Dancing to a New Beat 69

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CHAPTER 69
Barry was out of the blocks before I could strap in, and as he drove the short distance to the gates, I felt as if I was back in my days riding with him and Traffic. He could drive almost as smoothly as my man when he wanted to, but this was so different. There was venom in his cornering, and I am sure that without ABS the car would have slid to a stop rather than lurch. The boys had already armed up, and once again I was left behind as they burst from the front seats, eyes everywhere. Bryn waved to me.

“Di! On us! Now!

Stay behind, but do NOT fuck off on your own”

The wicket door next to the roller shutter was off its hinges, shouting and barking as loud as a Wales home match, and as uniforms ran past me for the fire door at the rear, I heard a rapid and very loud sequence of four bangs, just as the roller door began to rise. Barry was muttering, but I could still hear him clearly.

“Shit! Hope that was a dog”

Bryn rushed forward to the edge of the door, weapon poised, and took a low stance where the lock had been, before waving Barry forward. He took it at a rush, followed a clear second later by Bryn, and then I thought ‘Shit!’ and shook out my asp. Move now, girl. Close up on them, DC Sutton!

As Bryn entered, a man came rolling out from under the rising shutter. Something in his hand…

I laid my asp across his forearm, the machete flying free as Barry’s incredibly long arm reached under the edge of the still-rising door to snag the bastard’s ankle. I took the other leg from under him with a kick, but lost my balance, only just managing to strike him across the back of both thighs as he recovered and went past me. It got very confusing for a while, but I managed, god knows how, to tumble onto my feet and catch his legs again.

“Get down now!”

Still fucking moving, the bastard! Just as I dropped my right knee onto his shoulder to stop his scramble for the weapon, Bryn appeared again, hands full of yellow plastic.

“MOVE! TASER! TASER! TASER!”

The barbs struck just as the bastard’s hands got to the handle of the huge knife, and then he was convulsing under the force of fuck knows how many volts. I stayed clear, securing the knife, as two Gwent boys arrived to secure the new prisoner. Cuffs on and dragged off at a fair clip, Bryn grinning at me with savage glee.

“Managed to hang onto it this time, then! Breathe for a second; Bronze for the entry teams wants us outside for now. Containment, aye? They’ve got it tied down inside, but they keep getting runners”

He paused, looking away for a heartbeat before locking his eyes on mine.

“You really won’t like it in there, Di. It’s under control now, but it’s not pleasant. One dog’s down, but some of the others are in shit state. Hang on… your radio knackered?”

“What? Oh! Earpiece is broken. Hang on…”

I pulled the useless earphone jack out, and Sammy was suddenly loud and very clear.

“All units, Bravo One. I say again, all support units remain outside warehouse. Entry teams will process and deliver prisoners. Be aware of any attempts to run. Expect ambulances shortly. Vets are on their way to deal with other casualties. Oscar One?”

“Send, Bravo One”

“Warehouse roof, Lexie. Watch for climbers”

“All understood, Bravo One. Listening out”

I switched off so as not to broadcast everything to the whole world, and found my hands starting to shake as I hooked the rig back onto my ballistic vest.

My two friends were conversing very quietly as the first of a multitude of men started to come out of the wrecked door, along with a few women, one of whom spotted me as a fellow wife, mother, fucking nurturer and delicate soul, et bloody cetera, and sealed our bonds as representatives of the fairer sex by spitting on my stab vest.

Bryn watched my reaction from his semi-kneeling position to one side of the doorway, and shook his head at me.

“Di, don’t go hyper. Spit kit, and centre yourself. Messy bit’s over now, so get your good coppering head back on. Just weigh and pay now, OK? Once the bulk of them are taken away we’ll sweep the inside and… go ahead!”

A few seconds of silence.

“On way now! Barry, mate? Di! With us, stay low!”

We left the compound at a rapid trot, crossing the blue-lit chaos of the main road just as a window blew in on one of the carriers. Oh fuck!

