Fic: Blurred Blue Lines - Part 2 (Ensemble, Sharon Raydor- The Closer) - M
Title: Blurred Blue Lines- Part 2
Word Count: 3216
Rating: M (to be safe)
Fandom: Closer
Characters: Ensemble, Sharon Raydor
Warnings: Language, Mention of Assault and Violence
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Major Crimes has had their share of cases where the violence of the crimes committed caused its wear and tear on the team, but nothing was worse than when the victim was someone they knew, someone who wore the badge just as they did.
A/N.; A special thanks to oncebrokengypsy for reading this before hand and giving it a once over.
As Brenda walked through her squad room that early a.m. she saw the waned faces of her team some who were wearing the same clothes they had on the night before. As she passed she looked over the Internal Affairs Officer assigned to Major Crimes for the duration of this case, he looked as fresh as a spring chicken with a full windsor knot. Needing a moment to gather her thoughts and bearings, she closed herself off in her office. The night before had been long and exhausting for all of them; by the time she called an end for the day she had just enough time for a couple of hours sleep and a much needed hot shower before having to coming back in.
The morning light shining through one of her office windows seemed to mock what little they had accomplished; according to the weather report they were to have blue skies and sunshine all day. The day’s weather was in blaring contrast to the brutality of case they were working and to the current moods of her team. If the day had thunderstorms with a darkened grey sky it would seem more fitting, Brenda found herself thinking as she looked over the pictures of Lieutenant Hudson’s body and the ones of Captain Raydor’s injuries spread out on the top of her desk. For every step forward they made, they would then hit a roadblock and somehow they were stuck in a waiting game. She was supposed to report to Chief Delk later in the day on where Major Crimes was on finding the persons responsible for the attack, and she dreaded going in there with what she had, which was practically nothing as far as she was concerned.
Brenda ruffled through her desk drawer pulling out a candy bar, opening it quickly and biting down. She was hoping the chocolate could help her refocus, give her a source of energy so she could get her head wrapped around this investigation, but each time she found herself drawn back to the pictures of Captain Raydor’s injuries and hitting a brick wall. The pictures and medical report were graphic in their details, and she was sickened each time she read over the doctor’s findings.
This case was just horrible; made near impossible to process with all the things they needed to complete or they were waiting for to make any link to any individuals who could be involved. She really needed to question Captain Raydor. She needed the other woman’s statement so they could have some potential lead that would take them somewhere towards solving this case, but Captain Raydor was still recovering from surgery. They were waiting for a call from the hospital letting them know when she would be recovered enough to be questioned; and Brenda really wasn’t looking forward to that. Brenda felt guilty for not liking Captain Raydor before this incident. She wondered if the other woman would even want her to be the one in charge of the investigation; as to date the two had suffered through an adversarial relationship, which could cause undue stress on the situation and with what Captain Raydor had already suffered, Brenda would hate to do.
The nature and brutality of the attack suggested that the target was Captain Raydor, the attack was personal it spoke of a level of hate that sent Brenda’s mind spinning. She had seen cruelty and disregard for human life over the years that she didn’t think she could be shocked by the violence one human inflicted on another, but she was, the amount of hate that would cause someone to carve the word bitch into the skin of someone else. She had her team strumming through Captain Raydor’s personal life and case files as much as Internal Affairs would allow which wasn’t more than case file numbers and a brief description regarding the nature of the case, all of it being subjective. She had Captain Raydor’s jacket on her desk, she hadn’t opened it yet, feeling almost like she was violating the other woman’s privacy and she couldn’t help but wonder if it had been any police officer other than Sharon Raydor if she would be this hesitant. She would have to question Captain Raydor today, would need a detailed account of her attack, there would be questions about her personal life, affairs she may be involved in, issues she may be having with colleagues. Brenda couldn’t help but think that it would have been easier if maybe they had been friends or someone anyone else who there was no history with. She was sure Captain Raydor would ask if there were any advances in the case and when she had to tell the other woman that they didn’t have any leads. That they were waiting for ballistics, DNA and other such nonsense because without it they had nothing, Brenda wondered what the other woman would think; would Captain Raydor think she wasn’t doing her job, wasn’t following leads as hard as she normally would because of her feelings about the other woman. Brenda’s stomach tightened at the thought she didn’t want Captain Raydor to think she and the rest of Major Crimes didn’t take this case and what happened to her as seriously as any other case they worked, because that simply wouldn’t be the truth. She expected that the fact they knew Captain Raydor and they were as sickened by the events of this case as she was, were making her whole team more focused and determined that this case be solved than any other case they had ever worked on.
