JR SWAT 1: The Basics

Chapter 24: Where's SWAT?

Rubio felt a slight breeze move some of the strands of hair off his face. He turned to his side and noticed the small window was still opened. He moved slowly towards it, as the others watched the shadow disappear.

"Where the hell's SWAT?" Chen asked, frustrated. "I thought Tan was fast!"

"Maybe they don't know we're here." Rubio said, pointing at the small window.

"Guys, we have fifteen minutes before this place blows up!" Kelly said desperately.

The group huddled in the floor, except for Rubio, who was still distracted by the window. He stood very slowly and grabbed one of the brooms hanging over the group. Nobody noticed, but he took a red cloth from the pile besides the brooms' closet and wrapped it on the top of it. He took off his yellow hair tie, one he wore in remembrance of his sister, and wrapped the cloth tight on the yarn.  He then pushed the broom through the opening of the window.

"SWAT will come, Chen. I know Sarge won't give up on us!" Marv said, trying to convince himself. Truth was, he was running low on patience himself. He was more than worried!

Silence.

Rubio sat down next to the group, as they continued to shoot scared looks at each other. Suddenly...

"Guys" Leyla called, standing up abruptly, "if I go down, I finna go down fightin'. I 'ont care!"  Leyla said, as a lonely tear ran down her cheek. "In the hood, if we die, we 'ont die on our knees ...but with our fist up'." she said shaking her head.

Kelly took a deep breath, wiped a tear from her cheek and stood by her. "Me too!"

Rubio and Chen joined them, as the boys rose from the floor. Marv nodded his head, then joined his crew. He turned to the floor, exactly where the girls had been sitting. He spotted something from between the cloths in the floor: a red sweater. Eureka!

"Aight..." he said nodding slowly. "What if we do like that kid McCallister? From Home Alone!"

"Maybe we can use the movie as inspiration. The kid in the movie didn't give up, he faced the bad guys on his own." Kelly proposed.

"It was just a movie. These guys have real guns, guys!" Leyla said frustrated.

"Yeah, but Leyla! We got somethin' they 'ont." Marv said confidently.

"What?" she asked confused.

"We know this school, top to bottom! Just like he did the house." Marv said.

"Let's set up traps!" Chen urged.

"But...what do we do with the guns?" Kelly asked skeptically.

Marv turned and pointed to the the bottle of cleaners stacked nicely in the storage unit by the side of the door.

"You can't shoot if yo hands are messy!" he said with a slight grin.

"Or..." Kelly said, moving towards a small box my the side of the unit. She dug in and pulled out a small canister. "If your eyes can't see!"

"Pepper spray!" Rubio said.

"Exactly!" Kelly said with a nod.

"Aight, let's figure this thing out!" Marv called in.

"Operation School Alone!" Rubio said grinning proudly.

"Yeah!" Chen said sharing a high five with him, as the girls and Marv nodded.

Meanwhile...

"Sergeant Harrelson, proceed!" Gant called.

The helicopter flew steadily. All leaders stared at the monitor, attentive to the movement happening in the back of the school. They could only hope!