AN: A BIG thank you goes to all my readers out there :-) To those who had the time to leave me a review...I can't remember if I've sent you all a PM to thank you but I appreciate all your kind comments. While I don't write to get reviews, as a writer, positive feed back is very encouraging as it lets me know what aspects of my writing or story you enjoy most and constructive feed back helps me grow to be a better writer.

Special thanks goes to "jodm" for her trivia on SF transport and for her constant support.

Tanith

ACT V

SFPD, Bureau of Inspectors, 850 Bryant Street, 1973

Sitting across from the suspect, Mike continued to question the man's whereabouts the night Steve was shot. While Wade Moreno was doing his best to dance around the subject by insisting all he could remember was spending the night with a prostitute, Mike could see the sweat glistening on the younger man's face and the agitation in his voice was not lost on the detective. To Mike, these were common traits of a guilty conscience.

"If you really have nothing to hide then what were you doing in Miss Wakefield's home? Do you deny you tried to cause her harm?" Bill Tanner rounded on Moreno as he paced Mike's office.

"Look, I told you. She stole my money and I was there to teach her a lesson not to do it again…"

"You were at that apartment with one intention: murder!" Mike cut in gruffly.

"Oh come on! Why would I bother killing a whore? Sure I was going to knock her about a bit and give her a real good scare, but I wasn't going to kill her! I'm not saying anything else. I wanna speak to a lawyer. I have rights you know!" Moreno retorted heatedly.

Before Mike's temptation to grab the lout and throw him up against the wall became a reality, an urgent knock on the door broke the tension.

Tanner opened the door and allowed Devitt to enter.

"Mike, we found Steve's Porsche in Moreno's garage. We also found a gun in the house. It could be the same one used to shoot down Steve," Devitt announced.

All eyes immediately turned to the suspect sitting in the chair in front of Mike's desk. They noted the color drain from the young man's face.

"Don't even bother trying to explain that. You can wait for your lawyer," Mike stated firmly with a hint of triumph in his voice as he pointed at Moreno for effect then said to Tanner, "Book him for two counts of attempted murder…"

"No, wait! I swear I didn't do it! I didn't shoot that cop!" Moreno protested, leaning forward across the desk to beg for Mike's attention.

"Get him out of here and lock him up!" Mike ordered Devitt and Tanner.

As Devitt and Tanner grabbed hold of Moreno's arms on either side, the suspect started to struggle and the smugness and streetwise attitude was replaced with fear and a desperate longing for self-preservation. "No, no, please! Alright…Alright I was there when the cop was shot but it wasn't me who pulled the trigger! I never wanted to hurt anyone! There wasn't meant to be anyone home! You gotta believe me!" Moreno pleaded.

Mike held up a hand to forestall Devitt and Tanner then motioned for them to let Moreno sit back down in the chair. "Who did it?"

Moreno's hesitation was met by Mike's glare and the young man resigned himself to his fate. "Tony. Tony Brewer is your guy," Moreno finally revealed.

"You and Brewer robbed my house then Brewer shot my partner? Why should we believe you?" Mike questioned coldly.

"It's the truth, man! I thought he was going to knock him out. I didn't know he was going to shoot anyone. Your cop came out of nowhere and we panicked!" Moreno insisted in desperation.

"How did you and Brewer get hooked up?" Mike demanded.

"I met him one night when I was drinking at a bar. I'd just found out I was gonna lose my job at Simmons Lock and Key and I guess I was mouthing off about it when Tony told me he knew of a way to get even with them."

"Even? You were hired on a temporary basis. It says so in your contract! A contract that you signed!"

"Look, you don't understand! I worked real hard on that job and the least they could've done was given me something part time. I needed that job! Just because I only signed on to relieve some guy on vacation doesn't mean they could just throw me away like garbage!"

Mike's patience had worn down and he failed to keep his voice steady as he blasted Moreno, "That still doesn't give you the right to manipulate the basis of your contract! It might not be fair to you but the company was well within its legal rights to let you go when the contract ended. Right now, I'm not interested in your sob story! If what you're telling me is the truth, then there's a killer on the loose and you have two choices. You can tell me where I can find Brewer or you can sit in a cell and think about those charges you're facing!"

