Friendship piece. Not connected to my other fics. This will be a fairly short one. Six to eight chapters. Almost have it finished. :)

Title: Buried
author: Cindy Ryan
spoilers: all
timeline: Two months after 2x03 'The bet'

LAPD officer Tim Bradford yawned as he left the station at three a.m. he'd picked up overtime and was looking forward to forty-eight hours off. Tim had just reached his truck when his cell phone rang. He was tempted to ignore it but pulled it out of his pocket on the fourth ring. A frown crossed Tim's face as he saw a name on the screen he hadn't heard from in a few weeks.

"Mark?"Tim greeted in surprise.

"Sorry to wake you."Officer Mark Shear responded grimly.

"You didn't."Tim said as he leaned back against the truck."Had OT today. You alright?"

They'd gone through the academy together. Shear was half Irish six foot six and big as a house. Mark had gotten his Dad's dark hair instead of his Mom's red. They'd been boots together the first half of training.

"I'm working a night shift got a call of a crashed vehicle a few blocks from the Long Beach marina."Shear explained quietly. "We got there to find it's been dumped not crashed. Wasn't a scratch on it."

"Body?"Tim asked.

Tim heard Mark take a deep breath and release it. He winced in sympathy suspecting the scene had been a bad one.

"Blood on the driver's side but no body."Mark continued grimly."Tim, it's registered to your boot."

Tim felt his face pale. Couldn't be true. Lucy didn't live near there.

"It's Chen's?"Tim asked trying to keep his voice even."You're sure?"

"Ran it twice when we realized a cop was involved. Yes it's hers."Shear confirmed."Tried calling Chen and discovered her cell wedged between the driver's and center consol. Blood on that too."

"Shit!"Tim cursed as he got into his truck.

"We're searching but nothing yet. Can you check her place. Chen could've been robbed of her car and phone."

Dread hit Tim hard as he pulled out of the parking area.

"She wouldn't have given up either without a hell of a fight."Tim stated."Text me where you are and I'll check her place on my way."

"Will do."Shear affirmed.

"Thanks Mark."Tim said.

"Hope this has a good ending"Shear replied grimly.

"Me too."Tim commented quietly.

Tim called Grey as soon as Shear hung up. He hoped this was only a car theft but his gut was telling him it wasn't.

When he arrived at Lucy's building Tim dialed Jackson's cell as he debated waking the building super. As his call to Jackson went to voicemail Tim arrived at Lucy's apartment and cursed. The door was splintered and standing partway open. Tim put his phone away and grabbed his weapon pulling it out. In a swift motion Tim also grabbed his flashlight then radioed dispatch of his location before quietly and cautiously stepping into his rookie's apartment.

"Come on Jackson,"Lucy pleaded as she applied pressure to a gunshot wound to her friend's left side. "You have to stay awake. I need your help getting out of here."

The young African-American blinked groggily as he looked up at Lucy from the cement floor. They were in a storage area of some kind. Back of a warehouse Lucy wasn't sure. It'd been too dark after the bad guys had dragged them out of the SUV and dumped them here. Lucy had thought she'd seen a few warehouses, but she wasn't sure.

"Sorry for..."West began then broke off with a wince. "Getting you into this."

"It was a twenty year old cold case."Lucy responded. "Who knew we'd crack it."

They'd been working off the books, off the clock without permission. Jackson had heard a rumor a few weeks back about possible corruption with one of his father's cases. They'd started digging...

"Lucky us."Jackson muttered with some of his old humor.

Lucy was relieved to see the bleeding was slowing down. Her jacket compress was soaked but not saturated. She shrugged out of the gray sweatshirt she'd worn underneath and switched it for the jacket.

"Keep talking to me, Jackson."Lucy urged.

Jackson's hands moved to cover Lucy's.

"Try to find...a...way...out."Jackson suggested in a hoarse voice. "I can't apply much pressure, but I can keep...the...wound...covered until you return."

Lucy shook her head not wanting to release her hold on the sweatshirt. The only light was coming from a small hole in the roof halfway across the room from where they were.

"You have too."Jackson continued. "No one knows where we are."

Lucy sighed he had a point. They'd been out after shift looking into leads on the cold case. Jackson had been driving her car when a SUV pulled up next to them at a stop light. Gunfire erupted and the next thing Lucy knew they were tossed into that SUV and were speeding away from her car. They'd both been stripped of wallets, purses and phones. Lucy swallowed hard. Even if her car was found her colleagues still wouldn't know what had happened to them or where to look. Even if by some small hope that area had traffic cameras.

"Alright."Lucy agreed as she squeezed Jackson's right hand before standing. "I'll be back soon."

When they'd first been left here Lucy had been more concerned with keeping Jackson from bleeding out then looking for an exit. She had looked as far as she could see which wasn't very far considering the dim light. Cautiously Lucy made her way through their prison.