Walking through the locker room on their way into the unit, the smell of fresh paint filled the air. Sonny glanced down the rows of familiar gray lockers, wondering which one he’d be hanging his coat in.

Sonny took the wallet, opened it and stared at the shiny gold-coloured shield. He found himself fighting hard to hold back the tears that were building in the corners of his eyes. Was he really ready for this, he found himself thinking. Yes, he was.

The first bullet hit her in the shoulder spinning her slightly. The second one caught her in the chest, the force of the blast hurling her backwards into the water. Everything happened so fast – she didn’t even realize what was going on until she hit the water. And then suddenly, it was hard to breathe.

Her story rocked him. He continued to hold her and felt tears welling in his own eyes. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved so much in a brutal way.

Crockett’s head was reeling. Had he really been set up by these bastards? Nothing surprised him anymore when it came to the feds, but if he was set up, who did the setting-up.

Sonny had good reason not to trust the federal agencies, especially if there was any chance the CIA might decide to step in. In the past he had seen too many slimeballs like Fuente walk in exchange for providing the goods on bigger fish, only to see the them let off the hook for some bigger ‘national security’ reason. It was one of the reasons he had lost his faith in the system, and the final straw that made him throw down his badge 13 years earlier.

What could he say to that? When he joined the force he thought he could clean up the whole sewer, as she called it. It was a goal that could never be accomplished and he had burned out trying to do just that. She had put it into a context that made it manageable – help the victims a bit at a time. It was the way to save your sanity when you wanted to save the world.

They embraced as old friends who hadn’t seen each in a long while. After they rocked in each other’s arms for a while, he slid his hands slowly down her sun-browned arms until they reached her waiting hands, and smiling into her eyes, uttered tenderly.

Funny thing, the face seemed very familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. He lowered his sunglasses and took an even longer second look. His jaw dropped in astonishment as it came to him.

He felt like he was returning home rather than leaving it – that Salt Cay had really only been a resting place for a while, and now he was the prodigal son heading back into the bosom of his family.