The ringing of Sharon's phone brought her awake in an instant. She fumbled briefly, but recovered, swiping it with practiced ease.
"Raydor." She answered, her diction perfect, words not slurred from sleep.
"Sharon?It'sAndy.I'mgoingtoneedyourservices." Andy Flynn's words were ice in her stomach.
"Andy? You haven't killed anyone, have you?" She closed her eyes.
"Idon'tthinkso.Ishothim,buthegotaway,atleastaroundthecorner." He sounded winded.
"Stay. Put. And I'm calling a bus for you, you sound awful. I will be right there." She flicked the screen, killing the call, before turning to Brenda's slumbering form. She reached for the slender shoulder tucked snugly under her Egyptian cotton sheets, but her hand hovered just above. If she woke her, Brenda would insist on showing up. But the Chief's phone hadn't rung. Her appearance at a crime scene to which she had not been called would only complicate matter. Sharon sighed deeply. This was going to cause an argument, undoubtedly. Still, Delk held the cards now, and Sharon knew that arriving together at the scene would inevitably filter back to him. And he could transfer Brenda, essentially exile her, perhaps to Fugitive Squad, or Traffic. She shuddered. Best to let her sleep.
Decision made, she slipped noiselessly out of the bed, and fetched a pencil skirt and blouse in Nor'easter grey, knowing they'd match the blazer hanging on the hook by the front door. She quietly ran a comb through her hair, fluffing it gently with her fingers, and slicked on a fresh coat of lipstick, before grabbing her Blahniks from their unorthodox resting place by the door. In the hall, she shrugged into the clothing, and carried the shoes down the steps, her bare feet barely whispering against the soft grain of the wooden floors. Snagging her blazer off the hook, she pulled it on, shouldering the purse beneath it, and then eased the front door open, flipping the lock back into position once it had cleared the jamb. She stepped into her shoes, and outside in a fluid, silent move, pulling the door gently closed behind her. She reached into the clutch, and retrieved her keys, locking the bolt, and then walked quickly to her car.
On the way to the scene, she radioed for an ambulance for Flynn. As she drove, she drummed her fingers on the wheel. This was going to be a test for their relationship, she knew that. Flynn hadn't called Brenda first, and that was bound to rankle. Sharon knew that she would get the brunt of that ire, plus some for leaving Brenda blissfully ignorant in sleep. She pondered sending a text, but decided that was a coward's maneuver. At a red light, she clenched her fingers together, watching as the skin across her knuckles discolored to a pale white, and then, when she relaxed them, flooded to a gentle pink. It was the same sort of color progression that danced across Brenda's chest just before…the honk of a horn behind her put Sharon back on task, and she pulled away from the intersection. Pressing a button, she activated the Bluetooth in her car.
"Call Elliot" She instructed, and the mechanical voice confirmed the action.
"FID, Elliot." He answered in half a ring.
"I need you to meet me in the parking lot of St. Luke's. There's been an OIS involving Andy Flynn, and I'd rather not have the rookie on this one. I know it's late, and you've just had a baby, and I'm very sorry to inconvenienced you, but I need you on this."
"Sure thing, Captain. I don't live too far from there, so I'm on my way."
"Thank you, Sargent. I will see you at the scene." She ended the call.
Arriving, she found Flynn arguing with the paramedics. He looked sallow, his cheeks sunken and paler than normal. She strode over quickly, and took rapid notes as he began his statement. As he spoke, his words began to slur a bit, and he tipped forward, slumping. The paramedics caught him under the arms, and heaved him into the bus. Sharon's throat was unreasonably dry, as she turned her steely glare on the EMTs.
"Do NOT let this man die." She growled, before dismissing them with a wave. She turned, and felt a flood of unexpected relief at the familiar sight of Provenza and Tao. She rolled her eyes. Sentimentality towards Major Crimes was going to have to stop. She wasn't bedding the whole division. Fortunately, following close behind was Sargent Elliot. She nodded to the Major Crimes officers, and then focused on her Sargent.
"He was attacked here, at his car. They fought, which brought them to here, and then here," she measured the steps, wincing inwardly at the amount of blood on the ground. "Here, they struggled, and this is, I believe, where Lieutenant Flynn indicated he was wounded by the knife. Here, they struggled, and Flynn broke free, retrieving his service weapon. The suspect was fired upon twice, Flynn indicates both were hits. We can then follow the blood trail here, across the parking lot, and here, to the sidewalk for approximately 3 yards, where the trail disappears completely."
"So he either had an accomplice, or he's driving while losing a ton of blood." Provenza muttered.
"I am inclined to hope that he isn't driving himself. If he were to black out, he could kill innocent people."
Tao knelt low, peering at the red stains on the pavement. He duck walked around two of the spatters, then grinned.
"He's not driving himself. Look, the drops end here, at the curb. But the spatters have the same edging. So he never changed position. Which means the car was parked here, facing north, with the passenger side accessible. If the car had been facing south, the edging would indicate that he'd turned around to enter the vehicle." He glanced up, shoving his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.
"Excellent work, Lieutenant. Thank you." Sharon was genuinely grateful for at least that small reassurance. Her relief was short lived, as a tan sedan whipped into a parking place across the street. She flinched, as the car door slammed, and Brenda stalked across the street, fury radiating from her frame.
"Where is my Lieutenant, Cap'n?" Brenda spat.
"He's gone ahead in the bus to Mercy. He lost some blood, and there was concern about his ribs, as I understand it." Sharon replied gently.
"Why am I only hearing about this from Detective Gabriel?" At this, Brenda glared at her officers, as well as Sharon.
"I thought Andy called you." Provenza groused. "If I'dda known he just called me and the Cap, I woulda called you."
"Lieutenant Flynn called Captain Raydor himself?" Brenda moved from fury to incredulity.
"I did receive a call from him, yes." Sharon confirmed.
"I'm going to the hospital to see my Lieutenant. You have my phone number, don't you Captain? Surely you can give me a call if the mood strikes you, and there's anything important you might want to relay." Brenda spun on her heel and stalked back to her car.
Sharon sighed, and pressed her thumb into her temple. It was going to be a very long day, indeed.