| Waiter, There's A Love Bug In My Soup! By: Tina Celestial Princess |
| Days later, at the SIU, Nash is seated at his desk when his phone starts ringing... "Captain Bridges, SIU..." "Hello Captain Bridges, this is Grace...Grace Trillo" Nash smiles... "Yes Grace, (he chuckles) I know who you are...what can I do for ya..." "Well, I’m calling to follow up on what we talked about a few days ago...I really need to know if you’ve decided yet, and if you...(Nash interrupts)" (Chuckling) "Whoa...hold on there, Ms. Trillo...I knew as soon as I picked up the phone and heard your voice that you were lookin’ for something..." Grace giggles and jokes... "Wow, was I THAT obvious or do you have some sort of psychic power and you were reading my mind...and if you WERE then you know that I can really go for some Chocolate Chocolate Chip Haagen Daaz right now..." Nash laughs... "Try Di Renzi’s...they’ve got a pretty good selection of Haagen Daaz..." Grace laughs and tries to compose herself..." "Thanks for the tip..." Nash composes himself and settles down to business... "Uh, you can get the paperwork started...the answer’s yes..." Grace smiles as she shuffles some files on her desk... "That’s great! Umm, if you don’t mind me asking, but what made you change your mind? You seemed a little unsure about the whole thing" Nash sits silent for a moment and thinks about what Grace has asked...he looks out onto the bay, takes a small breath, exhales and replies... "Grace, these past few days have been like a revelation...everything was put into perspective for me, and I realized that I don’t want my son living with strangers...the only place I want my son living, is with me and my family..." "Your, family? So you’re, married?" Nash picks up on the disappointment in her voice and grins... "No...it’s just me and my father...(he grins and gets back on track)...so whenever you have those papers ready, just let me know..." Grace, feeling like she just met the man of her dreams, taps her pen on the desk and smiles... "Oh yeah, (she tries to joke) I guess that would help, wouldn’t it..." Nash again picks up on her tone and looks confused... "Uh Grace...are you ok? You sound a little strange" Grace shakes off her confusion and returns quickly... "Oh...yes, I’m fine...sorry about that...(she pages through her appointment book)...uh, how about we set up a meeting for, tomorrow, say around one thirty...is that ok for you?" "Yeah, that’s fine..." "Good...I’ll get the necessary papers ready today and have them for you to sign tomorrow...ya know, Nash, I’m really glad that you’re doing this...Nicolas is a very sweet little boy, whose been through a lot and really needs his daddy right now...I’m happy for you..." Nash smiles... "Thank you, Grace...(he softly laughs) ya know, I can’t wait to get him home...my dad has been getting his room ready and buying all kinds of toys...(Nash sees Joe coming toward him)...umm, I hate to cut you off, but I have to go...I’ll uh, see you tomorrow..." "Oh no, please...you have a job to do...ok, I’ll see you tomorrow, at one thirty..." "Ok...and Grace?" "Yes?" "Thank you...for everything..." Grace smiles... "Your welcome...bye bye" Nash hangs up with Grace and looks at Joe, who is now sitting on the side of Nash’s desk, waiting patiently to hear about the phone conversation...Nash looks at him... "Can I help you with something, bubba?" Joe shrugs his shoulders... "Uh, well, you can start with who you just got off the phone with..." Nash begins to thumb through the time sheets and then glances up at Joe... "Well, I know that if I don’t tell you, you’ll just sulk all day and I won’t get a minute’s peace...that was Grace (he looks at Joe’s blank face), Grace Trillo...the woman from Child Services..." Joe snaps to life... "Oh...oh yeah..." Nash gives Joe a puzzled face, shakes his head and continues... "I have an appointment to meet her tomorrow to sign some papers..." Joe looks curiously at Nash... "You’re kidding...you’re giving up Nicolas? I can’t believe that you, of all people, would do that! Why are you...(Nash interrupts as he chuckles)" "Joe, who said that I was giving him up...I’m going down there tomorrow to pick him up...