WHITEOUT: Above And Beyond (Beauty 0f Life Book 10)

by Laura Acton

  “Dan’s a remarkable man, who is willing to go the extra mile, above and beyond to keep everyone safe,” Lexa declared, meaning every word.

  Without thinking, Kinsey revealed a confidence, “I’m well aware. Dan recommended me to Colton to replace Hector when he left. I’m still on TRF because of Dan.” She sighed. “I pegged him all wrong. Thought Dan was churlish and childish when he gave me the cold shoulder when I kept your spot warm. I now realize Dan didn’t want anyone, didn’t matter who, to take your place. I’m glad we found him in time, and he recovered from what those former cops did to him.”

  The klaxon alarm sounded, and further conversation halted as Tia’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Alpha Team. Critical call. Multiple gunshots fired inside Arriba’s Foods. The people who escaped during the initial assault claim three subjects are involved but are unsure how many hostages are still inside. Units on scene cordoned off the area.”

  Arriba’s Foods – 2:25 p.m.

  As soon as they arrived, the team set to work as usual, but with a slight sense of déjà vu encompassing everyone since they responded to a call at Arriba’s two years ago. The incident involving two women tussling over a turkey ended peacefully, but this time, things appeared much different with the potential of three armed men and multiple hostages.

  Nick connected with the senior patrol officer to obtain current details. Aware no Zulu One position existed Jon, Bram, and Dan gathered to formulate their tactical plan. Ray and Lexa went to interview the few customers who fled at the first shot, hoping to gather enough detail to ascertain the cause, which might range from a gang initiation to a vendetta against someone who worked there and many things in-between. Loki hurried to the command truck to link to the grocery store’s security cameras to determine the number and location of hostages inside and with a bit of luck, identify the subjects.

  After talking with a store cashier, Lexa reported, “This is a robbery. One subject is a former stock boy. The cashier, says the assistant manager Mrs. Paulson, yes, the same woman from the turkey fight, fired Tristan Huffy last month after she caught him stealing from the register.”

  “Tristan and two others came in demanding cash at gunpoint before firing several times to corral the customers at the checkout lanes. Mrs. Paulson managed to distract them so several people could escape before a second subject locked the doors. The third subject, fired one more shot at the ceiling as he demanded money from another cashier.”

  Loki worked fast as Lexa continued to provide information on their subjects, such as clothing. He connected to the security system and using her intel, located three males, and took screen captures of them. Loki set the facial recognition program running on the two unidentified subjects, and started a search for any records on Tristan.

  Refocusing on the video feed, Loki began supplying the team with details. “All three subjects are near the registers in front. Tristan appears to be yelling at Mrs. Paulson. Another is grabbing cash from the open till while the last male is pointing his gun at three hostages and making them hand over wallets and other valuables. The subjects appear young, late teens maybe.”

  Nick used the bullhorn to notify those inside he would be calling and wanted to resolve things without anyone being harmed. Ray provided him the store’s phone number, and his efforts to reach them went unanswered five times. Not quite ready to push it to a tactical solution, and needing a look at the situation inside, Nick started for the mobile command van as he said, “Jon, set up and be prepared to go, but I want to try again.”

  Jon directed his team, “We’ll make a two-pronged approach. Ray, Bram, and I will do a hard entry from the front as a distraction. Dan, take the rear, go in quiet, and work your way to a midpoint, then wait.” Jon considered for a second who he should send with Dan, and although the former couple worked together with no issues, Loki would be better today than Lexa. So, he said, “Lexa, take over for Loki and, Loki, backup Dan.”

  “Copy,” each acknowledged.

  Lexa entered the truck as Loki exited, and he said, “Recognition is running. If they’re in the system, we should have info any moment now. Huffy’s details should come up too if he has a record.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Lexa sat and began to scan the monitors. True to Loki’s word, the subjects popped up with records. She reviewed their priors before relaying details. “Their rap sheets are long and include many petty crimes. Tristan turned eighteen last week, so he is now facing adult prosecution. The other two, Makhi Guthrie and Harrison Church, are seventeen.”

