The New Adventures of Crash and Burn (cont.)
by: Heidi
Part 3
Having sufficiently
recovered from the shock of the accident, Buck did the
first thing that came to mind. After asking if
she was okay, he stuffed
Bertrice in the back of his car.
Buck shook
his head, and fought back the smile he could not
let Nina see.
"11-02, FC."
"11-02."
Wilmington
looked over at Nina, and he made an imaginary
noose above his head,
hanging himself one-handed while he spoke in the
radio to request the
super-visor, Chris Larabee, to respond. "Start
11-01. We just had a
departmental accident."
"10-4.
Everyone okay?"
"That's
correct."
"11-01,
11-02, what happened?"
"Will advise
when you arrive. Use caution because of ice."
"10-4."
"11-02, FC.
Any luck reaching Mr. McClarran?" Buck asked
about the status in
contacting the property owner.
"That's
correct. He's en route with a twenty-five minute
ETA. Advised to
do what you need to, and he'll bring some fencing
with him. Also
requested the names of the parties involved, and
their insurance
information."
"10-4."
Buck unkeyed. Since Bertrice was safely locked in
the car, he reached
into the trunk of his own patrol car, coming out
with two items. Buck
walked over to the pair still digging around in
the upside-down
car, while the fire-fighters left the engine where
it was with the
lights on. They passed him, heading for Mr.
Henderson.
"Way to go,
Crash." Buck addressed his remark to Vin.
Vin looked
up at him. "Weren't my fault, Bucklin."
"You're the
last one that was driving, so they'll question if
you parked
properly, had the wheels turned just so, and it's
now your crash,
Crash."
Tanner
gestured rudely.
"That any
way to treat the man who brings you a warm, dry
jacket? It's the
summer weight, but figure your trainer's spent
more time in the drink
and needs the heavier one." Buck held up his
jacket. It wasn't heavy
enough for this weather, but it was dry, and
provided more
protection against the cold than the iced-over one
currently on the Texan's
body.
"Thanks."
Vin stripped out of his wet jacket, and pulled the
warm one on.
"Much obliged."
"Hey,
darlin'?"
"What,
Buck?" Her head remained half in the patrol car,
pulling out things and
throwing them behind her onto the bank.
"Dry coat
before you catch your death."
"Speaking of
death, you called Lethal Larabee?"
"Yup. He
wanted to know what happened. Told him we'd
advise when he got here. I
didn't want to be responsible for him wrecking
himself on his way
here."
"From
laughing too hard." Nina climbed out, stripped
off her wet coat, and
pulled on Buck's spare winter jacket. It was too
big for her, hanging
way down on the sleeves, and the waist of it
nearly reached her
knees. She rolled up the sleeves, and unzipped
the sides to give her
mobility. "Thanks for the jacket, Buck."
Vin
snickered at her bedraggled appearance. "Fire
engine wrecked yer car. Sorry,
sis, but that's funny."
"Shut up,
Tanner."
"You told
him?" Buck looked from Nina to Vin.
"We don't
have secrets, Buck." She met his gaze steadily.
The tension
level raised a notch.
"Fair
enough." Buck held up his hands, not wanting to
aggravate her.
"You're talking to me like a friend again, and I'm
not gonna mess that
up."
"You're
finally learning. Good boy." Nina grinned at him,
breaking the mounting
anxiety.
"Woof!
Woof!"
"Always knew
ya were a dog, Bucklin." Vin ducked the swat
coming at his head,
laughing the entire time.
"Darlin'?"
"What?"
"Why'd you
empty your car out?"
"So when the
tow truck comes, I won't have to chase crap
through the water when
it's flipped back over."
"Oh."
"Did you
call me a truck? My radio's shot."
"I'll call
Crash a truck."
"Screw you,
Wilmington. At least I don't crash and burn every
time I--" Vin cut
off.
"Every time
he does what, Vin?" Nina looked at the lanky
Texan.
"Never
mind." Vin shook his head, sending a spray of
water onto Wilmington.
"Quit it!"
Buck reached down to make a snowball.
"Both of you
quit it. Vin, go check on Hanging Harvey, okay?
Buck, make sure
the flare lines are still okay, and the
hosebeaters didn't wipe them
out."
"Who made
you in charge? I outrank you."
"Not for
long, Wilmington, and if you don't do what I say,
I'll start remember-ing
things you'd rather I forget."
He stared
down at her in challenge. "Like what?"
Vin stopped
moving toward Mr. Henderson to listen.
"Eighty-Two."
"I'm going,
I'm going." Buck hurried back onto the road to
check the flare
lines.
"What does
that mean?" The soft voice asked, looking right
at his friend. "Ya
never told me 'bout that."
Nina gave
Vin a wicked grin. "Because I didn't want to tell
you about
something that personal." She winked saucily.
"Oh. I
don't want ta know. I really don't want ta know
about…can't even say
it."
"If you ever
want to mess with Larabee, just say fourteen.
Don't tell him
anything beyond that, or even where you heard it,
but just say
fourteen. I'll probably get killed, but he turns
such an interesting
shade of red."
Vin's smile
lit up the night. "Reckon I just might."
Changing the
subject, she indicated the activity nearby. Her
tone indicated
that he was supposed to get back to work, and her _expression
said the moment of levity was over. "They're
trying to figure out
how to cut Mr. Henderson down."
"Ease up,
Corporal." Vin sauntered toward Mr. Henderson.
"Four
Corners Police Department, how may I help you?"
"Casey,
darlin'."
"Buck!
What happened?"
"Well, it's
a long story. Can you call a tow for Nina's car?
It's upside down
in a ditch."
"Upside
down? Everyone's okay, right? How'd that
happen?"
"Yeah.
Scared us, but no one was in it when it went.
I'll tell you in person,
okay?"
"Sure.
Upside down in a ditch," she repeated.
"And it's in
about two to three feet of water."
Casey
chuckled. "Par for the course. All my calls are
weird tonight."
"Just let us
know who's coming, darlin'."
"Sure will.
You want it on the radio, or do you want me to
call you back?"
"Radio's
fine. Oh, and we have a portable radio problem
here. Vin and Nina's
radios won't work, so if you need them, call me."
"Okay…what
happened to their radios?"
Buck cleared
his throat. "Later."
"Got it.
We'll let you know, and you will tell me."
"Yes,
ma'am." Buck disconnected.
Casey turned
to Ladonna. "It's only getting weirder."
"Why?"
"Listen to
this." After checking the roster of FCPD approved
tows for patrol
cars, Casey called. "Hi, EZ-1 Towing. We've got
one for you. Yeah,
it's a patrol car. It's gonna be fun. Yes, fun.
