Chapter 6: The Ryder Brothers

Kathrin opened her eyes the next morning far earlier than she had wanted to. She hadn’t gotten much sleep since she stayed up with the storm judging by the slight buzz in her head and the dull ache she felt in her lungs each time she took a breath. Still, the emotional release she had achieved the night before was well worth whatever hours she had lost. That was clear. Kathrin glanced over to her clock radio to check the time but its red numbered display was strangely dark, a fact that didn’t quite hit home. Kathrin shifted under her covers until she could see out the window. It was still overcast but there was an orange tint forming on the horizon, placing her some time near seven in the morning. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She would have given almost anything for another two hours of sleep, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She was tired and mentally exhausted, but not sleepy.
Naturally her mind began to drift back to her brother. She had meant it every time she had told him that she wouldn’t know what to do without him. That she would have to live her life without Casey… it frightened her and was almost too much to handle. The night before had been all emotion and almost no real thought, but this time it was more of an intellectual fear that gripped her. Casey would never see her finish school, or follow in his footsteps as a police detective. He would never attend her wedding, and they would never get to see each other’s children. The list went on and on, but then Kathrin remembered the letter. She and Casey had talked twice about the possibility of his death. Once had been when she was younger, not long after he had moved away. The second time was much more recent though, a little over a year ago, right after the bank robbery. Casey had also given her a letter then. It was something that she was only to read in the event that something were to happen to him. She had made sure to bring it along with the rest of her things from Nashville, but she was having a hard time deciding whether to retrieve it from its out of the way spot in her closet or not. It was fear of the unknown she supposed.
After a few minutes of worrying about what the letter might say Kathrin chose to put faith in her brother and eased out from under the covers. It was getting uncomfortably warm under them anyway. Her night vision was more than good enough to let her cross her room in the early morning light and she could even make out many of the objects on her much more dimly lit closet shelves, but she couldn’t quite see the signed envelope that the letter was in. She reached back and flipped on the closet’s light switch only to have nothing happen. That’s when it hit home. Her clock radio, the air conditioning, the closet light, and even the signs and street lights outside were all out. The storm must have somehow knocked out the power after she had finally made it back to sleep the night before. Kathrin tried her room’s main light and fan just to be sure, they didn’t work of course, then dropped down to her hands and knees to retrieve her clunky yellow emergency radio from its dedicated spot beneath her bed. She used its flashlight to locate the letter then quietly made her way into the kitchen. No power meant no warm breakfast so she grabbed a couple of energy bars and a large cup of tea before she headed out to sit on the balcony and read the letter. The handwritten note wasn’t everything she wanted, or even expected, but it was what she needed to hear. In it her brother told her how much he loved and how proud he was of her. He gave her some instructions and laid out some things he expected of her now that he was gone. Perhaps just as importantly he also told her what he didn’t want her to do.
Kathrin’s hands were trembling by the time she got to the end of the letter. She carefully folded it and returned it to its envelope. She decided, as she sat the letter down on the wooden table beside her, that she would read it in its entirety at Casey’s funeral. It was meant just for her but it was too powerful not to share.
“Here ya’ are. I’ve been knocking on your door since eight-thirty,” Fern said as she stepped out onto the balcony almost two hours later. It was light out now and the sun was peaking above the apartment buildings across the street. “I was starting to get worried then I heard the radio out here,” she explained.
“I’ve just been out here thinking and listening,” Kathrin responded quietly. She hadn’t moved a muscle since finishing the letter. “Is out power still out?”
“Still out,” Fern confirmed as she sat down in the other patio chair, across the table from Kathrin.
“They are starting to restore power to Denton so I thought ours might be back by now,” Kathrin said, her voice still not much more than a whisper.
“Not yet I guess,” Fern replied. She looked over to her friend and asked, “Hey? Are you okay?”
Kathrin stared across the way for a moment before answering, “I’m up and out of bed. I’ve watched the sunrise and read my brother’s ‘if the worst should happen’ letter that he left for me. I have plans for the rest of the day and tentative plans for beyond that, but am I okay? No. No I’m not.”
Fern didn’t have a response for that so, she simply sat with her friend in silence and hoped her continued presence was at least welcome if not comforting.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” Kathrin said a few minutes later when a breaking news story came on the radio. She turned it up so Fern could hear better.
