"Vengeance Of The Freeway Phantom"

By

Razzy

Ponch had arrived at their usual meeting place on the freeway a lot earlier than usual. He had already been sitting there fifteen minutes, waiting for his partner to show up. He checked his watch for the umpteenth time and shook his head. His patience was wearing a little thin. He knew Jon was never late, but this particular morning he willed him to get there even earlier.

Sergeant Getraer had informed all the officers that they were getting in a new officer on their shift that day. The new officer that was being added to the personnel roster, was a replacement for the empty spot left by a recent retirement. Of course, normally, that wasn't any big deal, because officers came and went all the time. But, the bomb Getraer had dropped was that this replacement was a 'female' officer.

Ponch wanted to be there, ready to meet and greet the new arrival--in his usual gentlemanly way, of course. This time spent waiting on his partner though, was beginning to make him edgy, and he started to drum his fingers on his bike's gas tank. His mind began drifting toward how he was going to handle this...situation. His thoughts were so distant he didn't hear the motorcycle approaching him, or the shifting of gears, as his partner slowed down, when he got closer to him.

Suddenly though, he came back to reality and turned his attention in the direction of the sound. He gave his friend his infamous toothy grin and, as Jon backed his bike right beside his, he told him, "'Bout time, partner!"

"What do yah mean? I'm right on time--as usual. Umm, what you doing here so early? You've never gotten here before me! What's up?"

"Jon, have you forgotten already? We're getting that new officer in today! That 'female' officer?! You know darn well I told you I wanted to get there early today."
His partner gave him an 'oh brother' look. "Ponch, she's just another officer." He knew that was a ridiculous statement when it came to his partner. Jon just thought he'd rattle his chains a little before they headed to work. "Ponch, go easy just this once! Simply welcome her like you would any other officer."

Ponch looked at him like he was insane, "Jon, we're getting fresh blood here. We're…" he stopped as his partner just shook his head. "What?!"

"We're gonna be late if we don't get a move on," Jon told him, as he started up his motor and got it moving on the freeway.

Ponch followed and then rode right up beside him. "You know what, Baker?!" he spoke up, to be heard over the two motorcycle engines.

Jon wasn't so sure he wanted to proceed with this, but he knew he was trapped, "What?!"

"With an attitude like that, you'll never get married!" With that retort, Ponch sped up his motor, knowing full well his partner would be right beside him, momentarily.

#########################

They arrived at Central and, of course, with Ponch in the lead, they quickly entered the building. Ponch took a look see around the hall, as they walked down it, but all the faces he saw were of the people he knew. He stepped up to Grossie and asked, "Hey, you see the new officer yet?"

Grossie just looked at him and smiled, "Nope. Getraer will probably have her make her appearance right at briefing."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ponch replied, sounding a little disgruntled. 'Briefing,' he thought, 'the Briefing room, sure that's probably where she's hiding.' He left his partner standing next to Grossie, and then headed in that direction.

Baker and Grossman stood there, shaking their heads.

Ponch poked his head into the briefing room, but there was nobody there yet. He shook his head and decided to go to the break room and visit the vending machine. He needed his daily dose of Ding-Dongs.

Getraer was in there, getting a cup of coffee before briefing. He had just learned a piece of very disturbing news, as to what had been happening out on the freeways--news that he had to relate to his people that morning, and he was quite upset about it. He turned to see Frank heading toward the food machines. Joe could tell he was totally oblivious to the fact that he was even there--so intent was he on getting his daily rations. Getraer shook his head and commented to the young officer, as he got his treat, "Frank, you keep eating those things, you're gonna turn into a Ding-Dong."

Ponch turned and, as usual, wore that toothy grin, "Ah, Sarge, these get me through the day. Besides, they're cheaper here then they are in any store."

The Sergeant just gave his head another shake, "Uh, briefing's in five minutes, Poncherello." He left the room, still shaking his head.

Ponch stepped back up to the machine and got a couple more packages. He wasn't about to let his sergeant's 'hurry up' message cause him to forget his reason for coming in there. Once he got what he needed, he headed back out and almost collided with Bear. "Hey!"

"Easy, Ponch! Good grief, you aren't gonna eat all those today are you?" Bear teased, knowing full well the forthcoming answer.

"Sure, why not?"

"You'll be on such a sugar high. It'll take you till next month to come down off'n it," he chuckled at his own comment. Ponch simply gave him a look that made him take a step or two backwards and then quickly stepped out of the way. Bear turned to watch Frank stomp his way down the hall. Then, he went into the break room. He glanced up at the clock and groaned, as he saw that briefing was only a minute away. There'd be no time for coffee at the moment. So, with a grunt of sincere displeasure, he turned and headed for the Briefing room--just making it, with thirty seconds to spare.

All the officers were now in their seats, including the new one. Getraer came walking in, carrying his notebook filled with the usual urgent notes that needed to be passed on to all the officers.

"All right, people, settle down!" the Sergeant said, in this best commanding voice.

The room got quiet very quickly, especially after they saw the look of concern on their leader's face.

"Okay, first order of business...I'd like to introduce everyone to our new officer, Stephanie Wilkes. Stephanie?"

The woman stood up a second and greeted everyone there with a smile.

Getraer then briefly filled everyone in as to where she came from. He also encouraged everyone to make her feel at home. Then, he got down to some very serious business. "Okay, people, we've got a guy driving a green sports car, who seems to enjoy creating some very serious mayhem out on the freeway. Last night, a motor officer was nearly killed when the suspect caused a ten-car pile up on the San Bernardino freeway. The officer is…" he paused a moment to look at Stephanie, and then reluctantly continued, "the officer is listed in critical condition, with some broken bones, lacerations, and a lot of bruises. Doctors think he'll pull through, but his injuries will require a lot of healing time. Unfortunately, we didn't get a license number." He continued to give them additional information regarding the incident. Then he passed on a few more items for them to keep their eyes open for. He finally ended the briefing with, "Okay, people, keep your heads up and your eyes open out there today." He closed his book, which told the officers he was done. He began to leave, but then suddenly thought of something else. "Ah, Jon? Frank? My office in five minutes," he requested and then turned to his new female officer, "Stephanie, you want to come to my office for a moment?"

The woman started to walk towards him, "Sure, Sergeant."

They walked down the hall and into his office. The Sergeant sat behind his desk and motioned for the woman to sit in the chair in front of him. "Stephanie, welcome to Central."

Thanks, Sergeant."

"Stephanie, I'd like to team you up with one of my best officers, Jon Baker. He's a good man." He stopped speaking and rubbed his chin. Then he stood up, walked around to the side of his desk, and sat down on the corner of it. "Stephanie, I've read through your jacket. From where I sit, you're one very good officer. But I understand that your move here was because of a personal situation that happened back in Sacramento. I need to know that you've come to grips with it and can handle any given situation that may happen out there."

"Sergeant, I'm okay. I'm still dealing with it, but in my own way. I still have my bad moments, but I try to keep it out of mind while on duty." Well, she did her best anyway.

"Okay, good girl. I'll have to hold you to that." He was about to continue when he heard footsteps in his office doorway.

"Oh, s'cuse us. Sarge, you wanted to see us?" Jon respectfully asked of his superior.

"Yeah," Getraer said and turned back to Stephanie, "Stephanie, this is Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello."

Stephanie stood up and shook hands with the two men, "Hello, Jon…Frank."

"Umm, call me Ponch. All my friends do," Frank told her, with that winning smile.

The female officer flashed him back her prettiest smile, "Okay, Ponch it is."

Getraer shook his head and then proceeded, "Frank," he cleared his throat and smiled, "Frank...Jon, I'm gonna split you two up for a while. Jon, I'd like you to team up with Stephanie." He stopped when he saw Ponch was about to make a retort, er, reply to that. "Frank, I thought you'd be happy about this. You'll be all by your lonesome out there for a change." He gave his young officer a wink and a mischievous grin, then turned back to Jon, "I need you to get her acclimated to the area around here."

