This is a "missing scene" from the episode "Training
Division." As the action opens, Malloy and Reed and a probationary officer,
Barrett, have two bombing suspects in a dry cleaners. Malloy is dealing
with one, and the probationer is nearest to him, while Reed is across the
room. Malloy orders Barrett to take the second suspect, but the young officer
hesitates. The first part of this story incorporates the dialogue from
the episode.
Pete Malloy tensed, ready to move when he saw that Barrett wasn't going
to obey his command to take the unpinned man. Probationer or not, Pete decided
right then and there this would be the last mistake Barrett made.
Pete relaxed slightly when Jim Reed lunged in from his position across the
room, gun out and pointed at the second suspect.
"FREEZE, MISTER!" Reed snapped, his voice hoarse with command. "Put your
hands on top of your head!"
The suspect complied immediately. He looked around with fear in his eyes,
but froze when he saw Jim's gun pointed straight at his chest.
Pete relaxed and started to free the suspect he had cuffed from underneath
the fallen shelving, knowing that Jim had the other end under control. Malloy
glanced up as Reed snapped, "Cover him, Barrett!" surprised at the anger and
tension in his partner's voice.
Reed pushed the second suspect up against the wall and started to pat him
down.
"I'm sorry, Reed," Barrett said. "I assumed he was the hostage."
Pete had his suspect out from under the shelving, and as he hoisted the
man to his feet, Malloy saw Jim turn angrily back to Barrett, holding a gun
in his hand he had taken from his suspect.
"And he could have blown your fool head off while you were standing there
assuming!" Reed's voice held a sharp edge and a slight tremor born of his
obvious rage.
Pete heard the unspoken words after that, the underlying reason Jim was
so angry: And he could have shot my partner right in the back...
Barrett looked shell-shocked, and Pete didn't know whether that was because
of the situation, or a reaction to Jim's harsh indictment. "How... did you
know?" the probationer stammered.
"I WATCHED him!" Reed snapped, his voice still hoarse with anger and fear.
"I could see he wasn't paying any attention to his prisoner!" Reed put the
confiscated gun into his waistband, then turned his back to Barrett as he
prepared to take his prisoner away.
"Let's go," Pete said, his quiet command in stark contrast to Reed's angry
outburst. Malloy took the first suspect by the arm and led him past Reed
and Barrett. As he passed his partner, he touched him lightly on the arm,
a silent, Thanks, partner.
Reed didn't even look at his mentor and friend, still struggling to get
himself under control. Pete could hear Jim's ragged, deep breathing as they
exited the dry cleaners and started back to the command post.
Sergeant MacDonald and Ed Wells met them at the corner.
"Everything all right?" Wells asked, directing a frown toward his temporary
partner.
“Yep,” Pete nodded.
"Two?" Mac asked, taking in the situation.
"That's right," Reed growled, "Two!" the young officer turned and fixed Barrett
with a stare that cowed the probationer even further.
The look was not lost on Wells or Mac and the sergeant turned a questioning
look to Malloy.
In response, Pete lifted his brows in a "later" gesture.
"I take it there was never a hostage," Wells continued. He stared at Reed
almost as intently as Reed was staring at Barrett.
"No," Pete answered for them both. "Listen, Wells, you and Barrett take
these guys in for us. We'll meet you at the station and book 'em later."
For once, Wells didn't argue. "Okay," he agreed, looking from Pete to Reed
to Barrett. Even Wells apparently was able to figure out that something significant
had happened and became uncharacteristically cooperative. He took the suspect
that Malloy pushed toward him.
"Partner," Pete said to Jim, his voice still calm and quiet, "Turn him over
to Barrett."
Jim looked for all the world like he wasn't going to do that, but Barrett
pulled himself together and took the suspect's free arm. "Come on, pal."
Pete forced himself not to repeat his request as Jim and Barrett locked gazes
again. Jim's face was set in stone, and Malloy could see the tell-tale twitch
of a muscle at Reed's jawline that betrayed his extreme displeasure. Finally,
Jim let go of the second man and Barrett took him away.
Mac's voice turned Pete's attention away from his partner. "Everything
under control here?" he asked. The sergeant, too, stared at Reed, concern
in his eyes.
"Yeah," Pete assured him. He gave Mac a "trust me, I'll take care of it"
look. He walked off toward the car, knowing that Jim would follow him.
Sure enough, Pete heard the firm, sure footsteps of his partner beside him
within seconds. Pete stole a glance out of the corner of his eye and saw
that Jim's expression had not lightened. If anything, the thundercloud had
darkened. Malloy stayed silent, waiting to see if Jim would work through
his emotions and decompress. Jim certainly wouldn't be open to a lecture just
yet.
When they reached the patrol car, Reed jerked open the passenger side door.
