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by Richard Stephenson

  Max turned to Elizabeth. “Call the other stations and tell them to look sharp, they may have trouble on the way. In fact, Elizabeth, take the SUV and head back to the city garage and take charge there. I’m gonna stay here and wait for County.”

  “I’m on it, Boss.” Elizabeth was already jogging towards the SUV before Max finished his instructions. She turned on the lights and sirens and raced off towards the city garage.

  Max turned back to Deputy McGee. “Brandon, I want you to set up barricades at the intersection. I want Elm turned into a one-way street all the way down to the next traffic light. Only one way into this gas station, the driveway on the north side of the station is closed. They come in, fill up, and leave out on the same street and drive away. The store is closed, gas only. No one enters the main building for any reason. No one loiters and only the driver is allowed to get out of the car to hand over his voucher and pump gas.”

  “Yes sir, Chief.” Deputy McGee quickly shuffled off to communicate the instructions to his team.

  “Son of a bitch.” Max could see four cars from the County Sheriff’s Office turning down the street. He knew that once they got there, they would assume that they would be taking over things like they had always done. Max only hoped that the county sheriff himself wasn’t in one of those cars because he was not going to relinquish authority to anyone else. The four cars pulled into the gas station and fanned out.

  “Chief Harris, what’s the situation?” The tall deputy sheriff was scanning the parking lot. Max found it comical that the sun was nowhere to be seen but this guy was wearing sunglasses. Guess the shades made him feel in charge.

  “Well, this is what I need from you fine gentlemen. I need for one of you to stay here with me and the others to each head to one of these four locations; we are currently at location number two.” He dug into his front pocket and produced four vouchers, handing them to each of the men.

  “The hell is this?” Deputy Sunglasses read the front of the card and looked at his partner. “Is this a joke? You really giving out free gas? No wonder we’re here. This craziness is ending now. OK, listen up…”

  Max quickly interrupted. “That’s right, listen up. I don’t have time to explain the details. You’re staying with me.” Max pointed to Deputy Sunglasses. Max then pointed from right to left. “…look at the back of your cards. One, three, four. Get moving, we don’t have time to waste. The officers at those locations will fill you in once you get there.”

  Deputy Sunglasses had a smile on his face and put his hand on Max’s shoulder. “Chief, Chief, Chief…slow down. Max, tell me what’s going on. You don’t have to worry about anything, my boys and…”

  “Son, take your fucking hand off my shoulder before I break it. I am the chief of police of this town and you will address me as such. Just because I let you boys come in here and play police officer so you can get an adrenaline hard-on does not mean that you’re in charge of jack-shit. How old are you, son? And take those fucking glasses off before I knock them off.”

  “I’m twenty-six, Chief. I’m sorry, I just wanted to help.” Deputy Sunglasses looked like a kid who had just been spanked in front of his friends at his own birthday party. He took off the sunglasses and looked at the ground.

  “You were in fucking elementary school when I was a rookie. So learn some respect. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, Chief.”

  “What are you assholes looking at? Don’t you have someplace to be?” The other three deputies were frozen solid and speechless. They quickly snapped out of it, jumped back in their vehicles and sped off.

  “What’s your name, son?” Max looked at the deputy sheriff.

  “I’m Deputy Eugene Shacklewood.”

  “May I call you Eugene?” Max looked at the young man and waited for him to make eye contact.

  “Yes, Chief. Uh… my friends call me Gene.”

  “Ok, Gene it is. Look at me, Deputy. You got an ass chewing. Get over it, I’ve been doing this for twenty-one years, and I’m amazed I have an ass left. I don’t have time for you to pout. I need you to focus and get in the game. The stakes are high, and I need you.”

  Deputy Shacklewood puffed up his chest and clenched his jaw. “Yes sir, Chief, you can count on me.”

  “Good. The reason you and your boys were called out here was some angry, pistol totin’ citizens were trying to muscle their way in for some extra gas. My team here was not willing to let that happen. They drove off and returned a few minutes later, firing three shots at the gas station. They said they would be back with friends.”

