Schools and the Second

This story is part of an ongoing series.

The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and

constructive

criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 9 - Chaos

"Officer down! Officer down! Two wounded Officers, one suspect down. Need a life-flight helicopter stat!" The voice on the radio was Detective German, lying wounded on the floor next to the unconscious, severely wounded Police Chief Molly Evans.

"This is Sheriff Ishmael!" said someone else on the radio. "No one is to enter the school grounds. Suspect not confirmed dead. Repeat... do not enter the school grounds.

*VRROOOMMMMMM!! SQUEEEEEEEEELLLL!!*

The TCPD SUV roared in with a squeal of tires and pulled up to the front of the building. I got out of the driver's side while Captain Teresa Croyle got out of the shotgun side. We were heavily armored and Teresa had her M-4. I had a red crowbar (and my Beretta 96 service weapon).

As we were going to the front door, a voice called out "Where the fuck do you think you're going?" We turned to see Nextdoor County Sheriff Scott Ishmael coming towards us.

"We're going to extract those two wounded Officers, like you should've already done." I practically shouted.

"No you're not!" yelled Sheriff Ishmael. "The perp's not neutralized yet!"

"He will be when I'm done." I growled. As I went for the door, the Sheriff moved to stop me, compounding his cowardice with stupidity. I used Aikido to help move him past me, then swung the red crowbar with all of my power at his back.

*WHAM!*

His armor saved him from being badly hurt, but he still went sprawling. As he turned to face me, I threw a closed-fist haymaker and connected with his nose and mouth.

*CRUNCH!*

I felt his face cave in under the force of my blow. He went down and stayed down. I turned and saw that Teresa had her M-4 holding the Deputies at bay. Two NCPD Officers came up.

"We're going in." I said. "Get these cowards out of here before I get back."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"German, this is Commander Troy." I said into the radio. "Where are you?"

"Hallway 6." said German, his voice sounding weak. "Hurry. The Chief is bleeding out."

"Oh shit." I muttered. Teresa and I ran along the hallways to the right one, and then down it. We saw German and Molly ahead of us. I knelt by them as Teresa went down and secured the perp's firepower. I heard her tell him that if he moved, she would enjoy the excuse to blow his head off, and him telling her "Do it, then!" But she didn't.

Molly was in bad shape. I put a piece of sterile plastic on her sucking chest wound and taped it down. I put a tourniquet on her leg to stop the steady trickle of blood; I feared her artery had been hit. I checked on German; he was not as badly hit.

"This is Commander Troy." I said into the Police radio. "The scene is secure. The perp is down. One Officer badly wounded and needs life-flight. Another Officer and the perp wounded but conscious. One other person down."

I noticed Teresa checking the other prone body. She looked up at me and just shook her head; he was dead.

As paramedics came in and evacuated Molly, German, and the perp, Teresa came up to me. She was trying hard not to cry as she said "Don... it's Tom Usagi..." All I could do was put my arm around her and lead her out of that hallway of death...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was becoming chaotic as Teresa and I came out of the school. A moment later paramedics brought the shroud-covered body of Tom Usagi out. Media were desperately trying to get close enough to film it, but TCPD Officers were augmenting the NCPD, and my Officers were more than efficiently ruthless in holding back the Press and thwarting their camera coverage.

Students were still pouring out of the buildings from hiding places they'd found. I thought that we were incredibly lucky that the perp apparently had entered the school near the end of the building and where the gymnasium was, instead of in the middle where more classrooms full of students were.

The Nextdoor County Sheriff looked at me sullenly, as did his two Deputies... the ones that Molly had called cowards for not going into the school. I just glared back at them. They had failed in their duty. They

were

cowards.

Captain Paul Price of the NCPD came up to us. "I need to get your statements so you can go pick up your kids." I nodded. Teresa and I gave our statements on videotape, filmed by the TCPD's videographer Connie, and I made sure to include that the Nextdoor County Sheriff had tried to stop me from going in, which might have left Chief Evans to die on the floor of the hallway. The possibility of her death was still very real, I thought to myself.

"They're life-flighting her to University Hospital, and Dr. Cordell and Dr. Morgan are waiting for her in the OR." Captain Price said.

