Ch. 18

The beginning of the workweek started in a mundane fashion. Dante, having to testify in court that morning had chosen to wear his "court suit," a dark blue/light blue combination with a yellow accent tie. He arrived at the courthouse shortly after nine A.M. but it was almost ten-thirty before he was called to the stand. He had been the primary in the double homicide case being prosecuted and he consulted his notes as he answered questions from the district attorney. Remaining cool under cross examination, he asserted that yes, the defendant on trial was indeed the culprit, having been caught with the murder weapon in his possession, as well as the stolen goods from the robbery committed before the murders that he'd been unable to fence. Once the defendant's attorney realized that Dante was unshakable in his testimony, he ended his questioning, and since there was no redirect, Dante was finally free to leave.

Something the DA had mentioned about the commission of the robbery aspect of the crime had sparked Dante's curiosity about another case, an older one, and he, after having changed from the suit to his trademark khakis and casual t-shirt, made his way to the basement where the older records were kept. One of the projects Valerie was involved in was scanning the old records onto the PCPD database. A laborious task that was involving all of the administrative aides on staff, Valerie was spending more and more time in the basement because she was in charge of the project. He was hoping to get a chance to chat with her but when he entered the room, he found himself alone. Putting his disappointment aside, he got to work after he had located the file in question. The manner in which the robbery was carried out reminded him of Joey Robbs' earlier work. He wondered if Robbs could have been an accomplice to the double homicide. He couldn't imagine Robbs escalating from robbery to murder but he wasn't quite willing to rule him out, either. Thinking of Joey reminded him that he hadn't heard from Nathan all day. It was getting late in the day; he wondered if his partner had eaten lunch without calling him. He checked his phone and realized the basement was a dead zone, and he wasn't getting service.

Ascending from the basement, Dante noticed that he had two missed calls, both from Nathan. He tried to call his partner twice; his calls were sent to voicemail. Nathan wasn't answering his phone. Finally listening to the messages, Dante heard, "Hey man, it's me. I got a tip from Scribbs about Joey Robbs running a fencing ring down on Perry Street, in the old abandoned paper mill. I'm thinking about going down there and nosing around. Catch you later." The second message was "Hey, that tip from Scribbs was legit—something is going on down here. I want to check it out. Tag me back when you get this message, or just come down here." Dante looked at his watch and realized both messages had been left over a half an hour ago. He ran to his car as he tried once again to reach Nathan. Still no answer. He had a bad feeling…

Eventually, he arrived in the area of the old mill. He parked down the street a ways from the area since he didn't want to be conspicuous. Somehow he had to connect with Nathan without alerting anyone in the mill to his presence. Deciding to approach from the alley behind the mill, Dante felt a prickling sensation in the back of his neck, and he drew his gun from its holster. He wasn't necessarily expecting trouble, but something didn't feel right. Moving furtively through the alley he saw—something—a few yards ahead of him. It took him a moment to realize what he was actually seeing. A body. He was already running before he knew it, skidding to a stop and almost falling as he rushed to his partner's side.

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Fumbling for his cell phone, Dante reminded himself, "One second to panic. Only one second to panic. Then, fix the problem." He dialed 911 and the operator came on the line immediately. "911. What is the nature of your emergency?" "This is Detective Dante Falconeri, badge number 2503. I've got an officer down, I repeat, officer down in the alley behind the Perry Street paper mill. I'm gonna need some units down here; I also need a bus. His breathing is shallow and he's unconscious. I don't know how long he's been down. He's bleeding from the back from—I can't tell whether he's been shot or stabbed. There's a lot of blood…" "I've got units as well as an ambulance en route to your location, Detective. Please stay on the line until they arrive." He could hear the sirens in the distance and he whispered, "Yo, West, help is on the way. Stay with me, buddy, ok?" The ambulance arrived seconds before three separate police units came around the corner with concerned cops rushing into the alley. As the paramedics began working on Nathan, Dante was shouting orders to his subordinates. "Scour this alley and inside the mill. Look for anything he might have been stabbed with or any kind of weapon. There's supposed to be some kind of fencing ring being operated out of here. Find me something or someone who can corroborate that. Find Scribbs—his tip brought Nathan down here. I need to know if it was a legit tip or a setup. And run Joey Robbs to ground—I want his ass in lockup before end of shift!" Running to his car, he followed the ambulance to General Hospital.

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The Commissioner met Dante in the Emergency Department of General Hospital, demanding answers he just didn't have. He didn't know what prompted Nathan to go to the mill on his own. He didn't know why he hadn't called it in or waited for backup. From the messages he left on Dante's voicemail, he was scouting only—he probably wasn't expecting trouble. Until they could actually talk to Nathan, everyone was in the dark.

