“What.” Demanded Gail buckling her seatbelt and looking stonily out the windshield. “Nick…” she said in a slightly softer tone.

“Yes?” He answered hopefully

“Shut up and drive.”

The day had been a long one. Several traffic violations, one shop lifting teenage punk, rescuing a homeless drunk from drowning in an icy puddle, and one domestic disturbance, where Gail had to stop the girlfriend from removing Nick’s head with a baseball bat after they made the arrest later, they were on their way back to the station to do the paperwork when the call came in. Robbery on East and Twenty-second, shots fired, all units.

“Shit” Gail muttered as she hit the lights. “Fifteen – oh – seven responding.”

They were on the scene in minutes. Weapons drawn, she followed Nick into the convenience store. “Police” He announced just as a kid, no more than twelve, popped up from behind the counter and shot at them.

It all happened so fast. Nick grunting and going down as a bullet slammed into his vest, Gail returning fire, and chasing the kid out the backdoor into the ally, only to end up slipping on the ice, ankle deep in slush with no-one in sight.

“Where did he go?” said Nick’s voice behind her.

“No idea. Lost him after he came outside” she said trying not to let the relief that Nick was alive creep into her voice.

“Come on” said Nick flushing the right side of the ally as Gail took the left. “Over here..” he said opening a service door to an abandoned theatre.

“Fifteen – oh – seven requesting back up.” Gail radioed in.

“We’re on our way” Chris’s voice crackled over the radio

“What’s your twenty”

“Be there in two”

Gail took a deep breath. “Ok.” She nodded at Nick and pulled out her flashlight

Cautiously they entered the inky darkness of the silent hall. Nick hit the light switch, but nothing happened. They crept forward, weapons drawn, adrenalin pumping in their veins. The sharp crack of a mis-step on a loose board sounded from the stage. Gail pointed with her chin and fanned left toward the exit, as Nick rushed the stage. A small figure dashed from the curtains and headed in her direction. She saw the muzzle flash in slow motion, and heard the thud of bullets hitting the wall directly behind her head as she raised her weapon and returned fire. The small dark figure stumbled and crumpled to the ground. Nick rushed to it. Holstering his weapon he bent over the prone figure. Standing up he shook his head.

Gail felt herself sag against the wall closing her eyes against the rush of emotions that suddenly overwhelmed her. She heard Nick cough and stagger. Looking up she saw him sitting on the ground, legs splayed, clutching his right side. Light flooded the room.

Chris’s voice said “Hey, are you guys alright?”

“Nick was shot and I just killed a child. What do you think?” Gail replied caustically

“I’m uh, fine.” Nick said, getting to his feet “I just feel like I’ve been kicked by a mule.” undoing his vest to reveal an angry red and purple bruise spreading on his ribs.

“Come on” Chris said, “Let’s get you to the bus.”

Leading the way outside to the waiting ambulance. Gail stumbled behind them, realizing only then that she must have twisted her ankle in the heat of the chase. Within minutes the place was swarming with cops and people from forensics. Blue and red lights filled the ally, illuminating the falling snow and making Gail’s head spin. She slumped on the bumper of the ambulance, numbly allowing the paramedics to remove her boot and examine her.

“Good shoot Peck” Luke said, pulling up the collar of his peacoat against the cold.

“W-what?” She looked up, surfacing from the fog of pain she was experiencing that had nothing to do with her ankle.

“ I need your weapon and a statement before you accompany Nick to the hospital”

“ I shot a fucking child, Luke.” Gail said bleakly.

“Yeah, I know.” He said sitting down next to her. “I can’t tell you it will get better, because it won’t. But it was a good shoot. If you hadn’t shot him, he would have shot you.”

“Do we really have to do this now?” She almost whined “Can’t we go back to the station?”

“No, we need to do this, and then you are going to the hospital, and then you are going to take a few days off.” Luke answered

“Do I have to?”

Luke just looked at her.

“Ok. Fine.”