"So, Roy, how ya doing?" Johnny asked cheerfully, climbing back into the squad after their follow-up at Rampart.
Roy frowned. Why does he keep asking me that? "I'm fine, and you?" he said with caution.
"Great! Haven't had much time this morning to ask how your days off went. Just curious."
"Yeah, curious," muttered Roy, his easy smile from this morning fading fast. He could feel the throbbing in his head starting up again and sighed as he started up the squad.
"You seemed a little distracted with that last rescue. You okay?" asked Johnny again.
"I told you, I'm fine. I did the usual stuff around the house, played with the kids, you know, nothing special," Roy said in a clipped tone.
Okay. Sorry I asked. "Hey, you should have talked to that woman we just rescued. She was amazing," Johnny raved. "She's paralyzed, but she hasn't let it ruin her life. I don't know how she does it. She told me it's because she looks at all she has instead of all she's lost."
"That's unusual," Roy commented distractedly..
"She was an unusual person," Johnny commented. "But in a good way."
Roy nodded, although he wasn't listening to his partner. I wished I had asked Dix for some aspirin. I sure hope I have some in my locker.
"She wanted to set me up with her daughter," Johnny was going on. "The girl was pretty cute. What do you think?"
Roy didn't answer. "Roy?"
"What?"
"The daughter. What did you think of her?" Johnny asked.
"I didn't notice," Roy admitted. "Why? Are you going to ask her out?"
"Haven't you been listening?" Johnny whined. "The mother wants me to go out with her. Should I do it?"
"I don't know, Johnny," Roy sighed. "That's up to you."
"What's wrong with your head?" Johnny asked as Roy rubbed his temple.
"Nothing."
"You look like you have a pretty bad headache," Johnny noticed with concern.
"Nothing a few aspirin and some peace and quiet won't fix," Roy grumbled.
Johnny took this as his cue to be quiet and sat back in his seat silently for a few minutes. He couldn't stand the quiet, though. "So, are you and Joanne going to do the recycling thing?" Johnny questioned, hopping back over to this issue of the day.
Roy winced as the dull throb in his head turned into a stabbing pain. Ignoring Johnny's question, he pulled into the station's bay and shut off the squad. He rubbed his right temple and noticed it seemed tender. Must have been too rough with Chris last night while we were wrestling.
Johnny was still talking, not noticing he didn't have an audience. "So, you see, they can make other things out of the glass, and on the news they were showing how you can even turn plastic trash into reusable stuff. Isn't that amazing?"
Johnny's enthusiasm was too much for Roy right now. "Yeah, Junior, amazing," he responded as he quickly headed for the dorm for his aspirin. Johnny followed him into the locker room. Roy poked through the gear in his locker while Johnny continued talking.
"I mean, this could really revolutionize the way we think about our trash! What do…"
"Look, Johnny," groused Roy. "I really need to get rid of this headache. Can this wait?"
Johnny looked down at his feet as he stepped back. "Okay, man, okay. Sorry. I'll just go find my book. You need anything?"
"No, thanks." Roy watched as Johnny left. He would apologize later, but right now, all he could do was to focus on his aspirin to keep from groaning. Once he'd gulped down the pills, he went into the dorm room and stretched out on his bunk, closing his eyes.
The crew settled into some quiet activities while Roy rested. As he got to his feet an hour later, Roy was relieved to discover his headache was beginning to fade. When he moved his head to his right arm, though, he winced as he felt the tender spot again.
Before he could worry about it, the klaxon sounded. "Squad 51, unknown injury, 111 Rose Street, Cross-street, Fifth Avenue, time out, 14:36."
"Squad 51, KMG-365," responded Stanley.
Minutes later the squad arrived at a crumbling apartment building that appeared abandoned. Roy sighed. "Are you sure this is the right address?" he questioned Johnny.
"111 Rose Street," Johnny said as he double-checked the paper in his hand.
"You better call it in," Roy advised.
Johnny nodded and picked up the radio. "LA, Squad 51. Could you confirm the location of our incident?" he requested. "111 Rose Street appears to be an abandoned building."
"10-4, 51."
Before Dispatch could confirm the address, gunshots were fired from a first floor window. Johnny and Roy nearly knocked heads as they ducked down on the seat. Glass rained down on them as a bullet crashed through the window. Johnny grabbed the radio. "LA, this is Squad 51. Gunshots have been fired at the scene of our incident. Request immediate police assistance!" he yelled.
