Del walks down the dimly lit hall of the station house, stopping to replace his tepid coffee. The place was quiet, with only a skeleton crew working this early in the morning. He grabs a new cup and fills it, letting the smell wake him up a little. Then he shuffles onward, rubbing his stiff neck as he stops outside one of the interrogation rooms.
He closes his eyes, and takes a deep, deep breath...trying to purge himself of as much stress as possible, before he goes inside. The young, rookie officer guarding the door nods at him.
" ...'sup, Del?"
Del manages the tiniest of grins, reaching out to do the street-handshake-thing. "Yo, man...thanks for keeping an eye on him."
The kid nods, standing up. "Not a problem. You need me to hang out?"
Del thinks a moment, then shrugs. "Yeah...unless you got something else to do."
"Oh, sure...that mountain of filing I'm just DYING to get back to," the kid replies, as he sits back down with his basketball magazine. Del laughs a little, then goes inside, shutting the door behind him.
He places his coffee down on the table in the middle of the room...then looks around at the seemingly empty room. He makes a face, then peers over the table...and sees Todd, sitting there on the floor, in the farthest corner, staring at nothing. Del makes another face...a supremely unimpressed one...then pulls a chair out, and sits down in front of him.
"So...you wanna tell me what happened to your shoulder?"
No response. Del rolls his eyes, sighing as he reaches for his coffee. He takes a sip, then looks back at him.
"Ohhhhkay, fine," he says, cracking his neck. "I really don't care what happened to you anyway. I'm just here to keep an eye on you until the commish gets here."
Del notices the subtle response, as Todd closes his eyes for just a second...then goes back to zoning.
"Yeah, he'll be thrilled to see you too," he says, dryly, as he takes his chair and tilts back until he hits the wall. "He sounded oh-so happy on the phone."
Again, nothing...Del folds his arms, getting comfy in the chair.
"So. Let me guess...you're saving your energy, so that when the commish walks in, you can launch into that full-on mental act of yours, right?"
Todd finally glances at Del directly, glaring...but only for a second, before looking away again.
"Oooh...THAT'S a dirty look. What, am I wrong? Isn't that your M.O.? Get busted, go nuts, right? I mean...it's risky, but, you've pulled it off before. Why not do it again?"
Todd's shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath...but still, he says nothing. Del rocks back onto the floor, the chair legs hitting with a BAM! Then he leans forward, getting closer to him.
"I'll tell you why not. 'Cause everybody knows you're a lyin' sack of shit, that's why not. I mean, you fooled 'em once, and you fooled 'em good. But usually...you only get one chance to do something like that. After that, people tend to get pretty hip to you, so it makes it a LOT harder, if not impossible, to do it again," he says, moving in even closer.
"So tell me, genius...what's the plan? Lure my little sister in again? Sucker her in with those biiiiig saaaaad eyes? Tell her how sorry you are for everything, and get her to spring you?"
Another deep breath...then Todd finally looks at him directly. "Get outta my face," he whispers.
Del raises an eyebrow at that; and Todd just glares at him, as he sits back in the chair. The two men stare each other down for a moment, then Del slaps his knees, as he gets up. He grabs his coffee, heading for the door. He's just about out, when Todd suddenly speaks up.
"Wait."
Del sighs a heavy sigh, reluctantly turning around. He watches as Todd pulls himself up off the floor, and leans against the wall.
"Is she alright?" he asks, softly.
Del cocks his eyebrow again, thinking about it...then he shrugs. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"
Todd gives him a confused look. "What do you mean, 'why?' I just want to know she's okay, that's all."
Del almost cracks up at that, shaking his head. "Yeah, right. Whatever. Sit tight," he says, then walks out.
As soon as the door is closed, Todd sighs heavily, sinking down in the chair. He rubs his slinged-up arm and shoulder, grimacing a little with the pain. It had been hours since he snuck out of the hospital, and only now was he starting to remember how much it hurt. He looks around at the room...so familiar in its emptiness. It looked like every interrogation room he'd ever been in...and he suddenly wonders...how much worse it's going to get. Things were going to get pretty ugly once Bo got there, and after that...well...he didn't even want to think about after that, because it involved a long bus ride with his hands and feet shackled, and years in a cell. He rubs his elbow inside the sling, absent-mindedly, finding it strange that he wasn't already trying to think of a way to escape. Usually, just the thought of prison and going back to it was enough to get the wheels of self-preservation turning...but not now. He just...didn't care enough.
