Emi rounded up the detective squad and prepared to brief them on the upcoming mission. The detectives squeezed in close with laptops ready to take notes like a bunch of college students. Most of the team was present and they filled in just over a dozen chairs. Aiko sat front and center.
Emi addressed the group next to a white board coated with information about the mission. “Ok everyone, so as you all know by now, we have been given intel on the time and date of an upcoming Black Diamond meeting two days from now. The source of information was The Vampire, a well known member of The Organization. He has given us information before which we used to make several moves against the Black Diamond.
“So what makes you think that this information is credible this time?” asked a detective in the second row. “Why would he continue to just give us information?”
“Remember, The Organization wants the Black Diamond gone just as much as we do,” answered Emi. “If we can remove even a single Black Diamond member, it means one less person for The Organization to have to deal with.” As always, Emi provided a quick and efficient answer.
“We’re going to have some backup from the police and swat team for this mission too. We’ll have one squad of each able to go with us just in case we need the backup. I understand that you’re all very capable. You wouldn’t be on this team if you weren’t, but it never hurts to have more backup.” Emi paused briefly. “Any questions about this before we move on to the mission itself?”
The room was quiet aside from the sound of fingers clicking on keyboards.
“Moving on then.” Emi pointed to a map with a big red circle on a portion of it. “This circle represents where the Black Diamond is going to be meeting. We expect between six and ten members at the meeting. They will be meeting in the church on block forty-six.” Emi grabbed a marker and drew small green circles around the big red circle.
“These green circles represent each of us. There will be a total of twelve friendlies. Eight of us and four from the police and swat force. We will need the rest of you to stay here at the office and monitor comms and calls in case something else happens. We will definitely have the advantage of numbers here. If all goes well it won't matter. We aren’t trying to get into a firefight, but it’s something that’s a risk on any mission dealing with the Black Diamond.”
Emi broke the group up by showing who was going to stay at the office and who was going to be present on the mission. “We need to start prepping for this ASAP. If there’s no more questions, you’re all excused.”
The team spent the next two days preparing. They ran drills based on their plan for apprehending the Black Diamonds. Each of the detectives involved in the mission took a drive past the church on the forty-sixth block in an undercover patrol car. They all needed to know the layout of the area in case something went wrong and they needed to make an escape. Knowing the roads and buildings around the site would greatly increase their tactical advantage.
Aiko was the last to patrol around the church. She drove Emi and herself around the block. “There really aren't many other buildings here,” observed Aiko. It was located in the empty part of town on the outskirts. In a way it was hard to believe that just a few miles away were towering skyscrapers.
The area around the church was a field about two acres wide on the left and back sides. The closest building to the church was a gas station just right of it. To the left and behind it were long spanning production warehouses decorated with several sliding garage doors. It looked to be abandoned for at least half a decade like most other buildings are this area. Windows were broken out and boarded up on several of the surrounding houses and apartment buildings. The few taller buildings that had been hotels were abandoned as well. Deep cracks in the road and parking lots showed that it was a part of the city that was notedly more impoverished.
“It will be hard to blend in arriving with a bunch of cars and parking along the block. We‘ll park far enough down the block where they won't notice anything out of the ordinary” said Emi.
After the patrol, they returned to the detective office and assisted in preparing the remaining supplies. The day grew into evening and it was time for the detectives to go home for the day. It was the eve of an important mission and they all needed a good night's rest.
“MC answered a call from Gil. It was the first time Gil had ever called him directly.
“MC is that you?” asked Gil. The tone of his voice sounded urgent and rushed.
“Yes. What is it?” asked MC as he answered nervously.
“I’ve got a publicity nightmare that’s about to happen if you don't do something.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s that damned psycho again. He’s going to kill a group of detectives and Black Diamond members in broad daylight. He has them all in the church on block forty-six. I think he’s going to blow up the church or something. This is too much.”
