Exceptional Merit (36 page)

He thought it through, once again.  After killing Keegan, he knew he'd have to act quickly and shoot Devine before the police had a chance to intervene.  Once he was satisfied Devine was dead, he would make his escape.  The escape itself would be the most difficult part of the operation.  Flynn decided he was going to use the mass hysteria to his advantage and blend into the crowd and run for cover just like everybody else.

While in the middle of the crowd, he was going to drop the clip from the gun regardless of how many shots he fired during the hit and replace it with a fresh clip he had in his back pocket.  That would be a precaution in case it was necessary to shoot it out with the police.  Flynn then planned on ducking into a fast food restaurant a block away, where he had been earlier in the day and planted a change of clothes in a loose ceiling board above a stall in the men's room.  The clothes he planted were a pair of green sweatpants, a green, white and orange rugby shirt and a baseball cap.  These clothes were in sharp contrast to the all dark clothes he was now wearing.  He would put the clothes he wore to do the hit, along with the false mustache up in the ceiling tile where they wouldn't be found for years to come, he figured.  Flynn knew if he made it this far, he would be home free.  The police would be looking for a man with a mustache, wearing all dark clothing.  He could then just walk among the crowds of people and nobody would ever look twice at him.

When Keegan, Devine, and Anderson arrived at the starting point of the parade, shortly before eleven a.m., Keegan got out of the car first to examine the crowd.  There were thousands of people, all of whom seemed to be wearing green. They were lined up along the sidewalk, behind the blue police barricades, for as far as the eyes could see.  Some teenagers or young adults were in the crowd that appeared drunk and slightly unruly but none of whom looked particularly threatening.  Keegan saw numerous uniformed police officers as well as the plainclothes detectives he had assigned at the parade's beginning.

Keegan, after assessing the situation and deeming it safe, looked back at the car where Devine remained along with Captain Anderson.  He stuck his thumb out of his closed fist in an upward direction informing his Commanding Officer everything looked okay.  Captain Anderson and Devine then emerged from the department auto.  Anderson raised a portable radio to his mouth, inquiring if the detail was in place and if they saw anything unusual.  Upon receiving acknowledgment from various checkpoints along the parade route, Anderson wished Keegan good luck.  Devine stood and smiled at the parade goers as the green, white and orange sash, bearing the words
Grand Marshall
was adorned around him.  “Everything is clear as far as our men can tell,” Anderson announced.  “You can begin whenever you're ready Jim.  Be careful.”

Keegan looked at Devine hoping for a sudden change of heart.  In his heart, he knew there would be none, but he would try any way.  “Martin, you know even the mayor and a couple of councilmen pulled out of marching when we informed them of the threat.  Nobody would think anything less of you if…”

Devine immediately interrupted.  “I already told you Jim, I'm not backing down for anybody.”

Devine looked up at the crowd and gave a big thumbs up.  He roared.  “Let's march!”

Keegan was tuned into everything and everyone around him as they marched up Fifth Avenue.  The sounds of marching bands and bagpipers playing assorted Irish tunes resonated of
f the buildings as they marched.  After passing through the first four blocks of the parade without any incident, Keegan felt a bit more relaxed.  He even began to wonder if Flynn had decided to call the hit off after all.  He convinced himself he would remain alert through the entire parade but he was sure nothing would happen until the last dozen blocks or so.

For Flynn to try anything between here and then would be a death wish, he reassured himself.  Keegan continued examining the crowd looking for any signs of the Irish hit man.  Instead, Keegan noticed the thousands of children waving and looking on along with their parents. 
This was what it’s all about,
he thought. 
It was for the kids
.  Parades always were and this one was no different.  Seeing all the children enjoying themselves and boasting their heritage made him think of his own children.

