Whatever it Takes

Opening Case

Eldon woke up with a start, he glanced over hoping that his life was a dream and Michelle would be there beside
him, but like every morning it wasn't true. He looked at his alarm and sighed, today was the day he would be presenting this case to his boss; it was everything he had worked for and if he got shut down, it would only crush him more. He went through the motions again, getting up, dressing, drank a peach grape, poured a glass for her and left whispering his goodbye and love to Michelle. He walked in and was greeted by Hunter and James, though it was short lived as they had to go solve a domestic violence case on the other side of the city, Eldon wished them good luck and went to his office to organize his presentation. Promptly at 10:00am he walked into his boss; Wests office, of course this was the West he was friends with and he had gotten this job from his father and through an impressively weird amount of knowledge about the law. "Eldon." West greeted. "How are you man? What brings you here"? Eldon placed his hands on the desk and pulled out his briefcase, inside it held 4 different files and two security tapes.

"West, I want to talk about opening a case revolving Michelle's death, it had to have been set up and you know that better than anyone." Eldon declared, eyeing his friend. West took the file into his hands and scanned them, pain washing across his face, they all loved Michelle but opening this case may trigger Eldon and it may not be for the best.

"Eldon." West inquired with seriousness, "this does look promising but due to a conflict of interest. I don't  think I can put you in charge of it." Eldon angrily argued, he was the best man for the job and he needed to find justice for her as it was the only way he could allow himself to move with life again and live for Michelle. West knew that Eldon would do anything for Michelle and so would the team so he agreed, after twenty minutes of arguing. "Alright fine, you, Hunter and James will be put on this because they're special officers, but one word about you exploding from any one. You're off. Capiche"? Eldon thanked him and got ready to have the tapes be reviewed even more so than what eh had done. When he was about to leave, West called out,"Find the kid who did this. It's for Michelle." And as he left, he began to smile.

Around noon the James and Hunter were back and were notified about Eldon's plan. They met him in the labs, along with several other specialists that dealt with image technology and engineering. "Okay everyone as you are all aware, my name is Detective Eldon and I have gathered the best people at this station to solve this murder case." He pulled up his slide show of notes and his video tapes. "Six years ago during a dance competition, one of the spotlights fell on one of the dancers, killing her." His voice broke but was only noticeable by his friends. One argued that it could have been a freak accident. "That's where you're wrong." He continued, "this studio happened to have made others angry by their success and in turn they wanted nothing more than to watch the studio crash. The studio is The Next Step which is located here in Toronto, one of their co-captains Michelle was killed in the so called accident." Again others began to argue but the tape footage that began playing, shut everyone up. Hunter and James looked fearful  as it was a replay of the spot light falling, Eldon had closed his eyes, not wanting to relive it. At the top you could see a slim figure maneuver around the spotlights, bashing it and doing other things that could not be seen but it was obvious that it could have been lighting and easily dismissed by the audience. Eldon and clarified the static of the image at home, and it was clear that someone was up there but the question is who. "Now I clarified and zoomed on the original image already, but we have to the technology to do better." The video imager smiled and nodded taking the tape and running off to her office. He looked at the remains of the team, and handed the engineer the folder of the design and pictures of the stage. He instantly took off and went to analyze the weak spots and materials. Eldon smiled, his team was excited to be serving justice. He shot a look at the astonished James and Hunter, "Pack your bags, we're going to Miami." He ordered before walking off.

The boys were headed to the airport, "Eldon are you sure you want to do this." Hunter questioned. Matters of the heart can often be overwhelming and Eldon could be unstable. He nodded again, his eyes tired but his body wanted more, they were going to do this. Whatever it takes he will do it. They boarded, each one eager to finally see Eldon content and to maybe be at peace with themselves. James thought that maybe Eldon wasn't so crazy after all, he found the proof and now he needed to find the the culprit. Eldon stared out the plane window, his mind shot back to their flight to internationals, Michelle had her hair down and was resting against his shoulder while he stroked it. He remembered how they would stare at one another lovingly but he didn't have that anymore, no he was fighting for something he couldn't have and yet it was the one thing he needs to make him whole again. He blinked back tears and looked over to see his friends asleep, "we're going to do this for you babe." He whispered into the air and then he felt it caress his skin, a feeling of calm washed over him as he closed his eyes.