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| They stared at each other for a moment that seemed to last for an eternity. Then suddenly the boy was moving, throwing the chair over backwards in his haste to get out of there. Making a mad dash to get past Lennie, he tried to push the older man aside. But Lennie's cop instincts kicked in, and as the kid pushed past him, he grabbed him, tumbling both of them to the floor. "Easy, son, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you!" The kid was so skinny that Lennie had no problem holding him down despite his struggles. Dark eyes wide with fear looked up at him from the gaunt face. Gradually the fear subsided and the boy stopped struggling. Recognition dawned in his eyes. "You're Lennie, ain't you?" That caught Lennie by surprise. How did this junkie punk know who he was? And how had he gotten in here? The door had been locked. Had he known Mike? That would explain both questions. Years of police training said to be wary, and he was, but he decided to trust the kid a little. Lennie nodded and released the boy's arms. "Yeah, Lennie Briscoe. Who the hell are you?" His trust was rewarded when the kid didn't immediately bolt. "Joey." Lennie raised an eyebrow. Not a name he was familiar with. And no last name? He'd let it go for now. "You a friend of Mike's?" Joey nodded. "He � he gave me a key. I � I figured he wasn't needing it anymore, so I thought I'd grab something to eat �" That got Lennie's attention. "You know Mike's dead?" Again Joey nodded, and Lennie got the feeling he was trying real hard not to cry. Realizing that the crisis was averted, Lennie let himself sink down to the floor to sit beside Joey. He laid a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "Joey, do you know what happened to him?" Another nod, accompanied by tears rolling down the sunken cheeks. "He was trying to protect me � the big shot's body guard shot him, and I ran away. By the time I came back, he was dead." Lennie was confused; this didn't sound like a crime of passion as they had thought. "Joey, I know you're upset, but I gotta ask. Do you know where Mike was shot?" He needed to know if this was legit. Joey blinked back tears. "Near the East entrance to Central Park." Not quite what he was looking for, but correct nonetheless. "Yeah, I know. But I mean, where on his body?" The kid grimaced. "Right in the nuts." Shit. The kid knew. He'd seen Mike's murder. And whoever killed Mike was probably after this kid, too. Joey doubled over, his body wracked with sobs. Fighting back his own tears, Lennie reached out and pulled the boy close. "Easy, Joey, easy. It's ok. I'll protect you. Don't worry, it'll be all right �" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two hours later found them heading toward the 27th Precinct. After Joey had calmed down, Lennie had reheated the soup he'd started, and gotten the kid to eat it. The kid was relatively calm, but Lennie had a feeling it wouldn't be long before the drug craving started demanding his next hit. Over the soup he'd gotten the rest of the story, and decided that it was time to take it to the professionals. So now Lennie parked in the employee lot behind the precinct; even though he was retired, the security guard recognized him and let him through. He bit back a grin; it felt almost like coming home. But there was one thing that was bugging him. As he shut off the engine, he reached out to stop Joey from getting out. "Joey, how did you know who I was?" Joey looked sideways at him, a shy smile trying to form on his lips. "You kidding? You're all Mike ever talked about. His old partner Lennie. Best thing since sliced bread." Lennie blinked. "You're kidding, right?" Joey shook his head. "Nope. He loved you, man. Didn't you know?" The boy's words hit Lennie in the gut. // Mikey! // Unable to get words past the lump in his throat, Lennie just shook his head. "Aw, man � I shouldn't'a said that � he was afraid you wouldn't understand � said you were too damned straight." Somehow he swallowed the lump and squeezed Joey's shoulder. "No, no. Not that. It's the other way � I loved him too. We were both too scared to admit it �" The useless tragedy of the situation washed over Joey. "Aw, shit, man � that ain't right!" He reached up and laid his hand over Lennie's. Lennie managed to smile at the small gesture of comfort. "At least now I know, Joey. I'm glad you said it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed filled a cup at the water cooler, wondering where the break was gonna come from. Because they sure as hell needed one. Krolinsky's apartment had been a bust as expected. Cragen was on his way back from Rikers with nothing new from the father, and Munch had called in to say the mother had been no help either. Where the hell was the kid hiding? He was so