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I take Val into my arms again and give her a brief hard kiss, then I squeeze her hand, “Let’s get out of here while we can. See you at the house.”
I follow her car home; I swear it feels like we hit every traffic light along the way. I can’t wait to talk to her, among other things.
Right before we reach the duplex, I get a call. I look down, and it’s Hawkins. Dammit! I answer the phone, “What’s up, Hawkins?”
“Chase, I’m onsite over at a warehouse near Jacksonville Beach. One of the security guards downtown called in a report. He’s having some trouble and I can’t get anybody at this short notice. He’s a new guy, and I think it’s probably nothing, but if somebody requests backup...”
“Yeah, you did the right thing by calling me. I’m close let me run down there. Text me the address.”
“Will do, Thanks, Chase.”
I pull up behind Val’s car and get out of the truck, “Val, Dammit, I’m sorry, but I just got a call I need to head downtown. A new security guard called in and needs some backup. Hopefully, it won’t take long. I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“Of course, Chase. I understand.” She follows me into the house. I go to the back room, put on my vest, and unlock my gun safe to get my spare gun. When I turn around, Val is frowning.
“Chase, that looks like one of the faulty vests.”
I look down, “Shit it is, but I don’t have time to drop by the office. Besides Hawkins and I think it’s a false alarm, the guard on duty is a new recruit.”
I see her bit her lip, “Chase—“
“I’ll be fine. I promise,” when I get to the door, I turn back to her. Val gives me a chaste kiss, but her dark bedroom eyes hold a promise, “I’ll be waiting.”
“And then we’ll talk,” I jump in my truck and head downtown. I think of Val and her condition. She’s having our baby. I feel the weight of that responsibility and turn the truck in the direction I want to go.
When I finally get to the downtown high-rise. I park and then warily approach the building. When I get to the door, I ring the intercom.
“Dale, it’s Chase Knight.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I watch as Dale approaches the door. He’s young but very responsible. He’s got brown hair and eyes. During training, he was a quick learner and he’s very by the book. Dale looks behind me and then unlocks the door and holds it open for me.
“Thanks for coming, Chase.”
“No problem. What’s going on?”
“Well, during training, you and Charlie said to call in if something doesn’t feel right. And that’s exactly how I feel. This is supposed to be a routine job. Just walk the perimeters and make sure everything is fine. This building is supposed to be vacant, but I keep hearing noises. Yet, when I try to figure out where the noises are coming from. Nothing. The sounds stop, but I swear as soon as I walk away, the noise starts up again.”
“Okay, are the noises coming from the same place each time?”
“Yeah, down the back hallway.”
“Okay, let’s check it out. You wearing your vest?”
“Yes, sir. I know the rules.”
“Good. Lead the way.”
As we approach the hallway, we hear a loud clang, then voices. Dale and I both look at each other.
“That doesn’t sound like the place is vacant.”
“Maybe it’s just kids, let’s take a look.”
We both pull out our guns and proceed cautiously down the hall. We’re side by side. As we get near a corner of the hallway, we slow as it’s a blind spot. I nod at Dale, and then I put my back against the wall. He does the same.
I slowly look around the corner. At first, I don’t see anything. I’m about to move forward when a shot rings out. I instantly flatten against the wall. I nod toward a door on the other side of the hallway. Dale moves to the door, but it’s locked. He pulls out a set of keys and locates the key, but he can’t get the door to open. We’re running out of time. I motion for him that we need to move. The footsteps are getting closer, and it sounds like multiple sets of footsteps. I would guess there are at least two people, maybe three.
