by Laura Acton
Peering upward at the five flights, Dan wanted to groan. “Damn, he moves fast.” Dan sprinted up the steps, two at a time, trying to catch up.
Loki caught his rotund subject in less than a minute. Luckily, he snagged the morbidly obese man who stopped and gave up after a hundred paces. Loki returned to the command truck to tap into the security cameras in case Dan, or the others needed help locating subjects. Dan ended up with the fastest one of the bunch.
Dan’s subject led him on a merry chase throughout the vast warehouse. They dashed up and down aisles, around and over obstacles, and now the wily subject raced for the roof. Loki captured a screen image of the man to enter into the facial recognition database, hoping to identify the criminal.
From inside the truck, Loki said, “I got an ID on your subject, Dan. Yeah, he can run. Gijimani Craskell is a former Olympic hurdler. His medals were stripped from him after being caught in a doping scheme. His life went downhill from there. Numerous arrests for possession of narcotics.”
Dan puffed as he dug down deeper and bounded up the last flight. As he neared the top, he heard Bram entering below. Dan slowed as he approached the doorway. “No wonder he jumped those damned boxes with ease. Lexa, can you see which direction he went?”
From her Zulu One position, Lexa informed Dan, “Subject’s moving to the east side. He appears unarmed, no weapons in his hands.”
Breathing an exhausted sigh of relief, glad for the chase to be over, Dan realized Gijimani would be cornered. With no external fire escapes, and Bram behind him to prevent the subject from going back down the stairs, Gijimani had no place else to go. “Copy,” Dan said, opening the door intent on capturing the roadrunner.
“Whoa!” Lexa exclaimed in astonishment. Swiftly she added, “Someone needs to move to the building east of Eclipse Lighting. Gijimani just jumped across to the next building parkour style.”
Ray called out, “On my way,” as two uniformed constables assumed custody of the female subject.
Dan observed what Lexa did. Crap! He poured on the speed, launching himself between buildings. Taking a split-second glance down as he sailed across the gap, he gulped. One a hell of a drop.
“What the hell? Dan!” Lexa gasped.
Handing off the still struggling subject to a patrol officer, Jon was pleased serving the warrant on the drug dealer went off without a hitch. He overheard Lexa’s gasp and her comment. What unacceptable risk did Dan take now? About to ask for status, Jon’s hesitation allowed Bram’s voice to sound through the headset.
“Christ! Dan jumped!” Bram uttered as he rushed to assist, and witnessed the rookie hurdling over the void. He shuddered judging the distance and glanced down five stories. No way I could make that jump. Christ, he’s cocky and full of surprises. Halting those thoughts, Bram gave Dan the benefit of the doubt. Surely, Dan wouldn’t have attempted if he didn’t know he could make the leap. He takes risks, but he isn’t an idiot.
Dan’s momentum allowed him to land on both feet, roll, and recover a running stride in a split second. He grinned stupidly. Damn glad I made it. He was not so sure he could make it across, but in the heat of the moment, he went for it because if not for the recent bout of bronchitis, he would’ve already caught the guy. That was a stupid thing to do, but I refuse to fail and let the team down. This roadrunner isn’t getting away from me.
Rounding the air conditioning units, Dan launched himself at Gijimani who had stopped for a breath. Going down hard, Dan grunted as they hit. He rolled and maneuvered Gijimani on to his stomach quickly to cuff him. Slightly out of breath, Dan stood, pulling Gijimani up with him. “Subject in custody.”
Gaping at the blond officer, flummoxed he had been caught, Gijimani sputtered, “How the hell did you keep up with me? For that matter, how did you make the jump? Are you insane?”
Dan shrugged and guided the subdued subject towards the stairwell access point as Ray exited. He let Ray take over as he leaned on the threshold and caught his breath.
Overhearing the subject’s remarks, Jon said, “Broderick, we’re gonna have another serious discussion about unacceptable risk during debrief.”
“Copy,” Dan replied with a smile in his voice. Working relationships had improved since Christmas. Dan assumed the change was due to his attitude adjustment. Spending time with Bram and his family sparked the dying embers within him. Focusing on making positive transformations, he still harbored the guilt and pain, but the belief he might one day belong spurred him to continue striving to create a place for himself here.
The team chuckled at Dan’s flippant response, sharing similar thoughts. A whole hell of a lot a good that discussion will do. Jon had this conversation with Dan many times before. Dan didn’t or couldn’t change his behavior.
Most of the team now believed the need to succeed and protect were too ingrained in Dan. Expecting him to change those behaviors, would be like asking a blind man to correctly identify the color of a shirt a stranger wore … virtually impossible. Though, Jon decreed he would never give up trying to persuade the rookie to take fewer risks.
TRF HQ – 5:00 p.m.
Dragging themselves back into headquarters, six of seven teammates shuffled into the briefing room to debrief on five calls. After the warrant call, they dealt with a series of four critical calls, one right after the other.
The first, a domestic call occurred when a teenage girl, angered with her parents for not letting her date, threatened them with a kitchen knife. Not the brightest way to convince them to agree to her position on dating. Lexa talked the teen into surrendering.
On the second call, a distraught man desired to jump off a bridge after losing his job, girlfriend, and dog all in one day. Ray talked him into not jumping after Nick persuaded the former girlfriend to let her ex-boyfriend keep the dog. Witnessing the man sitting on the edge of the bridge hugging the miniature poodle as it licked his face was heartwarming.
An expired coupon precipitated the third call. When Western Joe’s Burger Hut refused to honor an outdated voucher for a free burger, a strung-out junkie became irate and pulled out a pistol. Holding the frightened cashier at gunpoint, he demanded his cheeseburger.
Nick faced a difficult challenge as the druggie vacillated between yellow and red. Dan almost took lethal action, but as the gun started to rise, unexpectedly, the drug addict collapsed, dropping the weapon as he went into cardiac arrest. Despite Jon’s and Bram’s intervention, the man died at the scene.
Their last call was the quickest, but also the most difficult, settling a pallor over the entire team. Nick tried in vain to negotiate the release of the hostage, but the mentally unstable subject appeared to be hell-bent on his mission.
The delusional man blamed the security company for his son’s death. The only problem was … he had no son. Though, that didn’t stop him from putting the son of the CEO on the thirtieth floor of their utility office building, rigging the place with a bomb, and disabling the elevators.
Dan tried so hard to reach the boy. Although the fastest team member, he was not quick enough. Dan raced up the steps as fast as humanly possible. Unfortunately, he had only managed to navigate twenty-nine floors when the subject pressed the remote detonator.
The explosion sent Dan careening down one flight of stairs, his downward momentum stopped only by a built-in landing. The team recognized Dan had a difficult time accepting the subsequent outcome. After being cleared by the medic, Dan walked to one of the trucks and left. He told Boss he needed a moment and he would meet them for debrief.
Just before entering the room, Nick stopped at Tia’s desk and asked, “Have you seen Dan?”
Tia shook her head. “Sorry. He came in, but I’m not sure where he went.”
“Nick, start with call number two. I think I know where Dan might’ve gone.” Jon realized the rookie would most likely be up on the TRF roof, Dan’s place to retreat and regain his balance when upset. Jon approved of his location to recompose himself, better than watching the rookie
beat the crap out of the heavy bag.
Agreeing, Nick gave Jon a quick nod. “Okay. But if he isn’t where you think he is, let me know. We’ll stop and search for him. Dan shouldn’t be left alone after that call.”
Concerned and also wanting to locate Dan and ensure he was okay, Loki, Ray, Bram, and Lexa balked at initiating debrief. Nick shut down their rebuttals with one stern gaze and ushered them into the briefing room.
TRF HQ – Rooftop – 5:05 p.m.
Dan stood and gazed out at the city. The brisk wind felt good on his face. He attempted to hold himself together as he tried to comprehend the subject’s senseless act. Why was it necessary for a seventeen-year-old boy to die? Nothing justified the deed. Not a damned thing.
Logically, he comprehended he did all he could today. Emotionally, that did nothing to soothe him. He was not swift enough, which brought up memories of Gambit’s death.