lost in thought as he settled back at his desk that he didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him. Joe's voice startled him out of his reverie. "Det. Briscoe! What brings you here? And who's this?" Ed turned around with a grin for his old partner and was surprised to see him shepherding a pale, thin young man. Lennie couldn't help smiling; it felt good to be back here, even if it was weird to see somebody else sitting at his desk. He didn't want to think about Fontana right now, so he focused his attention on Ed. The smile faded quickly as he spoke. "Ed � this is Joey. He witnessed Mike's murder �" Ed's eyes got wide with surprise. "Joey? Joey Krolinsky? Damn, Lennie, we've been lookin for this kid all day! Where'd you find him?" Lennie didn't hear a thing he said after 'Krolinsky.' He turned to the kid. "Joey? Is your Dad �" The kid grimaced. "The bastard Priest who molested kids and got sent to jail? Yeah. That's why I don't use the name � I'm just Joey now." Lennie had to lean against Ed's desk to remain standing. Joey Krolinsky. Well, that explained why Mike had been trying to help the kid. Lennie remembered the rumors that Krolinsky had molested his own son years after he'd done his damage to Mike and the other altar boys. From the sound of it, he'd bet it was true; this kid really hated his father. Ed realized Lennie wasn't listening to him and reached out to steady his old partner. "Lennie? You ok?" Gradually Lennie regained his composure. "Yeah, I'm fine. Joey's got a hell of a story to tell, Ed. Think we could grab an interview room and rally the troops so he doesn't have to repeat this?" Ed nodded and looked at Joe. Fontana reached out toward the kid. "Come on, Joey, let's go find somewhere to talk." Joey got a panicked look on his face. "Lennie? You're comin', aren't you?" He tried to pull away from Fontana, staying close to the minimally familiar person of Lennie. Lennie put his hands on Joey's shoulders. "It's OK, Joey, I'll be there. Go with Det. Fontana now, I need to talk to Ed here for a minute, ok?" Reluctantly, the boy nodded and let Fontana lead him away. Ed and Lennie walked over to the coffee station. Lennie poured a cup, and grimaced when he tasted it. "I don't remember it being THAT bad �" Ed laughed. "This time of day? 40 Weight motor oil tastes better! Why the hell do you think I stick with water?" Lennie chuckled. "So who's around?" "Munch and Fin are on the NJ Turnpike, but the Lieu is here, and Cragen said he'd come by on his way back from Rikers." Lennie made a face. "What's he doin' out there?" Ed nodded toward the kid. "Tried to see if his father had any idea how to find him." The rest of Ed's earlier statement finally made it into Lennie's consciousness. "You've been looking for him?" "Yeah. When the case against Miller wouldn't stick, we went back to Logan's cases. Joe spotted an odd note in his notebook, Joey and a phone number, a couple of days before he was killed. What made it odd was that the case involving Joey had been wrapped up a month earlier. When Cragen recognized the name, we figured it might be connected." Lennie nodded. "Mike was trying to get the kid to clean up � I guess they kind of bonded over the mutual abuse at the hands of Krolinsky Sr." Ed shook his head. "That man is one sick puppy." Lennie sighed. "I think it's because of him that Mike couldn't ever let his guard down � couldn't tell anyone his secret, not even me." A warm touch settled on Lennie's arm; he looked up into chocolate-brown eyes full of compassion. Lennie managed a small smile, acknowledging the offered comfort. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An hour later, the group finally convened in the interview room. Green and Fontana, Lt. Van Buren, Capt. Cragen, and ADA Casey Novak. Munch and Fin were stuck in traffic, but Cragen could brief them later. When everyone was settled, Cragen turned on the tape recorder and nodded. Lennie turned to Joey. "OK, Joey, tell them what you told me earlier." Joey gulped at a glass of water, then started speaking nervously. Now that they knew who he was, he'd give them the full story, not the edited version he'd given Lennie. "I met Mike about a month ago. I was in the hospital, my � somebody had beaten me up. Mike and his partner, that lady Frankie, they came to try to find out who did it. I told them I didn't know. They didn't believe me, but said if I wouldn't press charges, they had to drop it. I guess Mike recognized my name, cause when Frankie left, he stayed behind. He asked if my Dad was the Joe Krolinsky who used to be a priest � told me what happened back then. Said he knew it was probably my pimp who beat me, and that if I was scared, he'd help me get straight. "I laughed at that, thanks to dad I'll never be 'straight.' Mike wasn't buyin' it; he said I knew what