Renegade: The Frontier(c)2001 by Peter Stone--a sample

From Chapter 1: The late afternoon air was cold and the partly overcast sky did little to improve the dreary atmosphere. The sun was hidden as it crawled relentlessly towards the western horizon. Two police cars braked to a stop about fifty meters from a bend in the backwater road. The leading vehicle turned and parked across one lane, while the second blocked off the other, leaving only a man-wide gap between the two vehicles....

....The Sergeant's voice broke Jed out of his reverie. "Okay people, gather around."

His two fellow officers reached the Sergeant first, but Jed was only a second behind them. He studied Sergeant Michael's lined face as he prepared to brief them, and felt slightly envious. Sergeant Michael was around forty, and had at least twenty years experience over him, as well as being a higher rank. Jed was six months out of the academy, and impatient for both promotion and experience - things that could only come with time. Unlike these three men, he was actually from the city's Central Precinct, his Captain having sent him out to this station last week in order to help a sudden loss of manpower caused by a savage bout of the Greyshaw Flu. The only consolations were that he was experiencing a side of the Force he may not have seen otherwise, and that he had to spend only a fortnight in this backwater suburb. He found inner city life so much more rewarding.

Though to be truthful, the circumstances of this road block were far from ordinary and were causing all four of them extreme apprehension.

The Sergeant cleared his throat. "Okay lads, I know we didn't get much warning about setting up this road block..."

"Much!" Interrupted Quenton, "how about none?"

A glare from the Sergeant put Quenton back in his place. "But as the Tactical Response Group Captain who made the request explained to me, due to the high speed of the chase, they could not have given us any more warning..."

"I hate working with those guys." Sturch growled, and Jed mentally agreed with his older companion. The police men and women who made up the Tactical Response Group were tough and hardened, and they made few friends outside their close knit circle.

The Sergeant continued. "Okay guys, I know you're all nervous about working with the TRG, but let's try to stay at least a little professional here, eh? Now let me go through our instructions one last time. Our presence here is merely to set up this road block - we are not to attempt to apprehend the fugitive. The TRG are on his tail and they will make the pick up. We are to detain the fugitive only..."

"Where'd you say the fugitive's from?" Quenton asked.

"Escaped from the Marbent Penitentiary." replied the Sergeant.

Jed frowned. "Sergeant, what could possibly be so dangerous about a prison escapee that the TRG have been given the responsibility of picking him up? Isn't that supposed to be our job?"

The Sergeant shrugged. "It's got me kid. All I can say is that the TRG are as secretive as ever. 'A need to know basis' is all they ever say if you ask more questions. But all of you listen up. I have no idea why the TRG are chasing this guy, but it can only mean one thing: he's one mean dude. So keep your wits about you and let them do the dirty work. Now take your stations; they should be here at any moment." .....

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