CHAPTER EIGHT

On late Friday afternoon, nobody looked twice at the white cargo van with dark-tinted windows that was currently parked on the sidewalk right in front of the small apartment building. The presence of the van didn't surprise anyone because it was common knowledge that Jump owned the apartment building. That knowledge also led most people to intentionally avoid noticing anything that happened there.

When the van had pulled up, Martinez made sure to get as close to the building as possible. This served two purposes. First, it prevented anyone in the building from running out to summon help or draw attention to the scene. Second, it allowed Roman enough privacy to use a tool known as the jaws of life. Normally, a fire department might use the large hydraulic scissors to cut through a vehicle in order to rescue people trapped inside. However, when the jaw blades were used in reverse fashion, they could lift heavy objects or to pry open small gaps.

Today, Roman inserted the jaws into the small space between the front door and its frame. Inside the van, sitting next to a portable air compressor that powered a small hydraulic pump, Martinez reached down and shifted a lever into the "Open" position. Then, with a loud whoosh of air from the hydraulic system, the front door of the apartment building was separated from its frame by a few inches. It was just enough for the door to swing inward without any interference from the heavy-duty lock that normally kept it secure.

As the door swept open, all four of the detectives poured into the apartment building in single-file order. Each man was wearing a black hockey mask, a dark-colored mechanics jumpsuit, a bulletproof vest, and military web gear slung with tools and extra ammunition. They methodically cleared the first floor of the building and found nobody there. As they slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor, they could hear voices above them, laughing and speaking excitedly. They continued to ascend the stairs, preparing for their inevitable confrontation with an unknown number of persons. It seemed like they still had stealth and surprise on their side. They were almost at the top of the steps, barely able to see down the hallway beyond, when Roman's cell phone began to blare out an obnoxious disco song that he used for a ringtone.

Everyone on the stairs froze, except for Roman, who was doing his best impression of someone strangling a cellphone to death. The music stopped, but so did the voices and laughter from down the hallway. Then the voices were back. Excited and urgent this time. The four men stormed the second floor, trading speed and poise for any element of surprise that might have been left. At the top of the stairs, two detectives hurried into a room on the right while the other two detectives pushed their way down the hallway. Sounds of automatic gunfire and plaster dust filled the air as bullet holes seemed to randomly appear in every wall of the building.

A few years back, Jimmy's Friday nights were spent at the bar, along with many other off-duty Brooklyn cops from the 90th and 75th precincts. Even when he became a detective, he could still be found drunk and singing at Mickey's bar every weekend — until he got partnered with Eva. Eva "Smitty" Smith was part big sister and part work partner. She had taught Jimmy more about the job than the academy ever did. And, since getting paired up with Eva, Jimmy had spent many Friday nights at Eva's house having dinner with Erin.

Tonight, as Erin came out of the kitchen she found Jimmy and Tanner watching an old gangster movie and talking about different jobs in the NYPD.

"When my daddy was a detective, he was murder-police, and he didn't let anybody get away with anything. What kind of police was your daddy?"

"Well," Jimmy said. "He was part of a special bureau that doesn't exist anymore and they used to arrest these same gangsters that you're seeing on the TV."

"What was the special bureau called," Tanner asked.

"It was called the Organized Crime Bureau, buddy. Organized crime is the name we use when a bunch of criminals get together to break the law."

"I thought that was what the police do already," Tanner said, sounding a little confused.

"Well, it is, buddy," Jimmy said. "But there was a time when some really bad criminals got together and formed their own type of family. Unlike other criminals, who usually do things alone, these bad guys did everything together. Worse, there were often more than one of these criminal groups around the city, and sometimes one group of bad guys went to war with another group."

"Why would they do that," Tanner asked.

"Because there were so many of them, and they were from different parts of the city, so they were usually fighting with each other over who was in charge."

"That sounds a lot like the gangbangers we have at school. They break the law, plus they are always fighting with each other over their turf. It's kind of stupid, but they beat people up for walking in the wrong neighborhood. Even if the other people aren't in a gang. It's kind of dumb, but so are they."

"It was exactly like that back then, too, buddy."

"So, your dad arrested gangbangers. But they were grown-ups, right?"

"That about sums it up, pal. My dad tried to stop them from doing crime together and from hurting other people. And he made a real difference, he did a lot of good for a lot of people."

"Uncle Jimmy, where is your dad," Tanner asked. "How come I've never met him?"

"Well, buddy, some of those same criminals he was after killed him while he was off-duty. They surprised him at home. That's part of why I joined the police department."

"My daddy was killed by a bad guy, too. Then the other police killed that bad guy. I wish my daddy had killed him first. That's why I want to join the police when I grow up. My daddy was murder-police, and he sent people to jail when they killed somebody. I want to be like my daddy when I grow up."

"You will be, buddy," Jimmy said with a smile. "You're already a lot like he was. You're smart, you're brave, and you know the good guys from the bad guys."

