~ Completed with assistance from fellow writer Chris Cody ~
The sound of Hicks footsteps echoed up the corridor as he approached his office. He clenched his fists a little, before reaching up for the door handle. He was anxious about telling Molly that Street was in danger right now. As his hand touched the handle, his phone began to ring. He reached into his pocket and answered it quickly, walking away from the door.
"Hicks," he answered, his tone was matter of fact and a little harsh sounding. Molly had been sleeping on the couch, but the familiar sound of her father's ringtone woke her. She could hear his voice in the corridor and slowly sat upright rubbing her face.
"I have both teams on it, Sir. 56 David contacted 20 David team members about 10 minutes ago and we are attempting to narrow in on his location now." Molly Blinked and moved to the door. She knew 56 David was Jim, but what was her father talking about.
"Of course, you will know when I do." He hung up, sliding the phone back into his pocket and turned back to the door as Molly opened it frowning nervously at him.
"Dad? What is it?" She asked slowly, taking in the concern of her father's face. Hicks scrunched his lips and clasped his hands a little, before motioning for Molly to go back in the office as he followed her.
"It's um…" He began nervously as he closed the door and Molly leant on the edge of his desk. He stepped in front of her and held her arms. "Jim," He paused, scanning her face. He could see the confusion all over it as he spoke. "He um…. left HQ a while ago, alone, without telling anyone." Molly dropped her shoulders, and Hicks could see the fear in her eyes as she raised her hand to her chest.
"He what? Why? Why on Earth would he do that?" She asked. A mix of anger and fear filling her voice.
"We think he went to go get some evidence he thought would help, and well in the process, he was um…" Molly lifted her hands to her face and her eyes scanned every facet of her father.
"Dad? He what? What happened?" she interrupted.
"Some men, we assume the crew we are chasing, took him at gunpoint."
"Oh god!" Molly closed her eyes and sobbed a little into her father's chest, before looking back up. "I am gunna fucking kill him, what was he thinking?"
Hicks inhaled and hugged her tighter. "He will be ok, we will find him," he said trying to comfort her.
Back in Black Betty, Hondo sat holding the tablet talking to a patrol Sergeant on his radio.
"Adam 50 to 20 David"
"20 David go ahead,"
"We have eyes on a black van matching the description moving south on South Vermont Avenue at high speeds. We have 4 units on route."
"Maintain eyes, we're on our way." Hondo radioed back. Luca swung Black Betty round the next corner and Chris would swear she felt it pick up speed as everyone held tight, riding out the swaying and skidding. She inhaled and looked at the floor. She felt like it was hard to breathe right now. She noticed her hands shake, so she grasped her rifle harder as she looked back up to Deacon who was watching her. There was a soft smile on Deacon's face as he looked back at her. He nodded a tiny nod and Chris knew that he was letting her know that she was okay, and that they were doing all they could to get him back. The sirens of Black Betty had never felt more deafening in her ears. Her heart pounded and she replayed the phone conversation in her head. 'What if that was the last time that I speak to him?' she thought. Before blinking the thoughts away. 'Come on Chris stop that; he needs you on your game' she muttered to herself.
Back at HQ Rocker, Hicks and Stevens stood in the situation room watching the camera from the police helicopter scan the area for the black van from above.
"Air Support to LAPD Metro,"
"Metro go ahead,"
"We have reports on a second black van moving west on West Florence Ave."
"Roger that," Hicks answered, gesturing to Rocker. "Send units now and get me vision." The situation room was a buzz, as they attempted to narrow down the location of both these black vans and where Street might be. Hicks turned and leant over the table asking Stevens.
"Any update yet on those addresses tied to Pullbrook in the vicinity?"
"Working on it, Sir," he replied.
Molly couldn't just sit in her father's office anymore, waiting for an update. She needed to know what was happening, now. She jiggled her knees up and down nervously before glancing at the clock on the wall. 'Oh, for god's sake' she muttered as she stood up and walked nervously towards the situation room. She needed some answers, anything to help this whirlpool going around and round in her head. She stood behind the mesh listening to the calls coming in. There was a lot of chatter back and forth between, Black Betty and local units.
"Adam 50 to 20 David."
