85: Prince Legolas’ First Day

The rest of the weekend passed quietly at Edhellond. On Monday, Prince Legolas donned his new uniform and gratefully accepted a ride to the police station from Elladan, who was on his way to the hospital for his shift. Several of the Elves were on hand to wish him fair fortune on his first day. Finrod gave him a knowing smile.

“Remember to breathe every once in a while,” he reminded the younger ellon.

Legolas nodded but did not trust himself to speak, wondering at how nervous he was feeling. Elladan did not importune him with idle chatter as he drove through Wiseman, for which he was grateful. He wondered what his first day was going to be like and what he would learn, if anything.

Finally, Elladan pulled up across the street from the station. “You’ll do fine,” he told Legolas. “Just don’t take over the station immediately. Give it ten minutes or so before you do.”

Legolas stared at his friend in disbelief and then, seeing the glint of humor and mischief in the peredhel’s eyes, he allowed himself to relax and chuckled. “I was planning on waiting a good half hour before taking over,” he quipped and Elladan barked out a laugh.

“Good luck,” he said as Legolas climbed out of the car and then he drove off, leaving the prince to face the Mortals alone. He had to wait a moment before he could cross the street and then he was inside, suddenly at a loss as to what he was supposed to do next. He was saved the trouble by Michaelson, who was standing by the front desk speaking to one of the officers and the sergeant at the front desk. They and everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to look at him. Michaelson glanced at the wall clock, which read 6:58 and nodded.

“Right on time,” he said. “This is Officer Orlando Lopez.” He gestured to the officer next to him and the Man stuck out his hand for Legolas to shake, which he did. “Lopez is going to be your partner for the day. Feel free to ask him any questions and do whatever he tells you. You’ll be back here around two. Stop at my office when you get back.”

Legolas nodded.

“Lopez, he’s all yours.” Michaelson nodded to the young officer and then left.

Lopez gave Legolas a smile. “Briefing is in five minutes. Let’s go grab a seat.”

“Briefing?” Legolas asked.

“There’s always a briefing at the beginning of each shift,” Lopez explained as the two made their way through the station to a room with a half dozen uniformed people milling about, drinking coffee and speaking in low tones. There was a counter with a sink and a couple of coffee urns, though one, Legolas could see, was labeled ‘hot water’. Along with the urns there was a box with tea bags, some sugar packets and creamer, and on the wall above was a series of hooks on which were hung a variety of coffee mugs. “Help yourself to coffee or whatever. Sarge will be in shortly. He’ll let us know what went down overnight and warn us of anything we need to know before we head out. At the end of our shift, we’ll write up our day so the next shift knows what’s what.”

Legolas nodded and eschewing coffee found a place to sit next to Lopez who insisted on being called Lando. “Though on the street, we should refer to each other as Officer Prince and Officer Lopez to maintain formality before the citizens.”

Legolas nodded, remembering how even he addressed his own captains with formality when they were on patrol so that the younger warriors did not become too familiar in their dealings with their superiors. Then, his musings were interrupted by the Sergeant entering carrying a clipboard.

“Morning, people. Let’s get started.” He went to the front of the room where there was a podium and everyone else found seats. “First of all, let me welcome our latest recruit, Liam Prince. Stand up Prince so everyone can get a good look at you.”

Legolas obliged, trying not to blush under the regard of the Mortals. Sarge gestured and he gratefully sat down as the Man continued. “Officer Prince is a volunteer and a member of our reserve. In fact, he’s the only member, though that may change. In the meantime, he’ll be riding with Lopez today, but over the next six months you’ll all have a chance to work with him and that goes for the other shifts. Captain will also be setting up some training for Mr. Prince since going to the police academy isn’t an option at this point in time. Okay, so here’s the deal.” He glanced at his clipboard. “Macintyre, you and Reynolds are patrolling on the east side from Morningside to James…”

Legolas listened with interest as the Sarge handed out assignments. He and Lopez would be patrolling the college area and points west. When the assignments had been given, the Sargent then spoke about what had happened during what he called the graveyard shift and Legolas made a mental note to ask why it was called that.

