Author's disclaimer: I have absolutely no medical experience whatsoever.
Any inaccuracies are totally my fault, and I apologize ahead of time. I hope
this doesn't keep you from enjoying the story.
"Hey, David, where are you off to so early?" Pete Malloy asked his stepson.
"I've gotta stop by Brian's on my way to school and drop off my stuff.
I'm spending the night there, remember?" David explained as he grabbed several
bags sitting by the front door.
Pete nodded and teased, "Yeah, you two stay out of trouble tonight. I don't
want the station to call saying I have to come bail my kid out of jail!"
David rolled his eyes and turned to walk out the door before being stopped
by his mother.
"I hope you weren't planning on leaving without kissing your mother." Judy
slipped an arm around Pete's waist as she entered the room.
David dutifully kissed her cheek and waved as he left the house. "Bye,
Mom. Bye, Pete. See ya tomorrow."
As the door closed behind David, Judy stepped in front of Pete, snaking
her other arm around her husband's waist. She gazed up at him, smiling. "I
didn't think he'd ever leave."
"And why is that, Mrs. Malloy?" Pete whispered as he leaned down, closing
the distance between them.
"Because our son is still at that age, thankfully, that thinks kissing
is disgusting!" She leaned up and closed the gap between them entirely, kissing
him passionately. After a few seconds, she broke the intimate contact, and
the smile disappeared from her face. "What is it, Pete?"
"What's what?" He asked innocently.
"Don't give me that, Pete. I give you a kiss like that and you barely respond?"
She pointed out. "Something's on your mind, now spill it."
"You said 'our son.' But does David feel that way?"
"Of course he does!"
"Does he?" Pete wondered. "He always calls me 'Pete', never 'Dad,' and
if I ever say something about him being my son, I swear he's about to protest.
He never does, but I can see it in his eyes."
"Oh, Pete." Judy reached a hand up and caressed his cheek. "You know he
loves you, but it's going to take him some time to take that step and call
you 'Dad.' Give him a little more time."
"I know." Pete sighed. "I get frustrated sometimes. I wanna be a good dad
to him."
"You are, Pete." She encouraged. "And David knows that. Trust me." She
reached up and kissed him again. This time, he did respond.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Pete wondered when he finally broke
off the kiss.
Judy smiled and ran a fingernail along a spot on the back of his neck that
she knew drove him nuts. "You just remember that when you get home tonight."
Pete's shoulders sagged. "You want me to paint the living room on the one
night we have to ourselves? You're a cruel woman, Mrs. Malloy!"
Judy laughed. "You better get to work before I decide not to let you leave!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Pete laughed. He kissed her again quickly before grabbing
his car keys and heading out the door.
* * * * *
"So what are you and Judy doing this weekend?" Jim Reed asked his partner
as they patrolled their district.
Pete shrugged his shoulders, "David's spending the night at a friend's
tonight so we'll just stay home and relax, I suppose."
"Yeah, us too. Jimmy's staying with Jean's sister for the weekend. I'm
sure Jean will find plenty of stuff to keep me busy."
"I know the feeling," Pete chuckled. "Judy wants me to paint the living
room. She'll probably have everything ready when I get home tonight."
Jim laughed and looked pointedly at his partner, "You know, I remember
a time when a certain partner of mine used to make fun of me painting on
my days off. Now that you're married, it's not so funny, is it?"
"Oh, c'mon, Reed…"
"Pete, you've been married just over a year, right?"
"Right." He was wary of where his partner was going with this.
"Haven't you figured out by now that any time you get an entire weekend
off that Judy's going to have something for you to do?"
"Well, it's not that bad."
"I guess you'll find out in an hour or so." Jim looked at his watch. They
were almost at the end of their shift.
"Let's swing by the school before heading for the barn." Pete suggested,
hoping to deter his partner from his current train of thought.
Jim nodded and they cruised by the school as it was letting out for the
weekend. Everything checked out fine so they headed back towards the station.
The rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally let loose with
a deluge when they were a few blocks from the station.
