Takes place immediately following the episode "The Search."
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Sadly, the show and the characters
belong to someone else, not me. Since I have nothing of value, don't waste
your time in trying to sue me. Enjoy the story.
"Mac, I've got him. About two miles south of Travel Town. On Griffith Park
Road and Reese Drive. My reds are on." LAPD officer Jim Reed threw the mic
down and ran for the edge of the road. His stomach twisted into knots as he
tried not to imagine what he would see when he found his partner, Pete Malloy.
It had been over four hours since they had lost contact. The knot tightened
as many of the nagging questions he had been asking himself while they searched
were now answered. Pete must have lost control of the squad car while in
pursuit of the suspect, rolling it down the steep hill. The skid marks on
the pavement and the damaged shrubbery on the side of the road, told him
that it had been some crash. He knew his partner was injured, but he didn't
know how badly. His gut told him it was bad. Jim crashed down the incline,
so focused on reaching Pete that he didn't notice the branches plucking at
his arms. He was intent only on reaching his friend.
The scene at the bottom of the hill brought Jim to an abrupt stop. The
black and white's seen better days. The lights and siren speakers had
been torn from the top of the car when the car rolled, judging by the dents
in the roof. The doors were dented and the front end was lifted off the ground
where the car had finally come to rest on some rocks. His gaze was torn from
the battered cruiser to the officer lying next to it. Jim's stomach dropped
at the sight. Pete wasn't moving. Jim rushed to him, kneeling down and reaching
out to feel for a pulse.
Pete stirred and opened his eyes. He managed the barest hint of a smile.
"Partner."
Jim smiled back, relieved at finding him alive and yet shocked that he
sounded so weak. He had always thought of Pete as indestructible. Even the
time Pete had been shot when he walked in on the holdup at Duke's, Pete had
come out of it more or less under his own power. It was clear that this time
that wasn't going to happen. Jim fought to rein in his emotions. "Be a
pro." Mac's words from earlier came unbidden to his mind. He tried to
heed those words. It helped a little, but it was still tough.
"Hey, Jim," Pete whispered, "Look on the bright side. You weren't in the
car."
Jim smiled, "Take it easy, Pete. The ambulance is on the way."
"Yeah," Pete coughed a little, grimacing from the pain. "I need it…
my leg's broken and… I'm pretty messed up… inside."
"Ssh, Pete." Jim admonished, trying to hide his worry. "Don't talk."
Pete continued as if he hadn't heard. "Think my spleen's ruptured. 'M bleeding
internally."
"Hang on, Pete." Jim squeezed his arm. "I hear 'em. They'll be here soon."
The two men were silent as the approaching sirens got louder. There was
the familiar police siren as well as the distinctive wail of the ambulance.
"Reed?" Mac yelled. "Where are you?"
"Down here!" Jim yelled back. "Hurry it up!"
They heard muffled voices as Mac talked to the ambulance attendants and
then heard crashing as Mac made his way through the undergrowth. He knelt
down next to his fallen officer. "Hey, Pete."
Pete opened his eyes again and smiled, "Hey, Mac. Took you… guys
long… enough."
Mac smiled, concern evident in his eyes despite the darkness of the night.
"Yeah, well, you hid yourself pretty good down here."
"Yeah." Something nagged at the back of Pete's mind, but he could feel
himself starting to lose consciousness now that help had arrived. Suddenly,
he remembered what it was. Boone was out there somewhere, and he had Pete's
weapons. He tried to vocalize his concern, but felt himself slipping away.
"Take it easy, Pete." Jim's voice sounded like it was coming from a distance.
He could see his partner trying to tell them something, but the injuries were
starting to take their toll.
"Hang on, Pete." Mac gently put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't
try to talk, we're gonna get you outta here."
Pete teetered on the brink of unconsciousness, still aware of the activity
going on around him, but unable to respond or do anything other than turn
his head to look around.
"Hey, hurry it up, fellas. I've got an injured man down here!" Mac yelled
to the officers and attendants gathering the equipment by the roadside.
