It was pitch black outside. Pitch black and very wet. Midnight on a Friday night in L.A.

Two men stood under the overhang of a store located a block off Sunset Strip. Except for a pair of stray dogs, the street appeared deserted, the miserable weather having driven even the ever present crackheads and hookers inside in search of a dry spot.

"This rain keeps up, we're going to need a boat to get back to headquarters." Lieutenant Andy Flynn stuck a fresh toothpick in his mouth and stared at the river of water rushing down the dark street.

Lieutenant Louie Provenza took off his soaked white cotton hat. Wringing it out, he put it in his pocket and pulled up the hood on his LAPD issued rain slicker. "When's the tow truck getting here? And what's the ETA on the fire department rescue squad? They need to get the power shut off to this building so the tow truck can get to our vehicle."

Glancing at his watch, Flynn shrugged. "Tow company said 45 minutes, but who knows. And the fire station chief said they were swamped, literally and figuratively. Lots of idiots needing rescue tonight."

"I hope you're not including present company in that description."

"Certainly not," Flynn responded, rolling his eyes. "Although others might. We ran out of gas while in hot pursuit of a suspect and then a flash flood floated our incapacitated, department issued vehicle off the road and into a trashy lingerie store."

"Obviously we're going to have to come up with a better story for Captain Raydor," Provenza mused. "Something that paints us, or at least me, in a slightly more favorable light."

"Yeah, sure." Flynn pulled the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it. "Got any ideas?"

"No, but I'll think of something."

"Better think fast. We're running out of options. She's going to notice that I'm missing."

"Right." Provenza narrowed his eyes. "She might need a massage or something."

"Hey, I told you. She had a headache. I was just helping her out. Nothing happened."

"Sell that story somewhere else."

"How many times do we have to go over it. She had a headache and slept most of the day away. I ate pizza and watched the ballgame. There was no sex." Andy sighed. "Come to think of it – the whole encounter was kind of like the last two years of my marriage."

"Leaving a discussion of your pitiful love life aside for a moment, we could try calling Tao and Sanchez again about our current predicament. But, oh, wait," Provenza said, his expression relaying his disgust with the entire situation, "They're busy hauling our suspected kidnapper back to headquarters for questioning. They had gas in their car!"

"That's not my fault. If you hadn't insisted on driving, I would have been behind the wheel and checked the fuel gauge."

"You know I don't run, Flynn."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"In a chase, I need to be the one doing the driving so you're free to bail out of the car and handle the foot pursuit part. We're partners. Foot pursuit, that's your part. And keeping the gas tank full."

"Everyone knows that the driver is responsible for making sure the tank is full." Flynn crossed his arms and leaned against the building. "Oh, hell. At least Taylor is on vacation, that's a piece of luck."

"Yeah, we're two lucky guys alright."

The dogs that had been roaming the street before, a small muddy terrier mix and a very thin lab, decided to join them under the overhang.

The strong odor of wet dog filled the air.

"Great. This night is just getting better and better." Provenza frowned. "Do they have tags?"

"Fleas maybe, but tags definitely not." Flynn chuckled. "Something about them kinda reminds me of those stewardesses we dated a few years back. You know the ones from Dallas? Wonder where they are now?"

"Probably still in jail. And I don't see the resemblance." Provenza stared down at the dogs. "Don't you two even think about shaking. I'm wet enough as it is."

The small dog growled. The lab whined and moved next to the wall, sitting down. After a moment, the small dog followed. They both looked expectantly from one man to the other.

"One was tall and thin, the other was short and scruffy." Flynn continued to stare at the dogs and shook his head. "I can't remember their names."

"We weren't that interested in their names," Provenza commented. "Speaking of well-stacked, think the Captain might be interested in a gift of lingerie? We could pick up something cheap while we're here."

"Don't go there. We're in enough trouble."

The men resumed their contemplation of the rain and the disappearing roadway.

"You really didn't—"

"No." Flynn sighed. "I thought about it though. I'm waiting for her to make the first move."

"Yeah, well, her next move might be writing both of us up. Listen, you don't want the grief of getting involved with someone you work with – or even worse – work for. You piss her off, she can fire you."

"Yeah, but I think the risk might be worth it. She's the kind of woman that you could have a real relationship with. She's someone I could talk shop with, someone who shares my interests."

"You already have somebody like that," Provenza argued. "So what if my legs aren't as good? We talk shop. We share baseball. We support each other. We go to bars together. I drink and you watch me. That's a real relationship. Plenty real. And hanging with me is a lot cheaper than getting involved with a woman. Be smart about this."

"Says the man who's been divorced as often as he changes socks."

"Well, I've finally learned from my mistakes. You should learn from them too. Forget about Raydor."

"Is that your phone ringing or mine?"

"Mine." Provenza sighed and looked at the name on the screen. "It's her. I'm putting this on speaker so you can get your fair share of the ass chewing."

"Captain, you didn't have to come yourself. We would have found a ride."

Sharon Raydor glanced across the street at the two men standing next to the LAPD vehicle being pulled out of the broken storefront. A patrol car with lights flashing was parked near them. Since the sky was continuing to dump torrents of rain over the area, she had chosen to speak to her senior squad members on her cell phone from the comfort of her vehicle.

"I had to see this to believe it. We're short staffed with Amy out and you two decide to pull one of your annual stunts! I don't have time for this. We've still got a missing child to find! Lieutenant Tao and Detective Sanchez broke our suspect's alibi, but he's not giving up any information about Emily Carson. It's been twelve hours since her mother reported the abduction. We're running out of time."

"Captain," Provenza coughed, "Uh, Flynn feels badly about not checking the gas gauge before we left. He'll never make that mistake again, I'll see to it personally."

Flynn frowned. "What the—"

Provenza made a cutting motion towards Flynn. "Captain, since no one was injured, procedure is that we give a statement to a patrol officer about the accident, which we've done. So, just tell us what you want us to do next. We're ready to go."

"I have a search warrant that needs executing. You two can ride with me since it appears your vehicle is still stuck in the checkout line."

Sharon glanced in her rear view mirror. She didn't know who was wetter, the old man or the two dogs flanking him. When Provenza had opened the back passenger door, he was rushed by the pair. Lieutenant Flynn had taken the front passenger seat and was doing an excellent job of ignoring his partner's string of complaints.

"Sorry about the mess in your car. The shelter opens up in a few hours," Flynn advised. "We can drop them off then, well the dogs at least. We're stuck with Provenza for the duration."

"Hey, we all have guns and know how to use them. We can get rid of these mutts right now."

The lab whined and hugged the door, the small dog bared his teeth and emitted a low growl.

"Lieutenant!" Sharon knew he was joking, but still...no animals were going to be harmed on her watch. Or threatened. "It appears they've bonded with you. You have a house with a yard, don't you?"

"Forget it! Flynn can take them. He's looking for companionship. And he's not that picky."

Flynn turned and glared at the older detective.

Sharon noticed and gave Flynn a sideways glance. Before she could comment, the GPS navigation on her vehicle informed them that, "You have reached your destination."