Chapter 19
Our silly faces appeared in the campus newspaper the next morning, along with the other festival acts and a caption which read; ‘Fresh new band on the music scene. Great sound, but a real shame about the image.’
‘What’s the name of that reporter?’ Jordan asked with that evil look in her eyes.
‘Tom Braddock,’ Josh replied as he continued to read the story.
‘Well Tom Braddock, I’ll be looking out for you,’ said Jordan as she flicked the newspaper with her finger.
I was pleased that we’d been noticed by the campus paparazzi.
‘Better wigs next time though, eh,’ Luis said smirking.
‘You’re not wrong there,’ said Brandon as he examined the discarded pile of costumes that had been strewn across the floor.
There was no mention of the carjackers being apprehended and perhaps this wasn’t common knowledge yet, or may be the story had missed the print deadline. I’m sure the students would find out soon enough. By then we’d be long gone.
We had to help Luis load the band’s equipment in the van before Josh could squeeze the mangled remains of the dirt bike in the back. This would have to be fixed when we got back and Brandon was feeling a little guilty about causing the damage. Let’s not forget though that his heroics helped to save the day.
Before we could leave, Josh had to inspect the van all over and thankfully, apart from needing a new set of tyres, she was fine. We were on the road by 0900 which gave us plenty of time to get to the precinct, providing the traffic was clear. It was actually kind of sad leaving the college and hopefully this would not be our last taste of campus life. We arrived at Teen Cops HQ or TCHQ as it was now affectionately called, just before 1100 and Chief Kelly was waiting at the front door to greet us with a strong handshake. We even got a pat on the back.
‘Well done,’ said the chief with a big smile.
We followed the chief into the operations room where Mitch and DA Logan were waiting to congratulate us. All this adulation was getting a little too much, but we were soon brought back down to earth when the chief proceeded to scold us for disobeying two of Mitch’s direct orders.
‘Thankfully, in this case, it worked out for the best, but listen to what Mitch tells you,’ said the chief wagging his finger at us.
Mitch looked slightly embarrassed after dropping us in it with the chief, but he could be forgiven.
‘And remember you need to blend in when you’re under cover, which means no weapons. We already live in a revolver nation and more guns just add to the problem,’ said the Chief as he continued to discipline us.
We could only nod at that point, knowing we would probably do the exact opposite.
‘Revolver Nation, now there’s a great name for a band,’ said Molly out loud.
She was right and by complete accident the chief had come up with the perfect name for the band ‘Revolver Nation.’ We adopted it straightaway and I could already see the name blazoned across the side of the van. I doubt Josh would be thrilled about the re spray, I’d have to work on him.
DA Logan said the parents and governors of the college were very grateful for the police department’s intervention.
‘This should mean bigger donations to the police charity fund and I thank you all for your efforts,’ she added.
‘Let’s not overlook Mitch’s part in all this,’ said the chief.
Mitch nodded as he preferred to play down his heroics.
Luis took a ribbing from the chief for arriving late to the party and missing all the action, but somehow I think he preferred it this way. At least he wasn’t getting shot at. The chief dismissed us from the meeting and we returned to usual police duties for the remainder of the day. Unfortunately this included a mountain of paperwork which needed to be started while our minds were still fresh about the case. Thankfully the boredom was broken up during the afternoon by the counselling sessions that Mitch had arranged for us with the precinct shrink. This was standard department practice after a shooting incident of this nature and I must admit I actually felt better after speaking to someone else about it. Josh might need an extra session or two just to be on the safe side as he fired the most shots and thought he’d killed one of the suspects in the process.
As soon as the shift finished we headed over to the shooting range as there’s nothing like jumping straight back into the saddle. We had a small wager, but this time the winner’s prize would be a whole week off from house chores, which believe me is a pretty big prize in a teenager’s world. I don’t know why we bothered, because Molly won the competition hands down with some excellent shooting, so she was happy about having a week off from cleaning.
On the way back home to the house, Brandon suggested we stop off at the Cape of Disappointment Beach, to relax and unwind. We still had the guitars onboard and could play a few acoustic songs while sitting around a cosy camp fire, which did sound good.
‘I’ll even throw in a few marshmallows to toast on the fire,’ said Luis as we stopped at the local 7-Eleven to pick up essential beach supplies.
I was thinking as we sat there playing songs and laughing together, that this was our first official public performance as Revolver Nation, albeit unplugged. The impromptu gig even managed to attract a small local crowd and we earned some loose change for our efforts, which Luis put straight in the pizza kitty, always thinking ahead.
While we continued to play Luis’s mobile rang and it was Mitch. He’d called to discuss something secret again as Luis was whispering.
‘What now?’ I thought, but when we got home all was revealed.
Mitch had left a laptop in the kitchen for us to Skype our families and let them know that we were all safe. So this was the secret. Sadly the only person who wouldn’t benefit from this kind gesture was Molly, as she saw her Dad nearly every day and I made her join in with my family conversation. I shed a few tears when I saw my parent’s faces and I’m sure the others would do the same when it was their turn. Naturally no details could be discussed about the case, but I think our folks were more concerned to hear that we were OK.
‘Goodbye Mr and Mrs Hunter’, the others shouted as I finished.
‘Hey everybody it’s the weekend and time for some fun,’ Brandon announced as he turned the stereo up.
Although we were very tired we got ourselves in the party spirit and danced till midnight, then crashed out in the pool fully clothed. I noticed the water was getting dirty and promised to attend to this first thing in the morning. Keeping the pool clean was now my little OCD.
‘Oh Nurse Jordan, could you please rub some cream on my back injury,’ I pleaded pathetically as I lay on the sun lounger, but all I got in reply was a wet towel thrown across the pool by you know who.
Luis cooked a barbecue on the Sunday evening as a treat and the guys did the washing up after. We really were becoming quite domesticated, but didn’t mind because life felt good.
We were under no illusion that things would get tougher for the next case, but we were prepared for anything. After all, what was the alternative, another year behind bars? No thank you. This was our time for redemption and we grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Coming soon
Teen Cops ‘On Sacred Ground’
In this new story the young officer’s expertise is called upon to foil a series of terrorist bomb threats being made against the inhabitants of the Quinault Indian Reservation in north Washington. During their very dangerous undercover operation, the team discovers a web of deceit that goes far beyond the terrorist threats and people get hurt. Don’t miss this gripping new story.
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