8"Bingo!" he cried. "We've hit the jackpot!" Steve was pointing at one of the files he had been looking at.
"Steve, you may just be on to something!" The call Tanis had received moments before from the precinct had told her that Riley Cavinger had recently escaped from prison, but she knew she needed something more to convince anyone else he was the killer. Steve had just found what she was looking for.
"I think Dad will be glad to see that! Now we just need to do something about it." Steve reached for the phone to call the station. He got all the right things in order and hung up, looking smugly at his partner. "Now this guy will get what he deserves."
"Steve, I'm glad we're finally getting to the bottom of this. Now all we have to do is wait for Captain Newman to call back and then we can put your father's mind at ease." She couldn't wait to finally wrap this case up. She was as determined as Steve to give this guy what he deserved. She only wished he could be there with her to help with the capture, but she knew better than to cross Mark and help Steve escape. She thought smugly about how little chance he had of sneaking out. Just then the phone rang and she got back to her work searching the files for anything that would be helpful to the case.
Steve was trying to think of where they could look for Riley. "Why don't you try the place where we found him the last time we were looking for him?... There is that possibility, but we could place surveillance on the building and check it out first... Thank you, Sir. I will. Buh-bye."
"What is that smile for, Sloan?" Tanis asked.
"Well, we needed to find out how to get Riley to find out about our little setup. We figured that we could have someone wander into the building where he was living before we arrested him after we make sure he's there. Since it's abandoned, there's no risk to have them do this. They will wander through and mention the drop rather loudly and we will have our setup."
"Steve, you really are good. Now what are we going to do?"
"We are going to wait for a call with the confirmation of our plan." Steve said all this with a smile on his face. He was finally going to get this killer locked up and for good this time. For now he was content to work on the evidence he would need in court.
"I hope Steve will be asleep when we get up there," Mark commented to Jesse and Amanda as they entered the hospital.
"Get real, Mark," Amanda said. "We're lucky he's still here, nevermind following orders." Everyone laughed at this and headed into Steve's room.
"I think Dad will be pleased with this!" Steve was saying to Tanis.
"Pleased with what?" asked Mark as he walked into his son's room. Steve was so excited about what he had found he could barely contain himself.
"Well, look at this," he replied, handing his father a picture.
"This is a picture of the first murder scene. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Remember the note that he left pinned to his chest? It read, 'I'll come back for you rats: cops and snitches alike. Then you'll all get your due.' He left that note on the body and he left his gun in the alley with a good set of prints on it. Now, you wanna guess what we found in the alley where most of the murders were committed?"
"A gun," mused Amanda. "Now, Steve, I know that's pretty good to us, but it won't do much good in court. That's not enough to get him."
"She's right, Steve. He's smart; he'll know we don't have enough and he'll use that against us. He could say it was a copycat crime."
"That theory would work except for the fact that the gun thing was never released to the press. Now, the only way we're gonna catch this guy is to catch him in the act. We called the precinct and set up a very well-known drop. We made sure we spread the word. The guy who will be making the drop is actually an officer from burglary named Dillan Pulyerkov. We've had him followed all day just in case Cavinger decides to hit him early. Later he'll lead Cavinger into a trap and try to get him to confess. We'll pick it up on a bug Dillan will be wearing and go in for the kill, so to speak."
"Well, it looks like you've been a busy little bee planning this little rendezvous. The question is: have you been a sleeping little bee?" Mark asked his son.
"Dad, you know I have to get to the bottom of this. There's only one thing left to do. Tanis, I'm going to need my clothes back." At her incredulous look, Steve commented, "I wasn't asleep. Now hand them over."
"No way, Steve! You are going to stay here and get your rest. We'll let you know what happens," Tanis stated. She wasn't about to let him get out of the hospital, and she knew he wouldn't be caught dead in a hospital gown in public.
"Steve, I want you to try and get some rest!" his father ordered.
"OK, Dad, I'll try," Steve lied.
"Don't worry, Steve. We'll get him," he said as he closed the door behind him, being the last one out the door, leaving Steve alone.
"Darn right we will," Steve said under his breath. "Now, what was the combination to dad's locker?" Steve got up slowly, carefully, doing his best not to add to the excruciating pain he was experiencing. It wasn't working. He snuck past the guards that had been placed and went down to the employee lockers, quickly retrieving and utilizing the change of clothes his father always kept in his locker. He looked down at his legs, which were clad in pants that were a bit too short. "At least it's better than a hospital gown," he thought, tossing his into the garbage can before walking to the parking lot where his father had brought his truck. "Thank you, Dad," he said as he climbed into the driver's seat and drove out of the parking lot.
"Mark, what is Steve doing here?" Amanda asked, seeing Steve pulling up to the scene.
"What are you talking about? Steve is in the hospital getting some res- what is Steve doing here?" he repeated.
"Hey, Dad," Steve remarked, knowing he was seen.
"What are you doing here? And why are you wearing my clothes? What are you think-"
"Dad, I know what you are going to say. Just let me say this before you start: You know you would do the same thing if you were in my position. You wouldn't be able to sit still knowing what was happening while you were asleep. Now I'm here to help and there's nothing you can do about it!" Steve had resolved to stay as long as there was still something he could do, and his father knew how stubborn he was. But he knew how stubborn Mark could be as well.