he meant � the drugs. He said � he said my dad had hurt us both, he wanted to do somethin' to help me in return. Kinda like doin' something good to counteract somethin' evil, you know? Karma. That's what he called it." Cragen shook his head sadly. Mike had faced so much evil in his life. But Cragen had always know that deep inside, Mike believed in good. Nice to have it confirmed. "It made a weird kind of sense to me. And after I got out of the hospital, he started checkin' in on me. I guess when you're a cop, you can find out where people live. We started hangin' together, just talking, you know? It was nice �. Nobody ever talked to me like that before. "I was startin' to think maybe I could, you know, quit the drugs, go clean, if Mike was willing to help. He was so nice, so smart, I couldn't believe a guy like him would waste his time with me. I even offered to � do him, you know, but he said no. He liked guys, but said I was too young for him � I was kind hoping that if I got clean, he'd change his mind �" Lennie bit back a smile; he'd been wondering if the kid had a bit of lovestruck puppy about him. "So anyway, I hadn't been turning tricks for a while, and Rico, he comes by to ask why I'm not handing off the money." Joey stopped suddenly, realizing he'd just given them the name of his pimp. Lennie squeezed his arm. "It's ok, Joey. It's time to stop protecting him. He beat you nearly to death, and he got another kid killed. Come on. Tell it all." Joey swallowed hard, and started back into the story. "I tell him I'm going straight, and he laughs. Says it don't work that way. Says he's got a party for some big shot coming up Monday night and I'm on the desert menu. If I don't show and play with the big guys, he's gonna kill me. I believed him, man. "I had a real bad feeling about this, but I didn't have any choice. I told Mike I had a job Monday, but not what was going on. I think he picked up on the fact that I was worried about it; he said if there was a problem to call his cell phone. He made me memorize the number. "So I show up at that ritzy hotel that overlooks Central Park about 11PM Monday. I guess there was some kind of party at the hotel that evening, and the big shots wanted to keep partying in private afterwards. Rico was there, and another kid, even younger than me. Maybe 17, 18. They had lots of good candy there, you know? Ronnie, the kid, was rollin' in the stuff. And then the big shot was doin' him, really giving him a good pounding, you know, and the kid just goes all limp and collapses. I guess he had a heart attack. Suddenly everybody's screaming, the boss-man's bodyguard was tryin to do CPR, but it wasn't working. Ronnie was dead. I realized I probably was too, having seen what happened. So in the confusion, I bolted. I ran out the door, down the staris, over to the park, and the first pay phone I saw I stopped to call Mike. He said he was nearby, told me to lay low, he'd be right there. "I hid in the bushes, and a couple of minutes later he comes runnin' into the park. I go up to him, screamin, panicked, flyin'. He's tryin' to calm me down when the bodyguard came out of the hotel. I guess they finally realized I skipped. He must've spotted us, cause the next thing I know he's shooting at us. "Mike drew his gun, but the bodyguard was faster. He shot before his gun was all the way up, hitting Mike in the balls. Mike screamed and fell to the ground. That's when I made myself scarce again. "I hid in the park all night. Just before dawn, I made my way back. Mike was still layin' there in a pool of blood. Dead �" Joey was crying again, turning to Lennie, letting the older man's arms wrap around him. But this time it was worse; he could feel the jitters coming on; he needed a hit. He started shaking uncontrollably. Lennie held him for a few moments, then looked up at the others. "He's been laying low ever since then. I found him tonight at Mike's place. Mike had given him a key, and he was helping himself to some dinner. Probably hasn't eaten much all week. Look, can we get him in protective custody in a rehab clinic?" Novak leaned forward. "Joey? Can you hear me?" The kid looked up and nodded. "Joey, you don't know who the big shot was, do you?" A quick shake of the head. "Can you help us find Rico? He'd probably know who hired him." Joey hesitated just a minute, then Lennie's words came back to him. Rico had tried to kill him, had set him up for this disaster. He wanted out. He nodded vigorously. "Would you be willing to go out tonight with Detectives Green and Fontana and see if you can find him?" "I � I need �" his voice trailed off and he looked helplessly at Lennie. Lennie squeezed his arm comfortingly. "I don't think he's gonna last much longer without a hit, counselor. I don't know how much help he'd be out on the street right now. And