“Good copy, Sir.”
“Which corner?”
“Watt Street, how copy?”
“Good copy. Got a layout of the apartment? How many windows?”
“Four.”
“I want an FCS round through each window, how copy?”
“Good copy.”
I looked at my team, pointing to the corner. “Swiss seats and hook up, two per corner two feet apart.” I jogged over as Sargent hit the roof with the penetrating gun, giving us anchors for our rope. We quickly tied ourselves into the swiss seats, lining ourselves along the building edge. “Ramirez, your guys in position?”
“In position, awaiting your order.”
I glanced to my left, seeing my team ready for my command. “All right. We got thirty seconds to get the hostage out. Fast and efficient. Masks on.” They all sealed their NBC masks. “Ramirez, hit the windows in fifteen clicks.”
“Sir!”
“Going radio silent.” I tossed my helmet to the ground and got the best seal I could out of my mask. It was going to get stuffy fast. A couple seconds later I heard the 203s fire followed by shattering glass. I dropped my hand, signaling the team. We jumped back, repelling down. and made entry at about the same time, greeted by thick white clouds of gas. To say visibility was limited was an understatement, we were basically blind. The gas was brutal. My skin burned almost instantly and I could already feel it faintly in my nose. I stumbled through the apartment, finding myself separated from my team in the bedroom. I opened the door just as the bastard backed into me coughing and snottin’ everywhere still clinging to his daughter. We both stumbled and crashed to the ground, his daughter landing to the side of us. His face came close to mine, close enough I could see his eyes through the cloud. They were red and bloodshot; completely filled with panic and rage. He must have dropped his weapon because both of his hands were free. The prick’s first move was to reach for my mask. I was able to grab his arms and keep him from reaching but we were at a stalemate and I was running out of time. I took yet another gamble, I released him letting him pull my mask away. While the bastard was busy doing that, I reached and got my sidearm. I fired three hollow point rounds into his gut, each one shredding his insides and exiting from his back.
I threw the guy off me, already drowning in my own snot while my eyes burned like all hell. My hands smacked along the while I tried to find the girl just as my team entered the room. I stumbled to my feet while Chambers grabbed the girl and pushed her to me. My arms wrapped around her and we retreated out the window. I reached down and pulled the rope, stopping us just in time. The fresh air must have felt like a miracle for the girl between her coughs and gags… I know it did for me. I wiped my eyes away to see the girl, a pretty little thing, thirteen or so with blonde hair.
Ramirez was quick to get to pull us away. I continued coughing out my lungs, trying to clear the gas. Standard CS didn’t have shit on this stuff. I finally composed myself as I looked to Ramirez with my bloodshot eyes. “Get this girl to the ER.”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine, get her out of here!”
“Sir!” replied Ramirez, wrapping his arm around the girl and running off with her.
I stood up, taking a deep breath at the sight of the gas billowing out of the windows. My team exited shortly after, carrying that bastard’s body. I approached Chambers. “Have everyone file their reports and report to my office at 9 am for debriefing.”
Chambers quickly removed her mask, nodding. “Tommy, are you alright?” she asked. She must have seen the snot dripping from my nose, the drool from my chin, and my bloodshot eyes.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” I replied. Little did any of them know I was more than fine, I felt better than I had in years. Not only did I get to kill a scumbag, I saved an innocent girl. Only thing that could have been better was saving her mother as well. Ah well, better than not saving any of them.
“Tommy!” called out Ramirez.
I turned to him, wondering why the hell he wasn’t on his way to the ER. “Why are you still here?”
“I got the girl to the paramedics. I’ll swing by later after the docs have done their thing and find somewhere for her to stay, see if she has any family.”
“Well, since you’re hanging around here, care to give me a ride back to the agency? I need to be getting home.”
Ramirez laughed a bit. “Not like you to bail so soon after the party. Hot date tonight?”
“Not quite. Angel is in town. We’re getting dinner.”
Ramirez gave a sly grin before a snicker. “Damn, Angel? I think I might go with you, get me a bit of that.”
