Fan Fiction

Part I: Crockett's Return
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8

Part II: New Beginnings
Chapter 9 :: Chapter 10 :: Chapter 11 :: Chapter 12 :: Chapter 13 :: Chapter 14 :: Chapter 15 :: Chapter 16

A somber mood permeated the office the next morning. Most of the people in the unit knew Jessica from her work with the Streetcar and news of her death had spread quickly. That was definitely the downside to this plan, friends and colleagues thinking that Jess was gone. And after it was all over, she was the one who would have to face those friends and colleagues and get her life back on track. But Crockett figured it was a small price to pay for her life. One thing he was grateful for at least, was the fact that the only people who knew about his relationship with Jess were the people who were in on the scheme. Otherwise he knew he would have to deal with condolences and expressions of sympathy, and he didn’t really feel up to that.

But Crockett had forgotten about Tiger. It wasn’t long after he arrived, that the young lady whizzed into the squad and stormed over to his desk.

"What the hell are you doing Sunshine?" That she was more than a bit upset was obvious. "You sitting here like nuthin’ happened?" You ain’t doing nuthin’? What kind o’ dick are you? - you bastard!"

Sonny grabbed her arm and dragged her into the briefing room, slamming the door behind them. Once inside the room, Tiger pulled her arm from his grasp and continued her tirade.

"You was her main man! You was supposed to look after her. You was there and you did nuthin’. It’s you’re fault Jessica’s dead!" Her voice was filled with anger and her eyes were filled tears as she tried to deal with the pain of losing the only person who had ever done her a good turn in the whole of her young life.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" she screamed at him, beating her fists into his chest. "She was my friend," she cried out. "She was my only friend."

Sonny grabbed her arms and forced them down. Then he grabbed her in a comforting hug, guiding her head onto his shoulders. He made a decision right then and there that he knew he would have to answer to Marty for, but he decided it was his call and he made it.

"Hang on Tiger," he said in a soft voice barely audible above the sobs. "Jessica’s okay. She’s not really gone."

She pulled back from him and stared at him in disbelief. "Don’t dis me Sunshine. I saw it in the paper and everyone’s talking about it. You tellin’ me it ain’t so?"

He sat her down at the table and, turning the chair around backwards, he sat down facing her. Resting his arms on the back of the chair he told her as much as she needed to about what had happened to assure her that Jessica was indeed still alive. He was just finishing when Castillo came through the door. The lieutenant took a quick at the situation and immediately figured out what had happened. He stared at the detective and uttered just two words in an icy voice that meant business, "My office."

Crockett told Tiger to stay there and followed his boss into his office. Closing the door behind him, Crockett got in the first words.

"It was my decision to tell her."

"Why?" was the one-word response.

"It seemed like the right thing to do."

Castillo said nothing but the icy stare from his dark brown eyes clearly indicated his displeasure. He felt himself wondering whether he had done the right thing in bringing Crockett back on board.

"She’d be trouble, Marty, if we didn’t tell her," Crockett explained. "She won’t say a thing. Jessica is everything to her. She won’t do anything that could hurt her. I know it." He walked over to the desk and leaning his hands on the surface stared into the lieutenant’s eyes. "There’s something about that crazy young lady that I like. I don’t know what it is. Telling her the truth just felt like the right thing to do. I can’t explain it- it just felt right."

Crockett had always been a loose cannon, doing things his own way. It had taken Castillo a while to get used to that when he first joined the OCB, but he had come to accept that part of the detective’s nature. Mainly it was because, when Crockett acted on his gut feelings, even when he went against a direct order, he was almost always right. Over the years, Marty had come to rely on those instincts. Since Crockett had left, that insight and initiative had been missing under his command. Remembering how it used to be, the anger slowly subsided. Castillo’s voice, like always, was unemotional, never rising above it’s normal level.

"It’s on your head Crockett. I’ll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong." It almost seemed like a senseless warning to Castillo. He knew that if anything went wrong Crockett would punish himself more than he ever could.

Crockett spent the rest of the day catching up on the remaining case files and helping out on assignments when needed, coaching and mentoring, offering guidance and suggestions. The unit had its work to do. Driscoll and Cortillas paid a visit to Alberto, but still there was no word on who Sanchez’ new partner might be. Rico went out on a surveillance job with Stan. Stan had developed a new listening device and Rico was anxious to see how it worked. If it did what Stan said it could do, it was something he definitely wanted to take home to New York with him. Trudy was out with some new girls, keeping an eye on things, making sure everything was running smoothly. And Tiger - she played her role perfectly. Sony had told her that he didn’t want the rest of the squad knowing about him and Jess as it would make it very difficult to do his job. She played the angry young street kid to a tee. It was probably because, before she was rescued by Jessica, that’s exactly what she had been.