Erin smiled as she watched Jimmy and Tanner talking, just sitting on the floor in front of the television, and chatting away like a couple of old friends. She wanted a child of her own. A few years back, her career was just starting, her relationship with Jimmy was still new, and life just seemed too busy to think about kids. But as she watched these two tonight she felt a pang of loneliness inside.

Erin slid back into the kitchen where Eva was just finishing getting the food ready. For Eva, preparing Friday night dinners was her therapy, her time to decompress and focus on something that had absolutely nothing to do with work. She turned to Erin and asked, "What are the boys up to?"

"Not much, just sharing old stories," Erin said. "To see them together, you wouldn't know they aren't related."

"No offense, sweetie, but I'm glad they're not. Jimmy is great and all, but the two of them together would be more kids than I could handle."

"Yeah. I was just watching them and thinking."

"Hey, girl," Eva said. "Have you thought about going to see another doctor? See if anything has changed? I mean, they can do all sorts of crazy new medical stuff these days."

"No, not really," Erin replied. "Part of me doesn't want to get my hopes up. But, lately, part of me can't help but wonder. Ya know? I babysit Tanner a lot, and I love him so much. I don't know, I never thought much about it until lately."

"Not until tonight…?"

"Well, more than that. It's just, I don't know… Watching the two of them lately. It just makes me wonder."

"I'm serious, here," Eva said. "I'll sell him to you really cheap. God knows you'll have to make up the difference in groceries."

Erin erupted in laughter, "Please… Shit. Stop. I almost spilled my wine."

"I'm serious, girl," Eva said. "You know how much that boy can eat? And he's only ten. I can't imagine the damage he's going to do in a few more years."

"I'd love to take him off your hands, but if he eats like that, I'm not sure whether I could afford him myself."

"Hey, seriously, that brings up something for me. You and Jimmy are the closest thing that we have to family. And, if something ever happened to me, well… I'd like you and Jimmy to talk it over."

"Stop that," Erin blurted out. "Don't even talk like that. Of course, we would, but, I mean, just don't even talk like that. Nothing's going to happen to you. Don't even think like that."

"Please, girl," Eva replied. "Occupational hazard. I see it everyday. Situations that nobody saw coming — not right, not fair, but it happens just the same. It's not inevitable, but it is possible. And, being a cop, I'd be a pretty bad mother if I didn't think ahead."

"Oh God," Erin said. "This is just, this is too much. I can't think about this. Not because of Tanner. My God, we love him like our own, no need to even discuss that part. But I'm not you, I don't see this stuff every day. And I just can't stand the thought of not having you in my life."

Eva stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Erin, smiling, and whispered, "You, too, sweetie. You're the sister I spent half of my life wishing for."

At that moment, Jimmy said, "Am I interrupting something here?"

"Just girl stuff," Erin said. "You wouldn't get it."

"Thank God for that," Jimmy replied.

Ortiz's boat seemed to be the only thing on the water tonight. That suited the four detectives well. They were reviewing the day's events.

"Martinez," Ortiz asked, "How ya feeling?"

Without a pause, Gil Martinez replied, "Other than being surprised that the vest actually did its job, I'm all good, boss."

"Gil, again," Roman started to say, "I'm just…"

"Get over it, Rome," Martinez said. "Could have happened to any of us. The only thing that I care about is how fast you took out all three of those clowns after I went down. That was some good shooting, brother."

"Final tally," Ortiz said, "was nine bad guys, including one Franklin 'Jump' Jackson. Everyone good with that?"

Everyone replied in unison, "Yes."

"And, we left two alive because they didn't engage us. Correct?"

"Their lucky day, boss," Said Hodges. "The will to survive won out over loyalty. Maybe they'll take this second-chance and become citizens, again."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that one," Roman said.

"I'm not," Replied Hodges. "But once in a while miracles do happen."

Martinez spoke up, "Hey, they were smart enough to realize that we were only there for Jump. But I'm not holding my breath, either."

"Okay, so we left nothing traceable, no footprints on this one," Ortiz said. "But we are going to have a problem tomorrow. Gil's vest is department issued. We'll need to deal with that. Also, today is a huge reminder that we are going to need to start using personal gear for everything."

"I'm good, boss," Martinez said. "Just going to need a hand dealing with the quartermaster. You know how those office junkies like their paperwork."

"I'll talk to the Rabbi," Ortiz said. "Hodges, I assume you know where we can grab some surplus gear that meets our safety needs."

"On it, boss," Hodges responded. "How are we going to handle funding?"

Ortiz looked around and said, "Honor system. I think we're all on the same page here. Nobody's in this for the money. And we've got quite a bit of it now. So, just take what you need when you need it."

Hodges nodded his understanding.

"Now," Ortiz continued, "These damn vests are tracked by serial number as they're assigned, and we're going to have to explain why this one has a bullet hole in it. So, I think it's time for the Rabbi to do his thing."