Swat Team members:
Capt. Eddie Rosco
Kekoa 'Boss' Makena
Sam 'Flash' Denton
Jose 'Spider' Sanchez
Tommy 'Lancelot' Spears
Rachel 'Wonder Woman' Wetzel
Jessie 'Spike' Torres
This is a bit fast so if you loose your way, I do apologize. I just want to get the ball rolling to some big drama for these two down the road. I'm still deciding if it should be a happy ending for them or not. I'll have to see the upcoming episode of SPOOKED to have my final answer. Don't worry, I'm not ending the story just yet...there's still more to come for these two!
Also, I've done some research on landmines so any mistakes are my own. I was inspired by an episode of a show called FLASHPOINT – you may have seen it if your in Canada or in parts of the US. So this is where I got the idea for this chapter from.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Makana's.
Blown Away
Slowly taking another step, Kekoa let out another breath. She was now standing beside Tommy as they were breathing heavily.
Giving him an encouraging smile, Keko nodded.
"How ya doin' man?" Keko asked as if they had all the time in the world. Tommy, looked up, and gave his boss a crooked smile, making him look younger then ever.
"Eh, you know me Boss. Can't seem to keep myself out of trouble." He blinked rapidly, trying to shake away the sweat that was sliding down his forehead and into his eyes. Kekoa took out her handkerchief and gently wiped his brow.
"Don't you worry 'bout a thing. I'm gonna get you outta here pronto." With that, Kekoa slowly lowered herself until she was on her knees. She assessed the situation and silently cursed herself.
"How's everything looking?" Captain Rosco asked through the head piece. Wiping the sweat that was falling from her nose, Kekoa nodded to herself.
"Don't know yet but I think I can slip the pin back in and we'll be walking outta here and be home in time for dinner." Then looking up at Tommy, she smiled once more. "I'm gonna need you to stand still. Okay?"
Tommy laughed and nodded. "I ain't going nowhere Boss."
Ever so slowly, Kekoa dug around Tommy's foot looking for that tiny little whole. As she was digging, Tommy decided to start a conversation.
"You know, you should tell her..."
******
4.5 hours earlier
"I've placed a bomb on a construction site near 46th street. It will detonate in 49 minutes…"
Everyone looked at each other in various stages of shock. Katie was working quickly looking for any information on construction sites near 46th street on her computer.
"Cap that could be any where. How do we know where to look we won't even get there in time."
"I don't know but we have to go now. Katie, do you have,-"
"Two possible sites. One is two blocks north of Grand Central Station and the other is…" Katie's eyes widened in shock.
"Katie?" Kekoa stepped up into the reception area to see what was wrong and peeked over Katie's shoulder. "Oh God! It's the U.N. Headquarters!"
Team One peeled out of the building fast.
"Contact the U.N. and tell them to evacuate now! Close off all streets by a three block radius from the site and U.N.! Hurry!" Kekoa shouted to Katie as she was running up the steps.
"I'm on it!" Katie quickly dialled both places. As she hung up and was about to contact the team, another call came in. As Katie listened to the message, fear slowly seeped into her being.
"Oh God," she whispered.
******
Team One made it to the site with less then 4 minutes to spare. Workers were running out of the construction site in every direction. Captain Rosco took out his mega phone and ordered them to safety.
Kekoa saw the foreman getting his men out and quickly caught up with him.
"Is that all of them?" She yelled over the noise. Just as the foreman nodded, an explosion rocked the ground behind them. Both Keko and the foreman were knocked to the ground, debris flying everywhere.
"BOSS!" Sam Denton sprinted towards his friend and helped her up. "You alright?" Helping up the foreman, Kekoa nodded.
"Yeah. Winded, but I'm ok. Are you alright sir?" She asked gently. Looking a little shocked, the foreman nodded gingerly.
"I need you to do me a big favour. Can you speak with those officer's over there? We need to know who would want to do this to you. Okay?" Again, he nodded.
Watching him go, Kekoa shook her head.
"Who the hell would do this? Someone have serious beef with a construction site?" Kekoa asked as she and Sam made there way back to their team.
"Maybe it wasn't the site itself." Jose added. Everyone looked at him with a confused look. Gesturing to the building across the street, Jose shrugged.
"Maybe they have beef with the U.N. The site was just a warning." Everyone seemed to consider that when Katie called.
"Guys! You need to listen to this," Katie patched through the message she had received moments before.
"I've placed another bomb at the Port Authority Terminal. It will detonate in 22 minutes."
