Four Calling Birds
SRU HQ – Briefing Room – Tuesday, December 15th – 11:00 am
Sam slumped down into his chair along with the rest of the team minus the Sarge. This morning had been nonstop. They had already had three calls in four and a half hours. They had gone from one to another. Luckily each of the calls were resolved rather quickly, especially for SRU, and with everyone ending up unharmed. So far it was a good day in that respect.
The first call came in at six-thirty am but Team Four was already out on a call so Team One geared up and headed out early. A man had gone into a rage at a local hardware store when he went in to buy lights to hang on his house. The store was out of the lights he wanted and the guy just lost it. He picked up a pneumatic nail gun and began shooting up the place.
Sam thought that the stress of Christmas could drive people to do strange things. Greg had talked the man into putting the nail gun down when he suggested that there were other stores that carried lights he wanted. Spike had pulled up a list of stores with them in stock when the man wanted proof. Spike helped the man place an order online for the lights and then the man set the nail gun down. The man would be cooling his heels in lock up for a bit Sam was sure but his lights would be waiting for him when he arrived home.
The second call was a fourteen year old girl who was threatening jump. That one was sad. Jules had talked her down. The girl had just lost her mother who died from a heart attack at the young age of thirty-four. The girl was so deep in grief. Sam hoped that the girl got the help she needed to come to terms with her loss.
That call had affected all of them. But more so Spike who was very subdued after it. Sam suspected Spike was thinking about Lou. Lou had only been thirty-one when he died. He was very young just like Matt. Matt was only twenty-nine when he died.
Sam would give Spike his space to deal with it but he would keep watch too and cheer him up if need be.
The last call was just weird. If Valentine's Day was their longest day, Christmas time lead to some of their weirdest calls. A church had a nativity scene out front. They got called out because a man had climbed into it and settled into the baby Jesus cradle.
Well that was not the reason SRU was called in, normal uniforms could have handled that. But the man was armed with a semiautomatic rifle. He was threatening anyone that tried to make him get out of the cradle. The man, who had yet to be identified, claimed that he was the rightful Jesus and it was his cradle.
Jules and Ed took Sierra positions. Spike was running facial recognition to see if they could identify the man. Leah was covering Greg while he tried to talk to the man. Mostly the Boss was distracting the man so that he and Wordy could sneak up on the man and disarm him. They did that because it became clear early on that there was no rational reasoning with the man. The unknown man would be spending Christmas in the loony bin.
Ed looked around the room and then said "Wordy, Samo, good work on getting Mr. Jesus disarmed."
Wordy nodded and said "We gonna add that one to the weirdest call list this year?"
"Definitely in the running" Ed stated.
Greg entered and looked at the team then said "Early lunch. We can debrief after lunch. I've got paperwork to do, so skedaddle."
They didn't have to be told twice.
Leah pulled out her phone and stood saying "I'll be around, just going to call my mom and get some ideas for presents for my nieces and nephews."
Wordy looked at Ed and said "I'm gonna run to a store to grab a few things that Shel said the girls wanted for Christmas. You want to come?"
Ed nodded and said "Sure, I need to get some ideas from you for them anyways."
Sam looked at Jules and then Spike and said "You guys want to grab something together?"
Jules nodded. She noted that Spike just sat there. She knew that look. He was missing Lou. She pulled him up and said "Let's go Spike."
Spike looked up when Jules pulled on his arm. He had been lost in his own thoughts and did not hear a word "What?"
Sam said "Lunch buddy. I know just the place. Give me a moment. I just need to grab something from my locker. I'll meet you guys at the truck."
Jules nodded and guided Spike out.
Jamaican Parrot Cafe – Tuesday, December 15th – 11:45 am
Spike finished off his meal of jerk chicken with rice, plantains, carrots and green beans. He grinned at Sam who was just finishing his chicken curry with roti. Jules was still working on her steamed fish and callaloo.
He looked over at the beautiful red, blue and yellow parrot that sat on a perch in a very large cage. That was a new addition to this place. The parrot's owner apparently did not like collie dogs because it kept saying 'kill the collies, kill the collies'. It also said 'make em pay, make em pay'. That must be a subtle hint to pay your bill.
