FINE LINE - T. BRADFORD

9

"Babysitting a termination: a patrol officer's favourite assignment. So, who shall I bless with it?"

No one moves until Nolan raises his hand

"Officer Nolan, are you volunteering?" Sergeant Grey asks.

"Just embracing the inevitable, sir," Nolan says.

"Smart man. Get the address from Dispatch. That's it. Be safe out there everyone,"

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"Do you want me to drive?" Mirana asks Tim who shoots her a glare.

"Why would I want that? You think I'd go back on duty before I'm 100 percent?"

"Si because you suffer from severe FOMO if other people are in life-threatening situations"

"Do you think simply doing your job during a firefight means you get special treatment?"

"I do plenty of other things for you that warrant special treatment," Mirana grins, opening the passenger side door. "But if you want to drive, go ahead"

"I will," Tim nods, getting into the driver's side.

"Hey, Cabrera!"

"Oh god," Mirana climbs into the car and yanks the door shut.

Her horror only grows when Tim winds her window down, a wicked grin on his lips as George Watson jogs over.

"So I wanted to ask you out for dinner tonight," Watson says. "Some fine dining, maybe-"

"No," Mirana says.

"Playing hard to get?" Watson grins, leaning forward causing Mirana to lean back. "I love a challenge"

"You'd find it challenging to get a prostitute into bed," Mirana murmurs and Tim snorts loudly.

"7-Adam-19, call from 3301 Ditmer, manager requesting police assistance,"

"Got to go," Mirana says, pressing the button to bring the window up as she grabs the radio. "7-Adam-19, show us responding"

"I'll ask again later!" Watson calls as they drive out of the garage.

"I'm going to smother you in your sleep,"

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Mirana slams the car door closed with more force than is necessary. Tim pats her thigh as they walk towards where a frantic man is waving them over.

"Oh, thank God you guys are here. He's trapped in there,"

"The bank?" Mirana asks, smiling at Tim when he holds the door open for her. "Did he break in or something?"

"No. In the wall," The manager says. " Mike went inside to fix an ATM last night before we closed, and we forgot he was in there and left"

The man leads them to the ATM and Mirana knocks on the wall a few times. She pulls her pen from her pocket and draws an 'X' on the thinnest part.

"The lock must have broke when he tried to come back out, and he's been inside all night. Pushed this note through the receipt slot when he heard us come in,"

Tim takes the note from the manager before showing it to Mirana who squints.

"Hurry! Hard to breathe," Tim says and Mirana nods in thanks.

"Control, 7-Adam-19 requesting LAFD to 3301 Ditmer, for a guy trapped in a wall," Tim says into his radio. "Sir, we're gonna get you out of there. Sir, can you hear me?"

Another slip of paper emerges from a crack in the machine. Tim grabs it and looks at it. Mirana frowns at the illegible scribble on the page.

"Has my dyslexia just evolved or is that just scribble?" Mirana asks.

"No, to him it means something to us, it's telling us that he's hypoxic," Tim says. "Go grab the Halligan out of the trunk. We can't wait for the fire department"

Mirana runs out of the bank towards the police car, popping the trunk and grabbing the Halligan before closing the trunk and checking the car is secure.

Mirana runs back into the bank and Tim takes the Halligan before taking a few swings at the wall. Mirana notices him wince with each swing but stays quiet.

"Why am I doing this? Boot, get in there,"

Mirana nods, taking the Halligan from Tim before swinging. With each hit, a hole begins to open a bit wider. Mirana hands the Halligan to Tim, pulling a few pieces of the wall back.

"Sir, are you all right?" Mirana asks.

The repairman's face presses against the hole in the wall as he gulps in the fresh air.

"Can you grab a cup of water please?" Mirana asks the manager who nods, hurrying away. "Sir, can you tell me your name?"

"Mike,"

"Hi Mike, can you just lean back a bit so I can check your pulse?"

Mike leans back and Mirana reaches through the gap, pressing her fingers against Mike's throat. She grabs her phone and turns on the stopwatch, quietly counting to herself.

"Alright Mike," Mirana says. "Your heart rate is a bit faster than ideal but that's normal considering the circumstances"

"So I'll be okay?"

"You'll be fine, the paramedics are almost here," Mirana says. "They'll give you some oxygen and probably some IV fluids"

"Paramedics are here," Tim says. "Firefighters too, we can go now Boot"

"Thank you so much, officers,"

"You're welcome,"

"Arre you done being mad at me now?" Tim asks as they walk back to the car.

"Nope," Mirana shakes her head.

"If you want I can tell Watson to back off," Tim offers.

"No, I don't want to be known as the Officer who needs a man to swoop in and save her. I can handle this,"