‘Two Pizzas Please,’ Cop Thinks Girl Called Wrong Number until Strange Noises Appear in the Background — Story of the Day

Linda loathes her 911 duty until a distressed call from a young girl asking for pizza shakes her. Can Linda save the abducted child before it's too late?

Gazing out the room's window, Linda drained the fourth cup of coffee. She could hear other operators talking and the annoying ringing of incoming calls. Linda hated being a 911 operator. She was demoted for aggressive behavior in the last case.

"Long day, huh, Linda?" Mandy, her co-worker, asked as Linda returned to her seat.

"This stupid job is driving me insane," she replied.

"Hang in there. It won't be long before you're back to chasing the bad guys."

"Hopefully, or I'll end up in one of those mental institutions!" Linda scoffed as she wore her headset.

Right then, her line rang.

"911. What's the address of your emergency?" she asked, answering the call.

"I'd like to order two pizzas, please," a shaky young girl's voice came through.

"You've reached 911, girl," Linda snapped. "This is not where you order pizzas. I'm gonna hang up."

"No, don't!" the girl pleaded. "I need them soon!"

Linda sensed something off. She talked as a pizza operator and learned the girl, Lisa, was with a stranger and in trouble.

Suddenly, a male voice boomed over the line. The shuffling sound made Linda realize the man had snatched the phone from Lisa.

When Lisa told him she was ordering pizzas because she was hungry, the man assured her they would stop at Wendy's on the way to her Mom's, and then the call abruptly ended.

Linda heard a vehicle door slam shut, so she knew the man was driving Lisa somewhere.

Linda immediately contacted highway patrol, providing the approximate address that had appeared on her screen.

"We need more information," the officer responded.

"Just dispatch a unit to the area! We have a young girl in danger," Linda insisted, but she was asked to call back with details.

"Screw this system!" Linda muttered angrily, tossing her headset in rage.

Linda knew waiting for another 911 call wasn't an option. Wearing the headset again, Linda finally found a clue: the phone number that she received a call from belonged to one Henry.

Linda moved her fingers over the keyboard, checking Henry's criminal record. "Jesus, this has to be the most insane thing I've seen today," she mumbled.

Henry was a violent ex-convict and owned a pickup truck. Linda noticed discrepancies between his address and the detected location. Where was he taking Lisa?

Linda contacted highway patrol again, providing Henry's details, including his vehicle's license plate.

The officer hesitated. "Alright," came the reply eventually. "A unit is en route."

"Alright, and ask your officer to contact me," Linda requested.

"That's not needed."

"Just do it! Please!" Linda pleaded.

Moments later, Linda's line rang. "This is Officer Gomez. I was asked to call you."

"Have you located the vehicle?"

"We're on the way. We'll let you know once we have any leads."

"This involves a young girl, so please, we need to be quick," Linda pleaded.

"Alright, we got that."

Linda sighed in relief, her fingers racing over the keyboard again. And it was then that she discovered a connection that sent shivers down her spine: Lisa was the daughter of the prosecutor who had convicted Henry.

Linda contacted Officer Gomez again. "I have another lead. The prosecutor who sent Henry to prison was Lisa's father. We need to be all the more careful now. Please call me back with an update."

As the line beeped, Mandy asked, "What's going on?"

Linda, gripped by worries, couldn't reply. The guilt of being helpless and stuck in this 911 center overwhelmed her.

Composing herself, Linda dialed Henry's number, but it went unanswered. Minutes passed with no updates, intensifying her anxiety. Suddenly, her line rang, raising her hopes. But it was a panicked woman seeking help for her cat stuck in a tree.

"Ma'am, I can't help you right now. Please call back later," Linda groaned, disconnecting the call. Soon, her line rang once more. It was the same woman seeking aid for her cat. Linda screamed at her and ended the call.

Concerned, Mandy asked if she was alright. Linda said she was, but her stress was evident. She left her seat to get coffee and accidentally burned her fingers while overfilling her cup as her mind returned to Lisa.

"If anyone gets a call about Lisa, notify me!" Returning to her seat, Linda felt the weight of a 911 operator's responsibility for the first time. The coffee helped her regain composure. Realizing panicking wouldn't help, she decided to think strategically, like Henry.

Taking another sip, Linda dialed Henry's number. This time, Henry's gruff voice answered.

"Hi, this is the pizzeria. I'm sorry I didn't catch the address of your order earlier," she said.

"I never ordered any pizza," the man snapped. Linda checked the location tracker; it moved, then stopped at a motel on the state border.

"It was an order for Henry, right?" she probed.

"I'm telling you, I didn't order anything! Must be some other Henry!" he snapped furiously.

"Who is it?" Lisa's voice in the background made Linda close her eyes in relief. Lisa was safe.

Linda continued the conversation, attempting another excuse. "Oh, right. It won't take long, sir. If you could just tell me—"

"I said I didn't order any damn pizza! Who are you?" he demanded angrily, suspecting Linda's true identity.

Before she could continue, the call abruptly ended, but this time, Linda had a more precise address – a motel on the state border.

Suddenly, another line rang in the room. It was Lisa's mother, desperate for information about her missing daughter.

