Synopsis for: Faithfulness in the Center

Featured characters: Peter, Kermit, Caine, Lo Si, 101st Gang

Guest Stars: John Durham

Warnings: Violence and Language

Storyline: Takes place after "Destiny." A shoot-out results in the death of a small child and spells trouble for Kermit. Only Peter can help him face his new nightmares. (Reference will be made to events in "Guardian Angels," "Knowing the White, Keep the Black" and "The Price of Love" fan fic which are posted at http://geocities.datacellar.net/Hollywood/Studio/5748/kftlcweb.html)

The story will be posted in parts.

Faithfulness in the Center

By Terri D. Thomas

Part 1

Faithfulness in the Center- "Faithfulness is truthfulness; faithfulness in the center means truthfulness is within."

I Ching

The green-tinted sunglasses made the storm clouds look even darker and drearier than normal. Taking the glasses off, though, was no option. There were too many people present who would see the tears welling up in his eyes; too many witnesses to his vulnerability.

Kermit Griffin stood behind the family and friends of the little girl, lost in the crowd. Over two hundred people had attended the grave-side service, including many members of the police department. Kermit, however, did not stand with his comrades. Instead he stood by himself, near an oak tree, far enough away that he would not be seen by the others. He watched as the minister grabbed a handful of dirt and sprinkled it on the top of the casket. He then turned and slowly walked away from the open grave. He could not bear watching the little girl being lowered into the large hole, not when he was the reason for her death.

"Kermit, wait," Peter Caine's voice sounded from behind. Kermit ignored his friend and continued walking to his Corvair. He heard footsteps rapidly approaching and knew that Peter had followed. The younger detective's hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him to a stop, "Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here, Peter." Kermit said, without facing his friend.

"Kermit, what happened. . .it wasn't your fault."

"Then whose fault was it?" Kermit growled.

"It was an accident," Peter replied softly.

"That's not what Sandra Mason says," Kermit turned to his friend, looking through his sunglasses into the concerned hazel eyes.

"And when has Sandra Mason ever known the truth?" Peter tried to make the comment light, but failed. He grabbed Kermit's upper arm, "Remember, she tried to convict me of Rebecca's murder."

Kermit pulled away roughly and continued the trek to his car. Peter persistently followed. "Peter, just leave me alone," Kermit's voice had raised to a louder, angrier level. The burial service was still going on, the family and friends of the little girl engrossed in the minister's comments. Peter didn't want to create a scene and so he allowed Kermit his peace, watching his friend climb into his car and drive away.

Kermit drove to the river. It was the only place he could think of where he could be alone. He sat in his car, hands on the steering wheel, watching a barge slowly move away from the shore. He looked down at the passenger seat and focused on the Desert Eagle. He had removed it from its holster a few minutes earlier under the guise of making himself more comfortable. The gun rested in the seat, taunting him.

He reached out and grabbed the gun by the familiar grip. The feel of the deadly weapon in his right hand, which used to be a natural extension of his persona, now made him sick to his stomach. His mind wandered to the events of the past three days and once again, the tears welled up in his eyes. This time, however, he could not stop them from rolling down his cheeks. "Oh God, I'm so sorry," he cried out, pulling the sunglasses off roughly with his left hand and throwing them against the windshield. He looked up at the ceiling of the car, his vision blurred by his grief. "I'm so sorry. . ." he repeated. Taking a gasping, tear-filled breath, he raised the gun to his temple and closed his eyes.

8:00 p.m.-Three days earlier

Peter Caine pulled the dark T-shirt over his head and tucked the bottom of it into his black jeans. He tightened the belt on the waistband and grabbed the blue police-issue windbreaker from the locker, tucking it under his arm. He pulled the silver 9mm Beretta from the upper shelf of the locker and slipped it into the holster on his right hip. Taking a deep, centering breath, he closed the locker door and stepped over the bench.

Glancing at his watch, he realized he was right on time for Simm's 8:00 meeting. He jogged up the stairs to the squad room and saw Kermit, Skalaney and Jody crowded in Simm's office. He ambled through the door, smiling at his co-workers. The Captain looked at her desk clock, "Well, Detective Caine, I'm glad to see you made it to this meeting on time. Is this one of the benefits we are going to reap from your Shaolin training?"

Peter grinned sheepishly at the woman and shrugged, "Punctuality is a new goal of mine."

"I thought 'patience' was your new goal," Skalaney looked skeptically at the man.

"Okay, punctuality and patience are my new goals," he corrected.

"I thought you said 'balance,' was the new watch-word," Jody chimed in.

