Want You to Stay || Chenford / The Rookie

Part 29

Tim feels a cold sweat wash over him when the uniformed officer says Lucy's name. For a moment he thinks he's going to be sick — all those fancy little appetizers from the baptism party are about to end up in a puddle on the sidewalk.

"Lucy Chen is inside?" he manages to say, his voice sounding far away even to his own ears. Maybe he's heard wrong.

"Yes, Officer Chen was following up on a lead when something went south and everyone in the store was taken hostage," a voice confirms from behind him. Tim whirls around and recognizes the man as Detective Ramirez, Lucy's new boss in the Juvenile Division.

"Is she — do we know who the gunshot victim is?" He's trying to keep his voice even, but Tim can tell from the look on Ramirez's face that he's doing a shit job of it.

"We don't. We haven't heard from Officer Chen since before the shot was fired." The detective's eyes flit down to Tim's name tag. "Bradford. You trained Chen, right?"

"Yeah," is all Tim replies, his throat tight as he cranes his neck to look past the police barricades and into the convenience store, attempting to shove down the thought that Lucy might be lying on the floor somewhere inside, bleeding out.

No. He can't afford to think like that right now. Lucy's smart; she has great instincts. She's fine. She has to be.

***

Lucy's relief in response to the arrival of the Crisis Response Team is short-lived. The jacket she's holding against Lani's wound has soaked through with blood and the pallor of the girl's skin has become too concerning to ignore any longer.

She lifts her gaze to Joe. He's pacing back and forth with obvious agitation, clearly unsettled by the arrival of the police. It's obvious that he has no idea what to do next. She knows this is her chance to distract him before he's able to gather his bearings and formulate a plan. He hasn't thought through all of the critical logistics — hasn't covered the windows the Crisis Response Team can exploit to monitor the situation, hasn't forced the hostages to gather together to ensure he can see everyone in the store at the same time. He's in over his head, and he knows it. Which means he may be ready for her to offer a way out.

"Joe?" Lucy ventures softly.

He whirls to face her, and she winces as the gun veers in her direction. "How do you know my name? Who are you?" he spits angrily.

Lucy rises to her knees and lifts both hands in the air in a gesture of surrender, her palms painted red with Lani's blood. "Joe, my name is Lucy Chen. I can help you —"

"How do you know my name?" he demands again, his voice shaking with a combination of confusion and fury.

Lucy sucks in a breath, hoping her gut instinct isn't about to get her killed. "I'm a police officer. I'm unarmed," she adds hurriedly emphasizing her empty hands, the crop of her shirt making it clear she doesn't have a weapon tucked into her waistband. "I know why you're here and I think I can help you," she continues slowly.

Joe stares at her, a series of emotions crossing his face in the blink of an eye — shock, fear, and then anger. "You think you can help me? This is your fault, too. I called you guys so many times. I warned you what was going on at that school. I begged you to do something about these dealers," his outrage seems to grow with every word. "And you did nothing. She's dead because of you."

"I know," Lucy nods even as she can feel the sweat beading on her forehead, praying to god that admitting she's a cop hasn't put her on par with Patterson in Joe's mind. A flicker of surprise crosses Joe's expression at her unexpected agreement. "What happened to your daughter was awful, unforgivable," her eyes fill with genuine tears, grief for his loss. "What happened to her classmates, too. That's why I'm here, Joe. I want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. And I think we can help each other make sure it doesn't."

A strangled, mirthless laugh escapes from the older man. "Right. You want to help. Now. When it's too late to make any difference. My sweet — she's already gone," his voice cracks under the weight of his emotion as he shakes his head in misery.

"I'm so sorry, Joe. I know it's too late. And I know nothing I can do will ease your pain or bring her back, but you came here for a reason. You wanted him to pay," she says, gesturing to where Patterson is still cowering on the floor. "And I can make sure he does. I just need you to put the gun down. Please. I promise I will make sure the people responsible for what happened to your daughter go away for a long, long time." Lucy pauses, breath catching in her throat as she waits for his response, hoping that she's chosen the right words to get through to him.

He looks suddenly very tired, eyes darting over to Lani and then back toward Lucy.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt her, Joe," Lucy continues. "I know you'd never inflict the same loss on another father. And I know you don't want to hurt any of these people. We can figure this out, but we need to get her medical attention or she's not going to make it. All you have to do is put the gun down, and this can all be over. And you can still get what you came here for."

He nods slowly, moving to lower the gun. Lucy can feel the breath whooshing out of her in relief, her hands beginning to shake as the enormity of this entire situation starts to crack through her careful compartmentalization. And for a second Lucy isn't totally clear if she's seeing her own tears or Joe's, blinking rapidly as she moves carefully forward to retrieve the gun from where Joe has set it on the floor in front of him.

Lucy bends to take hold of the gun, fingers grazing the cool metal, when suddenly the world fades to black.