I walked into the SRU headquarters with Sam after we got out of our cars.

"So, how where they?" Sam asked; referencing the demo day I had with some new firearms that the training department was considering adding to our arsenal.

"I told Ed to stop wasting my time." I replied, as I opened the door.

"What?"

"It was a goofy piece- 28 round .45 cal magazines, in what can only be described as a marriage gone wrong between an MP5 and an AR."

"A .45 in an SMG?" Sam asked, as we entered the lobby.

"The manufacturer claims it's the perfect blend between a compact SMG and the versatility of an AR platform."

"They keep coming up with crazy ideas, don't they?" Sam asked.

"Yep." I replied.

"What's next- they want to give us a handgun that shoots a 7.62?"

"That'll shoot your hand off."

"Nah, just leaves it sore- try shooting a TC Contender bolt action pistol in .50 cal."

"Wouldn't want to try that." I said.

"Anything else they let you guys try?" Sam asked, before he stepped into the men's locker room.

"Tried the T97 again."

"And?"

"Shoots like a dream, takes AR mags and much more forgiving with the bullpup design."

"When they going to let that into the field?"

"Don't hold your breath," I said, as I opened the women's locker room, "They still can't convince Colt to manufacture them."

In the locker room I opened my locker and hung up my washed uniforms and grabbed a new pair of pants and shirt from the opposite side. I took the grey SRU shirt off its hanger and threw it on.

Then the door opened. In came an older blonde woman that I've formerly met once and worked with only less than a half dozen times.

"Hey Donna." I said, as the woman walked to her locker, which was a few down from mine.

"Megan." She said, as she opened her locker. "Tell me something, why do men insist on doing things a specific way when they know it's the wrong way of doing it?"

I smiled as I drew on the pants. "Couldn't tell you." I replied.

"Oh, right- forgot." Donna said, as I could tell her eyes went to a picture of me and Sara I have up on my locker door.

"You guys on duties today?" I asked.

"No- a no-knock warrant down on Kingston. You?"

"Well, Team One isn't on duties, and neither is Team Three- what gives?"

"Who knows?" Donna asked, as I left the locker room.

After getting dressed, I walked down the hall that leads to the debriefing room. Sadly, a bomb robot was in my way. What made things more depressing is that I know the robot's nickname.

"Hey babycakes." I said.

Mike came out from behind the robot.

"I don't get it." He said, "Team Two used her the other day, and now it's like…"

"Like what?" I asked, faking interest.

"I don't know- going to have to schedule some surgery time."

"Put down the scalpel," I said, "Team One weigh ins in five minutes."

I walked into the gym where Dean was ready to go for his weigh in.

"Dean-" I started.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Want to tell me about the security officials who stopped me as I came out of my apartment this morning to talk about you?"

"What did they want to know?" Dean asked nervously.

"About your personal life."

Dean looked at me cautiously. "It's not what you think it is."

"Ok." I said, as I walked over to the dispatcher's desk to talk to Jules.

Sam saw Megan talking to Dean. After Megan got up, he went out and sat beside Dean.

"Sam." Dean said.

"Dean." Sam replied, "What was that all about?" Sam asked, "Wouldn't have anything to do with the security officials, would it?"

"She told you?" Dean asked, "She can't keep a secret, can she?"

"You can tell me what it's about." Sam encouraged.

"About a month ago, I started receiving these emails, 'Job Offer'. I ignored them, figuring that my dad worked hard to get me here, right?"

"Sure."

"Anyways, then I start getting these phone calls- from CSIS, whatever that is."

"Canadian Security & Intelligence Service." Sam explained, "Essentially the Canadian version of the FBI."

"Anyways, they start calling me, asking me why I haven't accepted their offer of employment. I told them I didn't want it, that I have a job."

"Good for you." Sam said, "But how does that tie into them asking Megan questions?"

"I don't know." Dean admitted.

"She's a different brand of cop, Dean," Sam explained, "She was essentially hand-picked, like you to be here. Her dad was SRU, and her step-mom is part of the SRU team, she thinks she belongs here and she thinks that anybody who starts with a police unit should stay with it."

