I was eight when I was kidnaped with my twelve year old sister. When they tried to cut off my finger she fought and was killed. They left her body in a park as a sign of what they would do to me. I had been frightened and slowly it became anger. My parents paid the two million crown ransom.

Only I knew they would not let me go. I had seen their face and they had killed. I was tied to a chair in a storage room while they went to get the ransom. I bounced and jumped and broke the chair to get free. I untied the rope and then held one of the broken chair legs and waited beside the door.

When one man unlocked the door he held a gun and probably planned to kill me. I stabbed him in the groin with the broken chair leg. He screamed and folded and I scrambled for the dropped gun. The other man ran in as I turned and held it out while cocking the hammer. The second man jerked to a stop and shoved a gun toward me and I yanked the trigger.

There was a roar as the gun I held went off and it kicked up and slammed into my face. I dropped the gun and panicked but the man was down. I leaped over them and ran out and escaped to bring the constables back. They both lived to see the magister when he sentenced them to death.

That set my path in life. I inherited a huge trust from my parents when they died in yachting accident at thirteen. I studied physiology and law and did a type of martial arts. I shot a pistol, shotgun and rifle everyday until I was extremely good. I had little or no pity for violent criminals.

By the time I graduated college at twenty I had already been accepted to the constables. I went to the six month school and then was assigned to one of the worst parts of the city. I normally walked ten to fifteen blocks with a partner who was training me. A week after I started we heard a alarm at one of the drug stores.

We reached the front door as women and kids ran out. There were shots and Jacob gestured, “stay on my left.”

He shoved the door open and I followed him in. My heart was pounding as we spilt up and went down two aisles. At the end I peeked out after there were a couple more shots. Two men held a teenage girl and threatened the owner of the store. They wanted the money and pain meds. Jacob stepped out, “CONSTABLES!”

They spun and the teenager was yanked in front of the one men. The other pointed a revolving pistol and fired. Jacob had ducked back and I spun and brought my weapon up. It was a Murphy self loading twelve millimeter and I fired. The man’s head snapped back as gore sprayed out the back and he fell.

I shifted and aimed at the other man and he pulled the girl in front of him, “drop it or I kill her.”

I did not hear Jacob as I moved towards them, “kill her and I shoot you between the eyes. I will count to three and then I am going to kill you.”

He was looking around frantically while pressing another revolving pistol into the side of the girl, “I am not going to prison.”

I took a step, “one.”

He jerked her back and she screamed, “stop!”

I took another step, “two.”

He pulled her in front of him, “I will kill her!”

I shifted and aimed at his exposed groin, “three.”

He twisted and pulled and I brought the pistol up as he shoved his weapon out and at me. I fired and the round hit his arm and shoulder. It exploded out the back and he screamed as the girl tore free and I caught her and pulled her around behind me. I grabbed and spun him to slam him into the shelves.

I yanked his arms around and up behind him as he continued to scream. I started to put him in restraints and spun with him while shoving my weapon into the holster. The damn girl was lifting a small over and under derringer and I kicked out and into her. She folded and the small pistol went flying across the room.

I pulled up and turned to bend the man and finished putting him into restraints. I moved to spin and yank the girl up and pulled her arms back. I put her into restraints and then went to get the weapons. I looked at the three bodies on the floor and shoved the two prisoners to the aisle with Jacob, “Jacob?”

I came around the end to see him curled up in a puddle of blood. I growled as I shoved the two prisoners, “move and you are dead.”

I knelt and glanced at the shelves to see a round had punched through a bag before it hit him. I checked the wound and then leaned back to look at the chemist, “call for an ambulance.”

Jacob groaned and shifted and looked up, “I did not think it would hit me.”

I nodded, “just hold on.”

I looked at the two prisoners and they glared back. Ten minutes and the scream of a siren stopped out front. Others were still closing as two constables ran in. They slowed when they saw Jacob and I gestured, “take these two bastards.”

