Silent Night - By Tom Barber Page 0,85

that bomb at the club. That’s how the guy at the coffee shop saw him at the exact same time and how this man says he was in here just afterwards. Sway was the shooter. His brother was at the Starbucks pretending to be him. Then he came here and rigged up the lab.’

The team looked at him and realised how they’d been duped.

‘Jesus Christ,’ Shepherd said.

‘How was this not on the file?’ Marquez asked.

‘Roller only has a small-town local PD,’ Archer said. ‘You saw his jacket. He came from a broken home. He could have ten brothers and sisters for all we know.’

‘We need to get them both before they leave the city,’ Josh said.

Shepherd pulled his phone, pushing Redial.

‘Rach?’ he said. ‘Listen. Pull up footage from outside Tonic around 2215. The East 29 Street camera will show Finn Sway. I want you to run clothing rec on him as fast as you can.’

He waited. A few moments later, Rach came back.

‘Go on,’ Shepherd said, listening closely. A few moments pause. Then he started for the door, ending the call. ‘One of the two Sways entered an apartment building off 35 and 8 four minutes ago.’

The entire team ran out of the building and headed for their cars. Dr Kruger had just arrived, stepping out of a taxi, the detective assigned to protect him joining him on the sidewalk. Kruger had changed his clothes, the blood-stained blue shirt replaced by a sweater, brown jacket and fresh jeans. He paid the fare, then slammed the door. ‘What’s going on?’

‘In the car, doc,’ Shepherd said. ‘You’re coming with us.’

FORTY

Reese Sway had just completed a final sweep of the apartment when he heard a series of cars pull up on the street below. The soft squeal of tyres and sudden killing of engines were giveaways. He ran to the bedroom window and saw people piling out of black 4x4 vehicles and run into the building. Panicking, he zipped up the bag of stolen valuables then ran into the den. The girl’s husband kept a weapon in the apartment, a pistol hidden behind some books. He grabbed the gun and a loaded magazine beside it then slammed the clip into the weapon and racked the slide. He ran to the door, rushing outside into the corridor.

Below, he heard the lower door to the stairwell open and the sound of feet pounding up the stairs.

He was trapped.

Turning, he ran up the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time.

Archer, Shepherd and Josh were taking the stairs, Marquez and Jorgensen the lift. They’d heard movement above them and the sound of someone running up the stairwell. The three men took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time, when they heard the sound of a door being smashed open several flights above them.

Josh was the first to arrive at the already open door. It was the entrance to the roof.

He pushed it back and immediately there was a gunshot. Josh was thumped back as several more shots thudded into the door where he’d been standing.

Archer and Shepherd ducked back to avoid being hit as the lift opened behind them, Marquez and Jorgensen running out. Drawing their side-arms, Marquez, Jorgensen and Shepherd moved forward to the doorway as Archer dropped to one knee, helping Josh to the ground. He'd taken the round in the upper arm.

Archer clamped his hands either side of the wound as Josh grimaced.

‘Shit,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘This must feel like déjà vu for you.’

On the roof, the three cops took cover as Reese fired again, the gunshots echoing off the buildings all around them. He’d put one of them down. Keeping up the fire, he turned and ran towards the edge of the building. He stopped short and looked around, desperately looking for a way to escape. But the gap between this roof and the next was twenty feet. He couldn’t make it. He was trapped.

‘Put your hands up!' a voice bellowed.

Shepherd, Marquez and Jorgensen had him triangulated, three sights of three pistols trained on his head.

Sway had his back turned, looking out over the roof of the adjacent building.

'Drop the weapon!' Shepherd shouted. 'It's over, kid.'

Sway suddenly spun around.

He had his pistol sweeping up, aiming for Marquez who was the first one in the arc to his right.

Shepherd had no choice. Threaten his team, and he’d take you out in a heartbeat. He fired once. Not like the movies, where they aimed for the leg or a