Chapter Thirteen: Flight of the Dauntless

Commander Norm Holleran entered his office with a snap to his stride and his uniform perfectly crisp. A military veteran, he'd never fallen out of the habit of keeping his attire up to the standards of the strictest boot camp drill sergeant. It served him well, distinguishing him from the soft politicians who had no idea what true honor meant. True dedication and sacrifice.

Reaching out, he laid a notepad on his desk and turned away, as if ignoring it could take away knowledge of the information within. Sergeant Lane's preliminary report on his lieutenant's status and the measures that had been necessary to keep him alive. Along with a detailed list of all injuries that a Healer – likely Susan Travis – had been able to identify. The other half of the report was more practical in nature. Team One was now in possession of Carl Elias's files and they were working through it to find evidence against Terence Niebaum. If they could prove the murdered IA detective had been in Castor Troy's pocket, then doubt would be cast on his entire case against Lieutenant Parker.

In the meantime, Holleran fully expected to be visited by Homicide and questioned on the whereabouts of his top team. Armed with a copy of the transcript from the SRU's response to the T-South riot, he planned to turn the tables back on Homicide. Most of the cops on the street, they had orders to bring the prison escapees in with whatever force was necessary. His team had orders to focus on their lieutenant, to protect him from ending up back in T-South's General Population.

The intercom on his desk buzzed and Holleran shifted back, returning to the desk with swift strides. "Yes, Winnie?"

"Sir, there's a Sergeant Staples here to see you."

"Homicide?"

"No, sir, Internal Affairs."

A frown appeared for a moment before the commander nodded to himself. "Thank you, Winnie; send him in."

Settling back on his heels, Norm picked up the notepad and slid it into a desk drawer. Until Internal Affairs proved themselves to be more interested in the truth than settling Niebaum's old score against his second-in-command, the commander had no intention of being…forthright. Hardening his expression, he turned towards his office door, awaiting his guest.

The man who entered was stocky and somewhat overweight, but he carried himself proudly, wearing a business suit and tie that were almost as sharply crisp as Holleran's uniform. Silvering hair was cropped close, reminiscent of a military haircut even as it was grown out on the sides enough to flow smoothly down the IA officer's head. He was clean-shaven with a sharp nose and thick eyebrows that still carried the brunet hue that had long since fled his hair. Keen brown eyes surveyed the office from within well padded flesh; the man's cheeks and chin sagged a bit, evidence that he was more accustomed to office work than the streets.

Sergeant Staples' shoes clicked against the tile floor; Holleran flicked a glance down to see that they matched well with the business suit, but weren't anything he'd be caught dead in unless he had a presentation at City Hall. Shiny black leather, curling around the foot and excellent for business meetings, but not suitable for the action that street-level officers often saw.

Halting in front of the desk, Staples' eyes fixed on Holleran, contempt shining in their depths. The commander returned the favor, hostility radiating from both men as they faced off. At last, the IA officer broke the silence. "Where is Lieutenant Gregory Parker?"

Commander Holleran arched a brow in response. Did Staples think he was that naïve? That inexperienced, that stupid, that he'd bluster a denial even as he looked towards where he'd hidden his notepad full of intel from Team One?

He let the silence hang for several long seconds, then shook his head and snorted. "I'll tell you where he should've been, Sergeant Staples. He should've been in Solitary, far away from any danger. That's procedure for anyone awaiting trial, much less a twenty-year veteran of the force."

The silver-haired man jerked back, frowning. "He was in Solitary, Commander Holleran."

Reaching to his desk, Commander Holleran picked up the transcript from the Toronto South riot. "This is the Strategic Response Unit, Sergeant Staples. We responded to T-South as soon as the riot began. Team Four deployed first, to assess the situation and begin containment measures." As he spoke, the commander removed the transcript binder from its carrier. Laying aside the plastic box, he set the binder down with a thunk on his desk. Flipping the transcript open, he scanned through the first pages, controlling the paper with his thumb.