“… the conference was originally scheduled for nine this morning but has been delayed for the last twenty minutes or so. It seems to be getting underway now so let’s listen in live,” the radio announcer said. There was a few second of dead air followed by the sounds of someone adjusting a microphone.
“Okay? Can everyone hear me?” A gravely aged voice that Kathrin immediately recognized asked. “Good. I am Deputy Chief Gary Arlen of the Dallas Police Department. We have a few short updates for you this morning on the shooting that occurred at my west Dallas station yesterday afternoon. I’m afraid we will not have time for any questions. We are all very busy as you’d imagine.”
“At approximately 1:12pm two black males in their early to mid twenties pulled into the station’s front parking lot driving a tan Ford Taurus. After waiting in their car for several minutes the pair were approached by one of our officers. The suspects opened fire on the officer with automatic weapons and proceeded to enter the station. They engaged every officer they came in contact with as they moved through the building. Their purpose inside the police station is not known at this time, but they did break into or otherwise enter several rooms and offices. The pair then detonated an explosive device in the records room near the rear of the station before orderly leaving the scene.”
“Overall we had two officers killed, including Detective Casey Rudo, and six others wounded. We will not be able to release the other names at this time due to the ongoing investigation but we will be releasing composite sketches of the suspects later today. We also have photos and a significant amount of video from the station’s surveillance system but due to legal and other concerns we won’t be able to release any of that information until sometime early next week. We are working to expedite that process. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy and to our wounded officers as well. We will have a tip hotline set up later today and there will be a large reward for any helpful information regarding this case. I’m actually not sure when our next press conference will be, as I said before we are very busy, but it shouldn’t be any later than this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest. Thank you for your time.”
Kathrin turned the volume back down as the assembled reporters all started shouting their questions at once.
“I wonder why the Chief singled out Casey and none of the other officers,” she said, thinking aloud.
“Maybe he’s the only one they’ve managed to contact the entire family for?” Fern suggested.
“Maybe,” Kathrin said dismissively. It still seemed a little odd but not really worth pursuing.
“But only eight,” Fern commented, “it’s lucky so many were away at that team building meeting. It could have been a real tragedy.”
Kathrin’s posture drooped slightly as her heart sank. She wanted to say something unkind in response but instead gazed down the road to her right, away from Fern, in order to spare her roommate any kind of dirty look or hurtful comment.
“Oh! I didn’t mean…” Fern exclaimed a second later when she realized that for her friend, it was a real tragedy.
“I know you didn’t. It still stings though,” Kathrin replied. “And you’re right. It could have been much much worse which is what most people’s first thought will be. It’s up to me to get used to it I guess,” Kathrin reasoned before gathering up her things and heading back inside.
“So now what?” Fern asked, closing the door behind them.
“I’m going to get cleaned up and head over to my brother’s house. I didn’t think of Jennifer once yesterday and I’m feeling pretty guilty about it,” Kathrin answered.
“You weren’t exactly in any condition to…” Fern started to remind her.
“I know I wasn’t,” Kathrin agreed, “but I think I am now. Besides, Casey told me to look after her,” she said, holding up the envelope and waving it for Fern to see.
Kathrin’s lukewarm shower did little to fortify her spirit, the lack of lighting made just about everything from finding her clothes to putting on her makeup problematic, and the gate to the apartment wouldn’t open when she pulled her car up to it. Each problem was surmountable with enough effort, but Kathrin couldn’t help but feel like the world had turned against her now that her brother was gone. The feeling intensified as she drove back towards Dallas. Having to dodge all the terrible drivers who didn’t know what to do when the traffic lights went out and seeing all the damage the storm had caused wasn’t helping it go away, that was for sure. Things did seem to get better once she got into Casey’s neighborhood though. The power had been restored in his area and it looked like the storm had almost skipped the familiar streets by. Kathrin pulled up into Casey’s driveway and walked quietly up to his house’s front door unsure of what state she would find Jennifer in. She rang the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later there was a series of clicks as the locks were undone and the door opened to reveal her sister in law. Jennifer Rudo looked as if she’d gotten half dressed for work and then given up. She had on a nice red blouse and was wearing a professional looking skirt but her blond hair was a mess, as if she had washed it but decided not to brush or style it. She had on a nice pair of socks but seemed to have had slipped on a beat up pair of tennis shoes. In an ordinary situation Kathrin might have laughed at her, but not now especially since she felt about how her sister in law looked. Jennifer stared at Kathrin for a long moment then stepped through the doorway and pulled the taller girl into a tight hug. It was a long time before either of them spoke and Kathrin didn’t know if she was the one coming to comfort or the one being comforted. In the end it didn’t matter. They stood there giving and accepting each other’s sorrow until Jennifer eventually pulled back and held Kathrin’s shoulders at arm’s length.