Try upside down
in a ditch in two feet of freezing water. That
work for you? No, I
don't know how it went into the ditch; you can ask
when you get
there. It's on Highway Seven, right past the
sharp curve, near the
McClarran farm. We've got a salt truck en route,
but those on scene are
saying it's really, really icy out there. Twenty minutes?
Good. Thanks!" She turned to Ladonna.
"Upside down
in the ditch?"
"Yup."
"Oh-kay."
"Uh-huh."
Casey gave Ladonna a significant look.
"EZ-1, 20
minutes?"
"Yup."
"Okay."
Ladonna keyed up the radio. "FC, 11-02."
"11-02."
"EZ-1
Towing, 20 minute ETA."
"10-4,
thanks."
Chris kept
his speed down, and he saw the flares long before
he finished
rounding the sharp curve. He slowed even more,
and then entered the
straightaway. His head nearly whipped around
checking out what he
saw.
First, the
fire engine was parked at an odd angle, the back
end mere inches from
the ditch. In fact, it probably needed help
getting back on the
road. The flare line started right where the
engine ended. He continued
forward, seeing Buck's car intact, a woman sitting inside the
back of the running vehicle, and vehicles jutting
out of the ditch.
That caused
him to look real quick and pay close attention,
knowing from that
second on he was driving right into a cluster, the euphemism
for a simple call that went complex and horrible
in a very short period
of time. Well, the Hendersons were involved, so
it was a cluster to
begin with, but now it was a cluster royale. He
passed Buck's car,
and when he reached the break between Buck's car
and the ambulance,
he saw the upside-down vehicle. Reflective
striping winked back
at him, and his jaw dropped.
Quickly
checking, he saw Buck and Nina standing beside the
wreckage, while the
dark form of Vin hovered around the barbed wire
fence. The shock of
seeing a man hung suspended from the wiring,
nearly caused Larabee to
stomp his gas pedal instead of the brake. Shaking
off the image, he
continued past the ambulance, turned around very
slowly and very
carefully, parking with his lights flashing in
what he considered
was the safest spot. He had no way to know it
was the
same spot
Vin had parked Nina's patrol car.
Chris got
out of his car, straightened his hat, and stepped
carefully to the edge
of the ditch. He stared hard at the man in the
barbed wire fence,
wondering if he'd ever see anyone hung out like
that again in his
life, right next to three wrecked vehicles.
"What
happened?" he barked down to Nina and Buck.
Both climbed
out of the ditch, standing in front of him.
Nina took
one look at him, swallowed, and said, "I can't say
it, Buck." She
turned partially, her shoulders turned away from
Chris.
"You want me
to?" Buck shifted his posture, facing her more
than his sergeant.
"Yes."
"It's your
car," he retorted.
"He looks
too pissed, and I'm too pissed, wet, and cold to
yell at him."
"You've
dealt with worse. You can do it," Buck
encouraged. "Hell, you've put
us in our places more than once."
"Not
tonight. Not in the mood. We'll get Vin. He was
the last driver."
"Quit
procrastinating."
She gave
Buck a significant look. "He's going to laugh."
Buck ran a
hand down his face. "Don't remind me."
"That's the
first thing he'll think of, you know."
Chris
forcefully inserted himself between them.
"Someone tell me what the
hell happened before I knock both your heads
together. And why the hell
are you all wet, Nina?"
Buck winced,
and Nina glanced away, refusing to meet his eyes.
Wilmington
finally faced his friend, heaving a big sigh. "Pard,
you gotta
promise to keep control of yourself."
"I won't
lose my temper, Buck. You're all okay, right?"
"Yeah."
Nina blew out a breath, white in the winter's
cold.
"Tell me,"
Chris asked, obviously trying to be reasonable and
calm.
Buck
mumbled, "The fire engine hit her car and made it
slide."
"What? I
didn't hear that." Chris leaned closer.
Buck mumbled
again, even softer than before, "…fire engine
hit…car…"
"Speak up,"
Larabee commented.
Buck finally
looked at Chris. "I said the fire engine hit her
car, and made it
slide."
Chris bit
his lip. "The fire engine."
"Yes."
"Hit your
car." He pinned Nina in place with a glare.
"Yes,
Chris." She stared at her wet boots.
"The fire
engine totaled your car." His tone changed,
amusement tingeing his
words.
"Oh, will
you let it out? You'll hurt yourself." Nina
punched him in the arm.
"It's not funny."
Chris
couldn't hold back the laughter. He had to walk
away from the groups,
holding his sides, tears of laughter streaming
down his face. Every
few seconds, he gasped for air.
"It ain't
that funny, Stud." Buck called over to his
friend, a note of censure
in his voice.
When Chris
thought he had some control over his emotions, he
walked back to the
pair. "Did you ask her out, Buck? Is that why
I'm looking at a
trashed car?"
"I'm not
amused, Chris."
"I'm sorry,
but this is the second time that you two have been together
when a vehicle's been totaled by a piece of fire
equipment. At least you
weren't trying to get married this time."
Nina stepped
forward to punch him.
"Back off,
Corporal. We've got an audience." Larabee
indicated all the people
currently looking their way.
Her eyes
narrowed, and she stayed still. "You'll pay
later, Larabee."
"I figured
that." Chris continued to chuckle. "Oh, come on,
Buck, it's damn
funny."
Buck gave
Chris his best threatening smile. "Pard, this
call has gone from
just plain funny to a pain-in-the-ass,
kick-a-man-while-he's-down,
in your face, cluster from hell. Can't think of
single reason to
laugh right now, unless it involves making you
into a snowman."
"Try and
die, Pard. Pictures!" Larabee raced for his car,
returning with his
camera. He snapped a few of Mr. Henderson before
they cut him down,
and then snapped the patrol car, followed by the
Lincoln, then the
Continental, the fire engine, the damage to the
front of the fire engine,
and then stood in the curve and took a shot of the entire
scene. When he rejoined Buck and Nina, he saw
the firefighters
carefully cutting the wire two feet from Mr.
Henderson's
body. One
person held him up as the lines snipped, and the paramedics
watched him carefully. "Looks like they're making progress."
"Good. Then
I can go back and get some dry, warm clothes on."
Nina shivered,
pulling Buck's coat tighter around her.
"Darlin',
I'm more than happy to offer my services to keep
you warm."
"There it
is!" Chris nearly yelled. "The feelings that
caused this!"
Whap! Buck
hit his friend with his hat when no one was
looking.
Nina looked
at Buck. "Not right now, Wilmington. Anytime
later, but not right
now. Please."
"You got it,
Baby." Buck smiled at her. "Your teddy bear's
waiting for you."
The woman
smiled at the nickname Buck only used with her.
"I'm gonna
be sick." Chris rolled his eyes and stuck his
finger in his mouth,
miming a gag.
Turning back
to the sergeant, Nina said, "Good. Then the teddy
bear and the old
man can help me move this stuff into your trunk.
I'm not leaving my
shotgun loose." She handed him a stack of items.
"They're
wet!" Chris juggled them for a few seconds,
holding them away from
him.
"Really? I
hadn't noticed!" Nina piled more on.
"Stop it!"
Buck heard
the sound of a large, rumbling engine, and looked up. "Tow
truck's here."
Nina and
Chris automatically glanced around, searching for
it.
The big
truck, a rollback, was coming from the same
direction the fire truck
had come from, avoiding the sharp curve by
approaching from the
other way. It was moving slow.
"So far, so
good. Now the stop," Buck mumbled.
The driver
applied the brakes, gradually lowering the heavy
truck's speed. It
slowed more, and then disaster struck. The front
wheels hit the
newly bared piece of ice uncovered by the fire
engine's slide, and
lost traction.
"I can't
watch." Nina buried her head in Buck's chest, and
his arm slipped
around her, holding her close.
Buck and
Chris stared in shock.
Time turned
sluggish. Over ten thousand pounds of metal was
no longer under
the control of the driver, except for the steering
wheel and the
gears. The ripping sound of gears shifting hard
came through the night,
and the tow truck swerved toward the back of
Larabee's car.
"Noooooooooooooooo!"
Chris yelled with the sound echoing through the stillness.
He started running toward his car, stopped by
Buck's grip on his arm.
With scant
centimeters to spare, the driver recovered, pulled
it away from the
back of the patrol car, threaded the needle
between the vehicles
parked on the shoulder, and came to a sliding
stop. Its front bumper
lined up with parts of the fire engine.
"It missed,
Baby," Buck whispered down into Nina's ear. "You
can look now."
Nina came
out of Buck's chest, following the direction of
Buck's eyes to the
stopped tow truck. Another tow truck came to a
perfect stop several feet
from Larabee's car.
Leaping out
of the heavier rollback tow truck, down by the
fire engine, the
driver held onto the door, and nearly fell under
the fire engine the
second his feet hit the ice. He started yelling,
"Son of a bitch!
Whoo! I haven't slid that bad in a long time.
Damn, that was
lucky!"
While he was
yelling, the firefighters and paramedics passed
the three
officers. Firefighters carried Mr. Henderson,
stretched out on his stomach,
with the lines of barbed wire still in his back.
It was cut to the
edges of his torso to make it easier for the
surgeons at the
hospitals to remove it.
Dempsey
called out, "That's a ten." He tipped his head in
the direction of
the rollback.
"A ten?"
Brewster nearly yelled. "You've never, ever
given a ten!"
Giving Nina
a pat on the shoulder, he explained himself. "He
missed the
ambulance – damn good thing, too, two police cars,
especially the one with
Mrs. Henderson sleeping in it, and the fire
engine. All without
going off the road. That's impressive driving."
"Okay, I
agree. We'll remember this as the only ten in the
history of our
partnership."
"Hell, boy,
look at the wreckage around us. This whole
brouhaha's gone from a
four overall to an eight."
"Will
someone take me to the hospital, please? I don't
want to hear about ice,
ranks, accidents, or anything other than, 'You're
going to be fine, Mr.
Henderson! ' Am I understood?"
"Alcohol's
wearing off," Dempsey said.
"Yup. He's
feeling it now." Brewster nodded, following the backboard.
"What a
charming man," Buck cracked.
Just as they
finished loading the ambulance, the large salt
truck came
rumbling down the road. They could hear the sand
and salt mixture
hitting the pavement as it went, and it stopped
near the flare line.
A pickup truck went around it and parked behind
the second tow
truck.
The driver
of the pickup got out and walked across the road.
"Haven't y'all learned it gets damn icy on this
road in the winter? I
could have told y'all that, and we wouldn't have
this problem."
"Mr.
McClarran." Buck waved.
"What a
mess. Wilmington, you have all their
information?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now
help me get the fence fixed. I'm sending him a
bill, and the rest of
y'all a bill for trashing my ditch. Caswell?
That your car?"
"Unfortunately."
"Which idiot
hit ya?"
"The fire
engine."
"Damn
firefighters. Only know how to destroy things.
Wilmington, are ya
waiting for the ice to melt before ya move?"
"Chris?"
Buck turned hopeful eyes on his friend and
sergeant. "I've got a
prisoner."
"I'll handle
Mr. McClarran. Give me the information. Mrs.
Henderson hurt?"
"Nope, and
she's a refusal on the Breathalyzer. Failed field sobriety,"
Buck told his friend and sergeant.
"Okay. Drop
Mrs. Henderson off at the jail, then get the blood
kit from the
station and go to the hospital, and take Tanner
with you."
Vin shook
his head. "I ain't hurt."
"You need to
see how to do the blood kit so you can do the
evidence collection
in the future," Chris explained.
Vin rolled
his eyes.
"Come on,
Crash," Buck said. After we drop her off at the
Detention Center, you
can change at the station into some dry clothes."
Buck and Vin
slowly made their way to Buck's patrol car and
they left the scene.
They carefully navigated the curve and disappeared
from sight.
Chris and
Nina quickly loaded his patrol car with her
equipment, and then she
went to talk to the tow truck drivers about
getting the two cars out.
They figured out how they were going to do it, but
there was one
hitch.
The ice.
Stomping
over to the parked, warm, still running salt
truck, Nina glared at
the driver.
Getting the
hint, he stepped out. "Damn, it's cold."
"You don't
say."
"Hey, you're
all wet."
"Rolling in
the snow, ice, and mud tends to do that."
"Oh, man.
And here I am sitting up here in my truck like an
ass."
"It's okay.
The sooner we do this, the sooner I can get a hot
shower and change.
Tow trucks need to winch, and they can't do that
if they're
gonna slide into the other ditch. We've had
enough things slide
tonight."
"I'm on it.
Three or four passes?"
"What kind
of mood are you in tonight?" Nina stared at him.
"Four
passes, and then I'll hit the curve, and the rest
of this beast.
Hey! Isn't that one of the Henderson's cars?"
"Both are
the Henderson's cars."
"Ni-ice!
All right, I'll hit it, and then do the rest
thattaway. I'll come
back through to make sure it's enough."
"Good."
The salt and
sand mixture in the back of the dump truck did the
job, making the
road surface sufficient to support the tow trucks
as they pulled the
two Henderson cars out of the ditch, one at a
time.
Chris
sketched out the accident for the patrol car, and
he took statements
from each of the firefighters while they waited
for the police tow.
After the
police tow arrived, Nina and Chris watched the
operator figure out
how to flip the car, and then pull it out of the
ditch. He got it up
on the rollback, water dripping out of it the
entire time,
freezing almost immediately as it hit the
roadway.
The salt
truck hit the highway a couple more times, and
Chris drove a very wet –
and cold – Nina to the station. He ran some
errands and then went to
his office to work on the reports.
Hot water
cascaded over her body, and it slowly took the
chill away. Wishing she
could linger longer, Nina warmed herself up,
washed off the mud, and
then dressed in her spare uniform. Both her
police-issued
handgun and her backup were useless; they were
soaked from the dunking, and
now resided in the gun lockers.
Leaving the
women's locker room, she went down the hall to
Larabee's office in
order to get a pool car for the remainder of the
shift. Nina reached
into the cabinet, checking the numbers on the
keys. She ignored the
sergeant.
"Try fifty."
"Why?"
"It would be
a blessing if it was wrecked."
"Shut up,
Larabee."
"Is that any
way to talk to the man who went out, on his own initiative,
and bought you an extra large hot chocolate?"
"GIMME!"
Nina spun around and looked for it.
He held it
above his head and grinned. "What do you say?"
"Gimme,
now."
"Nope." He
laughed.
She glared
at him.
He smirked
back.
"Thank you,
you wonderful, nice, charming human being, for
thinking of your
lowly corporal, and buying her something to warm
her."
"About
right." Chris handed her the hot chocolate.
She took a
huge sip. "Oh, thank you."
"I've got
something else for you."
"What?"
Nina wrapped both hands around the paper cup.
"This." He
put a box in front of her.
Inside the
box were new radios for her and Vin, along with
two spare equipment
belts, and a revolver.
Her hand
reached down and pulled the revolver out. "This
is your backup,
Chris."
"You're not
going around unarmed. Figure you and Vin both
drenched your backups
during your dunking, and they're going to have to
be cleaned and
dried out."
"Wasn't
planning on it. I was going to run home and get
one."
"You're not
leaving this building without a gun on your side.
Put that holster
on the new belt, and change it over now."
She sighed.
"All right, all right." Nina set her still wet,
mostly bare Nylon
gunbelt on a chair. "Where'd you get the other
Nylon belt?"
"We bought
different ones for Standish to try the weight for
canine school.
These are his rejects."
"So I'm
getting Ezra's rejects now."
"Basically." Chris shrugged. "Problem?"
"Nope.
When's he due back?"
"He's got a
couple more months of training. Apparently, he
convinced Travis to
let him take all the classes at once, so when he
and the Ace come
out, they'll have guns, tracking, drugs, and all
the current
certifications offered. I think the Chief denied
the bomb dog bit, since the
State has a 24-hour on-call bomb dog. Just
imagine – Ezra Standish,
K9-16." He grinned.
"He wanted
this, Chris."
"I know,"
the sergeant replied quietly.
"I heard
your recommendation was practically glowing,
especially coming from
you." Nina gave her friend an amused look.
"He earned
it." Chris wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Softie,"
she accused quietly, a smile on her face. "You
like him, even though
you won't admit it."
Chris
shifted uncomfortably. "Hell. Don't you have
reports?"
"Thanks,
Chris. It meant the world to him."
"He'll just
have to prove himself when he comes out."
"They
will." Nina grinned. "Ezra Standish, K9-16. I
like the sound of that."
"Detective
Caswell will sound just as good. The Chief give
you any idea?"
"When the
budget crisis is over, and manpower straightens
out."
Chris
scoffed. "We're too short handed."
"I know, but
there's another class about to start in the
Academy. They'll be
out by springtime."
"Knowing our
luck, we'll get the wide-eyed, gung-ho, ball of
fire that will
probably get the crap beat out of him on his first
night."
"Such a
positive attitude for a squad leader," Nina
cracked. She finished
putting the belt together, and attached the new
lapel mike to her
shoulder.
"Says the
short-timer about to abandon her squad."
"There's not
enough room for two corporals on the shift, and
you know it. Buck's
the squad's corporal, and I'm the excess baggage."
"Sassy
baggage," Chris teased. "Besides, who would train
if you weren't
here? Buck?"
Nina gave
him a dirty look. "We know how that goes."
Changing the subject, she
said, "You want me to unload your car?"
"Already
taken care of, and I've got the stuff in the roll
call room drying out.
I'll give you a ride after shift if you want."
"Thanks,
Chris."
"Now, go
charge Mrs. Henderson. If you need inspiration,
call me."
"You have to
sign the statement of charges when it's done.
I'll add if you
want."
"I just
can't wait to read this narrative." Chris shook
his head.
"That was a
subtle hint…I'm going." Nina took the box with
her, and went to the
jail. She finished the statement of charges in
record time,
loading it down with everything she could
conceivably charge Mrs.
Henderson with, and then drove to the hospital.
She watched Vin change
equipment belts, and noticed he carried Buck's
backup piece in his
holster.
They
finished the blood kit, a test that would be
administered by hospital
personnel that would record the blood alcohol
content of the persons
tested, fully admissible in court for DWI
charges. Finally, the group
returned to the roll call room.
Part 4
Vin sat next to Chris,
instead of his training officer, because Chris wanted them
to type their statements separately, without the
chance of seeing
the other's work.
Buck took
advantage, using the terminal next to Nina,
chattering while he
typed.
Tanner
finished first, since he did the least in the
actual arrest. His other
reports went quickly, since Chris taught him how
to cut and paste the
statement for the arrest and accidents onto what
he was working on
for the primary report.
It took some
doing to get all the incident numbers straight,
because each
accident had to have its own incident number for
the report tracking
system, but it was all worked out.
Only the
sound of keys clicking filled the large room. It
was eventually
broken as Josiah and Nathan came in after their
shift.
"What a
night." Josiah rubbed his hands together and blew
on them. "Cold
as the dickens."
"Tell me
about it," Nina mumbled.
"So what
happened?" Casey came in, having been relieved in
Communications. Ladonna was with her.
"Yeah. Who
wrecked?" Ladonna asked.
"Who
didn't?" Vin snorted. "Mr. Henderson went first
into the ditch."
"Drunk as
usual?" Nathan asked.
"Yup," Vin
answered.
Nina said,
"Then Mrs. Henderson was driving drunk, saw Mr.
Henderson standing on
the shoulder, thought he was on the road, and
slammed on the brakes.
Hit him dead center in the chest and launched
him." Her hands
mimicked the action.
"He landed
stuck ta a barbed wire fence, both arms stickin'
straight out from his
sides, and his legs caught in the barbs. Looked
like a soused
scarecrow." Vin shook his head.
"Followed by
our questioning. I took Mrs. Henderson."
"Who swung
at ya," Vin inserted.
"And we went
rolling into the ditch. Dunking number one."
Nina sighed.
"She fought me all the way out of the ditch and
onto the highway."
"Where your
hero arrived and took over for you."
"My hero."
Nina's hands clasped over her heart, and she
batted her eyes.
Buck
chuckled. "So I interviewed Bertrice, watched her
seriously fail field
sobriety, and she refused a Breathalyzer. Crash
and Nina talked--"
"'EY! I
ain't Crash." Vin glared.
"Now you
are," Buck retorted.
"Keep going,
will you? Aunt Nettie expects me home soon."
Casey motioned for
them to continue the story.
"Crash and
Nina talked to the ambulance crew. They came up
when I just
finished with her, telling Bertrice she was still
under arrest, and here
comes the fire engine."
Vin took
over. "Saw it was goin' too fast, and then it
slipped. Smashed
right the hell inta the back of Nina's parked car,
and pushed that bad boy
right at us. Bucklin dived away with Bertrice,
and I took us the
only direction we could go."
"The
ditch." Josiah shook his head.
"Pushed us
both, went in face first, and then dragged us up
the side until we
landed 'side the ambulance crew… soaking wet. Then
we watched the
car hit the water in front of us, turn over and
land on its roof."
Nathan
winced. "At least you weren't hurt."
"No, but we
were wet." Nina sighed.
"Wet can be
a good thing." Buck bobbed his eyebrows.
Nina punched
him in the shoulder.
"Crash…and
burn," Vin muttered to Chris, who burst out
laughing.
"What
happened to the fire engine?" Ladonna asked.
"Slid down
the road, spun around, and came to a stop with the
back bumper
inches from the ditch," Buck said. "Miracle it
didn't go over, but
the front's pretty banged up."
"Then what?"
"I got
there," Chris said.
"Things were
under control, then, right?" Casey looked at the officers
involved.
"Nope."
Chris shook his head.
"Naw." Vin
waved a hand.
"Nuh-uh."
Buck snorted in laughter.
"Sorry, no,"
Nina said.
"The
rollback nearly took out my patrol car," Chris
said.
"You're
kidding!" Nathan said.
"No, he's
not. Meaning it could have hit the fire engine,"
Josiah said.
Buck
mimicked, "Missed it… by that much." He held his
fingers a tiny distance
apart.
"Anyone else
nearly wreck?"
"No, but the
moron in the salt truck stopped a ways away and
sat there."
Chris rolled his eyes.
"Sounds like
a good cluster," Casey said. "Well, I'm outta
here. I've got
chores."
"Wait up,
Case. I've got to give you that package."
Ladonna hurried out with her
dispatch partner and friend.
"Time for
paperwork," Josiah said.
"Will it
ever end?" Nina groaned.
The squad
settled in. Josiah and Nathan completed their beat
sheets and the
reports for the calls they'd handled while the
others had been tied up
with their cluster.
Buck tried
to whisper, but his voice carried. "Baby, you
want to come over
this morning? I'll warm you up."
Chris made
gagging noises without looking up.
"I don't
wanna hear this," Vin said, taking a piece of
paper and folding it.
"Right now,
neither do I." Nina looked right at Buck, the
message clear.
"All right,
darlin', just asking." Buck went back to his
paperwork. A few
minutes later, something hit him hard in the
temple. "Hey!" He grabbed
the offending object, finding it was a paper
airplane. Inside,
someone had written the words 'Crash and Burn.'
Buck flipped
a bird at the creator.
A second
airplane smacked him in the nose. It read, 'Ya
can't do it.'
Buck and Vin
exchanged glances.
Chris looked
up and smirked, before returning to his eyes to
his paperwork.
"Vin, you
hit me with one of those paper airplanes, I swear
I will make you
pay," Nina said, never stopping her typing or
moving her head.
"I won't. I
hit what I aim for." The challenge sparkled in
his blue eyes to the
other man watching closely with his own dark blue
eyes.
Buck
mouthed, 'Watch and learn.' He started a neck
massage, feeling Nina lean
back. His fingers worked their magic, relaxing
her, until he hit that
one spot he knew would drive her nuts.
"Stop it."
Her body shook in her seat, and then she punched
him in the gut, her
hand bouncing off the vest. Nina's eyes didn't
leave her computer
screen.
Buck pulled
away, knowing he'd made some ground, but lost it
when he went too
far. He looked over at Vin, who took the paper
airplane he was folding,
held it level, and then sent it straight into a nosedive,
stopping when it hit the table.
A few
minutes later, Buck slid a paper where Nina could
see it. He'd written her
a note. Personally, he thought it was brilliant.
He watched her
read it, smile, and it looked like she was
seriously considering
what he wrote.
This time,
Chris blew it for him. "Passing notes, Buck? Let
me guess what
it says: 'Darlin', you're the most beautiful
woman I've ever seen,
and I want to spend time watching your smile
brighten your face, or
drink myself intoxicated on the sweet wine of your
lips.' Am I close?"
"Shut up,
old man," Nina said.
"Oh! I'm
right!" Larabee smirked.
"It's none
of your business." The female corporal looked at
her longtime
friend and sergeant.
"But it's so
much fun."
The rest of
the squad watched, blatantly ignoring their
paperwork for the free
entertainment.
"Chris.
Last warning."
"Or what,
Nina? Oh, come on, scare me with a threat." He
smiled.
"Don't make
me do this," she warned.
"Dare you."
A collective
'ooo' came from the rest of the squad, knowing
that whatever
happened next would be good.
She pushed
her chair back slowly, twisting the swivel until
she faced Chris.
"Forty two."
Buck nearly
spewed the coffee he'd just sipped all over the
back of Nina's head,
his hand barely catching it before it escaped.
He swallowed
and coughed. Once he regained his composure, he said,
"That's low."
Chris rubbed
his jaw. "Point for you, because that was low.
But what about
ninety-five?"
"You pig!"
Nina yelled.
Buck waved
his hands 'no' over her head, stopping when she
turned to glare at
him.
She asked in
a dangerously soft voice, "You told him about
ninety-five?"
"Well, uh,
you see, darlin'…"
"Buck."
Nina's eyes flashed.
Nathan said,
"It's getting a little chilly over there."
"More like
hot as hell for Buck, because he's burnin' up."
Vin laughed.
"Will one of
you explain the number system, so the rest of us
can share the
joke?" Josiah requested. "You seem to ignore my
question every time
that I ask."
They ignored
him again.
Buck said,
"Nina, I'll make it up to you."
"You bet
your ass you will." She turned around and glared
at the smirking
Larabee, and then at the grinning Tanner. "And as
for you, dear Chris,
since you opened that door, I'll step right in
there with … fourteen."
They watched
Larabee's eyes widen, his face drain of color, and
then turn bright
red, followed by severe shaking. His hands
clenched at his sides,
and he swallowed repeatedly.
"Don't know
what she said, cowboy, but looks like ya got pole
axed on that one."
Vin whacked his friend on the back.
Chris raised
a finger, waving at her, his mouth opening and
closing like a
fish.
"You
shouldn't have done that," Buck said in her ear.
"What's with
the numbers?" Nathan asked. "Now I really want
to know."
"A game,"
Nina said. "A game we used to play in Vegas when
we lived there. But
I'm not saying any more than that." She crossed
her arms, a
self-satisfied leer on her face.
Josiah
sighed. "Well, that's more than I knew a few
minutes ago."
"You're
dead." Chris issued the threat in a low voice.
"I'm gonna kill you,
and they'll never find your body."
"Seems to me
I've heard that threat before, Chris, and guess
what? I'm still
here." She blew a kiss to him. "Now I have
witnesses."
"You folks
done with your reports?" Lt. Halter, one of the
two Shift Commanders
in charge of everything on the night shift walked in.
"Haven't been hearing the clack of keyboards, but
have been hearing a
lot of talking."
"We're
working on them, sir," Nina replied.
"Good.
Caswell, Tanner, you two okay?"
"Yes, sir,"
they answered in unison.
"Even
better. Now I want to see your reports. That
goes for all of you; it's
almost time for the day shift to come and clutter
up the place.
Let's get out before that happens, please?"
Halter walked back to his
office just outside the roll call room.
After an
exchange of 'I'll get you later' looks between
Chris and Nina,
everyone settled back into finishing their
reports.
Nina reached
over and wrote something on a piece of paper, slid
it over, and
then took Buck's note and tucked it in her pocket.
He read it:
'Rain check.' One hand ran down his face, and
when he looked up,
yup, there was Vin laughing at him again. He
sighed. He'd stop trying
for a date now, because if she agreed to go out
with him, later, she
might rescind that.
"How are you
getting home? You need a ride?" Buck asked her.
"Chris is
going to take me."
"You might
not see her tomorrow." Chris grinned.
"You live in
the other direction, Chris. It's out of your
way."
"Doesn't
matter."
"I'll do it,
and take Vin too. It's just a bit farther from my place."
"I'm drivin'
myself tonight," Vin said. "Since ya don't have a patrol car
ta pick me up, Nina."
"I have
another vehicle to drive, thank you. I just
didn't expect my patrol car
to be wrecked tonight."
"Safer in my
own car," Vin retorted.
"Like
hell! I can think of about fifteen citations I
could write on any one of
your 'cars'." Nina shook her head.
"Buck?"
"What,
Chris?"
"Make a deal
with you."
"What?"
"You take
her, I'll take him. That way no one kills their
passenger, and the
passengers don't kill each other."
"Sounds
good, pard."
"Don't I get
a vote?" Nina asked.
"No," Chris
and Buck both answered.
"If yer
gonna be that way, Josiah, will ya take me home?"
"Sure, Vin."
"Oh, come
on." Chris rolled his eyes. "Josiah lives even
further in the other
direction than I do. That's just spite talking."
"Worked,
didn't it? Got ya riled." Vin chuckled to
himself.
"Folks?"
Halter called from the doorway.
"Waiting for
the printer, Lieutenant," Nina answered, pointing
at the machine
across the room.
"Fine." He
walked away.
"Nice save,"
Buck whispered in her ear.
"Thanks."
She got up, retrieved the pages, proofread them,
and signed
them. She handed them to Chris to read and sign
before they went to Lt.
Halter.
He scratched
his name across them, giving them back with a smirk. "Now
it's official. Vin has his first departmental."
"Nina!" Vin
yelled.
"I didn't
say you were at fault, Vin. I put in here you
followed procedure
perfectly, and that you had no control over the
sliding fire
engine."
"You get the
blame." Chris grinned. "You were the last
driver, Tanner.
Whether or not you were in the car at the time,
it's your accident."
"Yer all
heart, Larabee." Vin rubbed his temples.
"Crash
Tanner! Crash Tanner!" Buck grinned, ducking
the paper airplane
aiming straight between his eyes.
"Buck? You
done, so I can go the hell home and forget this
day?" Nina called
over her shoulder, turning in her paperwork to the lieutenant.
"Yeah. Time
to go." Buck pulled his pages off the printer,
put them in front of
Chris, who read and signed them. He also handed
his collection
to Halter, before escorting Nina out.
They reached
the back door, and Buck asked, "So what do you
want to do?"
"I want a
shower and sleep, the former, hot, the latter,
uninterrupted."
Buck held
the door open for her, and they stepped out onto
the back steps.
"Careful.
These look pretty icy today," Nina told him.
Buck nodded,
stepping in front of her, his back to the stairs.
"Now, Baby, I can
give you a relaxing, hot shower, followed by a
long massage if
you want. All you gotta do is say yes."
"Not this
morning, Buck." Nina stopped a few feet from the
edge, and less than a
foot from Buck, who solidly blocked her path. She
shook her head.
He leaned
forward, whispering, "No Breakfast at Buck's?"
One hand went around
her to hold the railing to bring him closer to
her.
Once his
hand touched the railing, he realized his
mistake. It was completely
iced over, and the metal was slick. His hand slid backwards,
taking the rest of his body with it. Since he was
at the top of the
stairs, he went down hard on his backside,
followed by his feet coming
over his head and flipping him over, and he rolled
over one more
time before landing at the bottom. . .on his
bottom.
But he
wasn't done. His backside had no traction on the
icy sidewalk, so
he slid down the slight hill, right into the side
of the dumpster out
back. Hitting the dumpster hard, it flipped him
over, and sent him
sliding on his stomach further down the hill,
coming to a stop
against the gas pumps. He rolled over onto his
back while he could and
gasped, "Ow".
It was too
much for Nina. Having spent the entire night
watching slides, this
one was just too good. She burst out laughing,
and couldn't
stop. When she finally drew a breath, it came in
pants, and she wheezed
out, "You…okay…Buck?"
"Ooouuuccchhh!"
That sent
her into another fit of hysterical laughter, and
she sat down on the
steps, holding her sides, before she fell
herself.
The rest of
the squad rushed out the back door, drawn by the
loud bang of Buck
hitting the dumpster, and Nina's laughter. She
just pointed to
Buck, and then the direction of his fall with her
hands, still
panting for breath.
Chris raised
the camera and snapped a shot of him, then
carefully navigated
the stairs to get a close up and check on his
friend.
Vin laughed,
joining Nina on the stair.
Josiah
chuckled; he was content to stand where he was and
watch.
Nathan
stared at them. "Any of you fools want to go
check on him?"
Nina waved
him forward, now crying from laughing so hard.
"SON OF A
BITCH! DAMN, THAT HURTS! OW! OH, HELL!
DAMN! DAMN!
DAMN! DAMN! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" Buck
started screaming,
and then pulled himself up, running for the huge
snow bank at the end
of the parking lot where the plows put the cleared
snow. He dove into
it, rolling around on his stomach, and smashing
snow along his
front.
Chris
captured it all on film. While he clicked the
camera, he yelled, "You
okay, Buck?"
