A dialogue between Mike and Rudy... In response to a writer's challenge of giving a supporting character a lead role and the idea around the off-screen promotion. Set shortly after "Death and the Favored Few", but may not be completely accurate to canon. Still, I hope it addresses the departure of Lessing and the arrival of Tanner, in addition to Steve's promotion.

The Promotion

Captain Olsen opened the glass door to a nearly empty squad room where his homicide team normally worked. With many of the bullpen lights off and the desks vacant, Rudy checked his watch to confirm the time. It was late in the evening, but no matter, the man he wanted to see was alone in his office seemingly focused on a case report.

"You give these guys the day off?" Rudy barked as he crossed the threshold of Mike Stone's office. Mike jumped slightly unaware of Rudy's entrance.

"You're keeping a late hour, Rudy. Did Francine lock you out again?" Mike responded as he teased his long time friend and boss.

The older man harrumphed and took his place on the chair in front of Mike's desk. Not making eye contact, the Lieutenant wondered what was amiss.

"This isn't a social visit, is it, Rudy?" Mike asked as he gave his full attention and studied Olsen's face.

Rudy shook his head as he picked up a pencil randomly lying on the desk and began to tap. "How's the boy doing, Mike?" Rudy asked.

Mike nodded and figured quickly that his young partner was the purpose of Rudy's visit. Steve Keller had been involved in the high speed pursuit of a murder suspect that abruptly ended when he lost control of the department issued Ford Galaxy, flipping the automobile on its side temporarily before it came crashing back down on all tires. "He's fine, Rudy. I sent him home after we booked the Reed's driver and told him to take tomorrow off. He'll be sore in the morning."

Rudy nodded his head and stared at his Lieutenant, making Mike a little nervous.

"The doctor said he had a few bumps and bruises, that's all. Maybe a little whiplash when the car flipped back over, but he'll be right as rain in a couple of days," Mike continued.

Rudy nodded again. "It could have been tragic, Mike. You know that. He could have been killed or worse."

"Worse?" Mike asked.

"He could have killed someone in the pursuit," Rudy charged.

"Aw c'mon, Rudy. He was following a car through the abandoned warehouse area. There's nothing back there but alleys and empty parking lots."

"Don't get me wrong, Mike. I'm glad Steve wasn't hurt - but he was reckless during the pursuit."

"Reckless? He was following a killer! He had been attacked only minutes before. The suspect was a danger to society. Steve recognized it and...", Mike began as his voice raised.

"Now hold on there, Michael. You just said Steve was attacked, right? I read the kid's preliminary report. He lost consciousness."

"For just a few seconds!" Mike countered.

"I don't care, Mike! He should have called for back-up, but he didn't. Instead he went after the guy while he was injured."

"He knows himself and he felt fine. Besides, time was not on his side. Yes, it took a bit for Steve to shake off the attack and get on course, but he tried not to lose the guy. That was what was important to him at the moment."

"He was on the call alone. Did you know where he was?" Rudy asked, wondering if his lead even knew where his men were.

"Of course I did! We split up the tasks related to the investigation, but I knew where he was and he knew where I was. And," Mike paused, "he also checked in with dispatch when he first arrived at the office building."

"Well, let's hear it for protocol," Rudy responded sarcastically. "Look, Mike, it's not just his welfare I'm talking about, it's others."

"What others? He was driving in an abandoned area!" Mike's voice was raised.

"And he plowed into a supply shed. What if someone had been in there?" Rudy countered.

Mike could not conceal his look of confusion and took a deep breath. "What?"

"In addition to totaling a department vehicle, your partner destroyed a supply shed. It was wood frame - a ten by ten - now it's nothing but a pile of lumber. Did he not tell you that?"

Mike sat silently for a moment and gathered his thoughts. "No. I didn't know. I got the call that he was at the hospital after his accident. I never saw the car or the scene of the wreck. We didn't talk about it. Truth be told, the doc was nearly finished with him when I got there and we left fairly quickly."

"Fairly quickly, why?" Rudy asked.

"We got the break we needed. It was like all the pieces fell into place," Mike said as he remembered earlier in the day.

