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“Man, did you see all those bodies?” Ridley asked as he and Penn walked the halls of the station, their voices carrying yards and yards away.

“I heard the man had a torture room set up and managed to get Harper with a paralytic.” Penn replied. “Good thing Lopez was with her, or she might be dead right now.” 

“I know.  I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in that situation. Paralyzed and at the mercy of a serial killer.”

“Well you have to be pretty stupid to get yourself abducted.” Penn shrugged. They were walking towards the bullpen from the garage and didn’t know they were about to turn the corner and walk smack dab into the last officer at the station they’d want to overhear them. “It’s drilled into everyone’s heads as a teenager, watch your drink. How do you be taught over and over again to watch your drink and then just… let yourself be drugged?”

  “Do you have any idea how offensive what you just said is?” Lucy asked, as the two newest rookies rounded the corner.  The words she heard were enough to boil her blood and if it weren’t for the viral attention on these two rookies, she’d be bouncing them for this alone. 

“Officer Chen!” Ridley exclaimed as he saw his training officer standing there glaring at the two of them. 

“We didn’t mean anything by it.” Penn tried to protest, but she held her hand up. 

“Do you have any idea the pain those victims went through?” She asked, her voice remaining steady even as she wanted to scream. “Stuck in an impossible situation that they knew would eventually lead to their brutal deaths? Do you have any idea what it’s like to know that you’re about to die, and not be able to do anything about it?”

“No Ma’am, of course not.  I apologize.”

“Just when I think you two have learned a lesson, you go spouting your mouths off. I don’t want to hear another word about the gruesome murders we just discovered. These victims were paralyzed, tied to a gurney and tortured for fun.  Do you know anything about paralytics?” She asked, and didn’t wait for them to answer.  “Because it’s not a pain killer.  It doesn’t dull any pain, it just makes it so you can’t move.  So those victims, while they were being cut, and beaten… were able to feel every painful moment of their deaths. Do you know what it’s like to feel yourself die?”

“Of course not we weren’t–”

“I don’t want to hear it, Officer Penn.  Neither of you know how truly lucky you are, to have never experienced that sort of fear. Neither of you know what it truly feels to be helpless.  To not be able to save yourself.  To fight with all your might, and still lose. Neither of you know what its like to die feeling that frightened and alone. I hope to god you never do. So until that day comes, and you understand the terror that those victims experienced, I don’t want to hear you talking about what it must have been like. To have the luxury of just wondering what that’s like.” Lucy was angry, and she could feel herself starting to want to cry. “Get out of my sight.”

Neither rookie was brave enough to stay within her line of sight after that. But once they were gone, she still couldn’t cry.  Wouldn’t bring herself to break down in the middle of the station. “What’d they do?” She heard behind her.  She twirled around and saw Tim standing a few feet away, watching the direction their rookies just disappeared to. 

“They were mocking the victims.” She told him. “Wondering how, with all the emphasis on watching your drink, or not riding with strangers and keeping alert… people could still let themselves be abducted.”

“They what?” Tim asked, his face hard and angry. 

“They acted like victims of serial killers are stupid enough to let themselves be abducted.” She gulped. 

“Lucy, you know that’s not true.”

“I know that.” Lucy snapped, but when she saw his face, she relaxed.  “Sorry.  I know that it’s not true, but hearing my rookie essentially calling me useless, even if he wasn’t talking about me… it’s aggravating.”

“If you need to take a personal day, you know Grey wouldn’t bat an eye.” He said. “I can have Ridley with me and beat some sense into them.” He offered and she shook her head. 

“If I leave, it’s just proving their point.  That victims of serial killers are too weak.”

“The last thing you are, Lucy, is weak.  You’re the strongest person I know.  Ignore the boots. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“It was bad enough that the bodies were found in the same damn manner” she took a few deep breaths trying to regain her composure. “Now I have my rookie thinking I’m weak.”

“He doesn’t think you’re weak.” He reminded her. “He doesn’t know about Caleb.”

