Saving Athiya

THREE

AARON

TWO DAYS AGO

I was sitting crouched down, half hiding behind the open blue door of a classroom at the Daniel Bagley Elementary School, listening for any update through my ear piece. Everything was quiet. The only sound I could hear was of my own breathing.

Today, at one in the afternoon, there was an anonymous call made at Seattle Police Department, SPD, about several kids being held at gun point and a high possibility of hostage situation. After inquiry, it was discovered that three men in black had forcefully entered the Daniel Bagley Elementary School with guns blazing and now they wanted us to fulfil their demands.

The SWAT was notified as soon as the call was dropped but that was not the only anonymous call made to SPD today. Supposedly, several schools around the county were in a very similar situation. Currently, there is no information about what is going on inside, but my team was ready for the worst. So far, different SWAT teams were sent to all the schools in a compromising situation and my team was assigned to Daniel Bagley Elementary School.

"I am moving down to the South side of the campus to take out the leader." Agent Daniels, the rookie of the SWAT team, informed. "There is no other option. He is holding a kid at gun point."

"Hold your position, rookie." I snapped while also trying to keep my voice down. "Don't forget you work under me!"

It's not that I don't like the guy just because he is the newest one in the team, but in situations like this, I need utmost respect and obedience from my teammates. And rookie is not showing either of them.

"But—"You are in no position to take down Three." I snapped losing my patience. I could see the whole situation from here. He will never be able to save that kid with the way Three was holding onto him.

"Yes, sir!" Rookie confirmed.

"Are you able to take out the leader and manage the hostages, Agent Hart? Do you need back up?" I heard Captain Jerald, the head of the SWAT, ask through my earpiece. Of course, I could use the backup. I thought.

"I would like to wait until Agent Waters is where I need him to be." I replied. This is not my first rodeo and it probably won't be the last but with Nate, I have a higher chance of taking these criminals down, but he wasn't here.

"You know I can't pull Waters out of his suspension right now, Hart!" Captain reminded. Ah! Yes, Nate can't be here because his sorry ass was suspended for gluing Captain's pants to a chair. Hilarious as it was, he got caught in the next moment when he accidently burst out laughing and high-fiving another agent. "You will just have to manage without him. Now, are you okay with the next step? Do I need to come down there for backup?"

"Affirmative. And no, sir. I got this." He chuckled, "Moving to position now." I confirmed through the mouth piece. "Agent Smith, Agent Stack, do you have your target in sight?" I asked the other agents who had their shotguns trained at the targets.

"Yes, sir!" Twin voices fell through the earpiece.

A deafening silence fell through the communication device. Everything was quiet around me as my eyes focused on One, the leader of the three-men team. My right eye blinked as a drop of sweat trailed from my forehead directly into my eye.

My heartbeat was getting faster by the second. After a pregnant pause, I got into position; my gun pointed at One's hand that was holding a gun. My plan was to injure the leader and take him into custody for interrogation, but fate had other plans today.

Time slowed down as I saw One trying to pull the trigger, his gun trained at a 6 years old boy's head. My instinct took over and in the next second, the leader was on the floor with a gaping hole in his head. I breathed out. "Shit!"

A few seconds later, two similar bangs echoed in the air. The silence stretched a few more painful seconds.

"All clear!" I said as Two other voices echoed in my ear. My heart skipped a beat in glee and shock. We got them. Everybody was safe now, but I had no choice but to kill the leader. I hope the other agents only injured the suspects.

Screams were heard everywhere around me. I stepped out of my hiding position and gestured for the teacher and the kids to exit the classroom while I dropped down next to the dead body. My hands automatically searching for anything of value on the leader's body.

My hands skipped over all the pockets on his cargo pants when my hand smacked a hard object. I immediately put my hand in the pocket located on his thigh and pulled out a burner phone. Turning it on, the first thing I checked was the texts received on this phone. There was only one text.

Next mission: Athiya Holloway

The name was like a déjà vu that I couldn't remember. I knew this name but from where I had no idea. Who is Athiya Holloway?

···

After the eventful afternoon, I drove back to the HQ, the phone burning a hole through my pant pocket. My mind kept repeating the name over and over again. It was bothering me to no end. I knew that name, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

A long breath of sign escaped my mouth. I wonder... Shaking my head to clear any thoughts of that name, I focused on the road and arrived at the HQ. The building was 5 storied tall like any other flashy office building. I parked my car and headed to the Captain's office.

I headed straight towards his office, stopping to say my greetings to the other agents that came back from the other schools with a success story to tell. I stood just outside of the office for a few more minutes before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" I heard the distinct voice through the door and entered the office. The Captain raised his head, "Welcome son. Great job on the mission. Only two were injured during today's mission but it was Agent Malian's team. Nothing too serious though. We have all the men in custody for interrogation."

I listened as I took a seat in front of his desk. My eyes drifted towards a manila folder resting in the center of the desk. The stamp of "Confidential" was pasted in red. My eyebrows rose at that but looked back at my boss.

"You did great out there, Agent!" He congratulated. I nodded my head in gratitude. "Now, Agent Waters is finally going to be back tomorrow from his suspension after two long weeks and I need you two to go on a special mission for me. This stays between us three only. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" I confirmed, the wheels in my head rolling, trying to figure out this special mission the Captain was talking about.

"I do need the phone you found on that guy's body, Agent." He said casually. My face must have portrayed the shock that I was feeling because the Captain chuckled as soon as he finished the sentence. How did he know about the phone? I thought.

"How did yo..." I trailed off.

"I have my eyes everywhere, Agent." He rolled his eyes, "The phone please!" He requested with his palm stretched out waiting for me to put the phone on his hand.

And I did just that. I watched as he dropped the phone in a zip-lock bag and sealed it again. "I am going to send this to forensics and our analysts for a thorough examination. As for now, take this folder and go to Waters' house. Whatever you need is in this folder. Good luck!"

I nodded and headed towards the door.