"Go on," Rudy pressed.

"You see, Steve's a good driver - really good. He can follow anyone or anything. I've seen him negotiate curves, congestion - crazy conditions - just about anything over the last few years. Did I ever tell you about the time we became airborne when we hit the hill near Grant and Elm?" Mike remembered with a smile.

"Airborne? Are you telling me he's generally a reckless driver?" Rudy barked.

"Of course not!" Mike snapped. "Just the opposite. I'd trust his driving anywhere. I'd even trust him with my daughter. Driving her, that is." Mike paused again and then refocused.

Rudy contained a smirk as he could read Mike's mind about his Lothario partner with his most protected and beloved Jeannie.

Mike continued. "At any rate, something didn't add up. You don't force Steve into a wreck like that unless you really knew what you were doing. Our suspect had to be a professional driver. That's what broke the case wide open."

"I don't follow..."

"It was the chauffer! That was the red flag - the fact that for Steve not to be able to keep up, it had to be a professional. We focused the investigation on the driver and that's when we made the arrest."

Rudy sighed and shook his head in resignation. "I don't know, Mike. I like the kid. He's sharp and he's able to keep up with you. You two have been together for how long now?"

"We're right at four years. Sure, he was wet behind the ears when he first started but he's matured. I'd trust him as much - hell, maybe more - than the other guys on the team. I trust his instincts," Mike defended.

Rudy sat back in the chair and crossed his leg. Mike continued to stare at his boss. There had to be something more. "What?"

"What?" Rudy asked.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Fearful that Steve was in still in trouble, Mike put on a full court press in his partner's defense. "Look Rudy, I'm sorry about the storage shed. I'll talk to him. You're right, he should have called in after the attack. He needs to remember not to go it alone. But it was my fault as well. I was the one who split us up on the investigation."

Rudy nodded again. "All right, Mike, but you talk to him just the same."

The two men sat in silence until Rudy changed the subject. "I had a meeting with the Chief. I have to think about succession planning, Mike. You're the best thing that's happened around here in a long time, so don't get me wrong when I ask this question. Here goes: who among the guys here would you consider as a qualified replacement for you."

Before Mike could utter a word, Rudy interrupted. "Don't say Keller."

Exasperated, Mike replied. "Well, not now - we need someone with more experience. I get that, Rudy."

"Okay, good. But who? Haseejian?"

"Only if we incorporated bookmaking into our scope of work. Don't get me wrong, Norm's a good guy and a strong detective, but I don't see him taking the lead here. He's got too many irons in the fire."

"Are you saying it might get in the way of his other activities outside of work?"

"In a word, yes. Next?" Mike answered with a chuckle.

"Okay. Dan Healy?"

Mike sighed and shook his head. "He's a decent detective and works fairly well alone, but..."

"But?"

"No leadership. Let's just leave it at that," Mike said as he knew that while Healy was a solid investigator, he did not demonstrate the firmness to lead the men.

Rudy nodded. "Agreed. So, I'm working my way down the seniority ladder here, Mike. Sekulovich hasn't made detective yet, so he's out of consideration."

"Good man, though. Comes from good stock," Mike commented.

"Indeed. Okay, Lee Lessing? I know we just moved him into another division, but what do you think?" Rudy asked. "I found him to be a very fine detective and I think he shows leadership, but in a quiet way."

"Lee is great. All the guys respected him and he's got a good head on his shoulders. All right, you got a winner there," Mike smiled as he thought the discussion was coming to an end.

"But if you were to win the Irish Sweepstakes today, would he be ready?" Rudy continued to probe.

"Today? Say, what are you getting at, Rudy?" Mike was starting to get annoyed.

"Mike, it's my job and you know that. I think Lee is great, but I don't think he's ready for the big time. That's why we moved him to Vice: to broaden his experience. How long did he work for you?"

"Let's see, Steve started here four years ago and I think that Lee was here a couple of years before that, so maybe six years. He wore a uniform for about five years before that."

"Sounds like he's on track. I'd say he'd be ready for your level in another 5-10 years," Rudy calculated mentally.

