Hostile Takeover ❖ Jake Riley | ✓ [book 1]

2~ Leaf Off a Calendar

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.

~ Charles Kettering

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Chaos.

For three hours, the plaza had become complete chaos. Glass in shards, bullet casings every where. 62 were injured, and the death toll had been raised to 89. Police cars and ambulances poured into the perimeter, and Jake was left standing in the middle of it all. It was snowing around him, not real snow, it was the fiberglass insulation.

He felt like somebody had dumped the contents of a toolbox on his chest and he couldn't breathe. The last time he felt this way, he'd just learned he had been trapped inside the cordon.

He was alone on the street, minus the odd paramedic with a victim. Slabs of concrete had blown out from the street and were scattered all over the place, street lamps had been knocked over, shoes were everywhere, and blood. Lots of blood. It was like being thrown into the middle of a war zone.

"Riley!" he turned when he heard his name. Lex was running his way with Max trailing behind, "Glad you're still with us. You okay?"

"Physically," he replied.

"That was... that was nuts," Max said, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. Major crimes are getting in touch with CT, CT's getting in touch with the feds," he replied.

"What's CT?" Max asked.

"Counter-terrorism,"

Jake's attention perked up, "They're thinking it's terrorism?" he asked.

"I haven't gotten the word yet, but Slater put in a call to his contact at the DA's office. Major Crimes and SWAT are rendezvousing at Famosa's on Rodding Street," he replied.

"Famosa's?" Jake asked.

"A pizzeria that hosts a lot of kids' parties. Pizza's kind of bland, though," Max replied.

"And right now, they're going through renovations and have so graciously allowed us to set up there," Lex said.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"That jeep someone turned into a machine gun? Was found in a back alley a few blocks from here. We have reason to believe they're still in the area," he replied.

"Who's they?"

"Terrorists!" Max exclaimed.

"We don't know that for sure, Max," Lex replied, "But after the Boston Marathon, the feds don't want to take any chances,"

Jake scoffed as he looked around the area, "Boston looks like a sink hole compared to this disaster,"

They went on foot, trying to tear their eyes away from the destruction and the horror before them. Rescue crews were still hard at work, lifting away giant slabs of concrete, pulling people onto stretchers and hauling them into the ambulances. Three coroner trucks were left open, and the smell of gas and tar filled the air.

Famosa's was straight ahead. Even it looked as though it had been the victim of a sandstorm. From the roof to the sidewalk, it was covered in dust. The shades had been drawn down, and the CLOSED sign was hung over the door. But something in the window had caught Jake's eye. In the left window, there was something small snuggled right into the vertices of the frame. It only stood out to him, because it moved.

A camera.

"I can see the Tech's been busy," he said.

"Yep. I think they're going to call in Tate," Lex said.