Love of that Caliber

Alex Eames sighed heavily and jammed her fingers, hard, against her eyes.

"Something wrong?"

She didn't have to look at him. After all these years, she didn't have to look up to know his eyes were exactly two and a half feet above the desk, and more amused with her behavior than concerned for her welfare.

She sighed again. "I just spent the last 15 minutes on the phone with evidence, waiting while the moron tried to find the file numbers on the inventory sheet." She didn't have to, but she did look, and wasn't surprised to see that patiently amused smile on his lips. "I mean, is being a moron in the job description down there?!"

"But they found them?" he pressed, ignoring her comment.

"He found the numbers, and says he'll pull the boxes by quitting time." Alex frowned and muttered under her breath, "Prob'ly leaves his desk everyday like clockwork."

"So we'll go down, uh, a little early. Make sure he has them for us before he heads home." Bobby's head listed to one side and he blinked a few times, staring at her. "There is something wrong," he said quietly.

Alex's eyes glowed with appreciation for his attention. "I just have a headache that won't quit." She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed the half-empty water bottle from the top of her desk. "I'll go take something for it. Be right back."

Goren nodded and organized a few papers on his desktop before settling into his desk chair for another hour of study.

As 5 o'clock drew near, Eames was back to her usual self, laughing at her own snarky comments. They were making headway on the case, and it was starting to feel like the finish line was in sight.

Bobby got to his feet. "Better get down to evidence, get those boxes."

Alex's eyes went to the digital clock at the corner of her computer screen. "Geez, you're right, it's getting late!" She stood quickly. Both detectives spent a moment gathering their personal items and then headed for the elevator.

They had already agreed to quickly give the Grant case evidence a once over before hitting the bar where Carl Grant's cohorts spent their time. With any luck, they would get a lead on his best friend Woodruff, their chief suspect. With a real stroke of luck, they might find Woodruff there, and haul his ass in for questioning.

Alex had no doubt that Woodruff was behind the murder. She also had no doubt that Bobby could get a confession out of him, if they could ever find him.

The evidence room was as still as a ghost town. Sergeant Moron, as Eames christened him, was sitting behind the chain link barrier, his hands clasped behind his head and one foot up on the pass-through counter. He hardly moved, even when he saw the two detectives enter.

Goren grabbed the man's toe and shoved his foot off the counter. "C'mon, you're representing NYPD here," he said with obvious disapproval.

"For ten more minutes," Sergeant Moron muttered. "I got your boxes, lady." He knew Eames and her partner by sight now, ever since the incident with Joe Dutton's case a few years back.

Goren cleared his throat.

"I mean, Detective Eames," Moron corrected himself. He got to his feet, slowly untangling himself from his comfortable position in his desk chair. He purposely avoided eye contact with Goren, but he did open the gate and gesture to the two boxes on the floor, more than happy to let the Detective be the one to do the heavy lifting.

Goren glanced at his partner, then reached down for a box. He carried it to the small table by the wall, and then retrieved the second. Eames joined him at the table and they pulled the lid off.

"Look, you can't do that here. You'll have to sign for them and take them out. My wife's expecting me home for dinner."

"You have a wife?" Eames asked in surprise. Moron frowned at her.

"Yeah, okay, where do we sign?" Goren asked.

Moron shoved a clipboard through the pass-through, his finger affixed to the appropriate line. Eames found the chain attached to the pen and fit the instrument in her grip before scrawling her signature quickly. "Enjoy your dinner," she snarked at the man, who quickly relocked the gate and started closing up shop for the day.

Knowing she would insist on carrying one, Bobby gave Eames the lighter of the two boxes and they went through the door that Moron held open for them. They were barely on the stoop when he had turned the deadbolt from the inside.

The partners shared a smile. It was amusing when people were this predictable. They headed for the SUV and stacked the boxes on the ground while Alex opened the hatch.

"I guess we're going back to the squad after all," Eames said. "God forbid he miss his dinner. He's emaciated as it is."

Bobby smiled. Sergeant Moron was at least forty pounds overweight. "Library's closer," he said.

"All right, let's go." They headed for the library, where Bobby Goren had special after-hours privileges.

Alex climbed in and started the car. Her partner knew a lot of people in a lot of places, but the New York Public Library was the only place she could think of besides 1PP where he seemed to know every single employee by name. They all knew him, as well. Sometimes she wondered if he sent them all Christmas cards or something.

Bobby chuckled. "Kendall's gonna let us in the basement door," he said, reading his text message once again. "She says just park in the loading zone. There won't be any trucks coming in overnight, and it will keep us out of the rain."

Alex grinned and did as he instructed. Kendall, a middle-aged librarian, held the door for them while they carried their boxes in. "Sit wherever you want; We'll be closed in ten minutes: you don't have to worry about anyone seeing too much. I'll be here until 6:30, and then I'll have to lock up for the night."

"Okay, thanks, Kendall. Hey, how's Jordan?" Bobby asked with a smile as she turned the deadbolt in the basement door.

"Oh, she's just made the JV basketball team. I have to pick her up from practice at 7. We have practice three times a week, now, and games every weekend."