He had never taken his kids to the parade because he usually marched with the Emerald Society of the New York City Police Department but he vowed that next year he would take them to see the parade.  Even if it meant they had to miss a day of school. 
Kevin was right
, thought Keegan. 
Saint Patrick's Day is a day to celebrate.  A day every Irishman should be proud.
  Keegan had relaxed so much that he almost started enjoying himself.  The bagpipers were playing the
Garryowen
and Keegan hummed along to the march.  He did remain focused, however, considering the reality of the threat.

He scanned the spectators with every step he took, looking for the hit man.  Instead he observed people having a great time, waving both Irish and American flags.  There were children dressed in kilts and Irish step dancing dresses.  Some wore green wigs, others dressed as leprechauns.  He had seen over a dozen different types of hats being worn by people of all ages.  Keegan loved this parade, year after year, but often became frustrated by the politics that usually came along with it.  He couldn't understand why anyone would overshadow such a festive holiday with politics.

He then glanced along side of himself and saw Martin Devine, a walking target, jubilantly waving to the spectators and seemingly having a great time.  Keegan wondered if Devine really understood why a terrorist from Northern Ireland wanted to see him dead.  Keegan, himself, no longer understood it.  As the parade surged forward, Keegan looked ahead and could see Saint Patrick's Cathedral on the next block.  He wondered if His Eminence, the Cardinal of New York, would be on the steps of the Cathedral waving as he usually did during this parade.  Keegan had met the Cardinal on numerous occasions and was quite fond of him.

As they got almost directly in front of the Cathedral, Keegan had noticed the man in black crawl under the blue police barricade.  He glanced over in the man's direction and noticed something familiar about him.  He then looked back over at His Eminence who was waving hello to him.  Something bothered Keegan and instead of returning the Cardinal's gesture, he turned back to the man in black, who was now inside the police line about twenty feet from them.  He looked the man in the eyes and instantly recognized him.  Flynn's stone cold eyes were a dead giveaway to his identity.

The one thing Gerald Flynn hadn't counted on was the fact that Keegan was a top notch investigator, who had seen through numerous disguises throughout his time on the job.  Keegan, sensing the danger, shouted out to Devine.  “Martin, get out of here!”

Instinctively,
Keegan reached down to his hip for his gun as he charged an off guard Gerald Flynn.  He quickly realized his gun was not on his hip but instead in his shoulder holster.  It was too late to go for it; he was almost right on top of Flynn.

Flynn hadn't expected Keegan to charge him and wasn't ready for him, when he did.  He frantically reached into his waistband for his gun and pulled it out.  In his haste, Flynn was unable to get a proper grip on the gun and couldn't get his finger on the trigger by the time Keegan was upon him.  Flynn took the gun and with all his might, smashed it into the face of a charging James Keegan.

The force of the blow landed squarely on Keegan's jaw and knocked a tooth out of his mouth while cracking two others.  He tumbled backwards banging his head on the pavement sending him in to a state of semi-consciousness.  He had twisted in the air awkwardly, as he fell backward and landed on his left side.  The force of the fall, momentarily evacuated the air from his lungs.

Keegan wanted to just remain on the floor and welcome the blackness but he knew if he did, it would be permanent.  Instead, he mustered everything he had in him to fight the dizziness, even though he almost passed out from the excruciating pain.  Instinctively, he fell back on his training realizing if he didn’t fight back…and win, he would never see his family again.

The force of the punch had dislodged the gun from Flynn's hand.  Flynn watched Keegan fall to the ground and felt a great sense of satisfaction.  Flynn quickly located the gun which had landed a couple of feet from Keegan's nearly lifeless body.  Flynn knew he had to finish Keegan off without hesitation and go after Devine who was still standing nearby in a state of shock.

Flynn took a step toward the gun and bent down to pick it up when Keegan swept his feet out from under him with a picture perfect leg sweep.  Keegan’s body went into auto pilot; he no longer felt the pain.  He followed the leg sweep by smashing his elbow as hard as he could right down on the bridge of Flynn's nose, causing a steady flow of blood.  Flynn was unwilling to feel the pain and continued in his pursuit of the gun.

