Dispatched || Maddie Buckley

Chapter Twenty-Eight: In the Blink of an Eye

The surprise visit from Mikey's cousin brought back too many memories in which Mikey had fought hard and long to forget. He was just a child when his father first laid his hands upon him in the most violent ways a man could. Flashbacks of bruised ribs, broken noses, and black eyes scoured Mikey's mind as if he were reliving every second of it.

Work was supposed to take all of that away. What was once a safe place, was no longer. As a call came in about an armed robbery at a complex in downtown Los Angeles, Mikey was the first on the scene. He stood outside, waiting for each unit to arrive but the sounds of the screams coming from the children inside the home echoed louder than the sirens that surrounded him. Nobody was moving due to the orders given to them by the officers in higher ranks. Mikey searched the crowd and found Athena, "I have to go in." He muttered, putting his helmet on over his head.

Athena grabbed his arm, "Like hell you do. You heard the orders. Stand down."

"I can't do that." Mikey said, tugging his arm from Athena's grasp.

He completely ignored his superiors orders and ran into the building. He held his gun out in front of him, rounding each of the corners until he came upon the room the men had the kids. They were lined up on the floor. Mikey could see the pure terror in their expressions as tears stained their faces. There was no way that he could take away this traumatic experience for them but he could do something and save their lives. He made his way around the corner, holding his hands above his head, "Let them go." He ordered, "You want something big right? A way out of this alive?"

The men turned and pointed their guns at Mikey, "And what could you do for us?"

"Those kids.. They shouldn't be here. You want something bigger than just the savings of this family? Take me. I'm a Sergeant for the city. A well known one. I've got people willing to give you whatever you want for my safe return. You want a way out, you let them go and you take me instead."

The men all glanced at each other as if to ask what the other was thinking. A quick nod was exchanged between them and they roughly lifted each of the kids off the floor.

"Kick your gun over here." The leader ordered, motioning to Mikey's firearm.

Mikey slowly leaned down and put his handgun on the floor, kicking it in their direction.

"Now walk over slowly."

Mikey shook his head, "Not until you let them go."

The men groaned, "Fine. Go. Get out of here." They shoved the children in the direction of the door where Mikey was standing and quickly grabbed Mikey by the arms, lowering him to his knees.

The kids ran out of the building, met with Athena who knew exactly what it was that Mikey had done to protect and save these kids.

-

Mikey sat on his knees and searched the room, looking for any means of escaping with his life still intact. These guys were intelligent, as if they knew exactly where to take the hostages. Mikey took a deep breath and looked down at his hands that rested in his lap, watching as they shook violently. He wasn't normally afraid of the job but now it was different, he had put himself in a situation to be harmed without any means of protection.

Outside of the building, the other officers alongside the SWAT team were working on a way of infiltrating the building or waiting on a call from the inside to discuss the safe release of Mikey.

It was a shot in the dark that they would even agree, but it was a shot that Athena fought hard for.

Athena stood with the SWAT team and the other superiors as they studied the blueprints of the building.