  “Holy shit, Chief. That’s crazy! What do you need me to do?”

  “You see that uniformed officer over there? That’s Deputy McGee, the team leader here. Check in with him and try to show some respect this time.”

  “Yes sir, Chief. Again, I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

  “Don’t mention it; now get to work.”

  Max stood under the awning in front of the entrance and called each of his other stations for a status report. The rain and wind continued to worsen. The city garage was down to eighty-seven vouchers. His gas station had a hundred and two. The other two stations had thirty-six and sixty-four. This was going along smoothly, Max thought; people were getting gas and getting the hell out of Dodge. He just hoped there wouldn’t be many in line when they ran out of gas. That’s when things would get ugly. The gas station with only thirty-six vouchers left to redeem had walked the line and counted off the last car. Most of the unlucky cars turned around and left. The ones that stayed understood they were taking a risk but were willing to gamble on a few drops of gas remaining after the rush was over.

  “Excuse me, Chief? I just wanted shake your hand and say thank you.” An elderly man in his seventies had walked over to Max. “I asked that nice man if he could pump my gas for me so I could come over and speak with you.”

  Max accepted the handshake with a smile. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. You are the first person to actually offer any gratitude for my master plan, whatever good it will do.”

  The elderly man understood the subtle sarcasm. “You mean that most of these people won’t make it past Houston?”

  Max was shocked. “Yes, may I ask how you know that?”

  “Well, unless they open up I-45 before the loop somehow, most of these people will be stuck in a very large parking lot on the interstate.”

  “Well, let’s just say I want our people to at least have a fighting chance. You evacuating? I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I’m Alfred. Yes, I’m evacuating, but I’m going to head west towards San Antonio. Figured I like my chances better further inland as opposed to drowning on this side when the Gulf comes pouring in.” Alfred shifted his weight onto his cane and coughed into his sleeve.

  “Not the best idea, but I understand your reasonin…”

  Three short beeps on his radio interrupted the conversation. An emergency message was about to follow. Max tensed up and focused.

  “All radio units, we have shots fired at the city garage. Two gunmen have opened fire, two injured, one dead. Officers on scene have returned fire. Chief Harris, please acknowledge.”

  “Copy that. I want all uniformed officers to assign another member of their team to take charge. Units 1-2 and 1-3, I want you to set up at the exit to the garage. County boys, I want you to block off the entrance and do your best to get civilians out of harm’s way. Take instruction from Sergeant Reed until I arrive.”

  “Gene! Let’s go! Keys! Now!”

  Deputy Shacklewood tossed the keys to his cruiser to the Chief, and they jumped in and sped off. Max dug in his front shirt pocket and kicked back three pills. Eugene didn’t notice.

  Three short beeps.

  “Be advised, we have an officer down. One gunman is presumed dead. The second is barricaded on the second floor of the garage admin office.”

  Maxwell Harris knew he had a second at best to make up his mind. Either freak out and get scared, or get
angry and let adrenaline take over. He concentrated on the second gunman and let rage focus his mind. As they approached the scene, he could see lights flashing at both the entrance and exit to the garage. Good, that’s covered. A second cruiser was fast approaching from the opposite end of the street. Soaked and frightened citizens were running all over the place, screaming, terrified. Max witnessed at least three traffic accidents right in front of him as cars smashed into each other in an attempt to speed away from the scene. Chief Harris ducked behind cars and made his way to the entrance of the garage. Keeping the second floor of the admin building directly above and out of his line of sight, he snuck behind some boxes and peeked over the top, trying to scan the concrete yard of the garage. Through the rain he could see an officer lying face down, a pool of blood underneath. He couldn’t tell who the officer was; whoever it was had on a hat and was wearing a yellow rain jacket. The person was alive, he could see movement. About ten feet away was a motionless lump; Max knew immediately that it was one of the gunmen. The officer had shot the piece of shit dead, but not before he fired off a lucky shot in return.

