“Shit. We’re responding. Over.”
“ ’K. I’ll advise Tac you may be inside.”
It’s now that Merritt moves one more piece of rubble and sees what he’s been looking for: several letter-size envelopes, thick ones. He pulls them out and slips them into his jacket pocket. Spends sixty seconds looking for more. None.
He stands and shouts, “Danny, got a 10-71 up the street. We gotta go.”
The stocky detective, thick brown hair, which matches his suit, joins Merritt, who’s at the car and popping open the trunk.
“What? Shit. You hear that?”
Two shots. Maybe a scream.
They have no armament other than their sidearms. Some detectives keep M4 assault rifles in the trunk but Merritt and Danny don’t. Glock 17s will have to do.
They shed their suit jackets, Merritt making sure the envelopes don’t fall out. Then they’re strapping on the body armor.
His partner, nervous, says, “The hell is Tac?”
“About fifteen out.”
“Jesus Christ. The city isn’t that big.”
Merritt laughs. “You want to live forever?”
Avery slows, eyes down.
A joke too far.
He recalls that the detective, seven years younger than Merritt, has never been in a firefight, has never drawn his weapon anywhere but on the range.
“Hey, Danny. It’s cool. The shooter’s a tweaker. He’s gone on his own product. We’ll be on him before he even sees us.”
Another shot.
Another scream.
The detectives begin the short jog to the squat brick house.
—
Colter Shaw returned to the corridor where room 306 was located.
He found an elderly couple in colorful jogging outfits, peering out the front door of their room across the hall. They saw Shaw—no ski mask, pistol on his hip, close-cropped hair—and made the common assumption. “Officer?”
Shaw nodded. “You see what happened?”
They were oddly calm, considering.
The wife: “These two men, bullies, thugs. One of them was in here. He said not to say anything. Threatened us.”
Husband: “But we got one up on them.”
Which meant what? Shaw wondered.
He gestured for them to continue.
They explained how the men were walking up the corridor, when the couple opened the door. One herded them into the room, took their phones and ripped the landline cord out, then threatened them and warned them to stay in the room and keep quiet.