Small Town Sheriff, Big Problems. Chapter 1: Organized Chaos
Here is the next installment! Hope you enjoy it. Comments welcomed!
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Date: August 3rd, 2011.
Time: 11:45pm.
Location: Central Texas, 20 miles East of Austin
Dan snapped his flip phone shut, shaking his head in annoyance. He put a paw to hi muzzle and rubbed his strained and tired eyes. He just got off the phone with the FBI. Probably about half of it because they kept transferring him up the ladder. Dispatch called him, telling him that the FBI switchboard didn't believe her, and that she must be wrong. So Dan called, explained it to the operator, who transfered him to some junior desk agent. Dan told HIM the situation, then the kid, mumbling something, transfered him to his supervisor. Dan talked to the supervisor, who made an off color joke bout how hicks can't tell the difference between Internal Services and Operations. Dan THEN got transfered to another junior agent, this time in the right department. It went on till he was transfered to the Austin Field Office Director, who grumbled and moaned about how she hated getting woken up. Of course when he explained the situation, she finally did something. And she was on her way, with half the FBI trailing her.
It had only been thirty minutes since he had arrived on scene, but it was already chaotic. He called up all his deputies, even the off duty ones who were in bed. Now all twenty one of his deputies, plus his four man SWAT team and two forensics experts, were on scene. He had forensics seal off the warehouse, and had his SWAT, along with Sergeant Smith's state SWAT, check the other two warehouses. Nothing was found, but he sealed them up too. Smith had her troopers seal of Unity Street from the media and public. Three squad cars and three troopers were at each roadblock. One of the cars always running to move out of the way for more LEOs. (law enforcement officers).
"Sir." Dan turned to see Senior Deputy Mike Wilson, the SWAT team leader, in front of him, in full kevlar and an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. "We checked the other warehouses. No sign of ANY activity. Its pretty dusty in there, and the only paw prints in there are ours."
"Alright. Seal them up anyway. No one in or out without my say so. I don't want the FBI screaming about us 'hicks' ruining the potential evidence."
"Yes sir!" Mike, a coyote, said before trotting off.
"Sheriff!" Dan sighed again, tuning toward Sergeant Smith. "We sealed everything off and searched the immediate area. If there were any footprints, there are long gone by now, thanks to this God forsaken downpour." As if to emphasize her point, several drops of water fell from the brim of her trooper cowboy hat.
"Yeah. I'm not bringing out the search dogs either, this rain has destroyed any hope of tracking." Dan said, as his radio beeped. "O'Bern."
"Sheriff. Its Bill." (chopper pilot) "We have searched the area with both our spotlight and infrared camera. If there were any bodies or people hiding we'd spot them. They'd still be warm enough to spot."
"Thanks bill." Dan turned back to the female husky in front of him.
"My chopper reports the same thing." She reported.
Allison then jogged up, her tan cowboy hat soaked through, and uniform darkened by the rain. Thankfully it was a warm 85 degrees fahrenheit.
"FBI is here. Four suburbans and a SWAT truck of agents. Troopers are letting them in now."
"Oh goody. Feds." Dan said, rubbing his eyes again. Smith just chuckled.
A minute later, half the FBI rolled up. Red and blue lights adding to the phantasmagoric light show of the squad cars already there. Dozens of agents hopped out, all wearing the blue wind breakers with yellow writing. A female beaver, probably about 50yrs old, shouted and directed her agents different places. Dan watched in annoyance as the agents acted like they knew EXACTLY what the situation was, brushing aside the deputies and troopers.
The beaver walked up to him, looked him up and down before speaking.
"You must be Sheriff O'Bern. How many years have you been in law enforcement? You look a little young." She said in her heavy southern accent.
"Yes I am. And you must be Director Judy Johnson. How many tours in Afghanistan have you served? You look a little out of shape." Dan countered. Judy squinted up at the tall black wolf before her. She let out a short laugh.
"I know all about your service record Sheriff. Three tours, and two purple hearts. Plus a bronze star. The country appreciates your service. So what is the situation?" She asked.
"Seven agents and ten thugs killed in warehouse two. The eighth agent is in the hospital. We haven't ID'ed the thugs, we just sealed the warehouse. Its pretty gruesome. Besides, I don't want any of my men getting spooked, or the media catching wind of it. My SWAT and state SWAT searched the other warehouse, thy were clean, but i sealed them off too for you guys anyway."
"Why?" the beaver asked.
"I'll show you. Only me, three of my deputies, two troopers, and two EMTs know the details, and all have sworn to stay silent. The rest I just told we sealed of the warehouse for you guys to deal with." Dan said, as the two walked over to warehouse 2.
They reached the warehouse door, where Allison was standing guard, shotgun still in hand. She nodded to the two and they stepped into the long hallway. The lights were on this time, but it was still dim. The two, now accompanied by the FBI's medical examiner, and two other agents, walked to the end of the hall. Dan opened the door into the main warehouse room. The crates were still covered in blood, and bullet holes and spent shells were everywhere. The smell of gunpowder and blood stung their noses.
"Damn." Judy said.
"Over here is the grim part. Watch your step. One of my deputies and a trooper vomited." Dan said.
The small group walked over to where the bodies were, the agents were covered by tarps.