Wow! Was his Sergeant ever mistaken! Ponch was not pleased to be going solo, and he figured Getraer knew it, too. Ponch wanted to comment that Jon should be the one out there by himself. Ponch wanted to be the one to take Stephanie under his wing. But their commander had spoken, and the look Getraer had given him, had caused him to swallow back his reply.

"Okay, Jon, Stephanie, head on out will yah," he cleared his throat. "Umm, I need to talk to Frank here a minute."

Baker, and his new female partner, filed out of the room.

As soon as they were gone, Ponch asked , "What gives, Sarge?"

"Frank, I…take the seat there, will yah?" Getraer urged and went to sit back behind his desk. "I need to tell you to simply…ah, nuts, Frank, I need you to stay away from Stephanie." That wasn't the way he'd wanted to put it.

Ponch was mortified, "What do yah mean?"

"I mean, I don't care if you talk about every day trivial matters, just don't go expecting anything else... okay?" Getraer studied the young man who was sitting right there in front of him. He could tell, by the look on Frank's face, that he was clueless as to what his Sergeant was trying to get at. "Look, Frank, don't ask her out on a date. Don't try to romance her. Just treat her like you would any other officer, okay?"

"Ah-ah, Sarge. Hey, didn't you see those gorgeous brown eyes...and that smile?! Nah, of course not. You're married. But man, asking me not to…"

Getraer put up a hand to stop him, "Down, Romeo, down! Look, Stephanie transferred here because she had to change her surroundings, okay? I don't want to go into details with you about this, because I feel that's up to her--if she wants to divulge them to anybody. Right now, just keep it on a 'friends only' basis." He paused momentarily and looked directly at him, "Got it?!"

"Sure, Sarge, sure."

"Okay, head out and be careful out there."

Ponch left the room with his mind naturally reeling about what Getraer had just told him--er, ordered him not to do. Of course, with his line of reasoning, somehow or another, he'd come up with a way of, well, getting around the 'order'. But at the moment, he figured he'd better just move along and get his motor on the road.

####################################

Jon and Stephanie were already out of the parking lot. Their morning patrol had started out by assisting an out-of-town motorist having mechanical problems. First order of business was to make sure wrecker personnel were notified to come and pick up the car. Then, while waiting for the wrecker to arrive, they had to make sure the family remained safe. Once that was accomplished, they continued on their way.

As they traveled on, Jon decided he'd try to learn a little more about his new partner. "Mind if I ask a few questions? Just to get to know you a little better!" He grinned, as he figured he'd better qualify the reason for asking.

"Sure why not!"

"How long have you been with the CHP?"

"Almost five years now," she answered, after a brief pause.

Of course then the usual cop-to-cop questions followed. What made her decide to make law enforcement her career? With the added comment of 'Especially when there were a lot of safer jobs out there.' Then, after she answered those trivial questions, he asked another very innocent question. Well, it was innocent to him. "What brings you to Central?"

Stephanie's mood suddenly shifted to one of extreme sadness.

It seemed at first to Jon, that she may not have heard the question over the roar of the motors, but then she finally answered.

"Change, Jon. I needed a change!" She suddenly sped up her bike and moved ahead a ways, trying to hide the moistness in her eyes and catch the tears that slowly came down her cheek. She quickly stuck her gloved finger under her glasses to rub the stubborn tears away.

Jon was beside her almost instantly and saw the movement, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just got something in my eyes is all," she told him, somewhat truthfully.

"Wanna pull over?"

"No, I'm okay," his pretty partner assured him. So they continued on patrol.

##########################################

Ponch was cruising along on his beat. It sure was different out there, under that blue, California sky, riding the highway--solo. His attention to his surroundings though, was just as acute as ever.

He had been traveling behind this one particular car now, for quite some time. It had been moving well below the posted speed limit. He was just about to pull it over to see what was wrong, when it started to weave in the lane--instantly placing him on alert. He also held back a little and slowed down even more. He put on his flashers, signaling the driver to pull over. But, apparently, the driver didn't see them, or was ignoring them. So he flipped the siren switch--to get the driver's attention. That didn't work, either. He did it once more, but there still wasn't any reaction from the motorist. So he checked traffic behind him, and then changed lanes--to come up beside the driver's window. He motioned over to the side of the road and the car's operator finally complied.

Ponch moved over to the shoulder and stopped behind the vehicle. The driver appeared to be a little old lady. He wondered what he'd find out, as to what her problem was. He stood there, by the driver's window, watching the woman. She was attempting, albeit, rather unsuccessfully, to quiet her little dog down. He grinned when he saw that the animal wasn't any bigger than a large rat. He couldn't believe how something that small could have such a loud, obnoxious bark. Through all the noise, he tried to get the woman's attention, "Ma'am?!" It seemed as though she was ignoring him, as she continued to try to get the noisy mutt under control. He tried a second time, "Ma'am?!" Still nothing.

Finally, she admitted to defeat and turned in his direction.

"Ma'am, were you having some sort of problem on the highway?" he quickly inquired, " You need help or something?"

She came back with, "Hello, Officer. Why did you stop me? I wasn't speeding."

He smiled at her. "No, Ma'am, you weren't speeding. But you were traveling too slowly for freeway traffic. That can be just as dangerous. I just wanted to check if something was wrong, before it became a hazard."

Her little mongrel was still yapping during this whole time. Still not answering him, she turned her attention back to the little mutt, "Now, Sweetie, you must be quiet, mommy's trying to talk to this nice young man." Then, to Ponch she said, "Sorry, Officer, Sweetie doesn't like it when people come so close to the car." That was all she said.

Ponch suddenly had the feeling that he was talking to the wind. He hadn't received a single answer to anything he had asked her. Either she simply couldn't hear, or maybe her hearing aid, if she had one, wasn't working. Finally, he decided he might just as well give up. So, speaking a little louder, he told her, "Ma'am, I'm not going to cite you for anything, but you really should try to drive closer to the speed limit, okay?" he urged and stepped away from her car.

"You have a good day too, Officer!" she wished, and then, ever so slowly, she maneuvered her car back onto the highway.

Ponch stood there, watching the car, as it crawled off down the road. It continued on so extremely slow, that he figured it would probably be tomorrow before it finally disappeared from view. With a shake of his head he went back to his bike and moved on down the highway himself. It wasn't very long before he got tied up on something else.

#############################################

Jon and Stephanie had just completed a traffic stop, when they heard Grossman's traffic.

"LA, 7 Mary 5 in pursuit of a tan sports car.." Grossie then gave his location, and the direction he was heading in, to LA dispatch--and all officers that were listening. He needed back up and fast. The driver of the vehicle could be the guy they were looking for. He remembered Getraer had said the guy's car was green. But, he wasn't about to take any chances.

Without a word, both Jon and Stephanie sped up their bikes and headed in Grossman's direction. There wasn't an officer within a fifty-mile radius that didn't want to catch the suspect. Even Bear soon came up behind them to give assistance.

All three caught up to Grossie and joined in the pursuit. Jon checked his speedometer and frowned. They were now traveling almost ninety miles an hour. 'If this is the suspect...and anything happens at this speed...' he wouldn't allow himself to complete the thought. Just as he looked up again, he and Stephanie heard Bear's panic-stricken traffic.

"Grossman, abort the pursuit! Grossie! Pull back! Now!" For some reason, what Bear had suddenly seen the guy do, was the cause of his sheer panic. The driver of the sports car had got between two other cars, and Bear had a sinking suspicion of what the guy was going to do.

Sure enough, the suspect got up ahead of both cars and then quickly swung his car to the right-- just close enough to one of the cars to clip the driver's side front bumper, throwing the clipped vehicle completely out of control. As the clipped car spun around, it hit another car and created a domino effect. The driver of the tan sports car simply, merrily, continued on his way down the freeway, knowing full well the mayhem he had left behind.

Grossie managed to slow his bike down enough to where he could do some fancy maneuvering to keep from becoming the second officer to be injured in such a fashion. He pulled his bike off onto the shoulder of the highway and watched as cars continued to collide with one another. Finally, the mayhem came to a halt.

