Sequel: Ashes ›
The Phoenix
Two
Sheriff John Cassidy peered through his binoculars trying to catch a glimpse of the man who held the twelve students and one teacher captive in the classroom. They had no idea what the situation in the classroom was like and in order for them to get the girls and their teacher out safely that needed to change.
Langdonville was a small, quiet community in Pennsylvania and the sheriff’s department hardly had any trouble at all. The biggest issue they had to deal with in the past year was a series of break-ins done by a group of bored teenagers during the summer. This however was a bigger issue; one they were completely incapable of dealing with on their own. That was why he contacted the state police.
Twenty minutes after they were called out, Detective James Sullivan and his team arrived. When they arrived they found a group of residents gathering in fields next to the local police officers. They clearly had a lot of work to do. Pretty soon the big city reporters would be arriving like vultures at the scene badgering them for information. He needed to clear the field immediately.
“I’m Sheriff John Cassidy,” a pudgy man in his mid fifties said as he approached James, hand outstretched.
He reached to shake his hand then offered, “Detective James Sullivan, Hostage Negotiation.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Cassidy added eyeing the man in front of him.
He was extremely tall, definitely over six feet tall and looked to be very young, not more than twenty four years old. His dark hair was messy and his deep blue eyes showed that he was wise beyond his years. The sheriff also caught a glimpse of colourful tattoos on the detective’s pale skin underneath his dress shirt.
“What’s going on here?” Jimmy asked waiting to be filled in on their situation.
“I have no idea,” the sheriff sighed. “We got a call about 10:18 this morning and we got here about five minutes after that.”
“So they’ve been in there for about an hour and nobody knows what’s going on?” Jimmy asked clearly annoyed that the local police could be so incompetent. They were a waste of time and money.
“Well, we didn’t know what to do,” Cassidy started. “We’ve never had to handle something like this before. All we know is that a man entered the school around 10:15 and started shooting. Everybody has been accounted for except the people in Room 4A.”
“Who is in room 4A?” Sullivan Asked.
“Twelve students and a teacher,” he replied. “I don’t know if they’re alright. I mean I caught a glimpse of the teacher about ten minutes ago when he made her close the windows but she hasn’t been in our line of sight since.”
“Ok. You did what you could,” Jimmy reassured. “I’m going to need a list of the names of all the hostages, in fact any information you can get on them, I want it. Also, you guys need to clear the residents from this field. They can gather in the parking lot but the field is out of bounds. We don’t know what kind of weapons he has so it’s better to be safe. Get them out of here now!”
“Right,” Sheriff Cassidy answered angry that he was being bossed around by the out-of-towners.
He turned quickly to get the list for the detective and ordered his deputy to get the people out of the field.
Langdonville was a small, quiet community in Pennsylvania and the sheriff’s department hardly had any trouble at all. The biggest issue they had to deal with in the past year was a series of break-ins done by a group of bored teenagers during the summer. This however was a bigger issue; one they were completely incapable of dealing with on their own. That was why he contacted the state police.
Twenty minutes after they were called out, Detective James Sullivan and his team arrived. When they arrived they found a group of residents gathering in fields next to the local police officers. They clearly had a lot of work to do. Pretty soon the big city reporters would be arriving like vultures at the scene badgering them for information. He needed to clear the field immediately.
“I’m Sheriff John Cassidy,” a pudgy man in his mid fifties said as he approached James, hand outstretched.
He reached to shake his hand then offered, “Detective James Sullivan, Hostage Negotiation.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Cassidy added eyeing the man in front of him.
He was extremely tall, definitely over six feet tall and looked to be very young, not more than twenty four years old. His dark hair was messy and his deep blue eyes showed that he was wise beyond his years. The sheriff also caught a glimpse of colourful tattoos on the detective’s pale skin underneath his dress shirt.
“What’s going on here?” Jimmy asked waiting to be filled in on their situation.
“I have no idea,” the sheriff sighed. “We got a call about 10:18 this morning and we got here about five minutes after that.”
“So they’ve been in there for about an hour and nobody knows what’s going on?” Jimmy asked clearly annoyed that the local police could be so incompetent. They were a waste of time and money.
“Well, we didn’t know what to do,” Cassidy started. “We’ve never had to handle something like this before. All we know is that a man entered the school around 10:15 and started shooting. Everybody has been accounted for except the people in Room 4A.”
“Who is in room 4A?” Sullivan Asked.
“Twelve students and a teacher,” he replied. “I don’t know if they’re alright. I mean I caught a glimpse of the teacher about ten minutes ago when he made her close the windows but she hasn’t been in our line of sight since.”
“Ok. You did what you could,” Jimmy reassured. “I’m going to need a list of the names of all the hostages, in fact any information you can get on them, I want it. Also, you guys need to clear the residents from this field. They can gather in the parking lot but the field is out of bounds. We don’t know what kind of weapons he has so it’s better to be safe. Get them out of here now!”
“Right,” Sheriff Cassidy answered angry that he was being bossed around by the out-of-towners.
He turned quickly to get the list for the detective and ordered his deputy to get the people out of the field.
♠ ♠ ♠
Numba two *does happy dance*Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy!! Sooo do I sense hostility? From the sheriff I mean. Anyways we're going to hear more from Fallon in the next chapter.
Comments please!