Janie Crouch - Daddy Defender

And shoot accordingly.

Not real bullets of course, but the entire team’s gear was covered in a netting that held sensors. The same ones the lab guy had explained would notify them when they’d been hit. Shots the bad guys took and the team received would be marked and counted against them. A direct shot to the head or enough shots to the chest—even with vests—would “kill” the SWAT member and they would be unable to help the team any longer.

Basically it was a game of laser tag but much more intense.

“Ashton, Liam, I want you to find some way to get to higher ground so we can take shots if needed. Lillian, Roman, keep lower.”

The sound of gunfire—scarily realistic—could be heard throughout the building.

Everybody scattered, each going to their assigned place.

It really was an amazing facility. Ashton jumped up and grabbed a fire escape ladder and pulled it down. It easily supported his weight as he climbed up. If he didn’t know he was in a simulator, he would swear he was on a city street at night. The creators had captured the chaos of a hostage situation with eerie accuracy.

Ashton spotted the window he wanted to get to. It would give him excellent vision into the bank.

He looked at Liam. “I’m heading up to that window.”

“Roger that. I’ll stay here.”

Ashton had to make a pretty big leap over to the next “building,” but grabbed the balcony and pulled himself up with no problem. He eased along the ledge to get to the window he wanted. Carefully.

Simulator or not, a fall from twenty feet would do some serious damage.

Once he made it through the window, he pulled out his mock sniper rifle.

Ashton spoke into his mic. “All set, Derek. I have visibility on the targets.”

“Roger that.”

“I’m in position, too, Derek,” Liam said. “Ashton and I can take out at least three of the perps.”

“Hold. We’re working our way around behind them.”

From his riflescope, Ashton watched as Roman made his way down the edge of the wall, using the smoke for cover. Ashton couldn’t see where Lillian moved, but that wasn’t unusual. Her smaller size gave her a distinct advantage in situations like this.

“Whoa, Roman, bogey on your six.”

Ashton saw the human-looking robot step out from around the corner and aim at Roman. Ashton took the shot, even though he knew it would be too late.

The robot immediately powered down as Ashton’s electronic bullet hit him, but the damage had already been done. Roman’s suit lit up in the shoulder.

Roman’s obscenities flew over the comm units. Ashton watched through his sniperscope as Roman grabbed the shoulder that had been “hit.”

“Damn it, that hurts.” Roman’s voice was tight with pain.

“What?” Everyone asked it at the same time.

“Those sensors,” Roman said, teeth clearly gritted. “Shocked the hell out of me when I got hit and it’s still sending a pretty damn painful pulse every few seconds.”

Not unlike what you would feel if you got shot in real life while on a mission. Although probably not nearly as painful.

“So I guess you’re not dead,” Liam said.

Roman cursed again under his breath. “No. Just wounded. No wonder that lab coat bastard was all but laughing.”

“Alright, that’s it. Let’s finish this. If they’re going to use force, I’m not going to hesitate to order you all to do so, too,” Derek said.

It was over less than two minutes later.

Ashton and Liam picked off three more of the six—five had been bad intel from the beginning, a nice little twist in the game—Lillian was able to take the other two from where she’d successfully sneaked around behind them.

The lights came up, and all mechanical bad guys stopped moving. The good guys had won that particular scenario.

“Alright, people, we’re going to need to debrief. Not just our actions but how everything worked in here,” Derek said. “Meet in the control room in fifteen minutes.”

Ashton took off his gas mask now that overhead ventilation units were sucking all the residual tear gas and smoke out of the building.

He stood up and looked around the room he had crawled into to take his shots. It looked just like an apartment living room. Maybe the room would be part of another scenario—domestic hostage-taking or something.

He turned to walk to the window so he could crawl back out and find a way to the ground when metal shutters suddenly dropped from the ceiling, covering the window, blocking his route.

Great. There went that exit. When the scenario finished, obviously everything shut down. Literally.

Ashton turned toward the door on the other side of the room; the only other exit. He’d find his way back down using that.

But the metal shutters dropped from the ceiling there, too, covering the door.

“Um, Derek, I’ve got a situation here. I think Big Brother just locked me in the apartment building room I was using as cover.”

Liam laughed. “I guess they don’t have all the bugs worked out.”

“Roger that, Ashton.” Derek responded. “The control room should be able to hear this conversation and let you out soon.”

“But until that time,” Roman piped up, “please use your isolation to reflect on how you plan to move yourself out of the friend zone with the lovely Ms. Worrall.”

Ashton rolled his eyes and gave a mock laugh. “You know what? You guys can kiss my—”

His words froze up as every sensor on his clothing and gear began to jolt him repeatedly. Ashton dropped to the ground, his muscles seizing up from pain, as almost every inch of his body was bombarded by a near constant flow of electric shock.

Chapter Four

All Ashton could do for the first few moments of the shocks burning throughout his body was survive. The pulse faded and he struggled to heave breath into his lungs, cursing through gritted teeth as the shocks amped up again.

“Fitzy, what’s going on?” Ashton could hear Roman’s voice but couldn’t respond, unable to unclench his jaw. He could feel his vision begin to fade but knew if he lost consciousness he’d die here in this room.

Ashton slid toward the metal shutters that had covered the window he’d climbed in and slammed against it with his foot as hard as he could.

“Ashton, report.” Derek was in full team leader mode, but Ashton couldn’t speak. He slammed his foot against the shutter again. Vaguely he could hear orders barked over the comm unit.

The shocks eased again. Ashton reached for the light netting-like material that covered his SWAT garb. The sensors, like the ones that had shocked Roman when he’d been “shot,” were giving the shocks. Although obviously malfunctioning since Ashton didn’t think death by electrocution was supposed to be part of the training simulations.

“Sensors malfunctioning. Shocks.” Ashton barely managed to get the words out before the voltage cranked again.

Through the agony coursing through his body, Ashton could hear Derek demanding that the control room shut off all the suits since they seemed not to be able to isolate Ashton’s. Could hear Roman and Liam attempting to get under the metal shutters at his feet.

And a whole lot of cursing from just about everyone.

They weren’t going to make it to him in time.

Ashton tried to pull the netting holding the sensors off of himself, but they just snapped back into place like they were supposed to, designed to keep from hindering any movement.

Too bad they could work that detail out but not halt the overloading of electrical voltage that was going to kill him right here on the floor. Ashton reached for the knife in his boot—almost from a distance, he could hear everyone screaming in his ears, the team, the control room, telling him to hold on—but he knew he was going to lose consciousness before he could cut the netting off himself. Not to mention sticking a metal object into live voltage probably would compound the about-to-die problem.