Stephanie and Jon pulled up behind Grossman and stopped.

Bear had taken on the task of stopping traffic, by running interference--moving his patrol car back and forth in the lanes, as a signal to the cars behind him, that they were to come to a complete stop.

There was a lot of work that needed to be done now, and the first order of business was to get medical help out there.

That's what Jon took care of. "LA, 7 Mary 3...We need fire and paramedic assistance at our location. We have a multiple MVA (motor vehicle accident)." As soon as he was through with this traffic, he quickly went up to Stephanie and Grossman. "Hey, Grossie, you okay?"

Grossman had already assured Stephanie that he was, but it beared repeating, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Man, that was too close. That definitely had to be our guy."

"You're right. You came mighty close to biting the dirt on that one," Stephanie told him, as she shook her head in disgust.

"Yeah, remind me to thank Bear for saving my hide."

"Hang tight here till you quit shaking. Stephanie and I'll get to work," Jon announced. He could almost see his fellow officer's body vibrate from the sheer terror of how close he came to being seriously injured...or killed.

They quickly left his side and went to check on the other people who weren't so fortunate to stay out of harms way. They went from car to car, till Jon found a seriously injured man who had a badly bleeding laceration, which he had to hold pressure on till the paramedics arrived. "Stephanie, you find anybody else with serious injuries?" he asked, as she came back from double-checking a few of the victims.

Before she could answer, the paramedics arrived. So, she directed one of them to a couple of 'seriously' injured people who needed medical assistance--immediately.

The other paramedic ran over to her partner, who had motioned that he needed help--in a hurry.

Baker continued to assist, as much as he could. After bandages and a C-collar were applied, Jon helped get the victim out of the car and down onto the pavement, where he could be assessed for any further injuries. The ambulances still hadn't shown up. But additional medical assistance had arrived on the scene, to assist the two paramedics already there.

Once Jon and Stephanie were freed up in helping the medics, they got busy, helping Bear with traffic control.

Finally, the last of the victims were taken care of, and wreckers came to haul the crumpled vehicles away. Jon groaned inwardly, as he thought of all the paperwork that would be involved--and all in triplicate.

After the lanes were clear of all the cars and debris, the traffic was allowed to flow once again. Bear chatted momentarily with the three motor offices, before continuing on his way. Jon patted Grossie on the back, "Hey, why don't you go back to Central and take a well-deserved break. Heaven knows, after what you just went through, you deserve one."

"Yeah and have Getraer catch me sloughing off? Don't think so, Jon," Grossman told him, with a shake of his head.

Jon grinned, "Umm, I think when you tell him what happened, he'll give you at least five minutes to have a coffee break. Don't you?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right. 'Course, knowing Getraer, he'll demand to know why I didn't nail the guy!"

Both Stephanie and Jon were forced to chuckle on that one.

"Hey, actually, all three of us deserve a break," Baker determined, "C'mon, let's go!"

################################################

The trio arrived at Central, took their 'deserved' break, and then headed back out on the highways. The rest of the day was filled with the usual, eventful patrol--which ended with the predicted endless paperwork.

##################################################

The next day at briefing, Getraer once again had some very bad news for his officers. He walked up to the podium and slammed his book down, which naturally caught everyone's attention. "All right, people, listen up. Okay, yesterday, Grossman almost became the second officer taken out by our 'Freeway Phantom'. Fortunately, he's with us here, today. Samuelson, from B-shift, wasn't so lucky." The sergeant couldn't miss the very disturbed expressions on everyone's faces, as they waited to hear what had happened. "Samuelson was knocked off his motor, much in the same way the first officer was--and Grossman almost was. He's in the hospital right now, listed in critical condition. People, I don't need to remind you that this guy has got to be stopped. So far, we've been lucky, but two injured officers is still way too many. The unfortunate thing about this whole business is that it seems this guy doesn't use the same car more than once. Each time it's been done, a different color, make and model vehicle has been used, but the way these accidents have been so similar in nature, we're thinking it's gotta be the same guy. Somehow, he's got the knack of stealing a car, using it to cause an accident, and then dumping it--long before the owner even knows it's missing. The only thing we know about this guy, is that in all three strikes he's used a souped up sports car of some sort. That's not much to go on people." Joe continued with additional items the officers were to look out for while out on their beats. The sergeant just couldn't shake the bad feeling that things were only going to get even worse before they finally nailed this guy. "Okay, people, get out there and make yourselves visible. Only stay out of harms way, okay?" he finished and left the room, heading for his office.

As everyone filed out of the room, the topic of conversation was the 'Freeway Phantom'--the guy that simply showed up on the highway, created his havoc and then left the scene, completely unscathed. All the uniformed officers left the room, wearing frowns...and shaking their heads.

"Hey," Ponch began, as he met up with Jon and Stephanie, "I didn't get to tell you last night about the elderly lady I stopped yesterday."

Jon eyed him suspiciously, "What's so different about stopping an elderly lady from anybody else, Ponch?"

"This woman couldn't hear worth a hoot! I mean, I'd ask her a question. She'd come back with something totally off the wall from what I asked. I tried to get her attention--twice. She acted like she never even heard me. Oh, and she had this little dog that wouldn't stop yapping. She paid more attention to it than she did me!" He shook his head and started off once again, "Man, I don't see how people who can't hear worth a…" he stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ah, Frank..." It was Getraer. He had momentarily stepped back out of his office, only to find a few of his officer's 'loitering' out in the hall. "You going on your beat--sometime this morning?"

"Ah, yeah, Sarge, I was just…" Ponch stopped again, when his sergeant pointed him toward the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going!" He knew better than to argue the point…even though he did think about doing so…for a second or two.

Sergeant Getraer simply looked at Jon and Stephanie, waiting for one of them to make a retort, er, reply, but they just grinned and followed Ponch out the door, leaving Joe smiling and shaking his head.

##################################################

This day's patrol proved no different from any other day's. Each officer managed to keep pretty busy handling one thing after another.

After traveling a number of miles, handling the typical highway problems, along with keeping an eye out for the Freeway Phantom, Ponch managed to stop a vehicle along a very busy portion of the freeway. "LA, 7 Mary 4." He had already retrieved the driver's paperwork and, from all the signs the guy had given him, he couldn't help but wonder if he had something to hide. For some reason, he put himself on alert.

"Go ahead, 7 Mary 4!"

Ponch gave dispatch the information needed to check the man's file and driving record.

It wasn't long before the dispatcher came back, "7 Mary 4, LA. Can you copy felony warrant traffic?"

"Go ahead, LA!" Ponch wasn't surprised at that bit of news and he never took his eyes off the driver, during the whole time.

"7 Mary 4...Your subject has a felony warrant out of San Diego County. It's a statewide pick up. The warrant is for possession, sale of controlled substance and also weapons charges."

"Okay, I'm clear, LA."

Just then, a patrol car pulled up behind him. It was Turner. "Thought you may need help on this one, Ponch," the officer offered.

"Yeah, thanks. C'mon, before he rabbits on us."

Both officers walked up to the car, with Ponch taking the lead. They were ever so watchful, cautiously alert to anything, especially, movement in the car.

Ponch stepped back up to the driver's window, with Turner taking the guard position. "Sir, would you please step out of the car," he stated more than asked.

The guy decided it would be in his best interests to comply. One cop he felt he could handle with no problem, but with two? Well, he knew better.

Ponch explained to him about the warrants. Then, after moving onto the shoulder behind his car, the handcuffs were placed on their prisoner's wrists. Ponch took care of the cuffs, whileTurner read the guy his rights. That way, Ponch could concentrate on any wrong movements the man just may try to make while he was being handcuffed. Fortunately, for everyone involved, no violent activity took place. The man was placed in the back of Turner's car.

#########################################

Jon and Stephanie had just finished taking care of a minor two-car accident and were now back on the road.

It wasn't very long till they got busy again as dispatch came over the radio, "Any units on the 405, BOL (be on the lookout) for a possible DUI. Car's described as an older model Oldsmobile, brown in color." Then the location and the direction of travel were also given.

