There were many things on Linda Hamilton’s mind, most of them relating to her daughter. Most recently, her brush with death and the body cam footage that showed her effectively cutting a bloody swathe through a group of hardened killers. She hadn’t said anything about it to Ashe, and neither had Catherine, but those men were identified as members of an international mercenary company credited with two known high profile assassinations, and suspected in three others.

The FBI wasn’t being more forthcoming than that, unfortunately.

The case was out of their jurisdiction anyway, with the family of a Senator and presidential hopeful being involved, even the Secret Service was poking around. Ashe had put them down, and then Catherine had helped cover it up. The official story that Ashe was there because of Jason might have been true, but the idea that she just happened to chance onto the two members of the team that made it out… Linda couldn’t believe that the upper brass from Washington bought that.

She also struggled to wrap her mind around the idea that her daughter was involved in something that had the feds’ attention. It wasn’t the first time Ashe found herself in the national spotlight, and it probably wouldn’t be the last if she remained in Jericho.

Especially with what they planned for next week.

A trans girl taking another girl to prom in Jericho was going to cause all sorts of issues, and because they had to register weeks in advance, that meant that all the pertinent players had all the time in the world to arrange for things to happen. Linda wanted to be there to protect her daughter, but she had become so independent as of late.

Watching Ashe storm off after implying some disturbing things hadn’t sat well with her. Crystal didn’t have a record worth mentioning, they had checked several times. Yet, Ashe still implied things, and some of that was sounding alarm bells in Linda’s mind. Just how deep had Ashe waded in while trying to help her girlfriend make it back to shore?

Okay, not the best metaphor, but that was more Cat’s thing.

That didn’t matter much, given that Linda had been called in due to an unfolding situation that might require SWAT. It was just a tip, but one that included pictures of hostages. It had to be followed up on regardless. Then, officer Combs pulled over a van not even five minutes prior carrying a group of girls to parts unknown, the drivers had been more than forthcoming about where they came from, which told her they had been set up. That, or the people they were about to ruin the day of were the ones being burned.

It wouldn’t even be the first time that the gangs used the police to clean up a mess, and that always pissed her off when it came to light. She didn’t sign up with the police to inadvertently carry out hits for the gangs.

“Non lethals only,” Linda said to her team. “I want people in custody to question following this.”

“And if they return fire with lethals?” sergeant Wilkins asked.

Linda sighed, because she couldn’t exactly order her people to not defend themselves. “Hostages take priority, we secure them above all else.”

They all carried their rifles and sidearms, but the shotguns they carried were loaded with beanbag rounds. Less than lethal, by technicality only, they could still kill quite effectively if fired close range into someone not wearing protective gear.

Like protesters…

Shaking that thought off, Linda checked each of her weapons for a third time that evening. It was almost a nervous tic for her, one that she’d noticed Ashe picked up as well, safety over everything else. She hoped that whatever her daughter was caught up in wasn’t too serious, but she had a suspicion that it would be.

She’d seen the message that Ashe sent them, a promise to come clean that she hadn’t the time to respond to. She couldn’t help but think that, with the timing of it all, that somehow she was about to kick Ashe’s front door down. It made no rational sense, but what part of her life remained rational?

Loud cracks had each of their heads snapping up, then her wife’s voice cut through their comms, calm and assured as she always was when taking charge of a scene personally.

“All teams, breach and clear!”

Linda signaled her team and the breaching charges went off, her point man rushed in and she followed close behind with her shotgun at the ready. She blinked, then pulled the trigger, nailing the first man in the chest without a second thought. They had just burst their way into a fucking staging room for some paramilitary group.

The barked orders being shouted were in Spanish, which would usually rule out the IP extremists, but that would be up to others to sort. Linda was already shifting to the next target, racking the slide as she did. Her second shot kicked her shoulder, and another beanbag round hit the next armored asshole in the head, sending him tumbling.

Some of the pricks picked up weapons, but were dropped before they could fire them. Still others were retreating, or attempting to. Linda couldn’t let herself linger on what they had uncovered, there were two other breaching teams in motion at various points in the building. She could hear the sounds of conflict further in, unsure exactly what was going on, but that was part of the job. Only Catherine and the Strike coordinator could make calls over their comms, while they could hear all three, as well as contact individual teams.

