True Blue

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Okay, Danny, on the count of three cough as hard as you can and well get that tube out of your throat. One, two, three!"

Danny obeyed and used all the strength he had to force the breathing tube out of his throat. HE didn't think anything could hurt more than two bullet wounds but this did. As usual,Linda was there. As soon as the nurses suctioned his airway, she appeared dabbing his forehead and holding his hand.

"Don't try to talk just yet, let your throat heal. You are going to be all right now. Everything is going to be all right."

Danny's eyes searched the room seeing his father, grandfather, and sister all smiling to see him awake and breathing on his own. He made a motion with his hand for a pen. When Frank provided his pen, Danny wrote, "Boys? Jaime?"

"The boys are at school, when you can talk we'll bring them to see you. Jaime and his partner have been taking care of them, they really like Officer Janko," Linda replied.

Danny wrote down, "So does Jaime. Call my kid brother."

Linda agreed she would do that and left Danny to visit with his family.

Eddie took the bun out of her hair releasing a tumble of golden locks around her shoulders. "So we know from the tape that the shooter believed they were infiltrated so it's mob related or gang related. We know Danny wasn't an intended target. I pulled the crime stats for the neighborhood , two gangs run in that turf."

Jaime took a sip of his beer. They just came off their first tour since the shooting and were back at Eddie's place combing through their evidence, "Anything from Baez about ops in that area?"

Eddie shook her head, "No, and if you keep hammering at her like she pulled the trigger, she's not gonna help at all. We could all lose our shields for this and you know your dad isn't gonna protect us."

"If you want out Eddie, say the word.." Jaime replied already getting up to leave.

"Stop it, Jaime," Eddie replied. "I promised you I would help you. I'm going to help you."

As they went back to work Jaime's cell phone rang, "Hey, Linda, did the tube come out? Of course, um, can you call the aftercare and clear it for Eddie to get the boys."

Eddie headed for Staten Island and Jaime for St. Benjamin's, their case and their food temporarily forgotten.

Jaime arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later. He headed up to the SICU to see his brother. "Hey, Danny. How are you feeling?"

Danny wrote, "Hurt like hell. What's going on kid?"

"Nothing, nothing, just trying my best to help Linda with the boys."

"Playing house with your partner?" he wrote. 'Careful little brother."

Jaime scoffed, "Eddie's helping me try to get the guy that did this. I'm not going to let him get away with it."

Danny reached our and grabbed Jaime's arm, "Stop it," he croaked and immediately regretted it. He scribbled , "Don't get in over your head."

"I'm not, Danny. I promise you. Can you tell me anything about that night? What were you doing in that alley?"

"Stopped to pick up almond cookies and surprise Linda. I heard two guys in the alley shaking someone down so I checked it out. They were accusing him of being a cop. Hispanic males, one had a scar..."

Danny was getting tired. 'Whoever it was ran away, then they fired before I could draw..."

"Did they say anything to you, Danny?" Jaime asked.

"No, no they accused him of being a cop...nothing to me."

Jaime's jaw set, another cop was hiding out while his brother was lying a hospital bed. Danny was writing again, "Find out who is undercover at the 5-4. That's the lead you need. Be careful little brother, don't get shot too."

"I'm gonna get them, Danny. For you, for my nephews, I'm gonna get them."

Those were the last words that registered before Danny fell asleep.

Later that night, Jaime filled Eddie in on what Danny had told him.

"Jaime, we need to let the detectives handle this. It's not random anymore, or a robbery. This is gangs and undercover cops..."

"They shot my brother, Eddie. That's my blood on that street!"

"I know, Jaime," she sighed. "I know it is, but...how will he feel if you get hurt? We need help looking at this...we might the skill but we don't have the resources."

"If you want out, say the word. No hard feelings..."

"No, Jaime. No, I am with you, but I'm worried about you. You aren't yourself, you snap at me, go hardcore on perps. I know you're angry..."

"Damn right I'm angry!" Jaime erupted. "Danny's a good man, a good cop, a great father, it isn't fair. Now this other cop is hiding out, not speaking up, that he got made and got Danny shot!"

Eddie flinched as Jaime's beer flew into the wall. She was really concerned about him. Jaime wasn't prone to outbursts of temper, but in the last five days she lost count of his mini-explosions.

"You can't keep hiding behind this investigation, J. You can't bottle this all up inside, it's destroying you. You're getting eaten alive by your anger. Please, Jaime, talk to me."

Her gentle plea stopped him in his tracks. "I lost enough people, Eddie. My mom, my brother Joe, my first real partner..." Jaime sat down heavily with his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sorry for..." Eddie began but he was still talking.

"I can't lose anyone else. I became a cop to avenge Joe's death, to bring down who shot him, and I did, we did. The whole family together. I want to protect my family...I failed, Eddie. I failed Danny, I failed my father...I'm too soft, always too soft. People get hurt, I can't keep doing that, I have to..." He trailed off and leaned back shutting his eyes. "I have to get tough and be rough, I have to protect the people I love. That perp today was gonna go after you, he was sizing you up..."

"I could have handled it, " Eddie assured him. "You have to back me up, not stick up for me. If you feel you need to do that, we can't ride together."

Jaime's eyes flew open. He opened his mouth to protest but Eddie had already stood up. "You think about that, Reagan. Get some rest and think about whether ornot you're able to let me be a cop. I'll see you in the morning." She dropped a light kiss on his head and left.