“There was a burglary over on Aurora and a disturbance at the Grey Whaler. Also a domestic on Evergreen. However, no one got hurt and no one died and we can all be grateful that it was a quiet night, but that doesn’t mean squat to the criminals in our midst, as we saw last week with that carjacking. So, let’s all be careful out there, okay?”

“You got it, Sarge,” just about everyone said as they stood up, taking turns rinsing out their mugs and hanging them on the hooks before grabbing their coats and heading out. Legolas followed Lopez to the parking lot and entered the patrol car assigned to them.

“We’re One-Adam-Two,” Lopez said. “Every patrol car has its own code so when Dispatch calls us we know when something is going down in our patrol area. The Adam in our code means that we’re the morning shift. The swing shift, that’s from three to eleven, is Baker and the graveyard shift, which is from eleven to seven, is Charlie. We use what’s called the Ten-Code and you’ll need to learn it.” He paused to pick up the radio microphone and spoke in it. “Dispatch, this is One-Adam-Two. We’re ten-forty-one.”

“Ten-four, One-Adam-Two,” came a voice over the speaker and then Lopez replaced the microphone and put the car in gear and they were off, following another patrol car out of the lot, turning left and heading for the college campus.

“Ten-forty-one means we’re now on duty and ten-four means ‘affirmative’.

“It sounds complicated,” Legolas commented.

“Not really. The ‘ten’ automatically alerts the other person that what follows is a specific code for a specific situation. It really saves time when time may be a commodity, especially for the victim of a crime. I promise, it won’t be that hard to remember all the codes. And, realistically, we hardly use most of them since we’re a small town and you’re not likely to receive a call for a ten-thirty-four, which is a riot, or a ten-eighty-nine, which is a bomb threat. We’re not the big city, after all.”

“And the carjacking that occurred last week? What code do you use for that?”

“Two-fifteen. There are some crimes that we use the penal code numbers for and that’s one of them. Now, I’ve been on the force here for two years and this is the first time I ever heard that particular code being used. Had to actually think for a minute before remembering what it meant.” Lopez flashed Legolas a smile. “Got to the intersection just in time to see you pull the perp out of the car.”

Legolas felt himself blush for some reason. “I forgot that the vehicle would still be moving. I am glad the other… er… perp managed to turn it off before anyone got injured.”

“Yeah, well, that’s probably the most excitement Wiseman’s seen in a dog’s age, but I hope it doesn’t become a habit. I like it when my shift is dull and quiet.”

The two fell silent as Lopez maneuvered through the streets. Legolas saw the campus up ahead.

“We’ll do a slow ride through the campus,” Lopez said, waving at the security guard as they passed the gate.

“Does not the college have its own police force?” Legolas asked.

“Campus Security it’s called. Yeah, they do, but they mostly keep an eye on the inside of buildings and direct visitors or even students to the correct building when needed. They maintain order among the students as well, but we’ve found that a visible police presence helps to deter some of the students’… er… more creative enthusiasms, you might say.”

“I see,” Legolas said, though he really didn’t but he felt he should make some sort of acknowledgement.

“So, anyway, we’ll drive through the campus, make sure everything’s kosher and then move westward. We’ll actually swing through the campus twice more after this before our shift ends. Any questions so far?”

“How do you work this thing?” Legolas asked, pointing to the radio scanner.

“It’s called a scanner and it’s very simple. Just pick up the microphone, press the button on the side and speak into it in a normal voice. When you’re done speaking, let go of the button so you’ll hear the person on the other side. Next time we get a call, I’ll let you relay the acknowledgement code. You remember what it was?”

“Ten-four.”

Lopez nodded as he turned onto another street. “In the meantime, keep your eyes open for anything unusual or anything that doesn’t look right, someone acting suspicious or…”

Legolas grinned, pointing out the window. “Such as the Three Amigos?”

“Who?” Lopez craned his neck to see where Legolas was pointing. Up ahead were several students, a mix of men and women, who were strolling along, apparently heading for their classes.

