Nolan's Journal Chapter 14
"Channel Seven ran a story about the shortage of police on the street. Apparently, it was meant as a warning to the public to stay aware. Unfortunately, it seems to have served as an invitation for thieves, especially smash and grabbers, to come out in droves. They know they're almost impossible to catch unless they're identified when caught on video, or a cop is right there to run them down. A mask takes care of the former, and Channel Seven let them know that the latter is unlikely to be a problem.
"Celina and I have spotted a couple of hits going down. One of the advantages of having a rookie is that I can have her do the running to catch these guys. Unfortunately, my boot has pretty short legs, which makes it a lot harder for her to outrun anyone with some height on them. Even so, Celina's pretty fast, but sometimes I still have to get into the chase.
"While all of this is going on, those of us with the misfortune to be acquainted with Oscar Hutchinson are waiting for him to spring into action, the way he took advantage of the false alarm bomb threat when he stabbed Wesley. For all I know, he may have put a gang of thieves together already. So far, most of the thefts have been pretty minor, but Oscar will go for the big payoff. Hopefully, his massive greed will keep him from getting too personal and going after cops like me who complicated his criminal life.
"Unfortunately, Jason is also still out there and his grudge is very personal. Bailey and I are still taking all our safety precautions at home and at work, but that can't go on forever. It is Bailey's nature to run toward danger. She prefers being the helper to the helpee. Helpee? Is that even a word? I can't say that I enjoy having to watch my back even when I'd normally be vegging out with a beer and The Bachelor. And with Jason out there, we can forget about losing ourselves in lovemaking. While my ass was healing, that wasn't much of an issue, but I feel fine now, and I would love to take my woman in my arms without worrying about whether our steel shutters are closed. Still, I have a feeling we won't be on the razor's edge much longer. Jason has never been able to stay away from Bailey. I doubt that he will now. If he follows his usual M.O., he's already been conning some lonely woman into giving him food and shelter while he siphons off her funds for whatever scheme he has in mind. He'll soon come calling, but I'll be ready. I believe Bailey will be ready too. Hell, her whole firehouse and all of Mid-Wilshire will be ready. Still, last time around, it was damn satisfying beating his face in. The second round might be just as satisfying.
"Monica is also still out there – somewhere. As far as Garza's FBI unit can tell, she hasn't tried to access any of the accounts they were watching. No surprise there. She'd know they were being watched and is too good to get her fingers caught in the cookie jar. However, as far as I can tell, Monica doesn't do anything on the cheap. Wherever she is and whatever she's doing, she's doing it upscale. So, the FBI put the word out to look for the unaccounted disappearance of funds from somewhere, but it's a big world out there, and Monica excels at hiding while staying two jumps ahead."
"Celina passed her exam with flying colors! That's great for her, and it's not bad for me either. It looks good for my record as a TO. Celina will be going out by herself now, which will put one more shop on the street. I'll be alone too, until I get a new rookie next week. Our media-spawned crime spree is continuing, so I'll be on my own chasing down any smash and grabs I spot. I've stocked up on Tylenol and Icy Hot. At least I'll have Bailey to rub it in for me.
"Still no sign of Jason, or of Oscar or Monica either. I think the whole division is beginning to wish that at least one of them would stick their head up, so we could whack it – hard. I have fantasies about what I'd like to do to Jason if he tries coming after Bailey, but in my dreams, beating him up hurts less than it did when I did it for real. Still, the best case scenario would be if I could just slap the cuffs on him and haul him in to be sent back to prison. It might not be as satisfying, but it would be a hell of a lot safer. I don't see it happening, though. Not only does he have a grudge against me because of Bailey, I was the one responsible for putting him back behind bars. I'm guessing that when he comes for Bailey and me, going quietly is the last thing that will be on his mind.
"Without Monica around to stir the pot, life at the DA's office has been a lot more peaceful for Wesley. That may compensate somewhat for the lack of peace at home. He and Angela and Nyla and James all went in together again to hire a nanny to watch all three of their little ones. This time, they did such a deep background check that they knew what kind of snacks he liked in kindergarten. Yes, this time, the nanny is a he. Does that make him a manny? That was a joke on some TV show. At any rate, they're calling him a nanny. From what I'm hearing so far, he's doing a good job, but his hours could be more flexible. That's creating quite a scramble when someone has to work late – which is almost all the time. The more I think about it, the more I believe that an older child, preferably well into school age, would work for Bailey and me. We'll also be able to do our best for a child that age. Still, until Jason is back behind bars, we can't proceed with that. I think that, in some ways, having to put a hold on expanding our family is harder on Bailey than the threat that Jason poses to her personally. I get that. If someone kept me from all the joy I still get from talking to Henry and having him around for momentous occasions like our marriage, it would break my heart."
"Wow! Grey just called to tell me that we got a credible report that Oscar was spotted hanging around the Federal Reserve Bank in LA. The last time we had to cope with a robbery there, it was just a distraction for cybercrime. As far as I know, Oscar doesn't have the skills for cybercrime, and the security at the Federal Reserve was beefed up even more after the last disaster. So I haven't a clue what Oscar has on his mind, except that whatever it is will be completely underhanded and sociopathic. But at least we know he's in LA. I guess that's something."