Beyond The Worst Case Scenario

Chapter 14: Sniper

Beyond The Worst Case Scenario- ACTION

Chapter 14

Day 3

Central Avenue Metro Station

15:43

                The deep, vibrating sound of a subway running down its tracks at forty-eight kilometers per hour echoed through the cylindrical tunnel. The ten degree air whipped like knives around the platform, permeating through Detective Gabriel Krause’s thick winter coat, in effect freezing the man right down to his bones. By now a state of shock had set in and all the young man could do was stare blankly ahead of him.

First he had glared daggers at the dirty, cracked concrete floor that had more dried wads of gum stuck to it than Gabriel had chewed in his entire life. Along with many unidentifiable stains that caused the detective to shiver in disgust when he tried to interpret what they might be. Then his gaze moved upwards towards the ceiling where a large, gaping expanse of exposed pipes resided in an almost mazelike arrangement. Dirty water and condensation dripped down slowly and methodically onto the electric tracks below. Large rodents scurried along the multicolored pipes and industrial beams, giving Krause the chills all over again.

The police from the nearest precinct had arrived at the scene over an hour ago. The entrance to the metro had been taped off in order to keep pedestrians from ruining the crime scene. All stops were rerouted and the entire station was out of commission, similar to Gabriel at the moment. Detective Krause studied the dark red-copper blood that had dried to his hands blankly, like he couldn’t quite remember how it had gotten there. People seemed to be talking all around him but the voices were too quiet and far away for him to comprehend what they were saying.

“Hey man, are you okay?” A muted voice asked Gabriel as he felt a large hand grasp his right shoulder and try to gently shake him out of his reverie. Krause slowly turned his head to face the speaker. Gabriel glared at the stranger’s chest, then tilted his head up to get a better look at the face of the man interrupting his reflection time.

“Humm.” Was the small, soft noise Gabriel let escape from his throat as he met Nathaniel’s eyes. He shrugged slightly and turned away, closing his eyes and willing his peace of mind to return.

“Why don’t we go get that blood off your hands?” Nathaniel suggested softly, coaxing Gabriel away from the dank corner he had plastered himself to. Detective Lietiz realized his partner was experiencing shock after the traumatic event he had just witnessed. Nathaniel could only imagine what his friend was going through right now, and didn’t blame him in the least for his current mental state. Lietiz figured if it had been him to watch the man he was supposed to protect from any outside attack die in front of him, he would be much worse off than Gabe.

He gradually lead Krause to the men’s room with one arm tightly wrapped around Gabriel’s midsection to keep him from teetering over, as he already had more than once on their short endeavor. Color’s seemed to swirl together for Krause as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. His brain refused to process the events that had occurred over the past hour and a half. He had no sense of time passing and could barely register the fact that he was moving.

Gabriel’s cold, clammy hands burned as they shook under the warm water of the chipped and dirty, no longer white sink. Nathaniel held his friend’s pale hands under the water, letting the dried blood moisten. He pumped squirts of blue foaming soap onto his palm, then carefully began washing the gruesome substance from Gabriel’s shaking hands. The water turned purple, a combination of the soap and blood as it fell from the detectives’ hands and slid down the drain.

Team Leader Krause regarded the substance curiously, his mind not comprehending the change in colors, or anything really. He yawned tiredly and his vision blurred.