Where Snapdragons Lie

Unscheduled Encounter

Delilah was pulling me by the arm. Rude much?  I spilled some of my coffee on the way to the....armored van? What the fuck? Its bad enough I get pulled away from, whom I think I can now call, my boyfriend. But whats the deal? Delilah shoved me into the back and popped a squat in the divers seat. Are we going after someone? I pulled on a bulletproof vest and sat next to Private Kiera. Did a serial killer show their face? Is it bomb threat? You know I should probably ask that instead of thinking it. 

"Alright, what is going on?" I asked asked Kiera.

"We got a warrant to raid some pharmaceutical," he said loading his rifle. 

"Swosh?" I thought out loud.

"Yup," He said. 

Ach du lieber. Why take me out now? I still need to be briefed. Its not even nine in the morning yet. The last thing I need is to be clueless when were going in for an ARMED raid. Oh well, out of the office and into the line of duty. Way to keep me updated Delilah. At least we have a warrant now. I double check my pistol is loaded and has another clip ready to go. I stick a third one is the underside of my vest for safe keeping. 

We drove for a solid thirty minutes before pulling into a driveway of a huge glass building. It looked an awful like like a translucent rubix cube. More vans and squad cars  were nearby. Team members all over the place. Some on walkies, some directing pedestrians, many just sitting in their cars waiting for orders. The entire area was taped and barricaded off for a solid square mile. This is a lot for just a raid. Or did they start without us? Seriously, what is happening. 

"Delilah!" I yelled from the back. I got no response. "Whats going on?" 

We came to a stop and Shamar opened the door. Whats he doing here?  We all filed out, lined up and stood at attention. Me in my Masculine pose along side all the others. Major Lewis came over to inspect each of us quickly. Cheif in tow right beside him. 

"At ease," The Major ordered, "Report to your stations as assigned."

"Yes Sir!" We all shouted. 

Major walked past each one of us giving us a place to go and who to report to. I clenched my butt cheeks as my heart was beating faster and faster. The more and more I think about this, the more and more this seems like something else. Raids are silent. Unnoticeable. They are calculated and careful in every move that we make before we get out there.  We've already cleared this entire area. These vans and squad cars can be seen a mile away. The building looks practically empty from where I stand.  We're all out in the open. Someone inside has probably already seen us. This sure as fuck is not a raid. This is what it was like when we responded to a school shooting. That was, possibly, the worst day of my entire career. 

I could hear the Major's voice coming closer and closer. I stopped looking at the ground. I can be confused later. I straighten my spine and await my turn. 

"Name and badge number," he said.

"Private Wallace, number 052695, Sir!" I yelled. 

"Wallace, Wallace..." He said trailing off. His eyes scrolling the large tablet in his hands. "Report to Master Sargent Greene at the surveillance van for further instruction."

I get dismissed and salute. Once I was in the clear I angry ran over to Delilah who was making her way in same direction as I was.

"Explain everything, now!" I said sternly nudging her arm. She had better have answers.

"Sorry, We were going to have a regular briefing, believe me. But our undercover got found out. Shots fired are begin reported inside the building," She said as we picked up the pace. Shit. Wait, we had an undercover agent in there? Double shit. "Now were going into full blown active shooter protocol. We haven't found the gunman yet, and the troop send inside is having radio interference." She added as we approached the van.