Chapter 4 - The Breach at Precinct Four
"Get the kids' aunt on the phone right now!" I roared over the blaring siren, lunging for the desk telephone. "Where are Toby and Clara?!"
"They're at Randall Children's Hospital under guard!" Chen shouted back, drawing her service weapon as the precinct lights flickered and died, leaving only the dark red glow of the emergency strobes. "Dunham, stay here with the federal agents!"
"Like hell I will!" I barked.
I racked the slide of my duty weapon, checking the chamber before snapping it back into place. Whatever Arthur Vance had set in motion, it wasn't just about his own escape—it was about wiping out every witness who could dismantle his network. And the two most dangerous witnesses to his operation were a seven-year-old boy and an eleven-year-old girl currently sitting in a hospital room five miles away.
The precinct floor was in absolute chaos. Smoke was beginning to pour from the stairwell near the sally port as flashbang grenades echoed through the lower levels.
Arthur Vance’s "local help" wasn't a handful of street thugs. It was a tactical extraction team—professionals hired with the millions he had stashed away in off-shore accounts before his disappearance.
Agent Vance drew his weapon, his expression dark. "They aren't here to rescue him," he said, realization hitting him like a physical blow. "They're here to silence him before he talks to the grand jury!"
In the interrogation room, Arthur was pounding his handcuffed fists against the door, his laughter echoing through the small glass window. "The clean slate!" he screamed over the sirens. "Everything gets wiped!"
"Dunham! Take the north stairwell!" Chen ordered, taking cover behind a heavy steel desk as gunfire echoed from the main lobby. "Get to the hospital! Secure those kids!"
I didn't wait for a second order. I bolted down the north hallway, bypassing the crowded main stairwell where tactical officers were already moving to engage the intruders.
I kicked open the heavy fire door leading to the side parking lot. The cool night air hit my face, smelling of burnt rubber, cordite, and rain. A dark blue delivery van sat idling near the broken security gate, its rear doors wide open. Two men in dark tactical gear were firing automatic rifles toward the precinct entrance.
I ducked behind a concrete retaining wall, drawing my weapon. "Police! Drop your weapons!"
One of the shooters swung his rifle toward my position, the bright muzzle flashes cutting through the rain. Bullets chipped away at the concrete above my head, spraying me with dust and sharp stone fragments.
I leaned around the corner, took two fast, precise aim points, and squeezed the trigger.
BANG! BANG!
The shooter crumpled to the pavement, dropping his rifle. The second man leaped into the passenger side of the blue van, screaming at the driver. "GO! GO! GO!"
The van's tires shrieked against the wet asphalt, leaving dark rubber trails as it burst through the outer perimeter fence and disappeared into the Portland night.
I didn't waste time trying to pursue them on foot. I sprinted toward my patrol vehicle parked near the sally port, threw myself into the driver's seat, and slammed my hand onto the ignition switch. The engine roared to life.
I slapped the siren toggle, flipped on the overhead emergency lights, and punched the radio button on my steering wheel.
"Dispatch! This is Unit 204! I am en route to Randall Children's Hospital code three! Notify hospital security that we have an active, high-level threat against victims Toby and Clara Vance! Lock down the pediatric wing immediately!"
"Copy 204," the dispatcher's voice rose over the blaring sirens. "Hospital security notified. Units 210 and 214 are diverting to reinforce your position!"
I floored the accelerator, the patrol car leaping forward onto the rain-slicked highway. The rain was coming down in sheets now, the wipers slapping rhythmically against the windshield as I tore through red lights and cleared intersections.
In my mind, I kept seeing Toby's small, trembling hand pointing up at the metal latch above the storage door. I saw his unevenly cut hair, his pinching shoes, and the quiet, desperate hope in his dark eyes when he asked if I would protect him.
May you like
He had trusted me when every adult in his life had either abused him or failed to see his pain. He had risked everything to walk up to an officer on a school sidewalk.
"Hang on, Toby," I whispered into the dark cabin of the car, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. "I'm coming."
