Chapter 9
The months went by and John continued to study book after book on being a Training Officer. His one year anniversary as a P2 was coming up and he knew before too long, he'd be starting the process to be a TO, which included a test. Tim thought he was ready.
"I've seen the way people respond to you. You're a good teacher, Nolan. People are comfortable asking you questions and your time as Union Rep can only help you. It shows you are truly invested in this department and are ready to take on more."
"Thank you, sir, that means a lot." he replied.
Tim nodded and a quick smile flashed across his face. It was so fast, John questioned if he'd even really seen it. The two men went their separate ways, John to his vehicle and Tim to the watch commander's office. As he sat down at the desk, Tim turned on the radio. The dispatcher's voice filled the office. Call after call was dispatched and handled by the officers on patrol. A single tone sounded twice before the dispatcher came over the radio announcing a physical domestic dispute on the far end of their district.
That's Nolan's beat today. Tim thought to himself.
True to form, he heard Nolan's voice key up first, accepting the call. Two other units keyed up as back-up. A few minutes later, they started arriving on scene.
"Control, 7-Adam-15, give us radio silence." came Nolan's voice.
Something's wrong. Tim thought, a sinking feeling coming over him.
There was something about Nolan's voice that wasn't right. Tim hoped the dispatcher had picked up on that. The radio silence tone filled the frequency every ten seconds and Tim felt his heart beat faster with each one.
"7-Adam-15, we might have a hostage situation. Notify 7-Adam-100 and get us a negotiator."
"7-Adam-15, I copy. Notifying 7-Adam-100 now. Continuing radio silence."
Within seconds, Tim's phone began ringing. The familiar number of dispatch showed on the screen.
"Bradford."
"Sergeant Bradford, this is Julie in dispatch. I wanted to notify you of a possible hostage situation at an address."
"Go ahead."
Julie gave him an address and Tim wrote it down on the nearby notepad.
"Tell 7-Adam-15 I'm on my way."
"Yes, sir."
The line disconnected and Tim put the phone in his pocket. He made sure he had everything else he needed and grabbed the radio.
"7-Adam-15, 7-Adam-100 is en route. We're working on finding a negotiator. Are all officers code 4?"
"7-Adam-15, 10-4. All officers code 4 right now."
Tim knew that seconds counted when it came to hostage situations. You never knew what was going to set someone off. He got to his vehicle in record time and rushed to the house. As he pulled up, he felt his heart drop. The officers were near their cars, except for John who had taken a spot near the patch of grass by the front door. There was a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt at the door, but he hadn't opened the door all the way. He was clearly uncomfortable with something, most likely the amount of officers here. Tim couldn't make out much of what was being said, but he had a feeling John was trying to talk the man down. He parked his car and slowly got out, knowing that any sudden movements would agitate the man.
"WHO IS THAT?" the man yelled from the door, his eyes wide.
"It's alright, Sam. This is my friend, Tim. I told you he was on his way, remember? I'm just going to talk to him real quick, ok?"
The man's anger seemed to briefly dissipate from his eyes, replaced with an uneasy look. Tim took a place next to John, signaling the other officers to stay where they were.
"Sit-rep?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"Sam and his wife Angela were arguing and it turned physical. This was called in by a neighbor. When we rolled up, Sam saw us and refused to come out. Possible weapons as I saw a woman, whom I assume to be Angela in the window. Sam told her something and I saw her slowly move away from the window."
"Do we know where she is? Any kids?"
"Negative to both, but the neighbor said Angela is pregnant with their first."
"Where are we on a negotiator?"
"Supposedly enroute."
Tim nodded and turned to face Sam.
"Hi, Sam, I'm Tim. I'm just going to stand here with John if that's ok."
Sam looked from Tim to John and back a few times before nodding. Tim and John took turns trying to talk to him and convince him to come out and tell his side of what had happened.
"That's all we want, Sam," John said. "Just to hear you out."
Sam shook his head and closed the door. John couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard the door lock. John turned to face Tim.
"I don't like this, sir." he said. "What's the plan?"
"We're safer waiting for the negotiator to get here unless we hear sounds of distress in there. Let's wait by the cars."
John hesitated, thinking of the poor woman inside, but nodded, knowing he had to follow orders. They started to walk towards the cars when they heard another car come up around the corner. A shot rang out and stopped John in his tracks. A pain unlike anything he'd experienced before radiated from his left side, right under the shoulder blade.
"Nolan? Nolan!" Tim yelled, immediately moving to support John from behind.
The other officers moved in from behind their vehicles, guns drawn.
"7-Adam-100, shots fired, shots fired, officer down." he shouted into the radio as he helped John down to the ground.
