We were going to stop and pick up something to eat on the way back. This man jumped out of the shadows with a knife and said "Give me all your money." I punched him and tried to get the knife out of his hands. I held his wrist down but he wouldn't let it go. I was just trying to get him to drop it. When he was clearly defeated, I backed away. He ran off."

"Why didn't you report it?"

"I just wanted to get her home. We took a longer route just to get out of the neighborhood."

"Why don't you just park."

"The spots fill up fast. You'd have to get there really early to get one."

"How did his ribs get injured?"

"I have no idea."

"You fought him."

"I don't know what happened to his ribs. I hit him in the face and tried to get the knife from him. I didn't touch his ribs."

"So you have no idea how his rib broke, pressed into his internal organs and killed him."

"He's dead!"

"You didn't know."

"I knew a creep tried to pull a knife on my girlfriend and mug her. No one said he was dead"

"Do you think your use of force was appropriate?"

"I had fists in a knife fight. You tell me."

"Looks like you've been around the ring a couple of times. He looked like a blackberry when he died."

"I couldn't take any chances. I had to protect Eliza and myself."

"Why didn't you report it once it was on the news?"

"I tried. I heard Major Crimes had it taken care of. They didn't need my help."

"They didn't need the help of the man who killed him."

"No one told me he was dead."

When did you call them?

"The Chief called the other day."

"The Chief?"

"Chief Johnson."

Sharon sighed.

"She called you," Flynn was confused. "We spent all this time looking for Gabriel and you didn't even answer your phone."

"I answered my phone. I didn't realize that she was trying to tell me that Gabriel punched the guy. She said that they might be able to help find him. We already found him."

Flynn shook his head. He spent all this time away from Andrea for no reason.

"I liked going to the yoga studio." Provenza was beaming.

"So Chief Johnson called."

"She said it was under control. I don't know what she said. I thought it was over."

"You didn't think beating him to a pulp was a relevant factor."

"He didn't look that bad to me. I assumed he wasn't going to complain about being punched by someone he was trying to mug. Not exactly a winning argument at trial. I still can't believe that I punched him to death."

"He didn't look that bad?"

"It was dark. It's not like you can see bruises instantly."

The interview ended. It would be hard to prove that Gabriel used excessive force. He faced an assailant with a knife. He had a civilian in harms way. He didn't use a weapon of any kind. He backed down when he realized the mugger was weak.

Sgt. Elliot wasn't pleased that no one followed protocol. Gabriel didn't report it. Chief Johnson kind of almost reported it. Captain Raydor pretty much missed it entirely, and she used to run FID.

"My report is due soon. I must be going."

David and his union rep went to leave. On the way out, Sanchez stopped him.

"Hey!"

"Hey Julio."

"You look like you could use a drink, or five."

"I wish. I have to head back to work."

"We're not going to throw you under the bus. We'll figure this out."

"I know. Thanks."

Prosecutor's office.

"What did I do?" Brenda whined into the phone. "I didn't follow protocol. I don't work for LAPD anymore. Screw your stupid protocol." She did not want to talk to Elliot.

"What I said to Sharon isn't your business. You want to know. You ask her." Brenda hung up. She was not snitching on anyone.

Tommy and Jackie looked at each other. They decided to make a reprise at the bar on Saturday and tell Sammy's story, that he was in the hospital, and he needed friends. They left out the FBI part.

Gabriel came back to work.

Brenda sent him off. "Go home. Take Eliza to dinner or something."

He turned around and left.