"Sounds like a lot," Goren said.

"She's so excited, though. It's worth it to see the spark in her eyes." She smiled at them both as they set the boxes down and hurried off to finish her evening work.

They each opened a box and began studying the contents, sharing the occasional noteworthy discovery. The PA system announcements about the library's closing barely registered. They were too caught up in the work.

At 5:58 p.m., another announcement on the PA echoed through the mostly empty building: "This is a lock down."

The two detectives looked at each other and silently reached for their weapons, ears straining for any clue as to what was going down. Stealthily, they walked towards the inner stairs. As they climbed them, they could hear shouting from somewhere on an upper floor. A shot rang out, and there were screams. As they reached the top of the stairs, a terrified Kendall rushed over. "He's shooting! Oh my God, he's shooting! Upstairs, at the main circulation desk!" She was whispering, but it seemed loud in their ears.

"How many employees are here tonight?" Alex asked.

"About f-f-fourteen."

"Silently gather anyone you find on this floor and take them out the back. I'll text for backup," Eames ordered. "Bobby will cover the main stairs." She gave him a nod, and he moved into position while Eames worked her phone.

Kendall hurried away and rounded up four others and took them out back. Alex moved to join her partner. She covered him as they went up the next flight of stairs.

Bobby opened the stair door a crack and peeked through it. He saw one body on the floor, and a few terrified workers beside the first stack. They sat with their hands on their heads, trying not to cry.

The perpetrator was talking to himself, pacing back and forth in front of them. His weapon was a 9 mil handgun: small, compact, and often deadly. Goren held the door cracked open with his foot and moved back to let Eames take a look.

She took it in, then stepped back out of his way. She looked into his eyes.

"Not yet," she said. "Let me text them, tell them the situation."

He nodded and continued to watch from the slivered opening of the door.

Alex briefly holstered her weapon and used both hands to quickly send the text. The last thing she typed was "We're going in."

She drew her Glock once again and nodded at her partner. Silently he pushed the door open with his shoulder and held it that way as Eames crouched and went through. She ducked down beside a cart and Bobby held the door handle to keep the door latch from making noise as it closed.

He ducked behind a tall bookshelf and peered between the books at the perpetrator. The man was raving, out of his mind. He monologued about how he only needed a little more time, that he had to find one last book so he could finish a project.

Bobby looked over at Alex, who looked up at him. She shook her head, but he stepped calmly out from his hiding place and gently set his Glock on the cart beside her before moving forward again.

She wanted to reach out and grab him, to shout his name, to stop him somehow, but that would be even more stupid than the path he'd just set for himself. Alex quietly took possession of Bobby's Glock and shifted so she could see more clearly.

"What was it called?" Bobby called out gently.

The guy spun in shock. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Bobby shrugged. "It's a big place. I understand why you didn't see me before. What's the book called?"

"Road to Reckoning. Road to Reckoning." He said it over and over, half whispering to himself.

"Yeah, yeah, Robert Lautner. It's a... a very emotional story."

The man was nodding vigorously.

"A boy, you know, he's off with his Dad selling Colt revolvers. You've read it before?" Goren asked, all the while moving in closer.

"I coulda had a Colt," the man said, peering down at the gun in his hand. "Stupid pawn shop sold it out from under me."

Alex moved behind a bookshelf and worked her way closer to them, looking for a hole in the lines of books that she could use to watch and hopefully to take a shot if need be.

"I can help you find it," Bobby offered. "I know my way around a library."

The man suddenly shouted and waved the gun around. Bobby threw his hands out in front of him. "Okay, okay, it's okay, we're just talking here." He stepped in a little closer, placing himself between the perp and the hostages.

"I'll find the book for you, okay? I can find it. We can look together."

"No, she said she wouldn't help me. She said I had to leave!" He waved the gun at the victim on the floor.

"Well, I—I've got privileges here, okay? I can stay late. And I'll help you. Just, you know, put the gun down. We'll find the book together, all right? Just… see if that computer is on over there."

"You're trying to trick me. You're one of them. You're going to make me leave."

"No, I mean it, I'll help you. We just need the computer to search. Is it on?"

"A nine millimeter is just as good as a Colt, you know. It's a smaller bullet, but just as fast."

"I know that. You're a smart man, you know, a smart man."

The man jumped suddenly, startled by nothing anyone else could see. He raised the gun, his whole arm shaking. He was obviously hallucinating.

"Hey," Bobby said as quietly as he could, trying to calm him. "Hey…"

He started firing. The hostages screamed in terror. Some held each other, some ducked under their arms in tight little balls.

Alex tried to get a clear shot at him, but he was moving erratically.

Bobby shoved all the items off the circulation desk and hurled himself over the counter at the man. There were more shots, and grunts, and cries, and then it was very silent. There was too much movement and Eames never could get him in her sights.

"Clear," came Goren's breathless call.

Eames came out of hiding immediately. "Okay, it's all right. Make sure no one's hurt," she called out to the hostages. "Bobby?" She called firmly as she looked over the barren countertop.