“The Three Amigos,” Legolas reiterated. “Otherwise known as Findalaurë, Calandil and Elennen, or Lawrence, Cal and Alan, as they prefer to be called. Findalaurë is the son of Lord Finrod.”

“And those others with them?” Lopez asked.

Legolas shrugged. “I must assume their fellow students. The Three Amigos are attending classes and live here on campus. Lord Finrod’s niece, the Lady Nielluin, is doing the same but she is not with them.”

“Hmph.” Lopez cast Legolas a sly look. “Clearly a suspicious lot. Should we pull over and say hello?”

Legolas raised an eyebrow and gave the Mortal a smile. It seemed to be all the encouragement Lopez needed, for he sped up the car a bit so as to reach the group of students, all of whom looked at the police car with surprise. At Lopez’s suggestion, Legolas rolled down the window, putting on his best parental face, one he had seen on Thranduil too many times to count.

“So, what mischief have you three been up to lately?” he asked in Sindarin.

“Liam!” Findalaurë exclaimed as he and his gwedyr came over, bending down to speak with him. “And what do you mean, mischief?” he demanded, speaking English. “We are but innocent students on our way to our sociology class where we are learning all about the weird and wacky Mortals and their crazy cultures.”

“Hey!” one of the mortal students protested. “Who are you calling wacky, Elfy? And it’s creative cultures, not crazy.”

Findalaurë looked back. “Are they not one and the same?”

Both Calandil and Elennen sniggered. “So, Liam, what are you doing in a police car? Did you do something naughty?” Elennen asked with an impish grin.

“I am a police officer, as well you know, my orclings. This is Officer Lopez, my… my partner for the day.”

“Good morning, sir,” Findalaurë said respectfully. “You keep an eye on Liam, here. He’s a troublemaker.”

“Well, I suppose it takes one to know one, heh?” Lopez drawled and several of the Mortals listening to the exchange laughed.

“He’s got you there, Lawrence,” one of them said. “C’mon, we’re going to be late for class.”

Findalaurë nodded. “You take care, Liam. Nell is going to be sorry to have missed you. Good day, Officer Lopez.” The three ellyn stepped back as Lopez and Legolas tendered their own farewells. Everyone gave the two in the police car waves. Legolas waved back before closing the window and Lopez resumed driving.

“Nice kids. Very respectful.”

Legolas shot the Man an amused look. “The ‘kids’, as you call them, are about a hundred thousand years old and they had better be respectful or Finrod will hear of it and give them grief.”

Lopez blanched. “A hundred thousand? Are you kidding me? They don’t look older than twenty. Come to that, neither do you. How old are you?”

“I do not know, but I have seen four ages of this world. I remember the civilizations that thrived before the ice destroyed them all.”

Lopez visibly gulped and looked a bit pale. Legolas gave him a sympathetic look. “Do not concern yourself, my friend. There are Elves even older than I living here in Wiseman, some of them remembering a time when neither sun nor moon lit the skies, only the stars.”

“And you’re a prince, too, so I understand,” Lopez said, then gave him a puzzled look. “So why do you want to be a police officer?”

Legolas gave him an impish grin. “It beats working in a bookstore like Finrod, who was once a king.”

Lopez’s eyes widened at the implications of Legolas’ words but before he could comment the scanner crackled and a voice said. “One-Adam-Two.”

Lopez grabbed the microphone. “One-Adam-Two. Go.”

“There’s a possible ten-fourteen at two-two-three-seven Madison. Code two, no lights.”

“Ten-fourteen at two-two-three-seven Madison. Code two, no lights,” Lopez repeated. “Ten-four, Dispatch.” Then he replaced the microphone as he sped up, going around a traffic circle and heading back the same way they had come as he gave Legolas an explanation. “A ten-fourteen is a report by a citizen of a possible prowler, someone being where he or she shouldn’t be. Code two means to proceed to the location immediately but in silent mode, no sirens. Usually we put on the lights so other drivers get out of our way, but we don’t want whoever it may be prowling to be alerted to our presence until the last minute, so we’ll just go as quickly as we can.”

“Madison is not within our patrol area, though,” Legolas pointed out. “Should not Carmichael be responding to the call?”

