The opposing team was on their last man. It looked like Boom’s team was going to win. It’d bugged him, the first time he’d overseen parents’ night. He’d thought this game was a bad idea. Emphasis on bad.
But Elisa had joined in the fun and the kids loved her. She’d laughed and gone down with all the drama of a Broadway actor. The kids ate it up. Plus Souze sat at his side, calmly watching over the chaos with him. It made the cacophony easier to handle somehow, having Souze with him, almost helping to keep an eye on things.
The kids took the competition and kept it friendly and fun. None of them claimed to be killing the other. The children’s rules were to be tagged meant you were paralyzed, frozen until the end of the round.
He could live with those rules.
Movement in the lighted area outside the front doors of the school caught his eye, confirmed as more than simple passersby when Souze came to all four feet and issued a warning bark.
Hard not to notice every person walking past with the huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing out onto the parking lot. He’d drawn the blinds across most of the front of the school, leaving the door exposed so he could see the parents returning. Night had fallen, and it was a few minutes early, but, hey, some parents ran out of energy faster than the kids did. But these two people didn’t move on after a quick glance in the doors. They remained waiting.
He didn’t recognize the two men standing outside the door. Scowling, Rojas studied them as they peered through the glass. When one of them looked directly at him and pressed a badge to the glass, Rojas nodded and held up an index finger to indicate they wait.
“All right, recruits.” He pitched his voice to carry over the delighted shouts and squeals. Over a dozen pairs of eyes locked on him and the room fell silent. “We’re doing a new thing tonight. We’re going to send everyone into the big changing room and see who can stay silent the longest. Whoever the winner is gets first chance to choose their team next parents’ night.”
One of the young boys pumped his arm. “Nice. I’ll win!”
A chorus of challenges came from the various children.
“None of you can win if you don’t pile into the changing room and go quiet. I can hear everything from that room so you have to be absolutely silent.” Rojas tapped his ear. “Consider this an exercise in discipline. Move out.”
Elisa herded some of the less focused kids to the changing room in the back, her gaze going from Rojas to the men at the door.
He waited until their eyes met. “Text Gary and Greg. Our visitors flashed a badge, but I don’t recognize them as any of our local police.”
And he’d had reason to get to know some of them over the last several months. A few trained with Revolution MMA and at least one of their local police had his kid here tonight. But the staff at Hope’s Crossing Kennels had interacted with the local police a few times when Lyn had first come to the kennels. It’d been interesting times and he’d gotten to know quite a few of the police in the area as a result.
Once Elisa had nodded and gone with the children safely out of view, Rojas headed to the door and snagged a kali stick out of the bin at the corner of the mats to bring along. Souze kept pace with him, leash dragging along the floor. Rojas wanted at least one hand free to act, and he trusted Souze to obey verbal commands.
Smiles and geniality weren’t his thing, but he tried for as neutral an expression as possible as he unlocked one side of the double doors and cracked it enough to speak to the visitors. He kept his hand on the door bar, effectively blocking entrance across the opening. He carried the kali stick in his other hand, loose and relaxed at his side, away from the opening. Souze stood at heel at his left side, an added obstacle in the partial entryway.
“Officers.” He nodded at each. They were both average height, not quite as fit as the police who trained at Revolution, and average build. Fairly non-descript. Their police uniforms had no name tags. “How can I help you this evening?”
There was a beat of hesitation as the other two men assessed the situation. They each returned his nod, glanced down at Souze for a long moment, then took a closer look at him. Hey, a handsome black and tan GSD standing ready to act had that sort of effect on a person. People had a range of reactions. Some were delighted. Others were intimidated and kept their distance.
People who planned to do shady things got fidgety and wary of the dog. These men both changed their weight from one foot to the other before steadying themselves. They also each had their hands on their guns.