Dead Shot by Ethan Johnson

Author:Ethan Johnson [Johnson, Ethan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ethan Johnson
Published: 2018-03-16T22:00:00+00:00

Griggs spent the morning giving an overview of the police force. He drew a rough organizational chart, showing who normally did what, then drew a red X through each role that had been vacated by the attack. After snapping the cap back on his marker, he took a long look at his charges. “Big shoes, ladies, and gentlemen. Don’t ever forget that.”

The cadets nodded solemnly. Some crossed themselves.

“Now, then. Speaking of Arbor Day, I want to hear your stories. Not where you were when the first bombs exploded, or who you knew on one of the planes that were forced down and crashed, or how scared you were when some of the power plants around the country were hacked and taken offline for 26 hours. I want to know this: what did you do to fight back? What did you do to protect your families? What did you do to help?”

The cadets squirmed in their seats. Griggs bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting for the first hand to go up, and making a sour face when none did.

“Very well, I’m going to tell you a story.” He put a clenched fist to his lips and raised his hand with an extended index finger. “It’s more than a mere story, it’s a legend amongst us. It’s a story that stretches all credibility and belief, but I can assure you that the facts as I tell them to you are corroborated by eyewitness testimony. Testimony,” he said as he put his hands behind his back, “from uniformed and honorable police officers.”

The cadets leaned forward, eager to hear the tale.

Griggs tapped the whiteboard with the end of a marker. “These names were not listed at random. They were all veterans of the 4th precinct. These men and women died in the line of duty. The majority of them were killed instantly when a commercial jet bound for Providence, Rhode Island slammed into their command post. But they would have died sooner had it not been for a young woman, armed with a shotgun.”

Diana gasped and looked around the room in horror. Nobody looked at her and remained transfixed on the lieutenant, who paced back and forth as he spoke.

“As the report reads, six men, armed with improvised incendiary devices attempted to turn their command post to a deathtrap. They tossed the devices over the edge of the roof of the buildings to either side of the officers, and evaded return fire simply by staying clear of the roof line. Officer Gower was set on fire by one of the devices, and managed to escape with minor burns after doing what, people?”

One cadet shrugged. “Stop, drop, and roll?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me?”

“Telling you?”

“Clearly. Yes, that is correct. It sounds trite, but it works. Not to be crass, but airplanes are a tougher nut to crack in that regard, but I digress. So, the officers were pinned down, and one of their cruisers caught fire. How do you suppose a girl with a shotgun factors into this story? Anyone?”

Diana leaned over to Gabe.

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