“What are you doing here?” She asked her sister in law with tears in her eyes.
“I came to make sure you were okay,” Kathrin answered. “I would have come sooner but…”
“There was no need for you to drive all the way down here. Why didn’t you just call?”
“I tried, but I kept getting busy signals and disconnects. I think the storm messed something up.”
“Well come on in,” Jennifer instructed. “I’ll fix you something cool to drink.”
“Thanks, we still didn’t have power when at the apartment when I left…” Kathrin started to say but she stopped mid sentence when she ran into a wave of heat as she passed into the living room. The reason for the elevated temperature was readily apparent. Jennifer was running her fireplace full blast even though it was already over ninety degrees outside.
“Are you cold?” Kathrin asked as she followed Jennifer into the kitchen. The heat was already causing her to sweat.
Jennifer finished pouring two glasses of iced tea then said, “When I got home after hearing the news I couldn’t get warm, couldn’t stop shivering. I tried bundling up in our big blanket but it barely helped. I was completely miserable until I finally fired up the fireplace. It was the only thing that let me get some sleep.” She handed Kathrin her glass then headed towards the living room saying, “I guess I got used to it over night and this morning, but I’m sure you’re burning up. I’ll turn it off.”
“How did you find out about Casey?” Kathrin asked.
“I was at work, of course,” Jennifer said as she turned the gas key until the flames shrank and died. She sat on a couch and motioned for Kathrin to do the. “We have all the local and national news stations on all day long in the newsroom. One of our reporters pulled me away from the story I was editing when the first reports of the attack hit the air. I helped our news team pin down the story for a few hours since I had some contacts from back when I worked the crime beat. During my calls I learned that some officers had been killed. A little later I was able to confirm that one of them was Casey.” She stopped to dry her eyes on the nearby blanket. “I finished editing that story I had been working on, though I’m sure it’s full of typos, and then I came here.”
“Who actually told you?” Kathrin asked from the other couch.
“I don’t remember who first said that there were fatalities but it was Gary… I mean Chief Arlen who confirmed that Casey had been killed.”
“He told me too oddly enough.” Kathrin said. She took a deep breath and told the story. “I was in class when my roommate texted me. I tried texting Casey for the rest of the hour but didn’t get a reply. After class I tried calling him but all I got was that stupid recording of his.”
“I always told him he shoulda changed that.” Jennifer said.
“Yeah, well… By the I got home Fern, my roommate, had gotten hold of her uncle but he hadn’t heard from Casey either.”
“Her uncle is Michael McDonald, Casey’s partner right?”
“She calls him Uncle Mike, but yeah. Anyway, I still hadn’t heard from Casey so Fern and I drove to his station.” Kathrin heard Jennifer let out a small gasp but she continued. “We had to walk the last mile or so because they closed the roads around the station and by the time we got there the fire had been put out. Some officers stopped us before we made it to the parking lot but Chief Arlen walked over and told me personally that Casey had been killed.”
“Oh wow…” was all Jennifer was able to say before she covered her mouth with her hand.
“I… I pretty much froze up after that and Fern had to drive me home,” Kathrin finished. She had to close her eyes in order to try and keep control of her emotions. She was just about to cry over her memories when the doorbell rang and jolted her back to the present.
“That’s the second time that’s happened to me today,” Jennifer said looking equally startled. Kathrin climbed off the couch and lead the way back to the foyer.
“It’s the police,” she said after peaking out the front window. “There’s a couple of cars out there actually.”
The doorbell rang again as Jennifer undid the multiple locks and opened the door.
“Chief Arlen, would you believe we were just talking about you?” Jennifer said to the older man standing at her door in full uniform with his hat in his hands.
“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced Mrs. Rudo,” the sixty-five year old police chief said in his typical gruff grandfatherly voice, “but we need to collect some of your husband’s things for the investigation.”
