A few days later, Michael found himself standing in his dress blues outside Commissioner Reagan's office as Detective Baker opened the door.
"Officer Michael Daniels, sir."
Michael walked through the door and stood at attention, saluting the Commissioner.
Frank stood and returned the salute.
"Please, sit down, Officer Daniels."
"Thank you, sir," Michael said.
"I'm sorry to have called you in on such short notice," Frank said.
"No problem at all, sir," Michael said.
Frank nodded.
"Are you familiar with the Jensen Files?" he asked.
"Yes, sir, I am," Michael replied. "It's a multi-state case involving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and even our neighbors to the north in Canada."
"It involves state legislators and – as you implied – provincial legislators in Canada," Frank added with an approving nod. "We've been combing through our files and it seems you have some experience working in politics before you decided to become a police officer?"
Michael chuckled, slightly embarrassed.
"Seems like another life," he answered, "but yes sir, guilty as charged. I was a Political Science major and interned at the Capitol Building in Albany for a while."
Frank raised his eyebrows, intrigued.
"Sounds like it could've been a good life," he said. "Connections, influence… Definitely a nicer salary than a New York City police officer."
"True," Michael conceded, "but I realized it just wasn't for me and I wanted to do something on a more local level. I wanted to make a more tangible difference and, for me, that was being a police officer."
Frank nodded thoughtfully.
"How would you feel about going back into politics?" Frank asked.
"Sir?" a confused Michael asked.
"We have reason to suspect there's activity in Albany in relation to the Jensen Files," Frank explained. "We want to send in a police officer who knows the Capitol well and who already has a history there."
It all clicked for Michael what was happening. An undercover assignment.
"They're going to know right off the bat I'm a cop, sir," he couldn't help but say.
"We're counting on it," Frank said with a nod. "We're going to write it into your record that – as of now – you are strictly a Reserve Officer with the NYPD, which means you no longer serve on the job full time, but still want to help out every now and then."
"Which will give me an out to pursue other professional interests in Albany," Michael said, putting the pieces together.
"Exactly," Frank said with a gleam in his eye.
"How long would this operation last?" Michael couldn't help but ask.
Frank sighed. This was where it got difficult.
"If it goes quickly, it can take up to three years," he answered. "But, in truth, we expect it to take four to five. You'd get a nice apartment in Albany and come home here once every six months under the guise of fulfilling your obligations as a Reserve Police Officer."
Michael sat there, frozen.
"We picked you because not just of your pedigree, but, also, and please don't take this the wrong way, but… You're not married are you? No children?"
"No… No, sir."
Frank heard the hesitation.
"Why the pause?" he asked.
"I have a… Significant other, sir," Michael confessed.
Frank nodded. He remembered his undercover days when he was young and married.
"I wouldn't ask you to embark on this endeavor unless I thought you were the most qualified, Officer Daniels," he said. "And, believe me, I think you are. You got twenty-four hours to give me your answer."
Michael nodded.
"Yes, sir," he said.
He stood to salute before turning to leave.
As he walked out of 1PP, he reached into his phone and dialed Eddie's number.
Just finishing up her graveyard shift, Eddie smiled as he saw Michael's name pop up and answered.
"Hey, you!" she answered cheerfully. "How'd it go?"
"We need to… talk," was all Michael could manage. "I know you just got off your tour, but can we please meet for breakfast? This can't wait."
Eddie could hear the urgency in his voice.
"Uh, sure," she said. "Everything okay?"
"I think it'd be better if I explain everything to you in person," he said.
"O… kay?" Eddie said.
"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be cagey," Michael said. "Just… I'll explain everything in person."
At Pete's Pancakes, Eddie sat as Michael told him about his meeting with the Commissioner, listening intently.
Then Michael dropped the shoe.
"It could take three years if I'm lucky," he said.
Eddie sat there.
"But likely four or five," he said, dropping the other shoe.
Eddie nodded, trying to take it all in.
"And… and they want you?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"This came from the Commissioner himself?"
"I sat with him face-to-face. It was just him and me."
Eddie folded her hands like a prayer. She knew Commissioner Reagan was a serious man and wouldn't make such requests lightly. This was an amazing opportunity to take down criminals on a state level, but also an amazing opportunity for Michael. Who was she to stand in his way? But on a more personal, selfish level, this meant they wouldn't see each other except for – maybe – one day out of every six months?
But this was bigger than the two of them.
Eddie took a deep breath.
"You have to do this," Eddie said.
Michael closed his eyes, his head bowed like he was lost in his own prayer.
He raised his head, opened his eyes only for tears to fall.
As if in solidarity, tears fell from Eddie's eyes.
He knew. She knew. They both knew what this meant.
"I, uh…" Michael rasped. "I need to call 1PP right away and let Detective Baker know."
Eddie nodded.
"Excuse me," Michael said, leaving the booth to go outside to make the call.
Eddie sat in the booth, processing what had just happened and what was to come.
Michael returned to the booth.
"It's a go," he said.
Eddie nodded.
"They want me to leave in two days," he said.
Eddie's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Yeah," Michael said, hardly believing it himself.
He looked down at the table, then back up at Eddie, gently taking her hand.
"Eddie, I want you to find love again… I mean real love."
Eddie was about to open her mouth to object, but Michael held his hand up.
"What we've had," he said with a sad smile, "I think we both know was never meant to last. I think we were both looking for someone to care for and it just so happened to be people we had previously cared for. It was familiar, like slipping into a warm bath."
Eddie bit her lip in an effort to keep from crying. Deep down, deep, deep down… She knew.
"You deserve all the love and happiness in the world," Michael said.
"So do you, though," Eddie argued through the tears.
"And I'll find it," Michael said assuredly, "just like you will."
Eddie's eyes lit up, only this time filled with desperation rather than joy or hope.
"How about you come to my place for just one more night?"
Michael shook his head.
"That would make a hard thing worse."
They sat there, both their hearts breaking into a hundred pieces...
Later that day, Eddie stood at the grave of her husband.
Barry John Cooper
1984-2019
Beloved Husband, Lover of Life
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she said softly. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to forget you or pretend you never existed. I was… Trying to… God, I don't know what I was trying to do, but I'm sorry. I love you. I will always love you. I'll see you next week, okay?"
She kneeled and placed flowers by his grave, kissed her palm and placed her palm on his gravestone.
