An MTA bus headed down Amsterdam Ave. The people onboard just watched out the windows or listened to their Ipods, not paying attention to anything really. The bus continued as it passed through the city, past 104th and continued. It was just past 6 o'clock in the evening. The traditional hustle and bustle of New York City during the evening rush hour. A light snow began to fall over the city; the white flakes glimmered off the Christmas lights spread throughout.
The Squad was sitting around at the firehouse. DK had just kicked back in the recliner. Mac was busy cooking dinner, Logan reading the paper. Walsh was in his office, his cup of coffee beside him, looking over some reports. The medics were out and about in the city. He thought he heard Boy 55-3 get a call on King, but nothing spectacular was going on.
Taylor and Grace were just driving around. Taylor had a list of things that she wanted to get, Christmas presents, things for Christmas dinner and all. Grace was driving and so Taylor was just kicked back, they were talking.
"So got anything special planned for Christmas?" Taylor asked
"Well, Brendan's mom wants us to come over there." Grace replied
"How's that going?" Taylor asked
"He is such a sweetheart." Grace replied
"He seems like he should be." Taylor smiled
"Get everything you wanted to get for the kids for Christmas?" Grace asked
"Tommy wants a PSP, is he even old enough for that?" Taylor asked in return
"I don't know." Grace laughed
"I think that the kids are going to have a great Christmas." Taylor added
"With you and Billy as parents, what kid wouldn't?" Grace asked
Taylor just shrugged as they drove on.
Mac pulled the huge pan of lasagna out of the oven.
"Alright, time to eat." He pronounced.
Like a pack of hungry wolves the guys swarmed in and took their places at the table. Walsh walked out from his office.
"The famous MacNamara lasagna and garlic bread huh?" He asked
"Nothing better than that Lieu." Mac smiled
"Someone make sure that they give Logan breath mints, the stench in the back is awful." DK kidded
"Speak for yourself." Logan returned
"Hey now, don't make me send you both to your room without dinner." Walsh laughed
"Okay Dad, we promise we'll be good." DK responded
"Enough with this, I'm going to eat!" Stu laughed
"Yeah, the Sequoia here needs something to help hold him down in case of a sudden gust of wind." Logan laughed
"I am glad we are all in such a great mood tonight." Walsh laughed
The MTA bus turned onto 42nd Street to head to the Port Authority Terminal. But as usual, it sat in traffic. A young man sitting in the back starred down at the yellow taxicab next to him. Inside the bus you could still hear the sounds of the horns honking impatiently. It wouldn't be New York without them.
Carlos and Levine cleaned up the back of the bus in the ambulance bay of Mercy. Carlos readjusted his FDNY ski cap.
"It's starting to come down out there." He said
The darkness was settling in over the city and you could really see the snow falling.
"Yeah it is coming down pretty fast." Levine replied
"Hope that doesn't mean we're going to be out on MVCs the rest of the night." Carlos complained as he shut the doors.
"At least then we'll be doing more than just driving around." Levine responded
Grace and Taylor were sitting under a bridge eating their dinner.
"You know how much I hate greasy burgers?" Taylor asked
"Sometimes we don't get much of a choice." Grace said as she ate a fry
"Especially on nights like tonight." Taylor said looking out the window at the falling snow.
"Yeah, it won't be long before we're responding to something." Grace admitted
"God these things give me heartburn!" Taylor complained.
The beep of the radio interrupted their conversation.
"Adam 55-3 respond for a sick person 102 King." The radio called
Taylor threw the foil wrapped burger onto the dashboard and grabbed the radio mic.
"102 King." She said
Grace turned on the lights and sirens and they headed off for their call.
Walsh sat back at the table.
"Mac, you really need to teach Taylor how to make a lasagna." He said
The guys laughed
"Taylor just doesn't so great in the kitchen." Walsh laughed.
"That's rough, get married to someone who can't cook." DK said
"I'm willing to forgive that." Walsh laughed
The comment resulted in an eruption of laughter from the rest of the squad as they cleaned up from their meal.
Taylor and Grace arrived on scene to find a dark house. They rang the bell and got no response. Grace shivered a little.
