Perfect Storm

Chapter 30 - Trust Your Gut

Tap, tap, tap.

Hank looked up to see Alvin hovering in the doorway to his office, his face pale and drawn and his chocolate eyes tired. It was a look Hank knew all too well, he'd seen it in the mirror enough recently to know that it had been a good few days since Alvin had properly slept or eaten. The only reason he had done either of those things himself was because of Kate.

"Hey, how'd it go with Osha?"

Alvin wearily dropped his weight onto the leather sofa, a deep sigh leaving him as he ran a palm over his beanie-covered head. Hank didn't immediately respond, instead turning to tug open the bottom drawer of his desk and pull out two tumblers along with the bottle of Macallan Kate had bought him for his birthday. Placing all three items on his desk with a muffled thunk, he poured the amber liquid into the glasses until they were both a quarter full, re-corking the bottle and pushing to his feet, tumblers in hand.

He circled the desk and passed one glass to Alvin who muttered a thanks before taking the vacant seat next to him.

"He said North and the prosecution are building a case. Apparently there's a witness who saw you and a young woman where Bingham's body was found."

Alvin nodded but remained silent. After a few moments, Hank spoke again.

"I won't let you take the fall for this, Alvin. If we run out of options, I'll turn myself in."

Out of the corner of his eye, Hank saw Alvin take a large mouthful of scotch, lifting the glass to study the the golden hues as the liquid swirled with his movements.

"I know what I got myself into, Hank. We just..." he tailed off, bringing the glass to his lips once more. "...find the witness and tilt the burden of proof just enough."

Hank took two long sips from his own glass, knowing exactly what he needed to do but, perhaps for the very first time, he was hesitant. Not because he wouldn't do what was necessary to ensure Al's safety, but because he was worried about the impact his actions would have on Kate.

He wanted to do the right thing, make the right choices. But it wasn't like he had much of a choice here. It was either do this for Alvin or go to jail himself. North had made it very clear that he was out for blood and, whilst it was Hank he wanted, he would settle for Alvin, knowing that Hank wouldn't sit idly by and watch his best friend take the blame for something that he didn't do.

Dropping a hand to Alvin's knee, Hank gave it a pat before downing the rest of his drink, getting back to his feet to call in yet another favour, this time to get the identity of the witness. Hopefully he could unearth something that would discredit them enough so that North wouldn't be able to use them if this went to trial.

Later that night, after he had watched Ruben Gilbright beg and plead for his wife's forgiveness seconds before being carted off by members of the Narcotics department, he headed back to his empty house, taking a quick shower before crawling into a cold bed. Hank could count on one hand the number of nights he and Kate had spent apart since they started sleeping together and, as he lie there for hours staring at the ceiling, he wondered if this was the start of many nights without her by his side.

Kate awoke the next morning even more tired than she had been before she went to sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, listening for the sound of Hank's key in lock that never came. The last time she checked her phone was 4:03am before she eventually drifted off into a restless sleep, her alarm jerking her awake just after six.

Even as she stood under the cool spray of her morning shower, her mind was preoccupied piecing together what she already knew. An FBI agent turns up seemly out of the blue, has a sixty second conversation with Hank and then leaves. He then summons Olinsky into his office and the two have what looks to be a pretty intense conversation before he then starts making a number of terse phone calls to unknown recipients.