“They better fucking hurry or we’ll be directly in line of the explosion.”
“Uniforms entered the building where the shots came from. Hold your horses.”
Waiting had never been Mike’s strong suit.
“What about the drivers of those cars? Anyone still in them?” Jared asked.
“You mean you don’t know?” Shep’s voice came back.
“We never made it from the truck.”
A curse and another moment of silence.
“All clear,” Shep barked from the radio. “Get to it.”
Mike and Jared leaped to action. Cooper and Laredo hosed the cars while Mike and Jared searched for survivors. The vehicles were empty.
An officer waved, signaling Mike over. Standing beside the cop, a man had his arm around a sobbing woman. As Mike drew closer, he saw a policeman sitting on the curb. He’d been shot. Mike removed his helmet and swiped again at the sweat on his forehead.
Crouching, he examined the wound, then ripped the pant leg to see the extent of damage. Blood trickled, but he could tell the bullet had shattered bone.
“Put pressure here until we can get him to the rescue squad,” he told the officer standing behind him.
“Are you okay?”
Mike glanced at him in surprise. “I’m fine.”
“Sorry to put you guys in harm’s way. We had no idea a shooter was here until you guys showed up. We thought it was just a routine accident when we got the call.”
“You guys have my respect,” Mike told him. “You never know what you’re walking into. At least we know there’s a fire and we aren’t usually surprised by anything else.”
“Well, you got one this time.”
Mike agreed just as another officer approached.
“Are you all right?”
Mike looked up and realized the policeman was speaking to him. The cop should be more concerned about his teammate who had been shot. Then Mike saw the stripes and figured this officer must be a Police Captain.
“Yes, sir. I’m okay. I’m taking this guy to the medic squad.”
“What the hell happened here? We got a call that shots were fired at firefighters.”
“That’s what happened. When our trucks rolled in, the scene appeared like a normal traffic accident. We got out and all hell broke loose.”
“The shooter got away. My men are still searching for him. No evidence of more than one.”
“I better get this guy over to rescue. My captain is over there.” Mike pointed to Shep.
After he secured the injured officer, Mike took stock of his surroundings and was pleased to find no other injuries. He wondered what the hell happened to the occupants of the vehicles. Steam hissed from the smashed cars, people huddled on sidewalks gawking at the incident. Even TV3 News had showed up. When a camera man headed in Mike’s direction, a policeman blocked his path. The last thing they needed was someone to get hurt while the squad cleaned up their equipment.
“You hurt?”
“Naw, Cap. We stayed behind the truck while the shooting was going on.”
“There a reason you’re not wearing your helmet?” Shep’s tone had Mike pausing in mid-stride.
“I took it off while I was checking out a wound,” Mike answered.