Sal shook his head.
Lany, being Lany, stepped forward. "I want to know who is going to fix my house. There's a hole in the wall you could fit a Buick through. We may live at the estate because of a trust, but we live on Sal's salary. We can't afford to fix a whole that size. We have a son getting ready to go off to college, not to mention five others headed there in the next few years."
"Junior—"
"No!" Lany snapped. "That is our home, the one place in the world where we are supposed to be safe, and these guys came into it with guns. Guns! My children live there. How are they supposed to feel safe when police officers bring guns into our home and try to hurt us?"
"Lany, come to me,caro," Sal said in a low voice as he held out his hand. When Lany stepped over to him, Sal wrapped an arm around him and drew him in. The other children hurried over and hugged them both.
Sal hugged them all as he leaned down and whispered to them. I heard a couple of sobs and felt an overwhelming urge to punch something, or someone.
When Sal raised his head, his copper-colored eyes were flat. "We're done."
He nodded to us when he walked his family past. "Finish this and then meet us at home."
We all nodded and then watched them leave the room.
I glanced back when Jerry started speaking again.
"One more thing I'd like to point out to you tonight. There was no warrant issued. No warrant served. You attacked from the water with armed men and a rocket-propelled grenade, and you attacked through the front gate of the property, also with armed men. Your bullets were meant to kill. Lieutenant Delvecchio and his team used rubber bullets when they had every right to use real bullets to defend their home. And, as they are the most elite SWAT team in the city, a lot of you could have died tonight. Every single one of you walked away with your lives."
"What's going to happen to us, sir?" one of the officers asked. "Are we being kicked out of the police bureau?"
I know what my choice would be.
"No, but only because Lieutenant Delvecchio, IAB, and I came to an agreement. You will be on probation until such time as the lieutenant's home is repaired and if you fully cooperate with IAB's investigation into Detective Burnett and the task force he set up. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with IAB will be dismissed immediately and face jail time. You will also be required to spend one day a week working with SWAT Team One so you can see how dedicated they are to their duty and this city."
That was not my choice.
Another officer raised his hand.
"Yes, Officer Walter?"
The officer stood. "Sir, I worked construction for my uncle every summer since I was ten years old. I'd be willing to help repair the house."
Another officer stood. "I can swing a hammer, sir."
"I know how to put in drywall."
On and on it went until nearly every officer in the room had stood and offered something. There were still a few who hadn't stood or said anything.
"I'll mention your offer to Lieutenant Delvecchio and see what he says," Jerry finally said. "I can't promise he'll agree, especially after what you did, but I appreciate your willingness to repair the damage you've done."
"Sir, we didn't know."
"You should have," Jerry said. "You had to wonder why Burnett only chose rookies just out of the academy."
"No, sir. The detective said he picked us because he couldn't pick anyone else in case they leaked word to the lieutenant. He also didn't want anyone who might know him."
Jerry's eyes narrowed. "So, you knew you were going on a raid against another police officer?"
"No, sir, but Burnett said there were dirty cops in the bureau and they would leak the information if we said anything. That's why the task force was top secret."
"Does anybody know where Detective Burnett is now?"
Jerry had just asked the question I'd been wondering for ages.
Where the fuck was this asshole?