Moreno's shoulders sagged as he gave out Tony's address.

"Roy, get a hold of the airport with Brewer's details and notify security that he is not to board a plane and that he is armed and dangerous. Get Norm to pass the word on to the bus, BART, and train depots and set up road blocks on the main highways that Brewer is likely to use to make a get-away. I want the city sealed off!" Mike instructed urgently before he called out the door for Sekulovich to take Moreno into booking.

"I'm not going to jail for something I didn't do!" Moreno cried out.

"That's the least of your worries! Right now you're still facing an attempted murder charge and armed robbery. That's assuming you are telling us the truth about your accomplice." Mike ignored Moreno's protests, grabbed his coat and fedora then stormed out of the office with Tanner hurrying to keep up.

Residence of Tony Brewer

Tossing a sports bag on top of the bed, Tony Brewer started to fill it with the scant contents of his wardrobe and drawers. The last item to be slipped into the slim compartment at the front of the bag was his passport. He then picked up his pistol and stowed it beneath the waistband of his jeans. He had every intention of disposing the weapon on his way to the airport but not before he paid Moreno a visit. With the hooker taken care of and the shot-up cop off limits with the possibility of not pulling through, he needed to tie up the only other loose end. It might not get him off the hook but at least getting his accomplice and the girl out of the way would keep the cops busy and confused long enough for him to get out of San Francisco.

Silently but hastily, Lieutenant Mike Stone, Inspector Tanner and two other officers reached the modest home of Tony Brewer. At Mike's signal, Tanner and one of the officers rounded the back while he and the second officer proceeded toward the front door with their guns drawn but in a lowered position in front of them.

"Police, open up!" Mike called out, his free hand wrapped around the door knob as he stood to one side with his back pressed firmly against the wall.

Cursing at his bad fortune, Brewer hurried toward the back door but a quick glance through the crack between the curtain and the back door window, revealed movement and he knew he was trapped. Damn it! Abandoning the black sports bag, he pulled out his pistol, checked that it was fully loaded then stood to the side of the back door. He peeked through the curtain again and counted two men; one uniformed cop and one plain clothed. He figured these would be easier to take out than the big shot hollering at the front door. Heading out the back would also give him a better chance of escaping. A scrap yard was well within his reach but first he needed to take care of the two cops waiting for him outside his back door. Pulling back the hammer, he cocked the pistol, took a step away from the door then fired a shot straight through the glass. A cry of pain reached his ears and much to his satisfaction he heard the sound of someone going down but before he could do anything else, the door slammed open. Brewer ducked and rolled away from the door then raised his gun and fired another round. Another cry of pain told him his second shot had taken out both the obstacles standing in his way to freedom.

Bill Tanner felt the gun leave his hand before a burning pain caused him to cry out involuntarily. He withdrew from the back door and clutched his right hand as a searing sensation crawled across the top of his knuckles. There was no time for him to attempt to pick up his gun as a figure of a dark haired, solidly built man in his mid-thirties flew out the back door. The man wheeled around, let loose a wild shot that missed the African-American Inspector by inches then took off at a run.

After hearing the first shot coming from inside the house, Mike broke through the front door and with Officer Brady covering him, he cautiously made his way into Tony Brewer's home. A crashing sound was followed by a second shot causing Mike's heart to skip a beat. The seasoned cop ran at a crouch toward the back of the house. The figure of a man who could only be none other than Tony Brewer raced out the back door. With no time to issue orders, Mike ran after the crook with the younger officer behind him. As they exited the home, a third shot rang out and instinct told them to duck down. Seeing the culprit leap over the back fence, Mike straightened up and found Tanner leaning against the wall clutching his hand.

"Are you alright?" Mike asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It just took some skin off. I'll be fine," Tanner panted.

A groan alerted Mike to Officer Phillips who lay on the ground holding his side. Gesturing for Officer Brady to take care of Phillips, Mike started after Brewer.

"Mike! Be careful!" Tanner shouted as looked on helplessly. He was torn between going after the Lieutenant or staying behind to call for back up and an ambulance. Nursing his injured hand and gazing over at the wounded officer, Tanner made his choice and one that he wished he didn't have to make as he headed back to the LTD to call for assistance.