The two motor officers traveled on until they came up to an emergency exit, which they took so they could head in the opposite direction. As they did this, Jon notified LA that they would attempt to locate the vehicle.

A few moments later, LA came back, "7 Mary 3 & 6, received another call on the DUI suspect. He's about…" dispatch continued filling them in as to exactly where the subject was.

Jon did some quick mental calculating, "That puts him about five to six miles ahead!"

Both officers stepped up their speed as both wanted this impaired driver off the road before he managed to hurt someone--or worse.

Even though they did their level best in trying to catch up with the car, it just wasn't good enough.

"7 Mary 3 & 6, roll over with injuries. Paramedics have already been dispatched," came the unwelcome traffic.

It had happened just two miles away from where they were at that very moment.

Both officers picked up the speed and got to the location in no time. Sure enough, the driver had been thrown from the car and now his legs were pinned under it.

The accident occurred in a rather brushy area and the last thing needed was even the smallest spark from the damaged vehicle to start a fire. So as soon as they arrived on scene, Jon notified dispatch to notify the fire department as well.

Stephanie quickly went over to the victim.

The guy was alert, thus aware of his predicament. Even the effects of the alcohol didn't fully mask the pain he was feeling at that moment. "Ahh, help me!" he managed to plead through clenched teeth.

"Hold on! Help's on the way," she told him. She realized in the condition he was in that that was little comfort. The victim wanted, er, needed medical attention--now!

In no time, a fire engine and a squad of two paramedics were on the scene. They began treating the victim. The engine crew worked to get the car off of the guy, so the paramedics could get him out from under it. That was the only way they'd be able to assess his leg injuries. A couple firemen were stationed in position to combat any spark that may ignite at any time. They all worked quickly and efficiently. In no time, they had freed the victim. Now, with the ambulance on scene, they loaded the guy onto a gurney and into the back of the rig.

After completing their work there, Jon and Stephanie headed to the hospital as well, to continue their investigation.

#############################################################

In the meantime, Ponch and Turner were still dealing with the man who was under arrest on the open warrants. Both officers knew they had 'probable cause' to search the suspect's vehicle and they certainly intended on doing just that.

Ponch started in the front seat area and Turner took the back. Sure enough, it wasn't long before both found what they were looking for. Because of that they decided to go even further with the search. Ponch went to the front of the car to check under the hood, while Turner went to look in the trunk.

Ponch raised the hood, then checked the sides and he couldn't help but shake his head when he saw all the blocks of dope there were duct-taped to the insides of the car. He could only imagine the street value of the stuff.

Turner had raised the trunk lid, then the blanket that was covering whatever the man was carrying. Under the blanket, there were opened boxes with blocks of dope. As he moved a box or two aside, he quickly noticed a wooden crate. Not wanting to leave anything unchecked, he quickly went back to his car and got a tool so he could open it. Once he broke it open and saw what was inside, he arched a brow, shook his head and yelled, "Ponch!"

"Yeah?!"

"Ah, wanna come here a minute? I think you'll want to see this!" He stepped aside as Ponch came around to the back of the car.

"What'd you find?!"

Turner simply pointed to the inside of the trunk.

When Ponch saw what Turner wanted him to see, it was enough to make him whistle and shake his head. "Man, there's enough artillery here to supply a small army! We're gonna have to get another unit here to unload all this stuff." So he returned to his motor, "LA, 7 Mary 4. I need an additional unit at my location." As the dispatcher handled his request, he went back to join his backup. He couldn't help but voice how happy he was that they had made this bust, "Man, Turner, can you imagine what a gang could do with this stuff. I'm sure glad we got to it before he could distribute it around the entire state."

Turner couldn't agree with his statement more.

It wasn't long before Bear arrived on scene. Ponch motioned for him to pull in front of the car. After he exited and met up with both officers, he inquired, "Hey, Ponch...what yah got?"

Ponch directed him to the engine compartment. "An' that's not all! C'mon!" All three stepped back to the trunk where Ponch motioned for Turner to look down at the trunk bed.

Bear's eyes became the size of grapefruits. "Umm, you honestly think my car is big enough to hold all this?!"

"If we pack it real tight," Ponch told him with a toothy grin and chuckle.

So the three officers began moving the dope into Bear's cruiser. There was so much of it--and the crate was so big--that they had to put some on the back seat. They really didn't want to do that, but using the blanket to cover it would safely keep it from any prying eyes.

The wrecker had been dispatched in such a timely manner that it arrived on scene shortly before they completed the task.

In the end, the car was enroute to impound, the suspect was headed for jail and the dope was transferred to headquarters, to be stored in a safe place. The whole matter had taken so long that all officers involved headed back to Central to begin their reports.

################################################

Ponch finally made it home to his apartment and changed into his 'street clothes'. He sat on his couch and closed his eyes for a moment, to reflect on the day's events. To say the least, he was bushed. He thought about Stephanie. He couldn't help but wonder why Getraer had told him what he did about her. What was the big deal about him asking her out on a date? If she were married, he'd've mentioned it. Then an idea floated through his tired brain. An idea he thought was an excellent one, if he should say so himself. An idea he felt had to also include Jon and oh yes, Jon's girlfriend. Now, that would be an excellent added touch. Getraer didn't have to know about him inviting friends over for a simple dinner. Actually, Ponch felt that what he did after his shift was over was, well, none of anybody's business. He consciously felt that that even included Getraer... well, to a certain extent anyway. Admittedly, though, Ponch knew he'd still have to be careful. He really didn't want to cross the line that his sergeant had drawn. He smiled, as his plan fell into place.

'Jon's gotta be home by now,' he thought, and grabbed the phone. He dialed his friend's number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Jon! It's Ponch!"

"Hey, Ponch. What's up?!

"You busy Friday night?"

"Well, Melissa and I were going to dinner and a movie. Why?"

"Umm, could you possibly do a rain check on that? I'd like both of you to come over to my place for dinner."

Baker could tell by his voice that his friend was more than likely up to something. "All right, Ponch. Why don't you just spill it..."

Ponch never could pull a fast one on Jon. "Huh? Do I always have to have something up my sleeve, just because I ask you over for dinner."

"C'mon, Ponch. Spit it out. I know you're dying to tell me."

"All right, here it is. I'm also going to ask Stephanie to come."

Jon had been warned by his sergeant to watch out for something like this. "Ah, Ponch, remember what Getraer said?"

Ponch was shocked that Jon apparently knew about what he was told 'not to do'. But then again, he should have known Getraer would cover all the bases. "Ah-ah, Jon," he paused to clear his throat, "this isn't a date! It's just a little get together with a friend, er, friends."

Baker was forced to chuckle on that one. "Now that's a first! Ponch, there's never been a time when you've been with a young lady that it's just been a 'little get together with a friend'."

Ponch was getting a little upset with this conversation. "Look Jon, if Stephanie does come, would you and your girlfriend come too?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll cover this with Melissa. I'm sure we'll be there. But, I sure hope Getraer doesn't find out."

"Humph! So what if he does! Okay, I'll check with Stephanie tomorrow morning and let you know. Don't you say anything to her before I do, okay?"

"Sure, Ponch, my lips are sealed," Baker promised and chuckled once again.

"All right, see you tomorrow."

###################################################

The next morning, when everyone was finally seated in the Briefing room, Getraer again came in with a very unhappy look. "All right, people, simmer down, simmer down. The 'Freeway Phantom' struck again last night." He had to pause and hold up a hand to quiet down the stir that bit of news created. "Unfortunately, we have another motor officer down. Krieger is listed in serious condition with multiple injuries. I can't begin to tell you how much the Captain wants this guy. The sooner we take him off the road the safer all of us will be." After dispensing this sordid news, he went on with additional information and then he ended the briefing. "Okay, people, hit your beats," he urged and left the room.