"That such a bad thing?" Dean asked.

"No, but don't forget, busting down doors and wearing the cool pants can wear you down- you start thinking if things would be different if you were a beat cop, or something different."

I noted that the commander had walked into the gym with his trusty weight scale.

"Gotta go." I said to Jules, as I entered the gym.

"Alright, Sargent Mike Scarlatti." The commander said, as Mike stood up on the scale.

"185." The Commander said, as Mike stepped off and Sam stepped on.

"Why do we have to be weighed?" Dean asked.

"Make sure you're keeping in shape." I said, as Sam was finished being weighed and I stepped on, " 'You start hanging out at the donut shop, and we'll know.' "

"Megan Perrasmith, 123." The commander said.

I looked over to Sam, who was trying hard not to laugh. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah- it does." Sam said.

"I learned from the best."

After the weigh in we all went to the gym to work out.

"Surprised we didn't have to do the drag test." I said to Mike, as I started on a treadmill beside him.

"Drag test?" Dean asked, as he used to towel to wipe sweat off his head.

"It's a relay drag where we drag the heaviest guy across the gym- in which case, would be Mr. Braddock at 205."

"It's mostly muscle." Sam reasoned as he pumped iron over in the corner.

"Doesn't matter, you're still the heaviest guy."

"Team One- hot call, hot call!" Jules yelled over from the dispatcher's desk, "Armed and barricaded at 155632 Steele Avenue, apartment C."

When we got to the call, the command truck wasn't too far behind. Me and Mike walked over to enter it when Sam and Dean came to me for instructions.

"Recon the building- find us a way in where he won't see us coming." I said before I entered the command truck behind Mike.

Mike sat down and patched the satellite phone to the land phone in the apartment.

"Listen up, I'm calling in." Mike said over the radio.

The phone rang.

"Hello?" came a quiet female voice.

"This is Mike Scarlatti, Strategic Response Unit Sargent- who am I talking to?"

"Marie, Marie-Claude Poirier."

"That's a beautiful name, Marie Claude," Mike said, "Is the man with the gun in the room with you?"

"Yes- all he wants is a clear path out- no cops."

"Tell him I'm working on that, ok?"

Then it seemed like the line went dead, but suddenly a strong male voice came on- "You have 10 minutes before I kill."

Behind Mike, I was writing on the whiteboard. Mike spun around in his chair.

"10 minutes before he kills, doesn't give us much time." Mike summarized.

"He made a demand though- any way we could sell that?"

"I don't want to sell anything just yet." Mike said, "Dean, Sam- anybody have eyes in?"

"Negative-" Sam said over the radio, "Third floor apartment, blinds shut and bars over the windows. No window entry."

"How exposed are the stairs?" I asked.

"Very." Dean replied, "Talking to the super- uploading schematics to the PDAs."

I pulled out my PDA.

"Crawlspace above the apartment has roof access. Dean- crawl in, get in position, and at least get us some ears, and hopefully some eyes."

"Alright." Dean complied, "I'll have it in five."

"Great," I replied, "Three minutes it is."

"I'll call in," Mike said, "Maybe I'll get more information on hostages, specific location and maybe the weapon."

"Copy that." I replied, "Me and Sam will shield up and stay in cover at the stairs ready to breach."

I left the command truck, as Sam came up and passed me a shield.

"Bravo, what's your 20?" I asked, while me and Sam carefully entered the first floor and made our way to the second floor.

"Entering the crawlspace."

"Megan-" Mike started over the radio, "Our hostage Marie Claude tells me that there are two hostages including herself. The man has a handgun- she says it quite big, so I'd guess expect anything .40 cal and up."

"Copy that. Motive?"

"She tells me that he entered her apartment by force."

"Hiding from someone or running away." I guessed, "Dean, we got ears and eyes yet?"

"Eyes online." He commented, "Ears up in 20 seconds."

"Your eyes are good Dean-" Mike said, "Grabbing a snap of the suspect and running it through the database."

"Where are they situated?" I asked.

"Living room- first room when you enter the apartment. Suspect is pacing with the gun pointed at two women, both of them sitting on the couch with their hands interlocked behind their heads."

