Author notes: thanks to those reviewing. Hopefully there are more of you out there reading this. I hope the M rating for the language wasn't a kiss of death to this. By the way, I still don't own these characters, other than the bad guys!
Maurice Ricci must have been close because it wasn't long before he was pulling open the door. "What's up Paul?" he asked as the two men made their way deeper into the building.
"I ran into a little trouble and I need a hand with tying up some loose ends. We need to dump him somewhere far from here," Walker gestured towards a dark heap on the floor.
Maurice stopped short when he saw Flack's body. "What's with him? Someone trying to squeeze in on business?"
"No, he's a cop that came knocking on my door."
"A cop! Damn it Paul, you got a death wish? Frankie's going to kill you."
"I called him already. He's cool with it. We'll just dump him away from here and make sure there's nothing to lead back to Frankie. I'll lay real low for a while and they'll forget about me soon enough." Walker looked like he was speaking more to assure himself than Maurice. "Come on, grab him and let's get him to your car."
They both bent down and came up under Flack's shoulders, lifting his bulk to their own shoulders and they made their way out. After heaving him into the back of the white Ford Expedition, the two men took a moment to catch their breath.
"Damn, he's heavier than he looked." Maurice shut the door and turned to Walker. "Anything left to do inside?"
"No I cleaned up while I was waiting for you. I've got his gun, thought it might come in handy." He patted his own pocket. "Lets head out. I was thinking we could dump him down by that mission on West 87th. No one will look twice at someone lying in an alley." Walker opened the vehicle's passenger door and climbed in.
As they drove, they caught a glimpse of Walker's apartment building and of the police cruisers pulled up outside of it. Walker threw a glance a Flack's limp form in the back seat and laughed, "Looks like the cavalry came a little late for you Lone Ranger." Both men shared the laugh as they drove away.
Mac pulled up behind a police cruiser and hurried out of his car. He could see several officers and Stella leaning over the hood of the front car. As he approached Stella looked up from the map she had been studying. "Mac," the relief evident in her voice. "We've got two cruisers starting to make sweeps through this section." She pointed to an outlined section of the map. "Plus Officers Harper and Meyers here are getting ready to start a foot search. Part of the trouble is that so many of these old warehouses are empty, so no one would notice if someone came running through."
Two more cars pulled up and the occupants spilled out quickly. Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe hurried up to the group positioned around the car. Behind his glasses, Danny's eyes spoke of his worry, "Any word yet?" He looked from Mac to Stella hoping to see any indication of good news.
"No." Mac's voice was devoid of the emotions he was feeling. "Lindsay, get your kit and go up and start processing the apartment. I want something to link Walker to the rape or anything that we could hold him on. Danny, I want you to go with me and help with the foot search. I can't help but think that they couldn't have gotten very far. Stella, get yourself checked out and make sure that ankle isn't something more serious than a sprain.
"Mac, I'm fine." Stella protested quickly. "The emergency room will take forever if I go in. Please," her voice spoke of her desire, her need to remain, "I can't leave Flack out there alone." She looked imploringly at her supervisor. "Come on Mac."
Mac reconsidered momentarily. "O.k., call out an ambulance, get checked out and have them stand-by."
The group surrounding Mac made furtive glances at each other. No one wanting to put into words what Mac had implied. The likelihood of finding Flack unscathed was growing slimmer with each passing moment.
He knew that everyone was counting on him. Looking at his team, Mac responded with his characteristic gruffness that they needed to remember to watch their backs. "We've all got work to do. Call if anything turns up."
Lindsay went to her car and grabbed her field kit and Danny turned back to the spread out map, looking at it so intently almost as if he were willing it to answer his questions. Mac started to turn when Stella grabbed his arm. "Find him Mac. Please."
Mac placed a reassuring hand across hers, "We'll bring him back. Don't worry. Come on Danny. Which direction do we think they went?"
Leading with the map in his hand, Danny looked up. "Stella said it looked like Flack went right once he was outside the door, but she couldn't be 100 sure."
"O.k., so right we go. If you wanted to out run a cop where would you go?" Mac scanned the area ahead of them.
"Right towards there." Danny motioned towards the blocks of dilapidated warehouses that lined the street for blocks. The two men proceeded, looking for any clue that would lead them to the whereabouts of their friend.
Frankie Scalero had made up his mind. The initial anger over Walker's stupidity had not burned out. No, it smoldered for a while, punctuated with bright flare ups. Forcing himself to focus on the best way to distance himself from the fall out that would surround a cop's disappearance, to keep the family safe. After coming up with several scenarios, he had decided there was only one option. Picking up his phone he punched in a number. "Maurice, keep quiet, this is Frankie. I'm guessing that you're with Paul already. You are? O.k., not a word. Paul has seriously fucked up. The only way I see it is to cut our connections with him. Permanently. Drop the cop and make it look like he offed Paul. Make sure no one sees you. Understand? Good, I won't forget your help in taking care of this little matter." Hanging up, Frankie leaned back in his chair. With a little luck this whole problem would be resolved soon.