Chapter 13

“Start with the families and then the staff,” he ordered. He grabbed the intercom phone. “Ladies and Gentlemen we are evacuating this area. Calmly get up and follow the officers. Leave anything nonessential. Just keep with the officers and everything will be fine.” He grabbed the shoulder of one of the officers, “make sure they shut it all down in there. We don’t know when they will be back.”

“There is an emergency shut off,” a staffer who had heard told them.

They waved at him. “Show me,” he followed the man toward the back.

Jason clicked his phone and started to reach for the intercom again. “People this is not a dam drill or a dam hoax. Move it,” he yelled at the tables that had yet to get up.

He didn’t need to say anything more as officers ran to the tables. Gunshots during an evacuation are never good, as people screamed and stampeded to the door. The officers had their guns drawn, and four at the tables were face down. One officer covered the tables as the other moved forward, pulling away handguns.

Fortunately, the doors outside were wide, and people managed to get out without getting hurt. The officers outside directed the flow as more came in to investigate the shots.

“Dam it, Jason, talk to me,” the voice on his cell earpiece screamed.

“I am fine, Marvin. State police just shot four men with guns. I hate to do it, but we need eyes in the sky. Get GOTS one, four, and six to position. Five men here and the attack on the park add the threat of more. Be ready for anything. And tell your wife to stop complaining under her breath. The devil doesn’t want me yet.”

He hung up and watched as the officers checked the building for any hiding. “I doubt that the CSI will be getting here any time soon.” He headed out with the officers in tow. “Call for detectives. They can at least start the investigation. We need to find the vehicles they had. Start checking all vehicles parked near the building and any close to the gas lines.”

He went to his car and opened the back. He took out a pad and started to write. He had most of what he knew down before the parking lot became inundated with police and black SUVs.

Two men in suits got out of the lead SUV and flashed badges at the nearest officer, who pointed toward Jason.

“You Meyer?” one asked, getting ready to flip his badge case open.

“Last I checked, I was an agent. Yes, I know you are taking the scene. Am I sure there is a bomb? No. I’m guessing. Am I being over-cautious? Perhaps, but I have already been nearly blown up once this week. I’d like to avoid doing it again anytime soon. So, call me paranoid if you wish, but four truckers getting into a firefight for no reason makes me edgy. I have officers doing checks on the vehicles. Worse case, I have inconvenienced a few and scared a few others. Better safe than sorry.” He tore off the pages from the pad he had written on. “This is all I can recall. If I think of anything, I’ll be sure to call your office.”

Jason got up and closed the back. “I am going to the hospital to check on the injured boy. I have a detail of state police, so if I’m needed, you can contact them to reach me,” he said as he got in the driver’s seat.

“Yes, you can’t just leave,” the agent grumbled.

Jason started the car. He grinned as he took the moment to put his phone in the charger. “You just relieved me of any command obligation to be here from this point forward, and I have already detailed people to aid you and write out all I know. If that is a problem, call your field office. Tell them to look up SSG directive one.” He didn’t like the use of the directive, but it had its advantages. He might have stayed longer if the agent had not been one of those ‘I’m an FBI agent, hear me roar’ types. In truth, he would just be in the way or taking over, both of which he had been told not to do anymore. “I would suggest moving and getting to work agent. I have no issue running over my feet. All it will cost me is a twenty-minute lecture.”

The agent stepped back, and his power trip kicked in for the last word. “I will be in touch.”

The drive to the hospital was less hectic. He parked and took a deep breath. The drive had barely added any charge to the phone. He opened the glove box and took out a case he hadn’t need in the months he had been there. He popped out one of the speed chargers and put it in his phone as he got out.

He didn’t make the door. His phone was ringing as Detective Harper came out.

“What is it?” he answered.

“We have the remaining three drones. They have split up. Reports are coming in. They are all strafing, with two making random turns. We are analyzing the possible locations for two, but the third appears to be on course to the stadium.”

“Anything going on there?”

“A minor game. We have a tally of five thousand tickets sold. That isn’t counting any in the lots, staff and teams, or their guests.”

Jason stopped, chastising himself as he found he was looking up at an empty sky even knowing he couldn’t see the drones from where he was. “I presume you already called for a flight assist.”

“Two flyovers. The jets can’t get low enough to use guns and missiles, which are too risky because of the buildings. If there is a misfire, we could take out a building. Choppers are out, too. Even with guns, they’d end up hitting the populace somehow. Police are doing what they can in the areas, but resources are getting thin. Even with the National Guard out.”

Jason started to feel that bad feeling. One where he had no idea what to do and being totally useless. As he struggled to think, he paced. When his eyes focused on the ground again he smacked himself in the head.

“Marvin, get with all police agencies. We need choppers,” he yelled as he ran toward the state police cars that had followed him.

“You know dam well that police helicopters are not armed, Jason. And if they were, there still be the same issuer as a military craft” Marvin reminded him.

“Yes, they are not armed, but they can be. Armed with snipers. Have them get their best two in a chopper and send them the locations of each drone. If they can get there, they can take it out with a shot, less risk of civilians being hit with a single round.”

Marvin was quiet, but there was some light clicking, and another voice was low in the background.

Marvin came back as the clicking stopped. “Jason, the drones are more maneuverable than a chopper. If they are preprogrammed for the flights, that is one thing, but if someone is flying them, they could turn and take out the choppers.”

“Don’t jinx it, Marvin. I’m working on the backup. Just get them airborne and send me the data.”

“Already on your GPS,” Marvin said before hanging up.

