#artb

The only people who had a clue to his real identity were dead now. He planned what he would say on the drive back, taking the time to consider all angles that could pop up. He was sure Connie could throw a wrench in things, but that was a risk he’d have to take. He rushed back to the steakhouse, finding the remaining members still socializing on the grounds. The women had moved to a different room, leaving the men to shoot the breeze and smoke cigars. They were laughing at a joke someone had just told as Flip burst back into the room.

"Hey, where'd you run off to? It's been hours," Walter asked.

"Felix and Ivanhoe went rogue. I tried to stop them but—“

"They went what?" Walter's voice rose. "Mr. Duke, please excuse us, there's been an issue,"

“No, I'd like to be apart of this. Is everything okay?" The leader asked.

Flip motioned for them to follow him out of the room and they obliged. They stood in the hall and he did his best to look upset.

"Two of our members weren't in compliance with the organizations morals. They wanted to incite violence and chose to target the local Black Student Union," He explained.

"They had an explosive device that they were going to set off at the Black Student Union’s headquarters. I found out about what they were trying to do and tried to talk them out of it but they wouldn't listen. They took off and I tried to catch up with them but I was too late,"

"Did they kill anyone?" Walter asked. "I mean our creed is nonviolence but did they at least, you know, succeed?"

"When I got there, the house was fine but their car was on fire. I—I think—“ He didn't finish his sentence, letting them put two and two together.

Duke closed his eyes and sighed. Walter looked defeated.

"I tried to get closer, but the police were arriving and I had to get out of there. I got back here as soon as I could,"

"Thank you, your service is appreciated," Duke said, clasping his shoulder. "It's always a sad day when brothers die for their cause,"

"They were good men," Flip agreed, lying through his teeth.

"Was Connie with them?" Walter asked.

"She was but survived, she was taken in to custody I think. I don't know if anything like this has happened before but should we take care of their house for them? Maybe get rid of anything that could incriminate us? I mean with Mr. Duke running for office we wouldn't want this coming back our way,"

"That's good thinking. I'll wrap things up here and meet you at their place in an hour. If the police start poking around, call me from a payphone and we'll re-group," Walter agreed, Duke nodding along.

"It was an honor to meet you sir," Flip shook the leaders hand firmly.

"You're doing great things for this organization, Stallworth. A natural born leader if you will," Duke responded. "Take care out there,"

He said his goodbyes and dashed out to his car. He had already ensured that no officers would be poking around the house yet. He wanted to see if any evidence could be gathered for his case before the rest of the station swooped in.

He parked his car on the Kendrickson’s street, looking around for any neighbors before walking to the side of the house. He checked for an unlocked window, something people commonly forgot to do in the nicer parts of town, and found one right near the kitchen. He slid it open and squeezed his long frame through, stumbling as his foot found purchase on the hardwood floor.

He closed the window after him and began to look around. The house was still. It was hard to imagine that half of the people who lived in it were now dead, and the other half was headed to jail. The only sound in the house came from the ticking clock in the kitchen.

He walked around, taking a brief glimpse at how the house had come to a stand still. It still looked lived-in. Boots by the front door, unlaced and on their sides. The daily mail sat on the kitchen counter, not yet opened. The main level of the house looked normal enough, practically a piece of Americana. All of the klan paraphernalia was stored in the basement.

As he opens the door to the cellar and begins his journey downstairs he's reminded of the first time he came to this house. How Felix had taken him downstairs and held a gun to his head, trying to make him take a lie detector test. His stomach sank as he saw the same test still sitting on the small table. He reminded himself that was over, he'd never be in that situation again.

His eyes swept over the rest of the basement. There were a few guns, some old tool boxes and a lot of junk. He wouldn't have time to dig through it all. He'd only have about twenty minutes until Walter showed up, he needed to get what he needed and get out.

He rifled through a few boxes, looking for any proof. He became increasingly frustrated, each box containing nothing of use.

He'd wasted ten minutes and found nothing. He didn't have time for this shit. He tried to think of where else in the house there could be anything. He thought of the bedroom, maybe they stuffed something up there.

He headed back upstairs, leaving everything approximately where he'd found it, shutting the door behind him. He started up the staircase, finding the bedroom at the end of a small hallway. The bed was made and the room was nicely decorated. Connie's doing, probably. He started opening dresser drawers, looking under piles of clothes. Nothing. He tried the closet, shoving his hands into the pockets of shirts and coats. Just some shopping receipts in Connie's pockets.

