Gift for Isolith - Major Fallout
Title: Major Fallout
Author: Nevada10
Gift of Fiction for the 3rd Annual Major Crimes LiveJournal Gift Exchange
Recipient: Isolith
Pairing/Characters: Provenza, Flynn, Raydor
Rating: PG for language
Word Count: 2138 words
Synopsis: Post episode story for Internal Affairs. Fallout happens when rules are broken.
Lieutenant Louie Provenza had a welcoming committee waiting for him as the elevator doors opened. Scowling, he glanced at three members of Major Crimes: Lieutenant Mike Tao, Detective Julio Sanchez, and Detective Amy Sykes. This Monday was starting off with a bang.
Stepping out of the elevator, he focused his irritation on the person who had woken him with an urgent phone call at 4 am. "For God's sake, Sykes! What couldn't wait until after I had my breakfast?"
Amy Sykes checked the hallway before answering in a whisper. "FID busted Buzz. He's in an interview room with Sergeant Staples and two patrol officers. Around 3 am they went to his apartment and arrested him. Buzz isn't talking. He asked for an attorney, so nothing is happening right now. Everyone is just sitting there waiting. Lieutenant Flynn is making some calls on his drive in, pulling in some favors, trying to find Buzz a lawyer. I think FID dragged him in at this hour on purpose."
"Arrested him? FID? What obscure rule do they think Buzz violated? Candy in electronics? Too many preppy sweaters? Overdue Boy Scout dues?" Provenza stalked towards the murder room, the others followed.
"What about a union rep? Has anyone called for one?" he yelled over his shoulder.
"No." Tao said, catching up with the old lieutenant. "He's still a civilian. Technically the reserve training isn't-"
"What's the charge?" Provenza interrupted. Sometimes he forgot the line between civilian employees and regular LAPD.
The group had arrived at Provenza's desk. Sykes checked the empty room before whispering, "Last night Sergeant Staples pulled up Julio's interview. He was checking something to do with the timeline for his final report on the murder of Ramona Sanchez's health aide."
"So? And stop whispering! Make's it seem like Buzz is guilty of something." It wasn't even 6 am. He needed a cup of coffee and some Raisin Bran. At his age, he couldn't go from zero to 70 on a moment's notice. None of this made any sense to him. "What's the charge?" he demanded for the second time.
"Last week Buzz stopped the interview recording at one point." She stared at him accusingly. "Remember?"
"Oh, hell." His anger deflated, he sat down. "Where's the Captain?"
Before anyone answered, he sighed. "Tao, do you still have that retirement form?"
***
"Hello, all. How is everyone this very early morning?" Gavin Baker walked briskly into the interview room and put his expensive leather briefcase on the conference table. "I need to speak to my client privately please."
"Stop." A disheveled Buzz stood, holding up a hand in protest. "I'm not hiring you. I can't afford you. I can't even...how much do I already owe you for coming down here?"
"Relax, Mr. Watson, my retainer has been paid." Gavin turned to stare at the unmoving FID investigator and the patrol cops occupying the room. "Was I not clear? I need a few minutes with my client. Chop. Chop. Time is money and I have a breakfast meeting with Brad Pitt. Go search out corruption in another corner of the LAPD for about a half hour and then come back."
***
"Did you two ride in together?" Provenza mumbled in Andy Flynn's ear as he held the elevator door open for their commanding officer. "You've got on the same clothes you wore yesterday. Is that lipstick on your collar?"
Andy shook his head in warning.
Sharon Raydor stepped out of the elevator wearing her navy trench coat, black heels, and a steely expression. She glared at Provenza. "In my office now Lieutenant. Andy, please go check on Buzz, take care of those others things I mentioned, and then join us. I need some alone time with your partner."
Provenza realized it was going to be worse than he'd anticipated. Obviously Flynn had spilled his guts about last week's slight detour from the rules to his girlfriend and all hell was about to break loose. He was going to have to do some fancy footwork to fix this situation.
***
Sharon Raydor appeared to be in full "Darth Raydor" mode as she stood behind her desk, waiting for him to finish. She hadn't even put her purse away before demanding an explanation.
Provenza shifted in his chair as he wrapped up the tale of the three missing interview minutes. "Staples stepped out of the room. You'd left electronics. Everyone was taking a break for all practical purposes. So I ordered Buzz to stop the recording so I could talk to Julio. As you ordered I did not tell Julio that the guy he roughed up was dead. I just told him to take the situation seriously and to ask for an attorney. And as it turned out Julio was innocent of the charge anyway, so no harm, no foul."
"Except," the volume of her voice increased, "the regulations don't allow us to start and stop the recording of interview suspects. This is for the protection of the suspect as well as the LAPD. You know this. Buzz knows this. You created this situation because you didn't trust me to handle the situation. Now, because there is no recording, no one can verify what you did or did not tell Julio. And you've involved Buzz in a situation that can get him terminated. I'd say there is plenty of potential for harm."
A tap on the door sounded and Andy Flynn joined them. "Gavin is meeting with Buzz. I convinced Staples that Buzz wasn't much of a flight risk, so the patrol guys are gone. I ordered the donuts and bagels you told me to. Delivery guy just showed up, so I had Sykes take Staples to the break room for breakfast and friendly chitchat."
