Chapter 33: Calamity in Paleto Bay (Part 2)
[Author's Note: Just to let you all know, after this chapter, I plan on switching things up a bit. For basically the entirety of this story so far, I have been trying to integrate the various story missions of GTA V, mixing them into the Harrison/LSPD saga and trying to put the story mission stuff at the forefront. Honestly, though, I'm noticing that my utilizing that approach is starting to bog the story down and unnecessarily drag it on and on. I don't want to give too much away, but starting in the chapter following this one, I'm going to reinvent the storyline and create an overarching plot where Harrison and our various law enforcement characters join forces with Michael, Franklin, and Trevor to fight against a common enemy. On a final note, some details in this chapter will give some exposition to Raven Wolf Claw's background that pertain to both Native American culture and the military. Obviously, I mean no offense to any Native American or indigenous people, nor those brave people in the military who proudly serve our country. You are all recognized and appreciated!]
Dream View Motel
Pyrite Avenue
Paleto Bay
11:00 AM
Harrison pulled his blue 2006 Dodge Charger SXT into the parking lot of the Dream View Motel in Paleto Bay. He smiled as he saw Detective Raven Wolf Claw standing next to her blue 1995 Honda Civic SI hatchback that was parked in the space right beside him. She was dressed in a beige suede leather jacket with a plain white cotton t-shirt underneath, beige denim work pants, and light brown moccasin-style boots with her black hair styled in long braids. She walked around to the passenger door of Harrison's Charger and hopped in, at which point she shook hands with the new Chief Detective.
"Good morning, Chief Harrison!" Wolf Claw warmly greeted. She said his new title with deliberately prominent emphasis.
"Good morning, Detective", Harrison just as warmly replied before breaking the handshake, "It's good to see you again."
"Good to see you again too, sir" Wolf Claw replied, "Thank you so much for coming out here to meet me."
"Not a problem", Harrison said, "I have to apologize on Adam Xander's behalf. He wanted to be here also, but he and his squad caught a homicide call in Vespucci Beach."
"That's alright", Wolf Claw humbly replied.
Harrison nodded. "I understand that you're looking to get out of Narcotics", he said.
Wolf Claw sighed deeply before nodding back in response. "Yes sir", she said, "Don't get me wrong, I value the work I've put in here so far. My problem is that, work on the San Andreas Regional Drug Reaction Team isn't always constant. We bust a major dealer or a drug lab and we're left doing pretty much nothing but paperwork until somebody tips us off to a new operation."
"You mentioned in your e-mail that you wanted to move back to the city and be closer to your folks", Harrison said, "Is that right?"
"Yeah", Wolf Claw replied, "My mom and stepdad still live in the same house in Chamberlain Hills. I grew up there. My parents divorced when I was six, and my biological dad moved out to Sandy Shores to take care of my grandmother. He stayed there in her house after she passed away about a year later."
It was then that Harrison happened to notice the dog tags that Wolf Claw wore around her neck. "'Alexander Wolf Claw'" he read out loud, "He's your biological dad, I take it?"
Wolf Claw nodded. "Yes", she said, "He served with the Air Force for about fifteen years. He was actually the first of three people from his Chumash reservation who would go on to serve in the military. He was a Combat Rescue Officer in Kuwait during Desert Storm."
A fascinated Harrison smiled. "Very cool", he said, "Are you guys still close?"
With that, Wolf Claw's head hung with sorrow before she turned and faced out the car's passenger window. "I wish we were, Chief" she said as she noticeably choked back tears, "He died of a brain tumor back in Two-Thousand-Eight. When I transferred onto the Drug Reaction Team, I guess I chose to move into my family's house just so I could hang on to my memories of my dad and my grandmother."
Harrison put a consoling hand on Wolf Claw's shoulder, at which point she turned at looked back at him. "I'm so sorry, Raven" he said, "Is this why you're thinking of moving back to Los Santos? To finally let go of your pain?"
Wolf Claw produced a tissue from her jacket pocket and wiped her eyes. "I guess so", she replied, "That and the fact that I'm sick of working undercover detail and having it result only in petty Toilet Cleaner busts."
Harrison chuckled. "Homicide cases require a lot of pretty grim work", he very matter-of-factly said, "But a good way for you to think of it would be as a way to help others deal with and eventually let go of their pain."
A now very comforted and calmer Wolf Claw nodded and smiled. "Okay then", she said, "plus it'd be nice to have Adam as my boss."
Harrison laughed. "I know, right?" he said, "He was a little apprehensive at first about replacing Lieutenant Wong, but he's finally come around to realizing that he's earned the privilege."
Just then, Harrison's police radio crackled to life. "Dispatch to any available units", a male dispatcher's voice said from the radio, "Blaine County requests additional assistance for a Code Ten-Two-Eleven at the Blaine County Savings Bank, Cascabel Avenue. Eyewitnesses report three masked armed suspects executing an armed robbery at that location. Any available units, please respond and assist."
Harrison and Wolf Claw traded looks for a moment. "Do you have your vest in your car?" Harrison asked.
"Yeah", Wolf Claw replied, "It's in my trunk."
