Chapter 4

The next day, John met up with Jackson and Lucy for breakfast. They went to the local diner and had some biscuits and gravy.

"How's your new class?" Lucy asked.

"So far so good. Only had a couple classes, but I think I'm getting the hang of things. Finding a study buddy in each class has really helped."

"I wish I'd thought of that before the academy." Jackson said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it really helps having someone else's perspective and additional notes. We can bounce study tips and questions off each other, which is really helpful."

"I believe it. It always helps having someone to think through what you're learning about. Sometimes it helps things click." Lucy replied.

"Exactly," John said. "I used this method during my first years in college and it served me well. Figured I might as well try using it again."

The three friends finished their breakfast, paid the bill, and went to their cars. Next on the agenda was heading into work. When they pulled into the parking lot at Wilshire station, they walked in and got into uniform. After putting their bags into their lockers, they went to the meeting room for roll call. Sergeant Grey walked to the front and stood at the podium.

"First thing's first, congratulations to Nolan and Anderson on their good work yesterday. The officer from Hollywood district is doing just fine thanks to them. Now, today, ladies and gentleman, we're looking for a man who's been involved in a string of robberies. We got reports all night of catalytic converters being stolen from vehicles. From what we were able to get from the public, the suspect is a white male, early 30s, tall and average build, probably about 5'10. Has blonde hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans. As you're patrolling today, keep an eye out for him. Stay safe out there, people. We want all of you back safely at the end of shift."

"Yes, sergeant." came the response from all the officers.

As they left, they were handed a paper that had the description of the suspect to keep with them. John and James made their way through the station towards where the shops were kept. With shift change coming next week, they were next on the list to pick their shift. They walked up to the paper where officers signed up for their shift and looked at what was available.

"Look at that! Our same shift is available." James said, a smile on his face.

They signed up for that shift and walked out to their shop to begin patrol. They drove through the streets of LA, handling calls as they came in. As they were finishing up on a call at a house, John looked up and saw a man who appeared to match the description of the suspect from this morning. His back was to them and he was walking down the street, a silver object in his hand.

"Anderson," he stage-whispered, gesturing in the direction of the man.

James looked up and saw him, too. Quickly coming up with a plan, John crossed the street and James walked down the street to try and get in front of him.

"7-Adam-15, possible sighting of suspect from the 211s last night. Requesting backup" John quietly said into his radio, giving their location.

As he approached the man, the man seemed to notice him and turned to face him. John stopped where he was and calmly began speaking to him.

"Hey, man. Having a good day?" he asked.

"Look, officer, cut the small talk. What's up?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you. What's that in your hand?"

"Oh, this? Just something I picked up from down the street."

"So it's yours?"

"Yeah, man."

"So then I take it you live around here?"

"Yeah."

By this time, James had gotten to them and was starting to handcuff him. As he placed the handcuffs on him, he tried to explain that he was only being detained for questioning. But as the handcuff was being brought over the suspect's second hand, the suspect whirled around and punched James in the face. As he ran down the street, John quickly checked on James before running down the street.

"7-Adam-15, in foot pursuit of suspect. Punched my partner in the face and began running."

"7-Adam-15, I copy you're in pursuit. Is the other officer code four?"

"10-4. Other officer is code 4, but requesting a bus as a precaution." John replied, giving James' location.

Control advised that an ambulance was enroute as well as backup officers. Just as the transmission was completed, the sound of sirens greeted John's ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jackson and Lucy driving past. They whirled around the corner, blocking one of the suspect's escape routes. Lucy jumped out of the car and took down the suspect. John ran up behind as she finished putting handcuffs on.

"You good, Nolan?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for the backup."

"No problem. Let's get this guy into the back."

They helped the suspect up and put him in the back of Jackson and Lucy's shop. As they drove off towards the jail, John walked back to where James was with the ambulance. The paramedics were wrapping up and John saw him sitting in the back with a tissue to his nose.

"He ok?" John asked the nearest paramedic.

"He's fine. Possible broken nose, but other than that, everything checks out. Just making sure the bleeding stops."

John nodded, thanked the paramedic, and went to go talk to James.

"You ok, Anderson?" he asked.

"You know me, Nolan. I'm good to go as soon as they'll let me."

Sergeant Grey walked up behind them.

"What happened?"

"Saw the suspect and went to talk with him. While Nolan was talking with him, I started to handcuff him, letting him know he was only detained. Soon as I said that, he whirled around and socked me in the nose. Nolan took off after him once he knew I was ok."

Sergeant Grey looked over at John, clearly waiting for his side of what happened.