Peter, starting to look flustered, aimed a plea-filled look at Kermit, "Help me out here."

"Don't look at me," Kermit chuckled, shaking his head. "You're the one who decided to go through all that Shaolin training. You should be able to handle them yourself."

"They didn't teach me how to deal with the most dangerous adversary of all. . .woman."

"Damn straight and don't you forget it." Skalaney punched her partner playfully on the shoulder, and the group laughed.

Simms became suddenly serious as she spread a city map over the top of her desk. "Okay, at 9:15, Roger is going to meet with Martin at Sunset park, here." She marked an "X" on the map. "If all goes as planned, he'll get enough evidence to bust Martin for the murders. Caine, I want you and Kermit over here," the Captain made a circle on the map around an area on the north side of the park. "Skalany, I want you and Powell over here." She made a circle on the west side. "I'll stay to the south with Blake in the van. There's a secured park storage building directly to the east, so we'll have Martin pinned in. Chin will be wired. When we have enough for an arrest, I'll signal you to move in. "

Her four detectives nodded in unison. "I want Martin," she continued. "I know he is responsible for at least three deaths in this city. " She folded the map and looked at the group, "Any questions?"

There being none, she dismissed them. Kermit went back to his office, Skalaney and Jody made comments about going to the lady's room, leaving Peter in the squad room, virtually by himself. The night shift commander was working the front desk, but all the other night shift officers were out on the streets. Simms left her office and approached the young detective. "Sorry about giving you a hard time in there," she smiled.

Peter shrugged, "No harm. I realize that my Shaolin training is something out of the norm and can make others uncomfortable."

Karen placed a hand on his shoulder, "Not uncomfortable. It's just that we don't understand everything that you have been through. It's going to take time to get used to the changes in you."

"Changes?" Peter's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Detective, changes. You are different, somehow. You seem, I don't know, calmer. . .more at peace with yourself."

Peter took a deep breath, "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Yes, it is," she patted the detective on the arm. "And I must say, if this is what it means to be Shaolin, then you wear it well."

She returned to her office and shut her door. Peter couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

Within forty-five minutes, the 101^st detectives had found hiding places at their designated spots. Kermit and Peter were hiding in bushes which were to the north of the designated meeting place. Mary Margaret and Jody were hiding behind large landscape rocks which were to the west. Blake and Simms were in a black panel van to the south.

Peter hit the small light on his watch which illuminated the face, "It's 9:10. Roger and Martin should be here soon."

Kermit nodded silently. He pulled out the Desert Eagle, feeling more comfortable with it firmly in his grip. Peter followed suit with his gun, switching the safety off. Each man had an ear piece which allowed him to hear any instructions given by Captain Simms. They listened intently to the surrounding sounds of the night, but the only noise was from crickets calling out to one another. Suddenly Simm's voice came over the wire, "Here comes Roger."

Peter looked across the empty space where the meeting was to take place and saw the slim form of Roger Chin approaching. He realized that he had not seen Roger for several weeks. The man had been working undercover in Chinatown ever since the police had heard rumors that there was a new hit man in town. His previous undercover experiences had resulted in some very valuable connections to the seedier side of the community. It was one of these connections which had led to an introduction to Samuel Martin. Martin had come to the city six weeks before. He had been busy, too. He was suspected of having killed three people in the community. All three were Tong-connected businessmen. Word on the street was that each had been skimming cash from illegal Tong operations and Martin had been hired to take care of them.

Chin had decided that the best way to nail Martin was to hire him. So he put word out on the street that he needed a very good, very discreet hit man, and Martin answered. Tonight, Roger would bait Martin and try to get him to confess to having committed the murders and if they were lucky, Martin would even roll over on the Tong leaders who had hired him.

Roger stood near the storage building, scanning the park for any sign of Martin. Movement to his right caught his eye and the figure of a large man approached. "Are you Martin?" Chin asked the new arrival.

In the dark, he could barely make out the hit man's features. The man nodded, "You're Richard Chang?"

Roger cleared his throat nervously and nodded. "I had you checked out Chang. It seems you have become very well known in the community. Everyone I talked to about you said that you were good at keeping all of the Tongs happy."

Roger shrugged, "I try," he paused for a moment and then continued, "I heard that you might be able to help me with a problem that I'm having."

The man smiled, "My specialty is fixing problems. What's yours?"

"I have a boss that thinks I'm embezzling from him."

"And that's a problem?" the man said flatly.

"Well, my boss is not a real nice person. I need to, uh, take care of him before he decides to take care of me. I was told that you could help me with that."