"Good." I said. "If anyone can save her, Dr. Cordell can. Okay, I gotta go get Ian and Ross, and get them to safety. You're doing a great job here, Captain. Keep it us. For

her

sake."

"You know it, sir." Price replied.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I went into the pre-school that Ian and Ross attended , identified myself as their father, and said that they needed to come with me as their mother was wounded at the school. The shocked pre-school staff knew who I was and knew I was someone the boys could be released to. They brought Ross and Ian to me, and I loaded the boys into the backseat of my Police SUV.

I did not try to hide the truth from them. "Boys, your mom was injured today. They took her to the hospital. I'm taking you to my house, and we'll take care of you while she's recovering."

"What happened?" said Ross, who at 4 1/2 years old was a bit more aware than his 3 1/2 year old brother Ian.

"We'll talk about all that later." I said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Teresa and I had gotten to NCHS quickly because our Duty Desk heard the first alerts from the NCPD and told me. Teresa and I left immediately, and while on the way Teresa had called County Jail and put them on high alert in case the NCHS incident was a distraction to extricate Peter Blassingame from our custody by force.

That left the Chief to tell the Deputy Chief. And when Teresa texted him that Molly was being life-flighted to University Hospital, he took Cindy to the Hospital.

My family had worked out what we'd do in case something like this happened. Laura rushed to the Hospital. I went and got Jim from pre-school. I went by Eastside Elementary and told Carole that she'd be going home with her friend Marie, to be watched over by the Steeles, who I'd already called.

Sheriff Griswold went and got Maggie Ross, Molly and Cindy's mother. The Sheriff also took Betsy Ross to BOW Enterprises, where I took the my boys. Todd and his assistant Mariko would look after them for the time being.

With the kids taken care of, a lot of the tension of action left me... to be replaced by worry about Molly, and sadness over the loss of Tom Usagi...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"The Sheriff over there is not over the NCPD like I'm over the TCPD." said Sheriff Griswold as Teresa and I came into the Hospital. "He wanted to swear out a warrant against you for assaulting him, but Captain Price told the Sheriff that he'd testify to a different story. He also told that Sheriff that he'd better pray the Police Chief doesn't die, or the Iron Crowbar might be back to clean up the mess Price promised to make of the Sheriff's head." I nodded.

Griswold continued: "The Press is already putting out the stories that the Deputies hid behind a wall rather than go inside. They're also reporting things in a... certain way."

We came to the waiting room. Cindy and her mother were sitting side-by-side, both looking extremely worried. Cindy stood up and she and I hugged each other for a long moment. Then Cindy and Teresa hugged as I hugged Maggie. "We haven't heard anything." Maggie said.

"That means she's still alive." I said.

"How bad was it?" Cindy asked.

I went up to her and whispered "At least as bad as you were that night." I was referring to the night Cindy was shot up saving another Officer's life, for which she'd earned the Medal of Valor. (

Author's note: 'Trilogy: The Darkest Night'.

) Cindy nodded, and I could feel her spirit wilting inside, so I said "She's as tough as you, though, so don't lose hope." Cindy nodded again, but tears were flowing down her cheeks now.

Also in the room were Father Romano and Chief Moynahan, who looked ragged with worry. Molly had been one of his Detectives in Midtown, and they were very close. The Chief had me walk into the hallway with him, where he said "German and the perp are in surgery, but are expected to live and fully recover. Molly... it's a lot worse. The bastard was shooting cop-killer bullets, and one went through her armor. The paramedics that brought her in said your treating her for a sucking chest wound saved her life."

When we went back to the waiting room, the Sheriff rose to his feet and said "Crowbar, can I see you for a moment."

"Yes sir." I said. I followed the Sheriff to another waiting room, where the TV was on. "You need to see this." he said, his eyes 'pointing' at the television set.

I watched as Cynthia Freeman of SNN reported: "The killer used an 'assault rifle', that for some reason is still legal to buy, to attack the school and kill the student and wound two Police Officers--"

"That's bullshit." said Teresa, who had come up behind us. "The guy had two pistols, both SIG 357 caliber with cop-killer bullets. I confiscated them myself. He had no rifles on him at all."