“Which makes it even worse.  They think all victims of serial killers are weak.”

“Then we’re just going to show them that.” Tim said with a smirk.  

“What are you thinking?”

"Why don’t we meet at the food trucks tonight and go over a game plan?” He offered.

“You’re on.”

The next day, both Lucy and Tim had talked with Lieutenant Grey, and instead of working the investigation were given the green light to teach the rookies a lesson. “Boots!” Tim called out as they were both heading into the locker rooms to change for the day.

Both Ridley and Penn immediately turned around to look at their TO. “Yes Sir?” Ridley asked. 

“We’re changing things up today. We’re not going to roll call. The two of you, are being tested today and whether or not you pass will determine if you return to the streets as patrol officers tomorrow.  Got it?” He asked. 

Suddenly behind him, both Lucy and Bailey came up behind him.  “Ahh, there’s our guest proctor now.” Tim said.  “Penn, Ridley, this is Air Force Lieutenant Bailey Nune, who just got back from 3 weeks of tactical training in the Reserves. And Penn, don’t bother hitting on her. She’s married to Officer Nolan.”

“So I’ve been told you two have had some hiccups since you started?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and the two rookies simultaneously gulped.  “Well, your training officers have explained to me what we’re doing today, have they explained it to you?”

“Just a test… Ma’am.” Ridley replied, adding the honorific after a moment of hesitation. “We do not know specifics.”

“Because you never do.” Lucy replied. “You never know all the details going in.  When you’re a cop, you never know everything you need to know beforehand.  You have to learn how to adapt. So why would we tell you exactly what you’re being tested on? This is a test of adaptability as much as it is suitability.”

“Officer Chen informed me of what she overheard yesterday.” Tim told them. “So first test of the day… sparring.” He stared them down, and they both looked at eachother.  “Oh you won’t be sparring each other.’

“Who will we be sparring?” Ridley asked, looking at Tim intimidated. 

“Us.” Lucy and Bailey said in unison.  Both of their rookies looked cautiously optimistic.

“Don’t get cocky boots.” Tim glared at them. “Between the four of you, I’m putting my money on Chen and Nune every damn day of the week.”

“Go get your workout clothes on and get to the gym, because we’re going to be spending the morning sparring.”

Ten minutes later, the five of them were stationed in the gymnasium where Lucy and Tim had spent so much time training when she was a rookie. Both Bailey and Lucy were dressed in leggings and sports bras, while the rookies were in shorts and tshirts. Tim stood by in his uniform ready to referee. “Okay, first up. Which of you want to try and take on Lieutenant Nune?” He asked. Both Penn and Ridley looked cautiously at each other, before Tim began speaking again. “You’re both going up against both Nune and Chen before today is over, so it doesn’t matter who goes first. Pick.”

Penn stepped forward, his arrogance showing as he sized up both Chen and Nune, thinking this would be an easy fight. He was wrong. 

Bailey hadn’t started on the offensive yet, just defending Penn’s attacks which were ineffectual at best. He’d taken a few jabs with both fists, but she dodged them all rather easily.  He tried tackling her to the ground, but she side stepped him just as easily. However during her side step, she grabbed hold of the back of his collar, and used his momentum to wind him around and throw him back towards his starting position. 

“Oh, that was weak Penn.” Tim rolled his eyes. “You’re going to let a woman beat you?” He asked and had he not spoken with both Bailey and Lucy earlier, they might have both attacked him instead.  But it was all part of the plan. “Fight back.”

He went for it again, tried throwing a right hook, but missed and Bailey used the opportunity to turn him around, and get him into a headlock. “C’mon, Penn.” Bailey called out, she held him in a way he couldn’t escape. “Get out of it. Get out of this head lock and fight back.”

“This is embarrassing, Penn.” Lucy commented from the side of the room. “You’re a cowboy right?  You should know how to fight… or are you too reliant on a gun to get things done?”

“No Ma’am.” Penn said after Bailey let him go. 

