Chapter 138: Seeing The Best In People
"Okay I'll pay..." Jamie begins as he and Eddie with Jessie in her stroller walk up to the pay station in a parking garage "…and meet you at the SUV."
"Got it." Eddie accepts as she gives the stroller a push and continues on. She walks until she sees the SUV come into view then pulls out her keys and clicks the remote to unlock the doors but before she actually reaches the vehicle, she hears a male voice off to the side say "Well isn't she the cutest."
Pausing, Eddie turns to face the guy "Thank you." She slowly accepts with a polite but guarded smile.
The guy takes a few steps towards her "I can see her Father in her." he offers and immediately something about his words makes the hairs on the back of Eddie's neck stand up "Who are you?" she demands as she protectively moves the stroller to place herself between Jessie and the man.
While jamming his wallet back into his pants, Jamie comes around the corner at that exact moment and when he looks up, he freezes in absolute shock at the sight before him.
"Noble?" he breathes out stunned but when he sees his wife shift into protective mode he quickly makes a beeline for his family and without hesitating he slides himself in front of his wife and daughter blocking Noble's access to them "What do you want Noble?" he demands.
A smug smile appears on Noble's face "Ah there's the guy I'm looking for!" he quips "How are you Officer Jimmy?"
"What do you want Noble?" Jamie just repeats through gritted teeth as Eddie hearing Noble call Jamie Officer Jimmy, immediately moves to pick Jessie up and hold her protectively to her "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here because they found me…" Noble tosses back "…and they are after me…" he anxiously reveals "…so now you are going to help me."
"I'm not your guy." Jamie rejects.
"You owe me!" Noble insists.
"I owe you nothing!" Jamie shoots back.
"They killed Bianca!" Noble blurts out letting his true fear show "And I'm next!"
For a moment Jamie silently cringes and takes in a deep breath of air as the power and reality of those words hit him "I'm sorry." He sincerely offers.
"Then help me." Noble seriously pleads but Jamie just shakes his head in disbelief at the guy.
"What do you want me to do?" Jamie tosses back "I don't do witness relocation – talk to your handler."
"How do you think they found me!" Noble presses "I don't trust any of them!"
"Oh and suddenly you trust me?" Jamie bites back.
"No!" Noble barks out "But you saved my life once so when I weighed my options, I realized you're the best shot I've got – PLEASE!"
There is a moment of silence as Jamie eyes Noble trying to decide what to do.
"You leave my wife and daughter alone." Jamie finally demands as a condition.
"I was just pointing out how she looks like you." Noble promises "That's it. Hi Noble Sanfino." Noble then pleasantly greets as he shifts his attention and body slightly to Eddie and holds his hand out to her "And you are?"
"Don't answer that." Jamie immediately cuts in as he again side steps blocking Noble's path and pushes his hand away from the direction of his wife "And maybe if you didn't introduce yourself as Noble Sanfino instead of whomever your new identity is, you wouldn't be running for your life right now."
"Oh please…" Noble sneers "…you know who I am, what's the point in pretending, right Reagan?" He adds and the moment Noble utters his real name, Jamie's face turns stone cold "Yeah…" Noble smugly confirms as Jamie stares daggers at him "I know who you really are so what do you say? Help me disappear again and we forget this little reunion of ours even happened."
Watching as Jamie's and Noble's stare down starts to form a little crowd of onlookers on their way to their own vehicles, Eddie leans towards her husband "Jamie…" She lowly prompts "Maybe lets at least go somewhere private to continue this. We're starting to draw a crowd."
"Ohhhh she's smart." Noble muses impressed before looking at the few people gathering "Nothing to see here folks, like I said, just a little reunion between friends."
Biting his tongue, Jamie looks at the onlookers "All good." He confirms with a forced smile so Jamie, Eddie and Noble just silently stand there watching until all the bystanders have moved on and disappeared and the second they are all gone leaving the trio of adults and Jessie alone, the smile drops from Jamie's face and his eyes narrow and zero in on Noble as he addresses his wife "Hon, take our daughter home."
