chapter seven
007. the roundup

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    WHEN INES arrived at roll call that morning, she was surprised by how she and her friends' seating was altered. She stopped by the edge of the front table, confused to see Lucy sitting where Jackson usually did and Jackson sitting next to John where Lucy usually would. Ines had to take a moment to wonder if she was somehow dreaming before awkwardly sitting between Lucy and Jackson▬and even just the slight mix-up was making her second-guess her entire life. They didn't say anything about it▬and when Ines met Jackson's gaze to ask what was happening with a subtle arch of her brow, he shrugged, having no clue either. 

    Ines frowned at Lucy and then John▬neither one looking at the other. They kept their gazes forward or fixed on their notepads and coffee, uncharacteristically silent. Ines could feel the tension already start to eat away at them▬and by association, she, like a whiff of second-hand nicotine, was feeling it poison her lungs. 

    Her day had started as frustrating▬as they always seemed to be now. Ines had studied hard for her quiz, did well (or well enough for Officer Bradford), and managed to avoid Nate▬which, at first, had been a relief. But now, she understood why she had managed to avoid him so easily, because this morning when they were both up for breakfast, he did not say a word to her. He was ignoring her because of what happened, and instead of feeling angry at him about it, Ines was feeling that old insecurity eat away at her▬the guilt and shame and anxious twist in her stomach that was so violent she felt sick, worrying over how Nate would react at every little thing she did as she tried to figure out a way to apologise to him. And she hated herself for it. 

    Not him. Herself. 

    Her day only got weirder when instead of Sergeant Grey walking up to the podium, it was Officer Tim Bradford instead.

    "Uh...?" was all Ines could say, softly to her fellow rookies as her Training Officer marched up to the front of roll call with a confident swag to his step. He smirked▬arrogant and smug, and the entire roll call grew restless with low whistles, excited murmurs and exasperated shakes of their head as if they knew exactly what was happening. 

     "All right, all right▬" Tim stepped behind the podium, resting his hands on the edge with a bright glint in his eyes that could only be described as competitive. "Settle down, settle down. Listen▬Everyone knows what today is..."

    Ines didn't know what today was. She turned to Jackson for an explanation and was met with chuckles. He held out a hand to her that told her he would explain to her, John and Lucy what was going on later. Souza frowned and glanced around at the rest of the officers who were getting more and more restless with eager excitement, lightly drumming their fingers on the table and jeering playfully at the group of Training Officers still seated.

     "▬And I just want to say," continued Tim over the excited chatter, smirking as he stood up straighter, "that Team Bradford▬" he gestured his thumb over at his (very) confused Rookie in the front row. She pointed at herself, mouthing a, What? that he ignored, "▬is gonna dominate once again."

    "Dominate what?" Officer Souza whispered, perplexed and Officer West patted her back in amused sympathy. 

    From the third row down, Officer Lopez cupped her hands around her mouth and called out a teasing, "Not this year, Blondie!"

    "Yeah, you're going down, Ken!" added Richards, wolf-whistling Bradford and his old T.O. looked ready to throw something at him. 

    "What is happening?" let out Ines, gesturing weakly with a pleading breathless sigh▬desperate to feel included. 

    "The Roundup," Jackson finally decided to elaborate as Tim moved to sit back down. At Ines, Lucy and John's confused looks, he explained. "Happens every year when the Rookies are a month into the job. The T.O.'s sponsor a competition for the most felony arrests in one shift."

    John considered this, making the same face Ines's dad has on multiple occasions when she tried to explain to him something she and her friends in High School were doing▬an old man's curiosity that made her bite back a smile. "Sounds like fun."

    Though that response made her chuckles drop and an incredulous frown knit her brows. The dubious tilt of her head was shared with Lucy and Jackson who stared at him in disbelief. John shrugged. "What?"

    "Uh▬" Lucy gestured between her, Jackson and Ines, "▬we were all there when pub trivia almost got violent."

    Jackson hummed and Ines snapped her fingers at Lucy to emphasise her point. John made a face and scoffed. "Uh▬no, I just▬I like a little healthy competition."

    "Are you kidding▬?"

    "▬Healthy?" laughed Ines.

    "▬You are cutthroat and relentless. Which▬" then added Jackson, holding up his hands in brief surrender, "▬I respect."

    "Okay, okay! Settle down," at last, Sergeant Grey stepped through the open glass door into the morning briefing. He passed through the aisles of restless and eager officers▬feeling the air of competition hover around his Field Training Officers like brewing storm clouds of trouble. "Don't think I didn't see you up in my spot, Bradford."

    Souza's T.O. merely shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair with his usual smug macho act that made Ines subtly roll her eyes before facing the front. 

    "So," continued Grey, rounding the podium and resting his hands on the sides. He sighed and pursed his lips, fixing an exasperated stare on his team▬almost like a disappointed teacher in front of a group of misfit teenagers. "I am aware that today is the day where our T.O. units compete for the most arrests. Under no circumstance does the department endorse this. Meaning▬" He set his stern stare onto Officer Bradford three rows down who tilted his head up to meet his superior's frown. "I don't want to hear about your points or strategy. Am I clear, Officer Bradford?"