If only, I could’ve run faster. No bullet in my thigh to slow me down this time, but the result is the same. Gambit died because I was not quick enough. And now an innocent boy is dead because I was too slow … still one floor away.
Jon opened the rooftop door. Yep, exactly where I thought the rookie would be. He noiselessly shut the door and turned to amble back down the stairs as he blew out a held breath. If only we could’ve arrived sooner. Things might’ve ended better.
He stopped the unproductive line of thoughts. Jon had been at this job too long to continue to rehash the could have, should have, would have, and wishes. Their profession had a definite downside. Innocent people sometimes died regardless of their best efforts. Each of them developed a technique to deal with less than desirable outcomes.
As methods went, Dan’s choice to stand, facing a cooling breeze, was not bad, there were worse choices, many got lost in a bottle. Jon opted to give Dan some time alone—the kid needed it. They would debrief without him for all calls except the first and the last.
Hearing the squeaking hinges, Dan waited for the footsteps to announce who came to retrieve him. When none sounded, he pivoted towards the door and rubbed his temples when he found no one there. Whoever came decided to leave him alone, more than likely, Jon.
On scene of their last call, Jon supported his desire for solitude and told Boss to let him go after the medic checked him out. For that, he was grateful and surprised. After Christmas, some things changed in both of them. He and Jon developed an interesting dynamic—that was for damned sure.
Dan conceded Jon attempted to deal with him differently now. And he tried just as hard to change his behavior in relation to the tactical lead. They had gotten off to a rocky start, two alpha males butting heads for many months. Bram shared a few things about each of the team members while he stayed with him over Christmas which helped him to understand their mindsets better.
He learned Jon’s youngest was not a natural son, but his nephew. Jon and Jennifer were raising him because Jon’s brother Joe died in the line of duty when he took a risk and didn’t wait for TRF.
Little Joey’s mom passed away a year later. Bram said she took too many sleeping pills. There was contention as to whether she deliberately committed suicide or accidentally overdosed while in a depressed state. Either way, the result was the same, Joey became an orphan, and his uncle stepped up to provide him a loving home and raise him as his own son.
Bram also told him about Burl Henderson and Alejandro Espina. Dan grasped how all those items combined created Jon’s animosity towards him. He decided to come back after Christmas with a positive attitude, pretend the past six months had not been hell, and to give Alpha Team a fresh start. So far, so good. Although, it would still take a while to be genuinely accepted, especially with all the baggage.
Dan slumped to the ground and leaned his back against the concrete wall surrounding the roof. He found this spot to be comfortable, though a bit loud. The air handler formed a corner with the wall, and the constant whirring of the fan produced a strange hypnotic effect on him. For some inexplicable reason, a sense of security enveloped Dan here, allowing him to relax.
So very tired he shut his eyes. The bout of bronchitis last month did a number on his stamina, and his adrenal medulla worked overtime today. Jumping across the building in the warrant call caused adrenaline to surge through his veins. Dan accepted he took a stupid risk. Whatever Jon said about it would be true … he had no decent argument for his rash action. Ray would’ve caught the subject in the stairwell.
During the first call, he became so tense as he maintained the Zulu One solution. He appreciated Lexa’s ability to talk the teenage girl into putting the knife down. He didn’t want to shoot a child.
In the second call, Bram and he, secured by rappelling gear, held a net to catch the jumper if need. They maintained their bodies in a ready position for a full hour, sixty minutes of adrenaline-fueled tension. The crash afterward didn’t seem as potent, likely counterbalanced by the endorphins released as he laughed watching the man reunite happily with his dog.
However, the third call with the druggie had been nerve-racking and kept him on the edge and alert as the subject’s gun kept going up and down. Dan expected Boss to call out the PapaGolf command at any moment, but the addict dropped dead of a drug-induced heart attack. Not the ending anyone wanted, but at least his team remained safe.