Buck stopped
his frantic actions and turned wide eyes on his
friend. Softly, he
said, "My pepper spray broke."
Since most
of them kept their pepper spray canisters on the
front of their gun
belts, at the top of the thigh, the bursting of
the pepper spray meant
the highly irritating contents spread across the
skin, starting a
burning sensation, on Buck's thigh and…
"OUCH!!!"
Chris grabbed his own in sympathy.
Nathan ran
over. "What happened?"
Buck looked
at the squad's paramedic. "I'm in pain! Do
something!"
"What did
you hurt?"
Chris leaned
over and whispered in Nathan's ear.
Nathan
immediately cringed. "Okay, I'll go up and call
an ambulance for you.
Unless you want this on the air?"
"HELL, NO!
No ambulance!"
"Procedure,
Buck," Chris informed him.
"HELLFIRE
AND DAMNATION!" Buck started smearing more snow
on his front. "Oh,
Lord, that hurts where a man shouldn't!"
Nathan
jogged to the rear of the station, carefully
mounting the steps.
Nina
hiccupped. "He okay?"
"Gimme a
second to get this done, and then I'll tell you.
Probably have to
treat you too." The tall man disappeared inside
for a few minutes, and
then came back out. "Nina, you have to control yourself."
"What?"
"Oh, this
oughta be good." Vin grinned.
"His pepper
spray canister broke," Nathan solemnly informed
them.
Josiah
winced.
Vin crossed
his legs.
Nina sang
extremely loudly, and extremely off key, "Goodness gracious,
Great Balls of Fire!" She then collapsed into
hysterical laughter
again, this time sliding off one step. Vin grabbed
her before she
went down the rest.
"Now my ears
hurt! Thanks, darlin'!" Buck yelled back.
"So I guess
Breakfast at Buck's is out, huh?" Nina sputtered,
and then gave
up, giving herself over to the fits of laughter.
Chris said,
"I'll be right back." He jogged over and snapped
a picture of
Nina laughing, with Vin holding her, while his
body was also doubled
up with mirth. When he returned back to his
friend, he caught Buck
staring.
"She looks
good that way, doesn't she?" A wistful note
entered the romantic's
voice.
"Yeah."
"Then it's
worth it."
"Getting
pepper on your privates?" Chris stared at his
friend. "Are you crazy?"
"This will
go away, but she'll always smile when she thinks
of this."
"Vin's right
there with her, barely staying on the steps
himself."
"Good.
Those two are good for each other, and I'm glad
she had him to lean on
when she started over here."
"Must have
been pretty hellacious before we got here."
"So I've
heard. But the people here shut their mouths
tighter than a suspect
caught red-handed. I wonder if we'll ever know
the full story. OW!
Okay, note to self: don't move."
Nathan
jogged back over, careful of the ice. "Got the
ambulance coming, and
those two are going to laugh themselves
senseless. Had to make sure
they kept breathing."
"It's okay,
Nate." Buck smiled. "I'm doing all right. The
worst has
stopped."
The
ambulance pulled up, letting out the paid dayshift
crew. They quickly
transported Buck to the hospital for a thorough
decontamination.
Chris ended
up having to fill out more reports, along with
Nina, for the
documentation of the accident. After a short
discussion, Chris went home to
bed.
Nina picked
Buck up at the hospital in Buck's patrol car,
driving the man home.
She helped him into his place, and into his
bedroom. The hospital
gave her his gun belt, badge, and hat, so she
placed them where she
knew they were kept while he was in the bathroom.
He came out
after brushing his teeth. "Baby."
"Huh?" She
looked at him.
"Come here."
"What?"
"I just want
a hug, okay? My equipment works, no problems
there, but right now I
want to hold you."
She met his
pleading eyes. "All right."
"Without all
the equipment."
"I'm not
stripping."
"I just want
to hold you, Baby."
"You don't
want much, do you?"
"You know
what I want." He gave her an intense look. "But
I can't have it, so
I'll make do."
"I--"
"Don't."
Buck shook his head. "We're starting over, okay?
No past, and I'm
going to have to convince you to go out with me
all over again. Like
it wasn't hard enough the first time."
Nina undid
the lapel mike, followed by the gun belt, setting
them on the bed.
She unbuttoned her shirt, revealing the vest, and
ripped it off. Her
gray exercise t-shirt clung to her because the
vest was still wet,
but it was better than having the Kevlar and nylon combination
rubbing directly against her skin. She walked
over to Buck.
He enfolded
her in his arms, and squeezed. "That's my girl.
And don't say
you're not my girl, because I'm working toward
that again."
"It's been a
rough night, hasn't it?"
"Not the way
I would have ended it."
She started
laughing. "But it was funny."
He pulled
back to see her smile. "I love that smile, Baby.
Hope to see more of
it."
"Maybe you
will." She kept it on her face.
"Can I
convince you to cuddle sleep with me?"
"Uh, no.
You need to work up to that."
Buck
sighed. "I figured. I probably won't sleep well
tonight anyway.
Hey, how are you getting home?"
"Your
truck."
"No." Buck
held onto her when she tried to wiggle away.
"Take the patrol car,
and pick me up tonight."
"Are you
sure?"
"I'm sure.
Now get out of here before I forget we're starting
over and wrestle
you to stay." He grinned.
"Going,
going." She picked up her gear, putting the shirt
back on without the
vest, and reattaching the gun belt. Her hands
held the radio,
choosing not to connect it. The woman paused at
the door.
"Buck."
"Yeah,
Baby?"
"Thanks."
With a wave, she disappeared.
"You're
welcome." After he heard the door close, he made
sure to lock the
deadbolt, and then stretched out on his bed.
"Damn, this still
hurts! A man ain't supposed to be in this much
pain down there!"
Buck punched the pillow, fruitlessly trying to go
to sleep.
Nina picked
Buck up well before the start of shift, and they
went to the
station. When they arrived, they found Sgt.
Raphael Cordova de Martinez
sitting in the roll call room.
"Dulce!
Bueno work last night." He came over and kissed
her cheek.
"It was the
Hendersons, Raphael." She hugged him.
"Oh, he gets
a hug, and I get to watch you drive my patrol
car." Buck rolled
his eyes, watching the dayshift sergeant.
"That's
because Dulce knows a good thing when she sees it,
hombre." He grinned
at Nina. "Don't waste your time with this heart
stealer, when you
could have a fine man such as me. Besides, are
the medicos sure he has
no ill effects from his…burn?"
"Shut up,
Raphael," Wilmington growled.
Raphael
laughed. "Burning Buck. I like the sound of
that."
"Reckon that
works fer me." Vin walked into the roll call
room.
"Senor
Crash! A pleasure."
"Ya already
heard?" Tanner stared at the dayshift sergeant.
Josiah and
Nathan came in quietly, calling quick greetings
while they put down
their paperwork.
