Anti-Hero | Tim Bradford

Chapter Fifteen - Realising

Nyla sighed as she shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. Her back had started to hurt from sitting on the ground so she had opted to read some of the files standing to scratch out. The self storage unit, once in immaculate condition, looked as if the Road Runner had sped through here, leaving destruction and chaos behind. The files that were neatly tucked away in boxes had been spread out across the floor into piles. There were three main piles; one for irrelevant articles, one for people who potentially may have been hired to take over Regina's dirty work, and the last for recognisable threats to either Morgan, her loved ones, or members of the LAPD.

"Still no answer, I'll try again soon," Nyla clicked the phone shut before walking towards Morgan who sat, legs crossed, in the middle of the havoc. "Can I ask you something?"

Morgan looked up at Harper, gesturing for her to sit. Harper refused, so Morgan nodded. "Sure, shoot."

"Obviously there is a clear threat to the LAPD. Did you not think to report it? Even through an anonymous tip. You took a massive liberty by dealing with this by yourself." Nyla ran a hand over her head as she shifted her weight once again. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"I thought the threat was for me. A way to keep me in line, to keep me away, hopeless even. And it was, she followed through on her threats" Morgan answered honestly as she looked away from Harper, not enjoying her judgemental gaze. "I kept tabs on Diaz the best I could, and the station. She was watching me, and I was watching her. We were almost in a stalemate."

"Almost?"

"Almost." A melancholy look flashed across Morgan's face, eyes sparkling in sadness as she reached for the two polaroid pictures she had swept up into a file when the pair arrived. With some reluctance, she held the pictures out to Nyla. "The first was my brother, Theo. When I went to the police to get a message home, I returned to the safe house where I was staying and found that photo. His death was on the news. I received the second one a couple of months later. March 16th, mine and Tim's anniversary."

"Why him?"

"His name was Reggie Fisher. I met Tim at his cafe on that day, he was my old landlord. We went to that coffee shop every year on March 16th. I went there alone to see Tim, even if he wouldn't see me. Reggie wasn't even working, he suddenly retired a few weeks before... I thought he'd be working there forever. When I got back to where I was staying, that photo was on my bed. He was on the news the next day."

Nyla nodded slowly, before placing a comforting hand on Morgan's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Morgan sniffed and wiped her eyes to stop the tears before they started to fall. "Not your fault."

"It isn't yours either."

"I'm the reason they're dead, Harper. If I had just stayed away..."

"Then she would have killed them to tempt you back." Harper pulled Morgan up from the ground. She went to speak but she cut herself off in thought. Nyla took a moment before continuing. "You said that picture was there when you arrived from the coffee shop, and that Reggie wasn't working."

"Yeah...?"

"She wouldn't have had the time to track him down and do all of that as well as get that picture to you. That kind of work takes time."

"What are you saying?"

"That it isn't your fault." Nyla bent down to start gathering up the files. "I think he is long dead. I think he was killed to send a message, not only to you, but to all of us."

Morgan nodded, taking a moment to process what Harper was saying, and the implication behind it all. If it was true, then there must have been a reason other than revenge to send Morgan away. There were so many loose ends that they hadn't even begun to consider. "We need to get back to the station, try to call Grey again."

"Already on it." Nyla smiled at Morgan, trying to be reassuring. "Now, help me get this stuff into the shop."

- - - - -

On the way back to the station, Harper had finally gotten through to Grey, and demanded that a team be put together on this. She had hung up quickly, not allowing him any time to question her. When the pair walked into the briefing room, each holding a box of files, they were greeted by Tim, Lopez, West, Chen, Grey and Nolan all waiting expectantly.

"Care to tell us why you've gathered us all here, Detective Harper?" Grey said, crossing his arms.

"We went to an old storage locker of Morgan's today. Going through all the paperwork she had from her time away. We think we found a pattern."

Morgan walked over to Tim's side as Nyla talked to the room. He shifted so she could lean some of her weight against him. Gently he lowered one of his arms to rest his hand on her back, silently comforting her.

He looked down at his wife, only half listening to Nyla. Morgan would fill him in on any details he missed anyways.

You okay? He silently asked.

I will be.

Good. Tim replied, nodding as his thumb moved back and forth before he turned his attention back to Nyla.

"I don't think this was an act of revenge. Something didn't sit right with me from the get-go. And when Morgan mentioned the murder of Reggie Fisher. The timelines didn't line up."

"What does Reggie have to do with this?" Tim asked, thoughts of the old man rushing through his head. He had been the officer called out when Reggie was reported missing. It broke his heart to lose another part of his life he had before; it broke even more when the case went cold and they found his bruised and beaten body on the side of the highway.

He wanted to put that hurt in the past, leave it dead and buried where it belonged.

"Regina sent me this picture of him one day;" Morgan fished the polaroids out of her pocket and passed the second one to Tim. She watched as he pulled away from her and passed the polaroid to Grey. "March 16th to be precise. I went to the coffee shop. When I got back to where I was staying, I found this on my bed."

"This says 'Strike Two,' what was 'Strike One.'" Grey asked, placing the photograph on the table and turning his attention to Morgan.

"It was Theo. I had tried to go to the local PD. I gave a message for them to give to you but it never got back here. Someone clearly recognised me and interfered. When I got back to the safehouse, I found this like I did the others. On my bed, my place was broken into. Nothing stolen, nothing damaged. Just a message."

"That's why we called you all here. We were going over these files, and the photos. The timelines don't add up." Harper gestured to the boxes. "I think there is something bigger at play here."

"What do you mean?" Chen asked, piping up for the first time.

"I don't think Regina was ever the threat we thought she was. She's clever, I'll give her that. But I think someone else saw her attempt at revenge as a way to get things done and not get any blame."

"But we don't know who." Morgan interjected. "And that's what scares the crap out of us."

- END OF ACT ONE -