“Of course, come in,” Jennifer said almost cheerfully in a voice Kathrin suspected she used to hide her true feelings while pumping a source for a story. “You need his computer and notes I assume?”
“Yes ma’am, and any kind of journal he might have kept,” Chief Arlen replied as he and a pair of officers entered the house. The officers followed Jennifer back towards her home office, but Chief Arlen lingered behind.
“Kathrin,” he said, acknowledging her presence.
“Chief.” Kathrin replied politely.
“Are you holding up all right after yesterday?” he asked her.
“Better than I expected sir. Casey left me a letter in case something like this were to happen. I read it this morning and it helped a lot,” she explained. A look of worry crossed the police chief’s face but it was quickly replaced by sadness.
“I’m sorry for all of this Kathrin,” he apologized. “If there’s anything you need from me or the department please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you.” Kathrin replied.
“I’m going to see if they need help,” he told her before moving away.
Kathrin followed behind him in case she could lend a hand as well. It didn’t seem like that would be necessary though as Jennifer and the two officers seemed to have everything under control. One of them was carefully undoing the final connections at the back of Casey’s computer while the other one was stacking some papers into a couple of different well organized piles. Kathrin leaned against the back wall and watched as they emptied the room of the things they deemed important over multiple return trips. Jennifer exited to her bedroom and returned a minute later carrying an expensive looking brown leather bound journal protectively in her arms.
“This was Casey’s private journal,” she said nervously to Chief Arlen. “He told me not to read it unless he passed away and of course I haven’t had time yet so you can imagine that it’s very important to me. If you would look after it personally, Gary, I would really appreciate it.”
“I won’t let it out of my sight,” he promised her as he gently took it from her hands.
“We’re ready to go sir,” one of the officers said when they finished tidying up the room.
“Head on out. I’ll meet you back at the station,” Chief Arlen replied. “We should be able to return most of this back to you after the weekend,” he told Jennifer. “Thank you for letting us intrude in your home and on your time.”
“Anything to help catch the people who did this. Here let me show you out,” Jennifer said.
Once again Kathrin followed along in the background. Chief Arlen said goodbye to both of them one last time then headed out to his patrol car. Jennifer closed the door softly behind him but then frantically secured all the locks once he was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear.
“Are you okay?” Kathrin asked with concern when Jennifer didn’t move. She just stood there leaning her arm and forehead tiredly against the door.
“I’m all right… I’ll be fine…” Jennifer said in between heavy strung out breaths. “It’s just, every time they picked something up I just wanted to rip it away from them and say: ‘No! Don’t touch that! It was Casey’s!’ but of course I couldn’t.”
“They’ll take good care of everything.” Kathrin reassured her.
“I know they will,” Jennifer said, straightening up. “I’d trust them with Casey’s stuff more than I would trust my own newsroom, but that didn’t make it very much easier to let them take all his stuff away.”
“I’m starting to get a bit hungry. How about you sit down and rest while I make us some lunch,” Kathrin suggested.
“This is my house. I couldn’t let…”
“Sit.” Kathrin interrupted. Jennifer sighed and complied.
“There’s some soups in the cupboard, if you want that,” Jennifer said once she was back on the couch and under her blanket again.
“That will be great,” Kathrin said. It only took her a few minutes to microwave a couple cans of soup and heat up some bread in the oven. She brought Jennifer her meal then returned with her own a short time later. She was about to sit down and eat when her cellphone started buzzing. Kathrin pulled it out then cringed when she checked caller id on the outside screen.
“Who it is?” Jennifer asked.
“My mother,” Kathrin said. “Hey mom,” she said answering her phone after stepping into the foyer, away from her lunch.
“Kathrin… Are you all right?” her mother asked. She sounded tired, shaken even.
“Not really. I’m getting by though.”
“I’m sure,” her mother sympathized. “I’m sorry for not calling you sooner. Your father and I have been very busy, there’s been so much to do before we fly over there tomorrow.”
“It worked out fine.” Kathrin said reassuringly. “I needed some time to myself yesterday and this morning, to work through the shock of it all…”
“Do you have classes tomorrow?” Her mother asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, normal friday classes. I’m not sure if I’m going though.”