Spike said "This was a good choice Sam. Thanks."
Sam finished his last bit of curry by wiping up the sauce with the roti. After he swallowed and took a drink of water Sam responded "Lou really liked this place. I thought it would be a good way to remember him today."
Spike grinned "Yeah, it is. I'm missing him."
Jules reached out a hand and laid it on Spike's arm "Me too."
Sam picked up the little brown sack he had gotten out of his locker and handed it to Spike. "I've been waiting for the right time to give you these. I think now is the right time" Sam said.
Spike looked at Sam a bit confused "We aren't exchanging gifts until the party. What is this?"
"Just open it and find out" Sam urged.
Unfolding the top of the bag, Spike stopped when he looked in. He just stared a moment. Then his eyes lifted and looked at Sam. His eyes got a little watery despite not wanting them too.
Spike's voice was a little unsteady as he withdrew the baggie that was contained in the brown sack and said "How did you know?"
Jules looked at what Spike took out of the bag and her other hand went to Sam's arm and squeezed gently. Sam had done good. Very, very good. Tears prickled at her eyes too.
Sam smiled softly and said "I told my mom everyone's favorite cookie. She's the one that decided to make them and send them. I was shocked when I saw them too."
Spike opened the baggie of maple leaf cream cookies. He withdrew three of the cookies and handed one to Sam and Jules. Then he said "Your mom is so nice to make Lou's favorite cookies. He loved these sandwich cookies with the maple-flavored cream filling."
Sam took the offered cookie and said "May you always remember the good times with Lou. He was a true brother."
Jules raised her cookie and said "Too good friends. Past, present and future."
Spike said "I miss you every day Lou. But I feel you in my heart still."
Then all three took a bite of the maple leaf cream cookies.
Spike looked at Sam and thought that he had another best friend and brother. He was so glad that Sam had joined Team One. Sam brought joy and laughter back to him after Lou had died.
Spike then said "I'll share one with the Boss, Ed, Wordy and Leah but the rest are mine."
Sam and Jules chuckled and Jules said "Ever the cookie monster. Spike, I hope you never grow up."
Spike grinned widely. He was blessed with good friends, with family.
Their pagers all buzzed at the same time. They looked at them and Jules said "We gotta go."
They all pulled out cash to cover their meal plus tip and rushed out of the café. Spike reversed and rushed back in and grabbed his bag of Lou's favorite cookies. Then he raced back out to the truck.
As Jules got into the driver's seat, Sam put on his headset. Then he asked "Winnie, where are we heading too?"
Winnie had all the team on headsets now so said "Blackbird Industries on Fourth Avenue and Raven. An armed man is on the fourth floor of the building under construction. Employees of the Colly Brothers Construction company say the man is a former employee, Darrius Hawk, and he had taken the four Colly brothers hostage. Getting details on Darrius Hawk for you."
Sam looked to Jules and said "Blackbird Industries on Fourth Avenue and Raven."
Jules sped off once Spike hopped into the backseat.
Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 12:15 pm
Greg and Leah pulled up. Ed and Wordy were already here. Sam, Jules and Spike were a few minutes away still.
Winnie reported "Here's what I found out about Darrius Hawk. As the employees said he is a former employee. He was injured while working on another building that the Colly brothers were contracted to build. Darrius fell from the fourth floor a year ago, today. He broke both legs, eight ribs, an arm and cracked his skull. He was lucky to survive. Since then he has not been able to work. His medical file indicates he suffers from debilitating headaches and vertigo."
Greg asked "So he blames the Colly brothers for his accident?"
Flipping the screen to another page, Winnie responded "Yes. Darrius claims the working conditions were unsafe. The Colly Brothers Construction countered and said that he was a poor worker that constantly did not follow safety precautions. The company also claimed that they fired Darrius for drinking at lunch just before his fall. The medical records from the day of the fall indicate some alcohol in his system."
