Fan Fiction

Part I: Rebirth
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8

Part II: Reunion
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8

McClary, Costas and Castillo spent the day making sure everything was in order. There was no way that they were going to let Fuente get out of the trap. The place would be full of FBI Agents and Dade County cops. Castillo had cancelled all leave for his people. They would all be waiting at the river tonight to help reel in Fuente. They would also be watching out for Ricardo, just in case Fuente brought him along -- he owed that to Rico at least.

At the safe house on Key Biscayne, Sonny and Rico were restless and irritable. Even Billy's wizardry on the computer could not help them locate when or where the bust was going down. It was so frustrating. "God I hate Miami," thought Crockett. Castillo had promised to call them right after it went down, but that didn't make them feel any better.

The hours dragged on. Maria spent the day in her room with Rosita. Caroline passed the time reading. Billy absorbed himself in the computer. Sonny and Rico drove into town on the excuse of picking up Rico's rented car. They dropped by OCB, hoping to get something, but no one was there. This was an FBI bust and they were all at the bureau for the pre-meet briefing. There was nothing there that could give them the slightest clue as to where Fuente was coming in, so they headed back to the safe house and waited.

The time drifted by too slowly but finally, day passed into night. It was a dark, moonless night, with a gentle breeze from the north that cooled the sweltering heat to a comfortable warmth. The perfect night for a takedown, and they were stuck here waiting, not even knowing how long they'd have to wait.

Finally, the phone rang exploding into the uneasy silence. Sonny jumped on it and grabbed the receiver.

"Yeah, Crockett here."

But it wasn't Castillo. It was Ricardo! The noise in the background almost drowned out his words, and he was talking softly, like he was trying not be overheard. Sonny called Rico, put the phone on speaker and let Ricardo talk. He was in a seaplane with Fuente. Fuente didn't trust Garcia -- the story about the boat on the river was a setup. Fuente had his own man in the bank. They were on their way to someplace called Virginia Key, and were almost there. Fuente's man was going to meet them there with the money. Before they could get any more details, the phone went dead. They hoped it was because Ricardo had hung up.

"Shit!" Sonny called out. If Ricardo had got through on the cell, they had to be close -- the cell phone didn't have that great a range. Virginia Key was just down the road from where they were, and a long way from the river. There was no way Castillo and the others could get there on time.

Sonny and Rico didn't need to discuss plans. They raced up the stairs and grabbed their weapons. On the way out of his room, Sonny ran into Caroline and told her what was happening. As he continued down the stairs, he called out to her. "Castillo's cell number is by the phone -- call him and tell him what's going down and tell him to meet us there."

She knew it was no use asking him not to go. This was Sonny in his element and nothing would hold him back. As he bolted out the door, she picked up the phone, and dialled the number Castillo had left.

Sonny and Rico sped out to the Barchetta, jumped in and fired it up. It was only a short drive from Key Biscayne to Virginia Key, but it seemed to take forever. As they crossed the causeway, they saw the plane coming in and headed over to where it was landing. Sonny cut the lights as they approached and parked the car a short distance away, keeping an eye on the plane as it taxied in to shore. Rico called Castillo on his cell phone and gave him the exact location where the plane had come in. But they knew there was no way that the backup would get there on time.

After they had left, Billy had grabbed the keys to Rico's rental car, and followed them down the road, far enough behind to not raise suspicion, but close enough to keep them in view. Sonny and Rico had been too intent on getting to the plane to notice the tail behind.

He saw the Barchetta stop and Rico and Sonny get out and creep silently towards the water. Fuente was already on shore talking to his man from the bank. Ramon was standing a short distance away keeping watch, his machine pistol at the ready. Ricardo was nowhere in sight. He saw Sonny circle around to the other side and then he saw the two of them approach together from opposite sides, guns drawn.

"Miami Vice," Rico called out. "Drop your weapons. You're under arrest!" His gun was aimed directly at Fuente, Sonny's at Ramon. The man from the bank ran off into the darkness with the suitcase of money. They let him go. They weren't after him, and he could be picked up any time.

Ramon pointed his gun at Rico, but Rico kept his eyes and gun pointed at Fuente. "Tell him to drop it or you're history." The silence seemed to last forever, but it was only a few seconds. Fuente moved his hands to his sides. "Keep your hands high! Move one inch Fuente and you're a dead man!" Rico had raised his voice a few notches. Fuente raised his arms slowly, and then a smile came over his face.