    Tim Bradford bit back a smirk but nudged his heel hard against the boot of Officer Richards, who looked like he was trying his best not to laugh at his old T.O.'s expense. "Yes, sir," answered Officer Bradford dutifully, but in his eyes was an old glint of mischief that belonged to a boy fresh in khakis, not the man sitting in blues with a badge pinned to his chest. "This job isn't about winning. It's about good policing and teamwork."

    Sergeant Grey narrowed his eyes, seeing right through Officer Bradford's innocent smile. 

    When roll call was dismissed, Officer Souza left her fellow rookies and slipped through the sea of P2's leaving together for patrol to reach her Training Officer. Bradford held the door open for her with no gentleman's touch, but instead with a competitive urgency to get out in the streets. 

    As soon as they were walking through the bullpen together towards the kit room, Officer Bradford leaned down slightly to her height to tell her: "We win at any cost."

    Officer Souza blinked, confused. She glanced up at Bradford with her brows etched into a frown, erring on the side of caution. "But▬" she had to shuffle along to keep up with his tall, lengthy strides, "▬didn't Sergeant Grey just say▬?"

    "He said he doesn't want to hear about it," Bradford rested his hands on his duty belt, giving her a throwaway glance, "which is different than saying don't do it."

    "Yeah, but▬"

    "Now, the scoring is like football," continued her T.O., ignoring her hesitation. "Your felony arrest is your touchdown, which is seven points. We want touchdowns. Misdemeanours are the field goals▬they're three points. Simple infractions don't count, but if you can count up to three infractions on your felony arrest, it's an additional two points▬think of it like a try after a touchdown."

    Tim hovered over her shoulder as she signed off the sheet in the kit room, reaching for the war bags handed over to her. "Richards and Lopez are our main competition," he said to her, resting his elbow on the bench▬he was eager and he was determined. A competitive streak in Officer Bradford didn't surprise Officer Souza, but she was surprised by how much it seemed to consume him in that moment. So much so that not only was he talking to her more than he had this entire first month, but he was also talking to her like his partner, not her superior. "Lopez is gonna be a problem but Richards▬he is the one we gotta look out for the most."

    He stepped back as she shouldered the war bags and grabbed their shotguns. "He's tricky, and I know it▬because I taught him everything. Which means we have to think outside the box today, Boot▬Go straight for gold and▬"

    "▬Win at any cost," finished Officer Souza dryly, turning to Officer Bradford with an unimpressed look. "I heard you the first time."

    He narrowed his eyes at her and fished something out of the bag he was carrying. "Sarcasm isn't a good look on you, Boot."

    Souza went to be even more sarcastic when she noticed the wrapped present he pulled out of his bag▬complete even with a bow on top. "What's that?" she frowned. 

    Bradford glanced around them, making sure none of his fellow T.Os and their rookies were hovering to see. He held the present discreetly under one arm, nodding at Souza to tell her to follow him. "Insurance."

    She frowned and quickly set their gear in the trunk of their shop before shuffling after him back down the hallway. 

    Some officers gave them curious looks as they returned so soon. Souza hunched up, shuffling close to Bradford in hopes she'd be small enough in comparison that no one would focus on her. But admittedly, she was curious to see what▬or who▬was so important for Tim to go out of his way to get them a present, and wrap it up with a pretty pink bow on top. Souza didn't know her Training Officer well, but she easily knew he wasn't the one to pay attention to the details to wrap a present so well, let alone stick a bow on top of it. 

     He led her through the hallways of the Mid-Wilshire station, taking multiple lefts and a right until they found themselves outside of Dispatch. Souza's curiosity piqued▬she had never been into Dispatch. There were so many voices and names she has heard over the radio, but had never been able to put a face to in her short time here. The Dispatch office was always, of course, in walking distance▬but at the same time, it also always felt like a place that existed on another planet or behind a mystical barrier and a magical locked door. 

    Tim opened the door and she followed him into the room. It was larger than she expected it to be. Multiple persons were zeroed in their black office chairs in front of multiple monitor screens. Headsets were clasped over their ears, coffee or tea perched on their desks and ongoing, disorientated chatter echoed and bounced off the walls as they responded to every 911 call transferred to their system and to police radio chatter. 

    Ines couldn't help but hunch up, awkward as she smiled at one dispatcher who passed her to refill their coffee with the machine in the corner. "Hi, I'm Ines, what's your ...?" her words fell away when the young man received something over the radio. He held up one finger to her to wait before rushing back to his desk, completely forgetting about his steaming cup of coffee by the machine. 

    Officer Bradford searched the room of desks and monitors, until he found the friendly face he was looking for. Officer Souza's brows knitted in slight horror to see a wide, happy smile light up his face. "Nell!" he exclaimed softly.

