The Playground of My Mind: Shakedown
#2 of Talonsreach
Chavers and Perez pulled up in the squad car to the sort of sight that one had left Oakland PD for and the other had left LA. As they'd pulled onto the street, they had to look all of about a few hundred feet ahead of them to see the green Honda Civic on flipped on its side and smoking to know things weren't great. The house that the car had been in front looked like the remains of the Federal building in OKC after the Unibomber incident. To the two detectives, this looked like about a years worth of paperwork and more than that in media circus.
Even as Chavers was grabbing the mike for the radio, the fire department was hot on their heels. Perez thought it the best idea and pulled directly into the newly vacated driveway. Chavers half rolled out of the car and went immediately for the trunk of the vehicle and the special weapons gear he had stowed back there. The sorts of things that caused explosions usually required the sort of gear that would withstand it. Perez was out of the drivers seat of the car and was covering him when he saw movement in the back of the remains of the garage. He caught just a glimpse as the door closed.
"Davis PD!" she yelled. "Come out! The building isn't safe!"
"No shit." Said Chavers. "What the hell hit this place??" The first responders from the fire department were jumping out of the truck behind them. Perez cursed as he heard a moan from inside the garage, light and wet.
"Medic!" He shouted to the rescue crews behind him. "I hear a live one in there."
"Give us another two seconds," The captain said. "We're getting the gas shut off. Then we can get the wounded out. You sure the house is clear?"
"No." Perez said. "We've got one that went into the house. We're going to clear it and get you guys safe to get in."
Then there was an odd sound inside the garage, a flash of light, and a collapse of some of the debris. It was another three minutes before anyone got around to looking anywhere in the house. The gas got shut off, and the fire department captain gave the nod to Chavers and Perez.
By that time, four more squad cars had pulled up, and a few officers had to block off the street. The fire department was moving around the neighborhood evacuating the residents of the adjoining houses and properties. Given the explosion, it wasn't hard to do. Davis' swat team got on scene and Chavers left his partner doing crowd control as he armored up the rest of the way and went in with the rest of the SWAT team.
The SWAT team went in the front door, quickly clearing the front entry way and the living room. Two closets were cleared in short order, and two seconds later, the kitchen. The team then moved up the stairs and got its first look at the devastation of the second floor. They slowly went into the bedroom, and cleared both closet and bathroom. The team then turned to the library and the last bathroom and closet. What they found in That closet caused some concern. They found blood trails on the patio and outside of the second floor window and in the main bedroom.
But what they didn't find were any bodies.
The fire department was cleared to go in and search a little more thoroughly. Homeland security arrived shortly after that, followed quickly by the press. The police and the news crews established their lines and the old dance of probing for information and securing the evidence for an investigation began. Homeland took control of the scene and started collecting evidence. CSI techs swarmed over the house's remains.
Chavers came back from where he was stowing gear and caught up with Perez. She'd been doing crowd control and was once again putting on the "face" of the police force for the cameras until the official department spokesperson could issue an official statement.
"So?" She asked. "What's the scene in there?"
Chavers shook his head. "You've got me. From what I saw, the man of the house is an Army vet. He had a couple of rifles, old antiques. There are a couple of security uniforms in there, so I'd say our guy is an armed guard. Lot of camping gear in there. But nothing that screams 'terrorist' or 'survival nut'. That could be My house. No ordinance from what I saw either. So I have No idea what caused that explosion. CSI is looking at the car, and it looks like they've got some fragments of something in the metal of the car. HAZMAT is cleaning up the gas and oil from the wreck. And no bodies. Nothing."
"What happened to the guy we saw go in the house?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. No sign of exit out the back. The back door was still locked. There's enough vegetation back there along the fence that we would know if he hopped one. It's a dead end back there. It's like he just up and vanished. Just like the sounds you heard in the garage. Nobody there either. The place is abandoned."
"But the car is here." Perez said, puzzled. "All of a sudden, I'm glad Homeland has this mess and not us. I couldn't even begin to describe the paperwork on this."
Chavers snorted. "Yea, there's a lot here that doesn't add up. And I'd hate to be the one responsible for doing the math on it."
"The fire department can't find a single scorch mark, either. Whatever caused that explosion wasn't incendiary."
One of the SWAT team guys came up to the conversation. "Whatever happened in there, there Was weapons fire. We've got .45 casings in the living room."
"And let me guess, no weapon?" Perez asked. The SWAT team guy shook his head.
"So, what do we file this as? Missing persons? House invasion? Terrorist attack?" Chavers asked.
"Little from column A, a little from column B, and let Homeland take the lead?" Perez suggested. Chavers barked a laugh.
"If they're willing to try to explain this, I'm all for letting them."
"And here I though Davis was a nice quiet place. First we get a double homicide last year and now this."
"If things really DO come in threes, I'm going to get out of this department tomorrow." The SWAT guy said and went to go stow his gear. "And everyone over in Homeland wants to know the question to the fifty thousand dollar question. We have casings, but no slugs. And if we have casings, where's the weapon? Who was the shooter, and who was the target?"
"You know what Karma is?" Perez asked rhetorically. "Karma is when the Feds get here, swing that mean dick, and then get it stepped on by their own investigation. They want this one, they can Have it."