A canvas of the area for witnesses turned up more conflicting stories than anything else. They had no witnesses to the actual crime but multiple accounts of shots fired and the screams of a woman, but no one had rushed to help, it disgusted and infuriated her to no end. People heard Captain Raydor scream and nobody had gone to help; no one had called the cops, after the attack Captain Raydor was the one who placed the call-in to dispatch and who had tried to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her fallen colleague despite being gravely injured. Brenda still had Commander’s Taylor description of the scene as a first responder racing through her head; the man had planted himself in her squad room not far from Flynn and hadn’t been home since the incident occurred. He was still wearing the suit he had on last night and now in the clear light of day there were traces of blood visible on the sleeve of his grey suit jacket. Each time she looked at him, she wondered if it was Lieutenant Hudson’s or Captain Raydor’s blood, knowing she wouldn’t ask because she didn’t really want to know the answer.
They didn’t have much as far substantial forensic evidence other than what they gathered from Captain Raydor’s rape kit and the bullets removed from Hudson’s body; both DNA and ballistics tests were going through the system, but even with this case placed as top priority it could take up-to forty-eight hours to complete. Detective Sanchez and Lieutenant Tao noticed a security camera on one of the buildings facing the scene of the crime this morning. She had them return to the scene to get an idea of what the area looked like during the day and to see if there was something they may missed during the rush of the night. Now they were waiting for the owner, some modern artist, to return from New York to see if they had any working footage.
Time was passing them by, all of Major Crimes wanted this resolved but it seemed no matter what amount of effort they were putting in wasn’t getting them anywhere closer to closing this nightmare of a case. They were, as her Daddy would say standing still in the waters. Just thinking of her Daddy made her want to call him so bad, wanting so much to hear his voice and have him tell her everything was going to be okay just like he use to when she was a little girl. He was hero back then saving her from bad dreams and bogeymen in the closet, but she couldn’t call now. If she did, she was sure what so little was left of her composure would be shot and she would breakdown in the sobs she'd been keeping at bay by the mere strength of a breath. Truth was they were all playing this game of hurrying up and waiting, hoping for a lead to which they could pounce on and follow to the culprits who committed this horrendous act on a fellow officer. The worst was there didn’t seem a chance of that lead coming to them anytime soon. There was an off chance that everything they were waiting for would result in no matches in the system and if that were to be, the case then they were back to square one with nothing; she knew it, her squad knew it, and that Sergeant from Internal Affairs knew it too. She could see him, Sergeant Angel Alvarez, standing in her squad room near Lieutenant Provenza’s desk through the blinds of her office window. He looked smart and smug in his dark grey pinstriped suit, a crisp white shirt and matching tie with slicked back hair, as if this case wasn’t affecting him, as if he was above it all. He was there watching over them, their shadow of contempt in polished shoes; he had come to her from Deputy Chief Keating with an air of self-importance and a sneer permanently etched on his face. Brenda hated him on the spot and she was sure the feeling was mutual.
Brenda discarded her chocolate bar throwing it on her the desk in frustration then covering her face with her hands, she then prayed they would solve this case soon. She was exhausted and felt the weight of it in her bones and for the first time in years, she doubted her abilities as an investigator. This whole ordeal, one officer brutally gunned down and the other viciously beaten and raped sickened her. In the back of her mind was this little voice telling her she never liked Captain Raydor, how horrible she had been to the woman and now look at what happened. She really wished that little voice of self-disgust would shut-up so she could concentrate on what she needed to accomplish; finding the men who did this vile act and ensuring they never saw the light of day again. She heard a knock on her office door and muffled a 'come-in' looking up through her hands. When the person entered and called her name, “Brenda”. She saw Will Pope standing in her office doorway and she felt tears threatening to form. Once Will had been one of her closest friends, before the Chief business, before it was ruined, and seeing him there she really wanted her friend.
Will Pope took one look at the expression on Brenda’s face and his eyes widen, he was there to update her on Captain Raydor but he paused in his duties. Brenda looked devastated; they had been close once, their friendship all but destroyed the fault being his and not hers. He decided to be the bigger man for once where they were concerned, “I know that look. What is it that you need, how can I help?” At Brenda’s negative shake of head and a wave of her hand an indication for him to get on with what had brought him to her office, he took a deep breath to steady himself, “I received a call a little earlier informing me that Captain Raydor is now awake and has recovered enough from her surgery to be interviewed. I spoke to her myself over the phone; she was lucid but sounded tired, which is to be expected all things considered. She is aware that Major Crimes has been assigned to her case and that you will need to conduct an interview with her regarding the attack on her and Lieutenant Hudson.”
Brenda stood slowly, processing the information; Captain Raydor was awake, she needed to get Detective Gabriel and go interview the… in her mind she couldn’t reconcile Captain Raydor’s name with the word victim, even after staring at the pictures of the injuries the woman suffered, Brenda didn’t want to think of her sometimes nemesis as a victim. She looked back down at the pictures as they laid spread out on her desk and winced, the pictures were bad and she could only imagine what they would look like in person. Normally, she liked to interview all victims and suspects in cases assigned to them but for once, she almost wished she could hand this case off to someone else that someone else could see Captain Raydor the victim of a violent crime and she could go back to the safety of thinking of her as that woman from Internal Affairs.