    Everyone's favourite Dispatcher swivelled around in her chair, and Ines could finally put a face to the happy, go-to, soothing and competent voice that filled her radio chatter almost every day. Nell Forester seemed delightfully surprised to see Tim Bradford grace the dispatchers' office so early in the morning instead of being out on patrol.

    "Hey!" she greeted him, tilting the microphone of her headset down and muting herself on the radio. Nell looked as delightful and kind in person as she did over the radio. Her floral dress and bright orange combo▬matching with her painted fingernails and the handbag slung over the back of her chair, of course▬was something only she could make look so stylish. Her fingers were adorned with rings, a simple bracelet sat on her left wrist, and a locket hung around her neck. She pushed up the glasses perched on the end of her nose and brushed away the deep red bangs that framed her sweet, round face. She wore space buns today, neatly twisted with a perfect part on either side of her head. She looked like a perfect mixture between a librarian and a primary school teacher. 

    "Look at you," said Tim, gesturing to her in her entirety as he stopped by her desk. Nell gave him her full attention as if his decision to see her had made her entire day. "You are positively glowing▬What is your secret?"

    Ines's frown deepened, not sure whether she was perplexed or disgusted by Tim's personality change. Was that▬? No, he wasn't flirting ... was he?

    "Um..." Nell leaned back in her chair, surprised by the compliment, but blushing all the same. "I hiked Malibu Creek yesterday," she shrugged, chuckling nervously. "You should try it. Good for the soul."

    Tim grinned and nodded. No▬Ines was definitely disgusted. It didn't look right to see him so approachable and agreeable. "I bet. Listen, uh▬" he glanced down at the present he held in his hands, "▬I saw this at the bookstore yesterday, thought of you."

    Nell sat up straighter, her breath hitching in surprise. She glanced at the present he held out for her and her eyes softened. She took it from him with a gentle, hesitant smile▬and if she wasn't glowing before, she definitely was now. "That is so sweet!" she chuckled. Nell quickly opened the wrapping, and her audible gasp made a few of the other dispatchers glance over with a frown. "Oh, my gosh! Kilimanjaro▬I have been dying to go someday!" She clutched the book Tim got her with a bright smile.

    Tim chuckled at her reaction. "You will," he promised her. Ines turned up her nose. Then, her T.O. shuffled closer, and she tilted her head, watching him with a new air of suspicion. "Hey▬So, listen, uh..." Nell glanced up from her new book, watching him curiously as Tim's voice dropped lower. "As calls come in that sound like felony arrests, can you▬" he glanced back at his rookie and shrugged, offering Nell a sweet smile, "▬send them to us? And not over the radio."

    Nell hesitated. She hugged her book nervously to her chest. "Um ..." she glanced between Tim and Ines. Officer Souza quickly hid her startled expression. "That ..." she chuckled softly. "That would qualify as favouritism, so ..."

     Tim shrugged and gave her that same charming smile that made Ines want to throw up. "But I am your favourite. Come on..." he coaxed a little shy smile out of Nell and a bashful roll of her eyes. "For me?"

    "Get out of here," she waved him off as she turned back to her monitor▬but the subtle look she gave Tim over her shoulder was all the answer he needed. 

     As soon as they were back in the hallway, Officer Souza propped her hands on her hips and followed her Training Officer down the hallway with her best disapproving look. "Isn't that cheating?" she murmured, not impressed. 

    Officer Bradford glanced at her and scoffed. "I'm celebrating the unsung heroes of the LAPD."

    "Oh, and you do that by flirting with them in exchange for felony arrest calls?"

    Tim scowled at her, not appreciating her choice of words. He opened the door to the next corridor, leading them back towards the garage. Ines continued, "I thought it was our job to respond to any crime no matter the anticipated outcome."

    "Of course," grumbled Bradford as they passed processing. "But if you're gonna be some Pollyanna on my shoulder all day, I'll be happy to loan you out to clean the drunk tank..." he stopped them right outside the cell, and Ines stared in dismay at the poor officer having the mop the disgusting, chunky mess on the floor. "Heard there were some heavy pukers there last night."

    "Uh ..." Souza chuckled anxiously, backtracking. "Well▬I mean▬" she glanced up at Bradford who arched a brow at her, hands on his hips. "You know, I▬I've always been a fan of some healthy competition ... so ..."

    The door to processing opened, and both of them glanced over. Tim immediately slumped and grumbled, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

    Officer Lopez smirked as she and Officer West led in two handcuffed suspects, forcing them to sit down on the benches▬they grumbled and cursed under their breaths, scowling as they were restrained to the seating. 

    "Oh, hey!" said Officer West with a smug cheerfulness. He grinned at Officer Souza's scowl. She wasn't a fan of cheating, by any means▬and, of course, she wouldn't consider herself a fan of the roundup in general so far, but seeing Jackson so confident and taunting made her suddenly find winning so very desirable. Souza wasn't one who sought out competition by herself, but the moment she was pushed and prodded into it, she was all in. "Look what we found just two blocks away. A burglary and a conspiracy lookout."

    Officer Lopez matched her Rookie's smirk, arching a taunting brow at Officer Bradford. "Are you here booking someone?"

