Title: Eye for an Eye
Chapter 1 – Altered States

Summary: When Roy is killed on an undercover op, a vengeful Ed uses his leave to volunteer without telling Wordy or Team One to go undercover to find his brothers killer. But a traitorous insider puts Ed in danger as he jeopardizes his own career on a mis-guided mission and gives Team One a very hot call.

Disclaimer: Ah you know write? Ed's with me and well yeah that's about it…lol otherwise I am a poor author lol

A/N: Okay so major angst alert! This story is going to be based after the ending scene in 3.01 'Unconditional Love'. It will be Ed centric with lots of Ed/Wordy stuff of course and the team as well. But it will deal with a lot of angst, guilt, regret and of course I'll toss in some danger, whump and peril as well b/c you know my dear muse Alice loves all those wonderful things hehe

"Note: for this story only the first 9 lines are directly from the eppy. After that anything in italics and double quotes – much like my other stories is a person on the other end of the phone. Hope this isn't confusing!"

"Ed."

"Yeah."

"We got that baby out safe…"

"And you want me to back you up."

"The call not to approach the perps at the motel…I didn't hear you on the radio."

"You didn't."

"We were doin' the best that we could. A cop was shot…we thought there was a baby…"

"I know. Look I just don't have the time right now," Ed tells Roy before he turns and walks away.

"Never did."

XXXXXXXX

1 month later

"Earth to Ed," Wordy gently taps his best friend on the shoulder, forcing the obviously agitated team leader to turn to face him with a very noticeable frown. "Hey buddy, what's going on today?" He leans in a bit closer to inquire.

Ed looks at Wordy and just shakes his head before pursing his lips and uttering a heavy sigh. "You know…nothin'," he resigns and turns back to putting his uniform away.

"Yeah right nothing," Wordy groans, making Ed twist his neck to the right and look at him in surprise. "You've been snippy one moment and then silent the next."

"I'm fine."

"No…you're not. Today was…" Wordy's voice dies out as Ed's mind replays some somber highlights of the day that had just ended.

'Look I said we do it my way got it!'

'Eddie you okay?'

'Yeah boss I'm fine!'

'Anything to add?'

'No.'

"And don't tell me you're fine because I know you're lying. So what's going on? You and Sophie having issues?"

"It's…" Ed's expression softens as he turns and leans against his locker, the room quiet except for the two lingering friends and team members. "It's Roy," Ed confesses, his eyes expressing a twinge of outward torment. "Okay fine its Roy."

"Roy?"

"Yeah we parted on less that amicable terms a few weeks back after his partner was killed…he was trying to talk and I was already in for a mental beating from Sophie for missing the ultrasound and…"

"And it just continued to boil?"

"It did," Ed nods as he shoves his hands in his pockets and leans back against his locker, his tormented sapphire gaze wandering past his best friend and resting absently on the wall. "He just doesn't think at times and it always comes back to bite him hard in the ass."

"Okay but that was then…something happened recently?"

"Then? This was never resolved. And a few days ago it got worse," Ed replies as he turns back to Wordy with a small frown. "He wanted my backing on his going undercover to try to find out about the guys who killed his partner."

"And you didn't agree?"

"It's not his job Wordy, he wasn't assigned the detail and apparently is supposed to be still on leave," Ed insists. "He's not even cleared to come back."

"Did he tell you this?"

"No I looked at his file and confronted him with it, then I went to his superior."

"Right and of course that went over well and then he brought up the guilt he felt for having his partner killed and you gave him your well you always like to rush in where angels fear to tread speech?" Wordy arches his brows.

"Something like that."

"Then of course he countered and threw right back at you that you do the same but you of course being well…"

"Yes?" Ed interjects sharply.

"You," Wordy replies pointedly, "didn't back down either and so you two left it at a stalemate?"

"You know I hate it when you know me this well."

"So what happened?"

"What…happened?" Ed groans as he rubs his face with his hands, pushes past Wordy, slowly saunters toward the bench and slumps down. "Neither of us backed down that's what happened. What can I tell ya…we have the same father. The worst part is I would be on the warpath the same as him if it was you," he admits in a softer tone. "But he just wasn't listening and we started yelling…and then…and then things were said that weren't meant or should have been said."

'You know Ed you never gave a damn about anyone but yourself!'

'You know what Roy, you've always been a pain in my ass so can you blame me? This is just going to be another Roy Lane mess that you could have avoided and that I have to clean up.'

'Ever wish I wasn't around?'

'Yeah I do!'

'Well same here!'

"It was childish and stupid and then we both hung up in heated anger and I sat there cursing him, myself and the whole situation and he probably did the same thing."