The last call was the worst. After the blast, to Dan’s ignominy, he required the assistance of Jon and Loki to trudge down the stairs. His legs became rubbery, and he barely held himself upright after the explosion. Not only did he suffer minor bruising from his rapid descent down twelve stairs, but the lingering effects of the massive adrenaline crash coupled with his emotional upheaval drained all his reserves.
It could have been more embarrassing, a medic tried to insist he be carried down on a backboard, but Dan hated showing any sort of weakness and preferred to make his way down under his power. Fortunately, Jon sided with him, allowing him to walk and none of the team made a big deal of it. Boss made him get checked out at the scene—like always. When the medic cleared him, Dan told Boss he needed time alone to regroup, and thankfully Boss allowed him to return to headquarters on his own.
Adjusting himself, finding a more comfortable position, Dan gave into to his need for a short rest. Leaning his head in the crook of the corner, Dan realized he must join the team for debrief in a few minutes, but the fact Jon left him alone, meant he could take a moment to rest. Though, Jon would expect him to come down shortly.
TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 6:40 p.m.
Expecting Dan down long ago, Jon kept glancing at the entrance. They wrapped up debrief of everything except the warrant call and the last one. Finally, Jon stood and said, “I’ll go get Dan.”
“Jonny, go easy. Today isn’t the right time to lay into Dan regarding the jump.” Nick eyed Jon.
“Wasn’t planning on it. We’ve all been where Dan is now. Being so close, yet too far away to save an innocent.”
“Perhaps we should all go. Show Dan we’re here for him,” Lexa said.
Nick considered Lexa’s comment. He rose and scanned his team. “Not a half bad idea.”
Loki and Ray stood at the same time, and Ray suggested, “He shouldn’t be alone tonight.”
Bram pushed out of his chair, his muscles aching a bit from holding the net. “I can invite Dan over for dinner. Allie’s been begging non-stop for him to visit. Being near my girls after a day like this one helps me. Might help Dan, too.”
The team followed Jon towards the stairs. They seemed to be making headway with their rookie in the past few weeks. Dan remained mostly closed off, but he opened up from time to time. They all understood the importance of showing him they cared, and they wanted him as a member of this team.
Each of them tried in their own way to befriend Dan and learn about the man behind the shield. They faltered, missing the mark more often than they liked, but actively tweaked their strategies and made a few inroads. Things appeared to be improving which pleased them.
TRF HQ – Rooftop – 6:45 p.m.
Jon opened the roof door and stepped out followed by Nick, Bram, Loki, Lexa, and Ray. The six of them scanned, not finding Dan.
Nick turned to Jon. “You sure he was up here?”
“Right there.” Jon waved a hand toward the air handler.
Lexa started forward and around the noisy ventilation fan. She stopped. Turning to the others, she pointed downward with concern displaying on her face. She disappeared from view.
As one, the rest rushed over based on Lexa’s anxious expression, each having a similar thought. Did the blast do damage we missed?
Worried Dan might be injured worse than they realized in his tumble down the stairs, Lexa crouched near Dan who appeared to have collapsed with his back in the corner created by the wall and air handling unit. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Dan, are you okay?”
Startled, Dan scrambled up, instantly awake and alert.
Knocked on her butt as Dan stood, Lexa peered up at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, surprised by his superfast reflexes.
Dan glanced down at Lexa, puzzled as to why she sat on the ground. When did she get here? As he registered the guys, a blush crept onto his face. Ah crap! The whole team caught me sleeping. This is embarrassing … they snuck up on me. Damn, my alertness is slipping.
Jon crossed his arms over his chest. He tried extremely hard to pull off a pissed off guise. “You’re late for debriefing, Broderick! Not so sure the rooftop is an appropriate place to nap either.”
Failing miserably to maintain his façade, Jon burst out laughing. The startled oh shit, I’m in trouble expression on Dan’s face was too comical. Jon probably shouldn’t laugh, but he couldn’t help himself.
A brow arched as Lexa rose and asked in disbelief, “Were you sleeping?”
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Dan studied Boss attempting to determine how much trouble he was in for falling asleep when he should’ve been in debriefing. His body relaxed marginally when he noted Boss’ warm hazel eyes smiled at him as his sergeant gave him a slight nod.