    He huffed, annoyed. "No."

    Lopez stood up straight after cuffing her suspect to the bench. "Oh," she played coy. "Then I guess we're first on the boards▬" she held out her fist and Officer West met it with a hearty laugh in the processing room. "Fourteen points!" 

    Souza rolled her eyes and their little show of jazz hands which followed. "Yeah, well▬" she propped her hands on her hips too, leaning forward with a flustered breath, "▬that's only because we▬" she gestured between her and Bradford, "▬haven't gotten out there yet. But watch out because when we do..." she waggled her finger at Jackson who simply shared an amused look with Lopez. "You'll be▬uh▬you'll be, uh..." Ines tried to come up with a good comeback but was stumped. She glanced up at Tim for help. 

    He sighed and moved on, shaking his head in disappointment. 

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     USUALLY, BY NOW, Ines would have received at least five messages from Nate about what he needed her to do when she got home, in her lunch break, whenever she had the time▬or whatever he wanted to talk to her about. Today, she had received zero. And she thought she would be relieved to not have to pretend like she wasn't distracted by every notification she received, but instead, the realisation that Nate was ignoring her only made her want to check her phone more, only made her more restless in the passenger seat of the shop. It was stupid. She was stuck in a loop between annoyance and desperation, and she wasn't sure how to get herself out of it. 

    She had hoped that the roundup would distract her from Nate. Not that she would admit it to Bradford, but Officer Souza had been keenly listening to the radio▬hoping that the next call that came through would be a felony or something that might turn into a felony. But despite her change of attitude, and Bradford's promise from Nell, they had received no felony arrest calls all morning. It was▬well▬quiet, and that only put a dampen on Bradford's already constant bad mood. 

    When Souza saw her phone lit up, she hated how she immediately went to check it▬and some part of her chest deflated when she saw that the message wasn't from Nate, still. She opened up the group chat between her, Jackson, Lucy and John▬and couldn't hide her frustrated, disappointed sigh to see messages from all of them announcing they had all gotten a felony arrest. Jackson and Lopez were now on twenty-one points! 

    She scowled at the picture of him standing next to his arrest▬an elderly man outside his home who looked very upset about being caught stealing opioids from the hospital. 

    Souza glanced at Bradford as she turned her phone off. "Both Lucy and John are on the board. Jackson's gotten another seven."

    "Bishop's playing?" muttered Officer Bradford, surprised. He gritted his teeth and smacked his hand on the wheel in his frustration. "Damnit. Call Nell. Put her on speaker."

    She pursed her lips but did as he said. She searched Nell's phone number he had given her on her work phone, pressing it and holding it out on speaker for him as he slowed down at the next set of traffic lights. 

    It didn't take her long to pick up. "Hello?" her voice was a little unsure at the unknown number.

    "Hey, it's Officer Bradford," Souza arched an incredulous brow at how suddenly Tim's voice switched to something more light and easy-going. "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

     Nell chuckled softly. "No. Of course, not. It's just▬um▬" her voice dropped to a whisper, "▬we've actually just▬we've been a little slow. Oh, wait▬!" her soft gasp made them both sit up straighter. Bradford's grip tightened on the wheel. "We just got a 911 call▬DUI hit-and-run, teenage pedestrian injured. Black 582i. Last seen eastbound on Melrose."

    Officer Bradford grinned. "Perfect! Attach us to that, please. And, Nell?"

    "Hmhm?"

    "You're the best."

    As Souza ended the call, she locked her dubious stare with Bradford's curious one▬and in seeing the look on her face, he rolled his eyes. 

    Officer Bradford did a quick U-turn around the lights, veering back towards Melrose with an eager clench of his jaw. Souza sat back in the passenger seat, eyeing him out of her peripheral. She pursed her lips in the silence that followed, watching the road for a few moments before deciding to speak up. "So ... Nell..."

    Tim shot her a frown. "What about her?"

    "Nothing," Ines quickly shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road as she searched for their DUI. "Just ... you know, she seems nice."

    Hearing the slight curious drag to her voice that she tried her best to hide, Bradford tensed. "What's your point?" he demanded curtly. 

    "Nothing," shrugged Souza again, pursing her lips and fiddling with her fingers. Her leg lightly bounced▬restless as she hung on the edge of the question she wanted to ask. "Well," she backtracked. "I mean ... She likes you."

    Bradford scowled. "She's doing me a favour. That's all." 

     She simply hummed, not believing him. Officer Bradford set his scowl on her. "I'm married, Officer Souza," he scolded her, "and this isn't something you and I talk about. We're not friends, we're coworkers. Keep your eyes peeled for our DUI."

    Officer Souza chewed her bottom lip, fighting back her exasperated sigh. She swallowed her annoyance. "Yes, sir."

    She frowned out of the window, not sure why she was upset. Perhaps it was everything that was going on with her and Nate that made her feel like she was teetering on the edge▬or perhaps it was because for a moment there, Souza felt like she was getting to know a side of Bradford that was more than the rigid, frustrating and grating hard-ass Training Officer she had to ride with on the daily. And for a moment there, too, she thought he was actively showing her it. Souza should've known better, she now realised.