“Okay, you can stay over there Friday to go to classes or rest, but either way we will need you to drive to Dallas on Saturday and meet us and Casey’s wife so we can all discuss the funeral.”
“Where will you be staying?” Kathrin asked.
Her mother gave a brief sigh and said, “I don’t know yet, but I will let you know when I do.”
“Mom, are you okay?” Kathrin asked, getting a bit worried. It wasn’t like her mother to sound so run down or be even slightly disorganized. Her ability to stay focused was what made her so great as a lawyer and such a pain as a parent.
“I um… I have a lot to do Kathrin, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait, mom…” Kathrin started to complain, but the line went dead. She stood angrily in the foyer for a second then clicked her phone closed and returned to the living room.
“Everything okay?” Kathrin’s sister in law asked.
“I think so. My parents are flying in tomorrow and… My mom sounded pretty worn out and she complained about having too much to do. She’s never like that…”
“She is probably just caught up in the middle of things,” Jennifer said. “I’m putting a lot of stuff off until after the funeral. Changes to the mortgage, car and house insurances, my marital status…” Jennifer said, she absentmindedly adjusted her wedding ring before continuing, “…maybe your mother is trying to do it all at once.”
“I’m sure she is,” Kathrin said. She took a few large sips of her soup then added, “In a way I suppose I’m lucky. You have a lot to do because of Casey’s death. Financial stuff, personal stuff, all the things you said. My parents probably have things like that too, not as much, but some. But there’s nothing I have to do except be sad that he’s gone. At the same time that means there’s nothing much I can do but sit around.” Kathrin said unhappily.
“That’s not true, you can help plan the funeral at the very least,” Jennifer told her.
“If my mother lets me,” Kathrin said, frowning.
“After that you can help keep Casey’s memory alive. Attend rallies, give interviews, that sort of thing.”
“I guess,” Kathrin said unenthusiastically after taking another bite of her soup.
“I need to call my office and see if they need me. Do you need anything?” Jennifer asked as she picked up her plates.
“No thanks,” Kathrin replied. She finished her meal slowly, still wishing there was something more that she could do. Not something insignificant in the future, but something that now mattered in the present. ‘If there’s anything you need from me or the department please don’t hesitate to ask,’ Chief Arlen had said.
‘Maybe there is something I could do after all,’ Kathrin thought. She quickly finished off her lunch and dropped her dishes off in the sink then located Jennifer on the phone in her study.
“I’m going to head out now. Thank you for lunch,” Kathrin said.
‘You’re welcome,’ Jennifer mouthed silently before resuming her call.
It was a short easy drive over to Casey’s police station now that the power was restored to more places and the streets were nearly dry. Kathrin parked near the station but had to enter through a side door since there was still police tape blocking the main entrance.
“Kathrin, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Mary Mullen, the ancient looking yet still impressively efficient secretary in charge of the front desk greeted Kathrin once she made it inside. “We’re all shocked at what happened to Casey and the others.”
“Me too,” Kathrin replied. “Is Chief Arlen back yet? I had something I wanted to ask him.”
“He just got back in a few minutes ago in fact. I’ll get him for you,” Mary said. She picked up a phone, dialed a short extension, and announced Kathrin’s presence. “Go on back, he’s waitin’ on you.” She told Kathrin a few seconds later.
Kathrin walked through the station as unintrusively as she could but a couple different officers noticed her presence and stopped her momentarily to express their condolences. Kathrin did her best to stay appreciative until she could break off the unwanted conversations. She headed down a long hallway towards the rear of the station and turned the corner to her right before coming to a stop. Chief Arlen’s office was on her left but her attention was focused down the shorter hall in front of her. She could see the damaged section of the building past a line of police tape and a blinking wooden barricade. The walls, floor, and ceiling, were blackened and distorted. They had obviously suffered fire and water damage. Kathrin stared at them for a moment then opened the door to her left and entered.
“It looks pretty bad down there,” Kathrin began noticing the police chief staring out his back window towards the badly damaged rear of the building. “I’m surprised the station is still open.”
“It looks a lot worse from here,” the Chief Arlen said, his voice low and dismayed. “What do you need Kathrin?” he asked, turning to face her. He sounded almost annoyed that she was there, Kathrin thought.
