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Epilogue: Stars and Stripes
It took a long time to understand what proper breathing meant. A deep breath on the left, exhale on the right and with every step, the pattern must continue. The chest heaves, the lungs tighten when there is not enough air, which speeds up the heart. The mind thinks there is something wrong with the body and after sometime, an emergency shutdown will take place. The body collapses.
That's what Andy Flynn tells his class of incoming police officers when he teaches at the Academy. The young kids think they can run, that they know how, but when the shoes hit the pavement, or the dirt, and they're going to Flynn's time and Flynn's rhythm, they know nothing. It's an interesting wakeup call for them, when they're bent over, trying to suck as much air into their lungs as possible, choking on what they can get.
He was leading the group, going at a reasonable pace through the Griffith Park hills. Uneven terrain, stairs, and then a full speed sprint downhill. They were all forced to keep up. Some could, some didn't, but those who wanted to quit? That option was not allowed.
At the base of the mountain, where they all had started, the new class began to fill in their formation. Four rows of seven - a mixture of men and women - one team. They had to understand that. He wasn't going to allow goof off's in the middle of the night, giggling and shouting like girls. It's why, at a quarter to six in the morning, when the sun was barely starting to rise, they were out there with their transport vans.
"What we did here, was just a warm up!" Andy shouted, weaving his way in between the new officers. "The push ups, the sit-ups, the run, that was just to get your body flowing."
The officers were sweating, they were panting, but what he was about to do - well that was going to test them to the fullest.
"What we are going to do next is take a run back home!" Flynn said, expecting a groan from the group. "It's a six and a half mile run."
They're required to finish a mile in eight minutes for their endurance run. He's allowing ten a mile. Not everyone is going to be able to finish and that'll be fine. He doesn't want and or need everyone to finish. He just needs to get them to try.
"What you don't know if you've already done a mile and a half of it," he said. "In under your ten minute requirement."
He saw the flex of eyebrows full of surprise. They were impressed with themselves. So far so good.
"I'll be taking the lead," Flynn said. "Whoever passes me will keep up the pace. The vans will be following behind. Those of you who can't continue, put your arm in the air, signal your numbers, and they'll pick you up."
"We won't get in trouble for it sir?"
Andy turned partially on his heel and looked at the Officer. He could rile them up a bit, get them to suffer, but he wasn't sure he could run the five mile anymore either.
"I'll make you this bet," Flynn said. "If I have to throw my number in the air, we all will get in the van. If I don't, you still need to run."
The class said nothing, indicating they were content with that.
"Good," he said, nodding. "Let's go."
With that he took off, a slow pace, a slow jog. He wasn't going to start full sprint. He'd lose half of his class by the next light, which wasn't until after the turn. It wasn't going to be until they got closer, that he would speed things up.
It wasn't too warm yet, the sun was just starting to peak, and the traffic was light. No one was really on the road yet, which made it easier for him to jump off the path and into the street, to push his people. The vans sure enough were following behind and the officers were making their way.
It was a mile in that he heard the toot of a horn, forcing him to turn. He nodded and waved. A van drove up in front of them, leading the pack. It didn't matter their speed, because he could still run ahead of it. He was going to let it go for another mile and get a little faster.
He had lost three of his people by the beginning of the third mile. One had stepped wrong and rolled an ankle. Another apparently forgot how to breathe while running and nearly collapsed. The third had muscle burn – probably dehydration. Nevertheless, he was going to push them later, get the team to push them, because he was going to do this again one day and they were all going to make it.
"Come on Chief," he heard at the turn to go onto the dirt path that would lead them into the Academy. "Stars and Stripes, remember?"
With that the kid took off, forcing Andy to go faster, forcing the class to go faster. The kid was now setting the pace and apparently it was a full speed sprint. Andy let the class take off after him. The van pulled up to a slow crawl next to him, the driver window rolling down.
"Need a lift, sir?"
"I can make my way up the hill," Andy said, turning down the lift.
While he did slow down considerably, and the class was up and over the hill, he still jogged the rest of the way.
As he made his way to them, the squads lined up just like at the base of the hill, chest heaving, brows wet with exertion, something filled Andy Flynn. Pride, perhaps. He just needed to get these kids to graduation.
The day had come and Andy Flynn was tinkering with his medals on his chest when he felt a warm hand pressed to his back. He turned, half smiling at the feel and the presence of it's owner. Sharon Raydor – back at PAB – for the graduation.
Dressed not in her uniform, but her usual office where, she stood tall. It was over – the class of his had been welcomed into the brotherhood of the LAPD – and it was all over. Family and friends came to witness the event. Cheering from the families, high fives from the officers – they had finally did it. They were able to go home and be proud of what they accomplished.
"You have some pretty good looking police officers up there, Lieutenant," she commented.
"Thank you Ma'am," Andy said with a tip of his hat.
She smiled up at him, an invitation with the kids for lunch on her lips. It died when an officer came over to them and clapped Andy on the back.
"Chief," the kid said, smiling at him. "Thanks for everything, sir."
"Rusty," Andy said, taking the kids hand and shaking it.
Rusty nods to Sharon who is standing to Andy's left. A bag on her shoulder, an amused smile on her lips, she looks on.
"Hi ma'am," he said, offering his hand to her.