    They weren't driving down Melrose for long before Officer Souza heard a flare of car horns a few metres down. She peered through the lanes and noticed a black car swerve dangerously to the left, its tyres skidding on the tarmac. Bradford noticed, too and pointed it out. "There."

    He switched on the sirens and sped up, weaving in and out of traffic as cars immediately tried to slowly veer over to the side to let them through. Souza grabbed the radio. "7-Adam-19, DUI suspect sighted heading east on Melrose."

    She kept her gaze fixed on the black vehicle, watching it tilt and skid sharply to the right and disappearing down one of the side roads. "7-Adam-19▬turning north onto Serrano."

   Souza gasped and couldn't stop the way she flinched when she heard a loud crash just seconds after. Her eyes widened. She shared a quick glance with Bradford and he set his jaw, taking the next left.

    They slowed down parallel to the curb outside a cash motel. The suspect's car had slammed nose-in against the bright green fencing of the pool. Thankfully, he hadn't broken right through and fallen into the water▬the metal fencing had caught most of the impact, and the pointed tips were left bent and bowed over the crumpled bonnet of the car. 

    "Let's go, Boot," Bradford shoved the gearstick into neutral and pulled up the handbrake. He was the first out of the door. "He might try and run. LAPD. Hands!"

    Souza unbuckled her seat belt and hurried outside, closing her door behind her and rushing towards the car with her hand on her gun. "Show us your hands!" She skidded to a stop when she reached the drivers side. "Oh, my God..." 

    Her stomach lurched and turned over▬the sight made her feel like her insides were being turned inside out, and Souza grew a little sick. She swallowed the bile back down her throat and lowered her weapon, staring in shock at the broken fence post that had pierced right through the windscreen and into the driver's chest.

    Officer Bradford holstered his weapon. "This is a first," he muttered and immediately rounded to the front of he vehicle, assessing the situation. His brow furrowed at the broken fence and joined Souza on the driver's side. He leaned down and peered in through the window, analysing the way the metal pole had dug its way between the mans bottom left ribs. 

     "Don't worry," the DUI managed, his voice slurring▬and Souza wasn't sure whether it was from the alcohol, the shock, or his injury. He looked very pale.  "I'm not ... I'm not going anywhere."

    Souza reached for her radio, her heart pounding. "7-Adam-19▬uh▬DUI suspect crashed at Melrose and Serrano. Need ambulance and fire, Code 3."

    Bradford stepped back and turned to her. "We're gonna have to cut it▬stay here, I'll grab the halligan."

    She nodded and leaned against the open window of the drivers seat. "Sir?" Souza tried to keep the man's focus on her and not on the metal post in his chest. "Sir▬you're going to be okay. But you have to stay still for me, all right? Don't move. The ambulance is on its way."

    She slipped on her gloves as Officer Bradford slammed close the trunk of the shop and returned with the halligan clutched tightly in his hands. Souza opened the back door of the car and climbed in. She hovered near the back of the driver's seat and wrapped her arms around to the front. Peering over the shoulder, she clasped her hands around the entry wound on the man's chest. The white fabric of his Hawaiian shirt was already stained a deep crimson. "Just▬just hang in there, sir," she told him as she did. "You need to stay still."

    "Should▬" blood was dripping out of his nose. "Should I pull it out▬?"

    "No, no, no, no▬" Ines rushed out, stopping his hands from grabbing the pole. "Don't move, okay? Don't move."

    Officer Souza braced the man against the chair as Officer Bradford leaned in through the open car door. "Stay still. I'm gonna cut this pipe. Three, two▬"

    Around the corner, another set of sirens joined them▬the bright red truck of the Los Angeles Fire Department was a relief for Officer Souza. They parked at the curb. Paramedics hurried to open the back doors and wheel out a stretcher while Bradford squeezed the sharp pincers of the halligan around the pipe. With a grunt, the fence post snapped in two.

    Souza grabbed the broken end, pushing it through the broken windscreen with a grit of her teeth. Bradford heaved it out from the other side, pulling it free from the car and setting it down on the hood. "It's okay," she continued to reassure the driver who was starting to wheeze. "It's okay▬ambulance is here, you're okay▬"

    "You have the right to remain silent," Officer Bradford cut her off and she blinked, taken aback. Her T.O. stood to the side as paramedics swarmed the car. One took Souza's place and she shuffled out. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Ines watched him as he rushed out  the Miranda Rights▬curt, sharp and with no sympathy to the man bleeding out in the driver's seat in front of him. "You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. Do you understand each of these rights?"

    The driver spluttered. His head swayed. "Yes, sir."

    Tim stepped back as the stretcher was pulled adjacent to the vehicle. "Now, you're required to provide a chemical sample if suspected of driving while impaled▬sorry! Impaired." His slip up made Ines's jaw fall slack, shocked. He continued even as paramedics pushed past him, diving in to place pressure around the scewered post. "You can choose between blood, breath, or urine. A refusal will result in the immediate suspension of your license for a minimum of a year."

