Bloody Sunday 7
Jun. 19th, 2006 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamsbardIt may be best to read this with the Bloody Sunday character chart open in another window, at least for the Commission scenes.
Previously in the Bardverse...
When Stella and MAc entered the hospital, it was to the sight of an uneasy peace in the ICU. One of Constantine's mobsters was at each end of the hallway and a uniform was outside Danny's door, white around the eyes with his hand hovering near his sidearm. He looked relieved to see Mac and Stella.
"Lieutenant Taylor, these people --"
Valentine Constantine unfolded his long legs as he stood up. "They're with me," he said pointedly.
"I see," Mac said dryly.
"They're criminals!" the uniform burst out, bristling in indignation.
"They're my people," Val informed him icily. "And Danny's my nephew."
"Detective Messer is NYPD!"
"Mr. Constantine, we need to talk," Mac said shortly. "In private." He nodded at the hallway doors.
Val glanced at the glass windows of Danny's room, then back at Mac. "Lead the way."
"Stella, stay here," Mac told her as he turned.
"I'm not going anywhere," Stella informed his back, stepping up to the window. An IV was hooked into Danny's arm, tubes were in his nose, and he looked smaller and younger than ever before, but his chest rose and fell steadily. Stella put her hands against the glass and watched him breathe.
-
-
Carmine d'Alessandro sat in front of the Commission, watching his father's face as he spoke.
"Someone put out a hit on the Constantine heir."
"I think you're lying," Jewel Tesorieri said. "The Messer kid's not even dead. That's a little messy for a contract killing."
"Well, you'd know," Tony Venetti said dryly. Jewel didn't take the hit as the insult it was and instead preened a little, chin rising so far it threatened to pull his head off his shoulders.
"Damn right. I've seen enough icings that no one's gonna --"
"Shut up, Jewel," his don said. Danny di Bonaventura turned to Carmine. "What makes you think it was a hit?"
"CSU recovered the bullets. They're from a sniper rifle that's illegal to possess in the United States."
"Maybe you should look at the Giovinazzo brothers," Carmine Pagliuca suggested. "From what I've heard, they've got enough guns in that house of theirs to arm a third-world country. A Middle Eastern one."
"Mordecai and Michael are Constantines."
"That automatically make 'em exempt from suspicion?"
"Yes," Carmine said. "Val trusts his people."
"Does he?" Pagliuca said. "Do you? Come on, Dagger, who inherits if Messer and Breakneck both go down?"
"Don't call Val that," Carmine said, lips curling a little at his own unflattering nickname.
"Who's next in line for the Constantine throne, d'Alessandro?"
Carmine blew his cheeks out. "Me," he said.
Pagliuca made a sweeping motion with one hand. "Maybe that's who you should be looking at for the hit."
-
-
Mac and Val came back into the hallway walking arm's length away from each other. Stella turned around to watch them.
"Mr. Constantine's...people...will be staying here with you and whoever's next on shift," Mac told the uniform. "You are not to antagonize each other. If Detectve Messer wakes up, you will call me first."
The uniform looked extremely unhappy. "But, Lieutenant --"
"Detective," Mac corrected.
"Ah, Detective Taylor, Detective Flack said the same thing."
Mac blinked. "Which part?"
"The part about calling him, sir."
"Don't call him sir, he hates that," Stella said, and then, "Where is Flack?"
She and Mac both turned to look at Val Constantine's.
Val raised his empty hands like a mugging victim. "I didn't kill him."
-
-
Giovanni d'Alessandro was the first one to speak. "Don't be ridiculous, Pagliuca. Carmine's underboss already and even if Danny did inherit he'd never take a seat on the Commission. Carmine's heir in all but name." He didn't look at his son as he spoke.
"D'Alessandro's right," Vito Rocchegiani said. "There's no point in Dagger hiring a hit on the MEsser kid. Constantine dies, he'll be don in all but name anyway. Unless he goes down with Constantine." He smiled mercilessly at Carmine.
Carmine didn't return the expression. "Val wants Commission protection on Danny," he said.
"Tell us who went after him and we'll fuck him over for you," Luca Dellacroce said. "No one messes with La Cosa Nostra on our own ground."
"Maybe you should tell us who's got a grudge against him," Tony Venetti said. "Like...Patriso?"
"My people wouldn't dare," Jaime Patriso said coldly. "We're not stupid."
"Not even for a little vengeance for your old man's death?"
"If I gave a damn about Freddy I'd go after Marco in jail, not the bastard who put him there," Jaime snapped.
"You're wrong about that," Venetti said. "Mac Taylor arrested Blue Eyes, not Danny Messer." An idea seemed to strike him. "Hey...Dagger, how 'bout that other detective, the one that got it? How you know she wasn't the target?"
"No known enemies," Carmine said. "Shooter kept gunning for Danny even after she was down. Detective Burn was collateral damage."
-
-
"Detective Flack left a couple hours ago," the patrolman said. "He didn't say where he was going, just to call him when Detective Messer woke up."