The sound of chairs scraping the floor could be heard, as everyone stood to start filing out. Of course, the 'Freeway Phantom' was the main conversation among everybody...well, everybody but Ponch. Sure the officer was just as disgusted and on the alert as everyone else was, but Ponch also had his plans for Friday night that he had to get taken care of. However, he decided to wait until he could catch his prime target outside. He thought it would be safer that way.

Ponch followed his fellow officers, as they filed out of the building and began heading for their respective units. Ponch spotted Stephanie, standing by her motor. He stepped quickly up to her, but, before he dared to speak, he took a cautious look around. "Ah, Steph, could I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ponch. What is it?"

"You free Friday night? I'd like to have you come over for dinner. Jon and his…his friend, Melissa are coming over. Maybe it'll help you to get to know Jon and I better--being off duty."

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sure! Why not. Beats rattling around in my apartment. It'll break up the evening a little bit too. I'd like that, Ponch. Thanks."

Ponch flashed her his biggest grin, "Terrific! Around seven. Would that be okay?"

"Sure. That'll be great. Thanks again!"

"You bet!" Ponch exclaimed. Then, as Jon was also sitting there on his bike, Ponch added, "You two be careful out there today. We never know when or where that creep is gonna strike next."

"You too, Ponch!" Baker urged, as his friend turned to leave, " You, too!"

With that, they started their motors, signaling that the conversation was over. It was time for Jon and Stephanie to get going.

Ponch knew he'd better clear out before Getraer saw him still there, too. So he quickly got on his bike and hit the road.

########################################################

All officers whether on motorcycles or in cruisers kept their eyes open. Everyone was on the continual lookout for any vehicles that looked sporty or racy enough to suit their suspect.

It took until practically midmorning before anyone even thought they had a visual, and it was Bonnie--in her patrol car--who decided to check out the sporty vehicle that was just ahead of her. She flipped on the overheads, signaling the driver to pull over. Not knowing how the person behind the wheel would react, and just in case this could be the suspect, she checked the distance between her cruiser and the car she wanted to stop. She didn't intend to unwittingly put herself in a trap--even though it was motorcycle officers the 'Phantom' seemed to be picking on. Apparently, the driver didn't see her lights, so she flipped on her siren for a moment, which naturally got the desired reaction. She saw the driver check out the rearview mirror, then flick on the turn signal to show that the car was heading for the shoulder, with Bonnie following suit. As the officer cautiously stepped up to the driver's window, she found a young lady at the wheel. Bonnie silently breathed a sigh of relief, but she still didn't let down her guard.

"Officer, I wasn't speeding. Is something wrong?" the girl asked.

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. "No, Miss. You weren't speeding. We've had a lot of hit and run accidents on the freeways lately involving cars similar to yours, is all. Could I see your license, registration and insurance, please?"

"Umm, sure," she handed over the requested paperwork.

"I'll be right back." Bonnie returned to her car to radio dispatch. "LA 15 7 Charles. I need a check on a California reg. along with file and driver's record." She gave the information to the dispatcher so she could get the young lady checked out. LA came back that she was clean and the car was definitely hers. That was what Bonnie really wanted to find out.

"Here's your papers back," the officer announced, upon her return. After speaking briefly with the girl, Bonnie sent her on her way and went back to her own car. All the other officers were feeling a little jumpy about this situation, and she felt the same way.

With the suspect never using his own car, but always managing to steal one for each 'accident', the officers realized that they had to catch this guy in the act, somehow--preferably before anyone else was injured. The question that remained was how?

##############################################################.

Stephanie and Jon were kept pretty busy themselves that day. It seemed as though people knew it was their beat and drivers just wanted to see how long it would take before they got caught speeding or for a mechanical violation of some kind. Well, that's what the two motorcyle officers were beginning to think anyway.

Then LA came over the radio, "All units in the vicinity of 405, robbery suspect driving silver Oldsmobile, partial California reg. of 7 Baker Sam, left scene two minutes ago heading eastbound." The dispatcher then gave what description they had of the suspect, which unfortunately wasn't much.

Jon and Stephanie stayed on the road they were on knowing the suspect was heading their way. They kept their eyes on the eastbound traffic, hoping they'd catch a visual of him. Also, hoping that another officer would be even closer.

It was only minutes when they heard Baricza's traffic, "LA, 15 7 Adam in pursuit of possible robbery suspect."

"Ah, good ol' Bear, right place, right time," Jon gratefully told his partner.

It wasn't long before they picked up on the sound of Bear's siren. They continued on till they found an emergency exit and then sat there till both cars were in sight. Then they joined in the pursuit with lights and siren.

Their robbery suspect was driving like a lunatic. All pursuits are dangerous, not only for the officers involved, but also for any innocent civilian bystanders who just simply happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time--and when those being pursued cut in and out of traffic or do some other dumb fool thing that endangers everyone around them, split decisions have to be made.

Bear was still in the lead when he thought about doing the maneuver that could once and for all end this pursuit. The driver had just managed to exit the freeway and was now entering an even more dangerous area, as the pavement changed to two-lane traffic. On top of all that, the posted traffic speeds were much slower. "LA, 15 7 Adam, requesting permission to end pursuit by attempting the pit maneuver on the pursuit vehicle."

"Stand by 7 Adam..." The dispatcher wanted to check with her sergeant on this one. She quickly filled him in on what was going on up to this point. Then she came back, "7 Adam, LA, attempt to end the pursuit using your discretion."

Bear felt that now was the time--while there were fewer cars on the road, and before the suspect managed to get back on the freeway. It was now or never. It was a tricky maneuver and even though he had done it before, every circumstance was different. He spotted an area he felt the maneuver would work and brought his car up to the backside of the suspect's vehicle, on the driver's side. Bear then bumped it hard--so hard that it spun around, hit the curb and flipped over. The chase had ended without causing any harm to other innocent drivers. The officer quickly stopped his car and exited when the suspect--who had managed to climb out of his flipped vehicle--tried to run away.

Jon and Stephanie followed their fellow officer.

Bear chased the robbery suspect down and tackled him to the ground. Of course, the fugitive fought him with all his might.

That is until Jon and Stephanie joined in and successfully pinned him down so the handcuffs could be placed on his wrists.

Bear picked their prisoner up off the ground. "Mister, you're going to jail for a lo-ong time." The man just snarled at him, not saying a word. As the officer walked back to put his captive in the back seat of his patrol car, he told the two, "Thanks, guys...for the assist."

"Glad we could help. Just remember, you owe us one," Stephanie teased. Suddenly, a more serious look came over her face and she continued, "At least no one got hurt." Their job of assisting Bear done, she returned to her motor--where she patiently waited for her partner.

The two male officers watched the woman walk away.

"Man, I wish she'd let someone in on what's troubling her," Jon commented. " It wouldn't be like we're trying to pry. Maybe we could help her get through it..."

"Yeah, but maybe she just wants to handle it herself for now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Baker agreed and went back to his motor and his partner.

######################################################

Ponch had a pretty decent shift going for him. Other than the usual traffic stops and motorists assists, nothing really hair-raising had occurred. Well, as the saying goes, 'all good things must come to an end'.

At the moment, Ponch was traveling down a two-lane road. He had been off the freeway now for a number of miles--when LA came over the radio.

"Any units in the vicinity…" the dispatcher began.

But even before LA got to the point of her traffic, what Ponch saw up ahead made him shake his head. Traffic had stopped dead in its tracks. Ahead of him, was a semi-tractor trailer that had somehow jack-knifed and was crosswise in the road. As it turned out, he was 'in the vicinity' of LA's traffic. The officer quickly grabbed his radio's mic', "LA, 7 Mary 4. I'm on the scene. I'll need additional traffic assistance at my location." He placed his motor in a strategic position and quickly got the stopped vehicles turned around and headed back in the direction they came from. (Not really the best way for an officer to make friends.) Before any more cars came along, he ran up to the rig. "Hey, you all right?!" he asked the driver.

"Yeah. I guess I didn't realize this wasn't be the best place to make a U-turn."

Ponch's jaw dropped, then he looked down the length of the trailer, 'This thing has got to be over 50 feet long.' "U-turn, sir?"