"Colly Brothers Construction presented paperwork to the workman's compensation board showing they had written Darrius up numerous times for poor work standards. Darrius claims the paperwork was fabricated to show him in a bad light because he made claims that the company was cutting corners, he also made claims that the four brothers tried to kill him by pushing him off the fourth floor but nothing was ever substantiated. The WCB review board sided with Colly Brothers Construction and Darrius was denied compensation benefits citing he was at fault for his injuries."
"Thank you, Winnie" Greg stated.
Ed looked up at the structure that consisted of mostly steel beams at the moment. He said to Wordy and Leah "We need to get nets rigged on the third floor."
Wordy nodded and said "We need the fire department to get one of those inflatable bags too."
"On it" Winnie called out.
Jules brought the SUV to a halt and they all got out and grabbed rappelling gear from the back.
Ed looked at the structure and then made a decision as he said "Jules, Sierra One. Wordy, Spike, Sam with me to the third floor to get the nets rigged. Leah cover the Boss."
Jules rushed back to the SUV and they heard her say "Yes, Jules' day."
Sam and Ed shared a look and smiles. She still got so excited about being Sierra One.
Ed had chosen Jules for that job because quite frankly he needed the brawn of all the men to secure the safety nets. Jules could hold her own in nearly every situation but when something called for brute strength he naturally chose the guys. Leah was strong but Spike was actually more powerful than Leah even though his lithe frame did not initially indicate that. Spike was all muscle without an inch of fat on him.
Jules looked around and then said to the Boss "No good spots for Sierra One in adjacent buildings "I will go up with you and Leah and find a position on the fourth floor."
"Okay" Greg answered.
The team set out with the necessary gear to the construction elevator.
Third Floor of Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 12:30 pm
Wordy, Sam, Spike and Ed exited the elevator and Greg said "Go careful" as he closed the gate so he, Leah and Jules could continue to the fourth floor.
They all nodded and headed off to the west side of the building. The guys all noted that the third floor had some wooden flooring in place but it was mostly steel beams. When the flooring came to an end they stopped and assessed the situation.
Speaking quietly so his voice would not carry to the subject on the floor above, Ed finally said "Wordy and Spike you two will anchor to the main beams here. Sam and I will make our way out and then find a place to anchor in."
Wordy spoke in hushed tones "If all four fall or jump at the same time we will not be able to hold it. I suggest we anchor it at the corners and along the way in two places. It will hold the weight of all of them if we anchor it properly."
"Agreed" Ed responded and the guys quietly began pulling gear out of their packs and attaching clips that would anchor the net into place.
Each man got their harness on and attached their safety line. Sam and Ed attached their rappelling lines to one of the vertical beams. The horizontal beams were spaced about four feet apart from each other. They chose beams on the opposite sides of the beam that the Colly brothers were currently being forced to stand on. They had no idea which side the men would go off of if forced to jump or if they fell. So they covered both sides.
Wordy and Spike attached their safety lines to the same beams Sam and Ed used for their rappelling lines. Then they attached the corners of the net to anchors on the horizontal beams. Spike took hold of Sam's belay line while Wordy grabbed Ed's.
Sam and Ed then began to make their way out on the beams. They stopped a quarter of the way out and squatted down to anchor the net to the beam.
A strong breeze kicked up and had both of them grabbing the beam to prevent themselves from falling. Spike and Wordy had increased their holds on the belay lines to prevent Sam or Ed from falling too far if the breeze knocked them over or they lost their balance as they moved across the beams.
Ed breathed deep as he looked across at Sam who was eight feet away. Sam returned the look that said 'that was close'. Then they stood and balanced as they arrived at three quarters the way and squatted again to attach the net. After they finished, they stood and made it to the end of the beams. Once again, they attached the net. Then they attached their safety lines to the vertical beams.
Each of the men then took hold of the net and waited.
Sam glanced at the beam he was standing on. He didn't like the look of it. Where it joined with the vertical beam he could see several empty rivet holes. It was like only every other one was riveted. Knowing nothing about construction methods, Sam had no idea if that was right or not but he thought if there were holes there should be rivets in them.
The guys focused in on the sound of Greg's voice above as they watched the Colly brothers. They had no visual on Darrius from any of their positions. So, the only indication they would have of him firing would be the sound.