"On a breach, do we have any barricades or cover?" I asked.

"Negative- you're out in the open."

"How's the deadline?" I asked.

"Three minutes. I'm calling back in. Listen in, see if we can get anything."

The phone rang over the radio.

"Hello?" came the voice of the hostage, Marie Claude.

"Ok, Marie Claude, this is Sargent Mike Scarlatti here, ok?"

"He's saying that you have two minutes before…"

Again the phone seemingly went dead, but then the male came on.

"You're still not gone." He said, "If you're not gone in two minutes, I'll kill your new friend here, Sargent."

"What do you want?" Mike asked, "Are you hiding from somebody? Let us help you."

"You aren't listening officer- if you're not gone in one minute, I'll kill this girl, and her blood will be on your hands."

The phone clicked off.

"He's unresponsive to verbal tactics- let's go physical." I said, "We used the distraction of your conversation to stack up at the door. We'll breach and get to the suspect. Dean- explosive entry from the crawlspace-"

"No, no," Mike said, "You can't do explosive entry in the crawlspace, not enough backspace to the charge."

"Shape charge?" I asked.

"It'd be close, I still wouldn't recommend it."

"Alright new plan-" I said, "Alpha on breach- alpha one, Sam will cover suspect, alpha two will be me on the hostages."

"Sounds like a plan-" Mike said, "Get in there, 10 seconds left."

Sam drew out the door sledge and drove it into the door. We were both surprised to find that the door hardly moved.

"You have to be kidding me." I said.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Reinforced door- going in hard."

Both me and Sam lined up and shot out the hinges, and simultaneously, we kicked at the door, causing it to fall.

Once inside the man had his gun drawn on one hostage. He went to pull the trigger on the gun, but it didn't budge.

"Safety's on- Sam!"

Sam understood the direction. He moved forward and tackled the man to the ground. Once on the floor, the man released the weapon, which I easily kicked away from his grasp.

I turned to approach the hostages when I realized that they were gone.

"Mike- hostages, where'd they go?"

"Down the stairs!" Mike yelled over the radio, "Into their car- Megan- they're taking off- tag number Bravo Kilo November Victor Eight Eight Six- Jules we need an APB out!"

"Copy that." Jules replied over the radio.

"Suspect secured." Sam said, as he brought the suspect to his feet.

Me and Sam took the suspect down the stairs and back outside. Once outside, we started to approach the truck with him, when Mike came out and walked towards us.

"He say anything?" Mike asked us.

"No, he's not talking." I calmly stated.

Mike suddenly walked right up to the man, and purposely stood in very close proximity to him.

"Well, I find that very rude- to barge into someone's apartment with a gun and not tell us why."

The suspect spat in Mike's face.

"Told you he wasn't talking." I said.

"Pat him down." Mike said, as he used his glove to wipe the saliva off his face.

I started to pat down the man, with Mike standing right in front of him. The suspect tried to spit at Mike again, but it didn't have enough range.

Sam walked over to a regular officer and asked him to get a spit shield- a device that is put on a suspect's face to prevent them from spitting at law enforcement.

I was down to the man's pockets, when I found a small bag of a white powder.

"Found something." I said, as I passed it to Mike.

"Who wants to bet this isn't sugar?" Mike asked, "Jules," he said, engaging the radio, "Get forensics down here."

From a distance away, Sam said "Spit shield's here."

Mike grabbed it and started to walk forward towards the suspect, in which time, he spat at Mike again, which landed on his boot.

I unholstered my taser and switched the mode to close proximity instead of firing the two leads.

"You spit at my friend again, you will get tased."

Without problem, the man allowed Mike to put the shield on him.

Dean came back down from the roof just after we put the suspect into a police cruiser.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, "The hostages flee?"

"Yeah." I said, as we all followed Mike into the command truck.

Once inside, both Mike and Dean sat down.

"Jules, any hits on the APB." I asked over the radio.

"Negative, not yet." She replied, "Some officers have yet to report in though."

"Alright let's expedite then." I said, "Dean on traffic cams with Spike as Bravo, me and Sam as alpha- we head in the same direction as they headed."