“Aiko,” MC thought. His legs felt the urge to move and carried him to his car as fast as they could. He didn’t have time to grab any equipment. He’d have to go with what he already had in his car. Luckily he kept the glove box pretty well stocked. He knew he had at least three flash bangs and two pistols.
“Where’s GM?” asked MC as he slammed his car door shut and pushed the keys into the ignition. “He’s all the way across town on another mission. Normally I would have just called him.”
“Shit. Shit!” yelled MC, speeding out of the parking lot. Tires screeched as he turned onto the main road.
“All I know is that The Vampire sent me a hand drawn picture of a burning church. It was nothing more than a scribble with markers. It said “Black Diamond” and “detectives” inside the flames of the church. I guess that’s his way of letting me know what he was doing. Damned certified psycho.”
“Is there any other information you can give me?”
“That’s all I know. I need you to get down there to try and reduce the casualties and damage. By casualties I mean the detectives. I don't care about those Black Diamond sons of bitches, but we don't want the negative attention of burning a bunch of detectives in a church. There hasn’t been any announcement about a fire yet. I have several members monitoring the city and looking for smoke clouds as well as listening for any chatter about it. There should still be time to stop this from happening.”
Aiko followed closely behind Emi. They were equipped in full tactical gear that weighed them down as they jogged along the sidewalk. Each individual held an assault rifle and wore a black helmet on their head. Some were confident and others nervous. It was a big mission that rattled even the experienced. The Black Diamond was known for being an aggressive group and today they were going to corner them. When a dog gets pushed into a corner, it bites.
Their team was calculated to drastically outweigh the group through numbers, but even then, they might not go down without a fight.
The group continued along the sidewalk clanking in their gear with each step. Aiko saw the other half of their squad coming from the opposite side of the church as they closed in with the pincer attack. She silently acknowledged a mix of exotic sports cars and dented rusted jalopys parked outside the church which was a sign that pointed towards the Black Diamond members. She passed the gas station next to the church. As expected, it was empty aside from a cashier peering out the window with wide concerned eyes at the sight of their squad. In the gas station parking lot was a single car. Typical for a business on the outskirts of town. They were never very busy. That was a good thing. The less people around, the better. If the mission did turn out violent, it would be safer to have less civilians around.
The two detective units met in front of the building. There was a tall and wide staircase leading up to the stained glass doors of the church. They paused briefly and then Emi motioned for the squad to head up the stairs. They shuffled as quietly as they could, avoiding excess jingling or clunking from their equipment.
Once at the top, Emi prepared the group to breach, standing second closest to the door. She gave a hand signal and the man closest to the door carefully propped it open. The group quickly filed in and surrounded the entryway.
They were in a small foyer used for greeting guests as they entered the church. It was just wide enough for all twelve of the detectives to squeeze in. There were doors on either side of the small room that went into the main hall. Emi gave hand signals to the team and they split evenly between the two doors. She counted down from three with her fingers and they burst through to the main hall at the same time.
This spanning room was filled with rows of thick wooden benches coated in red velvet. There must have been about thirty rows before reaching a small raised stage at the back of the room. Afternoon light beamed in through tall stained glass windows on both sides. There were a few small cabinets by the stage and along the sides that held ceremonial items such as religious books, silver plates, and wine glasses. A tall wooden cross decorated the center of the stage.
Emi quickly counted nine Black Diamond members and Instantly recognized several by their pictures in the detective database. She looked down the barrel of her rifle and yelled, “Everyone freeze.”
Their entry and sudden command took the group by surprise to say the least. They’d all been casually sitting on the stage or in the front row of pews. The rest of the team shuffled in and made a line against the wall by the doors. All had their rifles raised at the Black Diamond.
A few from the Black Diamond put their hands on their guns instinctively, but they were all smart enough not to draw them out. A line of rifles pointed at them had that effect.
“Everyone put your hands up,” Emi commanded.
None of the Black Diamond members moved an inch.
