Lockdown

Author's Note:

This idea came to me after a real-life situation occurred at my office. I won't get into the specifics, but there was a building lock-down and my imagination started working overtime. It gets dark, so fair warning if you have a weak stomach for unpleasant things. Sorry.

As always, my editors Guinahart and SBrooks103x deserve a huge thank you for helping make this better to read. I miss a lot of little things, but they also keep me from getting too crazy at times. I did make a few tweaks after a second edit, so anything that's out of order now, totally my fault.

Disclaimers:

It's probably too long. I probably don't know how to spell very well. Somewhere, a story like this one has likely already been told. If for some reason you make it to the end and still don't like it, I will gladly give you a refund.

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Locked Down

Sedric started his day like any other. It was a Friday, so naturally he was already looking ahead to the weekend, already smelling the barbeque, thinking about spending the time with his family. He loved spending as much time with them as he could. His goal was always to "work to live," and not "live to work." His wife, Stephanie, tended more to the latter category, having recently been promoted to the head of her department.

It's not that she was always at work, but of the two, she was generally always home later in the day than he was. He didn't mind usually, it meant he would get at least an hour or two with his kids by himself before she arrived. After she got home, they would typically eat a family dinner before adjourning to the family room, to sit and horse around.

Most nights the adults would go to bed shortly after the kids, but usually on Friday or Saturday nights, they would stay up and enjoy some private moments in their bedroom, with the door locked. Their passion had cooled some after the first few years of marriage, but he felt that he loved her more, now that he knew her better, than when they'd first started dating.

At first, his parents had been dead-set against him dating a white woman. He came from a middle-class family, born and raised in Alabama. His father had a very dark tone brown skin, whereas his mother had a much lighter shade complexion. Sedric took after his father, a very dark tint to his skin, and he was proud of it.

They cautioned that his path forward was going to be hard, knowing that some of their extended family would likely not approve. They also cautioned that she came from a poor family and might be looking to marry for security more than love. Once they got to know her, she won them over with her charm, and even before they were married, she happily called them Mom and Dad.

Sedric was pulled back to reality, when his desk phone began ringing. People didn't often call his phone directly anymore, with most of their company communicating via an instant messaging program on their computers. He looked at the number on the display for a second, before picking up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Sedric," he answered.

"Sedric, oh thank God!" his mother exclaimed. "I saw it on the news and was so worried about you."

"Mom, slow down. What are you talking about?" he replied, trying to make sense of her very disturbed tone of voice.

"Oh, honey! That building, downtown. There's a madman that took some hostages and the police are surrounding the building!"

"What!?" he said, shocked at what she was saying. "A building, downtown? Which building, Mom?"

"The news didn't say, just that a building downtown near the courthouse was under a lock-down, and that some crazy person had a bunch of hostages with him. I was worried it was your building, so just had to call to make sure you were okay. You are okay, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Wow, that's really messed up, but I don't think it's my building. We haven't heard anything yet. I will ask around and get back to you. Don't worry, if I'm in any danger, I will leave right away. Okay, Mom?"

"Okay, honey. I just worry about you."

He ended the call with, "I know you do, Mom. I love you."

Sedric looked around his office but didn't see any obvious sign of panic. He checked the city's police department Twitter page, hoping they had a notice if there was any danger. What he saw shocked him to the core.

ALERT! United Bank building under lock-down, heavy police response in progress. All citizens are encouraged to stay clear of the scene.

His wife worked for United Bank. Her office was on the 10^th floor, top of the building. She had recently moved after her promotion to Director of Marketing. She had gone from a senior manager to now having more than forty employees reporting to her.

Sedric tried to remain calm to figure out what he should do. First thing, he decided to try to call his wife's cell phone. After three rings it went to voice mail. She was often busy during the day, so a short text message was how he would get through to her when she couldn't speak on the phone. He typed out a very quick message to her.

What's going on, U okay?

He waited for about two minutes before standing up and pacing. His desk was really just a cubicle in an open area of desks, and his pacing caught the attention of one of his co-workers.

"Hey, Sedric, what's up man? You okay?"

"Did you know there is a lock-down going on over at the United Bank building?" he asked.

"No, really? Isn't that where your wife works?"

"It is, and I haven't heard back from her yet. I've tried calling and texting her, but nothing so far."

"Is there anything on the news about it yet?" Steve asked.

Their other co-worker, Janice, turned around in her chair and joined the conversation. "I just looked it up online, and they're saying that there is an active shooter situation going on over there right now, and they have the building surrounded. No one is going in or coming out, and supposedly the suspect is a guy with a shotgun, holding some hostages on the top floor," she recited.

"Oh my god," Sedric said, collapsing back into his chair. "My wife works on that floor."

"Dude, maybe you should go find out what's going on, or at least go home for your kids?" Steve said.

After a pause, Sedric shook his head to clear the spreading fog in his thoughts. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Thanks."

Sedric bid his co-workers farewell, and they wished him good luck. He gathered his things and walked to the bank of elevators, still worried about his wife. While he waited for the ding of the elevator, he sent off another harried text to his wife.

