Broken

Family Friend

"May I offer anyone some Scotch? Or vodka? Gin?" Jessica asked as Dani and JT walked into the living room.
I smiled reassuringly at Malcolm who rolled his eyes looking incredibly embarrassed.
"I'm good with coffee." Gil smiled at her.
"Cream and sugar? Or a nice hazelnut liqueur?" She continued.
"So this is where Malcolm Bright grew up. It's, um nice." Dani said offering Malcolm a reprieve.
"Thank you. One day I'll give you the full tour. But the abridged version is that's where we usually have the Christmas tree. That is a portrait of my great-uncle Douglas. Oh, and right over there is where my father was arrested for killing 23 people." He sighed.
"It's a good-looking uncle." She smiled at him.
"Sir. We've routed the basement line through the trap-and-trace system at Major Crimes." Officer Michelson told Gil.
"Nice work. If he calls again, we'll get a recording, - maybe even a location, if we're lucky."
"He'll call again. This was just a jumping-off point. Round one." Malcolm interjected.
I caught his eye and walked out onto the front step.
"Hey." He sighed joining me.
"Hey." I turned to him placing my hands on his chest.
I looked up into his eyes, reading his pain and fear.
"We're all here, Malcolm. We'll figure this out."
"Till we know what he wants from me and my family, we should assume he's a threat. Especially to you." He told me.
"Me?"
"You're a considerable threat and you're standing between him and me."
"There's no where else I'd rather be." I smiled at him.
"I'm serious, Lily." He sighed.
"I know you are. So am I. There's nowhere I'd rather be than right here." I reached up and touched his face.
"I love you." He breathed almost as if trying it out.
We'd said those words to one another a million times in the past but here, now. It felt different. Like this time would be different. It felt even more real and finite than before. We were in this. Together. Forever this time.
"I love you too."
I ran my fingers through his hair as he kissed me gently.
"I have that appointment with David at the FBI office in twenty. I'm going to drop you off and head over." I told him as we got in my car.
"I completely forgot about that. Be careful, okay?" He looked at me his eyes pleading.
"Of course. I'm only going into the office. David won't let anything happen to me." I assured him.
"I know. I love you." He told me again.
"I love you too."
It was easy now to proclaim my love for him. I'd never stopped loving him.
I dropped Malcolm off at the precinct before heading to the FBI office for a meeting with Director David Johnston.
"Lily." He greeted me warmly as I walked into the bullpen.
"David." I smiled shaking his hand.
"How are you doing?" He asked leading my up the stairs to the Chief's office.
"As well as can be expected I think. It's been hard since..." I sighed as he closed the door behind us.
"I understand. Your father was a good friend. A much better friend than a father I've come to learn. You never told me." He watched me cautiously.
"I never really told anyone. I just dealt with it." I answered.
"I've been monitoring your freelance work as well as your work with the NYPD and I have to say I'm impressed." He said after a pause and a nod.
"Thank you sir." I sighed thinking of the freelance work I'd done in the nine months between when I'd been hospitalized and when I went back to Malcolm.
"I have a bit of an idea I'd like to run by you." He continued.
"Of course, sir." I nodded.
"I want to promote you to Chief of the New York office. It's a mostly administrative job that would allow you to continue your work with the NYPD but also shows that we here at the FBI value you." He explained.
"You want me to run the New York office?" I asked shaking my head.
"Yes. I haven't been very impressed with how this office has been run in the last five years under Chief Mitchell. I think that we could use a fresh perspective and I'm interested in where you'll take it. So, what do you think?" He asked.
"It's an intriguing proposal. I'll for sure be able to continue my work with the NYPD?" I asked.
"Yes. I know how much working with Malcolm Bright means to you. I know asking you to leave that behind would be a deal breaker." He smiled at me.
"My parent's never approved of him." I sighed.
"We had to let him go because he let his emotions get in the way one too many times and he punched a sheriff but he's a good man and he loves you. It was obvious that leaving you really affected him. I'm sure with the two of you back together he'll begin to thrive." He told me gently.
"I'll do it. I'll run the office." I told him.
"Perfect. I'll draw up the paperwork and we'll get things rolling."
"Bright found a Winnebago buried at the junkyard." Edrisa told me when I walked back into the precinct after my promotion.
"Of course he did." I sighed looking around for him.
"He jumped into the Winnebago and found a victim alive. He's been taken to the hospital."
"Of course he did."
"They're in the conference room."
