On the verge of victory, knowing that one battle was about to be complete, the good commander is already thinking of how to build his men for the next battle – for it was always possible to win the battle, and not the war.
Henry Fitzhugh Lee looked in his mirror every day, and since the spitting image of a mid-forties Robert E. Lee looked back, he was ever reminded and went to work with that in mind, as he had all his life once the resemblance was recognized.
The great-great-great nephew of the better-known commander, on Friday, January 17, 2020, knew the big, big case his precinct was working in concert with Homicide was going to break that day. The adrenaline everyone had been running on would carry through the weekend – perhaps even through the holiday, because victory was a potent support.
But for the beyond, into the coming weeks, things had to be set in place.
Lieutenant Horatio Lightfoot had the name of Captain Lee's great-grandfather, and the temperament of his commander … the two men could watch each other and know things about themselves that neither had to say, but, because of this, it often was Captain Lee to whom Lieutenant Lightfoot confided things. Neither man was wordy, and every word counted for a lot, so when Lieutenant Lightfoot gently knocked on the open door out of respect and came into his captain's office, Captain Lee's ears perked all the way up.
“I can't seem to stop binge-watching last week in my head, sir.”
“It is called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Lieutenant. That is the price men like us pay for saving the lives of others.”
“But who is going to save us?”
That was the question. Lieutenant Lightfoot understood the dangers, unlike many men.
“We are, as ever, on our own, but we have good options,” Captain Lee answered. “I am myself a 31-year survivor of PTSD.”
Lieutenant Lightfoot's eyes grew wide.
“I never would have known if you had not told me.”
“Just like you are so calm and together I would not have known if I had not had the experience, and know how these things work. Many men – veterans and police officers – suffer and die in silence, alone.”
“I knew you would understand, sir, somehow.”
“Help is on the way, Lieutenant. I am allotting my work time to make sure of it. I will come and speak with the precinct about this after all is arranged. I imagine all of us are binge-watching last week.”
“It's a bad series to binge-watch, sir.”
“I concur,” Captain Lee said, “but imagine how much worse it would have been if you weren't starring in it.”
Lieutenant Lightfoot's face lit up at the memories of what they had done … he and Captain Lee had been side by side on Tuesday, in the deadliest of the weather … the rescues they had been able to make, the good they had been able to do.
“For now, you've just learned how to click on some different head movie videos; about the rest I will say a little later to the whole precinct.”
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay