Tim Washburn - Cyber Attack

“How are they going to tell the good guys from the bad, Hugo?” Butler asks.

“Those FLIR scopes have excellent visual contrast, Captain. They should be able to tell the difference by the clothing the people are wearing.”

“And if a prisoner happens to put on a lab coat or takes clothing from the hostages to put on?” Butler asks.

“Are they that smart?” Vasquez asks.

“The inmates may not be brain surgeons, but they’re cunning as hell. Someone will have thought of that.”

“What about tear gas?” Lieutenant Fred Parker asks. “This is a prison. They’ll have tear gas out the wazoo.”

Butler thinks about it a moment, then calls Officer Darnell over. “Does the prison have tear gas guns?”

“Yes,” Darnell says. “And there are certain areas of the prison where tear gas can be deployed with the push of a button.”

“I assume the hospital isn’t one of those locations?”

“No, it’s not. That’s what the guns are for.”

“Masks?”

“Oh yeah. Plenty.”

“Do you have access to the equipment?”

“Sure do. We keep it in several places throughout the prison, just in case.”

Butler turns to look at Vasquez. “Hugo, go with Darnell to grab some tear gas gear.”

“On it, sir,” Vasquez says, falling in behind Darnell as she takes off down the corridor.

While they wait for the tear gas, Butler begins formulating a plan. If he sends more than two squads inside it’ll get crowded in a hurry. But having never been exposed to tear gas, he wonders how effective it will be. He scans the crowd and calls over one of the state troopers who is milling about.

“I’m Trooper Ellis Goodman, Captain,” the man says.

“Scott Butler, Ellis. Nice to meet you. Have you ever been exposed to tear gas?”

“I have, sir. Not a pleasant experience.”

“Describe what it’s like.”

“It’s bad, sir. It feels like your nose and eyes are on fire. It’ll make you cry like a baby and then the sneezing and coughing starts. And it’s hard to breathe. Something in the gas triggers the mucous membranes and your throat will start to swell. I’ve only been exposed in an outdoor environment and I assume effects would be much more concentrated in a confined area. You thinking about gassing the inmates holed up in the hospital?”

“It’s an option. Did you feel incapacitated? Or could you still function?”

“When you get gassed you can’t do shit, sir.”

“Thank you, Ellis. Do you want to be part of the takedown team?”

“Hell, yeah. I’ve trained with the trooper SWAT teams several times.”

“Any other state troopers here who have done the same?”

“Sure. Want me to organize a breach team?”

“Yes, but limit the number of shotguns to two. We must keep the hostages alive.”

“Yes, sir. How many men, you figure?”

“Eight.”

“That sounds about right. Get too many people in there and bad shit starts to happen.”

Ellis pauses then says, “What do you want us to do about the inmates, sir?”

Butler thinks back to his original orders. “If they’re incapacitated, cuff them. If someone tries to harm you or the hostages, take them out.”

“Yes, sir. You might want to have some medical people on standby for the hostages.”

“They’re already on the way. Put your team together and then we’ll finalize the plan.”

“Roger, sir.”

Ellis takes off to assemble his team and Captain Butler steps over to talk to Parker.

“Freddy, think we should try to talk them out of there?”

Parker shakes his head. “We’re back to the original problem. We don’t have anything to negotiate with. They aren’t going to get reduced sentences or time off for good behavior based on the things we’ve seen in here today. They’re fucked and they know it.”

“What if we offer them their lives? That’s worth something, isn’t it?”

“To me and you, yes. I’m not sure it means a hell of a lot to men who will most likely be behind bars for the rest of their lives.” Parker takes off his helmet and mops his brow with his sleeve. “Did you ever expect to see anything like this in here?”

Butler sighs. “No. It’s hard to believe what one human can do to another. I know there are men inside this building who didn’t participate in the killing, but I don’t know how they’re going to weed those out from the rest of them.”

Parker puts his helmet back on. “Not our problem, Scott. We’re here to secure the prison and then get the hell out. And it can’t come soon enough for me.” Parker glances at his watch. “Hell, I’m supposed to be at work in about three hours.”

“Tell me about it. I have a full slate of patients scheduled.”

“I’m glad you’re not going to be drilling on my teeth this morning.”

Butler gives his friend a tired smile. “I think I should probably cancel the morning patients. A few will bitch and moan, but they’ll get over it. It’s better than drilling a hole in someone’s cheek.”

Parker chuckles. “That wouldn’t feel real good. On a serious note, Scott, you might want to talk to the general about having some counselors available for these men.”

“It’s already on my to-do list, Freddy. We’re all going to be having nightmares about this place.”

Darnell and Vasquez return with the tear gas gear. Once the masks are divvied up, Butler goes over the plan a final time with Ellis Goodman and his fellow troopers, many of whom are busy tightening their bullet-resistant vests. Darnell loads two of the tear gas guns and passes one to Butler. The plan is for Darnell and Butler to fire the tear gas canisters through the door window that leads into the hospital. Goodman and his men will then enter the space and secure the area. Once that’s complete, National Guard troops, under the leadership of Lieutenant Parker, will recover the hostages and take them down the stairs to be treated by medical personnel while the inmates are cuffed and led out of the room.

Butler and Darnell climb up the stairs with Goodman and his men on their heels. At the top, there’s an open space that’s about six feet deep that runs the width of the building, with the door to the hospital centered on the far wall. Goodman and his troops take up positions on either side of the door and Darnell and Butler follow. Not knowing the accuracy of the weapons, they’re hoping for a point-blank shot through the door glass.

Butler nods at Darnell and she tucks the tear gas rifle to her shoulder and stands while Butler braces for the shot. Darnell ducks back beneath the window a second later and whispers, “It’s security glass. They must have replaced it recently.”

Butler nods, curse words zinging around inside his brain. He thinks about it for a moment and comes up with a new plan. He gets the attention of Goodman and mimics turning the knob.

Goodman nods. Butler and Darnell position themselves near the doorframe and wait for him to open the door. Carefully, Goodman turns the knob and opens the door about six inches. That’s all Darnell and Butler need. They jam the barrels inside, fire the tear gas canisters, and step back. Goodman and his team have their pistols out in a firing position as they stagger their entries through the door, one right after another. Once they’re clear, Butler and Darnell pause fifteen seconds and enter.

In their haste to end the hostage situation no one considered the difficulty of being able to see through the cloud of gas vapors. Butler clicks on a flashlight to find that only makes visibility worse, much like car headlights in the fog. He kills the light and tucks it into a pocket of his vest. Sweat is dripping down his forehead and onto the mask, making a bad situation worse.