---In the Wilshire Station---
First POV Alverez
As I walked out of the locker room, heading towards the briefing room, I ran into Nolan and Jackson, hearing Nolan ask about Jackson's day. As we made it into the room and found a seat, Nolan found a wedding bouquet of flowers and had a laugh, talking about how he had to now throw it. After throwing, I turned around following them to see the flowers land at Sgt. Grey's feet. "Okay, honeymoon over." Walking up to the board, writing numbers, he was speaking down.
"3,5,21. Officer Nolan, you care to guess what these numbers represent?" Gray spoke while looking at Nolan
"Combination to your heart, sir", Nolan got a few laughs out of the officers in the room.
"3 is the number of opportunities you had to disable Runaway Bride's car yesterday. 5 vehicles were damaged because you failed to do so, and the last number. Officer Bishop."
"$21,000 in property damage the city has to pay."
"Correct. All in all, Officer Nolan's first pursuit reveals room for improvement." Grey stated while looking at Nolan switching people when he called out Officer Bishop, asking about 21, and then back when she answered him. "Yes, sir", Bishop said as Grey walked back to the centre of the room to continue the briefing.
"Onward, Officer Chen is in need of a training officer until Officer Bradford is cleared for duty. Officer Scott Wrigley, you get the nod. Officer Alverez partnered up with Officer Lopez and West today for patrol. That's it, stay safe out there." Grey said as he was shuffling papers around to reorganise them on the podium, "Oh, Lopez, West, see the captain on the way out." As we met up at the front of the room, West asked, "What do you think she wants?"
Lopez sped out of the room, being followed by Jackson and me. " Nothing good. Alverez, go get the gear and set up the shop." As I walked out behind them, splitting off heading to the kit room while she and Jackson headed to the captain's office.
As I got back from dropping 2 of the 3 warbags off, I overheard Lopez getting mad at Jackson coming down the stairs, " I just hope protecting you doesn't get me killed." I stop as I meet them at the bottom of the stairs and then start walking to the shop with them trailing behind me. When we get there and finish everything, I sit in the backseat while Jackson and Lopez sit in the front.
--in the Shop--
After driving for a bit, Jackson starts speaking, looking over at "Failure's not an option, okay? I have been around guns my whole life, never froze up before." He spoke, looking between Lopez and me.
Speaking up, "it's different when you are shooting at a range at paper and targets to now, where you're being shot at, hearing the rounds striking around you."
Lopez glancing back at me "Yeah like she said its different when they are shooting at you."
"Yeah, well, now I know. Look. It--It won't happen again.
"Not good enough. I don't want to spend every call wondering if you're doing to freeze up again, so today we, get proactive, take all the high risk calls and see how you do." Before I can speak dispatch cuts in. "Wilshire units, 415 at Presbyterian church. PR states man on PCP attacked a priest. Units on scene requesting backup, code 3."
"perfect, 7-Adam-07, responding." Lopez said while grinning at Jackson.
--At the scene--
As we pull up past the blocking car, we see EMS wheeling out a man on a gurney. We get out and approach the other officers Lopez calls out.
"What's going on?" One of the officers on scene responded,
"Blaster on PCP walked into the church and threw the priest through a stained-glass window. Tore the place up. We're waiting for special ops and a supervisor."
"Big guy?" Lopez asked
"You can say that."
"Okay, we are going in." Lopez said looking from the officer and Jackson.
"We are? I mean hell yea we are." Jackson questioned the responded to Lopez before speed walking in. As we get to the door I hear the group of officers behind us laughing
"its your funeral."
When we make it into the church, I can hear the organ blaring one solid note as we walk down the center aisle, looking around for the suspect. When we get to the end of the church, we hear a man scream at the top of his lungs while throwing paper off the second story of pews in nothing but his underwear.
"Whoa, he is a big one. What do we do here, Officer West?" Lopez questioned Jackson as we watched the man throw down the box of paper and then turn around and start smashing whatever was at his feet.
"Ah yes PCP other wise know as Angel Dust on the street. this will not be easy." I groaned out.
"Phencyclidine or PCP is a dissociative sedative that makes the user feel invulnerable and, uh, sends the body temp through the roof. Which is why he took off all his clothes. He's basically the Hulk, unable to feel pain. If you shoot him, it just makes him mad. We just need to calm him down."