“Then go all out. Don’t hold back. Stop taking it easy on her because she’s a woman.” Tim reminded him. 

The sparring session carried on with Penn failing to subdue Bailey in any way. But she’d managed to get him on the ground five times before Tim called the match. One time she’d managed to get him face first on the ground with his arms behind his back like she was cuffing him. “Officer Penn, stand up.” Tim demanded, and Penn after having been knocked down a few times, stood up slower than Tim would have liked. 

“You’re a good fighter Ma’am.” Penn said as he accepted defeat. “I guess I’ll have to up my game.”

“Yes, I suppose you will.” Bailey agreed, and stepped back to let Lucy and Ridley fight. This time, Ridley didn’t hold back from the beginning, having watched Bailey hold her own against Penn, he went on the offensive immediately and didn’t pull his punches.  He still failed.  

His first salvo was trying to knock Lucy off balance, but her experience fighting men nearly twice Ridley’s size made the fight even less intense than that of Bailey and Penn. She’d gotten him on his back within 3 minutes.  He’d attempted to kick her legs out from under her, but he was a split second too slow and she noticed it was happening.  Lucy jumped as she saw his leg start to move and managed to avoid the kick, land on her feet and then reached down to grab his leg, and pull it into a vice grip.  He was tapping out within 10 seconds. 

“C’mon.  You’re men right? You’re men and you’re police officers, you should be able to take on two women of their size.” Tim was tapping into the aggressive TO that he presented to the world during the beginning of Lucy’s rookie year.  “If you can’t take them down, how on earth are you going to take down someone my size?” Tim asked. “On the streets, you will be set to fight people who are taller than you and double your weight.  If you can’t take on two women who are both lighter and shorter than you, then what are you even doing here?” He asked. 

“They’re good fighters, Sir.” Penn said, trying to save face.  “Better than most civilian men.”

“That’s right.  They’re not civilians. They’ve been trained in tactical combat and know how to use their heights and weights as advantages, not disadvantages.”

“If you want to succeed on the streets of LA, you need to be able to fight against any person who tries to fight you.  You can’t be a cop on the streets if you’re unable to fight and come out on top.  Alright, Penn, you’re up against Chen.”

The second rounds didn’t go nearly as bad, but nowhere near as well as they should.  Both men had seemingly studied the women’s fighting styles and managed to block some attacks, and Penn even managed to get Lucy on the ground for a second, but that victory was short lived when she executed the sweep of the leg that Ridley tried earlier, and got him not only on the ground, but pinned face first to the ground with her knee on his back. 

Ridley on the other hand had tried his best, but Bailey was still too good for him. He’d managed to land a few good hits to her face, but mostly only got body hits which would barely bruise let alone incapacitate a suspect. 

“Well boots, you’ve just failed the first round of today’s test. You had dozens of opportunities to disarm them and get them into a cuffed position, but you failed each and every time.”

“We’ll work on our fighting skills.” Ridley said but Tim stepped forward, towering over the both of them. 

“Don’t bother, I don’t think you’re going to survive the day. You might as well walk into Grey’s office right now and resign.”

“I won’t be doing that, Sir.” Ridley was quick to reply, which only annoyed Tim further. 

“Alright boots.  Sparring is over, and you failed.  Go get into uniform and then get the warbags and the shops ready.  We’re going on a field trip.”

“We’re not going on patrol?”

“That depends on whether or not you pass the next test.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were all changed, and in their uniforms.  Lucy and Ridley in one shop, while Tim, Bailey and Penn were in another.  Lucy and Ridley drove behind Tim’s shop, even though she knew exactly where they were going.  

They pulled up to an abandoned building, with boarded up windows, old decaying police tape being buried in dirt and growing grass, with a masterlock attached to all entrances. 

“Where are we?” Ridley asked, looking around and not seeing anything suspicious. 

“We’re at a crime scene.” Lucy told the two boots. “A crime scene where a serial killer tried to kill her victim.”

“The serial killer was a woman?” Penn asked.  