Stella said, "Shit," and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
"If he doesn't answer call Dr. Hammerback at the morgue and see if he went to see -- to see Aiden," Mac told her. He looked in at Danny for a long moment as Val sat back down, rearranging his long legs in front of him.
"He's not answering," Stella said, and left a voice message to the effect of, "You bastard, where the hell are you and what the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Hammerback picked up on the second ring. "Detective Flack? No, he hasn't been in. Dr. Hawkes and the new detective came by about Jacqueline Shaw, but that's all."
"Hawkes?" Stella repeated. "Hawkes and Monroe are supposed to be in the lab for the Shaw case."
"Really?" Hammerback said dreamily. "Sheldon said they'd bee moved to point on the Shaw case and you and Detective Taylor were taking the Burn-Messer case."
"Did Hawkes say who told him that?"
"No. I assumed it was you or Detective Taylor; I didn't ask." There was some worry in Hammerback's voice as he added, "Is something wrong?"
"No," Stella said slowly. "Nothing's -- I'll see you later, Sid." She closed her phone and put it away in her pocket. "Mac, we have a really big problem."
-
-
The capo di tutti capi said, "I want to help you, Carmine, but there's something you and Val are both forgetting."
Sensing a trick, Carmine said reluctantly, "And what's that?"
"Danny Messer's not made," Nicky Pagliuca said. "That puts him outside our jurisdiction."
Carmine's eyes narrowed. "No one in the Constantine Family is made and you damn well know that."
"We'll be happy to give Danny Commission protection as soon as Constantine shows its loyalty," Nicky continued blandly. "Clearly Danny's out of commission --" he smiled a little at the bad pun, "-- but Val should be wiling to --"
"You son of a bitch," Carmine interrupted, ignoring his namesake's twitch toward a gun he hopefully wasn't wearing. "This isn't about Danny at all. This is about Chicago."
-
-
Mac's only sign of exasperation was to close his eyes, which would have been less worrying if they hadn't been on a busy Manhattan street. "Flack went rogue."
"No shit," Stella said, ready to grab the wheel if traffic moved and Mac didn't. "We should have put a guard on him, not Danny. Danny's not going anywhere."
Mac opened his eyes. "We have to find him."
"You don't say." Stella massaged the bridge of her nose. "What about Hawkes and Monroe?"
"They'll be at the same place."
"The crime scene."
Sorry about the wait; I had to rewrite the chapter until it made more sense and made me happier.
Previously in the Bardverse...
When Stella and MAc entered the hospital, it was to the sight of an uneasy peace in the ICU. One of Constantine's mobsters was at each end of the hallway and a uniform was outside Danny's door, white around the eyes with his hand hovering near his sidearm. He looked relieved to see Mac and Stella.
"Lieutenant Taylor, these people --"
Valentine Constantine unfolded his long legs as he stood up. "They're with me," he said pointedly.
"I see," Mac said dryly.
"They're criminals!" the uniform burst out, bristling in indignation.
"They're my people," Val informed him icily. "And Danny's my nephew."
"Detective Messer is NYPD!"
"Mr. Constantine, we need to talk," Mac said shortly. "In private." He nodded at the hallway doors.
Val glanced at the glass windows of Danny's room, then back at Mac. "Lead the way."
"Stella, stay here," Mac told her as he turned.
"I'm not going anywhere," Stella informed his back, stepping up to the window. An IV was hooked into Danny's arm, tubes were in his nose, and he looked smaller and younger than ever before, but his chest rose and fell steadily. Stella put her hands against the glass and watched him breathe.
-
-
Carmine d'Alessandro sat in front of the Commission, watching his father's face as he spoke.
"Someone put out a hit on the Constantine heir."
"I think you're lying," Jewel Tesorieri said. "The Messer kid's not even dead. That's a little messy for a contract killing."
"Well, you'd know," Tony Venetti said dryly. Jewel didn't take the hit as the insult it was and instead preened a little, chin rising so far it threatened to pull his head off his shoulders.
"Damn right. I've seen enough icings that no one's gonna --"
"Shut up, Jewel," his don said. Danny di Bonaventura turned to Carmine. "What makes you think it was a hit?"
"CSU recovered the bullets. They're from a sniper rifle that's illegal to possess in the United States."
"Maybe you should look at the Giovinazzo brothers," Carmine Pagliuca suggested. "From what I've heard, they've got enough guns in that house of theirs to arm a third-world country. A Middle Eastern one."
"Mordecai and Michael are Constantines."
"That automatically make 'em exempt from suspicion?"
"Yes," Carmine said. "Val trusts his people."
"Does he?" Pagliuca said. "Do you? Come on, Dagger, who inherits if Messer and Breakneck both go down?"
"Don't call Val that," Carmine said, lips curling a little at his own unflattering nickname.
"Who's next in line for the Constantine throne, d'Alessandro?"
Carmine blew his cheeks out. "Me," he said.
Pagliuca made a sweeping motion with one hand. "Maybe that's who you should be looking at for the hit."
