Jim's ears turned bright red when Captain Moore came into the briefing room and took a seat next to him. Normally, when the Captain came into roll call, it was to address the entire watch. This time, Moore sat silently by Jim but there was a smile on his face. Had Pete gotten Moore to do that? Jim wouldn't put it past his partner to conspire with the captain to insure that Jim couldn't back out of training Kasak.
"Come on Reed. You have a rookie to meet." Moore stood as Mac dismissed the watch; effectively blocking any avenue of escape. It was at that moment, that Jim knew he had to get Pete back for this.
"Um…yes Sir." Despite having partially raised the possibility of appealing to the captain, Jim was still hesitant to speak to Val Moore. Pete never seemed to hesitate to approach the Captain, but Moore had been his training officer; either that or Pete wasn't intimidated by higher ranking officers the way Jim was.
"I'm sure he's as eager to meet you as you are to meet him." The captain stepped to the side and, with a wave of his hand, pointed Jim to the front of the room where Kasak was waiting with MacDonald. Jim was even more unnerved when he realized that Moore was directly behind him matching him step for step. Jim wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the captain chuckling as they walked to the front of the room. That was it; Jim was going to strangle Pete.
Jim extended his hand to Kasak in a gesture of welcome. What else could he do? Jim knew he had lost the battle over the rookie. Introductions finished, Captain Moore, pulled Jim to the side for a moment.
"Reed, I know you are not exactly looking forward to training Officer Kasak, but it is time. You were trained by the best; pass on what he taught you." Was he telling Jim to let go of Pete and their partnership? Something in Moore's demeanor made Jim believe that the captain didn't expect Pete to be able to return to patrol. He sent up a silent prayer that Moore was wrong.
"Let's go. I'll get the keys to the unit while you sign the shotgun out from the kit room. Meet me in the parking lot."
"Yes Sir." The twenty-two year old rookie agreed, but made no move towards the door. He had that "deer in the headlights' look about him. "Um…Sir, where is the kit room?"
As Jim very patiently gave the rookie directions to the kit room, he heard Mac's attempts to stifle a laugh. Once Kasak stepped away from them Jim turned back towards the sergeant.
"Thanks for all your help Mac; this is going to be a boatload of fun." Mac couldn't keep the laughter inside; if Pete hadn't taught Jim everything he knew about being a police officer, he succeeded in refining Reed's understanding of sarcasm.
Jim was heading out the station door when Chris Collins from the a.m. watch caught up to Jim and handed him a box of flares; apparently Adam-12 was almost out of them. A part of Jim enjoyed handing the box of flares to Kasak as they headed for the car. He made sure to say please carry them, unlike Pete who used to hand him things with a "here Junior".
Reed tossed Kasak the keys to the unit; telling him to put the helmets and other stuff in the trunk. The rookie caught the keys, grabbed Jim's helmet and opened the trunk. Afraid of dropping something and getting off on the wrong foot with his training officer, Kasak set the shotgun on the bottom of the trunk. It was only after closing the trunk that he realized that the shotgun was still in it.
"Where'd I put those keys?" Kasak was muttering to himself, but Jim heard him and moved towards the back of the unit to search the ground for the missing keys. It took Jim thirty seconds to come to the obvious conclusion.
"Please tell me that you didn't lock them in the trunk." Kasak turned beet red; confirming Jim's assumption. "What about the shotgun? Is that in there too?"
"Yes sir. I'm sorry." Jim took a deep breath; letting it out with a large sigh. They weren't even in the car yet, but Jim knew then that Pete was right; he would definitely want to strangle the kid before this shift was over. "There's a spare set of keys in the station. Come on, we'll get them. "
Their attempt to keep the fact that they needed a new set of keys quiet was thwarted by the presence Officer Findley in the watch commander's office. Mac looked up from the report he was checking and waved Jim and Kasak into the room. "Reed, why aren't you out on the street already?"
"I uh… well you see Sir...I kind of…" To his credit, Kasak did try to tell MacDonald what happened to the keys; instead he stammered and his ears became as red as his face.
"The keys accidently got locked in the trunk." It was a gallant attempt by Jim to spare the rookie any more embarrassment.
"They did? You wouldn't mind telling me how you managed to do that?" Mac addressed the question to Reed, even though he knew it had been the rookie's fault.
"It just happened Mac. I'll get them and bring the spare set back in."
"Nah, you better keep the spare keys; you might need them later." The two younger officers were still in sight when Mac and Finley burst out laughing. For a police station, it had amazing acoustics; the echo of their laughter filled the hallway. Jim knew one thing for sure; the entire watch would know about the keys before the shift was over.
