Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 10 - Allies of Coincidence - I

  Jeremy practically leapt out of Lani's car as it skidded up to the curb. He threw it in park, engine still running, with a mental apology to his absent partner for his poor driving. The bar was already surrounded by the Tacoma police, and they weren't about to let anyone nearby. Even him.

  "Who the fuck are you?" asked a patrolman, moving to stop him. They were just beginning to set up barricades around the area.

  "Jeremy fucking Ashe, Federal fucking Bureau of Investigation," Jeremy snarled. He waved his badge in the young man's face. "Get me whoever's in charge right the fuck now."

  "FBI?" asked a nearby lieutenant, looking up from his binoculars. He'd been trying to see anything inside the shuttered bar windows. Jeremy vaguely recognized the man, but the lieutenant definitely remembered him from the way his face fell. "Goddammit, not you again. The hell are you doing here?"

  "I'm taking over. Give me a radio."

  "Aren't you outside your jurisdiction?"

  Lani, if you don't recover fast, I'm going to end up shooting one of these fuckers soon. "I have blanket jurisdiction on any crime involving a firearm in the Cascadian region right now. Permit of my investigation into the Rallsburg incident. That includes this whole fucking state, if you weren't clear on that." Jeremy picked the man up and shoved him against the nearest van. "Call it up the line, motherfucker."

  As the hapless lieutenant did so, Jeremy took a pair of binoculars from a visibly intimidated patrolman and took a look at the bar. "Someone brief me."

  "Nine confirmed armed hostiles," came a sharp report from his side. A sniper, braced against the hood of the car with one knee on the ground. Former military. No cop calls 'em hostiles. "Minimum twenty civilians. Shots fired."

  "Casualties?"

  "Unknown."

  "What are the fuckers using?"

  "Glocks and sawed-offs, sir."

  Thank God for competent troopers. "Thanks." Jeremy leaned over to match his sightline, but it wasn't any better. He turned back to the lieutenant. "Any demands?"

  "No, sir." The lieutenant looked like he'd just been reamed from on high yet again, to Jeremy's satisfaction. "They haven't said a word."

  "We haven't communicated with them at all?"

  "Bar phone is disconnected, and they're using a jammer to block cell service. We didn't want to risk approaching and losing the hostages."

  "Good call." Now that Jeremy had authority, he was beginning to calm down. He didn't need to antagonize anyone unnecessarily. "Perimeter secured?"

  "One minute."

  Jeremy nodded. "I'm going in."

  "You're what?" the lieutenant asked, aghast.

  "I need to talk to these motherfuckers alive, and I'm not going to wait around for them to get shot coming out."

  "What about the hostages?"

  Fuck 'em. I've got bigger fish. "I'll make every effort to secure their release." He grabbed a vest from the back of the nearest truck and strapped it on. "Cover me."

  "No backup?" asked the sniper.

  "You volunteering?"

  He grinned. "All yours, sir."