-
-
Mac and Val came back into the hallway walking arm's length away from each other. Stella turned around to watch them.
"Mr. Constantine's...people...will be staying here with you and whoever's next on shift," Mac told the uniform. "You are not to antagonize each other. If Detectve Messer wakes up, you will call me first."
The uniform looked extremely unhappy. "But, Lieutenant --"
"Detective," Mac corrected.
"Ah, Detective Taylor, Detective Flack said the same thing."
Mac blinked. "Which part?"
"The part about calling him, sir."
"Don't call him sir, he hates that," Stella said, and then, "Where is Flack?"
She and Mac both turned to look at Val Constantine's.
Val raised his empty hands like a mugging victim. "I didn't kill him."
-
-
Giovanni d'Alessandro was the first one to speak. "Don't be ridiculous, Pagliuca. Carmine's underboss already and even if Danny did inherit he'd never take a seat on the Commission. Carmine's heir in all but name." He didn't look at his son as he spoke.
"D'Alessandro's right," Vito Rocchegiani said. "There's no point in Dagger hiring a hit on the MEsser kid. Constantine dies, he'll be don in all but name anyway. Unless he goes down with Constantine." He smiled mercilessly at Carmine.
Carmine didn't return the expression. "Val wants Commission protection on Danny," he said.
"Tell us who went after him and we'll fuck him over for you," Luca Dellacroce said. "No one messes with La Cosa Nostra on our own ground."
"Maybe you should tell us who's got a grudge against him," Tony Venetti said. "Like...Patriso?"
"My people wouldn't dare," Jaime Patriso said coldly. "We're not stupid."
"Not even for a little vengeance for your old man's death?"
"If I gave a damn about Freddy I'd go after Marco in jail, not the bastard who put him there," Jaime snapped.
"You're wrong about that," Venetti said. "Mac Taylor arrested Blue Eyes, not Danny Messer." An idea seemed to strike him. "Hey...Dagger, how 'bout that other detective, the one that got it? How you know she wasn't the target?"
"No known enemies," Carmine said. "Shooter kept gunning for Danny even after she was down. Detective Burn was collateral damage."
-
-
"Detective Flack left a couple hours ago," the patrolman said. "He didn't say where he was going, just to call him when Detective Messer woke up."
Stella said, "Shit," and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
"If he doesn't answer call Dr. Hammerback at the morgue and see if he went to see -- to see Aiden," Mac told her. He looked in at Danny for a long moment as Val sat back down, rearranging his long legs in front of him.
"He's not answering," Stella said, and left a voice message to the effect of, "You bastard, where the hell are you and what the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Hammerback picked up on the second ring. "Detective Flack? No, he hasn't been in. Dr. Hawkes and the new detective came by about Jacqueline Shaw, but that's all."
"Hawkes?" Stella repeated. "Hawkes and Monroe are supposed to be in the lab for the Shaw case."
"Really?" Hammerback said dreamily. "Sheldon said they'd bee moved to point on the Shaw case and you and Detective Taylor were taking the Burn-Messer case."
"Did Hawkes say who told him that?"
"No. I assumed it was you or Detective Taylor; I didn't ask." There was some worry in Hammerback's voice as he added, "Is something wrong?"
"No," Stella said slowly. "Nothing's -- I'll see you later, Sid." She closed her phone and put it away in her pocket. "Mac, we have a really big problem."
-
-
The capo di tutti capi said, "I want to help you, Carmine, but there's something you and Val are both forgetting."
Sensing a trick, Carmine said reluctantly, "And what's that?"
"Danny Messer's not made," Nicky Pagliuca said. "That puts him outside our jurisdiction."
Carmine's eyes narrowed. "No one in the Constantine Family is made and you damn well know that."
"We'll be happy to give Danny Commission protection as soon as Constantine shows its loyalty," Nicky continued blandly. "Clearly Danny's out of commission --" he smiled a little at the bad pun, "-- but Val should be wiling to --"
"You son of a bitch," Carmine interrupted, ignoring his namesake's twitch toward a gun he hopefully wasn't wearing. "This isn't about Danny at all. This is about Chicago."
-
-
Mac's only sign of exasperation was to close his eyes, which would have been less worrying if they hadn't been on a busy Manhattan street. "Flack went rogue."
"No shit," Stella said, ready to grab the wheel if traffic moved and Mac didn't. "We should have put a guard on him, not Danny. Danny's not going anywhere."
Mac opened his eyes. "We have to find him."
"You don't say." Stella massaged the bridge of her nose. "What about Hawkes and Monroe?"
"They'll be at the same place."
"The crime scene."
Sorry about the wait; I had to rewrite the chapter until it made more sense and made me happier.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-20 05:43 am (UTC)I love the uneasy truce between Val and Mac. And the freaked out officer.
Flack's gotten himself into Big Trouble, hasn't he?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-20 11:31 pm (UTC)And Flack is totally screwed seven ways from Sunday. Very, Very Big Trouble.