“We have a situation,” Jason pocketed his phone and went to his car. “What weapons do you have?”

“Pistols and shotguns,” the officer answered, moving as Jason scanned the cars.

“Not good. We need a weapons shop or the nearest SWAT unit.”

Detective Harper cleared her throat. “I have something,” she said and pointed at her car.

Jason followed her as she popped the truck and pulled a case. The rife she pulled was an AR 10.

Jason reached for it but she pulled it back. “I’ll get it back to you all clean and pretty,” he tried again for the rifle.

“You can only shoot or drive, not both. I am a marksman with this, and I know the city. Can you say that?”

“No. I can say I’m an expert on that. Now hand it over,” he started to reach for a warrant.

“Then I drive you shoot. We don’t have the time to get this wrong.”

Jason couldn’t argue that. “You don’t have my nav system and I don’t have the lights and siren. He looked through the back window. “We can do this. You drive.” He grabbed the magazines and the rifle and slammed one it into the magazine well.

Jason keyed his phone. “Marvin I am with Detective harper. She has an HT 2200 see if...”

“We have it already, Jason. It will take a few minutes to gain access and upload the files. It should work, but it may be slow to process.”

“Clone the drive, then wipe it. Just upload what we need. That should give us enough processing,” he said with a confidence he didn’t believe.

“Jason, time is of the essence. We have an idea. Grab your tablet and a cable.”

Growling Jason tossed the rifle to the see and ran back to his car and grabbed his case. “You need to come up with these ideas faster Marvin,” he grumbled as he got in the seat. Harper was throwing the car into drive even before he had the door closed.

“Yeah, yeah. Just hope it works. Connect your tablet to the computer and also hook up your Wi-Fi amplifier.”

Hope was all they had. The drone they knew about was over a mile away. How many would they kill before they could get to it? Jason tried to think of the area and the potential targets in the path. He fumbled with the tablet and cord as Harper drove through a red light and cars screeched from other directions.

“Fast is nice, Detective, but we can’t be causing accidents in the process.”

“We can’t be stopping for the lights,” she barked.

“True.” He turned his head to the window.

“Marvin, Have Hui monitor our location and give us a hand with traffic before we end up harming more people.”

“She is on it, Jason. She is also tapping into the local traffic cameras and the unit’s dashboard cam.”

Harper almost shouted when the computer went blank and then started showing lines of code. She focused on the road and not on the wonder of who the hell she had in the car with her.

“Okay, we are using the local area hubs. Your amplifier is boosting perfectly. Should be up and running in thirty seconds.”

It was thirty-five. A map appeared on the screen, and three red blinking dots with four blue ones.

“We just got confirmation Jason,” Marvin said in his ear. “State police and a national guard chopper are air born. They are going for the other two.”

“We want them intact if possible,” Jason reminded. “But not at the risk of lives.”

“They didn’t need to be told that.”

The idea of the drones going down made Jason think of another issue. “Marvin, we are closing in. Look ahead and find a location that would be best for this thing to come down. Get whoever to clear a parking lot if needed.”

There was only the sound of a chair being wheeled across the floor as Marvin went to do as Jason wanted.

The city flashed past the wind as Harper took another hill, causing the car to jump off the ground. She swerved around cars like a race car driver. Jason occupied himself by checking out the rifle once again. He looked up when Marvin cursed. Two of the red dots were gone.

“They went underground,” Marvin yelled. “They could come up anywhere. Retasking sat systems. Move them in. Bring in GOTS nine.”

Jason let him deal with the situation without a word as he watched the blip on the screen for the drone they were moving toward. They were close. He turned his eyes skyward, searching.

They heard it before they saw it, as Harper turned the last corner the drone was again firing. It was large easily five-foot wide and looked of a stealth plane. They couldn’t wait to get it to anywhere safer. Jason leaned out the window and took aim. The drone turned as he fired.

Harper slapped the steering wheel as she spun it to the next turn to come around the direction it was going. She brought the car up right behind the drone once again. Jason again leaned out to get a site on it. This time it didn’t wait for him to fire as it went skyward then veered to the left.

Harper cursed as she spun the wheel and took a turn way to fast, making the car lift off its passenger wheels as she struck the curb. She looked at the GPS map and turned again gunning the accelerator speeding them down the short roadway.

“They must have a camera on to watch,” Jason wished he had his gear bag as well.

Harper swerved around the three cars ahead of them, brakes screeching as all the police cars passed them. “So, what do we do about that?”

Jason closed his eyes. “You’re not going to like it. Stop up here.”

She gave a side glance to be sure he was serious. She slowed and finally stopped. He spun the rifle and slammed the butt to the windshield.

“What the hell,” Harper covered her face with an arm.

“It is almost as if they can see me getting out the window to take aim,” Jason slammed the glass several more times as the glass finally popped out. “We have a better chance to get a shot if they can’t see what’s happening. It is slight at best. They could just be veering off. Let’s go. Not too close.” He leaned out the window, reluctantly leaving the seat belt off.

Just as they got back into the area it was in, the drone made several turns, and then, like the others, it vanished.

“There are no tunnels in that area, Jason. I have no idea where it is. We lost it in a building. City records put it as a parking structure.”

Jason looked at the screen. “Ping the location. Maybe we got lucky, and it crashed.”

A green dot appeared on the screen. Jason was fishing around in his bag as Marvin started talking again. “We aren’t that lucky. We are still searching for others. The policed are doing a grid search but so far nothing. As big as these things are, they are still small enough to maneuver just about anywhere.”