(Joe’s eyes open wide as Nash looks at him)...yeah, that’s right...I’m taking him home..." Joe stands straight, fixes his jacket and looks at Nash... "Well...I’m glad that you’re doing the right thing, cause I didn’t wanna have to be the one to kick your ass (Nash stares at Joe in surprise as Joe looks at him), don’t look at me so surprised...that’s right, I said it, and you know that I can do it too..." Nash laughs at Joe’s ‘tough love’ approach as he stands up... "Yes Joe, I know...(he walks out from behind his desk and pats his best friend, and partner, on the shoulder)...now can we get on with the day’s work..." Joe grimmaces... "Aww, do we have to...hey, let’s just take the day off...I’m sure that you would rather be home than spending the day here..." Nash grins... "That’s so sweet...you’re always lookin’ out for me..." "Hey, that’s what friends are for, Nashman..." "Eh, nice try bubba...(Nash chuckles as he walks toward the stairs)...c’mon, let’s go see what Harvey and Antwon have to tap today..." The two men walk down the stairs and begin making their way to Harvey’s desk... "So what’s on the dance card today?" Harvey picks up a file from his cluttered desk, opens it and hands it off to Nash...Nash takes it and glances at the mug and prints page...his eyes grow wide... "Well gentlemen, it appears that our old friend is roaming our fair streets again...(he shows the file to Joe) look who’s outta prison..." Shocked at the image he sees in the file, Joe looks at Nash... "What...is that...(he glances at Nash) Curtis Praun?" Nash looks at the file again... "Yup...he’s out of prison and looking to embark on his previous career..." Joe’s face lights up... "Ahh, the drug king pin of Double Rock...(he looks at Nash and jokes) entrepreneur always looks good on a resume..." Nash and Harvey chuckle as Harvey picks up his ringing phone... "Inspector Leek, SIU...(he pauses)...right...ok, we’re on our way..." Harvey hangs up as Nash and Joe look at him intently... "That was Ricky Beal over at Homicide...he said that there was a shooting at the half way house over on Kearney..." Nash becomes curious...he rubs his hand on his chin... "Who was our unsuspecting victim?" Harvey looks at the piece of paper he took the message on... "Joshua Putnam..." "Ok, let’s round up...and let’s find out all we can about Joshua Putnam...(he looks at Harvey with seriousness in his eyes)...and find out where Curtis is..." Joe glances at Nash in wonder... "You got a feeling that Joshua and Curtis were enemies?" Nash shrugs his shoulders... "I’m just tossin’ it around...(he looks at the men)...ok, let’s move out..." Nash and his team arrive at the half way house and enter the building where they meet some of the officers from homicide...Nash walks over to Ricky Beal... "Ricky" Ricky turns around, smiles and holds out his hand...Nash smiles and shakes his hand... "Ok Ricky, what can ya tell me..." Joe walks over and the two men shake hands as well... "Hey Joe...(he looks at Nash as Joe turns and joins Harvey)...well Nash, the body was found in the activity room...he didn’t see it coming, one bullet to the back of the head...CSU says there’s no prints...whoever did this was a pro, cleaned up pretty good...(he smiles) but they did find this little beauty..." Ricky hands Nash a zip lock baggie that had a black onyx ring with a very large diamond in the center...Nash holds it at eye level as Joe and Harvey approach... "Hey Nashman, if that’s for me, it’s a little big and it’s really not my style..." Nash glances at Joe and smirks... "That’s cute...CSU found this in here...(he looks at his team)...who wants to bet that this belongs to our shooter..." Harvey grins and raises his hand... "I’ll take that bet, boss...and I’ll also bet that we can get a print off of it..." Nash smiles... "Good man...