Elena Serrano sat in her office, her chair back to her desk, looking out of the window, at the mostly empty parking lot. It was late, around one in the morning. She and the midnight shift were all alone, a scant amount of people all depressed together, it seemed. She hadn’t gone home in two days. After the failed bust in Queens, and the chewing out by Rollie and Angie, along with her Director, she was miserable and feeling very alone.

 

She didn’t really care about the Director or Angie...it was Rollie telling her that he didn’t want to see her again. She had hoped that by tailing his father and making a deal with him, that this would in someway, bring Rollie and she closer together. Now, with him married and not exactly happy that she was tailing Dingo, her plans and dreams were completely dashed. It made no sense to her now as to what she had done over the past two years. She pulled her long, black hair out of the barrette from the back of her neck and let her hair hang loose around her shoulders. She was about to try and get some sleep on her couch when there was a knock on her door. A junior agent working nights was standing there, as she opened the door. He pointed up at the surveillance night camera monitor.

 

"He’s asking for you, Assistant Director Serrano."

 

"Thanks, Williams..." Elena told him, and sighed. Looking at the monitor again, she saw the man clear his throat and straighten his thinning hair on top of his head. Dingo Tyler was calling on her.

 

 

Angie had tried to repeatedly call Sarah Gatti at home. She had only gotten the answering machine. Rollie, figuring that Francis was right to be steamed at him, settled for that and went on in to the set. Angie, still wanting to be redeemed, decided she would just go to the hospital first and check there before going to the Gatti’s. She couldn’t let this stay the way it was...

 

Once at the hospital, she saw Mira sitting with Sarah outside of the pediatric ward in the waiting room. Mira was drinking coffee and smiling. Sarah was shaking her head and smiling as well.

 

"Hi," Angie said, already biting and twisting her lip as she approached them. She held Aidan in her arms, who was busy chatting away in his babbling little voice as Mira smiled and Sarah, noting Angie’s uncomfortable state, got up and immediately hugged her.

 

"Oh Sarah, I’m so sorry about last night, really- I didn’t want to take the girls...that’s no excuse, but really, I do want to apologize anyway!" Angie told her, almost in tears but Sarah chuckled and then held her at arm’s length;

 

"Don’t worry about it! The girls have been talking about all the fun they had with you guys. Don’t worry about Francis either. He’s been under a lot of stress and well, you know how he gets about his girls. But hey, the best news now is that Callie has been seizure free for over sixteen hours. She’s down in radiology getting another CT scan. They’re checking for damage but I know she’s okay. She wanted to go home and have her gameboy immediately!"

 

"Well Angie, how’s this guy!" Mira asked and took Aidan from Angie’s arms and sat down with him, talking to him like she always talked to Rollie. Angie figured that Aidan would be talking shortly with all these adults talking to him as an adult.

 

"He’s a chip off the old block, getting into trouble just like Rollie. He chewed the edge of Rollie’s VR chamber seat, you know, the little ribbon vinyl strip that runs across it! There are a million tiny teeth prints in it now."

 

Angie stepped over and pulled up Aidan’s upper lip to show them his proud two baby teeth in the front and beginning bottoms.

 

"Look at that, chewing on the furniture...well at least it was Rollie’s chair, huh?" Mira said, laughing and making a face at Aidan.

 

"So, when will you be able to take Callie home?" Angie asked, looking at Sarah who had sat back down and sighed.

 

"The neurologist said as soon as he reads the CT scan, maybe another two to three hours...and then, we go home!"

 

"Sarah, if there is anything I can do, EXCEPT baby-sit....?" Angie asked, sitting across from her and grinning hopefully.

 

"Just being here is great, Angie. Please, please- tell Rollie that the coast is clear and he can come over. I know Francis was harsh last night, once he got back to the hospital with the girls, he had cooled down."

 

"Yeah well, we still have the dilemma of Dingo and what will happen next. I hope that Dingo makes some sort of act of attrition for this..." Angie replied, rolling her eyes.

 

Rollie Tyler was keeping himself busy. With Jean Groudeau, the director of 'Caspian Orbit', the new sci-fi movie that he had signed on with; progress was rewarding only after Angie had changed the simulation. Groudeau was impressed and with agreement to Aidan being kept at the set in the trailer while she returned to work, Rollie had won the day, he thought. Angie would be pleased. He had an idea he knew where she was today so he didn’t try to call the loft. Instead, he waited for her call. There was one thing about Angie, she never could leave a situation like last night alone. He smiled thinking about how she smoothed over a lot of things. In the past couple of years, she had become so much more patient while he, in turn, had become the more impatient of the two. He wondered if it had to do with motherhood.…

 

The phone rang while he was working with the stunt crew on the next gag. They would be setting up for the station dock from the alien craft and a miss at the docking procedure would spell disaster for the aliens. It called for the simulation as well as actual explosive detail on models. Stunt coordination was vital with the model relay as it had to appear real. Groudeau was not a B movie director.

 

"Tyler here," he answered, hooking the phone in the crook of his neck as he continued to read the sequence of events for the gag.

 

"Rollie, it’s Elena Serrano…"

 

Rollie made a face and dropped the clipboard on the desk, holding onto the phone tightly; "Look, I thought I told you I didn’t want to speak to you again."

 

"I know, but you should know that your father came into my office last night. He turned himself in…I thought you should know. You can come to Marchard and see him before he is processed completely. I thought you would like to do that."" Her voice was tight and controlled. She displayed no emotion and Rollie sank in his chair, rubbing his eyes. Why had Dingo done this? It wasn’t in his nature to just give up.

 

"Sure, okay- I’ll be up there as soon as I get in touch with Angie. She’s still trying to patch things up with the Gatti’s about the rough handling of their girls in Queens last night, remember that?" Rollie replied, his words hitting her like shards of ice.

