Retaliation

Strength

Kathleen made her way inside the station and immediately saw Ruiz in the lobby. In person, he looked worse; she could see bags under his eyes and faint stubble on his face. 

"Hello Ruiz."

 "Hello, Mrs. Bianchi." 

"Please, call me Kathleen." She smiled at him.

 "Kathleen, how are you?" He returned the smile.

 "I've been better. Why have you called me down here?" Kathleen's heart was still feeling heavy, and the smile dissapating from Ruiz's face made it all the more heavier. 

"Did you know we found a body a few weeks ago?" 

Kathleen nodded slowly, "I did." 

"We confirmed that the body was your son, Zack." 

Kathleen's eyes widened; she let out a scream before falling, but Ruiz caught her. Kathleen screamed an anguished scream as tears flooded down her face. She was screaming in Italian while clutching her chest. 

"Zack! No Zack! My baby boy, my baby boy!" She cried out and started to rock back and forth.

 Ruiz held her silently, clutching her body; there was nothing he could say that could calm her down. He had never seen anyone in this state in so long that he felt shocked and helpless. All he could do was hold her as she screamed and cried, her delicate hands gripping at his arms. 

Even though her grip was strong, he could feel her hands shaking. When Kathleen's cries subsided, she stayed very quiet; she was still shaking but gradually calming down. 

"Can I please see him?" Kathleen looked up at Ruiz, her eyes red from her tears. 

"I have to ask my superiors. Give me a moment; meanwhile, I'll let an officer keep you company." Ruiz stood up and held his hand out; Kathleen took it and was helped to her feet.

 Ruiz led her somewhere to sit and once he confirmed she was comfortable he went over and spoke to a woman officer. She saw Kathleen and nodded to her; Kathleen nodded back, looking down at her hands. 

"I figured that you'd want something to drink." Kathleen looked up, and the woman was holding a cup out to her. She took it and held it in her hands, the cup was warm. 

"Thank you." Kathleen whispered as she took a sip; it was tea, and it was sweet.

 "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." The woman spoke apologetically as she sat down beside Kathleen. 

Tears came into Kathleen's eyes again; it was starting to slowly sink in that her son could be gone. She felt that she was still pathetically holding onto hope, but it was starting to dwindle. 

"I can't believe it. My only son is gone now." Kathleen choked out the tears streaming down her face again. 

The woman stayed silent and rubbed Kathleen's back, seemingly trying to console her. Ruiz soon appeared from around a corner, and Kathleen stood up, looking at him.

 "Can I see him?" 

"You can, but I warn you, that he isn't in the best condition." Ruiz looked down at her, and she could see that look that she'd seen all week on his face. 

"Okay, please just take me to my son." Katheen was pleading; she didn't want to waste any more time than they already had. 

Ruiz nodded and turned around; they walked past his office and around some corners before they came to some stairs leading down. Ruiz walked down them, and Kathleen followed; it was starting to grow colder.