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    Lucky
    Lucky
    Lucky
    Ebook131 pages1 hour

    Lucky

    By Patricia Bushman

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Roberta Loder is the District Attorney and her husband, Barry, is the Chief of Police. Their lives are coming unraveled because of the friction between the politics of their jobs. When Barry pursues the mastermind of the largest drug dealing operation in town, he is shot and Roberta is left to try to solve the case while Barry fights for his life. Together they rediscover the reasons they were drawn together and what the important things are in their lives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPatricia Bushman
    Release dateFeb 5, 2011
    ISBN9781458099761
    Lucky
    Author

    Patricia Bushman

    I have been writing since I was a young child. I have diverse interests, so my books tend to cover a lot of genres. I began writing for my own satisfaction, but eventually decided I wanted to share my work. Watch for more books on Smashwords and in print at Wordclay in the near future. I live in Huntington Beach, California and have many hobbies, including softball, which I have played since I was very young.

    Read more from Patricia Bushman

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      Book preview

      Lucky - Patricia Bushman

      Chapter One

      Barry Loder was a man on a mission and nothing could stop him from fulfilling that purpose. He’d endured the headlines and invasion by the media into his public and personal life for months and he was now finally able to move forward to get them off his back and close the case that was behind it all.

      His operation was planned and he’d carefully handpicked the men he would take to insure its success. Within a few hours he would make the arrest of the man who’d been at the heart of his investigation for far too long.

      Barry tried to shake off the despondency that gripped him despite the imminent arrest. He’d be glad when all of it was over. This case had cost him credibility on the job that he couldn’t afford to lose, and it had created a rift in his marriage that badly needed to be fixed.

      He walked into his spacious office and crossed to his desk where he pulled out the high back chair and sat down. He leaned forward and picked up the phone, then dialed his friend and second in command on the mission, Ward Mansfield.

      Ward, are we ready to go? he asked as soon as the man answered.

      He shuffled through the papers on his desk as Ward responded to his question, then he continued, You’ve verified with the sources that he’s there?

      Again he listened, then said, Alright. I’m suiting up now. Make sure everyone has a vest on. I know they think they’re hot and inhibit movement, but this time it’s not optional. And go over the assault plan with all of the team again. We don’t know what we’ll find inside that house, so be prepared for any contingency. I’ll be down in five minutes to speak to the team before we head out.

      He hung up the phone and pushed his chair back, then he rose and walked to the small corner closet where his vest and black parka hung. He quickly pulled off his necktie and uniform shirt, then slipped the kevlar vest over his white tee shirt. He fastened the Velcro tightly at his chest and waist, then replaced his shirt over the vest. He pulled on the parka and zipped it three quarters of the way.

      His hand reached for the black helmet, and he remembered as he lifted it that the chin strap was broken. For a moment he examined the dangling strap and attempted to reconnect it onto the cracked plastic of the side slot. He didn’t have time to fix it properly and with a sigh of frustration he pushed it aside and selected a black baseball cap. He wouldn’t be entering the building until his officers had it secured and the baseball cap should be fine. The helmet was hot and uncomfortable anyway and he avoided wearing it whenever he could, which explained why it had not been replaced in the year since he had broken the strap.

      For a moment his hand moved back to the helmet and he considered wearing it despite it’s broken strap. No, he decided. It wouldn’t be much use in its current state and he was probably just being paranoid. Everything would go as he had planned and his men would lock down the scene in short order. He’d be okay with the cap.

      He positioned the cap on his head and returned to his desk. He pulled out the top drawer. His weapon was loaded, as it always was, but he double checked it anyway. He didn’t expect to have to use it. He hadn’t fired the weapon, other than at the range, for years and he hoped it would remain that way today. He had full confidence in his team. He’d reviewed the training and record of each of them and was satisfied with their experience and fitness for the mission.

      He rose from the desk and quickly left the room, strapping his weapon holster to his belt as he went. He jammed the Glock into the harness and headed to the bank of elevators halfway down the hallway to his left.

      Within minutes he walked into the room four stories below where a group of fifteen officers waited. The uniformed men and women all turned and the room grew silent as he entered. It was unusual for the Chief to lead an assault himself and the knowledge that he was equipped and joining them underscored the importance of the mission.

      Barry walked to the center of the room and the group of fifteen men and women, each dressed much as himself, drew closer and turned their full attention to him.

      He studied each of their faces for a long minute before he spoke. They were the department’s future, he knew, but most of them seemed so young. In the same instant he knew their youth was reflected only by his own sense of moving into middle age. With a jolt he realized this was the first time he had ever thought of himself as on the downside of his career. The realization was startling, but in the same moment he thought, like hell I am. But for the seriousness of the situation he might have chuckled. He cleared his throat instead and began.

      Gentlemen and ladies, thank you for your hard work in preparation for today’s mission. I know many of you have spent countless hours undercover to get us to this crucial point. I want you to know how important that work has been to the success we hope to achieve today. We need to take Daniel Diaz alive. Anyone else that we can scoop up along with him will be an added bonus, but he’s our primary target. Let’s try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. A room full of dead bodies isn’t going to help our case or the department’s image with the press. He heard several snickers from the group. They knew well the recent battle that had raged in the media between the District Attorney’s office and his department.

      Now, everyone has your assignments?

      The officers nodded and Barry continued, Alright. Ward, you’ve been over the positioning already?

      Yes, sir. We’re ready to go, Ward said.

      Okay. Let’s get started. Remember to be careful out there and watch each other’s back, Barry finished.

      The officers filed out of the room and toward the parking area where three cargo vans waited. Within minutes the vans were crowded with men, women and equipment and the designated drivers pulled out of the lot and into the street. The location where they had learned Daniel Diaz was currently running the core of his drug operation was less than half an hour away.

      *****

      Chapter Two

      Barry rode in the passenger seat of the van driven by Ward. As they proceeded through traffic, he mentally reviewed the assault plan and could find no fault with what Ward had prepared. Three officers armed with automatic weapons would position themselves in the alley behind the building. Two more would remain outside to secure and protect the front of the building. The rest of the team would rush the front door where a battering ram would quickly gain them entry.

      Barry allowed himself to relax a bit as they drove. His thoughts moved to his beautiful wife, Robbie, and the life they’d built together over the past twenty four years. Their two sons were young men now and Barry remembered how humbled and proud he’d been at the birth of each. Brad, most like himself, a man of action and not content to spend his days at a desk. Steven, studious and steady, and very much like Robbie. His sons were a gift, but his wife was a treasure. No two people were better matched or loved each other more. Again he reminded himself that there was work to be done to repair their now fractured marriage after all that had happened over the past two months. That was next on his agenda when this mission was completed.

      For the thousandth time he wondered how they had allowed everything to get so out of hand and create this division between them. They’d always been a team and he wanted their life back to what it had always been. He’d do whatever it took to make that happen. There was no other choice. They belonged together now as they always had.

      Barry pulled his attention back to the morning’s mission as the vans slowed and parked half a block away from the house where they would make the arrest. The officers piled out, quickly checking their weapons and equipment. Barry stepped out of the van and Ward began to wave the officers into their assigned positions.

      The rear guard was dispatched first and they slipped behind the nearest house and began a slow jog across the back yards to their positions behind the target building. The two men who were assigned to the front quickly followed.

      The remaining contingent loosely assembled and with serious expressions and nods of encouragement to each other they headed at a brisk pace toward the house. Barry and Ward hung back and let the team leader move them into position. Within less than a minute Barry saw that they stood on the walkway that led to the front door.

      Without preamble they quickly moved forward, then stepped aside as the two men with the battering ram quickly dispatched the door, which was left

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