“Rosalind Dyer.” Ridley’s eyes widened and Penn looked at them curiously.

“Who?”

“Good to know the Sugarland Police department is so poorly managed, that they aren’t aware of a serial killer who was briefly at the top of the FBI’s Top Ten most wanted list.” Tim rolled his eyes. 

“She was a serial killer who escaped police custody almost a year ago.” Ridley explained. “She’s dead.”

“Yes, she is dead.” Lucy nodded.  “And we’re about to take a look at one of her crime scenes.”  She pulled a key out of her pocket - a key that Grey had given her earlier that morning.  She unlocked the padlock on the front of the house and the five of them entered.  Inside, there was a giant hole in the floor, and when they looked down, they saw nothing but the basement.  

“What was this?”

“This once held a large tank that was booby trapped.  When Rosalind’s victim stepped over the top of the tank, the floor opened up, dropping her into the tank that had an electrified grate over the top of it.”

“What happened to her?” Penn asked surveying the room. 

“Oh she’s fine… now.” Bailey explained to them.  “She luckily had dozens of officers and firefighters here to work to get her to safety.”

“But it wasn’t easy.” Lucy spoke up.  “There were booby traps all over this house. When we cut the power to the house, we found out there was a backup power source somewhere on the property, but we had no clue.  Because the grate was still electrified and the tank began filling up with water.”

“So the victim was stuck in a tank filling with water, with an electrified grate that made it impossible to get her out?” Ridley asked, looking around. 

“Don’t forget the spikes coming out of the floor.” Lucy reminded them.

“Yea, that was fun.” Bailey said without an ounce of sincerity. “Spikes coming up from the floor, rapidly filling with water, and an electrified grate that when the water hit the grate, would kill her.”

“But you said she survived?” Penn asked. 

“Yea, I did survive.” Bailey nodded and both rookies’ heads turned towards her.  “Yeah, that victim was me.” She confirmed. “I’m a firefighter, and was called here.  When I arrived, there was no one around, and then I stepped over the center of the tank, and fell in.”

“I’m glad that you’re alright, Ma’am.” Ridley said earnestly. 

“Do you think Lieutenant Nune is stupid or weak?” Lucy asked and both rookies shook their heads negatively.  “Isn’t that what you said yesterday?” She asked.  “That people who are abducted by serial killers are too stupid and weak?”

“I didn’t mean anything by–” Penn began, but Bailey cut him off. 

“I’m not stupid and I’m not weak.  Anyone could have fallen into that trap.  No matter how smart, skilled or tough they are.  I had no reason to believe that the call that came in from Dispatch was anything except a wellness check. When I fell in, before the water, before we knew the grate was electrified…. My partner tried to remove the grate.. He had to retire from the LAFD due to the third degree burns on his hands.”

“That grate was electrified with over 5,000 volts of electricity.” Tim told them. “Do you know how many volts are used to kill a man in an electric chair?” He asked. 

“No Sir.” Ridley shook his head and Penn followed suit. 

“Less than 3,000.” Tim said and paused to let that sink in with the rookies. “Serial killers aren’t predators on the Serengetti.  They don’t only go after the weakest prey they can find. Sometimes, they pick targets which are strong… and still manage to succeed.”

“Can I ask… how did you get out?” Penn asked carefully. 

“They were able to cut the power… but there was a fail safe.  That fail safe… included potassium amide, a compound when exposed to the water in the rapidly filling tank… would explode.  I only survived the explosions, by holding my breath and staying as far under the water as I could.  I was hypothermic, I was hungry, exhausted and still managed to hold my breath and keep myself under the water long enough for the chemical reactions to finish.”

“I want you to, to take three deep breaths, and then I want you to hold it.  We’re going to time you.  I want to see how long you can hold it for.” She said, taking out her phone and pulling up her clock app.  

Both rookies took three deep breaths, before taking a breath and holding it. 