  Lexa continued to highlight particulars from their histories, which might prove useful to her teammates. As Boss entered and stood beside her, she stopped on one point as her eyes widened. “You’re not gonna believe this. Tristan was arrested two years ago behind Arriba’s for purse snatching. Dan, he’s the guy you chased down for stealing Brandi’s handbag.”

  Dan shook his head at the coincidence as he worked the lock on the back. “Hope I don’t have to chase him down again. Jon, we’re heading inside now.” He stood and opened the door as quietly as possible.

  Loki and Dan slipped noiselessly through the back entrance into what appeared to be a storeroom. Coming to a swinging door, they communicated via hand gestures, before splitting up to go down separate aisles. Both stopped midway and waited for the command to move from Jon.

  Ray joined Jon and Bram at the front with the glass breaking tool. He set it against the storefront window, ready for the signal if Boss could not connect or things escalated inside. Bram and Jon positioned themselves, prepared for hard entry if necessary.

  Nick called the store’s line one more time, but the subjects let the phone ring. As he hung up, he studied the monitors with Lexa. He didn’t like what he was viewing. “Jon, Tristan appears to be shoving Mrs. Paulson to the rear of the store. I don’t like him separating her.” He hit redial, hoping one of the three would pick up.

  “No. No. Don’t,” Lexa said to the screen as Tristan pistol-whipped Mrs. Paulson before pushing her forwards again when she refused to cooperate. When the gun leveled at the woman’s head, for a split second, the thought of Paulson’s five kids becoming orphans ran through Lexa’s head.

  In that same second, Nick realized he could wait no longer with the subject escalating and a hostage in imminent danger, he gave the order, “Jonny, go, go, go!”

  Ray activated the electrical charge, which shattered the window, and little safety glass pellets cascaded to the sidewalk as Jon and Bram rushed inside. Dropping the tool, Ray followed them in as a gunshot sounded.

  Nick informed the team in his calm tone, though inside he was shaking at the near-miss. “Active shooter, Tristan fired at Mrs. Paulson when she ran around a corner. Dan, Loki, Tristan is running down the aisle between you two headed for the back. The other two are still at the front.”

  Both Loki and Dan pivoted and ran down their aisles, hoping to make it to the end before Tristan. The fleeing subject edged them out and sprinted out the back door with two TRF constables in hot pursuit.

  Struggling to keep pace, but unwilling to slow down, Loki doubled-down as he conveyed, “We’re in pursuit of Tristan in the alley.”

  Jon called out to them as he aimed his MP5 towards the two subjects now on their knees and being cuffed by Bram and Ray. “Go careful. He’s armed and not afraid of firing.” As they hauled the subjects to their feet and herded them outside to the waiting officers, Dan’s and Loki’s heavier breathing filled their headsets. Nick directed the senior patrolman to send two cruisers to assist his men because it would be faster than Jon or the others could reach them.

  Behind Arriba’s Foods & Mutual Street – 3:20 p.m.

  As he ran, Loki updated the team, “Heading north on Mutual toward Gerrard Street.”

  Dan realized he jinxed himself, and now sprinted after the same guy he had two years earlier. What are the odds? Putting his thoughts on the back burner and thankful for the sleep he had gotten the past two nights, Dan dug deep for speed. Re
ady to end the chase, he launched himself at the subject.

  Down they went, hard, and like the previous takedown of Tristan, Dan’s shoulder slammed into the ground. The handgun dislodged from Tristan’s grip and skittered across the sidewalk. Arms and legs flailing the young punk fought to get away from him and reach his weapon, but Dan held on.

  Loki pounded to a stop, secured the Ruger SR22 pistol, then aimed his MP5 at the combative subject. “Stay down,” Loki shouted as Tristan attempted to wiggle out of Dan’s hold.

  The eighteen-year-old stilled on Loki’s command as he fixated on the weapon’s muzzle directed at him. With efficient and practiced movements, Dan rolled the teen to his stomach, kneed his back, pulled his arms behind him, and slapped on handcuffs. Dan rose and assisted the restrained subject to his feet.

  Tristan’s eyes widened as he was turned and caught sight of the blond officer who arrested him. “You again?”