Lopez flashed him a surprised look. “How do you know—?”

“I have memorized the layout of Wiseman and all its streets,” Legolas answered.

“In a weekend?!”

Legolas chuckled, amused by the Mortal’s nonplused reaction. “No. I studied the maps and walked the streets when we first came here. I always prefer to know where everything is. It saves time and I am not constantly asking for directions.”

Lopez just shook his head. “Well, to answer your question, I don’t know. Carmichael might be on another call and we’re the closest unit. Okay, we’re in the one thousand block of Madison. The odd numbered houses are on your side, so keep an eye out. The prowler, if there is one, may not be at the location specified. He or she may have moved on. If we don’t find anyone, we’ll stop at the address that was given and make enquiries.”

Legolas nodded but did not speak as Lopez drove at a sedate rate through the neighborhood. This street seemed to be a mix of single houses and apartments. Clearly a residential area that bordered the town’s business district as Legolas could see a couple of shops two blocks away where Madison came into Kodiak. So far, there was no movement other than a cat stalking something through the snow and an elderly Woman pulling a wire cart behind her apparently filled with groceries. She barely glanced at the police car as it passed her and Legolas craned his neck to see her walk up to one of the houses and push a key into the door before opening it and disappearing inside. He turned to the front and resumed his watch.

“There is two-two-three-seven,” he said, pointing to what turned out to be a small apartment building, two stories high and perhaps holding no more than ten apartments, five on each floor.

“See anything or anyone suspicious?” Lopez asked, his gaze flitting about, taking everything in at a glance as he continued to drive past the building.

“No. All appears normal, which means that it probably is not.”

“Oh?”

Legolas nodded, not looking at Lopez. “It was my experience on patrols through Mirkwood that when everything looked the most normal, it usually meant that it was not and that we should maintain extra vigil— There! Between those two houses. Someone is standing in the shadows pretending not to be there.”

Lopez did not stop but continued past the two houses and went to the next block, turning left so now the houses in question were out of sight. He found a place to park, then reached for the microphone. “Dispatch, One-Adam-Two. We’re ten-twenty-three and code six.”

“Ten-four, One-Adam-Two,” came the voice, dispassionate as ever.

Lopez turned off the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. “C’mon, let’s see what’s going on.” They exited the car and headed back toward Madison. “Whoever the guy is, chances are, he’s moved. We may not find him.”

“And if he sees us he may run,” Legolas said with a nod. “I can approach from the back of these houses while you go up the street. He will most likely be checking to see that the street is clear. He will not think about anyone coming at him from behind.”

“Good idea. Just remember, you’re not armed, so don’t do anything stupid or the captain and the Sarge will have my hide, singly and collectively, if you get hurt or worse. We don’t know if the guy is armed or not, which makes him dangerous until we know otherwise.”

“Trust me, Lando. He will not hear me come.” And with that, Legolas sped across the street, running lightly on top of the snow piled in the yard of one of the houses, disappearing behind the house, leaving Lopez to stand there gaping for a few seconds before the Man collected himself and headed down the street, walking cautiously, his hand on the butt of his gun.

Legolas, meanwhile, was racing down the backyards, leaping fences with preternatural ease. He had taken the time to count the houses first, knowing that the backs would not look the same as the fronts. There, the next house down. He slowed his pace, looking about, deciding on his next move and noticed a tree that was bare of leaves but in the summer would offer shade to the house. The tree was nearly as tall as the house itself and Legolas could see that he could easily cross over to the roof. He quickly climbed the tree, greeting it automatically, assuring it that he meant it no harm. The tree responded sleepily, still slumbering in winter dreams of sunshine and sap. Even as he was reaching out to cross the distance between tree and roof, he heard a yell from below.

 “Halt! Police!” It was Lopez. ““Liam, he’s running!”

Legolas quickly crossed the roof in time to see the possible prowler actually run at Lopez even though the police officer had his gun out and pushed him to the ground hard enough to drive the wind out of Lopez’s lungs, leaving him stunned for a moment. Legolas leapt down and ran to Lopez.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Lopez assured him as he struggled to his feet. “Go! Before he gets away.”