"20 David, go ahead."
"The van has entered a warehouse in the 1560 block of St Regents Boulevard. We have a perimeter set up and will await your arrival."
Hondo motioned to Deacon, "How far out?" he whispered. Deacon held up 3 fingers. "3 minutes out." Hondo answered.
Molly was standing out of her father's sight, her hand intertwined in the mesh as she listened and held her breath. Suddenly over the radio came a mess of call signs and codes and what sounded like gunfire.
"Adam 50 to Central, SHOTS FIRED! I repeat shots fired! OFFICER DOWN! Multiple suspects, send RA and a supervisor now!"
Hondo nodded to the entire team as they rode along clipping up and ensuring they were ready to go as soon as they arrived. They all listened intently to the radio and the mix of call signs and voices.
"10 seconds out!" Luca called loudly. "Here we go!"
The peppering of bullets and automatic gunfire greeted them as they climbed out and found cover. Hondo signalled for Chris and Tan to take one side and for Luca and Deac to go the other while he took the front with other LAPD officers. After a brief firefight, 3 suspects were dead and 2 had been arrested. Hondo radioed in,
"10—4, situation under control." The team immediately moved to the back of the van. Hoping like hell they would open the door and find Street inside safe and sound. Hondo nodded for Deac to open it as the others stood with guns raised. The door swung back with a loud clunk to reveal a massive haul of cocaine, but no sign of Street.
"20 David to Central, no sign of Street," the regret and fear in his voice was evident.
Molly felt tears in her eyes. Where the hell was he? She began to cry as she turned and walked back to her father's office.
Back on scene, Chris's heart felt like it dropped to the ground and Hondo hit the side of the van with his fist. "Damn it." He spun around and marched back to the patrol car that one of the arrested suspects sat in.
"Get his sorry ass out of there!" He ordered the uniformed patrol officer. As the officer pulled the suspect out Hondo pushed him against the car and stood right in his face.
"Who the hell do you work for? and where is my officer?"
The heavily tattooed suspect laughed a little at Hondo's flustered agitated state. "I ain't know where your lost pig is at." He answered with an attitude. Hondo grabbed his shirt and stepped even closer, noticing the gang tattoo on his neck.
"If I find out you know anything later!"
"You'll what?"
Hondo pushed him back and walked away. "We got nothing," he said shaking his head at Luca and Deac. Tan patted Chris's shoulder as she frowned and scrunched her lips.
"We will find him, Chris we will." He tried to reassure her, but inside even he was doubting that right now.
"Let's get back over to HQ and find a damn decent lead, and find out what happened with the second black van?" Hondo barked. Deac and Luca nodded walking back to Black Betty with Chris and Tan. The ride back was quiet, almost sombre. The team all felt the weight of being no closer to finding Street or Buck.
Back at HQ Rocker and Stevens were walking with purpose towards Hicks in the situation room.
"Sir, we might just have something." Rocker said flicking a file from his iPad to the big screen. "We have found 5 possible addresses that tie back to Pullbrook and his associates." Hicks, Rocker and Stevens all looked up at the screen as the rest of 50 David gathered around.
"We need to narrow that down, what else have we got?" Hicks asked, stepping closer to the map.
"Well, Pullbrook has been seen pretty frequently just here," Rocker said tapping to a location near one of the warehouses, "it is owned by a lady who regularly visited him in jail. A girlfriend maybe?"
"What are you waiting for then? Get rolling and check out that warehouse." Hicks said, motioning for them to go.
Meanwhile at the darkened warehouse, Street was sitting on the cold floor, watching two figures down the other end of the vast space argue. He tugged at the handcuffs that secured him to the beam as he recognised one of the voices, Pullbrook. He slowly looked back up at the two armed men guarding him. Then back to the other men as they began to argue. He couldn't make out what they were arguing about, but Street figured it was because they had bought him back here. Pullbrook would know that now SWAT and all of the LAPD would be looking for them. He began marching towards Street as the other man followed him still talking.
"Enough!" Pullbrook stopped and yelled at him. "You are a fucking moron." He turned back to Street and smiled a sickly sweet smile. "So, we meet again Mr James Street. This time with no fake pretences to hide behind." He slowly stepped closer and Street smiled back at him.