Sanchez and Green tore down the hill at Mac's yell. The ambulance attendants,
struggling to carry the stretcher through the entangling branches, followed
them more slowly.
"Take it easy!" Jim ordered as the attendants shifted Pete to lift him
onto the stretcher. "Watch his leg!"
The movement made Pete groan, but he was able to keep his precarious hold
on consciousness. The attendants spread a blanket over him and fastened the
straps across the stretcher to secure him for the trip up the incline.
"I think it's going to take all of us," one of the attendants observed.
Without a word, Jim and Mac positioned themselves at the head of the stretcher.
They wanted to keep an eye on Pete as they carried him to assure that they
made their way up the least jarring path. It was also the heavier end, but
neither man noticed the weight. Their concern for their friend's well being
far outweighed any inconvenience. It was a tough climb, but they made it back
to the road without much trouble, though all four men were panting by the
time they emerged from the brush.
"Thanks, fellas," one of the attendants gasped. "We couldn't have done
that on our own."
"Any of you riding with him?" the other wondered.
"Go ahead, Reed." Mac nodded. "Sanchez'll take the car back to the station.
I'll be there as soon as I wrap it up here."
"Thanks, Mac." Jim climbed in the back of the ambulance and sat near his
partner, keeping one hand on the stretcher.
Mac watched as the ambulance slowly pulled away, lights flashing. He was
glad they'd found him, but he still had some work to do before he would be
free to go to the hospital.
* * * *
Jim stopped in the hallway at Central Receiving as his partner was wheeled
into one of the treatment rooms. He began to pace the narrow hallway.
Now what? I'll just… Jean! He looked at his watch and grimaced.
Their shift had ended almost four hours ago. She's gonna be out of her
mind with worry. I should've called hours ago. He quickly found a pay
phone and dialed his home phone number. Jean answered on the first ring.
"Jean, honey, it's me." Jim felt his self-control slipping away.
"Oh, thank God!" The sigh of relief was clearly audible over the phone.
"Where have you been? You're shift's been over for hours. I've been calling
the station but all they'd tell me was that you were on patrol."
"Listen, I'm sorry, Jean. I couldn't get to a phone before now. I'm at
Central Receiving."
Jean choked back a gasp. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. There was an accident," Jim explained, "It's Pete."
"Pete! How bad?"
"I don't know. They, uh, they'll probably have to operate."
"Jim, are you sure you're okay?"
"Jean," Jim paused and sighed, "I'm fine. I wasn't in the car. Look, I'll
explain later. I've gotta go."
"Okay, Jim, I'm glad you're all right."
"Yeah, I know." Jim smiled and regained a little more of his usual energy.
"I'll call you when I know something."
"He'll be okay, honey."
"Yeah." Jim tried to convince himself. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Jim hung up the phone and turned to the young intern that had appeared.
"I assume you're with Officer Malloy?"
"Jim Reed. I'm his partner."
"Dr. Stevens." They shook hands after the formalities were taken care of.
"Officer Malloy will be taken into surgery shortly. They're waiting on x-rays,
but it looks like he has a broken right leg and some internal injuries."
"His spleen?" Jim wondered.
The doctor looked curious. "It's very likely that he has a ruptured spleen.
How did you know?"
Jim smiled. "He told me."
"I see." The young doctor shrugged his shoulders. "He also has a head injury,
though the fact that he was conscious when you brought him in is a good sign."
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"It's too early to know how severe his injuries are right now, but like
I said, the fact that he was conscious when you brought him in is a good sign.
Though as I understand it, he was out there a while. May I ask what happened?"
"He was in pursuit of a suspect and lost control in Griffith Park. The
radio was on the fritz so we didn't know where he was. It took us over four
hours to find him."
"Well, like I said, he's a very lucky man. I have to go check on another
patient. Someone will let you know when he's out of surgery."
Jim watched as the doctor hurried off scribbling furiously on his clipboard,
white coat flapping behind him. A quick glance at his watch told him it was
4 a.m. He and Pete should have ended their shift four hours ago. Instead,
he was pacing a hospital waiting room and Pete was in surgery fighting for
his life. Jim wondered how the night could have gone so wrong. Everything
had been going so well until they got that 211 call at the market.