Abruptly, he halted, letting both sides of the transcript thump down. Lifting his gaze, he snagged Staples and rested his finger on the page, right under words that had – and would – haunt him for days to come. "Marlowe, 10:52 AM," he ground out, not even checking the transcript as he recounted his dispatcher's words. " 'Sergeant Vio is requesting immediate backup, sir. All hands on deck. Lieutenant Parker is not, I repeat, not in Solitary.' "

Fury trembled anew as the commander forced himself to back away from the transcript, though he continued to hold his opponent's gaze. "After receiving that report, I ordered Teams One and Three to deploy to the prison. Teams Three and Four would contain the riot while Team One located and extracted Lieutenant Parker." A sharp gesture kept the IA Sergeant quiet. "The riot occurred less than twenty-four hours after a news broadcast exposed Lieutenant Parker's undercover persona of Carl Elias."

"Undercover?" Staples repeated. "You're claiming he was an undercover?"

Holleran paused, surveying the IA investigator. "You weren't aware of that? As Lieutenant Parker's commanding officer, I was the one who Intelligence Services came to repeatedly, over a period of several months, demanding that I transfer one of my best men to their unit even though he had no training or experience as an undercover." The black man's jaw tightened with old fury. "After Castor Troy escaped, they finally went over my head and forced the transfer."

"You can't transfer a veteran officer without his permission!" Staples blurted, unfeigned horror in his voice.

Sorrowful dark eyes shifted back as Holleran shook off the memories. "Apparently, yes, you can, as long as the mayor and the police commissioner both sign off on it."

Silence fell as the Internal Affairs Sergeant stared between the SRU commander and the open transcript, breathing hard and eyes still wide after the earth-shattering revelations. It took several moments for him to recover enough to step forward, towards the desk. Brown lifted towards the commander in silent request.

Holleran nodded and stepped back, allowing Staples to turn the transcript around and read through the text himself. The IA Sergeant frowned, reading upwards and through Team Four's discovery that their lieutenant wasn't tucked away and safe in the maximum security ward of the prison. He flipped back a page and kept reading, a frown emerging.

"Is Team Four on-duty today, Commander Holleran?"

"They are and I requested that they not leave the station," Holleran replied. "I anticipated that you would need to interview them regarding Detective Niebaum's murder."

Staples nodded. "Yes. If you have it, I'd also like to see what evidence your team uncovered regarding Lieutenant Parker's detention in T-South."

"Of course," Holleran agreed. "If you'd like, I can have Constable Vlachos bring his laptop to your interview with him; in addition to the transcript and audio, we also keep a full record of all data collected by the SRU during hot calls."

Brown eyes sharpened, regaining a keen edge as Staples inspected the lean, pepper-haired SRU commander. "I'll also need Lieutenant Parker's records in this unit."

"Very well; I'll have them collected while you interview Team Four. Team Three is out on patrol at the moment, but we can bring them in once you're done with Team Four."

There was a thoughtful gleam, as if he was being weighed and measured, but, after a minute of thinking, Sergeant Staples allowed a tiny smile. "It sounds like you have everything in hand, Commander Holleran." He nodded once. "Once I've finished the interviews, I will speak with you again."

"I look forward to it, Sergeant Staples."

Sergeant Clive Staples of Internal Affairs was not unfamiliar with hostility. It came with the job – even with evidence, few cops wanted to believe that their trusted colleagues were dirty. Preferable by far to blame Internal Affairs, judging them as rats and snitches who got in the way of real policing.

In light of that, Commander Holleran's steadfast belief in Lieutenant Parker was not a surprise. Neither was the fact that the SRU's top team was conveniently missing, right after a prison riot with their former Sergeant and the murder of Detective Niebaum. Staples hadn't known Niebaum all that well, one of the reasons he'd been tapped to lead the murder investigation, but it wasn't a stretch to theorize that Niebaum had run afoul of the SRU. Not after the SRU commander had personally confronted Niebaum and dragged him out of his office in Internal Affairs on the day of the riot.

