The Answer

Chapter 16

David moped around the house for a bit, unsure if he should go to work until he got the call from Sophie that they reached her parents' house. He sat at the dining table, cradling his head in his hands. He body was limp from the exhaustion, but his mind was all over the place with worry and uncertainty.

He decided to lie down until he got the call, perhaps some rest would help. He lay down and fell asleep in moments. An hour later, his phone rang and he jumped out of his skin and answered immediately. "Hello?"

"We've reached." Sophie said sweetly. In the background, David could hear his kids playing and laughing with their grandmother.

David sighed in relief, "Good, great. I won't keep you, go ahead and spend time with them."

"Don't work too hard," she replied gently, "And be careful. We love you."

"I love you too." He smiled.

A great weight was off his shoulders. With the assurance that they were safe, he got dressed and made his way to the precinct. On the way, he wondered if he should tell Philip to send his family away so they don't take the heat of the case. It was then that it occurred to him that he didn't know if Philip even had a family.

David was amused by how little he knew of his personal life. Perhaps it was for the best, though he'd still have to warn him. He walked slowly into the precinct and completely ignored all the salutations directed at him. Despite how many times those words floated towards him, it didn't feel like a good morning at all.

He scowled when he saw that someone was sitting in his office waiting for him. He couldn't stand to hear another word of aimless small talk directed at him. He was just about ready to lose his shit.

"Cut to the chase, I'm not in the mood for small talk." David said, not bothered to see who was sitting opposite his desk as he walked in and put his bag down.

"Cool, me neither."

David turned to see the man in his office and was relieved to find it was Gerard. He looked tired, but a big smile was on his face.

David darted to his office door and quickly shut it, hopping back into his seat and whispering, "Did it work?"

"Yup." Gerard beamed. "He's okay, I've kept him in a safe place out of town."

"Where?" David asked, intrigued that Gerard had some sort of a safe house arrangement.

"Away from it all, that's all I can say." Gerard leaned back and put his feet up on the desk.

"Hey, get your feet off! The walls are glass, everyone can see you!" David whaled.

Gerard groaned and put his feet down, "You're such a drag."

"Well, this drag has a reputation to hold up so that he's respected." David replied, hurt.

"We still do have a problem, though." Gerard said, now serious. "Travis got caught."

"What?" David sat up, "How'd you get out?"

"He took the fall so Max and I could escape." Gerard replied, "His brother and him are screwed if we don't act soon."

David's face was riddled with worry, this wasn't something that would be taken lightly. "Do they know Max is free?"

"Not yet, Travis picked up some illegal ammo to make it look like he was stealing it. It would seem their focus has temporarily shifted to Travis and his brother." Gerard placed his phone on the table and put it on speaker, "I bugged Travis in the car before you hid me in the back seat."