besides, whoever did this IS still looking for him, too." Casey nodded; it probably wasn't the best idea right now. "OK, Joey, then can you hold it together long enough to give us a description?" "Yeah." Casey smiled. "Then I'm sure we can get you into a good rehab, Joey. Let me go make a phone call." Anita turned toward the boy. "Lennie, why don't you take him down to see a sketch artist? We'll let them know you're coming?" Lennie gave a rueful grin; he knew he was being dismissed so the 'real' police work could begin. But he also knew Joey needed him to stick close. And he found he wanted to help the kid � for Mike's sake. He'd been Mike's 'project,' Mike had given his life to protect this kid. That was enough for Lennie. With a sigh he got up and nudged Joey. "Come on, kid. Let's get this done before you get too bad off �" After Lennie and Joey left, Anita turned to Green and Fontana. "Find the body of the kid who died Monday night � we've probably got a record somewhere, even if they thought it was just a junkie self-inflicted O.D. Once we get the sketch and some additional info from Joey, I'll put out an APB for this Rico character. He's probably also got a record, so I'll order a computer search for any known pimps named Rico. Either night watch will find him from the description, or we'll have a hopefully 'short list' to work tomorrow." Cragen nodded. "I'll tell Munch and Fin to check in with you in the morning." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Late that evening, Lennie finally trudged up the stairs to his apartment. Joey had given a good description of Rico and his haunts, and an APB had been put out for his arrest. Novak had gotten him into a rehab clinic under a false name to offer some protection from whoever the 'big shot' was that was looking for him. Joey hadn't wanted Lennie to leave; in those few hours, Lennie had become his lifeline. But he had promised to come see the boy tomorrow, and that had calmed him enough to go. So now he was alone again. Sleep was out of the question; his mind was way too active right now. Images of Mike kept filling his mind; tall, strong, vibrant, alive. Trying to help Krolinsky's kid out of a belief in doing good to counteract evil. He'd deserved so much better � Joey had said that Mike loved him. Lennie wished to god that it was true. And then he suddenly remembered the letter Liz Olivet had given him at the funeral this morning. God, was it just today? It seemed like an eternity had gone by. Should he read it? // You know now what it's going to say. // For some reason, Lennie felt sure that the kid was right. But to hear it in Mike's words � yes. He got up, locked up the apartment, and went back to his bedroom. Stripped down to his underwear, he stood in front of the closet and fished the letter out of the pocket he'd stashed it in. He shut out the rest of the lights except the one beside his bed, and crawled under the covers. With trembling hands, he opened the letter. Lennie, I guess if you're reading this, something happened to me. I hope it was something noble, getting killed on the job protecting some innocent, but with my luck it was probably something stupid like a drunk driver, or some bad sushi. There's something I always wanted to tell you. But I was afraid � afraid I'd lose your friendship. And that was just too much to risk. But now that I'm gone, I want you to know. I'm gay, Lennie. The women were just a cover. At least, by the time I knew you. At first, I wouldn't believe it myself, and kept dating different women hoping to find the one that it felt right with. When I finally admitted it to myself, I realized my 'rep' was a great cover, so I kept up the BS. I always got the impression you saw through the smokescreen, but didn't want to blow my cover. So why not just tell you? I don't know. I was just so used to hiding it. Especially on the job. Don't think I didn't trust you, Lennie. I trusted you with my life. I just didn't trust ME with this, you know? And then, the unthinkable happened. God, Lennie, I hope you can forgive me for this. I don't know what happened, or why, or even exactly when, but I fell in love with you. You were the best friend I ever had, and one night I woke up and realized I'd been dreaming about you, about us � I didn't want it to happen that way. I know you're not interested. I think you could have accepted me being gay, but I've always been terrified that you'd hate me for this. But if I'm gone, I just want you to know you were the only person I ever really loved � I hope you can accept that, and remember me fondly � All my love Mike Tears streamed down Lennie's cheeks as he read the words. "I loved you too, Mikey �." Continue on to Chapter 9 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
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