  “Yeah, me again. I gotta say, I’m a little tired of our biennial turkey trot and wrestling match,” Dan deadpanned as he gripped the subdued subject’s bicep to steer him towards an approaching squad car.

  Loki grinned. “No worries, Dantastic. The next several events are canceled because Huffy here will be doing time for robbery and attempted murder.”

  Dan gave Loki a lopsided grin before handing Tristan over to the female officer. Once relieved of his charge, Dan rubbed his right shoulder. Damn, not again. Gonna be bruised and sore for several days.

  “Boss, Dan needs to be checked. His shoulder impacted the pavement taking down Huffy,” Loki stated with concern watching Dan’s movements.

  “No, only a little sore, no biggie,” Dan responded.

  “Dano, you’re getting examined.” Jon glanced at Bram, both reflecting on their previous failure and letter from Ms. Bennett, which mentioned Dan’s injured shoulder and her hope his bosses didn’t yell at him again.

  “Honestly, there is no need, Jon.” Dan eyed his teammate and mouthed, “Why’d you say anything?”

  Loki chuckled and beamed. “Get used to the fact we care.”

  Dan shook his head and couldn’t help the grin forming as they started to walk back to the front. Yeah, they care. So much that they replaced my caffeine pills with sugar and forced me to a support group … which helped.

  TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 6:10 p.m.

  Dan shifted in his chair. The ice pack strapped to his right shoulder numbed him to the point it didn’t ache as the team debriefed. Boss insisted on calling EMS to check him out at the scene. As he expected, nothing but a bit banged up, but they all hovered as the medic examined him. Well, more precisely, Jon, Loki, and Bram stayed close while Lexa, Ray, and Boss finished tying up loose ends and supplied details to the crime scene detective.

  The paramedic cleared him for duty, gave him an instant cold pack, and told him to ice his bruised shoulder. Jon made sure he kept it on during the ride back to headquarters. When they arrived, Bram and Loki took all his gear and put it away while Boss pointed him to the conference room and made him sit. Lexa and Ray stopped at Timmy’s on the way back, and Lexa set a pumpkin spiced iced capp in front of him before she took her place.

  Things remained awkward between him and her, and although they both expressed wanting to be friends, neither was quite sure how to return to the easy camaraderie they once shared. He regretted the hurtful karaoke song, but apologizing … well, he couldn’t find the right words, and he feared screwing up their relationship further if he said the wrong thing, so he remained silent on the topic.

  Dan’s mind shifted, marking the differences between today and his first Thanksgiving on Alpha Team. Only Bram invited him that year, and he declined because he read pity in his expression, but none of the others gave him a single thought as they discussed their plans. Last year, he received a call from every single one of them inviting him to come down for the day, but his lungs were still recovering, so he remained in Ottawa and spent Thanksgiving with the entire Broderick clan.

  Tomorrow, everyone would be gathering at Bram’s. Ray’s parents traveled to Edmonton to spend the day with their daughter Maria and her family, who moved there over the summer. Ray chose to remain in Toronto to conserve funds and would be bringing Maurita to dinner. Loki’s ma still resided with Gina in Montreal, and Sonia planned to join her sister and mother, but Loki decided to stay here after Dan told Loki he would be going to Bram’s since his parents would be visiting Becca in France.

  A small grin bloomed as Dan recalled Loki insisting he would win the pie contest because his ma taught him how to make her recipe. Dan had an entrant this year. Mom whipped up a pie for him before leaving, and bless Bella’s heart she had it flown down this morning. Luckily, he was at home when it arrived and put it in the fridge before he showered. Dan eagerly anticipated being stuffed to the gills and enjoying a day filled with family and a little volunteering at Mayfield Soup Kitchen too.

  Dan tuned back in, surprised his thoughts wandered, but glad no one appeared to take note. He caught Boss’ words, “That was an interesting bit of déjà vu.”

  “Yes, it was.” Bram nodded.

  Lexa added, “Glad to find out Mrs. Paulson worked her way up to assistant manager. I spoke with her briefly, and she said things are improving. She met a widower at her support group who loves children, and her kids have taken a shine to him too. They plan on marrying next summer.”

  “What a difference a little time can make.” Loki swiveled in his chair to peer at Dan. Tomorrow would mark another positive change, and allow him to make amends for the way he mistreated Dan when he joined the team.

