Nia used the damaged vehicle as cover while Daniel identified himself and ordered the men to stand down. Instead of complying, one of the attackers opened fire. Civilians screamed and scattered. Car horns blared as drivers abandoned vehicles for cover.
Nia moved defensively, focused on protecting Tessa and surviving rather than pursuing anyone. Daniel did the same despite his injury, buying them time to get behind the median barrier.
A delivery truck screeched to a halt at an angle, accidentally blocking one attacker's position. The driver bailed out and ran, leaving the engine running. Tessa used the distraction to scramble toward the concrete median, still gripping the document bag.
One attacker tried to flank their position but slipped on scattered glass. As he stumbled, something fell from his tactical vest: a black police-issue radio earpiece. It bounced once and slid toward the gutter, clearly stamped with county inventory markings.
Tessa had her phone out, recording faces and details whenever she could safely peek over the barrier. "Got clear shots of two of them," she whispered. "And their vehicle plates."
Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer. The attackers heard them, too. Their coordinated assault began to fall apart.
"We need to move," one of them shouted. "Now!"
They retreated in stages, covering one another as they ran back to their SUV. Nia did not chase or take unnecessary risks. The black SUV peeled away just as the first legitimate police units appeared at the far end of the intersection.
Nia immediately made herself visible and compliant as the real officers approached. Daniel displayed his federal credentials. "Federal investigator," he called out. "We were attacked by armed suspects impersonating law enforcement."
The scene quickly filled with real police cars, paramedics, and crime scene units. But Nia noticed how some officers exchanged looks when they saw the county-issued earpiece. A few touched their own radio sets self-consciously. She realized they could not trust any local evidence chain. The corruption went too deep.
Traffic backed up for blocks as investigators photographed casings and impact marks. Paramedics bandaged Daniel's arm while Tessa gave a preliminary statement, carefully omitting any mention of the storage facility or documents.
Nia stood beside their ruined car, watching the controlled chaos of the crime scene. The attack had been professional but rushed, likely triggered when someone spotted them leaving the storage facility. The fake officers had expected an easy ambush against unprepared targets. Instead, they had fled when witnesses and legitimate units appeared.
But they would try again, probably somewhere more isolated next time. Nia preserved what evidence she could without handing sensitive material into a compromised local chain of custody. The county-issued earpiece went directly into a clean wrap for eventual transfer to federal authorities, along with the rest of what they had recovered from the locker.
A detective approached with a notebook, ready to take her statement. Nia composed her face into a calm mask, prepared to share only the minimum required by law. The real investigation would have to happen outside local jurisdiction.
The evening sun cast long shadows through Evelyn's kitchen windows as Daniel winced under Maria's careful cleaning of his arm wound. The retired nurse from three doors down had come as soon as Evelyn called, bringing her medical kit and decades of experience treating everything from scraped knees to serious cuts.
"Hold still," Maria muttered, dabbing antiseptic on the injury. "At least it's shallow."
Across the kitchen table, Tessa's fingers flew over her laptop keyboard, creating backup after backup of the evidence they had recovered. Her phone lay beside her, streaming the local news coverage of both the morning siege and afternoon shooting.
"This is garbage," Tessa said, gesturing at the screen. "Listen to how they're spinning it."
The news anchor's voice filled the kitchen. "Questions remain about this morning's law enforcement operation at the home of a local resident with alleged ties to missing federal property. Sheriff Larkin's office describes the incident as an unfortunate miscommunication that escalated unnecessarily."