The next morning was my favorite competition we did with each new group of rookies, it was the roundup. It was a long held tradition in the department, but for me, it was always a celebration of a time I couldn't get back. Last year when Isabel had essentially disappeared I thought I was never going to see her again. Since seeing her again, I had hope things would get better, that she would stop running and finally get help.
I couldn't focus on that, so instead I looked forward to dominating this competition like I always do, plus I have Chen back. I don't have to run around with West anymore worrying about getting into a gunfight.
I got to roll call early as I always do, so I took the podium while everyone else was filing in before Grey came in. "All right, settle down everyone," I settled the people already challenging me and making bets.
"Listen, everyone knows what today is, and I just want to say that Team Bradford is gonna dominante once again." I bragged.
"Yeah, not this year blondie," Angela shouted.
I'm not blonde.
A few of the other guys were still challenging me as I stepped down from the podium, flashed Chen a smirk, and took my seat next to Angela. Bishop joined us shortly after, then Grey entered.
"All right, settle down." He said, on his way up to the podium. "Don't think I didn't see you up in my spot Bradford." He chastised me.
Grey took up his spot behind the podium and started the morning briefing. "So, I am aware that today is the day where our T.O. units typically compete for most arrests. Under no circumstances does the department endorse this."
Angela and I exchanged a look.
"Meaning... I don't want to hear about your points or strategy. Am I clear, Officer Bradford?" He asked, looking at me.
"Yes, sir. This job isn't about winning. It's about good policing and teamwork." I nodded dutifully.
"Good, now, on that note, stay safe and stay vigilant. You are dismissed."
Everyone got up to leave and I met Chen in the hall. "We win at any cost." I stated clearly to her.
She looked back up at me a little confused, "Oh, but Sergeant Grey just said-"
"He said he doesn't want to hear about it, which is different than saying don't do it. Now, the scoring is like football." I started telling her on the way to the supply desk to get our gear. "7 points for a felony arrest. 3 points for a misdemenor. Any questions?" I informed her.
"No, sir."
"Good." I nodded as we checked out our gear for the day. We started following Lopez and West, and Bishop and Nolan to the garage when I stopped us.
"Hold up, Boot." She stopped suddenly and took a few steps back to meet me. "What?" she asked while the others loaded up and started to head out.
I grabbed the book I had wrapped and added to our bag.
"What is that?" She asked, looking incredulous at the present in my hand.
"Insurance." I responded and started walking away to find dispatch.
Chen still had our gear so she dropped it back at the supply desk then caught up with me just as I was about to go into the dispatch office. I opened the door and spotted my target.
"Nell!" I smiled and put on a charming and friendly face.
"Hey." Nell smiled back at me.
I prentended to seem interested in her. "Look at you, you are positively glowing. What's your secret?" I asked. A quick glance at Chen told me she currently thought I had grown a second head based on the way she was currently looking at me.
"Um," Nell blushed, "I hiked Malibu Creek yesterday, you should try it, it's good for the soul." She suggested.
I might do that. I should get out more often.
"I bet, listen. I saw this at the bookstore yesterday and thought of you." I smiled and handed her the book I got.
She blushed even deeper this time. "That is so sweet." She giggled. Good, this was working.
She started to open the wrapping paper and a huge smile broke out on her face. "Oh, my gosh! Kilimanjaro! I have been dying to go someday!" I can't imagine why, but sure.
"You will, " I assured her. "Hey, so listen, as calls come in that sound like felony arrests, can you send them to us?" I asked, looking back at Chen quickly who had pasted on a friendly smile. At least she knew when to play the part.
"And not over the radio?" I added.
Suddenly Nell looked nervous. "Um, that would qualify as favoritism. So..." she said hesitantly.
I put on another charming smile, I needed this to work. "But, I am your favorite. Come on, for me?" I practically begged. I could not lose this contest, everyone would ridicule me for days, weeks even.
"Okay." Nell finally agreed and smiled, "But just for today."
"You will! Great! Thank you so much!" I gave her a final smile then Chen opened the door for us to leave. "You're the best, Nell." I said right before I closed the door behind us.
Immediately, Chen asked, "Isn't that cheating?"
Ugh, is she going to be a Debbie Downer all day?
