Nothing To Lose Part 9

Jonas has to deal with the ramifications of the shooting before he can return to hunting for Danica's murderer or the hunt for the second victim.  

Nothing To Lose: Part 9

Jonas was anxiously sitting in the lobby of the city administrator's office. He nervously tapped his dress shoe on the marble tiles as he waited for his name to be called. It had been a long week, and it was about to get either longer or finally be over. It all depended on how the force investigation review hearing went, something he never enjoyed having to deal with.  

While Amanda and the department all showed their unwavering support, the climate surrounding cops had changed over the years. No longer was there a presumption of innocence for the police. Politicians and bureaucrats had taken that away from the men and women in uniform to placate the masses. It was all about money and power in the world Jonas was living in, and he wasn't one of the upper echelons. He was still closer to the bottom of the food chain.  

Jonas loosened his tie as he sat, waiting for his time to testify at the hearing. There'd been ten other hearings, such as this one. His first four were all simpler. They were handled by a review board, mostly comprised of officers and retired officers, and voted on. If they voted that the shooting was within policy, then the officers were cleared and ready to return to duty once mental health had cleared them. In all those years, he'd never had an issue.  

Since going with a formalized review hearing, the board was now made up of two command officers, a chairperson, a civil auditor, a member of the prosecutor's office, and a member of the police union. He knew how the union was landing on this one. He knew how one of the command officers would land. The rest were crap shoots, except for the civilian auditor. They typically landed against the officer, as the department saw fit to put someone from the "community" on the board.  

The civilian auditors didn't understand law enforcement. They were usually someone who found nothing but flaws in how police handled themselves, often recommending that the cases be forwarded for criminal prosecutions. And Lanee wasn't one who showed any preference toward the guys in investigations, particularly him. She'd commented in the past that Jonas was far too much of a cowboy for her taste and that she believed he shouldn't be working on the streets.  

The clip-clop of a pair of parade dress shoes came to a stop. Jonas looked up and saw Danny standing next to him. Danny wasn't expected to be there. He had been back at the office during the convenience store shooting.  

"What's up?"  

"I thought maybe you could use some moral support," admitted Danny.  

He wasn't wrong, but Jonas wasn't one to admit his weaknesses. It was good to have a friend as he waited for the enemy to decide his fate. To Jonas, Danny might be leading Danica's case if today went bad.  

"Thanks, partner," he responded.  

As the two sat together, contemplating what was coming, a young woman came into the hall and looked at Jonas, calling him Detective, and telling him it was time. Jonas got up, straightened his tie, and looked at Danny.  

"Here goes nothing," he quipped.  

Danny went in with Jonas and took a seat in the audience. He wasn't allowed to speak or to comment, but the officers were allowed to have support in the room while they testified. As Danny hadn't seen anything, he counted. Danny watched as Jonas took a chair in front of the three rows of chairs for observers.  

The chairperson on the review committee was an ex-cop. He also sat on the Bay City Council. Jonas knew him from the force. He was retiring around the beginning of Jonas's second year as a patrolman. As he told Jonas what they were there for, a procedural acknowledgement he did for every witness, he also recognized Jonas's years of service.  

"Thank you, Mr. Chairperson." 

"Detective, what brought you to the convenience store on the night in question?"  

"I was in the area, heading home to change clothes. I decided to get something to eat, but before I did, the Suburban needed gas. So, I pulled into the station."  

"And while there, what did you observe?"  

Jonas recalled how he was filling up his tank when he noticed some activity out of the corner of his eye. He remembered turning slightly and noticing the signs of a possible robbery. As he'd just started filling up, he didn't want to spook the suspects into thinking they'd been noticed.  

"I turned my back slightly and reached for my phone. That's when I called in the robbery," explained Jonas.  

"Detective, why did you decide to go into the store? You were admittedly outnumbered, potentially outgunned, and back up was still minutes away," asked the Chairperson.  

Jonas sat for a moment, thinking about that night, and thinking to himself about why he decided to go into the store. If he hadn't seen the primary suspect strike the attendant with the butt of a pistol grip, he might have waited. But he had seen him strike the attendant, and that alerted him to the possibility things weren't going to go well.  

"Sir, after the attendant was struck, the escalation was obvious. The next move would have been shooting the attendant. Dead men tell no tales, or so they say. So, I did what I was trained to do," explained Jonas.  

"Had you not gone in there, we'd be prosecuting two men for armed robbery, and you wouldn't be facing a use of force issue. Have you considered that?" 

Jonas couldn't believe that was the issue. He could have stood outside the store, waited for them to run out, and hoped nobody got hurt. But what were the odds of that happening? Two crazed young men with guns weren't likely to go forever without hurting someone. The fact that they had guns at the robbery showed they were willing.  

The truth of the question was, yes. He'd considered it. He'd considered it plenty during the last week. And there wasn't anything about how he played it that he'd have done differently. He looked at the chairperson and told him, "Yes."  

The questioning went on for an hour, with each member of the board getting a turn to ask their questions. When it got to the civilian auditor, she looked at Jonas and smiled, her big pearly whites showing. Jonas never knew what she was thinking.  

"So, Detective. How are you feeling? Are you sleeping alright?"  

Jonas hated the round of questioning that Lanee used. She tried with all her charm and appeal to get into the minds of officers facing an incident review. It had worked a couple of times, which usually cost them their jobs. She was the serpent in the room, if there ever was one.  

"I'm fine," he answered.  

She looked pleased with his answer. How was he fine? To Lanee, he shouldn't be fine. The taking of life was supposed to weigh on people.  

"Detective, that's the same answer you have given when asked that question before. Five times I've asked you that question. It's remarkable that you're always fine," she commented.  

