Chapter 17
According to our map, the van seemed to be heading towards a large industrial park located close to the edge of the next town. We continued to follow, mindful of maintaining a safe distance between us and the carjackers. Molly rolled the window down to give Brandon an update and he mouthed ‘OK’ to confirm that he understood. Suddenly Brandon started pointing frantically ahead at the flashing railway crossing signal, which could only mean one thing: a train was approaching. Mitch was on his mobile speaking to the local sheriff’s office requesting back up and hadn’t noticed the signals otherwise he would have made Josh slow down
‘Looks like we’re on our own for now as the local sheriff is short on officers and can’t provide assistance,’ said Mitch.
‘There’s a railway crossing ahead and the lights are flashing Mitch. What do you want me to do?’ Josh asked as he pressed down on the accelerator.
‘Damn it we’ll have to stop,’ said Mitch, but Josh had other plans and so did Brandon.
Brandon did a wheelie as he accelerated straight for the railway tracks. He aimed at a small bank to the side to give him maximum lift and soared over the tracks about fifteen feet in the air Evel Knievel style. I’m sure if Brandon had looked back at that moment he would have seen the horrified expression on Mitch’s face but it was pretty cool to watch.
‘He’s mad,’ said Jordan, but not as mad as Josh who went next.
We hung on for dear life as he weaved through the two railway gates moments before a freight train came roaring passed with its horn blowing. That must be one truly hacked off train driver I thought.
Josh screamed ‘YEE-HA,’ in celebration while Mitch let out a huge sigh of relief.
‘This isn’t the Dukes of Hazard you know, Josh,’ Mitch said.
The industrial park was directly ahead of us and we watched as Brandon disappeared between the buildings. Mitch shook his head because Brandon knew darn well he should be waiting for back up. Mitch looked at the monitor again and could see that the van had parked in front of a large warehouse situated in the northeast of the industrial park. We parked the Dodge on the southwest side and continued on foot to avoid detection. Hopefully we’d run in to Brandon before anyone else did.
‘Send Brandon a quick text Molly, to say hold position and wait for back up,’ Mitch asked.
‘You guys wait here for the local PD to arrive and I’ll go check out the warehouse,’ said Mitch trying to keep us out of harms way.
Mitch checked his weapon and set off. We waited until he was completely out of sight before drawing our weapons and checking for ammunition.
‘You know we need to provide back up for Mitch guys?’ I said and everyone nodded in agreement. Fantastic, first mission and possibly the first shoot out.
We split into two teams to approach the warehouse from the left and right flanks. I paired with Jordan this time to work the left flank, while Josh and Molly went to the right. We proceeded with extreme caution in case the thieves had posted lookouts.
‘Where is Brandon any way?’ Jordan asked because he hadn’t replied to Molly’s text and there was no sign of the dirt bike.
I could only assume Brandon was observing the situation from a vantage point and would be ready to assist when called upon. Mitch had already entered the warehouse when Josh insisted we stop so he could inspect the van for any damage. ‘Phew no scratches, lucky for them,’ Josh whispered as he touched the van for good luck.
‘We should get the flack jackets from the van while we’re here,’ Molly whispered as she looked about for any sign of the carjackers.
It was a good call and after she’d slid the side door of the van open, I leant in to grab four protective jackets from the weapons compartment.
‘Grab the two shotguns as well while you’re at it,’ Jordan said as she leant against the side of the van.
‘Expecting trouble are we?’ I said tossing flack jackets to the others and pulling out the shotguns for us to share. Jordan held the shotgun to provide cover fire as we proceeded towards the warehouse entrance.
‘OK, let’s do it,’ Josh said as he ran towards the right side of the warehouse entrance, while Molly followed quickly behind covering the rear.
We edged forward to the left side and with both teams now in position, it was time for one final deep breath before making the next decisive move. We’d rehearsed entering a hostile building on several occasions during police training, so this should be easy. I went first and positioned myself behind a stack of wooden boxes just inside the entrance doors. I gave the all clear for Jordan to follow while providing cover for Molly and Josh to enter on the right flank. I could see Mitch crouched down behind a piece of heavy machinery just ahead of us as he assessed the situation. We heard voices coming from the rear of the warehouse and assumed it must be members of the gang, but how many were there? It was hard to tell.