"I'm celebrating the unsung heroes of the LAPD," I explained.
"In exchange for Hot calls. Isn't our job to respond to any crime, no matter the anticipated outcome?" She continued, annoyingly. I would not have her ruin this for me today.
"Of course, but if you're gonna be some pollyana on my shoulder all day, I'll be happy to loan you out to clean the drunk tank. Heard there were some heavy pukers in there last night." I suggested, just as we were walking by on our way back to the supply desk to get our gear again.
"Clearly, I misspoke when I said cheating-"She started to backtrack when the door buzzed and suddenly Lopez and West were hauling in their first arrests for the day.
"You got to be kidding me?" I complained. Lopez already had a head start, with first points on the board.
"Hey, look what we found just 2 blocks away. A burglary and consipiracy lookout." West bragged as they started processing.
"Are you here booking someone?" Angela asked us.
"No," I replied.
"Oh, I guess we're first on the boards! 14 points!" She announced.
"Hey!" West fist bumped her.
"Ah!" She celebrated.
God, they were annoying.
"Let's go, Boot." I told Chen. We needed to hit the streets.
15 minutes into our patrol Chen's phone chimed. I glanced over to see she was in a group text with Nolan and West. Not surprising since they all went to the academy together. They were a real trio of 3 musketeers.
"Nolan and Talia are on the board." She informed me.
"Damn it." I slammed my palm down on the steering wheel. "Call Nell." I told her and she dialed, putting Nell on speaker phone.
"Hello?" Nell answered.
"Hey, it's Officer Bradford. You haven't forgotten about me have you?" I asked as sweetly as I could muster. Chen gave me that same look from earlier.
"No, of course not." Nell sighed, "We've actually just, we've been a little slow." then we heard a chime in the background. "Oh, um, we just got a 911 call. DUI hit-and-run, teenage pedestrian, Black BMW 528i. Last seen heading eastbound on Melrose." She informed us.
My blood boiled. A kid was hurt because some idiot thought they could get behind the wheel drunk and drive.
"Perfect. Attach us to that please. And Nell, You're the best." I said and hung up. Lucy was still giving me that look, like she didn't know who I was. I suppose I had never been this nice to someone in front of her, but still, it bothered me that she was looking at me that way.
"Nell seems nice," Chen suddenly said.
Okay...
"Yeah, what's your point?" I asked.
Is Lucy jealous?
"She likes you," she said.
What? What does that have to do with anything?
"She's just doing me a favor, that's all."Besides, "I'm married, Officer Chen, and this isn't something you and I talk about." It's not a safe topic, and we have a job to do. "Keep your eyes peeled for our DUI."
"Yes, sir." She acknowledged, keeping her eyes forward. I did the same and then saw a black sedan swivering in traffic. That must be our BMW. "There." I pointed him out and Chen saw what I was looking at.
She grabbed the radio, "7-adam-19, DUI suspect sighted, heading east on Melrose." I switched our lights and sirens on, and we rounded the corner, following the suspect. "7-adam-19, turning north on Serrano."
We heard the crash before we saw it. We pulled up behind him and saw his car was managled in some sort of fencing.
I exited the shop and called out to Chen, "Let's go, Boot. He might try and run." I said, approaching the rear of the vehicle with my weapon drawn. "LAPD, hands up." I shouted to the driver.
"Don't move. Show us your hands." Chen shouted, rounding the passenger side of the car. "Whoa."
"This is a first." I said, looking and the piece of metal pipe impaling the driver through the chest.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," the driver said. He was an older man, maybe 60 or 70 years old. He looked tired and there was blood dripping out of his mouth. It wasn't a good sign. He might not survive this.
Chen grabbed her radio, "7-adam-19 DUI suspect crashed at Melrose and Serrano. We need RA and FD, Code 3." It was good to see Lucy coming along as a cop.
I ran back to the shop to grab the bolt cutters out of trunk. We needed to get this moving along or he would never see his day in court.
"Okay, sir, hang in there." I heard Chen say to the suspect. She was always so friendly and supportive. "The ambulance is on it's way."
"Should I pull it out?" the driver asked, hand on the pole impaling him.
"No, no. Don't move." She said stablizing the pipe, trying to minimize it's movement.