     The man's head slumped, his eyes drooped. Blood spluttered from his lips. "Y▬Yes..." 

     The paramedic's eyes widened. "We need to get him to surgery!"

    "No, not before I get my blood draw," argued Bradford as they pulled him from the vehicle. "Twenty-one-gauge vial▬"

     Officer Souza finally found her voice, sick to her stomach. "W▬What? Can't it wait▬?" she gestured to the man who had slipped to unconsciousness, dragged onto the stretcher from his car. "He's literally▬"

     Bradford grabbed the halligan and stormed up to her. "Wait, what? Huh?" Ines's words hitched in the back of her throat when his voice cut through her sharper than a knife. "He's what? He's dying?"

    He pointed angrily at the stretcher, leering down at her. Officer Souza hated how she was always swallowed by his shadow. "This guy got drunk and hit a kid with his car▬maybe killed him. If we wait, his blood alcohol will return to normal, and we'll lose a crucial piece of evidence."

    She grew flustered. "I▬" Ines clenched her hands and took a sharp breath through her nose. She forced herself to stand straighter in front of her Training Officer. "And this has nothing to do with the seven-point felony arrest▬?"

    "Boot, criminals get hurt all the time during a crime," snapped Officer Bradford and she clenched her jaw. "They don't get special treatment if they get a boo-boo. Understood?"

     Ines glanced at the paramedics wheeling the suspect into the back of the truck. One of them hurried over with a vial full of his blood. She passed it to Bradford who slipped it inside an evidence bag. "Right," she muttered. "Yes, sir."

    "Good," he sealed the bag and brushed past her. "Now call in our seven points."

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    SHE WATCHED HIM enjoy his lunch with the other Training Officers at their own little table, chuckling at something Patrick said and rolling his eyes at Talia's words the next. Ines was troubled by it. She understood where he was coming from. He was right▬she supposed. If they waited too long, they wouldn't be able to have crucial evidence to see that the driver was punished for his DUI, hit-and-run and potential manslaughter. But where was the line drawn between justice and their own, individual morals. The man was dying in front of their eyes, and Tim had stood there, and now ate his lunch like nothing had even happened. While Ines struggled to stomach her food, the image of the man impaled by the fence post stuck inside her head. 

    She dipped her fries into her sauce, staring at the ketchup and feeling sick to her stomach instead. She set down her food and took a sip of her water instead, troubled. She barely heard Jackson boasting about his and Lopez's twenty-eight point lead, and John attempting to find loop holes in Jackson's last arrest▬picking apart at the details of the small drug bust. 

    Lucy pursed her lips, half listening and half frowning at her friend who was off in thought▬having barely eaten her food. 

    She lightly nudged Ines foot with her own, and she blinked, briefly coming back to reality and meeting Lucy's gentle, concerned gaze. Ines nodded, reassuring her that she was okay before going back to frowning at the table. 

    She tried to think about what she would have done differently in the situation▬whether there was a way to be more sensitive to the circumstances. Ines hated how no matter how many times she replayed the scene in her mind, she ended up in the same position. Tim was right. But it didn't settle well with her. Mostly because deep down she knew it was more than just rushing to get that blood sample▬she knew that there was also the motivation of the roundup that took away some of that sensitivity and understanding they needed as police officers, or the type of sensitivity and understanding Ines wanted to have while on the job. She could see it in the way John picked apart Jackson's recent arrest and complained about Talia not wanting to play. She could see it in the way Jackson scoffed and argued his point▬both of them forgetting how with that small drug bust, also was a young kid who would have to be handed off to child services, whose mother was now likely going to prison. 

    At her silence, Jackson elbowed Ines▬grabbing her attention once again. She hummed, glancing up from her uneaten lunch. She was met with the worried stares of all three of her friends. "What?" she murmured at their concerned looks. 

    They shared a small exchange about her that she wasn't privy to. Ines quickly said, "I'm fine."

    "You heard from Nate yet?" John instead asked. He subtly massaged his shoulder▬he had injured it doing a free dive onto the LAFD's inflatable landing pad earlier today with his felony.

     Ines pursed her lips. "No," she decided to say. "Not that I care, though," she added but checked her phone at the mention of her ex-boyfriend anyway. "If he wants to ignore me it's▬it's probably for the best."

     "It's not for the best," said Lucy, sounding frustrated▬mostly because when Ines couldn't be angry about her situation, she was prepared to be angry for her. "He's punishing you for what he did because he can't admit his own mistakes. He's manipulating you▬probably because he has this underlying fear of failure and was punished or harshly disciplined throughout his childhood for small things but▬" Officer Chen quickly stopped herself from psychoanalysing Nate and focused on the point of what she was trying to say, "▬that doesn't excuse him for treating you like this."