(he hands the bag to Harvey)...tell the boys that this is top priority, no pussy footin’..." Harvey takes the bag and rushes out of the half way house and heads for the lab...Nash and Joe follow as Joe chats with him... "Ricky said that this guy was a pro..." Nash glances at him... "That’s right, bubba..." "Hmm...so maybe this wasn’t Curtis...maybe it was someone who had a beef with Joshua..." They enter the Cuda and Nash looks at Joe as he turns the key... "Oh my god, I can’t believe it..." Joe looks at Nash confused... "What..." Nash puts the Cuda in gear but doesn’t give it any gas... "You just made a constructive observation..." "Hey, I contribute...you just don’t understand my thinking..." Nash glances at Joe and laughs... "Oh, I don’t understand, huh..." "No...you should listen to me more often, Nashman...if you would just listen to me, you could benefit from my knowledge..." Nash laughs hysterically and pulls out and heads back to the SIU... Nash and Joe get back to the SIU, walk in and head for Harvey, who is seated at his desk...he notices Nash and Joe approaching and stands up to meet them... "Greetings gents..." "Hey Harv...did ya get anything back from the lab?" Harvey shakes his head... "I just got off the phone with them, they said that they’ll have something for me today..." Nash nods his head... "Good...how about our victim, Joshua Putnam...did we find out anything on him?" Harvey turns, picks up a folder, turns back toward Nash and Joe and opens it...he hands it to Nash... "Joshua Putnam, 45, did 20 years in San Q for a home invasion in 1984...he beat an elderly woman to death with an iron after the woman told him that she didn’t have any money in the house...(he looks at the men) and get this, he was so scared after the deed was done, that he went number 2, right there on the floor...he got out last month and has been seen around town with Tyrone Little..." The men chuckle as Nash replies... "Now that’s some bad crap...(he laughs)... " Joe glances at Harvey... "Tyrone Little...(he pauses)...ahh, he took over drug and prostitution in the Mission, didn’t he?" Harvey grins... "The very one...apparently, Joshua was tryin’ to get a piece of the action down there, when it all went sour..." Joe glances at Nash and Harvey... "Ok, could he have known Curtis from prison? I mean, Curtis was sent away for that shooting a few years ago at the Washington Street Bar and Grill...maybe they didn’t get along inside and Curtis decided that it would be better to off Joshua on the outside, only this time there’s no witnesses..." Nash shockingly glances at Joe... "Do you realize that you just did it again..." For a moment, Joe is confused but then understands what Nash is saying... "Oh c’mon, why are you so surprised? (He looks at Harvey and asks) why is he so surprised? (He looks at Nash) I AM a cop...excuse me, lieutenant...this is what we’re trained to do..." Nash smiles... "Don’t get upset...it’s refreshing to hear you come up with some speculation, instead of spewing schemes that only make me very nervous and sick to my stomach..." All Joe can do is shake his head as he listens intently...Nash looks at Harvey... "I have to agree with Joe...(Joe looks at Nash curiously as he grins)...Joshua could have very well met Curtis in prison...we can go a step further and say that maybe they WERE pals, and then something hits the fan and they become enemies...Curtis vows to take care of Joshua when he gets out..." Harvey nods his head, grins and adds... "Maybe Joshua asks for a piece of the pie, Curtis refuses and words are exchanged?" Nash rubs his hand on his face... "Harvey, find Curtis Praun and press the lab for those damn prints, it would be good to know for sure if our shooter was actually Curtis...if they give ya a hard time, they’ll have ME to answer to...(he glances at the men)...I’ll be home if you need me..." Nash walks out of the SIU as Joe and Harvey work on the case... Nash is riding down the street, thinking about picking up his son, Nicolas tomorrow...he smiles as he comes to a stop at a red light...as he sits waiting for the light to change green, he begins to get a funny feeling, but it’s not the same feeling he gets when Joe announces the scheme of all schemes, this is a feeling that sends a sharp chill up his spine...he glances at the people walking along the sidewalk, laughing and talking...he takes a check in his rear view mirror, nothing...he grins at what he was thinking as the light changes green and he continues on his way home, still cautious of his surroundings... At Zingari’s, Curtis Praun is seated at a back table, eating lobster and shrimp ravioli when a man walks over to him...he stands table-side, awaiting an invitation to be seated...Curtis takes a bite of ravioli and sips a glass of Merlot...he carefully wipes his mouth and looks up at his visitor... "What’s so important that you would inconvenience me here..." The man looks at him and is a little nervous... "I’m sorry, Mr. Praun...I know you don’t know me, but..." Curtis interrupts him... "I know who you are...