* * * *
"Jim, have you heard anything?" Sergeant MacDonald walked into the waiting
room.
Jim shook his head. "Not really, Mac. He's in surgery. He's got a broken
leg and his spleen is probably ruptured."
"Hmm." Mac digested the information. "I'm sure he'll be fine, Jim."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Hang in there, Jim. He'll be okay."
"I sure hope so, Mac. I hope so."
Mac smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, we found him a lot sooner
than we would have thanks to you."
Jim cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that, Mac. I just…"
"No need to explain, Jim." Mac held up a hand to interrupt him. "He's your
partner. You found him. Let's leave it at that."
"Thanks, Mac." Jim replied gratefully.
* * * *
The two officers spent an anxious half-hour waiting for news before their
vigil was interrupted.
"Jim!" Jean appeared in the doorway to the waiting room.
The other occupants of the waiting room turned as Jim quickly rushed across
the five feet separating him from his wife. He leaned down and embraced her
in a fierce hug. "Jean, what are you doin' here?" he whispered in her hair,
not releasing her from the hug.
"I didn't want you to wait alone. And I'm worried about Pete, too."
"Where's Jimmy?" Jim finally released her from the hug but continued to
hold her hand as he led her over to where Mac stood.
"When you didn't come home and didn't call, I started to worry. I called
my sister, and she came over to wait with me. She's at the house with him."
"Hi, Jean," Mac greeted her.
"Hi, Mac. How ya doin'?" Jean hugged him briefly.
"I'm okay. Considering." Mac smiled.
"Yeah. What happened?"
Jim and Mac quickly gave her the details of the crash, as they knew it.
It didn't take long as without the details of the crash itself, there wasn't
much to tell.
A few hours later, a doctor finally appeared to give them an update on
Pete's condition. They all stood to hear the report.
"I'm Doctor Williams; I worked on Officer Malloy," he introduced himself.
"I'm Sergeant MacDonald, Malloy's supervisor, and this is Jean Reed and
Jim Reed, his partner."
Doctor Williams nodded. "Officer Malloy is out of surgery and has been
taken to ICU. He suffered a broken right leg, but it was a clean break and
didn't present any problems. He also suffered a ruptured spleen, which we
removed, and there was some internal bleeding. It was touch and go for a
while because he'd lost a lot of blood by the time he got here. I understand
there was a considerable amount of time between the accident and when he
was brought in?"
"That's right." Mac nodded. "Almost five hours."
Dr. Williams nodded. "Officer Malloy is a lucky man. By all rights, he
shouldn't have made it this far."
"Will he be okay?" Jim wondered, gripping Jean's hand tightly.
The doctor smiled. "Like I said, he's a very lucky man. We'll keep him
in ICU for a couple of days just to make sure no complications set in, but
I don't see any indication that he won't make a complete recovery."
Jim sighed in relief and returned Jean's smile. "That's good to hear. Can
we see him?"
"I'm sorry. I can only allow family members in right now. He's unconscious
at the moment, anyway. He's not likely to be awake for several hours and then
he'll be extremely groggy."
Mac tried to persuade him, "Jim's his partner; that's as close to family
as he has here."
"Please, I need to see him," Jim added.
Dr. Williams weighed the argument, then smiled. "I guess I can allow you
to see him for a few minutes. No more than five minutes, though."
"Thank you. I won't stay long," Jim promised.
The doctor led him upstairs and down the darkened ICU corridor. The only
sound breaking the silence was the beeping of several machines in the various
curtained cubicles and the quiet conversation of the nurses at the desk. They
stopped at the far end of the row of cubicles. "Remember, only a few minutes."
"Thank you." Jim took a deep breath before stepping through the curtain
surrounding Pete's bed. The knot in his stomach constricted nearly as badly
as when he had first found his partner. Pete was hooked up to several machines
with tubes poking out from under the sheet draped over his inert form. His
right leg was in a cast and elevated on a pillow. There was a small bandage
over his right eye from the cut he must have sustained when his head impacted
the steering wheel; the left side of his face sported a nasty bruise. Jim
could see the outline of the bandages on Pete's abdomen under the sheet.
