Going Under_ A Bill Roberts Thriller - Silas Payton Page 0,38

going back now. He glanced around the pillar to locate the remaining two cops.

The front door beside him burst open.

"Put down your weapon!" Someone yelled.

It was close range -- ten feet away, and he was trapped. He knew he was done -- but not ready to give up.

"You're coming with me, you Bastard," he yelled.

Ed squeezed the trigger, clenching the weapon firmly. He spun and fired at the man by the door. Bullets tore through the cop's legs and he dropped. Ed spun around and fired at the two remaining cops on the street. The next spray was directed at the tactical officer with the assault rifle, who let off a few rounds then dropped behind a car. He turned towards the cop with the handgun, but before his bullets caught up to his turn, he took a round in the chest.

The last thing he saw was the cop, crouched near his two friends -- the barrel of his handgun flashing with the discharge of each bullet before they hit him.

Ed stopped counting after the fourth hit.

Chapter 41

The Doctor

The doctor could not believe what was happening in front of him -- a gunfight in the streets of downtown Toronto. He may not have heard the cops speaking a second ago, but he could sure hear the gunshots now.

The biker on the veranda took three or four hits. There were three cops down, from his count -- all fatally, it appeared, and one of them was Bill Roberts.

Other tactical officers rushed out of the building with their weapons. The two remaining bikers were on the veranda on the far side of the building. They were smart enough to stay clear of the gunfight. The police cuffed them even though they didn't do anything, likely as a precaution until the dust settled.

Two officers were bent over the Inspector talking to each other, rapidly checking over the body. After half a minute of looking him over, one went to Roberts' shoulder. They stopped and were focusing on something they found. A minute of inspection later, and the younger officer ran to the car they arrived in, coming back with a small towel which he used to press onto the wound. The older officer was talking into his radio, presumably calling it in.

There was movement.

Roberts was alive.

The officers slowly rolled him over exposing his bad shoulder so they could tend to it. The older officer took over the compression with the towel, as the younger one ran to one of the nearby police SUV's. He came back with a first aid kit.

First Aid Kit!

Oh, this could be fun.

The doctor got up from the table, left the coffee shop, and walked toward Inspector Roberts. His presence drew some attention from a couple members of the Tactical Team, as well as from one of the cops tending to Roberts.

He held his hands out in front, and loudly said, "I'm a doctor. I saw everything and I can help."

This seemed to ease the tension and they waved him over.

He stopped near the Inspector and asked the other two, "Where did the bullet hit him?"

The younger one, who shot the biker on the veranda, said, "Looks like one hit his shoulder. Nothing else from what we can see."

"I see you've been applying pressure, is there any sterile gauze in the kit?" he asked.

The older cop went through it quickly, pulled out a package and handed it to the doctor. Looking at the pool of blood on the ground, the officer said, "Paramedics have been called and they're on the way." He keyed his radio and asked to speak with the city police watching the perimeter. When he got patched through, he told them to expect the ambulances and let them through. He also had them call the coroner.

The Inspector was becoming more coherent.

"What happened?" he asked, as he sat up.

The doctor tried to keep him down, but it was too late. The Inspector stared at the carnage, and the doctor couldn't help but join him. Ten feet away to the right, was an officer face down in a pool of blood surrounding his head. At the bottom of the stairs going up to the veranda, was another officer crumpled on the ground, soaked in blood.

Some police were scrambling everywhere, not sure what to do, while others were standing quietly assessing the situation. The damage had already been done. An ambulance could be heard in the distance.

"I'm a doctor. I'm trying to help you, but you need to lie