Leaving the office now, are you okay?

He rode the elevator down, walked to his car in a hurry and got in. He immediately tried calling his wife's phone again, only to have it ring three times and go to voicemail again. Before pulling from his parking spot, he fired off one last text to her, desperation seeping into his words.

WHERE R U??

He had just shifted into reverse, when his phone dinged with an incoming message. He quickly slammed the car back into park and looked at his phone. What he saw didn't make much sense to him.

Sorry busy right now. One of the VP's had a birthday or something so we're all in the conference room eating cake. Why are you so worried? What's with all the CAPS?

Sedric was stunned. How could she be enjoying cake, when there was supposedly a madman loose on their floor? Now he was really confused, so decided that he would just go over to her building to find out what was actually going on.

Sorry I got worried when you didn't answer, you usually do.

He didn't get an immediate response, which was even more odd for her. Determined, he pulled out of the parking spot and drove the short 10-minute drive to her building but was stopped a block away as the police had the street barricaded off in all directions. The officer waving traffic away didn't look like he was in a good mood, but Sedric needed answers.

After he quickly rolled down his window, he waved to get the officer's attention. The officer rapidly walked towards his car, almost barking an order at Sedric. "You need to keep moving, Sir."

"Sorry, Officer, my wife works in that building. Can you tell me anything about what's going on?"

"Look, all I know is that we had reports of gunfire and several people supposedly taken hostage. We are keeping everyone away from the building as a precaution. There is a lot about another block from here where I think some families are also waiting, but I'm not entirely sure. Hold on," the officer told him, holding up a finger.

He reached up to a radio mic on his shoulder, pushing the button and talking. "Lieutenant Rogers, this is Dobravolski. Where are we sending family? I got a guy here claiming that his wife works in the building."

The officer nodded, apparently listening to someone talk to him in his earpiece. After another minute, he looked up at Sedric. "Okay, you need to head to that lot behind the bakery, two streets over. There are some resources over there for family members."

"Thank you," Sedric said, glad to have some direction at that moment.

He did as instructed and drove to the parking lot that the officer told him about. There were a few people huddled around a large police command vehicle, with one officer talking to them. Sedric barely shut off his car before running over to the group. He caught the tail end of the officer's comments.

"... We still don't know how many. What we need help with is identifying anyone that hasn't been accounted for yet. If you all have family that works in this building, and they haven't contacted you yet, please let me know now."

"Officer, my wife works on the 10^th floor and she was responding to my text messages. I don't understand, she said they were having some kind of birthday party," Sedric said quickly.

"Sir, we are getting cameras setup now, but we're sure that there is at least one man on that floor, currently holding several people as hostages in a blocked off conference room. So far, he's made some threats, but we can't confirm if he's actually shot anyone yet. How long ago did you hear from your wife?"

Sedric unlocked his phone, showing the officer the time-stamp on the last text he'd gotten from her. While they were looking at it, his phone started to buzz as his wife's name displayed on the screen. He jammed his finger on the green button as quickly as he could.

"Steph, where are you?" he asked quickly, with no preamble.

"What do you mean? I'm at work," she replied, uncertainty in her voice. "Look, I'm super busy right now. I'll call you when I can. Gotta go, love you," and with that she'd hung up on him.

Sedric was stunned, and the officer was also perplexed at the bizarre call. After shaking his head, Sedric put his phone away. "I guess she's not in any trouble right now? Maybe she is on a different part of the floor and doesn't know what's going on?" he asked.

The officer nodded as the desperate man spoke. "It's very possible. Let me go see what's going on in here," he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the command vehicle. "I'll be back out when I know more."

Several other family members were standing around, watching the exchange. Once the police officer went inside, Sedric looked down to notice that his hands were shaking. He stuffed them into his pockets and looked to the sky. He took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and lowered his gaze back to the building in front of him. He scanned the windows at the top floor but couldn't see anything from the ground.

"Where are you, baby?" Sedric asked the building.

With nothing immediately to do, Sedric pulled out his phone again. He looked at the time, noting that it was still early. His kids wouldn't get home from school for another three hours, and he didn't want to pull them out unless something actually did happen to their mother.

He wondered about his wife further. Why had she stated she was busy at work, when the office she was supposedly in, was locked down and surrounded by police? Wouldn't they have gotten word to her by that point? He decided to message her one more time.

Hey, kinda worried about you. Haven't you heard yet?

He got no immediate response and was considering sending another message when he felt the concussion, as part of the 10^th floor exploded. Almost half of the windows blew outward from the force of the explosion, a huge fireball erupting from one corner of the building. Screams and pandemonium with the crowd of family members quickly ensued, as everyone tried to duck for cover.

Glass rained down on the streets below, and dark smoke began immediately rolling out of the windows, fire engulfing almost the entire corner of that floor. A large number of police and fire fighters quickly rushed toward the building, as Sedric stood in shock.

He looked down at his phone, still having gotten no response from his wife. Scared that she might have been in that corner of the building, he quickly dialed her cell again. This time, the call went straight to voicemail, instead of ringing 3 times. Usually that meant that the phone was off. He hoped it didn't mean that it was off because it had been destroyed.