He stopped himself from yelling in frustration. He needed proof for this investigation, something that would show concrete proof of their involvement beyond some snapshots and recordings. He looked toward the immaculately made bed. He crouched down to check under it, met with nothing yet again. He hit his head pulling out, cursing this whole operation. He drive his fist into the floor, an attempt to get rid of his aggression.

The floorboard knocked out of place.

He looked down, it was dark under the bed but he could just make out a small box. He pulled it out, taking a better look at it in the quickly dimming light. He opened the box, and he sucked in a breath upon seeing the contents.

There were six memberships cards scattered in the box, one for every year of Felix's service, along with recruitment flyers the klan had produced and some photos of him with the white robes on. Connie smiled proudly next to her husband in the photo. Another photo was at the very bottom of the box. He immediately recognized a familiar scene. The shooting range the organization had taken him to could be seen in the background, the vulgar targets looked newly installed. There Felix stood with a rifle, smiling as he aimed it at one of the targets.

“Now these would do just fine for evidence,” He thought to himself as he held the photos.

Suddenly, he heard a car engine. He rushed to the bedroom window. And saw Walter's car pull up to the house.

Fuck. He had to get out of there now.

He stuffed the contents of the box in his inside coat pocket to keep them out of view. He shoved the box back into the floorboards and readjusted the wood. He ran back downstairs as quietly as possible, peaking out windows when he could to make sure he hadn't been spotted. The dark house served as a good cover, keeping him out of sight.

He stopped near the front window. Walter was standing by his car smoking a cigarette, presumably waiting for him. There was no way he'd be able to get back to his car now, he was too close. He held his jacket close to his chest, hoping nothing would fall out as he snuck back out the window.

He stumbled back onto the grass, shutting the window behind him. He took a deep breath before straightening himself out and brushing himself off. He snuck to the front of the house and made himself just visible to Walter. He beckoned for him to come into the yard once he caught his eye. The man stubbed out his cigarette on his shoe and followed him.

"Do any of the brothers know what happened yet?" Flip asked.

"Not yet, we kept it quiet at the meeting, didn't want to cause a fuss with Duke still there. I'm sure they'll find out by tomorrow morning," He responded. "We should clear out anything that directly links him and Connie to our chapter. We don't want any trouble with the police,"

"I hear ya, I don't think theres a key hidden anywhere. There's gotta be an open window somewhere though,"

They crept through the yard, letting Walter test a few windows before Flip guided him to the one he knew was open. They entered the house the same way he had done moments before and began to look around.

After several minutes it became apparent that Walter was much more familiar with where Felix put things than himself. In the basement, boxes of klan memorabilia were carefully tucked away in tool chests under the drawer bottoms.

Most was simple enough, flags and robes and paperwork. Things he was kind of glad he didn't touch because the other man clearly knew what he was doing. Then another box was pulled out and opened. Walter smiled at the contents and held it for Flip to see. It was a mummified finger, decapitated from lord knows who. Under the finger was a simple tattered gold star made out of cloth with the word “Jude” written across it.

His stomach dropped. Where did Felix even get that from? he was too young to have fought in the war. Was is handed down? Was it purchased? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He willed himself to not look away, slap it out of Walter’s hand, he had to keep cover.

He twisted his mouth into a small smile, looking up at Walter and giving a quiet laugh.

"Typical Felix," He gritted out.

"Yeah, he was a strange guy," Walter mused, closing the box and slipping it into his jacket.

They continued with this for another hour or so. They walked through the rest of the house, checking drawers and cabinets for anything incriminating. He held his breath as they walked around the bedroom, waiting to find out if Walter knew about the loose floorboard.

He waited by the doorway as the man circled the bedroom, checking the closets and drawers as Flip did before. He found nothing new. He stopped at the end of the bed, dropping down to check under it and he felt his heart stop. Walter stayed under there for what felt like hours. He couldn’t hear what was going on beyond the pumping of blood in his ears. Was he about to be found out?

Walter stood back up, staring at him before speaking.

"I'm not seeing anything up here, guess he kept it all in the basement. We should get out of here. Before anyone notices,"

It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest.

"Yeah, good idea,"

"I can't hold all this shit, you take some of it. Hide it if anyone comes around questioning you. Who knows how this is all gonna go down," he slapped his hand on his back as he moved passed him.

