Snippet #2530201

The swerving van was the first sign that something was amiss as Shelly was caught in her tracks. Her initial assumption was that it was a vehicle out of control, rather than the start of something more sinister, even as it hit the stone steps and bounced precariously into a railing. It lost most of its momentum clearing the steps, and the building itself was sturdy enough that it came to a rather abrupt and forceful stop as it collided with the concrete walls that formed the framework of the doors.

The audible sound of folding metal colliding with concrete and broken glass fell quiet as the van sat, partially lodged in the front entrance of the building, and for a moment it seemed that the crisis had passed. Given that the van more or less barred entrance into the building - as well as departure - it would take climbing over the vehicle to enter or leave the building, unless one wanted to climb through the twisted metal and broken glass of the front windshield.

Outside, people gawked in dismay at the car accident, still oblivious that it was only the precursor to something more sinister.

It was Shelly who took note of the other vehicles breaking free from the traffic and she dropped down behind a parked police car on the street side. No one as seated within it, and its driver was likely inside, but it would afford her some cover from hostile eyes as she drew her firearm from her jacket. Flipping the safety off, she threw a glance around the bumper of the car to see vehicles congregating at the front of the NPA office. There were shouts from all directions as people panicked and fled in all directions from the scene.

Shelly had  a clear shot at any number of the men spilling out of the back of the vehicles, but she was alone out here if they returned fire. She flipped her phone out and dialed in a number to report the situation to the people still inside the building. It would perhaps provide them a faster reaction time, knowing what they were facing outside. The van lodged in the doorway would provide a barricade of sorts against those trying to enter the building, but the security guards would likely be outgunned if the men made it inside the building.

She had her gun in hand while she stayed on the phone reporting everything she was seeing, and she had the sense to know that her eyes where more valuable than her gun at the moment.

She ducked back behind the car as she reached out telepathically to try and glean the surface thoughts and intentions from the men spilling out of the vehicles in front of the building. She would only have a few moments though to pick up what she could before the fired shells began to billow gas outwards across the street.

Shelly threw her coat over her face as the gas overtook her, but it swiftly marred her vision as the fumes filled her eyes and her lungs. The coat afforded only minimal protection as it burned down her throat, leaving her coughing violently with tears stinging at her eyes and blurring her vision. Every instinct screamed at her to get out of the gas, but it was everywhere.

There was a voice speaking her name on the phone that she put back to her ear.

"They're using tear gas," she managed to choke out before she found herself doubled over coughing and retching onto the hot pavement.

___________________

Shelly's timely phone call afforded some measure of comprehension as to what the NPA would be facing if the attackers breached the building, but it would take time to reinforce the front lobby. Gas masks where being distributed to those being sent to assist at the front, but for the moment only two security guards stood between the attackers and the rest of the NPA building. Fortunately the van provided a barricade that would stem the speed at which they could flood the building, and both guards had taken a knee at the top of the interior lobby steps, with a pair of white marble pillars for cover. The interior steps where too spacious to bottleneck the attackers should they make it over the van and into the lobby, but both security guards where prepared to fire at anyone trying to clear the van to gain entrance.