Stay where you are, Brooks, he ordered. Maintain control of the dogs. Keep the suspects contained. And don't engage further. Yes, sir.
And Ayana? Yes. His voice softened just barely. You did the right thing calling me. Ayana swallowed hard.
Thank you, sir. The line clicked off. She lowered her phone and slipped it back into her pocket, her body composed, her expression carved from ice. Above her, the boys watched helplessly from the rooftop. Ayana raised her head, meeting their horrified, shrinking gazes.
In the distance, faint but growing louder, came the whale of approaching sirens, and Major Henderson was on his way right now. The sirens grew louder as the police convoy rolled into Silver Ridge. Highlights flashing, engines rumbling, radios crackling. Students flooded the courtyard in waves drawn by the chaos. Whispers buzzing like swarming insects.
Ayana stepped out from the K9 training yard, flanked by chaos, diesel, and vector. The dogs walked beside her with perfect discipline, forming a protective triangle. Students parted instinctively, creating a path as if she were royalty or something even more untouchable. Then the command van door slammed open. Major Henderson emerged, a massive man in a tactical vest, his gray stre beard and cold eyes, radiating authority so intense that even teachers shrank back.
His boots hit the pavement with heavy deliberate thuds. When he saw Ayana, his posture shifted into a sharp salute, one that made jaws drop all around the courtyard. "Lieutenant Brooks," he announced, voice booming. "Stand by!" Ayanna nodded once, crisp and professional.
Whispers exploded. "She's a lieutenant?" "No way. She's 16. Is this real, dude?"
The K9 chief is saluting her. What the hell? Henderson turned toward the stairwell leading up to the rooftop where Carter, Logan, and Bryce were being escorted down by two officers. The boys looked like ghosts, shaking, holloweyed, drained of color. Carter kept trying to keep a straight face, but fear clung to him like sweat.
The officers pushed them forward. Henderson faced the crowd. "Before we proceed," he said, "the student body deserves to see exactly what happened today." A large portable display screen flickered to life. One of the officers had already connected Bryce's phone.
The shaky rooftop footage began playing. The crowd watched in horrified silence as the video showed Carter grabbing Ayana. Logan and Bryce helping restrain her. Carter dragging her to the edge. Ayana warning them.
And finally, Carter shoving her off the rooftop gasps rippled through the courtyard. Several students covered their mouths. A teacher stumbled back. Horrified. Mila burst into tears.
Carter's face went scarlet then sickly pale. That's attempted murder. Someone whispered. But the dogs, how did they stop? No way she survived that without.