Harrison nodded. "Cool", he said, "I've got an MP5 and a shotgun in my trunk. Should I tell Dispatch we're responding?"
Not even stopping to think, Wolf Claw nodded confidently. "Let's do it!" Wolf Claw said as she bolted from the car and crossed over to her own vehicle to retrieve her tactical vest. Meanwhile, Harrison keyed his portable radio as he exited the car and crossed to his own car trunk.
"Charlie-Oh-Two to Dispatch", he said into the radio, "DRT-Twelve and myself are both in Paleto Bay right now and have copied your traffic regarding the Ten-Two-Eleven. Please advise Blaine County that we'll be responding to the bank to back them up, over."
"Ten-Four, Charlie-Oh-Two" the male dispatcher responded from the radio a few seconds later, "We copy your request and will advise Blaine County accordingly. Be advised, the LSPD Tactical Unit and LSPD air units are also on their way at this time to assist, over."
Harrison was joined by Wolf Claw as he retrieved his own tactical vest from inside the trunk and put it on. Wolf Claw removed the tactical shotgun from inside the trunk and promptly loaded it. "Mind if I use this one, Chief?" she asked.
"Sounds like we'll need some heavy artillery to go up against these assholes", Harrison said as he loaded a fresh magazine of ammo into his black MP5 submachine gun and slung the strap over his shoulder, "So yeah, by all means, go ahead."
The two then reentered Harrison's Charger and slowly rolled the vehicle toward the Blaine County Savings Bank.
Blaine County Savings Bank
Cascabel Avenue
Upon arrival, Harrison parked the car roughly 15 feet away from the first Blaine County Sheriff's car he saw. He and Wolf Claw promptly exited the vehicle and crept over to the sheriff's car with their respective firearms in hand, at which point they were met by Chief Deputy Gordon Pulaski and Deputy Jake Barnes.
"Tell the sheriff the Two-Eleven is confirmed", Pulaski said into his radio mic, "We're gonna need everything we got down here!" He then hurriedly put his radio mic back on its cradle and turned to see Harrison and Wolf Claw behind him.
"How the hell did you guys get here so fast?" An anxious Pulaski asked.
"We were in the area, Gordon" Harrison said, "LSPD's got some extra support on the way now. What's the situation?"
"We received an alarm call about five minutes ago", Deputy Barnes cut in, "Dispatch updated the call while we rolled to the scene and said that there were three armed suspects inside. When we tried to attempt entry, one of the perps came out and fired a warning shot at us and said they had hostages."
"Stupid question", Wolf Claw said, "But are the perps masked?"
"Yeah", Pulaski replied, "That's what the nine-one-one caller told Dispatch. We saw the guy with the shotgun wearing one when he fired his warning shot at us."
Three additional sheriff's cars then arrived on scene, with Sheriff Jack Burton and Deputy Winifred "Fred" Morris emerging from inside the car that parked closest to Pulaski and Barnes' vehicle. "What's going on here, Pulaski?" Sheriff Burton eagerly inquired as he and Morris crouched down between the four officers.
Pulaski quickly summarized the situation for them, after which the sheriff switched on the car's loudspeaker function and keyed the mic to hail the building. "You know you're surrounded!" Burton barked via the loudspeaker, "So you ain't getting a ride to the airport! Now let the hostages go and we'll talk like gentlemen!"
Both of the bank's double glass doors simultaneously swung open not even five seconds following Sheriff Burton's warnings, at which point all of the responding officers were met with a stunning sight. All three robbers now seemed to be wearing what appeared to be bombproof armored bodysuits. One perpetrator was armed with an assault rifle, the second with a pump-action shotgun, and the third with what looked like a military-grade minigun.
"Sweet mother of shit!" a dumbfounded Sheriff Burton breathlessly uttered when he saw the suspects' weapons and attire.
In a very heroic and perhaps reflexive action, Deputy Barnes sprung up and went to shield Sheriff Burton. "SHERIFF!" he hollered loudly to get Burton's attention before protectively tackling his boss to the ground.
The minigun then came to life with a very foreboding whining noise, after which a violent shower of high-caliber rounds was rapidly fired into the street, thereby confirming what Deputy Barnes evidently already knew would happen. Pulaski and Barnes' patrol car was the first to sustain major damage, with the high-caliber rounds quickly turning the closed passenger door into Swiss cheese. Still holding down Sheriff Burton with one hand, Barnes courageously sprung up to one-handedly return fire with his Smith and Wesson M&P Shield Plus handgun.
"DEPUTY!" A worried Harrison yelled as he hurriedly crawled toward Barnes' position, "NO!"
Before the "No" could even fully escape Harrison's lips, Deputy Barnes hit the ground face up, having been struck twice through the right shoulder by some of the minigun rounds. An enraged Harrison then saw an opportunity and sprung up himself, angrily firing a burst of rounds from his MP5 in the direction of the minigun-packing suspect.
Harrison's bullets seemed to have minimal effect, however, as they seemingly bounced off the suspect's armored suit like rocks from a slingshot. He then hurriedly crossed to the wounded Barnes, quickly throwing the MP5 strap over his shoulder for the moment.