“You said if there was anything I needed from you or the department all I had to do was ask,” she said, hurrying to her point. She sucked in a breath, aware that what she was about to ask was a very large request. “I want to help on Casey’s case,” she said clearly so she wouldn’t be forced to repeat herself.
The older man’s face briefly flickered between anger, sadness, and even fear before he got his emotions under control.
He took an equally large breath then answered, “No. I’m sorry Kathrin, but I can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?” She demanded. “I helped out here for the past three summers. I’ve helped on murders, and suicides, and rapes. If I can handle those surely I can handle this.”
“Kathrin, trust me,” Chief Arlen implored her, “it’s different when it’s personal. You’re barely holding together as it is. I don’t want to do anything…” he got a little choked up, “…anything else to hurt you more than I already have.”
Kathrin stepped a little closer and tried again.
“You know I could be a huge asset. You know how good I am at this. I can handle the personal issues, they won’t be a problem. I promise.”
“I know you’re talented, you’re so talented that it’s scary, but we both know I can’t let you on this case,” Arlen told her. “Personal issues aside I’m under intense media scrutiny. How would it look if it got out that we’d taken on a family member of one of our deceased officers? Especially the distraught nineteen year old sister of one of our murdered detectives? They’d probe into what you did for us over the last few years, not all of which was technically legal no matter how helpful it was. They’d hound you between classes, they’d be calling you nonstop, and we wouldn’t be in any position to help you since they’d be all over us for the same reasons. It would hurt the investigation into your brother’s death Kathrin, and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen any more than I do.”
“Of course not…” Kathrin said dejectedly, “I just want to help.”
“If the situation were different I’d find some way to sneak you on the case,” Arlen said, “but it is what it is and it would be far better for both of us if you remain away. I’m sorry Kathrin, but I can’t let you do it.”
“Okay… I understand,” Kathrin said unhappily. She turned to leave but stopped at the door to ask one last question. “You said at the conference this morning that there was video of the attack. Does it show what happened to Casey?”
Chief Arlen seemed to weight his options then answered, “Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“Kathrin…” Arlen all but growled.
“Please?” She almost begged. She bit her lip then offered the police chief a deal. “I promise I’ll stay away after that, but I need to know what happened.”
“You could just wait until they show it on the news next week,” Arlen offered.
“But they’ll censor it, won’t they?” Kathrin asked. It was a long shot without knowing if the video even showed anything overly violent, but she lucked out.
“Yes, they would…” Chief Arlen replied. He paused once again to consider his options then asked, “If I do this for you, you’ll keep out of the investigation and let us handle it from here on out?”
Kathrin nodded.
“That includes coming up to the station uninvited as well. Okay?”
“All right…” Kathrin agreed reluctantly. She thought he was going to change his mind but he sighed then lead her back down the hall to the station’s security room. One of the doors had been nearly torn off it’s hinges Kathrin noticed as she entered.
“You’ll want to sit down,” Chief Arlen told her as he logged into one of the room’s several computers and opened a video file on the desktop. He expanded it to full screen and pressed play.
The clip started on black but brightened after a couple of second and showed a scene Kathrin easily recognized. The video was from a camera mounted at eye level on the window a foot or two to the right of the station’s front doors. She could see down the station’s front steps all the way to the rear of the small front parking lot. The video was surprisingly clear, if a little dim, and had the time counting up in the corner. Nothing happened for a few seconds then a tan car stopped in the middle of the parking lot as the number ticked past 1:12pm. The video blipped, edited forward to 1:15. A few seconds later a female officer with dark hair in a bun exited the station and walked cautiously down the steps towards the car. She reached the black asphalt of the parking lot when the car’s two occupant’s jumped out. They were both holding small silenced sub machine guns! The dark skinned man on the far side of the car steadied his gun on the hood and opened fire, hitting the officer before she could even pull her sidearm from its holster. She crumbled to the ground still desperately trying to draw her weapon. The men rushed to her, one knelt beside her while the other hung back to provide cover. Kathrin was about to turn away, fearing the worst, but the man didn’t attack. Instead he carefully rolled the officer onto her back and straightened her twisted limbs so she could lie flat on the parking lot. He took her gun from her holster, ejected the clip, then chunked it far enough that it flew off the screen. Then, even more strangely, he took two things from the small mesh pack he was wearing. He worked on her for a minute, lifting up her bloodied shirt part way to apply a bandage then jabbed the other item, a thin cylindrical tube that Kathrin could barely make out, into her arm for a moment before setting it gently on the ground beside her.