Pete slowly pulled away as the light turned green and turned down the street
to take them back to the station. Their headlights suddenly shone on an object
through the pouring rain. It was a car, its driver apparently oblivious to
the fact that he was on the wrong side of the road. There was no time to
react as the car slammed into them head on and at full speed. The wet pavement
caused the cars to hydroplane, and the black and white went spinning wildly
back into the intersection they had just left.
* * * *
Sergeant MacDonald was finishing up paperwork when the door to the office
opened. He was expecting to find someone from the Daywatch turning in more
paperwork, but it turned out to be one of the officers from the front desk.
"Hey, Sarge, we just got a call from a witness up the street. A major accident
just occurred at the intersection."
"Yeah, go on."
"The witness said a black and white was involved."
Mac paused as the information sank in, "Do we know which one?"
"She got the shop number. It's Adam-12."
Mac took a deep breath. He'd been wondering why Reed and Malloy hadn't
stopped in yet. They both had the weekend off and were going to stop in before
leaving. He looked back to the officer that had delivered the news, "What's
the situation?"
"The captain wants you to go down and take a look. We've got a couple black
and whites down there now handling traffic control and interviewing witnesses.
Paramedics and ambulances are on the way."
Mac nodded, "Okay, I'm on my way."
"Better grab your rain gear. It started raining buckets a little while
ago."
"Thanks." He grabbed his stuff and headed out the door.
* * * *
Mac was totally unprepared for the scene that greeted him. He counted at
least seven cars involved in the accident, and it took him some time to locate
the black and white. When he did, he winced.
Adam-12 was in the middle of the mess. Its front end was smashed and twisted
so badly that no amount of fixing would mend it. That was in part due to the
fact that the car that had hit them was now welded to the front end. A pickup
truck had collided with the front, driver's side and had come to rest against
the car, completely caving in both doors on that side. The passenger side
was a little better off, but only because it had been a car that had hit
that side. That door was also completely buckled beyond repair. Another car
was also snuggled up to the rear of the car though it had obviously not hit
with much force as the rear had little damage compared to the rest of the
car.
The lights of the patrol cars and rescue vehicles already on the scene
flashed brightly through the falling rain, giving the area an almost festive
appearance. The mood, however, was anything but festive as frantic officers
called to their trapped colleagues. Several officers scrambled over the cars,
trying unsuccessfully to reach the black and white in the center of the mess.
The red emergency lights cast eerie shadows as bystanders watched the rescuers
struggle to free the occupants of the various vehicles.
Mac let out a deep breath and tried to get the attention of a nearby officer
to get information. He was about to yell at one of them when a voice stopped
him.
"Hey, Sarge," an officer approached with a lady in tow, "This is the woman
that reported the accident."
"Thanks, Steve, go help assess injuries. And find out about Pete and Jim,
would ya?" He motioned the officer over to the accident scene and then turned
back to the woman, " Now, Mrs…"
"Fields. Edna Fields."
"Mrs. Fields, first let me thank you for reporting this and sticking around
so we can get your statement."
"I could hardly do otherwise, Sergeant."
"Thank you, ma'am, too many people don't feel that way. Now, could you
tell me what happened?"
"I was standing over there in that shop since it had just started raining.
I was waiting for it to let up a little before going out to my car. Well,
I saw that patrol car," she pointed towards the accident, "stop at the light
and then turn down the street when the light changed. All of a sudden, I heard
a horrible crash and I saw that they had been hit head on by that tan coupe.
They were pushed back into the intersection and…" she took a shuddering
breath as the mental picture of the accident came back to her.
"Take your time, ma'am," MacDonald encouraged. "Just tell me what you saw."
"Mac?" Officer Woods interrupted.
"Excuse me, ma'am." He turned to face the approaching officer. "What is
it, Jerry?"
"We've got the drivers out of the vehicles. No one seems to be seriously
hurt except for the guy in the coupe that's in front of the black and white.
It's going to take the Jaws to get him out. He's conscious, though, and complaining
loudly. Doesn't seem to be hurt much, but we can't really tell until they
get him out. It looks like he's drunk."
Mac sighed though it didn't really surprise him. "What about Pete and Jim?"