"And you haven't talked since?"

"Figured I'd give it another day and just let things cool and then I'll stop by after shift tomorrow and see how he is."

"This undercover thing…"

"Wordy, he's on leave, he should be just reflecting on his mistakes."

"Reflecting," Wordy repeats slowly. "Right because Lane's are famous for just sitting around and doing nothing but reflecting."

"Fine," Ed groans as he pushes himself upright and pulls his locker open and reaches for his jacket.

"Hey hold on a sec."

"What?"

"Unlike Roy, I know how to deescalate you," Wordy reminds his best friend in a kind tone as his hand rests on his back. "I'm just sayin'…you're angry because it's what you would do and I know how much you like to be reminded of that. Roy has no one to tell him but you and you are like him…"

"You wanna talk to him?" Ed retorts.

"I can if you want me to," Wordy admits, making Ed turn to him with a small smile.

"No I need to do this," Ed acknowledges with another nod and warmer smile. "But I might need a beer after that."

"Or target practise?"

"That for sure," Ed slightly grins.

"I'll be there," Wordy assures him as they both get their jackets and head for the exit doors, Ed saying goodnight to his best friend and then getting into his car and heading for home; the last heated verbal showdown with his brother weighing heavily on his mind.

Ed pulls into the driveway at home and stops the car but doesn't get out; instead pulling out his phone and dialing his brother's number, wanting to clear the air sooner rather than later. But as it did this morning, the call merely ends with Roy's voicemail coming on and Ed hanging up before his voice could be recorded.

Tomorrow I'll drop by his place in person, Ed tells himself as he gets out of the car and heads inside to spend the rest of his remaining wakeful hours with his wife and son. But as with the pattern the night before, Ed's sleep was restless and he didn't wake up the next morning feeling refreshed at all; the tension from the heated argument with his brother still at the fore of his conscience.

"Eddie…you're in early," Greg comments as he walks up to Ed just as he grabs the punching gloves and strikes the motionless bag with full force. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Just some personal stuff."

"Personal?"

"Personal. And before you ask, it has to do with Roy; everything at home is fine."

"And work?"

"It won't affect the job, boss I promise you that," Ed looks at his boss and friend, hoping Greg will believe the sincerity in his pleading expression.

"What did Roy do?"

"It's…it's nothing really," Ed sighs, not really wanting to have to go through it all again as he did with Wordy the night before and probably would again tonight. "I talked to Wordy last night. Boss I'm good…really," Ed insists with a firmer tone.

"I believe you but if we get a hot call…"

"My mind will be there. I give you my word," Ed assures him one final time before Sam and Spike join them for the morning workout.

"Okay," Greg nods as he gives Ed a warm smile and then goes to talk to the other members of his team. Ed watches Wordy enter, mouths a 'good morning' and then joins in the lively banter about some silly girly antics one of Wordy's daughters subjected him to the night before.

"Lucky for you we got patrol duty today," Wordy mentions casually as they head into a seedier area of Toronto's waterfront area.

"Day's not over yet," Ed quips as he casually steers the SRU SUV toward the end of the waterfront. "And before you ask I did try to call last night and got nothing. Another odd thing is his cell is forwarded to his home number which is just a number - no name now."

"That's odd. Think he's ignoring you?"

"Would I?"

"Yeah as much as the both of you can be hotheads, I know silly games aren't your thing. Maybe he's on a date?"

"Poor girl," both of them look at each other and smirk.

"When was his last date?"

"Before or after the divorce?" Ed responds dryly.

"After."

"That really messed him up. Roy always valued the security of home and…" Ed's voice trails off, prompting Wordy to look up at him in haste. "He just needs to get past this and he'll be okay."

"And so will you."

"And so…will I," Ed echoes softly as they continue their patrolling. About twenty minutes later a 'hot call' comes over head set and soon all attention is diverted away from personal problems and they are gearing up and Ed getting ready to take the head on charge into the hostage situation under Greg's command. The call was heated but true to his promise to Greg, Ed's mind was in the heat of the moment and the situation was resolved peacefully without a single shot being fired that was fatal.

Wordy enters the locker room with Sam, whispering a soft goodbye to the other SRU Team One team member and looking at Ed who was just standing in front of his locker with a placid expression.

"Getting cold feet?" Wordy lightly teases as he approaches.

"Just wanna make sure I go there with a cool head. I know when I see him…damn I hate this. Why couldn't he just…"

"Right," Wordy nods as he slaps Ed on the back and then snatches the keys still dangling in his fingers. "I'm driving."