In the afternoon, Marty headed off to headquarters downtown. He would be spending the next few days there and left Crockett in charge. All he asked was to be notified if anything major broke on any of the cases.

That evening Sonny took Tiger with him to visit Jessica in the hospital. He couldn’t believe the progress she had made in just one day. She was awake and talking, weakly for sure, but she was talking, and even starting to sip clear liquids. She still had a long way to go, but she was a whole lot better than that first night in intensive care. Before they left, Jessica had a personal message for her protegé.

"Take care of him for me Tiger, until I can get out here."

The young lady pointed her thumb with a nail covered in vibrant purple polish and sparkles to the ceiling. "You got it," she said with a wink and then turned to leave with Sonny.

It was Thursday morning when the call finally came in from Jorge Esteban, alias Julio Sanchez. Sonny Burnett was cordially invited to dinner and a concert of Colombian music at the consulate that evening - and perhaps they might do a bit of business on the side.

At last the waiting was over. The action would get underway tonight. If he played it right, maybe he could get the name of the mysterious new partner and set the trap for Sanchez at the same time. Castillo and Tubbs didn’t like the idea of Sonny going into the lion’s den alone, but the invite had specifically been only for him. If they wanted to keep the play going, he would have to make this first meet alone.

The dinner was excellent, the music entertaining and the Cuban cigars superb. Esteban passed them out as they sauntered along the sea wall bordering the consulate’s waterside during the reception following the concert. While they were strolling, Esteban’s cell phone sounded and he excused himself to take the call.

"That's him," the voice on the other side said with confidence. It was coming from a cabin cruiser slowly sailing past a few hundred feet offshore. The person on the other end of the line was viewing Crockett through high-powered night-vision binoculars.

"Make the deal as we discussed. Saturday night for the trial run," the voice said. "Make the big buy for next Wednesday. That will give us time to get everything together and tie up all the loose ends at one time. I predict that next Wednesday will be the start of what should prove to be a very profitable business enterprise for the both of us."

"I’m looking forward to doing business with you senor," Esteban replied. "Adios amigo," he ended, closing the cover on the cell. This new partner would bear watching, but for now he was a needed asset to get trading underway in Miami.

Burnett was not too pleased with the idea of a ‘trial run’. Cooper was anxious to get back to New York, he pointed out, and he could lose the deal entirely if the buyer had to wait much longer. And besides, Burnett figured he had already proven himself to Sanchez.

"I don’t think so Mr. Burnett. If you remember, you never did complete delivery of my product to the buyer. I would say that it is I who needs proof you can hold up your end of the deal." He took an extended drag on the cigar and blew the smoke out slowly, savoring the taste.

"You will meet me at my boat outside American waters to pick up and deliver three kilos of Colombia’s finest to the location I will give you at that time. I will call you Saturday with the location of my boat. Keep your cell phone on Mr. Burnett. I would hate for you to miss my call."

Is that when I meet your new partner?" Sonny asked.

"New partner? Mr. Burnett, where did you get the idea that I have a partner?"

"Like I said before, Sanchez, it’s my business to know these things. I haven’t survived this long not knowing what was goin’ on around me," Sonny said flicking what was left of his cigar into the water. "And another thing Julio - Cooper wants to make the buy directly from you. For some reason he doesn’t trust me to make full delivery. He wants you there…… if he hangs around ‘til Wednesday that is."

"That should be no problem Mr. Burnett. My contact will have his people at the delivery location on Saturday night. If everything goes well, you can tell Mr. Cooper that I will be there in person next Wednesday to make sure everything goes as planned. It will be my pleasure."

"But a new partner?" the Colombian said rhetorically. "If I did have a new partner, I am sure he would prefer to introduce himself to you personally." Esteban took another long draw on the cigar, and after exhaling the smoke, he continued. "One other thing, Mr. Burnett - in Miami, I am Jorge Esteban. I have never even heard of anyone named Julio Sanchez. Is that clear?"

"Sure thing Jorge," Sonny agreed, shrugging his shoulders. Then they shook hands on the deal and Sonny left, leaving Esteban standing on the sea wall enjoying the last few draws on his cigar.

"Yes Detective Crockett," Esteban chuckled to himself, as he watched Sonny heading back across the grounds. "Everything will go exactly as planned."

Part I: Crockett's Return
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8

Part II: New Beginnings
Chapter 9 :: Chapter 10 :: Chapter 11 :: Chapter 12 :: Chapter 13 :: Chapter 14 :: Chapter 15 :: Chapter 16