Jerry glanced at the ground before answering, "We can't get very close
with all the cars around them, but from what we can tell, they're stuck in
the car but good."
"Can you tell if they're… alive." That was harder than he thought.
He'd lost men under his command before, but these two weren't just officers;
they were his friends.
He shook his head, "Sorry, Mac, we just can't tell."
"Okay, Jerry, keep trying to get at them. Here come the paramedics now
so fill them in and see what you can do. I'll be over there in a minute."
He hung his head briefly as the knot in his stomach tightened. Despite his
concern for his friends, he managed to put his professional face on and turned
back to the witness, "Sorry, Mrs. Fields, please continue."
"Well, the patrol car was pushed back into the intersection and the other
cars couldn't stop in time, and they crashed into it. There just wasn't anything
anyone could do."
"Thank you, you've been a big help." He motioned for a nearby officer.
"I'm going to have you go with this officer, and he's going to get your name
and some other information. Investigators will need to talk to you in more
detail in a day or two. Thank you again for your help."
"You're welcome, Sergeant, and I hope your officers are all right."
"Thank you, Mrs. Fields. I hope so, too." Mac turned to survey the accident
scene again. Squad 14 had arrived and its paramedics were checking out the
occupant of the tan coupe that had apparently caused the smash-up. Engine
51 and Squad 51 pulled up and the men quickly got out and began to assess
the scene. Mac moved over to talk to their captain.
"…Chet, Marco, see if you can help 14…" Captain Stanley paused
in his instructions to extend a hand to Mac as he came over. "I'm Captain
Stanley. Station 51."
Mac shook his hand, "Sergeant MacDonald. Nice to meet you, I only wish
it were under different circumstances. I've got two officers trapped in that
mess."
"Your men have filled us in." Stanley continued. "We'll let 14 take care
of the guy in the coupe. Their engine is on that structure fire over in the
warehouse district with everyone else. That's why we're covering this area.
I'll have some of my men help them. Looks like they'll need the Jaws of Life;
my men are getting that out. Gage and DeSoto, my paramedics, are checking
out your men. Don't worry, they'll take good care of them."
"Thanks, Captain, I appreciate it." Mac glanced over worriedly at the two
paramedics, who were trying to figure out the best way to get to the black
and white. "Would you let us know how they are?"
"Don't worry, Sergeant, we've been there too many times ourselves. We'll
keep you informed."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. I better go make sure we get that traffic rerouted."
Paramedics Gage and DeSoto finally decided that the best way to get a look
at the officers inside the patrol car was to go in through the back window.
The doors were buckled beyond any hope of getting them open but there was
a little room to work at the rear of the vehicle.
"Hey, Johnny, give me that crowbar so I can bust this window." Roy DeSoto
told his partner.
Johnny handed his partner the crowbar as he set the biophone and drug box
on the ground next to the cars.
"Okay, look out, here goes." Roy warned, wedging the tool under the window.
It didn't take long to pop out the back window and gain access to the black
and white.
Johnny tossed the crowbar aside before he jumped onto the trunk of the
car behind Roy, who had just disappeared inside. He slipped a little on the
rain-slick surface but kept his balance and leaned in to talk to his partner,
"Well, Roy, how are they?"
"Pete? Jim? You guys okay?" Just last week he and Johnny had helped the
two officers on an accident call. He never thought that they would be the
ones he would be rescuing the next time they met. They didn't get a chance
to work with the two officers very often because of their different districts,
but occasionally they'd see them at Rampart Emergency or while Squad 51 covered
for another station. The two teams were forming a working friendship that
he hoped they'd get a chance to build on in the future. "Johnny?"
"Yeah, Roy."
"They both have weak carotids. And they're unconscious; looks like they
hit their heads." He tried to get a better look at them to assess their injuries
but couldn't get very far from his position. "They're stuck in here real good.
We'll have to get these cars off to the side moved and use the Jaws to get
them out. Hand me the trauma box. I'll do what I can for now, but you'd better
tell Cap that we're gonna have to get these cars out of here soon."
"Right." Johnny was about to go get the trauma box when his partner's voice
called him back again.