"I was listening on the radio when I went to get Maggie." said the Sheriff. "Molly had barely arrived at the Hospital, and they were talking about the guns the perp used... and pretty much nothing else. And they're getting the story totally wrong. They also were reporting that multiple students were killed, but Captain Price of the NCPD shot that down with a public statement."

The SNN coverage showed previously recorded video of kids coming out of NCHS, then showed some tearful family reunions with parents. "They haven't gone live with the victim's name yet." said the Sheriff. "Any idea who it was."

"Yes." said Teresa, and this time the tears could not be restrained. "It was Tom Usagi, the kid that came in right behind Todd in last year's race..." I took her into my arms and let her cry it out for a long moment. She had not understood why Stephen Henry had been murdered for helping someone. She knew why Tom Usagi had died, and that losing a young hero like that, and someone she knew personally, really hurt to her very soul...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 5:00pm, NCPD Captain Paul Price called me. "How is the Chief?" he asked.

"Still in surgery." I said. "Any news?"

"We videotaped the interview with German in the ambulance." said Price. "You can access our servers to see it, but the Cliff Notes are that the perp fired pistols at them and hit them. Chief Evans was lying prone, but managed to hit the perp in the ankle. He was trying to get through some locked double-doors."

"I'm coming over there." I said.

"Is the perp in any condition to be interviewed?" Price asked.

"We're going to take care of that as soon as he wakes up." I said. "I've got the videographer here. And we'll get him a Court-appointed attorney."

Yes, even though this nutjob bastard had killed a high school student and severely wounded two Officers, he still had numerous Constitutional rights, and I intended to give him no legal loopholes to get out of this one...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was allowed into the cordon around the school, but had to drive through the Press to get to the front doors. They did not realize I'd already been there, so they were shouting questions asking why I was showing up, and if I knew which assault rifles had been used in the shooting.

"The Deputies and the Sheriff are on restricted duty pending an investigation of their actions." said Captain Price as we walked down the hall. I saw some CSIs working the scene.

"You saw where Chief Evans and Detective German were." said Price. I saw the blood on the floor, and the numbered markers used to photograph evidence. Then I went further up the hall. I saw the chalk outline on the floor where Tom Usagi had fallen, and an "X" on the floor where the perp had fallen to his rear end after being shot in the ankle. The techs showed me the wounds Tom Usagi had sustained: one in the lower back, two in the chest.

"Okay," I said, "these are double doors that lock if the fire alarm goes off?" I asked.

"They lock on this side, sir." said a CSI tech. "Someone on the other side could open the doors to get out if there was a fire in there. The idea is to force people to the side and out that way." I looked into the classroom. A door in the teacher's office led to the outside.

"Where does the hallway go?" I asked.

"To the gymnasium, the basketball arena." said Price. Those doors are usually locked unless a basketball game is going on, which is why these fire doors were installed."

"I see." I said. "So this is the fire alarm that was pulled?" I pointed to the wall, where a pulled fire alarm was.

"Yes sir." said the tech. "Tom Usagi's fingerprints are on it."

"Look at these bullet holes in these metal doors." I said. "Cop-killer bullets drilled through them, and tore up Usagi, too."

"Sir," said Captain Price, "we've got statements from some students Usagi was with. They said he pushed them through the doors when the gunfire started, and they heard the bullets impact the doors after Usagi shoved them through the doors then closed them. They also heard the perp trying to get in, but the door locks held."

"My God." I said quietly.

"What happened here, Commander?" asked Captain Price, hearing the sadness and awe in my voice.

"An act of sheer heroism, and sacrifice." I said. "The gunman came down the hall, Usagi pushed the others through the doors, but he knew they might be trapped. So he pulled the fire alarm to lock the doors, saving the others. Damn, that's fast thinking! And then... he took a bullet in the back, turned around or was spun around, and took two in the chest..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As I went back outside and to my Police SUV, the Press began shouting questions, and they only wanted to know one thing: "Commander, what assault weapons were used?... Commander, should assault weapons be outlawed?... Commander, how did the killer get the assault weapons he used?"

I went up to them, and they hushed as I said loudly: "There were no assault rifles used in this crime! Reporting that assault rifles of any kind were used is just typical Media Fake News reporting, and bad journalism!" The Media immediately turned their cameras away from me and moved away to begin reporting again. They had not wanted to hear the truth. It was almost as if their reporting was agenda-based, and worse...

preconceived

.

