Restoration
Chapter 1
"I'm surprised you're on Lucy's couch," Nolan comments, changing out of his coveted short-sleeved uniform. You could move in with me. My house is big enough so you could have your own room - rent-free. All you'd have to do is help with the rehab. Detective Armstrong has put his hand to it. He survived."
Jackson pulls an L.A.P.D. hoodie over his head. "I appreciate the offer, man, but I prefer rooms with walls. And Gino has an allergy to dust. I can't have that stuff all over me."
"I get it. Jessica's not a fan of a work in progress either, but I can see the finished house in my mind, you know? And everything is going to be done right. Solid construction, not just slapping up some drywall. Enough insulation to keep the place cool enough so that I don't spend a fortune on air conditioning. Double-pane glass, resilient flooring. I built my last house with my own hands, but I had to make Sarah happy. I can make this one exactly the way I want it. I love being a cop, but swinging a hammer is a constructive way of working out the frustrations of the job. Anyway, if you change your mind, the offer stands."
"Thanks, Nolan. I appreciate it."
John thinks about going by the hospital to see Grace, and immediately dismisses the idea. He got his apology out, and there's really nothing else to say. And Jessica's words about falling in love with him are rattling around in his head. It's been a long time since anyone said anything like that to him - not since he first tied up with Sarah. In the two weeks he'd been with Grace, the sexual attraction had been overwhelming, and love might have come out of it, but he never had a chance to find out. Jess has been working long hours trying to track down the origin of a terrorist cell, but she may be available later. And he has more than enough to keep him busy. He needs to get started on the kitchen. A man can only subsist on so much beer and takeout pizza, and he'd love to be able to lure Jess with a home-cooked meal. He has the appliances he wants on order, and the subflooring is in good shape, but he needs to put in the thickly cushioned vinyl that he can stand on without further abusing back and feet already strained to the max by the job. And he'll need to build the cabinetry too.
John's absorbed enough in his work that he almost doesn't hear the sound of the back door opening. It shouldn't be. He locked it, and no one has a key. He hasn't even had a chance to mail one off to Henry. Checking that he has his handcuffs, and with his gun in hand, he spots two men with hacksaws. "Police! Drop the saws, kneel on the floor, and put your hands behind your heads."
"Oh sh*t!" a tattooed invader exclaims. "This place was supposed to be deserted."
"And it would have been just as illegal to break in if it was," John informs him before cuffing them and droning the Miranda warning. "But you wouldn't have made out anyway. I would assume by the saws that you were here to steal pipe for recycling. The joke would have been on you. It's galvanized junk, so clogged up with mineral deposits that I'm in the process of replacing it with copper anyway. If you'd broken in a couple of weeks later, you might have made a haul."
"Crap," John's two prisoners mutter in unison.
"Not in my house, but you'll get your chance to do that at the station," John assures them, pulling out his phone to call dispatch. Damn, he isn't going to get to see Jess tonight.
"Officer Nolan managed to stumble into a solid arrest," Grey announces at roll call. "The two men who broke into that wreck he calls a house are part of a ring that's been raiding unoccupied buildings for whatever they can salvage. They were more than happy to throw their compatriots under the bus. We should see some further arrests and a reduction in property damage in the area."
"Actually, Sir, the arrest stumbled into me," Nolan corrects, "But I'm happy my wreck could serve a useful purpose."
"As a reward, Officer Nolan, you will be teaming up with Detective Armstrong again today, but I will be rotating your assignments until we have a replacement for Officer Bishop. I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that she is doing well at the ATF. Now get out of here, but be careful out there.
"What are we looking for?" Nolan asks as Armstrong slides into the passenger seat of their unit.
"Car thieves, filling orders for a chop shop."
John frowns as he steers the vehicle out to the street. "A piece of slime from that ring beat up my best friend, when he stole his car. I thought we took it down."
"Different operation. We're always playing whack-a-mole, Nolan. You take one out, another one springs up to fill the void. There's always a market for cheap parts."
"What if there wasn't?" John wonders.
Armstrong's eyebrow rises. "What are you thinking about, Nolan?"
"A marketplace. Some guy trying to fix his car isn't going to knock on the door of a chop shop. They don't hang signs over the door. He - or she - I've met a few single moms who learned how to patch their kidmobiles together - would go to an auto parts store or a junkyard. We bust the retailers, and the thieves wouldn't have anywhere to sell their merchandise."
Armstrong strokes the bristles on his chin. "You might have a point, Nolan. Assuming we launched an investigation of illicit auto part sales, how would you go about it?"
"Stakeout somewhere people come looking for bargains, where they wouldn't ask too many questions about used parts. We determine a likely seller," John proposes, "go in wearing plain clothes, ask for something for an older car, and check out what we get."
"And what would be your first choice for a stakeout?"
"Parts Unlimited. I've been there before and not in uniform. Lucy - Officer Chen - has a car that's seen better days. I helped her fix it. And the place is next door to a huge parking lot. One car, more or less, wouldn't draw any notice."
"All right," Armstrong agrees, "swing by your place and pick up the clothes you need to look convincing. I have a T-shirt and jeans in my locker. We'll requisition an unmarked shop and see what we see. If Parts Unlimited has a steady stream of likely buyers, you can make your pitch, and we'll trace whatever parts you come back with. And let's check if any of my doughnuts are left in the break room. It could be a long, hungry day."
Nolan's eyes blaze as he spots a familiar figure carrying a box in the back door of Parts Unlimited. "That sonofabitch!"
Armstrong's eyes follow John's gaze. "You recognize him?"
"Yeah. He's the guy who mashed in my friend Ben's face - and just for the hell of it too. Ben handed over the keys. That bastard could have just taken the car. We busted him, but Wolf let him go in exchange for a bigger fish. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch him slip the hook again.