Lights Out

by Stopforth, W. J.

  With her one free hand, Lam pulled open her desk drawer and fished around for some painkillers. She always had some on hand. Locating the packed, she expertly pushed two pills out of their foil wrapper and popped them into her mouth, chasing it down with some cool water. Another fifteen minutes or so and the pills would work their magic, erasing the headache that was threatening to turn into a migraine. She shifted in her chair trying to get herself comfortable whilst she took out her case file. Her lower back was sore, and she absentmindedly rubbed it with her thumb. She located her old raised scar on her lower back and massaged it trying to ease the ache that was working its way slowly up her spine.

  For that brief moment the scar triggered old memories. She was no longer sitting at safety of her desk at the station. She was lying on the cold stone floor of a disused warehouse. Her nose was bleeding heavily now, and her whole body ached from the fall. She had landed awkwardly and thought that perhaps her wrist was broken. She heard a movement close to her left, and with the small amount of strength that she had, she forced her body to sit upright, and then to stand. Lam looked around her in the dark to try to get her bearings. She couldn’t see Ko, her partner, she hoped that he had managed to survive and would soon be coming down the steps to find her. She blinked away the pain and half walking, half jogging moved deep into the shadows and out of sight. Lam felt her side for her gun, but it must have fallen out of her hand during her fall, she didn’t recall hearing it clatter anywhere close by. She moved deeper still into the shadows whilst she regained her breath and her location. It was silent all around her now except for the faint footsteps of someone walking down a metal staircase, she couldn’t be sure if it was Ko, surely he would call out for her if it was. She strained to see if she could work out the direction of the stairs, her head still foggy, but it was so dark.

  It had been a tip off. It should have been a major drug bust, probably the biggest that Hong Kong had experienced. Lam and Ko had been working undercover with two detectives from the Narcotics Bureau. A team of four, they had been told, by one of their well-oiled informants that this is where the hand over would be. They were expecting at least 38 kilo’s of Cocaine, along with one of Hong Kong’s biggest Drug Lords. It was the end of a trail that they had been following for months now. They had already successfully carried out a raid one month before, the same gang involved, but that time the ring leaders had slipped away, leaving behind just a few kilos in their haste, each one kilo brick of cocaine embossed with their well known symbol of an eye inside a triangle. Sarah felt cold and tried to stop herself from shivering. They had sat for hours outside the disused warehouse in an old car hidden between a parked truck and an empty skip, watching and waiting. They were in the middle of typhoon season, so the rain had been heavy all day long, switching between tropical downpours and intermittent light drizzle. Eventually their patience had paid off. At first it was a silver van that had pulled up about fifty meters in front of them. Two men had climbed out and moved around to the back of the van, where they had removed two heavy black duffle bags. Trying not to get wet, they had grabbed the bags and ran straight into the warehouse entrance, letting themselves in via a small metal door set inside a larger oversize metal gate.

  Within minutes a black Mercedes had pulled up behind the van. The man that exited the drivers side stepped out with confidence and grace. He opened up an umbrella, and strolled toward the small metal door as though he had all the time in the world.

  Ko spoke to his colleagues on his radio. ‘We are green’. He said simply, the pre-arranged code to say that they were going in.