Down a side street, turn right. An extending ladder against a wall, Bryn floating up it, Barry almost as quick. I made it in time to be hauled over the edge of the roof and pushed into a prone position by one of them, I couldn’t see which. Barry’s voice was terse.

“Stay down, Di. What we got, Lexie?”

The younger woman’s voice was shaky, and as the shouts rose from across the street, and another loud bang went off, I understood.

“Candice has eyeballs on, Barry”

“Fine. Stay down, love. Candice?”

“Flat roof, mate. Array of roof lights, skylight things. Four by three pattern. Twat is by the second one on the left as you look at it and count away from us. Hang on…”

I could just make Office Blonde out, silhouetted against the glare of the streetlights, which meant that she would be covered by the darkness of the side street if what was clearly a man on the warehouse roof looked our way, thank god. Candice was fiddling with what I suddenly realised was the parabolic mike thing. A little speaker…

BANG. Tinny, but clear: “Fuck off you cunts! Fuck my fucking business, shoot my fucking best dog, eh? Cunts! Fucking come up here and see how you like fucking bleeding!”

BANG.

Barry wriggled forward to the parapet. His voice was soft, almost dreamy in its calm delivery.

“Let me have a look, girl. Please”

Candice slithered backwards as Barry took the night vision glasses. Still soft, still as calm as a mother’s bedtime story.

“Got him, Bryn. Call in for me; no spare hands here, and I don’t want to risk reflections”

“OK, mate. Bravo One, Bravo One, Tango Three”

“With Oscar One now. Tango Four has eyes on. I am relaying to avoid showing out. Barry?”

“One male… Ah. Looks like a hunting rifle. Not a two two. Bolt action”

“One male, bolt action rifle, larger than two two, so far”

“Shit. He’s got a box with him. Think it’s ammunition”

Bryn swore, shaking his head.

“Target appears to have boxed ammunition with him, so far”

He was silent for at least thirty seconds.

“All understood. Listening”

He turned back to Barry.

“Sammy’s going to try and talk to him. Believed to be Geoghegan himself. Getting another team onto the next roof over, see if we can scare him down”

BANG. Still so calm, my Barry.

“Bryn, we can’t justify taking him down. He’s just shooting up vehicles”

“Thank fuck for that, mate. How do we sort it, though?”

“I am sure Sammy has ideas. He’s a sneaky fucker”

“IVOR GEOGHEGAN!”

The loud hailer was certainly that, and I was glad the listening device was pointed away from it. Sammy’s voice was recognisable through the distortion.

“Ivor, what are you hoping for? There is nowhere to go. Why risk yourself?”

“Fuck off, copper!”

As Sammy kept talking, and Geoghegan kept shouting stupidities, Bryn was listening intently.

“Bravo Three, Tango Three. With Tango Four at Position Six. All understood. Awaiting your word”

He patted Barry on the boot.

“Scope down, mate. Can you get a shot on?”

Barry finally lost a little of his unnatural calm.

“Shit, mate, really? Really?”

“No, mate. No. They are getting a team in position to access the roof, but they want him disarmed first. Be ready to red dot him. No shot, just light him up. Candice, you OK with the night vision stuff? We’ll need to be set. No spare hands, aye?”

I looked across at the others, only now realising that Ellen was holding Lexie to her as they lay flat on the felted surface. Poor kid; what was she seeing in her mind’s eye just then? Bryn whispered to her.

“Lexie, love. We are going to need your help in a minute. That OK? Barry and I will have our hands full, and Candice will be on the starlight scope. We need someone to talk to the boss for us. We can hear him, but we don’t want to have to move and show out to Geoghegan. You up to it?”

A last squeeze from Ellen, and my girl twisted in place, as Sammy’s voice continued to duel politely with two more bangs.