“See, after a minute, your lungs start to feel the burn. They start protesting, but only a minute?” Bailey scoffed.  “You’re not even a quarter of the way there.  You’ve got another 200 seconds to go.  Can you do it?” She asked the two rookies. “Because at about this time, I could feel the heat from the reaction.  I could feel the heat, feel the power of the explosions… and I still had to keep holding it.”

They were at a minute and 30 seconds now, and Ridley was turning blue.  He made it to a minute and 45 seconds before he couldn’t hold it any longer, and had to let go and take a deep breath into his lungs. “Another strike, Ridley.” Tim shook his head in disgust. 

At two minutes, Penn’s breath gave out. “Didn’t even make it halfway.” Lucy shook her head. “You have a real life victim of a serial killer in front of you and you couldn’t do even half of what she did in order to save herself?  Pathetic.” Lucy scowled. 

“Sorry, Ma’am.” Both rookies said in unison.  

“I hadn’t thought of it like that.” Penn admitted guiltily. 

“Because you saw one serial killer who targeted a bunch of women, and immediately assumed the women were too weak to protect themselves. When as you were so embarrassingly shown earlier today, the woman standing before you could trounce you in a fist fight with one hand in her pocket and the other one is giving a high five…. To your face.” Lucy explained.  

“I died that day.” Bailey told them.  “I held my breath so long, that I passed out and my body, doing what it was designed to do… started breathing.  But there was only water to inhale.  If it weren’t for the actions of Sergeant Bradford, Officer Chen and Officer Juarez who were on scene as well as Detective Lopez and Harper who had tracked down Rosalind’s lair and found the blueprints to the scene... I’d be dead right now… through no fault of my own.”

Both rookies looked contrite. “Falling victim to a serial killer isn’t about some innate qualities that you either do or do not have.  It’s not about whether or not you can protect yourself. Sometimes, you’re just outwitted. Serial killers have days, weeks, months to work out their kills.  Victims have seconds… if that.”

“Understood, Ma’am.” Ridley replied.  

“Good. Now back outside, stand next to the shops and don’t move from there.  We’ve got another stop to make.” Lucy pointed towards the front door, and both rookies started pacing their way out. “Thanks for doing this, Bailey.” Lucy said once the three of them were alone.  

“No problem.” She said reassuringly.  “I can’t believe they said what you said they did.”

“Well they learned a lesson or two today. Here’s hoping the next test helps humble them a bit more.” Tim said, as they all followed the rookies out. As they stepped out, they saw Nolan and Juarez’ shop sitting in back of Lucy’s. The two fresh boots were standing there as Nolan spoke with them.

“Bailey isn’t the only victim of a serial killer here right now.” Nolan explained to them. 

“Who else?” Penn asked. 

“Me.” Nolan smiled as if he was talking about the addition he built on his house in Foxburg.

“What?” Penn asked in shock.  

“About two years ago… we had discovered a serial killer hitting people with their cars… abducting them by saying he’d bring them to a hospital and then brought them to a secluded, abandoned building to kill them… and then he set the building on fire to dispose of the remains.”

“I remember that.” Ridley said. “The news didn’t know what to make of it… wasn’t there a few murders in Nevada too?”

“Right you are, Officer Ridley.” Nolan agreed. “You see, this serial killer… he just liked chaos.  He abducted me, while I was stone cold sober, with a gun on my ankle and every faculty available to me.”

“How’d he do it?”

“Like the other victims…. He hit me with a car.” John said pointedly. “Then as I was on the ground trying to get air back into my lungs, he came and sprayed a solution in my eyes, that knocked me out.  Next thing I know, I’m waking up in an old abandoned psychiatric hospital.”

“Ahh Marcus Lindsay.” Bailey said as she, Tim and Lucy made their way down towards the shops.

“Whose Marcus Lindsay?” Penn asked.  

“The serial killer who tried to kill me.” Nolan said simply. “He was actually Bailey’s acquaintance.”

“Up until he tried to kill my boyfriend.” Bailey deadpanned. “He was my boss’ neighbor, and would frequently come to station 113’s barbeques. He had a crush on me.”

