“Think we ought to get up and bark or something?”
“It’s Wednesday, Little One. Ask me again on Friday.”
It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week an SUV was barreling down on Larry and Andrew who just slid down a hill to the freeway access road. We were there when Larry yelled at Andrew to take cover in a ditch. He then opened the door of the car and used it to steady his aim. We left when Larry fired six rounds from his 9mm Glock 17 at the SUV. We better get back to see how effective Larry’s Last Stand was in stopping the vehicle.
“Holy shit, Larry.”
“Not sure about the holy part. Looks like these guys won’t be coming after us for a while.”
“I didn’t see the whole thing. Did I hear right? Did that big ole SUV flip a couple of times before ending up on its side?”
“Yeah. Lucky for me too. Had it kept coming, I would be part of it now. Stay back, Andrew. Those two guys look like they have had it, but you never know.”
“How many shots did you take.”
“Not sure, Andrew. I don’t count. I know I hit both the driver and the passenger before the thing went over.”
“Did you shoot at the tires and give them a blowout?”
“Not enough time. Besides the way tires are built today, they have some blowout protection. They probably would have run me over before going flat.”
“You going to check them?”
“Yeah. Just trying to get my legs back and make sure there is no fire.”
“Looks pretty quiet except for the steam coming from the front.”
“I must have hit the radiator too. Well, here goes nothing. Stay here. You have your cell?”
“Yes.”
“Give 911 a call. Tell them it’s not an emergency, but we don’t have the local police number. Tell them we are from police from Boston and have a weapon. We believe there are two gun-shot fatalities.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
“Yeah. I’ll talk my way over there. Okay, Larry take an angle of approach that will keep the car between you and the perps. If you can’t see them, they can’t see you. That’s right. Now you are at the back of the vehicle you need to go forward to the front. The driver’s side is up. The two of them should be in a heap in the passenger’s side. Wait I see an arm out the window. Okay, be still my heart. It looks like the driver has his seatbelt on. Makes sense he would still be in the seat. The question, is he alive? Okay, weapon up and ready. Approach the danger with caution. Shit, I didn’t check the magazine. There should be enough bullets left since I don’t believe I fired that many. Well, no time to check now. Keep going. No sign of movement. Look in the driver’s window. Yikes. What a mess. Must have hit both with the first shots. A couple of automatic weapons in there too. Not going to touch anything. Gotta sit down. No, go back to Andrew and wait for the first responders. The word fatalities will bring them out in droves. Better put my weapon on the hood of the car too. No way do I want to be shot holding my piece.”
“Those guys done for?”
“Yup they both are gone.”
“You sure?”
“Go look if you don’t believe me.”
“No that’s okay, I’ll take your word. What are you doing?”
“I’m putting my gun and ID on the hood of the car.”
“Why?”
“Those guys are going to be coming in hot, and I don’t want them to think I might be worth a couple of shots.”
“Oh. The dispatcher was very nice. She said she understood the situation and would send help.”
“You told her we were cops?”
“Yeah. Told her those guys were trying to kill us.”
“Good thing those guys has some automatic rifles with them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, normally one asks questions first and then start shooting. I started shooting first and was relieved to see those guns.”
“I never thought of that. They definitely were out to get us.”
“We know that, but let’s just say we are alive because we did not follow protocol. Since you were down in that ditch leave the description of the event to me.”
“Yeah of course. You seem worried.”
“The cop in me is asking the question, ‘What makes you think the occupants of that SUV were trying to kill you?’ That would be a logical question when trying to determine if lethal force was appropriate.”
“You saw their weapons on the road. You said so.”
“Did you see them?”
“The guys? Yes, I remember saying how ugly they were. I don’t remember weapons. No, I was too busy being scared. Besides, I was on the other side of the car.”
“So now you see why I’m glad there are weapons in that SUV. It would only have been my word. I could have imagined the whole thing and killed a couple of delivery men.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Yeah. I know. I made the right choice to save you and I. Protocol would have me wait until they fired first.”
“Sounds stupid to me.”
“in hindsight to me as well. Just let me do the talking.”
“I’ll say I saw the weapons.”
“No lies. Please. Listen, I hear sirens. You have any water? I sure could use some.”
“You better sit down, Larry. You aren’t looking so good.”
“Yeah, I feel a little dizzy.”
“Here lay down. Put your feet up on the running board. You are in shock again. The excitement is over, and your body is telling you to cool it.”