The two went back downstairs, dividing up the boxes and calmly slipped back out the window. Flip took care to not grab the box that Walter had out the finger in. It was evidence, but he couldn't bear the thought of looking at it, or handling it, ever again.

"Take care, i’ll call you when it feels safe to," Walter whispered before going back to his car.

Boxes in hand and cards in his pocket, he travelled back to his own car, throwing them in the trunk before driving off. He took a long route to Elle's. A really long route. He was paranoid and  exhausted, wanting nothing more than to hold her in his arms.

He stopped at the first payphone he saw, parking his car alongside the glass box before putting in a coin and punching in Elle's number with a practiced ease. She picked up after two rings.

"Flip?" She asked, voice filled with worry.

"It's me. I'm on my way, I'll see you soon," He assured her.

She breathed a sigh of relief before the two said their goodbyes and hung up. He got back in his car and went on his way.

He'd bring the boxes to the station tomorrow, submitting it as evidence. At a stop light, he took the cards out of his coat pocket and took another look at them. The vicious red of the papers stared back at him. He was given a card just like this, but with his undercover name. He chuckled to himself as he thought about how Duke would probably lose it if he knew who the real Ron Stallworth was. The light turned green and he put the cards in his glovebox before stepping on the gas.

He was outside Elle's door less than ten minutes later. He ran up the stairs toward her apartment, breathing a sigh of relief when he reached her floor. He stood outside her door, taking a moment to look at her mezuzah. He stared at it, taking in its meaning. This place is blessed. This place is safe. He reached out and ran his fingers across it before unlocking the door and walking in.

Elle emerged from the kitchen, immediately throwing her arms around his large frame and burying her face into his chest.

"Hey trouble," He murmured, running his hand along the back of her neck. Her curls were still pinned up under her nurses' cap, she hadn't bothered to change.

"You don't get to call me that today Mr. ‘I'm going back out there’," Her words were muffled by his chest. He laughed.

"I'm home, there won't be anymore trouble tonight," He assured her.

She grabbed his shirt with her fists and dragged him down into a kiss. He could feel everything she'd felt that day; fear, worry, anger, relief, but mostly love.

"Did you get what you needed?" She asked after.

"I did. I think I have a good amount of incriminating evidence,"

"Good. Tear them the fuck down," Her gaze had an intensity to it.

She switched to a gentler look as she motioned back to the kitchen.

"I have some steak and potatoes cooking, hungry?"

"Absolutely,"

They sit in silence for a few minutes as they eat, taking time to de-stress now that the worst was over. He'd seen Elle stress-cook before, after Felix showed up at his house, but she had much more time to prepare this meal. Everything was cooked to perfection. She seemed pleased with her work as she ate, and much more relaxed than even a few minutes before.

"I called home earlier to let them know what had happened at work today. Well, an abridged version. I left out the meshugas racist part. Mama was a lot less upset than I thought she'd be, but she did tell me I should quit and settle down though,"

"I don't think settling down is in your wheelhouse," He smiled

"You're right. But I did tell her I found a nice guy out here in the mountains. He's even Jewish. I'm pretty sure she dropped the phone when I told her that,"

"I'm glad she's happy to hear about me," He laughed.

"She'll want to talk to you sometime, probably give you the shakedown of when you're coming to the city with me to meet the family,"

"I’d like that. You'll have to teach me some German so I can talk to them,"

"You say that as if they'll let you get a word in. I'll be surprised if they let you even get your own name out before questioning begins,"

"My family will be the opposite. Just silence with weird polite questions dotted in,"

"You want me to meet your family too?" She seemed surprised.

"Eventually yeah, whenever you're ready for it," He didn't want to come across as eager.

The last time he brought a girl home was in high school. This would be a big deal for him, she was a big deal, but he'd let her know that later.

"Well we can work out the details later, let's just relax for now," She tried to hide a smile, looking relieved they were on the same page. She wanted this to move in the same direction as he did.

The evening was becoming the rainbow after the storm. His life was hectic and dangerous, but he found someone who could put up with it. Tomorrow he would go into the office and the case would continue. He'd be undercover, cleaning up the mess that today was. But he wouldn't worry about that now.

She was with him, they were safe, that's what mattered.

______

NOTES

So after watching the film a few times, I had a few questions about how the team thought they were going to be able to continue the undercover work after the explosion/Connie’s arrest. I kinda filled in what I thought could have happened in order to keep Flip’s cover. 

