The Sound of You **on hold**

Chapter 0

"Control, I'm going west bound on number one highway passing highway thirteen following a possible stolen vehicle that failed to pull over." The officer announces over the radio to me.

Oh hell no. It's almost five am! Why aren't the criminals sleeping too? "I have a pursuit! Channel 5!" I yell toward my supervisor and so the room can hear me. I push my foot down on the pedal under my desk and speak into my headset, "Copy that. Highway one westbound at highway thirteen. You're in pursuit?" I write everything down in the box on my screen that keeps data for the patrol unit.

"I'm closing the distance." He says back to me.

Just fucking say it. It's the same damn thing. I press my pedal down, "Vehicle description?"

"Blue Pontiac wave hatchback, Alberta marker Charlie Foxtrot one nine five five." I type in the vehicle description and enter CF1955 in the query field to find out if this car is, indeed, stolen. It comes back right away accompanied by a red flag.

STOLEN

"Plate check comes back as a stolen vehicle entered by your detachment, registered to a Brianne Maygrand out of Netherview." I say into my mic.

"I knew it! I took that report yesterday. Consider me in pursuit!" He chimes back. I can hear the smile in his voice. He's probably loving this. I can see on my screen the officer is a Corporal from the traffic detachment in the suburb just outside of Crowman. I, on the other hand, roll my eyes. "Still west bound one highway, at road twenty-five west. One hundred and thirty five kilometers an hour, dry roads, light traffic."

"Copy that!" My supervisor yells at me, making it known she's monitoring the radio channel.

I continue to take the Corporal's information as he fires it at me over the radio. I try to picture what's happening on the road when he tells me they enter the countryside and turn off the main highway, onto a side road and describes the conditions to me. My heart races and I pray the car thief is your run-of-the-mill piece-of-shit and not a dangerous criminal with a gun. My partner alerts officers in the surrounding area and she lets me know some other patrol units are on their way to help. The pursuit winds its way through the countryside without meeting any other vehicles on the road. My supervisor calls out the Dog Service Officer in case the dirt bag ditches the car and decides to run for it. Another unit joins the chase and I become responsible for her too, updating two units at once on my screen.

Adrenaline is coursing through my veins. Everyone in the room is listening on my channel in their spare time in case something exciting happens. I pray it doesn't. As exciting as a pursuit is, I'd much rather my officers not put themselves in harm's way. I take a deep breath to calm myself. It's part of the job. That's the risk they take. Doesn't mean they deserve tragic outcomes. Officers put their lives on the line every day for the safety of the public. Every day, I sit at my desk and do my best to keep the public and my officers safe with my hands and my mind. I know what kind of questions to ask the callers that rewards with information to help the officers make informed decisions on how to approach a situation. I know what to tell the callers to help keep everyone safe until police can arrive. I gather as much information as I can so I can do any searches to find out if anyone involved could be dangerous.

The thing about a pursuit, is the driver is often unknown until they are arrested. Anxiety cripples me for a split second and I let out a breath reminding myself I don't have time for it. I can fall apart later. When this is all over. When the Corporal and his partner go home to their families. Right now, they need me. They need to know my voice is here to help them when they need it. Some nights, I'm all they have. They don't have to know my heart is racing a million miles an hour.