by A. American
“Sure looks that way.” Gene replied.
Bob was still watching the cameras. The crowd outside was getting their act together, rolling a dumpster down the road to use as cover to renew their assault on the gate.
“Gene. You got anything we could reinforce that gate with? They’re going to get through the gate with that saw.” Bob stated.
Gene thought for a moment, sucking on his whiskers as he did. “I’ve got a couple of package chillers in the basement that came in last week. With all this crazy crap going on, we haven’t been able to install them yet. They’re almost as wide as the gate, though they are only about five feet tall.”
“It will slow em down. Let’s do it. How many do you have?”
“Three.”
“Take two of them and stack them against that gate and put one in front of the other. When they get through this one and see the crates, they may try the other. And when they see another crate there, maybe they’ll give up.”
“Why are they trying to get in here anyway? We haven’t done anything to them.” Christy stated.
“They’re pissed at the world right now. No one can get to any money. Those food stamp cards don’t work, and this is a bank, the epitome of evil from their point of view,” Teague said.
“That, and Bob and Daniel did shoot one or two of ‘em earlier.” Gene added.
“We need to try and push ‘em back from the building somehow,” Bob said.
“Aren’t the police coming?” Christy asked.
“I doubt it from the looks of things out there right now,” Bob said.
“Hey, Bob. When we were on the roof, I saw a pipe for a fire hose. If we had a hose, we could turn it on ‘em, hose ‘em down, and maybe they would pull back,” Daniel said.
“That’s a good idea.” Bob replied. “Gene, you got some hoses?”
“Yeah. We got ‘em. How many you need?”
“Alright. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Gene, you and cousin here go move the crates into place. Daniel and I will get the hoses up on the top of the garage and put some serious water on the unwashed masses down there. Andy, you stay here and keep me up to date,” Bob said.
“What about me?” Christy asked.
Bob looked at Daniel. “You stay here and give Andy a hand for now.”
“Fuck that. This isn’t some stupid movie where the girl is useless and is the first to get killed. I’m going to help one way or another.” The use of profanity surprised Daniel. He’d never heard it come out of her before.
Bob raised his eyebrows at her, looked at Daniel and said, “Feisty little thing.”
“More than you can handle,” Christy replied as she folded her arms across her chest.
“Bob, let me and Christy go up on the garage. You need to find your security guys and get them set up. Plus, you can keep an eye on things here and let us know what’s going on.” Daniel said.
“Alright, let’s get going,” Bob said. He handed Gene and Daniel each a handheld radio.
“Come on, Daniel. I’ll show you where the hoses are,” Gene said as he headed for the door.
Gene, Teague, Daniel and Christy took the elevator down to the bowels of the building where Gene was more comfortable. He showed Daniel where the hoses were stacked, then went to get his forklift.
“Be careful up there on the roof,” Teague said.
“Sorry for all the trouble, man. Guess you picked a shitty time to visit.”
“Hey, no worries. It’s a shitty time in general right now.”
Christy pushed a Rubbermaid cart over and Teague and Daniel loaded up four lengths of fire hose on it, then Daniel and Christy headed for the elevator. Somewhere back in the mechanical space, Gene tooted the horn on the forklift. Teague looked over his shoulder and turned to go find the fat man.
Daniel looked over his shoulder as he pushed the cart. “Sounds like your date’s waiting.”
Teague gave him the finger.
Once inside the elevator, Christy leaned against the wall. She was biting her fingernails, a nervous habit.
“Quit, you’ll ruin your manicure,” Daniel said.
She paused to spit out a piece of nail or something. “Right now, that’s the least of my worries.” She looked at the stack of hoses on the cart and gestured with her chin. “Is this gonna work?”
Daniel looked at the cart and shrugged. “Dunno. But we need to do something.”
The elevator opened and Christy screamed. Daniel was leaning over the cart about to push it, and he jerked his head up to see Bob standing there with a cigarette clenched in his teeth and a Cheshire-Cat grin on his face.
“Damn it, Bob. You scared the shit outta me!” Christy shouted.
“Sorry, Christy. Didn’t mean to. I wanted to give Daniel this.” Bob picked up a rifle that was leaning beside the elevator door and laid it on the cart.
Christy looked at it, then at Daniel. “Are we really going to need that?”
“I hope not,” Daniel answered.
“Better safe than sorry,” Bob said with a nod. “Get up to the roof and see if you can push those idiots back.”
Daniel nodded, “We’ll try.”
***
Bobby Milsaps and Amy Snapp had been partners on the Atlanta PD for nearly two years. In the beginning, some of his male colleagues gave him a lot of crap about having a chick for a partner. But she’d proved herself to be just as good, and in many cases, a hell of a lot better than many of the men he worked with. They’d become good friends, spending off times with each other’s families a couple times a month.
Looking at Amy, Bobby said, “This is getting to be some real bullshit.”
