of rubble lay where the staircase should have been. Neither spoke, they just had to remove the obstruction and get to the basement and the shelter below.
The first fire crew’s arrival did not pause their efforts. Calls from the crews that the structure was unsafe were ignored. Only when the first police officer arrived and on seeing the array of tattooed body parts that littered the area were they ordered to stop at gun point. Even then, it took all of Rigs’ strength to pull Cash away from his task and avoid the bullet the officer was threatening.
With the arrival of more police officers , the scene became chaotic. Cash and Rigs were placed in handcuffs while the police officers tried desperately to ascertain what had happened to their Chief and his family. Meanwhile, fire crews procrastinated about how safe it was to search through the rubble of the house, almost causing Cash to burst the veins in his temple.
“There are people buried under there !!!” screamed Cash for the tenth time. “Sir,” said Cash to the officer nearest him, trying to calm himself. “Call this number, 555-223-4312, and ask for the boss.”
The officer looked at him, his interest piqued.
“555-223-4312,” repeated Cash.
The officer dialed the number and immediately hung up . He then rushed over to Deputy Chief Sanders who had just arrived and whispered in his ear.
Sanders ’ head spun to fix on Cash and Rigs. “Okay, that gets you the chance to talk,” said Sanders, walking over to the two suspects.
“The Chief ’s wife, daughter and grandson are buried under that rubble,” Cash said urgently.
“We’re getting to them, don’t worry,” said Sanders calmly . “But what in the hell happened here?” he asked, gesturing to the devastation around them.
Cash spoke as calmly and slowly as the situation allowed , given his family was buried beneath them and all he wanted to do was get to them.
“The Chief ’s dead?!” exclaimed Sanders, when Cash recounted the attack on the cars. “And you think they hit this place with a two thousand pound bomb?” asked Sanders, incredulous.
Cash and Rigs both nodded.
“So who is ‘they’?” asked Sanders, looking at Rigs, who in turn looked at Cash, avoiding Sanders’ gaze.
T he fire crews made progress on the house. The movement calmed him.
“ ‘They’,” he answered, “could be any number of people, but I’d start with the Chinese, Russians or North Koreans.”
Sanders rocked back as though hit by a right hook . “What?”
“Everything leads back to the observatory and Hubble 2,” said Cash.
“Hubble 2?”
“The most powerful telescope ever built.”
Sanders was unimpressed. “And?”
“The most powerful spy satellite ever developed.”
“Seriously guys, let’s get back to reality. Lumps of Surenos gang members are littering this area, not old world Commies.”
“A back -up plan for when their initial plan failed,” said Cash. “If I’m not mistaken, Hubble 2 was blown up last night by a missile.”
Sanders paused . “It was hit by a meteor,” he said quietly. “It’s only just been reported.”
“A meteor that flew upwards?”
“Shit,” whistled Sanders. “What do we do?”
“First thing is, we need to cancel the President’s visit if it’s not already cancelled, and more importantly, we need to rescue my family,” said Cash, beckoning for his cuffs to be removed.
“ The President was coming here?”
Cash nodded. “Yes, tonight, in secret, to inaugurate the telescope.”
“Bullshit . He has a huge entourage, we’d have been informed.”
“ Only when it’s a public visit. This was a very secret visit. It wasn’t going to be made public. If nobody knows he’s coming, there’s far less to worry about.”
“And you guys are?”
“Not the guys who should be in cuffs,” Cash snapped. “Give me that number again?” asked Sanders with his cell phone at the ready.
“555-223-4312,” Cash repeated for the third
The first fire crew’s arrival did not pause their efforts. Calls from the crews that the structure was unsafe were ignored. Only when the first police officer arrived and on seeing the array of tattooed body parts that littered the area were they ordered to stop at gun point. Even then, it took all of Rigs’ strength to pull Cash away from his task and avoid the bullet the officer was threatening.
With the arrival of more police officers , the scene became chaotic. Cash and Rigs were placed in handcuffs while the police officers tried desperately to ascertain what had happened to their Chief and his family. Meanwhile, fire crews procrastinated about how safe it was to search through the rubble of the house, almost causing Cash to burst the veins in his temple.
“There are people buried under there !!!” screamed Cash for the tenth time. “Sir,” said Cash to the officer nearest him, trying to calm himself. “Call this number, 555-223-4312, and ask for the boss.”
The officer looked at him, his interest piqued.
“555-223-4312,” repeated Cash.
The officer dialed the number and immediately hung up . He then rushed over to Deputy Chief Sanders who had just arrived and whispered in his ear.
Sanders ’ head spun to fix on Cash and Rigs. “Okay, that gets you the chance to talk,” said Sanders, walking over to the two suspects.
“The Chief ’s wife, daughter and grandson are buried under that rubble,” Cash said urgently.
“We’re getting to them, don’t worry,” said Sanders calmly . “But what in the hell happened here?” he asked, gesturing to the devastation around them.
Cash spoke as calmly and slowly as the situation allowed , given his family was buried beneath them and all he wanted to do was get to them.
“The Chief ’s dead?!” exclaimed Sanders, when Cash recounted the attack on the cars. “And you think they hit this place with a two thousand pound bomb?” asked Sanders, incredulous.
Cash and Rigs both nodded.
“So who is ‘they’?” asked Sanders, looking at Rigs, who in turn looked at Cash, avoiding Sanders’ gaze.
T he fire crews made progress on the house. The movement calmed him.
“ ‘They’,” he answered, “could be any number of people, but I’d start with the Chinese, Russians or North Koreans.”
Sanders rocked back as though hit by a right hook . “What?”
“Everything leads back to the observatory and Hubble 2,” said Cash.
“Hubble 2?”
“The most powerful telescope ever built.”
Sanders was unimpressed. “And?”
“The most powerful spy satellite ever developed.”
“Seriously guys, let’s get back to reality. Lumps of Surenos gang members are littering this area, not old world Commies.”
“A back -up plan for when their initial plan failed,” said Cash. “If I’m not mistaken, Hubble 2 was blown up last night by a missile.”
Sanders paused . “It was hit by a meteor,” he said quietly. “It’s only just been reported.”
“A meteor that flew upwards?”
“Shit,” whistled Sanders. “What do we do?”
“First thing is, we need to cancel the President’s visit if it’s not already cancelled, and more importantly, we need to rescue my family,” said Cash, beckoning for his cuffs to be removed.
“ The President was coming here?”
Cash nodded. “Yes, tonight, in secret, to inaugurate the telescope.”
“Bullshit . He has a huge entourage, we’d have been informed.”
“ Only when it’s a public visit. This was a very secret visit. It wasn’t going to be made public. If nobody knows he’s coming, there’s far less to worry about.”
“And you guys are?”
“Not the guys who should be in cuffs,” Cash snapped. “Give me that number again?” asked Sanders with his cell phone at the ready.
“555-223-4312,” Cash repeated for the third
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