“That he will not,” Legolas promised and assured that Lopez was fine, he sprinted away down the street after the Man who had not stopped running. Legolas caught him turning the corner onto Fitzhugh and ran the faster. Luckily, there was no traffic on the street at that hour, the residents already gone to work or school. Legolas turned onto Fitzhugh and noticed that the runner was slowing down somewhat, no doubt out of breath. He grinned mirthlessly. Even spending all those ages in Valinor, Legolas had never given up his training and had remained fit. He was barely breathing hard for all that he had run straight out for nearly three blocks.

He added a little more speed and then just as the Man turned to look back, he leapt, his arms outstretched, mentally pretending he had his long knives with him. The Man looked at him with something bordering on horror and he gave a gurgled squeak as Legolas fell upon him, grabbing him and bringing him down. They rolled with the momentum of the leap into the street and there was the sound of a horn blasting and tires squealing. Legolas managed to halt their roll before the two were run over, but when he looked up, he saw that one car had stopped within a mere three inches of them. When he stood, pulling the runner up with him he saw the driver looking out the window with an expression of shock on her face.

“Are you crazy?” the runner screamed. “You coulda gotten us both killed with that stunt.”

“You ran,” Legolas said in a reasonable tone. “What did you expect?”

“I was late for an appointment,” the Man said.

“Well, I am afraid you will be even later,” Legolas assured him as he pushed him back onto the sidewalk, slipped the handcuffs that had been given to him by Sarge before he left the station and tied the Man to a nearby lamppost.

“Hey, whatta ya doin’? You can’t do this to me. I’ve got rights.”

“Be quiet,” Legolas said and then ignored the Man to go to the Woman who still sat in her car staring out. He knocked on the window, startling the Woman, who proceeded to open her window.

“Are you all right, my lady?” Legolas asked solicitously. “You are uninjured?”

“I… I… you… he… I almost hit you.”

“But you did not,” Legolas pointed out and the very reasonableness of his tone seemed to bring the Woman out of her state of shock and she nodded. “I do not think you are capable of driving at the moment, my lady. Perhaps you should park your vehicle and we can get someone to take you to your destination.”

“No. I’ll be fine. I live just two blocks down, over on Monroe.”

“You are sure?” Legolas gave her a dubious look. She was pale and breathing heavily and she looked as if she might cry at any moment.”

Yes, Officer, I’m sure. Thank you.”

Legolas couldn’t help grinning at that. The Woman hadn’t seemed at all fazed by the fact that in the scuffle his hair had gotten loose from its tie and she must see that he was an Elf. All she really noticed was the police uniform.

“Then I will let you get on your way,” was all he said and he stepped back to let her go. She nodded, rolled up her window, took a deep, centering breath, put the car into drive and went on her way. Legolas watched as the car turned two blocks away and out of sight before returning to the Man he’d been chasing. By now Lopez was there Mirandizing the Man even as Legolas took out the key for the handcuffs and released the Man from the lamppost.

Lopez gave him a wry look. “You’re fast,” he said. “You want to hold on to him while I go get the car?”

“That will not be a problem,” Legolas assured him, taking the Man by the arm and holding him in a negligent manner.

Lopez just raised an eyebrow and said, “I’ll be back in a jiff.” With that, he loped away, turning the corner back onto Madison. Legolas stared at the Man in his custody and the Man stared back.

“Bloody hell! You’re one of those blasted Elves! Just my luck.”

Legolas just smiled and said nothing, still feeling warm at the way the Woman had addressed him as ‘Officer’.

****

Note: The 10-Codes used by the police and other agencies vary from location to location though some of them are standard, such as 10-4 meaning ‘affirmative’ or ‘acknowledged’. Where there are differences I’ve chosen those codes that suited the purpose of the story.

The codes used in this chapter:

10-4: Affirmative

10-14: Prowler

10-23: Arrived at scene

10: 34: Riot

10:41: Beginning tour of duty

215: Carjacking

Code two: Proceed immediately with lights, no siren

Code six: Out of the vehicle and investigating