(Curtis takes another sip of his Merlot)...you’re Chickie Pandolfo...(he smiles as he takes a small bite of ravioli and swallows)...sit down..." Chickie seats himself quickly... "Look, I really need to speak with you...it’s regarding a (he looks around) little situation..." "What’s so urgent that you need to come here and ruin a perfect lunch..." Chickie looks at Curtis’ plate and then at Curtis... "That sure does look good..." Curtis glares at him, picks up his glass and takes another sip of wine... "It is, now what do you want...and make it quick, my ravioli are getting cold..." "Oh, sure...well, it’s about the situation over at the halfway house..." "What about it..." "Well, the cops are all over this...(he looks around carefully) they found something while they were there..." Curtis become curious and somewhat perturbed at what he has just heard... "What! (He leans in to Chickie)...you mean to tell me that even this was a difficult assignment! (He sits back in his chair)...I don’t wanna know anymore...take care of it however you have to...(he glares at him) I don’t want to hear from you or see you again...now get outta my face..." "I’ll take care of it..." Chickie stands up and is about to leave when Curtis stops him... "Wait a minute...(Chickie turns around and looks at him...Curtis glances up at him)...what department has this certain something?" "CSU had it, but it was taken over by the SIU...why?" Curtis grins and nods his head as he remembers his run-in with them years before... "Ok..." Chickie turns back around and heads out the door...Curtis sits quietly and continues to finish his lunch... Nash steps out of the lift and as he proceeds to the stairs, he shouts... ‘HELLO...’ Nick calls back...’Hello son, I’m in the kitchen...’ Nash walks into the kitchen with a smile on his face...Nick looks at Nash..."What are you doin’ home?" Nash smiles..."I don’t know...I thought that we could, maybe, have lunch together for a change..." Nick shrugs his shoulders... "Ok...I made some tuna salad earlier, and there’s some left over vegetable soup from last night, how’s that sound?" Nash smiles... "Mmmm, sounds yummy!" Nick gets up, heads to the fridge, takes out the tuna and begins heating up the soup...as he turns, he sees Nash sitting on a stool, his face in deep thought...he walks over to him and places his hand on his shoulder..."It’s going to be alright, son..." Nash looks up at his father..."Will it?" Nick smiles..."Sure it will...look, it’s not like you don’t know how to do this...yes, it’s been a long time since Cassidy was a baby, but you’re a wonderful father...you’ll be just fine...plus you’ve got me here..." Nash chuckles and hugs his dad..."Thanks dad...(he looks at him) and you’re right, it’s gonna be just fine..." Nick places a few lunch plates and soup bowls and spoons on the counter and tends to the soup on the stove...Nash heads over to the stove...he takes a whiff of the soup... "That smells great...(he reaches into the cabinet and takes out 2 water glasses...he walks over and places them on the counter)...I got a call from Grace Trillo today..." Nick takes the pot of soup and places it carefully on a trivet on the counter...she begins ladling the soup into the bowls... "Really? So when’s the big day?" "I’ve got a meeting with Grace tomorrow...(Nash smiles and spoons his soup before eating it)...listen, how about you and I go out for dinner tonight...someplace fancy, you know, we both get all dressed up...(he smiles) what’d ya say?" Nash glances at him as he puts a spoonful of soup in his mouth and makes a face...Nick chuckles..."That was hot, wasn’t it..." Nash looks at him and grins..."just a little...", and they continue eating their lunch. As Nash is about to head back to the SIU, Nick stops him... "Before you leave, I think you should know something..." Nash turns around to face him..."What’s that?" "Don’t let Joe touch the blue button..." Nash looks confusingly at Nick..."What are you talkin’ about?" Nick shakes his head and turns away..."No, never mind...you’ll just get upset and all excited..." Nash walks behind him..."WHAT blue button, Nick?" Nick turns around..."See, you’re getting upset and worrying already...