    "I know," stressed Ines▬feeling a sudden, miserable hit of defeat to her chest. She slumped. "I know, but it's just ..." she didn't know how to explain it to her friends. She didn't know how to explain to them why she was defending Nate or how, despite all of his faults, he had been her family for nearly ten years of her life. She loved him with unconditional pain in her heart▬the way a family should. For a long time in their lives, all they had was each other. No matter what he did, some part of her would always remember how he used to be, the life they could have had▬and sometimes cried herself to sleep wondering what had changed. "It's not that easy," she settled with. 

    She didn't want to see the looks on their faces▬they weren't judging her, but she felt judged anyway, mostly because she didn't feel understood. There wasn't any way Jackson or Lucy could understand her situation, no matter how hard they tried. And even John, who was empathetic by nature, and always seemed to make Ines feel comfortable in sharing what was happening to her▬she still felt isolated. 

    "I'll see you guys at end of shift," muttered Ines and stood up, carrying her uneaten lunch to the bin. 

    As she stood there at the bin, she felt compelled to pull out her phone. She unlocked it and went to her contacts. Her thumb hovered over Nate's number. 

    She almost pressed it when▬

    "Boot."

    Ines jumped and glanced over her shoulder. She saw Tim making his way back to the shop, frowning at her. "Let's go," he called. 

    "Yeah," she croaked out, quickly slipping her phone away into her pocket and dumping her rubbish away. "Coming▬" she caught up with Officer Bradford. 

     Climbing back inside the shop, she wasn't so eager for the day to continue. Ines wanted a distraction, but if her distractions were going to be like that DUI, she'd rather think about Nate for the rest of the day. Her stomach rumbled▬annoyed at her for not eating her lunch and she flushed, hugging her arms around herself as if that would somehow muffle the sound. 

    Officer Bradford eyed her, frowning at the sound. He didn't say anything, however, starting the ignition and pulling back out onto the road. They returned to driving around their patrol square, falling into a heavy silence▬as per usual▬while they waited for something on the radio, some idiot to commit a crime right in front of them outside, or Nell to call them personally with another felon. 

    Officer Souza was quiet▬more quiet than usual in the shop. Most of the time, she grew too tense and awkward in Bradford's stubborn silence, and ended up always trying to fill it up with something▬whether it be work-related or not. But after lunch, she was admittedly distracted. Her mind swam with troubling thoughts▬about both the DUI and her problems with Nate. She couldn't escape them no matter how hard she tried. 

    They drove in silence for a good thirty minutes▬and that was enough to make Tim Bradford clench his jaw and squeeze his wheel to keep his frustration down. Every time he glanced at Souza, he saw that annoying furrow of her brows that told him she was upset over something▬most likely him. 

    He hated it. He hated it so much because immediately, guilt crawled up his throat and suddenly he wasn't so sure about his actions with that DUI▬suddenly he was worried about what she was thinking, about what made her chew the inside of her cheek and brood over the way she fiddled with his fingers. 

    Tim closed his eyes briefly and huffed softly to himself, muttering a curse under his breath▬why was it her that he had to be paired with? Why couldn't it be anyone else? Heck▬even getting the forty-year-old rookie would have been better for him; better than whatever this was.

    He shifted in his seat, fixing his posture and turning on his blinker, turning right at the stop sign. Bradford glanced at his rookie out of the corner of his eye once more before muttering. "What street did we just turn into?"

    Souza blinked and returned to focus. She glanced around. "What? Uh..." Ines sat up straighter as well, trying to see the street sign they passed. Realising she had missed it, she slumped back in her seat and sighed, frustrated with herself. "Sorry. I just ..."

    "You need to stay focused, Boot," Tim repremanded her▬though he immediately regretted it when he saw the way she swallowed harshly and nodded, taking his tone more to heart than she usually would. 

    "Yeah, yeah, I know," she rushed out, flustered. "I'm just▬I just got lost in thought, it won't happen again, sir."

    He noticed the way she checked her phone, and wondered whether he could throw it out of the window. Tim knew what she was checking▬he always knew. No matter how hard Officer Souza tried to hide it from him, she wasn't subtle. Tim tried to convince himself the only reason he cared so much was because whatever problems she was having with her ex boyfriend would guaranteed to make her lose focus. 

     "Do I need to be worried that your mood is gonna affect our chances in this competition?" his words were sharp▬he needed to snap her out of whatever woeful thoughts she was mulling over. 

    "I'm fine," she stressed▬sounding as though she was tired of saying the same lie over and over again. 

    Tim didn't believe her. "Because I've won this five years and counting."

    "Yeah, I know, I get it," said Ines quickly, not meeting his gaze. She was getting more flustered▬curling back up and cowering away in her corner, pulling herself back into her shell the moment someone even spoke to her differently. 

    If he wanted her to complete this program and be a good cop, he needed to try and push her out of her shell▬to make her snap, to make her fight back, to break down whatever defence she had that made her curl away for safety. For a moment there, he thought he had started to make some progress with her▬for a brief moment, Tim had been surprised by her ability to stand her ground and argue back at him. Now, it was like all of that progress had suddenly gone out the window. 

    Ines tugged at the cuffs of her long sleeves. "I won't disappoint you, I promise," she mumbled. 