Where did Felix get the finger and the patch? No idea but it was gross to write! Just wanted to hammer home the idea that he’s a sick bastard.

“Meshugas” is yiddish for crazy.

Then the real Ron Stallworth was put on escort duty for Duke and he really didn’t feel ready for all this. What was the chief thinking? Not only was he putting a black officer in charge of the most prominent white supremacist in America, Ron was also the man that had been speaking on the phone with him for months.

The stress was starting to get to him. He was constantly working scenarios out in his head, every little situation that could go possibly wrong, and what he could do to fix it if it happened. In theory it was once day, just a few hours spent at a steakhouse. They would get through it one way or another. But he couldn’t help but feel this whole operation was about to be a disaster.

“Flip?” Elle’s voice called to him.

He blinked his eyes a few times and he came back to reality. He was sitting in Elle’s living room with her on the sofa, the two of them sharing Chinese food he’d brought over. It was the night before the big day.

“You spaced out there for a minute, everything okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about work,” He rubbed his face with his hand, trying to wake himself back up.

“You’ve been really stressed out lately, is that because of work too?”

“Yeah, it’s—” He stopped himself.

“Confidential, I know,” She finished his words. “But I’m still worried. How much longer do you think this case is?”

“Could be years, could be tomorrow. I really can’t say,” He sighed.

Part of him wanted this to be over. He was mentally exhausted from dealing with the klan day in and day out. But he know this was important, that they needed to be taken down. He just hoped it could be done smoothly. He suddenly felt her fingers intertwine with his.

“You’re going to get through this,” She assured him. “You’re gonna do what you need to do, and I’ll be by your side through it no matter how long it takes,”

He looked at her, taking in the resolution on her face. She believed in him, in his ability to see this through. This woman knew who he was undercover with, had even accidentally met some of the targets, and was still supportive of him. He had other girlfriends in the past tell him they supported him, but this time he felt like he could really believe it. He gave her hand a light squeeze and nodded at her.

“I’m going to get through this,”

_______

"You know something about that, don't you Flip?"

Blood rushed in his ears, for a second the world seemed to stop. Felix just called him by his name, his real name. He knew, how did he know? Is he about to be exposed to the entire organization without any backup? Ron wasn't in the room, he must have left for somewhere. Fuck this was about to be a worst case scenario.

He didn't remember the guy being introduced to him. Was it another undercover case? Army? Did he arrest him? Fuck, why can't he remember? His mouth was on autopilot, denying and covering the best he could.

Suddenly a waiter approached the table, stopping them all.

"Felix Kendrickson, you have a call,"

He stood up from the table, leaning over to Flip before he left.

"We'll talk about this later, Flip," He spat out before leaving.

The majority of the table hadn't noticed the interaction, but those who did took turns glancing in his direction. He pretended not to notice, not saying anything as he silently plotted his next step. Maybe he could leave now? Excuse himself before he's exposed? He took a sip of wine to calm his nerves. He wasn't going to abandon the case, he could talk his way out of this.

Felix came back into the room but didn't even acknowledge Flip. He gave a curt nod and Ivanhoe and the mystery man got up and followed him out without another word.

Something has to be going on. With all their talk to explosions and revolution, whatever they were up to it couldn't be good. He had to follow them.

"Why was he calling you flip?" Duke's voice came from his right side. That's right, he still had to keep his cover.

"We were in prison together, it was an old joke. I think he just violated his parole though," Prison, he put the guy in prison. He remembered now.

He got up and calmly walked out of the room. As soon as the door closed he took off into a sprint, trying to see where the men had gone off to. He was near the entrance when he heard a car engine start. He looked out a window to see Felix driving a car out of the lot and down the road. He followed the car at a distance, trying to keep from being seen.

He lost their car at a red light, the vehicle disappearing around a corner as a line of cars passes in front of him, preventing him from moving forward. Behind him were more cars so backing up isn't an option either. He brings a fist down on his steering wheel, grunting in frustration.

There was no police scanner in his car, just his gun under his seat and his badge hidden in his glove box. He couldn't listen to what was going on, or if Ron had made any calls in to the network. He was going to have to wing it.

As soon as the light turned green, he gunned it. A straggler from the recent red light almost T-boned him as he sped through the intersection, causing them both to swerve. He recovered as best he could and kept going despite the horns blaring behind him.