"Edrisa? Bright got a package and it's bleeding." JT said walking out of said conference room.
"Excuse me?" I asked looking at him.
"Seriously." He sighed.
I followed Edrisa into the conference room. There on the table was a package that was seeping blood.
"Hmm..." I muttered walking over to stand next to Malcolm.
We watched as Edrisa opened the box and pulled out a severed hand.
"Apparently you aren't the only one with a thing for cutting off hands." Dani muttered to Malcolm who shot her a glare.
"It's Father Leo's hand." Malcolm said almost sadly.
I looked over at him.
"Dani and I went to Father Leo's church when we found out that the victim I found sought refuge there." He explained.
Suddenly, the phone in the center of the room started ringing.
"That's the line we routed from Jessica's." Gil said looking at Malcolm.
JT sat down at the trap and trace controls while the rest of us picked up headphones connected to the recording. I watched uneasily as Malcolm picked up the phone.
"You get my present?" The male voice said on the phone.
My heart pounded as Malcolm looked up at me.
"I did. Very thoughtful." He answered cautiously.
"So you're not at home anymore." The voice stated.
"I had to go to work, but you know that. I have a serial killer to catch. Speaking of which, why Father Leo? He's not like your other victims."
"Because you were snooping."
"Is he still alive?"
"I told you to leave me alone."
"Just doing my job. You understand that, don't you? You have your "work," I have mine."
"How did you find him? The piece of trash I left behind."
"Ryan Davis. Can't take the credit for that; our crime scene technicians are very thorough."
"Liar! Tell the truth! How did you know about my hiding spot?" I watched Malcolm's face carefully.
"Killers make mistakes. I'm kind of good at this."
"You think you can just be smart. Figure me out like a problem to be solved. But your curiosity is the real problem. Bad things happen when you snoop. Like when you found that girl."
My heart stopped.
"What girl?" Malcolm asked looking up at me again.
"The one in your father's trunk."
I wanted to look at Gil but I couldn't move my eyes away from Malcolm.
"What do you know about her?" He asked cautiously.
I made my way over to stand in front of him. His hand shook violently.
"Oh, you do remember. That poor girl, all alone."
"What do you know about her?!" He yelled and I took his hand.
He squeezed my hand tightly.
"Now who's got the temper? Better be careful. That'll get you into trouble." The line went dead.
I could read Malcolm's face but he wouldn't look at me.
"I need some air." Malcolm breathed.
He ran out of the room and I looked at Gil for a short moment before I followed him.
Outside he sat on the front steps to the precinct. I didn't speak. I knew there were no words I could offer him to help him right now. I walked down the stairs and sat directly in front of him. I laid my hand on his knee and he laced his fingers in mine. We sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Gil came outside. He sat down beside Malcolm and looked between us.
"She's real, Gil." Malcolm said softly looking at him.
"It's possible that Martin told him about your nightmares." Gil reasoned causing me to sigh.
We all knew that wasn't the case.
"It wasn't a nightmare. Look, all my life, people have told me she was just a figment of my imagination, a bad dream. But she's real, and Paul knows what happened to her." I squeezed his hand.
"I'm one of those people. And you're right. It's time I consider the possibility that I was wrong. I don't know what happened to her, Bright. But I do know you're not in this alone. Your team is here to help you."
"Thanks, Gil. We'll come back in a second." He sighed.
Gil looked at me and I nodded. He got up and walked back inside. I looked into Malcolm's face and my phone rang.
"I'm sorry, baby. It's Evan. I have to take this." I sighed looking at it.
"It's okay."
"I love you." I told him kissing his gently.
"I love you too." He smiled unconvincingly at me.
"Evan?" I answered the phone.
"Lily. How do I get rid of this guy?" He asked frustrated.
"Your protection detail?" I asked.
"Yeah. He's seriously cramping my style."
"Does anyone actually say that anymore?" I sighed.
"Apparently, I do." He sighed angrily.
"Evan. This isn't a game. Someone is threatening your life." I sighed looking back at Malcolm who was looking at something off down the road.
"That was weeks ago." He sighed.
"Two weeks ago. Not exactly an eternity." I answered.
I caught sight of Malcolm running down the street.
"I have to go. We'll talk about this later." I muttered hanging up the phone.
I ran after Malcolm. I watched him run through a door but it slammed shut behind him locking me out.
"Blackwell." Ashlyn answered the phone.
"I need help." I sighed looking at the card reader next to the door.
