Undercover Badge; Next Generation

Chapter Twenty Eight

CHAPTER 28

On the drive over I picked at the stitching on the seat I was sat in, and I could see Matthew glance over in concern for the leather a few times. He never voiced them though, probably over concern for his own self-preservation.

The car remained silent- he didn't even put on the radio and he kept his driving well above the speed limit the whole way home.

Blue Grove had four police vehicles. Two were repainted trucks, one was a minivan and the last an all-terrain SUV. Each sported the typical blue and red lights on top, and once a year those lights were lit during the Spring Parade in May. That night though, all the lights were lit and every officer was on the front lawn. Jaye Matthews holding my mothers' hands while she cried and Nancy Daniels and her husband, Reverend Daniels were on the lawn, seemingly organising all the concerned members on the blue grove public.

In the cold, most of our neighbours were hap-hazard in their dress; hoodies and bathrobes and rubber boots and Doc Martins over flannel pyjamas, hair tangled and messy. My father was standing in front of Alex, his hands being shoved back through his hair and the adrenalin and stress flying off of him in waves. The detectives and officers were standing around, looking like they were taking statements from frazzled members of the community whose arms were flailing as they gesticulated wildly.

I stumbled out of the Silverado before Matthew could reach my door, tripping up the curb and jaw dropping when I couldn't believe my eyes at the state of my childhood home.

Two more steps up the lawn and a large chunk of wood poked at the side of my boot. Its brothers and sisters were semi-scattered across the lawn, the largest concentration of charred wood littering the porch. Around the door, a halo of black was splashed across the paint, and I realised that the front doors of my home had been blown off. The walls looked like they'd been chipped at and it took me a while to recognise bullet holes.

"Reena!" my mother yelled, running over, tears streaming from her eyes. She collapsed into my arms and I stared in shock as she gave me her weight and began blubbering on me. "Oh, Reena! Tommy's gone! Oh, Tommy's gone!" she continued to sputter, and some dark part of me felt accusatory. She felt weak in my hands and a part of me was annoyed by it. Stop blubbering like a child and find my baby brother. I handed her off to Jayne, barely able to curb sneering in disgust at her complete collapse. Spinning on my heel I jogged my way towards Alex.

"God, Reena. There you are, you'll never-" my father started, panic in his eyes. I raised a palm to cut him off, locked eyes with Alex and simply raised one eyebrow, my lips pursed, jaw tense and arms folded. Matthew stood over my left shoulder, close enough for me to feel him but far enough to let me know he wouldn't stand in my way.

"They got here half an hour ago, looking for you." He didn't pull his punches, his voice saturated in the blatant honesty that made me internally wince. "They came in loudly with military grade weapons and ammunition, two stayed with your parents and two went upstairs. They went through all the rooms, put your parents out with flash grenades and when they came to, your brother was gone."

"Does anyone know where they took him?" I asked, trying to fight down my own hysteria. It would not help, though my voice came out strangled. The lightest pressure on the base of my spine told me Matthew was there, and my levels slowly calmed.

"We don't know. We're arranging search parties now." He pointed a finger at Nancy and Reverend Daniels, each in their matching angelic white bathrobes, her blonde hair in flyaway strands and sporting pink wellington boots. Reverend Daniels wore destroyed Nike trainers that he'd had since I was twelve that still had mud caked on the sides from the last town wide Fun Run. Both were handing out flashlights from two large cardboard boxes and were distributing the extra police radios that the forest patrol used as well as accepting any walkie-talkies the community brought to help. All of them were being set to the same frequency and handed out, and I watches a few kid's toys that seemed to work in a pinch; pink Hello Kitty, camouflage painted G.I. Joe, girl-scout and cub-scout walkies floated among the crowd on my lawn.