“Put your hands up, now!” Emi shouted again.
At that moment, The Vampire’s plan was in full swing. It was going exactly as he’d calculated. He looked with a scope from the third floor of a nearby abandoned building. The moment he saw the detectives go into the church he’d triggered a small electric sparking device he’d planted on the cashier’s car at the gas station. It ignited the oil that had spilled around it from a pierced oil pan and lit the car on fire in seconds.
Black smoke drifted by the gas station window. Concerned, the cashier came outside. What’s going on today?” he yelled. “My car! This is bad. This is bad!” He started dialing the number for the fire department and then ran down the sidewalk to get a safe distance away, knowing that a fire at a gas station could elevate into an enormously dangerous situation. There were two large tanks underground that housed gallons and gallons of gasoline. If the fire somehow spread to a hose connecting the tanks to the surface, the entire surrounding area would be in danger.
Flames spread around the car until they found a bigger source of fuel and lit the gas tank on fire. A thundering boom blew the car half a foot off the ground as flames rose twenty feet into the air before turning to an even darker black smoke. Gas station windows shattered from the force and bits of burning fuel spat around the parking lot. The fire spread around as more gas leaked out of the car, flowing like a river of flames across the cement.
In the church, nobody knew what had happened when the car blew up. In fact, most assumed that someone had fired a shot as the car’s gas tank erupted. Everyone ducked and scattered at the same time. The detectives crawled on the ground along the back wall as the Black Diamond started shooting at them and took bits which were mostly the benches and cabinets. The benches were hard oak and while a bullet was able to pierce one or two, it would not go through them all.
“Permission to return fire,” Emi yelled over the sound of gunfire.
Aiko stuck her head over a bench to get a better look at what was going on. A bullet whizzed past her hair and she ducked back down. Her eyes wide and her heart racing. “Keep your head down, Aiko!” Emi yelled.
One of the detectives stuck his rifle over the benches and started firing. He hit a black diamond member in the chest. His body fell to the floor and a puddle of red grew around him, matching the velvet of the pews.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
MC weaved in and out of traffic going twice the speed limit. He strained to focus on the road over his emotions. He was furious with The Vampire, with the Black Diamond, and with the world. He felt a sense of worry that was unfamiliar to him. Aiko’s name was swirling in his head as he thought of every worst case scenario imaginable.
As he turned onto the forty-sixth block he saw the gas station parking lot on fire. He heard guns firing from inside the church. He stopped his car in the middle of the road and jumped out leaving the door open. “So this was The Vampire’s plan,” he said to himself as he instantly grasped the situation. It was much more simple and clever than he’d imagined. While the Black Diamond and the detectives were fighting inside the church, the gas station next to them was a ticking time bomb. Once the fire spread enough, it was going to explode and level the entire area.
His pistols were tucked into the back of his pants and he clutched the three flash bangs he had in his hands. He ran to the side of the church, then pulled the pins and lobbed all three of the flash bangs through the stained glass window just above his head. It shattered and the flash bang grenades bounced and clinked together on the thin carpet.
“What the fuck was what?” yelled a Black Diamond member as the grenades crashed and clanked to the floor.
The Black Diamonds and the detectives were all tucked behind benches and cabinets, each side peaking as they could and firing a few bullets off. Both the detectives and the Black Diamond were down a few members. Nobody knew how many casualties or injuries there were. All they knew for the moment was to stay alive. Their fight or flight instincts all told them to fight as a result of both lifestyle and training.
MC crouched low and then sprinted up to the side of the church. He jumped and crashed through the remains of the stained glass window covering his face with his arms. The flash bangs all went off within a fraction of a second of each other. The sound was deafening to anyone who was within close proximity of them. They were much louder than any of the guns in that room. The light was sure to temporarily blind anyone who was close as well. The effects of the flash bang worked best in an enclosed space like this. Almost every person in the room was disoriented for at least a brief moment.
