Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 Read online

  “That’s perfect!” Cian Kelly clapped. “Look at those buggers go!”

  Raz picked up his laptop and went into the living room. He kicked at pajama clad John Drayson’s legs. John vacated a chair at the small table so Raz could sit down.

  “They’re starting to move,” Alex said. She plopped down on the couch next to Max.

  “Do we know where they’re going?” Max asked.

  “Looks like they’re moving toward that pile of cement,” Matthew said as he came into the room.

  “How did you..?” Alex started.

  “Troy texted,” Matthew said. “Didn’t want to miss out.”

  As an ex-New York City police officer, Raz couldn’t resist explaining the scene.

  “These are SWAT shooters,” Raz pointed to the men in the trees. “This is a bomb team. Look! The dogs…”

  Raz stepped back to look at the picture. He shook his head.

  “They don’t know what they’re getting into,” Raz said.

  “We should help them out,” Alex said.

  “Why?” Cian said.

  Alex scowled at her brother-in-law.

  “Just got the text,” Colin Hargreaves walked into the room.

  “I want radar and heat imaging now,” Alex said. “What else can we get off this satellite?”

  “We can call NORAD,” Matthew said.

  “I’ll call Denver PD,” Raz said. “We can’t help if we don’t know what this action entails.”

  “Do it,” Alex said. “I don’t want to sit here eating popcorn while these guys go down in flames.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:15 P.M.

  In Sandy’s Salon on Colfax Blvd, Denver, CO

  “Hey the sound came on,” Teddy said.

  “Oh shit,” Nash said.

  “Oh shoot what?” Noelle asked.

  “They know we’re on the satellite,” Nash said. “We should stop watching.”

  “Now?” Teddy asked. “They already know we’re on. It’s not like we can get in more trouble.”

  “We really should turn it off,” Noelle said.

  “I bet we’ve broken about a billion laws,” Nash said.

  “I’ll call my Dad,” Teddy said. “He gets away with murder from Mrs. Alex. Forges her signature all the time.”

  Nash and Noelle looked at each other. They both looked up at Charlie.

  “You don’t have anything to say?” Nash asked.

  “If I tell you to do it, you’ll just say that the low life scumbag made you do it,” Charlie said. “Uh huh, no way. I’m not getting kicked out because you stole a satellite code.”

  “It’s your friend!” Nash said.

  “No way,” Charlie said. “You make your own decision.”

  “You’re our brother now,” Noelle said. “No one’s going to kick you out.”

  “You say that…” Charlie started.

  “Look, they activated the heat imaging,” Teddy said.

  The kids eyes riveted on the screen again.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:25 P.M.

  Middle of Denver, CO

  “They have information that a young man is being held prisoner in a bunker under the salvage yard,” Raz said.

  “Information from whom?” Matthew asked.

  “That kid Charlie,” Raz said. “You know the one Sandy and Aden took in from the streets?”

  “If there’s a hostage, this entire action is under our purview,” Alex said.

  “Let’s use this as training,” Matthew said. “We need as much practice as we can get with exactly this kind of thing.”

  “I’m in my PJs!” Troy said. “I don’t want to go scrabble in the dirt.”

  “Oh waa,” Max said.

  “Charlie’s a good kid. I’m in,” Colin said.

  “We’ll stay here,” Alex said. “Assess all the information and pass it along to the Denver PD. They probably don’t need our help…”

  “They said they’d love our help,” Raz said.

  “There you go,” Matthew said. “Olivas, get your computer. We need to run scenarios.”

  “I want to hear that phone conversation,” Alex said.

  “On it,” Raz said.

  “Max, can you help with the audio?” Alex asked.

  Max nodded.

  “How much time do we have?” Troy asked.

  “Four minutes,” Raz said. “They move in four minutes.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:25 P.M.

  Sand Creek Greenway

  “I’ve gone from not liking this to really not liking this,” Delphie said.

