JR SWAT 2: Two, Taken

Chapter 18: Obey rank

Six hours. Three hundred and sixty minutes. Twenty one thousand, six hundred seconds. No news. Nothing. Zip.

The mood at HQ was somber. It was as if time had stopped. Grays were grayer, shadows were bigger, darkness covered the whole building. Twenty squad was hungry, thirsty, tired and exhausted. Their eyes and brains pleaded for a break. Surveillance after surveillance; video after video after video. Same information they already knew.

The vehicle was intervened by something, guided out of route and then...gone! Nobody had a clue where they were headed. GPS track locator in the car was malfunctioning, sending signals all over the place. Unfortunately, the day before there had been a power failure in that side of town, affecting all traffic cameras. With no clear video, the chopper under attack with signal interference and several alarms going off in the area, the officers had lost all sight of the missing unit. It's as if it had disappeared from the face of the Earth!

MPD and FBI were able to identify a suspect from several neighboring cameras. However, the man created a chaos when officials went to arrest him. When the officers were finally able to trap him, the man pulled out a gun and ended his life. Now, officials found themselves with no real lead.

For Street it meant much much more than just one...it was two, taken! His heart was heavy, his brain on a trance, his lungs gasped for air. He couldn't just sit still, he wanted to throw all the damn rule books out the window and just get out there. He would look through every corner of the Earth if he needed to, but... he needed her -them- back.

He was sick and tired of waiting...looking aimlessly at videos that showed nothing. Waiting for instructions that took too long! Why so much protocol? They had the best technology available on the planet at their disposal, yet...nobody knew? Nobody could find the hostages? Impossible! He was not going to accept anything less than perfection!

BZZZT BZZZT

Hondo's phone vibrated, making him jump out of his skin. He, just like the others, had been glued to a screen for hours, looking for anything that could help. He took a quick glance at the mobile, shrugged it off and clicked on the red button. He and his team were under a lot of pressure, as was the LAPD. They needed to find the missing hostages... and alive!

CLICK CLICK CLACK CLACK

From the corner of his eye he saw Street, angrily hitting the keys on the laptop. He seemed extremely annoyed and angry. Hondo shook his head slowly, understanding perfectly how much pressure he must be feeling. It reminded him of the op in which they came together to save him from an abduction on a plane. Chris really came through. It was clearly a team effort, but Hondo had to give it to her, she saved his life. Now, Street probably felt he needed to step up and help her. That car was somewhere...they just needed to figure out where. Hondo was confident on his team!

"Damn!" Street said slamming down his headset hard on the desk. He got up abruptly and headed out.

"Street! Street!" Hondo called.

Tan, Luca and Q turned to Hondo, as he headed towards the young angry officer.

"Leave me alone!" Street said sternly, not turning around at all. He stumped angrily, deaf to the world.

BZZZT BZZZTT

Hondo's cellphone vibrated, again. Hondo kept glancing at Street as he took it out. Just as Street was reaching the door, Hondo read the message.

"The kids wanna talk!" he said, turning to the three that were still sitting. "Street!"

Everyone froze, including Street, who by now had reached the door. He quickly turned around to face Hondo. Holding the cellphone up towards himself, Hondo frowned at Street.