"Partner," Malloy began, putting out a hand to stop him from going in.
"Jim..."
Reed slammed the door shut, his frustration and anger boiling to the surface.
He took his hand and slammed it violently on the roof of the cruiser. When
it looked like he might repeat the gesture, Pete intervened.
"Hey, hey, take it easy, on the equipment, Partner." Pete grabbed Jim's arm
to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Pete then pushed him gently to rest
against the fender. "Settle down. It's over, and everything turned out
all right."
"Pete, how can you...!?" Jim sputtered.
"Take a deep breath, Jim," Pete interrupted. "Come on, ease up." Jim rarely
let his emotions, especially anger, override him like this, but when he did,
it took a great effort to calm him.
Jim took a deep, ragged breath and blew it out in a rush. He ran a hand
through his hair and took another one.
"That's better. Calm down."
"Pete, he just stood there!" Jim cried, his voice marginally calmer.
"That guy could have..." another deep breath punctuated the sentence," he
could have killed you! If that fool Barrett wants to get himself killed that's
his problem. But when he starts taking other people with him....you had
your back to the guy! You were defenseless! You told him
to take the guy and he just stood there!" Jim's words were coming
out in a rush. "If the suspect had gotten to that gun you might both be
dead now." Jim repeated the gesture of running his hands through his hair
again and Pete noticed they were trembling.
"But he didn't get to the gun," Pete pointed out. "And I knew he wouldn't,
because you were there. I don't trust Barrett to give me a paper clip if
I ask for it, but I do trust you. I was willing to give Barrett a
chance to figure out the score only because I knew you were right there and
you'd guard my back with your life. Which you did."
That simple statement of trust seemed to splash some cold water on Jim's
anger. His body relaxed ever so slightly. "I was all the way across the
room. What if I hadn't gotten there in time? I had this....this...flash
vision..." Jim closed his eyes and shook his head as if to clear the memory
away, "of you both lying in a pool of blood."
"Kinda melodramatic, isn't it?" Pete cracked, trying to tease Jim out of
the mood. Unfortunately, Jim didn't seem quite ready to relinquish his anger.
"No, it isn't! Remember, Pete, a couple of weeks ago when I told you about
that stunt your godson pulled?"
"You mean the ladder incident?" Pete grinned. Jim had been doing some work
on his kitchen ceiling using a tall stepladder. He had left it to go get
a hammer, and Little Jimmy, having given his mother the slip, had crawled
up to the top. Jim returned to find his two year old perched precariously
on top of the ladder, just in time to hear his boy cry, "Me jump, Daddy!"
The intrepid toddler had leapt from the ladder, and Jim had caught him in
his arms by the barest of margins. Jim had beaten himself up for days about
that.
"Yeah. I went through the same emotions. Disbelief...that Barrett was
just standing there...the horrible vision of disaster...the rush of sickening
fear, then, when it was over, a flood of relief followed by incredible anger."
"As I recall your story, when you caught Jimmy, you hugged and kissed him
for about five minutes, then you spent the next hour yelling at him," Pete
drawled. "Thanks for skipping the hugging and kissing part here."
Jim made a face at his partner. His sense of humor had not quite returned.
"Pete!"
"Sorry, but I'm just trying to talk you through this."
"I appreciate that, but that was too bad a scene back there to ignore."
"I agree. So what are you gonna do about it?"
Jim looked grim. "Talk to Mac?"
Pete nodded. "Talk to Mac."
"Will it do any good?"
"What do you think? Look, Jim, Barrett's a probationer. It's our responsibility
to see that probationers receive the proper training and guidance and to
report any behavior that deviates seriously from what it should be. We owe
it to the cop, to the rest of us that have to work with him, and to the public.
You'd be irresponsible if you didn't tell Mac what happened here today."
And if you didn't, I certainly would.
"You'll back me up?"
Pete gave his young partner an exasperated look. "You have to ask?"
"Sorry. I'm still kinda shaky."
Malloy nodded. "I understand. But promise me you'll settle down before
you go in to see Mac. You're on a mission...not a vendetta."
"Gotcha." Jim took a final deep breath, then managed to smile at his partner.
"I guess we'd better get back to work. We've got a couple of bombers to
book."
"Right. Gonna look real nice on the old resume."
"You have a resume?"
"Just an expression, partner." Pete grinned. He headed around to the driver's
side but paused before opening the door. "Hey, Jim?"
"Yeah?" Reed stopped before sitting in the shotgun seat.
"Thanks for being there today. Hell, every day."
"Oh, man, don't get all mushy on me, Pete. I might have to hug and kiss
you after all."
"Get in the car and keep your hands to yourself." Pete laughed, relieved
that Jim seemed to be coming back to his normal self.