Part 10 - Knocking On Heaven's Door

7:00pm, Monday, May 6th. I was back at the Hospital. Midtown Police Chief Frank Soltis and City Police Captain Wes 'Coldiron' Masters were in the waiting room with Molly's family and Chief Moynahan.

After I spoke with them for a moment, Tanya Perlman brought me to the 'other' waiting room for a report.

"The TCPD is assisting the NCPD in the investigation." said Tanya. "We've got McGillie, Rodriguez, Warner, and Washington helping interview students and teachers. The perp's name is Adam Nikolas Eagan. He was a Punk, pretty much a loner, and he dropped out of NCHS last fall. Reports are that he was very fascinated by the George Aurus serial killings."

"Which reports are those?" I asked sourly. "The Media's reporting so far is so inaccurate about everything that I wonder if they're deliberately lying."

"Some of that reporting is mine." said a voice behind me. I turned to see FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone coming around the corner. He said "The TCPD is assisting the NCPD with data mining, and my FBI guys and Cardigan's guys are working on it, too.

"Where's the perp now?" I asked. "Can he be interviewed."

"Been there, done that, got the GOJ t-shirt." Tanya said. I knew her humor was her defense mechanism as she continued: "He came out of surgery a few hours ago. He may never walk normally again, but otherwise he's physically okay. He's in the 'custody ward' under heavy Police guard. Parker and Geiger interviewed him, videotaping it, but they didn't get much; they guy was still groggy and dazed. The perp has been assigned a Court-appointed attorney, and it was Chase Lynch & Berry's name that came up. H.J. Lynch was present at the interview, but did not stop us from asking questions."

"Okay." I said.

Muscone said "I just got word that Bob Rovers's BAU unit magically appeared in the City. They are attempting to get Federal warrants to take over the case, citing terrorism and Federal arms charges. What I heard was that they want to transfer custody of the perp to the City."

"Crap." I said, reaching for my cellphone. "I need to call the Nextdoor County D.A.'s Office, and get them to fight the Feds."

"Slow your roll for a second, Dog." Jack admonished. "State Attorney Jenna Stiles has already done that. For now, the Federal Courts are holding off making a ruling. It might be tomorrow morning before they do anything. And it'll depend on which judge hear the case. If it's K.M. Landis, the perp will stay in your custody... well, the NCPD's with your generous help."

Tanya asked: "Why do the Feds, and especially the Rovers BAU team, want custody of this guy, and this case?"

"I dunno." I replied. "But I do know one thing: whenever the name 'Rovers' is involved, it's usually a bad, bad thing. And Swamp Frogs are often behind their actions."

"There's Laura." said Jack. We all turned to see my wife, still in her OR scrubs and hair cover, at the Nurses Station at the intersection of hallways. The main waiting room was on the opposite corner, so we went over, and entered the waiting room right behind her. Exhaustion was etched on her lovely face.

"She's out of surgery." Laura was saying. "The gunshot to her leg nicked the femoral artery, but they got that fixed and stopped the bleeding, and the tourniquet did not do any lasting damage to her leg. The second bullet went through her armor and hit her just under her clavicle. The artery wasn't hit, but there was major tissue damage from the shock wave, and her breathing is affected. And worse, fibers from her armor followed the bullet into the wound, making it hard to clean out properly. There's a real danger of infection, so she's still in grave danger. If she makes it through the next 24 to 48 hours, she'll have a chance. But she's going to have to fight to make it."

Cindy was getting the vibe. "Laura... what's the rest of it?"

Laura's face looked as grim as I'd ever seen it as she took a breath, exhaled, and said "Molly went into cardiac arrest. Twice. The second time, I didn't think they could save her, but Dr. Cordell pulled off one of his miracles. My fear... is that with her breathing issues, she could go into cardiac arrest again at any time."

Maggie Ross was trying to be brave, but the tears were running freely down her cheeks. Callie Carrington took her into her arms as Molly's mother broke down crying. Cindy, meanwhile, had stood up and was looking at Laura as she asked "Can we see her?"