He closes his eyes, feeling more tired than he's ever been before. And all he can think about...is Tea...and the idea that he might not ever see her again. Ever. He sighs at that, as if the thought were enough to make him ill. He feels the weight of her absence, sitting on his shoulders like a ton of bricks and starving him, hollowing his gut out to a big, empty hole.
If I could just...see her...
He leans forward, letting his head drop onto the table. He turns sideways, resting his cheek on the cold surface...and he closes his eyes, trying to imagine where she might be. For some reason, he sees a beach...deserted and quiet, with clean, white sand...and palm trees swaying in a cool breeze he can almost feel. The vision relaxes him, and makes him forget where he is...enough that he can continue to drift. The beach gives way to a new space, swirling around him...and suddenly, he's not cool anymore...
...he's warm...warm and intoxicated...drunk without the alcohol. His eyes flutter open, and it's dim...but he can sort-of see the mussed sheets surrounding and covering him. Gradually, he becomes aware of other sensations...that of smooth, bare skin against his, and fingertips touching his scalp as they gently lift and comb his hair, letting the strands float back down, then picking them up again, over and over and over. Then he becomes aware of one last thing...that it's Tea who's doing it. He sees her other arm, resting on his...her fingers lightly stroking his skin. He breathes deep, and feels her shifting underneath him, their bodies still connected. Her softness and warmth surround him on all sides, making him feel...
...safe...and contented...things he wasn't used to feeling. And the experience of it now, is so overwhelming, it drains his energy. His eyelids grow heavy again, feeling the movement of Tea's body as she breathes in and out. He nestles into her, holding onto her and rubbing his cheek against her skin...letting the draining wave take him back to sleep.
Face against the cold tabletop, Todd's face twitches, as he remembers how deep he slept that night, finally experiencing the kind of dreamless sleep he always wished for...the kind where he could just let go of everything and rest. His eyebrows crinkle, as he tries to remember what happened between the time he fell asleep and the time he woke up...but he can't. His rest had been all-consuming, blocking his sense of time...and memory. All he sees is black...like a thick, heavy curtain, covering those lost hours. He wonders how it happened...how Tea even managed to move an inch without him knowing it. How quiet she must have been...and was she sad? Angry? Scared? He wonders, but doubts anymore if he'll ever know, as he opens his eyes again. More than likely, Bo was going to show up in the next hour, cuff him and haul him off to god-knows-where.
And more than likely, Tea would stay on that beach, wherever it was.
*****
Bo Buchanan walks into the precinct in his usual, swaggering manner, with his long duster flapping around him. Two other Llanview PD officers walk with him, the usual prisoner escort detail, as Bo heads for the front desk. He flashes his badge at the rookie working the computer.
"Commissioner Buchanan, Llanview PD...I'm here to see---"
"Yo, Commish!" a voice calls from behind, and Bo turns to see Del standing there. The two men meet in the middle of the room and shake hands.
"Del...good to see you, man."
Del nods at him. "Yeah...you too. Just too bad it's always gotta be under such lousy circumstances, huh?"
Bo half-laughs. "Yeah, really," he says, then sighs heavily. "Alright, let's get this over with. Where is he?"
Del cocks his head to one side, starting to lead them. The escort officers drop back, letting Bo walk with Del as they head upstairs.
"So...how big's the book you're throwing at him this time?" Del asks.
"Well...that's the thing. There are no charges. Not right now, anyway."
Del stops short, right there on the stairwell. "What do you mean? I thought you were gonna book him for the Gannon shooting."
Bo half-laughs again. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to. I'll take ANY excuse to throw Manning in the lockup. But we seem to be running into a problem."
"What?"
"RJ Gannon...seems HE'S missing now. We went to his place as soon as you called, but from the looks of things, he was already long gone...under his own power."
Del slumps against the wall. "You gotta be shittin' me."
Bo shakes his head. "Nope."
"Ffffuck..." Del mutters to himself...then sighs, continuing to trudge up the stairs. "Well then...what about...uh..." he starts, wanting to say 'Buchanan', but suddenly remembering that Bo has the same last name.
"Kevin?" Bo finishes.
"Uh...yeah."
"Look, you gotta understand something, Del...Llanview is NOT the big city, okay? If I haul my own NEPHEW in for questioning, I'm gonna get it from all sides, especially if I have no probable cause. So I need to know what the hell's going on first. Now did Manning give you any details? Anything at all?"