MC soared through the air and accepted the power that the flash bang granted him. His nervous system reacted and went into overdrive. He twisted in the air and grabbed the pistols out of the back of his pants. His eyes darted from side to side as he took in the situation and then he saw Aiko. She was on his left along with several other members of the law. To his right were the remaining thugs, each with a diamond tattoo visible on their neck or face.
He twisted and fired shots at any exposed Black Diamond members he saw before landing on the floor between two rows of benches. The bullets ripped through their bodies tearing skin and organs apart, leaving two members dead.
The shooting stopped for a few seconds as everyone attempted to figure out what was going on. Emi wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket but it didn’t help her see any clearer. “Flash bang explosive,” she yelled, attempting to provide information to her stunned team.
Aiko could barely hear the sound of Emi’s voice through the ringing in her ears, but it was clear to her what had happened. In training, she’d been subjected to a flash bang and recognized the symptoms. It was easy to recognize. Hearing and vision loss after a sharp bang. She blinked vigorously in an attempt to wipe the white film from her vision, but it didn’t help much. All she could do was wait out the effects. Their mission had gone from routine, to worst case scenario in only a few minutes.
MC crouched and stayed low, but never stopped moving. What am I supposed to do in a scenario like this? I’m pinned between the detectives and the Black Diamond. If I tried to yell about there being a fire outside nobody would pay it any mind let alone hear me after those flash bangs. That gas station is sure to blow up as soon as flames engulf the pumps. There’s probably enough gas under the pumps lot that’ll blow this entire building off its foundation when it ignites.
Shots had become less accurate as people stumbled and fired at random while others crouched low to the ground and held on for dear life. I need to act quickly if I’m going to get these guys out of here. I need to get to Aiko. After a few seconds he decided on a plan. With the power of the flash bang running through his brain, his sped-up thoughts put together something just crazy enough to work.
The first step was getting another look around the room. MC focused energy into his legs and sprang into a backflip above the row of benches. He aimed and fired, taking out a Black Diamond member before landing back on the floor. There’s really not very many of the Black Diamond left. It’s the detective side I’ve got to be careful of. If they think I’m an enemy, which they most likely do, they’ll try and kill me.
“Who or what was that?” Aiko asked Emi.
“It’s got to be the Flash Bang, but I can’t be certain” she said over the sound of guns firing.
“What are your orders, Captain?”
“Eliminate any remaining Black Diamond members. If someone points a gun at you, take them out,” Emi shouted to the group as she stood up over the bench plopping her rifle down on the back of it for stability. She lined up a shot with hazy eyes and fired a spray of lead. Another Black Diamond down.
MC counted only five Black Diamond members left. He wasn’t sure how many detectives remained, but he figured between seven and nine. He knew he needed to get out of there as quickly as possible to save them, but most importantly to save Aiko. Knowing that the gas station was going to blow any second, he continued his plan.
MC stuck his wrist over the benches and emptied the clip of one of his pistols towards the Black Diamonds. It was not intended to be accurate, but to provide a cover for himself while he moved. He left the empty pistol on the ground and moved as fast as he could while crouching and making his way to the end of the row where there was a walkway. He peered around and saw he was in the clear.
“Captain, this guy fired shots at the Black Diamond. Is he a friendly?” asked one of the detectives.
“Your call!” she answered.
Aiko felt the effects of the Flash Bang starting to wear off slightly. She could see almost normally now but there was a slight haze as if she were wearing white tinted sunglasses. Her ears were ringing, but she could hear Emi’s orders loud and clear. She mustered up the courage to start fighting back against the Black Diamond. She moved to the side of the benches where the walkway was and saw MC.
Huh, who is that? He looks just like MC. Is it that I just can’t get him out of my head?
MC kept running closer to her and didn't have a weapon in hand. She made the decision not to shoot. “M…C?”
“Aiko!” MC yelled. He was now standing and running full sprint towards her. There was now no doubt that it was him.