  Max keyed up his radio. “This is Chief Harris on scene. All units, respond in sequence with status and location.”

  “This is 1-2; 1-3 and I are covering the exit.”

  “County 6, all of my men are at the entrance.”

  Elizabeth.

  “1-1, this is 1-0, respond.”

  Shit.

  “1-1, this is 1-0, Sergeant Reed, please respond.”

  Please no.

  “Talk to me people, anyone seen Elizabeth? Is that her in the middle of the yard?”

  “1-0, this is 1-2. When we arrived on scene and secured the exit, I tried to get to the fallen officer. That asshole’s on the second floor taking shots at anyone that comes near.”

  “That’s right, mother fuckers.”

  “Repeat! Who is this? Identify yourself!” Max screamed into the radio.

  “I’m the asshole on the second floor. Anyone tries to help the pig that shot my brother is in for a surprise.”

  Max was missing something. Clearly something was not adding up. He looked across the yard to the fallen officer and could see and hear the radio on the person’s hip. How does this guy have a radio? Max quickly pulled out his smartphone and called the station. The phone rang at the desk, and Kathy Phillips answered.

  “Kathy! Are you hearing this?”

  “Yeah, Chief, what the hell is going on?”

  “Kathy, the gunman on the second floor, what’s his radio ID?”

  “Crap! I didn’t even think of that. Hold on a second. Too much radio traffic, get the guy to talk again and I can figure it out.”

  Max keyed up his radio. “Who am I speaking with? What’s your name?”

  “My name is none of your fucking business! Do you even care about the innocent man you shot, you c…”

  “Kathy, whose radio is that?”

  “Chief, that’s Elizabeth’s radio.”

  Max hung up the phone and keyed up his radio. “Listen to me. We need to start talking this out. What is it that you want?”

  “I want to get the fuck out of here alive is what I want! You assholes killed my brother and you’re gonna kill me, too!”

  “Are you alone up there? Is anyone hurt? If you have anyone up there with you the thing to do is…”

  “I ain’t got no one up here with me!”

  “How did you get that radio then?”

  “Fuck you, that’s how I got it.”

  Max clenched his jaw and knocked over the stack of boxes in front of him. Where is Elizabeth? Is she dead? Is she a hostage? Time was getting away from him quickly. Whoever was lying out in the middle of the garage yard might be dead soon.

  “County 6, 1-0”

  “County 6, go ahead Chief”

  “9-0 on scene?” Max hoped that the County Sheriff’s office used the same code for ambulance.

  “10-4, they are standing by.”

  “Listen to me on the second floor. It is important that we get those people out of the yard and to an emergency room.”

  “Fuck that! My brother’s dead. The pig that shot him’s gonna die, too!”

  “Listen to me. Your brother’s not moving, that doesn’t mean that he’s dead. There’s a chance that he can still be saved. Let us get him to a hospital and try to save his life while we still can!” Max hoped the second gunmen didn’t see his brother get shot in the head or this idea was going to fail quickly.

  “OK, you’re right! Shit! You get them out of there, but I swear, if one person so much as looks up here towards me I’m gonna start shooting.”

  “You have my word that no one will hurt you.”

  “Hurry the fuck up.”

  “County 6, you hear all of that?”

  “10-4.”

  “Go!”

  Two county deputies quickly escorted paramedics out to the middle of the yard to collect the fallen. They were ushered out and the ambulance screamed away.

  “Hey! Ambulance! Is my brother okay? Will he make it?”

  For the love of God, please lie; don’t be stupid, Max thought.

  One of the deputies responded. “He has a pulse. They’re attempting to revive him now; that’s all I know.”

  “9-0, this is 1-0. Please identify the officer.”

  “Standby.” The deputy riding with the fallen officer replied. “Uh, Chief. This doesn’t make sense.”

  “Make some sense out of it.”

  “Well, this officer doesn’t have a badge or credentials.”

  “Check the wallet.”

  “Standby. Uh, guy’s name is Tom Williams.”

