Author's Note: This story is a continuation of a series. It has been a long time since I submitted a chapter, so if you aren't familiar with it, I would suggest reading the first two chapters before starting on this one. Hopefully you enjoy...it's been a long time in coming. And now...Chapter 3...
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Daniel walked into the station, his mind set with one goal as he started searching for Justin McCartney. The office was relatively empty this morning and one of the other officers said something about McCartney watching television. Sure enough, Daniel found him in the break room, Justin's long legs propped up on a table as he watched some talk show, his brown eyes staring intently at the screen. With his arms crossed in front of him, he looked imposing, stony, and silent.
"We need to talk." Daniel said, pulling off his coat as he sat down at the opposite end of the table, wondering why the office had been so empty.
"About?" Justin asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.
Daniel turned and looked up at the screen, shaking his head at some cross dresser who was trying to convince his wife to stay with him although he had just confessed his secret to her. Getting up as the host asked a ridiculous question and the crowd cheered in the background, Daniel turned off the television and turned back to face McCartney.
"Rory." He said simply, watching as Justin sighed and picked his feet up off the table and sat upright in his chair, his gaze now locked on Daniel. "What happened to her?"
"She was shot." Justin said with a shrug.
"No shit. Who shot her?" Daniel asked, not backing down as he took his seat again across from the Sergeant, not afraid to lock horns with him to gain information.
McCartney glared at Daniel for a moment, sizing him up before letting out a small sigh and leaning back in his chair slightly. "Her partner shot her, the bastard. Is that what you wanted to hear? He shot her with intent to kill and it was only by the grace of God that one of our men on backup reached her in time."
"And his motive was...?"
"Money does strange things to people." He said with a shake of his head and a laugh. "If I were to offer you a million dollars to walk to the fifth floor and shoot Deputy Morrison because I just don't like his face, would you do it?" He asked, his deep gruff voice filling the small space.
Daniel looked at him as if he were crazy, his mind toying with the idea. "No. You'd have to give me a better reason than that." He said after a while, making McCartney nod slightly as if he agreed with the decision.
"Well, Victor Ortiz did. He was going to make three million easily from Arturo Sagranda. All he had to do was prove himself and, between you and me, he took the coward's way out."
"Who's Arturo Sagranda?" Daniel asked, furrowing his brow in confusion as he tried to get the story straight.
"Drug lord. Been dead for three months now. Killed in a drive by just outside his extra secure house. Got exactly what he deserved."
Daniel leaned back in his chair slightly, still confused, something that McCartney picked on with a sigh as he ran his hands through his short brown hair in frustration.
"Okay. Rory wasn't always like this." He began, his voice taking on a nostalgic tone. "I've known her for five years now. Ever since she entered William and Mary with the intent of going into law enforcement."
"How could you know Rory then? I mean, you have to be at least thirty years old." Daniel said with a frown, convinced that he wasn't getting the complete truth.
"Thirty-one in July." McCartney said with a smirk. "I was doing graduate work, just trying to broaden my horizon, when I met this young coed who had a smile that would melt your heart. She was smart, pretty, with a wicked sense of humor. I wouldn't have hesitated to snatch her up for myself if I weren't already engaged to my wife, Laura."
"Wait. If you met Rory five years ago, how old is she?"
"Twenty-five. Young, I know, but with more experience that any other detective in this building could ever hope to get in their career." Justin said as Daniel listened on in amazement. "Quantico snatched her up without a second thought in her junior year, but she could never really see herself working there. She wanted to be part of the city, one of those crusaders who makes life better for everyone else. Rory became a profiler, one of the best in her field."
"What did her parents have to say about all that?" Daniel asked, remembering the family portrait that hung in her apartment.
"They're dead. Car accident when she was ten. She and her brother were raised by an elderly grandmother in Virginia, although she's a born New Yorker. Her brother killed himself when he was sixteen, something that Rory never really got over. In some ways, she still blames herself for letting him get that far away from her."
Daniel sat in stunned silence for a few moments as Justin got up and poured himself a cup of coffee, making a noise of disgust as he dropped the sour mix into the trash and started making a fresh pot.
"How do you know all this about her?" He asked, as Justin searched through the cabinets for the coffee can.
"Like I said, I've known her for a long time. She's one of my best friends, and I swear to God," He said, turning from his quest for coffee to give Daniel a heated glance. "You hurt her and I'll kill you personally."
"I have no intention of hurting her." Daniel said defensively, disturbed by McCartney's sudden change of emotion. "What was she doing when she got shot?"