"Stay still, I'm gonna cut this pipe." I informed them. "Three, two, -" I cut the pipe and Chen grabbed it, holding it until I could pull it from the windsheild.
With some of the pipe removed and the RA having arrived, I started to read the driver his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. Do you understand each of these rights?" I asked him.
"Yes, sir," the driver replied.
"Now, you are required to provide a chemical sample if suspected of driving while impaled- sorry, impaired. You can choose between blood, breath, or urine. A refusal will result in immediate suspension of your license for a minimum of a year." I informed him.
"Yes-" the driver started to respond then faded to unconscious.
The EMT pushed her way through and shouted. "We need to get him to surgery!"
"No!" I shouted. "Not before I get my blood draw. 21-guage vial."
Chen looked scared. "Can't this wait?" she asked. "He's obviously-"
"What?" I asked her, angry she even had to ask. "What, huh? He's What? He's dying?" I asked incredously as I rounded the car to approach her. "This guy got drunk and hit a kid with his car. Maybe even killed him. If we wait his blood alcohol level will return to normal and we'll lose a crucial piece of evidence." I explained as the EMT took the blood draw.
"Are you sure this has nothing to do with the 7 point felony arrest?" she accused me.
Absolutely nothing to do with it, I actually completely forgot about the contest for a second, thanks for reminding me.
"Boot, criminals get hurt all the time during a crime. They don't get special treatment if they get a boo-boo. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." She nodded. The EMT approached and gave me the blood sample. I bagged it in an evidence bag.
"Now, call in our 7 points." I told her and returned to the shop. We needed to get this to the lab back at the station then it would be lunch time.
We all met up at the food trucks like we always do. I was eating with Angela and Bishop, trying to enjoy my burrito.
"The numbers are black and white. We have 28 while each of you only has 7." Angela bragged. Typically, I loved the distraction the the competition brought. It gave me something to focus on instead of Isabel, but so far Chen had really been an added challenge. I felt like she had been judging me all morning and I didn't like that feeling. She never looked that way at me before, and when she did it's because I wanted her to. Not today.
"There's still a whole second half to our shift, and you know I'm a closer." I stated confidently. We just needed 1 or two good calls and we could still win.
"You know, we're not playing." Bishop stated flatly. Of course she isn't, anyone else want to rain on my parade today?
"Oh, right, you're above all this." I motioned to the fun I was trying to have on the job. I have had so many bad days recently, why can't I just have today?
"Mm." Angela agreed. "When you're Chief we promise not to divulge you had any fun on the job." She smirked at Bishop.
"It's not fun. It's a relic of a time when the department drove a wedge between the cops and the community."
It's also a tradition Isabel and I started, competiting to push ourselves to be better. And now she wasn't even a cop anymore and my boot was giving me judgemental looks.
"I get it, you think it promotes an 'us VS them' mentality. And, youre right. But the 'them' isn't the community. It's the criminals. I just arrested a guy for putting a teenager in a coma. And I'm not going to apologize for hustling to get him off the streets." I defended myself.
"But I'm not asking you to. All I am asking you to do is take a hard look as to whether this contest teaches those rookies the right lesson." She said, then got up and left, taking her boot with her.
"Reow!" Angela said after Bishop walked away. "Don't take her so seriously. She doesn't understand."
"You get it though, right?"
"I do, which is why Team Lopez is going to kick your ass this year!" She smirked and also got up and left.
I enjoyed one more bite of my food, cleaned up the table then called Chen over. "Time to go."
We got back into the shop and hit the streets again. Immediately I noticed Lucy's mood had darkened. I didn't want to know what was going on with her, I just wanted it to go away.
"Do I need to be worried that your mood is gonna affect our chances in this competition?" I asked.
"I'm fine." She said in the most not fine way possible.
"Because I have won this 5 years and counting." I explained. I could not lose to Lopez.
"Yeah, I get it. I won't let you down," she said. I looked over at her to see her staring out the window. She was obviously upset about something. I hoped it wasn't about me and the way I yelled at her earlier.
"You're clear with what happened earlier with our DUI, right?" I asked hesitantly.
She looked over at me.
"That wasn't about score, it was about making sure that guy sees the inside of a cell." I explained.