“What would Mrs. Ramirez say if I returned her husband with a few new holes? I already killed one guy today.”
Ramirez burst out laughing while he smacked his hands together. “Nah, I don’t think that’d be necessary. If I went with you, she’d kill me anyway.”
Ramirez dropped me in the agency parking garage. A couple of parking levels underneath the building. Best place for it, no civilians trying to sneak into our parking lot like this. He pulled out as I stared at my baby’s metallic red paint gleaming in the overhead lighting. Every time I laid eyes on her, she took my breath away. I never could walk away from her without looking back. I pressed the button on my key fob, unlocking the door. Yeah, she had a key fob. A 2005 model year, she was officially an antique but you’d never tell it by her condition. I opened the door and sat down in her leather bucket seats. Then I mashed the clutch and turned the ignition. The dash lit up, the Pontiac arrowhead displaying on the screen in perfect clarity. With a crank of the engine, her six-liter heart came to life, echoing in the parking garage. The lope of my custom ground camshaft thumped sinisterly. I looked to the right, seeing the ‘GTO’ stitched into the seat of the passenger seat. Man, I loved that car. I shifted into reverse and I was off.
You know, I went home and all that, cleaned up etc. I changed into jeans and a simple Tee. Nothing special, I hated dressing up. Angel was meeting me at Jack’s, a small restaurant just down the street from Heinz Field. It was the offseason, so it wouldn’t be crowded. Most people preferred something more upscale, not the small bar and grill Jack’s was. I pulled in and parked along the curb. Angel’s SUV wasn’t anywhere in sight, so I figured I’d go on in and get a table. There were a few people about, not too many. Most sitting at the bar for happy hour. I sat down, being greeted by the waitress almost immediately.
“Just one?” she asked.
“Two actually. She isn’t here yet.”
“Can I get you anything while you wait, sweetheart?”
“Whiskey.”
“On the rocks or?”
“Straight, thanks.”
She bustled off and a was back within a few minutes. I looked at the glass, more than a shot but not quite a double. My eyes shifted back to her, a slight smile on her face, obviously fishing for a big tip. “Thank you.”
“No problem, I’m here all night, let me know if you need anything else!”
She walked off as I picked up the glass, sloshing the booze around a bit before I gulped it down.
“Not even six and you’re already drinking?”
I looked up to see Angel Kennedy, my sister. She was grinning, showing her impeccable smile. Her hair was brunette with the addition of blonde highlights. She’d change the color pretty often. Angel was the picture of graceful aging. Going on fifty and barely looking thirty. She giggled like she always did at a humorous sight. I stood and hugged her. “It’s been too long.”
Her arms wrapped around me as she squeezed with all her might. She pulled away, resting her hands on my shoulders, looking up at me. Angel wasn’t very tall, about five-five compared to me being at five-ten. “It has, way too long. I’ve missed you.”
We sat down, she was still smiling in amusement at my drinking. “How’s Shey?” I asked, wondering about my niece. I hadn’t spoken to her in a matter of weeks.
“She’s
good, starts college in a few weeks.” Angel took a deep breath, her eyes watering a bit. “She’s grown up on us. Seems like yesterday she was watching those vids of you in boot camp. I’m actually surprised she didn’t enlist.”
I laughed a bit, remembering those days that felt an entire lifetime ago. A deep breath followed before I shook my head. “I’m glad she didn’t. One of us getting shot at is quite enough.”
“Speaking of getting shot at, I heard about a hostage situation on the radio. Knowing you, you were probably right in the middle of it.”
I laughed more. Angel knew me well, better than anyone. “Yeah, I was in the middle of it all right. I led the charge so to speak. I managed to save the girl. Her father murdered his wife then was holding the girl hostage.”
“Still the hero? I didn’t think you were going to make it back from China. I thought with your promotion you wouldn’t be in the field that much?” She let out a sigh, knowing I wouldn’t be cooped up in an office. “I wish you would just transfer home. I’d love having you around. You’d help it feel like home since Mom and Dad are gone.”
