Chapter Twenty-Five

Maura sat in her living room and looked around. It was the middle of the day and she felt useless. She wasn't used to being out of work, having nothing productive scheduled for the day. As a philanthropist she thought of helping out at one of the local food pantries but thought better of it; right now her name was mud in the community and she didn't want anyone else taking a hit because of her presence.

Deep down she wasn't totally upset with being relieved of her duties as CEO of the foundation; she didn't enjoy all of the compromises and 'schmoozing' she had to do to keep the foundation running smoothly. Maura wanted to just go in and get at the heart of a matter and help whatever community she was assisting.

Her thoughts turned to Jane. Quite frankly she wasn't sure what to do there, either. At the very least Jane was her best friend. Maura wanted to be there for her but also knew how calculating Joey could be. Maura couldn't risk Jane losing her children because of Maura's presence in her life.

I'm like a toxic substance, Maura thought. Through no fault of her own her presence in others' lives made her toxic to them. At that thought tears coursed their way down her cheeks.

Jane parked her cruiser down the street from Maura's and cautiously made her way to the doctor's home. She kept her eye out for anyone looking like they were following her but didn't see anyone. She knocked. When there was no answer she knocked again.

"Come on, Maura, I know you're in there," Jane called. Finally she heard a small noise. It sounded like Maura was crying.

"Maura open the door, please. I need to see you," Jane called. The door opened a small amount and a red, tear-streaked face looked out at her. Jane's heart clenched. Joey you bastard, she thought as she pushed past Maura.

Jane pulled Maura into her arms. Kissing Maura's forehead she rubbed soothing circles on Maura's back.

"Come on, sweetie, I hate it when you cry."

"I know," Maura managed to say. She inhaled Jane's scent from her shirt. After a moment she pulled away from Jane and looked up at her.

"I got fired," she said.

"I know."

"Jane, I don't have anything to do. I have no job, I was going to volunteer my services this morning at the food pantry but I thought I was probably too toxic for them. I didn't want any unwanted attention since we seem to be a topic of conversation."

"That's okay, M, we need to concentrate on taking care of Joey. If we've been told the truth my husband has a lot to answer for," Jane replied. She walked Maura over to her sofa and they sat down together.

"I can't believe it, Jane. Joey in the Shannon Clan? If we hadn't heard about this Angelo might have been next," Maura said. Jane's stomach clenched.

"Don't remind me," she said.

"So what are we going to do?"

"I'm going in to work. I've given Frost a heads-up and he's putting together a task force. Some of the other detectives who are knowledgeable about the Irish mobs are joining in so we'll have their expertise. I want to see if we can put a detail on Joey. Personally I want to slam him with everything possible, but we'll have to wait and see."

"Cavanaugh may not want you on the case, Jane."

"I know. But Frost will feed me info so I'll know what's going on, in any situation."

Jane pulled Maura back into her arms. "God I've missed you. I've missed us."

Maura snuggled in closer. "I know, I missed you too, Jane. I missed al of our plans for us."

Jane grew silent. She hurt Maura deeply she knew but she wanted to make it up to her, if possible. Jane knew if Maura did something like this to her she wasn't sure she'd forgive her.

"I forgive you, Jane," Maura broke her silence.

"Damn, M, how do you do that?"

"You're easy for me to read, Jane. I looked up at your expression and saw the amount of sadness there and knew you were afraid I wouldn't forgive you. I do; I can't claim to understand all of what you went through those years ago when you pushed me away, but we're here now. Caitlyn and Angelo are a bonus; when you're awarded full custody I'll enjoy getting to know them better."

"I don't deserve you, M. I certainly don't deserve your forgiveness."

"I don't know about that, Jane. You made a choice and went in a different direction. But you're still the same, fierce, loyal person and fantastic detective I've always known. Someday soon Joey Grant will know what he mistake he made, taking you on."

"Come on, Maura, you're going to the precinct with me. I don't want you alone these days."

"In that case, Jane, maybe you should move in with me so we can keep an eye on each other."

Jane stopped at the front door and turned back to face Maura. "Are you ready for that? No, probably not. How about if I take the guest bedroom for now?"

"We can stop off at your apartment and get your things. You can let the landlord know he can rent it to someone else."

"Are you sure, Maura? Joey isn't going to like this and he'll come after us in whatever way he can."

"I'm collateral damage, Jane. Joey can do what he wants to me. I don't want you to lose your children but I think given what new information we have Joey doesn't have the solid base he thought he did."

"No, Maura, you're not collateral damage. Wait, how do you even know that term? You been watching action movies again, Maura?"

Maura giggled. "The men are pretty awesome, Jane."

"You mean awesome looking, Maura. I know how your mind works."

"That's okay, I'm taken," Maura whispered. She reached up and lightly brushed Jane's lips with her own then pointed the detective toward the door.

"Work, Jane. We must go to the precinct. If we don't leave now we'll never get there."

Maura pushed Jane out the door and they walked down the street to Jane's cruiser.

"Frost, look who's here," Jane called as they entered the bullpen area.

"Hey, doc, how are you? I'm glad you're here," Frost said. "Give me a break from this one," he said, motioning to Jane.

"I'm sure she's not that bad, Barry."