Keegan, who was lying on his left side as he fought, was unable to get to his own gun.  As Flynn reached the gun, Keegan got partially up and jumped on Flynn's upper body, striking his head against the ground and causing Flynn to once again lose control of the gun.  Keegan delivered a series of right hand punches into the face of the hit man, who relentlessly tried to regain possession of the gun, ignoring the blows.  Keegan's right hand took control over Flynn's hand as the two men fought over possession of the nine millimeter.

Keegan realized he was much stronger than the assassin.  He knew he could probably just take control over Flynn's body for a few seconds until the uniformed officers arrived to aid him in placing Flynn under arrest and recovering the gun.  He saw them coming out of the corners of his eyes and realized they would be on top of the pair within seconds.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for Keegan.  He saw it with a clarity he had not seen before.  The fierce struggle that currently engaged him was his answer.  He had found the solution to his near impossible dilemma.

Flynn was not about to give up the fight, Keegan knew.  Keegan intentionally released Flynn's hand and made a play for the gun himself.  He easily grabbed the gun before Flynn, who hadn’t
expected Keegan to release his grip.  He held the gun firmly at his hand as Flynn, now attempted to disarm him.

POP! POP! POP!
  Three shots rang out.  Keegan fired the gun three times at close range into Flynn's chest, killing him instantly.  Keegan then fell on his back in the middle of Fifth Avenue with the gun still in hand.  There was panic as far as the eye could see.  Numerous uniformed and plain clothes police officers quickly whisked Devine to safety and escorted His Eminence back inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  There was chaos among the masses of people who had come to watch the parade.

The last thing he remembered seeing before he passed
out was scores of uniformed police officers approaching him with their guns pointed squarely at him.  He realized they didn't know who he was and they were acting appropriately.  It was nice to see good cops doing a fine job.  That was what being a police officer was all about, not backing down.  The officers had no idea who he was other than the fact that he had just shot and killed somebody and instead of hiding or running away they came after him. 
This is why these men and women are heroes
.  Then everything faded to black.

Kate stayed at home all day afraid to tune in to the news or to watch the parade on television.  She was a nervous wreck and couldn't wait to see her husband again.  It was at one thirty when the doorbell rang.  She peeked out the window and saw Captain Anderson along with two uniformed officers.  She had met Anderson at numerous functions and had almost expected the visit.  At that moment, she was ready to face the fact that she had lost her husband.  She opened the door and burst into tears before she could even invited them inside.  “Is he dead Ron?  Is he dead?”

Anderson grabbed Kate by her upper arms in an attempt to comfort her as he gave her the news.  “No Kate.  He’s quite alive.  He’s a little banged up be he will be fine.  He had a few teeth knocked
out; a cracked rib and he suffered a concussion.  He's in Bellevue right now having x-rays taken to determine if his jaw has been fractured.”

Kate composed herself after receiving the good news.  Kate couldn't believe the news wasn't worse.  She was convinced Jim was dead when she saw what every cop’s wife fears, uniformed police officers coming to the door when her husband should be at work.  Kate was so happy she began to cry uncontrollably.

Anderson, who misinterpreted the reason for Kate's tears gave her a gentle hug and rubbed her back. “Would you like to go and see him Kate?”

She answered through her tears.  “Yes Ron, I would.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

Anderson held the door open for Kate and closed it behind her as they left.  Anderson never bothered to explain how her husband was injured.  She seemed to be expecting him, so he assumed she must have been watching the parade as it was broadcast live.  “You know
Kate; there are very few true heroes in today’s world.  You should be proud to know that you are married to one of them.”

Kate didn't have any response for Anderson's comment, but the truth of the matter was that she would gladly trade in the title of a hero in a heartbeat, in return for Jim retiring from the police department and leading a less perilous life.