Jim stood for a moment watching Pete's chest rise and fall with his breathing.
Then he slowly walked over to the bed and placed a hand gently on his partner's
arm, careful not to disturb the IV line. "Hey, Pete, um, the doctor said I
could only come in for a few minutes. I just wanted to make sure you were
all right. I'm sorry about this, Pete, I'm sorry, I didn't find you sooner."
He stood silently for a minute. "Okay, um, I really should be going. I'll
be back later. Hang in there, partner."
* * * *
Eight hours later, Jim walked down the hall at the station. He was dressed
in a fresh uniform and had a few hours of sleep behind him. He hadn't had
the most restful of sleeps, but it would be enough to get him through the
day.
"Hey, Jim, can I see you a minute?" Mac leaned out the Watch Commander's
office.
"What's up, Mac?" Jim wondered as he shut the door behind him.
"Sit down, Reed." He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk.
"Did ya stop by the hospital on the way in?"
"Yeah, they only let me in for a minute though." Jim sighed. "He's still
pretty out of it. He couldn't stay awake for long. He probably won't even
remember I was ever there."
"Yeah."
"Mac, you didn't call me in here just for that, did you?" Jim wondered.
"No, I didn't. Jim, last night when you found Pete, did you take his gun?"
"Sorry, Mac, I didn't even think about it. He wasn't wearing his belt.
He must have taken it off and put it in the car."
"So you didn't see it?"
"No, Mac, I didn't see it. Why? What's going on?"
"I stayed on the scene until Accident Investigations got there last night.
I found his gunbelt and holster a few feet from the car. The holster was empty.
So was the shotgun rack."
"Maybe Sanchez or Green took them." Jim knew they hadn't.
"I already asked." Mac paused before revealing the final bit of information.
"We think there might have been someone else there."
"What are you getting at, Mac?"
"Did you take a good look at the mic?" He continued as Jim shook his head.
"It'd been cut. We found the mic itself several feet away in the trees. We
also found some footprints."
"Footprints?"
"Well, they're pretty smudged but we're reasonably certain that none of
us made them last night."
As the implication of Mac's words sank in, Jim's voice rose in outrage,
"Are you telling me that someone found Pete and left him there? Someone
found an injured man and left him? Who would do that?"
"Take it easy, Jim." Mac tried to calm the younger man. He'd been upset,
too, but had the time and a little more experience to deal with it. "AI and
detectives have been out there since first light checking things out. They
have a possible suspect, guy by the name of Boone. He held up a convenience
store a couple weeks ago and killed the clerk. He escaped and was headed in
the general direction of Griffith Park. The detectives think he might be
hiding out in the park until the heat's off. What he doesn't know is that
the heat's about to be turned up."
Jim perked up. "How?"
"We're increasing patrols in and around Griffith Park. If he tries to get
out, we'll nail him. He can't stay in there forever."
"What can I do?"
"I thought you'd be interested." Mac smiled. "I've got an L car for you.
You'll need to go talk to Sergeant Monroe to find out where he wants you to
patrol."
"Thanks, Mac." Jim rushed out the door. At last he had something constructive
to do.
* * * *
"Reed, glad you could join us." Sergeant Monroe greeted Jim when he arrived
at the command post.
"Anything to help, Sarge."
Monroe grinned, "I thought you'd feel that way."
"What can I do?"
"Well, we're waiting on a K-9 unit right now. We're gonna try tracking
Boone since we haven't had any luck finding his hideout. We'll take the dog
over to the accident site and let him pick up Boone's scent. Then we'll see
where he leads us."
"How do you know the dog'll pick up Boone and not Pete or someone else
that was there last night?" Jim wondered.
"We executed a search warrant on Boone's place after the robbery and picked
up a jacket that belonged to him," the detective explained.
"What's the ETA on the K-9 unit?"
