After the gunshot went off, the police men began to run around, hurriedly. Waters immediately took the binoculars from the string around his neck and tried to see inside the building, but the lights were out and he couldn't see very much.
"Get him on the phone," he commanded to no one in particular. "I wanna know if we've got injured." Peter came running up. Panting, he stopped in front of Waters. His younger child was in his arms.
"Sir- Can you see in?" he panted. "I heard a-I want to know if-if my wife-..." he trailed off.
"Take it easy sir," Waters tried to calm him down. "We don't know what's going on yet. We can't see inside the building. We're trying to get him on the phone." Peter nodded, seeming to calm down a little.
"I know, I know," he said, nodding. "It's just that, when she's in there, I get just a little more worried, you know?"
"I understand," Waters sympathized. "It's scarier if it's one of your own."
"Sir, I've got 'im on the phone," a voice called from the distance. Waters turned.
"Wait here," he said to Peter, and turned back to the phone. Peter caught snippets of the conversation as he talked. "What's going on in there?" Waters asked. "Do you need a doctor?" There was a pause as the other answered. "We heard the gunshot, Dave. Is anyone hurt?"
"Yeah, yeah, we need a..a doctor; a paramedic, a medical person," the other responded. "She...she's hurt bad."
"She? She who? Which one?"
"Never mind. Just send in somebody," Dave commanded and slammed down the phone.
"Get me a paramedic!" Waters yelled off to anyone in shouting distance who might have been able to respond to his order.
"Sir, my-my," Peter began. Shivers were running up and down his spine every two seconds, and he was trying hard not to start shaking. Waters turned back to him.
"Sir, it's gonna be ok, alright. We can't be sure yet who the person is who's injured. "
"But you said it's a she," Peter protested. "That could be my wife."
"Not necessarily," Waters corrected. "There are two other females in there; the employees; and it could be one of them. The paramedics are going to go in and see how bad it is. If it is your wife then we'll let you know. We're doing all that we can." Peter nodded, nervously. "Meanwhile, you and your kids just relax, ok? There's nothing you can do right now. We'll let you know if we hear anything." Peter nodded again.
"Where is the other one, anyway?" Waters asked conversationally, trying to distract him. Peter shrugged.
"He's around somewhere. Probably looking or something." As if on cue, Thomas appeared next to him. He was uncharacteristically sober and silent. Waters looked down at him.
"Find what you were looking for?" he asked casually. Thomas looked at him and stuck his thumb in his mouth. He nodded.
"Thomas, why are you doing that?" Peter asked. Thomas was eight years old now and hadn't sucked his thumb since he was four or five. For him to begin again now showed that something was terribly wrong.
"Is something the matter?" he asked. Thomas nodded without removing his thumb. Peter looked up in alarm at Waters.
"What is it?" he prompted. Thomas kept his thumb in his mouth and stared up, wide eyed, at Peter. Immediately, he saw what was wrong, and knelt down on the ground. "Oh, Thomas, no," he said. "Oh, God, no." Thomas took his thumb out of his mouth and began to sob. He ran and buried his face into Peter's chest, sobbing.
