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*“Look, I know you guys are going through a rough patch, but it’ll work itself out. She loves you but just feels you’re not there enough for her. She's going through a phase, that's all. A long one, I grant you that, but it'll pass. Now, I know first-hand how tough our job can be at the best of times. So whenever she rings me, I explain to her that’s just the life of a cop. It comes with the territory, so to speak. It’s nothing personal.”** 

Drucker couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy in the knowledge that she had to go crying to Doug about her marital problems, but hid his feelings well. *“Well, I guess I have no choice but to put all family related issues on hold for now. I’ve got no choice, right? I mean, look at the case we’re on. **Or unofficially on, more like.** I gotta put my priorities first and as much as I love her, I can’t deal with having the blood of that child on my hands. Especially after the incident at the gas station. I’m taking the full brunt of the blame for that. Look at what we have to put up with at the station. And now with this new character, General Pactor. It's like one massive chain reaction. I feel I gotta prove myself more than ever now. You understand what I mean, right?”* 

He knew only too well Doug could have gone either way on this. *“Sure, I hear you.”* he chirped back over the earpiece. “Following this afternoon’s events with Rob and all, I guess you got no choice in matter now. Don’t worry, let’s just stay focused on tomorrow and I'll help you deal with everything else later.”*

*”Thanks for understanding, partner.”* said Drucker. *”Though the dumbass you can be at times, you’re a great colleague and brother-in-law. A real friend.”* He could feel the smile on the other end of the line.

*”Glad to know and the feelings mutual. I’ll always have your back, you know that. Look, I didn’t even speak to my sister before I spoke to you first. How’s that for loyalty. She’ll kill me if she found that out. I kept trying to ring you but all I got was an engaged tone. I was doing to you what she was doing to me.”* he chuckled in his cheery, familiar manner. Sounds Drucker absolutely needed to hear at this time.

*”The reason you couldn’t get through to me was because I was on the phone with Mrs. Collimore. She rang me soon after I left the house to go downtown for a drink.”*

*“Really?”* Doug answered, somewhat shocked. *“What did she want? As in, what did she want to say to you?”*

*“She just laid all her cards out in front of me. If I don’t solve this case, she’ll throw a suit at the precinct and me.”*

*“What!”* he exclaimed. *“Doesn’t she understand we’re just doing our job? Out there busting our asses, trying to get her boy back and not a shred of gratitude to show for it. What a bitch.”* he mumbled under his breath.

*“Don’t say that.”* Drucker intervened. *“Can you imagine the hell she must be going through?. You gotta see that everyone deals with problems in their own unique way and Mrs. Collimore is no different. Let’s just concentrate on the main objective which is getting the boy back. So, you all set for tomorrow?”*

*“What choice do I have? I gotta be!”* Doug explained. *” Though I’m still panicking about going behind Wallace's back like this. We got a bit of credibility to gain but a hell of a lot more to lose if this all goes wrong. But hey, I see exactly what you see and already told you I’m on board.”* 

*”And don’t think I’ll ever forget it."* said Drucker. *"Remember, you can pull out of this any time you want and I’ll never think any differently of you. We’ll always be family, regardless.”*

*”It’s my life and my decisions. I know full well what I'm doing and we're too far into with this case to give up now. Let’s just get it out of the way and move on with our careers. Agreed?”*

The integrity and reliable brotherly love Doug had for him was a treasured gift. He never took that for granted, not for one moment. He was Drucker’s support structure in life, whether Doug knew it himself or not. A match made in heaven and at present , the best thing to come out of his marriage to Gwen. A bitter pill for him to swallow, but also the plain truth of the matter.

*”Agreed, Doug.”* he replied, in a complete reversal of mood. *”Thank you for everything. Now, let’s get ready to take down those damn machines once and for all.”*

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<h2>Hope you enjoyed this post, please look out for more on the way... (author: @ezzy)</h2><hr>