"Five minutes. We've got our best dog, Ace, coming out. He's German Shepherd,
but he's a special dog. We usually use hounds for tracking but Ace's got the
best nose of any dog I've seen. Plus, he's got good instincts when it comes
to suspects. He always knows when to look intimidating." Monroe chuckled.
A few minutes later the K-9 unit arrived. Hal, the handler, quickly attached
a leash to Ace's collar and led him out of the car. The competent air of the
German Shepherd reassured Jim. His ears were perked and ready to go and his
nose was already testing the air around him, anxious to get to the job at
hand. Monroe and Jim quickly led the newcomers to the crash site.
The beaten up Adam-12 still sat in the clearing where it had come to rest.
Accident Investigations had finished with it but were waiting on the tow unit
to come retrieve it. Hal led the dog around the crash site, concentrating
on the spots they thought Boone had been.
Jim took his first real look at the car. He hadn't really looked at it
much the night before. He'd been concentrating on Pete instead. As he took
a long look at it, he realized that Pete had indeed been lucky. The sight
of the shattered windshield and glass inside the car sent a shiver up his
spine. There but for the grace of God, go I.
The dog wandered around the crash site for a few minutes, sniffing at the
ground. He briefly paused by the passenger side door, then went back to sniffing
a couple of feet from the side of the car. He led his handler to the edge
of the woods behind the car and sniffed intently at a tree. He turned and
nosed around the side of the car again; suddenly, he headed off into the trees,
nose to the ground and straining at his leash.
"Looks like we've got something." Monroe noticed. "What do you think, Hal?"
The dog handler nodded, "Looks good, Sarge. Ace seems pretty sure of himself."
Reed, Monroe and another detective named Sheedy followed the K-9 team into
the woods. Jim gripped the shotgun and hoped they were on the right track.
He wanted to take care of the man that had left his injured partner in the
woods to die. He was almost hoping the man would attempt to escape again
so he would get a chance to use the shotgun in his hands.
Over an hour later, Monroe was convinced the trail was a bust and was about
to call an end to it when the handler motioned for them to stop. He patted
Ace on the head and made him sit. "Do you smell that?"
The others quickly tested the air. Reed nodded. "Smoke."
Hal nodded. "Could be a camp fire. I think it's just up ahead in that little
clearing."
"Might be our guy," Monroe conceded. "Let's check it out. Sheedy and I
will get around on the other side. Give us five minutes then you and Reed
go in. Remember, if this is our guy he's already killed one person and left
an injured police officer in the middle of the woods. Plus he's got at least
two weapons. Be careful."
The five minutes seemed like five hours to Reed, but Hal finally nodded
and urged Ace into action once again. Jim moved a few feet away so that he
wouldn't be caught in the crossfire if a shoot-out ensued. He and Hal slowed
as they neared the small clearing.
Jim peered around a tree and took in the scene. It was really more of a
thinning of the trees than a clearing. A small campfire lay on the other side.
A dirty, disheveled man sat near it with a handgun less than a foot away
while a shotgun rested on his lap.
Ace strained at the leash as a stray breeze carried the scent of the man
to him. Hal smiled and nodded at Reed. Jim nodded back, gripping the shotgun
once again. Hal reached down and unhooked the leash but pointed at the ground
for the dog to sit. Ace sat but was clearly ready to jump when his master
gave the command.
From the other side of the clearing, Monroe's voice rang out, "Freeze!
Police! Put the gun down and stand up with your hands in the air."
Boone jumped at the sound and, ignoring the warning, spun in the direction
of the voice with the shotgun in his hands. He was about to regret that decision.
Ace saw the movement threatening the other officers and bounded into the
clearing. To Boone it seemed as if all Hell were breaking loose. He turned
at the noise to find a growling, snapping German Shepherd. Before he could
bring the weapon to bear on the new threat, Ace was on him, biting Boone's
forearm and knocking the man to the ground while the gun slipped from his
fingers.
"Off, Ace." Hal yelled. Ace backed off a foot but continued to growl menacingly
at the man.
"Don't try that again, Mister!" Reed warned.
