Dispatched || Maddie Buckley

Chapter One- Protect and Serve

"All units, we have a possible situation. There may be a baby in danger at an apartment complex. Address is 876 Mccain, 4th floor."

The sound of the dispatcher's voice through the radio echoed through the car. Michael looked around at his surroundings and glanced down at his GPS. He was a good distance away from the scene but could easily make it there on time. He pressed the button on his radio, "10-4, G-77 en route to scene." He stated stoically.

He quickly flipped on his siren and lights and hurried down the streets of downtown Los Angeles. After a few moments, his patrol car halted to a stop in front of the apartment building.

Michael turned off his engine and exited his vehicle, he took a look around to see who else had arrived on the scene. By the time he arrived, the fire trucks lined the outside streets along with other patrol cars. He facepalmed himself mentally, hoping to have been the first on the scene.

Not long after his arrival, another patrol car pulled up. He rushed over greeting the woman that stepped from the vehicle. "Sergeant Athena Grant.. Lovely to see you."

Athena side eyed him and rolled her eyes, "Enough with the fake flattery, Andrews. Catch me up."

"Fire and rescue were the first to arrive. Theory is some kid gave birth on the toilet and tried to flush the evidence but she got stuck in the pipe." He said, walking alongside the older woman.

"Theory. Has anyone located the mother to see if the theory is correct?" She questioned, a hint of her usual sass found in her voice.

Michael shook his head in response.

Athena continued to walk towards the apartment building and glanced over at Michael, "How many floors above were they hearing the crying?"

"About floor five and floor six." He answered.

"Alright, let's start on five. Knock on every door. Don't be shy 'bout going in if something doesn't seem right."

Michael looked confused and furrowed his brow, "Don't I have to warn or something?"

Athena rolled her eyes yet again, already fed up with Michael's presence, "Do I look like I'm asking you to make an arrest?" She said, glaring over at him.

Michael sighed, "No ma'am."

He walked into the apartment building and up to the fifth floor. He quickly got to work, banging on every door opposite the side of Athena Grant.

It was crazy to think that someone had actually flushed a newborn baby down the toilet. However, this was the world they lived in and as a police officer, you had to be ready for whatever is thrown your way.

"LAPD!" He shouted, knocking at each door.

The pair of cops walked through the halls, greeting people only to ask if they had a teenage daughter. That was until the much older cop spotted the blood and made her way to one of the apartments. She banged the side of her right hand against the door loudly until it had just barely cracked open. She bursted through the door. Michael stood back, watching the door in hopes that Athena had found the mother.

Athena ran out of the room and following behind was an older man holding his daughter in his arms.
"We are taking them to the hospital. Call it in!" Athena called out to Michael.

Michael nodded and lifted his radio to his lips, "G-77 reporting, we got the baby and mother en route to emergency." He walked through the hallways gaining a pat on the back from his comrades. He made his way back to his patrol car and sat into his seat, his hands rested flat against the steering wheel. Michael took a deep breath and started the engine to his car and drove off.

The rest of the day was filled with the usual public disturbances and calls to break up fights at the local bars downtown. Michael was ready for his shift to be over now. He'd been on shift for over twelve hours and his exhaustion was setting in.

It was now 11:00 at night when he arrived back at the station to drop off the patrol car and get changed back into his normal attire. He made his way to the locker room and was pleased to find Athena Grant, his favorite sergeant. His relationship was definitely a love/hate one with the older woman. He would always annoy her just to get a reaction but he respected her and the way she ran things. She was always to the point whereas he was chaotic and a bit too loosened up for a cop.

He unbuttoned his top and took off the white tshirt underneath. He let out a deep sigh and grabbed his fresh shirt from his locker, "So Grant, how did things go with the girl and her baby?"

Athena sat down on the bench and put on her shoes, "They will both be fine. The mother will be going to juvenile but that decision is up to the judge."

"She flushed her baby down the toilet. I sure hope that juvi teaches her some humanity." He said which resulted in Athena standing to her feet to step closer to Michael.

"That little girl was scared and nearly died herself just to keep it a secret. We don't know the reasons people do things. Our job is to serve and protect, not to judge. We leave that to the court and to God above."

Michael threw his new shirt on and turned to Athena, "You're right."

Athena patted him on the back and left the room. Michael finished getting dressed and sat down for a moment to collect his thoughts after the long day.

He took out his phone and began to type to a contact named 'Ellie', "Wanna head out for drinks tonight?"

He sat his phone down and put his boots on and grabbed his truck keys. After a few moments, his phone dinged next to him.

The message from Ellie read, "I wish but I got 12 more hours of a shift left. Maybe on our next off day?"

"Yeah, totally." He typed back and headed outside to spend yet another night alone in his apartment.