She grabbed her radio and keyed up. “Team two, encountered hostiles, moving to secure.”

“Negative,” Catherine cut in. “We’re sending others behind you to detain the targets, proceed further and try to assist team three.”

“Ten-four,” Linda answered. “You heard the Captain. Move it!”

One of her men stayed at the door, then called as the other officers arrived with restraints. She pressed on, following her point man towards the sound of gunfire. The room opened up into a large warehouse with an open floor. There were rows of storage shelves, but what drew her eyes was the line of bodies, all in a pool of blood. Executed. All of the hostages were dead.

“Contact made with team two, we’re at their left flank,” Linda called.

She waited for a moment, then the strike leader called in. “Clear to approach.”

Linda signaled, the team moving in with weapons at the ready. The team was in cover, centered on something beyond the hostages. She moved up to team three’s leader, unable to see what had them crouching for cover.

“Sitrep,” she yelled.

“Multiple hostiles holed up through the far door,” Kendall answered. “Should be a dead end if the floor plans aren’t fubar.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Recalling a certain pawn shop and the connecting tunnel, she grimaced. “Assume they aren’t. She then keyed up. “Assume our target is moving through another tunnel like the one we saw last month.”

“Copy,” Catherine said, falling silent for a moment. “Team one is engaged with another group and unable to provide support. Team two, back them up then see if you can find a building across the street that might be our prize.”

Linda grimaced, not liking the plan, but it really was their best bet to prevent some of the perps from getting away. Linda moved back down the passage they had just exited, and into a side room that would connect into the loading docks there team one was meant to breach. She could hear the gunfire inside when another call came across her radio.

“AP rounds confirmed, officer down, weapons free. Team two, free to enter.”

Linda swallowed, that was always a risk when on the team, and she knew that each time she put on the armor, it might be her last. Putting that thought aside, she motioned for her lead to move in.

The door was shoved open, and they swept inside, catching the entrenched team off guard and swiftly put bean bag rounds into them almost point blank. The room could barely be called an office, and was likely more of a passthrough for the administrative workers more than it was meant for actually moving things to the loading docks. Or a breakroom for the workers if the abandoned water dispenser was anything to go off of. She only noticed because it was still leaking water onto the floor.

“Clear,” she yelled.

Team one moved in shortly after, taking stock, then their leader called for most of them to clear the room back to the loading area.

“This is a shit show,” Kendall said. “I think we interrupted someone’s plan.”

“Or we were the plan,” Linda said. “The tip came from someone on the inside of this mess, and I want to know who.”

“That’s more your wife’s pay grade than ours,” Kendall said with a chuckle. “One of my boys is peeking at the old cannery across the street, he thinks it might be our location.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Linda asked. “Jackson, stay with the perps until someone arrives to restrain them.”

Her man nodded, so Linda had her team join up with team one as they crossed the street. The cannery was unassuming, but so was the building across from the pawn shop. Team one’s leader directed her down the other side of the structure, her team falling in without a word needing to be said.

“Team one in position,” Catherine called.

Linda looked around the alley, her squad checking all angles for hostiles. She knew better than to take chances, and the entire situation already screamed setup. Which was why it shouldn’t have surprised her when a girl’s high pitched scream cut through the sounds of the city in the distance.

“The hell was that?” one of her men asked.

“Stow the chatter,” she snapped.

“Team one, send two to investigate the scream. Team two, stay on task,” Catherine said. “Breach.”

Linda’s point man kicked in the door, and she followed him in, and found two bodies on the floor.

“No vitals,” one of her men said.

“Hard to have vitals with a bullet up the nose,” another muttered.

Linda wanted to snap at them, but sounds deeper in the building were of more immediate concern. There were people in there, and she was determined to ensure that they did not escape. If it was Inferno and Riptide, she had to make up for missing that shot, her pride as a shooter was at stake. A small part of her still worried, she knew those girls had approached Ashe because they were connected to Inferno. She didn’t want her daughter getting caught up with someone so dangerous.