"Well, now
that you are all here, we can unveil the newest addition."
Raphael rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Chris!
Get your sorry backside in here so I can kick it
real hard!" Nina
yelled.
A bellow
came from outside the roll call room. "Busy,
Caswell."
"Don't make
me come after you."
"You would
not have to chase me, Dulce."
"What
exactly does Dulce mean?" Buck glared at
Raphael. "You've been calling
her that since you met her."
"It means
sweet, like the smile on her lips, or the light of
her
personality." Raphael winked at her.
"Aw,
Raphael." She turned to him with a smile. "You
know just the right thing
to say, most of the time."
"Yeah, right
before he unveils the Wall of Shame." Chris
leaned against the
doorframe.
"You printed
the pictures." Nina's head rolled back, and one
hand massaged the
back of her neck. "I'm not going to like this."
"Chief
Travis likes the Wall of Shame. Says it keeps us
humble," Josiah
remarked, walking over to the far wall. He
removed the covering
over the bulletin board comprising about three
feet of corkboard.
The enormous
board was divided into six categories – one for
each of the four
patrol squads, one for specialty units, and one
for everyone else. On
it, pictures of various police-involved wrecks, compromising
positions, and other embarrassing moments were
pinned, along with
captions. Along the top, bright letters spelled
out "Wall of Shame."
"Hey, Vin,
come over here and see your shame." Nina stepped
forward to study
it.
Tanner came
over, standing behind her. "Aw, hell." He was
tall enough to
see over her head.
"Yup."
A collage
had been set up under Squad One, and it was
titled: "A Henderson
Saturday Night – or the New Adventures of Crash
and Burn." The first
picture was of the two Henderson cars, and Mr.
Henderson hanging on
the fence. The caption read: "Mr. Henderson
hanging out."
Beside it was Mrs. Henderson, sleeping in the back
of Buck's patrol car
with her head pressed against window, and her
mouth hanging
open. The caption read: "Bertrice waiting
patiently to go to jail." The
next two were of the upside down patrol car and
the dented fire
engine. "Fire Engine vs. Patrol Car – Fire Engine
won." In small
print it said: "Introducing Vin 'Crash' Tanner,
Driver. Nina
Caswell, Field Trainer."
"Die,
Larabee." Nina didn't even look away, her eyes
scanning the rest of the
collage.
Next was a
series of three pictures that showed the tow truck
that slid right
beside the fire engine, another picture of the
full scene, and finally
one of the patrol car getting flipped over as it
was removed from
the ditch. "How a Cluster is Born – or How to
Piss Off Your
Sergeant," read the caption.
Continuing
through, there was a shot of Buck lying on the
ground after his
fall, and then another of him frantically shoving
snow down his pants,
something the others could not see from the
steps. The caption was
simple: "Great Balls of Fire – what to do when
your pepper
canister breaks."
The last
shot of the montage was a picture of Vin and Nina
laughing hysterically
on the back steps, Vin holding her from falling off. "Last
Step – Release stress."
Chris walked
over to Vin. "Welcome to the Wall of Shame, Vin.
Now you're
really one of us." He pointed to the picture of
himself climbing out
of his car in the middle of a muddy field, stuck
to the top of the
hubcaps. "We're all here, and now you are, too."
Chris held out his
forearm, and they exchanged a clasp.
"One entry's
enough, Vin. At least while I'm training you."
Nina tipped her
head back and looked up at him. "Welcome to our
joint shame, and
Chris, I want a copy of that picture."
"Which one?"
"You know,"
she answered.
"You're not
getting the negatives."
"Fine."
Josiah
pointed to the picture of a patrol car almost
completely buried in
hay. "Vin, you're in good company. See, this is
where the hay truck
lost its load right in front of me."
"Or when I
had to choose between a telephone pole or a dog.
Kids were watching so
I chose the pole." Nathan tapped his wreck.
"Here's my
shame." Buck tapped the patrol car that looked
like a mashed in
sandwich on both sides. "Parked it in an
intersection to block
traffic, and a little old lady didn't see it, so
she drove right into
one side. The drunk pizza delivery guy saw her
wreck, and hit the gas
instead of the brake, taking out the other side."
Vin studied
the board. "Nina, I don't see any others of you
up there."
"That's
because I'm a careful driver," she replied.
"I know,
Dulce," said Raphael. "You sure drive me crazy."
Nina
laughed.
"Stuff it,
Martinez." Buck grumbled.
"What's the
matter, Burn? Been crashing lately with la
senorita?"
Nina
interrupted. "And just so no one here believes
that I'm perfect,
that lovely piece of completely trashed patrol car
up there? The
one without anyone around it? That's my car. It
was parked on
the side of the road, just like last night, when
the tow pulled the
four by four pickup up onto the rollback. We
didn't know this, but
the front bumper was homemade, and broke under the
stress. The truck
rolled right over my car."
Lt. Como
walked into roll call. "Okay, people. Nina, grab
a pool car and get
lost. State Highway just stopped a bus full of
drug runners, and
most of them are females."
"Oh, yuck.
Can't they call other female troopers out?"
"They are.
There's sixty people on the bus, and thirty-seven
of them are female.
Most of which are prostitutes from Vegas for the bachelor
party on wheels. They think it's connected to the
new drug organization
that's trying to move in here, so get as much intelligence
as you can."
"On it."
Nina went toward Larabee's office. "Chris, I'm
taking a couple boxes
of gloves with me."
"Fine. Just
write down what you take."
Lt. Como
called out to her retreating form, "Check in with
me when you get
back, Caswell, so I can go over roll call and last
night's activities
with you."
"Yes, sir."
"Tanner,
you'll ride with Wilmington tonight."
"Ay yi yi."
Raphael shook his head. "That car will Crash and
Burn tonight."
The sergeant left the roll call room. "Dulce,
wait up. It will be
my pleasure to walk you out."
Buck turned
away from the door. "Chris," he hissed.
"Whatever
happened on their two dates makes them friends and
flirt, but they
don't follow through. They're friends, not
lovers," Chris reassured
his friend in a soft whisper. "You know her
better than anyone
else. Is she acting like she's interested?"
"No. I
don't know why I'm even jealous."
"That
doesn't even justify a response."
"Hell."
"Looks like
your running days are just starting again, Stud."
Chris gave his
friend a playful shove.
"Thanks,
Stud." Buck pushed him back.
"Can we get
started, please?" Lt. Como cleared his throat in
the front of the
room.
Everyone
settled in his customary seat, and Como started
talking. He gave out the
patrol sector assignments, the requests for police presence,
and the noteworthy incidents for the day, finally
looked hard at Buck
and Vin.
"One final
thing: no new adventures of Crash and Burn,
please." He left before
anyone could do more than laugh at the Shift
Commander's rare joke.
THE END
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