Linda raced over to the desk and urged Mrs. Kenning to stay calm. Lisa's father, Mr. Kenning, joined the call, revealing recent threats from Henry.

Linda reassured them. "We have a team heading to the location where he's taken Lisa."

"Henry swore revenge when he was convicted. I didn't think he'd go after my family," expressed Mr. Kenning sadly.

"If you'd reached us earlier, the situation would be different, sir," Linda told the man. "I'm transferring this call to another operator as I need to return to my desk. We'll keep you informed."

Linda returned to her chair and pressed a few buttons, connecting her with the highway patrol again.

"What's going on?" she asked Officer Gomez.

Linda could hear strange noises in the background. "We searched the motel, but it turns out Henry and Lisa left before we arrived. The motel doesn't have cameras outside, and only a few are inside the facility. Shows they were here for a while. We are checking the cameras on the highway."

"Have we secured the freeways?"

"Linda, we got this. Stay focused on your end."

"We need to act fast! If we don't catch up, they could disappear!"

"We've got officers inspecting each and every vehicle along the highway. You did your best, but your job is over," Officer Gomez responded and ended the call.

"How dare he?" Linda snapped, tossing away her headset. But she knew she was a 911 operator right now, not a cop in the field.

However, she wouldn't wait for an update. Linda called Henry again and again. The rings went through, but he wasn't answering. Then, at one point, it said the number was out of range.

"He might have destroyed the phone or discarded the SIM card," she muttered in despair. Lisa's parents called again, asking for an update. Frustration loomed over Linda.

And then it hit her — Wendy's. Henry had mentioned it. Linda pulled up maps on her computer screen, looking for a Wendy's near the motel. And there it was. But it led to a highway unblocked by the police.

"This is it. He must've taken that route," she declared. Without hesitation, Linda left her workstation and rushed out of the room.

On the way, she called her supervisor. "Sir, I've got a lead about a young girl's abduction. I'm heading out to the location now. I know I was supposed to handle 911 calls, but I have to do this."

"Linda, this is against protocol. You're not supposed to—" Chief Reynolds didn't get to finish.

"I don't care about the goddamn protocol right now. I'm not letting them slip away," she declared.

***

The drive to Wendy's felt like an eternity. After the most strenuous twenty minutes, the GPS indicated she was on the bustling highway.

"God, how am I going to spot the pickup in this jam?" she wondered, panicking. Linda would never forgive herself if she failed to find Lisa.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted to the adjacent lane where the pickup was, and inside, she saw Henry with a terrified Lisa.

Reaching for her radio, Linda urgently called for backup. "The suspect's vehicle is on Highway 23. Requesting immediate backup."

"Copy that, Officer Turner. Proceed with caution," the dispatcher responded.

As the jam eased, Linda discreetly followed the pickup. But Henry spotted her at one point, and he made a sharp turn onto an unpaved road. "The suspect evaded onto an unpaved road," Linda relayed on her radio.

"Backup is on the way, Officer Turner. Stay on the line."

As the pickup ventured deeper into the woods, Linda braced herself for the challenging chase. Dense foliage, towering trees, and uneven terrain made navigation daunting. The truck's tail lights flickered through the trees, keeping it in her sight.

But then, the trail twisted, and Linda's vehicle struggled against mud and tree roots. Her frustration grew as her car's wheels sank into the mud, rendering the vehicle immobile. "My vehicle is stuck," she radioed. "I'm on foot. In the woods. The suspect is out of sight, but I'll continue the search."

The forest swallowed the truck's sounds, leaving Linda with occasional rustles and snaps. Disregarding advice to wait for backup, she trudged on. However, as she stepped into the mud, she could feel she was just sinking deeper. Suddenly, a crashing sound distracted her.

Determined to save Lisa, the woman kicked off her shoes and waded barefoot through mud. She was neck-deep into the muck when she reached a tree trunk. With all her strength, Linda finally pulled herself onto dry land. Gasping for air, she walked in the direction of the crashing noise and soon found herself pushing through bushes to a clearing that unveiled a lake.

Henry had lost control of the vehicle and ended up careening into the water. Linda sprinted to the edge and dived into the cold water.

Reaching the sinking pickup, she found Henry slumped over the wheel, blood trickling from his forehead. Lisa, strapped in the passenger seat beside him, was unconscious.

Linda broke Henry's window and yanked the door open. Unable to locate Lisa's buckle, she pulled out her knife. "Hang on, Lisa," she muttered, swiftly cutting the stubborn seatbelt around the girl.

As she pushed Lisa out through the door on the girl's side, the vehicle sank deeper into the water.

Linda was all set to swim to the shore with Lisa, but Henry grabbed her feet. Linda fought fiercely, the pickup descending into the lake's depths.

But the struggle reached a critical point as icy water enveloped them. Linda's eyes closed despite her wishes, and everything went black.

When she awoke, the hard surface beneath her revealed she was on land. Chief Reynolds praised her. "You saved the girl, Linda."

As paramedics wrapped a blanket around her, she saw Lisa with her parents.

"What about Henry?" she asked.

"The cops pulled you out. Lisa swam to safety, and Henry drowned. We found the body."

Relief washed over Linda; it was over. She saved Lisa and fulfilled her duty.

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