1126 Chapter 111- Rawlynne – Super Natural Appreciation Convention Part 6 (VOLUME 6)
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Rawlynne
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The people that Trinity had sent undercover had reported back after their first week. They had told her that the DOE was planning an attack on a convention that was planned in the city. And ever since that warning came in, I had made it my mission to know everything that I could about that convention.
The Super Natural Appreciation Convention was to be held Saturday March the second. It was to start at noon and last until ten in the evening. The convention had wanted to start sooner, but they had to wait until all of the repairs from the attack on the stadium were finished before they were able to reserve their date.
Now, why was it that they were willing to wait longer to hold the convention that they were all eager to attend? That was simple and easily answered. They wanted the convention to be in the same place that Trinity and the others had announced the existence of our kind. They wanted to feel that connection to us because that was the place that we had been when the world was informed.
I think that, in a way, the humans thought that the stadium was a place of importance to our people, and that was not true at all. The stadium was just a convenient place for Trinity and Reece to use because it was easy for the media to set up and it was large enough to show the things that were necessary to convince the world that it was all true.
Now, diving deeper into the convention itself, I had learned that they were planning on costume contests, seminars, discussions, merchandise that people had made themselves, food, and so much more. It was like any other convention of its type, just all about the super naturals. That wasn’t that hard to fathom, but it was a little embarrassing. Thinking about what it was that these people were going to talk about, and how it pertained to my life personally.
I learned that the organizers of the event were local, and thrilled that the reveal had happened in their hometown. They felt more connected to the nonhumans of the world because the leaders were so geographically close to them. It was a little comical, but there were no ill intentions, so it didn’t bother me at all.
.....
In truth, there wasn’t much about the convention that gave me pause at all. It would go off without a hitch, if it wasn’t for the DOE and their intended attack. And knowing that they did intend to attack the place, I knew that I needed to do all that I could to protect those humans that attended the convention. And that led me to researching the stadium in great detail.
I needed to know every alley and street that led up to the stadium like they were the lines on the back of my hand. I needed to know how to contain the area if and when the attack actually started. I needed to know where every entrance and exit was. How many alarm systems there were. How the fire system worked. And the name of every employee that worked in the stadium.
I would cross reference the employees that worked in the stadium with the list of staff members for the convention. If there were any names that stood out, meaning that were on the convention list but not the stadium list, that person would be hauled in for questioning and grilled about why and how they were going to work the event.
Yes, there were vendors that would be involved in the situation that weren’t part of the stadium staff, but they weren’t excluded from scrutiny. I was going to be as thorough as I possibly could. No one was going to get in there if I could stop them. Well, no one from the DOE.
I had thought that this was the most likely way of stopping all the potential bombers. I had thought that they would want to be on the inside and plant the bombs before the convention started. Although that had not been the case. And Trinity had even made sure of that, by having the guards sweep the stadium for bombs before the convention started.
When the call finally came in later in the afternoon, I had already been pacing my office for several hours. We had not found a single DOE member in the preparation of the event, but I knew that they were going to make their appearance.
I had wanted to be at the stadium and prepared to stop them before the commotion had even started. That would likely put an end to all of this before anyone could get hurt. However, Trinity had forbidden it. She said that members of her castle guard would be more than sufficient.
As Trinity had put it, Jackson and I were too recognizable. We had been in the media with her. People associated us with her. And anyone that was obviously a cop would set off the DOE before they had been found out. The guards, who would be doing their best to look like attendees for the event, would stand out a little less. I knew that she was right, but it still hadn’t settled right with me.
The call that came in said that there had been people seen with bombs. It was the call that we had been waiting for and yet dreading at the same time. Still, there had not been a single call about an actual explosion, so that was good. So far, no one was hurt and there was no damage. If it could stay like that, then this whole situation would end as favorably as possible.
Jackson and I, along with everyone else that we had gathered for today, set out immediately. We were all set and ready to go in advance. All we needed to do was leave, and the same was true of the local police. That was how we had been able to start the roadblocks while we were still on our way to the stadium. No one was going to get away from us.
When we got to the stadium, or as close as we could get in the cars, I saw that there were thousands of people milling about outside of the building. The humans had fled the stadium, but they hadn’t gone far. It was that curious spectator disease that most people have. They wanted to see, so they weren’t leaving.
We started with the outside and made our way in. Dozens of FBI agents and police officers were dividing the people into groups and questioning them. Jackson and I, monitoring the situation and heading toward the heart of the crowd, listened to what was happening.
