Welcome everyone to another big week on the Writer's Revolution. I am your host, the author of The Phoenix Blade, Andrew Hess. This week our guest is an amazingly talented author, Allen Renfro.
Here is an excerpt of Allen's new book: Ambiguity
The screams of ambulance sirens flew
past Will as his shaking hands held tightly to the steering wheel; the flashing
lights illuminated the concrete walls and the trees along the freeway. He kept
his car in the far right lane, out of the way of the dozens of emergency
vehicles that were racing in one direction: downtown to the Exodus Club. The
headlights of his car didn't feel bright enough; the speed of the car wasn't
fast enough. The radio was turned to a station reporting live from outside the
club, a stern male voice speaking.
"…the SWAT team that was moving
into the club has retreated back to what they are calling a safe zone. From
what we're hearing, there is fear that the front entrance and all exits have
been booby trapped with explosives, but this can't be confirmed. There
continues to be gunfire inside the club and several explosions have also been
heard. We can see people running with their hands over their heads toward the
police barricades, their clothes covered in blood, men and women, screaming and
crying. I can see victims of the shooting being attended to on the sidewalks.
There have been dozens of casualties…"
Will slid his hand across his eyes,
wiping away the heavy tears about to streak down his face. "Please, God,
let Derek be okay and I promise I'll tell him the truth."
Will's black Mustang screeched to a halt
at the end of Kings Avenue just behind Kyle's rickety old truck. He shielded
his eyes with his hand as he stepped out to the street, making sure his badge
was displayed at the waist of his jeans. He quickly pointed to the badge as the
armed police officers approached him, halting their potential interrogation.
The constant blinding flashes of blue
and red were staggering. He could hear Kyle's loud voice above the screams and
shouts and sirens as he approached the police car that idled sideways across
the street. He felt a numbness climb from his legs up to his heart as he fought
his way against the rush of emergency personnel around a long line of
ambulances waiting to take the injured to hospitals. He pushed by a reporter,
knocking his blue baseball cap to the ground. He was in no mood for the media's
cameras.
Kyle was in a discussion with Chet,
Will's partner. Will could see Chet's big bouncing belly and his too short tie
through the blinding lights. Kyle and Chet stood face to face, talking directly
into each other's ears. Only the yellow official tape separated them.
"Yeah," Chet shouted and
pointed with his pistol to the far end of the street. "The sergeant is
over there with the chief."
Will had just been a few seconds behind
Kyle in arriving. From their perspective, they could see three fire trucks
aligned in a semi-circle in front of the club. Will knew the chief had ordered
the fire trucks arranged in that position as a barricade. They offered a means
for officers to move back and forth with less risk of being shot from the
gunman, should the gunman choose to fire his weapons from the building. With
all the flashing lights and scrambling people, they could not see the chief or
sergeant.
"Hey!" Will shouted, grabbing
Kyle back by his shoulder and acknowledging him. "What the hell's going
on?"
"Hey," Kyle shouted over the
noise. "SWAT was about to go in, but they think there's explosives at the
entrances and exits."
"Any word from Derek?" Will
said.
"No," Kyle replied, his arms
folding across his chest in frustration.
"How many of our guys have been
called in?" Will asked, trying to filter the flashing lights from his eyes
and look for familiar faces. He counted six city police cars scattered in the
street, their lights flashing, and he could see more at the far end of the
street beyond the black vans, fire trucks, and ambulances.
"All of us," Chet chimed in
loudly. "For a bunch of …"
Will's pointed finger silenced Chet
immediately. "Shut up! I'm not putting up with your shit tonight!"
Will took Kyle by the arm and pulled him
back away from the noise so he could hear better and he didn't have to look at
Chet.
"Who's running the show?"
"We still are, but I'm sure the FBI
is on their way."
"It's like a war zone," Will
said with frustration. "We gotta find the sergeant and the chief!"
"Where's your vest?" Kyle
suddenly asked. Will noticed that Kyle was wearing his bulletproof protection
over a t-shirt, the white of the t-shirt sticking out near Kyle's slightly
plump waist. Kyle's tie and jacket had been discarded.
"Dammit," Will shouted. "It's
in the car."
"Go get it!" Kyle insisted.
"We gotta find the sergeant!"
Will had nothing but Derek's safety on his mind.
Kyle grabbed Will by the sleeve of his
t-shirt, the fabric clutched in his fist. "The sergeant is right over
there! Go get the vest! Derek will never forgive me if something happens to
you. Now get it! I'll wait right here."
"We don't have time for this,
Kyle!" he declared.
"You have time to get your
vest," Kyle shouted back and dragged him by the sleeve of his t-shirt.
"Now come on! Guess I'll have to go with you!"
"Okay, okay!" Will said
loudly, pulling his arm away more angrily than he intended.
The area was clearing of people and the
interested onlookers were sufficiently away from the scene behind a line of
policemen and “road closed” signs that flashed timid, round orange lights at
them. Will fumbled with his keys, attempting to unlock the trunk of the car as
Kyle attempted to be patient, pacing nervously behind him.
He wrestled the bulletproof vest over
his t-shirt and slammed the trunk closed. They both made sure their badges were
visible to any observer.
"Satisfied?" he asked with a
glare on his face.
"Yeah, Derek would be," Kyle
said back with southern sarcasm his mom would have been proud of.
They ran down the street, the galloping
sounds of their feet on the pavement loud for such a chaotic and noisy scene.
They ducked under the yellow tape and behind the row of fire trucks, heading
for the sergeant and the chief. Will glanced over to the building; the green
neon sign that glowed with the word “Exodus” was overwhelmed by the flashing
blue and red lights that danced off the wall.
Quick repeating bursts of gunfire from
an automatic weapon echoed from inside the building.
They froze in place.
"Sweet Jesus!" Kyle whispered.
"He's still shooting!" Will
replied, his eyes no longer hiding the horror of what could be happening
inside.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllenKnoxville
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allen-Renfro/205552842862027Make sure you check out Allen's books on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Allen%20Renfro&search-alias=books
and of course your copy of The Phoenix Blade: Project Justice: http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Blade-Project-Justice-ebook/dp/B00J2HG2H2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400788203&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Phoenix+Blade
And remember to rate and review the books on Amazon.com. Everyone has a voice; let it be heard.
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