“Wait… he tried to kill Officer Nolan because he liked you?” Ridley asked.  

“Yes.” Bailey nodded.  “Do you think Officer Nolan is weak or stupid?”

“Of course not.” Penn said immediately.  

“No way.” Ridley replied. 

“Good.” Lucy stepped in. 

Meanwhile, Celina was standing there, leaning against their shops, shaking her head at the two fo them.  “Do you also think children who are abducted are stupid and weak too?” Celina asked her fellow boots. “Or do children get a pass?”

“I mean, children are generally weak and stupid, but it's not their fault…. They’re kids.” Penn pointed out. 

“So it was my fault I got trapped?” Bailey asked

“And mine for getting hit by a car?” John followed up. 

“Of course not–” Penn said, trying to save face. 

“Have you ever seen a dead kid?” Tim asked Officer Penn. “You were on the job two years in Texas, did you ever have a case that involves a dead kid?”

“No Sir.” Penn shook his head. 

“It shows.  A dead kid changes you in ways you can’t prepare for.” 

“Indeed it does.” Celina agreed.  “In my case, it was my kid sister who was abducted and left for dead by a serial killer.” Neither of the male boots said anything, realizing they’d fucked up with their words from the night before. “As a child myself when it happened, I still have nightmares. You never get over the fear of watching someone you love die. The fact that you think victims of serial killers have any responsibility for their own abduction, is sickening.”

With that, Lucy spoke up. “Boots, back in the shop.  We have another stop to make.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a bar.” Lucy smiled and both Penn and Ridley looked at each other in concern. 

Arriving at Los Torres, Lucy took a few deep breaths as she got out of the shop, away from the prying eyes of their rookies.  She hadn’t been sure about this when Tim suggested it. Wasn’t confident that she wanted the boots to know.  But he pointed out that it was all public record anyway.  Her picture had been plastered across news agencies all over southern california when she went missing and once your face is out there, you can never pull it back. 

“I’m just saying, wouldn’t you rather explain the situation to them yourself, than have them hear through the grapevine and get details wrong?” Tim asked as they ate dinner the previous night.  “Plus it will serve as a teachable moment that might just might, mind you, stop Penn’s preening and Ridley’s incompetence. If it causes either one to realize they’re not up for this job and bounce, even better.”

“I don’t know.” Lucy said, taking a bite of the tacos she got from the food truck.

“It’s up to you.” He said, and obviously it was up to her.  Her story, her choice. “But I think it would help them to settle down. If anything, it would give them an idea of what they’ve got themselves into.”

“Well with a little luck, neither of them will ever be drugged and abducted.”

“No, but we could simulate it a bit.” Tim pointed out. 

“What do you have in mind?” Lucy asked and as she heard Tim’s plan, she liked it more and more. 

“What are we doing here?” Penn asked, looking at the bar in front of them. “I figure Parker Center would have a problem with us drinking on shift.”  

“Well that’s one thing you’re not wrong about.” Tim acknowledged as he led them into the bar.  It was just the four of them now, Bailey having gotten a ride back with Nolan and Juarez. 

“So what have you learned so far today?” Lucy asked, as she motioned to the bartender to pour the four of them a soft drink. 

“That serial killers as a whole don’t discriminate.” Ridley said quietly. “I had no idea so many people in our station have had run ins with one.”

“Well we have.” Lucy confirmed as the bartender finished pouring their drinks and handed them to the boys.  They were all clear soft drinks, Sprite, Lucy think she saw him pour. “No two serial killers are alike. Some are copy cats… and even they can add their own hallmark to their kills.” Lucy held her cup up to the others for a fake cheers. Once they all clinked their glasses together and took a sip, Ridley and Penn both doing so cautiously, she spoke again. 

“We’re here, because someone else we know was abducted from this very bar.”

“Who?” Penn asked. 

“We’ll get to that.” Tim assured him.  “But do you have any idea how they were abducted? Care to take a guess?”

