Chapter 2
The unlatching of the lever, and the sliding of a door startled Pete. Suddenly a brilliant beam of light caused him to squint, and then turn his face away, while his reflexed action was to bring up his cuffed hands to block the blinding sun. "Help me!" Slipped out in a low tone from Malloy, before he knew if this person could be his savior or his capturer coming to finish what he started.
The person blurted out, "Man, it's really hot in here!" An averaged sized man stepped in, but Pete could only see the outline of him with the sun at his back. As the man moved closer he pulled over a small wooden crate just out of range of Pete's chain and sat on it. The man set his green canvas backpack at his feet. "How are you doing, Officer Malloy?"
The voice was so familiar to Pete that it took just a few seconds of staring at his face before a name popped into his head. "Kevin?" The expression on Pete's face was one of confusion. He knew this man, really just a kid to him, as a worker at Joe's Burger Place. He and Jim had frequented the hamburger joint a number of times.
"You're good, Officer Malloy, very good."
With his head shaking in disbelief, Pete spoke, "What is going on here?"
"I thought you might want something to eat or drink."
Not focusing on his need for food or water, Pete just needed to understand what this guy had to do with him being abducted. "Kevin, tell me why I'm here!" Pete paused for a second waiting for an answer that didn't come. "What have you got to do with this?" Pete couldn't believe that this kid could be behind a kidnapping.
Kevin seemed to ignore the questions that came from the officer. "Are you sure you don't want to have something to eat? You should keep your strength up." He pulled out a wrapped hamburger from the backpack then tossed it on the ground near where Pete was sitting. Next, he lifted out a silver thermos and rolled it toward Malloy. "Maybe this will put you in a better mood."
Pete struggled to get up and moved closer to Kevin. With his fingers interlaced, he raised his hands toward his captor asking, no begging, "What do you want from me?"
Kevin glanced down as if embarrassed to say anything at first. When his eyes met those of the pleading officer, he explained, "I just want your help… um… to become a Los Angeles Police Officer."
Pete stood there in shock. "What do you mean you want my help?" He was on the verge of shouting. "Kevin, you won't get help from a person by kidnapping them." Pete showed his cuffed wrists to him, trying to remind his abductor of the extreme measures he had taken.
Kevin stumbled to get up and backed away from Pete. He was frightened by Malloy's tone. "I'm sorry, Officer Malloy, but I have tried everything else. You're my last hope."
Pete tried to subdue his anger. He could sense this young man was teetering on the edge of sanity. Malloy stepped back, trying to look less threatening. "Kevin, let's start over. Help me out of these bindings and we can sit down and talk about becoming an officer."
Kevin turned his gaze to the ground. "No!" He shook his head in confirmation of his decision. "I can't do that. I'll just go for now." He turned for the door.
"No! Kevin, don't go! Just stay and talk for a while." Pete knew his chance of getting free was in the hands of this person.
"Ok, I'll stay for a little a bit, if you sit down and eat something."
Hoping for another chance to get somewhere with Kevin, Pete sat down and unwrapped the burger. He took a bite then picked up the thermos, struggled to open it, and then took a swig of the cool cola drink inside. Pete didn't realize just how hungry he was until his stomach growled after getting the first taste of food in hours. The partially eaten burger and drink satisfied his appetite, but not his many questions. Pete's physical condition had improved somewhat from the railway car door being opened, as that brought fresh air and dissipated the heat.
Kevin was clearly watching Pete eat and settled back down on the nearby crate. Malloy thought to question his abductor while his guard was down. "What have you tried already to become a police officer?"
"I applied to the academy, but didn't get accepted."
"Do you know why they didn't accept you?"
"Not really. They just said I didn't pass the preliminary testing." He stated in a solemn tone. Then on a lighter note spoke up, "But then I took a gun safety class and learned how to shoot. And, I joined a Crime Watch group in my neighborhood."
"Those sound like good first steps, Kevin." Pete tried to sound very encouraging.
A few minutes after finishing the burger, Pete started to feel funny. His stomach was churning, and he hunched over just slightly from the discomfort. Next, Pete's eyelids felt heavy and then his next statement came out slightly slurred. "I could talk … to my command… ing officer about … you?"
"Well, I just saved up enough money and brought a police scanner. That was how I followed you and Officer Reed to the warehouse last night." Kevin could see that the sedative was taking effect.
With the mentioning of his partner, Malloy needed to know that Jim was OK, but his tongue felt thick as he tried to talk. "Is… Reed …OK?"
"Oh yeah. He didn't see me drag you off."
"Kev, … did you … put …" Mid-sentence Pete slumped over on his side. The combination of the drugged burger and drink worked it's magic. Malloy was incapacitated again.
Kevin stood up and stepped closer to Malloy, and then kicked his foot to see if he would stir at the disruption. No response. "Good. Let's get these off you to start." First, he rolled Pete onto his back then pulled out the cuff key to unlock the handcuffs. He quickly went to work on untucking his uniform shirt, then undoing the rest of the buttons. He carefully removed the shirt, then grabbed out some rope from the backpack, and tied the officer's wrists tightly together. He dropped the cuffs into his backpack then held up the uniform shirt. After examining it for any tears or stains, he noticed one thing missing. He inspected the floor around Pete and found the missing item, his police nametag. Kevin brushed his thumb across the engraved piece as he admired it, then placed it in his bag. He paused for a second beside Pete's face and whispered into his ear, "Thanks for the help." He quickly gathered up the thermos along with Pete's shirt. He zipped them into the bag then slung it over his shoulder to leave. Kevin pulled the heavy door shut and flipped the latch, creating a loud clatter as it locked.