Amy adjusted the riot helmet on her head that was just a little too large. “I know. They keep pulling us back. Why don’t they just let us go in there and end this once and for all?”
A call came out. On line!
“Shit. Here we go again,” Amy said.
“Don’t worry. I got your back,” Bobby said.
Amy looked at him as she dropped her face shield. “And I got yours.”
They marched up the road, yet again, towards the line of protestors. It was the same, one step, bang your shield, take another step. It was meant to intimidate the protestors, but it really didn’t have much effect on them. As they closed on the crowd, the second echelon of officers began firing teargas at the crowd. It had little effect on those protestors that were prepared for it.
“I’m getting sick of this shit!” Bobby shouted.
The line of officers continued up the street. As they came in range of the protestors, rocks, bottles, bricks and Molotov cocktails began to rain down on them. An officer in front of Amy was splashed with fire. Bobby grabbed her and pulled her to the rear of the formation. Officers there were waiting with CO2 extinguishers, and they quickly doused the flames.
Bobby was checking her over. “Are you alright? You okay?”
She pulled the helmet off her head and dropped it on the street. “I’m ok, but this is just insane.”
Bobby looked at the line of officers still advancing. “It is. We’re never going to win.”
Amy brushed hair from her face. “I don’t live in this Godforsaken city.”
Bobby looked at her. “Neither do I.” He stood up and held his hand out. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.
“Let them keep it,” Amy said.
Bobby nodded. “You going to be alright?”
She nodded. “You?”
“I’ll be a hell of a lot better at home with Sandy.”
Amy leaned in and hugged him. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
They would be the first of many, many officers across the country to abandon their posts to take care of their families.
>
Chapter 5
Daniel and Christy dragged the hoses across the top deck of the parking garage to the standpipe on the corner. Christy grunted under the weight of the canvas hose. “These things are heavy!”
“Come on. Let’s just get it over there.” Daniel groaned in reply.
Once there, Daniel started to screw the hose onto the pipe. Christy grabbed the nozzle and started to stretch the hose out. As soon as she had it laid out across the deck, she shouted to Daniel to turn it on. Looking over his shoulder he nodded and spun the large knob, sending water ripping into the hose.
Christy wasn’t expecting the force of the water charging the line and it quickly got away from her. The nozzle was open and air was escaping with a loud hiss as the water surged in. When it hit the nozzle the hose began to whip around. She jumped on the hose but was about ten feet from the nozzle. As the nozzle whipped around spraying water, she screamed at Daniel. “Turn it off! Turn it off!”
Daniel looked back to see a scene out of a Road Runner cartoon as Christy tried to control the hose. Laughing to himself, he turned the water off. Christy got to her feet, brushed the wet hair from her face and walked back towards Daniel.
“You get on that end. I will turn the water on.”
Daniel smiled. “You looked good out there, hanging onto that thing.” He grabbed the bottom of her t-shirt and tugged on it. “Look at you, all wet. You look fine.”
Christy grabbed his wrist and tossed it away from her. “I am not in the mood.” She pointed towards the nozzle. “Get your ass over there.”
Daniel laughed as he headed for the red nozzle lying on the deck. Picking it up, he dragged it over to the edge of the garage and looked down at the crowd below. They were at it again with the saw, trying to cut through the gate. Daniel jerked the nozzle, pulling a little slack and hung it over the wall. Looking back over his shoulder, he nodded at Christy. She nodded back and opened the nozzle, sending another surge of water to the nozzle. This time though, it went down onto the crowd.
Christy ran over and grabbed onto the hose behind Daniel, taking some of the strain off him and allowing him to adjust the stream. In a moment, there was a solid stream of water cutting into the crowd below. Daniel laughed like a maniac, seeing the effect it had on the people in the crowd. They ran from the water as if it were acid.
Laughing. Daniel screamed. “Look at ‘em run!”
Christy looked over the edge, and a smile spread over her face as she watched the stream of water chase people around on the street.
***
Gene set the second packaged chiller unit on top of the first one. The two covered the door and would make it very hard to get past if they managed to breach the door. He was backing the forklift away when a thought came to him and he started to laugh.
He looked at Teague. “Wait here a second. I have an idea.”
Going back into the mechanical space, he picked up a pallet and pulled it around to his shop. There, he pulled a small air compressor out and put it on the pallet. Then he tossed an extension cord on and, lastly he hefted a small drum with a gun attached onto the pallet. Then he dropped a long-handled scrub brush on and headed back to the parking garage.
Gene went to the door he had just blocked and set the pallet down. Plugging in the air compressor, he gave it a minute to build up some pressure before picking up the gun. With a smile on his face, he squeezed the handle and started squirting grease on the deck. After squirting a heavy pattern out, he grabbed the scrub brush and made sure the grease was spread out nice and thick. He laughed to himself as he unplugged the air compressor. If these people managed to get through, this may not stop them, but it sure as hell would be funny to watch on the cameras.