“Well, we’re at a bar… so I’m assuming some sort of roofie or drug slipped into a drink.” Penn answered and Lucy nodded. 

“Well well, that’s two correct things you’ve said today.  You might just be making up for yesterday after all.”

“Yes, the person we’re talking about was drugged at this very bar a few years ago.” Tim agreed.  “We had been out at Griffith Park that day, digging up bodies that Rosalind Dyer was showing us.”

“Wait, the same woman who kidnapped Lieutenant Nune?” Ridley asked. 

“The one in the same.” Lucy nodded. “She had been in prison and volunteered to show us where the bodies of her victims that we never found were buried in exchange for commuting her sentence from the death penalty, to life without parole.  It was a nightmare.  We arrived at the first unmarked grave, and after digging it up, we found a corpse that was 9 months old. Dyer had been in prison for over ten years at that point.”

“So who dumped the fresh bodies?”

“A man named Caleb Wright.” Lucy said simply.  “At least that’s the only name we have.”

“What happened to him?”

“Oh he’s dead, Detective Harper shot and killed him.” Lucy paused, taking a sip of her drink. “See, when we discovered the fresh bodies, we knew there had to be a copy cat.  Turns out, Caleb was an accomplice of Rosalind and had been learning from her, working with her to kill women.”

“That’s horrible… how were they able to communicate while she was in prison?”

“He pretended to be a guard and got close to her that way.” She shrugged.  “But his kills weren’t like hers.  Dyer’s kills were gruesome and torturous.  She once poured boiling oil down one of her victim’s throats.” Penn and Ridley both gulped at that knowledge. “But not Caleb Wright.” She took a breath. “Caleb’s method of choice was suffocation.  But not strangling.  No, he locked women into old oil drums. Closing the lid, and waiting for them to run out of oxygen and slowly suffocate to death.  He did this, every three months for years.”

“How do you know exact dates?” Ridley asked. 

“Because he tattooed their day of death into their skin before shoving them into the barrel.  He wanted to give them clarity.  Give them the knowledge that whether they wanted to or not, that they were going to die that day. 

“Officer Nolan and Detective Harper actually found one of his victims before he stuck her into the drum.  Once his last victim was inaccessible, he needed to find someone else.  So he came here, to find a woman to drug, abduct and kill.  A woman he’d met the night before.”

“Is that why we’re here?” Ridley asked, taking a sip of his sprite, and as he pulled it to his lips, he noticed that it was now dyed purple. “What the?” He asked dropping the glass on the table and stepping back. When Penn looked down, his drink was dyed as well.

“Not so easy keeping track of your drinks, is it?” Tim asked, placing the bottle of purple dye on the center of the table. As she had told them the story, their attention riveted, Tim had pulled a small bottle of liquid food dye out of his pocket.  He quickly and discreetly, poured a few drops of dye into each of Penn and Ridley’s drinks. 

“Why would you?” Penn asked in disbelief. 

“To show you that even if you are smart enough to know to watch your drink… its still very easy to miss when someone is determined to drug you.” Tim said. “This is a cop bar.  Ninety percent of the people who frequent this place are cops who know better than to let their drinks go unattended. But it happened. One of our own was abducted from this bar after Caleb spiked her drink.  He drugged her, abducted her, tied her to a bed, tattooed her day of death into her skin, then sealed her in an oil drum, and then buried the drum on Rosalind Dyer’s estate. Hundreds of acres to comb once we discovered that was where he was planning on burying her, now that his dumping ground of Griffith Park was unusable.” 

“I hope to god you two never feel the fear that officer felt in that barrel.  To not know if anyone even knew she was missing.  To not know if anyone was looking for her.  To not know if anyone would find her.  To slowly run out of oxygen as she tried to remain calm, knowing to panic would make her run out of oxygen sooner.  I hope to god you never know how that feels.

