Ambush on Brigid O'Reilly

Ambush on Brigid O'Reilly
Previous	Chase of Kev
Next	Rescue of Ivan Hess
Date	February 2017
Location	Buildwell Wood Shop, New Orleans, Louisiana
Result	Duane Porter is killed by Brigid O'Reilly.
Planned by	James Connors
Executed by	Duane Porter
Target	Brigid O'Reilly
Casualties	Duane Porter

"In about a minute, a cop's gonna come through that door. She's our problem. You're gonna take her out."

―James Connors to Duane Porter^[src]

The Ambush on Brigid O'Reilly was a failed plan by James Connors to kill Brigid O'Reilly after she began investigating the drug trade in New Orleans.

Background

"Wasn't sure about you, New York, but maybe I was wrong. We should ride together sometime."

―James Connors to Brigid O'Reilly^[src]

Freshly arrived from New York City to join the New Orleans Police Department, Detective Brigid O'Reilly began investigating the drug trade which poisoned the streets of New Orleans. Because of a meeting with Tyrone Johnson, O'Reilly suspected that fellow Detective James Connors could be involved in it and she decided to get his attention. Inquiring about her investigation, Connors figured out that O'Reilly was closing in on him and decided to have her removed.

Therefore, during a cruise in New Orleans, Connors pretended to chase Kev and instructed him to alert his associate, Duane Porter, about O'Reilly's investigation. Connors then returned to the New Orleans Police Department Station and told O'Reilly that they might have a chance to arrest the mastermind behind the drug trade in the coming night.

Ambush

"Why don't you do it?"
"My hands are dirty enough. You take care of this, I'll keep all NOPD off your back."

―Duane Porter and James Connors^[src]

James Connors was followed by Brigid O'Reilly in the Buildwell Wood Shop, where he planned to have Duane Porter murder her. He instructed O'Reilly to let him go inside first, and asked that she joined him five minutes later. He then banged on the door just as Tyrone Johnson was arguing with Porter about his alliance with Connors, which Johnson did not understand since Connors had killed Porter's friend. Porter instructed Johnson to leave before opening the door to Connors, but Johnson chose to remain hidden in the lumber mill to see what was happening.

Entering the shop, Connors explained to Porter that O'Reilly was on their tracks and that she had to be eliminated, and since Connors' hand were dirty enough, Porter had to do it with a gun Connors gave him. Upon hearing this, Johnson attempted to call O'Reilly to warn her, but she did not reply. O'Reilly, having waited five minutes as instructed by Connors, then entered the lumber mill as well. Connors shouted her name in an attempt to distract her while Porter would shoot her, but O'Reilly was faster than him and shot Porter in self-defense, killing him.

Having witnessed Porter's death, Johnson screamed in horror, causing him to be chased by Connors. Johnson managed to escape from the lumber mill, and as Connors attempted to shoot him, his Darkforce-based teleportation powers were instinctively activated, enabling Johnson to dodge the bullets before teleporting himself back into St. Theresa's Church.

Aftermath

"I passed the psych evaluation. I said all the right things. And don't feel like celebrating."

―Brigid O'Reilly to Kenneth Fuchs^[src]

Due to the death of Duane Porter, Brigid O'Reilly was put under investigation to determine whether she was in her good right when shooting him. The investigation, including the psych evaluation, confirmed that O'Reilly had acted in self-defense and cleared her from all charges of manslaughter. Despite this, O'Reilly confessed to her boyfriend Kenneth Fuchs that she did not feel like celebrating as she was heavily shaken by her killing a young man.

Enraged by the fact that Tyrone Johnson had escaped from him, James Connors made it a personal business to arrest him. He had Suzy draw an identikit of the young man, hoping that it would help in capturing him, although he was unaware that O'Reilly was actually collaborating with Johnson in order to have Connors arrested.

Johnson was also deeply shaken by the death of Porter, regretting that he had lost both a friend and a potential witness regarding the death of his brother Billy caused by Connors. He related this to Tandy Bowen in an attempt to figure out what to do, but although Bowen understood his pain, she asked him to set it aside for the moment as she needed his help to save Ivan Hess.