"Fat chance." Eddie rejects "I'm not leaving you here alone with this guy."
"Oh, you are a little cracker jack aren't you?" Noble tosses at Eddie impressed.
"I'm warning you Noble." Jamie growls.
"Just making conversation!" Noble promises with a laugh "And you can just say Eddie and Jessie you know." Noble points out "I did my homework this time."
Like lightening Jamie grabs Noble by his jacket and rams his back into the nearest parked car "Is that some kind of threat?"
"Jamie, stop!" Eddie urgently hisses out.
A big, satisfied smile plays on Noble's face at Jamie getting all riled up "Listen to your wife Jamie." He amusingly prompts.
"Jamie!" Eddie demands "Let. Him. Go!"
Begrudgingly, Jamie releases his hold on Noble and steps back.
Taking a step away from the vehicle himself, Noble stands upright and straightens his jacket out "You know that's the first time I've ever actually called you by your real name Jamie." He repeats "I feel so much closer to you now." He needles.
Having had enough of this guy and his games, Eddie suddenly just begins to hand Jessie over to Jamie "Here." She instructs not giving Jamie any other choice but to take their daughter and the second Jessie's no longer in her arms, Eddie walks straight up to Noble and without warning knees him one hard right in the groin.
'Oh.' Jamie can't help but mouth in complete surprise at her move while cringing in sympathetic pain.
"My turn." Eddie decides as she watches Noble keel over in pain "Do I have your attention now?" She straight out asks him.
"Uh huh." Noble somehow manages to get out in a high pitched voice.
"Good." Eddie satisfactorily accepts as she leans over at the waist so she can get closer to his face "Now here's the deal. We'll help you but you have to play nice okay? That means you don't mess with my husband..." Eddie warns "…you don't mess with my daughter and don't mess with me, you got it?"
"Uh huh." Nobles breathes out again.
"Good." Eddie continues "Because I have his back." She explains as she points at Jamie "He has my back and we both have her back." She adds as she gestures to Jessie "And who is it that is covering your back again?" she inquires to Noble "Oh right you want that to be us too so you see my point here about playing nice?"
"100%." Noble squeaks out.
"Good." Eddie accepts as she rights her body back up "Now stand up and walk it off. I hear that helps."
"It…" Jamie slowly interjects trying to stop the smile that wants to spread across his face "It doesn't."
Eddie looks over at her husband and her face scrunches up "Oh no really?" She queries as she plays innocent "It doesn't?"
"No…" Jamie confirms as a small smile creeps up on his face anyway "…it doesn't."
"Oh…" Eddie then cringes in mock regret as she looks down at Noble still hunched over "I'm sorry." She insincerely apologizes "My bad."
"No." Noble groans out as he ever so slowly tries to stand upright again "My fault. My groin ran into your knee."
Eddie lifts her head to look at her husband impressed as she points at Noble "Oh he's smart!" she commends throwing Noble's own words back at him.
Giving up, Jamie's small smile turns into a huge, appreciative grin and he mouths I love you to his wife while moving Jessie so he can hold her with one hand against his shoulder and pull out his phone to dial with the other.
"God where did you find this one?" Noble utters out at Jamie as he indeed tries to walk / limp around taking deep breathes "She could give Escalade Bobby a run for his money."
"She found me." Jamie honestly replies with a smirk as he again glances at his wife to see her arrogantly shrug in deflection but at that moment his call is answered so he turns his attention to his phone "Hey it's me…" he greets as his eyes shift back to Noble keeping tabs on him "I need your help."
….
"So then they put out a hit on me…" Jamie explains to his wife in the passenger's seat of the SUV as he drives "…and then him because he brought me in."
"Damn." Eddie breathes out in a mixture of awe and trepidation as she shifts her gaze from looking in the backseat to her husband driving "And you just let me knee the guy?"
"I'm sorry." Jamie challenges back "Let you?"
"He's a mobster Jamie." Eddie states as her eyes shift back to the backseat.
"Was a mobster." Noble corrects from the backseat of the SUV as he awkwardly tries to shift his body to a more comfortable position "Was it really necessary to cuff me to the door handle?" he queries annoyed.
"You're sitting in the backseat with our daughter..." Eddie points out as she continues to stand guard.
"…So yes." Jamie tacks on.
"I'd be more comfortable in the cargo area." Noble sarcastically throws out.
"Thought about it." Eddie admits "But there are no seatbelts back there and we are police officers."
"With a Porsche SUV I'd like to point out." Noble notes "But I guess if you can't have the real thing, you take what you can get." He adds before sighing "I miss my Carrera."
Eddie glances at Jamie to see the beginning of a small smile tug at his lips.
"Oh please let me tell him." Eddie giddily begs "Can I tell him?"
Jamie shrugs "She's your car."
"Nah." Eddie then rejects "The less he knows the better."
Noble narrows his eyes as he looks from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing." Jamie and Eddie reply in unison as Jamie turns the SUV into the entrance of a different parkade.
"Wait." Noble breathes out in alarm "Where are we going?"
"Relax." Jamie states "We're meeting your new escorts here."
"New escorts?"
"Yes." Jamie confirms "Two Detectives. They will escort you to your new life."
"No, no, no." Noble rejects "I came to you. It needs to be you!"
"I trust them with my life." Jamie states as he turns a corner and up ahead spots Danny leaning against the squad car waiting while Maria paces beside it a little while talking on her phone.
"But…" Noble begins to protest.
"With Jessie's life." Jamie adds as reassurance as he pulls the SUV up, lowers the driver's side front and back windows and shuts the vehicle off.
Danny pushes himself off the vehicle and walks forward "Somebody call an uber?" He wise cracks as he steps up to the SUV. He looks at Noble in the backseat behind Jamie then shifts his gaze to Jessie buckled into her carseat behind Eddie in the passenger's seat then shifts his gaze to Jamie in the front seat. "You put the scumbag in the backseat with my niece?"
"He's handcuffed to the door." Jamie points out.
Danny shifts his body and leans slightly in the open window to look "Nice." He admits "Okay out." He instructs as he goes to open the backdoor but before he can get it more then a couple of inches open Jamie, Eddie and Noble all call out "WAIT!" so Danny freezes.
"You gotta undo his seatbelt first." Jamie explains as he unclips his own belt, opens his door, gets out and steps to the back door gesturing for Danny to move out of the way.
Danny does allowing Jamie to lean in the window, reach across Noble and pop the seatbelt clip open "That's why I opened the window." He explains as he pulls himself back out the window to stand back up and look at his brother.
For a moment Danny just looks at Jamie a bit speechless.
"What?" Jamie defends "He was in the backseat with Jessie. We needed to secure him."
"You Kid…" Danny admits in a little bit of awe "…never cease to amaze me."
"See." Eddie points out to her husband "He still calls you Kid."
"Great." Jamie simply dismisses as he without warning opens the door wide causing Noble to be forced to quickly stumble out with it "You can take him now."
"Wait you said niece." Noble realizes as he looks at Danny.
Danny looks at Noble then looks at Jamie "Did I?" he questions of his brother.
Jamie nods "You did."
Danny turns to look back at Noble "Okay I did. And?"
"So you're like what?" Noble begins "Brothers?"
"See!" Eddie calls from the passenger's seat again "Smart!"
"Not that smart." Danny rejects.
"He did come to Jamie when he needed help." Eddie points out.
"She's right." Maria tacks on as she walks up "Okay they are on their way down to get his statement."
Noble looks at Maria confused as Jamie steps forward to uncuff Noble from the door "Statement? What statement?"