"Once he ran off, I made sure that Anderson was ok. Once I knew he was ok, that's when I radioed in the pursuit and ambulance request. West and Chen were here within a minute and they took him in."

Sergeant Grey nodded and wrote down some notes.

"Do they think you need to be checked out at the hospital?"

"Only if the bleeding doesn't stop. Looks and feels like it's slowing down."

"Good, good. Keep me updated and I'll see you back at the station after shift."

"Yes, sergeant." they said.

Grey walked back to his shop and drove off. A few minutes later, James' nose had stopped bleeding. The paramedics gave him one more look over and determined he was able to return to duty. Thankfully, it appeared his nose was not broken. The paramedics cleared from the scene and John and James returned to patrol. When their shift was over, they filled out the paperwork related to the events of the day and headed home. After grabbing some dinner on the way home, John spent the rest of the evening reviewing his notes for class the next day. As he reviewed, he found himself recalling things from class that he hadn't written down and included them in his notes. He also made some slight changes to those notes and then reviewed the chapter for the week, writing down questions he had about the content. Once that was done, he went to bed, grateful that he'd done the rest of his homework earlier in the week. He checked in with Henry briefly before rolling onto his side and turning out the lamp.

The next evening, John pulled into the parking lot at the college and gathered his book, notes, and homework. Winding his way through the hallways, he found his classroom and took a seat. Checking his watch, he saw he was five minutes early. The rest of the class was there and the professor was finishing something at the front of the room. John used the time to make sure he had everything he needed and organized his desk.

"Welcome to class. Everyone open to chapter 2." the professor said two minutes later.

The sound of rustling pages filled the classroom. The professor handed out a printout of the powerpoint that had some lines on the right-hand side for personal notes. John grabbed a post-it flag from his stash and wrote "Chapter 2" on it. As the professor went through the PowerPoint, he took notes and highlighted things he felt important. He also had his paper of questions on the chapter out and got through about half of them before class ended. The professor wrote down the evening's homework assignment on the board and then looked out at the class.

"Have a good evening. We'll see you Thursday."

John gathered his materials after copying down the assignment and headed out to his car. His classmates knew he took extensive notes, so they decided to meet up with him on Wednesday evening to go over the material from tonight. John drove home and hit the hay as fast as he could. After the week he'd had, he felt exhausted. He changed into his pajamas, turned on the alarm, and locked the door. He barely remembered his head hitting the pillow. A few hours later, he was jerked awake by the sound of the alarm going off. As it blared, he grabbed his phone and service weapon, ready for anything. He ducked down behind the bed and listened for footsteps. His phone began to ring and he quickly shut off the ringer, knowing that it would alert the intruder. He convinced himself that his alarm company would send someone. With the alarm blaring in his ears, he quickly texted some people at work saying to get there as fast as possible. He sat next to his bed as quietly as possible, listening as much as he could. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like footsteps. They were coming closer to him, so he ducked under the bed. He saw the feet of the intruder as they walked past him.

Looks like a size 9. Worn blue jeans. He thought to himself, willing his brain to take in as many details as possible. The feet passed by again and receded down the hallway. More sirens filled the air and he heard some familiar voices.

"LAPD!" he heard from downstairs.

Grunts and yells came and finally a door closed. Footsteps came up the stairs and towards John's bedroom. A knock sounded and a voice called out.

"Police department. Come out."

John crawled out from under his bed and stood up, his hands in the air.

"You the homeowner?" the officer asked.

"Yes. LAPD officer John Nolan."

"Come with us, we just need to see some ID."

John nodded and followed the officers downstairs. He found his wallet and showed them his driver's license and badge. The officers took a statement and left, taking the burglar with them. The forensics unit came and dusted for fingerprints. A few hours later, John was alone. He tried to fall asleep to no avail. After tossing and turning for a couple hours, he decided to give up and made himself some coffee and breakfast. Thankfully today was his day off from both work and school, so he had no plans at all other than studying. He finished his breakfast and answered some texts from coworkers asking if he was ok. Then he sat down and watched TV for a bit until he was lulled to sleep by the sounds. A couple hours later, he woke up and made himself a small snack. He gathered his materials and set them by the door, ready for him to head out to study with his study group. After grabbing some lunch, he cleaned up a little around the house and left at 4:00 for the study session. Twenty minutes later, he was in the parking lot at the Starbucks. A few classmates were there and waiting. John took his things out of the car and followed them into the coffee shop. About an hour and a half later, filled with caffeine and knowledge, the group got into their cars and drove to their respective houses. John was excited that the study session had gone so well. He felt he better understood the material and so did his fellow students. He pulled into his driveway and locked his car. Taking his materials inside, he set them on the kitchen table and went to bed.