"I had the EMTs cover them, out of respect." Dan said, as Judy, the ME and agents examined the bodies.
"This is pretty freaky. On cursory examination its horrid, but look at the wounds on the body." Dan said.
"Sure enough. This is very strange." The ME, a white weasel said. "Only one of the agents was fatally shot. The other two that were shot would not have killed them. At least before the EMTs arrived. But the ones who weren't fatally shot, or not shot at all, have their necks broken. From the bruises on the chin and neck, I'd say from behind, typical military strategy. Break from behind. Silent, deadly, and can be done without alerting anyone else. The strangest part is this." The ME said, pointing to the bite marks on the necks of the agents. "Wounds like this should have much more blood, but there isn't much at all. All the body has these puncture wounds in the arteries."
"What the hell are we dealing with? Cannibals?" Judy asked, getting back up from where she was kneeling.
"I don't know. It had my men pretty freaked out. One of them even suggested vampires." Dan said.
"THAT is just crazy talk." Judy said. "But whoever these people are, they are dangerous. Killing a team of eight, four of them without even firing a shot. You gotta be a ninja to do that."
"Well, I'm sure the FBI can get to the bottom of this. I'll make sure the media stays away, and my men don't know the details. I don't want the locals screaming 'vampires'. And I'm sure you don't want the media to know that seven agents were killed in a case." Dan said.
"Yeah. Keep it quiet. We'll take it from here. You and your men can go home and get some rest. We'll keep the staties here to provide traffic enforcement, since they already run the blockades. We might need your men later though, and that chopper of yours." the Director said.
"Alright. Give me a call if you need anything. Here is my cell and home phone." Dan said, handing her his card. "I'l deal with the local media. I'm not sure if the national media got a wind of this yet, but if they did, it'll be harder to keep them away."
"Thanks. If CNN shows up, we can deal with them. Here is my card if anything comes up. This is the only situation like this, with the bite marks and all, and you know this area better than me. This is our case, but we will need your help once we sort out this mess." Judy said, handing him her card.
Dan nodded, then turned and walked out of the warehouse. He signaled Allison and the trooper sergeant.
"The director is keeping you guys on scene for traffic and crowd control." Dan said to the sergeant. "She dismissed me and my men, so we'll be heading out, here is my card if you need to contact me. I'll probably be back tomorrow fo some reason or another. The FBI just needs some time to sort it all out."
"Gotcha. See ya later sheriff." Dianna said as he walked off with Allison.
"County, all units. Sheriff here. We can head out and go home. Feds and staties are taking over the scene." Dan said into his radio. Almost instantly, the deputies were heading back to their cars and leaving, all too eagerly.
Dan walked to where his car had been the whole time, and removed his vest and put it in the trunk. Allison did the same. Getting in, Allison locked the shotgun back into place between the seats. Dan started up the car's V8 engine, driving slowly out of the warehouse lot, and into the street. He drove out the blockade and onto the highway.
Ten minutes later, they arrived back at the sheriff's office on Jackson street. Many of the deputies parked their squad cars and got into their personal cars and left. About half a dozen went back on patrol, or stayed in the office, still on duty. Dan didn't feel like he could sleep, so he went to his office to get some paper work done. Allison popped her head in to say goodbye, than left for home.
Dan tried to concentrate on his paper work, but after an hour he just gave up. He got his coat and car keys and headed out to the parking lot. He got into his cruiser and began his drove home. Since he was always on call, he preferred to have his cruiser handy in case of an emergency.
After ten minutes he pulled into his driveway, turning off the car and stepping out. He walked up to his modest house, a one story, three bedroom home. He opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him. He flipped a few switches, lighting up the house. He activated the alarm before he went to the kitchen and pulled out a crystal bottle from the bottom cupboard, and a small glass from the top shelf. He unscrewed the bottle top, and poured a splash of the dark amber liquid. He took a drink, wincing as it burned its way down his throat, but gave way to a warming feeling. He put the bottle away and headed to his bedroom. He undressed completely, hanging up his uniform to dry. He then his gun on his night stand, a habit learned while on tour over seas, and climbed in bed. He fell asleep almost instantly
Dan jolted out of bed, hearing glass smashing in his living room. A few seconds later the house was filled with a whooping sound. The alarm had been set off.
Date: August 4th, 2011
Time: 2:34am.
Location: Houston, Texas
The four HPD officers rode the elevator up to the penthouse level, guns ready. They were responding to a 911 call about an intruder. The elevator stopped and opened. The door to the penthouse was closed and locked. The officers flanked the door. The largest cop, a massive stallion, kicked the door open. The cops rushed in, moving about the luxurious apartment.
"Clear!" All four reported. One of them stood staring into the master suite.
"Shit!" Was all he could manage.
"What is it Lou?" A female tabby cat said, as she walked up, holstering her gun. "Oh my God..."
The room was a mess. The place had been torn apart in a struggle. Four bodies were scattered about the room. Two rhinos had their necks snapped, guns still in their hands. The other two bodies were on the bed, the female clutching the phone, still on the line with the 911 operator. The other two cops walked over, staring at the mess.
"They all look bitten..." The tabby said, referring to the snake bite like marks in the necks.
"I'm calling in homicide." The stallion said, reaching for his radio.
TO BE CONTINUED
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