"I'm not looking for a dissertation I am wondering how your going to get him into cuffs. Then in our shop."
"Carefully," Jackson responded as the man was yelling and throwing more things from the second story.
We split up, with Jackson and me onto the second floor of pews the organ had stopped and we stepped out to see the man sitting panting looking at the wall across from us, seeing this as Lopez testing Jackson I hung back behind Jackson a bit while he nervously stepped to the man, who by now noticed us and stood up to face us and started to growl I think is what he was doing to us.
"It's okay. Look, I'm just gonna come a little bit closer, okay?" Jackson spoke in a soft tone to the man as he approached, turning off the bright light that the man had managed to move, pointing at himself. As Jackson approached the man, feeling threatened, lurching forward, forcing Jackson and me to back up, as he motioned for Lopez,
" We are good. Listen to me for a quick second. You're thirsty, right? You've got to be thirsty. Okay, you like water? I can get you water, nice refreshing water, right?" Jackson slowly takes out his handcuffs "Just put these bracelets on, and I will give you all the water you want. sweet, sweet water."
I watched as Jackson somehow managed to talk down the suspect into letting us cuff him and find a shirt to cover him up more. By the time we got him down the stairs Lopez was waiting for us at the foot of the steps looking impressed at Jackson at his ability to talk the drug addled man down. When Jackson and I walked the man out the door past the other officers. Jackson looking back "Special ops my ass." With Lopez following behind. "bunch of meter maids. "When we got back to the station, Lopez looked at Jackson and me.
"Okay, officers, show me how you process an arrest. With Jackson starting off. " First, take the prisoner from the shop."
Lopez stepped back as Jackson and I struggled to get the man out of the back seat due to the man locking up and resisting us from pulling him out, so Jackson grabbed the man from the right while I climbed in and started pushing the man out from the left. After about a 2-3 minute struggle, we ended up getting 2 other officers to assist us in getting the man out of the shop and into processing.
I followed up with "Then search the backseat to make sure that the to make sure the prisoner did not leave evidence needles or... other stuff in the back seat for us."
After the backseat search when we get him to the bench take off their shoes and socks. " Jackson started right after I finished explaining the first step inside.
"Next remove jewelry. After that we get finger and Palm prints." After the struggle from the car the officers that assisted stayed with us as we pulled the mans shoes and socks off and what little jewelry we found then assisted us as we forced him over to the finger scanner requiring another 2 officers to come over as the man locked him self in a flexing stance and would not cooperate forcing us to have two to an arm and one behind preventing him from standing up all the way as we got his hand to the scanner getting his prints.
" Then his mug shots." I spoke out as he managed to slide out of 2 officers and shove me back before we got him back under control getting the mug shots then over to the cells and sticking him in one by him self. "Finally getting them into the cells. Then get the watch commander to sign off on all the paper work." Jackson breathed out as leaned over from the exertion we got from forcing the man to be processed while he was really fighting back.
Jackson, Lucy, Nolan, and I line up in front of the watch commander's office, waiting for him to come and sign the paperwork off. As he walked down the line, he looked at our paperwork, checking us off one by one as I watched him. He stopped at Nolan before skipping him to process Jackson then me. After we turned in the papers Jackson, Lucy and I walked into the breakroom to get coffee Nolan joined us a minute later with his report still in his hand. "He says again but with more feeling this time." I look over at his work and see some red lines all over the paper work as I started to sip my coffee.
"I feel like Goldilocks. This training officer is to hard, this one too soft."
"I don't know. An afternoon of traffic stops sounds good right about now." Jackson spoke out after Lucy finished complaining about her TO Nolan looks up after hearing Jackson. "Who are you, and what have you done with Officer Extra Credit? And yes, that's what we called you back at the academy."
Lucy spoke up immediately after Nolan, "Always the first to volunteer, the most prepared rookie in the history of the LAPD."
"I'm still that guy." Jackson spoke, but before he could finish and sip his coffee, Lopez came in, calling us out of the room to follow her to a computer.
"I pulled a high-risk warrant to serve. Brenner Plank, a member of the Aryan Nation who enjoys long walks on the beach and felony assault. Hope you're ready for a fight." Lopez spoke to us while smiling at Jackson.
We read over the warrant paper looking at the information
"Too bad he wasn't home. I was in the mood to hook an Aryan up." Jackson said as we pulled up the the convenience store
"Oh, we're gonna go right back. Just need you to grab snacks first, definitely some caffeine."