He weaved through the streets of Colorado Springs, looking for any sign of the car. There's a few false alarms, but once he sees the passengers his heart falls. They're nowhere to be found.

He thinks that he should maybe start to head back when he hears a thundering BOOM a few streets to the west. Immediately he steps on the gas and his tiles squeal as he peels toward the noise. That had to be them, the crazy motherfuckers. What the fuck did they do?

He follows the smoke billowing up into the sky. As he turns the last corner he sees the police are already on the scene. Someone is on their stomach on the ground with a gun pointed at them. Did they catch the perp already? If it's Felix and company shouldn't there be more on the ground. Then he saw the man's face. Ron.

"Hey, HEY," He screamed as he rushed out of his car. The officers turned to look at him. He'd grabbed his badge and gun from the car as he rushed toward them.

"Who the fuck are you?" One asked.

"I'm an undercover cop you idiot," He spat back, throwing his badge at him.

He made them get off Ron and free him from his cuffs. He looks around and evaluated the scene in front of him. It took him a moment but he saw that the fireball in front of him was coming from a red VW Bug, and an overturned vehicle next to it. The car Felix was driving. He heard a wail and saw Connie on the ground crying. He put two and two together and bit back a grimace before turning to the officers.

"We have one black officer on the whole force and you can't bother to know him? Shape the fuck up and arrest that woman!” He yelled.

The officers scrambled to arrest the right person and Ron sprung up and ran toward the house that was closest to the flames. He watched him help up two women, one re recognized as Ron's girlfriend from the Black Student Union, and bring them father away.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked, seeing that the girls looked a little dazed. No doubt they had been knocked over by the blast of that were that close.

“We're fine, I'm gonna take them to the hospital just in case," Ron told him, ushering the girls to his car.

"I'll stay behind to make sure fire and anyone else that comes sets this up properly. They'll probably take Connie to an emergency unit too so be careful," He leaned by the open window of Ron's car as he spoke.

"We will be, you stay safe too," He said as he turned on the engine.

"And if you see Elle, tell her I'm okay," He knew the words were simple, but she'd appreciate them.

Ron met his gaze and nodded.

"Will do, brother. I'll see you there," Flip stepped back and the car rolled off away from the fire.

He took a deep breath. He could hear the fire engine in the distance and the police sirens approaching. Connie was currently being loaded into the back of an ambulance on a stretcher accompanied by an officer. The VW Bug let off another spurt of flames.

This is not how he thought this day would go.

_______

He drove to the hospital about a half hour later, trying to decompress and process what he just witnessed. The sight of the burning car, the smell of kerosene and smoke, the wailing of Connie mixed with the screams of Ron and the officers. What a shit show.

He became aware of how tightly he was gripping the wheel when he heard a knuckle crack. He loosened his grip and took a breath. He knew he should go back to the organization now, the longer he stayed away the more likely he was to blow his cover. But he wanted to make sure his partner wasn't going to be put in handcuffs again. And they'd need a statement from him about what just happened, and to know not to release anything about his involvement as an officer.

He was thankful the three men were pronounced dead on the scene. They were vile human beings who were intent on killing innocent people sure, but he didn't want to imagine the agony of surviving that kind of explosion. And he was sure they would be a nightmare for the nurses. Connie was sure to be a handful on her own, the way she was screeching and flailing. He hoped Elle wouldn't have to deal with all this, maybe she was helping other patients.

He swung into a parking spot and rushed inside, barely stopping at the front desk to flash his badge and ask which way to head. The nurses must have already seen the rest of the patients come in because they looked grave.

He dashed down the left hallway, bursting through the double doors that lead to the small emergency center. He passed the empty waiting room to enter the patient area. The first room he passed held Ron and his friends. He skidded to a halt and caught his breath.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, entering the room.

"Yeah, I'm okay. They're okay. No damage on us, I think we're just here as more of a precaution," Ron explained. "How's the scene?"

"It's being handled. It's not pretty but at least it was contained and didn't harm anything else. You guys should be good to go home tonight, your house is fine,"

"Thanks," Patrice said from across the room. Her and her friend looked to be in no mood for talking, which he understood.

"Your girl was just in here, I told her you were okay," Ron offered, giving him a smile.

"Thanks. I told her I wasn't gonna get into trouble today so she probably had a heart attack with this many officers coming in at once. Where is she now?"

"She went down the hall to get the medicine for the nurses to work on Connie. She had some scrapes from resisting arrest but they can't get her to settle down enough to help her,"

"She seems to have quieted down now, maybe she—“ His sentence was cut off by a loud shriek and the sound of glass shattering.

He took one look at Ron and ran out of the room, looking for the source. He found it a few doors down the hallway. Connie was being tended to by five nurses, most of which were holding her down while she thrashed in the small hospital bed. An IV had been attached to her arm but it appears to have been ripped out and the glass container smashed on the floor with the liquid seeping across the tile.

"Ma'am, please cooperate, were just trying to help," He heard Elle say. She was by the nurse's cart, rifling to find something in the mess.

"I'm innocent, you can't do this to me!" Connie screamed in response.

The nurses tightened their hold. No one seemed to notice his presence yet. He feared entering the room in case Connie noticed him and she figured out who he really was. She hadn't noticed him at the scene, too busy staring at the charred Ford.

"Ma'am we cannot help you unless you calm down. You have several scrapes we need to tend to, we want to make sure they heal correctly," Elle continued with a even voice.

She spoke calmly and he could easily see how any patient would find it soothing. She was a sight in her uniform, looking professional and focused. She carefully drawing the contents of a small bottle into a syringe. She brought it eye level, inspecting it, squirting some out, before drawing closer to the distraught woman. Her shrieks had become quieter, becoming more of whimpers. She wasn't aware of the syringe approaching her.

"We'll need to disinfect the cuts and get them wrapped in gauze," She explained out loud to the other nurses, who nodded in affirmation.

She looked at the nurse across from her and nodded. That nurse began to talk to Connie, diverting her attention while Elle drew the needle closer. They were trying to inject her, probably with a sedative, in order to calm her down. The distraction seemed to work until Connie felt the pinch of the needle entering her arm. Her head jerked back, looking at her arm and then at Elle.

It was at that moment he noticed her necklace falling forward from under her uniform collar, the same moment Connie saw it as well. Elle seemed unaware, focused to keeping the woman calm as she finished the injection.

Suddenly, Connie broke the hold the nurse had on her right arm, lunging it over to grab at Elle's necklace. She yanked the chain down, her head jerking with it.

"You filthy Jew, what'd you put in me?" Connie gritted out, fist tightening around the chain as the nurse clambered to get ahold of her.

Elle's expression was steeled, jaw set. One hand was on the syringe, now removed from her arm, and the other was desperately trying to pry her fingers off her necklace.

"It was a sedative ma'am, the same one we tried to put in your IV before you broke it. We promise, it's for your own good. We aren't here to hurt you," She said in an even tone, expertly masking her anger.

"You don't get to tell me what's good for me you dirty kike!” Connie roared in response.

The nurses all wore the same expression of shock. Flip was sure they'd seen and heard worse, but such an open attack right in front of them must be jarring. It sure disturbed him. Elle took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Ma'am I need you to let go," She said evenly.

"I watched my husband die today. A good man. A pure man. He would have killed you if he knew you were putting poison in me," Connie's voice was full of malice, her grip tightening around the necklace to the point of drawing blood where the pendant came to a point.

Elle yelped, the metal chain digging into her skin before breaking and clinking to the ground. She stepped back, holding her hand to her neck to make she was okay. Her composure was broken, eyes filled with rage. In one swift motion she drew her arm back and rocked it forward with all her strength, her fist connecting with the woman's cheek.

Connie grunted and fell limp against the bed, knocked out cold. The room was dead silent. It was if time had stopped. Elle's chest heaved as she slowly came back to reality. She took one look at Connie and looked frantically at her fellow nurses.

"Is she—” She started to ask lowly.

"She's just knocked out, it was the sedatives, right?" One nurse responded, looking at the others. A chorus of affirmation followed.

"It was the drugs that knocked her out, poor thing has had a hard day," One said.

"I heard she fell on her head while being apprehended, hope she doesn't get a bruise," Another offered.

Elle's posture relaxed, her eyes growing glassy and her hands gaining a tremor. Flip decided it was time for him to enter.

"Eliana," He said softly, getting to her side with just a few quick strides. The nurses seemed caught off guard by his presence, eyeing the badge and gun on his person.

"She's not in trouble is she? She was just defending herself," A nurse asked, ready to step forward and come to her defense.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I didn't see a thing," He said simply, pulling his girl into a hug.

