“Um, Tim?” Harper stared over his shoulder.
Before he responded, Julian joined them. “Bonjour, cherie. Laissez les bons temps rouler.”
“Oui,” she giggled.
“I’m Julian Dupart, your personal escort. We good to go, Tim?” Julian scanned the area.
“Are you from Louisiana?” she asked.
“Yes,ma petite.” He flashed his megawatt smile.
Tim, Sam Robison and Crescent 3’s Alpha Squad walked the stretcher to the elevator. At the ambulance bay, Julian held up his hand. “This is Sierra Delta Alpha 1, are we clear?” He listened for the team’s responses.
With a nod, they proceeded out of the hospital. The team lifted Harper inside, and Tim and Julian sat on the crew bench beside her. Sam slid into the driver’s seat, while another operator sat in the passenger seat.
“We’re ready?” Tim asked.
“All units go,” Julian said. “About ten minutes,cherie.”
Three minutes into the ride, Sam keyed up. “We’ve got a detour ahead.”
“All units, detour, eyes open,” Julian responded.
“You all sound James Bondish,” Harper said.
“Brennan, Kip Brennan. I’m going to have fun with that,” Julian teased.
She held her head in mock distress. “Oh, please don’t. He’ll think I’m making fun of him,” Harper lamented.
“Non, non, he’ll love you more,” the words came out fast from Julian.
Harper’s eyes went wide. “Love?”
“He hasn’t figured it out yet, but believe me…” Julian said.
“This is Follow Car 2, I’ve got two blue Fords on my six. I don’t like it,” the operator said.
“FC2, slow them down. Birdman, tap the gas; I’m hungry. One, status check?” Julian’s smile never flattened.
“Is something wrong?” Harper sensed.
“No, I figure I’d give the new guys some training time. I am hungry,” Julian said.
“You feeling okay?” Tim asked.
Harper’s brows were knitted. “Now that Julian said it, I’m hungry too,” she answered.
“This is 1. I’m parallel to you. We’ve got two more vehicles coming up on you.”
Julian leaned back in his seat. “Birdman, ready to break on my call.Cherie, we are going to go a little fast. No worries. I can’t reach the radio from here. I’m going to sit behind you.” He moved to the captain’s seat.
Julian looked out the windshield. “Birdman, stay straight on Toledano Street, then hang a hard right onto South Broad Street. Lights and sirens. Blow every intersection.” His ear buzzed.
“This is FC1; we are playing bump and tickle. Shit shots fired. Request permission to engage.”
“Birdman, move. Take a left into the parking garage coming up on our left. Turn and hold position. Follow Car 1, engage. This is Sierra Delta Alpha One, request clear comm channels for Mockingbird transport. Request additional connect to technical analysis. I need live guidance. Begin sweep and pull data off all cellphones in the blue cars.”
Sam called out, “Jule, comms are down. Going to Bluetooth.”