"Oh, we are gonna go right back. Just need to grab snacks first, definitely some caffeine." Lopez spoke.
After he headed into the store, Lopez and I got out and stood in front of the shop waiting for Jackson to return with the food, while we waited Lopez questioned me on why I became a cop. "Why did you become a cop when you could have chosen less dangerous jobs out there?"
I looked out onto the street before responding. "I joined the navy to be a corpsman to be take after my mother but after that I was just floating around unsure of what to do then on the way home from leave I stumbled upon a a man mugging a woman and her sun. I don't what happened but before I could decide what to do I ran forward to a woman and her child and helped by disarming the man and holding him while we waited for the cops to show up. I didn't think, I didn't hesitate, just acted, and by the time it was over, I realized that I had found what I was looking for by running into danger and not away from it. so after submitting my DD214 I left the military from there, I made sure to get my license for me to certify me as a paramedic and then applied for the police academy here in LA."
Before Lopez could respond, we heard Jackson yelling in the store, unable to make out what he was yelling we ran forward, pulling our guns, making our way to the back, looking for Jackson, and by the time we found him, we saw him on the ground, on his back, with the man in the warrant, Plank, in a choke hold, forcing submission. He looked up and saw us walk in with our guns drawn, and just grinned at us. We holstered our guns and assisted him in handcuffing the suspect. After we got the suspect back to the station, we booked him and ended our shift, changing out and splitting up for the night, and left.
When I walked into my house was greeted by me small Dachshund, Tag , while I was petting her I stopped to wonder about what I should be doing with the knowledge I have, thinking back to the episodes of the show, thinking of Jackson's death, the Captain's death, and it made me wonder what I should be doing. But what froze me from hopping into action with this knowledge was the fact that it could be wrong, it could be off, I might do something that I think would help, only for something to go wrong because the situation was different from what I remember or the suspect decided to do something different. After that long exhausting thought process, I stood up from Tag and started my night routine to go to bed, deciding to only use it when it comes to major events like the caps and Jackson's death. "God, I hope I make the right decision about this," I spoke out to no one as I finished everything and lay down in my bed.
---NEXT Morning in the station---
When we all found our seats, I realized that the room was more packed than in previous times we've been in here. Before I could finish looking around, the Captain and Sgt Grey walked into the room.
Grey spoke up after turning on the TV and handing a stack of paper to the first person standing by the door, as they passed the stack down to everyone.
" Her name is Emma Vasquez. Reported missing three weeks ago. Detectives think she's the one that Christine left behind." After Grey finished speaking, Captain Anderson looked around "I've approved extra shifts and OT until we find this girl."
" Everyone canvasses between calls, Alverez your riding with Nolan and Bishop. Anything else?"
"Yes, one more thing. Officer Nolan, the motor pool is considering taking out a hit on you for all the damage you've caused to their vehicles. I talked them into, uh, a different solution." After a minute of Nolan and Bishop grabbing the bodycams and supplies when we made it out to the car, I looked up to see the oldest cop car I have ever seen, which looked like it was pulled out of the mothballs just for Nolan. "Try not to damage her." Anderson spoke up while handing the keys to Nolan, while I was trying to open the back door, only for it to move a little bit, then get jammed. "Nolan, so help me god if you break this more, and I get stuck with y'all riding a golf cart, I will tase you," I spoke up with a dead stare at him as Bishop groaned about never living this down. I moved to the back of the shop after Nolan was about to get it open and drop the two bags I was carrying, only to watch him struggle afterwards to get it to say closed. I was able to get the driver's side passenger door open and slide into the musty interior, only to see Bishop struggle with the glove compartment that was held closed with tape. Seeing that, I slumped back into the seat and tried to buckle up. Right before Nolan was able to open the front door, a hub cap fell off the car, and he had to bend down to pick it up and hand it to me through the back window before getting in, logging on, and driving out of the garage. Before leaving the garage Nolan asked if we could visit the woman in the hospital.
"You know, I was thinking maybe we should go to the hospital before we start canvassing, just to see if Christine remembers anything."
"Detectives are on that."
"Yeah, I checked the detectives' table. Motta and Paige are actually working a lead right now. Emma cannot wait."
---Hospital---
We arrived at the hospital and parked walking up to the floor the victim was on to get more information from the girl. We got to the woman's room, and Nolan started to question her while I listened. As Nolan was questioning her.