A minute later two medics hurried in with bags and a stretcher. One started to help Jacob and the other went to check the bodies. They were dead and I had to wait after they took my partner away. By the time an inspector arrived a dozen constables were there. I waited for the chemist to give his statement and then gave mine.

With the three weapons the man and girl were charge with armed robbery, murder and attempted murder of a constable. No one came forward to claim the body of the third robber. The trial only lasted a week before they were sentenced to hang. Jacob had been shot through his left hip and into his gut and was out for three months.

I was reassigned to a response team until he was back. Mostly we patrolled on two wheel motor cycles in areas with banks and jewelry stores. That was where I heard of the predator squad. They were a response team called in for extreme cases. They were like soldiers and when they went in very few bad guys lived.

I liked that idea and asked the lieutenant if I could join them. He looked at me as if I were crazy and then shrugged, “I will ask.”

Three days and I had heard nothing. Corporal Victor and I were riding down a back street with small houses. It was behind the main street and the banks. We heard the ringing of a alarm and accelerated. Even as we turned the corner we heard shots and screams. At the next corner we saw people running and slowed.

Down the street we saw two men in front of the bank wearing masks and firing pistols at people. I turned to the side and shoved the stand down. I stepped off and started moving down the walk with my weapon in my hand. Corporal Victor moved after me, “wait Simon.”

One of the men turned and saw us and brought his weapon up. I turned to the side as I lifted mine while cocking the hammer and aiming. I fired and he jerked and spun and then fell and the other man shifted to fire at us. I aimed and squeezed the trigger again and gore sprayed out the back of his head before he fell.

I was calm as I began to move again. Glass broke a moment later and we saw a rifle. Everyone was off the street so they did not have anyone to shoot at. Men yelled that they would kill us or anyone that tried to stop them. I knew we could not let them have time to barricade themselves in the bank.

Corporal Victor cursed as a woman across the street ran out of a shop and the man killed her. I shook my head and started walking again, “not again.”

Victor ran to catch up and when I reached the window I brought my hand around. I fired into the man with the rifle and strode past on the way to the door. Victor turned and fired into the bank at robbers behind the teller counter. I kicked the door open and stepped in while lifting my pistol. A man stood with a cut down shotgun and I shot him between the eyes.

I was calm as I began walking to the door to the right. It went into the area behind the counter and to the area with the offices and the vault. Bodies littered the floor and there were small puddles of blood. A man shoved a pistol out of the vault and fired blindly. One of the others yelled since he almost shot them.

I kicked the door open and spun and fired down the back of the counter. I emptied my weapon into the two men as they jerked with the impact. I stepped back and pushed the ammo box release to drop it and pushed in a loaded one. I glanced at corporal Victor as he came through the door and moved through into the area behind the counter.

He followed and growled, “why did these bastards kill them?”

I shook my head as we moved closer to the vault. One yelled before we reached it, “we have the manager! Get out and we can make a deal!”

I spun and fired into the chest of one and kept moving in and across. Victor followed as a second lifted another shotgun and I shot him in the face and chest. The last was holding a large man in front of him and pushed the barrel of a pistol against his head, “STOP!”

Victor stopped with his weapon up, “put the weapon down!”

The man sneered, “get out and we can talk.”

I stopped against the vault shelves with my weapon up and aimed before I squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck him through the right eye and exploded out the back of his head. He fell and the fat manager was left staring with wide eyes. I moved to take weapons away and then headed for the vault door.

Corporal Victor looked at me, “are you crazy?”

I snorted as I helped the manager, “I do not deal with homicidal robbers.”

I checked the offices but there were no more robbers. It was ten minutes before more constables arrived and by then we had found two victims still alive. They were wounded and I held pressure on the wound of one until an ambulance arrived with medics. I think I shocked the other constables with the number of dead robbers and my lack of remorse.

The lieutenant did the action investigation with an inspector. They went over each and every man I had shot and except for the last they were declared justified. It took another couple of hours before they declared that one justified as well. I had been sent back to the station and after they finished and cleared me a constable sergeant entered the room.