“What? No! Let go of me!” A man’s panicked voice called out from nearby. I turned and saw Agent Collins apprehending a man that was carrying a large backpack.
“You are under arrest.” Collins said to the man in a stern voice before starting to cite the offense and reading him his Miranda rights. That man was undoubtedly a member of the DOE and one of the possible bombers.
“Shit!” I heard the curse as it drifted across the crowd. It was not much more than a whisper, but it was definitely filled with fear. When I looked up to see the man that had spoken, I saw a frightened human that was looking at the DOE member being arrested. He also had a backpack, one that was identical to the other man’s bag.
The moment that I saw him, the human saw me too. He knew that I understood what was happening and who he was. He was also a DOE member, one that had gotten outside of the stadium and thought that they were going to get away.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” I yelled after the man just as he started to run.
“AHH!” He screamed as I started to chase him. The crowd was parting for him, not to help him, but so that they didn’t get hurt. They all knew that there were likely still bombs in the area and they didn’t want to die.
Jackson and I both started to chase the man. I was following more directly while Jackson was circling around and coming at him from the side. He would take the bomber by surprise while the human was focused on me. It was a good tactic.
There was another problem though. When this man had started to run, so did three others. And that meant that there were at least five DOE members out here. I started after another target, letting Jackson take the first one that we chased. Andrew and Devon, of the local police department and the same pack that I was in, started to chase the men as well.
I caught my suspect pretty quickly, Devon seemed on the verge of getting his as well, but the man that Andrew was after seemed so much farther away, and close to the barrier that we had set up. Hopefully, those that were blocking the perimeter would stop him before he slipped away. I wasn’t able to pay attention though, I needed to cuff the man in front of me and take the bomb away from him.
Once again, there was a need to have as many bomb squad technicians here as possible, because there was no telling just how many bombs there were or how they were to be detonated. These men could set them off remotely, or there could be another man that was nearby waiting to set them off.
In the chaos of arresting the men that were outside, we learned that the guards were all still inside. Trinity was contacted as well, because one of the bombs had been detonated inside of the stadium, either before we arrived or during the commotion. There was only one injury though, and that was a member of the guards that had done all that they could to protect the humans from the bombers.
I was feeling confident about the situation already. We were containing this. There was minimal damage. And no humans had been hurt.
“Uhm, Ma’am.” Someone called out to me, a tall and slender woman with hazel eyes and black hair. “I..I wanted to tell you something that I heard inside. The bombs, the ones that you have there,” she indicated the backpacks in the distance, “they are impact bombs. They explode when they have a severe impact.” I narrowed my eyes for a moment and just looked at her with curiosity. “I..I was there, inside the stadium, when one of them went off. Kiernan was hurt, but they said he will be OK.” She looked saddened now, like Kiernan was someone that she had previously known.
“Thank you for the information.” I nodded at her. “And I am sure that he will be OK. We tend to heal quickly.” I assured her. “Please, speak with the other agents there to clear yourself and get to safety. The situation still isn’t fully under control.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” She nodded at me before walking toward more of the agents in the background.
By the time that I made it into the stadium, it seemed that things were as calm as could be. There were barely any people in there, and they were clearly not the bombers. There was some damage near the edge of the main floor, where Kiernan had landed with the bomb that went off. He was still laying there, Griffin at his side with the healing magic flowing.
There was a group of humans that were still gathered around, perhaps about a dozen or so. The guards were busy checking the building once more for bombs, DOE members, and anyone that had been injured. Those humans that were left all had their phones out though, and they were recording Griffin as he healed the tiger that was laying on the floor.
“Is everything secure?” A voice called out to me. It was Darius, one of the guards from the castle. He was standing with two people that I had not expected to see.
“Why are they here?” I pointed at Ilana and Rowan. The boy was just wearing a pair of shorts and nothing else, which was odd. At least his sister was properly dressed.
“That’s a long story.” The boy said with a smile. “Is everything OK outside? There were five DOE members that made it out of the building.”
“We caught at least four of them. I need to check on the fifth.”
“That’s good.” Ilana smiled. “All is well in here.”
“Seems like it.” I nodded. “This is still going to make the news, and that was something that Trinity wanted to avoid.”
“It was unavoidable. One of the bombers seemed to have lost his cool. It went downhill from there. At least no humans were harmed, and that was Queen Trinity’s main goal.” Darius explained. And at the mention of Trinity, a magical door started to glow in the distance. Trinity was on her way here at this very moment. With her here, things would definitely be under control.