Josh and Molly checked in the roof areas above our heads for surveillance cameras or snipers, but it was all clear. Suddenly without warning, Jordan stood up and shouted;
‘MITCH, LOOK OUT.’
She’d seen someone holding a gun, trying to sneak up on Mitch’s blind side and had to warn him. Without any hesitation she followed the shout with two shots, which pushed the suspect back. It was impressive, although the scream nearly deafened me, but now we’d lost the element of surprise. Mitch immediately swivelled round and opened fire winging the suspect in the shoulder before he could escape behind the labyrinth of boxes. Mitch turned to glare at us, mouthing something very rude I might add. Then it seemed like World War III had started, with bullets screaming past our heads from all directions as the gang opened fire. I tried to determine how many gang members were firing and where the shooting was coming from. It sounded like either five or six suspects to me, gauging by the different gun sounds, so we were pretty evenly matched and I bet Mitch was glad we’d ignored his orders now.
Mitch acted quickly and rolled across the floor firing two shots in retaliation and managed to wound another of the suspects shooting at us from the stairwell. Molly grabbed the suspect as he tumbled down and cuffed him. It was scary stuff, a bit like the shootout at the OK Coral with Mitch playing the part of Wyatt Earp. The shooting stopped just as quickly as it had started and Mitch used the gap to race across to our location to check that we were OK.
‘No injuries here,’ I said. Molly and Josh signalled that they were both OK, which was a big relief for Mitch.
‘Thanks Jordan,’ Mitch said as he caught his breath.
‘I see you decided to ignore both of my orders then,’ said Mitch referring to the weapons in our hands and the fact that we’d followed him into the warehouse.
We didn’t bother to reply.
‘There should be four suspects left by my count, so keep your heads down and stay here this time,’ said Mitch like he really meant it.
Mitch proceeded towards a large container truck that he could see parked at the rear of the warehouse, while we waited to provide cover if required. Mitch opened the rear doors of the truck and checked inside. He found a large haul of expensive looking cars parked on two levels of the truck, which he presumed must be stolen.
‘Jackpot, these guys have been busy,’ said Mitch to himself.
‘Yes, jackpot indeed my friend,’ said a voice from behind him. It was the gang leader who was now holding a gun to the back of Mitch’s head.
‘Drop the gun and tell your friends to do the same.’
Mitch did as he was told and dropped his gun, but only because he was concerned more for our safety than his own. For his cooperation, Mitch received a sharp blow to the back of the head from the carjackers gun. Molly screamed when she saw what had happened. Thankfully it looked like Mitch was OK, apart from the bleeding as he fell to his knees. You just know someone’s going to pay for that mistake, I thought.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll get him,’ Josh said as he surveyed the situation.
Thankfully back up finally arrived outside in the form of two squad c
ars from the local sheriff’s department.
‘At last,’ I said.
One of the officers made a foolish attempt to get the carjackers to surrender.
‘COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP. YOU’RE SURROUNDED,’ said the officer on his megaphone.
I raised my eyebrow with disappointment at their feeble tactics.
‘Amateurs,’ I said forgetting this was still my first case.
‘No you put your weapons down or the officer here gets it,’ the gang leader shouted back as he pressed the gun tighter to the back of Mitch’s head.
Although blood was trickling down the back of Mitch’s neck, he was still of sound mind enough to look about and assess his options. He glanced over at Molly to gesture that it was OK for her to surrender. Molly understood and put her weapon down on the ground. She urged Josh to do the same and although he hesitated at first, he reluctantly followed suit. They both walked out with their hands in the air, which left Jordan and me in a difficult position,
‘Do we surrender or try to fight our way out?’ I asked Jordan.
It looked as though the fight was over and we were the losing side, but before Jordan had a chance to give me a reply, the dynamics of the situation were about to change dramatically. The loud crashing sound of breaking glass and the roar of a motorbike engine thundered above our heads, making everybody look up to see what the hell was happening. For a moment I thought the building was collapsing, but no it was that crazy fool Brandon. I did wonder when he’d show his face and now was the perfect time. He came crashing through the skylight window on the dirt bike and flew over our heads while firing his revolver in one hand and steering with the other. Although his shooting was a little off target, the distraction was enough to provide Mitch with a chance to swivel round and take his captor out with a karate chop to the neck.