Our Mom and Dad had passed almost a decade back in pretty quick succession. Not long after I came home from China actually. That was part of the reason I didn’t want to go back. “Eh, you know me. Grundy is way too quiet.”
She giggled a bit. “Well take some leave. I know you have some built up after all the time you’ve put in.”
“After today I probably shouldn’t. I’m going to get chewed up for what I pulled today.”
“What did you do?”
“Basically, I called a state of emergency in the ASA and deployed some risky and questionable tactics that are probably going to cost the agency more than you and I make in a year combined.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Only way I saw that I could save the hostage.”
She smiled. Angel knew my nature. I didn’t care one bit to kill a scumbag but I didn’t like collateral damage. I sure as hell didn’t like innocents dying on my watch. “Always the hero.”
The waitress returned to the table, looking at Angel. She then looked to me with a smile. “So is this that date you were waiting on?”
I looked to Angel as she burst out laughing before returning my attention to the waitress. “No, this is my sister.”
“Oh, your sister,” replied the waitress.
Angel grinned, I knew what she was up to. She looked at the waitress’s name tag with a sly grin. “Sara, I’m his sister, Angel. I would just like to let you know that my brother, Tommy, is a single man. He is also Lieutenant Commander of the Pittsburgh ASA and a decorated war vet. He would love to take you out sometime.”
I knew it. She was trying to marry me off, again. I never stuck with women very long. Most couldn’t deal with my long hours and lack of free time… One dumped me because of my car obsession but that was her fault. She shouldn’t have made me choose. I sighed, trying to fight back the blush that I could feel coming. “My sister is mistaken. I’m married to my job, I’m sorry.”
“Give him your number!” demanded Angel, laughing. “You won’t regret it, he’s a great guy. Even saved a little girl’s life today!”
Sara smiled at me, her eyes slightly squinted. She was attractive, not going to lie. Sara looked to Angel, then back to me. “What can I get you two?”
“Another whiskey, and make it a double,” I answered promptly.
“Oh, so we’re on that liquid diet tonight?” Angel asked. She grinned before I could reply and looked to Sara. “I’ll take a Long Island.”
Sara smiled and was off. I looked at Angel, trying not to laugh but failing miserably. “So, how’s work going?”
“Oh, you know, same old same old. Lots of account keeping and balancing. I miss natural gas. Billing a well was much easier than keeping track of all those shipments from the plant.”
Angel had worked for a drilling company for years before they finally went under after the sharp decline in coal. The world was moving on and areas in the coalfields, my hometown included, was mostly left behind. Luckily, manufacturing had moved in to take advantage of the idle workforce and their willingness to work cheaper than most other people just to say they had work. “I saw it coming. That’s why I joined the army.”
“I believe everyone did. We just held on as long as we could.”
Sara appeared to the side of our table, setting down our drinks and placing napkins next to them. Surprise, surprise, my drink had her number on it. Angel saw the number and grinned at me. I tried to pretend I didn’t see it, smiling, I said, “Thanks, Sara.”
“Anytime, honey,” she answered before leaving.
“She’s interested,” said Angel, grinning widely.
I laughed a bit, shaking my head. She just wasn’t going to give up but I couldn’t blame her. She just wanted for me what I wanted for her. To be happy. Angel had a rough time with guys, divorced twice over now. I’m not sure how she was so happy and carefree most of the time. “Too bad, I’m not. What about you? Any guys?”
Angel rolled her eyes, sighing but still giving a smile. “No, not at the moment. After that last one, I really don’t care anymore. Me and Shey made it years without anyone, won’t bother me any to be single.”
I shook my head and smiled. I wanted to her find a good guy and be happy. Then maybe she wouldn’t have to work so hard in life but Angel always was the independent type. She’d rather go without than ask anybody for anything and as long as Shey was cared for, that’s all that mattered to her. “Well, are we at least going to drink? We didn’t order these to stare at.”