Fourth Floor of Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 12:30 pm
Greg and Leah got off the elevator and took a few steps to the west then waited for Jules to get into position before he made his presence known. The subject, Darrius Hawks was busy yelling at the Colly brothers. Greg listened carefully for a way to connect with Darrius.
Jules went the other way and found a location to the southwest that gave her an unimpeded bead on Darrius Hawks. Softly she said "Sierra One in position. I have the solution."
Greg then said "Hello there, I'm Greg Parker with the Strategic Response Unit. We appear to be having an issue here. I'd like to help if I can."
Darrius whipped his head behind him as the gun stayed pointed at the Colly brothers. He wavered a bit with the perpetual dizziness he lived with since his fall. He stated "They have to pay. They cannot be allowed to continue. Someone needs to stop them before someone dies. That someone is gonna be me."
"And who are you?" Greg asked trying to build a rapport.
"Darrius, Darrius Hawk" the subject stated.
Greg nodded and said "Can you tell me what you think they did?"
Darrius put one hand to his head as it pounded fiercely. He rubbed his right eyes where the intense pain always began. He said "They ruined my life. There is not a day that I live that I am not in pain and dizzy. I cannot work. But these sleaze balls lied to the WCB and now I do not even get the benefits I deserve and need to live off of. I've lost my house, my car, I had to even sell my parrot to get money to eat. I had him for ten years. But I couldn't feed him anymore or provide a home. All because of these sleaze balls."
"Darrius, can you lower the gun so we can talk? I don't want anyone to get hurt" Greg stated.
Shaking his head but only a bit so the vertigo didn't get worse Darrius answered "No I can't do that. They cannot be allowed to ruin anyone else's life."
"Tell me, how do you think they ruined your life? What happened?" Greg asked.
Darrius kept the gun aimed at the Colly brothers as he explained "I worked for them a year ago. I was a good worker. But I saw what they were doing. They took shortcuts on construction. That is gonna get someone killed one day. The building I worked on … they insisted that we only put in half of the called for rivets. They said that it was safe with only that many and claimed that the building codes were overkill. They bought off the building inspector. I know because I complained to the inspector about the shoddy work and he told me nothing was wrong with the quality of the work."
"I talked to some of my coworkers. They were too afraid to say anything. They had families to feed. I didn't. Just Paulie."
"Paulie?" Greg asked.
The pain was increasing, this was going to be a bad migraine Darrius could tell. But he answered "Paulie is … was my parrot. I sold him to the owner of the Jamaican Parrot Café so he would be taken care of. A year ago today, I went to work like usual. But at lunchtime I took some pictures of the shoddy work on the fourth floor. I didn't hear them come up behind me. They grabbed me. One of them poured a beer down my throat while the others held onto me."
"They said everyone would just think I was drinking on the job when my body was found. After they forced the beer down my throat they pushed me off the building after releasing my safely line. They thought I would die in the fall. I didn't. But with the pain I live with daily, some days I wish I had died."
Darrius winced as his head pounded.
Jay Colly yelled "You liar. You were a piss poor employee. Everyone knew it. Yes, we came up on the fourth floor. But we found you drinking beer. We fired you on the spot because that is a violation of safety policy. You fell because you were drunk and did not secure your own line."
"Mr. Colly, please be quiet" Greg stated.
Rhea Colly held onto his brother. He was shaking like a leaf. He only ever worked in the office. He was scared to death of heights. He whispered "Shut up Jay, let the cops do their job. No one will ever believe Darrius anyways. The WCB ruled in our favor already."
Darrius turned back to the Colly's and yelled "I am not a liar. If my phone had not been destroyed I could prove it. I had the pictures of the missing rivets. I had the pictures of the below standard steel that you were using. I had pictures of all the corners you cut to save a buck. Hell, I bet this building is no different."
Third Floor of Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 1:00 pm
Sam called out "Boss, the beam I'm standing on appears to be missing every other rivet."
Ed, Wordy and Spike all looked down at the beams they were standing on.