"Ignore them, even they make mistakes." Once they retrieved the first set of keys, Jim put the rookie though the safety check Pete always did before a shift. Reed felt a tinge of something he couldn't name when he told Kasak to put his hat in the back because the roofs were too low. Even though Jim didn't give Kasak the car specs speech, in his head he did hear Pete's introduction to the squad car. "Assume they know nothing", wasn't that what Pete had said?
"Clear us. Hold down the button and say 1 Adam-12 Day Watch clear." Since Jim was stuck with this assignment, he figured that he might as well be civil about it. He'd been remembering his first night as a genuine police officer; Pete had been sullen, condescending, acerbic and angry at the world. Would he be that way if his partner had just been killed? Jim never wanted to find out what that was like; Three weeks ago he'd come way too close to losing his partner and best friend.
"Yes Sir. 1 Adam-12. Day Watch clear." Kasak never took his eyes off Reed; silently seeking Jim's approval.
"That was perfect, but you are still holding down the button. Let it go so dispatch can answer." Hadn't the kid used a walkie-talkie as some point in his life?
"1 Adam-12 clear and a call; see the woman 415, in the courtyard, 2318 Vista Way, 1 Adam-12, code 2"
"1 Adam-12 roger." Jim noticed that the rookie's hand was shaking as he put the mic down. Was he scaring Kasak as much as Pete had scared him?
"Relax; at least it's not an armed robbery." Pete never talked on the way to a call and while Jim was fine with that, for now though, things were different. "If you don't know where that street is, look it up. We'll be there soon."
"Yes Sir."
"Don't call me sir; call me Reed. Jim smiled the smile people have on their face when they are remembering something special. At the time it was happening, being called Junior, boot and kiddo by Pete irked him; now it was a melancholy memory.
"Yes Sir. Everyone but my family call me Kasak." Jim sighed at the continued use of "sir".
Jim pulled up in front of the apartment complex. It was typical sixties architecture; a set of four two-story buildings around a built-in pool. They were getting out of the unit when what looked to be a thirty-something woman with two young girls in tow ran towards the car. She grabbed Kasak by the right arm, trying to pull him into the courtyard.
"Officer, please come. It's disgusting. I don't want my girls seeing that." She wasn't having much luck with Larry, who stood by the car; unsure what he should do.
"Excuse me Ma'am. I'm Officer Reed this is Officer Kasak. What is the problem Miss…?"
"Hayes, Mrs. Ronald Hayes." If Kasak had weighed less, he would already have been dragged along the ground towards the courtyard.
"Mrs. Hayes, please release Officer Kasak. We will follow you, but you haven't told us what the problem is." Both Kasak and Reed had been listening for any sign of trouble, but only heard the sound of kids playing.
"There are naked boys by the pool, right in front of my little girls!" She reeked of indignation. Neither officer thought that the girls seemed upset by the boy's display. In fact they kept trying to get another glimpse of the naked young men. Jim tried to keep from chuckling, knowing that Mrs. Hayes was going to have a lot of questions to answer when she got the girls home.
"Sir? She's right." Kasak had moved to a spot where he could see the pool in the courtyard. There were five boys around the age of 13, doing cannonballs into the deep end of the pool.
"Come on." Jim led the way to the deep end of the pool. "Okay boys, the fun is over. Get out, grab a towel and wrap yourself in it." Experience had long ago taught Jim that you need to be very specific when dealing with the public. The boys did exactly as they were told; wrapping a towel around their untanned body parts. Jim gave them a lecture about not being naked in public and sent them all home. Mrs. Hayes, who wanted the boys arrested, began to yell at the officers. Jim handed her his card and told her to call the watch commander.
Wednesday mornings were not known for being busy and so far, this shift lived up to that reputation. Jim used the time to show Kasak the district; pointing out the highlights and trouble spots. He also found out more about his rookie. Larry was twenty-two, single, grew up in Wyoming and not at all interested in the prospect of marriage. Without knowing the other two rookies, Jim couldn't decide if they all felt that way or if Pete thought it would be funny to stick Jim with a confirmed bachelor. It would also drive Jean nuts; she had made it her mission to get the still single Pete married. Larry didn't know what he was in for.
When they were in the middle of Sherman Way, Jim pulled the unit to a stop and turned to Kasak. It was time for another lesson.
"Larry, without looking can you tell me our location." Jim remembered how embarrassed he felt when he couldn't tell Pete where they were. At least he had been able to figure out the street, but was stumped on the block or a cross street. That was when he received his first lecture from Pete; stressing the importance of always knowing your location. Larry didn't do much better.