"Hi, how have you been?" He asked in a smart arsey tone. Pullbrook gave a strained smile and raised his eyebrows a little.
"I think we have a score to settle. You and I." He said kneeling down closer to Street.
"Oh yeah? mmm interesting," Street said nodding slowly. "You know what I think?" He asked looking back at Pullbrook. "You," he said motioning down the other end of the warehouse where they had just been, "You have just realised how much trouble you are actually in here! I mean I give it maybe an hour tops, and you have SWAT knocking down those doors."
As Pullbrook stood up with a forced chuckle, Street thought. He still hadn't seen any sign of Buck and he began running every possible scenario through his head. How the hell was he gonna get out of this? Had Chris and 20 David worked it all out? Were they actually coming for him? Was Buck okay?
"Don't forget Mr Street. We still have someone you are very fond of as leverage here. And you, I mean, a SWAT officer must be a great bargaining chip."
Street chuckled a little. "You seriously think they are going to negotiate?" He shook his head.
"To save two of their own? I have no doubt about that." Pullbrook answered, striding away confidently. To be honest, Street had no real idea where he was or how he was meant to help himself other than stay alive as long as possible.
Outside 50 David was just pulling up. Rocker climbed out and the team gathered about.
"Stevens, I want you as eyes on the roof. Get up there and see what you can see for us." Rocker said as Stevens nodded and began grabbing his climbing gear. Rocker arranged the rest of the team to make entry on his mark once Stevens had reported what he could see.
As Street sat, straining to hear what they were discussing down the other end, slight movement caught his eye in the shadows on the floor. He looked up casually and saw Stevens in one of the sky lights. Street knew he needed a distraction to allow him to land on the gantry up there and get into a good position to save him and maybe Buck if they were holding him here.
"Hey, Pullbrook." Street called, nodding for him to come over. The men guarding him turned and looked at Street. Pullbrook turned too and then resumed what he had been doing ignoring Street. "Hey, come here. I have an idea how you can get what you want and so can I."
Pullbrook stopped what he was doing and looked at Street again. He shook his head and began moving towards Street. "Okay, I am listening." He said slowly.
"Let me get up and I will explain on that map over there how you can distract the police long enough to get your shipment and disappear."
Pullbrook paused and laughed. "Do you think I am an idiot? I am not letting you loose."
"Come on, you have 2 men with automatic rifles on me, plus you and this nitwit," he said motioning to the guy who had taken him at gunpoint. "What am I gonna do?"
Pullbrook sighed, "Ok, but don't forget your surrogate daddy depends on you!" He motioned to one of the men to undo him. Street glanced slightly up to see Stevens waiting to drop down. As the cuffs loosened, he rubbed at his wrists and stood up slowly putting his hands in the air. "We good?" he asked, looking at the men with their rifles aimed at him. One of them grunted at him and motioned for him to move to the map and get on with it.
"Ok ok!" Street said as he began to move slowly in that direction. Once he had Pullbrook on his own at the map and the other three men standing back at the table. He sneezed loudly 2 fake sneezes. Loud enough that Stevens would know what to do.
As several shots echoed through the empty warehouse, two men fell. Before Street knew it he and Pullbrook had begun to wrestle on the floor. The warehouse was soon filled with shouting and lights, stun grenades and more gunshots as 50 David swept in. It was hard for anyone present to really decipher what was happening or had happened in that split second, until an eerie silence fell over the warehouse.
"STREET!" Rockers voice rang out as he sprinted to the dimly lit end of the warehouse, watching Pullbrook flee through an office door at that end. Rocker couldn't see Street at all. He had heard gunshots, then saw Pullbrook running. He was fearing the worst as he rounded the bench near the maps on the pinboard to see Street slumped against the wall.
"Hey, Street, I'm here, we're here. You're okay."
Street let out a cough and blood spattered his shirt and hands. A bullet had nicked him in the neck and it looked like there was a second wound on his upper chest. Blood stained his shirt and face as Rocker ripped off his shirt and applied pressure.
"I NEED A MEDIC…. NOW" he screamed.