"I'll grab a laptop, get into the MOT files, get the model and make, and see if it's equipped with GPS or on-board monitoring systems." Sam suggested.

"Let's roll."

I wasn't driving for five minutes when Sam spoke up.

"Dean tell you what's going on with CSIS?" he asked.

"Didn't have to." I replied, "Figured it out."

"Really?"

"I'm a smart cookie, what can I tell you Sam?" I asked, before I engaged the radio, "Dean- any hits on traffic cameras?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm working on it." Came his reply.

"According to the Ministry of Transportation records, there's a vehicle in Marie Claude Poirier's name- 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier."

"Too old for a GPS or on-board." I commented, "See if there's any emergency contacts or friends we can talk to."

"Copy that." Sam replied.

Mike and Dean drove in silence, save the constant clicking of keys on the laptop Dean was using. The silence was killed when Megan radioed in.

"Dean- any hits on traffic cameras?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm working on it." Dean spoke into the radio, "Dean- just do what you do." He muttered.

Mike looked over to Dean for a few seconds. "What's wrong Dean?"

"I'm just sick of being the guy stuck in front of the computer, or the guy putting up the eyes and ears- why can't I be part the team that breaches and does interventions? Is it because I screwed up that intervention at The Zoolander a few months ago?"

"Nah, it's just a rookie thing, Dean." Mike said, "Before long, you'll be busting down doors and talking down crazed psychopaths."

"Alright, I just spoke to a friend of Mrs. Poirier-" Sam said over the radio, "Turns out her ex-boyfriend's middle name is trouble- Jason Mathers."

"And?" Mike asked.

"And this guy- he's been busted for possession with intent to distribute and sell, assault, assault with a weapon- list goes on. Me and Megan are going to stop by to see if he knows anything- for all we know, he could've set this up."

"How does that make sense?" Dean asked over the radio.

"Girlfriend knows too much about your operations, you think she's going to blab to the police, so he sends one of his dealers to take her out." Megan explained.

"Copy that, keep us posted." Mike replied.

Me and Sam got to Jason Mathers residence. Sam used the door sledge on the door, and this time it worked- the door fell in with one hit.

Once inside, I immediately saw Mr. Mathers try to grab for something in the back of his pants. Sam immediately shoved him back onto the couch and grabbed the handgun that was concealed in his pants.

"Would you look at that-" Sam said, "Matches the gun at the other scene."

Sam passed me the gun to examine, "Large framed 1911, shooting a .40 caliber bullet at over 1100 feet per second. Tell me Mr. Mathers- you send someone to kill your ex-girlfriend Marie Claude today?" I asked.

"I didn't kill anybody." He answered.

I looked around the apartment and sighed. My eyes fell upon a nice guitar that laid on the coffee table.

"Nice guitar Jason," I said, as I picked it up "You mind?"

I walked away from the suspect, while Sam continued questioning him.

"Dean- can you look up some ownership numbers?"

"Roger that." Dean answered over the radio.

"One One six, two four three, eight eight, sixteen Tango Romeo Charile."

"Running the number." Dean replied.

"Does he get to say bingo?" Mike asked.

"Only if its good news."

"The cream colored Les Paul guitar was reported stolen a month ago from The Money Man pawnshop." Dean answered.

I walked back over to Sam and put the guitar back where I got it.

"The guitar was-" I started.

"Look, I don't know where she is, ok?" Jason spoke up, "All I know is that she showed up here yesterday wanting a gun. I'm not stupid, I didn't give her one."

"You interrupting my friend here?" Sam asked him.

"The guitar was reported stolen a month ago."

"Congratulations, Jason Mathers, come on down." Sam said, as he grabbed him and put a set of handcuffs on him.

"I didn't do anything, ok." He stated.

"Give it a rest man- you're in possession of stolen goods. You want me to search the registry for that gun you tried to pull on us? You want me to add possession of a stolen firearm to your charges?"

"Look," Jason said, as Sam was guiding him out of the apartment, "Can you at least tell MC that I love her?"

"Nope." I coldly stated.