“Because that feeling will never leave you once you do. Even after being rescued, she still has nightmares.  She still gets uncomfortable in confined spaces.  She still can’t sleep at night, without a light on, because complete darkness just brings her right back to that barrel.  I hope you never experience the night terrors that come with surviving an attempted murder.  I hope to god you never experience anything close to what I did that day.”

Both rookies stared at her in disbelief, their jaws nearly on the floor. 

“I died that day.” She took a breath.  “I died in that barrel, and even though Sergeant Bradford managed to find me, perform CPR and literally breathe life back into my body… part of me will always be stuck in that barrel. Because I can’t sleep without the lights on. Because I can’t go more than a few weeks without a night terror.  Part of me died that night, and never came back to life with the rest of me.  I lost my innocence that day. I lost the part of me that ever felt safe being in a crowded room without a gun on my hip. I look back at the woman I was the day before my abduction and miss her. I miss being the naive fool I was back then, because now I can never get that back.  I will forever be the cop who got herself abducted and killed.  But I survived.  And hearing you discuss the victims of serial killers so flippantly… I will admit, I was ready to bounce both of you from the program for conduct unbecoming after that.”

“And Grey and I would have supported her.” Tim told them. “On Officer Chen’s first week, she fought a guy twice her size - and won, saved my life by pulling me to safety after I was shot and then managed to assist in the apprehension of a man suspected of committing multiple felonies. What did you two do your first week?”

“You threw up on a crime scene.” Lucy pointed to Ridely and then turned to Penn, “And you joked about shooting out the tires on a man’s car. Which is not only goes against the duty manual, but is a massive human rights violation.” She said, before turning back to her own boot.  “Then you what… lost your duty belt on a chase because it wasn’t secured properly, and instead of getting the plate number of the suspect who escaped, you dropped the ball and returned for your belt. Meanwhile Officer Penn here, I’m guessing lied on his PHQ before he joined the Academy.  Why else would they allow a man living out of his car to be a cop? Officer Nolan crashed a shop, got caught in a locked fence and abandoned his TO to catch a fugitive his first week… you two still did worse.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Ridley said in earnest.  

“Me too.” Penn admitted, his arrogance having disappeared. “I will never again say anything like that about victims of serial killers.”

“Drop the last three words.” Tim ordered. “You don’t speak that way about victims, ever.  Doesn’t matter what they’re victims of.  I figured after you advocated for the death of that OD victim, you’d have learned something.  Should I figure that now, or have you two finally learned your lesson? You are not a hero, Officer Penn.  You might think you’re destined for greatness, but all I’ve seen from you is that you’re destined to be a mall security guard, with a fake badge and maybe if you’re lucky a segway.”

“We’re sorry.” Ridley repeated, Penn nodding. 

“We won’t make that mistake again.”

“See, you’ve said that what… five or six times now and you’re still making mistakes. We keep giving you chance after chance after chance and you keep blowing them. So this is the last one.  Screw up again, and you’re gone. We might not be able to bounce you right away, but you will be station bound until we can. Doing the most mundane and disgusting jobs until we can either let you go, or you quit. Front desk, cleaning the drunk tank… cavity searches.  If you want to avoid that fate, shape up, study your rook book and don’t speak negatively about anyone ever again. No matter who they are, suspect, victim, or innocent bystander. Your opinions are to be kept in your own head and not to be spoken.”

“Yes Ma’am.” They said in unison. 

“Finish your drinks.” Tim ordered. “It’s just food dye, unless one of you are allergic, you’re going to finish it.”

“Why?” Ridley asked, picking up his purple sprite and taking a sip. 

“So when you look in the mirror tonight, and see the purple staining your tongue, you remember just how easy it was to be drugged while you were distracted and hopefully pay closer attention to your surroundings in the future.”

“If anyone asks you today why your lips and tongue are stained purple, you will tell them exactly why.” Lucy ordered. “If you try to avoid the real reason and we find out, well… refer back to my previous statements about being station bound.”

Once the rookie’s purple drinks were gone, Tim stood up.  “Back to the shop, we have a patrol to get to.”