Ch 2: The Sniper
Raylan directed all of the frantic people in the hallway to the stairs, on his way he saw a nurses' station,' I wonder if I can put the hospital in lockdown mode, if there is such a thing,' he looked at all the buttons on a switchboard on the desk searching for a way to lock the doors. Nothing.
"Stop!" A man shouted from the other direction, footsteps at a dead run were coming his way. He drew his gun and was about to step out to see what was going on when he heard a crack and a young man fell into his arms. He dropped his gun and caught him, blonde hair spiked up with the same hair gel that Raylan used hit him in the face. He felt his teeth clack together as they both fell, blood trickling out of a hole in the man's shoulder. Raylan found it funny the details that he noticed when his world slowed down, like the hair gel in this boy's hair. Looking at him as they both fell he realized it was just a kid compared to him, couldn't have been more than twenty five. Then the screaming started, this kid wasn't accustomed to being this frightened and started trying to get up immediately. Raylan tried to look over his shoulder to see the shooter but the boy was running on pure adrenaline and elbowed him as he tried to clamber over him.
As the kid trampled over him, he could finally see a figure coming down the hallway after them. His eyes watered as blood dripped from his nose and he couldn't make out details of whoever was advancing on him. He fumbled the floor for his gun and rolled to his side to look for it, the footsteps got closer and he realized the kid had kicked his gun under the counter and it was laying in the nurses' station. Shit. His vision cleared as he wiped his eyes and he saw a burly man running at him with a rifle. Double shit. He got to his knees and scrambled for the gun, praying he could get to it before this man figured out he had it to begin with.
"Don't move!" The man shouted, the boy had almost made it to the stairs door. Raylan saw the man raise his rifle and forgot about going for his gun, he got to his feet and jumped at the gunman to tackle him. The air vibrated with the force of the shot, he felt the gunman's body slam into his and then hit the floor again. Raylan almost blacked out as his head slammed into the tiles, at first he couldn't tell if he'd been shot or if he'd simply gotten the wind knocked out of him. The man atop him straddled his belly and pulled a pistol from the back of his pants, aiming at the kid. Raylan grabbed the slide of the firearm and pulled it down towards him, the bang was almost deafening as the gun discharged. The slide slipping out of his grip on its way down, his hand was wet and he silently prayed it was from sweat. This time he felt a bullet rip into his side and he yelled as he willed his adrenaline to kick in and give him the strength to fight back. Raylan pulled his knee up and reached for his backup, trying to keep the man on top of him at bay. The man laughed and jerked the gun out of his grasp, he pressed it to Raylan's forehead just as he pulled the trigger on his backup. He saw the blood and was sure he'd at least hit the man, twisting his wrist in such an awkward position he wasn't even sure he could hit him from that angle.
The man cursed and dropped his gun as he clutched his shoulder and fell off of Raylan who got to an elbow and finished the job, putting two bullets in his chest. He returned his baby Glock to its holster on his leg and started to get up. Pain radiated through his chest but he didn't think anything vital had been hit. He looked behind him at the young man who'd been hit in the shoulder," Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens," he said painfully as he got to his knees," are you okay?"
"Gavin Trammell," Raylan knew that look, shell shock. Gavin probably didn't even remember being shot.
"You need to get out of here, Gavin," Raylan reached for his hat and got to his feet.
"You're bleeding, man," Gavin's eyes were glazed over, lights were on but no one was home just as Raylan had suspected.
"I'm going to get some gauze and patch myself up, you need to go down those stairs and get to the medics in the lobby," he went back into the nurses' station and picked up his other Glock.
"Hey, do you need some help?"
"No kid, get out of here before more bad men with guns show up," he sat on the counter and popped open one of the packets, he slipped a glove on his right hand,' This'll probably hurt,' he put part of his sport coat's collar between his teeth and shoved gauze into the bullet hole. He bit down hard to keep from yelling every curse word he knew, and some more he'd heard Tim make up. He'd been shot before,' No big deal,' he told himself,' just part of the job,' the wound was packed pretty well, he threw the empty packets in the trash with the glove and reached for his Glock. He thanked God the bullet hadn't done more damage and holstered his gun.
"You one of them?" Gavin was still standing there bug eyed.
"If I was one of the bad guys don't you think I'd have shot you by now?" He didn't know if reason would work but it might snap Gavin out of it," You need to get out of here before they find you."
"Yeah," Gavin put his hand to his face, he recoiled when he saw blood," What happened?" He started checking himself over frantically," I got shot?!"
