Notes: Okay … I know this WAS part of the other story, but I just couldn't make it fit in with it, so I decided to break these chapters off and make them the start of volume 2 of "Embers". Sorry for any confusion this might cause.
Sydney dreamed so well that night … the same dream she had been having almost every night; she dreamt of ardent caresses and heated, passionate kisses, then, that sound, that god awful sound boring its way into her skull; her alarm.
"Son of a bitch!"she cursed as she rolled over and smacked that confounded thing into silence.
She lay there in the new silence, for the first time since she could ever remember, she was dreading going into work.
It had been three weeks since their night together and on the job, Gage was still an amazing partner, he was the same old reliable Gage that she had always counted on to have her back, no matter what.
But it was after work that was the problem, as soon as their job was done, he was gone, always with some sort of excuse as to why they couldn't do anything together outside of work.
She had gotten so tired of being shot down every time that she had just stopped asking.
She wiped away the tears of hurt and anguish that began to slip down her cheeks, what's done is done, there was no use crying about it. As her mother always used to say, it was time to put on her big girl boots and play out the hand she was dealt.
Sydney couldn't help but noticing that Gage's desk was vacant when she got off the elevator at ranger headquarters.
"Sydney, right on time as usual … which is more than I can say for someone else." Trivette said as he nodded to her partner's desk across from hers.
"Any idea what's going on?" He asked her.
"And why the hell would I know that?" Sydney snapped before she could stop herself, she cringed visibly at the bitterness in her voice.
Trivette back away a step or two and put his hands out in front of him in appeasement. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just figured …."
"Well we're not." Sydney said flatly as she crossed her arms in front of her just as Walker joined them.
"Any word on Gage?" He asked, looking pointedly at Sydney.
Sydney opened her mouth to respond when, as if on cue, the elevator doors opened and Gage burst through, slightly breathless.
"Sorry, boss, you know how that truck of mine acts in the cold weather, couldn't get it to start for anything this morning." He said.
Sydney looked from Walker to Gage with apprehension for her partner, if it was anything Walker hated more than criminals, it was irresponsible people who didn't take their duties seriously.
Walker nodded to him. "Fair enough." He said, the lightest feather could have knocked Sydney over and judging by the expression Trivette wore, he was feeling the exact same way. Did Walker just dismiss the fact that Gage was almost thirty minutes late to work for the third time this week?
No, there had to be something else going on, something serious; the ringing of Trivette's desk phone brought her back to reality.
"Walker, we got trouble." He said.
"What'd we got?" Trivette asked the officer in command, a portly man by the name of Sargent Dennis Stanton as he, Walker, Gage and Sydney arrived on the scene at a bank.
"Bank heist gone south, he's got ten hostages in there counting the tellers, we're just lucky it wasn't lunch time when this happened, or this bank would have been packed." The sergeant said.
Walker grabbed the Sergeant's binoculars and studied the front of the bank for what seemed like an eternity, straining his eyes, seeing if he could get any kind of glimpse inside, but it was no use.
"Is there any way we can get eyes inside that bank?" Walker asked Stanton, who shook his head.
"The ring leader says he'll start killing hostages if we get close."
Walker rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let me try." He said as he crept off toward the side, flanking the building. The other rangers held their breath as Walker eased up to the window to sneak a peek.
There were four suspect and they had the hostages contained in the back, behind the teller's desk. Walker suddenly had an idea, he crept back to where the small army of cops were held up at the front of the bank.
"Do you have any flash bangs?" Walker asked Stanton.
"Yes, what do you have in mind?" Stanton asked.
"The suspects and hostages are in the front of the bank, I am going to sneak around back and create a diversion, that should make the leader send at least two of his men to check it out, I will take care of them, you sent the SWAT team in the front." Walker said.
Stanton nodded and got on the radio to the SWAT team, informing them of the plan and handed Walker a radio as well. "Let us know when to move." He said.
Walker crept to the back of the building, there was a fire door and since the suspects had cut the electrical wires to the bank to kill the security system, they had also disabled the door's alarm. Walker eased inside and with his back against the wall, approaching the corner, he peaked around the side and saw no one, perfect! He pulled the pin on the flash bang and tossed it down the hallway.
The suspects and the hostages alike ducked as the concession traveled through the building.
"Go check it out!" the leader, a short, lean man by the name of Henry Rodgers barked at his subordinates.
Walker heard them coming long before they would know what hit them, it was almost laughable as he saw the mouths of their M16's come into view around the corner first, he grabbed the muzzles of both weapons and shoved them back into the surprised faces of their owners, both men fell, out like lights before they knew what had hit them.
Walker took one of the weapons and relieved the other of its magazine, as he crept forward, he took out his radio.
"Stanton, two of the suspects are taken care of, send SWAT in now." He said.