A high-low, high-low tone emanated from the radios and the dispatcher's voice came over the radio explaining the situation and giving their location. Officers on scene radioed in that they were on scene and two other units announced they were on their way. The other officers surrounded Tim and John as Tim tried to keep John awake. Shots rang out as gunfire was exchanged between Sam and the other officers. After a minute, the gunfire ceased and the officers stood down. The door opened and a woman came running out towards the officers, clearly shaken up. One officer led her to his car while the other officers radioed in a sweep of the house. An ambulance pulled in and took over John's care, much to Tim's chagrin. He explained what had happened and where to take him. Grey came up and said he'd take over scene control. Tim briefed him on what happened, leaving one detail for the end.
"Sir, it's Nolan who was shot."
Grey's face crumbled for a moment, worry flashed in his eyes.
"Let him know that I'll be there as soon as I can and he better hold on until then."
Tim nodded and hopped in his car to follow the ambulance. On his way there, he called Bailey.
"Tim? I just heard. Is he ok?" she asked.
"I…I don't know. I'm on my way to the hospital now."
"I'm on my way. My boss gave me the rest of the day off. I'll see you there."
Tim hung up the phone and continued the last couple of minutes to the hospital. When he got there, he went through the ER doors and into the intake area. With a flash of his sergeant badge, he was let in and was able to watch them wheel John into a trauma bay. The door closed in front of him and he moved to a nearby window. A whole team of doctors and nurses surrounded the unconscious officer. A portable x-ray machine was brought in as well as vests for the doctors and nurses. Now that he knew that John had at least made it to the hospital alive, he felt comfortable going to the waiting room. He let a doctor know where he'd be for updates and walked the hallways to the waiting room. Bailey showed up a minute later, out of breath from running in from the parking lot.
"They're working on him right now. He's unconscious, but I'm pretty sure he's still alive." he assured her. "Do you have Henry's number by any chance?"
Bailey nodded and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She scrolled through her contacts until she saw Henry's name and clicked on it.
"Here you go." she said, handing Tim the phone.
"Thanks."
Tim took out his phone and dialed the number that was on Bailey's screen before handing her phone back to her. The line rang a few times before a male voice came across.
"Hello?"
"Is this Henry Nolan?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Henry, I'm Sergeant Tim Bradford. I work with your dad."
"No…he's not…is he? Abby!"
"Henry, your dad is still alive. But he's been shot and he's in the hospital."
"But he's alive?"
"He's alive."
Tim heard a female voice in the background and assumed that was the Abby that Henry had called. Henry was filling her in on what happened.
"Which hospital and will someone keep me updated on what's going on?"
"Shaw Memorial Hospital and I'll keep you updated. I promise."
"My wife and I will be there as quickly as we can. Please…please let him know we're on our way."
"Of course. See you soon, Henry."
Tim hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket. A doctor came up to him and Bailey.
By now, Jackson and Lucy, who had been off duty, were waiting and Tim and Bailey joined them. After what felt like an eternity, but was really only twenty minutes, a doctor came through the door. Tim and Bailey stood up while Jackson and Lucy waited with baited breath.
"Officer Nolan is in surgery right now to repair the damage from the bullet. He is stable and very lucky. I'll let you know as soon as he's in recovery."
"Thank you, doctor."
A weight felt like it had been lifted off of Tim's and Bailey's shoulders. They sat down with a huge sigh of relief. Tim called Henry to let him know the update and then called Sergeant Grey.
"Thank God," Grey said with a sigh of relief.
"His son should be here in a few hours, hopefully we'll know more by then."
"Yes. Nolan's a fighter, Bradford. He's gonna make it through this."
"Yes, sir."
Meanwhile, up in the operating room, things were seeming to go smoothly. The surgeon was putting the last few stitches in the torn muscle when an alarm went off.
"Find that bleeder!" the lead surgeon yelled to his team. "I'm not losing this man."
Everyone quickly started looking around for any sign of bleeding.
"Got it!" one announced. "More lap pads."
The nearest nurse quickly handed the doctor some more cloths, which were quickly stuffed and packed into place to stop the bleeding. With that under control, the alarm stopped ringing and suction was brought in to clear the field. The lead surgeon quickly finished the last of the stitching on the muscle and checked for any other signs of bleeding. A couple more stitches were put in at the sight of the bleeding just to make sure everything was held in place. Then they closed up the surgery site. With a sigh of relief, the lead surgeon looked up at his team.
"We did it. Good work, everyone!" he said.
He nodded to his team, truly grateful for each of them. With a snap, his gloves came off his hands and he followed the gurney John was on down to recovery. Once he was safely there, he made his way down the hall to the waiting room.
The flight felt like it was taking forever. Henry stared out the window, willing the plane to arrive at LAX faster. Abigail took her husband's hand, running her thumb on top of it in an attempt to help calm him down. He'd been a wreck since the call from Tim, to the point that she had had to drive them to the airport because he was in no condition to drive. They had just barely made their flight, running through the airport with Henry checking his phone for updates what felt like every thirty seconds.
"He'll be ok, Henry," she'd assured him. "Remember what Sergeant Bradford said? He was in surgery and he'll update us as soon as he's out."