"What's wrong?" She asked reading my tone.
"Malcolm was chasing a suspect and ran through this door near the precinct that looks like it leads under a building. Can you hack into the card reader and get me in?" I asked.
"Let me get into your GPS and find the address and I can get you in." She answered.
"I don't mean to rush you but..."
"I know, Lily. I know. Okay, you're in. Now." She said.
I ripped the door open and ran down the hallway.
"Malcolm!" I called his name when I saw what seemed to be a body lying outside of a turnstile.
"Malcolm." I said his name again kneeling down next to him.
"I'm okay." He muttered then gasped.
"What hurts?" I asked touching him.
"My ribs. He trapped me in the turnstile." He admitted.
"You should have told me." I sighed.
"I could have come with you."
"Then you would have been in danger."
"Malcolm. I'm an FBI agent. I can handle myself."
"I know, but if something happens to you because of me..."
"Something just happened to you. Dammit, Malcolm, lean on me." I begged.
I sighed when he looked away from me.
"Come on. Can you walk?" I asked standing up.
"I think so, yeah." He groaned sitting up.
"Three simple words. I want you to repeat them after me: call for backup." Gil said firmly shutting the door to his office.
An on call paramedic had just finished setting Malcolm's cracked ribs and wrapped his torso in bandages.
"I didn't think that there was..."
"This isn't rhetorical, Bright. I actually want to hear you say the words out loud. Call..." Gil insisted.
"Call for backup. I'll admit it was somewhat ill-advised."
"To run into a dark tunnel alone and let him pop you like bubble wrap? Yeah, I'd say so. All right, look I know you want answers, but it's not worth getting killed over."
Malcolm looked over at me.
"That's not the only reason I went. He wanted me to follow him, alone, and I did. Now he believes that my need to find out the truth is stronger than my need to catch him."
"And is it?" Gil asked
"Of course not." He sighed.
"My boss brought up the FBI again."
"Ah, please. Paul implied that he wanted to meet me tonight and to bring Lily... If you bring in the FBI, then they'll never let us go."
"Don't be so sure I'm gonna let you go."
"He could have killed me in the tunnel, but he didn't. We're not part of his mission. We have to go. It's our best bet for catching him and saving Father Leo." He was almost begging.
"Take him home." Gil sighed looking at me.
"Get some rest both of you. If we're gonna do this, I want you to be fresh."
I nodded.
"Come on." I reached for him.
"You didn't exactly stand up for me." Malcolm sighed as we walked into his apartment.
"He's not wrong." I sighed.
"You know it. I know it. Gil knows it. Malcolm..." I sighed again opening his freezer.
"Sit down." I ordered and he complied sitting at a chair at his counter.
"You should know I was promoted to Chief of the New York office today." I told him as I moved the chair so he was facing me and undid the buttons on his shirt.
"What? Really?" He asked before I pressed a bag of frozen vegetables against his ribs.
"Ah! That's cold!" He exclaimed.
I looked up into his face with a small smirk.
"Okay. I deserved that." He sighed.
"Malcolm, we have to be a team. You and me. I can't bury you too."
"Lily, I'm not going to die." He said gently touching my shoulder.
"You don't know that. Malcolm, you don't. Any number of things could have happened down there today. Do you have any idea how scared I was?"
"You aren't afraid of anything." He teased.
"I'm afraid of losing you."
He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine.
"I'm sorry, Lily." He breathed.
"I know, Malcolm. I know."
"I love you."
"I love you too, so much." I pulled back a little to look into his face.
He raised his hand and laid it against my face as he leaned in to kiss me. I sighed as his lips met mine. I kept a hand on the frozen food icing his wounds as I drew him closer to me.
Simultaneously, the phone he got from Paul Lazar and the doorbell rang.
"Answer the phone, I'll get the door." I smiled.
"To be continued?" He asked.
"We'll see." I teased.
"Hello?" I asked pressing the button to talk to whoever stood outside.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. I must have the wrong apartment. I'm looking for Malcolm Bright?" A female voice said.
"This is Malcolm's apartment. I'm his girlfriend. Can we help you?" I asked.
"It's Eve Blanchard. I'm a friend of his mother's." She said.
"I remember the name. Come on up." I pressed the button to buzz her in.
"We have a visitor." I sighed.
"So, not to be continued?" He pouted.
"Not right now. Keep those on the ribs." I instructed.
"Hello?" Eve called from the front door.