"Wordy…"

"Let's go before I come to my senses. Spending the night playing referee between two Lane's isn't my idea of fun you know," he treads lightly as he grabs his jacket and turns to leave, not caring that he wasn't fully undressed from his SRU uniform and ignoring the stunned look on his best friends face. "Ed, I'm waiting," he calls out as he pushes through the exit doors, forcing Ed to look at Sam and frown before slamming his locker shut and hurrying after Wordy.

"A work truck?"

"I'm holding your keys so you don't drive distracted."

"I was planning to come over afterward," Ed insists with a small groan as they near the black SUV.

"I'm just gonna stay in the truck. Now get in," Wordy directs as Ed climbs into the passenger seat of the dark SUV casting a silent gaze out the window into the dark of night. They head toward Roy's small home for the most part in silence, Wordy making small talk about the situation they had earlier in the day, but Ed's mind mostly trying to collect his thoughts and keep his temper in check so as to give his brother a chance to explain and hopefully come to at least an amicable conclusion.

"Looks quiet," Wordy notes as they stop outside the darkened home. "He usually everything this dark?"

"No…no he doesn't," Ed answers in truth as he lingers in the truck a bit longer, the anxiety inside of him brewing.

"Maybe he's in the back, watching TV and drinking a beer or whatever…it's gonna be fine."

"Wordy…"

"They are only words right? You can always take back words. Yes even Ed Lane can do that."

"Funny," Ed remarks dryly as he gets out of the SUV and slowly heads for Roy's front door, his heart rate actually increasing with each step. He knows that trying to talk Roy out of doing something stupid might be a nye impossible task but he has to try, at least to restore his own peace of mind.

Ed knocks and then listens to the silence, his agitation increasing the longer the delay. "Roy…open up!" Ed's fist pounds a bit heavier on the door, his eyes glancing back to Wordy in the truck who merely shrugs. Ed pulls his phone and tries Roy's home number, pressing his ear to the door and hearing the unanswered rings inside the quiet abode. He then tries his cell number and get the same thing – nothing.

"Damn it," Ed curses in frustration as he gestures to Wordy that he's going to check around the back and then disappears into the darkness engulfing the side of the house. Ed squints into the dimly lit path before him, wondering why the side motion sensor light still hadn't come on. But upon reaching the back he finds it as quiet and as dark as the front.

"Ah Roy," Ed grumbles as he stumbles up the stairs, clutching the back hand railing before crashing to his knees on the cold concrete. "Roy, open up!" Ed pounds on the door once more, hearing a noise behind him and quickly turning with his gun raised.

"Hold on, it's just me!" Wordy states in haste as he slowly lowers his hands.

"Wordy," Ed huffs as he stows his gun and then turns to the door and pounds on it again. "Roy! Come on open up before I come in there."

"Do you have a key?"

"Yeah I do," Ed answers as he fumbles with his key set, Wordy now at his side with his small flashlight making finding the elusive piece of metal a bit easier. Ed unlocks and then slowly opens the door, looking at Wordy and wondering why the alarm hadn't gone off.

"Roy? Hey you home?" Ed calls out as he turns on the kitchen light.

"Looks like he hasn't been here all day," Wordy notes.

"Damn bastard better not have…" Ed's voice trails off in a heated growl as he leaves Wordy and heads for the stairs, Wordy heading for the living room and then down into the basement.

"Roy?" Ed calls out as he heads into Roy's bedroom, finding it just as neat and untouched as the rest of the house, a sickening feeling starting to gnaw away at the pit of his stomach. "Anything?" Ed asks Wordy as they meet up at the bottom of the stairs.

"No sign of him. I found his laptop in the living room."

"Where could he be?" Ed just shakes his head as he looks at Wordy and the turns and heads toward the kitchen once more. He heads for Roy's phone and looks at the answering machine that has the number '1' flashing on it.

"You're gonna listen to it?" Wordy stops Ed's hand just before he presses it. "He could merely be at the bar or something."

"If he doesn't want me snooping, next time he'll pick up," Ed counters as he pulls his hand away and pushes the 'play' button, Wordy just rolling his eyes.

'Change in plans…don't come tonight the shipment isn't in. Wait for my call. And if we have a repeat of the night before I will kill you, do you understand?'

"What the heck happened the night before?" Wordy asks almost rhetorically. "And what is the shipment tonight? What's going on?"

"I don't know but we need to find him. I'm gonna call the barn and ask them to get a trace on his car's GPS."

Without putting up much of an argument, Wordy follows after Ed, who turns off the lights, locks up and then both head back to the SUV. Wordy starts up the SUV while Ed calls SRU headquarters and asks for a trace on his brother's car.

"Pardon?" Ed asks in shock, prompting Wordy to look over at him in wonder. "He's where? Are you serious? No…right thanks."

