Excerpt from "Rogue Rage"

Cisco and Dan came running from the back of the house as the two county warrants officers came out the front door with Johnny Soong handcuffed and walking between them. The scruffily dressed and bearded half Asian male wore a sneering and amused facial expression.

“Hobo, you were right! There’s a hundred plus coming up the alley, and another fifty or so heading towards us up 14th Street!” Daniel yelled and keyed his shoulder mike, “SCRAMBLE JOE! THEY’RE COMING AT US FROM THE SOUTH AND EAST!”

“Unit with traffic please identify,” the bored dispatcher’s voice began, but Lt. Joe took instant command.

“Get off the air you dumb shit! SCRAMBLE! This is 3602! All units scramble 1400 block of 29th Avenue! Say again, SCRAMBLE!”

Keyed squad car traffic so flooded the radio with acknowledgments that only snippets could be heard on the confused air waves.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, there’s only eight of us!” Rudy moaned as Cisco and Dan leaped over Daniel’s squad car hood.

They skidded to a halt in front of Hobo and Cisco’s cars parked together in a vee. Dan had parked his car across the open side of the vee. The three vehicles made an impromptu triangular fort to somewhat protect them and possibly funnel attackers around and over both ends of Dan’s car. Rudy and Dewey had parked their cars on the other side of the vee’s point to clog that side’s access.

The heads and torsos of the advancing Tiger Lilies in the alley made weird bouncing shadows from the alley’s weak street lights. Every gang member was carrying some kind of hand weapon; short clubs, lengths of heavy chain, nunchucks, and even long bamboo rods. They began to run when they saw the forted squad cars and gave out disjointed shouts at the eight cops like baying hounds with their quarry in sight.

“Get your clubs out,” Hobo ordered while eying the rapidly advancing mob of young toughs, “shields on your arms, helmets closed, and form a line, dammit! Get Soong into that cage car!”

This was going to be very dicey for a few minutes. He pulled his clear helmet visor down and gripped his riot shield strapped to his left forearm.