"Fine, you can stay, but you will park yourself in this chair the whole time you're here and you go straight back to the hospital afterwards. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Dad," Steve replied, not wishing to cross his father again. He already knew he was in for it when they were alone.
"Quiet down, everybody. It's showtime!" Captain Newman had come to personally oversee everything. He shot Steve an icy glare that told him he had been caught. Now he had to answer to him as well. Just then Dillan rounded the corner with Riley close in tow. "Here we go!"
"Hey, rat! What's your hurry?" Cavinger called out. Dillan turned around quickly.
"What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound scared. When he saw the .32 special that he had pulled out of its ankle holster and was waving at him, though, his fear was no longer an act.
"I just want to settle an old score," he told him, slowly closing the gap between himself and the officer. "You are going to join your little friends in death."
"So it was you who killed those other informants!" Dillan exclaimed, as if just noticing for the first time.
"Of course it was me. I killed them and that cop. The cop was probably the best kill of them all for me. I needed to see him die so badly, almost like I need to see you die. And now comes the reunion with your dear old dead friends!" he exclaimed as he aimed and cocked his gun.
Steve couldn't just sit around and watch this. All the other officers had left to get into their positions as soon as they had his confession and had not heard the threat at the end of that statement. Now it was up to him to save Dillan's life. He stood up a little too quickly, having momentarily forgotten his pain. He was quickly reminded and waited a second before proceeding, gun drawn.
"Hold it, Cavinger!" he ordered, walking into his line of vision. "Fire one bullet and you die!"
"What the-" the temporary distraction and the shock of seeing a man who he thought he was dead standing in front of him with his gun drawn and aimed at his head caused him to be distracted. Dillan took the opportunity to take the gun from Riley and pointed it at his head.
"Get down on the ground, Cavinger," Steve ordered, waiting for Dillan to pull out his handcuffs to arrest the man. In a last-ditch effort, Riley pretended to comply, but as soon as Dillan went to arrest him he sent a swift kick to the back of his knees, causing them to give way beneath him. He landed on the ground with a thud, his head hitting hard, rendering him unconscious. He retrieved the forgotten gun and pointed it at his head. Dillan quickly regained consciousness and was pulled roughly up to his feet, positioned so he was facing the gunman who was pointing a gun at his temple.
"I don't think you want to do that. If you pull that trigger you will have twenty officers open fire with their shots aimed at your head." Dillan knew he needed to keep him occupied while Steve was moving into position behind Riley.
"And what makes you think the cops would care that much about a rat? I don't think-" He was abruptly cut off in mid-sentence when Steve whacked him over the head hard with the butt of his gun.
"That's right," Steve said. "You don't think." He was now feeling the impact of everything he had done that day, and he quickly found a wall to lean on so he would remain standing.
"Steve," Mark said above the noise that the officers were making as they swarmed the scene, "you are going back to the hospital." Steve was too tired and in too much pain to argue with his father, so he allowed Mark to lead him to his car and drive him carefully back to Community General.
"Hey, guys!" Jesse called cheerfully into Steve's room. Mark had been there since Steve had checked in, trying to prevent a repeat performance of the great escape. He had weariness written all over his face, but he wouldn't risk having his son escape again.
"Hi, Steve, Mark. How are you holding up?" Amanda asked. She saw the exhaustion on Mark's face and the carefully hidden pain on Steve's. Jesse had overlooked this little fact, but he didn't need to see it; he already knew it was there.
"I'm fine, thank you, Amanda. I'm just sick of being here. Jess, can I go home? Please! My father will be there and he can watch me and I promise I'll follow all his instructions," Steve pleaded.
"Yeah, we all know how well you do that! You are staying here until I decide you can go home, and no amount of threatening will make me change my mind. I'm more scared of the wrath of Mark than I am of you. By the way, how did you fare once he got a hold of you? Did you get in too much trouble? Do you have any new injuries I need to take care of?"
Steve laughed at Jesse, quickly regretting his decision to do so. He hastily straightened out his face and answered Jesse.
"I think I did a lot better than I would have if I wasn't lying flat on my back in a hospital bed. Now I'm afraid of what he'll do to you," he teased, reminding him of the fact that he was not responsible in the strangest way possible. Steve and Mark both tried to suppress a yawn as Jesse began his response.
"I think I'll be allright. I need to go finish my rounds now. I just wanted to tell you that Riley's convictions brought his total up to five murders, two attempted murders, possession of a deadly weapon, possession of drugs, sale of drugs to minors... You can stop me any time now!" The list of charges was so long you could write a college essay in less space than you could his rap sheet. "Steve, you need to get some sleep. Mark, why don't you go home and get some sleep as well?"
"I think I'll stay right here and keep my eye on little Mr. Jailbird over here," he ribbed. He was not about to let Steve go again.
Amanda, as if reading his mind, told him quickly, "We'll keep an eye out for him. All the nurses on this floor have his picture and know that he is not allowed out of his room. Mark, go home and get some sleep."
"All right," he relented, allowing himself to be guided out the door and toward the parking lot. Finally he could sleep in peace knowing that his son was safe and sound, even if he was in the hospital. But, then again, at least he was being taken care of. Mark drifted off into a peaceful sleep, dreaming about his son.