"Perhaps you'd like to see your son again Detective Tubbs," he laughed. "Take a look behind you?"

Rico kept his sights on Fuente, but Sonny looked towards the water. Carlos and Ricardo were standing beside the plane. Carlos had the kid in an armlock with a gun pointed at his head.

"Drop your guns or Carlos will blow the kid's head off."

"If he does, you're dead."

"So what, I've got nothing to lose. You think I'm gonna rot in prison. I'd rather be dead. You, on the other hand do have something to lose. Your choice -- 5 seconds -- starting now."

Sonny and Rico needed to buy some time. Castillo would be here soon with McClary and Costas -- they hoped. "Wait," Rico called out. "If we let you go, Ricardo stays here with us. Your life for his. Comprende?"

Fuente laughed. "The kid's useless to me after I leave here, but he comes with me just to be sure you don't try anything. He can do whatever he wants after I get where I'm going."

"No way. We'll drop the weapons, but he stays now and we all walk away from here," Rico responded.

"You drive a hard bargain detective, but the answer is no. I give you my word. You drop your guns now and I'll let the kid go when I'm away from here. You can trust me Tubbs. Didn't Maria tell you I always keep my word? Three seconds left. One...Two..."

They couldn't take the chance. They knew Fuente was crazy enough and desperate enough to give the order to kill Ricardo. Time had run out. Sonny and Rico dropped their weapons. Ramon walked over, his pistol aimed at them the whole time, and kicked the guns away.

"Now if you two gentleman would be so kind as to lie down on the ground and put your hands behind your heads," Fuente sniggered.

Sonny started to protest, but Fuente interrupted him. "You're in no position to argue, Crockett. On the ground."

"This is not good," thought Sonny, but they both slowly did as they were told, keeping their eyes on Fuente as long as they could. When was that backup coming?

Fuente looked to Ramon, and motioned him over to where they were lying. When Ramon was standing over them, Fuente looked down at them and said laughingly. "I promised I wouldn't hurt the boy, but I didn't say anything about you two." He looked back at Ramon. "Shoot them."

As he gave the order, a voice from the darkness behind him shouted out, "Not so fast Ramon! Back off or your boss is a dead man!"

"Wait!" Fuente cried out

Fuente turned around and saw Billy standing a few feet behind him with a gun aimed directly at his head. "You haven't got the guts," he said with disdain in his voice.

"The kid can't do it," piped in Ramon. I saw him at the airport shaking like a leaf. He'll never pull the trigger."

"You wanna bet your life on it, Fuente?" Billy responded. "This time I have a reason. I may never have shot anyone before, but from this close, even I can't miss. You let my old man and Tubbs go, and you can get on that plane. If not, you're a dead man." Billy was running on pure adrenaline. Somehow he had managed to keep the terror he was feeling out of his voice, and Fuente couldn't see his hands shaking. He had played chicken many times and usually won, but he had never played with stakes this high before.

Sonny couldn't believe what was happening. He looked over at Rico with an astonished look in his eyes. How the heck did Billy get here and where did that gun come from? His heart told him to get up and do something but his head knew that he couldn't. He'd have to let it play out - it was Billy's game for now.

Fuente hesitated. Billy was an unknown quantity. Ramon had said the kid was soft, but it sure didn't seem like it. He was just about to make a decision when the sound of cars screeching to a stop sliced through the air. The diversion was enough to allow Crockett to roll into Ramon, knocking him off his feet, but not before the thug got off one shot. Sonny recovered first. He jumped on Ramon, pinned him down with his left, and with his right, punched with all his might into the sweet spot on the man's chin. Ramon's eyes went blank. Sonny continued to hold him down, using the man's body as a brace, and once more for insurance, pounded his fist into Ramon's face. Memories of the island flooded into Sonny's brain. He felt like hitting and hitting -- hoping it would make the memories go away. But he held back. He was not going to be the reason that this creep walked on a technicality.

As soon as things started happening, Fuente made a dash for the plane. Rico jumped up and chased after him. He caught him before he made the doorway and landed him with a flying tackle.

