Flint eyed both the chief and William.
He let them simmer in discomfort for a very long time and at the same time, he kept the pressmen on their seats.
He eventually released a breath and spoke.
"henceforth, I am relieving myself of all duties associating myself with or in relation to the San Jose police department....I am retiring" he finished and turned to step down.
William let a slow evil grin spread across his face.
The man almost had him for a minute there.
The chief released a breath he had no idea he had been holding in. Glad as he was that the impromptu announcement wasn't anything related to the business just concluded, he was still stunned.
No way had he expected this.
Flint had given no indication he was leaving.
"what do you think you are doing?....what was that about" asked the chief the minute Flint walked off the stage.
"what I should have done from the onset" Flint replied, not sparing the chief a glance as he walked towards the exit.
Reporters and cameras pushed at him, questions flew from every corner.
"why are you suddenly throwing in the towel?"
"is your resignation in any way related to the Hart case?"
"why did you decide to make the announcement at this time?" on and on the barrage of questions went, from different angles.
Flint didn't pay any heed, neither did he spare them a glance.
He just wanted to get out and find his children.
Flint didn't bother about the chief, he just wanted out. There was just so much a man could take before he snapped. He had taken just enough up to his fill.
The chief definitely would find his resignation letter atop his desk at the precinct, every other thing would follow, including the long protocols, et cetera et cetera.
Whatever the chief choose to do, that was his fucking concern.
The moment he stepped into the afternoon sunlight, his phone rang.
It was Mr fabulous cunt Miguel. Flint picked up.
" nice speech...I liked the flair at the end by the way, who knew...." Miguel drawled.
"where are they?" Flint said, cutting his sentence short.
"they are right outside your door. Dropped em myself few minutes ago and..." Flint dropped the call immediately he heard the words.
He ran like a mad man who'd just broken out of an assylum and excited about his newly found freedom towards the nearest bus stop then he halted abruptly.
He stood instead by the roadside and decided to hail a cab.
He smacked himself mentally. Why didn't he fucking think of it sooner.
He paid the man the moment he got in and leaped out the second the cab screeched to a halt, ignoring the man's calls for Flint's change.
Seeing Flint wasn't paying him any heed and apparently had no interest in collecting it, the man zoomed off.
Flint found Fayth and Paul lying unconsciously on the driveway.
Apparently, Shonda has no idea they were there.
They'd been dumped atop each other in a disorderly fashion.
Flint almost ran mad.
With his heart in his throat, Flint hurriedly dialed emergency.
Paul looked like shit, they both weren't moving.
"Shonda!" he yelled at the top of his voice as he hurriedly punched in the emergency dial code.
He kept on screaming her name, wondering where the fuck she went.
His fingers shook as he punched in the number.
In no time, emergency vehicles pulled into the driveway.
They arrived to a near mad panic stricken Flint.
"Calm down sir they'll be alright ….now can you move over a bit for us to do our jobs" one of the men who came with the vans said to him as Flint hovered over then while they were moving Paul and Fayth to stretchers.
Flint moved out of the way abeit reluctantly.
In no time, they had Paul and Fayth strapped to emergency response beds.
Flint hopped into the nearest one with Paul in it.
The paramedics were already performing CPR but Paul still wasn't showing any signs of life save for his pulse which was getting faint by the second.
Flint was totally and utterly unsettled.
What the fuck had he gotten himself into he wondered for the umpteenth time.
Try as much as they did, Paul wasn't moving.
Flint wished he could switch places with his children.
It was all his fault they ended up in the hot pot of mess.
He wondered where his wife was and he dialed her number.
It rang all through, she didn't pick up.
He repeated….still the same outcome. He was midway into calling again when he paused.
Her warning rang clear in his head.
It was almost like the woman was a prophetess..the only part he wished she'd utterly excluded was the separation part.
He couldn't blame her though, she'd put up with his bullshit long enough.
He kept his phone. Shoved the damn thing back in his pocket.
It would be better for her to call, then he'd talk.
Either way, she was definitely going into full panic mode when she finds out.
He jumped the moment the vehicle screeched to a halt.
Beds materialized, they were transferred to them and wheeled immediately into er.
Flint followed till he was held back by a nurse.
"sir you can't go in there" she kept on repeating as she barred his path.
Seeing he could go no further, he settled for sitting on a bench right beside the door, his legs incessantly tapping the floor, utterly restless.
He suddenly itched for a cup of coffee. he ignored the urge for the first few minutes, 5 was as far as he could go.
He walked towards the machine. Poured himself a cup, felt the heat soak through his throat to pool at his stomach.
He liked the feeling it provided so he poured himself another cup, then another and another.
He was on the fifth cup when his phone rang.
It was Shonda.
He stared at the screen for a while before picking up the dreaded phone call.
"Hello"
"What's so important that you were about to burn my phone with calls..i"
"They're back Shonda"
"What…"
"I got them back baby"
"Well why aren't you home yet? where.."
"St John's.. they're at.." beep beep, the line went dead.
Flint held the phone in his hands and stared at it for a while.
He didn't need to be told, she was already out of the house along with a few things for Paul and Fayth.
He dreaded her arrival…there would be nothing to say to her…he'd be at a loss for words as they'd been strangers since the entire episode began.
It did take long, she barged her way through the doors.
"Where are my children Flint Kennedy" she queried in a no nonsense manner.
Flint gestured with his head towards the locked doors of the er room.
Shonda looked through the see through part of the door and tears welled up in her eyes.
Her shoulders began to shake, her sadness coursing through her body, her shoulders shaking, chest heaving.
Flint wanted to comfort her but he knew she would shrug him off.
He did try anyway, and just like he had predicted, she shrugged him off.
He'd placed his hands on her shoulders and she'd moved her shoulders, when he still held on, she pushed his hands away.
Flint let his hands fall to his side and he looked at her, no word coming out of his mouth.
He hesitated for a bit, then he tried again.
This time, she turned and sank her face into his chest.
Flint held her close, he placed his hands on the back of her head and held her as her body shook.
They only broke contact when they saw Fayth being wheeled out of the room.
Shonda followed The bed, Flint went to the doctor.
"How are they…what about the boy" he asked anxiously.
"Your daughter is alright sir she's going to come around soon.."
"and my son? How is he doctor"
"Your son suffered a lot of internal injuries officer" the doctor replied.
Flint suddenly remembered he still has the disgraceful force uniform on…well it was the least of his problems.
He'd deal with it later.
His attention went back to the doctor's words.
"In addition to his broken ribs, he also has a cracked skull and we are yet to determine the extent of the damage. At this point, we can only hope and pray" he finished grimly.
"Oh christ…"Flint said, running his hands through his hair.
"We're performing a scan to determine the extent of the damage…the results determine the next course of action" the doctor added and added a tap to Flint's shoulders before walking away briskly.
Flint sat for a while with his head in his hands, tears welling in his eyes.
Now how was he to tell it to his wife he wondered.