The Press was gathered outside of our Headquarters the next morning..
I stood with Sissy and gave an address...
"Last Night..Someone or persons attempted to Kill Me, ADA Karen Page and TV Journalist, B.L. Benz.. They failed on all three accounts...They did however kill an innocent man...a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time..They booby trapped my SUV, which would have killed me and my wife...I am here to tell whoever was behind these brazen attempts... I AM GOING TO CLEAR MY DESK AND CONCENTRATE ON JUST YOU...YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR KILLING AN INNOCENT MAN AND YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR MY CAR...WHEREEVER YOU ARE...YOU ARE A FAILURE...BUT I WILL NOT FAIL TO BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!" I said in my strongest verbiage yet..
"You can run but you can't hide from us.."said Lt. Sissy Van Buren...
Back in our headquarters...
Sharon said..
"There was enough c-4 in your SUV to have leveled this entire building....Whoever is behind this wasn't just trying to kill you...They wanted to kill everybody in this building.."said Sharon..
"I've got a team of Federal Marshalls on patrol on 12 hour shifts on this building at all times now and well placed snipers..around the perimeter."said Sharon...
"I've got teams on the roofs of all of our homes..
and plain clothes walking the streets around the clock."said Duke..
Sissy had already given the order....
We were to pack our bags and head to our secret safehouse..
Code name: COPLAND ,The Federally owned apartment complex , that was really our safehouse where we went to work on our most confidential investigations...Only the Commisioner, The Deputy Of Operations and Captain Eddie Cantrell knew of it's location and what it was to be used for.
Tyriq, Sirena and their kids,
Jimmy and Angie,
Hop
and Carlotta were already there...
Duke, Hazel, Sissy, Eddie C., Myself and a blindfolded B.L. Benz and ADA Karen Page were soon on our way there.. B.L. and Karen were sworn to secrecy and told not to talk about even the existence of such a place..
II-
''Wow...What a set up...I feel like I'm in the Batcave."said B.L. who was amazed..
The Downstairs was complete with huge monitors and laptops and other crime fighting equipment..A make shift morgue and a law library....
There was a kitchen and a dining hall....all on the first floor, while the upstairs were very luxurious rooms...all with a bath and shower..and cable TV...
It was a cold site...No one could trace any cell phone activity here...And you could only call out on approved lines..
"I know it's a bit restrictive here B.L. , but you are safe here...Nobody knows you two are here..and you're surrounded by cops.."said Sissy, smiling , trying to put a good spin on things,
"And make no mistake..We are still going to get whoever is behind this.."said Duke..
We allowed Karen and B.L. to sit in on our conference..
"The Bullets we took from Robert Cobb and from Vincent Deadwyler are a ballistics match and definitely from the same gun.."said Hazel.
"My guy in the ATF confirmed that."said Sharon..
"Robert Cobb ,our guy, The Public Defender , what has he got to do with this.?" asked Jimmy.
"Perhaps we can ask B.L. Was he ever on your show?" asked Tyriq..
"No...I don't know him."said B.L.
"Hmm, a public defender is murdered...and an attempt on an ADA....You two have any cases in common?" asked Carlotta.
''Well yeah, just one.. He defended Cyril Jenson, that triple murderer and I helped prosecute him..Me and Keith Wallace.."said Karen..
"B.L., you ran a story on him didn't you? Cyril Jenson, on HARD BOTTOM!" said Sirena..
"Jenson has got to be the connection...."said Hop..
''We all worked that case...Sissy and the seven of us..We brought him in...We are all targets...This freak plotted to bomb our headquarters last night...That would have wiped all of us out..They tried to kill you two and wound up killing an innocent man..and they've already killed the lawyer.."said Angie..
"Why kill Bobb Cobb? He was his defense attorney.." asked Duke..
"He lost!" said Sissy...
"You crucified him on your television show for a week B.L.. and Karen...You and I put him away for life for each victim..."I said.
''As he deserved.."said Karen..
"He got Cobb.....The defense attorney...He missed with you two...and he failed to blow us up...We've got Federal Marshalls and snipers up the ying yang around our headquarters..
and police teams on our homes
and we have literally vanished off the face of the Earth....so that makes me wonder who would be the next target?" asked Carlotta.