Everyone moved quickly getting back into their black cars and sped off.
"Katie, can you pin point the-,"
"I'm already on it Boss. Give me a couple more minutes and I should find out."
There was silence on the other end. Captain Rosco smiled and looked over at Keko.
"She reminds me of you, you know?" Keko snorted and gave her captain a smirk.
"What? Naive?" Eddie shook his head.
"No. Experienced. Too much I think, for her age at least. You were like that when I first met you, like you had the world on your shoulders."
Kekoa looked confused as she took her eyes off the road for a second to glance at her friend. Laughing lightly, Eddie took his hat off and smoothed out what was left of his thinning hair.
"You're an observer – you stay on the sidelines and watch the world around you go by. And when someone get's to close, you try and hide it, but your eyes can't lie," he said simply. Keko felt a little too exposed and concentrated on the road.
Eddie knew when it was time to stop. He reached out and patted Kekoa's shoulder's and looked back out the window.
"Sorry I took so long. I was able to track this guy down. I'll send you the address. I'm still gathering as much info I can on him so it'll trickle in slowly. I've also dispatched team two for back up. I'm sending uniforms over to the address and to the station."
"Thanks, Katie." Captain Rosco replied. He switched frequencies on his mouth piece and addressed his team. "Alright, here's the plan. Wetzel and Sanchez, I want you to go to the address and see if you can find out more on this guy. They'll be uniforms there as well, work with them. Torres, Spears and Denton, you're with Makena and myself. Sam and Jess, you need to secure the perimeter. Tommy and I will get everyone out. Keko will head for the bomb. Are we clear?"
"Got it Cap!"
"Yes sir."
Silence filled the car. Keko couldn't shake off what Eddie had said before. It unnerved her to know that he saw too much.
"Sometimes that's all you can do," Keko said quietly. Eddie stared at her for a while not knowing what to say to that.
"And sometimes you need to stop being afraid and get in the game," Eddie said softly. He saw Kekoa acknowledge what he said and nodded slowly. Eddie smiled to himself, knowing his words didn't fall on deaf ears. He admired Keko for that, no matter what happened or how afraid she was, Keko always understood what needed to be done.
Inhaling, Eddie looked out the window and saw the building up ahead.
"Uh, Captain? How the hell do we get 200,000 people out of there without causing massive chaos?" Tommy asked a little anxiously. Kekoa and Eddie glanced at each other, only realizing that problem now.
"Oh boy...," Keko whispered as they got out of the car.
******
With the help of Team 2 and other police officer's in the area and from nearby precincts, the team was able to evacuate quickly without incident.
After a quick conversation with Sam, Keko was able to pinpoint where the bomb was located. Kekoa ran for basement of the terminal. There was less then 4 minutes left before the thing went off. Kekoa had to work fast.
"FOUND IT!" Kekoa practically yelled into her mouth piece. Her joy was short lived when she realized the kind of mechanism she was dealing with. "Crap," she mumbled.
Giving the device a once over Keko ordered Jose and Rachel for the blue print for the bomb.
"Hurry it up guys! I only have a couple minutes before I'm splattered all over the place!"
"Got it! There's supposed to be a trip wire on the left side of the box." Keko moved to the indicated side and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do I cut that?"
"NO! That'll just trigger an early detonation. There's a red wire wrapped around a mercury glass. That's the one you need to cut. But you have to be really care full, you move that little glass..."
"I know, I know." Sweat was beading down Kekoa's forehead as she looked for the wire. She took a quick look at the time: 1:30 minutes left.
Shit! Where are you? Finally finding it, Keko slowly cut the red wire, making sure not to jar the little mercury glass.
Snip.
Kekoa closed her eyes and waited. Nothing happened. Letting out the breath that she had been holding, Keko sat down, feeling her hands shaking.
"KEKOA! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Keko nearly jumped when she heard her name. Quickly, Keko replied.
"It's been disarmed. All clear." She was sure she heard a sigh of relief on the other end. Keko was about to give a snappy reply when Tommy interrupted.
"Uh, we've got a problem."
"What is it Tommy?"
There was silence. Keko got a bad feeling.
"I think I just stepped on a landmine..."
******
Tommy stood under the large stone pillar waiting for his team to arrive. By his foot was the last bomb ticking away. Several uniforms were holding the spectators at bay while swarms of police cruisers blocked off the area.
They got the last call about the bomb being located at N. Y. U while Keko was still dealing with the second bomb. Tommy and Jessie volunteered to go check it out. When they got there, they found it fairly quickly and were able to evacuate the school fast.