  Seth raised an eyebrow in her direction and turned back to watch the entrance. There was a two foot by two foot hole where the pieces of stacked concrete created a tunnel. The dogs had indicated that there were explosives in or around the tunnel. No one had seen movement in or out of the chamber. The SWAT Commander in charge forbade them from moving on the location.

  But Seth was stubborn. This was his case. Like it or not, he was going in.

  “The heat readings indicate a person inside,” the SWAT commander said.

  “The boy is there?” Seth asked.

  “We have no way of knowing until we go in,” the SWAT commander said. “We can only tell you what we see. There’s a body in there. The dogs hit on explosives. We could send a rover but it can’t get up the steep river embankment. I’d have to send one of our guys to the entrance.”

  Seth nodded.

  “But sir, I have to tell you,” the SWAT commander said. “This has every hallmark of a trap. Ma’am?”

  “It’s a trap,” Delphie said. “Yes, that’s correct.”

  Still nodding, Seth put the night vision binoculars to his eyes.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:28 P.M.

  Middle of Denver, CO

  “Heat?” Alex asked.

  Alex, Raz and Matthew leaned over the satellite’s heat reading for the area.

  “Warm body,” Matthew said.

  “But dead,” Raz said.

  “Not asleep or medicated?” Colin asked.

  “Dead,” Raz said. “Just barely though. Within the hour.”

  “Radar?” Alex asked.

  The computer’s screen switched to a radar reading.

  “There’s a small room under the airplane salvage yard,” Matthew said. “It was probably a part of the old airport. Built in the 1920s.”

  “Old bootleg storage?” Max asked.

  “Maybe,” Matthew said. “But probably not. There’s no indication of a secure entrance or exit. More likely it was used in building the Stapleton airport.”

  “NORAD?” Alex asked.

  “They concur,” Raz said. “Sonar confirms findings.”

  “Body is?” Alex asked.

  “Hanging,” Raz cleared his throat.

  “Scenarios?” Alex asked.

  “None,” Troy said. “The kidnapper has the upper hand in every scenario.”

  “What did you determine from the phone call?” Raz asked.

  “Taped earlier and played back,” Alex said.

  “You can hear the clicks of a recording device,” Max said.

  “I doubt Charlie could tell over his crappy disposable phone,” Alex said.

  “This is a trap,” Troy said.

  “Make the call,” Alex said.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday evening — 9:32 P.M.

  Sand Creek Greenway

  “It’s my case, God damn it,” Seth said. “I’m going. And it’s time to move.”

  Seth glared at the SWAT Team Commander and began walking toward the river.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:30 P.M.

  In Sandy’s Salon on Colfax Blvd, Denver, CO

  The children’s eyes were riveted to the laptop screen. With the SWAT team backup, Seth began to hike toward the river. Three SWAT team members followed in a semi-circle behind him. They reached the river and the SWAT Team
Commander ran forward. They could hear Seth and the Commander argue.

  “I don’t like this,” Noelle said.

  “I don’t either,” Nash said.

  “This is a trap, isn’t it?” Charlie asked.

  “It’s a trap,” Teddy said.

  Just then Seth screamed, “Get the fuck out of my way.” He appeared to push the SWAT Team Commander away from him and stepped into the river.

  “No Seth!” the children yelled. “Stop!”

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY

  Jeepers

  Monday night — 9:30 P.M.

  Middle of Denver, CO

  “Wait,” Troy said. “What’s that?”

  Jumping up from the table, Troy ran toward the big screen television.

  “What is that?” Alex and Max followed Troy toward the screen. “Raz?”

  Raz clicked the satellite to zoom in.

  “That’s a person,” Troy said.

  “Blackened face, clothing, just hanging out in that tree,” Max said.

  “He must have to trigger the explosion,” Cian said. “He’s got to watch for the right moment.”

  The ex-PIRA explosive expert, Cian Kelly, walked to the screen. He pointed to an object in the person’s hand.

  “This explosion must be big,” Cian said. “He wants to blow the whole thing at once. He wouldn’t want motion to set off one part and have to wait for the next. This is going to be a blood bath.”

  “He’s built a little platform,” Matthew said. “He’s probably been there for hours.”

