Emma was in the police car before thoughts could process what was going on, some one was frantically radioing and there was chaos around her. It was then she realised someone was down in the street, ‘shit’ she muttered and went to get out.
‘Don’t!’ came the urgent call from the police man on the radio, ‘I don’t think they saw you get in the car, lay low. Sam! Sam blast.’ he said Emma realised his co worker was edging foward to try and help the fallen. A squad of unmarked cars with sirens blazing appeared as if by magic Emma was impressed. A hurried conversation was had and the area locked down, a call to the gun men but they had long vanished thinking they were just unlucky to have hit a cop hot spot. She wondered if it was a specific hit or a fluke. She couldn’t see it being the latter.
The SWAT team were armed, they must have been waiting for something to kick off. A woman with blonde hair severlly tied back under her dark blue hat was crouched near the door motioning Emma over, she wriggled like a worm, she didn’t want to get shot. ‘We had a tip off and were already on route – what happened? Were you the target’
‘I think so and I don’t know, I sent my SOS-6 message when I realised I was being staked out but I’m not even sure if it was them who shot or what they were staking out for.’ the woman nodded.
‘Who tipped you off?’ she asked intreged. The woman shrugged and seemed to look into the middle distance.
‘Boss we’ve got a stuff!’ came the call, Emma closed her eyes thinking of the person laying on the ground.
‘Not the causulty, they have powder on their hands. Looks like they were taken out by a co-gang member.’ The blonde looked over at a cop Emma couldn’t see. She was relieved it wasn’t some innocent shopper or kid from the uni round the corner which was who the cuasulty was likely to be.
‘Gang member?’ she asked before her brain got around to reminding her that it was not technically her case.
‘Yeah there is a gang sign, a tatoo on the guys hand.’ the out of site cop said.
‘I need that body bagged and taken straight to Dr Ettian’ she said, the blonde gave her a withering look, Emma was about to produce her special warrent, the ones that told cops she was special branch when the cop shrugged and gave the order.
‘Do you recognise the gang sign?’ she asked in the lull.
‘It’s a sort of crestent moon on three legs – a tripod of some sort, seen it a couple of times but never cuaght a live one.’ Emma knew that sign but it was so tentative her mind was struggling to see the memory, if she forced it she would loose it. Something she had seen some where.
Things began to be tedious with peopel shouting about not being let through the cordaned off area and others trying to gawk and still others in shock and berwilderment milling around inside. Emma was concerned, this could destroy her investigation, is she was being targetted she had little chance of finding anything useful out or even being left alive.
‘Dectective?’ came a rich voice, she jingerly looked around the door rubber of the car, a man in a suit was standing there, he held out his warrent card, she vaguely recognised him from the station. She nodded, ‘I’ve been sent to escort you back to the station.’
The blonde looked at him sharply, ‘under who’s authority? I’m in charge here.’ she snaped.
‘The chief thought it only prudent and I think you have a lot of tidying up here.’ Emma cold feel a turf war coming on and so circumvented it by stating she would return to the station with the man. She scurried across to another car, one she noted that had bullet proof glass. Inside the leather seats looked old, she had a disconcerting thought that they would be wipe clean if the glass failed.
She felt weary, not tired as such but worn out, the injection to ease the pain also seemed to have boosted her fatigue levels but she was hungry again when she should have been sick with adreniline. It was only as the car started moving she realised she’d gotten into the back rather than the passanger seat. There was just the two of them, the car was obviously used for prisioners as it had the cage. Shit she thought, she’d climbed into a cage, her palms went slick with sweat, had she really been that stupid? She’d just climbed into a trap – this was blatently the mole! She was so screwed. She put her hand in her bag and found her gun, gently she eased the safety off. It was something she shouldn’t have according to some poeple and something The Masters said was essential. If she was cuaght with it it would cause problems but she would get away with it, and media would be hushed up. Such thoughts made her pray to any diety that might be listening that she was on the right side.
Her gut always kcked her at such thoughts, all sides think they are the right ones and terrorists are freedom fighters and pirates the booty hunters of other nations. At the end of the day none of it helped the dead come back from the grave or gave the maimed their limbs back.
She tensed as they began to take an unfamiliar route, she would bid her time, and just hope that when the shit hit the fan she would have enough time to react. The panic was starting to rise in her though, every little jolt in the road made her twitchy, she began to worry that she would accidently blow her own knee off at this rate. Her heart was a frantic bird making a bid for escape from the cage when the car pulled up. He turned to her and smiled. ‘Time to get out’ he said as calm as you pleased. Emma almost burst into hysterical laughter at the realisation that they were round the back of the police station.