“Yes, this is better. Water?”
“Here you go, Duke.”
“Duke?”
“My hero.”
“Stop.”
Fiction Favorites 
Wow, that was quite the exchange! I could see, hear, and feel the tension. Great job, John. Now I want to join the pups! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha haha. They know about avoiding conflict for sure. Thank you, Gwen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tense indeed. Plenty of action packed in, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Keith.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He brings up a good point. Modern tires have really made car battles more difficult.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, no more of the shoot them out, roll them over type solutions.
LikeLike
This was certainly an action packed segment. Nice job, John!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jill. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I need to write a section involving car tires. Might be easier to damage the seal at the rim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hard to hit from the front. Side shot maybe. Thanks, Craig.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can BS my way through it with some fancy Lisa Burton trigonometry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The joys of speculative fiction. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
You really do have a gift, John.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Hook.
LikeLike
Aww, loved that ending. A nice touch after all the tension.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah. We needed to relax a minute. Thanks, Mae.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reving it up! Jolly good show! ♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Billy Ray
LikeLike
Protocol? We don’t need no stinkin’ protocol. Actually, I realize it’s a good thing. It’s why I would never want to be in that situation. Getting killed or killing a delivery guy who was just coming to help because he saw you run off the road. Not a good choice.
I love, ” I’ll talk my way over there.” I do that with things way less serious than this, but when I need to follow a plan.
Great episode, John. I just hope it doesn’t turn out that the cops are in on this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha haha. Not sure about the cops but we will find out soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent continuation of the story, John!
Let’s hope they don’t get into needless trouble with the local authorities trying to lord it over them… You know how that seems to go…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do know, Dale. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some excitement going on this week – nice shootin’ Larry!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Teri. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Let’s hope everything turns out right even if they did violate protocol, John. Of course, since you’re the one telling this tale, I fully expect many more twists and turns!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope they will be okay.Thanks, Debbie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
John,
You hit on the reality of a shootout such as this one. In the movies, they play shoot ’em up and then go off to chow down on some BBQ and wash it down with beers. But in real life, all those questions Larry is going to have to deal with now. It makes me wonder how the boys are gonna have time to solve this case! Or if Larry is going to have to do it on the side.
More questions than answers right now. Just the way you like it, Duke. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Marc. Once an officer pulls a weapon the investigative clock starts ticking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And it ain’t finished for Larry any time soon. Certainly not in time for Happy Hour!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nope. Might have to skip the double today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whew! Thank goodness they are both okay! Yes, I’m sure the arriving cops will have lots of questions. I think Larry better do all the talking. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, Andrew seemed to be a little distracted.
LikeLike
Horsefeathers, John! What a great episode. But most of all, I’m stunned by how masterfully you did that physical scene with Larry approaching the SUV — all with dialogue alone.
I’ve said it before, but you really are the only one who does “untagged dialogue” that I can keep up with which line is coming from what character. You amaze me.
Hugs on the wing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw. Thak you so much, Teagan. Comong from one who writes so well is a hgh compliment indeed. Thank you and Hugs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good stuff, John. Dialogue tight and acts to move the plot forward. I thought Larry was shot by one of the goons a couple of episodes ago. Or was I imagining things? That woulda helped in the alibi department.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thak you, Jay. Yes, Larry was hit by the goons. It is a good reason to shoot back. The problem is he was shot on the highway. This SUV could have been a different group all together. I think Larry did the right thing but he knows how internal affairs in the police department works. Guilty until proven innocent.
LikeLike
Nice. Loved the way they worked through their dilemma justifying saving their arses against 20:20 hindsight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can imagine the reaction of the local police to a couple of hombres outside their jurisdiction shooting up the countryside.
LikeLike
Perfectly cool. Just your average afternoon shift
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure that’s the way it will go. LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
A great finish to the gun battle, John. A tension-filled installment. An example of “shoot first and ask questions later.” Well done. That’s a restful scene at the top. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. Twiggy and Lucy know how to rest for sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was tense and action packed, John. A great episode! Is it true that shooting at tires nowadays won’t immediately deflate them? And Hook was right (which I’ve said before) you really do have a gift. Gonna be hard to wait till next Wednesday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw. Thank you Jennie. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, John.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great conclusion to that chase John. I couldn’t wait until end of vacation to find out what happened:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you had a good time on vacay
LikeLike
Couldn’t have been better:) Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great.
LikeLike