  “He’s far enough upstream to avoid detection,” Alex said. “Did you get the phone numbers of the guys we know?”

  “Dialing now,” Raz said.

  “Colin, I need an assessment of damage and medical response,” Alex said.

  “On it,” Colin said.

  “There’s a motor bike under the tree,” John said.

  “Where?” Alex asked.

  “There,” John said. “You can barely see it.”

  “That’s a dirt bike,” Troy said. “Trip the explosion, slide down the tree and escape on the bike. Clever. He’s been planning and preparing this adventure for a while.”

  Everyone turned their attention to Raz.

  “I can’t get through,” Raz said. “Cell access is blocked.”

  “Let’s unblock it,” Alex said.

  Max nodded to Alex and went to work on Troy’s laptop.

  “We can do that?” Troy asked.

  “We can try,” Alex said.

  “Got it,” Max said.

  “Yes sir, I have a priority message from a friend for a man who wears an F. Yes sir, I’m aware of that,” Raz said. “The perpetrator is in the trees about a half mile northeast of your location. Please relay the information. Yes sir, I’ll hold the line.”

  Covering the mouth piece, Raz nodded to Alex.

  “Excellent,” Raz said. “Also, we believe the entire region is lit with explosives. Yes. And sir? This conversation never happened. Thank you.”

  Raz listened to the SWAT officer for a moment, nodded and hung up.

  “They have him in their sites,” Raz said.

  The SWAT Commander ran into the river to speak with Seth. The two men began to argue. Seth pushed the Commander. The Commander grabbed Seth’s arm.

  “This is exciting,” Alex picked up a bowl of popcorn.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:35 P.M.

  In Sandy’s Salon on Colfax Blvd, Denver, CO

  The children’s voices brought Pete down from the apartment above.

  “What’s going on?” Pete ran down the stairs.

  “Seth’s going to die!” Noelle said.

  Noelle began to cry. She threw her arms around Teddy’s neck. Overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, Teddy attempted to comfort her. Charlie moved his hands away from Noelle’s behind.

  “I can’t watch,” Noelle said.

  “Look, that guy stopped him,” Nash said.

  “Grabbed his arm,” Charlie said.

  The men continued to argue. From the bank, Delphie began to run toward Seth. The uniformed police officers tried to stop her but she managed to slip their grasp. She had just stepped into the river when they heard a muffled crack.

  “What’s that?” Nash asked. “It sounded like…”

  “A gunshot,” Pete said. “Probably silenced.”

  The shooter fired again. Then once more. There was a sharp boom and Seth fell into the river. Delphie ran to him. Riveted to the screen, they watched Delphie hold Seth’s head out of the water. They saw her laugh and pat Seth’s chest.

  At that moment, the whole area erupted with activity. The uniformed police officers ran up the river. The SWAT team on the North side of the location ran north. In the distance, they heard the sharp whine of a dirt bike starting.

  “That’s a dirt bike,” Teddy said.

  “Or an ATV,” Nash said.

  The SWAT team began to fire. Outside of Nash’s control, the satellite picture moved back to be able to watch the entire field. They saw twenty or more men and women moving northeast up the river.

  “Looks like it’s all over,” Pete said.

  “What happened to Seth?” Noelle asked.

  Her tears still streaming, she leaned forward to look at the laptop. She pointed to where Seth and Delphie were lying in the river. From the position of the image, they couldn’t see them.

  “Can’t tell,” Nash said.

  “I think that’s enough,” Pete said. “You’ve seen the main event. It’s time to turn it off.”

  “Pete!” Nash and Teddy whined at the same time. “That’s not fair.”

  “I agree with Pete,” Charlie said. “Plus, if we turn it off now, we still might not get noticed.”

  “That’s unlikely,” Pete said. “Turn it off. Now.”

  Nash glared at Pete but did what he was told. Pete picked up the laptop from the table.

  “Hey! That’s mine,” Nash said.

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” Pete asked. “You’re going to turn it back on the moment I’m not looking. Right?”

