Dockside fire department to address the potential fire hazard of the locked doors.
“Listen. Something really bad is going on in that building…no, I don’t know what exactly … the governor is in there and his daughter is missing … some real bad people are planning something, you gotta send all the units you can!”
Hanging up, he knew it would take precious minutes for the firepower necessary to prevent whatever was about to go down. Experience told him how long it took the cops from multiple precincts to get to Dockside if it seemed like the everyday violence that plagued the area.
In the meantime, he had to get into that building. He looked all around. Its exterior was so full of nooks and crannies he knew he could get somewhere if he were on the roof. But there was no way for him to climb to the roof. Even if he accessed the roof at the closest building, there was no way to jump it.
He remembered then, that because of New Year’s Eve, emergency vehicles were going to have a hard time accessing this block. Not only was Crow Bar accessible at the moment only on foot within a two-block radius, beyond that there were people meandering the streets all over the city.
To make matters even worse, the closest bridges were both up at the moment. The bridge authority always raised the bridges closest to the harbor on New Year’s Eve. It kept drunks off the bridges and further prevented any motorized traffic from creating a hazard in the streets that were choked with pedestrians.
If Levi ever met the mayor, he was going to have some harsh words about these decisions.
Whoever planned tonight’s crimes had to know about the bridges and barricades, and the realization made Levi’s blood run cold. The detours would add an extra ten, maybe 15 minutes from the nearest police and fire precinct on the other side of the river. There was no way the Dockside precincts could handle what seemed to be happening.
He scanned the alleyway for ideas. The basement window was the only point of access looking back at him from where he stood. Levi took the switch from his pocket and released the spring-loaded blade, breaking out the glass with a hell of a lot of effort and one or two cuts to the side of his hand. Ignoring the pain, he shimmied through, one limb at a time.
“Come on,” he cajoled himself as he wrenched his torso through the narrow opening. It was in this moment he decided maybe it was time to lay off the jelly donuts. Especially if the Locke family was going to insist on putting themselves in danger. He finally managed to scrape through, but not without more cuts on his hands from stray shards of glass. He tumbled to the filthy basement floor with a thud. Running on pure adrenaline, he righted himself, found the rotting wooden staircase and ran up into the kitchen of Crow Bar.
He had been expecting complete pandemonium, people crushing against the doorways. But what he found was that nobody was panicking at all. To his amazement, everyone was still in party mode, as if nothing was happening.
Levi floated through the packed bar, keeping his eye out for Keith or Roger. They were nowhere in sight. He made his way over to where Holden was watching a nervous governor mount the stage to give a speech to his constituents.
Levi was surprised to see the governor looking as pale as a ghost as he took the mic in his hand.
When George Locke opened his mouth to speak, his voice trembled. Levi squinted. This was not the commanding presence of Governor Locke that everyone knew from TV. This was barely a shadow of Fiona’s dad.
“I have an announcement to make. I’d like to thank everyone for their support over the years. For all the time you helped me campaign, raise funds, and do the work of running this beautiful state of ours. But I have some news. Due to personal circumstances out of my control, I have decided to…step down as governor.”
A hush fell over the crowd. People gasped all around them, murmured shocked sounds of denial.
“I know this is unexpected but…wait.”
Levi had been scanning the crowd looking for any sign of security, but saw none. The only men guarding this place were his fellows in the Brute Squad. As quietly as he could, he instructed Holden to grab Dash and open the emergency doors and