Spike said "Whoa this is so not good Boss. I'm no construction expert but if half of the rivet holes are empty ... that can't be good."
Ed and Wordy reported the same.
Sam, Ed, Wordy and Spike looked at one another. This call just became more complicated. Darrius was claiming the Colly's attempted to murder him and there could be a public threat if the buildings were not up to code.
They hoped Greg could talk Darrius into giving up.
Fourth Floor of Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 1:05 pm
Jules glanced down and looked were she was standing "Boss, I've read building codes. Had to when I was remodeling. Again, no expert here but I tend to believe Darrius. Something looks off to me."
Greg listened to his team and then said "Darrius, I'd like to help. You do not sound like a man that would commit murder. You cared about Paulie enough to ensure that you found a good home. If you put the gun down and allow the Colly brothers to come off that beam, I promise you I will contact someone that will take a serious look into your allegations."
"You believe me then?" Darrius asked as the migraine surged.
"I won't lie to you Darrius. I am not qualified to make a judgement. But my team has told me that they see a lot of empty rivet holes. I can assure you it will be investigated properly. All of it. I just need you to put down the gun" Greg stated.
Darrius lowered the gun and held it limply in his hand "Okay. I believe you. They have to be stopped. This was my last resort because no one believed me."
Greg moved forward and took the gun.
Leah cuffed Darrius and said "This is just procedure."
Darrius nodded and then got dizzy. He started to sway and fall. Greg and Leah caught him.
"Are you alright?" Greg asked.
"Dizzy, migraine" Darrius answered.
Jules came forward as Leah led Darrius to the elevator. She looked at the Colly brothers and said "You can come off that beam now."
Rhea Colly was excited to be getting off this beam. In his rush to get off his foot slipped. He grabbed out and snagged Jay. As they both began to fall, Jay grabbed out and latched onto Robin. When Robin began to fall, he reached out and got ahold of Merlin.
All four Colly brothers fell.
Third Floor of Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 1:10 pm
The guys all braced for impact when the Colly brothers began to fall. They heard the screams from the brothers who had no clue there was a net below them. The brothers all thought they were falling to their deaths or to very painful lives.
Rhea, Robin, Merlin and Jay hit the net with great force. They bounced several times before coming to a rest in the net on the side being held by Ed and Wordy.
Sam, Spike, Ed and Wordy had held fast but it took all their strength to hold the net as the anchors that Sam and Ed had attached in the middle area popped off as the Colly's bounced. Each of them were straining to hold on.
Wordy called out "Crawl over here. Do it fast. We can only hold you for so long."
Merlin scrambled as fast as he could to the edge of the net. He crawled over his brother Rhea in his haste. Like his brother, Rhea, he was deathly afraid of heights. Merlin kicked Robin in the face in his panic to get out of the net. Right behind him was Robin and then Jay. They scrambled to move.
However, Rhea Colly was frozen in place. His brothers left him sitting there. He was deathly afraid of heights and the fall had shocked him and he froze. He could not move as his eyes were riveted to the ground.
Wordy called out "Move."
Spike said "He is scared to death."
Wordy looked at the anchor on his corner. It looked secure. He said "I'm going to get him."
Ed said "There is no one to hold your belay line. Let me go."
But then the anchor at Ed's corner popped off and the only thing holding up the man was Ed's hold on that corner of the net.
"Guess that decides it huh" Sam said as he held tight. Then he added "Just make sure your line is tied tight Wordy. No flying today. That's for the birds."
Wordy chuckled slightly as he ensured his line was secured tightly. Then he secured another line to use on the man in the net.
Greg called out "Status?"
Ed responded "Three of four Colly's safe. Wordy is crawling out to get the scared one."
"We're coming to you" Greg stated.
Wordy looked to the three brothers and asked "What is his name?"
Jay was pale and shaken as he answered "Rhea. He is deathly afraid of heights."
Wordy walked the beam to where Rhea was and said "Rhea I'm coming to you and we are going to do this together."
Rhea did not acknowledge Wordy in any way. His eyes were still riveted to the ground.
Wordy crawled slowly and carefully to the man. When he got there he said "I'm just going to attach a line around your chest."