After assessment and stabilization, Nathan was wheeled into surgery. More and more of the PCPD spilled into the waiting area as they waited for word on Nathan's condition. Maxie came flying around the corner, closely followed by Lulu and Dillon. "Where is he? How is he? What happened?" she asked in rapid succession as she repeatedly wiped falling tears. "I don't know, Maxie," replied Dante, adding, "I found him in the alley behind the old mill on Perry Street. He was working on a robbery case and he got a tip that he was following up on. So far, that's all I know, except it seems that he was stabbed in the back. Assailant or assailants unknown. We're gonna have to wait for more information from him when he wakes up." "Where are the doctors? Why isn't anyone telling us anything?" Maxie wondered in frustration. "I think his mother went to see what she could find out—maybe she'll come back with an update," Dante told her. Patrick Drake overheard Dante as he walked up to them. "Dr. Obrecht is still observing the surgery, which is ongoing. I can tell you what I know so far. The main issues being addressed right now are a traumatic pneumothorax due to a punctured lung and hypovolemia, or blood loss volume. Thankfully, Dante got to him just in time—hypovolemic shock has been ruled out, but only barely. He's gonna need a blood transfusion, so if any of you want to go the lab and give blood, that would be a help to him. There was no spinal trauma; it appears that whatever was used to stab him missed his spine by inches. Dr. Kamaal is one of the best surgeons on staff so Nathan's in good hands. Barring any complications, his prognosis is excellent. He should make a full recovery. He's healthy, he's strong—those factors are in his favor, Maxie. I know this will sound trite, but try not to worry, ok?"

Maxie launched herself into Patrick's arms gratefully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She kissed his cheek and he laughed, "Dr. Kamaal is the one doing the surgery, not me. All I did was give you an update on his condition. Once the surgery is finished, I'm sure he'll come out and explain what was done and what to expect after surgery. Just hang tight."

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After having checked her messages, Valerie quickly made her way to GH. Dante called and told her Nathan was in the hospital with stab wounds to his back. Once he told her what he knew, he asked her to come to the hospital as soon as she could. He sounded shaky on the phone, reaction setting in, no doubt. He was worried for his partner and his friend. She was concerned, too.

She finally arrived at the waiting area and she saw that many of her PCPD co-workers were already there in support of their fallen comrade. Approaching Dante and tapping his back lightly, she asked, "What have you heard so far? How's he doing?" He turned to her with a look of relief and replied, "I think he's gonna be ok. Patrick Drake told us what he could about how the surgery was goin' so far, what problems they were tryin' to fix, stuff like that. I was so scared, Val. There was so much blood…"

"But you found him in time, that's the important thing. You took care of him and got him help. He's alive because of you—don't forget that."

"I shoulda been with him—he shouldn't have gone to the mill alone! I don't know what he was thinkin'! He tried to reach me but I was in the basement records room and I missed his calls. I keep thinkin' if only I'd checked my phone messages sooner! I feel guilty, like I let him down somehow."

"You saved his life, Dante! It's not your fault the basement is a dead zone. Just be glad-" She was interrupted by Maxie's shrill voice behind her. "What are you doing here? You're not welcome here! I don't want you here! You should just leave-" Dante quickly cut her off, saying, "I asked her to come, Maxie." "Well, I don't want her here! Lulu doesn't want her here! She's making everyone uncomfortable by being here!" To Val she said, "You should just go."

In a low voice, Val whispered to Dante, "I don't want to stress anyone out. The situation is tense enough. Maybe I should go-" Overhearing her, Maxie repeated, "Yeah, you should just go."

As Val moved to leave, Dante stopped her with an upraised hand, saying, "She's not goin' anywhere. I asked her to come here, and she has as much right to be here as anyone. You don't have the right to tell her to leave." Lulu tried to intervene with Maxie. "Maxie, it's ok-" "IT'S NOT OK! I NEED YOU HERE AND YOU DON'T WANT HER HERE, SO SHE NEEDS TO GO!"

Feelings of exasperation were beginning to set in as Dante exclaimed, "It's not just about you, Maxie! She-"

"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!"

"AND HE'S MY PARTNER! LOOK AT ME! THIS ISN'T MY BLOOD ON MY SHIRT! IT'S HIS! Everyone here is here because we're concerned about our brother! We're a family at the PCPD and like it or not, Valerie is a part of that family! We're all waitin' to hear word about how he's doin'! You have people supportin' you! Well she's here because she cares about Nathan, and she's here supportin' me! We can go to the other side of the room if we need to but she's not leavin', because I want her here!"

All other conversations in the waiting area had ceased because of the raised voices so no one missed Dante's last words. Lulu cocked her head to the side as she looked at him and then slowly shook her head. She turned away and walked over to one of the windows, where she looked out blankly, not really seeing anything. Maxie watched her walk away before she glared angrily at Dante. "Just when I think you couldn't go any lower, you manage to surprise me, Dante! I hope you're happy!" She walked over to the window and leaned her head against Lulu's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. After glowering at Dante and emitting a disgusted huff, Dillon joined them.