"Yeah, It's just-" she studdered. "It's hard when he's the one bleeding out in front of you." With a pole impaling his chest, I get it.
"Understood. But it's our job to always maintain perspective."
Suddenly, Chen's phone was ringing. It was Nell. She answered and put it on speaker phone.
"Hey, so we just got a call about an armored car robbery. Suspects were seen wearing ski masks on Wilshire and Robertson."
Jackpot!
"Attach us to it. Thanks, Nell," I replied and Lucy hung up.
"Hot damn! We're back in it." I smiled to Lucy and she mustered a small one to return. I switched on our lights and sirens and sped our way there. When we arrived on scene the truck was in front of us. A minute later and they would have been gone. We stopped in front of the truck blocking them in and the robbers immediately started shooting at us. Two shots came through the windsheild, thankfully missing both of us.
"Get down, Boot!" I shouted. We both popped our doors open after unbuckling and moved out to the sides of the shop. We both pulled our pistols and started to return fire. We both got 4 or 5 shots off when suddenly the suspects stopped shooting and disappeared inside the truck.
Shit!
"What happened?" Chen asked, ever so curious. I loved her constant questions.
"There's a safety feature in armored trucks that allows the drivers to escape to the back when they are under fire. They're now locked in a bulletproof fortress, and we're gonna be here all day trying to get them out." I explained.
I grabbed my radio, "7-adam-19, shots fired, suspects barricaded, requesting SWAT to my location."
"I'll call the armored car company, they should have a master key." Good thinking, except...
"It'll take them hours to get here. Hours where Lopez and Talia are running up the score on us." I replied.
"You seem more interested in that than in us getting lit up by the guys in the truck. What happened to maintaining perspective?" There she is with her judgement again. We were never going to win this.
"You know, save the psychoanalysis for Christmas dinner with the folks, okay? My perspective is spot on. I want to win and put these guys behind bars."
"Yeah, I do too." Sure seems like it. "But they're not going down without a fight. We need backup."
"And I called for it." I replied, annoyed with her attitude today. "Which is what they expect us to do." I suddenly realized. "They think we'll stay here all day and wait for them. Which means their guard is going to be down right now." I moved around behind the shop to pull the halligan from the trunk. I had an idea.
"It's a bulletproof truck. You're not going to get in with that." Chen said, when she saw the halligan.
"I don't need to get in. I need them to come out." I explained, approaching the truck where one of the vents were, otherwise the back would be airtight and you would suffocate to death.
"Their armed and barricaded. We should wait for SWAT." Chen reasoned, always trying to ruin my fun. I always wanted to do this.
"The weapons won't matter if they can't see anything. Cover the back." I instructed her and she took up a cover position.
I popped the vent cap with the halligan then set the halligan down on the ground. "Now just add pepper spray, and..." I deviously smiled as I sprayed into the vent hole for a couple of seconds. I few seconds later we heard the men inside to start to cough and cry as the pepper spray was fed into the air. I pulled my weapon and set up at the back of the truck with Chen, just as the men opened the door to escape the truck.
"Drop your weapons!" I shouted. Chen joined me.
"Down on the ground, hands behind you back!" I commanded.
"On your stomachs, hands behind your back!" Chen shouted. The men complied and we bent to cuff them.
"Felony car jacking, armed robbery, attempted murder. That's 14 more points Boot!" I smiled at her and she graced me with one in return. We were finally tied with Lopez and West at 28!
I pulled my radio, "7-adam-19, code 4. Cancel SWAT request."
"Don't forget to add this to your group chat." I smiled at Chen.
"I will tell them it was all your idea."
"You better." I smirked and we hauled the guys into the back of the shop to take in for processing.
"Hey, go grab the halligan." I reminded her after the suspects were in the shop.
"Oh, right." She nodded and went to pick it up where I left it and put it away while I got in the shop and waited.
We were heading back when Chen spoke, "That was actually a really good idea." She said, looking out the window.
"Doubting me, Boot?" I asked.
"No, just admiring your creativity. I wanted to wait for SWAT and you proved that we didn't need to." She explained.
"That's what I like about this competition, it forces you to think outside the box."
"I see that now." She nodded, and we returned to silence.