  They had firstly moved up to the black Mercedes and the van to check the interiors, ensuring that there were no other people waiting inside that could jeopardize the bust. Satisfied, and giving each other a silent signal, they quickly ran across the broken tarmac towards the small metal gate. Lam rested her ear against the metal door, but with the sound of the rain behind her it was impossible to hear anything on the other side. Nodding at Ko, she silently counted down with her fingers visible for Ko to see. Three, two, one. She twisted the metal door handle and pushed open the door for Ko, he slipped in quietly with Lam entering behind them. They were grateful for the rain. Any noise that the door would have normally made was muffled by the noise. The warehouse was pitch dark. Closing the door behind them, the last of the light was shut out. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. Lam could now make out a metal staircase and then the open mezzanines on each floor, leading up three full flights. Ahead of them toward the far corner of the warehouse she could make out the shape of a large metal box, she motioned to Ko using her hands, and signaled for him to follow her. They worked around the side of the large space without making a sound. As they drew closer Sarah could see now that the box was a container that had been converted into a makeshift office corrugated metal sides, no windows and a basic door cut out of the side. A slither of light shone under the door indicating that someone was inside, but there was no sound, not even a murmur of conversation. A wave of uneasiness flowed over Lam now as she considered their next move. She looked at her watch. It was strange that her narcotics colleagues had not yet responded or joined them. She had expected them to be close behind. Now almost at the door, Lam shot a glance at Ko. Their eyes locked and they silently agreed the next move. After so many years, it was so easy to read each others mind. This time Ko indicated that she should enter first. Their handguns were ready, the safety catch off. With Kos spare hand he leaned in and held the door handle. Lam silently counted down again with her fingers; three, two, one.

  What happened next, they would never have imagined. The door swung open and Sarah stepped in with her gun steady, her muzzle now pointing directly at the terrified eyes of the two narcotics officers, gagged and bound on chairs.

  ‘Shit,’ she said under her breath, quickly placing her gun in her holster.

  She turned to Ko, ‘cover me, I need to untie them.’ ‘Shit’ was all that Ko could say in response. She frantically untied the two men, and as soon as their hands were free they helped her to untie their legs and remove the gags.

  “It’s a trap’, one of the officers said, a younger man, who looked frightened and now much younger than his years. ‘We have to get out of here.’ The other said. “They took our guns and our radios.” ‘They have weapons, we saw pistols and a shotgun’.

  ‘OK, OK’, Lam said, trying to think what they should do next.

  ‘Ko, kill the lights. We need some cover to get out of here’, she kept her voice low, but now sure that they were being watched.

  Ko switched off the wall light sending them all into darkness. All that she could hear now was everyone around her breathing. She motioned for one of the officers to go with Ko, and one with her. She went first. As soon as she stepped outside of the metal room, the first round of gunfire went off. They ducked and swerved toward the exit as the bullets sprayed and ricocheted off the metal pillars and stairs surrounding them, momentarily lighting up their whereabouts. Realising that they wouldn’t make it to the exit alive, Sarah turned sharply and ran at full speed towards the staircase the other three men following closely behind her. At least the metal railing may afford some kind of cover, she thought. Taking two steps at a time, she bounded up to the first mezzanine level and quickly moved back into the shadows the second officer right on her heels. Lam could hear that Ko was close behind her when she heard the same spray of bullets bouncing off the staircase. Just as Ko reached the top, the officer behind him let out a yelp as a bullet tore through his shoulder. He collapsed against the railing, unable to pull himself forwards. Ko turned and grabbed him by the collar dragging him the remainder of the way and into the corner. Blood was pumping from the wound as Lam and Ko tried to stem the bleeding. The other officer was in shock and unable to do anything except stare. They didn’t have to wait long. With a loud gurgle and a final explosive spluttering cough, the injured officer’s stiff body suddenly relaxed, his last breath pushed
out of his body as his head fell back onto Kos knee and his legs and arms relaxed onto the cold metal floor. Then there was silence.

  ‘We’re fucked’, Ko said under his breath, alarm now in his voice. ‘They have us like cornered sheep. This is a fucking set up.’ He said as he gently pushed the officers head off his knee resting it on the cold floor. He looked down at himself and could see the dark stains across his shirt. He tried to wipe some of the blood onto his trousers to get it off his hands.

  ‘What now?’ he hissed to Lam who was squatting silently in the corner trying to gather her thoughts.

  Ignoring Kos question Lam considered their options. She had never been out of control before, and this was not common territory for her. Blocking everything out she tried to focus and keep her mind steady and her wits sharp.

  Finally she turned to Ko and the young officer.