“With you now, Bryn”

“Thanks, love. Appreciated. Can you let Bravo Three know that Tango Three and Four have sights on and possible shots?”

“Bravo Three, Oscar Two”

She took a deep breath as she listened.

“Tango Three and Tango Four have sights on and possible shots”

Pause.

“Boys, await signal. On command red dot the target. Air support will be overhead shortly”

A longer silence, as the helicopter’s roar and slap emerged from the background noise and Sammy kept doing his best to cajole and persuade. Finally…

Lexie hissed “Light him up now!” as Sammy’s voice rose.

“Six red dots on you, Ivor! Can you see them? Can you dodge them all? STAND UP NOW! PUT THE WEAPON DOWN! ARMED POLICE! LAST WARNING!”

A searingly bright light seemed to explode on the rooftop as the beam from the chopper’s searchlight struck it. Candice jerked, throwing the night vison goggles behind her.

“Fuck! Give me some warning next time!”

Bryn didn’t have the calm that Barry held to him so well.

“Lexie, weapon is down!”

Sammy:

“WALK BACKWARDS! KEEP MOVING! KNEEL DOWN! HANDS IN THE AIR!”

Bryn rose to his feet with a sigh, turning to help Lexie up before pulling her into a hug.

“Boys have got him now. Well done, love. Barry? Mate? It’s OK now”

The big man rose so slowly I thought he must have hurt himself, standing head bowed for a few seconds.

“Bryn, mate? I really thought I would have to follow through, aye?”

His friend pulled him into the hug he was sharing with Lexie, and they stood in silence for just a few minutes before they all disengaged, and we started the process of clearing our stuff from the roof. Down the ladder, across the road, looking at the holes in two of the carriers and trying not to see the rounds responsible as having struck helmets, or bodies, or Paula.

Sammy was waiting for us, and his grin was neither cheeky nor feral. It was Official.

“Lexie?”

“Yes?”

“A question, yeah? Black bag? Volvo estate? That wasn’t true, was it?”

“Um, wasn’t it?”

She darted a look at Candice, who shrugged.

“Problem, Inspector Patel?”

I started to move towards the warehouse door, and Bryn took my arm.

“No, Di. You don’t need to see in there. Sammy? You want us to piss off for a bit?”

The Official grin slipped a bit as Sammy took a better look at the two Firearms Officers.

“Di, got a hanky for Barry? Ta. Dry your eyes, mate. No shame. No shame at all. Go and unload, and I’ll shout you a pint when we get time. Candice?”

“Yes, Inspector?”

“You were the eyes on, weren’t you? Lexie just passing on messages?”

“Yes, Inspector”

“Black bin liner. Back of a Volvo estate? Only bin liner we found was full of cans and cigarettes carton sleeves, and it was in a skip, not a Volvo!”

“Well, skip, Volvo, same thing, aren’t they? Anyway, look at my hair! Is it not blonde?”

She struck a stupid pose, then dropped it.

“Got us in, didn’t it?

Suddenly, Sammy’s tension broke, and his grin was a new type: Relieved.

“Fuck me! How could I not love this bloody team?”

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Comments

Brilliant Steph,

Just bloody brilliant !!!

Dog fighting.

People who organise animal fights or cock-fights (The bird kind!) are often found to be violent in other aspects of their lives like wife beating or baby battering. Truly they are scum. It must be shitty for the police when they have to go in and clean up.
Great story Steph!!
xx

bev_1.jpg

Action!

joannebarbarella's picture

Whether it's full-on action like today or authentic conversation or just thoughts, you do them all so well.

Confusion and humanity

I wanted to get a few things across in this chapter. one being the effect on police officers of taking another life, deliberately.

Another was simply the confusion of such an operation. Lots of things have gone on, but Diane has only seen the bits in front of her.

The other snippet was to avoid having to put a dog in a bag. Candice is just SO blonde.

thank you

The other snippet was to avoid having to put a dog in a bag. Candice is just SO blonde.