Seconds later, he heard the front doors being breeched and a small gun battle ensuing, but it was over as soon as he started, by the time he got to the front, the other two suspects were being led away and the hostages were being escorted out to be looked over by EMS, he heard the sirens of another departing as he caught sight of the body of a fallen SWAT team member.
"Oh, no." Sydney breathed as she knelt beside the officer's body.
"His name was Thomas Pack, he was a K9 cop, his dog was wounded too, but it was because of them we were able to get the jump on these guys. Stanton said, his voice was heavy with sadness as he took out his phone.
"I have to make some phone calls, please excuse me." He said as he walked off by himself, digging his phone out as he went.
"Telling the family, that's something I will never get used to." Trivette said as he joined Walker, Sydney and Gage. Walker remained silent as Stanton rejoined them, looking downcast.
"Well good news is K9 Tripp is going to make a full recovery, but he won't be able to return to active duty." Stanton said.
"Don't police dogs who can't return to active duty usually go home with the officer's families?" Trivette said.
"Yes, normally they do, but Officer Pack wasn't married, and his parents past away a few years back. He has a sister, but she lives in California I believe.
"Wait a minute, Walker you could take the dog! You have this huge ranch, it's like animal heaven out there! A dog would love it!" Trivette said, his eyes widening in excitement.
"Wait a minute, Trivette," Walker said, smiling at his friend's … enthusiasm. "I don't have any experience working with police dogs, and in case you've forgotten, I have a baby at home that takes most of my time already. But, you're a dog person, aren't you?" Walker offered, Trivette broke out into a huge smile for a moment before looking downcast.
"Yeah, but my apartment complex doesn't allow pets and I am sure they would NOT want a former "attack" dog living next door." He replied.
Walker then turned to Sydney.
Syd, don't you have experience with K9's?" Walker asked.
"If you count being the kennel assistant while I was in the Academy." She said with a laugh.
"And you live in a dog friendly apartment complex, it's like it was meant to be!" Trivette said.
"Whoa you guys, didn't you forget my hectic work schedule? I am hardly home as it is." She said.
"We could talk to Bruscoe, I am sure he wouldn't mind a former police dog as the company B mascot." Gage said, totally ignoring Sydney's protests.
"If you want the dog so badly then why don't you take him?" Sydney asked Gage, her eyes narrowing at him.
"My complex doesn't allow dogs, either, or else I would believe me." He said with a grin and a shrug.
Sydney blew out an exasperated sigh. "Fine … I will take the son of a bitch … but you guys OWE me." She said as she brandished her finger at all of them.
"Ah Ranger Cooke! We have been expecting you!" Doctor Jacobs said as he stepped into the exam room and shook her hand heartily.
"Now, I will go over his medications and what his needs will be while he heals, he should make a full recovery, just not enough to return to active duty, due to the muscle damage he sustained. For about six weeks he will need to be basically on bed rest, with just short trips outside to the bathroom and right back in. Then, after six weeks I will need to see him back in here for an evaluation." Doctor Jacobs said as he put several bottles on the exam table in front of her.
"This first one is an antibiotic, he will get this twice a day until it's gone, this one is a pain killer, give as needed and the third one is a sedative, in case you have trouble keeping him quiet." He said.
"You want me to drug him?" Sydney interjected, she was surprised that a doctor would even suggest something like that.
"Only as needed, it is imperative that he refrain from any physical activity until he is fully healed, he could injure himself further, and no one wants that, do we?" He quipped as the door opened and a tech brought a monstrous black dog into the room. He had the most striking pair of eyes she had ever seen, they were a stunning golden color.
Doctor Jacobs put all of his medicines in a bag with the information on how to give each one, lest she forget and sent her on her way. The dog called Tripp walked out of the vet's office on perfect heel without even an ounce of pressure on the leash, he stopped and sat when they reached her jeep and waited patiently, looking up at her with those stunning eyes as she fumbled for her keys.
"Crap!" Sydney cursed under her breath as she dropped them, before she could even bend over to get them, Tripp reached down, picked them up and offered them to her.
"Uh … thanks." She said as she hit the unlock button and opened the door, Tripp merely sat, waiting.
"get in. Come on, I know it's not a police cruiser or anything but you're going to have to get used to it." she said, nothing; the dog still sat there, staring at her unblinkingly, as if waiting for a certain command. It suddenly dawned on her.
"Okay." without another moment's hesitation, the dog leapt lightly into the back seat. Sydney smiled in spite of herself and shook her head as she opened the driver's door and slid behind the wheel.
She looked at the dog in her rear view mirror to see he had already lied down and made himself comfortable across her bench seat.
Notes: wow! Sorry this took so long, I have been dealing with a lot of life stuff lately! Hopefully you all liked it and hopefully the next update won't be as long. Thanks to everyone for being so patient!