 

"Come as soon as you can then. He leaves processing in about three hours. I can’t hold him here after that, he goes to the federal prison after that for holding."

 

"Whatever…"

 

Rollie hung up the phone. Something wasn’t right. Why were they putting him in a federal prison before any hearing or trial? What was this processing? He rang the loft and as expected, Angie wasn’t there.

 

He then called the Gatti’s house and again, no answer. Telling Groudeau that he was going after Angie to bring her back to the set as an excuse, he left. He headed toward the hospital, hoping that everyone was there.

 

By the time he walked into pediatrics, he saw Angie with Mira and Sarah. Angie was the most animated of the three, talking as the other women listened and Aidan was sitting in Mira’s lap.

 

"Ah, hi everyone…" Rollie greeting, breaking into the conversation.

 

"Rollie! Listen, don’t worry about last night. Francis will come around," Sarah said first, standing and touching his arm. Rollie smiled at her and hugged her, asking about Callie and getting the latest details. Angie had stood up, feeling Rollie’s apprehension and knew that something was up. He had also picked up Aidan from Mira and juggled him in his arms.

 

"Mira, can you do us a big favor?" Rollie asked, then looked sheepishly at her.

 

"Umm, have anything to do with Aidan?" she asked, slyly as she narrowed her eyes and then laughed.

 

"Yep, afraid so…Dingo has been arrested by Elena Serrano. They are holding him up at Marchard."

 

Angie’s mouth opened as she took the news; "Rollie, how did they find him?"

 

"Well, that’s the strange part. She said he turned himself in…."

 

"What?" Angie asked, incredulously.

 

"Sounds like you guys need to go up and see what’s what. Sure, I can watch Aidan. What else is my day off for, huh? Besides, your sister’s name is going to be Palmira…isn’t it?" she asked, looking directly at Aidan and laughing.

 

Rollie’s eyes widened; "What?"

 

Angie laughed as he looked at her questioningly; "No Rollie, I am not having a baby!"

 

He gave out a sigh then as Angie laughed again, along with a chorus of laughter from Sarah and Mira. He handed Aidan back to Mira after giving him a swift kiss.

 

"Thanks, Mira, really!"

 

"Hey, after all the times you helped me and the precinct…not a problem. Go!" Mira told him, smiling and Angie leaned over and kissed Aidan goodbye as well, handing off the diaper bag and bottles to Mira.

 

"Sorry guys, I was hoping to see about Callie. Sarah, can I call you later about the news?" she asked, Rollie taking her hand.

 

"Yes, I should hear soon…now go on! Everything here will be okay, really!" Sarah told her with an encouraging smile.

 

They walked out together and Mira smiled at Aidan who was starting to make a face as his parents left him.

 

"Hey Aidan, don’t worry…I’ll take care of you, I think? I hope you don’t sense fear like a dog…we could be in for some trouble then, huh?" Mira asked him, as his face contorted more and Sarah commented;

 

"Oh boy, here it comes…."

 

 

"What’s really going on?" Angie asked, as they started toward the Marchard Institute. Rollie was gripping the steering wheel, his mind full of questions and scenarios, trying to figure out why his father had turned himself in…it just didn’t jive with Dingo’s style.

 

"Don’t know, Ange. Serrano was very brief on the phone. I almost tore her head off when she called and then she said very flatly that Dingo had turned himself in that if we wanted to see him before they sent him off for holding at the federal prison, we should get there soon."

 

Angie sunk in her seat, closing her eyes. Another meeting with Elena. She had to summon up all her control again.

 

"You okay?" Rollie asked, looking over at her, concerned.

 

"Yeah, I’m okay."

 

"Okay…"

 

"Rollie…?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"No, not okay…"

 

"Sweetie, what’s the problem?"

 

"I just have this feeling, you know. That Elena wants to bargain with you, just like she asked before. Maybe Dingo got some sort of plea bargain and part of that bargain was that you help the FBI with this drug distribution thing going on right now."

 

"He wouldn’t do that!"

 

"No?"

 

"No," Rollie said, but his ‘no’ was shaky as he thought about what Angie had just said. Dingo had left him in the middle of one of his stings before to pick up the pieces. That had been some time ago… Rollie shook his head.

 

"Hey, smoothed over Groudeau for you. You can bring Aidan to the set while you work…he agreed," Rollie said, changing the subject.

 

"Thanks," she said, smiling, "I was going to ask him, you know…"

 

"Yes, I know…I miss you there, you’re the best, you know."

 

"We’re the best!" she corrected him and she moved over and leaned against him, smiling as he kissed the top of her head.

 

They were within five mile of the FBI Institute when several cars came racing up from behind them, one passing Rollie’s car and one on his bumper from behind.

 

"What’s this?" Rollie frowned and looked back in his rear view mirror.

 

"Rollie, watch out!" Angie warned, for the car in front had put on the brakes on the two lane highway and Rollie put his foot down hard on his brake, the car screeching to a stop as control was lost and he ended up on the narrow embankment next to a ditch.

 

Briefly shaken, he jumped out of his car, the anger building. Several men stepped out of the lead car as well as two from the rear car. All were armed and there were no badges that he could see. He swallowed hard.

 

"Angie, stay in the car!" he warned her, not looking back.

 

He heard the sound of something electrical firing and he knew that sound but it was coming from behind him. He swung around as the men rushed him from both sides, his concern for Angie and saw that one other larger man had come around to the passenger side of the car. As he looked in horror, he could see that he had hit Angie with a taser gun from about five feet away.

 

"Bloody bastards!" he yelled but the feeling of no control in his limbs and lips suddenly hit him as the taser projectile stung him in the neck.