"Shhh, Gavin calm down," Raylan looked down the hallway, he had to get this kid to calm down before anyone discovered them. He tried to help Gavin to the door, but he was freaking out now. Raylan put his badge inside the waistband of his jeans, maybe he could get the drop on whoever was coming. He switched his gun to his back, he wasn't very experienced drawing from his back but it would have to do for now. Gavin was fighting and screaming and claiming that Raylan shot him,' Guy's in shock,' Raylan tried keeping him still and talking to him, but Gavin elbowed him in the chest and he dropped to his knees," Wait," he knew the whole word didn't come out and even if it did Gavin couldn't hear it.
Three men stepped around the corner by the elevators,' Shit,' this is what he was afraid of.
Gavin had the sense to turn and run away from them and back towards Raylan, but it was probably too late now," You run, we shoot!" One of the men called.
Raylan stood as best he could and put his hands up, his left hand wouldn't go up as far and it pulled his chest a little tight to move it but it was better than being shot again. Another gunshot, Gavin jerked as a bullet tore through his leg. Gavin was only a few feet away at this point, he grabbed onto Raylan and it took everything he had to keep his balance enough to lower the boy to the floor," You're okay," he didn't know if he could hear him," I got ya," he looked up at the gunmen.
"I told your friend to stop," a skinny man pointed a rifle. His two accomplices followed, one with a shotgun and the other with a pistol. As they approached, Raylan wondered if he could get to either of his guns in time to kill all three and save Gavin. He decided to chance it, he rolled putting Gavin at his back to shield him in case the men shot back and pulled the gun from his back. The motion was awkward and he was slowed by Gavin's movement against him, the gunmen were on them, he raised the Glock and fired hitting the skinny man in the chest. He blinked in surprise when the man didn't drop. Instead he rushed Raylan and kicked his gun away from him," Nice try, I'm guessing you're either security or one of the detectives protecting Theresa," he pulled his shirt up," Bulletproof vest," he knocked on his chest where Raylan had shot him.
Fight or flight kicked in and Raylan pulled his knees to his chest and grabbed for the man's ankles, he kicked hard and the man fell. The others jumped on him, he did his best but three on one was hardly fair. The man with the shotgun hit him in the face with the stock, he saw stars. The barrel of a rifle so close it was almost poking him in the nose when his vision focused," No," the first man said," don't kill him, he might be our ticket out of here."
"We already got hostages, Arnold," said the man with the pistol," just kill these two on principle, besides this one had a gun," he picked up Raylan's Glock.
'Hostages?' Raylan let the gravity of the situation sink in, he licked his lips and tasted blood," Let them go then," his voice hoarse and cracked.
"Why would we do that?" Arnold asked.
"Take me instead, let them go and Art will get you and your boys out of here. You haven't killed anyone yet have you?" Arnold shook his head," Okay then, so far the only crime you've committed is shooting me and Gavin here," Gavin was clutching his leg and crying as softly as he could," let him go get some medical attention and you won't be charged for a murder and they might let you and your friends leave here."
"How you know this? You a cop?"
Raylan decided this would be a good time to lie and shook his head," I call my boss," the man's accent was thick but Raylan couldn't quite place it, Arnold motioned for the other two to watch them and pulled out a cell phone. He spoke quietly in another language that Raylan thought might be Russian or German and then hung up," Fine, we let him go and take you."
"He can't walk," Raylan felt his confidence returning," someone's gonna have to come up here and get him."
"No, no cops," anger flashed in Arnold's eyes.
"Have them send my boss then," Raylan went to his calm place and tried to focus, adrenaline pounding in his ears," he's an old man and rides the desk for a living, he sends me out to do all the leg work. His name's Art."
"If you're no cop, what are you?"
"A lawyer," Raylan lied again.
"But you carry a gun?"
"Concealed and I'd rather no one knew that."
This seemed to pacify the man," How do I contact this, Art?"
"I can give you my cell phone," Raylan put his hands palms up towards the men," I'm going to reach into my coat pocket and get my phone and dial his number."
"Slowly or we shoot both of you."
"You got it boss man," Raylan reached into his pocket and fished out his phone, he held it up and dialed Art's cell.
"Speakerphone," Arnold ordered," You don't talk unless we tell you to," Raylan nodded and handed him the phone.
"I want eyes on that building," Art was barking orders on the ground outside," those snipers need to stay out of sight and let us know what they see."
Tim was putting on his bulletproof vest and loading extra magazines for his AR15 to put on his belt. His old training was kicking in from his days in the field of some God-forsaken country, laying on his belly with a .50 caliber sniper rifle taking out whoever his boss told him. He threw his shotgun over his shoulder and made one last check of his gear, grabbing his small medkit and clipping it to the belt loops on his back in case Raylan was hurt.
