Chapter 3
For the next few weeks, all Erika can do is watch from the sidelines. Neither Chris nor Street seem to budge on their stance of not talking about what is actually the problem right now. Erika keeps training with Street and he, kind of like Luca is very anxious to get the PFQ done as soon as he possibly can.
"I decided to go for it," he tells her while they do some warmup stretches together. "Go for what?" Erika asks, confused at first, but Street explains, "I don't want to sit on the sidelines anymore!"
"You think you're ready? Wanna go for a run? I am off today, " she offers, and Street agrees. His time is solid and well below the limit.
When they are back, she high-fives him. "Respect," Erika nods, "You got this."
Street heads straight to Hondo and Hicks to get his requalification date set in stone and just a few days later he finds himself getting ready for his test while the team is getting ready for a raid. Both teams actually are.
He is a little surprised when even Chris wishes him good luck, but somehow, she had no other choice. Everyone had done so.
His phone starts ringing again, and he just silences it. A suppressed number had been calling all morning.
"Buddy, who are you ignoring? Some cute nurse you don't wanna see anymore?" Luca jokes, and Street just frowns.
„Nope, it's an anonymous caller, and they don't leave messages," he shrugs. "Their loss. I gotta focus."
With that, Street places his phone firmly on silent and puts it on the shelf in his locker.
Chris frowns, silently watching him. The last time he ignored calls this frequently, Karen had been in the hospital. And she can't deny it, even after everything, she is worried about him. But she can't do anything right now, as Hondo calls them to get a move on.
"Street, I expect to hear you aced this thing, and that you roll out with us next shift!" Hondo tells him in earnest and receives a chorus of "Hear, hear" from the other SWAT officers in the room.
"Piece of cake," Street grins, trying to cover his fear of failure.
After the team has left, Street takes another deep breath before meeting with the officers in charge of his requalification. The first section runs smoothly, the session on the bike seems a bit off, but from what he can see on the little monitor, it should be okay.
Their next stop in the armory is a bit trickier. He is so used to being in there that his mind has time to wander, and today it settles on those mystery phone calls. Maybe he should answer one of them?
The magazine on the rifle he is working on jams, and Street drops his eyes to check what's wrong. He shakes his head when he notices he tried to put it in backward.
The observing officer takes a few notes, and Street frowns.
"Okay, now show us your handgun and safety checks before we'll move on to the climbing wall," the observer tells him before Hicks steps up to the cage.
"Can we interrupt and speak to officer Street for a moment?" his voice doesn't leave room for any other answer than "Yes, of course."
"We can use my office," Hicks turns to the two men standing behind him. Street can spot the gold shields on their belts and the small etching of LBPD. His eyes narrow.
"What's going on?" he asks, concerned, while walking with them and wiping his hands with a rag.
Inside Hicks' office, Dr. Hughes is waiting, and if Street expected her to excuse herself, he gets disappointed. He looks between the now four people watching him.
"What's going on?" his voice is dropping with each word, and when one of the strangers starts talking, Street sinks down onto the sofa.
"Mr.," he clears his throat, "Officer Street, I am Detective Mills. I am glad we finally found you. We're sorry to inform you that we found…."
„Stop," he chokes out. „I don't think I need to know how you found her. She's dead, right?" Street pushes out of the sofa and sets his jaw.
The detectives glance at Hicks in confusion, and when the commander nods, Mills continues. "Yes, we raided a warehouse, and a suspected drug den, and found and identified one Mrs. Karen Street deceased."
Street processes the words and then nods his head a few times. "Okay," he whispers, "Do you need me for anything else? Or can I return to my re-quals?"
The detectives wave off, but Hicks and Dr. Hughes share a look. "Are you sure you want to continue? We can set up another time for the rest, and you can talk to Dr. Hughes if needed," Hicks musters him, concerned.
"No, no disrespect, but I can't sit down and talk. I need to finish this test and get back to work," Street grits out.
He can see Hicks's frown, but the man nods anyway. "If you're sure. You know what it means if you fail today."
"I won't fail," Street replies stubbornly and balls his fist.
After that, he turns on his heel and heads out the door.
Downstairs, 20squad just rolls back in from their call, and Chris curiously glances around. When she notices the Officer running the evaluation talking to Stevens, she frowns, wondering where Street might have run off to. She spots him coming down the stairs with Hicks and two unknown men.
"Officer Street," one of them calls out when they reach the main floor, "If you have any questions at all, feel free to contact me," he holds out his hand, and Street reluctantly shakes it.
Street rushes past them all without a word and heads straight back to his PFQ, from what Chris can hear, the next session is the wall.
"Hondo, if you have a minute?" Hicks's voice pulls Chris back out of her head but makes her even more worried about what is going on here.