"You better get some blankets and oxygen from the squad. And, Johnny, tell
their sergeant that they're alive."
Johnny jogged back with the extra equipment and Sergeant MacDonald. Mac
handed the equipment to Johnny once he'd again taken up position on the trunk
of the black and white. "Here, Roy, I've got the phone when you've got the
vitals." He handed the oxygen and blankets through the window and placed
the biophone on the hood of the car that was kissing bumpers with the patrol
car.
Woods and MacDonald watched as the paramedics relayed the information to
Rampart Hospital. He was no expert, but Mac didn't think it sounded good.
He couldn't hear every word because of the pounding rain, but guessed both
officers were in serious condition from the paramedics' body language.
"Hey, Johnny?"
"Yeah?"
"Get someone to bring us a salvage cover from the engine to cover the windshield.
The glass is gone, and it's raining in on them." Roy leaned out to talk to
his partner. "They're soaked already, and it sure isn't going to help their
conditions. I'm gonna need some more light in here, too. I can't see to set
up an IV."
Five minutes later, MacDonald and several officers had secured the cover
over the windshield. Mac nodded; this would also keep the TV crews that had
appeared from getting a shot of the officers inside. He needed to send someone
to tell Jean and Judy. He glanced at his watch; he should probably send someone
now since the two men should have both been home by now.
"Sergeant, how does it look?" Captain Moore had arrived while Mac was helping
with the tarp.
"Well, Malloy and Reed are still alive, and the paramedics are doing all
they can, but it looks pretty bad. We're going to have to move these cars
to get them out."
The captain nodded, "How about their families? Have they been notified
yet?"
"I was just getting ready to send a car to each of their houses."
"Good. We've been getting a lot of calls at the station since the news
people showed up. We'll release their names as soon as their wives have been
notified. I'm going back to the station; keep me informed."
"Right, Captain." Mac waved to a couple of nearby officers as the captain
left. "Woods, Brinkman, I want one of you to go over to Reed's house and one
to Malloy's. Tell Jean and Judy what's happened. Stay with them until someone
gets there to watch the kids, and then you better take them on to Rampart."
"Sure, Mac."
* * * * *
Judy finished putting the last candle on the dining room table. Dinner
was ready and was keeping warm in the oven while she waited for Pete to get
home. She glanced at the clock again, and wondered what was taking him so
long. He should have been home half an hour ago, and he usually called if
he was going to be late. She shrugged; he probably couldn't get to a phone.
The doorbell rang interrupting her thoughts.
"Judy," Woods greeted her as she opened the door. He held his hat in his
hand. It had stopped raining on the drive over.
"Jerry," she paused as the significance of the visit hit her, "Oh, my God,
Jerry. What's happened?"
"Can I come in?"
"Oh, sure, Jerry, sure." Judy led him into the living room and motioned
for him to sit down. She sat on the edge of the couch anxiously waiting to
hear the news.
"Have you had your TV on lately?"
"No." Judy looked puzzled at this line of questioning. "What's going on,
Jerry?"
"There's been an accident." He nervously fingered his cap brim. "Pete and
Jim were involved in a collision on their way back to the station. It was
a pretty bad one. There were several cars involved, and we haven't been able
to get them out of the car yet."
"How bad are they hurt?"
"We can't really tell yet. The paramedics were checking them out when I
left. They're pinned in the car so it's hard for them to do much, but they'll
have them out of there soon."
"Why did you ask about the TV earlier?"
Jerry sighed, "TV crews arrived on the scene right before I came over.
Their names haven't been released, but the cameras and reporters were all
over. We've been getting calls at the station from family members wondering
who's involved."
Judy nodded and then turned the TV on. She sat back down heavily as she
saw the scene. She could barely make out the patrol car in the middle of the
pileup.
"Judy," Jerry moved over to sit next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"They're doing everything they can to get them out of there."
She nodded but couldn't tear her gaze off of the scene on TV. The news
people were being herded back to make room for a tow truck.
"Judy, where's David?"
"He's, uh, he's over at a friend's for the night." She glanced over. "I
should probably go tell him."
"Why don't we stop by there on the way to the hospital?"