"Sure, call 911 and then don't answer your door!" She banged her gloved hand on the door.
Finney and Davis pulled up.
"You get a call here?" Davis asked
"No, we just figured we'd stand out here in the cold and snow just to see how long it took someone to ask us if we got a call here." Taylor mocked
Finney laughed.
"No one's there. They moved the old lady out last week." Davis said
"You're sure that no one lives here?" Taylor asked
"I was here when they made her leave." Davis said
"Hey, a light just came on." Grace said
Finney and Davis got out of the car and walked up to the door.
Davis took his flashlight out and tapped on the door.
"Police, open up!" He said
"Doesn't look like anyone's answering you bro." Finney said
"That's what I was afraid of." Davis said as he drew his gun from its holster. "Step back girls."
Taylor and Grace stepped back as Davis lined up to kick in the front door.
"You ready?" Davis asked Finney
"Yeah, let's do this." Finney replied
Davis kicked in the door and they began to search the house. They opened doors and turned on lights in the rooms as they made their way to the room where the light was on.
"It's clear!" Davis yelled
Taylor and Grace slowly made their way to the kitchen area that Davis and Finney were standing in.
"Whoever left here left in a hurry." Davis said noticing tracks in the snow and the backdoor hanging wide open.
Taylor and Grace had been looking around and things on the counter.
"There's something not right here." Taylor said
"What do you mean?" Davis asked
"There's an MTA bus schedule here with a route mapped out on it." Taylor said
"Yeah, so the new owner commutes to work." Finney said
"The bus doesn't go anywhere near here, it goes to Port Authority." Taylor remarked
"Still doesn't make it weird." Davis replied
Grace had been checking around the room and made a startling discovery.
"Does this?" She asked pointing to a box marked 'C4'
"Alright, get out of here now!" Davis said as he rushed the girls out
"55 Charlie to Central, we need the bomb squad and a supervisor to 102 King, also we need to locate MTA bus 1107." Davis radioed
Taylor tried to dial the firehouse but the line was busy.
"I don't like this at all." She said, "let's get a little further away from here."
"Alright." Grace said as she moved the bus down the block.
Taylor pulled out the cell phone again to call dispatch and let them know of the development.
The guys settled down into the recliners and were watching the Knicks game on TV. DK was on the phone with his girlfriend in the kitchen. Billy had returned to the office to work on run sheets. Periodically someone looked outside and made a comment about the snow. Stu was looking out the window when he noticed the NYPD Bomb Squad Truck pull out.
"Wonder where they're going?" Stu asked
Mac looked out the window. "That's odd."
"Our alert system's working right?" Logan asked
"Worked earlier today." Mac replied
"Yeah but the bomb squad doesn't normally go without fire." Stu said
Walsh heard the commotion out in the lounge. "DK get off the damn phone."
DK quickly ended the phone call and joined everyone else at the window.
Davis and Finney tied off the area around the house.
"Think we might want to evacuate the neighbors?" Finney asked
"Good idea. See if you can get the girls to help you." Davis said
As he prepared to walk down the street to get the girls he heard something strange. He looked around quickly.
"Davis you hear that?" He asked as he put his hand on his gun
"Yeah." Davis replied looking around.
A sudden quiet came over the block before the hiss occurred.
"Move!" Davis yelled
Davis and Finney ran from the building as an explosion rocked it. Bricks came flying down all around them. The flames shot out the huge gaping hole that the explosion left.
"55 Charlie to Central, find that bus! We've had an explosion at this location. Fear there may be explosives on board the bus!" Davis yelled into the radio
"Copy that Charlie." Dispatch radioed
"And get fire here forthwith!" Davis added
Taylor and Grace rushed back up the street when they heard the explosion.
"Oh my God!" Grace exclaimed
The alarm interrupted the Squad's relaxation.
"Squad 55, Ladder 100, Boy 55-3 respond for an explosion 102 King." The alarm called
"I think we just got our answer." Walsh said of the question as to where the bomb squad was headed.
The other police units heard Davis's report and were on the lookout for the MTA bus.
