by L. Ann Marie
Me: “Roger LP1.” I smile. Cake walk.
Uncle Danny: “HS9, and 14 move in, no sound. Cover us seconds.” He gets roger’d and I watch them moving. They’re good. “One.” I fire and see him come up behind the pussy and catch him. Fuck.
Me: “Sniper clear.” I shake my head and scan the upper windows. Everything looks clear. I start scanning the first floor and see Colby moving through, but nothing else.
Uncle Danny: “Sniper relocate to east at the basement window and set up. On my one hit the lights then cover.”
Me: “Roger LP1.” I shimmy down and run the tree line until I hit the edge of the house. Switching out my gloves I stay low. At the window, I lay on my stomach and look in. Keeping to the side, I set up the stand switching out guns and the silencer then slowly move the gun in place while he’s telling the team to wait for a full count to move. Since there’s only one stairway to the basement and the Brothers will never fit in the windows he’s limited with what they can do. He tells Jake what he’s doing and gets an affirmative. I smile listening. Jake isn’t going to say shit to him. I move back to the side and sit ready to put my foot through the window.
Me: “Sniper in position.”
Uncle Danny: “Roger Sniper. I’ll draw attention, fire on my one.”
Me: “Roger LP1.” With my foot in the air and hand on the trigger I wait.
Uncle Danny: “One.” My foot connects and finger releases the shot. I move fast pulling the curtain and rolling to the stand. People are running from the exploding light and I hit the second. Scanning I shoot. “West, armed. Clear.” I follow the walls and hit a pussy pulling a girl by a rope. “Pussy on south wall clear.” Uncle Danny is coming up the north wall shooting. I hit another trying to pull a woman in front of him. Colby is telling everyone to get down on the floor. They do. I hit a pussy trying for a room on the south wall.
Uncle Danny: “Cease fire and cover, Sniper.”
Me: “Roger LP1.” He turns in a complete circle and looks up at me shaking his head. I’m glad I fed him, he’s smiling. “LP1 to MD. This is more than auctions. We have a whole set here. Does our feed show?”
Jake: “Roger LP1. A little dark, but we’re seeing it. Secure the scene LP1. VP and Pres are clearing their teams then coming over. Sniper, Prince Ops said to get them feeds.”
Uncle Danny: “Roger MD.”
Me: “Roger MD.” I wait for him to get HS covering, but he’s looking at the pussies as Colby moves live bodies to the north wall and dead to the south. “LP1?”
He looks up at me. “Nice fuckin’ shots. How’d you hit them so fast?”
I smile. “Blackhawks have skillz. Am I clear to get the feed up?”
“Yeah, we got this.” He gets the other Brothers cuffing everyone but the kids.
I rummage in my bag and set the cam at the window sill panning slow. When I set it on the sandbag, I call into Ops.
Me: “Sniper to MC Ops MD. Is my alternate feed up?”
Jake: “Roger Sniper.”
I break down my gun and load it in the bag. Running through the house I hear them downstairs talking about the lights. Stopping, I unplug a floor lamp and hand it to an MC Brother. I need to learn their names. I pull a table lamp and carry it down. Uncle Danny is talking to VP about the computers. Geek is already on his way. Digs would have been helpful here.
I pull my phone. “Get me on with Prez.” Uncle Danny looks at me. “The computers have movie shit on them, but the auctions run on the side of it. Can Brantley look at this from my body cam?” He tells me to hold and I hear Pres answering him in my radio ear. He comes back on telling me yes. “I need to be switched over to Prince Ops.” Marty tells me I’m being switched. I hit the Bluetooth on the phone and pick him up on speaker.
Brantley: “Sniper you’re on with Prince Ops, Coder at control. I need a minute to pull your feed over.”
I roll my eyes and Uncle Danny laughs. “He’s fuckin’ funny all the time, but I like the professional.” I nod and wait.
Brantley: “Sniper we’re live and Geek is on the side.”
Me: “Roger. Tell me what to do here. We’re running out of time. The auction has twenty-two minutes.”