"That would be great, Jerry." She finally stood and turned off the TV.
"I just have to do a couple things before we go."
* * * *
Jean did have the TV on as she waited for her sister to pick Jimmy up for
the weekend. She was dusting the end table when the news flash about the accident
came on. She stopped dusting, sat on the edge of the couch and watched. She
listened to the reporter as he outlined what they knew about the accident
so far. At the mention of a police car being involved, she stiffened. Jim
should have been home over half an hour ago. She shook her head and chided
herself for being too jumpy; he was probably just helping at the scene or
covering a district while so many were busy at the accident. When the doorbell
rang, she expected to find her sister standing there.
It was Brinkman, "Jean…"
"Oh, God!" She stopped short at the sight of him. "It is
Jim."
"Jean?" Then he realized what she must be talking about. "You've had the
TV on, haven't you?"
Jean nodded as she led him into the living room. She looked to the officer
expectantly, "What happened?"
"They were on their way back to the station when the accident happened.
We aren't exactly sure what happened."
"How are they?" Jean raised her head bracing herself for the dreaded information.
He shook his head, "We don't really know. Jim and Pete are both trapped
in the car. The paramedics are taking care of them, but they have to get
them out of the car before they know how serious it is. Sergeant MacDonald
sent me to take you to the hospital once you could get someone to watch Jimmy."
Jean nodded, "My sister's on her way. He was going to spend the weekend
there anyway. She should be here any time."
Just then they heard the front door open and a voice called out, "Jean,
I'm here. Jim, I didn't know you got to bring the patrol cars home…"
She stopped in the doorway to the living room when she saw the uniformed officer
was not her brother-in-law. "Jeannie, what's going on?"
"Jim's been in an accident. This is Officer Brinkman."
"Oh, my gosh, does this have anything to do with that accident I heard
about on the radio?"
Brinkman nodded while she glanced over at the accident scenes still being
aired on TV.
"Mom," they heard the sound of little feet pounding down the stairs, "was
that Aunt Jo?"
"Jimmy, come here." Jean called to him.
"Aunt Jo!" the energetic five year old exclaimed upon seeing her. He didn't
notice anything wrong as he entered the room.
"Jimmy, I have to tell you something." Jean pulled him onto her lap.
"Aw, Mom, I already know I have to be good for Aunt Jo." He whined. "Where's
Daddy? He said he'd be here before I left."
"Honey, that's what I need to talk to you about."
Jimmy finally noticed Brinkman standing awkwardly a few feet away. "What's
going on?"
"Jimmy, your dad and Uncle Pete were in an accident at work today." She
brushed a piece of hair back from his face before continuing. "You're still
going to go with Aunt Jo while Officer Brinkman takes me to see Daddy."
"I wanna come with you to see Daddy."
Jean smiled at the boy, "I know, sweetie, but you'll have to wait a few
days, okay? I'll tell him you wanted to see him."
Jimmy nodded, "Is Daddy going to be okay?"
"I hope so, honey, I hope so." She pulled him to her and gave him a big
hug.
"What about Uncle Pete? Is he okay?"
Jean glanced at Brinkman who shrugged, "I don't know, honey. I'll call
Aunt Jo later from the hospital. After I've seen Daddy, okay?"
"Jimmy, why don't you run upstairs and get your stuff?" Jo suggested.
The boy jumped off his mother's lap and walked out of the room. His energy
from five minutes before was completely gone.
Jean sagged back as he left. That had taken a lot of her energy as well,
but she knew that the worst was yet to come. "What about Judy? Has she been
told yet?"
Brinkman nodded, "Officer Woods was sent over there. We'll meet them at
the hospital and wait there for Jim and Pete to be brought in."
Jean nodded, "Jo, I'll call you when I know what's going on. Thanks for
taking Jimmy."
"Hey, he was going to come over anyway." She stepped over and hugged her
sister. "I'm sure he's going to be just fine. Hang in there, okay?"
Jean nodded, and brushed back a tear that was threatening to fall. Jimmy
came back in at that time, carrying his sleeping bag and duffel bag. He set
the stuff down and went over to his mother once again. Without a word, she
knelt down and gave him another hug.