Then he attached the line. "Okay, now Rhea I need you to move with me" Wordy encouraged in a soft fatherly voice.
Ed, Sam and Spike were straining with the weight. But they held tight as Wordy coaxed Rhea to the edge. Sweat was drenching the guys by the time Wordy managed to get Rhea up on the floor boards.
Wordy was just about to crawl up too when the anchor holding his corner popped off. Wordy began to fall holding onto the net.
At the same moment, there was a groan of metal and the beam that Ed was standing on gave way. Ed began to fall holding onto the net.
Sam's and Spike's arms jerked as both Ed's and Wordy's weight jerked the net as the length met its end.
Ed and Wordy held on with all their might. Ed's safety line dangled below him. It had been attached to the vertical beam but when the horizontal beam gave way it was severed. Luckily, both of their rappelling lines were still firmly attached to the other beam.
Sam called out to Ed and Wordy "Hang on." Then he turned to Spike and said "I'm coming in."
With one hand Sam held the net and with the other he undid his safety line. Then he walked careful across the beam as it made groaning noises beneath him.
"Hurry Sam, I don't think it gonna hold much longer" Spike urged.
Sam's foot hit the floor boards where Spike was just as the beam he had been on gave way and crashed to the ground. Sam blew out a shaky breath and said "That was close."
Then Spike and Sam went to where Wordy and Ed's rappelling lines were tied off. They left them tied but began to pull the lines up using a hand over hand method. Sam had Ed's line and Spike had Wordy's.
Spike got Wordy up first. His line was shorter because Wordy was closer. Wordy gripped the beam and pulled himself up onto the wooden flooring with Spike's help. Once Wordy was up Spike released his hold on the back of his vest and helped Wordy to stand and move away from the edge.
Sam continued to pull Ed up. His muscles were getting one hell of a work out. The pressure on his chest where he took the bullet two days ago was painful too. When Ed's hand reached out and grabbed the beam Sam bent down and grabbed the back of Ed's vest just like Spike had done with Wordy. Between them, Ed was hauled up onto the wooden floor.
Ed took several deep breaths as he looked at Sam. Finally getting his breathing under control Ed said "Thanks."
Sam pulled Ed up to a standing position and said "None needed. Glad you hung on."
Ed stood and turned his attention to the Colly brothers and stated "I'm thinking what Darrius had to say was right. Damn good thing it did not give way when you fell into the net or you all would be dead."
Greg looked at his team and said "Ed you need to get checked out by EMS."
Ed stated "I'm okay. No need."
Sam pulled out a bandage and reached out for Ed's arm and said "I think the cut on your arm says there is a need. Looks like you might need stitches. Boss I'll make sure he gets looked at."
Ed looked down at his arm and noticed the deep gash. It looked like the anchor had got him when it popped off. Ed watched as Sam wrapped a bandage around it. He didn't feel a thing. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing. Until it wore off.
Wordy shook his head "Nah, I'll do that. No sense in you going to a hospital if you don't have too Sam. We all know that is not your favorite place to be."
Then Wordy turned to Spike and said "Thanks buddy."
Spike grinned and said "Not needed."
Greg said "Let's go before any more of this building decides to come down."
Six "Copy that" rang out.
Blackbird Industries – Tuesday, December 15th – 2:15 pm
Sam and Jules stood together near the SUV and watched EMS examine Ed's cut and look over Wordy and the Colly brothers. There was a reason Sam wanted to take Ed to get checked out. He was hoping to covertly ask Dr. Fraser for some pain pills. The jerk when Ed hit the end of the net had pulled on his chest muscles.
When Wordy spoke up though, Sam couldn't counter Wordy without drawing attention to himself. So, he let it drop. But his chest hurt a lot. And carrying all their gear down hadn't helped any either. Sam wished he had brought the pills that Jim had given him last night.
Jules turned to Sam and looked up at him. They had packed up most the gear and were just waiting for Spike to finish helping Leah with the last of it. She smiled "Nice work Sam. When that beam went crashing down and Ed and Wordy fell that scared the bejeebers out of me. You and Spike did a great job getting them up."