"Hey. Hey, come in." He said from the chair as I stood next to him.
"We've met before. I'm the one.." She started walking over to us.
"Helping my mother contribute to the human trafficking organizations. I remember." He interrupted.
"Uh, uh, good memory. Although uh, technically, they're anti-human trafficking organizations. Should I come back?" She asked looking at him with his shirt open and our makeshift ice pack over the bandages on his torso.
"Uh, I'm fine. But we don't have long to chat. We have to rush out the door." He said looking up at me.
"Sorry to barge in. Your mother gave me your address under false pretenses. I would have called, it's just I'm concerned about her. She was drunk in the middle of the day." She explained.
"Well, that's not unusual." He chuckled dryly tossing the bag onto the counter behind me.
"And she was waving a gun around." She continued.
Malcolm looked up at me again.
"Okay, that part is unusual. Lily and I will check on her. We just have something we need to take care of first. Thanks for coming by."
"Uh, yeah, some things are better heard in person." She looked at me.
"I agree." I smiled at her.
"You have to see a person's face to understand them."
I felt Malcolm's arm wrap around me.
"Definitely. Our whole job is reading people's faces." He answered.
"I know. Good night." She answered showing herself out.
"You don't like her." He noticed.
"It's not that exactly." I sighed.
"I told you. I'm not the person you knew five years ago. I have some insecurities."
"You have nothing to worry about, Lily. You are the love of my life. You always have been. Ainsley was right when she said I hadn't been in a meaningful relationship in years. My only meaningful relationship I've been in was with you. No one else ever felt right. I don't see anyone else when you're in the room. It's always going to be you." He told me.
"I love you, Malcolm Bright." I smiled at him.
"I love you, Lilian Russell." He leaned forward and kissed me again.
"Let's catch this son of a bitch."
We pulled up to the parking lot less than a block from Fort Trotten.
"Are you sure about this?" Gil asked us.
"This is our only shot to save Father Leo and maybe get some answers." Malcolm sighed looking at me.
"You know I'm with you. All the way." I reassured him.
"Don't let him get himself killed." Gil told me.
"I think we've come to an understanding." I smiled at Malcolm.
"We have." He smiled back at me.
"It's down that way." Gil told us pointing down a path off to our left.
I took Malcolm's hand as we walked down the path.
"Hello, Paul." Malcolm answered the ringing phone.
"You don't need to talk to her." He said after a pause.
He sighed and looked at me after another pause. I nodded letting him know it was okay.
"Fine."
"Dr. Lilian Russell." Paul greeted me through the phone.
"Hello, Paul." I answered as Malcolm squeezed my hand.
"You know, you're too good for him." He said.
"Is that so? Why do you say that?" I asked.
"You're pure. Damaged but pure." He answered pausing for a moment.
"Are you ready for answers?" He finally asked.
"Been waiting my whole life." Malcolm answered looking at me again.
I knew he needed my strength and all I could do was offer it to him.
"Through the fence." Paul instructed us.
"Why'd you bring us here, Paul?" Malcolm asked.
"Can you see me?" Paul asked coyly.
"I was afraid you'd stand us up."
"Now, keep your distance. I want to talk first."
"What should we talk about?" Malcolm asked.
"You wanted to know about the girl. Your father called me that night after he put you to bed." He told us.
"What did you do with her?" Malcolm's entire arm shook as he held my hand.
"You're getting ahead of yourself, but I kept a souvenir, and now I want you to have it. Do you see the bag?" Paul asked.
"Where?" I asked looking around.
"To your right. The third archway. Look familiar, Malcolm?"
Inside the bag was a gold charm bracelet. Malcolm froze as I held it in my hand.
"So you were his disposal man?" He asked regaining some semblance of his composure.
"No. I have to say, I'm really surprised you don't remember me." Paul said.
"Why? What happened there? I thought, maybe that was where the girl in the box was killed." Malcolm said pulling me down the pathway.
"No. No. Related, but not the same." Paul answered as we continued walking towards the figure standing at the other end of the fort's ruins.
I reached over and pressed the mute on the phone.
"What are we doing?" I asked.
"Trust me, Lily."
"Let's talk face to face, Paul. Can I come over there?" Malcolm asked unmuting the phone.
"Stay there. I'm not sure I can trust you quite yet." He said and I froze.
Paul wasn't here.
"Gil, We found Father Leo. He's here, alive. We need a medivac." Malcolm said muting the phone again.