Sedric stood with the group of now panicking family members, as the police officer they had been speaking with came back out to them from the command vehicle. The officer didn't look pleased.

"Folks, that was unexpected, and we don't know the full extent of the damage, but we've sent people in to find out. You probably saw them running in just a minute ago. I know this is difficult, but please be patient as we find out what's going on."

Several of the gathered family asked the officer questions that he answered to the best of his ability, but with such little information, he wasn't able to satisfy their need to know the fate of their loved ones.

Sedric scanned the group, hoping to spot someone he knew from her office. Sedric had only been to the office a few times since she'd been promoted, so didn't immediately recognize anyone.

He spoke up for a second, to see if anyone knew his wife. "Does anyone here know my wife? Stephanie Smith?"

"Mr. Smith?" asked a short, slightly older woman. "I think my husband works with your wife, I'm Denise. Did she just recently get promoted?"

"Yeah, she was just promoted to Director under one of the VP's. What does your husband do here?"

"He's a Director as well, in the HR department. Have you heard from her yet?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I spoke with her very briefly before the blast, but nothing since then. She said she was busy and at work but didn't seem to know what was going on. My only hope is that she was in a different part of the building and didn't get hurt by that blast."

"I was able to get through to Michael about an hour ago, but his phone seems to be off now, going straight to voicemail."

"It's the same when I try my wife's phone now."

The conversation stalled then, and dark thoughts began to creep into Sedric's mind.

Why did my wife act like she had no clue what was going on? Was she somewhere else? Where else could she be?

Sedric looked into Denise's eyes, and thought he saw the same flicker of doubt in her expression.

"What if they were in that blast... Oh god!" she cried out, putting her hand over her mouth as her body was wracked with sobs.

"We can't think like that," Sedric replied, quickly hugging the distraught woman. "I'm sure there is a good reason, maybe the cell tower is overloaded around here, or something."

She sniffled and then nodded against his chest. Denise moved back from him, wiped her eyes and nodded again. "You're right, we don't know anything yet."

About that time, the officer that had been briefing them returned from the command van again. "Folks, can you all gather around? Okay, good thank you. So here is what we know. The man that was holding several hostages, had some kind of improvised bomb, and he detonated it. We just cleared the floor and are evacuating the remaining people now. They will be brought to you all here, so just sit tight until your loved ones come to you."

The small crowd seemed to welcome the news, but most were still very concerned about the status of their family members. Sedric and Denise waited with the crowd, and a short minute later they saw a line of people being escorted out a side-door, walking towards the holding area. The crowd quickly met up with the line of incoming people, as couples or siblings were reunited. Tears could be seen on a lot of faces, as well as huge smiles. Several were scanning for the people approaching, not seeing who they were looking for.

"MARY?" shouted one man, anxiously waiting for someone. He frantically looked, clearly not seeing someone named Mary. Sedric scanned the wall of people, not seeing his beautiful wife among the crowd. He turned to the officer still standing nearby.

"Excuse me, officer, but where are the rest? My wife works on that floor, and I don't see her."

The officer spoke to a few that were all wondering the same thing. "I'm sorry, that's everyone that's been evacuated that can walk. We have medics in the building looking after some injured folks, so maybe she's with them? Are you sure she was in the building?"

"I'm sure. She told me she was at work when I spoke to her on the phone like an hour ago. As far as I know, she has no reason to leave the building on work days."

"Let me check on the status of the injured, okay?" the officer asked, turning and walking back into the van.

Sedric waited, with Denise standing and waiting with him. Her husband was also apparently not among those that came out of the building. The wait seemed to drag on forever, several people waiting on pins and needles for any news. The officer returned after about two minutes, which felt like eternity to those waiting.

"There were several injuries and a few casualties. They will be bringing down the injured shortly, and anyone present is welcome to ride with them to the hospital. For anyone that has a family member after that, I'm very sorry. They will be brought down shortly, and we will work with you to identify your loved ones when it's time. Again, I'm sorry for your losses. We're doing everything we can right now."

The crowd were collectively numb, waiting to see if their family members were among the injured or the dead. After waiting another few infuriatingly slow minutes, several stretchers were wheeled out of the building, medics pushing them towards awaiting ambulances. Several people from the small group left to go ride with their injured loved ones. After a few minutes of loud sirens and speeding ambulances, the remaining few people were somber, sniffling as they knew they likely had lost someone very close to them.

Sedric was numb, not able to process what he now knew was likely true. His wife, the love of his life, was dead. The only thought going through his mind at the time, was wondering how he was going to live without her. His breathing became shallow, eyes jammed shut, as fat tears pushed their way out insistently. He hunched and started to take deep breaths, trying to regain his equilibrium.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Denise, as she rubbed his back softly. "We have to be strong right now, for them."

Sedric nodded his head, his vision clearing and breathing returning to normal. He stood up, looked at her and thanked her. "Thanks, I needed that. You're right."

The pair waited until all that remained were a lot of firefighters, other rescue personnel, and other official looking people. There were a few news vans nearby as well, every network in the city represented by the look of it.