"He grabbed me in the garage. Must've snuck in after I pulled inside. I never saw him. Just felt a needle go in my neck, and then everything went black."
"Do you remember anything about the house?"
" He kept us in the basement, always came down in a mask. I don't think he was going to let us go; he was enjoying it." as she finished speaking she started to cry a little from the trauma, Bishop taking over the questioning from Nolan.
"Anything else? Anything that can help us find this place?"
It sounds crazy, but I I heard a voice saying "wait" over and over, day and night. Emma couldn't hear it, but I could swear it was there.
Before anyone else could talk. We got interrupted by the two detectives. "What are you doing?"
Before leaving the room to talk to the Detectives Nolan looked back and promised Christine that he would be back after his shift.
As we stepped out into the hallway Bishop started off by responding to the detectives. "We came by on our way to canvass."
But before Bishop could gain any leeway the detectives cut her off. "Protocol is key here, Talia. Everything goes through us. You know that."
Nolan spoke up to defend our TO "Hey, what is the problem here? We're all trying to catch the same guy." But the only thing the detectives responded with was questioning Bishop on why her Boot was talking to him pissing Nolan off, But before he could say anything I stopped Nolan and started to walk away while pulling him down the hallway to the elevator. After Bishop finished talking to the detectives she followed us stepping into the elevator shortly after us selecting the ground floor. Nolan looking at Bishop asked.
"What is their problem?"
"They think they're better than us. I've seen it in the military too when when it came to higher ranks or positions they almost always acted like they were better then the lower rank/positions." I spoke up
"When you make detective, are you gonna behave like that?" Nolan asked Bishop.
"Hell, yeah. But it'll actually be true."
"You got something?"
"I think I might know what the voice is." She spoke as the elevator car stopped and we stepped out to the ground floor and walked to the car. Before driving away with Nolan receiving directions form Bishop to drive to a spot on our search area.
When we arrived at the spot Nolan pulled over after he did Bishop motioned to a cross walk where a blind person and the man escorting her was waiting for the cross walk to let them cross then I heard it. "Wait. wait. wait." looking back at Bishop as she explained to us.
"It's called an accessible pedestrian signal, designed for the visually impaired. And there's only one on our search grid, 'cause there's a school for the blind right around the corner."
with me responding with the realization "Our guy's house would have to be right here in order to hear that voice from a basement. And I would peg that one for mid-century kidnapper."
Right before we got out of the car she motioned to the security guard "Let's ask the neighbors first. Security guys are always nosy."
As we got out of the shop I called out on the radio. "7-Adam-15, show us Code 6 and out of our vehicle. At 3017 Bailey Avenue."
As Nolan walked up to the sidewalk to the house where the security guard was living in. As he walked up to the door I started to look around with Bishop. After a quick 360 check I started walking up to Nolan who had already began to question the man. Before I could get up the steps I heard Bishop call out screaming Nolan's name and when I looked up I saw the man grabbing off to the side, but before I could dive to the side the man had a gun up and pulled the trigger I felt the blast before I heard it. 'BOOM' launching me back as the whole load slammed into my chest throwing me from the steps and into the grass as the man retreated back into the house. By the time most of the disorientation had passed Bishop was next to me starting to look me over as I heard her over the radio "7-Adam-15 requesting help. Shots fired, officer down I repeat shots fired officer down 2311 Bailey Avenue."
I start patting my chest feeling my uniform and soft armor as I started to peel it off as I stood up to stumble over to the trunk of the shop to grab the trauma kit. the front of my uniform is shredded then I looked down at the armor before sighing as much as I could with how much my chest hurt realizing it was bird shot that I was hit with and none of it made it pas the armor. Motioning to Bishop to stop. "Bishop, stop. BISHOP it was only bird shot it didn't get through the soft armor. Go help Nolan he needs it the suspect is still in there." as I had it off down to my undershirt. walking over to the shop to finish looking over my self as Bishop ran up to the door realizing its locked. As she was pulling on it we heard more shots from inside looking at her. See what she is thinking I backed away from the shop before going to sit by the driver side door as Bishop jumped into the driver seat of the shop and reversed it into the mans house busting down the front wall of the mans house as she was reversing into the house Lucy pulled up with a tire squeal then hopping out with her TO running over to me as I sat against the suspects car trying to get breath in to my lungs. "ELENA are you hit." she started to look me over I motioned her off. "Go, Nolan went in and started to clear the house when the door locked I heard gun shots earlier help him nothing went through the vest." pushing her away as I slide down to sit on the ground as. They looked at each other and ran up to the house and climbed though the hole, that Bishop made using our shop, in the house. I heard Lucy's TO call out for additional RA and the supervisor to our location for Emma the kidnapped girl we were looking for. Bishop saw the man flee and hop in the shop Lucy pulled up in and drove after him. shortly before she left the ambulance pulled up and EMS started to look me over. I stayed on the ground trying to get my chest to just stop hurting form the blunt impact the shot had on it.