However, the duty roster had already cleared the SRU's commander – he'd been on-duty and in his office at the time of the shooting. Timestamps on paperwork submitted from his laptop provided additional confirmation; it was difficult to imagine how Commander Holleran could've been the shooter when he'd been printing out a number of completed forms in the minutes surrounding the murder.

The on-duty dispatcher was also cleared by default, though he did request written statements from the other two SRU dispatchers. The dark-haired dispatcher cast him a high-caliber glare. "You honestly think we'd kill a fellow cop?"

The Sergeant never turned a hair. "Constable Camden, my job is to investigate Detective Niebaum's murder. Part of that is investigating all possible suspects." Brown narrowed a touch. "Your unit has a very good motive for wanting Detective Niebaum dead."

Deep brown spat fire at him from across the countertop separating them. "Maybe on the surface," Camden replied. "But none of us would disgrace Lieutenant Parker, sir. We'd never put his case in jeopardy like that."

One brunet brow rose and silvered hair tilted to the side, inviting elaboration.

Camden smiled, sharp and just a bit vicious. "None of us thought Niebaum would get Lieutenant Parker into court, not with all the evidence that he was undercover." One shoulder lifted. "And the murder charges Niebaum was trying to throw at him? Utterly ridiculous – the only reason Lieutenant Parker had to take Castor Troy down solo is because he'd been cut off from backup as soon as Commander Holleran was shot."

Staples' eyes widened. He hadn't yet had time to review Detective Niebaum's case files beyond a cursory inspection, but… "You're claiming that Castor Troy shot your commander prior to his death?"

"Yes," the dispatcher confirmed, before looking down. Considering. When she lifted her head, there was a pained glimmer in her eyes. "We all thought he was in rehab, Sergeant. Commander Holleran was the only one who knew he'd been transferred and forced undercover."

Disturbing – if she was right. To transfer a veteran officer without his consent was bad enough, but if that corruption had gone even further… Uneasy, Staples added a detailed review of Lieutenant Parker's IA case to his agenda. Once he could settle it in his own mind that Parker was guilty he would be better equipped to answer the accusations of the man's angry coworkers.

In the meantime… "I understand that Team Four is available for me to interview them?"

"Yes, sir," Constable Camden replied. "I'll have my statement ready for you before you leave and I'll let Constable Stone know you need his statement as well."

Staples dipped his head in reply. "Thank you, Constable."

To a man, SRU Team Four was rigidly polite during their interviews, answering each question with as few words and syllables as possible. Any probing questions regarding Lieutenant Parker or SRU Team One were deflected in such a way that Sergeant Staples was reminded of the fact that to be SRU meant to be a negotiator. Skilled with words and redirecting conversations, even if most of these constables would never be required to actually negotiate in the field. Even the rookie constables of the unit could talk circles around him – and would, because he was an outsider and a threat to their leader.

Surveying his last interviewee – SRU Team Four's rookie constable and bomb tech – Sergeant Staples opted to change tactics. "I understand you discovered Lieutenant Parker was not being held in Solitary, Constable Vlachos."

Gray studied him for several moments, searching for the trap hidden in the words. At last, the constable replied, "I did, yes, sir."

"I've read the transcript from the riot, Constable, but is there anything you would like to add in your report?"

At first, the constable did not reply. Gray narrowed in on him, almost piercing through him with a sense of being weighed and measured. Against what standard, he did not know, nor what he could do if he fell short in the constable's estimation.

"Did you know his kids couldn't even go see him?"

The IA Sergeant blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"They'd let his lawyers in, but nobody else. Even though he hasn't been convicted of anything yet." Vlachos traced an invisible line on the table. "They took away his kids and he still protected them. There's at least three, four guards that owe their lives to him, now."