The timer continued to count down and Tommy had no other choice but to act fast. He stepped onto the small garden platform and walked slowly towards the bomb. He was less then a foot away when he felt something odd under his foot. Then he heard a slight click. He knew immediately what he had just stepped on.
"How you holding up Lancelot?" Tommy smiled at the use of his childhood nickname.
"I'm ok Boss. Just enjoying a little down time," he said, his voice cracking slightly. He noticed Jessie hanging around and waved him over.
"Do me a favour?" Jessie nodded. "Stop sulking around will you? You're making me nervous," Tommy said with a smile to take the sting out of his words. Jessie faltered, but smiled and nodded. Just then, 3 large black SUV's pulled up.
Tommy saw Sergeant Makana jump out of the car and sprint towards them. Skidding to a stop, Kekoa motioned for Jessie to meet up with the rest of the team while she stayed with Tommy. When Jess left, Keko smiled brightly and shook her head.
"Man, you've got yourself into one hell of a pickle." Smiling, Tommy nodded. Then he gestured to the bomb in font of him.
"What about that?" Keko noticed for the first time and sighed.
"I'll take care of it," Kekoa said as she moved to step onto the platform.
"NO!" Tommy quickly held out his hand to keep her from coming any closer. "I don't know if this thing is rigged to the mine or what. Let me deal with it."
"You sure?" Watching him nod, Kekoa handed him a pair of wire cutters.
"I just need to know what I'm lookin for."
Nodding, Keko took out her flash light and gestured to the box in front of them.
"Ok, you gotta look for a red wire wrapped around a small mercury glass. Cut that. But be careful not to bump the thing."
Swallowing his fear, Tommy nodded and looked for the wire as best he could. Keko held up her flashlight for him, helping him see better.
"Got it!" He pointed to the spot and tried to reach for it. He was a few inches off and he tried again to stretch his arm a little further with out falling. He felt himself tremble with the effort and straightened himself up with a frustrated sigh.
"You better get out of here Boss."
Shaking her head, Keko stood where she was. "No."
"Do as he says Kekoa," Captain Rosco said through the ear piece.
"I'm ok. I can do this."
Kekoa still looked unsure. She didn't want to leave him alone.
"Look, let me deal with this. Then we can deal with the other thing, ok?" Tommy said softly, his eyes pleading with her.
Keko found herself nodding and reluctantly walked away towards her team. Tommy watched her for a moment then glanced at the box.
"Ok you little bugger. It's just you and me now," he said softly. Taking a breath, Tommy leaned forward carefully, making sure he didn't add anymore pressure onto the mine, he reached out as far as he could. The tips of the wire cutters were close enough to the wire; Tommy got it with one snip.
Standing back up and wiping the sweat off his forehead and smiling wildly, he hit the 'TALK' button on his mouth piece.
"I got it! I got it!"
Those standing by the cars all sighed in relief. Kekoa didn't feel entirely relived; they still had a mine to disarm after all.
"Ok buddy. What do you feel under your feet? A flat surface, a spike or lots of spikes?"
"Uh...lots of spikes. Kinda feel's like five or six metal spikes..."
Sam and Kekoa shared a look. Captain Rosco saw it and knew that it was bad news.
"What is it?"
Sam hesitated. He had dealt with these kinds of mines before in his days in the Army. The out come always ended the same for the soldier that stepped on one.
"It's a V69. It's a frag. I've seen a lot of those used in Northern Iraq. The guys that had the misfortune of stepping on one don't always make it out in one piece," Sam said solemnly. The rest of the team grew quiet.
"Is there anyway we can get him out?" Rachel asked softly.
Sam shrugged, "I don't know,"
"If it goes off, does he have a chance?" Keko asked.
"In my opinion, I don't..."
"I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION! I asked if he still had a chance." Kekoa demanded. She got in Sam's face and glared. Sam was wise enough not to push back, instead he nodded.
"Yeah. Not a big one, but yeah he does."
Keko felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back at her Captain.
"I'm getting him out," she stated. The other's stood in disbelief while the Captain shook his head. Sam was the only one that spoke up.
"Are you out of your mind?! That thing blows, you're both dead. It has a killing radius of 25 meters! I've seen what they can do!" Sam blocked Kekoa's path as she begun walking. Kekoa gave him a shove and continued walking.
"Sergeant! Get your ass back here! NOW!" Captain Rosco demanded. Turning on her heel, Kekoa came back.