  Dan flashed Loki a lopsided grin. “My mom sent a pumpkin pie for our contest … you’re gonna have some competition.”

  Jon laughed. “Jen’s been perfecting her recipe too.”

  “I’ve been taste-testing pies for two weeks now.” Bram patted his stomach.

  “Wondered why you were showing a paunch. Weigh-in is the day after we return, you might need to hit the treadmill a bit harder,” Jon teased Bram.

  Lexa let the banter swirl around her. Still wanting to find a way to move past the awkwardness with Dan, she hoped Thanksgiving might allow them to talk and sort some things out. Perhaps informing him she was no longer dating Duke might help, or not. This was all new to her. Never had she been so attracted to someone she couldn’t have, and although a decent and kind man, Duke didn’t hold a candle to Dan.

  As the chatter centered on the pie competition, Lexa’s eyes landed on Dan for a brief moment and an idea formed. He loves walnuts. I wonder if that will make a tasty crust for my entry. Then another notion popped in. “Hey, does the entry have to be pumpkin pie, or can it be any dessert?”

  Loki shook his head. “Pumpkin only. Otherwise, how can we decide?”

  “Darn, I wanted to enter a cobbler.”

  Dan’s head whipped to Lexa, and a slow grin grew. “Cherry?”

  “Yeah.”

  Bram chuckled. “I know which desert Dan would vote for … sneaky, Lexa.”

  Lexa smiled and shrugged. “Can’t blame a girl for trying to get an edge in competition against awesome bakers like Kellie, Jen, and Mrs. B.”

  “Don’t forget my mom. She baked a pie for me to bring also,” Ray inserted, happy everyone appeared relaxed, and the team seemed close to normal, which they hadn’t been since before Lexa had been shot in April. It had been an arduous six months, and he was grateful they were smoothing out.

  “So, you gonna bring pie too, Lexa?” Loki asked.

  “You bet.” She would use her original secret weapon to garner Dan’s vote … a walnut crust.

  After checking the time, Nick said, “Let’s wrap up paperwork and get out of here. My famous carrot and onion casserole is waiting to be made, and perhaps I’ll try my hand at a pumpkin pie to enter our contest.”

  The team set to work on writing out their statements to add to the case file. Jon noted Dan wince once or twice as he shifted positions in his seat. Good thing he is
left-handed or filling out the forms might cause him more discomfort.

  Based on Dan’s less zombified outer shell combined with his grins and chuckles, Jon suspected his young sniper slept as well last night as he did on Friday at his home. Releasing memories of Shy’s horrific death, appeared to reduce Dan’s stress and relieve the unrelenting nightmares plaguing him since the Whitehall call. Jon was thankful Dan trusted him and the support group enough to share with them.

  He recalled spending time with Dan yesterday. Their youngest teammate woke more refreshed than he’d seen in the last week. Dan indicated he slept straight through without waking. Jen made them a delicious breakfast before they came here to shoot a round of golf on the outdoor, long-distance gun range. They ended in a tie when they ran out of balls to blast.

  After they picked up Kent and his buddies, they went two on four in several games of hoops. A thoroughly enjoyable day with a valuable and honorable man. A day Jon couldn’t have imagined two years ago. Recalling the wager that he and Dan won, Jon said, “Hey, Dano.”

  Lifting his head and giving his attention to Jon, Dan waited.

  “I’ll be dropping Kent, Sean, Roger, and Pete off at eight at the soup kitchen and be back to pick them up at noon.”

  Dan chuckled and nodded. “I think it will be a long time before those boys make a bet with us again. Although volunteering at Mayfield is a win-win. They’ll glimpse how fortunate they are as they help the community.”

  Jon’s eyes glimmered with mirth and a dash of his competitive spirit. “We sure trounced them. So much for all their bluster and calling us old men. You have an awesome jump shot.”

  “Excellent aim comes in handy shooting hoops too,” Dan quipped before signing his form, leaning back, adjusting the cold pack, and grinning at his chosen family. This year is so different from my first Thanksgiving here. I belong, and I have so many things to be thankful for in my life.