Suddenly a door to the stairs open and Erin and Anthony exit "You know…" Erin begins as the pair walk over "I'm used to you two…" She begins as she looks between her brothers watching as Jamie hands Noble over to Danny "…barging into my office but being summoned down to the parking garage… well that's new."
"Just trying to mix it up." Danny cheekily tosses at his sister.
Erin rolls her eyes then looks at Noble and she turns serious as she eyes him up and down "So this is him huh?"
"Yup." Jamie confirms "That's him."
"Hi Erin Reagan, ADA, come with us please. We'll take your statement and if it checks out…"
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" Noble interrupts in trepidation as he takes a side step trying to put a little distance between himself and the growing group around him "Statement? Checks out? What the hell is this? Another Reagan?" he questions as he looks between Jamie, Danny and Erin.
"Yup." Anthony confirms as he reaches for Noble pulling him a step back into the fold "This is how the legit law enforcement mafia in this city conducts business."
"Hey!" Danny protests as he steps between Noble and Anthony and puts his hand on Noble's upper arm "I lead, you cover the rear." He tells Anthony.
"Hey!" Anthony tosses right back "You're in my house now!"
"And the Boss over here…" Danny shoots back as he gestures as Jamie "…said I'm to escort him until he gets on that plane and is off to La La land."
Jamie gets an annoyed look on his face "I did not say La La Land."
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Noble cries in exasperation as he again steps away from everyone.
"In order to secure you a new identity…" Erin begins to explain "…and keep you safe in that new identity you need to help us root out the moles we have that led to you being compromised in the first place."
Noble looks at Jamie.
"It's true." Jamie confirms "You wanted my help. This is how it works. You have to help us, help you because if you don't, they'll just find you again."
Noble eyes Jamie "And you trust them?" he asks as he points to the people around him.
"Yes." Jamie reiterates.
There is a moment of silence as Noble again weighs his options but then gives a nod of his head in consent.
"Great." Danny accepts as he again reaches for Noble "Let's go." He instructs as he begins to lead Noble to the door to the stairs while glancing back at Anthony snarking "Feel free to use the elevator."
"How about we ALL take the elevator." Erin jumps in as she starts to lead everyone except Jamie and Eddie in the direction of the lift.
"Well with him…" Danny counters as he gestures backwards to Anthony "…I don't think we'll all fit."
"Why you little…" Anthony begins.
"ENOUGH!" Erin calls out "You two are worse than children! Everyone! Elevator, now!"
So as the group changes course and walks towards the elevator, Noble looks back over his shoulder at Jamie "And this is who you want me to trust?"
"You'll be fine!" Jamie soothingly calls back but underneath he is thoroughly enjoying not only the show but the uncomfortableness it's making Noble feel.
Still sitting in the passenger's seat, Eddie watches her husband watch the group disappear into the elevator then turn and walk back to the SUV where he opens the door and gets back into the driver's seat "Well that was fun." She off handedly quips.
Jamie let's out a heavy breath of air "Just another day at the office." He breathes out before reaching to put his seatbelt on and as he clips it into place he glances into the backseat at his daughter "Slept through the whole thing did she?"
Eddie sighs "She's totally our kid."
Jamie looks over at his wife "God help us."
"You did good Jamie." Eddie suddenly offers "You didn't have to help him but you did."
"You want to know what's funny?" Jamie admits as he turns his head to stare out the windshield at the elevator "Years ago when this whole thing went down, I told my Dad that I always seem to want to see the best in people."
"You do." Eddie agrees.
"And that in some profession out there that might be an asset but in a police officer it could be a handicap."
"True…" Eddie slowly admits.
"But if it saves even one life..." Jamie decides.
"It's worth it." Eddie finishes in understanding causing Jamie to shift his gaze to his wife.
"It's worth it." He agrees before moving to start the SUV "You hungry?"
Eddie scoffs "Do you even have to ask?"
"Food it is." Jamie decides as he shifts into drive and pulls away.
…..
