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“That means this one’s on us,” Doug continued. “And it’s going to be a tricky bastard. The only intel they have from inside is coming from a staff guidance counselor who locked herself in a supply closet with a few kids when she heard the shooter blast open the front door. We know, from surveillance footage the chief was able to pull up, that the man is alone, a single shooter, but we have no idea where he is in the school right now, or if there have been any casualties.”
Talia had been afraid of that. “Doug. Tell the chief to send off that footage to Opal and Nolan.” She barked off their tech experts’ secure email address. “Maybe they can get an ID on our shooter.”
Mason would already have their techies downloading the interior layout of the school. Not that Talia needed it. She’d attended this elementary institution a million years ago, and had visited her sister’s classroom every year since Pixie began teaching, answering the kids’ questions about her job as an officer. If anyone was to take point on this, it should be Talia and her team.IfMase would allow it. Protocol often dictated that if someone close to you was involved, you took a back seat, and sometimes even sat things out in the command bus.
Screw that.Just let the boss try to sideline her.
She put her foot on the gas and flew down the interstate, willing the miles to pass quickly.
* * *
Talia wasn’tthe first to arrive, as she’d figured. The command bus, the Orono officers and those from Bangor had a shorter trip, as did some of those team members from towns west of her Old Town location. Her entire squad would have beat her on site, for sure.
She wasted no time, after parking a block away, to hurry to Mason’s stated location where he was already snapping orders.
“Nine minutes until everyone’s assembled,” he barked. “Check your phones. Nelson has sent you all an interior diagram. Familiarize yourself with it. We’ll go in the front. We won’t have to waste time breaching that point of entry because the bastard already shot the hell out of it for us.
“We’ve heard several rounds coming from inside, and the chief says it’s been going on, sporadically, since they began monitoring.”
He paused, waiting for a few new team members to jog up. “Nine minutes,” he reminded them grimly. “Everybody weapon-up.”
Talia moved toward the bus with nearly fifty additional bodies. They all carried their own service revolvers, Talia’s being a Glock 23, but the AR-15’s were kept under lock and key in command central. The squads lined up at the bus door almost as soon as Mason gave the word. JD was currently passing out the high-powered rifles, one by one, so this was her opportunity to talk to Mason.
Talia approached her boss and cut right to the chase. “Full disclosure. This is my hometown, Mase. I went to this school, and my sister is teaching here. She’s inside.”
Mason’s brow scrunched. “You think you can maintain your professionalism; not do anything that will jeopardize the mission?”
“I can. But to ease your mind…” Damn. This killed her, but she’d come to the only conclusion possible on the last part of her drive. “I’m putting Cisco in charge of my squad for this one.” She hated to do it, but nerves were eating away at her belly. And not in a good way. During a normal op, there was always an air of anticipation, a good kind of tension snapping like live wires throughout your body, but today her hands actually shook. Giving her squad to Cisco was the smart thing to do.
She walked over to her group of…three? Seriously? Where the hell was Doug?
She hadn’t seen him since she arrived, and that worried her. He’d definitely been the first SWAT member on scene. “Cisco. Two things. First, have you seen Doug?” she asked her second in command quietly.
‘I only got here a few minutes before you did, so no,” he answered. “You were able to get in touch with him?”
“Yeah. He was hunting just twenty minutes north of here, and he rolled in before all of us,” she stated through tight lips. “He said he’d keep me apprised, but other than a situation report when he first arrived, I haven’t had any updates.”
Cisco grunted. “And the second thing?”
“I need you to lead our squad on this one.” She didn’t prevaricate. “My sister is a teacher. I know she’s in there, and I’m not sure I can maintain my objectivity.”
“You got it.” The man uncharacteristically laid a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, LT. We’ll get her out.” Cisco quickly turned away, clearly having displayed more emotion than he was comfortable showing, and addressed Jess and Azis, their two attendant squad members. “Either of you seen Doug?”
They both shook their heads in the negative.
“Dammit.” He pursed his lips and keyed his mic. “Lumous. What’s your position?”
Cisco received no answer.
“Lumous. Answer me.”
Still no reply, and Cisco looked pissed.
Talia wasn’t just angry, she was worried. She’d told Doug—the loose cannon—to stand down and not enter the building until back-up arrived, but knowing the man, she doubted he’d listened.
She leaned close to Cisco again. “I told him about my sister being in there. He wanted permission to go in for an extraction. I told him no, but…”
“But he’s a hot-head,” Cisco growled. “And that’s probably the reason he’s not answering. If he’s in the building, he doesn’t want the shooter to hear his mic.”