Stevens radioed in "54 David to Central, Officer down! I need a RA and supervisor now, I repeat 56 David is down."
Back at HQ, Hicks closed his eyes and silently prayed that Street was gonna be okay and they would fix this mess. He knew he would need to tell Molly he was hurt but he needed more information. Needed to make sure that an ambulance made it there and got him to hospital.
"How far out is that medic?" Hicks asked the technician standing next to him.
"4 minutes Sir" He answered. Hicks tilted his head side to side thinking. Before he began to walk back towards his office. As he rounded the next corner Molly almost bumped right into him.
"Dad, hey, you okay?" She asked, taking in his worried expression.
"Um," Hicks looked about and guided her to a quiet space. He held both of her hands and swallowed.
"Jim has been injured Molly," he started. Her eyes widened and she froze for a second. "He, um, was shot during 50 David's rescue."
"What? how bad? is he okay? will he be okay?" She blurted as tears built up in her eyes.
"I, um, I don't know. The medics should be with him right now." He said hugging her. Molly held her father and cried. Watching her cry and not really being able to help upset him. He pursed his lips and held his breath a little.
"Once I know where they have taken him, I will drive you to the hospital." He said guiding her towards Dr Wendy's office. As Hick's walked, he was praying for an update from Rocker, and to find 20 David and get them to the other warehouse to find Buck.
"Molly, I just need to get another unit deployed again, come and sit with Wendy, until we hear more." Molly didn't answer and just nodded. She was numb and scared as the tears stained her face.
"Come on dear, take a seat." Wendy said kindly.
"As soon as you hear Dad," she managed.
"I promise." Hicks said, nodding and closing the door.
Hicks returned to the situation room as 20 David came into sight across the gym. They had just returned and hadn't yet heard the radio calls or the news that Street had been found but was injured. Hicks walked out towards them inhaling hard.
"Sorry Sir, we got nothing. Did 50 David have any luck with ….." Hondo's words trailed off as he saw the expression on Hicks' face.
"You ah, all would have missed what just happened in the last few minutes. 50 David found Street."
Chris's eyes moved quickly from the floor back to Hick's and hope spread across her face.
"Yeah," Luca let out with a smile as he patted Deac and Hondo on the shoulders.
"But," Hicks started holding up his hand at Luca, "during the entry to the warehouse, there was a fire fight and somehow Street was hit,"
Immediately Chris's head dropped, and she was sure her heart had stopped beating too. The tone in the commander's voice had almost let her know that he was not safe and well at all.
"What? How?" Deac asked, letting out a sigh.
"I don't know what went wrong, but medics are there now." Hicks said.
"How badly was he hit?" Tan asked the question that Chris knew was at the forefront of her own mind. She desperately needed to hear someone say he would be okay.
"I have no idea, I am sorry. I will update you when I can."
Hondo looked across at the worried, pained and broken faces of his team. He too frowned and inhaled before leading them all to the situation room.
"We have a few possible sites to search for Buck. Here and here," Hicks said pointing to the map, "Is where I would start."
"Ok. We need more information on both of these addresses, what else….."
"50 David to Central" Immediately the sound of Rockers voice broke Deacon's words. Hicks responded without hesitation.
"Go ahead Rocker, 20 David are here."
"Street is on his way to UCLA Medical Center. He's alive but he's not good." They could all hear the weight of those words in his voice.
Chris swallowed hard and blinked trying to stop the tears she felt building. She looked away from the team and closed her eyes. Silently praying for him to be ok. Hondo's jaw twitched and he grasped the table harder.
"No sign of Buck?" Hondo asked.
"No, but we did find papers with a second address. I am sending it now."
"20 David are on their way there, roll out." Hicks said looking back at 20 David and nodding at Hondo.
As they moved off to head out again Hondo knew his team would be feeling this. Street was their family. They all still thought of him as a part of their team. As they approached the doors to the motorpool he stopped them all.
"Look, guys. I know we are all scared and worried for Street, but he would want us all to find Buck, to do everything we can to bring him back safe. Street is tough and he will put up a fight. Let's do this for him."
They all nodded, and fist bumped each other, but as Chris sat on the seat and clipped up her helmet all she really wanted to do was cry.