She followed her point man, her shotgun up and at the ready. She would need to reload soon, and elected to do just that when they hit a corner. She wished they were cleared to use lethal ammunition, bean bag rounds always felt like fighting with kid gloves against professional boxers. It wasn’t fair to her team to go against people that might be able to shrug off her own shells if they were even remotely armored. At least the close range had evened the playing field.

Her point man moved down the hall and into the cannery production floor, then dropped to one knee as a head poked around the conveyor ahead. In that moment, the woman ahead of them cursed, ducking back even as Linda called out contact.

Shotguns discharged, and three figures went running deeper into the factory floor. Linda stood back up, her shotgun gripped firmly. She wasn’t going to let them get away, not this time. She wasn’t even sure if it was them, before the pair on the motorcycle had been wearing red and blue bandanas, Riptide and the soon to be christened Inferno.

The three before her were all wearing black.

Giving chase, her team moved with purpose, but the three were lighter on their feet, winding through the machinery, talking in hushed whispers that were likely connected to some sort of comms devices. Linda was determined, however, and she had the entire police force at her back.

One of her flanking officers took a shot, hitting near them, sending them ducking and stumbling, but they kept moving. She’d expected return fire, but none had come despite the obvious rifles in their hands. They were making a point of not shooting at the police, which was rather smart of them. It would be one less charge when she finally arrested them.

Their quarry made it to the far wall, and she ducked at the bark of a gun, but they had simply shot out the door lock and kicked it open. She cursed, getting back to her feet, her team doing the same as they moved forward. One of her rear officers was calling in updates, which hopefully meant that someone was in place outside to restrain them, but she also hadn’t heard a single update from the other team since they breached the cannery.

They hit the open streets, but saw nothing. Linda swept her gun from left to right, and barely caught a motion within a shadow down the road, someone slipping into an alley. She called it, already in motion, sprinting with everything she had despite the heavy tactical gear, and made it to the mouth of the alley just in time to see someone starting down a manhole.

One person.

She didn’t hesitate to line up the shot and fire. She hit the woman square in the chest and she dropped down the hole. Someone down below screamed, their voice crackling inarticulately as they did, but Linda wasn’t letting that stop her. With the team forming up behind her, she reached down to her belt and grabbed a flash bang, and tossed it down the manhole before ducking back behind the wall.

Linda counted the seconds, then there was a blinding flash and searing pressure when the entire alley fucking exploded. Bits of concrete rained down from above, most missing her, but she couldn’t help but notice how the wall she was behind had cracked and splintered. The dust was still heavy in the air, and she was thankful for the filter in her helmet.

“Sitrep!” she shouted.

“Whole tunnel blew open,” her point man yelled back. “Fuck, they’re running!”

That snapped Linda into action, picking herself up and moving into the alley, or what was left of it. Down the way, through the smoldering remains of flame, she could see two figures running, one of which had a definite limp, and a third moving backwards with their gun raised.

The muzzle flashed, and a bullet slammed into her shoulder, the armored panel taking the brunt of it, but she knew that was going to bruise like a motherfucker.

“Return fire!” was shouted behind her and they did just that, sending beanbag rounds down the sewer tunnel.

The retreating suspects were firing back, but the shots were deliberately missing, almost as if taunting them. Had that shot been intentional? She ordered her team down in pursuit when another bullet hit the water by her feet, then yet another the wall beside her, and she was starting to suspect it was just that.

She had wounded one of them, likely more from their sudden drop than anything, she had them if only she could push fast enough. Linda knew that she was taking a risk, but no contradicting orders had come in, which was as good as a go ahead.

She sprinted ahead, ready to pursue, only to pause as a deafening crash sounded behind her. She turned, her stomach sinking as she realized that one of the buildings had collapsed, and half her team was now buried underneath the rubble.

With a snarl, Linda turned back towards the tunnel where their suspects had retreated. She couldn’t pursue them, not anymore, not when her people were in danger.

Linda knew that she had lost this one.

That was when her radio crackled, and her stomach sank.

Kendall…