    Those words tugged at an old wound in Tim's chest. He faltered. That sentence was an old, stale sentence in the back of his mind▬a memory of words Isabel would mutter under her breath right before she went off the rails. Words he used to try and promise his father with▬but never succeeded in. Tim chewed back his frustration, another soft sigh escaping his lips as he forced himself to soften up. His grip on the wheel relaxed. That guilt returned▬it ate away at his chest, and Talia's words at lunch repeated in his head like some annoying record on repeat: All I'm asking you to do is take a hard look as to whether this contest teaches those rookies the right lesson. 

    "Look," he began, his tone blunt but without the same sharpness as before. "Is this about the DUI earlier? Because that wasn't about the score, Boot, it was about making sure that guy sees the inside of a cell."

    "I know," she mumbled, brushing him off. "I understand, sir."

    "Then why are you sulking in my shop?"

    "I'm not▬I said I'm fine."

    "You're obviously not fine▬" Tim shook his head and gave up before he'd lose his patience. He focused on the road in front of him, not sure why he even tried with her. 

    Ines pursed her lips and looked down at her hands again, chewing on her bottom lip, torn between keeping quiet and opening up. "I'm sorry," she murmured eventually. "I just ... I understand why, but it's ... it's hard to know where to draw the line in a situation like that."

    Tim had a feeling there was more to the frown on her face than simply the DUI, but he settled with that anyway. "Understood," he nodded. "But it's our job to always maintain perspective. He commited a crime. There is a kid in a coma because of it."

    Ines nodded, too. She puckered her lips, kissing her teeth softly in thought as she considered his words. Shyly, she them muttered, "I never thought there'd be so much philosophy to being a cop."

    Tim made a face at that. "There's no philosophy to being a cop. It's simple justice, logic and common sense."

    "Logic is a form of philosophy, and justice and common sense is subjective," pointed out Ines.

    Her T.O. scoffed and shook his head. "Nerd," he muttered and the look on his face▬the incredulous frown and disbelief made a small chuckle burst from her lips. Ines quickly looked away, hiding her soft giggles behind her hand, and Tim's dubious frown softened to see the way whatever troubles weighed her down suddenly lift. A little smile of his own tugged at the corner of his lips and he rolled his eyes, setting his gaze back onto the traffic. 

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    a/n:

    tim: no personal conversations in the shop 😡
    also tim: *sees ines is upset* personal conversation. now. 😡

     tim around everyone else: 😡😒😑
     tim when ines is upset: 😥😦🥺

    lol i just love how stubbornly clueless tim is to how he clearly has a soft spot for ines hahah. grumpy x sunshine for real hehe. bro is such a protector and its so sad as to why, but also so sweet. season one tim is so incredibly complex and i enjoy writing it so much. 

    (i urge people to watch the rookie its on netflix its so good). 

     about to drive three hours to get to work hehe but i wanted to post this first because tim and ines <3 even tho this chapter is meh. i dunno, i feel like im so repetitive with descriptions lol. i read so many better fics out there from amazing authors and i'm like why can't i be that good? i'm always improving tho ig. 

     also i need to just point out how tim is exactly what ines needs in her life, and how he totally parallels nate but is also his total opposite. you'll see it more as the book progresses, but its just super important how just by riding with tim for a month, she's starting to open up, come out of her shell, stand up for herself more and bite back - and it's not a coincidence she feels like (when she's in a good headspace) that she can speak back to tim despite him being so harsh and stern and like more 'angry' than nate is. it's because deep down, ines knows that he is listening to her, and isn't going out of his way to keep her in a cage of her own doubts, but is instead attempting to pull her out of it. tim definitely isn't the best person in season one, and goes through a lot of development, but he's genuinely a good person who is just going through a really hard time in his life. 

    i'm not saying nate isn't a good person, but he's definitely not a great person, but he's at that point in his life where he's not realising how his faults and his trauma and how that is making him toxic to ines's life. he's a very faulted character, and he's in no way a hero or a protagonist, and by giving him character development (you'll see) i am not discrediting trauma experiences, or invalidating these experiences, ines's experiences and how toxic and dangerous these situations are, and how it is important to recognise these red flags and step away. but when writing a character, even when they're an antagonist, i don't like throwing them away and giving them nothing redeeming about them/have them grow and develop, because then they're not human or realistic (unless they are mentally unable to feel empathy/understand the severity/consequences and how wrong their actions are because a person's mind physically cannot - eg, sociopaths (?) I think. Do not quote me on that, i don't know much about sociopaths and psychopaths (even narcissists, maybe?) and how that affects the brain). i kinda want nate to represent how as a partner, you should have to spend your relationship trying to fix your partner. the only person who should fix them is themselves. I also want him to represent how these type of men prexist in personalities who had once been different, but life and circumstances can bring out trauma responses and red flags etc. All of which should be held accountable, shouldn't be excused. i just want to make sure i write nate's journey as something with a beginning, a middle and an end, like all my characters. 

    (minimal editing).