(he looks at Nash, who is glaring at him)...ok ok...look, when I was there last week, while I was waiting for you I took a walk to the back of the barge, and I noticed a panel...well, you know me, I had to know just what the panel was, and it turns out that it was used when the cannery was up and running...it operated the conveyers and some of the other equipment...(Nash listens intently)...well, there’s 6 buttons on the panel...4 of them are disengaged, probably by Frank and his guys when they did the electrical work when you guys moved in...the other 2 are still active..." "Nick, where’s this going?" "The yellow button is the alarm...it’s for, of course, emergency purposes...but the blue button, well...(he pauses as he glances at Nash, he just stares at him...he exhales)...let’s just say that if anyone were to lean up against it, unknowingly, or hit it somehow, you’re off and sailing to Seattle..." "What? You mean to tell me that this, blue button, is the..." Nick shrugs his shoulders and nods... "Yup...it’s anchors away, son..." Nash thinks... "The barge has an anchor?" "Apparently...I guess that it’s like added protection, or something like that..." "Why didn’t you tell me this when you found out!" "Because if I would’ve told you, then you would’ve told Joe...and isn’t it much better if there’s NO attention drawn to it, especially from Joe? If no one hasn’t found it by now, then they don’t know that it even exists...so let it go..." "You’re absolutely right...if Joe knows that it’s there, all hell will break loose...and I really don’t need hell breaking loose..." "Right...you’re uneasy when you leave Joe there alone anyway...so don’t give it another thought...now go back to work..." Nash turns and walks up the stairs, steps into the lift and disappears, as the thought of the barge drifting off swim through his head... As Nash is heading back to the SIU, he begins to get that strange feeling again...he decides to pull over and give the area a look over...he parks, steps out of the Cuda and cautiously glances around at his surroundings...as he leans up against the Cuda and exhales, he looks up the block and notices an emerald green Chevy Lumina, parked in a hap-hazard way...he squints to see the person behind the wheel, and as he begins to take a few steps in that direction, the Lumina, fearing danger, takes off around the corner...Nash hurries to the Cuda, gets in, turns the key and quickly takes off after it...the Lumina comes dangerously close to pedestrians as they weave in and out of traffic...Nash is just about to make his move and race to the front of it and hopefully cause the Lumina to come to a braking stop, when Nash hears the blaring horn of a tractor trailor, coming through the intersection...the Lumina makes a hurried dash to make it across as Nash takes a quick glance and slams on the brakes, nearly coming in contact with the back end of the trailor...Nash sits in the middle of the intersection with his elbow on the door panel and his hand on his forehead, his heart and breathing racing...he gets his composure and looks around to make sure that no one was hurt and heads to the SIU... Harvey is talking to the lab on the phone when Nash pulls into the parking lot...Joe looks out the window, sees Nash and glances over at Harvey... "Yo Harv, Nash is coming..." Harvey nods his head and gives Joe a smile and a thumbs up...Nash walks in and Joe stands up to meet him...he notices the look on his face and becomes concerned... "Hey Nashman, are you alright? You need some water or something, you don’t look good...what happened?" Nash glances at Joe and shakes his head... "No, I’m fine...(he grabs a piece of paper and writes down EDT-3163 and hands it to Joe)...here, do me a favor and run this number for me..." Joe takes it, looks at it curiously and glances at Nash... "What’s this?" "It’s a plate number, now stop asking me questions about it and find out what you can on it...(he glances at him) thank you...