Staples swallowed at that news. True, he was getting the SRU's version of events – undoubtedly skewed in favor of their leader – but if even half of what he was hearing was right… To put a veteran officer in General Population, conviction or not… It simply wasn't done; there were too many criminals who'd love to get their hands on a cop. But to put a man who hadn't even been convicted of a crime in General Population and deny him visits with his own family… The latter could be done, if Child Services deemed an inmate to be a threat to his children, even from behind bars, but absent such a ruling, it was against policy. Against protocol and all common decency.

He considered, returning Vlachos's assessing glare. "Do you know if the prison ever gave a reason for restricting Lieutenant Parker's visitors?"

"Someone red-flagged him." Vlachos grimaced. "The guards knew he was in danger after that news report outed him as Carl Elias, but 'cause he was red-flagged, they couldn't put him in Solitary for more than just that night." Gray dropped to the table, flicking back and forth. Then, before Staples could press for any more details, the rookie constable's head came up, sharp gaze pinning him in place. "The rioters, they realized he was saving guards. So they found a guard, killed him, and lured him in. We couldn't find him, but right by the dead guard, there was blood everywhere."

Along with a deceased rioter, Staples knew, but there was not a prayer of convicting Parker for that. In the middle of a riot, survival was the paramount goal. Kill or be killed. Oh, certainly, there would be some Monday-morning-quarterbacks who would insist that any killing, no matter the reason, was wrong and must be prosecuted, but the IA Sergeant had never been that naïve – or foolish.

Regarding the constable, Staples came to a decision. "Thank you for your time, Constable Vlachos. I believe I have enough to go on for now."

"Has Lieutenant Parker ever received sniper training, Commander Holleran?"

"No, he has not," Commander Holleran replied, looking up from his paperwork to regard the IA Sergeant who'd left his office with Parker's SRU records not twenty minutes ago. He resisted the impulse to point out that if his second had gotten sniper training, it would've been in his file, just like everything else was.

Staples dropped a sheet on his desk and Holleran reached out, picking it up. Ahhh…Parker's most recent range scores. That explained the arched brow and unimpressed look he was getting. The commander nodded and set the range scores down again. "Lieutenant Parker's strengths are profiling and negotiation, Sergeant Staples. If you were to look at his range scores from a couple years ago, they wouldn't be nearly as good as the ones you have now; he's always been up to standards for firearms and hand-to-hand, but those aren't his specialty."

"He didn't want sniper training?"

A nod. "By the time he was finally transferred back to the SRU for good, he'd been undercover for two months and missing for another two. His priority was learning his new role as my second-in-command and regaining his skills with negotiation."

"Why?" the other man asked. "Is he still on the streets?"

Holleran nodded, watching incredulity play over Staple's slightly pudgy face. "Any of our teams can request Lieutenant Parker's backup on a hot call and he regularly patrols with them as well." A faint smile. "He does better when he's allowed to be on the front lines, Sergeant."

There was a thoughtful flicker in the other man's eyes, then he shook his head and moved on. "I see pictures of the ambush location that Team One located during the riot in the file, but no video?"

The commander grimaced. "There isn't video," he replied. "My men located a camera pointed towards where the fight was, but it was inoperable. The warden reported that it had been broken several months prior to the riot." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Constable Vlachos did identify several men coming into the prison during the riot; all the cameras between their entrance and Lieutenant Parker's last known location were spray-painted."

Staples frowned. "You believe he was removed from the prison?"

"I do," Commander Holleran replied, leaning back and folding his fingers together. "Lieutenant Parker knows SRU protocol with regards to riots; his team was the lead during another T-South prison riot a few years ago. Despite the prison's…poor…behavior, leaving the prison puts him in a very vulnerable position."

"Guilty until proven innocent," Staples grunted, earning a grim nod.

