[TM] E. M. Forster quote
“There's enough sorrow in the world, isn't there, without trying to invent it.”
Flack knew exactly where to find Danny at the end of the day. He didn’t head to Sullivan’s right away, wanting to give the other man some time to cool off first, but he knew he was eventually going to have to talk to him. He couldn’t just let this go. Danny was lucky that he had Lindsay and Flack to cover for him back at work, otherwise this could have been a much bigger disaster than it already was. Hell, first thought when Lindsay told him that Danny hadn’t shown up for work was that something had happened, and he was going to get to his friend’s apartment and find a body on the floor. That might have been too many years working homicide, but it had been a very real fear in his mind.
But now that everything was all over, they needed to clear the air. And they couldn’t do it in the middle of that precinct. Not with all the uniforms watching. They needed somewhere where it could be just the two of them, however drunk one or both of them may be, and duke it out like they’re supposed to.
He was sitting at the bar, an empty glass in front of him, and when he spotted Flack coming in, he got up off the stool and started to walk out past him. Flack caught his arm and pulled him back, giving him a look.
“We have to talk, Danny.”
“Think you said all you had to say, Flack,” he replied, trying to pull away, but Flack wouldn’t let go.
“Yeah, well, I have a feeling you didn’t.”
He could feel Danny swaying a little more than he normally would, and he really didn’t want to have this conversation drunk. Because if they were drunk, it was going to turn into a fight. But then again, maybe a fight was what they needed. Flack was sick of walking on eggshells where this case was concerned, when he felt he really didn’t have to be. A kid died. It was tragic and it happened, but Danny didn’t need to take this on his shoulders, and lose his career, all this woman who made a choice, and it was the wrong one. He wanted this hashed out and over with, and he wanted it done now.
Danny shoved Flack off him, and almost fell into the table next to him from the force, and that’s when Flack heard the room go quiet. Danny heard it too, and he closed his eyes, before continuing to walk out of the room.
“I’m not doing this here.”
“Fine-where do you want to do this then?” Danny’s shoulders slumped slightly, but didn’t say anything, just continued to make his way outside. Flack followed him, grabbing his arm again before he could get on his bike. “Where do you want to do this, Danny? Because I don’t have all the time to walk on eggshells around you about this.”
“Let’s just do this here then,” Danny growled, turning back to face him with a glare. “You backed me into a corner, and I didn’t like it.”
“Backed you into a corner-Danny, I was just looking out for you.”
“Just looking out for me? What about her, Flack? She lost her child, and you want to lock her up.”
“She stole your sidearm. She made a bad decision, and she has to answer for it.”
“She wasn’t thinking straight.”
“And apparently neither were you,” Flack glared back at him, holding his hands out in front of him. “She broke the law, Danny, and she needs to answer for it.”
“She lost her son, Flack-and the guy responsible was out walking the streets. You expect her to just sit there and do nothing.”
“No, but I definitely don’t expect her to steal someone’s gun and take matters into her own hands. You gotta trust the system, Danny.”
“Fine, alright-I’ll give you that. But she didn’t hurt anyone.”
“She had a gun in his face, you think his lawyers are just let that go? They’re gonna be looking at this case with a microscope and anything they can do to discredit us, they will.”
“Then they’re the scum that’ll exploit a grieving mother, not us.”
“You can’t just throw procedure out the window, Danny.”
“And procedure isn’t all there is, Flack.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Flack said, glaring back at him. Danny didn’t say anything at first, just shook his head as he hailed himself a cab.
“Coulda fooled me.”
761 words
Flack knew exactly where to find Danny at the end of the day. He didn’t head to Sullivan’s right away, wanting to give the other man some time to cool off first, but he knew he was eventually going to have to talk to him. He couldn’t just let this go. Danny was lucky that he had Lindsay and Flack to cover for him back at work, otherwise this could have been a much bigger disaster than it already was. Hell, first thought when Lindsay told him that Danny hadn’t shown up for work was that something had happened, and he was going to get to his friend’s apartment and find a body on the floor. That might have been too many years working homicide, but it had been a very real fear in his mind.
But now that everything was all over, they needed to clear the air. And they couldn’t do it in the middle of that precinct. Not with all the uniforms watching. They needed somewhere where it could be just the two of them, however drunk one or both of them may be, and duke it out like they’re supposed to.
He was sitting at the bar, an empty glass in front of him, and when he spotted Flack coming in, he got up off the stool and started to walk out past him. Flack caught his arm and pulled him back, giving him a look.
“We have to talk, Danny.”
“Think you said all you had to say, Flack,” he replied, trying to pull away, but Flack wouldn’t let go.
“Yeah, well, I have a feeling you didn’t.”
He could feel Danny swaying a little more than he normally would, and he really didn’t want to have this conversation drunk. Because if they were drunk, it was going to turn into a fight. But then again, maybe a fight was what they needed. Flack was sick of walking on eggshells where this case was concerned, when he felt he really didn’t have to be. A kid died. It was tragic and it happened, but Danny didn’t need to take this on his shoulders, and lose his career, all this woman who made a choice, and it was the wrong one. He wanted this hashed out and over with, and he wanted it done now.
Danny shoved Flack off him, and almost fell into the table next to him from the force, and that’s when Flack heard the room go quiet. Danny heard it too, and he closed his eyes, before continuing to walk out of the room.
“I’m not doing this here.”
“Fine-where do you want to do this then?” Danny’s shoulders slumped slightly, but didn’t say anything, just continued to make his way outside. Flack followed him, grabbing his arm again before he could get on his bike. “Where do you want to do this, Danny? Because I don’t have all the time to walk on eggshells around you about this.”
“Let’s just do this here then,” Danny growled, turning back to face him with a glare. “You backed me into a corner, and I didn’t like it.”
“Backed you into a corner-Danny, I was just looking out for you.”
“Just looking out for me? What about her, Flack? She lost her child, and you want to lock her up.”
“She stole your sidearm. She made a bad decision, and she has to answer for it.”
“She wasn’t thinking straight.”
“And apparently neither were you,” Flack glared back at him, holding his hands out in front of him. “She broke the law, Danny, and she needs to answer for it.”
“She lost her son, Flack-and the guy responsible was out walking the streets. You expect her to just sit there and do nothing.”
“No, but I definitely don’t expect her to steal someone’s gun and take matters into her own hands. You gotta trust the system, Danny.”
“Fine, alright-I’ll give you that. But she didn’t hurt anyone.”
“She had a gun in his face, you think his lawyers are just let that go? They’re gonna be looking at this case with a microscope and anything they can do to discredit us, they will.”
“Then they’re the scum that’ll exploit a grieving mother, not us.”
“You can’t just throw procedure out the window, Danny.”
“And procedure isn’t all there is, Flack.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Flack said, glaring back at him. Danny didn’t say anything at first, just shook his head as he hailed himself a cab.
“Coulda fooled me.”
761 words