“What did he do?” Kathrin asked.
“He bandaged her wound then gave her a shot of morphine,” Chief Arlen answered. “The syringe was clearly marked. The emergency crews said the dose was strong enough to keep the pain away but not strong enough to give her an overdose,” He said.
“That was Dawn Alvarez wasn’t it? Is she okay?”
“No,” Arlen sighed. “It was close, but we lost her in surgery.”
Kathrin closed her eyes, but only for a moment as things continued to unfold on screen. A second officer stepped outside with his gun drawn. He fired at the man standing guard some distance from Dawn but missed as the attacker dodged to his left throwing off the officer’s aim. The man nearer to Dawn responded amazingly quickly and downed the officer with his submachine gun before he was able to get off a second shot. The officer fell back into the glass directly in front of the camera, sending a large crack rippling through it in all directions. Again the two men darted forward at impressive speed to the officer they had just shot. They switched roles, the one who had disarmed Dawn stood back and covered the door while his partner disarmed the second officer. Once again the officer was helped into a more comfortable position, propped up against the cracked glass this time, and once again a bandage was applied and a syringe of morphine was administered and carefully placed nearby so emergency crews could find it.
Kathrin studied the man as best she could through the camera’s fractured and distorted point of view. Like the other man he had nearly black skin, very short hair, and looked to be in his mid to late twenties like, Casey had been. He was tall, and muscular, but other than that though she couldn’t see any identifying marks. Both men were wearing long sleeved shirts and dark denim pants though so any tattoos they might have had would have been concealed.
The video froze for a second then switched to another camera entirely. This one was mounted up on the ceiling of the front waiting and reception area. It’s video was grainy and a bit distorted by its wide angle lens but was clear enough to see what was going on. The two attackers entered into view then immediately took cover, ducking down in front of the reception desk. Without knowing better Kathrin would have thought that the men were stuck. They had little cover and were pinned down by two officers who had better positions back in the station’s front work area. The attackers didn’t seem too concerned about their predicament, however. They communicated briefly then executed a plan where one stood then ran rapidly to the left, drawing the officers’ fire, allowing the other one to calmly and deliberately shot each officer as they leaned out from cover. Once again, to Kathrin’s amazement, the two attackers rushed in to assist and stabilize the wounded officers with bandages and morphine before the clip ended.
“Why are they doing that?” Kathrin asked, trying to glean some understanding of what she was seeing. Chief Arlen looked like he wanted to answer, but he stayed silent as the strung together video moved on.
The next few video clips were all from different cameras and mainly showed the two men breaking into various offices and rooms within the station. Surprisingly, locked doors, even heavily reinforced ones, didn’t seem much of a problem for them. They were able to force their way in with nothing more than a hearty shoulder slam or a solid kick. Kathrin watched them enter records, security, and various offices all without much difficulty. They would quickly search each room then leave and move on without disturbing any more than they needed too. They ran into two lone officers along the way and again worked together to quickly disable each officer before tending to the officer’s wounds. It was one of the oddest things Kathrin had ever seen, and she couldn’t help but wonder if her brother had suffered a similar fate to officer Alvarez, dying in surgery from injuries that were just too great to survive. She didn’t have to wait long for her answer. The video switched again and Kathrin tensed up as her brother appeared on the screen as viewed by another grainy wide angle ceiling camera. He and another officer were waiting with their guns drawn midway down the hallway by Chief Arlen’s office. The two attackers entered into the frame around the corner to Casey’s left but stopped before they turned down the hallway. Casey and the other officer raised their guns, evidently hearing the men approach. After a moment of planning one of the gunmen stepped smoothly around the corner and opened fire before either officer could respond. The man to Casey’s left took a hit and fell sideways into the wall before sprawling out on the floor. Casey however, reacted just quickly enough and returned fire hitting the attacker twice in the chest with his powerful revolver. The man was pushed back into the wall behind him by the force of the shots but Casey’s victory was short lived as the attacker’s partner rounded the corner and fired two shots of his own. Kathrin drew in a ragged breath as she watched her brother hit the ground a moment later. Casey’s shooter moved forward and carried out the now familiar policing of the officer’s weapons before he returned to check the status of his partner.