Will sighed and resigned himself to the fact he was here for a different reason other than informing Major Crimes of an update to Captain Raydor’s condition. He had spent over an hour in Chief Delk’s office with him and Deputy Chief Keating both who wanted Will to address concerns about Major Crimes investing the murder and rape of officers belonging to the Internal Affairs division. “Brenda, Chief Keating wants assurances that yours and Captain Raydor’s past issues with each other will not cloud your judgment or color your attitude toward the Captain and what has happened to her, that you will treat her with respect and consideration of a victim of a violent crime. It has being suggested that it might be best, if this case was transferred to a different department and because of that suggestion I have to ask, if you and your team are going to be able to focus on this case and not let past interactions interfere with finding those responsible. I have to know that this case is a priority over any other case Major Crimes may be working on at this time” Will stopped speaking when he noticed Brenda’s stricken expression, “Never mind, you know what, whatever is being said, whatever office politics is involved, I will handle it, I don’t want you to worry about it. I just need you to do your job as you always do, the one I know you are more than capable of doing; let me worry about the rest just tell me what you have so far.”
Brenda wrapped her arms around her midsection trying to draw in some warmth and offer some comfort to her body from sudden coldness she felt “We have nothing, Will, we have absolutely nothing, not one single rhyme, reason or lead.” Brenda’s voice wobbled during her small triad and she looked defeated. Will took one step toward Brenda halting himself before making physical contact. He wanted to offer her support, some comfort and there was once a time he would have taken her in his arms and held her giving her just that, but that was before, now it would be inappropriate and he doubted it would be welcomed; not from him, not now, possibly not ever. “We have a case file from Internal Affairs that we can’t access, no eyewitness to the crime, we are waiting for DNA and Ballistic tests, and we are waiting for some sort of artist to come back to LA so we can see if their security camera got usable footage of the crime. I need to interview Captain Raydor, but…” Brenda paused remembering her previous thoughts this morning where the woman was concerned, “Does Captain Raydor want Major Crimes handling her case, does she want me investigating what happened to her?”
Will wiped a hand on his brow taking a deep breath he walked to Brenda and deciding to hell with what was appropriate and what wasn’t as he put a hand on her shoulder, “Brenda whatever is between you and Captain Raydor you need to let it go, you have to for this case. This case isn’t about you liking Captain Raydor or her liking you or even her wanting or not wanting you to investigate the matter, it’s about the heinous crime committed against two law enforcement officers. My advice to you on this case is simple, do your job, do it well, all the other stuff, the politics, the feelings, doesn’t matter, so stop focusing on it and do what I brought you here to do all those years ago and close your case .”
Brenda nodded her head in understanding of what was being said, her eyes sought out Will’s, he seemed tired just like the rest of them but it was more than that, when she looked at him she didn’t see her boss, Assistant Chief Pope she just saw her friend, Will Pope, a man she once loved. It had been a while but she thought that maybe they were making steps in re-establishing their friendship. “Thank-you, Will.” Brenda smiled up at Will taking a small step back she squared her shoulders, feeling more focused and secure than she had been moments before. “Please let Chief Delk know I will update him on this case after I have interviewed Captain Raydor, and if you could; let Chief Keating know… let him know that what happened to Captain Raydor and Lieutenant Hudson is the only case Major Crimes is working; Captain Raydor is an officer of the LAPD, she is one of our own, and we will be doing everything in our power to ensure the men responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice. ”
“Thank-you Brenda, I will let both Delk and Keating know that Major Crimes is doing everything possible to solve this case and that you will be updating them later today on where you stand in the investigation.” Will made to leave, stopping in her office doorway, he was glancing out in her squad room paused in the motion of shutting her door, Brenda wondered nervously what in her murder room caught his attention as he turned back to her . “I see Sergeant Alvarez standing near a very perturbed looking Lieutenant Provenza. I am assuming he is the internal affairs officer assigned to Major Crimes for the duration of this investigation; it makes sense to have him here he’s one of Captain Raydor’s Team, you might want to see if he can help grease the wheels of Internal Affairs and get you access to that file.” Will saw the look of surprise that crossed over Brenda’s face and asked, “Didn’t you know that Alvarez was part of the Force Investigation Division?” Will watched Brenda’s face light up and his brow furrowed as he continued, “From my understanding Captain Raydor hand-picked Alvarez for her team, he’s been working under her for five of his eight years on the force, he knows the ins and outs of Internal Affairs, and if I were you I would use that to my advantage.”
“You don’t say.” Brenda smiled; having Sergeant Alvarez around didn’t seem like such a horrendous ordeal anymore.