Aftermath Author: Suzanne Moore E-mail: suzanne.moore8@verizon.net Summary: Another twist on what might happen after All The Rage. Author's Notes: Thanks to Romantique for her insightful suggestions, her fun Nicfic phone-counseling sessions, and numerous Beta-reads; and to Abby for her medical assessment of James' condition. You girls rock! What had Khan said in that old Star Trek movie? *Revenge is a dish best served cold*. Well, he'd served *his* revenge cold, all right...*cold-blooded*. Shooting James and that other guy really felt good - an act of ice-cold revenge at its best. But the anger - as well as the urge for self-preservation - was still there, propelling him to run. So he ran, but he could not outrun the rage still gnawing a hole in him, still eating him alive. Suddenly, a car turned out of the lot at the Symphony Hall parking garage. It's headlights shone directly into his face, but Taliek didn't care. *They don't know nothing. I'm just a runner out for my nightly jog.* As he passed by the car, Taliek took a close look at its occupants. Eye contact! *Of all the people to see in Pittsburgh, it would have to be my attorney. Don't think about him - just run.* ~*~ After witnessing Taliek - *Taliek!* - running down the middle of the street, Nick felt a growing sense of unease. He knew all about James' involvement in Taliek's beating and disfigurement. He'd seen James sneak into the man's house, and seen James' scraped knuckles the next day. NIck shook his head in disbelief. *Now I'm the one giving a stranger a beating. Now I'm the one with scraped knuckles.* The way home from Symphony Hall took the Fallins past LSP. A few cars - including James'- were in the parking lot, and Nick noticed that the lights were still on at Legal Services. *It's awfully late for James to still be at work, especially on a Friday night. Was Taliek running from LSP?* Nick began to put together a scenario, and it was one that he didn't like. It was one that did not bode well for James. "I've got to go upstairs for a moment. I'll be right back," Nick told his father. He hastily exited the car and walked with a quick gait toward the building. *I hope I`m wrong. Maybe it's just nerves. Maybe I'm jumpy because Dad and I have just beaten a rude guy senseless.* He stepped on the elevator and pushed the up button. The doors clanked together with familiarity and lumbered upward. Nick wondered what kind of excuse he hoped to give James when he discovered his colleague was simply working late. ~*~ After making eye contact, Taliek had a sickening feeling that Mr. Fallin knew all about James' involvement in his beating, even though the slick attorney had pled innocent at the courthouse. After rerunning the incident in his mind, he was certain of it. Taliek made a U-turn. He decided to jog past LSP to see if the bodies had been discovered yet - and to see if Mr. Fallin's car was in the lot. If it was, Taliek was convinced that he'd have to `off' him, too. That man was smart and could easily put two and two together. He ran, plotting this new plan, grateful to have another outlet for the rage still seething inside. He heard the sirens before he saw them. But strangely enough, they weren't at LSP. A police car and an ambulance pulled into the symphony garage as Taliek jogged past. ~*~ The elevator doors opened, revealing a horrible scene. The smell of bloody death permeated the air. "James? James!!" Nick rushed to his fallen colleague and quickly felt for a pulse. His quivering fingers found one, although it was weak and thready. Nick was afraid to move him. What if he made James' injuries worse? Nick glanced over at that new lawyer. *What's his name? Larry?* Larry wasn`t so lucky. He now lay lifeless, a bullet hole in his forehead. A frothy gurgle came from the back of James' throat, recapturing Nick`s attention. "I'll get help, James. Hang on." Nick automatically reached for his cell phone. *Broken!* He dashed to his broom closet office and quickly dialed 911. "There's been a shooting at Legal Services of Pittsburgh!" he said with a quivering voice. He anxiously raked his fingers through his curls as he gave the details to the operator. Nick was on high-twitch now, adrenaline surging through his veins. Too much had happened, and it was all bad. His training shined through, his sharp mind accurately describing the crime scene - and James' condition - to the operator. ~*~ Burton Fallin mentally reviewed the details of the Hamilton merger as he waited for Nick to return to the car, but his heart wasn't in it. He kept thinking about Shannon. *She chose that slime-ball father of hers over me!* The elder Fallin felt hurt, angry, rejected. He ran his hand down the back of his head and let out a long sigh. *Why, Shannon, why?* Movement on the sidewalk suddenly captured Burton's attention. He glanced up just in time to observe a muscular black man jogging toward the building housing LSP. Burton knotted his eyebrows in confusion. Wasn't that the guy who had just been running down the middle of the street at the parking garage? *Why is he here? It's too late for clients at LSP.* The two men locked eyes. The black man slowed to a walk and then entered the building. The same building where Nick was. ~*~ As he was completing his descriptions, Nick heard the door to the stairwell creak open. *The clean up crew? Security? No, they'd take the elevator*. After finding James, his nerves were raw, but the sound of that door ratcheted Nick's jitters to a higher level. *Someone's out there!* Nick suddenly felt like a sitting duck, instinct telling him to move further into the black recesses of his office and be silent. He stopped responding to the 911 operator and listened to footsteps. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. If he jutted his head forward a couple of inches, Nick discovered he could still see into the open area where James lay, and still be hidden. He sucked in a short breath as he watched a bulky, hooded figure emerge from the shadows, bend over James, and then kick the critically injured man in the ribs. Nick's blue-green eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He pressed his lips together and willed his friend to stay silent. *Don't moan, James, don't make a sound. Play dead. Please play dead.* James was completely unresponsive. *Are you playing dead or are you already dead?* "You bastard. You deserved to die," a surly man muttered. Nick cringed. He recognized that voice. It was Taliek. ~*~ *What's taking Nick so long?