"Bernie's gonna be a busy man."

What little lightheartedness Haseejian had put into his words never made it to the other end of the line as Roy nodded nervously, his fingers tapping against the tile wall he was standing next to.

"How many bodies are we talking here, Norm?"

"Three. All kids. Teenagers. I'd say seventeen maybe. This whole alley looks like a slaughterhouse. Blood everywhere. You can see where the lieutenant and Steve went down. I think Mike got extra treatment. There was a lot of broken wood and glass right by him. Dan took a uni to start canvassing the neighborhood and see if there's any trace of the rest of these guys. But so far, we haven't been able to identify any gang affiliation or what not."

"Yeah, yeah. Well tell Dan to suit up with an extra uni, we already learned that two aren't enough to deal with these thugs. Stone already proved that these kids aren't just some gang trying to extort money. They're out for blood. If we can figure out where they go to school or where they live, we're going to be a lot closer to stopping these thugs. When you get back in the office, take a look at Stone's file again, see if there's anything in there that could explain what went down. Someone must have told these thugs that our guys are onto them."

"You bet.", Norm replied and he heard him shuffle with something on the other end, "We did find some blood farther down the street, so one of them is hurt. Any news on the kid they took in with the bullet wound?"

"He's still in surgery. The bullet entered below his throat, he's not in the best of shape. They're not sure if he's going to pull through."

"What…what about our guys?"

Even though Haseejian had said it casually, Roy could hear the worry in the other man's voice all too well.

"Stephen is pretty banged up but he's slowly coming around. Things are still shaky with Mike. They're keeping a close eye on him in case he needs surgery. It'll be a long road for him."

"We got his back…both of theirs. Whatever happens, we'll be here to help.", Norm assured with a trembling voice and inhaled deeply, "And those kids are gonna be sorry for what they did once we get our hands on them."

"I know. Just take it easy for now and let's focus on gathering evidence. Rattle some doorknobs and see if anybody in the area heard or saw anything.", Roy said, hoping to redirect the emotions bubbling to the surface considering the circumstances, "I'll stay at the hospital and see if I can get something out of Stephen. Check in with me if something comes up."

"You bet. Talk to you later, Lieutenant."

With a weary sigh, Roy hung up the phone, wanting to lean his forehead against the cold tile wall to regain some clarity but knowing that his authority and professional composure were more important than ever.

With his shoulders slumped, he exhaled slowly, then walked the abandoned halls of the ER back towards his men's rooms.