"I copy that. Where's Paul?" Gil asked.
"I don't know, not yet." Malcolm answered.
"I do. Keep him talking." I said.
"Lily?"
"Trust me, Malcolm."
I ran back to my car and raced to the hospital where Ryan Davis was being treated.
"Ryan Davis." I said flashing my badge at the front desk.
"Fifth floor room 509." The nurse said as calmly as anyone could with a woman holding a gun and an FBI badge standing in front of her.
"Thank you."
I ran up the four flights of stairs to the fifth floor and found room 509 with relative ease.
On the floor was the body of the uniformed officer that was guarding Ryan and in the bed was Ryan Davis. Blood seeping from his eyes, nose and mouth.
"Shit." I sighed.
I looked down the hallway and see the silhouette of a man pounding on a door.
"Hey!" I exclaimed.
"FBI! Freeze!"
He turned and looked at me briefly before running the opposite direction.
"Stop!" I yelled again.
I raised my gun and fired down the hallway. It appeared that the bullet struck him in the shoulder.
I wanted desperately to run after him and I even started to when Ainsley opened the door that Paul had been pounding on.
"Lily?" She called my name.
"I'm here, Ainsley." I called back.
"Are they dead?" She asked as I walked the rest of the way to her.
"Yes, Ains. They're dead." I answered.
She reached over and hugged me clearly shaken.
I heard Malcolm's voice calling her name through her phone.
"Let me see." I reached for her phone.
"Malcolm?" I said.
"Lily?"
"We're both okay." I assured him.
"Ryan Davis and his protection officer are dead."
"Gil and I are on our way." He told me.
"Ainsley. We should meet Malcolm outside." I told her gently.
"I have to check on Jin. I'll meet you out there."
I nodded and watched her walk away.
"Lily!" Malcolm called my name leaping out of Gil's car.
"I'm okay." I insisted as he hugged me.
"I heard a gunshot." He pulled away slightly to look at my face.
"I think I shot him." I nodded.
I drove Malcolm straight from the hospital to Jessica's.
Jessica greeted us when we arrived as she watched Ainsley report the murders on the TV.
"Eve Blanchard came to see us." Malcolm told her when I sat down in the arm chair next to where she sat on the sofa.
"Isn't she a lovely young woman?" She smiled at him.
"She said that you were armed." He continued.
"That wretched little tattletale." She muttered.
"Give." Malcolm extended his hand to her as I tried to contain my laughter.
"She was concerned about you. So are we. This is dangerous." He said sitting down next to her.
"You know what else is dangerous? Serial killers." She retorted.
"Which is why police officers have been watching the house all day. Do you think we'd actually leave you here to fend for yourself?" He asked glancing at me.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Cause you would've sent them away. If you're worried about staying here, why don't you check into the Plaza until this whole thing is over?"
"You know Miltons owned this whole block back when it was farmland. Bought it from the profits they made outfitting the Hessians. Proved a sound investment."
"It would just be for a few weeks." I could feel him practically begging her.
"My great-great-great-grandfather built this house in 1871. And a Milton has lived here ever since. I didn't let Martin tarnish this house, despite what he was, and I will not be driven out now. This is my home. I don't want to go to a hotel, and I don't want to live under constant surveillance. I want to have a normal life. One that isn't perpetually haunted by the ghost of your father." She looked between us before her eyes rested on him again.
"I want that, too. I can't promise he'll never haunt you again, but I can promise not to stop until we've caught the Junkyard Killer. You shouldn't have to live in fear." He told her.
"It's Gil. I should take this." He sighed looking at his phone.
"Any news?" He answered the phone.
I reached over and took his mother's hand.
"We'll find this guy, Jessica." I assured her.
"I know you will, dear. Malcolm tells me you're the best there is."
"They can't do that." I heard him say drawing my attention away from Jessica.
"Did you tell them Lily's here?" He asked after a moment.
"No. That's probably best." He sighed and hung up the phone.
"What is it?" Jessica asked as we watched him.
"Maybe you should keep that." He gestured to the gun before looking at me.
"The FBI have taken over the Paul Lazar case." He sighed looking defeated.
"We'll figure something out." I assured him.
Suddenly, I wish I'd insisted on taking over the office effective immediately instead of agreeing to wait until Monday morning.
"You don't know how bad things ended at the FBI." He sighed.
"I know enough." I sighed.
"We'll still find him. I promise you, Malcolm."
"God I hope so."