"Where is he?"

"Roy's in jail."

"Pardon?" Wordy repeats Ed's word earlier, watching Ed's fist tighten around the piece of paper with the address on it. "Okay, tell me what's going on."

"Wordy, I have absolutely no clue. Maybe he's visiting someone there about whatever this message is about?"

"Maybe. When you talked to him…where was he?"

"He…" Ed stops to think back to his conversation.

'Roy what is that noise? Where are you? What are you up to?'

'I'm…look why do you care where I am. Stop changing the subject as you always like to.'

'Fine, whatever.'

"He just deflected it…could he have been undercover or…something."

"Might explain why the house looks like it hasn't been lived in in over a week," Wordy mentions as he looks over at Ed in concern.

"Jail?"

"As what an inmate?"

"Or a worker?" Wordy suggests. "We are going there right?"

"Damn straight we are, right now…unless…."

"Yes I'm coming with you," Wordy insists.

"Jail…what the hell are you thinkin' Roy," Ed mumbles to himself, his mind racing as to what his younger brother was actually up to.

Wordy listen's to Ed ramble off a whole series of angry, unanswerable questions as they head away from his small home, toward the outskirts of the city where the large prison facility awaits them. He has no answers for his friends, and winces at the torment dripping from his tone; Ed's frustration and guilt was building and that was something he was afraid he was ill equipped to handle.

"If he is under cover against orders…"

"Ed you don't know anything just yet; he could even be visiting a friend or maybe it is an informant…I don't know. I'll wait here in the truck because if he is undercover then we don't want to blow anything and you're…well dressed less conspicuously. Just keep a cool head when you go in there. Wait until he tells you the entire story."

"Why the hell did he ask if he already was doing his thing?"

"Just wanted your approval," Wordy shrugs, prompting Ed to look over in haste. "Hey don't get mad at me…I'm just guessing here," Wordy replies in haste as they round the corner, Wordy slowing the SUV as they look at a myriad of ambulances with their lights flashing. "What's going on?" Wordy mumbles as they near the main prison gate.

"No idea."

"Hey what's going on?" Wordy asks the guard as he flashes his bad, Ed doing the same.

"Ah two inmates went at it, pretty good actually. We don't know how they got knives but one was stabbed pretty bad and we had to put one of the cell blocks on lockdown."

"What about the other cellblocks?" Ed leans over and inquires.

"You looking for someone in particular?" The guard asks.

"Yes but he could be an undercover cop."

"Okay check with the warden, he should know right?"

"Hopefully," Ed utters quietly as he leans back and curses Roy's antics once more before pulling his wallet to see if he has a picture of his brother to show the Warden in case the name Roy Lane doesn't come up. "I don't even have a picture of him in my wallet," Ed groans as he uses his phone to download Roy's police picture.

"Beat yourself up later for that. Just go and figure out what's going on."

"Okay."

Ed slowly gets out of the SUV and heads toward the gated walkway, glancing over at the ambulances and watching two of the paramedics wheeling out a man with red hair moaning loudly and cursing someone named 'Dustin'. Not caring too much about the complaining criminal, Ed flashes his badge and then heads for the main entrance that would take him to the warden's office.

Upon entering Ed's anxiety skyrockets once more, his mind racing with thoughts as to what Roy could possibly be up to and why he ended up here in jail and how. If he was on leave, there was no way his superior would sanction an undercover op, especially if it was dealing with the men that had killed his partner.

Damn it Roy, what are you up to?

"Warden Miller," Ed introduces himself as he shows his badge.

"What can I do for you Constable Lane?"

"I'm just checking to see if you have any visitors today or yesterday with the name Roy Lane?"

"Lane?" The older man arches his brows at Ed in wonder.

"Yes that's right," Ed confirms, not openly confirming the familial connection.

The warden tells his clerk to look for Roy's name but the search of course comes up empty. "Sorry no Roy Lane here."

"How an inmate registered with the name Roy Lane?"

"Nope we don't have that either but..."

"Okay then have you seen anyone that looks like this man?" Ed interrupts, showing then Roy's picture on his phone.

Warden Miller looks at the picture as the clerk nods and then turns back to Ed with a heavy frown. "Actually I have but..."

"But what?" Ed dares to ask, his anxiety rising as he looks at the near deathly expression.

"That man goes by the name of Dustin Groves and he was killed tonight in a cellblock fight."

"What?"

A/N: Thoughts so far? What will Ed learn about what Roy was doing there? How will he react? What will the guilt prompt him to do? Can Wordy help or will Ed betray that friendship? And who is behind Roy's death? Lots to come so hope you liked this start and please do review before you go and thanks so much in advance!