Page 21 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

WEST

It took them the better part of a week of training to get things running smoothly. The trick was taking a group of seasoned and talented officers who have individual talents and their individual rough patches and find a way to piece them together into a cohesive, well-oiled machine.

To anyone from the outside, it would seem like a piece of cake, but anyone who understood Murphy's law would know that a piece of cake is just an opportunity for all kinds of bad things to happen.

In his case it was a whole of stubbornness bumping heads over and over again and looking for a release valve.

He just didn't expect for it to find its release on their last day of training.

Weston's cell phone rang, and the ring was a generic one.

That's what pulled his attention.

He fished it out of his pocket and saw the ID.

CHIEF FAGAN

Weston answered the call and brought the phone to his ear. "Chief?"

The meeting room just outside of his open door went silent as the Chief began to speak.

"We have a situation. We got the location of a fugitive that we've been trying to track down. He's holed up in his ex-girlfriend's house. Is your team ready to go? I know they haven't had their official evaluation."

Weston was already out of his seat and moving into the next room.

The faces that were all turned toward him were watching him with intent.

In that moment, he saw what he'd been hoping for during their training.

A unity of purpose.

"Yeah, Chief. They're ready."

He heard the TAP TAP on the other end of the call.

The Chief always knocked on the top of his desk before making a final decision. Weston had wondered if Chief Fagan did that for luck, knocking on wood. There had been many times that Weston had considered asking him about the habit, but he pushed that thought away as the Chief kept talking.

"I'll send you the details and the address. Get your team ready to go. I'll see you on the scene."

"Yes, sir. We'll see you there."

He ended the call as he addressed his team. "Mount up. Let's go."

Everyone was on their feet in a moment, standing at attention. "Let's ride!"

The truck was packed and ready to go, just as it was at the end of every training run and every shift. All they had to do was climb in and go.

Fox drove as he knew the streets best, but Weston was quickly finding out that Jack was someone who had a near GPS-level knowledge of the outskirts of San Antonio, so she sat behind the driver's seat. They weren't using the armored transport as that would bring too much attention to their presence.

This one looked like the kind of white panel van that could be mistaken for something day workers would use, or a utility company using rented vehicles. Something that wouldn't bring too much attention their way.

Weston started to read the details sent over by Chief Fagan, even though some of the team were reading it off of their phone screens.

"Jenner Folsom. Twenty-Five. Long criminal history starting in his teens from petty crimes to the current charge. Domestic Violence. Endangering minors. His girlfriend Carly and her son JR."

"Fuck this!" Duval's angry growl filled the inside of the van. "Did he get bail?"

Dally lifted up his iPad, turning the screen toward the back of the van. "Traffic accident involving the prison transport bus. Jenner took the opportunity to snatch the key from an unconscious guard. He took off with three others."

"The three others gave up in less than a few blocks.

" Weston continued reading. "One even flagged down a passing officer.

He'd called his girlfriend on a phone he'd grabbed from an old woman and his girlfriend gave him a tongue lashing. Since he was jumping bail off of a suspended driver’s license charge, he was suddenly looking at felony charges. "

Blue huffed, shaking his head. "What a waste."

True enough.

"The last one," Weston kept reading, "is Folsom.

He was already on bail for armed robbery before this current charge.

" Weston turned and looked over his shoulder at the team in the van.

"He only got out because of a mistake by the prosecutor.

The charging documents weren't written out correctly.

That prosecutor has been demoted since then, but the mistake was enough to give him a chance.

"Take a look at the layout of the house that the detective sent to us. One story. Two bedroom. Single bath. Combined living, dining, kitchen.

"Steps up to the door in front and back. No tree cover."

"Fences on either side." Jack added in, looking up from her iPad. "We can use that for cover coming in from the sides. But it's a bum rush with no cover from there if anyone has an eye on the windows."

Dally nodded but turned his screen toward the others. "There's pictures of a room with heavy curtains over the windows. He'd likely be hiding in there."

"Good call." Weston looked at the surveillance photos. "Still that's not enough." He looked down the middle of the van toward the storage cupboard at the back end. This vehicle wasn't like their big tactical vehicle. It didn't have a communications system. And some of the fancier tools in it.