"What number did they say it was?" Bosco asked Monroe
"1107 heading toward Port Authority." Monroe replied
"There it is!" Bosco exclaimed as he looked down the street
"55 David to Central we've located the bus on 42nd Street, 6 blocks from Port Authority." Monroe radioed as Bosco tried to close in on the bus.
"Anti-crime 1 is responding, requesting ESU." Sgt. Cruz requested
Bosco pulled the RMP close to the bus. He hit the sirens trying to get the bus to pull over.
The boy looked panicked. He stood up and pulled a gun from his coat.
"Nobody move!" He yelled as he waved the gun, "There's a bomb on the bus. Nobody move!"
The frightened passengers started to scream as the boy walked towards the driver.
"Keep driving!" He ordered
"This is insane." The driver said
"This bus is not stopping until it reaches the Port Authority Terminal!" The boy yelled
"They'll never let us in." The driver argued
"Make them!" The boy ordered
Bosco grew impatient and grabbed the PA mic.
"Pull over!" He yelled
"Bosco, I don't think he's stopping." Monroe pointed out as the bus bounced off of cars
"Tell me something I didn't already know." Bosco said
"55 David to Central and all units, the bus is not stopping. I repeat the bus is NOT stopping!" Monroe radioed
Sgt Cruz was listening to the reports as Santiago drove as fast as he could towards the terminal.
"Anti Crime 1 to Central, is ESU in route yet?" She radioed
"That's affirmative." Central radioed
"Have we confirmed if there is a bomb on the bus?" Cruz asked
"Taking 911 calls from passengers on the bus confirming 1 armed suspect claiming to have a bomb on the bus." Central returned
"Anti-Crime 1 to all units, block off ALL access to the terminal." Cruz took control of the situation, "Central notify Port Authority to evacuate the terminal."
"Copy that." Central returned
"Lieutenant 55 to Anti-Crime 1, evacuation is already in progress. All units back off of pursuit!" Lt. Swersky broke into radio traffic. "Lt. 55 to all units, back off pursuit, emergency radio traffic only."
Grace helped Finney to his feet.
"Are you okay?" She asked
"Yeah, the building just exploded!" He said in disbelief
The sirens from the fire units were approaching them.
He brushed the snow off of him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said
Taylor checked on Davis.
"I'm good." He said
"Are you sure?" Taylor asked
"Yeah, I just got a scratch." He said pointing to the gash on his forehead
The Squad pulled to a halt and Walsh jumped out.
"What the hell happened?" He said looking a bit confused to why Taylor was already there
Carlos jumped out of Boy 55-3.
"Holy shit!" He exclaimed looking at the bombed out building.
"Yeah that's pretty much what I said when it happened." Taylor said as she walked past him.
The guys set to fighting the fire.
"Just to warn you there could still be explosives in there." Davis said
A Bomb Technician walked over. "I doubt it, that fire's been burning a while they should all have exploded."
"That's comforting." Walsh replied
"There's no one inside." Taylor said
Walsh looked awkwardly at his wife. "We got called here for a medical emergency, no one answered, Davis kicked in the door, they swept through the house and all we found were explosives in the kitchen and a map of an…" Taylor paused
"What?" Walsh asked
"MTA bus!" Taylor said
"What MTA bus?" Walsh was confused
"We think there's a bomb on board an MTA bus heading for the Port Authority Terminal." Davis said
"Oh." Walsh said
"That bus isn't stopping." Bosco said
"We can't do anything or we risk blowing the bomb." Monroe said
"We can't let it go into the terminal." Bosco argued
"You have any idea how to stop it?" Monroe asked
"No. But I'm not gonna sit around and watch as hundreds of people get murdered." Bosco said
"Lieu said to back off." Monroe added
"I know." Bosco replied
The ESU trucks pulled up to block the street in front of the terminal. Anybody inside was being ushered away from the 42nd Street area. Lt. Swerksy took up a position not far from the terminal as he talked with the ESU Lieutenant.
