Cry Wolf : Assault on the 13th Precint

Chapter 3: Cop Stories

They drove the two suspects down to the 12th Precinct and were going to interrogate them the next morning.

In the car n the way to Ben's, both Ben and Wolf were curious about Jacobi's sniper skills.

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that Jacobi, it was some pretty accurate shooting?" asked Ben with curiosity.

"Before I became a Detective I was in S.W.A.T as a sniper and transferred after I had a partnership offer with Bryan," replied Jacobi as he packed away the last of the rifle.

When they arrived at Ben's house Jacobi and Bryan were introduced to the rest of the Starsky family.

"Bryan, Jacobi this is my wife Jane and my three boys Martin, Jak and Tyler," explained Ben as he picked up the youngest Tyler.

After saying their hellos Bryan, Jacobi, Wolf and Ben sat at the kitchen table to have a better talk to each other and work on the case. The first subject was Ben's first partner.

"Starsky, if you don't mind me asking, what caused your last partner to...kill himself?" asked Bryan nervously.

Ben looked at him funny then sighed,

"Spencer always had his demons, especially after his wife was murdered. It took me a while to get him back on his feet but it all went to shit when we got called to a crime scene that looked exactly how his wife was killed. He wasn't the same after that. A month later he killed himself," explained Ben "Jumped off his eight-story apartment building".

Bryan in a way knew what Ben was going through; he has had a near death experience of his own.

"Your eldest Martin reminds me of my kid, Drake is seventeen and he said to me that he wants to be a musician," explained Bryan "I'm happy for him, I don't want my kids to be cops".

"Is there a reason for that?" asked Wolf with curiosity.

Bryan went quiet and looked away,

"Many years back I was at home sound asleep when I heard a loud noise at 4am. I got up to see what all the noise was when an intruder grabbed me from behind and slammed my head into the wall knocking me unconscious. I woke up to find my wife at gunpoint and Drake cornered by another thug. I had a choice Drake or my wife," explained Bryan as he tried to stop his shakes.

Martin, Tyler and Jak were now sitting on Ben's lap staring at Bryan with interest.

"I...I...Starsky please, it will give them nightmares," stuttered Bryan.

"They've heard worse," replied Ben.

Bryan continued with his story,

"If there is one thing Drake has learnt from me it's 'keep quiet and you go unnoticed and that's what he did, he carefully snuck away to somewhere safe but he could still see me. I didn't want to shoot someone in front of Drake but I had no choice my wife was at gunpoint. Drake watched as I shot the guy in the head that was holding my wife at gunpoint. Then after that I had a brawl with the other," continued Bryan.

Wolf and Ben stared at Bryan with shock and were waiting for him to continue,

"As I fought the thug I told my wife and Drake to get out the house, I thought my life was over that night. The thug managed to pin me to the ground and grab my gun. He pointed the gun to my head; I looked at the window to find that my wife and son were watching. There was nothing I could do so I just closed my eyes. I heard a shot so I opened my eyes and saw a clean shot straight through the thugs head," explained Bryan, "Jacobi fired that shot and saved my life. It turns out that the case I was working on had something to do with a Russian mob and they came as a warning. When I think about it, my family almost died because I'm a cop,"

Martin, Jak and Tyler clapped; Ben stopped them and helped them off his lap.

"C'mon Boys, time for bed," explained Ben.

Ben took them to their room and tucked them in; Bryan followed behind, and stood at the bedroom door and watched Ben as he tucked them in.

"Dad how come you haven't been sleeping much?" asked Martin,

"My last partner, who you may faintly remember, Jak and Tyler won't, Spencer, he's been on my mind a fair bit lately. That's all, you don't need to worry now go to sleep," explained Ben as he walked out the kids' room and turned the light off.

"Starsky, you ok?" asked Bryan,

Ben turned around to Bryan,

"It was my fault Spencer died, I didn't give him the support he needed through his wife's death," cried Ben, "I didn't offer to get him help, I didn't ask if he wanted to stay with me for a bit, I did nothing and that's why he's dead," explained Ben, "I was on the roof of the building that night for 6 hours trying to tell him to move away from the edge. I was the one person who knew him better than anyone else and I still couldn't stop him from jumping. He told me just before he jumped that when his wife was killed she was 3 months pregnant, he only just told me then."

When everyone eventually went home, Ben sat at the table drinking a bottle of scotch all to himself.

"Here's to you Spence," mumbled Ben as he raised the bottle,

Ben slammed the bottle on the table and laid his head down and began sobbing.

Jane walked in after being woken by the bottle slamming on the table.

"Ben what's wrong?" asked Jane with concern, as she covered herself with her robe.

Ben shook his head,

"I've been married to you long enough to know when something's wrong," added Jane as she walked up to him and hugged him.

He lifted his head off the table,