When we got back to the station I helped Chen get the men to processing. Once they were seated I looked to her, "You got this? I'm going to go talk to Nell quick."
"Yeah, I got this." She nodded and continued processing.
I head to the dispatch office just in time to catch Nell getting ready to leave. I was worried about this. "Uh, where you going?" I asked her to reassure my assumptions.
"Uh, my shift is over." Nell responded.
"Mine's not. Uh, anyway, do you think you could stick around and be apart of the Bradford team a little longer?" I begged, giving her my best puppy eyes.
"How much longer?" she wringed her hands.
"Three hours?" I asked more than I stated.
"Well, that will cost you. A drink. I mean later, after. When you're off-duty." She stammered out nervously. Ugh, Lucy was right, Nell was into me.
"Deal," I agreed. Nothing wrong with a friendly drink.
"Deal." She smiled and sat back down at her desk and started fielding calls again. Okay, mission accomplished, I needed to get back to Chen so we could get one, maybe two, if we're lucky, arrests in for the night.
The rest of patrol was quiet, we kept our eyes peeled for anything, but nothing was coming up. That's when Nell called.
"Hey!" I answered as Chen put it on speaker phone.
"Hey, so it's probably nothing but Nolan and Bishop are checking out this false alarm at 71 Holmby Avenue. Do you guys want to check up on them? The owner of the house was in here earlier and I don't think it's a coincidence," she told us. Chen sent me a concerned look.
"Yes, attach us as backup." I told Nell and Chen hung up.
"What do you think is going on?" Chen asked.
"I'm not sure, but I do trust Nell." I replied.
"She is good at her job. Is that why you picked her? Or was it because you knew she liked you?" Chen asked as I drove to Bishop and Nolan's call.
"Because she is good at her job. I didn't realize she even liked me until earlier. She asked me to go out for drinks." I hesitantly answered. Lucy had this way of getting me to answer every question she asked.
"Oh," she replied.
"I'm going to tell her the truth tonight, after shift." I explained.
"Of course," she nodded and we resumed our silence.
We pulled up to Nolan and Bishop a few minutes later with the windows rolled down.
"Heard you were attached to a false alarm. Figured something big might be up." I said to them.
"How'd you hear that? Did you bribe dispatch again?" Bishop asked.
"Again?" Chen asked accusingly.
"I just thought you might need some backup. Unless you're too focused on getting all the points yourself." I replied to Bishop.
"We're not playing, remember?" Bishop argued.
"Well, then. You won't mind us tagging along." I nodded and she rolled her eyes. I then parked the shop down the street and we all got out and met up in front of the house to approach together.
"The homeowner is suspected of being a banker for the Russian Mob." Bishop informed me.
"Knew it."
"Knew what?" Bishop cocked her head at me like I was some sort of psychic.
"That this call was way bigger than a false alarm." I answered.
"Yeah, cool your jets, it could still be nothing."
Just then Nolan whispered, "I got a body." and I looked to Bishop.
"They slit her throat." Nolan said as I approached to find what appeared to be the maid, dead, in the fountain.
Bishop pulled her radio, "7-adam-15 requesting SWAT for a hostage situation. One dead, code 3." It was then we heard a women scream as we were scouting the area outside the house. Everyone must be inside. This was about to go down hill very quickly.
I then heard a man yelling no repeatedly. "Guys, we can't wait. They've already killed one, they can kill the banker and his wife at any moment. We need to go in now." I said.
"So, what, we go in stealth?"Chen asked.
"Yeah, upstairs or downstairs?" Bishop asked.
"We'll take upstairs." I said, and holstered my gun to climb to the second story balcony. Bishop and Nolan headed inside from the downstairs and waited for us.
Chen followed behind me and just as I pulled my weapon to scout the upstairs, I heard Lucy get caught on the banister and fall. I turned to see her on the floor looking so guilty. "Come on, get up." I whisper yelled to her. She scrambled to her feet and pulled her weapon and we heard the others start to scout the house again.
"Follow me." I whispered to her. We hid behind the door to the room when I heard the footsteps coming closer. Then they passed the door and I saw the gun. I pushed the gun up and he pulled the trigger, causing it to go off right next to my ear. The ringing started immediately, but I didn't let that deter me as I grabbed his arm, pinned him to the ground and knocked the gun out of his hand. Chen handed me cuffs and I cuffed him.