"Deputy", Harrison said as he pressed his hand against the deputy's two shoulder wounds, "Hang in there, man. What's your first name, Barnes?"
"Jake", Barnes groaned.
"Okay Jake", Harrison replied, "I'm Troy, by the way. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances, brother, but like I said, you hang the fuck on and stay with me, okay?"
The injured young deputy managed to muster a smile through his pain. "I'll do my best, Troy" he said, "Thank you."
Thinking quickly, Harrison looked to Wolf Claw. "Raven!" he hollered to her.
Hearing his call, Wolf Claw looked to him, a look of concern crossing her face as she noticed Harrison watching over the wounded deputy.
"Give me a hand over here!" Harrison barked.
Wolf Claw nodded and quickly moved to Harrison and Barnes, taking over trying to staunch the latter's bleeding wounds with her hand. "How bad is it?" she asked.
"He's got two wounds to his right shoulder", Harrison explained, "The first one looks like it went clean through but the second one's bleeding pretty bad. It may have nicked an artery."
An agitated Barnes then raised his head. "What?" he said.
"Hey", Harrison said to him, "Don't worry about it, Jake. I've got an idea. Raven, would you be able to carry Barnes yourself?"
Though reluctant to try and carry someone who seemed to outweigh her by about 40 pounds, Wolf Claw nodded. "Yeah", she replied, "What are you thinking?"
"I need you to carry him to my car", Harrison explained, "We can try and drive him over to the fire station and have their medics get him to a trauma center in the city. But we're going to need a second person to provide cover fire with me while you hustle him to the car."
Harrison then briefly looked up and saw an LSPD helicopter swing around to engage the hostile suspects. However, not even a second later, two loud screams were heard just before the bodies of two Tactical Unit officers were seen plummeting from the chopper just as its failing engine exploded.
The now empty wayward helicopter then aimlessly spun around for a few seconds before falling out of sight behind the South Seas Apartments complex across from the bank. A loud explosion was then heard as the helicopter presumably crashed.
"Fuck!" Harrison exclaimed as he glanced at the South Seas building before looking back at Wolf Claw and Deputy Barnes, "Slight change of plan, Raven! I'm going to go check on those two Tactical Unit guys. Get Barnes to my car and I'll be right behind you!"
"But Chief…" Wolf Claw uttered with significant hesitancy in her voice.
"I'll be right behind you", Harrison repeated in a more reassuring tone, "Don't worry. Get Barnes to the car and sit tight. We can take all three people in my car with one trip."
As if God was personally overseeing this portentous situation, one of the LSPD Tactical Unit trucks quickly rolled up beside where Harrison's Charger was parked, at which point Sergeant Dakota Michaels and Captain Ella Gilligan exited and went over to Harrison, Wolf Claw, and Barnes. They were both clad in full tactical gear with heavy-duty body armor and ballistic helmets.
"What's going on, guys?" Gilligan anxiously asked.
Wolf Claw and Harrison quickly explained the chaotic situation to them. "Who'd you guys have on that helicopter you sent?" Harrison asked.
"Dave Brandon and Rodney Zhao", Michaels replied.
"They dove out of the helicopter before it crashed", Wolf Claw said, "I think they landed behind the apartment complex. Harrison wants to go in and get them. We can transport them and Barnes to safety."
Michaels nodded agreeably. "Okay", he said to Harrison, "Let's go. I'll cover you."
As Wolf Claw and Gilligan worked to get Barnes to the car, Harrison and Michaels hustled across the street to the apartment complex, with Michaels defensively firing his tactical submachine gun in the suspects' direction to safeguard Harrison.
They were soon able to locate wounded Officers Dave Brandon and Rodney Zhao. Having stripped themselves of their heavy armor, the two men groaned in pain as they lay beside the complex's pool near where the now flaming and totally disabled helicopter had made its crash landing.
"Hey guys", Harrison said as he scooped Officer Brandon off the ground, "No time to waste! We've got a ride waiting!"
Meanwhile, Michaels grabbed up Officer Zhao and the two men hustled their two wounded colleagues back out toward Harrison's waiting Charger, where Wolf Claw was behind the wheel and Barnes sat in the front seat, holding a first-aid bandage to his wounded shoulder.
"Hop in!" Wolf Claw hollered, "I radioed ahead to the Highway Patrol. Their chopper's going to meet us at the sheriff's station and transport the guys to Mount Zonah Medical Center. Figured it would save a lot of time."
Harrison carefully loaded Brandon and Zhao into the backseat before sliding in himself behind Brandon. He then looked to Michaels. "Don't worry, man" he said, "Your boys are in good hands. Just get those assholes."
A worried and saddened Michaels nodded. "You got it", he said before shutting the backseat door, "Go!"
The Dodge Charger SXT then raced off toward the Paleto Bay sheriff's station. "Nice work, kid" he said to Wolf Claw.
"Thanks, Chief" Wolf Claw said from the driver's seat without taking her eyes off the road.
Brandon then groaned in pain. "Damn Harrison", he said, "I'm hurting, man!"
"I know you are, Dave" Harrison replied as he put a hand on his shoulder, "Just hang on, brother. You're going to be fine. All of you are going to be fine."