"Given his knowledge and experience, I do not believe Lieutenant Parker would have chosen to leave the prison of his own volition," Holleran declared. "Not unless he had reason to believe that his family was in danger and we have no evidence that any threats have been made against his family, much less that he knew of them."

The IA Sergeant's frown deepened, but in thought rather than anger. "Say you're wrong. Parker leaves of his own volition and goes after Niebaum."

"He would have killed Niebaum with a pistol, not a sniper rifle," Holleran countered, leaning forward again, gaze intent. "Parker's last known location was covered in blood – my officer is not that sloppy, Sergeant Staples. He may have been a late bloomer when it comes to hand-to-hand, but every officer in this unit is skilled with takedowns. Even in an all-out brawl, Parker would have fought with precision and pinpoint strikes, just as he's been trained."

"Unless he went down," Staples filled in.

"Given the numbers he was likely up against, yes, we believe he went down at some point during the fight," Commander Holleran confirmed, hand tightening around his pen. "Once he was down… Neither of us are inexperienced enough to not know what would've followed, Sergeant."

There was reluctance on the other man's face. A resistance to admitting what they both knew. Sniper rifles were the domain of trained shooters – able-bodied shooters who could absorb the weapon's recoil without issue. Holleran didn't have access to the actual report of the shooting, but he had Revan's report. Three bullets, center mass – all closely clustered. Too precise for an injured shooter, even a well-trained one.

"Fine, you convinced me," Staples grumbled. Easing back on his heels, he eyed Holleran with a jaundiced expression. "Now convince me Parker's old team didn't take revenge for him."

Holleran almost smiled. Standing, he moved to a corner of his office and picked up a plastic transcript holder. Returning to his desk, he pulled the binder out of its box and set it aside. "Several years ago, Sergeant Parker was snatched off the street by the former boyfriend of a young girl he'd befriended near the end of his Homicide days."

Staples whistled, moving in to gaze at the transcript. "Why'd the boyfriend go after him?"

Grave dark eyes came up. "The girl's mother was killed in an accidental shooting that coincided with the execution of an arrest warrant for the mother's boyfriend. The girl's boyfriend believed that Detective Parker had killed the mother and then sealed the file to prevent his crime from being exposed. He also believed that Parker had convinced the girl to break up with him and get clean."

"Lemme guess – Parker sealed the file 'cause the girl shot her own mother."

"That would be correct," Holleran replied. "The gun had a hair trigger; the detectives concluded that the mother dropped the weapon and it slid to the girl – she would've been four, five years old at the time. She picked it up, probably to hand it back to her mother, and it went off."

The IA Sergeant grunted. "Why is this relevant?"

"It's relevant because as soon as Dispatch reported Parker's abduction, Team One went after him."

"Course they went after him," Staples countered. "He was their Sergeant and the guy who took him was in the same spot."

"True," Holleran conceded. "I'm sure you already know that I went to Internal Affairs and demanded Detective Niebaum accompany me back to the SRU on the day of the riot."

Staples scowled and nodded once.

"At the time, we suspected that Detective Niebaum may have had a role in the way the prison treated Lieutenant Parker," the commander explained. "I won't say that he entirely satisfied our…suspicions on that point, but he was unharmed when he left the station. Likely angry, but so were we."

"And?"

Holleran gestured to the transcript on his desk. "Historically, Team One's priority has always been to protect their own. With Lieutenant Parker missing, he was their focus, not Detective Niebaum. If they had located Parker and brought him in for treatment, I would concede that they may have gone after Detective Niebaum, but so long as he is missing…" The commander shrugged, implication plain.

"Officially, he's missing," the IA Sergeant retorted. "How do we know they didn't find him already and they're hiding him?"

The commander's expression never twitched, even though Staples was, from a certain point of view, correct in his assessment. Team One had found Parker, which meant, if they were inclined towards revenge, they certainly could've taken Niebaum out themselves. Except…

"Team One is also aware that a constable loosely attached to our unit was tailing Niebaum from the time he left this station until his death. To commit a murder in front of him would be foolhardy in the extreme."