“Surely he’s dead…” Kathrin mumbled. She had felt the power of her brother’s choice gun when he had let her fire it at the nearby shooting range more than a year before. Nobody could take two rounds from it and emerge with anything less than a grievous life threatening wounds, yet the man Casey had shot seemed almost fine. He required a little help to stand, the impact had hurt him some, but there was no blood and no wound. He was wearing a bullet proof vest Kathrin saw a second later as the man took it off and allowed it to fall to the floor. The two men moved back over to the wounded officers and Kathrin expected them to bandage them up and move on as they had several times before, but to her horror they had other plans. The hurt gunman propped up and bandaged the other officer as usual but the unhurt one walked out of frame and returned with Casey’s large distinct gun held in his hand. Kathrin sat frozen as she watched the man threaten her brother with his own gun. He waved it slightly, like bad guys did on TV when they ordered someone to do something, and a moment later Casey struggled painfully to his feat. He stood to his full height, despite his wounds, and looked up at the camera.
‘I love you,’ he mouthed.
His attacker glanced up as well, smiled, then reared back and hit Casey viciously in the jaw. The impact was so forceful that Casey smashed into the wall on his right, his head actually breaking through the drywall slightly leaving a bloody smear there, before he fell again to the floor. Kathrin gasped over and over, too shocked to even breath properly as she watched her brother writhe on the blood covered tiles. Casey was already dying, Kathrin realized, but they weren’t done with him yet. The hurt man finished stabilizing the other officer and returned to his partner’s side. He took the large silver revolver from his partner’s hand and aimed it at Casey’s head. This time Kathrin did look away, but she only closed her eyes after she caught the muzzle flash in her periphery. She lurched over in her chair holding her stomach about ready to throw up on the floor when a strong yet gentle hand patted her on the shoulder and back. She looked over to see Chief Arlen kneeling beside her.
“I should have never let you see that,” he told her. Kathrin stood abruptly, toppling her chair as she moved to the other side of the room. A new clip began to play showing the men setting up the bomb but she ignored it.
“Casey never had a chance… those men… they were like me…” she said, straining to raise her shaky voice so she could be heard.
“What?” Chief Arlen asked.
Tears were clouding Kathrin’s vision and she was gripping the edge of the nearby desk hard enough to dent the cheap wood it was made of but she cleared her throat and explained. “Their speed, their reaction time, their strength. Nobody can move across the parking lot or a room that fast. Nobody can nearly dodge a bullet or aim their shots as quickly as they did. And nobody is strong enough to force their way through those doors without tools or to hit someone as hard as he hit my brother. Nobody, except somebody like me.”
“Well that explains some things…” the aged police chief said, mostly to himself.
“Explains what?” Kathrin asked, all but demanding an answer.
“We got identities back on the men late last night based on appearance and facial structure. Their names are Darren and Mel Ryder. They are know in law enforcement circles as…”
“The Ryder Brothers!” Kathrin exclaimed, turning to face Chief Arlen as she drew their names from memory. “The ones who killed the SWAT team in 2003, and who ambushed that sting operation in New York last year.”
“Among other things, yes. It would explain a great deal if they are… gifted… as you believe.”
“Why would they even be here in Dallas though? Why would they help every other officer but make a show out of killing my brother? Why would they…” Kathrin said, her mind rambling. The shock of what she had seen was being lost beneath her desire to know more.
“Enough Kathrin.” Chief Arlen told her tiredly. “I know you have questions, good questions, but it will hurt both of us if I let you continue. I need you to honor your promise now and let us handle it, all right?”
Kathrin again looked heartbroken, but she nodded her agreement and let herself be lead outside still too shocked to do much else.
“I’m sorry Kathrin.” Chief Arlen apologized yet again. “Look,” he said after hesitating, “I’ll call you if we uncover anything major.”
“Thank you,” Kathrin replied half heartedly. She wanted to again ask him to reconsider but he slipped back inside before she had the chance. Kathrin stood there all alone of at the side of the police station bitter at the promise she had been forced into and at the man who had forced her into it. He was probably right. It probably was for the best. That didn’t make her want to curse his name any less or make her desire to help track down Casey’s murderers any less powerful. But with nothing more she could do Kathrin turned and walked slowly to her car.