Aiko’s head failed to wrap around the situation. A hundred questions ran through her mind at the same time. She was overcome with emotion. To say the least, it was something that she’d expected.
MC got low and slid on the ground as he closed in on Aiko. She was stunned so much that she couldn't move. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back behind the bench. “We’ve gotta get out of here. The gas station next door is on fire. It’s going to blow up!” MC yelled.
Emi, next to Aiko, attempted to make sense of the scenario as well. Why is MC here? The gas station is on fire? Was this some kind of setup?
“M…C…” said Aiko as she started to put pieces of the puzzle together. She realized that MC was not entirely who she thought he was. He had another side that she didn't know about. Of course he did. He had his own personal life. He wasn't obligated to tell her everything or even anything. She had expected that he had secrets. Secrets this big though? Here was the man she loved fighting Black Diamond members like it was nothing. Like he was the captain of a special operations division. His body moved faster than she’d ever seen a person move. When he pulled her around the corner of the bench, it felt like he was lifting someone half her weight. All at once, it was revealed that he was not just an average person or even an average member of an underground group. He was the Flash Bang.
MC hated that she had to see him for what he really was. Nothing more than a killer. The face of shock that he saw in front of him was crushing. Still, his mind was bent on saving her from the situation. Nothing else mattered if she was dead.
“Come on Aiko, we’ve got to move,” said MC as he crouched and stepped back towards the exit.
“I… can’t,” she said.
“We have a job to do,” Emi chimed in. “Can't you see our dead comrades on the ground. I don't know what you’re talking about with the gas station, but we have to finish what we started here or we’re going to get shot in the back attempting to leave.”
Aiko looked at Emi and then at MC with hesitation. She was too overwhelmed to make a decision let alone continue to fight the Black Diamond at the moment.
MC weighed scenarios in his mind with haste. He needed to finish off the remaining members of the Black Diamond in here. That would allow them to make a safe getaway out of the church and free their obligations from their duties.
“Emi,” said MC. “I can take these guys out, but I need your help. It’s too dangerous to keep peeking over the benches like this. I need a higher angle to see them. I need you to give me a boost.”
“I don't understand.”
“Lock your hands and fingers together. I’m going to have you throw me into the air. When I’m higher up, I‘ll have a clear shot at all of them.”
“Are you sure about this?” Emi said as she put down her rifle and placed her hands together.
“Yep, just do it.”
MC placed his dominant foot on her hand and counted down from three. When he got to one, he launched off the ground and with Emi’s help, soared high above the benches. He gripped his pistol tight as his body spun in the air. He was fully upside down now almost ten feet above the everyones head. He locked on to the first Black Diamond target and put a bullet straight between their eyes. His body was now at the peak of his hang time. Even quicker than the first, he eliminated two more. That left just one alive.
Gravity weighed on MC’s body pulling him back towards the ground. He lined up his shot and fired. His aim was as accurate as ever. With that, he thudded to the ground next to Emi and Aiko. The room was silent. He didn't want to waste any time. Now fully standing he announced, “That’s all of them. Get out of this building NOW!”
“Exit the building!” Emi commanded and her troops began to move. Aiko got up too and joined the line out the door with MC right behind her.
The fire at the gas station had grown tall. Flames now engulfed more than half of the building and the car was unable to be seen at all through the orange and yellow glow. The gas pump wasa surrounded by the fire, but had not yet been breached.
Emi led her troops out of the building as she saw the fire. He was telling the truth. “Everyone get as far away as you can,” said Emi to the group as they shuffled down the stairs and the first few sprinted down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the fire.
The last one out was MC right behind Aiko. They were about halfway down the steps of the church when the gas pump ignited. The fire was hungry and its search for fuel had been found. Tubes that ran down into the ground under the cement guided the flames down into the inner chambers of the main gas tank. The ground erupted, blowing the entire gas station into the air. Cement was torn apart and thrown like styrofoam blocks. The force shattered windows almost a quarter mile away. MC Grabbed Aiko from behind and they were thrown into the air. She screamed and he held her tight. A furious heat pressed against his back and he closed his eyes, not knowing how high or far they’d been launched.
