AllFreeNovel
Share Us
76
Detective Jason Knox was not certain if he should feel upset or relieved at how things had just unfolded at the motel sting. Everything was going smoothly until Ernie Page exited the motel, presumably towards one of the rooms occupied by prostitutes.
Only Ernie was running for his life.
The sound of gunshots came from within the office and a man fitting the description Ernie gave of the Russian from the prior day came running out after him with a gun.
As the Russian exited the office he saw the armored SWAT vehicle approaching with officers since Jason, per the plan, had just given them the green light to go in.
Goddamnit, Ernie…
Upon seeing the SWAT team approaching, the Russian immediately ran inside the motel office to alert his accomplices that trouble was coming. The SWAT team was met with gunfire coming from the window of the office as they pulled into the driveway of the motel. Ernie, as planned, immediately laid down on the ground and covered his head as the chaos ensued.
The officers took cover behind their armored vehicle for a few minutes as the bullets began to ricochet off of the vehicle’s heavily plated exterior. As planned, the SWAT officers would not return fire unless absolutely necessary.
The assumption that Jason and Mick had made was that the Russians, while likely armed, would not have an extensive arsenal or cache of ammunition. If they decided to fire at the armored vehicle, which was a futile effort unless one possessed a rocket launcher, the team would let them unload their guns before attempting to breach. Officers were told only to return fire if an immediate threat presented itself, like one of the occupants exiting the building or firing in the direction of anything other than the armored vehicle.
The plan worked, and Jason next ordered the SWAT officers straight into phase two of the operation, which was to breach the building and apprehend the suspects. The SWAT team was ordered to avoid lethally neutralizing any of the suspects unless absolutely necessary. Jason needed them alive, and it wasn’t just to answer questions about Russian prostitutes.
The vehicle, fitted with an extended steel battering ram, drove into the motel’s office. This provided a few moments of cover for the members of the team who were designated to evacuate the girls from each room, “arrest” Ernie, and provide cover for the remaining officers trying to breach the office.
After taking out a large chunk of the motel office’s front wall, the armored vehicle reversed its course and exposed the gaping hole that it had left in its wake. At that moment, two of the officers fired canisters of tear gas into the opening as a few more sporadic gunshots came from within, before ceasing altogether.
As Jason watched the operation unfold from his position across the street, he couldn’t help but marvel at the SWAT team’s level of efficiency. He was so focused on the motel that he never noticed the black Cadillac Escalade speeding away from nearby Amazing Adventure Park.
The SWAT team, using the PA system on the armored vehicle, ordered the motel office’s occupants to lay down their weapons and exit the building with their hands up. After some yelling and a few tense moments, the Russian who had first alerted the others that SWAT had arrived came out with his hands up. He was immediately detained by one of the officers as two more provided watch, their guns aimed at the large opening in the front of the motel.
After some more yelling from inside, a mixture of Russian and English vulgarities, three more male suspects exited the building before being placed into custody. A sweep of the building concluded that there were no more occupants in the office to detain.
The four suspects from the motel, all of whom appeared to be Russian, were placed in the back of four separate police cruisers that had arrived on the scene shortly after they surrendered.
Ernie, who was unharmed but shaken, was placed in the back of a fifth cruiser. Jason had instructed that officer to remain on the scene until instructed otherwise.
In all, seven of the eight rooms had a girl in them, some of whom appeared to be under the age of consent. All of them informed officers through broken English that they were of Russian or Ukrainian descent.
The girls were all placed in protective custody and transported to MetroHealth Medical Center for physical and mental health evaluations. Jason knew he would eventually sit down with each girl and see if they knew anything about the EPK victims, but first, they needed to be provided with medical care and a feeling of security.
After the four cruisers containing the Russians departed for the 1st District precinct, Jason walked over to the cruiser that a handcuffed Ernie Page was sitting inside. He opened the back door and pulled Ernie out before uncuffing him.
“Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch. I thought for sure one of those Russians was going to pop a cap in your ass. Goddamnit, Ernie, what the hell stinks?” Jason chided.
“I...I may have shit my pants a little... during the shooting,” a visibly shaken Ernie responded.
“Well, that explains the smell. Hopefully, you have a change of clothes back at your crappy car dealership you can change into before you go home and pretend that none of this happened. No pun intended…”
“How am I supposed to do that? I was almost killed today!”
Jason grabbed Ernie by the shirt and pulled him close to his face.
“Listen to me very closely, Ernie. If you are smarter than I think you are, you’ll go home to your poor wife and never tell anyone about what happened today. Not your brother, not your drinking buddies, nobody. I’m going to do my best to keep you from having to testify against these guys because the Russians don’t take kindly to eyewitness informants. The fewer people who know you were involved today the greater the chance that doesn’t happen. Are we clear?”
“Okay… we’re clear, we’re clear… just let me go,” Ernie pleaded.
Jason released him and gave him the car keys that Ernie had dropped inside the motel before he got into his vehicle and drove away.
Time to go interview some Russians…