He waited for the lieutenant and inspector to leave before he looked at me, “welcome to the predator squad.”

I blinked and then nodded and he sat, “normally the constables wait for a response team. When the bastards are like the ones you went after they call us.”

He waited and then continued, “we are not murders. We go into situations and places to kill when or if needed. If they do not have a weapon we use non lethal weapons to subdue them.”

He smiled, “only in the three years since I have been on the squad we have never been called when the bastards were not armed.”

He stood, “take the rest of the day off. Buy a second pistol, I would recommend another Murphy. There is a gunsmith out on the east edge of the city called O’Bryan. They have good weapons and he will let you make payments. Get a good shotgun, one of the Sierra self loading with a ammo box would be best.”

I nodded and stood, “where do I go tomorrow?”

He stood and headed for the door, “keep the motor cycle and show up at the Kline range at seven.”

I did not have to worry about making payments and bought another Murphy and a Sierra. I bought ammo for both and a second holster for the Murphy and saddle scabbard for the Sierra. The Kline range was out on the edge of the city and I got there early. It was six and only a couple of people were there.

I carried my bag and signed in and set up a few targets. I fired both pistols and the shotgun. I glanced back when someone tapped my shoulder. I smiled at a young woman, “can I help you?”

She returned my smile, “the other constables are here. They are in the office drinking coffee.”

I looked and nodded, “thank you.”

I unloaded and began cleaning and then put the shotgun and one of the pistols into my bag. When I walked into the office three men looked at me. Another older man and the young woman were at a desk. The constable sergeant from before nodded, “this is officer Thorngrave.”

He gestured and introduced the others and they each nodded to me. The sergeant smiled, “I was going to let you practice but from the look when we got here you already have. The second pistol goes in the small of your back for your left hand. We start our patrol in a few hours. Mostly it is around and through trouble areas in the city.”

He relaxed, “if you are a first responder do not wait for us but make sure other constables know you are there and going in. For now you will ride with one of us each day. Mostly we hang out here a lot. The owner is a former constable and his daughter Gwen runs the place.”

I nodded and they helped me adjust the second pistol’s holster and shotgun ammo box holders. Thirty minutes and I was pushing the shotgun into the scabbard. I rode with the sergeant and he was right, the area was bad and I was sure I had seen drugs several times. Along the inner edge of the area were several banks, the sergeant said they got robbed several times a year.

It was a boy that waved his arms and flagged us down in the afternoon. The market to one side had a dozen people hiding behind poles or the two cars in the lot. The boy pointed, “three men are robbing the store. They shot Mr Ginty.”

The sergeant turned and accelerated into the lot and I followed. I heard the radio when he called it in and shoved the stand down as I stopped. I swung my leg over while pulling the shotgun. I watched the door and took the safety off, “back door?”

The sergeant nodded and I turned and trotted towards the corner. I ran around to the back and slowed as I reached the door. I felt it and listened as I checked to see if it was locked. It was beside a loading bay door and was open so I entered. I kept the shotgun up to my shoulder as I moved to the door into the store.

I saw two young clerks hiding behind sacks of flour, “out the door.”

They ran for the door and I kept going. I pushed the door open and turned as a small man with a single shot shotgun lifted it. Like always the barrel of the shotgun followed where I looked. I lifted it and fired and fired second time, the buck shot hit the man in the chest and he spun and went down.

I heard another shot from the front of the store as I moved to the man I had shot. He had been filling a large cloth bag with bottles of beer. I checked each aisle and saw an old man on the floor towards the front. From all the blood I was sure he was dead and kept going. There was rapid firing from a pistol and a shotgun blast.

I heard a man yelling and running and then a man came around the end of a aisle. I did not have time to lift the shotgun and he was reloading. I shifted and my left hand snapped out and grabbed. He slammed into me as I kept turning and yanked and the man flipped and crashed to the floor.

He rolled as he scrambled after the pistol and I lifted the shotgun with my right hand and fired. The man was on his side and his hand had just grabbed the pistol. The shot struck him under the arm and exploded his heart. I spun at another shotgun blast and a man sprawled out of the aisle behind me.