Boone rubbed the arm that Ace had bitten. He could feel blood starting
to drip down his arm. He looked up at the young man aiming the shotgun at
his head and decided against any further movements. The look in the officer's
face was plain: try it and get shot.
"Good work, Hal, Jim." Sergeants Monroe and Sheedy emerged from the trees
behind them. Monroe pulled a card out of his jacket pocket and began to read,
"You have the right to remain silent…"
"I know my rights, man, save your breath. What's goin' on here?" Boone
whined. "All I's doin' was sittin' here by this little ole camp fire. That
ain't illegal, is it?"
"As a matter of fact, it is," Monroe informed him. "Fires are restricted
to designated sections of the park."
"Whal, that ain't no reason to have a dog chew a man's arm off. And it
ain't no reason to arrest him neither." Boone objected. He offered a tentative
smile that faltered as he noticed the shotgun still aimed directly at his
head. "Hey, boy, you mind pointin' that thing somewheres else?"
Jim ignored him.
Monroe steered the conversation back to the matter at hand, "Boone, you're
not under arrest for the illegal campfire. You're under arrest for murder."
"Murder?" Boone feigned outrage. "I ain't never murdered nobody!"
"Give it up, Boone," Monroe snapped. "You robbed a convenience store and
shot and killed the clerk. You also found an injured officer next to his patrol
car last night and left without assisting him or getting help. You stole
his weapons and left him to die."
Boone's eyes darted around nervously. "I didn't do nothin' to that officer.
You can't pin nothin' on me for that!"
Monroe nodded. "Maybe not, but it sure won't help you with the judge once
he finds out that not only did you murder a man but you abandoned an injured
officer when he needed help. That's not going to sit well with a jury either.
I'm sure they'll be very interested when Officer Malloy tells them how you
stole his weapons and walked away from him."
Boone smiled, "Ain't gonna make no difference one way or t'other for me."
"Well, then, I guess I could let Officer Reed here do the interrogating.
He's Officer Malloy's partner. I think he'd be delighted to ask you a few
questions." Monroe glanced at Reed then back at Boone and smiled. "Matter
of fact, I might let him ask a few questions now. Where no one can hear you
holler for help."
Boone blanched at the thought. He didn't like the look in Reed's eyes.
He got the feeling that he wouldn't like to discuss anything with this man
right now. Boone started to raise his cuffed hands, clearly intending to
throw a punch at the sergeant, but stopped as Ace took two steps forward
and snarled, ready to jump the man should he carry out the threat.
Hal waited a few seconds before calling Ace off. He was enjoying watching
the color drain from the man's face. "Here, Ace." He commanded and patted
the dog on the head, without taking his eyes off their prisoner. "Good boy."
Satisfied that the suspect was now under control, he snapped the leash back
onto Ace's collar.
"C'mon, let's go." Monroe motioned for Boone to stand. Jim checked him
for other weapons and Monroe was pleased to see that the young man treated
him as any other suspect without getting too rough despite Monroe's threat
to Boone. He would have to remember to tell Sergeant MacDonald about Reed's
demeanor; it was very professional without a hint of the personal feelings
he knew the officer was burying.
Jim finished patting Boone down and stepped back. Without a word, he stepped
over to the weapons lying on the ground. He quickly examined the revolver
and stuck it into his belt. He then retrieved the shotgun. "It's Pete's revolver
and so's the shotgun. I checked it out myself yesterday."
Monroe nodded. "C'mon, let's go." The little group began their long trek
out of the park as darkness began to fall.
* * * *
When Jim returned to the station, Mac waved him into the office once again.
"Hey, Jim, a nurse just called from the hospital…"
"Something wrong with Pete?" Jim interrupted, his smile quickly disappearing.
"Settle down. He's fine. It seems that about half an hour ago he started
bugging them about needing a phone. He wouldn't tell them why, just insisted
they bring him a phone. When they wouldn't give in, he convinced one of the
nurses to call. Seems he's finally waking up enough to remember last night
and wanted to let us know about Boone."
Jim smiled. "What'd you tell the nurse?"