"Yeah," was all the guy said.

Ponch turned around in time to see more cars lining up. To his relief, Bonnie also came rolling up, and it wasn't long before she had the traffic turned back around.

"I'll be right back," he told the semi's driver and went over to talk with her. "Hey, thanks for the assist."

"No problem. What exactly went wrong here? Anyone hurt?"

"No one's hurt," he assured her. "As for what went wrong...the driver of the rig figured out he was heading in the wrong direction, so he decided to make a U-turn."

Bonnie looked at him like he should be committed. "You are joking!" she stated more than asked, and motioned for the next driver to move up and turn back in the other direction.

"Nope. It'll take some time, but we'll get 'im straightened out…somehow."

"Well, let's get a move on! I've got a date tonight!" After that statement, Bonnie winked and then continued working on the traffic.

Ponch simply smiled, shook his head and went back to the rig. "Okay, you think you can get this thing turned around or we going to have to call in the artillery?"

"Well, it'll take some expert driving and some help from you to keep me from backing up too far and dropping into that ditch back there. I'm carrying a 40,000 pound payload back there and if I end up down in that ditch even a little…"

Ponch stopped him, "We'll need more than the artillery to get you out."

"Yeah. Now, Officer, just stay in my mirrors, okay, so I know exactly where you're at, at all times."

The guy didn't have to say that more than once. Being smucked by a semi-trailer wasn't on Ponch's list of fun things to do.

With Ponch's expert guidance and some dandy maneuvering, the driver managed to get his truck and trailer facing in the direction he wanted to go. It took quite some doing--and traffic was held up the entire time, but when it was finally over, both CHP officers and the semi's driver breathed sighs of relief.

Now that the truck was no longer blocking the highway, Ponch relaxed a little. He went over to his bike to get his 'pinch' book out of the saddlebag. Granted, no one was injured, no other cars were involved, but it was the whole 'reckless endangerment' part of it. He wrote out the citation as he spoke to the driver. After the ticket was signed and the guy was sent on his way, Ponch and Bonnie returned to Central. It was time to do their reports.

######################################################

After all that needed to be done was accomplished, the day shift headed home, and gladly left the highways to the afternoon shift.

#######################################################

Wednesday's briefing at Central started out all too similar to the last two days. Only this particular morning Getraer didn't have to warn his people to 'pipe down'. As the sergeant walked into the room, it quickly fell 'dead silent' as every last officer's strict attention was focused on him. No one was fooled. They all could tell by the expression on his face that another officer was down.

"People, this is getting really old. A third officer was taken out by the suspect late yesterday afternoon. This time Stevenson may not be so lucky. He's…" his voice cracked a little, "he's been unconscious since the…since the accident. Again the car was a different color, but was a fast sporty type. Now the Captain is, ah, how should I put it, a little livid over the whole situation. So far, only Grossman has managed to avoid getting caught in the snare. Right now, people, should you see a car that even hints at being the type of car our guy uses, it's fair game to at least be checked out. Now for the good news." He turned his attention to Ponch. "I wanna congratulate Frank on a tremendous drug and weapons bust." He stopped and raised a hand as all in the room apparently wanted to congratulate him too with whistles and clapping. When the room finally quieted down, he continued, "And Frank, getting those weapons before they hit the streets, will save lives, some of those lives could be any police officer out there." He stopped, cleared his throat and then continued, "We have enough trouble out there, people." After that note he continued on with the briefing. Once he was through, Getraer dismissed everyone so he could retreat to his office. Joe was really distraught about what was happening out there on the highways. It really bugged him to think that someone out there had such a deep hatred for someone, namely police officers, that they'd actually do something like this, not once, but four times. The one thing that really raised his concern was that the suspect had been successful--three out of those four times--at seriously injuring his victims, which meant this Phantom was extremely dangerous. Being successful and not getting caught, would only make the guy braver and braver. Every single officer out there was in a perilous situation. It wasn't that the sergeant wasn't concerned about the number of innocent civilians. No, Joe hadn't forgotten about them. It was just that he had his officers up at the forefront of his thoughts.

The Phantom's first victim was doing a little better now. True, the officer was terribly bruised from hitting the pavement and his dislocated shoulder would keep him out of commission for a while, but at least he was alive--very sore, but alive. Although the suspect seemed to be taking out officers of other shifts Joe knew his team of officers were not immune. The Phantom could pick on them at any time. Grossman was the prime example of that fact. Grossie sure must have had a guardian angel in his back pocket that day. Reflecting on all of this 'Phantom' business made Getraer grimace. He finally decided he'd better get to work. Unfortunately, even under the present circumstances, the world didn't stop turning, nor did the paperwork stop piling up on his desk.

#######################################################

The day started out really warm, and showed all the signs of getting even hotter, which meant any traffic snarls would also heat up the tempers of some motorists out there. True to form, that's exactly what happened.

And, Jon and Stephanie were right in the thick of it. As they rode on between the lanes of fairly slow moving traffic, suddenly it was no longer moving. They kept going till they came upon a number of people that had actually gotten out of their vehicles and were beginning a pushing and shoving match right in the traffic lanes. The officers left their motors, and quickly went up to the fracas to separate the parties involved.

"Hey! Break it up! Break it up right now!" Jon commanded the two that he stepped between.

Stephanie also managed to get between her two. She noted that one of the people opened his mouth to make a retort. However, she quickly squelched that idea.

"Officer, he--"

"Break it up, now!" Stephanie shouted, stopping him in mid-speech.

Traffic was gnarled. There wasn't any apparent accident, so after a quick question and answer session it was noted as a simple, but bad case of road rage, which the CHP officers managed to interrupt--before it escalated into something potentially serious. The matter was taken care of and, with both officers' assistance, traffic slowly, but progressively returned to normal.

They cleared up the last of this latest traffic snafu and, as they were getting back on their motors, Stephanie commented, "We sure timed that one perfectly."

"Yeah, another five minutes and I think we would have added four more to the county jail," Jon replied, as he fixed his helmet strap.

"Or one of us to the hospital," she added.

They started their motors and got back on the highway.

As Jon rode beside Stephanie, he so badly wanted to know what was troubling her. However, he had only known the officer for a few days now and he just wasn't sure if it wouldn't still be prying. But there definitely was something bothering this young woman. Baker thought about the 'little get together between friends' that Ponch had planned for Friday night. Maybe it was a good idea after all. It just might help her to get to know them better--under more informal circumstances--and it just may be what she needed. He began to feel much more at ease with the whole idea. 'Leave it to Ponch.'

########################################################

As the afternoon was drawing to a close, many of the day-shift officers decided to head for the beach when their shift ended. They all felt a real need to relax and cool down. Once everyone finally arrived at the agreed upon location, a picnic area was quickly set up. It turned out that Joe Getraer, his wife Betty and their children also came. They were quickly voted in as the barbecue chefs while everyone else left them behind for a nice, cool, relaxing swim.

Betty, of course, kept a watchful eye on her children. She knew she had nothing to worry about because it seemed there was always someone looking out for them. No matter how many times she'd been involved in some kind of get together with her husband's fellow officers, she couldn't help but think of how wonderful they all were. Joe was their boss and all of them seemed to look up to him. They respected him for his position, but mostly considered him as a trusted friend. She was really grateful for that.

Once the food was cooked, eaten, scraps taken care of and the area cleaned up, it was time for fun and games. A little volleyball, 'touch' football and tag (just so the kids could get involved). In the end, everyone had a wonderful time. Then reality set in and it was time to head home. Tomorrow was a whole new day.

#############################################################

The following morning, while all the officers were waiting for briefing to begin, many were caught up in the laughter at some of the poor victims who were suffering from the effects of the California sunshine from last night's picnic. Grossman's face mirrored a tomato, but there were a number of others that came pretty close to matching his description.