"Not a thing," Del replies, shrugging. "All I know is what I told you on the phone. He's been shot. We have the slug the ER pulled out of him, but so far, it's turned up nothin'."
Bo clicks his tongue. "Figures," he says, thinking for a moment.
"He conscious?"
"Oh, yeah...he's just fine."
"Alright," Bo replies, about to head for the interrogation room. "I'm gonna go talk to him. You'll let me know as soon as Tea gets here?"
Del makes a face. Bo makes one back. "What?"
Del sighs, then steps closer to Bo, lowering his voice. "Look, I did what you said, and I called her, against my better judgment. I still think bringing her here is a bad idea...I mean, how can she really help you anyway? She hasn't seen or spoken to Manning in weeks."
Bo sighs too. "I understand where you're coming from, Del...but fact is, if RJ is really gone, we have NOTHING if we don't get Tea back here."
"You may not have anything even IF you get her back here. So what's the difference?"
"The difference...is that Tea is one of the only people who can see through Todd's bullshit and make any sense out of it. I may not know exactly what went down, but I will bet you anything that she does. Because she knows HIM."
"Yeah...and HE knows HER. Like the back of his fuckin' hand, man...and that's what I'm afraid of. You get those two in the same room and SHE...WILL...CAVE, I guarantee it. So even IF he DID do something to her, she'll never admit to it. Not in a million years. I'm her BROTHER, and *I* couldn't get her to admit to anything."
Bo sighs again, thinking for a moment...then he sort-of shrugs. "Look, Del...fact is, she's a big girl. So you're just gonna have to trust her. I'M gonna have to trust her. She's been dealing with Todd long enough to know when enough's enough."
"You think? 'Cause I don't...I don't think she knows her ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to him."
Bo has to crack up at that, despite everything. He chucks Del on the arm. "Point taken. I guess...we'll just see what happens."
Del nods, reluctantly, stepping back as Bo goes into the interrogation room with the other officers. The door closes behind them...and all Del can do is shake his head, as he walks away.
*****
The two escort officers take their positions by the door, guarding it, as Bo strolls over to the table and sits down. He looks at Todd, who's still resting his head on the tabletop, his head turned away. Bo waits, for a few seconds...then tips his head to the side, clearing his throat loudly.
Ever so slowly, Todd lifts his head up, turning to face Bo as he straightens up. Bo looks him up and down, his eyes drawn to the sling. He lets out a long breath as he shakes his head, with typical disapproval. Then he slouches down a bit, resting an elbow on the table. Todd holds his gaze for a moment, then looks toward the opposite corner of the room, with a pissed-off shake of his head.
"Yeah, I know...feeling's mutual, believe me," Bo mutters, a finger on his lip. "So...what am I here for NOW?"
"You mean you don't know?" Todd replies, quietly. Bo half-laughs at him, and Todd turns to look back at him directly.
"How 'bout general principle? You can get me on THAT, can't you?"
Bo wags his eyebrows at him, somewhat impressed with his comeback. "Oooh...CAN I?? Can I PLEASE???" he says, exaggeratedly, shuddering with mock excitement as he sits up.
"Look, why dontcha just throw me in the wagon and get it over with?? Stupid-ass," Todd fires back.
"Oh, GLADLY. I'm just sorry I can't tie you to the bumper and DRAG you all the way back, y'miserable prick," Bo replies, getting up.
Todd eyes him as he heads for the door. "Well, what're you waiting for?"
"None of your goddamned business."
"Aren't you gonna ask me?"
"Ask you what?" Bo says, supremely annoyed, his back still turned, hand on the knob.
"Who shot me?"
Bo half-laughs again, turning slightly to look at him. "I already know THAT," he says, then walks out, his coat swishing behind him. The other officers give him nasty looks as they follow him out.
Todd looks at the closed door for a moment...as if he could see what was going on outside. Then he closes his eyes again, and drops his head back on the table with a dull thunk.
*****
As soon as the door closes behind him, Bo sees Del at the end of the hallway. He squints at him, lifting his chin slightly...watching as Del gestures for him to join him. Bo turns to the other two officers.
"Keep an eye on him. You hear anything going on in there, come get me."
They both nod, each of them slouching against the doorframe, as Bo walks quickly down the hall towards Del.
"What's up?"
Del makes a point of sighing very heavily...then, with a twitch of his head, he turns and opens the door to one of the offices. Bo bends slightly, looking in...and his eyes widen a little.
Sitting on a small couch, Tea looks up at them both, with a sad, tired smile. "Hey."
To Be Continued...