  ‘We need to lure them up.’ She said, matter of fact. ‘The second we try and go down, we are sitting ducks, they’ll just take us out one by one.’ She whispered.

  ‘And how do you suggest that we do that?’ Ko had replied, hoping that she would have a better solution.

  Lam had never seen Ko panic like this before. He was normally calm and steady, they both were. She needed him to shape up, quickly.

  ‘I’ll show you.” Lam grabbed Kos radio from his belt and turned the knob until it was on the right frequency.

  ‘DC this is Detective Lam, over.’ The radio jumped and crackled to life, the interference was noisy and Lam made sure that the volume was up as high as possible.

  ‘I have three officers down, repeat, three officers down, in need of immediate assistance, over.”

  ‘What?’ Ko mouthed.

  ‘If they think we are all injured they’ll be more confident that they can finish us all off.’ She whispered back. ‘I think they come up. It’s worth a try’.

  The radio blared to life again, this time with a reply.

  ‘Detective Lam, reading you loud and clear, please confirm your location, over.’

  Just as Sarah was about to respond, she heard a loud clatter as something dropped on the metal floor, and it sounded close, too close. Like lions ready to pounce on their pray, both Ko and Lam were in position, legs slightly flexed, gun ready and arm steady. The young officer stood close behind them feeling naked and useless without his weapon, desperate to get out of their predicament and ready to follow Lam.

  Without warning there was gunfire upon them again, the bullets were closer this time. The three of them sprang into action and ran as fast as they could to the next level of stairs, Ko was the first up with the young officer close behind and Lam keeping up the rear. The spray of bullets rang around their heads, and Lam heard the whoosh close by her body reminding her that this was life or death. Behind her she could hear two sets of footsteps as she was being chased up the stairs and they were closing fast. Just as she was about to make it to the second level she felt someone grab her foot and yank her back. The pull was hard sending her off balance and making her fall face first onto the edge of the metal step. There was a sickening crack as she felt her nose explode as it took the brunt of the fall. She yelled out in pain, and twisted her body around to face her assailant kicking with her feet as she did so. He looked like a thug, with his shaven head, his eyes narrowed and determined and staring her down. He was strong and wouldn’t release his grip on her foot despite her stamping on his hand. She pointed her gun into his face and as she did so heard a shot being fired from above her. It was Ko. The face in front of her disappeared as the body, now limp released her foot and fell backwards onto the level below hitting the other man and pinning him to the floor. There was a loud yell, this time from her right as more shots were fired. Forgetting the searing pain across her face, Lam scrambled to her feet and made it to the second mezzanine and to safety, finding Ko and the young officer both in the shadows catching their breath.

  ‘Are you OK’ Ko asked noticing the deep cut at the bridge of Lam’s nose.

  ‘I’ll live’, she responded, wincing as she touched her face. ‘Thanks, I owe you one.’

  ‘One down, two to go.’ Ko said, this time seeming a little more relaxed.

  ‘You OK Tsang’ Lam motioned to the young officer visibly shaking in the dark.

  ‘I’m good’, just happy to still be alive.” He whispered somberly.

  Before they had a chance to get their breath back, a serious of bullets now sprayed them from the side. Whoever was firing, they were blindly trying to take a shot at them now, clearly angry that one of their men had been killed. Luckily for the three of them, the aim was way off course, bullets spraying around them randomly. Lam wondered how long they should wait now before their next move.

  Lam rolled silently to the left of the mezzanine to see whether she could take a clear shot. Carefully stretching her body toward the edge, she peered over the side of the railing. She could just make out two figures below on the first floor.

  ‘I think we have to go back down.’ Lam said, not happy with the idea, but seeing no other way out. ‘But I’m open to suggestions’. She said to both men.

  Tsang and Ko exchanged looks, neither of them with any better suggestion.