With a huff, he turned to look at Fox as the other man drove. "Our infrared equipment is still on back order."

Before he could think of another option, Jack and Oxy both blurted out the same thing.

"Fox, stop!" "Fox, stop!"

Fox pulled over, but before anyone could ask what was going on Jack and Oxy piled out of the van and headed to the opposite side of the road that was closed for utilities work.

Fox started to open his door, but Weston reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder. "Stay in the van. I think they've got it covered."

Movement in the rear-view mirror turned his head and he saw Blue leaning toward the door.

"Relax," he gave the order to everyone. "I think I know what they're doing."

Weston leaned to the side and looked past Fox's head to see what was going on.

Jack shoved Oxy out of the way and Weston lifted a brow.

The man with the dayglo vest and the ridiculously clean hat that screamed 'supervisor' followed Oxy with a hard glare.

Jack reached in and put a hand on the man's arm and Weston had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing.

"Is she playing the helpless girl routine?" Dally sounded like he had something sour in his mouth. "Is that actually going to wo-"

Before he even finished the question, the supervisor who now had a look on his face like he was the Big Bad Wolf about to eat Little Red put his fingers in his mouth and whistled up the pole a half a block away.

Weston put his hand on the arm rest of Fox's seat and turned his head toward the sky.

The man on the pole was coming down.

It was hardly more than a few seconds before he hit the ground and took off his gloves, heading over to the supervisor.

Seconds later, the man was taking off his gear and handing it over to Oxy.

Jack turned her back to the supervisor and rolled her eyes.

Then she looked across the street and gave the van a thumbs up.

TRACY

Tracy looked up at the clock and saw the time. Right at that moment, her stomach growled.

A knock on her half open door turned her head. Jaime was standing there smiling. "Let me guess... I'm right on time for a SONIC trip?"

Tracy pushed back her chair, smiling. "Yeah, my stomach just grumbled at me."

Jaime stepped back, giving Tracy some room.

"We both missed lunch when that rush came in.

Then you had that call for the Children's Miracle Network fundraiser.

And then the call from the health insurance company.

I had a feeling you were like me, and our stomachs were about to gnaw through our bellies. "

Reaching into her pocket, Tracy made sure her phone and wallet were there. "I'm feeling like we need some tater tots."

Jaime nodded. "And a couple of Route 44s with caffeine. None of that unadulterated drinks for us!"

Tracy leaned in and bumped her shoulder against her friend’s. "Let's get some grilled cheese on Texas toast!"

They were outside the door a moment later, a wall of heat hitting them hard.

Jaime looked at her. "Maybe two drinks."

Tracy snapped her fingers. "You're the bestest, smartest friend ever!"

Shrugging, Jaime smiled. "Takes one to know one." She took Tracy's hand in hers. "Food. Now."

As they walked over to the Sonic next door, Tracy laughed at their speed. "I would have saluted you, but you have my hand."

"Forget saluting me, Tracy. Feed me sugar and tell me I'm beautiful!"

They went to the order screens and ordered their meals. Just as she was finishing, Tracy's phone lit up with a notification.

It was a new news app that had somehow gotten her phone number. Now they were texting her news stories. She kept telling herself that she would figure out how to block them for good, but then she'd forget and... another message would pop up.

She was about to swipe it off her screen when a few words caught her eye.

FUGITIVE SITUATION IN SAN ANTONIO

The words themselves weren't something to worry about, but she had a feeling that Weston and his team would end up involved in this somehow.

She opened up her Messages and started to type out a quick message to Weston and then stopped a moment later. If he was busy working, she didn’t want to distract him.

Her cheeks tingled as she sat down hard on a nearby chair.

She couldn't be suffering from the heat yet.

Hunger?

No, that hit her in the gut.

"Tracy, I ordered two- Tracy?" Jaime sat down beside her. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth to say what she always did. 'I'm fine, thanks. Really.'

But the words didn't come out.

She lifted a hand to her face and then the other came up a moment later. Her fingertips touched her skin, but she couldn't quite feel it. Her cheeks or her fingertips.

What was going on?

WESTON

"Well," Fox sighed, "looks like he's going to add Utilities employee to his resume."

Jack frowned at him. "Lucky duck."