Free As The World Burns by Roger Hayden Page B

brothers!"
    The men had Mel's full attention. He steered erratically while looking into his rear-view mirror. The prisoner's eyes were filled with rage beyond reason. The gate clung desperately to life along the side of the bus interior.
    "We need to get off this bus!" Mel shouted to Davis.
    The prisoners erupted into joyous unit of cheering following the damage they had done to the gate. It would be only a matter of time before the divider was breached. Davis ignored Mel's plea and went for his Taser gun. Though clearly outmatched, he fired into the group from an opening in the gate. The Taser line hooked itself into one of the men causing him to go down like an epileptic seizure. However, it did little to stop the rest of the mob, as they kicked and smashed the gate relentlessly.
    "Are you out of your mind? Let's get the hell off this bus!" Mel shouted.
    Davis whipped around and grabbed his shotgun from its holder.
    "Backup should be here any minute. We can't allow a bus of suspected terrorists to roam freely around the city."
    "You're out of your mind, and I'm pulling over," Mel replied.
    Davis turned to the prisoners with his shotgun aimed.
"This is your final fucking warning," he said with a determined glare. "I may not be able to hit all of you, but I'll take out most of you, that's for sure."
    The prisoners remained undeterred. Roy continued to egg them on. The gate was uprooted on both sides. Mel glanced in his rear-view mirror in utter disbelief. He had never thought the gate so easily removable. Roy remained strategically behind the group demanding that they dispose of their captors. The prisoners in the front were noticeably hesitant to take a shotgun blast, as they began to push back. Davis noticed their ambivalence.
    "That's right," he said. "Now everyone take your seats. I will not think twice about using this shotgun." For a moment things got quiet. Davis's plan had worked; no one seemed to want to be a martyr.
    He held shotgun with steady aim, keeping his eyes on the men.
    "Mel, find a spot and pull over, we'll wait until backup arrives."
    Mel glanced into his mirror again, then back to the road. There was little space on the bridge to park. They were wedged between endless lines of gridlocked traffic. He inched his way over towards the right, trying to find a place where they wouldn't block traffic. Davis lowered one hand and retrieved his radio.
    "Fifty-five, I'm on the bridge. Need status on that back-up."
    Davis nodded as some indistinctive chatter came over his ear piece. "Roger out," he said.
    Roy worked his way to the front of the crowd in disappointment. "Brothers, it appears we've been outmatched. Let's go back to our seats like the officer said."
    Davis placed both hands on his shotgun, staying alert of any sudden movements. The prisoners grumbled and backed several steps away. Roy examined the gate and noticed that they had caused a large opening in its side where Sergeant Davis was vulnerable. Roy nodded to the middle-eastern man, who he seemed to already be acquainted with, as the man nodded back. Most of the prisoners had dispersed, but a few remained. Sacha looked up from his seat in curiosity. There was some kind of plot in the air, and Roy was far from conceding his fight. The remaining men at the gate spoke quietly in a huddle. Sergeant Davis took notice of their lack of compliance.
    "The rest of you, back in your seats," Davis commanded. In response, Roy slowly knelt down, concealing himself behind two of his men. Davis tried to follow him, but couldn't tell what was going on. From his cloaked position, Roy pulled off his right shoe, jumped up, and whipped it at the gate with all his might.
    "Get down!" he yelled to his men.
    The shoe flew at Davis and hit the side of the wall, startling him. He pulled the trigger on the shotgun as a result. The blast of the shotgun caused immediate panic as the prisoners toppled onto each other trying to hit the floor. The blast caused a dazed weariness in