He has me clicking and sending shit to him with code I’ve never seen. Geek chimes in and has me do other shit, talking to Marty in Ops. Brantley says he has something and talks to Marty. Then everyone is talking, but none of them to me. I look at Uncle Danny and shrug. “I think they’re programming something. I didn’t do programming.”
He laughs. “The way you shoot, you don’t need to.”
VP: “Team One you’re clear. Switchin’ to my control. Runnin’ pick up.”
Victor: “Team One you’re on with VP. Victor on control. I’m running your next location to your boards. I need check in when you’re ready to roll.”
Uncle Danny: “Roger Ops control.” He looks at us. “Let’s roll Brothers.”
Me: “Coder need you to switch me back to MC Ops.”
Brantley: “Sorry Sniper, switching you back now. Prez said good fuckin’ job.”
I smile walking out. “LP1 am I pulling the alternate cam?”
VP: “Negative Sniper. Leave it for Princes until Geek shows.”
Me: “Roger VP.” I need to replace my small sandbag, I think walking out.
We get to the bikes and I say every fuck I know. Fuckin’ sap on my riding gloves is going to fuck with the sensor. “You sound like your father. What’s wrong?”
“Fuckin’ tree sap. It’s going to get all over the sensor.” I hold up the gloves then show him the sap on my palm. “My others ones have full fingers. Anyone have any rubber gloves on them?” HS9 gives me a pair and I cut the thumb off. “That should work.” I think about the keyboard. “Let’s get out of here before Geek shows and sees the keyboard.” They laugh, but move faster. Geek doesn’t like sticky anything on his monitors and keyboards.
We run pickups making it an easier three hours, then ride back to the chopper and truck. All the bikes get loaded in the truck and we board the choppers. At MC-Baxters we look at the flag pole, but Jake isn’t hanging. “Why’d we get switched to VP?” I ask walking in.
Uncle Danny smiles back at me. “If Marty was running addresses with Mitch they’d switch. Geek was out, Digs is off. VP won’t work with Mitch so he doesn’t get any more shit from her.”
I laugh and sit. Prez is on the board from the Ops cam. He throws me and Jessie chin.
Pres comes in with VP and looks right at me. “Thank fuck you made the shots. Geek is fuckin’ pissed.” Everyone laughs. I look up at Prez. He must be standing on his foot. I just shrug.
“This is new; we need some time to look at the way they set the auction to the movie. The kids that were handed off are making their way home through the local PDs. There were three women that seemed to be consenting. Another first. Without more information, we don’t have much to say. Little Ben can you add to what we have?”
“We followed money while the teams ran pickups. You have a hologram board we sent over and the backer. It doesn’t seem to go further than one studio. This is based out of Connecticut. I’m told we’ll have more in a couple of hours.”
We all look at Pres. “Good fuckin’ job Princes. Will you be ready to meet for planning tomorrow?”
“I will Pres. We have a ride scheduled, if we change that to later I’ll be there at ten with Brantley and Dakota then clear to ride after planning.”
Pres looks at VP and gets a nod. “That works for us. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Pres, before you disconnect. The bikes on the truck?”
Pres looks at VP. “Droppin’ at Princes first then comin’ here. Got at least a two-hour wait.”
Prez nods. “Thanks VP. Princes, Halo is waiting, you’ll be transported to Security.” We throw him chin. I look at Jessie. Something is up. The feed goes down and we look at Pres.
“You better get moving. Something is going down. Good fuckin’ shooting Taylor and Aaron. The worst o
f today was made better because of those shots.”
We thank him and move out fast. On the chopper, we reload and I clean the sap off my hands with alcohol from the first aid kit. Aaron laughs at me telling us about Geek yelling for someone to get him a fuckin’ keyboard and mouse.
We’re dropped at Security and double-time it in. HS goes to the meeting room downstairs while me and Jessie go into Ops. The first board is zoomed in on a neighborhood. It’s split to four zones. Prez turns. “I need you at grid sixteen. Active shooter but he’s moving around the neighborhood. We don’t see how. With all the fuckin’ feeds he’s not showing anywhere.”
I look at the neighborhood on the board. “Brantley pan the outside.” Me and Jax ran tunnels last year downtown maybe there are tunnels out there too.