''Way ahead of you Top...That would be Judge Cornbluth...Who sentenced him..."said Tyriq.
"Place a call...Put a team on him around the clock.."said Sissy,...
"I'm on it.."said Duke..
III-
"Anybody hungry? Food is ready." said Eddie C.
"This is my husband, Eddie C." said Sissy...
"You guys are so tight...Almost like family...Olivia and Beverly and her crew are like that and Yvette Jones and her crew is the same way...I like this.."said Karen Page..
"These guys have known each other their entire careers...When Sissy asked me to hand pick some good detectives for her...I put these guys together..She already had Duke and Angie..
I brought in Tyriq, Carlotta and Jimmy..
and Tyriq's wife, Sirena
and last but not least, Tony Hopkins..
who was a uniformed police officer assigned to us before he made Detective...
and along the way we were assigned Hazel
Duke's wife by the medical examiner's office and the FBI's finest..
Sharon Hopkins.." I said.
"I was in law school with Detective Hopkins and Sharon Ferrell then wasn't it?"said Karen Page..
"You were?" asked Sissy incredulously..
"Yes , she was..Her,
Olivia Bennett-Alexander and Yvette Jones were my classmates..We all graduated together.."said Sharon... "In Fact...Olivia and I go back even further...She, Carlotta and I all graduated from High school together...Girls High." said Sharon..
''I only knew Olivia vaguely then...I remember seeing her in the hallways in between classes..She was more Sharon's friend back then." said Carlotta
"Tony you were brilliant, congratulations on your recent graduation from law school and passing the bar." said Karen..
"It took all these years, but I got it done."said Hop..
"You still gonna be a cop?" asked Karen..
"Oh yeah, these guys need a lawyer around.."laughed Hop..
We all laughed as Pancakes, Bacon, Sausage, Hash Browns and Scrambled Eggs were served..
''Wow , this is nice..Makes being cooped up ,not so bad.."said B.L.
Sharon sat on his lap and hugged him...
We all retreated to our cafeteria area.
IV-
At the roundhouse..Police Headquarters. Lt. Tragg was having his COMSTAT meeting... Half of the Sgt's and Lieutenants didn't even bother to come...
Something he was aware of and equally irritable about..
"Call this thing off Artie...This place is half full.."said Captain Eddie Cantrell..
"Where is your girlfriend, Lt. Sissy Van Buren?" asked Lt. Tragg..
"She's excused..She and her unit are on special assignment.." he said..
"Special Assignment?? They've got two open murders...."said Lt. Tragg.
"They're working em.." said Captain Cantrell..
''So they need to go on special assignment to work two murders? They're probably goofing off.."said Lt. Tragg..
"Whatever....Shut this meeting down " said Captain Cantrell..
He didn't need to ….By now , the entire room was empty...People were filing out..
"See ya later Artie... Just make sure YOU don't have any open Murders.."said Captain. Cantrell..
Lt. Tragg was too sad to be angry about the failure of his meeting...He missed Karen Page..
He hadn't seen her in awhile..He had heard about an attempt on her life...He wished he'd been assigned to protect her..B.L. couldn't protect her...She needed a cop to protect her...a Real cop like him ,he wagered..
At our safehouse....Sissy addressed the troops...
''Whoever was trying to kill all of us has failed..and we've frustrated whoever...but I want the pressure kept on this person...Tomorrow, we are back on the streets...Work in pairs..Watch each others backs..Turn this city upside down...We are on a hunt....An Innocent bystander was killed. An Attorney for the Public Defender's Office was killed...That's got to mean something..That's got to anger you."said Sissy..
"I want to go on the air...I have to show this killer that we aren't afraid...."said B.L.
"We'll send our guys with you.." I said.
"Angie and I will get on identifying and finding that car..."said Duke..
" Sirena and I are checking into Deadwyler's life, just as a routine.."said Hop
"And then we are are going to search for more eyewitnesses....And check Street, Traffic and Business Cams.."said Sirena..
"Same with us...We are back on the streets tomorrow.."said Carlotta..
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