Rangers Apprentice AU-Police Force

Episode 9 Pt 3-Risk Taker

It felt like his heart had crawled up into his mouth. Stretched out on the leather seats of the patrol car, Will kept his head down as Halt drove them slowly toward the house and the downed officer. His sides ached in rhythm of his heart beats, and he stopped the urge to hold his side with one hand. He could do this.

 There was the loud report of gunfire, and the car was hammered with shot. Officer Mike returned fire, and the robber shot again. He wondered how much ammo the man had brought with him-but such thinking was quickly shoved aside because Halt had sped the car up, taking the moment to drive up into the lawn and wheel the car in front of Well's body while the intruder was reloading.

 As he saw the still, pale face of Ed come into sight, Will felt his stomach lurch. What if he was already dead?

"Now, Will!"

Halt's order jerked him out of the strange paralysis and he leaned out of the car and grasped Officer Well's arms. A gasp escaped him, as his ribs screamed in protest and when the man's deadweight pulled against his body Will almost dropped him. Struggling against the pain, fighting his nerves, Will somehow managed to wrangle the man into the car on the floor. He was panting, his face felt wet as beaded sweat dripped down his temples.

"Got him!" It was almost a croak but Officer O'Carrick heard it. At that moment the robber fired, his shot crashing into the backseat window; the jacket caught most of the shot and glass, but shards still spilled down over Will's legs, even as Halt pressed the gas pedal to the floor and sped back over the curb. 

 They didn't stop until out of the line of fire, several houses down. Will bent to check Wells; he was thankful the officer hadn't been any bigger than he was. With relief he caught the pulsing of his heart, and saw that the wound wasn't bleeding heavily. As he crawled into a sitting position, the man even moaned and opened his eyes. Seeing Halt stick his head into the door, Wells grinned feebly. 

"Some trick, that."

"Yours? I agree," Halt said acidly. "Just when will you learn, Wells?"

Shutting his eyes,  the other officer sighed. " I think I graduated today."

In the distance Will heard the wail of sirens drawing steadily nearer. The ambulance arrived shortly after, and they helped the two police medics transfer Wells to the stretcher. The last they saw of him was a hand waving nonchalantly. "Come and see me boys, when you have time."

 Straightening slowly, Will shook his head. "He's never at a loss for words, is he."

 "No, that's true." Circling the car, Halt jerked open the back door and pulled the coat free. Examining the holes in it he stuck several fingers in them and raised his eyebrows at Will.

"Mack is going to have a lovely headache with this report."

Trembling with the relief of the tension, and aching from the bruises, Will still felt a grin crack his face. "I'd better write it then, so he can read it without straining his eyes."

 "Oh, you're going to write it alright." Halt growled. "Get in the car."

"Sir?" Habit rolled the title off before he considered, so startled was he at his fellow officer's sudden annoyance. "But what about the robber?"

"There are officers taking care of it, and with the tear gas he won't be in there much longer. Get in the car-what's left of it."

 With sudden foreboding Will did as he was ordered. All the way back to the station he pondered and fretted over what had happened. Hadn't he done what Halt wanted? And wasn't Wells alright? Maybe it was the crack about Halt's scrawl that had tipped the balance. Giving up, he concentrated on the streets out of habit more than actually watching them, and rode in silence.