“Fuck! Brantley get anything on tunnels in that area. It never crossed my mind. Head that way and we’ll give you location as we get it.” I’d tell him to get out of my head, but he’s in no mood to smile.
“Roger Prez,” Jessie says.
“I need to change. I have sap all over me. I need gloves too.”
He looks at me. “Change, I’ll get gloves run down to you.” He turns. “Both?”
I nod and he starts talking. “I forgot about the tunnels. I’m surprised Brantley didn’t catch that.”
I smile. “He’s working on addresses and the new shit the pussies added from the movie. It was on his desktop with the grid feeds.”
“Fuckin’ guy running five things at once. I’m glad he wasn’t my brother. I’d always be fuckin’ steps behind.”
I open my locker and see my clothes with fuckin’ slashes in them. “What the fuck?”
Jessie’s on his phone to VP. “Take mine for now; we don’t have time for this shit.” He opens his locker and hands me pants and a shirt.
I switch out my pockets and get to the supply cabinet, pulling rubber gloves and wire ties. I’m fuckin’ pissed, but push it away and think. “Get everything in there checked. I have spare clips, a silencer and shit on the bottom.” Who the fuck would mess with my shit? I never had a problem being mixed with trainees and Brothers, but now I’m thinking my shit needs to be locked or us separated from them.
He tells VP. A Prospect runs down with gloves and we’re out.
Brantley: “Ghost you’re clear to roll when you’re ready.”
Jessie: “Roger Coder.” We roll without the count when it’s just us. He trained with VP and we think a lot alike. We don’t talk much, knowing what the other is thinking and follow each other’s leads silently. Since he’s SAA, I’m glad he gives me that respect. He could throw orders at me and I’d follow, but he doesn’t feel that need.
Brantley: “Ghost, stop at the printer on 12th. I have a tunnel, but need a way in. Give me a minute.” We pull over two store fronts away and wait. “Okay Ghost, I have a stairway from the printer down. Basement level has a connecting door that runs to a hall connecting the block.” We’re three blocks from the crossroad they had on the board.
Me: “Nothing closer to the neighborhood?”
Brantley: “Not showing, but the map just ends. We’re looking for more, but you could make your way across while we’re pulling them. The other businesses don’t connect at that level. It’s like they blocked the access.”
I look at Jessie. “We need an old timer that knows about this shit.” He slaps my back and starts walking. I pull my bag and follow.
The printer is a little old man and he doesn’t want us in his basement. “There’s a guy using the tunnels to move around the neighborhood shooting at innocent people. We need to stop that before he fuckin’ hits someone. Telling you is the only concession you’ll get from us. We’re going to the tunnel.”
Brantley: “Ghost. She Dog just took a hit to the arm trying to clear a road. She’s fine, but pissed.”
I start walking to the back. “He hit someone,” Jessie says following.
“If you don’t know them, you’ll never find him,” he yells and we stop.
No fuckin’ way. Jessie smiles, “Ask and you shall receive.”
“We don’t have time for you to draw it up. Come with us; a woman was just shot.”
Shock shows on his face, but he nods. We wait at the bottom of the stairs and I’m thinking this is a mistake. He’s too fuckin’ old. Once he hits the bottom he moves faster. There are old presses down here. These must be worth a fortune. One is a tabletop model and I think of the kids. Brandon would love it.
Jessie is talking to Brantley while I help move an upended desk from the doorway. I guess they didn’t want the door opened. “What’s your name?” I ask pulling shit out of the doorway.
“Smithy. Yours?” He’s lighting an old Coleman lantern.
“Taylor. That’s Jessie.” I sweep my foot wide, clearing little shit so we can open the door wide enough to get through.
He pulls a ring from his pocket and I almost laugh. There’s an actual skeleton key on it. “Neighbors used to store their garbage in here. We cleared it and cemented their doors.” I laugh. Smithy has it going on. I like him.
Jessie helps me pull the door. It’s swollen and scrapes a good inch of dirt as we’re pulling. Smithy’s badass was a while ago. “You’ll have to direct me. You’re not walking out first with a fuckin’ armed pussy running through here,” Jessie tells him.
Smithy hands him the lantern. “Glad you’re big enough to cover all of me.”
