In The Line of Fire (Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night)
Page 4
Mary stumbled out of her car outside the emergency room. As she headed to the hospital entrance, two police officers approached her.
“James, Jude, call Jason immediately,” she was faint from blood loss, “Thompson Federico just tried to kill me.”
The two officers looked at each other, “Mary Scott,” James said as he reached for his gun, “You are under arrest for conspiring with a known criminal and for the attempted murder of Thompson Federico.”
“Is this some kind of joke?” She pushed him aside, but Jude took out his gun too and pointed it at her.
“Mary, don’t make this hard on yourself, I don’t want to shoot you…” Jude said, standing his ground.
Jason drove as fast as he could. He did not want to lose the chance of catching Carlos. His week had been tough. He couldn’t put Thomas Federico behind bars. Instead, he was forced to bargain with him and it was all for nothing. Now his partner, the one person he trusted most, was a dirty cop. He hit the steering wheel as he thought about how Thompson had said Mary looked the part.
You defended her, idiot! You were fast asleep!
As Jason neared the airfield, the SWAT team leader signaled him to pull over.
“Detective Williams,” he held out his hand, “there’s just ten of them in there.” Jason shook his hand. He had worked with Hugh many times in the past. “They’re at one of the abandoned hangars. We’ve secured the area and removed all civilians.”
“Excellent, as always, Hugh.” Jason walked to his car’s trunk and put on his gear, “Could you identify the man I sent you a photo of?”
“Positive, sir.”
“Good job.”
“There was an old Cadillac that drove in about fifteen minutes ago. We tried to stop the driver, but he said he was a friend of yours and that he’d be waiting with Carlos.”
“Nineteen-forty-one Series Sixty-Two?”
Hugh nodded, “Convertible. She’s a beauty, sir.”
“Yes, she is.” It was Thompson. Jason couldn’t figure out why he would even consider coming here. He had the perfect opportunity to run.
“Let’s do it.”
They had barely moved when they heard two gunshots coming from inside a hangar. Jason signaled that they should move in quickly to surround it. He had no doubt that Carlos had just shot Thompson. They rushed closer.
“NYPD, we have you surrounded!” Jason shouted outside the hangar door. A few shots were fired from the inside.
“Carlos Rodrigues! Tell your men to drop their weapons, or we will engage!”
“Carlos, did you hear me? We’re coming in!”
Jason gestured with his head to Hugh. Carlos and his gang stood with their weapons aimed at the SWAT team as they entered the hangar.
“Don’t be stupid, Rodrigues,” Jason said as he entered behind the SWOT team. He looked to the ground behind Carlos and saw a short, lifeless body.
“We’ve got you outnumbered three to one.”
Carlos looked to Santos, who shook his head. “Be smart, kid.” He whispered. At that, Carlos threw his pistol to the ground. His crew followed suite.
“On your knees, hands behind your heads.”
Jason rushed to Thompson as the SWAT team handcuffed Carlos and his crew members. He was lying in a pool of blood.
“Damn it, Federico…”
He kneeled next to him. Before he could feel for a pulse, Thompson reached out to him.
“Det—Detecti…” He grunted.
“Shut up, little man.” Thompson turned and called to Hugh, “We need a paramedic in here!”
Thompson grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, “Emma,” he took a short, painful breath, “Take care of Em…” He gasped for air.
A paramedic came rushing in. She pushed Jason out of the way when he didn’t respond to her request to move. As he fell to his side, Hugh approached and helped him up.
“Detective, are you all right?”
“Yeah…” Jason let a hand slide through his hair, “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Hugh. Good job today.”
FOUR MONTHS LATER
“Chief,” Jason’s secretary pulled him back to reality. “There’s a Doctor Moore on the line, he says it’s quite urgent.”
Jason frowned, “Put him through, Sarah. Thanks.”
After Carlos’ arrest, Jason was promoted to Chief Investigator at the New York County DA’s Office. The pay was better, but he was tied to a desk. The only reason he accepted the position was so he could spend more time with Catherine. He endured for her sake.
“Hello, this is Jason Williams.”
“Mister Williams, I’m Doctor Moore. You need to come to the hospital immediately. A little girl was brought into the emergency room. We found your number on the young woman’s phone who brought her in.”
“Hello, Mister Williams?”
“Um, is she okay?”
“It’s best if you come right now. 170 William Street.”
“I’m on my way.”
Jason put on his sirens as he raced through the New York City rush hour. He tried calling Catherine’s nanny for the fifth time. Ring, ring… Ring, ring…
He let out a frustrated yell and hit the car’s steering wheel a few times in the hospital’s parking lot.
On his way to reception, he collided with two patients in the hallway, but he didn’t stop to apologize or ask if they were okay.
“Hi, I’m, um…”
“One moment, sir.” The receptionist shushed him. He tapped on the reception desk as she continued a conversation on the landline.
“How can I help you?”
“I’m Jason Williams. Doctor Moore called me.”
She picked up the phone, “A Mister Williams for Doctor Moore.” She listened and then nodded.
“Sir, if you could please sit there in the waiting room? Doc…”
“No, no, no… He said it was urgent.” He slammed against the reception desk, “I want to speak to him now! Where is my daughter?” The receptionist stared at him with disdain.
“I’m sorry, I’m just…” He stood back and held on to his head with both hands, “Where is my daughter? Please…”
“Mister Williams?” Jason flung around to see where the voice was coming from.
“I am Doctor Moore. Come with me, please.”
Doctor Moore led Jason to his office and asked him to sit down. He explained how a young woman had rushed into the emergency room with a little girl just over an hour earlier. They were both covered in blood. The woman was in shock and couldn’t explain what had happened, but it was clear that she had been shot in the stomach. They found Jason’s number on the young woman’s phone, under the ‘in case of emergencies’ contact list.
“She’s in surgery. But she’s unstable.”
Jason closed his eyes.
Wake up, Jason, wake up! This is just a dream… Wake up!
“Mister Williams?” Jason opened his eyes.
“The little girl who came in with the woman, who was she? They had no documents with them.”
“M—My daughter,” Jason swallowed, “Catherine, where is she? Can I see her?”
Doctor Moore shook his head and looked on with pity. “There was nothing we could do, Mister Williams. I’m sorry for your loss.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Click here to read the second book in the series right now.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhiley McCabe is an emerging fiction author and the creator of the nail-biting thriller series, “In The Line of Fire”.
He specializes in the thriller, crime and suspense genres; his work promises to have you at the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Rhiley lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland with his wife and five children. They often take trips to other countries during summer months. The inspiration for his stories come from the many places he visits and the people he gets to meet on these trips.
Visit this link for exclusive bonus content and updates on the “In The Line of Fire” series
.
Connect with Rhiley on Facebook:
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
About the Author