"If you don't learn anything else from this shift, learn this: Always know where you are. Things, bad things, happen in the middle of the block. If the worst happens and people are getting shot, there is no time to run back to the corner to check the street name. Dispatch cannot send help if they don't know where you are." Jim paused to let Kasak absorb that before he proceeded. "Once you are familiar with the district it will become easier. While I'm at it, treat this unit with respect. It will protect you, shelter you and work with you; it's your life insurance…and mine."
"Yes sir. I'll do better." The kid was eager to learn, but being called "sir" was irritating Jim. Once more, he told the rookie to call him by his name. It was going to be a long day.
"1 Adam-12, B.O. traffic light, intersection of Leland Way and Comstock, watch commander requests that you direct traffic, 1 Adam-12 handle code 2"
Instantly, Jim's back stiffened and his grip on the steering wheel tightened; Leland Way and Comstock was an intersection that Pete tried to avoid while on patrol. Neither Pete nor Jim needed a reminder of what happed there two years prior. Kasak could feel the tension in the car rise. After acknowledging the call the rookie couldn't help but ask Jim about his reaction.
"Bad memories, I almost died there." The clipped tone of Reed's response temporarily stopped Kasak from asking the question he was dying to ask. Maybe Jim would tell him later.
Jim purposely parked in front of the bank; he would not let those memories keep him from doing his job. As he got out of the car, Jim decided that this was a perfect training opportunity; the intersection was clogged with cars all trying to get around other stopped cars.
"Okay, Larry, it's time to put that academy training to good use. Why don't you give it a try?" Jim smiled at the rookie, who got the impression that his training officer was going to enjoy watching him. The fact that Reed was leaning back on the hood of the unit, arms crossed against his chest didn't instill the rookie with confidence. Kasak did manage to reach the middle of the intersection and made an attempt to unsnarl the traffic jam. If the number of horns honking was any indication, they clearly were not thrilled with the rookie's work. Jim remembered the first time he tried to direct traffic and failed. He also remembered the unkind thoughts he had when Pete leaned against the hood of the car and laughed at him. It was five minutes before Pete took over and calmly taught him how to get the traffic moving. By Jim's watch, it was time to help the kid out. Forty minutes later Kasak was doing a pretty good job of keeping the cars moving. For the next two hours, the two officers alternated between directing traffic and sitting in the shade watching.
Both men were hot, tired and hungry. Taking "seven" seemed to be the answer to all three problems. Jim picked up the mic and requested seven at the corner of Burbank and Lankershim.
O~O~O
A plate of unidentifiable meat, sticky rice, mushy carrots and a glass of apple juice were worse than the breakfast the aide brought to him. That was all the encouragement needed for Pete to push the food tray away from the bed. He considered the flash of pain that resulted from the movement to be worth it. Even so, Pete had to close his eyes and gasped for a breath. He was so tired of being in pain, but according to his doctor, that wasn't going to change soon.
"Pete Malloy, are you supposed to be moving around like that?" She was back.
"Hello to you too." Pete opened one eye; after all, he didn't need two eyes to know that Mrs. O'Brian had entered the room. "Did you bring food?"
"You know I did, but first things first." Mrs. O'Brian grabbed the call bell, pushing hard on the red button. "You are in pain. Do you have a fever?" Using his good arm, Pete blocked her attempt to feel his forehead for a fever.
"I do not have a fever and I don't want pain medication yet." Pete took the call bell from Mrs. O'Brian to cancel the request for a nurse, but the button didn't have a "never mind" option.
"Nonsense, you are in pain; even I can see that." Suddenly there was a soft, steady beating sound. Pete burst out laughing; Mrs. O'Brian was tapping her foot on the floor. The old woman was not known as a patient person. "Pete, hand me that buzzer so I can call the nurse again."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
No!
It had been over two decades since Pete had played "Keep Away" but he was much better at it that Mrs. O'Brian was.
"Are you two having fun?" This was definitely one of the weirdest things the nurse had seen in years. Mrs. O'Brian was now pulling on the call bell's cord while Pete kept a death grip on the button. The old woman let go of the cord and turned on the kindly nurse, who had brought a syringe with her.
"Where have you been? He's in pain."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are Pete; I can see it in your eyes.
"How about letting me decide if I want the pain medication?" Pete didn't like the way the morphine made him feel. That's why he was overdue for his next dose.
"Sorry Pete the doctor's orders say that it's time for a dose of morphine." The nurse slowly injected the drug into Pete's IV port. Despite his claim of not being in pain, both women saw the tension leaving Pete's body. "Now, please do not agitate my patient. If you keep it up, I will call security to escort you from the building.."
Mrs. O'Brian knew a true threat when she heard one. She kept quiet while she unpacked the bag she brought with her. Before she left, the nurse took a sniff. "What smells so good?"
