A/N: I am sorry I didn't post last night - I did plan on writing and posting, but my brother (who is out of the hospital - he is still having ups and downs but he seems to be doing a lot better. He is definitely laughing more!) moved his pot (he broke his wrist when he punched a policeman in the face) to make it more comfortable and felt something in his wrist snap. His fingers swelled, turned grey and he couldn't move them - so I ended up spending my night in A and E!
But - here it is... the day you have all been waiting for... RETRAIN!
"So it was an epic fail?" Andy asked as she dished out the take out she had ordered with Sam.
"Makes yours look easy!"
"How did the guy get away? I mean, at least mine was original and he pretended to be choking on a peanut allergy."
"You see, he tried that one, but having learned from that day, I checked his medical records before we left."
"So how did he do it?"
"That idiot managed to knock the safety lock off the door as he put the prisoner in the car, who saw it and bolted at the first opportunity."
"How long did it take you to track him down?"
"About six hours. It was not pretty. I think Anderson has Poison Ivy from when he fell into a ditch." Sam told her, a gleam in his eye as she sipped her drink.
Andy snorted, spraying Sam with wine.
"And how was your day?" he asked her, humour evident in his voice.
"Well, I was pestered about how I know you, what I learned about 15 division to help 27 win the retrain and I spent the day being hit on by Todd."
"I was at the Academy with that guy. He really doesn't like me."
Andy raised her eyebrows.
"I beat him. I came top of the class, he came second."
"Ah, that explains a lot."
"Like what?"
"He told me he came top of his intake and that he had to overcome favouritism that didn't go in his favour."
"That sounds about right. Except you know, everything. Retrain tomorrow. You scared?"
"No, you'll be there."
They finished their meal, while exchanging small talk and Sam got up to leave.
"You aren't staying?"
"As much as I would love to stay, Andy, Oliver is asking too many questions about my whereabouts last night. Besides, if I do stay you and I both know that we won't be very responsive tomorrow and if we stand a chance at getting you back to 15 we both need to be alert."
Sam picked his jacket off the sofa and headed for the door. He reached the door, turned to Andy and placed his lips gently on hers.
"Until tomorrow."
Andy followed Todd through the crowd of police officers, while keeping her eyes open for Sam.
"Rookie! These are the rules and I expect you to follow them. 1. Do not mingle with 15 Division. We are here to beat them and we do not need you to give away all of our secrets. 2. Watch how we work and learn from it. 3. Do not speak, even if you are spoken to. 4."
Andy tuned out of Todd's ramble about the 'rules' as she saw Sam. She smiled and followed Todd to the area where 27 were waiting for their turn.
"Oh Hell no! The Chief is running this?" Todd exclaimed.
"Is that unusual?" Andy asked, feigning her surprise.
"Definately. He never comes to retraining. Something big must have happened."
"Can I have your attention please!" the Chief called, immediately silencing the crowd of officers. When they were quiet he continued:
"Welcome to the annual tactical retrain day. The format of the day will be as follows: You will check to see when you and your assigned partner are to attempt the training run and collect your ball bearing guns. You will treat this run as you would any call. Your radios will be on the entire time and every word you say will be heard by everyone watching. When 27 do a run, 15 will be the criminals and visa-versa. If you are a criminal and are shot, you are out. Drop your weapons and sit on the floor. Every scenario will be different so that no copying will occur. First up, from 27 we have Todd and Witcham. 15, please designate officers. You have five minutes to plan your scenario."
Andy's attention flickered between seeing how well her 15 colleagues were doing and watching Sam, who kept catching her gaze and smiling.
Slowly, the number of pairs decreased and Andy began to get restless. 27 were currently beating 15 by a margin of three seconds with only Andy and Sam left to run.
"SWAREK AND PARTNER GEAR UP. 27 PLAN YOUR TACTICS!" The assessor called. Andy sneaked a look at Todd and saw he was in deep discussion with another six people, no doubt plotting how to best embarrass Sam. Knowing that Todd wouldn't notice, she slipped out of their cordon and headed towards Sam.