  Nash glared.

  “Right?” Pete asked.

  Nash nodded.

  “Good boy,” Pete said. “I’ll hold onto this. It’s way past your bedtimes, but I promised you could stay up until Seth or Delphie came back.”

  “I think we should stay here tonight,” Teddy said.

  “Me too,” Nash smiled his most manipulative smile.

  Unwilling to respond, Pete shook his head and began walking up the stairs.

  “The Xbox 360 is set up on the TV there,” Pete said. “If I were you, I’d be playing it when they arrive.”

  Stunned, the kids’ eyes followed Pete up the stairwell.

  “Now,” Pete said.

  Charlie ran to the television to turn it on. Nash turned on the X-Box and began looking at the available games.

  “Where did this come from?” Nash asked.

  “It was a present. To me,” Charlie said. “You have Play Station at the house.”

  “From whom?” Teddy asked.

  “Sandy,” Charlie said. “For getting glasses and…you know.”

  Teddy and Nash nodded. They had been helping Charlie with his reading.

  “What games did you get?” Nash asked.

  “Halo, Madden NFL, Batman: Arkham Asylum…” Charlie said. “Noelle and I played Fable III after school today.”

  “It’s very fun,” Noelle said. “Charlie let me beat him.”

  “Do you have Call to Duty?” Teddy asked.

  Charlie nodded.

  “Black Ops?” Nash asked. “That just came out.”

  Charlie nodded.

  “How…?” Teddy started. Nash hit him to stop him from talking. They shared a look that could only mean Charlie stole it.

  “I didn’t steal it,” Charlie said. “Aden bought it for me.”

  “Dad did?” Nash asked. “I didn’t get anything!”

  �
��Horseback riding, archery… You went to Elitch’s today. Noelle got some fancy art thing…”

  “A new easel,” Noelle nodded.

  “It’s my Rachel gift,” Charlie shrugged.

  “You need to guilt that man into getting us more cool stuff,” Teddy said.

  “Indeed,” Charlie said.

  “Who’s playing?” Nash said.

  Teddy grabbed a controller and sat down. Charlie plopped down next to Nash and snatched Nash’s controller from him. Nash got up to get another one.

  “Noelle?” Nash asked.

  “Is it violent and awful?” Noelle asked.

  “Yes,” Nash said.

  “Oh,” Noelle said. “Maybe I’ll draw for a while.”

  Nash smiled to encourage Noelle. She nodded and got her bag. Sitting down next to Teddy, she took out her sketchpad while the boys started their game. When Noelle looked up again, the boys were engrossed in the game.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday night — 9:48 P.M.

  Downtown Denver Police Station

  Ava loved working the night shift. She had the lab mostly to herself and uninterrupted time to explore whatever treasure the Crime Scene Investigators left for her. Her little corner of heaven included her hip hop music streaming from Pandora, and a couple of lab techs to keep her company.

  She was only called out of the lab for real, true and interesting cases. Most of the really nasty stuff happened after the bars closed and she was off work. The day team worked those crime scenes when they got in. Through the power of no interruptions, she processed more work than the three daytime forensics officers combined.

  At twenty-three, she’d used every single one of her father’s connections to get this job. She knew it was time to prove herself. ‘Prove it or lose it,’ her boss had said. She wasn’t about to lose her dream job.

  Tonight, she was working on Saint Jude’s precious trophies.

  The lead forensic officer had already extracted the DNA from each of them. The day team was working on identifying the trophies. At night, Ava’s task was to find the killer’s DNA. She set her last sample into the centrifuge and turned it on. Going over to the computer, she checked her results again.

  So far, she’d found three specimens with identical alien DNA - one from the kid Jeffy’s necklace and two from the trophies. She liked the word, ‘Alien DNA’. It brought a whole Roswellian aspect to the work. In forensics, it only meant that the DNA didn’t belong with the sample and was not in the Colorado or Federal system. Yet. She put her finger to the screen with her wish that this was in fact the killer’s DNA. She and Seth would find this man and bring him to justice. Ava smiled.