Under these Stars

Chapter 40

Mason's POV

"You have got to be insane." I shake my head in disbelief and admiration at my boss.

"That's why it'll work. I like to go out with a bang..or go in with a bang. Hopefully, I make it out. You got the plan down? The car explosion should grab the attention. The local gang agreed to start a riot for us as a distraction." My boss goes over everything carefully. 

"How'd you even get them to do that?" I honestly do not know that much about my boss besides his investigative skills. I wonder how he got the local gang to agree to this plan. 

"Their leader owed me and I called in the favor. We also have some history anyways." He whacks me against the back of my head, not too gently. "Can you pay attention? We will not have that much time once everything is rolling. Take off your clothes." 

"What?" I am not sure I heard him correctly. 

"Take off your clothes, or do you want me to do it for you?" He throws me a bag and I peek inside to see a police uniform. He starts putting on his EMT uniform.  

"Remember, the main goal is to grab hard evidence. Otherwise, the FBI will not be able to help. This whole investigation is a mess, but they just need some sort of hard evidence for this entire thing." He reminds me as he loads his gun. 

"Do I get one?" I eye the weapon. He chucks me one to put in my gunslinger. "And I already reminded you, we have the evidence. I slipped the GoPro you gave me when they took me inside their office. It's hidden in their office plants. I just need to grab that, kill the son of the bitch, rescue Delany, and then the FBI can finish everything off." 

"Not all plans go the way they want to." He warns me before he is interrupted by the sound of the explosion. We watch as a crowd of people gather. The gang shout in joy and make a ruckus in front of the station. 

"911, What is your emergency?" My boss rings the emergency line.

"There is a car explosion in front of the police station at Grand and Higuera! People are all over the place rioting. I'm not sure if anyone is hurt, but we need help!" He is quite the actor as his voice sounds genuinely distraught. We wait for them to dispatch EMTs and nearby police. The EMTs are usually the first to get on the scene. At the sight of the first ambulance, we start heading towards the station. 

"Coming through...EMT here...we have an officer who needs treatment inside..." My boss shouts aggressively as he holds onto me. I pretend to limp as I sling my arm around his shoulder. To remain undiscovered, my head remains looking down as if I am almost unconscious. 

As soon as step inside, we break apart. We head to the center of the police station. The two of us look confused as we find it empty. I grab the camera from the plant and toss it to my boss. 

"Where are they?" I am about to head to the basement when I hear gunshots down the hall. I sprint towards the noise.

"Mason! Where are you going!" He yells, but shakes his head as I ignore him. "Just get that camera and whatever evidence you can to the FBI. That's all you need to expose all of them anyways." I yell back. 

I hear struggling within the evidence room and shots fired. Delany. My heart leaps in fear I'll find her bloodied body on the ground. I slip inside the dark room and let my eyes adjust slowly. Looking around, I spot three other men. Before they can sense me, I take down two of them, firing in multiple successions. I duck as the third man fires back. I lunge towards the guy as we struggle against each other's strength. 

Elbowing me in the face, I fall back and trip over the bodies of the other men. I grab their weapons and aim it at the guy, but he clips me on the shoulder. 

"Fuck it," I chuck my gun at his face as hard as I can. I use that small window to grab him again. Whoever this officer is, he trained in wrestling. I struggle to get out of the lock he has me in. My hand reaches for whatever is nearby. I touch a familiar cold metal object. Grabbing it, I swing it as hard as I can into the man's head. He crumples to the ground. I drop the metal bat and stand up. 

"Mason?" I hear a small whisper behind my back. I turn to see Delany hiding behind one of the evidence shelves. 

"Delany." I let out a huge sigh of relief and rush to hug her. 

She lets out sharp hiss of pain at the sudden movement. I step back and look at her. There are bruises around her wrists, ankles, and neck. Her clothes are ripped and show scrapes and bruises. Her cheek is swollen as if someone punched her straight in the face. As she holds her side gently and withdraws into herself, I gently bring her into a soft embrace. Patting her head and making circles along her back, I try to reassure her, "I'm here. Don't worry. We are getting out of her." 

I refrain from acting out in anger though it destroys myself to see her like this. I want to kill my father. Hell, I could probably kill everyone in this damn building if I wasn't holding Delany in my arms right now. She is the only person stopping me from acting out on these impulses. 

"Mason!" She gasps as a bunch of men storm in. 

Flashes of light blind our eyes as they yell. "FBI! Put your hands where we can see them!" 

"I repeat, put your hands where we can see them! We will fire. Last warning." Someone yells. 

I let go of Delany and put my hands up. "Be gentle! She's hurt!" I yell as they roughly search our bodies and bring us outside. 

The faint glow of the sunrise surprises me as we step outside the station. I assume the head of this operation approaches me. "Mason Miretti and Delany Greene, we have some questions for you but let's you get cleaned up first." The two of us are brought inside the ambulance for the EMTs to check up on us. I glance at Delany who looks so quiet and vulnerable at this moment. Her eyes seem to gaze through everything. 

"Delany." I nudge her a couple times. She looks at me, not really seeing me. "Hey..." I bring her in closer and try not to worry too much at this moment. 

I watch as the FBI agents bring out my father and the rest of the policemen. I get up and ignore the EMTs as I approach him. With all my anger, I swing my fist as hard as I can at his face. He is knocked on the ground and stares at me in surprise. Before I can get another hit in, many FBI agents restrain me and knock me to the ground. I grimace but continue to make eye contact at the man I once called my father.

 "I hope you rot in hell." I spit in his face before I am reprimanded by several people. Then, they bring me back to get treated. 

My boss comes up to me. "They found more information at the station. It was enough to bring down your father's corrupt network. However, we are still finding out whether we get higher up his network to close the entire thing. Anyways, get some rest and recover soon." He rubs my hair affectionately. "You've got a long week ahead of you, but I'll see about sorting things out internally and externally for you. Good job dude." He scratches the scruff alongside his chin and lights a cigarette to relax. 

"Sir, you cannot light that here." One of the EMTs who is treating us tells him. With a smile, my boss walks back to the agents and nods.