A minute later Bishop and Nolan yelled out,"Clear!"
I yelled too, "Clear."
7 more points. As long as Lopez and West didn't get any more arrests we won.
Bishop called in the arrest and requested RA for the banker and his wife. We waited for them to arrive and once that was taken care of we hauled the Russian hit squad in and processed them.
On the way back I glanced over at Lucy and saw that her mood had not improved at all, and quite frankly I could feel the embarassment radiating from her.
"You did good today." I told her.
"Don't lie to me. I've been nothing but a pain in your ass all day."
"True. But we got the bad guys, and we won the competition."
"You won. You arrested the DUI, you had the great idea on how to get the robbers out of the truck and you arrested the russian."
"So you're upset that you didn't?" I asked.
"No, I'm upset that I let my shitty mood affect my policing. You may have been motivated by the competition but you made some really good arrests today," she said and it felt like a compliment. Something I wasn't expecting from her today.
"Hey, we can't all have good days. Tomorrow is a new day and you get to try again."
"So, your not mad about me tripping on the banister."
"Oh, you are still doing 100 squats, but I figured I would save that for tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate."
"Ugh," she groaned which made me chuckle. I would never tell her but she was absolutely my favorite rookie of all time.
___
Finally after shift we all met up at the food trucks for drinks and some food where Angela was taking the responsiblity of announcing the winner.
"Attention everyone!" She shouted, gathering us. "After some complicated math, the winner is..." she drummed on the table, "Bradford and Chen!"
I smiled, damn right I won. I fist pumped in celebration! Year 6 in the bag! Everyone cheered and applauded, people started congratulating me.
"Which also means their drinks are free." Angela added turned to give Chen a hug. I thought I heard her whisper something to Chen but I wasn't sure what. I brushed it off when she gave me a hug next and congratulated me again.
Angela then stepped away to talk to her rookie who was justifiably pouting.
I saw Chen talking with Nolan so I decided it was time to talk to Nell.
"Hey," I said as I approached her table.
"Hey," she replied, a drink already in front of her.
"Thanks for looking out for me today," I told her as I sat down at the table with her.
"Oh, um, it was my pleasure. I'm glad you won. You were right, you are my favorite." She blushed.
Time to rip the bandaid off.
"Look, Nell. I should tell you, I'm married." I blurted.
"Huh, I didn't know that." She nodded and took a long drink.
"Yeah, it's complicated. But, I can still buy you a drink, to say thanks," I said, trying to remain friendly.
"Yeah..." she drawled, "Sorry, I don't do complicated. But, um, thanks for the book." She said, grabbing her purse. She left.
Well, that went terribly. Just then, I saw Chen leaving. I caught up with her before she got to her car.
"Hey," I said, walking behind her.
"Hey," she turned around, surprised to see me. "Why aren't you celebrating?"
"I did, then I talked to Nell, and now I kind of feel like a jerk." I shrugged.
"Well, you kind of were." She smirked, playing with her keys in her hand.
"We are good, right? You're not mad at me?" I asked, the question had been burning inside of me all day.
"Yeah, of course, why?" she asked, looking curious, as always.
"You just seemed upset all day and I wanted to make sure it wasn't something I said or did." I explained. I had just got her back as my rookie and I wanted things to go back to normal.
"No, Tim, it's not you." She smiled.
"Okay," I nodded, satisfied with her answer. It was the first time I had ever heard her call me by my actual name. "Well, get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, you too. Good Night." She waved and I walked off to my car.
________________
Author's Note:
Glossary:
Music:
Welshly Arms - Legendary
Nate Rateliff & The Night Sweats- You Worry Me
Like the music I have picked for this story? Then check out my Spotify playlist titled Falling for Lucy: Chenford. All the music I have included in this story can be found there in chronological order! If you have any music suggestions be sure to drop them in the comments!
Radio Codes:
Code 2 - Urgent, No Lights or Sirens
Code 3 - Calls for immediate response with lights and sirens
Code 4 - No Further Assistance Needed
Code 6 - Unit is conducting a field investigation and no assistance is anticipated
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