Dispatched || Maddie Buckley

Chapter Eight- Mikey, Hen, and Athena

"All units, be on the lookout for a garbage truck in the neighbourhood. A man gave a call, said he was trapped in it. Stop any and all trucks."

Mikey knew there were only two going through the town at this time and hurried around the city to find the exact one carrying the man in the back. His sirens blared through the air behind the garbage truck until it pulled to a stop in the parking lot of some grocery store. His coworker, Athena Grant, had also made her way to the scene and called the 118 to let them know their location.

They both hopped out of their cars and rushed over to the man, who clearly couldn't hear a word they were saying due to his headphones being on full blast.

"Turn it off, turn off the compactor!" Athena called out to no avail.

As they rushed over, the man took off his headphones.

"Now! Turn off the compactor!" Mikey yelled in his direction, annoyed that it was taking so long and there was a life in danger.

"What?" The man groaned, pressing the button to stop the machine.

"There's someone inside." Athena said, walking around to the front of the truck.

"What?" The man questioned again.

"The dumpster, he was asleep." Athena said, making her way back to them as the firefighters pulled up.

"You're not in any trouble." Mikey assured him, stepping back to allow the 118 to get through.

"You run the compactor?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah."

"What kind of pressure does it operate at?" He asked, taking a look at the truck.

Mikey walked around, trying to see if there was any information he could give just in case the man wasn't aware of the mechanics of the truck.

"I don't know, 2000 PSI— maybe more." The man said, his hands shaking at the thought that he would be the reason some man ended up dead in his garbage truck.

"That'll crush a car." Buck, El, and Mikey said in sync, giving each other a cheeky grin at the act.

Hen started to climb the ladder on the truck to unload the trash and find the man that was hidden in all of the mess.

Mikey stood and watched in awe, "Look at her go." He glanced over at El and nudged her with his shoulder, swaying his hips back and forth.

"You two have gotten pretty close huh?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah, we hang out. She talks about her wife and I talk about women I have absolutely no chance with." He chuckles, bumping El with his hip as they talk.

"Sounds about right." She chuckled, "I should probably go up there and help."

El left and went to help the others, leaving a chance for Athena to take her place in the conversation.

"So Andrews, you were out for a few days.. Any particular reason?" She questioned, her arms crossed over her chest. "Wouldn't happen to be about the night of the full moon now would it?"

Mikey glared at her, not wanting to talk about the happenings of that night as it still haunted him each time he closed his eyes.

"You said we are friends now, this is what friends do. They talk." She said, stepping in front of Mikey to capture his full attention. "Now listen, every cop has their first kill. It happens. It sucks but it happens. You just need out of your head, why don't you join me and Hen for lunch today at the diner? I'm buying."