  ‘OK, Ko, you take the left hand side of the staircase, I’ll cover the right. Tsang, you stay low and in the middle. We’ll all go on three and then start firing. Make each shot count’

  ‘OK, three, two, one’ with a silent nod, the three of them launched into action, they ran down the staircase at high speed firing left and right as agreed and made it to the first mezzanine, as they turned to regroup in the shadows, one of the men stepped forward, taking them by surprise. In a blur of bullets and screaming, Tsang was shot at close range; he slumped down to the floor, clearly dead. Someone else grabbed Sarah, knocking her gun out of her hand and she felt herself being lifted effortlessly off the floor, suddenly her stomach lurched as she realized what was about to happen. She clawed at the man holding her, but he was too strong, she felt her centre of gravity shift momentarily before he released his grip, and then she was falling. In that second, she was sure that she heard Ko shouting, ‘Nooooo’ as the shooting began again.

  She must have blacked out briefly upon landing, and now she was back in the shadows, horribly injured and without a weapon.

  The silence seemed to be closing in on Lam as she weighed up her options. She scanned the darkness for her weapon, but couldn’t see anything from where she was situated. Then she thought of her radio, and patted her belt for it, but it was gone. Probably in the fall, she thought. She tried to slow down her breathing, so that she could hear any movement or footsteps. Then she heard it again; the unmistakable sound of feet walking slowly across the concrete. Whoever it was, they were getting closer now. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she tried to see which way she should go, but she had lost her bearings in the fall and couldn’t remember which direction the exit was. She shook her head to try and stay focused, pushing away the thoughts of sleep that had started to smother her brain.

  The footsteps now were getting louder. Lam would have to run; it was her only chance to get out of the building, then to her car. Once there, she could get help. Taking in a few deep painful breaths, she steadied herself. The footsteps sounded as though they were coming from her left, so she would head right. Ignoring the searing pain in her wrist and her head, Sarah slowly took a few steps out of the shadows. Feeling that the time was right, she took off at full speed. Her lungs were burning in her chest within seconds; she pushed herself harder now aware of footsteps directly behind her. She looked around for the exit, but could only see empty space. As she turned the next corner, she could just make out the metal container in the far corner and she knew that she was close. She forced her legs and arms to move faster, ignoring the blinding headache that was taking over her entire head and the throbbing in her temples. Then she heard it, the cocking of a gun and the rip roaring sound of a bullet being fired. Lam had never been shot before. She’d seen ple
nty of gunshot wounds, and often wondered how it felt. Was it painful immediately, or did the pain only show itself later, once the brain had registered what had happened to the body? Now she knew first hand, the pain was instant and it stopped her dead in her tracks. As though someone had taken the legs from under her, Lam landed once again face down on the floor. One of her teeth was knocked upon landing out and it rolled lightly across the floor stopping just a few feet away within her line of sight, bright white against the darkness. Her body felt heavy now and the pain, even though intense was starting to move through her body in sickening waves. ‘Maybe this is what it’s like’, she imagined that death would come quickly, but her chest was rising and falling and she somehow kept breathing.

  Now the footsteps were upon her, and she knew for sure that it would not be Ko. Unable to move, and now only able to breath in shallow pants, Lam could do nothing to defend herself.

  Her killer moved to her side and bent down to look at Lam’s blood covered and mangled face. A pool of dark blood was starting to seep around her waist forming a moat around her body. Lam tried to keep her eyes open as she tried to focus on the face swimming in and out of her vision. All that she could see was a ghost, her mind was playing tricks on her now, she thought, but it must be, she reasoned. His face was so pale, so white that it almost glowed in the darkness and then it was gone.

  Lam had learned only later the details of her rescue. Her radio call had placed her stationed team on red alert and they had rushed over to the stake out location arriving just in time. The two narcotics officers and Ko had been found dead. Ko shot between the eyes at point black range. He didn’t stand a chance. There were two other bodies, later identified by Lam as the two men in the silver van that had carried in the black duffle bags.