The long gunman, who would take the rear position of the stack, breached the door, as Alex announced it was go time. The door buckled perfectly and the long gunman stepped aside, as the shield man, who was leading the stack tossed a flash bang grenade into the next room, raised the ballistic shield up and rushed forward. As it exploded, the stack was already proceeding into the apartment. As the stack breached the apartment, Alex saw the man held a woman by her long hair, and was actively dragging her from the room toward a back hallway.
Several of his team shouted out for the man to surrender, release the woman, and drop the weapon. Alex observed the man carried a revolver in his hand. As the man began to disappear into the hallway, he screamed, "Fools! She needs to die!", he raised his revolver and fired at the officers. The bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the ballistic shield, and it effectively sealed the man's fate as the shield man and the long gunman behind him opened up with a pistol and sub-machine gun respectively. The man jostled around as several bullets struck his torso, and he pitched backward.
The stack continued to do its job, as it made sure the room was secure before proceeding into the hallway. The shield man posted at the entrance with the long gunman poised just over the shield to cover the dead man in front of them. Alex, as team leader, advanced from the third position, kicked the man's revolver back toward the stack and handcuffed the suspect. He observed the woman was curled up on the floor in a fetal position, while covering her head with her arms. She appeared to have been battered, but he did not immediately observe more severe injuries. The stack advanced passed her to ensure the remainder of the apartment was clear of further hazards. After ensuring it was, the team medic broke off of the stack to attend to the woman, while the medics on standby were called up to attend to the suspect.
Several hours later, Alex had completed the debrief. It was considered a successful mission overall. The suspect had been killed, but it was clearly a deadly force situation. The victim was taken to a hospital to get checked out, and was discovered to be suffering mostly from bruises and shock. Most importantly, none of the officers had received an injury. Alex was heading down the hallway toward the locker room. The shift was up, and he definitely deserved some celebration time. He was about to head in, when the captain called him back into his office.
The captain did not look very happy. He asked Alex to sit down. He touched his fingertips together in a steeple, almost looking like he was praying, as he frowned and touched his lips. He said, "We have a problem. The girl was identified as Olivia Stokes, and the suspect was Anthony Rosso. Rosso was a known hitman working for the Balducci crime family. Stokes is a material witness and holds testimony that could quite possibly take down Michael Balducci himself. My higher ups have informed me that Stokes was in our protection, but fear a leak in the department. What I want you to do is take a vacation, and take her with. Somewhere remote. I know it's far outside anything that seems normal, but it's your orders none the less. Questions?"
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Mary blinked at John as he returned. She leaned forward as he excitedly began to talk, and looked into his backpack as he gathered several things within it. She touched his shoulder gently, causing him to stop momentarily. She said, "You don't need pen and paper, as long as you look at me when you say things." She frowned and looked around on the ground as she said, "Until I find my aids at least." She looked back at John and shook her head. She patted her body, and her arms as she said, "No. I don't think I got hurt. It was a good thing you and that girl showed up. I have no idea why they chose me to attack."
She found one of her aids and hung the battery over the back of her ear and pushed the amplifier into her ear. She smiled at John, and looked at the five men on the ground. She pointed at them and asked, "What should we do about them? I think we should call the police, but I don't carry a phone."
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Vy shook her head, and visibly shrank away from Elliot as he joked about fighting monsters. She quietly said, "There's very little hope against the monsters. They're monsters after all. There are a few who stand against them, but they too look just like us. The only thing that's different is their actions are for good." She shook her head while frowning. "No", she said, "it doesn't matter if I eat or not. The monsters will not be stopped by me."
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Michael performed several tests on the small piece of wood, and none of them were conclusive. There was nothing over special appearing about it. It was at least as old as the manuscript, perhaps older. He finally gave up, when he realized he hadn't slept in over twenty hours, and his hands were growing numb. What to do with the piece of wood was the next decision to be made. Carry it with him? Lock it up in the library safe?
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Dominic asked the ultimate question. The response was almost not what he expected. Terry laughed. It was surprisingly pleasant sounding, compared to his initial impression of the hard case he'd known on Earth. It was shocking to think in that manner, but he was quite certain he was dead after all. Terry said, "I'm afraid that you're quite alive still Dominic. If you were dead, Rael and I would not be with you." Terry turned to face the spinning wheel of fire, and looked back at Dominic. She answered the question immediately in his mind, "Yes, that's Rael. She appears that way in this place."
Terry sat on the ledge of the fountain and looked around the garden, and then back at Dominic. She said, "This is a nice manifestation you have Dominic. I have seen many with others, but rarely have I seen a soldier with a peaceful ideal of heaven." She looked up at the spinning wheel, which soared away searing the air about it. Terry looked back at Dominic and said, "Yes, you're in heaven. Well, more a layer there of. It's a lot to take in during the first visit, and on the plus side, you're alive while doing it. To answer your first question of me, I meant a soldier of God. It's not a bad gig really. You get to work with Rael, and myself. One of my sisters, Lisitrus knows a thing or two about healing. She could make you feel like you do right now, but on Earth. I know you have more questions, and I'll answer those I can. My corporeal form is still down as it were, so I'm in no rush to return as of yet."