I laugh following them out, pulling the door closed. “We went further than basement level. Do these tunnels connect with the ones downtown?”
“They used too. Jessie, there’s a passage we need to take on the left to get across the street. There’s no access to street level and the tunnel is closed at the next block. We need to go around it.” Thank fuck he’s here. I could see us going around in fuckin’ circles here.
I hook my backpack to one shoulder and follow through the small passage. Jessie is swearing when it gets tight. “The passages were meant for large men to be stopped. They were widened in the forties.”
“Not e-fuckin’-nough,” Jessie growls. I want to know more about them, but keep my mouth shut. We’re quiet for the most part with him whispering directions.
“Are we going back across the street?”
Brantley: “No. I’m mapping as you’re moving. Sheila was hit from the side you’re on now. I don’t have a map for where you’re at, but it looks like an old convenience store is at the corner maybe fifty feet from you.”
Jessie: “Roger Coder.” He looks back. “Convenience store on a corner?”
“Just up a ways. There’s a doorway to it,” Smithy points.
He stops Jessie at a door. “This is a corner store. The doorway brings you to another series of connecting tunnels, but they are much smaller.”
Brantley: “I don’t have a fuckin’ thing indicating more tunnels there.”
Jessie: “Roger, just map us...” Footsteps running stops him and I stand in front of Smithy. They fade and Jessie looks at Smithy. He points us to the right and we move. I see light and Jessie hands the lantern back. “Put it out and cover it.”
I pull my coat and run back thirty feet. I roll the wick down and cover it with my coat. It’s full of sap anyway. When I get back, Jessie’s moving Smithy toward me. I bend to his ear. “Stay just out of the light against the wall in the shadows and don’t move. Wait for us right here.” He nods and moves into the shadows.
Jessie’s already moving to an open door. He signs for me to wait. There is another open door ahead and he didn’t pinpoint the sound. I nod and wait listening. Sound is coming from the other doorway. I click and Jessie’s moving back down. Footsteps coming down has our guns trained on the open door as we walk toward it. He’s moving fast and already has his body turned heading the opposite way. “Freeze!”
I’ve seen him before. He’s military. He reaches and I shoot his foot fast.
Me: “Sniper clear.” I look at Jessie. “He’s military. I’ve seen him before
.”
Jessie nods. “He just saved your life. I was going for a head shot. Shut the fuck up.”
He pulls the gun from around the pussy’s back. I check him for more and find a .38 and an arsenal of small weapons—knives, wire, stars and a small stake. I guess his quest is for vampires. He’s still whining and Jessie hits him knocking him out.
Jessie: “Coder get Clean-up down here to pick him up. Tell Prez that Sniper recognizes him as military.” He looks at me. “From the Vet houses?”
I shake my head no. “He was at the benefit though. He was talking to someone from the house here.”
Jessie: “Possibly from a church shelter. Obviously unstable.”
Brantley: “I have him at the shelter in town three. Refuses help from Princes. Clean-up is on its way. You’re two floors from the street. I’m just trying to get where they need to come from.”
I laugh double-timing it back to Smithy. “We need some help to get Clean-up down here.” I pull my phone and set it to speaker. “MC Ops, Sniper with Smithy on the side. What’s above us?”
Before Brantley can talk, Smithy tells him where we are and how to get down here. Brantley starts asking him a million questions and Smithy seems happy to answer them. I give him my phone and stand by Jessie waiting for Clean-up. When they come down the stairs, we start walking back.
I pull my coat from the lantern and Jessie laughs when I light it. “Wrecked the jacket.” I nod. It was full of sap anyway.
Smithy’s still talking to Brantley when we hit a passage. He stops us. “I need to get us back,” he tells Brantley.
Brantley: “Sorry Ghost. We need the tunnel information and I wasn’t paying attention.” He sounds nervous.
Jessie: “I think you’re right, but I want to get home tonight. Invite Smithy to Security or dinner and pick his brain. Right now, I want out of the fuckin’ tunnels.”
Smithy laughs and guides us back to his shop. We get the desk back in place and he wedges wood against it. Upstairs, I write Brantley’s information down and invite him to Security tomorrow. He looks happy, but says he doesn’t drive.
