Womans Murder Club 3 - 3rd Degree

Chapter 96

THE LARGEST ASSAULT TEAM in the city's history was building up around the run-down white house at 722 Sev-enth Street in Berkeley. San Francisco SWAT details, Berkeley and Oakland contingents, federal agents from the FBI and the DHS.

The area was completely blocked off from traffic. Neigh-boring houses were quietly cleared one by one. The Bomb Squad was readied. EMS vans were pulled into place.

A gray Chevy van had pulled into the driveway twenty minutes earlier. Somebody was home.

I was able to station myself close to Molinari, who was in phone contact with Washington. A Special Operations cap-tain, Joe Szerbiak, was in charge of the assault team.

“Here's what we do,” Molinari said, kneeling behind the barricade of a black patrol car maybe thirty yards away from the house. “We make one call. Give them a chance to surren-der. If they don't” - he nodded to Szerbiak - “it's yours.”

The plan was to shoot in tear gas canisters and force whoever was in the house out. If they came out cool, mean-ing voluntarily, we would force them to the ground, pick them up.

“And if they come out hot?” Joe Szerbiak asked, putting on his bulletproof vest.

Molinari shrugged. “If they come out shooting, we have to take them down.”

The wild card in the siege was the explosives. We knew they had bombs. What had taken place at the Rincon Center two days before was in the front of everybody's mind.

The assault team was readied. Several marksmen were in place. The team that was going in assembled inside an armored van, ready to swing into place. Cindy Thomas was with us. A girl inside seemed to trust her. Michelle. Who might be Wendy Raymore, the au pair.

I was nervous and agitated. I wanted this over. No more bloodshed, just over.

“You think they know we're out here?” Tracchio surveyed the house from behind the hood of a radio car.

“If they don't,” Molinari said, “they're about to.” He looked at Szerbiak. “Captain,” he said with a nod, “you can make that call.”