"Flip?" She asked, not having the strength to look up at him.

"I'm here, come on, let's get you some air," He said quietly.

A nurse picked up Elle's necklace and held it out to Flip, who took it and nodded his silent thanks.

"Thank you ladies, my partner is down the hall if you need anything. I'm gonna make sure Elle is okay," He escorted Elle out of the room, his arm looped around her waist.

_______

There was a bench right outside of a maintenance door. He sat her down, moving right next to her, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. She hadn't said a word as they walked down the quiet hallways. She just stared dead ahead, eyes focusing on nothing in particular.

"Talk to me," He murmured, tucking a stray curl back under her cap.

"I could lose my job," She whispered, voice thick from holding in emotion. "I just punched a patient in the face what the fuck what I thinking?"

"She physically attacked you and was screaming hate speech I think any sane person would consider that self defense," He reasoned with her.

"It doesn't matter, I lost my cool. She was in my care, it shouldn't matter. This could be a nightmare for the hospital if it gets out" She buried her face in her hand

"I don't think it's gonna. The nurses you were working with seem to have your back on this one. One of them looked ready to take me out too when I came into the room. And I doubt Connie will have any memory after getting clocked like that,"

Elle groaned in response, rubbing her face with her hands. She swiped under her eyes, trying to prevent any tears from falling while she was on shift.

"No matter what happens, you're going to be fine. You won't lose your job, they love you here and aren't going to fire you because you defended yourself against a crazed racist," He assured.

"I hope you're right," She sighed, bringing her hand up to her throat and feeling where the chain cut into her skin.

Suddenly, her hand stopped as she remembered her necklace had been broken off her. She started to stand when he dug into his pocket to bring it forth.

"It's here, don't worry. I'm sorry she broke it, I know how much it means to you,"

Elle sucked in a breath, new tears welling in her eyes. Her mouth was drawn tight, preventing any emotion from escaping as she gingerly touched the necklace laying in his palm. The pendant, which had survived a genocide, years of torture and pain and a trip to a new country was untouched. The silver star stood resolute against the pale flesh of his palm. It was the chain, which was weak from decades of wear, that has been broken.

"Mama won't be happy when I tell her about this," She noted. "I think I could get a new chain, this one looks beyond repair,"

She took the necklace from his hand, rubbing the pendant between her fingers before tucking it into her breast pocket.

"I think you're right," He said. She was coming out of shock and seemed to be reasoning with herself again, a good sign. "It's going to be okay sweetheart,"

"Ron told me what happened today. You're working with a bunch of lunatics,"

"Are we talking about the organization or the police?" He asked, realizing it could very well be either after today's events.

"I meant the org but both of them. It's meshugas, I don't know how you work with either of them," She gave a quick laugh of disbelief.

"Its been a trip," He didn't want to speak ill of his department, but after watching how his fellow officers handled things today, he wasn't happy. "I'll have to head back soon. My cover was almost blown today and I have my work cut out for me,"

"You're going back?" She removed her head from his shoulder and looked at him incredulously.

"The guys who blew my cover are the same ones getting their ashes scooped into body bags right now. I think I have a good shot of this working out," He then hurried to explain. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was safe,"

She just stared at him for a moment, eyes searching for any doubt in him. He remained firm, he knew this was the right thing to do.

"You'd better come home in one piece Zimmerman," She warned. "Or else there's gonna be a lot more racists with black eyes today,"

"I promise you," He held out a hand to her. She took it and gave it a squeeze.

"Call me before you get to my place? So I can get some dinner started?"

"Of course," He reaffirmed.

"I guess I should get back too, I made kind of a mess in there. I should get to cleaning," She sighed, standing up from the bench and smoothing her dress out.

"You gonna be alright? I can take you home," He offered.

"No it's okay, I have to finish my shift. I'll be fine,"

"Okay, I'll see you tonight then. Tell Ron where I'm headed and that this is something I gotta do without a wire,"

"Ten four," she mock saluted him.

She started to head back toward the door when he caught her and brought her flush to his body. He pulled her into a kiss, cradling her face with his hands, silently communicating every emotion he’d been holding in that day. He swore he’d come home to her tonight, he’d put an end to this.

“I love you,” He whispered as he broke the kiss.

“I love you too,” She whispered back. “Be safe,”

He promised to do his best.

_______