Adjusting his hat, Eddie looked from Sam to Keko then back to Sam. He sighed as he made his decision.
"Let her give it a try." He held his hand up as he heard both objections and approvals from the team. "Take the metal detector with you. I'm not having anymore of my people getting stuck out there."
Nodding, Kekoa went over to the trunk of the SUV and pulled out the machine. The other members watched her go.
"I can't believe he let her go," Rachel said to no one in particular. Jessie shook his head.
"If there's a chance, then I say go for it, man."
"How can you say that? Instead of one, they'll be two dead bodies?" Rachel asked in disbelief. Jose added his two cents.
"This is our job Rach. This is what we're trained to do, remember?"
"Guys, that's enough." Eddie was getting a little tired of listening to them argue. He stole a glance at Sam, who stood to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't look happy. Walking over, Eddie gestured to Tommy and Kekoa.
"If there's a chance, then we need to do everything in our power to get him out of there," he stated softly.
"Sir, I've seen what those things can do. I've watched my men lose an arm or a leg, only to get serious infection and die. It's a painful way to go. Those mines were built to kill." With that said, Sam walked away. Eddie sighed then turned his attention to his two team members and prayed that this would be alright.
******
"Wow, this guy's been a busy bunny," Kekoa said as she placed the last flag over a mine. There were 5 in all in the small platform. Carefully placing the detector on the ground, she slowly took another step towards Tommy.
Giving him an encouraging smile, Keko nodded.
"Hey, how ya doin' man?" Keko asked as if they had all the time in the world. Tommy, looked up, and gave his boss a crooked smile, making him look younger then ever.
"Eh, you know me Boss. Can't seem to keep myself out of trouble." He blinked rapidly, trying to shake away the sweat that was sliding down his forehead and into his eyes. Kekoa took out her handkerchief and gently wiped his brow.
"Don't you worry 'bout a thing. I'm gonna get you outta here pronto." With that, Kekoa slowly lowered herself until she was on her knees. She assessed the situation and silently cursed herself.
"How's everything looking?" Captain Rosco asked through the head piece. Wiping the sweat that was falling from her nose, Kekoa nodded to herself.
"Don't know yet but I think I can slip the pin back in and we'll be walking outta here and be home in time for dinner." Then looking up at Tommy, she smiled once more. "I'm gonna need you to stand still. Okay?"
Tommy laughed and nodded. "I ain't going nowhere Boss."
Ever so slowly, Kekoa dug around Tommy's foot looking for that tiny little whole. As she was digging, Tommy decided to start a conversation.
"You know, you should tell her..."
Looking up, Kekoa gave him a smirk.
"You again with the talky talk. No wonder I can't concentrate." Tommy laughed and Kekoa went back to work, slowly digging around the mine.
"I think you should tell her," Tommy said once more.
"Who?" Kekoa wasn't really paying attention.
"Detective Benson. You should tell her how you feel." Kekoa didn't know what to say to that. Tommy didn't notice her lack of reply. He just continued to talk to know one in particular.
"It's obvious, man. So obvious that you can't even see it. She's totally in love with you," Tommy said with a chuckle. Keko didn't hear the last part because she found what she was looking for.
"Found it! Found the – shit!"
"What! What's wrong Keko?"
Frustrated, Kekoa ran a hand through her hair. "They glued the hole shut! There's no way I can get the pin back in with out setting it off." Keko sat back and thought frantically. Think! Think! Think!
Tommy was quiet for a moment, digesting what he heard. Swallowing his tears, he plastered a smile on his face as he spoke.
"You know after all this; I'm gonna book me a nice vacation. Some place warm, a lot of sand. Lot's of hot babes in bikinis by the water..."
Kekoa's head snapped up. "That's it! Water!" Tommy looked confused. Kekoa recovered the mine with dirt and stood up slowly as she spoke.
"I'm gonna need a lot of water and shields. I can stabilize the pressure by adding the water to the area around the mine..."
"I don't know about that Keko..."
"It'll work!"
"Look Boss, maybe you should go...."
"I'm not leaving you behind. Besides, this is what we do right?" Keko gave him a wink and a smile as she carefully retraced her steps and ran for the cars.
Tommy watched Kekoa's receding back. He knew there was no way he was going to walk out of this alive. He shut off his head seat and pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number he knew well.
"Hello?"
"Dad, it's me."
"Hey boyo! How's it going?" Tommy smiled at the sound of his father's voice on the other line.
"Nothing much. Just got some down time. Thought I'd give you a call. Is mom there?" He tried to sound calm but his father knew him well.