Jonas sat. He wasn't biting on the bait. Lanee was trying to get him to say something about the killing, and she knew how to interrogate people. He'd heard a rumor that she'd been a trained interrogator out of Langley. Now, she was using the same tactics that she was sworn to use on terrorists, international criminals, and other higher-profile cases than that of a convenience store robbery. The longer he sat there, the more annoyed she appeared to get.  

"Well?"  

He flashed a cocky smile, which was noticed by all of the board. When she finally asked him for an answer, he shook his head.  

"I didn't hear a question?"  

"Alright, Detective, don't you ever think that maybe you're too comfortable with shooting suspects?"  

"No, I don't. I simply choose to move on. I begged the kid to put the gun down. I pleaded with him to drop it. When he raised it up, I shot him. It's my gun; those were my bullets. But at the end of the day, the kid didn't leave me a choice," explained Jonas.  

"Fifteen, Detective. Fifteen times, you've shot someone in the line of duty. That's a remarkable record for someone to have."  

The chairman cracked his gavel and brought the hearing to order. He looked to his left, as they whispered. He looked to his right, whispering something before getting two nods. They had all heard enough.  

"Detective, this hearing is over unless you have something else to offer. We'll render a decision and notify you as soon as we've come to our conclusion," explained the chairman of the commission.  

"Yes, sir. Thank you," sighed Jonas as he stood up.  

Jonas walked out of the hearing, his shoes clapping against the heavy marble tiles. Danny caught up with him in the outer hall.  

"There's a pretty good chance that went well, don't you think?" 

Jonas looked at Danny. He wasn't that optimistic. It hadn't gone well. He didn't expect the department would find it against him, but there was some room for doubt. They were going to weigh the fact that he'd shot fifteen people. It wasn't something that they were going to ignore.  

"They may rule against me just to get rid of me," he admitted to Danny. "I've definitely seen more than my fair share of action." 

"You were cleared on all of them, weren't you?"  

Jonas laughed. 

"Yeah, I guess I was. Fourteen other bodies are under my belt. Hell, I'm a stone's throw away from being a serial killer."  

"This is why they referred to you as the gunfighter when I told the guys I was getting transferred to be your partner, isn't it?"  

Jonas put his hands on his hips, turning to face his partner. He reminded Danny that the bad guys didn't worry about gunfighting. It was up to the police to either stand up to the assholes, or they were going to end up in the same box as the rest of their victims.  

"Do you even get it, kid?"  

 Amanda sat in her office preparing a budget proposal for the city as she waited to hear from the use of force board. She'd appointed Greg McClaren as the commissioner of the board. He promised to bring her the report as soon as it was ready. The hearing was over an hour ago, and still, she hadn't heard anything. While she'd seen the video taken from the store's surveillance cameras, she knew that wasn't always enough.  

There's always one of the commissioners who has a problem with the shooting, then the civilian auditor the city used- well...she never approved of shooting a suspect. Amanda didn't like Lanee. The woman was as insufferable as they come. And she wasn't above attacking someone's career if it meant making her look like a reformer.  

A knock at the door caused Amanda to stop working. She yelled, "Come in," and the door opened to reveal Jonas's face.  

"Look what the cat dragged in," she told him with a smile. "What's up?"  

"I just thought I'd stop in and visit for a few," he told her.  

Amanda kept a bottle of scotch in the top drawer of her filing cabinet. She had intended to save it for a special occasion, or her retirement. But this seemed like a good time to open it as any. She poured two, handed Jonas one, and smiled at him as she walked back around her desk.  

"You're always able to read my mind," he sighed before raising the glass to her.  

"Well, I did get to know you pretty well during those five years we were married," she reminded him. "Anyway, so what's on your mind?"  

Jonas held his glass, walking over to the window from the Chief's office. It was a heck of a view. She could see the lights across the river from their sister towns and still look down at most of the downtown area. It was breathtaking.  

"The best part of getting called the office, the view," commented Amanda.  

Jonas looked down a bit, coyly remembering why he chose to wait it out with Amanda. She always knew how to break the tension. He knew it was part of her charms, and a big reason he'd married her. He looked to his left, seeing her sit there at the desk, and smiled.  

"There it is," she excitedly said. "I was beginning to think I've lost my touch."  

Through a stuttered voice, Jonas admitted she hadn't lost a step. She was every bit as playful and exciting to be around as she ever was, and she was holding up against time better than most.  

"Such a charmer," she replied. "I suppose that's your way of saying I still look good for my age."  

He admitted nervously; she looked good at any age. Wow, he thought to himself. He still found Amanda attractive after all these years. Why had he let her go?  

"Jonas," Amanda said with a comforting voice. "It's all going to be fine. The boards are going to clear you, the commission will recess, and you'll be back to work. You have nothing to worry about. I've seen the tapes." 

"Then why do I feel so bad about it?" 

"Look at that. Jonas, the manhunter, feeling bad about taking out a bad guy. I never thought I'd see the day," she admitted.  

She was right, and Jonas knew it. It wasn't the job, or that the rules had changed so much. It was him this time. He was different. Less cavalier about things. Part of him suspected it was his illness causing him to look at things through different lenses. Or it was age. He didn't like it, either way.  

"So, I guess I had to grow up eventually...Develop a heart an all that," he replied.  

"Happens to the best of us," she told him, offering him a refill.  

The phone rang, and Amanda picked it up. She sat there, listening, and repeating some short "Uhs", "ahahs", and "okays", into the receiver. She listened carefully, and Jonas rested his head against the back of the chair.  

"Well, okay then. Thank you for letting me know," she said.  

As Amanda hung up the phone, she looked at Jonas. He knew it meant the verdict was in on the gas station shooting. As she poured herself another drink and raised it over the desk, she slammed the glass down.  

"Well?"  

Amanda laughed. "You're cleared."