* Burton was getting impatient. He lit another cigarette and tried to push thoughts of Shannon to the back of his mind. A lifetime of experience told him that he needed to do something - anything - to keep his mind off the 13-year-old who had rejected his offer of a normal life and broken his heart in the process. After waiting a minute, Burton decided to go upstairs and find Nick. He threw his cigarette down into a puddle in the parking lot and walked in the dark toward the building. ~*~ Nick pressed himself further into the darkness of his tiny office. The young lawyer slowly realized that he still clutched the phone in his hand. He also became acutely aware of the noise emanating from it. "Hello," the 911 operator called urgently. "Mr. Fallin, please stay on the line. Don't hang up! Can you hear me?" Nick didn't hang up. He couldn't. It would make too much noise. But he didn't speak to the operator anymore, either. He pressed the receiver into his jacket to quash the racket on the other end of the line and stayed still. Hyperalert, he was suddenly aware of the sound of his own labored breathing. *Too loud!* His blood coursed through his veins and made loud swishing noises in his ears. The thumping of his heartbeat was too loud, too. *Everything is too loud.* ~*~ Taliek's eyes roved LSP looking for Mr. Fallin. It didn't seem that anyone else was here. He held still and listened. Nothing. *But I saw Mr. Fallin's car downstairs. He's here.* "Mr. Fallin!" called Taliek in a forceful voice. "It's me, Taliek!" As he walked toward Nick's office, the elevator began to whir. There was no place to hide. Taliek rounded the corner and discovered Nick Fallin pressed against the wall of his office holding the phone against his chest. All color drained from the attorney's face. Taliek stood in the doorway of Nick's broom closet, pointing the gun at the young lawyer. "Hang up that phone right now," the man said ominously, "and get out here." Nick stiffened, his eyes focused on the man holding the gun. "Taliek," Nick finally answered, shaking his head. "This is no good. Think about what you're doing. . ." He hung up the phone, pleased that the operator had heard him say `Taliek'. Moving slowly away from his desk, Nick raised his hands away from his body and tried to look as cooperative as possible. "Nothing has been good, not since I got beaten." A haunted look flickered across Taliek's face. "I look like a freak! I only have one good eye, and my face looks like Frankenstein's. My baby's been taken away, and I found out yesterday that James is the one who messed me up." Nick's hooded eyes held Taliek's with a steady gaze. Taliek continued his rant. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "You know what James did to my face. Well he got exactly what he deserved. And since you know about it, I'm going to take care of you, too." Nick was calm and in control. He shook his head and shrugged, feigning ignorance. "Know about what, Taliek? What James did? What he deserved? What are you talking about?" Taliek smirked and gestured with the gun, never taking his eyes off of Nick. "Move over to the elevator. Now." His heart was beating wildly, but Nick walked slowly, hoping to buy some time until emergency vehicles arrived on the scene. *What's taking them so long?* He took a deep breath. "Remember, I'm your lawyer. . . " "You think I'm going to trust *you*? You got my baby thrown in foster care!" Taliek was breathing hard, his body rigid, and his attitude completely nonreceptive. Nick now stood beside his seemingly dead colleague, hands still in the air. "Everything you tell me is privileged. I could help you," he said smoothly. "Shut up. . ." The gun was raised and aimed -- -- and the elevator door opened, revealing an unsuspecting Burton Fallin. "Dad, get down!" Nick yelled as he lunged at Taliek. The gun went off in the direction of the elevator, but the shot was wild and hit the wall nearby. Nick knocked Taliek to the floor and they fought, arms and elbows and flailing feet, in a strangled struggle for control of the gun. Burton rushed to his son's aid, only to be knocked down and into the fisticuffs as well. *Bang!!!* Another gun shot went off. Was the struggle over? The trio was momentarily still and quiet. Burton didn't feel any pain. He quickly realized he had not been the unlucky recipient of a bullet. Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed his mind. "Nick! Son! Are you alright?" Taliek began to squirm as Burton threw the bulk of his weight his way. "Nick?" The elder Fallin realized that his son had not answered. "Nick!" he yelled urgently. Taliek grappled with the gun, twisting, trying to aim it at Burton. The elder Fallin took advantage of Taliek's hooded jacket and grabbed it, slamming the man's head into the floor. Taliek was knocked out cold. Pain shot through Nick's shoulder as the bullet impacted muscle and bone. He ignored his wound, the thought of his father being hurt by Taliek more than he could stand. "Dad," he gasped softly. It was hard to breathe. Taliek lay draped across Nick's body at an awkward angle, squishing the air from his body. Nick sucked in a tiny breath, his lungs screaming for air. Burton rolled Taliek off of Nick and finally came face to face with what he had dreaded. Yes, Nick had been hit. He quickly pulled the handkerchief from his tux pocket and held it on his son's wound. "Stay still, son, I'm calling 911." Burton Fallin was in charge. "I'm okay, Dad," Nick winced as he struggled to stand. "I already called. They should be here any minute." Epilogue Taliek was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. His trial comes up later next year. The authorities are taking his claim that James beat him last November with a huge grain of salt. No one believes him. James spent six weeks in the hospital recuperating from a gunshot wound to the chest. After 8 weeks of physical therapy, he was allowed to return to his job at LSP. He never addressed Taliek's accusation. The bullet tore through Nick's shoulder and exited the other side. He did not need surgery, and returned to his plethora of duties in less than two weeks. He's never discussed his knowledge of the events of last November with the authorities. The man in the parking garage recovered from his beating. He could not positively identify his assailants, but is in the process of suing the city for damages, as the security cameras in the garage were in need of repair. Fallin and Fallin inexplicably refused to represent the city in this matter, and passed the case to Kirk & McGee. The police did notice that Nick's knuckles were scraped, and that Burton had blood on his pants. They assumed it had come from their struggle with Taliek at LSP. ~Fin~