The Reckoning - BLACKBIRD book 3

2. director's cut

Russell knocked on Brock's door, stuck in his head and said, "Cooper's office."

Brock dropped the file he wasn't really reading and followed right away. He'd seen Section Chief Roy Cassidy walk in with Cooper a while ago, and expected to be called. He was surprised the new Section Chief had come personally, but he was actually glad Cassidy was there, proving he was nothing like Burton—who would've just called Cooper from DC, instead of taking the first morning flight to Boston.

Cooper, Cassidy and Russell watched TV, and they hardly glanced at Brock when he knocked and came in. So he closed the door and stood there, watching the press conference with them. As soon as it was over, Cooper turned the TV off and Cassidy faced them, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay, that was a nice act. Now I wanna know what the hell did really happen yesterday," he said, calm and firm. "Agent Cooper already gave me a more realistic official version than what we just heard. You guys were there, so I wanna hear your story."

Brock and Russell traded a look, which made Cassidy frown, and Russell said, "We had only five hostages left inside when Superintendent Gillian sent SWAT in. We were able to get them out back through a window, unharmed."

"Really." Cassidy's voice oozed irony. "That's it."

"Pretty much, sir, yes," said Brock.

Cassidy stared at them. "Tell me, Agents, how much of a goddamn jerk d'you think I am?"

Brock and Cooper stiffened at his words. Russell couldn't help a scoff, and to Brock's shock, he asked, "Alright. Do you want the theatre teaser or the director's cut, sir?"

Cassidy flashed a tight smile and rested against a modular, folding his arms as he turned to Cooper. "Can we have some coffee, please?"

It took them about an hour and two rounds of coffee to complete the story from the beginning, when they were called to Lawrence about the murder of Collin Palmer's killers. Cassidy listened to them, interrupting only a few times with very specific questions. He rested against the modular for a while, then sat down in a couch and finally stood up and started to pace slowly about the office, hands in his pockets. When they were done, silence pooled in the office for two whole minutes, until he faced them again.

"You say it was Lieutenant Gillian, with the SCU, who worked as your inside man and got the last hostages out alive."

Brock nodded. "Yes, sir." And in the process she almost got shot in the head not once but twice, but that's her concept of a day at the office, sir.

"Actually, sir, she helped us to get all of them out alive," said Russell.

"Then why was her father and not her at the press conference?"

"Because she quit yesterday, sir. She's no longer a Boston PD officer."

Cassidy noticed Brock's and Cooper's jolt at those words. "She quit? She saved twenty hostages, only one wounded, and she resigned?"

Russell replied with a slight shrug, "Her own father ordered SWAT to breach hard, knowing she was still in there, sir. She's not willing to overlook that. Had it not been for Agent Brockner, she would've been shot down with the subject."

Cassidy turned to Brock and arched only one eyebrow. He nodded, feeling utterly awkward. Yeah, I saved her. Sort of a hobby I've acquired of late, sir.

"And what about the rest of her unit?"

"They're all resigning as well."

Cooper needed all of her Iron Lady's trademark self-control not to jump to her feet. "All of them?" she breathed. "The whole unit?"

Brock saw the smirk Cassidy managed to hide as he said, "So right now they must be looking for a job."

"They're meeting with the State Police brass as we speak, sir, to confirm their status with them and try to make it permanent."

"You seem to be well informed of their whereabouts, Coleman."

Russell overlooked the irony, too used to people getting the wrong idea about him and Gillian. "I am, sir."

Cassidy took two strides across the office, popped out his head only enough to ask Cooper's assistant for more coffee and closed back the door with his little smile.

"Tell me about them. Agent Cooper here thinks they would be an excellent acquisition for the Bureau."

"They were the best of the Boston PD in their fields, and over the year they worked together, they became a tight, solid team," replied Russell right away.

"Tell me about it, if they're all resigning after their Unit Chief. And do you think they cut it to be recruited? Would they fit in?"

Russell nodded. Cassidy noticed Brock's lips pressed together in a tight line. He sat again in the couch and looked up at Brock.

"You don't agree, Agent Brockner?"

Brock ignored Russell's warning look. "If I may speak freely, sir, I don't."