(he looks at Harvey and motions to Joe)...is Harvey talking to the lab?" "Yeah...ya know, I’ve never seen him smile so much..." Nash chuckles as Harvey hangs up...he stands and smiles at Nash and Joe... "Oh baby, we hit the lottery on this one...the boys at the lab were able to pull a partial off of the ring that was found..." Nash smiles... "Ok Harv, lay it on us..." "The print belongs to Chickie Pandolfo..." Joe asks curiously... "Who’s Chickie Pandolfo?" "He’s a blank canvas right now, I’m checkin’ on him...now, the print was his, but that really doesn’t mean a whole helluva lot..." Joe glances at the men... "So the ring may not even be Chickie’s...he may have been there, saw it on the floor and just picked it up to take a look at it..." Harvey adds... "Why don’t I find Chickie and get him in here..." Nash replies... "That’s an excellent idea..." Nash looks at Joe and shakes his head...Joe catches his motion and throws his arms out... "WHAT...you’re not gonna let this go, are ya?" Harvey looks at them... "Let what go?" Joe sarcastically replies... "Nash is having a very hard time with my contributions today...he can’t believe that what I’ve said, (he glares at Nash) SO FAR, has a possibility of being true..." Harvey smiles... "You’re kidding..." "I know...I keep telling him that he should listen to me..." "No, I mean, YOU might solve this case?" Joe becomes agitated and stomps off in a huff...Nash watches him and shouts... "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" "I’LL BE BACK HERE IF YOU WANT TO DISCUSS THIS CASE!" Nash laughs and then quickly stops...he thinks about what Nick told him before he left and he begins to get nervous...he looks at Harvey... "Oh geez...I’ll be right back..." "JOE!" Nash rushes after Joe as Harvey looks on in confusion and curiousness... Later that evening, Nash heads home...he steps out of the lift and walks down the stairs, where Nick is seated on the sofa, dressed for their big dinner... "Hey Nick" Nick glances at Nash..."Oh, hello son...well, I’m ready..." Nash chuckles and smiles as he walks to the kitchen and Nick follows...he seats himself on a stool next to Nash and takes a beer...Nash smiles and takes a sip of his beer... "So what are ya in the mood for...Chinese...Italian..." Nick looks at Nash..."I can go for some Italian tonight..." Nash takes another sip of his beer and smiles..."Ok, Italian it is..." Nick watches his son fidget with his hands and grins... "Nash...you have nothing to be nervous about, you’re a fantastic father and this little boy is going to have a wonderful life with his new family...yes, it’ll be a little strange for him, trying to get accustomed to his new surroundings, but what’s more important is that he’ll be in a home where he’ll be loved. (Nick smiles) Now I have a grandson to take fishing...I can show him the best spots, (he gets excited) maybe even take him out on the boat and take him to the stable when I go to walk Mr. Woody..." Nash laughs and puts his arm around Nick’s neck... "I’m sure that he would just love that..." Nick chuckles and glances at his son... "Well, are we gonna go or are we gonna just sit here..." Nash smiles and they head out... At the Argent Hotel, Curtis Praun comes down from his room and heads into the hotel restaurant, Jesters. He is seated by the hostess and a waiter quickly rushes over... "Good evening, Mr. Praun...may I bring you a cocktail or something from the bar?" Never making eye contact with the waiter, Curtis replies... "Just bring me a beer, bottled, and a glass..." The waiter rushes back to the bar and places the order...as Curtis is looking over the menu, he notices a man walking toward him...he takes a deep breath and exhales as aggravation wells in him... "You obviously don’t hear very well, cause I believe I told you that I didn’t want to see you again, Chickie...now what the hell are you doing here..." The man stands table-side and looks at Curtis nervously... "I’m very sorry to bother you during dinner, but I wanted to let you know that the situation we discussed has been taken care of..." Curtis looks around and then looks at Chickie with a sense of relief, but still feeling hatred toward him, he speaks in a low, deep voice that only Chickie can hear... "Good...now get the hell out of my face, before I do something that you may regret..." Chickie looks at him, begins to shake slightly and without uttering another word, turns quickly and rushes out the door. |