High Risk by G.K. Parks (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

“So where was Blondie?” Brad asked. “Did you find anything else on the footage?”

“Another guy in a LockBox uniform entered a few seconds after they did. He didn’t go to the station agent. He went through the turnstiles and straight to the platform. The three were never together, so we couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a coincidence,” Jake said.

“Except I’m guessing Blondie hopped the next train and attacked Officer Cruz in the out of order restroom,” I said. “Do you think they sent him ahead to act as a diversion?”

“It’s possible. We don’t know. We don’t know where Diego or Gravelly went after they killed the station agent. We’re still assuming they took refuge in the tunnels, but our search was inconclusive,” Jake said. “Nothing ever popped up.”

“They could have taken off the uniforms and tossed them into the bags they carried,” Brad said, “or they climbed up one of the service ladders. There’s a million places they could have gone that we wouldn’t have noticed if they went through the tunnels.”

“And since we shut down the trains, they didn’t have to worry about getting run over,” I said. “Dammit.” The back of my neck throbbed, and I put my head in my hands, hoping to ease the muscle tension.

“After the fiasco in the subway, they vanished,” Jake said, “except they didn’t stay gone for long. Fourteen hours later, these bastards had the gall to show their faces back at their favorite haunt, 24/7 Spirits.” He flipped open the folder by his elbow and pulled out a few shots of the exterior and the neighborhood. “What’s so special about that liquor store?”

“Nothing.”

“Did you run the owner?” Brad asked. “He could be in on it. He left Liv inside. He waited until he was halfway out the door before telling her the asshole brought his friends in with him, and he kept her from leaving by telling her the offender had someone keeping watch out front.”

“I couldn’t have left anyway,” I said. “Civilian lives were at risk.”

“You could have walked outside, got in your car, and radioed for help. It’s what you should have done,” Brad argued.

I glared at him. “Bullshit. Bull. Shit.”

“Her presence might have saved lives,” Jake said.

But Brad just stared at him. “No one else was at risk, Voletek. You know that as well as I do. They went there for one purpose. You wanted to bring Liv back into this, so are you going to tell her what’s going on? Or are you going to make me do it?”

No one had told me much of anything about that night or what happened today. Jake cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is Liv’s safe.”

“She’s not going to be safe until we catch these assholes.” Brad came back to the table and flipped the chair backward before sitting down. “We recovered your gun from the scene. And your cuffs. But these chuckleheads took your badge.”

“Okay,” I said, not following along.

“They took Officer Cruz’s badge too,” Jake said. “We know they like to play dress-up. Today, we got a call from the company that supplies police uniforms. Three men assaulted the delivery truck driver and stole a box of uniforms off the truck. We believe the reason they were staking out 24/7 Spirits was to get the jump on a few first responders. The owner says he has several regulars who show up every day right after they get off graveyard.”

“They plan on impersonating cops,” Brad said. “We just don’t know why.”

“And they plan on using my badge to do it,” I said.

“It appears that way.” Jake sighed. “Unless this is some kind of gang initiation thing, like you suggested, in which case, the badges might be trophies.”

“That wouldn’t explain stealing the uniforms off a truck or the lengths they’ve gone to dress the part before making a score.” I tried to think through the details. “They still want a big payday. They must. And killing, especially cops or people in uniform, is just a bonus. They must have realized as soon as the armored truck heist went south, that we’d provide added security to LockBox and other high value targets in the area. For all we know, the botched robbery might have been intentional so we’d play right into their hands.” I looked from one man to the other. “What are we guarding that’d be worth going to this much trouble?”

“I have no idea,” Jake said. “I hoped you heard them say something.”

I tried to think back. “Most of that night’s a blur.”

“Understandable.” Jake drained his coffee cup. “I just thought I’d ask.”

He put his mug in the dishwasher, and I stood, reaching for the folder he’d kept me from reading. The sudden shift in position made me lightheaded, and I teetered. Brad was on his feet in a second, grabbing my arm and pulling me against him before I could collapse.

“Whoa, Liv.” He waited until I regained my balance before he sat me back down in the chair. “That’s enough for tonight. You need to rest, or Emma’s gonna kill us all.”

“You okay?” Jake asked.

“Get her some water,” Brad said.

Jake refilled the stainless steel tumbler I’d been saddled with and put it down beside me. “Are you okay?” he asked again.

“I’m fine.” But I hated having my colleagues take care of me.

“Her blood pressure’s wonky.” Brad glanced at the cuff Emma had brought home, along with a pulse oximeter and a few other diagnostic tools. I grabbed his arm before he decided to play doctor. That would probably make Jake the nurse. If I wasn’t the patient, it might have been entertaining or the plot of one of Emma’s smuttier daydreams.

“Before you have me hauled out of here in a body bag,” I pointed to the folder, “I want to see