Angel didn’t say a word, she grabbed her tall glass and moved the straw to the side and gulped it all down. “That’s me one and you zero. Better catch up.”
After a few hours and a few more drinks we walked outside, her SUV still wasn’t there. “Where’s your car?”
Angel gave a drunken giggle, she didn’t hold her liquor as well as I did. She looked at my GTO, shaking her head. “All these years, and all that money you make and you still drive this thing.”
“It’s a classic.”
“You’ve had that thing since you got out of high school all those years ago. It was practically new when you got it and it’s an antique now.”
She knew how much I loved that car, and she loved picking at me over it. Angel also knew I’d rather die than replace it. As far as I was concerned, that car was the daughter I never had. “Some things don’t change.”
“I knew what it’d be, so I took a cab. It always ends up with us drinking when we get together.”
“Like I said, some things never change.”
Angel laughed at my remark. She knew I wouldn’t give up anything I loved, or anyone. She smiled, raising her hand to signal a nearby cab. “Promise me you’ll be careful going home.”
“Don’t worry about me. Remember my twenty-fifth birthday?”
She laughed as the cab pulled up to the curb. “I remember waking up and dreading picking Shey up from the sitter. My head pounded so bad I could barely keep my eyes open.”
“I made it home then, I’ll make it now.”
Angel squeezed me tightly, then kissed me on the cheek. “Call more often, and promise me you’ll call that girl. You need a pretty woman in your life.” I watched Angel get into the cab. I shut the door, trying to avoid her promise. She rolled down her window and gave me a stern look. “Thomas Lee Logan, you promise me you’ll call that girl.”
“Fine, I promise,” I said while smiling. “I love you, be careful on your trip home tomorrow, and call as soon as you get there.”
“I love you too, Tommy. Take care of yourself out there.”
I watched the cab pull away. I remembered a feeling of happiness watching her turn the street corner. If only I had known.
August 1st, 2025
It was Friday when it started. Four sharp and my clock went off as usual. I hit the snooze button just like I always did. True to my word, I had called Sar
a. The brunette beauty laid right next to me. I raised up to feel her cling to me. She barely opened her eyes, letting out a deep breath. “Do you have to go?”
“You know I do,” I replied. She had stayed over since Monday. She knew I had to go, but she asked the same question each morning. Maybe her way of showing she already cared? Maybe she just wanted me to think she cared. I got up and walked across my small bedroom that was lit by the morning news muted on the television. It was usually on when I finally fell asleep. After China, silence bothered me. Sara had been muting the volume once I had fallen asleep. I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Within a few moments, steam had filled the room and fogged the mirror that hung over my sink. I stepped in, standing in the hot stream of water while it soaked me. A few moments later, I heard the door open. Sara stepped into the shower with me. I welcomed the surprise.
“I can’t let you go off to work without a good morning, now can I?”
She laid her head against my chest, her arms wrapped around me. I needed to get to work, but I just couldn’t tell her no. Maybe if things had been different she wouldn’t have had to leave, but that was best. After about thirty minutes, the hot water started to run out so that was the end of our intimacy. I quickly got dressed, jeans and ASA polo, as usual, .45 on my hip. As I approached the door to my apartment, across from the small kitchen, I felt Sara wrap her arms around me from behind. I turned and kissed her. “Lock up when you leave, I’ll call you this evening.”
Sara smiled, her dimples giving her that cute factor that drove me nuts. She hugged me one more time. “I will, you be safe today while you’re keeping us all safe.”
I nodded and left. The whole situation with Sara felt odd. After a few days, we had already become really close, enough to make me uneasy. I never let my guard down, especially not for a woman. Anyways, I went out to my love, she was parked next to the curb in my usual spot. I always wanted a place with a garage, but the nearest one would make it difficult to get to the agency in the event of an emergency, so I just had her painted every couple of years. My neighbors must have hated me every morning when I started her up, but man, she made me smile every time.
A Tommy Logan Story Page 2