"You had somebody following an IA detective?" Staples roared. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am the commander of a fine, upstanding officer who is being put on trial for defending himself and his family from a mob boss who enjoyed killing law enforcement and slaughtering their families," Holleran replied, keeping his tone perfectly level and unconcerned. One hand gestured for the bristling IA Sergeant to calm down. "Constable DeValle is extremely professional. His assignment was to ensure Detective Niebaum did not interfere in the search for Lieutenant Parker or flee the city."

"DeValle? The guy who called EMS for Niebaum, that was your guy?"

"Not directly, no, but he frequently works with SRU Team Three and he's quite experienced with undercover work."

The Internal Affairs officer's eyes narrowed. "How do I know your guy didn't kill Niebaum himself?"

One brow rose and Commander Holleran gave the other man an unimpressed look. "We both know protocol, Sergeant Staples; Constable DeValle would have been checked for GSR (6) at the scene or afterwards, either by Homicide or by your department." A pause. "Also, Constable DeValle is adequate with a firearm, but has no experience with sniper rifles."

Staples' eyes narrowed even further. "Only reason we know it's a sniper is 'cause your guy told us that."

Exasperated, Commander Holleran reached out to the intercom on his desk and tapped the button. He waited for a rustle from the other end, then requested, "Winnie, could you contact Commander Locksley and ask her to send Constable DeValle to my office?"

"Yes, sir," Winnie agreed.

Tapping the intercom off, Holleran returned his attention to the fuming IA Sergeant. "An officer was killed; they would've put a rush on forensics." At the jerk of surprise, he smiled thinly. "You haven't read Parker's full file yet, have you?"

"Read it enough to know at least a third is redacted," Staples retorted.

The commander winced. "Yes, Lieutenant Parker and his former team are all signed onto the Official Secrets Act, Sergeant. Anything related to that is classified and redacted as such."

Before either man could say anything else, there was a knock on the office door. "Enter," Holleran called, pleased when Constable DeValle slipped in. Rising, he gestured the younger man closer to the desk. "Constable, Sergeant Staples has some additional questions regarding Detective Niebaum's murder."

"Of course, sir," the dark-haired man replied, striding across the room.

"You didn't mention you were a cop," Staples pointed out, tone icy.

Unabashed, the former Unspeakable came to a halt in front of the SRU commander's desk. "Standard procedure for my unit, sir. Never break your cover unless it's already blown."

A grunt. "Why weren't you carrying your sidearm, Constable?"

DeValle shook his head. "I don't carry while I'm under unless I need it, sir. Safer that way."

"Safer," Staples echoed, thick brows rising.

The young Auror nodded earnestly. "Most of my targets aren't your typical criminals. They'd be suspicious of anyone carrying a gun who isn't a cop."

The IA Sergeant grunted again, not entirely appeased. His eyes shifted between the constable in front of him and the commander behind the desk. "Who all knew your guy here was tailing Detective Niebaum?"

"Every team except Team Two," Commander Holleran replied. "Team Two was on patrol at the time of the shooting and reported in as soon as Constable Marlowe requested a rolling up date from the on-duty teams."

"And the dispatchers?"

Holleran frowned in thought. "My dispatchers aren't trained in sniper rifles, Sergeant Staples." A breath. "That said, Constable Camden likely knew, but I'm not sure about Constable Stone."

Staples grumbled low in his chest. "You gave me Parker's file. Anything you got on his so-called assignment?"

"Everything," Commander Holleran replied. "Assuming you have room in the trunk of your car for it."

The IA Sergeant's eyes bugged wide and Constable DeValle coughed to cover his laughter, blue sparkling with mirth.

It was close to ten o'clock by the time Sergeant Clive Staples was finally satisfied. Aside from a few squints in the direction of his computer monitor, the big man paid no attention to the nighttime lights shining through the windows of his office. With a heavy sigh, he rose to his feet, absently checking his watch.