"Five to ten years? All right, then we're back to square one, because I'm out of men. I just got Bill Tanner! Let me flip the tables on you. If I were to leave today, what would you do?"

"On day one, I'd bring in Roy Devitt. He's a good man, has done a great job in Robbery and has the backbone this job needs."

"All right, Devitt then. And let me guess, if Devitt leaves, you have me on his succession plan?" Mike smirked.

"Yeah, something like that," Rudy said as he shrugged. Catching the annoyed expression on Mike's tired face, "It's not me, it's the Chief."

"Passing the buck, are we, Rudy?"

"You bet," Rudy chuckled. "Look, at some point, we have to develop the youngsters in the Bureau. Lessing has been at top of my list - and believe it or not, Keller is not too far behind. And Tanner, too. I'll be anxious to get your feedback on Bill after he's been here awhile."

"Well, so far so good for Bill. He's come in with some good experience too. But as for Lee and Steve, they both have a bright future. I can see them filling for Roy and me in the coming years," Mike agreed. His impatience growing, Mike realized how much he hated staffing discussions.

Rudy snapped to attention. "All right, development they need, then development they will get. So Lee is on his way and Bill is getting his footing here. And then, of course, we have young Keller," he mused.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that. What are you thinking? You're not taking him away, are you?" Mike couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

"You know, I was going to pull your leg a bit and tell you that I already had him slotted for a spot across town, but I think I'll pass. No, our boy Steve needs to stay with you for a while longer."

"Well, there is more that I can show him..." Mike rationalized.

"You guys are the poster children for what a solid partnership is supposed to be and I'd like to keep that a while longer. Plus, the kid still needs work."

Mike looked insulted but remained quiet.

"Don't give me that look - you know he does. He's got confidence - maybe too much sometimes - and he's still young. While the other guys come in here with years of uniform experience, the kid was only a few months out of the academy. I think if you could smooth the edges a bit more - teach him to slow it down some - it would be to his advantage."

Mike puckered his mouth and remained quiet.

"Look Mike, let me ask you this. In the department staffing plan, we've got two open full inspectors. You know that Brody retired and Hicks got promoted. That means I'm looking for a couple of detectives or assistant inspectors ready for promotion. Lee and Bill are already full inspectors. What do you think of Steve for one of those slots?"

"Now?" Mike asked surprised. "He just became an assistant inspector a few years ago. Usually, most guys are in that slot for five years."

"Well, Bill did it in four. What do you say we plan for Steve to get reslotted in the coming months?"

"No other change, right? He still reports to me?" Mike asked anxiously. "Not that I would stand in his way, but..."

"He would still be your partner. The only thing that will change is his title and pay packet. Consider it as us giving him a vote of confidence," Rudy began. "Not like he needed any more confidence," he then mumbled.

"That's fantastic! I know he won't let you down, Rudy. He's got a great future," Mike beamed with pride.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you've got Norm making book on that boy and you've got quite a sum placed on him."

Mike laughed. "Something like that Rudy. It's called 'faith'."

"Well, you just make sure that somehow between having faith in the kid and him getting a promotion, you sit him down and make sure he knows when to call off a pursuit. No more storage sheds and wrecked cars! That's an order!" Rudy barked for the final time.

"Yes, sir!" Mike said as he watched his boss walk out his office and then out of the bullpen.

Mike looked over to the phone, tempted to call his partner to see how he was doing. He pulled his hand away from the dial. "No, I can't do that. The promotion needs to go through the process anyway. It will take weeks, if not months before its final," he said to himself.

He looked up at the clock and saw that it was 8:15. Dinnertime? Pizza? Mama's? Mike thought to himself. Then he grinned broadly and dialed the phone.

A tired voice answered, "Keller..."

"Hey Buddy boy!" Mike boomed. He could almost feel Steve flinch through the line. "Did I wake you?"

"Wha? Uh, no...at least I don't think so. What time is it?" the young man asked in a state of confusion.

"Time for dinner. My treat. I'll bring it over a pizza from Mama's. And just for you, no anchovies!"

finis