Newsome's office was off to one side of the squad room on the second floor. Once all three men were inside and seated, the captain looked expectantly at Will.
"I'm sure you know about the young man who was attacked in the laundry room of his apartment building," Will began.
"I do. As a matter of fact, I'm the one who authorized your visiting him in the hospital."
"Jack went up the chain of command," Will said, with a bit of a smile.
"He did. Now what does this young man have to do with you?"
"I… was a friend of the family, way back when, before he was even born. I want to make certain he isn't attacked again and I know you undoubtedly don't have the resources to put someone on him for an extended length of time."
"We don't, I'm afraid. So what did you have in mind?"
"I want Mick—" he nodded toward him, "—and me in an apartment in the building. I'm sure you can pull strings to make that happen."
"You have a somewhat grandiose idea of my power," Newsome said, tapping his fingers together. "What would you be, if I can arrange it? Father and son?"
"That's what most people who see us already think we are, so that works."
"Why both of you? Why not just you?"
Will smiled a bit, glancing at Mick. "I'm sort of his substitute parent, for lack of a better word. I'm not about to go off and desert him."
"Yeah, he is," Mick chimed in. "He's even making me study and all that, after we've—well, you know."
"That sounds like you, Will. Tell you what, let me make a couple of phone calls to see if I can arrange this. It might take until tomorrow to set it up, if I can."
"That's okay. For obvious reasons, we have some shopping to do in the meantime."
"All right. I'll see you in the morning then. Around nine?"
"Yes." Will and Mick stood, heading for the door.
"Will, before you leave, may I have a few words with you in private?"
"I'll wait outside," Mick said, quickly leaving the room.
Newsome nodded to the chair Will had just vacated. When Will sat Newsome looked at him pensively. "Are you ever going to get off the streets?" he finally asked. "Get back to what you were so good at?"
Will shook his head. "Call it penance if you will, or whatever, but I'd be no good at doing that again."
"Will," Newsome said quietly, "Danny Parker's death was not your fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the consequences."
"He wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me. I was too late to stop him."
"From what I've heard, that's not the way it was."
Will shook his head. "What you heard, what everyone heard, was…" He sighed deeply. "It doesn't matter now. I could have saved him. I had the chance. I blew it. End of story." He stood, looking down at Newsome. "Maybe, if I can keep Kevin Parker safe, it'll go a bit of a way toward redeeming myself in my eyes, if no one else's." He crossed the room to the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Please, make it happen."
When he was out of the office, Mick joined him, asking, "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, it's fine. The captain just had a couple of questions. Personal ones. I guess he figured there were things I might not want you to know."
Mick rolled his eyes. "He guessed right, I'm sure. But someday…"
Will patted his shoulder. "Maybe. Someday."
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