Admittedly Frank did not like Shaw. He didn’t know whether it was his lack of Irish charm, or the fact that Shaw had him fired not too long ago
‘It’s good to have you back Frank. I can be the first to admit that it was not in the best of the forces interests in letting you go’ Shaw confesses to Frank
Frank smiles, he realises that Shaw isn’t walking on egg shells here. He suddenly finds respect for the man, even if he had to dig real deep to find it.
‘You know what Shaw, I appreciate that. Now let’s stop fucking around and concentrate on nailing that bastard!’
Frank and Shaw shake hands again; Frank walks off and up towards the information desk. He waits there for a few minutes, still soaking in the organised chaos that engulfs the police headquarters. The information clerk is nowhere to be seen, so Frank takes it upon himself to go behind the desk and look for a spare case file on Connor Chase that may be lying around the vicinity. He searches the assortment of papers and floppy discs on the desk. None of the labels coincide with any thing he is looking for. He sits down at the desk and stares off into space, trying to piece together the incidents of the day. He looks at the officers going about their business, his vision blurs at the sight of the hustle and bustle of the slow paced office. Frank holds his head in pain as another head ache makes its presence known. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his pills; he takes a few more to even out the Keel.
His vision starts to return to normal and the room goes from the slow-motion of before to the reality shaking pace of the now, as if someone pressed fast forward on the VCR of his mind. He stands up and shakes himself clear. He is about to make his way out from behind the desk when the CCTV monitor catches his eye. He sits back down and pays close attention to it. A figure is seen walking out of the stairwell to the side exit of the building. Normally this wouldn’t raise much doubt in the mind of Frank but it seemed as if the figure in the CCTV was hiding his face from view. Frank went numb and realised what was happening, he stood up and was just about to yell out his hunch when a massive explosion was heard from the upstairs , followed by a shattering of glass that fell from the 2 storey atrium to cascade it’s self all over the first floor of the precinct. The officers hit the ground in reflex at the sound of the explosion, but frank did not. He stood in shock behind the desk as the files that were once on the officers desks were now floating all over the room, filling the atmosphere with smoke and dust from the burning paper. A second explosion went off, this time it was the gas pipes. Frank knew that sound, and he wasn’t standing any more. He hit the ground in anticipation as a huge fireball made its way through the precinct, coming out of the grates and pipes that were interconnected to the surrounding walls. Shrapnel was pinging and clanging off every surface it hit, nearly taking Frank’s eye out when it hit the CCTV monitor above his head, destroying it. Shards of plastic and wiring fell onto Frank as he lay on the ground covering himself up from the horrors of the explosion. Finally the sounds of terror that occupied the building died down and every one slowly got to their feet. Chief Shaw was among the officers trying to recover from the shock of the explosions, he patted himself down to the best of his abilities, and made his way to the middle of the room.
‘Is every one okay?’ Shaw asked
The response from the room was timid at best, but Shaw could see that there were no injuries downstairs.
‘Okay I want a full sweep of the building, we need to search for any wounded, and find the fuckers that did this. I want 3 man teams with coms to go from top to bottom, no mistakes gentleman,’ Shaw bellows out to the officers.
Frank gets up from behind the desk and makes his way to Shaw.
‘Sir we have a problem’ says Frank
Shaw laughs, as if the problem isn’t obvious
‘I know detective. We have just been attacked with a bomb, I think that qualifies as a big fucking problem’ Shaw says
‘That’s where your wrong sir, It’s not terrorists that did this’ Frank pleads
‘What are you saying? Santa clause came in and blew out the fucking chimney?’
‘No sire, I saw who did this. It wasn’t Santa Clause’
Six
‘That’s bullshit Frank! No evidence what so ever!’ Shaw said while laughing Frank’s hunch off as a mere theory.
Frank didn’t appreciate being laughed at; he made that clear to everyone. He thumped his fist on the table to get every one’s attention, plus he wanted to make a point, as in DON’T LUAGH AT ME.
‘Look just here me out. I know for a fact without a reasonable doubt that Connor Chase is the man behind this’ Frank said
The room went quiet. Shaw got up from the conference table where everyone who was anybody in law enforcement was sitting. He stood back facing everybody while looking out at the skyline of the city…. his city.
‘How do you work that out Frank? Please tell me why my best detective is pulling at strings here?’ Asked Shaw
‘I know it was Chase sir, Because of the way he was walking. I saw him on the CCTV before the explosion. One shoulder was lower than the other, the way someone would walk if they were carrying a heavy bag. He wasn’t carrying a heavy bag though, that’s the way he walks after the accident. That’s how I know it was him.’ explained Frank.
‘What accident?’
‘The one he sustained at work, a few months ago. His boss told me about it this morning when we were exchanging information about him. She was at the crime scene. She told me a lot about him, valuable personal stuff.’ Frank said
‘So why did you not write up a report on it McKenzie?’ Shaw asked
‘I was just about to sir, then the explosions started’ Frank stated.
The conference room mumbled in doubt at what Frank was saying. Shaw looked at his fellow peers to try and influence his response. He then looked at Frank to see the one thing that room was lacking; Certainty.
‘Okay Frank, Get the women in to verify you’re story, in the mean time I want everybody here to run a risk assessment on whether this psycho will strike again. I want a profile on this ass hole as soon as possible; this guy is going down today!’ Shaw says.
At the sound of Shaw’s orders the whole room disperses. Frank is amidst the crowd of officials walking out of the room. He is holding his phone to his ear listening to the dial tone. It stops ringing:
‘Hello?’ The voice says
‘Looks like were going on a date after all!’
Seven
Frank is sitting down at the local diner downtown, waiting for his coffee to be served. He is looking across at the beautiful women that he met a few hours ago at the horrific crime scene they both attended. A waiter comes over with his coffee and sits it down gently on the table. He asked the lady sitting across from Frank if she wanted anything. She shakes her head. The waiter walks off. Frank notices that she has her name tag she was wearing at the crime scenes sitting on the table. He takes comfort in finally knowing her name.
‘So let me get this straight, he blew up the precinct?’ Tasha asks.
Frank is too busy enjoying his coffee to repeat himself, plus Tasha’s low cut top is distracting him. Tasha notices where Frank’s vision is locked and buttons herself up.
‘Dam Frank, can you get your eyes off my breasts and back onto the matter at hand?’
Frank smiles, he takes another sip of his coffee and sits back in his chair. He gives off a certain laid back feel as if he has everything under control.
‘Look Miss, I already told you what happened. He broke into the evidence lockup and planted some C4, before you know it, BOOM!’ says Frank, still exuding confidence.
‘I get that part, but why? Why would he blow up the police lockup? In fact why would he blow anything up?’ Asks Tasha
‘I don’t know, that’s why I’m here talking to you. You’re the one who knows him so well. You’re the only one left alive that knows him at all Tasha’