Unexpected 1: Trojan Horse

Chapter 9: Teamwork

The frustration was mounting, more and more. Everyone was in formation and the plan seemed perfect. It gave hope to all 80 something personnel on the ground, but Capt. Hauser knew it wasn't bulletproof. Even if no one wanted to admit it, there was a high possibility the two officers had not survived. The flames and the destruction were massive, almost as bad as the attacks of the '78 Valley Hill Bombers. The Valley Hill Bombers, as they were known, were three groups of ex military who went on a mission to bomb every single building of corporations that either took advantage of veterans or denied their services. They were convinced that those corporations were enemies to the country and represented a major threat to public safety. They stole weaponry, and got a hold of massive shipments of explosives and toxic chemicals.

Unfortunately for the city of LA, their master plan worked almost perfectly. Two of the incidents were massive catastrophes, resulting in more than 35 dead and more than a hundred injured. Their last goal was not completed to its totality thanks to Capt. Leiker, former leader of Hauser's crew. That man was truly a hero! He led the team to safety, sacrificing himself. It was in his honor that Capt. Hauser never left the firehouse to any job without the coin Leiker gave him that day, right before he pushed him out to the air cushion and the building finally collapsed. Hauser will never forget and will always thank him for where he is right now.

All of those memories scared him, because at this precise moment he knew the terror the two SWAT officers must be living. He himself couldn't even think straight in '78, just 5 years after joining the crew. He was young and very eager to join the firefighter crew he admired so much since he was a young child. His parents didn't really approved, but were supportive of their son's goal. Now, as he grabbed the coin that hung from his neck, he remembered everything. It went over his head like a flash: the dead bodies, the heat wave, the shock, the funeral of his commanding officer, the families crying, the mayor leading a mass for those fallen, him telling the bad news to the families of the 9 firefighters that died during those raids, etc...

He looked around, and noticed the faces of desperation, especially of the SWAT officers that had politely offered to assist. Two other fire crews, Second Division and Buena Vista Fire Patrol, had arrived with two more trucks.

Hauser's plan was to reinforce the strongest parts of the building, by watering away the flames. If they could keep the flames away from the front and left side, they had a chance at rescuing the officers with just enough time before the building collapsed. The problem was that there was no way to tell how much time they had, and if the officers were in fact alive. He would have to risk his guys and the two other crews, which could also represent more casualties.

"LAPD, FBI, and SWAT will form a human chain, to assist each ladder. We will position one truck ladder in each side of the slide, thus creating a smooth and safe way to transport the officers down using a stretcher. We don't know the depth of the injuries, so we have to assume that they will need neck stabilizers, which would make it very risky to send them down the slide with no protection or cushion. Each officer will be placed on a stretcher and tied two ropes, one on each side. As the stretchers slides down, the people in the ladders and in the base of the formation will serve as guide, with the ropes. This way we can keep a steady flow, while guaranteeing a smooth landing. When the victims reach the ground we will have a group of personnel of EMTS and medical emergency to greet them. Chief Hyu, please advise your people to provide air tanks, stabilizers and strong pain killers. We are assuming these officers will be in great pain, and could be delusional or passed out." The crowd of public service men and women listened intently, as the captain spoke over the long range acoustic device, LRAD, standing on top of the SWAT Mobile Command Unit.

"People, we have to secure the area first. Then, establish some line of communication, to determine where Officer Street and Officer Alonso are. Once that's done, we need to know their condition, and their needs. We cannot begin a rescue operation without these details." he turned to Hicks and Hondo, the first had removed his suit and rolled his sleeves, ready to help."Commander Hicks of SWAT tells us that it's been well over 15 minutes since he last contacted the officers, but that they were in the third floor when the explosions occurred. SWAT and LAPD also confirmed the presence of electrical malfunctions, and the bomb squad has confirmed their findings of three septic tanks and possibly four fully equipped chemical labs in the second floor. All of these represent potential incinerators, because of combination of substances with the flames that we have growing by the second. On top of all this, the US& R Units cautioned us about the fallen roof, caused by the lack of lumber and concrete support. These are all immense dangers not just for the officers trapped, but for our rescue officers in the mission. We will begin assuming both officers are alive, and we will try our best to establish a line of communication. If we don't get a response, we will have to assume both officers are unconscious or-"he stopped and looked at 20 Squad, directly at Hondo, took a breath and finished-"diseased. The latter will trigger our last resort, plan B. Officers from Field Operations and Investigative Services will provide assistance with biomaterials and scaffolds to remove the bodies once the area is secured."

All members of 20 Squad lowered their heads in unison, and deep sighs were heard. The remaining crowd stood in deep silence. Hondo turned to his right and met with Deacon's gaze, he then looked farther to the right and saw the saddened faces of Luca and Tan, the first shaking his head slowly, staring at the ground. Hondo couldn't bear the thought of losing both officers, it was just...not gonna happen! Period!

"Hey!" he whispered to his men. All three turned to him. With a steady face expression and a wide chest, he nodded at them. They had to believe! They had to 'have a little faith!'. It worked. All three turned to each other before nodding back to their leader.

Deacon nodded and whispered, "God's with them. They're in there. We'll get em!"

"Yea" whispered both Tan and Luca, they turned and found their spot, according to their orders.

The three trucks were positioned strategically, and each extended three 100ft ladders, until just touching the building's side. Two were placed to each side of the wide window space to the front of the building, the other was placed about midway through the long left side of the building. The plan was to activate the alarm of each truck at the same time for 3 seconds (counted by Capt Hauser) and then wait 3 full minutes for a response. The idea was for the sound of the alarms of all three trucks to cut through the noise that the officers could be surrounded by in the floor. They couldn't really figure out how the officers were to respond or with what device, but they were hoping SWAT had taught some keen trick that they could use at that moment to save their lives.

In each of the ladders there would be at least 5 firefighters, and in the two by the side of the slide each would be holding on a rope. On the top of the trucks there would be three officials, most from the rescue unit, that would secure the ropes until the stretchers landed in the air cushion. The end of the rope would be controlled by 16 SWAT Officers, including Hicks, who was among the last in the line. They were standing right next to the fire trucks, in two single lines, just like a tug of war game. The landing area was surrounded by rescue and LAPD officers, plus three five man EMT units ready with an ambulance stretcher, air tanks, and the works. They had set up a small triage, ready to receive the patients. Even though there were lots of movement by the medical personnel, most of the men and women in the rescue operation were scared and immobile.

It took authorities about 10 minutes, to mobilize, set, instruct and place everybody for this massive operation. Capt Hauser would direct orders and right below him Lt. García would direct those on the ground. The ladder to the right side would be directed by the captain and lieutenant of the Second Division, while the third ladder would be under the command of the third firefighter crew. All were wearing small listening devices that they controlled by placing a small control-like device close to the wall.

Hauser turned on his talkie, "In position!" he called. Everyone was eager to get this over with, and to get the officers back to safety.

"In position, Captain!" both firefighter leaders answered.

"Base and truck, are we in position?" Captain called

"Roger that!" was heard by the six officers in charge.

"Triage is up and running, captain. We're ready with the tanks and the materials requested!" Lieutenant Hyu called, she was the one in charge of the medical teams.

Ok, it was now or never. Hauser took one last look at the building, settled in the top step, and took a deep breath. Now or never!