"You ready to do this?" he asked her as he handed her a holster, radio and guns.
"They are going to throw everything they have got at us. Todd is determind to embarrass you."
"Not going to happen. I have you. Come on, let's go get the car."
Andy and Sam headed to the squad car they were using for the exercise.
"So we go on the buzzer?" Andy asked.
"We go on the buzzer, just don't say anything inappropriate. Remember they can hear you." Sam confirmed, pressing a button on his radio as Andy pressed a button on hers that would allow everyone to hear what was said between them.
Sam got into the driver's seat and Andy the passengers.
They waited, and they waited, and they waited. About half an hour after getting in the car a buzzer sounded.
"Here we go." Sam said, shifing the car into gear.
He put his foot on the gas and the car shot forward towards the house they were supposed to be retraining in.
He pulled up outside, with the passenger side to the house and everything remained quiet.
"I don't like this." Andy said, looking at Sam.
The words had barely left her mouth when the windscreen shattered.
Andy threw her body across the seat towards Sam, who had opened his door and was scrabbling out of the door to use the car as protection from the bullets. Once he was safely out of the car, he grabbed Andy's arm and helped haul her out of the car and to safety.
"Can you see the shooter?" he asked.
Andy glanced around, pulling her gun out of her holster.
"There. Front window." She said, straightening up and firing at the window.
"Andy!" Sam yelled as he saw a flash in a window on the other side of the house.
27 were attacking them from both sides.
Sam fired at the second shooter.
Within the minute, both shooters had retired from view and Sam and Andy crept towards the house, pausing at the door.
Sam kicked the door in and stepped back to let Andy in through the door.
Together they moved through the lower floor of the house, clearing each room one by one, moving slowly and systematically.
Once Sam and Andy had cleared the lower floor they headed for the staircase.
Sam looked at Andy and turned his back on it. They took each step slowly, moving left shoulder touching left shoulder, Andy covering their front and Sam covering their back. When they reached the break in the stairs where they were most vulnerable, Sam saw the outline of a muzzle in the gap of the banister and fired, his shot hitting its mark. The officer from 27, thinking his positioning perfect, threw his gun to the floor and sat down in a huff.
Andy saw shadows move ahead of her, so when two bodies appeared at the top she was prepared and shot them before they shot her and Sam.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, they had the choice of three directions. Sam nodded that Andy should go to her right. They continued to move as they had up the stairs, as turning their backs to uncleared hallways was putting them at risk.
This proved to be a valuable tactic as one member of 27 had decided to try and sneak up on them. He didn't expect to be shot the second he broke cover.
Sam and Andy reached the end of their corridor. There was a door to their right and a door to their left. Sam shifted to one side of the corridor to allow Andy to open the door. She entered the room and Sam stood with his back to it to stop anyone from sneaking in behind them. He could sense her checking the room.
Andy checked the most obvious places to hide first. Behind the door, in the closet. As she turned to assess the rest of the room, she noticed the shutters over the windows were closed. And she could see a shadow moving behind it. Slowly and silently Andy crept to the shutters. Keeping two hands on her gun she used her toe to open it, surprising the officer inside.
She fired immediately.
"HMPH!" the officer grunted before sitting down.
Andy finished clearing the rest of the room before rejoining Sam. They walked over the hallway and Sam opened the door. While Sam cleared the room, Andy stood guard. She could see someone walking toward her and recognised the profile as Witcham. Andy moved a little further into the room, allowing Witcham the thought that he would sneak up on Sam.
Witcham felt the pellet hit his chest before he had even got the middle of the corridor. He looked up to see Andy in front of him, gun in hand, her head cocked to one side. He sat on the floor in disbelief.
There was another gunshot and Sam reappeared at the doorway. He looked down at Witcham sat on the floor and smiled, leading Andy back to the landing.
They progressed down the corridor to the right of the one they were currently in, clearing it in the same way as the one before. By the time they got back to the landing, they knew there was only one person left.
Todd.