The screeching tires startled Carlos momentarily. Ricardo sensed his opportunity, ducked his head, jabbed Carlos in the chest with the back of his elbow and then turned around and landed a strong left uppercut, knocking the man backwards as his gun flew out of his hands.

And then they were surrounded by police and federal agents. "Drop your weapons and surrender," McClary called out over the car's speaker system. "This is the FBI. You're under arrest." The action was over almost as quickly as it began, following the seemingly endless tension that preceded it.

"Whew! That was a close one," thought Sonny as he stood beside Ramon's lifeless body, rubbing the bleeding knuckles of his right hand. And then he remembered Billy. He looked over to where he had been standing, and saw a body lying on the ground.

"OH GOD, NO!" He ran over, the blood pounding in his head, a feeling of dread in his chest. But as he got there, Billy sat up. "Is it over yet," he asked as Sonny helped pull him to his feet.

The relief was overwhelming. He threw his arms around his son and hugged him tightly. Then he remembered that Billy had no business being here. He drew back, and looked at him. "What the hell did you think you were doing coming here like that?"

"I told you you needed me to look after you dad," Billy replied with a grin.

"Oh really?" Sonny shook his head and then laughed. "Ahhhhh. Go on." He smiled a devilish smile and shook his index finger. "You know you just got me into some major deep trouble with your mother don't you?" And they both laughed together.

Costas came over to see Crockett. "Well we've got Fuente on the Bureau charges, but we still don't have him for contraband."

Seeing Costas standing there, Rico came over with Ricardo under his wing. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Costas. Ricardo here says there's 20 kilos of number 1 nose dust in the back compartment. That should be enough to get things rolling from your end, I'd say."

Costas' faced beamed. "You're kidding. Right on - show us where it is kid."

Sonny turned to Billy, "Look I've got to stay here for a while. I'll get you an escort back to the house." He started heading off to make the arrangements, but then remembered he had to ask the kid something and he turned around. "By the way Billy, where'd you get that gun?"

"Oh it's mom's," he replied. She always keeps it around somewhere -- just thinks I don't know about it."

"Oh really?" The remark had a hint of surprise and a bit laughter in it both at the same time.

"And what's she gonna do when she finds out you took it?"

"I'll just slip it back before she knows anything about it."

They both had a big laugh over that one. He looked at the young man and shook his head, and saw his son in a very different light. The magnitude of what Billy had done finally came to him. He remembered the scene at the airport when he sent the kid packing, and he realised he hadn't known his son at all at the time. But now he felt he did. Caroline was right. Billy was a lot like himself, and he couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. Maybe if he'd have spent more time with him when he was younger he'd have known that before, but it was too late now to put that right. They'd just have to go on from here.

"I was wrong Billy. You don't need me to tell you what to do with your life. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess I did need your help after all." He shook his son's hand and then pulled him closer, resting his other arm on the young man's shoulder. It felt like he was greeting an old friend after a long absence. "Thanks kid," he said. Then he arranged for an officer to go back to the safe house with him. As his son drove off, he stood and watched, and for the first time, fully accepted the reality that Billy wasn't a kid anymore.

After Ricardo showed the federal officers where the cocaine was hidden, Rico, with Castillo's help, convinced Costas and McClary to let the boy go back to the safe house for the night. He and Sonny spent the rest of the night with the investigation team finishing the on-site examination and starting the paperwork back at OCB. By daybreak the words on the paper were losing focus and they finally decided to take a break for a while. Weary to the point of exhaustion, they decided to forego the long drive back to Key Biscayne, and instead crashed at the suite Tubbs had booked for them in town.

It was after noon before Sonny woke from a deep and well-deserved sleep, still feeling the effects of the events from the long night before. He put on a pot of coffee and headed for the shower. Rico came to with the smell of the fresh brewing java and the sound of the rushing water. He waited until Sonny was finished and then took his turn washing off the grime and sweat. Afterwards, over coffee, they rehashed what had happened the night before. It felt good to be going over a case together -- just like old times.

"Do you miss it Sonny?" Rico asked, "Being on the force I mean."

"Ask me that when I'm awake Rico. That was a long time ago and a million miles away."

He poured another cup of coffee, went out on the balcony and leaned over the railing. Rico followed him outside. It was another muggy Miami day. The hot, humid breeze did little to relieve the scorching heat that had once again descended on the city. As he stared out over the skyline, he was still thinking about last night.