As Gene walked around the forklift, Teague was shaking his head. “You are one weird ass old dude.”
Gene grunted as he wedged himself into the seat of the lift. “You should have seen me when I was in the Navy. Come on, let’s go do the same thing to the other gate.”
Teague looked down at the greased floor and rubbed the toe of his boot through it. There was no resistance. He laughed. “Anyone who steps on that is going to bust their ass.”
Starting the forklift, Gene barked. “That’s the idea!”
***
Bob was back in the control room watching the soaking Daniel was putting on the crowd in front of the garage gate. They weren’t liking it and were running from the building. While the hose put out a pretty powerful stream, it wasn’t strong enough to knock anyone over. The people simply didn’t want to get wet. It was kind of odd really. After all, it’s only water.
Andy was laughing as he watched. “Looks like they don’t care for the bath.”
Bob lit a cigarette. “From the looks of them, they could use a shower.”
Andy was also keeping an eye on the news. A report flashed across the screen and he picked up the remote to unmute the TV. “Hey, Bob. Check this out.”
A female reporter came on the screen and began talking.
We have breaking news that is very concerning. A Georgia National Guard infantry armory in Lawrenceville has been looted. This means military grade weapons are now on the streets.
A male anchor joined the conversation.
That’s right, Denise. With the riots currently going on in the city, things can only get worse if these types of weapons make it into the city.
What’s the National Guard saying, Bob?
They have secured the location now and reinforcements are on their way. But they say a considerable amount of their weapons were looted and are unaccounted for.
“That can’t be good,” Andy said.
Bob was shaking his head. “Nope.”
Andy picked up the remote and switched to CNN to see what was happening on the national level. The ticker scrolling across the bottom of screen was reporting the same event in other parts of the country. The talking heads were discussing the consequences.
…cannot help the situation. Weapons of this kind making it onto the streets will only make things worse.
Do we have any idea right now who is responsible for looting these armories?
While it is still early in the investigation, initial reports point to right-wing pro-gun extremists being responsible.
“Bullshit!” Andy shouted at the TV. He pointed to one of the monitors showing the crowds on the street outside the bank. “Those aren’t right-wingers! Look at those animals!”
Bob chuckled and patted Andy on the shoulder. “Calm down, Andy. They’re just playing their part, my friend. Just doing what they’re told.”
“News, my ass!”
They continued to watch the report that went on to reveal the looting of several armories across the country. All of the armories in major cities were experiencing heavy rioting. As they listened, Andy asked. “Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that all these armories were looted at nearly the same time?”
Bob let out a long breath. “Sadly, I don’t. I think this was all planned and not by any right-wing extremists.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Bob went to his office and poured a cup of coffee and walked back out into the control room. “Personally, I think we’re watching the beginning of a revolution.”
***
Christy was laughing hysterically. The people on the ground were running from the stream of water as Daniel chased them around the street. They’d managed to push them back from the building and the mass was now standing just out of range of the hose, shouting and shaking their fists. In the opposite direction on the street stood a line of riot police. They were banging their shields with their batons and shouting nearly as loud as the protestors. Daniel looked towards the police line, where one of the officers raised his shield in a salute. Daniel waved back.
; “Look at those cops. They’re pretty happy,” Daniel said with a nod of his chin.
Christy wiped hair out of her eyes. “They may be.” She pointed to the protestors on the other side of the street. “But those people sure aren’t!”
Daniel looked across at the rioters. A heavy set woman stepped out of the crowd and gave Daniel the finger as she cussed at him. Daniel laughed and waved at her which only agitated her even more.
Daniel slapped Christy on the ass. “Come on, let’s go back to Bob’s office.”
She laughed, grabbed him and kissed him. “This is so much fun!”
He grabbed her. “I had no idea you had this side.”
She leaned in close. “Careful what you wish for.”
Everyone met back at Bob’s office. Just as Daniel and Christy came in, the lights flickered. Gene looked up and pronounced. “Power’s back on.”
“Good,” Bob replied.
Teague was sitting in the other chair at the console and swiveled around. “I think we should start thinking about getting out of here.”
“Why?” Christy asked.
“How long do you think we can hole up in here?” He pointed off in the direction of the street. “You think they’re just going to go away?”
“We’re safe in here.” she replied.
“For now,” Gene added.
Christy looked surprised. “You think they could get in here?”
Gene laughed. “They will, eventually. There’s no doubt that they will ultimately get in. That is unless the cops get a handle on things.”
“I think Cousin is right.” Bob said.
Bob’s statement surprised everyone. Daniel asked, “What?” Bob told everyone about the armory lootings.
“That’s several miles northeast of here. I doubt that it’s going to bother us,” Daniel said.
“It’s not the fact they were looted. It’s the way the news reported it,” Bob said. “They’re already saying it was right-wing extremists that did it.”