Getraer finally walked into the room, which immediately quieted down. His face once again spoke volumes. "Okay, people, we lost Stevenson earlier this morning. He…he never came out of the coma. Stevenson's been with the department for fifteen years," he paused, briefly to collect himself. There was more he wanted to say, but at the moment all he could think of was getting that crazed lunatic off the highway. "People, the Captain wants this guy--and he wants him now! But no one wants him more than I do!" he pointed at himself in an angry manner, showing just how frustrated he was. Then he continued, "The charge is now vehicular homicide and we don't even know who we're dealing with. The Phantom is only targeting the CHP, and we don't even know why! He's picking us off one at a time, people. He's using different highways, different times of day and stolen vehicles. And, that's about all we have to go on. I can't emphasize it enough, if somehow you manage to catch on in time and smell a trap, back off!" Getraer then got into the more somber details of the morning. "Stevenson's wife, Kathy and little boy will be staying at her parent's home till the funeral. I'll announce the arrangements as soon as I get them." He continued the briefing on other notes. After he was done, he dismissed everybody but two, "Jon, Frank, in my office."

"Okay, Sarge," they answered almost in unison.

#########################################################

Ponch and Jon went straight from the Briefing Room to Getraer's office . But when they stepped up to the doorway they both stopped.

Their sergeant was standing at the window, totally unaware of their presence. Joe stood there, sadly shaking his head. Then, suddenly, he slammed his fist down on the cabinet that was beside him. Getraer couldn't help but think of the senselessness of this whole situation. Why couldn't they nail this guy? How many more officers were going to be injured, or...?

"Joe, you wanted to see us?" Jon asked. Apparently, Getraer was so deep in thought he hadn't heard him. "Ah, Joe…"

Getraer finally turned, cleared his throat and waved them on into the room. "Jon, Frank, come in and sit down."

Whenever they were offered a seat it generally was because they were in some sort of trouble or Joe really needed them to do something important. With the news they had learned at the briefing, both of them had a feeling it was the latter.

"Jon, Frank, I need both of you to take part in the honor guard part of the funeral. As I mentioned in briefing, we don't know when it is, but the Captain asked that I request two of my best motor officers to represent our shift," Getraer paused and pointed at them, "that means you two."

"Sure, Joe, no problem," Jon replied as both he and Ponch looked at each other, nodding their heads in complete agreement.

"Okay, good. I'll let you and everyone else know the details as soon as I'm told."

"Okay, Sarge," Ponch replied.

Then Jon spoke up, "Joe, we are going to get this guy."

Getraer looked up at both officers, "Yeah, and let's do that before he gets a chance to injure or kill another officer. Now go hit your beats."

Both young men simply nodded once again in agreement and then silently left the room.

Joe stared at them as they left. He found himself wondering who was going to be the Phantom's next victim? He shuddered at the very thought.

####################################################

They met up with Stephanie out in the hallway. Both could tell, by the expression on her face, that the woman was still reeling from the effects of hearing about the death of a fellow officer. She looked as if she were in a daze.

"Hey, you okay?" her partner asked, in a worried tone. He didn't get any reaction. "Stephanie?" he gently shook her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh…sorry, Jon. Did you say something?"

"Yeah, are you okay?" Jon repeated. Both he and Ponch were extremely worried about how distracted she still seemed to look.

"Yeah…ah, no, I'm feeling a little off my feet, I guess. Ah, Jon, I've gotta go talk to Getraer. I've gotta see if I can take the day off. I don't really think I'd be any good out there today," the woman announced, and then quickly turned to head to Getraer's office, leaving the two friends standing there in a state of confusion. Stephanie just couldn't contain her emotions anymore. If she hadn't turned her back to them as quickly as she did, she would have lost it right then and there.

The woman approached the open doorway to Getraer's office and saw him looking down at his paperwork. It appeared to her that the man really wasn't seeing what he was looking at. 'He's in a daze, too...' she thought and realized that her sergeant had also been blind-sided by this crazy Phantom guy. She cleared her throat, "Uh, Sergeant Getraer?" That didn't get his attention. "Sergeant?!" she spoke a little louder, and this time, he looked up to see her standing there.

"Oh, Stephanie, come in." He took a really good look at her face. "Is something wrong?" he wondered, and then thought, 'Dumb question.'

"Sarge, I…I think I need the day off. I…I just don't think I'd be any good out there today. I just can't deal--"

"Listen, Stephanie, I understand this Phantom character, along with the death of Stevenson, isn't helping you in dealing with your own loss. But, I'd really hate to lose you today. However, if your judgment tells you to back off, I think I can deal with it. Just try to get yourself pulled together, okay? I need you back here tomorrow."

"Okay, Sarge, I'll…I'll try," she vowed and then walked out of his office, hoping she wouldn't meet up with either Jon or Ponch. Stephanie snuck out the back door and started her return trip home.

Getraer watched the woman go. He didn't like having one of his officers leave like that, but he knew in Stephanie's case, it really wouldn't be a good idea to have her out on the highways. As distracted as the woman obviously was, she could very easily have become the Phantom's next victim.

The sergeant stepped out of his office, hoping to find a certain couple of officers. With any luck, they were still in the building, more than likely waiting for Stephanie's return.

##############################################################

Before too long, Joe spotted them, "Jon, Frank, I need you two to double up today."

Both men looked at each other, but it was Jon who spoke up, "Us two? What about Stephanie?"

"She went home."

"Home? Well, she did say she wasn't feeling so good," Jon admitted.

"Okay, so go on, hit the bricks will yah!" Getraer didn't want to give them a chance to question further as to the reason why Stephanie had gone home.

"Okay, okay, we're goin'!" Ponch retorted, as both he and Jon headed for the exit.

Both officers left the building in a state of confusion. Stephanie was, er, well, she seemed to be fine before briefing. They got on their motors and headed out of the parking lot.

#########################################################

For awhile, both Jon and Ponch were lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them was blind to the fact that something was definitely troubling their fellow officer--and newfound friend. Both men wanted to help the woman, but couldn't because they were clueless as to what was wrong.

Ponch was the first to break the silence, "What do yah say we head over to Stephanie's sometime today? You know, just to check to make sure she's okay and make sure we're still on for tomorrow night."

Jon couldn't help but smile, "Ponch, the lady isn't feeling well. It may not be such a good idea to intrude."

"Intrude?! We're not intruding! Okay, we'll call it a 'welfare check'. We're just checking on her well being, okay? Nothing wrong with that!"

Jon quickly realized his partner wasn't going to change his mind on this one. Well, as usual, when Ponch latched onto an idea, he was like a pit bull and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard Jon tried to get him to drop the idea. So Baker simply resigned himself to that very fact, "All right, Ponch, you win." He turned to see his partner's toothy grin.

"I always do, partner."

###############################################################

The two CHP officers continued their patrol. Suddenly, they spotted a Camaro coming up from behind them, but two lanes over. The car quickly got their attention. The vehicle was going quite a distance over the speed limit so, as it passed them, they pulled in behind it and turned on their lights, signaling the driver to stop.

When the driver finally spotted the flashing lights behind him, he had to forcibly hold himself in check. The man steered his car over to the shoulder and waited for the inevitable.

This time, Ponch took the driver's side. He carefully studied the sporty looking vehicle. "Morning, sir," he said, as he stepped up to the driver's open window.

"Officer," was all the driver said, as he bit his lip.

"Sir, we stopped you because you were traveling well over the speed limit. May I see your license, registration and insurance, please?"

"Sure." The speeder gathered and then handed over the requested paperwork. As he did, he made a mental note of the officer's nameplate. Well, at least he tried.

"Thanks. I'll be back in a minute," Ponch promised and went back to his motor to call it in to dispatch.

While the man's driving record was being checked out, he sat in his car--fuming! His hatred for cops and everything they stood for just moved up an extra notch…or two. The man had just found his next victim. Yes, unknowingly, both Ponch and Jon had stumbled quite innocently upon the 'Freeway Phantom'. As the psycho sat there, he burned the CHP officer's name into his memory, well, part of it , anyway. Ponch--something or other. Fortunately, he'd gotten a very good look at the officer's face as well.

Ponch finally came back to the driver's window and handed him the ticket book for his signature. Ponch gave the guy his own personal copy of the citation, along with his papers, and then turned him loose.

