But I'd Have Had to Miss The Dance (Sylverasey Collection)

Vi ~ Frank II, Jack II

I don't even remember when I started writing this chapter, but I never got past the first few paragraphs for a while because life suddenly decided to fill up my schedule. But I had a burst of inspiration in the past week, and lo and behold, the interlude connecting the two parts of the story is suddenly 11K words and the longest chapter of this so far. How about that?

I believe a good summary for this is "throw Frank a bone, and away he goes." In other words: Frank starts gathering puzzle pieces and does his best to piece them together. Interestingly, several of those pieces seem to involve a certain FDNY firehouse. Featuring a POV from Jack because it managed to fit in, otherwise this would have been only Frank's POV. I don't think anyone would have minded that, though.

So, enjoy a whole lot of Frank Cosgrove's POV! About time, right? Also, please check out the question at the end!

***

As he drove through traffic to reach the courthouse, the wail of sirens starting to grow louder, Frank decided on two things. One was that, assuming he would be able to get past Elliot, he was going to give Olivia hell for putting the Rublev case in jeopardy to begin with by hiding their star witness and refusing to tell the prosecutors where she was now located.

The second was that, assuming he could get away with it, he wasn't going to let Nolan out of his sight for at least forty-eight hours. Hell, Lily probably would help him with that if she didn't have school.

He finally found a place to pull over and quickly threw his car in park. Crime scene investigators were already on the scene, as were medical examiners. Frank ignored them in favor of weaving through patrol officers he recognized from the 2-7, barely giving anyone a second glance. There was one he acknowledged, though, and he quickened his pace to catch up with the younger detective. "Shaw, what happened?" he demanded.

"Based on reports right now, Rublev was shot at point blank range," his partner for the case, Jalen Shaw, reported, falling into step with Frank. "He died almost instantly. Price did his best to help, but according to the MEs, he was basically a lost cause."

Frank sighed, seeing the bloodstains on the concrete sidewalks. "Any other casualties?"

"None," Jalen shook his head. "Just Rublev."

"And Nolan and Sam?"

"Getting cleared by the paramedics right now."

Frank sighed and rubbed his forehead, weaving around police and searching for where the ambulances were parked. "This damn case has been hell from beginning to end." He quickly found Sam where she was being assisted from the back of an ambulance, looking shaken but unharmed. She nodded to the paramedic who assisted her then walked back towards the courthouse, and Frank quickened his pace to reach her. "Sam!" he called.

Sam turned at once, and she sagged in relief. "Frank," she smiled wearily. "Hey."

"Are you OK?" he asked, looking her up and down.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "My ears are just ringing. I'm fine."

Frank nodded, accepting her answer, then looked around. "Where's Nolan?"

Sam glanced around with pursed lips. "He could be anywhere," she admitted. "He tried helping Rublev, but . . . " She shrugged helplessly. "He's probably giving a statement somewhere or checking bystanders."

Frank sighed. "Of course, he is," he muttered, beginning his trek around the courthouse.

Jalen and Sam fell into step behind him, and while Frank mainly focused on his surroundings, he heard Jalen quietly speak with Sam. It made him smile in approval, for many of the detectives Kate had tried pairing with him had either blatantly not gotten along with the prosecutors or treated them like they were made of porcelain. So far, Jalen had done neither of those things. In fact, he had treated the prosecutors with more respect than all of the previous detectives combined. First thing I do after we finish our reports for this case, Frank thought. Convince Kate to bring Jalen permanently to the 2-7.