Thursday September 24th, 5:43 P.M. Yonkers
Home of Kelli Storm
The funeral procession stretched for miles, as officers from the five boroughs honored their fallen brother. Kelli expressed her sympathies to Bill’s parents, and whispered a promise that she would find the people responsible.
Now she and Kevin sat quietly in the living room, and though he had not really known Bill, Kelli knew that Kevin shared her loss. “You want a cup of tea?”
She looked up and attempted a smile. “Sure, that would be nice.”
He got up and kissed her on top of the head. “It’s going to be alright, you’re strong.” He turned and headed for the kitchen.
Kelli lay back on the couch and closed her eyes. She drifted off into a fitful sleep. She was once again in the midst of a shootout, glass flying all around her. She could hear the bullets as they whizzed over her head, and pounded the metal of her car.
Someone was shaking her and she swung her arms in defense.
“Whoa! Hold on slugger. You were having a nightmare.”
She opened her eyes and saw Kevin standing over her. “Shit. I was right there, and it was so real. They had me pinned down, and I was out of rounds. I’m scared, Kevin.”
He sat down and put an arm around her. “It’s okay, Kelli, it was just a dream,” he said, and pulled her closer.
She pushed him away and shook her head. “It’s not okay. My partner and his wife are dead because I had to go and piss off a drug lord. My mother doesn’t know who I am most of the time, and she’s getting worse.”
“Come on, Kelli, you can’t blame yourself for what happened to Bill and his wife, and there’s nothing you can do about your mother’s Alzheimer’s. You have to focus on what you can do, what you can change.”
She looked at him and smiled. “Now you’re starting to sound like my sponsor. You’re right, there’s only one thing to do. Get the son of a bitch before he kills anyone else.”