As the Phantom drove away, he crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor. "That pig is mine!" he yelled. He was glad that he had been driving his own vehicle. Though, if he had been driving a stolen one, he would have simply led those two Chippies on a merry chase. A chase that would have ended like all the others--with one or perhaps both kissing the pavement. Now, the Phantom had some very serious thinking to do. He had to start formulating a plot of revenge. He headed for home to calm himself down, clear his head and get busy planning. The Phantom figured this would be a challenge, a welcomed challenge.

###############################################################

As Ponch and Jon walked back to their motors, the decision was made to go check on Stephanie. So they went roaring off down the highway towards their new destination.

The two motorcycle officer's arrived at their colleague's home and knocked at the door. As they stood there waiting, both noticed how quiet the house was.

Stephanie finally met them at the door and greeted them with a somewhat shaky voice. "…Hey, guys. What's up?" she asked, hoping they couldn't see past her fake smile.

"Stephanie, sorry to bother you, we just wanted to make sure you were all right," Jon told her, as diplomatically as he could.

"Oh, I'm doing a little better, thanks," she somewhat fibbed. She bit her lip, as she knew she had to get a hold of herself. The world continued on and she had to learn to move on with it. It was just that it was a lot harder than she thought it ever would be.

Then it was Ponch's turn, a little less diplomatically, of course, "Then we're still on for tomorrow night?"

She couldn't help but smile at his boyish, toothy, pleading look, "Ponch, actually, I think it's something I really do need right now."

"Good, tomorrow night it is," he quickly confirmed.

"All right, Stephanie, if you're certain everything's okay. We just wanted to make sure," Jon was more concerned with her feelings than he was about Ponch's dinner date tomorrow night.

"Sure, I'm doing okay, and again thanks for checking. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The door closed, and, as they walked back to their motors, Ponch couldn't help but comment, "Jon, I'm glad she didn't change her mind about tomorrow night."

"So am I. I sure wish she'd level with us, er, somebody anyhow. Whatever she's got bottled up inside can't be good for her," Baker added, and then both men started their motors and headed back out on the highway.

"Well, maybe after tomorrow night she'll feel more comfortable around us. Even if it's something we can't really help her with, we at least could listen and let her get it off her chest!"

"Yeah, but it'll have to be up to her and her alone."

########################################################

When the Freeway Phantom arrived at his apartment, he just couldn't get that cop off his mind. As he walked over to the couch, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. He wanted him bad, so bad he decided he didn't care if he 'took him out' on or off duty. Seeing as how that was the way he felt, he knew he'd have to change his strategy. When he started this, it was any cop that got in his way while out on the freeways. This one, this one was a special project. He'd take some special work. He knew he just had to be patient as with this cop he had to learn a little more about him. If he didn't deal with him while on duty he'd have to learn where he lived along with the car he drove and maybe a few other things. So he went about his business that evening thinking that a plan would start to form at any time. This was one time he hoped his imagination wouldn't fail him.

########################################################

Back at Central all the officers were glad their day had passed without any mishaps, er, any problems as far as the Phantom was concerned. But there still were the afternoon and midnight shifts and those seemed to be the Phantom's favorite targets at the moment. Right now, everyone was just concerned about finishing up their reports so they could head for home. As usual, there was the continual humorous banter between Grossman and the others. Well, that is until Sergeant Getraer walked in.

"Jon, Frank, come to my office before you leave, okay?" Joe requested.

"Sure," they replied almost in unison.

No one in the room had missed the look on their senior officer's face. Whatever their sergeant wanted to talk to Ponch and Jon about, seemed to be something on a sad note.

The two summoned men quickly finished their paperwork, then headed to Getraer's office.

"Joe, you wanted to see us?" Jon asked.

Both young men saw the look on Getraer's face hadn't changed and he was now drumming the end of his pen on the desk while appearing miles away. "Huh, oh yeah. Ah, Jon, Frank, I've been requested to have you two in full-dress uniform for Stevenson's funeral on Sunday."

"Sure, Sarge," they both stated firmly.

"The ceremony is at 11 am. But you'd both better be there an hour or so early. Oh, you may want to join the others at Patterson's Funeral Home Saturday to go over the details."

"Ah, Joe, how's Kathy doing?" Ponch asked, with a very concerned look on his face.

"About as well as can be expected, I guess, under the circumstances. Betty's been trying to help as much as she can. She doesn't think it's really hit her yet. She's afraid reality will hit at the funeral." Joe paused a moment, "All I can say is we'd better get this guy soon…really soon."

"We'll, be there early Sunday," Jon told him, then both men left his office to begin their trek home for the evening.

######################################################

Ponch already had ideas in mind for what he was going to have for dinner Friday night. He just had to go shopping tonight to pick everything up and then get it ready so that he could just put it in the oven. So after he had arrived home after work he quickly changed into his street clothes and then climbed into his Firebird for the drive to the grocery store.

Driving his sporty looking car got him to thinking about the past few days, the injured officers along with the death and upcoming funeral of Jim Stevenson. Why? Why was this guy doing this to them? Sure a lot of people disliked cops for one reason or other. That was a given. Yes, there were those that even 'hated' cops and what they stood for. All of them knew this. But for somebody to carry out something like this was hard to comprehend. The person or persons had to have a vendetta against the Highway Patrol. That was the only logical explanation. Well, the only one Ponch could come up with at the moment. The whole thing was very unnerving.

His train of thought was broken when he heard the short blip of a siren coming from behind. Well, he knew he wasn't speeding, exactly. Well, maybe a couple miles over, but not enough to warrant being pulled over. It had to be something else. He pulled the car onto the shoulder and brought it to a complete stop. As he watched the officer cautiously walk up to his car he placed both hands on the wheel. He knew that that was the safest place for them to be for himself, as well as serving as a non-threatening position for the officer.

The officer was now at his window and he greeted the motorist, "Afternoon, sir." As the driver turned toward him, the patrolman suddenly recognized him. "Ponch! Ah, sorry to pull you over like this, man. How you doin'?"

"Terrific!" Ponch answered, with a broad grin. Then it suddenly dawned on him as to why the officer pulled him over. "Ah, it's the car, isn't it?"

The officer couldn't help but grin himself, "Yeah, that Phantom has us all jumpy."

"No kidding!"

"Hey, I won't hold you up any longer, Ponch. Have a good evening."

"Yeah, you too...and be careful." The officer stepped out of the way and Ponch moved his car back on the road, leaving the patrolman to walk back to his own vehicle.

######################################################

Upon arriving at the market, Ponch quickly found and paid for the ingredients he needed. He didn't want to take too long because he wanted to get home so he could start working on preparing his dinner items.

As soon as Ponch arrived back at his apartment, he put on the TV and then got busy in the kitchen. It wouldn't be long before the local news came on.

The program began, and the first piece of news naturally started out with the death of Officer Jim Stevenson.

Ponch dropped what he was doing so he could listen intently.

The report began, "The California Highway Patrolman, Officer Jim Stevenson died early this morning from injuries he received when he was involved in a hit and run. Officer Stevenson was the third officer involved in the recent apparent highway attacks on CHP officers. From what we've learned, the unknown suspect seems to steal a car and use it to create a highway accident involving numerous vehicles and a motorcycle CHP officer. If anyone sees anything suspicious regarding a sporty, revved up looking vehicle, please contact the CHP Central Division." The newscaster ended this portion of the news with, "Officer Stevenson leaves behind his wife of five years and his one-year-old son."

The last bit of the report made Ponch's eyes water, and his jaw tighten. The captain and Getraer weren't the only ones that wanted this guy. He forced himself to go back to the kitchen to try to finish up what he had started. He had to remind himself of the reason for his doing this. The dinner party was being held because Stephanie was troubled about something and, as a fellow officer and friend, she had to learn that he and Jon wanted to help her…if they could...if she'd even let them. After today, with her leaving work, Ponch figured that what was bothering her had to be something pretty big, or it wouldn't have effected her work.