Prelude
"The Pursuit"
The red Chevy Camaro sped recklessly along the darkened streets of Los Angeles. The driver glanced anxiously in his rearview mirror before abruptly making a hard right turn…taking it entirely too fast. The vehicle, in response to the abusive handling, jerked wildly back and forth as its operator struggled to regain control. The tires squealed loudly in protest as they spun furiously in place...a plume of smoke erupted and the smell of burning rubber filled the air. The vehicle finally righted itself and the engine roared as the car accelerated; picking up speed once again as it hit the straightaway.
"Carl…CARL!" the young man in the passenger seat screamed. "What are we gonna do?" He twisted his body around to look behind them; sheer panic registered on his face. "He's right on our tail!"
"Man…we can't get caught! I won't go back to jail!"
"SHUT UP EDDIE!" the twenty year old driver growled out. His eyes once again shifted to look in the rear view mirror as he saw the squad car bearing down on them…lights and sirens blaring. He gripped the steering wheel in his sweaty palms as he pushed his right foot down even harder on the accelerator.
Officer Drew Burke had his full attention on the fleeing Camaro in front of him. His friend, John Gage, occupied the passenger seat next to him. John was not unaccustomed to traveling lights and siren in an emergency vehicle. As a firefighter/paramedic he and his partner, Roy DeSoto, did it all the time. However, from a rescue squad to a police squad he was finding out…was quite a different perspective.
John took his eyes off the swiftly passing road in front of him to momentarily glance at his "temporary partner." The dark haired paramedic took a chance and looked over at the speedometer…it read 50 mph. He reached down and double checked that his seat belt was firmly secure.
It was. But given their current predicament…it provided him with little comfort.
Drew reached over and grabbed the mic off of its mount and brought it to his lips.
"Dispatch…this is 2 David 10…we are in pursuit of a red Chevy Camaro…copy a 10-28," Drew said as he keyed up.
"Go ahead 2 David 10," the dispatcher responded.
"534 A–Adam…C-Charlie…R-Robert repeating 534ACR. We are heading Westbound on Market Street from Orchard. The vehicle has two occupants in the front seat…requesting back up."
"We are 10-4 on your traffic…units in the area able to assist 2 David 10 please acknowledge."
"2 David 8 is enroute."
"David 6 and 12 are rolling from the PD."
"10-4…I have David 6, 8, and 12 responding," the dispatcher confirmed. "2 David 10…I have three units enroute to assist. Be advised the plate on that vehicle is coming back 10-99… What is your current location?"
"2 David 10…I copy. We are still Westbound on Market…passing Walensa."
"Wha...," John started to ask.
"That means its stolen," Drew explained without looking over…anticipating what his friend was about to ask.
"Ahhh…that's just great," the dark haired paramedic muttered under his breath. He was wishing he hadn't given Drew grief about their first call of the day. He hadn't anticipated an "Adam 12" pursuit being in their future that night.
"Good Lord," John thought "Roy was right…as usual. What the hell have I gotten myself into?"
"2 David 10…additional information...the suspects reportedly committed a robbery and then stole a patron's vehicle," dispatch advised.
"Roger that."
The young officer had the radio mic resting on his thigh with his right hand clenched around it. He brought it back and forth to his mouth as he called out their locations. His left hand was on the steering wheel expertly guiding the squad as both vehicles raced through town.
"LOOK OUT!" Eddie yelled as both hands clamped down on the dashboard in front of him. Carl sized up the situation quickly…their path was blocked by vehicles taking up the lanes of traffic directly in front of them. The young man had no choice.
"HANG ON," Carl shouted as he swerved to the left…into oncoming traffic.
Fortunately there were only a couple of cars coming from the other direction. The stunned drivers were able to maneuver their vehicles out of the way to avoid a collision…horns blasting loudly expressing their displeasure. Drew carefully followed his suspect; his eyes checking his surroundings ensuring he was taking every precaution necessary. He didn't want to terminate the chase, and his supervisor had yet to order him too, however, he also did not want any innocent civilians injured in the process.
Carl laughed at the angst he had caused to the extremely angry motorists. As soon as he cleared the cars to his right, he pulled the vehicle back across the double yellow lines. They were rapidly approaching the next intersection and he noted that the traffic light was changing from yellow to red.
"The damn copper is STILL behind us," Eddie screamed in irritation.
Carl cursed inwardly at the officer's persistence. He had hoped the little maneuver into oncoming traffic would have been enough for the guy to back off; given he had almost caused a head on collision. He realized the officer's determination was probably stemming from the fact that he was now well aware that the car was stolen…and why. Carl stared at the red light in front of him and knew there was no turning back…he couldn't stop or it would be all over. The young man pushed the accelerator yet again and ran the light in a second desperate attempt to lose the relentless officer. At the same time, a car full of teenagers in a blue Ford Torino happened to be traveling through the intersection. The driver, seeing the Camaro out of the corner of his eye, hit the gas trying desperately to get out of the way. He almost succeeded, yet the back bumper was clipped by the Camaro causing the vehicle to spin around until it finally slammed into the curb coming to a stop.
"Dispatch...2 David 10," Drew called out, "the offending vehicle struck another car in the intersection…Market and Palmeda. Have one of the assisting units respond to check for injuries."
"2 David 8…I'm about six blocks away. I will check and advise."
"Roger that…I have 2 David 8 checking on the MVA," the dispatcher acknowledged.
John's head whipped back to look at the car that had just been hit; fighting with his instincts to want to turn around and go back to see if anyone had been hurt.
His eyes betrayed him as they snuck another look at the speedometer…it now read 58mph.
"Uh…Drew," the young man was finally able to get out," he didn't like the direction this was heading, but at the same time did not want to distract his friend from the task at hand.
All of a sudden the red vehicle hit the brakes, slowing the car enough to make a hard left turn down a side street.
Drew called out the new direction to the responding units and then turned to look at John.
"This is a dead end street…so they are trapped. The offenders are probably going to bail out and take off running in different directions. Just sit tight…ok?"
"Ya…I'm definitely good with that plan," John replied.
"DAMN IT!" Carl screamed again in frustration as he realized he had nowhere to go. He slammed on the brakes bringing the vehicle to a rapid standstill…and threw the gear shift into park. He looked over at the young man sitting next to him and nodded his head.
Beads of sweat rolled steadily down Eddie's face as his eyes widened in despair.
"There is no other way," Carl stated firmly as he read the hesitation on his partner's face.
Eddie shut his eyes briefly and slowly nodded back…his fist closing tightly around the handle of the door.
"Ok…let's do this," he replied with acceptance in his voice.
Seeing the vehicle come to a stop, Drew also brought his squad to a screeching halt and shifted it rapidly into park. They could hear the sound of sirens in the distance as the doors of the Camaro suddenly flew open and the two offenders exited...but they did not flee as the young officer had predicted.
Instead, they turn and faced their pursuers. John's stare was fixated on the men before him…and then his eyes moved to the guns that were being raised and pointed straight at them. Drew scrambled to exit the squad and drew his own pistol from its holster.
"I'm sorry John," his friend barely managed to get out before the sound of gunfire filled the air."