"Did you get the honey-glazed bagels that I told you to? The ones with cinnamon and nuts?" Sharon asked, using the moment to remove her coat. "As I remember those were the sergeant's favorites when he worked for me."
Flynn nodded. "And the extra cream cheese." He glanced at his partner. "I left the receipt from the deli on Provenza's desk. I knew he was going to want to reimburse you."
Provenza's face reddened, but he didn't respond.
Sharon sighed, tugging on her jacket hem. "Okay, I'm going to see if I can get a word with Gavin before I talk to the sergeant. I'm not sure there is a way out of this morass. Lieutenant stay at your desk until you're called. Don't do anything. Don't go anywhere without checking with me."
She left the room, the blinds rattling as she slammed the door.
"Gavin? You hired Gavin for Buzz? Am I paying for him too?" Provenza asked. "You couldn't find someone cheaper?"
Andy stared at him. "Jack Raydor maybe, if he was sober, but hey, you get what you pay for. Buzz is family. He deserves better, not cheaper. And this is your fault."
"Yeah, yeah." Provenza groaned. "Fine. There goes my Super Bowl tickets." He got up and left the Captain's office. As he headed for his desk, he mumbled to no one in particular, "The price for copies from my printer just tripled."
***
Provenza filled out the retirement form just in case things went nuclear. The only highlight of the day so far was the bagel he'd managed to snag from the break room before the box was emptied. During the afternoon, he finished all his pending paperwork and then watched as Staples, then Taylor moved in and out of the Captain's office. Julio was called in at one point. Then one at a time Sykes, Tao, and finally Andy made the trek. The blinds were drawn, so he couldn't see anything, but every so often he could hear a loud voice. Sometimes it was Taylor's. Sometimes it was Staples'. Once it was the Captain's. That caught his attention, he'd only heard her shouting at Rusty or Jack before.
"Well?" he asked Andy when he escaped the Captain's office and returned to his desk in the murder room. "What's happening? What's taking so long?"
Andy glanced at the office to check that the door was closed. "Buzz is okay. Gavin negotiated a one week suspension without pay and an official reprimand in his file - to be removed in two years if he stays out of trouble. Everyone on the team has to take an 8-hour refresher on "interviewing protocols." Thank you very much! They are still discussing what to do with you. And it's taking a long time because Staples insisted on going through your entire FID package. Who knew Sharon hadn't heard about those Skybox tickets? Anyway Taylor's seeing an opportunity to fill your slot with someone of lesser rank and shave some money out of the budget. Sharon's doing her best defending you and the team, but if you know where any bodies are buried you should probably dig them up now."
Provenza groaned. He wasn't sure it was worth it. Coming to work wasn't as fulfilling at it used to be. The paperwork increased every day. The perps just kept getting crazier. He was working for yet another woman. Instead of dealing with the dregs of society, he could retire and spend his days with Patrice. She was retired and they could travel if he wasn't tied to this job. "Maybe I should just-"
"Don't even think about it," Andy warned. "Spending more time with Patrice is a surefire way to ruin your relationship. With women it's not about quantity of time, it's quality. Believe me she doesn't want to spend more time watching you drink or do crosswords."
"Like you know anything about women," Provenza responded, picking up his cell phone and punching in a number. "You're not even dating anyone, remember? Still, if I'm going, I'm going to go when I want, not when Taylor tells me to."
"That's the attitude!" Andy grinned, stuck a fresh toothpick in his mouth, and waited for the ending to play out.
Provenza shook his head at his partner and put a hand over his cell phone speaker. "I haven't forgotten you still owe me an answer about where you stayed last night. That's the same tie you had on yesterday."
"Hey, I don't kiss and tell," Andy said. "Get your own love life in order and stay out of mine."
"So you admit you..." Provenza's attention was diverted to the person on the other end of his call. "Let me speak with the Pope. Tell him Louie Provenza is calling in his chip. The big stinky one."
It seemed longer but in reality was only about five minutes. Provenza and Flynn watched Sharon's office empty out. Staples rushed from the room slamming doors, followed by two frowning Human Resource officers and a smiling union representative. Taylor finally left, giving Provenza a glare, but voicing no comments. Sharon was last to exit her office. Exhaustion was etched on her face, but her posture was still rigid. She walked over and addressed her words to Provenza. "I don't want to know what you had on Chief Pope, but understand that if I'd wanted you gone, you'd be gone."
"Understood," Provenza said and he believed her. She probably had dirt on everyone. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry I went around you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Sorry for going around me and talking to Julio last week or sorry for going around me and calling Chief Pope today?"
Provenza smiled and rocked back in his chair. "Sorry for calling Pope. That go-around was for me. And I'm sorry it came down to it. The other time was for Julio, to protect him and the team. I'm not sorry for that."
She nodded. "That's what I thought. But you need to remember that it's not all up to you. Next time you need to work with me to protect the team, not against me. Okay - here's the deal. Two weeks suspended without pay, effective immediately. Formal reprimand. Do it again and get caught, you're fired. Pope won't intervene."
"Fair enough," Provenza said, getting to his feet. "And on that note, I'm out of here. Flynn since you are still getting a paycheck you can buy me drinks tonight. Captain, you are welcome to join us."
He figured she'd refuse, but she surprised him.
"Let me give Rusty a call. And I want dinner too."
Andy grinned. "You bet."
Provenza made a grumbling sound as they both watched her walk back to her office. "Not dating my ass."
the end