Chapter 40
BUCK
Somewhere along the way, my office at the station turned into a command post, with topographic maps covering the walls and desk, and hand-drawn layouts of the school, street grids, and access roads spread through the middle of it.
I’ve noted distances, ridge lines, tree cover, and sightlines. I’ve marked all the places a shooter could disappear if he knew what he was doing.
Now, I stand in the middle of it and make myself review the whole thing again.
The firehouse sits on slightly higher ground at the center of town, with open approaches on two sides and enough equipment inside to hold if we have to. With its thick concrete walls, limited entrances, trauma bags, and tools, this place could be a fortress, depending on how ugly things get.
The school is harder. It has too many doors and too much glass. There are too many places to hide and too many small bodies to move quickly.
The gym, where the science fair will be held, is the worst part of it. One big room, filled with tables and projects, families packed shoulder to shoulder, and enough noise to cover an approach. It would be the perfect target for a man who wanted to make a spectacle of his violence.
I circle the gym in red and step back.
“If you keep frowning like that, those maps are going to surrender.” Elena’s voice comes from the doorway, soft, like a comforting hand between my shoulder blades.
She has one arm folded around a file folder against her chest and the other braced on the doorframe. Her eyes are tired, but the way she stands tall and strong does something to me. Every damn time.
“They’re holding up so far.”
Her mouth curves into a faint smile. “The maps, or you?”
“Ask me tomorrow.”
As she comes closer, her eyes drop to the desk, taking in my notes on ingress points and evacuation routes. Overwatch positions outside the school grounds are marked with Xs, and fallback points are noted by color.
“This is for the science fair,” she says quietly.
“Yeah.”
“You think he’ll hit then?”
“There’ll be crowds and distraction. It’s the perfect opportunity.” I tap the map near the gym. “Maximum damage with minimum effort.”
Her face goes pale for half a second, then she pulls it back under control. “I’ll cancel it.”
“I already thought that through.” I scratch my chin. “If we cancel, he’ll adjust. Maybe he hits somewhere less controlled, like the pickup line or morning drop-off.”
“And at the fair, you can prepare.”
“Yeah.” I turn back to the map and point things out, because it’s easier than letting her look too hard at me.
“Weston’ll be inside, working the gym and cafeteria.
Calder will be outside on comms and exterior surveillance covering the lots, side road, and tree line.
” I tap the map as I talk. “The sheriff will have men there. Federal backup will be on standby two towns over.”
“Standby,” she repeats.
“We don’t know for certain if or when Kozlov will attack,” I say. “If he does, they’ll move the second we call, but even running lights and sirens, it could still take too long.”
There it is. The truth out in the open, bare and ugly. If Kozlov comes, it’ll be us.
Not just us, not technically. Moon Ridge PD will be involved, along with a couple of county deputies, but it’ll still come down to us.
No platoon. No air support. No cavalry sweeping in at the last second.
Small-town responders, a school full of families, and the woman I love standing close enough to touch.
“I know how to plan for the men beside me,” I tell her.
“I know how to account for risk, casualties, and contingencies. But this—” I look at the map, hating how tired my voice sounds.
“This isn’t a mission where the people I’m protecting are names on a list. It’s you and T.J.
It’s kids and teachers. People who trust me because I told them it was safe to keep going. ”
Elena sets her folder down and rests her hand on my arm with a solid touch. “Buck.”
I look at her.
“I trust you because you tell the truth,” she says. “Even when it’s hard, and even when it scares me.” Her fingers tighten. “I have faith in you because I’ve seen you. Not just what you can do when things go bad, but who you are when they do.”
Something squeezes painfully in my chest. “I can’t promise perfect.”
“I would never ask for perfect.”
Her eyes hold mine. Warm, tired, and brave. Mine, if I let myself think such a selfish thought.
“You’re not carrying this alone,” she says. “Weston and Calder are with you. The sheriff’s department and federal agents are, too, and so am I. Whether Kozlov knows it or not, he picked a fight with people who love each other enough to become very inconvenient.”
I stare at her, and a laugh slips out of me before I can stop it.
“There he is,” she says with a smile.
“You make it sound so simple.” I cover her hand with mine and squeeze.
She shakes her head. “You make it sound survivable.”
I lift her knuckles to my mouth and press a kiss there. It’s a quick kiss, because this is the station, and if I let myself take more, I’ll be done for. “Thank you,” I say.
She brushes her thumb against my wrist. “You don’t have to thank me for believing in you.”