I Did It My Way
Black-Angel-001: thanks to everyone who reviewed, put the story or me on alert, and those who just read it. i'm glad you all seem to enjoy it. and yeah, steve may feel like an outsider at the moment but you can be sure it won't last.
I Did It My Way
The convention had gotten off to a great start. The cops had been shown a working protoype of a new bullet proof vest that was lighter and allowed more movement, but still stopped the bullet as efficently as before. There had been demonstrations of the vest on dummies and one volunteer. There were more seminars for things like new detaining and apprehending technique, managing witnesses ("Need to record that one and play it in the car over and over again," snickered Danny with a look at Steve), and new weapons being used for beat cops and tactical units (of course Steve perked up for that one). There were twenty minute breaks between each seminar and an hour and a half for lunch. The day ended at five pm and would pick up again at eight the morning.
So yeah, Danny figured it was off to a really great start.
Now if only his head would stop pounding, it would be even better. Despite his headache, Danny was still driving his car back home and refused flatly to relinquish control. Then his phone rang.
'Hi, Rachel," he said after looking at the screen and hitting the answer button.
Steve glanced at Danny during the silence and did so again, sharply, when Danny practically shouted, "What!"
Deciding it was best to mind his own business (he'd hear about it eventually) Steve focused on the scenery. But when Danny pulled to the side of the road and cut off the engine, Steve looked over to see his partner glaring out the windshield and violently thrumming his fingers on one leg, which was bouncing up and down.
"No, Rachel, you can't. I can tell you that because it's total bullshit."
Steve's eyebrows went up. Must be bad if Danny was swearing at her. Maybe they were moving to Europe? Steve didn't like that idea too much.
"I will if I damn well want! Rachel, I never agreed to any of that! None!" Danny listened and if Steve focused more on the tiny shrill voice, he could listen too.
Steve didn't want to focus on the voice though-he wanted to focus on his partner.
Danny's face was stoney, hard in profile. There was a tick in his cheek and one of the veins in his head was starting to pulse. Steve had seen Danny pissed three times: once when Rachel threatened full custody (and almost got it), again when Stan had put Grace (and yeah, Rachel, Steve grudgingly allowed) in danger, and the last time had been the cop who'd framed Danny's old partner from HPD.
This? This was not Danny Williams pissed. This was Danny Williams livid.
"Oh yeah," Danny was saying now. "Well since your lawyer seems to hear from my lawyer more than I do, your lawyer can tell mine to just-"
"Okay," Steve interjected, snatching the phone away from Danny's ear and putting it to his own. "Rachel, Steve. Danny's gonna call you back." He hung up before she could get anything out.
In the driver's seat, Danny had his head leaned back, his eyes closed, and was breathing deeply. In his lap, his always moving hands were clenching and unclenching tightly. There were little lines across his forehead that told Steve he was also getting a migraine.
They sat silently, Steve watching Danny, Danny trying to calm down. Steve didn't think it was working.
Finally, Danny said quietly, almost to no one in particular, "I am getting an immediate flight back to Newark, New Jersey."
Steve didn't say anything to that, waiting for the explination.
"I am going to go to New Jersey," he said again, "and I am going to stuff every one of my legal documents from my divorce down my lawyer's throat."
The conversational tone Danny used was almost scary.
"But not before I beat the shit out of him, and maybe tie him to the hood of my car."
Alright, the wistfullness? That was scary, coming from Danny.
"Hey," Steve said. Danny didn't look at him. "Hey," he said again, louder.
Danny's head rolled his way, his eyes open, and yeah, there was a murderous glint to them.
"Why do you want to murder your lawyer? Besides the fact that he's a lawyer?"
The humor didn't work the way he hoped it would.
"Because he's more of an incompetent, unethical jackass than I thought."
Steve waited again. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Apparently, Rachel's lawyer talked to my soon to be former lawyer and brought a deal to him about custody, maybe changing Grace's last name."
Steve felt his mouth fall open and he shouted, "What?"
"Exactly. Thompson agreed to most of it, but not the name change. That's what Rachel was calling to tell me about-that it wouldn't be two weekends every month. Instead, how about one weekend a month?"
That murder plan didn't sound all that bad, but Steve pushed it aside.
"What are you going to do," he asked instead.
Danny started the car again. "I'm going to drop you off then go to the office. I gotta call Thompson and fire him, then look for a new lawyer, preferably someone here on the island."
"I could help you."
Danny glanced over at him. "No, thanks, I've got it." He paused and made a motion with one hand. "Thanks though. Really."
The rest of the drive was silent contemplation.
Black-Angel-001: new development! what will happen now? hopefully it won't be too long before my next update for you to find out :)
