“Meridian,” God whispered, hoping the man could somehow hear him.
“Last chance... two!”
Oh no. God feared the worst when Big Mike got to three and Ruxs dropped to his knees in defeat. Two almost simultaneous gunshots pierced the heavy silence and had them all hitting the deck and taking cover. Just as he thought their lives were about to change forever... the Black Ravens appeared.
God was the first to jump to his feet when he heard Hart yelling for a check. The shields were brought down, and God hurried past a stunned Ruxs and saw Green lying on the ground clutching the side of his neck. God held his breath, feeling almost dizzy as he staggered forward. Big Mike's unmoving body was underneath his detective, bleeding out from a gunshot wound to his forehead. God dropped to his knees and pulled Green off so the SWAT team could get to the body.
God quickly settled Green on the pavement and started to look him over. Eventually, Day and Syn had to let Ruxs loose and as soon as they did, he ran over and slammed into God’s side, almost knocking him over.
“Chris! Chris, baby.” Ruxs wept against the side of Green’s face while he clutched his arm.
God tried to move him but the stubborn man wouldn't budge.
Day was patting Green on his cheek and snapping his fingers in front of his face trying to get him to wake up.
“What's wrong with him?” Ruxs panted, his chest heaving so fast God thought he might start to hyperventilate.
“He's in shock, Ruxs. Give him some room, let him breathe,” God urged. “The paramedics have been cleared to come in. Come on, Ruxs. Let him go.”
Syn had Ruxs by the shoulder but he wasn't yanking on him, because hell, they all understood. Green blinked a few times still appearing dazed until Day rubbed his knuckles along his sternum, making him a bit more alert. Ruxs cupped Green’s cheek, tears still flowing down his face. Green seemed to come to more when Ruxs buried his head in his partner's throat and cried—cried out the fear, and adrenaline, and the crippling pain of possibly losing the one he loved right before his eyes.
God stepped out of the way so the paramedics could get to his officer. Hart broke from his team to come speak to him and Day.
“What the hell happened?” Syn asked, surveying the chaotic scene.
The police had roped off the entire block, but that didn't deter people from gathering in the hope of catching some action for their social media page... no matter how stupid and dangerous it was.
“I know I heard two shots,” Hart said. “And neither was fired from Michaels’ rifle. I checked our live camera feed. The first shot came from the south, behind us. That bullet only grazed Big Mike’s elbow, knocking him off balance, the second shot that came a split second later from the west, was the kill shot to the head.”
Distract and extract. God glanced around, but of course neither of the two CIA operatives could be found.
“He's already gone,” Michaels’ slow, hoarse voice sounded in his earpiece.
“I figured he was. Come on down Michaels. You did good,” God told his sniper, even though he knew Michaels was probably feeling dejected as if he’d let them all down, especially Ruxs and Green.
God would have to get Day to speak with him later; as of right now all of his attention was on his enforcers. Both of the men appeared to be all right, but he could tell that this situation had rocked them to their core. It was just way too close a call, even for them. God was sure that a break was long overdue and well-deserved for his team. They’d worked tirelessly for months and it’d finally paid off. They’d taken down the Warlords and exposed two corrupt elected officials. Atlanta was going to be all right.
“I sent Ro, Tech and Steel to secure Joseph back into his mother's custody,” Syn told them. “Now I'm gonna take Ruxs to the hospital and make sure he doesn't get out of line and tear something up in the emergency room.”
“Yeah, definitely,” God muttered. “We’ll be stuck in the office for a while. Keep us posted on how Green’s doing.”
“He's fine. The first bullet was so close to him that the heat of it burned the side of his neck. Maybe a second degree, if that. Other than the adrenaline shock, he's all right, God.” Hart clapped him confidently on his shoulder before he left to join his team. “You did good, brother.”
More suits, unmarked sedans and forensics units began to arrive on the scene. Two coroners’ vans entered the yellow-taped barrier a few minutes after to collect the casualties of their war. News vans had begun to set up just as Green’s ambulance and Syn’s truck disappeared around the corner. God felt dead on his feet, but he stood strong beside his partner since the night was far from over.