"Well, I don't think she believed Pete. She sounded pretty skeptical when
she relayed the information." He paused and smiled. "She said, 'Officer Malloy
says to tell you there's a dangerous felon in the park.' I think she thought
he was delusional because she sure sounded surprised when I told her to reassure
him that we were out looking for him."
Jim laughed. "I wish I could've seen the look on her face."
"Yeah." Mac smiled. "A couple guys from AI are going down to talk to Pete
in a little bit. Do you want them to tell Pete we got Boone?"
"If you don't mind, Mac, I'd like to do it when I stop by tonight."
"Sure, Jim. Hey, good job bringing in Boone. Oh, and I thought you'd like
to know that Woods brought in the suspect Pete was chasing last night. We
got a positive ID on him from the store owner."
"That's great, Mac, thanks." Jim smiled. "I guess I better get goin' on
the paperwork now. I've got a few reports left from yesterday to finish."
"Better get goin' then. I'll expect them all on my desk at end of watch."
"They'll be there." Jim promised.
* * * *
Jim's mood was considerably lighter as he walked down the hospital corridors.
Despite spending half the day doing paperwork, he felt like he'd made a difference
today. Not only had he caught the guy that had abandoned his partner, he had
gotten a dangerous criminal out of circulation. And it felt good!
He walked into Pete's room and smiled. The fierce-looking bruise on the
left side of Pete's face had turned to nasty shades of purple and black. However,
his eyes were open and he was smiling at his partner, which was all Jim needed
to see. "Hey, Pete, you look awful."
"Thanks." Pete rasped, voice still weak. "Good to see you, too."
Jim sat in the chair next to the bed. "I hear AI was in earlier. How'd
it go?"
"Couldn't tell 'em much."
"What happened, Pete?" Jim wondered quietly.
Pete shook his head slowly. "Don't really know. I just lost control of
the car."
"What did AI say?"
"They'll let me know," Pete sighed. "Probably find I could've avoided the
accident."
"Don't worry about it. It'll all work out okay."
"Yeah," Pete agreed, "Mac'll probably just get to yell at me for rackin'
up a car."
Jim grinned. "Don't worry, from now on, I'll do the driving!"
Pete rolled his eyes, "Oh, great!"
Jim laughed and then realized he had forgotten to tell him the big news.
"Hey, I almost forgot! We caught Boone today."
"Great!"
Jim filled him on the details and then frowned. "I can't believe he just
left you out there."
Pete shrugged as best he could. "He didn't want to get caught."
"Yeah, but still, it's not right," Jim protested.
"I won't argue with you there." Pete agreed. "But it didn't worry me too
much."
"Why not?"
"Because I knew you'd find me eventually. I never doubted that."
Jim shook his head, wondering what it had been like for Pete to listen
to his own rescue being coordinated. "Even when Mac moved the Command Post
out of the park?"
"Even then. Because I knew my partner was a stubborn jerk who'd keep looking
where he knew I'd been."
Jim was about to answer when a nurse barged into the room and pointed sternly
at him. "You shouldn't be in here! Visiting hours are over at 9p.m. sharp.
Why, it's after midnight! Besides, only family is allowed in here."
"Dr. Williams told me I could visit," Jim protested.
"Well, Dr. Williams isn't here. I am," The nurse pointed out. "You're going
to have to leave. Mr. Malloy needs his rest."
"Okay, she's right there, Pete, you should get some sleep. I'll be back
tomorrow."
"Thanks, Jim, it's good to see ya."
"Yeah, take it easy." Jim smiled and stood. The nurse tapped her foot and
pointed at the door.
"Hey, Jim," Pete called as Jim reached the door. The nurse huffed impatiently
but the two men ignored her. "Thanks for everything."
"No problem, partner."
The nurse shoved him through the curtains, closing them behind him, but
Jim didn't care. His partner was well on the road to recovery, they'd caught
the guy Pete had been chasing, and they'd found the guy that had abandoned
him. All was certainly right with the world once again.
My thanks to Cathy, once again, for beta reading. My thanks, also, to
the fine medical staffs at Genesis East in the Quad Cities and the University
of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City for the great work they performed on my dad
last year.
