"So, you just straight up lied to me?" She said.
"Trust me, way worse things happen during interrogations. And you may have deserved a lesson." He said, while getting out his phone. Time to call in.
Ashley was rambling on, Derrek shutted it out, searched his contacts for the Chief and dialed him. After a few beeps, the grumpy voice replied.
"Nineteen minutes since your previous call, Kane. This better be good." Derrek restrained himself.
"I caught two of the teens, locked in different locations. Shots were fired at me from the house."
"They shot at you?" The Chief asked, not in a worried tone, matter-of-factly just for the direction of the bullets.
"Yes, I wasn't hit. Four shots. It seems they are mostly doing this to scare me, so I'm not sure if it were real bullets fired or blanks." The line stayed silent for a while.
"You hear the difference, Derrek. We've had the course, remember. The duller sound, no place of bullet impact…"
"I didn't find a place of impact, but the sound.. I don't know. Everything happened so fast."
"I'll put in a new course especially for you then. You returned fire?"
"No." Derrek replied. Well, not at the shooter. "Yes, well..."
"Don't tell me you brought your rubber gun. Not again. I warned you before." Great… There goes that.
"He shot me in the butt!" Ashley shouted, Derrek quickly turned away his phone.
"You shot a girl?" The voice came over the line, both enraged and incredulous.
"And another teen who tried to run me over with a tractor." While saying this, he made eye contact with Ashley. She couldn't maintain eye contact.
"God-damnit, Derrek. God. Damn. It. Just an ordinary call. That's another shit-show you got there. What's your next step of action?" Derrek blinked a few times.
"Requesting reinforcements, there's still three teens abound, one is armed, possibly lethal. Stepping into the house solo is a death-wish I don't want to fulfill… Sir." He said.
"Hmm." The reply came. Seriously? Even for this he's not sending help? "Someone needs to clean up this mess… I'll send Jones. Can you just stay put for a while? He's on another call, I'll make him pass by after that. I'm guessing half an hour to an hour." Great, Jones. The real last resort. Or late resort mostly.
"Jones? I'll be here for another two hours before he'll get here." Derrek said.
"Stay put, and stop shooting kids, especially little girls, Kane." Derrek heard a laughter came from farther down the line. He had to put in all his restrain to push the red horn on his screen. His breathing had quickened again, the conversation was almost as tiresome as all the chasing was.
Ashley saw his distress. Derrek was expecting a jest from her, none came. Instead she said, "Yves won't hurt you, you know. 500 is a lot of money, but he wouldn't go that far. None of us would." Derrek saw some shame running over her face. "Is it though working for the police?" She asked. Derrek expected a trap.
"It is." He said, she sat waiting for more. "Not a lot of people see you as help, most think you're just pestering others. Some teens freaking you out for fun doesn't help either. We can get scared as well." It seemed to hit home. Sitting here locked up had got her thinking a bit he hoped. "And internally, it's the same as any job I guess. Some people you match with, others loathe you. You don't choose your colleagues in this sector, finding another position means moving probably." She nodded at him. It was hard to always keep seeing people as humans, even the ones who shout at you, hate you or even fire at you. It was one of the most important aspects of the job. It felt good if those people could see him also as human instead of just a uniform out to get them. Even if it was a teenage girl with a bruised buttock, handcuffed to a mouse blanketed wooden beam in a barn. He'll take it.
"So, you're waiting it out?" She asked after a while. Are you? She said they wouldn't hurt him, she seemed credible. Will you risk that? Chief is already disappointed, you'll hear this for another year now. Can I turn this around? Alone? They can lock me in the house if I'm not careful. I could really use a second, if only for a distraction—
Wait. Chip.
But he's on suspension… Should I?
He will come, I know that for sure. And he'll bring guns. But even he wouldn't shoot kids.
Would he?
No.
Would he… No no. Just a distraction is enough. One hell of a distraction that is.
"You all right?" Ashley asked. Derrek looked at her with question in his eyes. "You just let out a chuckle and then started grinning. A bit creepy, I have to say."
"Yeah, this'll be a real scare for the others as well." Derrek search his phone for Chip's number and started the call. I sure hope you know what you're doing, Derrek.
"Derricane!" The phone blasted out. Derrek saw Ashley's face turn into a smile, he turned away and walked a bit further from her.
"Chip, how are you?"
"Good, good. You know, at home. Really good. Just a few more weeks, but I'm good. How are you doing? You at that puddingfest? Just saw it at the news, tasty shit there. But also a bit boring. That why you calling, man?"
"No, no, Chip. I was there before, I'm on a call now." Over the line, Derrek could hear Chip moving forward in his lounge chair.
"A case?" My, someone is really eager.
"Yes, something going at a farmhouse. Some kids were screaming and they're trying to put me through a scare. Called in with the Chief, but help's out for at least an hour." Derrek could hear Chip getting out of his chair and starting to move.
"Go on, putting you on speaker."
"Uhm, there's five teens in total, two I already caught. One's still outside, the other two in the house. I'm preparing to head into the house, but I'm a bit outmanned here, and was wondering". Derrek could hear shells being loaded into a gun over the line. "I— uhm— know you're suspended at the moment, but—" He could hear Chip moving again. "I could really use some back-up. You don't have to get involved, we could spin the tale you saw my car in the driveway of the farm and you decided to check it out. "Some doors were closed over the line. Chip was breathing more heavily. "
"Address?" Is he already in his car?
"65 Dry Hollow Road, Chip, you don't—"
"Six-five, dryyyy, hollllowww ro—" Chip mumbled through the line. "Twenty-one minutes, I can make it in seventeen." Chip's engine roared over the line and his siren whooped once. Chip's pickup could pass through the mud without a problem, he'd probably drift through.