"I'VE GOT MORE OF THAT!" yelled a man from inside the building. "GET IN HERE NOW! SHE'S DYING!"
The man in the window briefly turned to the woman on the floor. She lay motionless, blood seeping from the bullet wound in her head. He anxiously waved his gun again out of the broken window again. "THIS WOMAN IS GOING TO DIE IN HERE!" the man screeched as he fired another shot at the squad.
Johnny and Roy didn't move from their seats. "I SWEAR, I'M GOING TO GET VERY UPSET IN A MINUTE!" the man bellowed, desperation beginning to filter into his voice.
"Ah, man, Roy, this isn't good," complained Johnny.
"I know, but I don't think this guy is going to give us a chance to go anywhere," Roy whispered as cautiously peeked out his broken window and saw the man waving his gun at them.
Suddenly, a hand crashed through what remained of the window and grabbed Roy by the neck. "Now, just keep it easy, boys. We're going to go in there and see my friend." The rough hand held Roy firmly as a large man with a sawed-off shotgun stepped into view.
The man nervously looked over at the building. "Okay, keep me covered, Jack! We're coming in now." He jerked open the door and yelled, "Get out now, let's move it!"
Roy slid out slowly, Johnny following him. They kept their eyes on the man , trying to steady their shaky limbs. Roy winced as the bright sunlight sent a lighting bolt of pain through his head. He blinked furiously as his eyes started watering.
"Okay, Junior, calm and cool," reminded Roy as they headed into the building. "Calm and cool, calm and cool," he repeated to himself.
"Calm and cool? I'll just close my eyes, and you wake me up when it's all over, okay Pally?" Johnny was taking deep breaths as they stepped through the broken glass littering the sidewalk in front of the building.
"Shut up," the large man said as he shoved them into the building.
Roy kept his hands up as he and Johnny entered the room with the other gunman. "Okay, now, we're here to help. Let's not do anything rash," he stated calmly.
Johnny knelt beside the woman and felt for a pulse. Damn, nothing. This is not good. "Uh Roy, I'm not getting anything . . ."
"You're damn right you're not getting anything from her. She's a cop; she's done, man. But now you two will be our ticket out of here!" Jack poked his gun into Roy's neck. The large man aimed his gun at Johnny.
"Jack, relax. We're gonna get out of here, now," the large man assured his partner. "We've got our insurance. Those boys in blue will do anything to get their own back."
Roy looked at Johnny, but the pain in Roy's head made it difficult to see his partner clearly. Roy stopped, trying to clear his head, but Jack shoved him forward to the door. The large man prompted Johnny forward too. As they reached the back door of the apartment building and Jack pushed it open, they heard the sirens.
"Shit! Get them in there now!" roared the large man. He dove for the driver's side of the parked car as Jack shoved the paramedics into the back seat.
Roy let out a yelp of pain as the tender spot on his head hit the car window. Johnny helped his stunned partner sit up. "You okay?" he asked. Roy nodded.
"Shut up," Jack barked, waving the gun at them.
Roy leaned his throbbing head against the window, and looked out the front windshield, noticing how narrow the alley was. We're not going to make it out of here.
Gunshots rang through the alley as the car jerked forward. The large man grunted as he spotted police cars to his left. He yanked the steering wheel hard to the right, throwing everyone in the back seat off balance. As Jack tumbled, he lost control of his gun and it landed at Roy's feet.
More shots rang out, and a louder grunt came from the front seat as the large man was shot through the windshield. The car kept moving forward into a stack of trash cans, pushing the dazed men in the back seat forward. Roy shook his head and grabbed the gun, not knowing where to point. He struggled to make sense of his surroundings. Thunder was now crashing through his head. He noticed Johnny to his left sliding out of the car, and Jack to his right looking at him. Jack swung his fist into Roy's midsection, grabbing for the gun. As Roy let out a cry, Johnny turned and tried to reach for him.
Gunshots rang out amidst the commotion. Johnny felt a searing hot pain in his back and hit the pavement, writhing in pain. Jack turned for his escape, stopping only long enough to fire another shot at Johnny. He grinned as his latest victim moaned in agony. Roy's hands grabbed again for the gunman, but he had to stop as his headache exploded into excruciating pain.
"Roy," Johnny gasped.
Roy slammed a fist into his temple, trying to will away the pain. "I'm right here, Johnny," he said tightly. "Just stay still a minute until the police get us out of here safely.
"Police! Drop your weapons, now!"
Pounding footsteps, the clattering of guns and muffled angry voices were the last things Roy heard as the darkness closed in.