Both Goren and the perp lay on the ground. The man lay on Goren's left, and the gun was a good 7 inches to the right of Bobby's right hand. Blood was making a slow red streak down Bobby's white shirt.

Eames grabbed her cell and called 911. "This is Detective Alex Eames, I'm in the Main Library, we have an officer down. Situation neutralized. Officer down! He's taken a 9 mil, uh, in the chest. We need a bus!"

Goren heard the fear in her voice, but he couldn't understand why she was so upset. The perp was down, the weapon was clear. He felt her hand heavy against his chest, and it hurt. "Eames?" he asked in confusion.

She turned her head back to the library staff. "Somebody go unlock the doors. They'll need to bring a stretcher in here."

One of the library staff jumped to her feet and ran for the door. She wanted to do whatever she could to help Detective Goren.

"Bobby, you're gonna be all right, you hear me? Hold on." Alex kept pressure on his wound with one hand and checked the pulse of the perp with the other. "Somebody help this guy. He's still alive."

Another of the hostages stepped forward and reluctantly put pressure against the gunman's abdomen. In less than 5 minutes, all of the wounded were on their way to the hospital and Eames was doing her best to give the team what they needed to start their investigation.

"I've got to get to the hospital," she said with a pained look on her face. "My partner—"

"I understand, Detective Eames. Look, your Captain called on the radio. He's gonna meet him there. He'll let us know what's going on."

Alex sighed, shook her head, and raked her fingers through her hair, staring at her shoes. "Look, there are two boxes of evidence in the basement… we were gonna work here for a while, and… make sure it's secured, okay?"

"Right, we'll take care of it."

She ran over the story one more time, making sure he had all the details. She told him about the people who'd gotten out, and gave him Kendall's name. Distressed, she pleaded with them. "Can I go now? Have you heard from Hannah?"

"He hasn't called. Yeah, I think we've got what we need. Thanks, Detective."

"Don't forget the evidence," she said once more, and rushed out the front door.

The rain slapped her in the face, and she remembered the SUV was parked in the loading zone out back. With a quiet curse, Alex ran in the rain around the block. She held her badge out and the officers let her leave in the SUV.

"There was a lot of internal bleeding," the Doctor was telling Hannah. "The bullet ricocheted inside him. Paramedics couldn't do anything more."

A yelp escaped her lips, and Alex felt her knees buckle. The next thing she knew, her Captain and the Doctor were at her side.

"Alex, it's not Bobby. He's okay. We were talking about the perp."

Dazed, she let them lift her to her feet. She turned her head to Captain Hannah. "Not… Bobby?"

"He's gonna be okay. Exam 3, right over there," Hannah said, pointing to a curtain.

Eames' strength rushed back. She practically ran to the exam room, and found her partner lying on a gurney, a mostly clean bandage on his side under his left armpit. He turned toward her, and his grimace lessened a little.

"Bobby!" Alex felt the tears spill from her eyes. "Oh, Bobby!" She took his left hand in both of hers.

"You're crying," he said.

"No, I'm not," she said, wiping her eyes on her shirtsleeves without ever letting go of his hand.

"'Course not." Bobby smiled a little, but the grimace returned. "I, uh, I guess I messed up."

"No, Bobby." She squeezed his hand, and felt fresh tears return. "You're here," she whispered.

"I don't like to see you cry," he told her.

"I don't like to see you hurt," she countered.

"Alex?" he called softly.

"Yeah, Bobby."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop."

"I shouldn't have—"

"You did your job, Bobby. You did your best."

"He lived?"

She shook her head, and Goren frowned.

"Detective?"

"Yes?" They both answered.

The Doctor smiled. "I meant my patient," he said gently.

Eames stepped back, and the Doctor moved in. "I've written you a prescription for the pain, as well as some antibiotics. The x-rays showed no sign of breakage. The bullet went in and out, clean. You're a very lucky man. The nurse will take the IV out and you can be on your way."

"Thanks, Doctor," Bobby said politely. He pushed himself up and pressed his right hand firmly against his left arm. "Hurts like a sonofabitch," he complained.

Alex smiled at him. "I'll see if I can find you a shirt somewhere."

Bobby let go of his sore arm and reached for her as she turned. "Alex," he said, "wait."

She turned back.

"If I ever… if it ever happens, you know… I-I wish… I hope you'll be with me."

The tears returned, and Alex Eames swallowed the lump in her throat. "Oh, Bobby," she cried. "I'm always with you." She stared into his eyes so he knew she was sincere, and then she slowly reached out and drew him into a hug.

Bobby stretched his right arm around her and nuzzled his cheek against her neck. He desperately wanted to kiss her.

But he didn't.

A/N Road to Reckoning, by Robert Lautner, is a real book which I have never read. I think it sounds pretty good, though, so I probably should read it.

I hope you enjoyed this little tale! I thought it was gonna turn into a first kiss, but my muse had other ideas. Anyway, I apologize for not updating the other two stories at the moment. I have been very, very busy and not had much time to myself lately. Life is good, all in all, though, so I have no complaints. Happy New Year, my friends!