The same officer who'd gotten snappy with him shook his arm," Your boss said he has the gunman on Raylan's cell," Tim followed him at a run until they found Art.
"So Raylan is alive?" Art was asking whoever was on the other end of the phone.
"Yes, he says you're his boss. Says to call you, have someone come get this boy he's with."
"What boy?" Art held up a hand.
"A boy who got hit by stray bullet in the leg," Tim searches the languages he knows and guesses this man is Russian," Send one man, no guns or we kill them both."
"How do we know they're alive?"
"Say something," there's static on the phone," Art?" Raylan's voice, relief washes over Tim.
"You okay Raylan?"
"I'm a little banged up, bullet grazed me but I'm okay."
"You hear him, now send one man to get this boy," Arnold is back on the phone.
"I'd like them back so they can be seen to."
"I want an armored truck and that bitch he was here to talk to."
"No can do on giving you someone," Art rubbed his head," but I can save you from serious charges since you have both of those men alive."
"Cowboy stays until we get our truck," Tim ran his fingers through his hair, there was no way they'd give these men an armored truck.
"I need to get both of them back if they're injured," Art bit his lip," If they die you're never going to get a truck and it could take awhile to get one here anyway."
"No deal, we keep both," Arnold raised his voice," we get truck you get them back."
"I need to know they'll be safe," Art was trying," you'll get your truck as long as they're both alive and safe."
"I get truck, no one gets hurt," the phone hung up.
"I'm going after them," Tim was firm.
"If they see a cop walk in there, they'll kill all of you," Art put a hand on Tim's chest," I know it's hard, son, but you need to stay here."
"Raylan's been hit," Art could see Tim was fighting to obey him," Make the call, get these guys a truck," he walked away to collect himself.
"The good news is, they haven't found his badge," Art reassured him," no one up there knows he's a cop yet."
An hour passed, Art made phone calls to every armored truck company listed while Tim went out of his mind. Rachel tried to console him but he just sat and stared at his cell phone, praying Raylan could text him but knowing the men had taken his phone.
Arnold jerked Raylan to his feet and shoved him towards the stairs," We go up."
"Gavin there's not gonna make it up those stairs," he pointed out.
"Just kill him then, make an example and the cops will get us out of here," Raylan had learned the man with the shotgun's name was Trey.
"More hostages is better," Arnold spoke in broken English that sometimes sounded right and sometimes sounded just awful," We take elevator."
Raylan let Gavin lean on him and helped him to the elevator," We're gonna be okay, just keep quiet," he whispered, Gavin nodded limping alongside him.
Raylan was glad he'd tucked his badge into the inside of his jeans, the elevator went up to the third floor and stopped. The men lead him to a conference room with about twenty other people, everyone looked unscathed and Raylan breathed a sigh of relief. Someone recognized Gavin and he slumped to the floor beside them, a few of the staff started tending to his leg. Arnold motioned for Raylan to sit with them," If he dies you'll never get out of here," he told him again," Best to send him…"
"Quiet," Arnold backhanded him, Raylan stumbled and his back hit the wall. His jacket came open as he tried to catch himself and Arnold grabbed his tie and pulled him to his feet," You have other guns?"
"You took my Glock," Raylan coughed and resisted the urge to grab for his throat as his tie got tighter.
"Search him," Arnold's phone rang and Trey walked over.
"Hands on wall," he barked and pointed his gun.
'Shit,' Raylan swallowed hard and put his hands on the wall.
Trey patted him down and just as Raylan suspected he found his ankle holster," You say no more guns!" He hit Raylan in the back with the shotgun," Take off your coat! Do it now!" Raylan shrugged and managed to get his right arm out of his jacket, he gingerly pulled the left sleeve down. Trey was rough and slammed his head into the wall in front of him," Don't move," he growled. He ran his hands along Raylan's arms and back, when he got to his sides Raylan curled to protect his ribs where he'd been shot and the man kneed him in between his shoulder blades. He grabbed a handful of his hair and threw him onto his back. Trey held the Glock up for Arnold to see," Arnold, found this on his leg."
"What's a lawyer doing with a backup?" This man sounded more American, but Raylan couldn't see him.
Arnold grabbed Raylan's shirt and lifted him to his feet, as he did Raylan's shirt came untucked. Arnold hit him in the jaw but held his shirt so he didn't fall, blows came one after another until Raylan was sure he'd black out any minute," Wait Arnold!" Trey grabbed the man's arm before he could hit Raylan again," He lied, he is police!"
"What?" Arnold took the badge and studied it without dropping Raylan," He is not just police, he is Marshal."
'I'm dead,' Raylan accepted it, there was no way he was getting out of here alive now.