  Son of a bitch. This is getting too weird, thought Max. The deputy mayor? With the two gunfighters on their way to the hospital, it was now time to focus on finding Elizabeth.

  “OK, your brother is getting help. Let’s start talking to each other and see if we can figure this out. Why don’t you come downstairs so we can talk face to face.”

  “So I can get shot like my brother for no fucking reason? Don’t think so!”

  “No one is going to shoot you, son, you have my word on that. Let’s start by you telling me your name. My name is Max.”

  “I’m Randy. I swear my brother and I didn’t do anything. That asshole cop wouldn’t listen to us, thought we were trying to steal gas. Our car broke down a few blocks from here, and all we wanted was to borrow some tools. This is a garage for Christ’s sake!”

  “Randy, I believe you.”

  “Really? You mean it?”

  “You hear the guy in the ambulance?”

  “Yeah, your cop forgot his badge, so what?”

  “The guy in the ambulance isn’t a cop, Randy.”

  “What? No way! He was wearing a radio and had on the same jacket as everyone else. He had a gun and shot my brother.”

  “Randy, I want you to listen to me. This is just as weird for you as it is for me. That man is the deputy mayor. I deputized him this morning to help us distribute the gas.”

  “So he is a cop! You’re lying! You made him a cop this morning!”

  “No, Randy, listen. I just needed some extra bodies to help out the officers. Each of the stations I set up has a uniformed officer in charge. No one is to do a thing without clearing with their team leader. I have no idea what led to your brother being shot.”

  “I just told you what led to him being shot! That asshole kept telling us to leave and said we couldn’t have any gas. We were on our way out, and he drew down on my brother. We both put our hands up and the guy just started shooting!”

  “Randy, I told you, I believe you. I need to ask you a question and it’s very important that you tell me the truth. Can you do that?”

  “I guess.”

  “Good. I need to know how you got that radio. It belongs to one of my uniformed officers. Randy, if the officer is with you, it is very important that you tell me the truth so we can figure this thing out. If you let any hostage go
we can start figuring out how to end this.”

  “Dude, I already told you I ain’t got no one up here with me!”

  “OK, Randy. So tell me, how did you get the radio?”

  “When that dude started shooting I ran up into this office. When I got here, I found a big belt on the desk that had a gun and a radio on it. No cop was here! I swear it! I just want to get out of here alive. I don’t want to take a cop hostage! That’s crazy! I’m a high school teacher, not a criminal!”

  Maxwell thought long and hard, his gut was telling him that Randy was speaking the truth. What happened to Elizabeth? Why would she leave her duty belt on the desk?

  She’s in the bathroom.

  If the situation wasn’t so serious, Max would probably laugh. Elizabeth had tossed her belt on the desk and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She was a neat freak and would never take her duty belt off in the bathroom.

  Why hadn’t she made a move on Randy? Granted, the man was armed and she was not, but she could easily get the drop on him and disarm him if she was careful. Hell, at the very least she could sneak into the office on the other side of the bathroom and climb out the window. What was she waiting for? Did she need a distraction? Wasn’t the storm outside loud enough? He could barely hear the radio over the blustering wind. Why would she stay on the second floor? What was keeping her there?

  Roscoe.

  Max had not seen Roscoe since he got to the garage. The man was in his late fifties and weighed three hundred fifty pounds. No way could he sneak out past Randy, let alone climb through a window and jump from the second floor.

  “Randy, I want you to listen to me. The radio you’re talking on belongs to one of my officers. His name is Roscoe. He’s an old man who actually retired from the force a few years ago. He’s not in the best of shape and is probably more scared of you than you are of him. I gave him a job here at the garage so he can keep busy. I’m betting he was taking a dump when you came upstairs. Roscoe has a bad heart. I really need you to let him know it’s safe to come out. Just call out his name and tell him Chief Harris said it’s okay to come out. Better yet, I want you to walk down the hall and turn up the radio as loud as you can. I will tell him myself. Deal?”