Shifting back, he regarded the boxes stacked high in the corner of his office with a sour expression. The information inside was thorough – with enough details to satisfy even the strictest of DAs and the pickiest juries. Officers – active and retired – who'd sold their brothers in blue out to a maniac who took grudge-holding to an art form.

And one of them had been Detective Niebaum. The evidence was undeniable – and verifiable. Clive had all of the late detective's files; once he'd known to look, Niebaum's corruption had been easy to find, sprinkled through the pages of more cases than Staples could casually count. Why, he wondered, had Niebaum's corruption case been dropped?

But he knew why. They were Internal Affairs – they watched the Watchmen. For one of their own to be corrupt… Just as cops of other departments turned a blind eye on their dirty coworkers, taking offense when IA even suggested there was corruption, so had it been for Niebaum. His coworkers hadn't wanted to believe he was dirty, dropping the case at the first possible excuse.

Knowing what he did now, the seething resentment woven into every page of Niebaum's case against Lieutenant Parker made all too much sense. As did the motive – revenge, to be sure, but also, in a sense, redemption. If Parker was dirty, then Niebaum was not, as twisted as that sounded.

Rubbing at his eyes, Clive turned back towards his desk. Every report on the shooting and fire that had claimed the lives of Castor Troy and his sister, Brenda Kastor. A fine officer with an outstanding reputation – except for the part where she was a mob boss's sister and had a serious axe to grind against the rookie constable who'd arrested her brother all those years ago.

He'd hardly gotten through the first few pages of her case against Parker and the late Sean Archer before he'd had to put the file down. Strawman after strawman, logical and chronological inconsistencies that even an applicant to the Police Academy could see through – it was downright propaganda, designed to turn Castor Troy into the poor, innocent victim of Toronto's ruthless, dirty cops. No one with any sense would believe such nonsense – which meant it had to be kept from the media at all costs. They made their bones destroying reputations, embellishing even the flimsiest of tales into the leading stories on the nightly news. Given how ridiculous the file was, it might even merit a primetime special.

A tired snort escaped and Staples rubbed at his hair as he wearily turned towards the only problem remaining. The evidence that Troy and his sister had been shot with Parker's SRU service weapon rather than an undercover piece. Not to mention what the arson investigators had found – a daisy chain of bombs that had encircled the combatants in the factory fire shootout. The trigger mechanism – found on the catwalks surrounding the factory's main area. Bullets pulled from the walls matched to the weapons found on Castor and Brenda, evidence that Parker had been on the catwalks.

Circumstantial, but Staples knew he wasn't wrong. Parker had set a trap and lured his prey into it. Not exactly the action of a fine, upstanding officer. But… His gaze stole to the Homicide file on Detective Archer and he shuddered. He was a confirmed bachelor – no wife, no children, and his parents had long since passed on – but he'd met plenty of parents during his career. Police, military, and civilian alike. And many of those parents didn't deserve the title, but for those who did…

It was far, far safer to provoke an alligator than a parent. For a parent might regret their actions afterwards, but they would do anything to protect their children. Anything. Parker had had an advantage Archer didn't – he knew what had happened to the detective and his family. He'd known that if Castor Troy could break out of prison once, then he could do it again. And that…that had been a risk Parker could not accept. Not for himself and his family.

But he had still killed two people in cold blood. Lured them into a trap from which they could not escape. Shot them with absolutely no remorse.

Premeditated, first-degree murder.

[6] Gun Shot Residue

Author Note: I hope everyone enjoyed, even if you're hissing fury at Sergeant Staples right now. : P

As ever, please read and review - I respond to all signed reviews, with the exclusion of 'cold call' advertising reviews.

I wish all of you a wonderful weekend and I pray that the Lord would bless each and every one of you - and your families - on the other side of the screen.