Andy Flynn had put his life on the line one too many times. He had put her life endanger one too many times. Life wasn't meant to be lived with a series of what-if's. What if he hadn't married her? What if he hadn't met her? What if he stopped drinking, hadn't met her, and had a different job? He'd be an entirely different person. But she made it all better.
Andy had married Sharon on a Sunday up in the Hollywood Hills in the backyard of a house he bought her. Her kids were there, his kids were there, a few family friends and a priest. They didn't need a large party, or a large church – they just needed to be there and he was tired of wondering if he'd ever make it there.
"Hello Mr. Beck," she said shaking his hand in return.
"A few of us are going up to the cantina up the street," Beck told them. "You should join us Chief."
"I'm actually going to go have lunch with my family, Beck," Flynn told him. "You guys should go. Get it out of your system."
"Yes sir," Beck nodded.
The boy made a move to walk away, but stopped, turning on his heel as he was taught, and raised his arm in a salute. Out of respect, Andy snapped to the same position and raised his hand as well. Beck dropped it first, then Flynn, and both men had smiles on their face.
"Serve and Protect." Flynn said.
"Stars and Stripes, yes sir," Beck nodded.
With Beck gone, Sharon curled her arm into the crook of Andy's elbow. A smile on her face as the pair watched Rusty walk away and a group of them start walking down the street. She shook her head. Once upon a time they were like that. Eager, young, ambitious. The tales of the job had caught up with them.
"So," she started. "Chief, huh?"
"Stars for Chief," Andy pointed out, nudging her with a hip. "Stripes for Captain's. You can't have one without the other. Same with a teammate. You can have a team without people watching your back and taking care of you."
"Stars and Stripes," she said, smiling. "Serve and Protect."
"Exactly," he said, curling an arm around her shoulders. "Now where are we going for lunch? I'm starving."
It was later on in the evening, long after dinner, long after the graduation ceremony, that Andy Flynn finally had his feet up on the living room table, reading his paper. Sharon was somewhere in the kitchen, putting the leftovers of dinner away. Soon she'd start in on the pile of dishes she made for herself.
Emily and Ricky had gone upstairs for the evening. Emily back from her international study abroad program for dance. Ricky had come home for a week or so to go to some think tank about building computers. Sharon took pride in cleaning the place up, making it look nice for the next day.
Andy checked the watch on his wrist. Any minute the front door would open, a bundle of energy would be flying through, and jabbering on about the events of the day. Sharon would stop whatever it was that she was in the middle of to listen. Or she'd have the conversation convene in the kitchen.
As soon as the big hand hit the hour, the front door opened. A thud of a bag sounded from the front door, keys jingling, and click of heels against the front entryway. Andy grinned at his wife, who was standing at the edge of the couch, pride beaming off of her face.
"Long day?"
The boy who was trudging himself through the room looked up. The blue eyes, the blonde hair, everything was void of emotion.
"I'm going to be sick," the boy said, forcing a barked laugh out of Andy.
"The cantina wasn't all what you thought it would be?" Andy asked, tilting his head back to look at Rusty.
"You could have warned me it sucked," he groaned. "The alcohol was cheap."
"Which is why you paid, what, twenty bucks for all of it?"
Rusty nodded. He was going to be hung over in the morning. It was going to be awful.
"So lesson learned?" Sharon questioned.
Rusty nodded. "I'm going to go change."
"Hang that up, Mr. Beck," Sharon said as her boy walked up the stairs, towards his room.
"Yes Mom!" They heard faintly as he yelled it down the hallway.
Sharon found Rusty through a friend at the Department of Child Services. He had been in LAPD custody a few times - a time for soliciting, another for being on private property, and what put him into emergency care was a witness to a possible murder. Didn't help either that he was almost killed in the process. So Sharon took him in and he was forced to spend the majority of his time with her at work anyway. It wasn't a surprise really that he decided to become a cop.
Nothing in life was considered easy. It always came with repercussions. Either good or bad they always came.
It was nearing the middle of the night when the phone rang. Sharon's phone to be exact. Which she had left downstairs charging. It sounded loudly in the empty house only to be cut off after the third ring. As Sharon sighed back into her pillow, expecting the soft knock that was about to come, she listened to Andy slowly wake.
If she was up, he was up. That was how it always went.
The soft knock came, the door creaked open and a soft, "Mom" came from the doorway.
Sharon was out of bed and to the door before Andy could wake up anymore. He was exhausted. Up every morning at three, to be at the Academy by four, to start the day at 5 was grueling. She did not miss it for a minute.
"Who is it?"
"Provenza," Rusty smirked. "Someone from dispatch called in a 'Six King' and woke up Provenza."
"So he's calling me?" she groaned.
She took the phone and disappeared down the hallway. Andy appeared in the doorway a second later, his body weary.
"Who was it?"
"Provenza," Rusty said.
Andy nodded and made his way down the hallway, to start up the coffee. If Provenza was calling, then it meant that Sharon was going to have to go into work.
"Hey Chief," Rusty called out. "What's a Six King?"
Andy grinned and shook his head. "You don't know by now?"
The coffee got made. Sharon was changed. Andy collapsed into her car, in the passenger seat. Then the call came in.
"Six King, we have a ten-seven-one."
Sharon looked over at Andy.
"You up for this?"
"Are you going to frame me?"
Sharon shook her head.
"Alright, let's go." Andy said.
Major Crimes with a possible suicide attempt.
The day was only just beginning.
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