The next thing he knew was the feeling of hitting the ground. He was lucky enough to land in grass, but the impact was enough to knock him out. The explosion had thrown him and Aiko in a way that spun them around. He’d landed on his back with a good bounce that smacked his head against the ground and he’d immediately gone limp. Aiko had a more cushioned landing. Rather than hitting the ground she landed on top of his body and then rolled across the ground when his arms lost their grip on her.
Aiko laid there for a moment and waited for her vision to stop spinning. She peeled herself up off the ground, noticing that she was covered in small scrapes and bruises, but didn’t seem to have any major injuries. She looked around at the scene. There was no sign of the sky above. Gray smoke masked whatever oxygen remained in the air and made it hard to breathe. The gas station was completely gone. Only the main support beams of the church remained. It had been almost totally demolished in the blast. Judging by how far she was from the church now, she determined that the explosions must have sent her close to a hundred feet away.
It was hot. Patches of the ground were on fire as gasoline had been sprayed in every direction. She saw her team scattered around her. Some were thrown even further then she had been. There was no telling who was alive and who was dead. Emi was already standing and came over. “Aiko, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“We need to get distance from here. It’s still not safe,” she said before heading over to check on another detective.
Aiko turned and saw MC on the ground. His clothing was burned in places and he was covered in plenty more cuts and scratches as she was. He wasn’t moving. Aiko felt a sense of alarm. She had so many questions, but none of them mattered right now. All that mattered was making sure he was alive.
She got up and scurried over to him. Tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes as she was overwhelmed by emotion. In an instant, she remembered her medical training. She put her ear to his chest. A slow thumping told her that he was alive. Next, she put her hand up to his mouth. She could feel a slight breeze. He’s breathing. What a relief. The impact must have just knocked him out.
MC stirred. He was in an awful amount of pain, but it was something he was used to. Nothing felt immediately broken or damaged beyond repair though. He looked up and saw Aiko resting her head on his chest. Tears made paths through the dirt and ash caked to her face. She sat up and looked into his eyes. Her face was full of sadness. MC set his head back down on the grass and looked up at the direction of the smoky sky. “Aiko… you’re ok. I’m glad.”
There was a pause before she responded. “Who are you?” she asked.
MC didn’t have a response to the question. Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. He knew exactly what she meant. He’d been hiding his life from her. Of course it had to be like this when she found out. She was a detective and he was a member of an organized crime group not to mention a trained killer.
Aiko stood up on shaky legs and MC sat up a little, wincing in pain.
The rest of the squad had managed to get their bearings. Everyone who had made it out of the church was still alive. Emi gathered them up and instructed them to get as far from the fire as possible while she stayed back near Aiko and MC.
“Aiko. We need to go,” she said.
Aiko knew she was right. She needed to group back up with the team and assess. Emi shot a glare at MC before saying, “I’m going to join the group. I’ll be expecting you soon.” She turned and jogged off to her team, barely visible through the thick smoke.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Aiko asked.
MC stayed quiet. He couldn’t look her in the eye.
Aiko asked again, this time she raised her voice, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice cracked and the tears started flowing. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, but it wasn't enough to dry her face. The tears just kept streaming. MC… please, just say something. Anything.”
“I’m sorry,” was all he could muster.
Aiko lost it. She started sobbing uncontrollably. MC wanted to hug her. He wanted to make it all better, but he knew he couldn’t because he was the one responsible for her sorrow.
“Go. I don’t want to see you anymore,” she said through a sob. “Go! Get out of here. I never want to see you again.”
MC got up and left in the opposite direction as her team. It was all he could do for her at the moment.
“Goodbye, Aiko,” he said under his breath.