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FRANK WAS OUT OF THE driver’s seat like a shot as Marrisa fumbled in her bag. Weapon at high ready, he rounded the corner of the van and came face-to-face with Omikawa.
“Whoa, easy Lieutenant,” he squealed, holding his hands up alongside his head.
“Sing out next time, that’s a good way to earn an extra hole,” Frank barked gruffly.
“Sorry, I’ve been sitting over in the patrol car watching y’all since you arrived,” Omikawa explained. “I was beginning to worry something was wrong after y’all sat here for five minutes and didn’t get out.”
Frank always had to stifle a grin when Jason Omikawa spoke. He looked every bit the Japanese heritage he claimed, but he had been born and raised in Chickasha and had the “Okie” drawl down pat. Seeing an Asian face say y’all made him smile inside.
“Why are you here?” Frank asked heatedly. “I heard you were pretty messed up in the first assault. Why aren’t you home resting? Aren’t you on sick leave?”
Omikawa knew better than to interrupt Frank, so he hesitated when Frank stopped talking. Seeing he wasn’t going to say any more, he answered all the questions. “I’m here because I requested to be here, even though it’s not officially light duty, which I’ve been cleared for. Nothing broken, just some sprains and pulled muscles.”
“Sprains and pulls can take longer to heal than breaks, we both know that,” Frank chastised. “Who’d you sweet-talk to get released for limited, and again, why here; why not a desk?”
“Because I want first crack at the bast..” he caught himself, stepping sideways and eyeing the young people emerging from the vans. When he looked at Frank again, he was having trouble containing his mirth. “I want the bad guys who did this to me, and you, LT. And speaking of light duty, someone needs to call the desk sergeant; he’s put the word out you were comatose and had a low chance of recovering.”
When Frank puffed up to lay into him again, Omikawa quickly added, “That is to say, I’m seriously glad you weren’t hurt, sir. Your clothes are trashed, but there doesn’t appear to be a mark on you. Shouldn’t you be on light duty, sir?” he finished, still grinning like a fiend.
“What are you grinning at?” Frank growled, stepping between the two vans.
Marrisa was crouched on the ground in front of her daughter’s chair, which was still in the van. She held a massive revolver clutched tightly in both hands, and its barrel trembled as she pointed it in his direction. The weapon was overtly menacing, black and shiny, and the end of the long, vent-ribbed barrel looked to be the size of a baseball. Hamilton had moved his chair so he could see around the van’s sliding door, and had his arm cocked back as if to throw his own ball.
Frank looked at Ham, grinning, and said, “Don’t shoot.”
Then he looked to Marrisa and, still grinning, asked, “Where’d you get the hand cannon?”
Marrisa sheepishly lowered the heavy gun to her thigh as she rose slowly. “It was Phillip’s, and he taught me how to use it,” she replied, wiggling it around. “I just never felt the need to carry it until now.”
“I’m guessing you had that in your bag at the hospital?” Frank asked, still smiling. He nodded approvingly when he saw her index finger couched alongside the cylinder and not on the trigger.
“Oh, no, I would never carry a gun into a hospital where my daughter’s boyfriend and one of my new best friends were being treated for life-threatening wounds caused by rampaging demons in human form,” she replied acerbically. “That would be illegal.”
Looking at the others he said, “Let’s make our way inside. It looks like we have a lot of discussion to finish.”
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ONCE THEY WERE ALL settled in the living room, Frank turned to Omikawa and resumed their previous conversation. “Who’s in the patrol with you?”
“I’m solo,” Jason replied. “We all are, now that more craziness has begun. There aren’t any patrols out with two officers on board. That’s one of the reasons I’m still on duty; we need every able-bodied officer we have. The Captain’s already called for mutual aid from Blanchard, Anadarko, and Rush Springs. OKC already has their hands full.”
“I think you’d better bring us all up to speed on what you just said,” Frank ordered, looked lost as he viewed his companions.
“Sir?” Omikawa questioned. “These civilians, as nice of folks as they are, and thank you ma’am for allowing me to rest here for a while,” he said in an aside to Clara, who smiled and nodded. “I don’t think they need to know what’s happening. It’s...well, LT, it’s kinda nuts.”
Frank sighed, the heavy expulsion of a man who was accustomed to relying on himself and was now being required to put too much on faith. “Sit down Jason, and I’ll try to be brief. Hold your questions until I’m finished,” he said. Turning to the others, he continued, “Please don’t finish my sentences for me, I know there are details I’m leaving out, but he just needs to know the essentials for now.”
In just under five minutes, Frank filled in all the gaps from the evening’s activities, including his resurrection at the hospital. When he finished, Jason sat speechless. After a minute, he cleared his throat to bring the shocked young officer back to himself, then said, “Your turn.”
“There’s rioting in the city,” he said, referring to Oklahoma City. In most parts of the state, The City meant OKC, unless you were in the northeast, then it was Tulsa.
“They’ve put out an all call for every available peace officer, including reserves, court officers, the Feds, game wardens, OHP, the DA’s office; you name it. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the riots, just uncontrolled violence. Cars turned over and set on fire, stores broken into and looted, gangs roaming the streets robbing and beating people; single women...” he paused, swallowing hard.
“Well, you get the idea. The Governor’s even talking about activating and arming the National Guard.” Jason had grown pale during his recitation, but now his color flared. “Gangs are working with other gangs, and there have been a lot of shots fired calls coming in. There were no triggers anyone can identify; it was just like someone flipped a switch and all the bad guys went crazy at once.”
“It has begun,” Raquel whispered into the silence which threatened to deafen everyone in the room. “We’re out of time.”
“Wait, you said angels were here to help, they just need a willing vessel, right?” Jason blurted. When Raquel nodded, Jason said, “I’m willing; take me, I’m still in pretty good shape, and maybe, you know, like you said, they can fix me up so I’m ready for action?”
Clara eyes darkened, and then flew open as she shrugged, looking first at Jason, then around the room. “There has been an angel all-call,” she informed them, copying Jason’s term. “Watcher’s from all over the planet are reporting similar sequences of events. Apparently, this is an onslaught of global proportions, and it is well coordinated. The entire planet is rioting.”