Jo finally broke up the hug, knowing Jean didn't want to start crying in
front of little Jimmy. "C'mon, Jimmy, I've got supper all ready at home. Let
your mom go with Officer Brinkman. She'll give us a call tomorrow."
Two minutes later, Jean was on the way to the hospital with Brinkman.
* * * * *
Mac watched as the tow truck arrived at the scene and started moving aside
vehicles so they could get at the black and white. He glanced over at the
car again and wondered how the paramedics were getting along. He didn't want
to keep bugging them for updates, but he felt so helpless just watching. He
decided to go busy himself and help with the tow truck.
Roy checked Malloy's vital signs for the tenth time in as many minutes.
He was really worried about his condition. His breathing was labored thanks
to the steering column pressing into his stomach and chest. He had shown no
signs of regaining consciousness and was not responding to pain. It wasn't
an encouraging sign to the paramedic.
"Roy, here." Johnny handed Roy an oxygen mask through the back window.
"Thanks." He reached over the seat and put it on Malloy. He had somehow
managed to hook up IV's for the two, and as a result, Reed's condition had
stabilized. But he was still concerned about Malloy. He was in pretty bad
shape and needed to get to the hospital soon.
"Need anything else?" Johnny wondered.
"Not right now. Hey, how are they doing on moving those cars?"
"They're ready to move the first one. What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Roy shifted his position, "it's just that this seat isn't exactly
comfortable."
"It's not supposed to be."
"What did you say, Johnny?" Roy wondered.
"Nothing." He replied slowly, shaking his head.
Roy looked puzzled, then his face lit up and he leaned over the front seat.
He looked at Malloy, still unconscious. Then he looked over at Reed, and saw
that he was looking back at him. "Hey, Jim, welcome back!"
Johnny leaned in through the back window to see what was going on. He smiled
as he realized Reed was talking to Roy.
"What happened?" Jim had to struggle just to keep his eyes open.
"Just take it easy. You were in an accident." Roy informed him, taking
his pulse again.
"Pete?" He turned to look at his partner, worry briefly masking the pain
on his face.
"Don't worry, he's hangin' in there. Jim, can you tell me where you're
hurt?"
Jim's eyes closed and Roy was afraid he'd slipped back into unconsciousness,
but he opened them again to reply. "My head hurts. It's hard… to think…"
"Okay, Jim, relax. We're gonna take care of you." Roy tried to distract
him so he didn't lose consciousness again. "Where else does it hurt?"
"My leg… my right leg. And… my arm. I can't move my right
arm."
"Okay, okay," he soothed, "Don't worry, you're pinned in the car. There's
a car right next to you that's pressing the door into your arm. Don't worry,
we're going to get you out of here as soon as we can."
"My side hurts, too…" he closed his eyes as a wave of pain crashed
over him. He gritted his teeth and after a minute opened his eyes to find
Roy watching him.
"You okay now?"
"Yeah… yeah, I think so." He looked at his partner's still form.
"How's Pete? Is he gonna make it?"
"He's hangin' in there."
"How… bad?" Reed whispered.
"Don't worry, Jim, we'll get you out and to the hospital. You'll be okay."
Roy hoped he wasn't lying to the man.
Jim gritted his teeth against another wave of pain. When he opened his
eyes, he saw spots of varying colors; he closed his eyes again and rode out
the pain. "And Pete… how bad?"
"Don't worry about him, Jim. Just concentrate on staying with me, okay?"
"Roy…" he looked the paramedic square in the eye. "He's my partner."
Roy sighed; he knew the feeling. He also knew the bond that existed between
good partners. He returned Jim's steady gaze, "It doesn't look good, Jim.
The steering wheel is pressing on his chest. He's probably got some internal
injuries, but we won't know for sure till we get him to the hospital."
"Thanks, Roy," Jim acknowledged. He closed his eyes and gasped in pain.
"Jim?" Roy was instantly on the alert. "How ya doing?"
Jim shook his head, waiting for the pain to clear a little so he could
take a breath, "It's getting hard… to breathe. I'm cold… really
cold."
