Chapter 18: U turn

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10 mins before...

"This is 25 David and 23 David to Command. Code 4. We breached the area; suspects escaped upon arrival." Tan radioed as Commander Hicks stood in front of the screen.

"If the area is secured then you're clear to return." he announced

"Boss, we have a problem!" Luca called

"What is it?"

"There's an office space here with a wall full of names and information. These guys weren't working alone!"

The duo had joined Detective Valley and four patrol vehicles, after they uncovered the base of operations of Spike Gaven. The information provided by Marv, which later confirmed the connections between the 99s and the supremacists group, landed them the location. Just 5 miles from the edge of the river, the New Nationalist Commanders had set up ground for meetings, training and operations.

The detective was joined by another two from the same division and at the moment stood in awe, as the small office space was adorned with hundreds of documents with names of big corporations and business people from Los Angeles. It was evident that this group was connected with so many high end players. They knew the FBI was going to have to intervene. They also found explosives and a full armory, which meant the Bomb Squad and National Security would be arriving to the scene soon enough. Luca and Tan couldn't believe the Pandora's Box that stood in front of them... and had no idea how to begin.

As Luca and Tan were leaving the premises, approaching Black Betty, something caught Tan's eye. It seemed to be bright green, similar to the safety strips used for night detection.

"Hey Luca! Check this out!" he called

Luca stepped away from the vehicle and approached Tan. They were standing behind a group of aluminum trash cans overflowing with content. It was so loaded that the covers wouldn't even fit straight.

"Do you see that?" asked Tan, as he pointed to a bright green stripe sticking out of what looked to be some type of vest.

"Is that a vest?" Luca asked, as both officers approached the cans

 Tan stuck his hand out and knocked two of the covers to the ground.  They were surprised to find a collection of vests simulating those used by construction crews. Tan dug and removed some content, as he found that each vest had some strings attached to a laser pointer, a whistle and a pen. They found half a dozen of them, which meant they other half was missing.

"What is this?"

"Call it in!" Tan ordered

"Boss, Tan and I found some vests with whistles and safety strips, similar to the ones used by construction crews. Our perps are dressed up!" Luca yelled over the radio

Tan kept looking afar, as he noticed some movement on the other side of the river. Seemed like people running, but he wasn't sure. As he dug into his pocket, in an attempt to retrieve his monocular, Luca tapped him on the shoulder.

"C'mon Tan, we gotta go!" he called rushing into Black Betty

As Black Betty rolled out...

RIIIIIING

RIIIIIING

"Deacon, talk to me!" Hondo ordered from the other line. Deacon had left him the satellite phone so he could call for help and since the group was taking so long he got desperate.

"Hondo we need an RA! Three of the kids are hurt. Alert the burn unit too!" Deacon said rushed, as he attended Rubio's burns.

"What? Burn unit?" He asked loudly, as he could ear the cries and sobbing in the background. He paused in disbelief. "What in the world happened?"

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