"Who told you that?"

"Charlie Hu said that you had done a good job for him. . .that you took out some guy named Sanderson."

The man said nothing. "Hu told you that?"

"Yep. Said that you were quick and efficient. And that you were worth every dime he spent on the deal."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that Mr. Hu thinks he got his money's worth. A satisfied customer is always good for business."

"How did you do it?" Roger pressed, hoping to get more information.

"Simple. I waited until Sanderson got into his car, walked up and blew him away. Nothin' too complicated about killing people. Some just like to make it that way."

Roger Chin smiled, knowing that Martin had just given the police the ammunition they needed to make an arrest. Captain Simms must have been reading his mind because suddenly Peter, Kermit, Jody and Mary Margaret sprung out from their hiding spots, "Police, Freeze," Peter yelled at the two men. Roger Chin knew that to maintain his cover he would have to be arrested along with Martin, so he raised his arms above his head in mock surrender.

Surprised, Martin pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants and pulled Roger into his grasp, an arm snaked around the cop's neck. "Stay back or I'll kill him."

The hit man started to drag Roger back towards the building. Kermit yelled out, "We have you surrounded, Martin. Give it up."

"I'll kill him," the man repeated, holding his gun at Chin's temple.

Peter decided to play a hunch, " You think we care about him? He's scum, just like you."

Martin pointed his gun at the four detectives, backing them off. He pulled Chin with him. Peter thought about trying to get a shot off, but as good as his marksman skills were, he couldn't take a chance that a sudden movement by the murderer would put Roger in the path of his bullet.

Martin backed down the side of the building, holding the cops at bay. As he made it to a tree-lined path, he pushed Chin to the ground and took out running to the south. Chin's head impacted with the ground and he lay there, stunned. Knowing that Simms and Blake would be waiting to snare Martin from their end, Peter, Kermit and Mary Margaret followed, while Jody helped the undercover cop to his feet, pretending to arrest him, just for show. The hit man led the three on a chase through the park, but he didn’t stick to the path. Instead, he started to cross through the wooded area. Avoiding tree limbs and rocks was made more difficult by the darkness of night.

Martin was surprisingly fast and Peter had trouble keeping him in sight. The man was heading for a parking lot which was on the south east side of the park. There were several cars parked in the lot and the man ran between the rows. He then ducked down so that his pursuers couldn't see him. Peter motioned for the other two cops to spread out with hopes that they could trap the man between them. If he tried to head back the way they had come, he would run smack into Jody, Chin, Simms and Blake.

Peter held his breath, attempting to pick up any movement but there was no sign of the suspect. He spotted Kermit at the edge of the parking lot, at least three hundred yards away. Skalaney was on the opposite side, gun drawn, slowly making her way through the lot.

Peter went straight ahead, cautiously. Suddenly, he saw Martin take out running towards Kermit. Peter shouted out to his friend, "Kermit, coming at you." Kermit turned, gun drawn. Before he could get a shot off, the sound of a bullet speeding by rang through his ear. He threw himself on the ground and attempted to locate Martin. Martin had not headed directly towards the ex-mercenary. Instead he had run across the street. Kermit climbed to his feet and followed, gun at its ready.

Martin disappeared around a corner and Kermit approached it cautiously. He heard shouting, but could not make out the words. He peeked around the corner and saw three figures standing on the sidewalk. Details were impossible because the figures were back-lit by a street lamp. Even the green sunglasses couldn't filter out the glare. All he could tell for certain was that the largest figure was definitely Martin and that the gunman's back was to him. The other two, a man and woman by their voices, were screaming frantically at Martin. "Police, freeze!" Kermit shouted as he rounded the corner, gun drawn. Martin seemed to stop for a moment, then he suddenly turned towards the cop and fired. Kermit, not expecting the suddenness of the move, felt the bullet graze his left shoulder. The impact knocked him off balance and his finger tightened around the sensitive trigger of the Desert Eagle in reaction. The gun went off, but years of mercenary experience had made Kermit's aim deadly. Martin looked down at his chest in surprise and collapsed on the ground.

The woman suddenly started to scream hysterically. "Stay back folks, it's going to be okay, " Kermit shouted as he ran up to the fallen suspect.

The couple ignored Kermit's warning and instead ran to Martin's body. Kermit, immediately sensing that something was wrong, looked down at the still form, gun pointing at the man. He looked at the unmoving body of the gunman and then suddenly saw a vision that would become a living nightmare for him. A second small body was lying across Martin's chest, also unmoving.

End Part 1

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