Chapter 16 The Hack #2
“So what do we do?” the superintendent asked. “Our procedures that we have in place really only address if we know there’s an active shooter in the building. They don’t address how to handle a warning.”
Elyxandre told him, “I’ve already called the local police department, and they’re on their way here, no sirens.
They’ll park around the campus and maintain their presence until we determine exactly how to proceed.
Lieutenant Axton informed me that he would put a call in to SWAT, the FBI, the Rangers, and other law enforcement agencies, including neighboring precincts from up to an hour away, who will be on standby. Some should already be here.
“Standard procedure will also call in firefighters, private ambulance companies, coordinate multiple bus companies, and put the local hospitals on notice. They’ll intercept cell tower coverage once we go into lockdown.
We’ll also lose internet. The police will coordinate communications over radios on a controlled frequency.
“At that point, small groups of officers will come in and begin clearing the building one room at a time. Students and adults will be forced to leave everything behind and exit with their hands on their heads to demonstrate cooperation, as well as allow officers to see that individuals aren’t reaching for weapons, plus they’ll be searched as they’re loaded onto buses and taken to several undisclosed locations.
At that time, there will be a command center making contact with parents and guardians about pickup procedures. ”
Lucas chimed in. “Despite the no-phone policy, some students will still have them. They could see the threat and spread the word. What if students decide to leave their classrooms even if there’s a hold in place?”
“Police will be positioned at all entrances. Anyone exiting the building without law enforcement as an escort will be taken into custody and diverted to a guarded location until they can be cleared and transported.”
She watched Lucas cross to his phone and punch in the code to do an all-call. “Tejeda Springs High School, we are currently in a lockdown. Please follow your teachers’ instructions carefully. Again, Tejeda Springs, we are in a lockdown.”
She looked at Lucas. Admiration rose through her. He showed no signs of panic, despite all the unknowns of the situation. She had no doubt that his mind had to be spinning, but looking at him, no one would know.
As for herself, her adrenaline had spiked the moment she saw the alert.
During her years on the police force, she’d been in numerous dangerous situations.
She’d faced every type of scenario, chased offenders, and put more than her fair share of them in handcuffs, many of them fighting her every step of the way.
Drug addicts suffering psychotic breaks, hostage situations, and even had criminals aim guns and threaten her directly.
Several times, she had to discharge her weapon, and once she wounded a man fleeing a domestic violence call.
Nothing could have prepared her, though, for having to potentially face someone—possibly even a teenager—threatening so many young people at one time.
With the lockdown in place, they needed to do everything possible to help law enforcement find the creator of the social media post and take them into custody, whether it was a real threat or a hoax.
“Dr. Vaughn, move the office staff into a secure room with laptops and at least one that has a hardline connection to a printer. The Wi-Fi will go down at any moment, so they’ll have to work in offline mode.
Have Juliette pull up a roster of everyone who’s out of school today.
We can pass that to the tech guru at the local FBI office so they can start by checking their IPs to see if it’s one of them.
If they have a second tech, they can search the district in case it was someone inside the building. ”
He nodded. “It should take two minutes. It’s usually fully updated by now, except for late arrivals and early departures. There could be some of those in her email and voicemail yet.”
“The FBI will be able to access that and cross-reference.”
“I’ll start drafting a media statement,” Sealy said.
Lucas asked, “What about the handheld radios? Will those still be usable?”
“Yes, but the police will be quick to tell people to get off the frequency so that speakers don’t share information with anyone who might be listening in.
They’ll be on their own frequency, and it will be a coded conversation.
If someone managed to get on the same frequency, they’d need to know the codes to understand it. ”
“All right. Let’s get on this.”
After they hung up with Sealy, Lucas looked at her.
“Ezra.” His voice cracked. “He’s in honors study hall.
He usually hides out in a corner hallway of the theatre wing because it’s quiet there since the theatre teacher doesn’t have class this hour.
Since I know where he goes, I’ve never forced him to be in a traditional space. I shouldn’t play favorites—”
“Stay here. You’ll be needed as a contact point. I’ll go retrieve him.”
“Thank you.” He gave her hand a squeeze, then kissed her cheek. “You can yell at me later for the public display of affection at work.”
She smiled, but she knew it was brittle. “I think it’s allowed, given the circumstances. Stay safe. No heroics if something comes up.”
“I promise. You as well.”
She nodded, then started moving toward the theatre wing.