Henry nodded, overwhelmed by everything going on. When he felt his wife's hand in his, he turned to face her.
"He's gonna be ok, right?"
"Of course! He's John Nolan…your father. He's a fighter if there ever was one."
Henry nodded and ran his free hand through his hair, something he only did when he was worried. Then he looked back out the window resting his head on his hand. It had already been three or four hours since they'd gotten the call and they were still an hour or two away from LAX. He was so thankful for Abigail. She kept him grounded and knew just what to say to help him calm down. Henry turned to give his wife a kiss and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Maybe you should try to take a nap for the last hour or so of the flight." Abigail suggested.
"Yeah, maybe I will." Henry said with a yawn.
His brown eyes fluttered shut and he settled in to rest for a bit. About an hour later, they were getting ready to land and Abigail gently rubbed a hand on her husband's shoulder. He awoke with a start.
"It's alright, Henry. We're just getting ready to land."
Henry shook the cobwebs from his head and faced forward. A scan in front of him told him his seat and tray were in the upright and locked position and he was ready to go. He looked out the window and saw the runway in the distance, rapidly approaching. As they got closer, he started a mental countdown.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero. He thought as the plane touched down.
They raced down the runway and came to a slower speed to approach the gate. When they came to a stop, Henry and Abigail quickly gathered their things and deplaned. They raced through the airport, looking for the area to meet a Lyft driver. Henry took his phone out and input LAX as the pick up location and Shaw Memorial as the drop off location. They took a shuttle to the LAX IT lot where their driver would pick them up. A few minutes later they were at the hospital. Abigail grabbed her bag and Henry his and they walked hand-in-hand to the emergency department. Tim immediately noticed them and started to walk over to them as the door opened and a doctor with brown hair and a white coat over his navy blue scrubs came through the door. Instantly, Henry and Abigail picked up the pace and walked towards the doctor as Tim did the same. The doctor stopped in front of them, instantly recognizing Tim.
"Sergeant, Officer Nolan made it through surgery. It got a little dicey for a second, but he's a fighter."
"I'm Officer Nolan's son," Henry started, "When you say things 'got dicey', what exactly does that mean?"
"There was some unexpected bleeding, but we were able to quickly get it under control. Your father is fine now and in recovery."
"Can I see him?"
"In a few minutes. We still want to keep an eye on him as he comes out of it, but we'll keep you posted and bring you in as soon as he's ready."
The doctor turned around and walked through the door. Tim turned to Henry and extended his hand.
"Henry, I'm Sergeant Bradford. We spoke on the phone."
Henry shook Tim's hand and Tim led him and Abigail to where the others were waiting. At Tim's indication, they all took a seat.
"So…what happened?"
"It's still under investigation, so I'm not at liberty to say quite yet. What I can say is that it was a volatile situation."
Henry sighed and put his head in his hands, finally allowing himself to fully feel the weight of the situation. Tim put a hand on the man's shoulder.
"I promise as soon as I'm able to tell you anything, you'll be the first to know."
"Thanks," Henry replied, his voice just slightly above a whisper. "I don't think I'll be able to relax until I see him."
Bailey came over and gave Henry and Abigail each a brief hug before sitting down across from them. She had brought some food for them from the cafeteria, knowing they likely hadn't had a chance to eat since getting on the plane. Abigail and Henry gratefully took the food and ate it in record time. The next thing they knew, the same brown-haired doctor came out the door and walked over to them.
"He's ready for visitors. Two at a time please. I'll walk you back."
"His son and daughter-in-law should go in first," Tim said.
Henry and Abigail stood up, thanked Tim, and followed the doctor through the doorway to the elevator. They walked past multiple beds until they got to the end of the hallway. At the final bed on the right hand side, the doctor opened the door and there was John, looking somewhat groggy and with oxygen prongs up his nose and monitors on both sides of his bed. He tried to sit up, and groaned in pain. As he leaned back against the pillow, his eyes locked with Henry's.
"Henry?" he barely managed to get past his lips.
"Yeah, dad, I'm here. Abigail and I are here." Henry replied, making his way to the chair next to the bed.
"What are…?"
"Dad, it's ok. Don't try to talk too much, you're still waking up a bit."
John nodded and visibly relaxed a bit. A smile came across his face as he looked at his son and daughter-in-law.
"I assume they told you that you were shot just below the shoulder?"
John nodded, ignoring the pain from that area.
"Yeah, I was…on a call…and the…"
"Dad, I was so worried."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to be sorry, dad. I know your job is dangerous. You're alive and that's what matters."
John smiled. He felt himself starting to feel stronger and decided to try talking again.
"I love you, son."
Abigail was the first to notice John's voice was stronger. She took a step closer.
"Abigail," John said with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm so glad you're ok."
The three of them chatted for a while before the doctor said it was time to let John rest a few minutes before the next visitors. John took the opportunity to rest his eyes a bit and soak in the quiet of the room.