"Okay, Jim," Roy waited for him to look at him. "I'm going to get you an
oxygen mask. That should make it a little easier to breathe, but we should
have you out of here pretty soon."
"Hey, Chet," Johnny yelled at the firefighter. "Bring me another oxygen
tank, would ya?"
Sergeant MacDonald approached the paramedics; "We're going to move the
sedan. Gage, you might wanna get clear."
"Okay, Sergeant," Johnny waved a hand. "I'll be in the car."
Roy was about to protest when Johnny slid in next to him. He moved the
drug box to make room for him instead, "Gee, Johnny, glad you could stop
in. A little warning next time might be nice. I might've made room for you."
"Oh, that's okay, Roy, I didn't come to see you." He grinned and winked
at his partner, "I came to see Reed and Malloy. How are ya, Jim?"
Reed smiled, "Just great, Johnny… nice of you to stop in. Afraid
your partner would get all the credit on this one?"
"Not a chance." Johnny joked. "I've been pulling all the strings."
"Oh, so… you're the reason… I'm still stuck in here?" Reed's
voice got weaker as he fought off unconsciousness, "Roy could've… had
me out of here… by now."
Roy chuckled while Johnny just shook his head, "Jim, Jim, Jim, you've been
corrupted by my partner."
"Okay, Jim, I want you to look this way, all right?" Roy was serious once
again. "They're going to move that car on the right so we can get you out
of here. Johnny's going to hold the blanket up there so the glass doesn't
hit you. We'll get you on oxygen once we get you out of here."
"Jim, I want you to talk to me, okay?" Johnny told him as he positioned
the blanket and saw the tow truck begin to move the sedan. "Tell us how you're
doing, all right?"
"Sure… what do you want… to know?" Jim answered groggily
as he stared at his partner.
"Well," Roy shrugged, "tell us anything. What do you do on your time off?"
Jim smiled weakly, "Funny you should… ask. Pete and I… were
just talking about that… he was going to paint this weekend. I was…
going to… I don't know what… I was going to do. Jean would've…
would've found something."
Roy nodded, "My wife finds stuff for me to do on my days off, too. There's
always something isn't there?"
"Yeah… ahhh." Jim moaned.
"Jim?" Roy reached for a pulse. It was getting weak. "Hang on, Jim. You're
almost out of here."
Jim's eyes fluttered, but he didn't respond. He opened his mouth to speak
but pain exploded in his right leg and the darkness claimed him once again.
"He just lost consciousness again." Roy told Johnny. "How're they doing?"
"The car's out of the way. Here come Chet and Marco with the Jaws."
"Good."
"Hey, Cap!" Johnny yelled out his window. "You guys better do this quickly,
Reed just lost consciousness again. We've gotta get him to Rampart right away.
You better have Smith from 14 go in the ambulance with him. I'll stay and
help with Malloy."
Cap nodded and stepped back as Chet and Marco got busy with the Jaws of
Life and peeled off Reed's door to get him out. Within minutes, they had the
door off and were working on extricating him. Smith from Squad 14 stood ready
with the equipment and the ambulance attendants.
Mac watched as Reed was finally freed from what used to be the black and
white but was now nothing more than a twisted hulk of metal. He was shocked
at Reed's appearance. His face had several cuts, and his right arm was obviously
broken. A large strip of metal was embedded in his leg. The door had been
acting as a tourniquet; once the car was moved, the pressure was off, and
the wound started to bleed freely. He watched as the ambulance set off for
Rampart with the lights and sirens going. Now they just had to get Malloy
out.
"How's he doing?" Johnny asked as Roy took Malloy's vital sign's again.
"Not good." Roy shook his head. "We've got to get him out of here
now. He's getting shocky; we have to get him to the hospital."
Johnny nodded and yelled out his window, "Hey, Cap!"
"What is it, Johnny?" Cap leaned in the hole where the passenger door had
been.
"Cap, we have to get Malloy out of here. He isn't going to last much longer."
Johnny explained.
"He's slipping fast, Cap." Roy put in.
"Is there enough room for you guys to work the Jaws over there?" Johnny
pointed to the driver's side. "If we can get him loose, we can get him out
the passenger side and we won't have to move those cars."