"How would I have played it before Rico, when I was still your partner? I mean, would I have let Fuente take us like that? Billy played it out, and he's not even a cop. Am I getting too old for this sort of thing? Have I lost the edge?"

"You were playing two different hands Sonny. Like the song says man, you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. You threw it down to save Ricardo's life -- you'd have done that any time. But Billy -- he couldn't give in. We were dead men already. The only way for him to win was to play the hand to the end."

"Maybe Rico. I guess so." He turned around. "But for now, we've got some people to see and some things to do." He started heading back inside. "Come on, partner. Let's blow this pop stand."

They called Castillo and Costas to tell them that they were heading out to the safe house to pick up their things and then would be coming in to finish off the paperwork. Then they went downstairs, jumped into the Barchetta and headed out.

As they drove up to the house, Sonny saw Billy loading suitcases into the trunk of a car. He got out and went over to find out what was happening.

"I'm taking mom to the airport," he said.

Sonny felt a lump in his throat, and dull a dull ache in his chest. He headed inside the house and saw Caroline saying goodbye to Maria and Rosita. The two ladies backed away graciously as he approached, allowing Sonny and Caroline the privacy they needed. Sonny took her arm and led her outside over to the seawall where the palm trees were still standing guard. He needed to understand what was happening.

"Why are you going?" he pleaded.

"I've done a lot of thinking about this."

"But..." Sonny interrupted.

She didn't let him finish. "Let me talk Sonny." She wanted to look away, but he deserved to hear it what she had to tell him face to face. "We live in two different worlds Sonny. I can't see myself sailing around the Caribbean in a sailboat with you chasing after drug smugglers anymore than I could see you in Ocala getting together with the local bridge group on Wednesday nights. When I left before, I thought it was to protect Billy, but that wasn't really it. I didn't run away from you, I went back to who I was. There's a dreamer in me that will always be in love with you Sonny, but I can't live in your world. It's time for me to go back to my family. Your family is here with people like Rico and Castillo and all the other adrenaline junkies who live your way of life. Mine is someplace else."

Sonny could think of nothing to say. He knew inside that everything she said was true. Before he had left the recovery centre he had settled a lot of things in his mind, but not his feelings for Caroline. He had known that he would, at some point, have to come to grips with those feelings, and she had just laid them out for him. That part of him that sought peace and quiet loved her madly, but his real passion lay in another place, a place that she could not or would not enter. After all these years, nothing had changed. He was still hooked on the adrenaline rush.

"Billy's part of your world now. I think he always was. Take care of him, Sonny. And when you need a break from things and a quiet place to hang your hat for a while, my door will always be open."

She gave him a gentle peck on the cheek, then turned and walked towards the car. Sonny stood and watched her go. The dull ache was still there, but there was also a sense of relief that this was the right thing and that he understood one more part of his life just a little bit better.

After they left, Sonny went into the house and packed the few things he had there. Then he went outside to where Rico was waiting for him, jumped into the passenger seat of the Ferrari and threw the keys to Rico. "You drive," he said,

Rico climbed in, started up the engine and headed down the drive. "You okay Sonny?" he asked.

"You know Rico, for all these years I used to think that Caroline was the one who got away, but you know what?" It was a rhetorical question with no answer expected. "I never had her hooked in the first place. Drive on man."

As they continued down the road and over the bridge to Virginia Key, Rico asked Sonny if he had any plans.

"I dunno partner. I'm gonna head down to Salt Cay to pick up the Vitus II, and then I'll have to come back to Miami for a while to tie up all the ends around the Fuente case. But after that, I guess I'll just take it as she goes."

The sun was sinking into the western sky as they headed onto the Rickenbacker Causeway back into Miami. Looking out at the road stretching across the water Sonny thought, "God, I love Miami!"

Rico looked over at Sonny, and with a glint in his eyes asked his friend,

"Crockett, have you ever considered a job in southern law enforcement?"

"Maybe... Maaaybeee."

maaaybeee

Part I: Rebirth
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8

Part II: Reunion
Chapter 1 :: Chapter 2 :: Chapter 3 :: Chapter 4 :: Chapter 5 :: Chapter 6 :: Chapter 7 :: Chapter 8