Chaos reigned as the explosion ripped through 'Suzie's diner'. Shattering glass spewed lethal, flesh slicing shards. Tables and chairs were destroyed; burgers, fries and blood decorated the walls in a macabre rendition of modern art. The punctured espresso machine bled myriad streams of scalding brown liquid, whilst the remains of the cash register spewed a confetti of dollar bills.
From all around, frantic, terror filled voices competed with the relentlessly playing jukebox, creating a grim cacophony of sound. The waitress' high-pitched scream rent the air, savagely jarring with the perpetual wailing of the car alarms out front. Lying on the floor of the diner, Tanis felt as if her head would explode. Ears ringing, her hands and face were stung with a thousand tiny pin-pricks of excruciating pain. 'What the hell just happened?' she wondered, her thoughts careering crazily, refusing to establish any sense of coherence.
'Everybody get down and stay down!' Steve shouted. From his current position, couched to the side of the now blown out window, he'd instinctively reached for his gun, keen blue eyes scanning the sidewalk opposite.
'You alright?' he asked Tanis gruffly, his voice harsh in an attempt to mask his concern.
She looked up at him, her eyes dazed, wild.
'Tanis?' He prompted urgently.
She nodded then, took a breath, moving slowly to her hands and knees. He could tell she was struggling to get a grip, he was struggling himself.
'I'm okay' she said, her voice hoarse from the smoke.
He could see she was bleeding from several cuts to her face. His own skin was stinging, suggesting he had suffered a similar fate. His head was banging and the after shock from the explosion was still ringing in his ears, making Tanis' voice muffled and indistinct. The smoke which stung his eyes, caught in his chest, making breathing difficult. He felt shaky, and now that he looked, could see the hand that held his gun was trembling. Quickly he put the gun down – in this condition he couldn't trust himself and a stray bullet was the last thing they needed right now.
He swiped the back of a hand across his cheek and wasn't surprised to find blood. The movement caused a sharp pain in his right side – the flying glass must have caught him there too. Slowly leaning his back against the wall and allowing himself to slide into a sitting position, he gingerly reached down to explore the damage. His fingers connected with a jagged shard of glass just below his bottom rib. It was embedded in the soft flesh of his abdomen. Momentarily he closed his eyes. This was gonna hurt like hell.
'Steve?' Tanis asked urgently. She was crawling towards him now, her voice full of concern 'Are you hit?'
He raised a hand pausing her, and shook his head. Then gritting his teeth he pulled on the long splinter of glass. The pain was more than he could have imagined and he bit back a cry. For a moment the diner, the noise, the acrid smell of burning disappeared and there was nothing but the sickening tearing of his own flesh.
The glass was ragged, the edge serrated like a saw. Little by little he coaxed it, biting down hard on his lip, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. And then with one final pull the glass came free. With a shout of rage he tossed it to one side and then collapsed back against the wall.
He stayed there, panting heavily, a thin sheen of sweat covering his face and upper body. He felt dizzy, light headed, whether from the shock or the blood loss he wasn't too sure. The wound was already bleeding profusely, he could feel the warm trickle of his blood running down his side to pool at his gun belt – more stitches he thought tiredly. But on the bright side at least this wasn't one of his favourite shirts. Exhausted, he closed his eyes.
'Steve?' Tanis asked softly, placing a supportive hand on his arm. She'd reached him now and was ignoring the carnage around them. That could wait, Steve couldn't.
'Steve, can you hear me?' she asked 'Just nod if you can hear me. I need to know if you're okay.'
'I'll live' he told her grimly, still with his eyes shut.
He didn't have to tell her how bad the pain had been, still was, it was written all over his face. Already pale from the flu, he now looked like a ghost. He was sweating but shivering at the same time. Quickly Tanis took off her jacket and moved to cover him with it. He was in shock, he needed to stay warm and he needed to get to a hospital.
She reached for her radio 'You hang in there okay, I'm gonna call it in, I'll tell them there's an officer down and …'
'Hey' Steve's eyes fluttered open and he reached for her hand 'I'm not down okay, I'll be fine'. Using both the wall and Tanis for support, he levered himself into a more upright position 'See? I'm fine'
'Steve I don't think ..' she began, but he wasn't listening.
'See anything?'
She shook her head 'No, but ..'
'Me neither' he continued, cutting her off, 'but that was a hell of a blast. 'Had to be at least a couple of pounds of explosive.'
'A bomb?' she said. It seemed incredible and yet she knew it must be true. Nothing else could cause that much damage so quickly.
Steve nodded 'That'd be my guess. Call it in' he instructed, gingerly tucking his gun into his belt. Slowly, painfully he eased forward on to his hands and knees 'tell 'em we need the bomb squad and the paramedics right now and whatever you do stay down.'
'Where are you going?' she asked, grabbing his arm tightly this time.
'To see if there's any more bombs'
'What!'
He smiled grimly 'You heard me' he said, using the wall to push himself to a crouched position.
'Steve wait!' she said 'This is crazy! You're not trained in bomb disposal and besides you're hurt'.
He shrugged her off 'I'll be careful.'
'Steve!' she shouted, but he was already moving, crouched low, hand pressed to his side in a futile attempt to stop the blood, which had already turned the right hand side of his pale blue shirt a crimson red.
Frustrated she looked around helplessly. There were at least a dozen people here who needed her help. A man lay collapsed, slightly to the left of the table she had so recently shared with Steve. Even from where she was crouching, she could tell his breathing was ragged, could see his blood pooling with the sawdust on the floor.
Others looked shell shocked, huddled behind tables and chairs, faces peppered with cuts and bruises. One man, his skin a sickly grey, nursed his left arm - a fracture she guessed. Pulling herself together, she reached for her cell. The best she could do for these people was to call for help. Every passing second whilst she sat deliberating was a second wasted. Quickly she punched in the number.
'This is Sergeant Tanis Archer. I need back up, medical support and the bomb squad right now' she barked, her voice harsh with concern. 'I'm at 'Suzie's diner' on the intersection between 4th and Main. We've just had ourselves a bomb blast guys and we have no idea if there are any other explosive devices out there. There's an LAPD officer out checking right now, and I've got multiple casualties, so make it snappy will ya'.
Switching off the phone she raised her voice 'Okay folks, I'm a police officer' she said, her tone mirroring Steve's earlier address. 'Help is on the way, but what I need right now is for everyone to stay calm'.
Letting out a breath she bit her lip 'Be careful Steve' she said softly.
But he'd already gone.
TO BE CONTINUED …..