I looked down the aisle to see the sergeant moving towards me, “that is four.”

He nodded, “the left side is clear.”

I glanced around, “and this side is clear.”

We headed for the front and walked out to sirens screaming towards us. Two constables were pulling in as we walked to our motor cycles. I set the shotgun on the seat and opened a saddle bag to pull out a clipboard and report forms. I saw the two clerks from the back and gestured them closer.

I started my report as more constables arrived and then an inspector. Most of the constables left after marking off the store entrances. I heard the radio as officers McGregor and Stirling responded to a gang fight. I looked at the sergeant and he sighed and shook his head. I memorized where they were as I finished my report and gave it to him.

He looked it over and nodded and put it under his. The medical examiner arrived and went in with the inspector and a minute later the inspector walked out and to us. He nodded to the sergeant, “who shot the one on the floor?”

I held up my hand and he sighed, “why?”

I shrugged, “he ran around the corner into me. I did not have time to use the shotgun and used leverage to flip him. I brought the shotgun up but he did not want to give up and grabbed the pistol. I fired before he tried to use it.”

He blinked and then shook his head, “you left the pistol in his hand?”

I sighed, “a shot into his side under the arm from two paces? My bet would be his heart is gone.”

He smiled and turned to the sergeant, “so far it looks good. The bastards killed two people. The old owner and a customer hiding by a register.”

The sergeant nodded, “Simon managed to send two clerks out the back and the rest of the customers fled before we arrived.”

We went over what we had done and stopped each time McGregor or Stirling called in. The fight had broken up so they were patrolling the area. Finally the inspector gestured, “the preliminary clears you so go back on patrol.”

The first thing I did was reload the ammo box for the shotgun. We started the motor cycles and pulled out onto the street and the sergeant gestured, “head to the south and we will join Stirling and McGregor.”

I nodded and accelerated and headed for the area the two were in. I turned onto a back street with the sergeant beside me. We saw McGregor and Stirling coming towards us and I glanced to both sides. When I saw the men on either side hiding I slowed, “we...”

One of the men brought up a shotgun over the rear of a vehicle. I hit the breaks and let the motor cycles slid as I rolled off, “AMBUSH!”

I came to my feet as I pulled my Murphy and the men fired. I was walking towards the left and passed the sergeant as he slide to a stop. Shotgun rounds struck my motor cycle as I fired into a man aiming at me. I shifted as I took another step and shot the one aiming at the sergeant. More men were firing and I heard rounds crack as they passed me.

Both men I shot went down as I pulled the other pistol and walked around the car. The sergeant backed after me while firing. I extended the pistol in my right hand and fired at another man with revolving pistol and looked to the left as I brought my left hand up. I fired into a man with a rifle and turned to the left towards him.

I looked across the road as I lifted my left pistol and fired at several men. They had shotguns and were just standing. I fired and one spun and fell and the others ducked down again. We were lucky, this was just the beginning of an ambush and I had caught it before we were in the middle.

I walked to the rear of the car and glanced back as the sergeant knelt and fired down the street. I saw blood on his uniform as I turned to go around the back of the vehicle. I started across the street and aimed as the two men peeked over the car. I fired and gore sprayed away from one as he vanished.

The other dropped as I walked out into the street and aimed to the left front at another vehicle. A man leaned out and I fired into his body and he fell and started writhing around. I lifted my right pistol and fired as the man in front of me jumped up to shoot. I fired and he jerked and folded as he fell.

I walked behind the vehicle and stopped to kneel. I changed the ammo boxes in both weapons before I took a breath and stood while stepping and turning. Two of the three men were down and the third was moaning as I started walking to the next vehicle. I could see at least six more men down or dead.

I aimed across the street and fired into a running man with a shotgun. He went down and I fired ahead and into another as I went past a large metal trash bin and turned left. I fired into three men shooting at McGregor and Stirling. They were across and several vehicles down from the bastards.