Mitch retrieved his weapon and sprinted towards Molly to protect her from the hail of bullets that ensued. Josh grabbed his revolver from the ground and opened fire at two suspects who were walking towards them. That was two more bad guys off the list. I immediately took cover and looked around to see what had happened to Brandon. Luckily he’d managed to crash land on a pile of cardboard boxes and was still in one piece.
With the stunt show over and the gun fire continuing, we needed to focus on trying to take out the three remaining suspects, alive if at all possible. I spotted one suspect just a few yards ahead of my position and carefully crept up behind him as he reloaded his weapon. I took him out with a whack to the head with my revolver handle, which I thought was justice for the injury to Mitch. This left just two bad guys by my count.
I proceeded forward in the direction of the gun fire coming from a small office situated in the centre of the warehouse, weaving in and out of the boxes to stay undetected, while Jordan followed. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back and fell to the ground in agony. I’d been hit by a bullet and thought this is it Scott, it’s all over. My relatively short and squandered life flashed before me as I rolled onto my side. I looked up and tried to return fire at the coward who’d shot me in the back, but Jordan beat me to it.
I watched with open mouth as she jumped from one box to another above my head, then swooped down feet first onto the unsuspecting carjacker below her. She grabbed him by the hood of his sweat top and flipped the guy headfirst onto his back. BAM! Doubly impressive I thought, before passing out in shock. I was only unconscious for a minute or two while the shooting continued and when I awoke I could see that Josh had the last suspect lined up in his sights. The guy was trying to make an escape through the new skylight window that Brandon had so spectacularly created.
‘STOP OR I’LL SHOOT,’ Josh warned.
But the suspect ignored the warning and started shooting at anything moving below him. Josh had no alternative but to return fire and with a single shot to the head the suspect was taken out. It was game over. Not bad shooting from someone who was not exactly top of the police training academy shooting class, I thought.
Mitch stood up to free Molly who’d been pinned down beneath him. She was fine, although a little miffed at her Dad’s over protectiveness. I guess there’s no pleasing some folk. Mitch could only laugh as he walked over to check that Josh was OK after the shooting.
‘Nice shooting kid’ he said patting Josh on the back.
Josh was frozen to the spot in shock at having just killed someone. He quickly regained his composure as Mitch spoke to him, holstered his weapon and went to check the suspects pulse. To his complete surprise the guy was still alive as the bullet must have grazed the side of his head. Josh called for medical assistance and two paramedics from the ambulance parked outside came rushing to his aid with a stretcher. The suspect was taken out and rushed to the nearby hospital. He would live and what a relief for Josh.
‘Hey what about me?’ I groaned feeling unloved and close to death on the cold warehouse floor.
Jordan rushed to my aid and rolled me onto my belly to check how bad the wound was.
‘Scott, are you alright?’ she asked.
‘Never felt better. Perhaps a little deaf in one ear and a sore back, but I think I’ll live,’ I tried to say pathetically as I opened my eyes.
Fortunately the bullet was lodged in my flack jacket and had not pierced the skin so I was still in one piece. Thank goodness for Molly’s foresight to grab the protective jackets from the van when she did otherwise the band might now be one member short.
‘Where did you learn those street moves?’ I asked Jordan.
‘Didn’t I mention I was Florida State Free Running Champion?’ she replied.
‘Err no,’ I said not really able to tell if she was joking because of her usual stern face. Anyway I was very grateful.
I was starting to drift into a state of unconsciousness again when Jordan slapped my face to revive me. Ouch! that worked. Mitch came over and carefully removed my protective vest as this would be needed for evidence.
‘Did we faint bro?’ Brandon asked as he stood over me and smiled.
‘Funny,’ I replied as Brandon held out his hand to pull me up. I limped outside to one of the waiting ambulances to be checked over by a paramedic.
‘Looks like you survived the crash OK then,’ I said. Brandon just nodded in his usual nonchalant way.