"You guys get anything from Jason Mathers?" Mike asked.

"Not much-" Sam answered, "Other than that she showed up at his place yesterday wanting a gun. CCTV footage in the apartment lobby backs it up."

"She didn't get a gun from him, but we have to assume she's armed." Megan said over the radio.

"Team One-" came Jules' voice over the radio, "OPP reports tag Bravo Kilo November Victor Eight Eight Six travelling eastbound on the 401."

"Copy that." Megan said, "Bravo, what's your twenty?"

"We're at Markham and Progress- we can be on the highway in less than a minute." Mike replied.

"Copy that Jules," Megan said, "Tell the OPP to back off and wait for SRU- subject is considered armed."

Me and Sam got into the SUV and raced towards the 401 highway.

"What's the plan?" Sam asked, "Highway is a containment nightmare. Can't use road spikes, can't do a rolling roadblock.

"There's one way." I said, as I came to a stop alongside the turn on that turned onto the highway.

I got out, and Sam got out of the vehicle too.

"What's the plan?" Sam asked.

"We mount the Umbrella on the front, hook it into the winch system. When we get into range, you can fire the Umbrella remotely from inside the truck. The umbrella will tear through the sheet metal and plastic and deploy the arms. Once it's in, I stop the truck completely. That car- the Chevy Cavalier, it only has a small inline four engine, and it won't be able to pull itself and the weight of our truck at the same time."

As I explained it to Sam, he helped me set it up. Once we had everything mounted, we turned onto the highway.

"I see the target." I said over the radio, "Bravo, where are you?"

"Right behind you." Mike radioed.

"Ok, on my go Bravo will be the distraction, on the center lane. Alpha will approach from behind and deploy the Umbrella and begin deceleration. Bravo will keep pace with the target. Once we've come to a stop, Bravo will be first on target, and alpha will be your cover. Jules- send uniforms to close and cover interchanges 383 to 387."

I started to speed up the vehicle, approaching the target vehicle.

"Go, bravo go." I directed.

Bravo unit darted out from behind our vehicle and raced up to the target vehicle and kept pace. I used the distraction of Bravo to get closer without the target vehicle noticing.

"Deploy the Umbrella."

From the passenger's seat, Sam pressed a button on a control device that fired the Umbrella tool, which imbedded into the plastic bumper and the carbon steel of the truck of the vehicle, and self-deployed a series of arms that would prevent the tool from coming out.

"Beginning deceleration." I stated.

I moved the gearshift of the SUV from drive into reverse, and continued giving the vehicle gas, as to pull the target vehicle, assisting in the deceleration.

Once the speed of the target came to an almost crawl, I put the gearshift into park.

Mike and Dean stopped their vehicle and jumped out and got to the target vehicle. Me and Sam got out and pointed our MP5A3, fully automatic weapons at the target.

I saw Dean pull the driver out of her seat, as he forced her up against the car and put cuffs on her. Mike did the same with the other woman.

Once we were sure neither Mike or Dean needed to be covered, me and Sam approached them.

I came up to Dean and his subject.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Marie Claude." She answered.

"Marie Claude, we were just trying to help you, ok? Why'd you run?"

"We…panicked."

"Have any weapons on you?" I calmly asked.

"I…I got a Glock from a guy down on Queen this morning."

I managed a quick look over to Sam who shook his head.

I turned back to Marie Claude, and grabbed her by the cuffs, "Marie Claude Poirier, you are under arrest for possession of a restricted weapon without license. Anything you say and or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to legal aid, upon transfer into Toronto Police Services Jailhouse. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

"Do you understand?" I asked again, as I need a verbal agreement.

"Yes." She replied, as I turned her around to face me again, "Look, I…I just felt like something bad was going to happen, that's all."

A/N: I figured this is a good sized update, eh? Yeah, I know, I've been neglecting this fiction, and to be honest- I have no good excuse, other than the fact that I'm lazy and I've been focusing on my original works of literature, which I'm hoping to self-publish in both e-book and physical copies.

Also- I'm running out of names to use for people in my fictions, so if anybody is interested in having their likeness in my fiction, give me a shout in either a review or a PM.