"Ma'am where are you hit." one of them said he ran up to me pulling out the O2 mask and started putting it on me as his partner hopped into the back and pulled down their machine and started to hook me up to the machine they had to take my heart rate and blood pressure.
"it was bird shot it all hit the vest didn't go through the soft armor I had on, definitely will bruise." I spoke as they continued to check me over.
Ma'am do you want us to give you something for the pain?" They asked when they asked I waved them off to Lucy's TO who walked out of the house helping Emma down the steps, but before one of them could break off. The other ambulance pulled up next to us, the EMTs stepping out and started to help him get her into the back of the other ambulance so they can start checking me over.
As Lopez and Jackson pull up I saw Grey pull up as well, meeting them half way over to me. When they get to me Grey asks. "How you feeling?" looking me up and down from where he stood as I had the Oxygen mask over my face.
Pulling it away "Like I got hit with a cannon definitely going to bruise and feel it tomorrow. And sir I might need a new uniform." holding up the shreds that was my uniform I had on today as I held it up I saw Nolan, Lucy and Bishop pull up and get out walking over to us. Nolan stopping when he saw the shreds of my uniform seeing the damage the bird shot did and the O2 mask I had put back on after I finished talking. Grey seeing them walk up. "Alverez go to the hospital get checked out. Good Job today you three." he spoke as he looked at me, Nolan and Bishop. before heading to a small group of people waiting for him and started to direct the scene.
---At the end of shift at station---
After a long hospital visit I was cleared and they let me leave after getting to the station walk in as the captain had called us and the 2 detectives into her office slowly trekking my way up the stairs flinching from the pain I felt with every step I took up the stairs by the time i made it into the office. The captain gave me a look of sympathy before the detectives seeing me arrive started to talk.
"They should've called us before they went into the suspect's house." The female detective lead with.
"Why?" Getting Captain to ask why.
"'Cause it's our investigation." The male detective responded
"Last I checked, it was my investigation, and a girl's life was at stake. And come to think of it, I think you should be thanking them for rescuing the girl and closing your case."
"Thank you" the male detective gruffly said
"Don't mention it." Nolan said happily as he held out his had for the detective to shake and with look from the captain he shakes it briefly
"Look at that. Isn't that nice, all my kids getting along? You two, get out." Captain said before sending the detectives on their way.
"Got to admit it, that felt pretty good." Bishop spoke happily
"You should temper yourself, Officer Bishop. May I remind you, you drove your shop into a house. Give me a minute with Officer Nolan and officer Alverez." The captain started sternly before asking her to step out for a bit.
As Bishop left captain Anderson looked at me. "How you feeling Officer Alverez?"
"Like I got hit by a truck. The doctors said it was only bruising and that after a few day the the pain should go away."
"That's good go ahead and take some days off and we will see when the doctor will clear you for work again."
"Thank you ma'am" I said as she nodded for me to leave. As i passed Bishop I told her good night and started down the stairs to the locker room when I hit the bottom step I saw Lucy and Tim talking I was walking past them when he stopped me. "From what I hear you got shot today Alverez."
"Just a light dusting of bird shot, will need a new uniform and vest but got some time off because of it, but you know I guess getting shot before does nothing for the pain." I joke to him but before he can speak Lucy cut in. " You never said you have been shot before and don't joke about it that way you did get shot today."
"Its not something you get asked or can bring up in a normal conversation. Night Bradford." I said as I start walking into the locker room.
"wait for me I'll take you home tonight seeing you walk like an old lady is hurting my bones." Lucy started following me and couldn't but make a joke at me.
"fine but you are driving me back for my car when I feel better." I told her
"Agreed" she said laughing at me.