"I agree," a familiar voice said. All three turned to see Vince Korsak enter the bullpen. He looked at Jane. "Frost mentioned the task force. I want to be part of it."

Jane opened her mouth to protest then shut it.

"You're right, Korsak, we need all the help we can get. You were a rookie cop when the original mob wars happened so we can use you."

Jane led the way into the largest interrogation room. She motioned for the others to follow. Once settled she looked around the room. "With the exception of the nature of the case this looks like old times," she said. "Now, everyone take a packet. We have our work cut out for us."

Four hours later Frost leaned back and stretched. "I don't know, Jane. This seems like a lot of work for us to take on. I mean, I know Joey has to be brought to justice for what he's done, but I mean, the Shannon Clan?"

"They've always been one of the meanest, most dangerous of the Irish mobs," Korsak chimed in. "Just when you think you have their next move figured out they change and go in a completely different direction. Look at that North Hollywood bank robbery shootout in Los Angeles a few years ago. The Shannon Clan helped set that up. The use of the technology to keep LAPD's finest from being able to bring them down was completely Shannon."

Jane looked from one to the other, then settled her gaze on Maura. Maura was still concentrating on her packet of information. Jane knew that look.

"Maura, what's going through that head of yours?" she asked.

"Instead of trying to do anything all-encompassing, Jane, how about we go the simple route?"

"Can you expound on that idea, Doctor?" Jane teased. Maura flushed.

"Shall we concentrate solely on Joey Grant? If we find enough evidence to bring an indictment against him the Shannon Clan might be seriously compromised."

"True," Jane mulled over Maura's idea. "The only problem I have is that if Shannon were compromised another Irish mob might try to infiltrate and take over, triggering a mob war. I'd like to avoid that. My idea is to infiltrate all of the mobs as quickly as we can. If most of them are compromised in some way we get what we need and avert a mob war."

"I don't know, Jane," Korsak said. "An operation that large is bound to take too long and be costly in lives lost."

Jane sighed. "Yeah, you're right Korsak. Maybe we should just concentrate on Joey. The Thompson file is in my briefcase. I'll get it and get Alice to make copies for us. We can go over it, see if we can find something to follow up on to implicate Joey."

"Uh, Jane, let me make the copies," Frost volunteered. "I'm not saying anything against Alice but I'd like to keep this between us. I don't want to risk Alice saying something to the wrong person, even if it's innocent."

"Okay. How about we break for a late lunch and meet back here in an hour?" Jane asked. Everyone nodded and they dispersed.

"Let's go to that deli up the street," Maura suggested. "If it's still there."

"It is. For old times sake?" Jane asked. She smiled down at Maura then tucked Maura's hand in her elbow. Maura smiled at the gesture.

"You feel good by my side, Maura."

"I'm quite the accessory, Detective," Maura said with a demure smile.

"I agree," Jane said. Suddenly she grabbed Maura and pushed her against the doorway of an abandoned store. Pinning Maura against the brick she gazed into eyes before leaning down for a soul searing kiss. Maura groaned and pushed her hands through Jane's hair. As they broke apart needing oxygen Jane pulled Maura back toward the deli. As she did two shots rang out, in quick succession. Jane pushed Maura toward the ground, cradling Maura as they fell and covering Maura with her own body. Jane pulled her service weapon and looked around for the shooter. All she could hear were the panicked cries of passersby and patrons of the deli who'd been enjoying their lunch on the patio. In the distance Jane heard a car accelerate. Knowing she was too far away to catch up on foot she radioed in the call and turned to Maura. Maura's eyes were closed. Jane looked around Maura and saw a small trickle of blood.

"Maura!" Jane yelled. She called for a bus and called Frost directly.

"Frost there was a shooting at the deli. Maura's hit," she nearly screamed into her phone.

"On my way, Jane. Is Maura badly hurt?"

"I don't know. There's a trickle of blood underneath her body but I can't see a wound."

"Don't worry, Jane, she'll be fine," Frost said with a confidence he didn't feel. His heart plummeted into his shoes at the news Maura was hurt. He genuinely loved the medical examiner for the person she was and always valued their friendship during their working years. He hated to see anything happen to her, especially since she and Jane were just getting back together.

Jane frantically looked for a bullet wound but didn't see anything. Gently she turned Maura over but didn't see anything on her back. She looked at Maura's head. A small thin red line showed a path around Maura's neck, leading to the back of her head. Jane groaned. She turned Maura back over just as Maura's eyes fluttered open.

"Jane? What am I doing on the ground?" she asked. She started to sit up and struggled to do so.

"Shh, take it easy, sweetie. The EMTs are on their way."

"EMTs? Why, I'm perfectly fine, Jane."

"No, Maura, you're not. Two gunshots were fired just as we headed back to the deli. You've been grazed by a bullet."

"Grazed, Jane?" Maura still didn't completely understand the situation and Jane knew it was because of the shock of being shot.

"Yeah, Maura." Jane took her hand and cradled it in her own. She heard the siren grow louder and knew the EMTs were nearby. She refused to let go of Maura until they loaded her into the ambulance. Flashing her badge she told the lead paramedic she was going with Maura in the ambulance. "It's a matter of her safety," Jane said.

TBC