Sam glanced at Jules and asked quietly "Do you have any of those pain meds with you?"
Jules' eyes grew concerned "What hurts?"
"Just my chest a bit. Nothing big but …" Sam said.
She looked into his eyes and she could see that he hated asking. Quietly and nonchalantly, Jules answered "Yeah, I have them in my bag. I'll just grab you a water and a power bar in case anyone asks."
Sam nodded "Thanks Jules."
"Anytime Sam" Jules said and headed off for her bag.
Jules was floored he asked. She would keep quiet and not make a big deal out of it. Maybe in the future he would feel comfortable coming to her when he hurt if she behaved like it was no big deal.
She returned with water and power bars for both of them and covertly slipped him the two pain pills. Sam opened the water and covertly popped the pills in and took a long drink. Then he took a bite of the power par and chewed. When he swallowed he said again "Thanks Jules."
Jules responded with "Wonder if the Colly brothers will be flying the coop or if they will become jailbirds?"
Sam gave Jules a queer look "Strange thing to say. But yeah, I think they will end up getting what they deserve. Those beams coming down sure add weight to Darrius Hawk's claims of the Colly brothers cutting corners."
Jules looked at Sam and said "Not such a strange thing to say. You did notice that all their names are types of birds, Merlin, Jay, Robin, Rhea." Jules snickered "Rhea is a flightless bird, that sure describes Rhea Colly. And their last name Colly, it means black and in Old English it was used to mean blackbird."
Sam grinned "Ms. Trivia you astound me."
Jules half-laughed and then said "Want more trivia?"
"Sure why not?" Sam said as he leaned up against the SUV while they waited for Spike to join them so they could head back to the barn.
"Okay, well in the Twelve days of Christmas song, the original version of the fourth verse published in 1780 said four colly birds. In 1909, the Austin version of the song, there were 68 version before that, became popular and colly birds was changed to calling birds" Jules stated.
Sam chuckled and said "Remind me that I need to be on your team the next time we play trivial pursuit."
Jules grinned and said "You and me would be a great team except for tv and movie trivia. Neither of us pay any attention to that."
Spike jogged over and said "Ready to go." Then he looked at the news cameras and said "I sure hope the Colly brothers get jail time and that Darrius gets the help he needs with his pain. Man, that has to suck to suffer like that."
Then he looked at Sam and Jules and a light bulb turned on "Hey, you don't suppose that parrot in the café at lunch today was Paulie do you?"
"Maybe" Sam said as he headed to the passenger side. He covertly rubbed his chest.
SRU HQ – Briefing Room – Tuesday, December 15th – 6:30 pm
Spike headed into the room where most of the team was sitting. He had a grin on his face and papers in his hand.
Jules looked up from the book on negotiation strategies that she was reading. "What do you have there, Spike?"
"I'll show you when Wordy and Leah get back" Spike replied.
Sam moved his chess piece and looked at Ed "Checkmate."
Ed shook his head "Didn't see that one coming Samo."
He turned and looked at Spike as he lightly rubbed his gauze covered forearm. Four stitches it took to close the deep gash. It could have been so much worse.
Wordy and Leah walked in carrying coffees from their Timmy's run for the team. They handed them out and then sat down.
Spike stood up cleared his throat "I give you the inspiration for my fourth verse."
Then he held up a picture and waved his hand around it with a flourish.
"Where did you get that?" Wordy asked dumbfounded.
Spike handed out pages to all of them as he said "You remember the news crews?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, apparently, the news showed up just after we all headed up into the building. They were filming the entire time. I captured this still from the video" Spike explained.
Ed, Wordy and Sam just stared. The photo showed the four of them in position to catch the Colly's as they were falling.
Spike then began to sing "On the fourth day of Christmas, Team One gave to me four falling birds, three mother hens, two Jammy doves, and a frozen sniper in a pear tree."
Sam grinned, he had another ornament for his tree.
.
AN: Enjoy. One of my favorite saying is ... Practice random acts of kindness and senseless act of beauty. May your holiday season be filled with both. Looking forward to reading what you all thought of this chapter.