"What's wrong, son?"
Tommy fought the urge to cry. He covered his mouth with a trembling hand and cleared his throat.
"Nothing dad. I just wanted to here her voice."
"She's out back. I'll go get her."
After a moment, Tommy heard some rustling on the other line.
"Baby?"
Tommy had to put the down for a second. He felt his tears slid down his face. Once more, he gathered as much composure as he could and put the phone back to his ear.
"Hey mom. How's the most beautiful woman in the world?" His voice cracked as he spoke and his mother picked up on it.
"Baby? Are you in trouble?"
"No ma. I just wanted to call and tell you," Tommy's voice cracked again as he spoke. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you. Look ma, I gotta go. Tell dad that I love him. Goodbye." He hung up before he could hear his parents protest.
Taking a few deep breathes Tommy knew what he had to do. Switching on his head piece and pressing the 'TALK' button, he spoke softly to his team.
"Guys...I'm ok. It's ok."
He switched off his head piece again, looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. He thought of his parents, of his friends and his team mates and smiled.
Then he lifted his foot...
******
"Why's everyone just standing around? I need shields...," Kekoa slowed as she neared her team.
"You've done all you could," Eddie said slowly. Shaking her head violently Kekoa
"There is no way in hell I'm leaving him!" Sam shook his head about to speak. "You stay out of this!" Kekoa pointed her finger at Sam.
"Kekoa...," Eddie stood in between them but was interrupted.
"Guys...I'm ok. It's ok."
A split second later an explosion rocked the area. Rachel covered her mouth as she cried. Jessie wrapped his arms around her while Jose stood in shock, tears streaming down his face. Sam turned around and hit the SUV, angry and frustrated. He felt tears fall from his eyes.
Kekoa stood frozen then she felt herself falling to her knees slowly, she was vaguely aware of someone screaming not realizing it was her. All she could feel was pain, uncontrollable pain. She had to shut her eyes and she continued to scream. She felt Eddie wrap his arms around her and held her tight.
******
It had been a week and a half since the funeral. Olivia understood the need to crawl somewhere and hide from the world around you. But it didn't mean it hurt any less.
She watched Kekoa barely function as she got up for work every day, watched as Keko threw up walls that were never there before. There were nights she'd wake up and find Kekoa trembling in the bathroom or out in the living room pacing the room like a caged animal. Olivia pleaded with Keko to speak with someone or at least take some time off.
The situation with Kim only added to the pressure. Olivia took matters into her own hands and called Alex for Abbie's phone number. Without giving much away, Liv was able to get the number and quickly dialled Abbie. Olivia felt a sense of relief when Abbie agreed to look into things for Kekoa.
With the Kim situation taken care of, Olivia could focus solely on Kekoa. That was the easy part; it was trying to get through to the woman that would prove a challenge.
******
I'm ok...it's ok...
The words repeated themselves over and over in her mind. A sick feeling washed over her. Then a blast knocked her to the ground.
And still, the damn words kept on repeating themselves.
I'm ok...it's ok...
Keko felt the ground crumbling under her feet. Then she felt herself falling, she heard screaming then dead silence.
Kekoa heard Tommy's voice, "I'm ok...It's ok..."
She heard the heartbreaking wails of Tommy's mother at the funeral, "my baby! My baby!" Kekoa walked by a man that resembled Tommy's father, but his eyes were dead. As Kekoa walked up to the coffin, she expected to see Tommy. Peering into the coffin, she stumbled backwards.
It was Kekoa lying in the coffin. She felt the air being sucked out of her as she looked around. The scene around her changed. She saw her parents crying, her brother's and sisters weeping with their children. And Olivia.
Olivia cradling Keko's lifeless body looking helples.
Oh God! Oh God!
Jerking wide awake, Kekoa gasped for air. She was covered in sweat as she sat up. Stumbling out of bed, Kekoa barely made it to the bathroom before she fell to her knees. Olivia was right behind her wrapping her arms around Keko's trembling form.
"I'm not ok...I'm not ok," Kekoa whispered over and over. Olivia held her tighter as she cried. After a moment, Keko pulled away looking slightly dazed.
"Help me," Kekoa's voice cracked as she begged Olivia for help. Olivia cried harder but nodded.
"I will baby. I will." Olivia gathered Keko in her arms and held her all night, not moving from their position. Olivia continued to whisper soothing words in Kekoa's ear all night and all morning.
Olivia would do anything to get her Keko back.