Page 76 of Concealed

Wyatt has a key.

He wouldn’t try to open the door without the key. because I always keep it locked and he knows it – insists on it.

It rattles again.

Shit!

Chapter 17

Wyatt

Ampedupandreadyto rumble don’t even begin to describe the sensations coursing through me. The energy in our circle of cops is electric, and I’m processing Grant’s directions even as my brain keeps telling me to move, to act, to do something, anything – rightnow.

We’re standing on the street dressed in tactical gear, while Grant clearly articulates the plan and where everyone needs to be in order to stay safe and save Dean. I want to just storm the house and launch at the suspect full tilt, but now isn’t the time for dramatics.

Our tactics need to be carefully orchestrated.

It’s a balancing act of reacting quickly and moving smartly. We need to do both or else we’ll end up with dead cops and a case that won’t hold up in court. The thought of everything we’re working toward being for nothing sits like rocks in my stomach.

There isn’t any good intel on how many people are in the house. Hopefully, Dean is alone with Maybe-Wang Yong, but there could be twenty heavily armed men behind the door.

Both possibilities need to be accounted for, and we somehow have to be prepared for everything at once. We weren’t expecting the situation to escalate as fast as it did, but here we are.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Grant assures us. “Watch each other’s backs, and we’re all walking out of that house alive.”

Curious passersby stare at us while they head to wherever they’re going, and a few snap pictures while talking into their smartphones.

Great.

Everyone is a citizen journalist.

I don’t mind being accountable – we all have to be. But I do mind when armchair quarterbacks take a small piece of the story out of context and hang us out to dry.

The public is very fickle when it comes to respecting cops, but they never hesitate to call us regardless of how incompetent they supposedly believe we are.

Media involvement makes everything harder and more complicated. Cell phones are so prolific now that everyone is a hobby photographer. Every move cops make is scrutinized and up for debate by people who don’t know what they’re talking about and have never been in the line of fire.

Their pictures and video clips never tell the full story.

But fuck everyone and their opinions. Maybe when they’re ready to trade places with me, I’ll take them more seriously.

We need to get into the house now – right now – to save Dean. She doesn’t have a weapon, and she’s just been made by someone who we think is a really bad dude. He might be low on the totem pole, but he still has deep, powerful connections to the gangland king.

And there’s no doubt that if it’s Wang Yong, he will kill Dean without hesitation or remorse.

The whole process of gathering together, listening to Grant’s orders, and executing them only takes a few minutes, but waiting is still an eternity. Time has slowed to a crawl, and while every muscle in my body is coiled like a snake ready to strike, now is the time to be strategic.

Grant is talking to the tech team on the radio, and then he turns his attention to us. “We’re going in now. Let’s move!” he barks. “Right now!”

Nothing else except the mission – rescue Dean and arrest maybe-Wang Yong – matters anymore. Time and space melt away, and I’m checking off steps in my head, not thinking further ahead than the moment I’m existing in.

Getting too far ahead of yourself can get you killed. Living in the future and worrying about what might happen can cripple you with fear and inaction. I always strive to be smart and safe, but I also want to be reactive and flexible to my surroundings.

Nothing ever goes as expected.

I’m running back to the unmarked van on autopilot, and then piling into the back with the team who is going to help me break the door down.

This is the moment when a lot of people would get scared, but my heartbeat slows and my body calms now that we’re actually on the way.

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