"Any idea what type or how many pounds of explosives are on that bus?" Lt. Swerksy asked
"Judging by the reports from that house on King, I'm going to say it's got a fair amount of C4." The ESU Lieutenant responded
"Do we have any snipers that can take this nut out?" Lt. Swersky asked
"It's hard to get a shot on a moving target, especially with that many people on board." The ESU Lt. replied
"This is a lose lose situation then isn't it?" Lt. Swersky asked
"Pretty much." The ESU Lt. replied
The NYPD helicopter flew above the bus.
"We've got an RMP closing in on the bus." The pilot radioed
"Bosco!" Lt. Swersky knew exactly who it was
"Do you have a shot?" The ESU Lieutenant asked
"He keeps moving Sir." Replied the sharpshooter
"We need to make a move soon Sir, he's closing in on the terminal." The Pilot radioed
"I've got a shot!" One of the sharpshooters yelled into the radio
"Take it!" The ESU Lieutenant ordered
Everything moved in slow motion as the shooter pulled the trigger
"Lieu, looks like we've got this thing knocked out." Stu radioed
"Careful." Walsh replied
The Bomb Squad sent in the robot to look for any unexploded devices. They could also see through their camera that the fire was indeed out.
"Alright, let's wrap it up and get out of here." Walsh said
"What about the bus?" DK asked
"Unless we're dispatched the bus doesn't exist." Walsh replied, "Even if it does have a bomb on it, by the time we get there it will be too late to do anything other than put it out."
They started to pack up their lines and equipment as the snow continued to fall about them. It became quiet around them too. They all looked around.
The shot rang out through the street. There was a hole in the glass of the windshield and the boy dropped, falling into the stairwell.
"All units hold your positions." Lt. Swersky ordered
"Can you confirm a kill?" The ESU Lieutenant asked
"Cannot confirm a kill." Was the reply and it became uneasily quiet again.
Suddenly another shot was heard. The bus came to a screeching halt.
"What happened?" Lt. Swersky wanted to know
Sgt. Cruz rushed towards the bus. The doors opened and the boy fell out into the street.
"Kill confirmed!" She radioed
"Get those people the hell out of there!" Lt. Swersky ordered
Bosco and Monroe were already at the door helping people out.
"Get clear!" Bosco told them
"Over there behind those police officers." Monroe said
"Boss, I'm gonna need the Bomb Squad over here. I have a remote device." Cruz said as she knelt down to search the underside of the bus.
The officers finished evacuating the passengers and soon they were heading for the location of safety as well. The Bomb Squad brought the dogs over and one of them signaled that it had in fact found something.
They backed off and sent the robot in.
"In other news this evening, tense moments downtown as an explosion rocked this home on King Street. Police are saying that bomb making materials were found inside. We're getting unconfirmed reports that it may have been a terrorist plot foiled by two FDNY Paramedics. Another scary event took place on 42nd Street. Witnesses say that police snipers took out a young man said to have a bomb on an MTA bus. This was the scene as NYPD officers escorted the passengers off of the bus. There is no word on whether or not the two events are linked, or of any injuries." The news reporter said
Taylor and Grace walked into the kitchen at the Firehouse.
"Well if it isn't our two heroes." Stu commented
"Yeah, heroes." Grace said plainly
"Well, I just got off the phone with Lieutenant Swersky. He confirmed that there was a bomb on board that bus, and that had you two not been as observant as you were, hundreds of lives could have been lost. He wants to have you put in for special Commendations for your roles in preventing a tragedy from occurring." Walsh said
"Wonderful." Taylor said
"Could you at least sound a little bit happy about it?" Walsh asked
"I just want to go home." Taylor said noting that it was well after 11 and they had finished up their interviews with the Detectives
"Okay." Walsh said as he looked at his wife. "I'm proud of you."
"It's just some stupid coincidence that we even found that stuff." Taylor argued, "Grace found the C4."
The guys tried not to pay attention, but they couldn't help but listen in.
"Honey, had you two not been persistent about that call- lives would have been lost." Walsh replied
"I don't want to argue about this. I just want to go home and be with our children. I'll see you when you get home." She said as she put her coat on and kissed her husband. "Stay safe tonight would you? I can't take anymore drama tonight."
"I will honey. See you tomorrow." Walsh replied as he watched Taylor walk down the stairs and out of sight.