"We'll see what we can do."
"Hey, Roy, I'm going to get up front there, and see what I can do."
"Okay," he watched as Johnny crawled out the back window and came around
to the front seat of the car. "Well?"
"It looks like a compound fracture of the left leg, but it looks like the
steering wheel is the only part that's trapping him in here. If we can move
that off him, I think we can get him out of here."
"Can you get a collar on him now?"
"Yeah, I think so." Johnny got out and ran over to the squad then motioned
for Cap and the others. "It looks like all we have to do is move the steering
column off his chest and we should be able to move him. I'm going to get the
neck brace on and get the backboard ready."
"Tell us when." Cap told him as they moved off to get their own gear.
Johnny ran back and got back in the car. He got the neck brace on and waited
for the others to get ready. He looked out the door, "Hey, Sergeant."
"Something wrong?" Mac asked as he looked in at Malloy.
"No, but we could use your help."
"Name it." He didn't like the look of his friend. Pete was so pale despite
the blood caking one side of his face, or perhaps because of it.
"We're going to lift the steering column off him, and then we should be
able to move him. Could some of your men get the cover off the windshield?"
"Sure." Mac gestured and half a dozen officers appeared at his side. "Wells,
Grant, get the tarp off the windshield," he turned back to the paramedic,
"What else?"
"Once the steering column is moved, we'll need to get him on the backboard
as quickly as possible. If a couple of you could help that would be great.
Have the ambulance attendants get the stretcher over here and be ready to
go the minute he's out."
Mac nodded to two more officers who ran to get the ambulance attendants
and make sure they'd have a clear path there. "How is he?"
"He needs to get to the hospital right away."
"Will he make it?"
Roy and Johnny exchanged glances. "We've done all we can," Johnny shrugged.
"They'll be able to do a lot more for him at Rampart; they're the best."
Roy tried to reassure him. "Don't give up hope."
Mac nodded, "Thanks, guys, for everything. I know he's in good hands."
"Roy, Johnny, you guys ready?" Captain Stanley yelled at them.
At Mac's nod, Johnny yelled back, "Let's do it, Cap."
Roy leaned over to keep Malloy balanced as the steering column began to
lift up. Johnny edged back to get as much of the backboard on the seat as
possible. When the steering column was far enough off, they began to ease
him onto the backboard. Johnny reached down to get his legs up, being careful
not to jostle the broken leg any more than he had to. Johnny secured him on
the board while Roy scrambled out the back. Mac and Wells helped get him onto
the waiting stretcher and into the ambulance. Johnny and Roy both climbed
in the back with the stretcher. Mac pounded on the back doors and the ambulance
was off.
Captain Stanley walked over to Mac, "Sergeant MacDonald, your men did a
good job here. Thank you."
"I'm the one that should be thanking you," Mac shook his hand, "Your men
got them out of there."
"We couldn't have done it without your help. Keep us informed, will you?"
"Sure. Thanks again."
Stanley nodded and turned towards his men, "Okay, guys, let's wrap this
up. Chet, you've got the squad. Go over and get Roy and John from Rampart.
Stoker, clear us; we're done here."
"Right, Cap," came the response.
Mac decided it was time he gave a few orders himself, "Grant, you're on
PM Watch, right? Take charge here and get these cars taken care of. Once the
intersection is clear, you can get the traffic going again. Daywatch guys,
wrap it up, and head home. You did a great job. We'll try to let everyone
know about Reed and Malloy when we know something."
He sighed as he looked over to the mob of media types still standing on
one of the corners. The lieutenant had come and given them some details,
but Mac thought he better check in with him before heading to the hospital.
"That's all we know for now." The lieutenant informed the press. "Excuse
me."
"Lieutenant, I'm going over to Rampart now unless there's something else
you need me to do."
"No, no, go to the hospital, Sergeant. I've got this under control. Call
me when you know something. At home if you need to. It doesn't matter what
time."
Mac nodded, "I will."
The press started yelling questions again as Mac walked away. He knew there
was likely to be quite a few milling around at the hospital that he would
have to deal with, too.