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Into the silence, Valerie sighed and shook her head. "Oh, boy." Dante was still annoyed so his "Oh, boy, what?" came out a bit more harshly than he intended. "Well," she responded as she gazed around the room, "you kind of put some things on blast, didn't you?" "Meanin' what?" "There were rumors going around the department after Lulu went off on me at Jake's. I think most people have the impression now that the rumors were true, if the expressions on their faces are anything to go by. I'm not sure that's what you intended to do—confirm their suspicions." The remaining anger evaporating from him, Dante said ruefully, "I guess I did, didn't I? I'm sorry, Val. I wasn't thinkin'; I was only reactin'. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Damn."

"I'm not embarrassed, Dante. I just feel kind of bad. You didn't see Lulu's face. I think you shocked her." He abruptly sat down in one of the chairs as he watched Maxie and Dillon surround Lulu with comforting touches and hugs. He closed his eyes in frustration. Things do seem to go from bad to worse, he thought. Finally, he stood up and declared, "I need some air—I'm takin' a walk." "I'll wait for you here," she replied.

Dante found himself on the hospital roof. He was reaching for calmness but every time he thought of how he must have sounded to his fellow officers, he became agitated all over again. Valerie was right. The PCPD would be buzzing with this for the next who knew how long. He had been so angry with Maxie that he'd just blurted out his truth for everyone to hear. Maybe it was just as well. But he didn't really believe that.

A voice interrupted his musings. "That was interesting, Dante," Lulu said as she approached him. "I wonder—was that just you standing up for a co-worker, chivalry because she was getting yelled at in front of everyone, or was it something else?"

He exhaled and then turned to face her, responding, "So you think I shouldn't have said anything? Just let Maxie step all over Val's feelings for no other reason than because she felt like doin' it? Maxie shouldn't have told Val to leave. She didn't have the right-"

"I think she was trying to look out for me. She knew I wasn't comfortable having her here, so she tried to speak up for me. I'm surprised at you, though. Maxie is our friend and she's going through something pretty traumatic right now. I would have thought you'd have been a little more understanding. But then, you made it perfectly clear whose side you were on. The way you leapt to her defense! It was impressive—it really was."

"Look, Lulu-"

"No, no really. I was amazed by your ferocity. You standing up for your woman. Really something. A sight to behold."

"What do you want me to say? I'm not gonna apologize for havin' Val's back. I didn't think it was right what Maxie was tryin' to do, and-"

"And you weren't gonna stand for it. Yeah, you made that clear. Crystal clear. Tell me something, Dante. Did I ever really know you?"

"Yeah, you knew me. We knew each other very well. Until suddenly we didn't. You think I'm a bad guy for standin' up for Valerie. I'm ok with that. I think I did the right thing."

"No, I think you're a bad guy because you screwed her-"

"We're not goin' there, Lulu. There's no point. I'm stressed enough about my partner—I came up here to get a little peace. I'm not goin' for round three with you. If you need to be up here, I can go find a quiet corner somewhere else. I'm not gonna argue or fight with you—I really don't need the drama on top of everything else goin' on."

Letting out a short laugh, Lulu said, 'No, I'm sure you don't. I am sorry about Nathan. Believe it or not, I'm glad it wasn't you, though I wish it hadn't been him, either."

"Thanks. I wish I would have been there—maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"It wasn't your fault; no, you know what? I don't need to tell you that. You have someone else to tell you that now. Yeah. Placating your ego and making you feel better isn't my job anymore. You can have the roof; I'm going back to Maxie." She marched over to the roof access door and went through, slamming the door behind her. Ultimately realizing no peace could be found there, Dante left the roof shortly after Lulu. When he returned to the waiting area, Dr. Kamaal was talking quietly to Dr. Obrecht and Madeline Reeves about Nathan's latest prognosis. Valerie told him, "The doctor said he's gonna be ok, Dante. He came through the surgery with no complications and he's in recovery. It's such a relief!" He made his way to a chair and sat down; he rested his arms on his knees as he dropped his head in his hands. Sighing gustily he said softly, "I was so scared, Val. I was so scared. All that blood—I thought he was a goner for sure. I would have never forgiven myself if-"

"Hey, there's no need to go there. He's going to be fine. I'm just grateful he's going to be all right. That you're both going to be all right. The thought that it could have been you-"

"Yeah, I hear you. I'm not used to being on this side of things. I'm usually the one in the hospital bed. Can we see him?"

"Not right now. His—mothers?—were allowed to but the doctor said no other visitors until at least tomorrow. They're going to monitor him through the night and by tomorrow, he should be more alert and able to tell us what happened. I know that's what most of the guys were focused on—him being able to tell what happened. When they weren't talking about us."

"Ahh, Val, I can't apologize enough-"

"I was only teasing you. Don't worry about it. I'm not. But you know what? I think we should probably go. There's nothing more we can do tonight, anyway."

"Yeah, maybe we should. All of a sudden, I'm exhausted. It must be the adrenaline finally fading away. We can always come back later on and check on him. So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I've got a better idea. Why don't you come home with me?"

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