MidReal Story
Unveiling Danger: A K9's Revelation
Scenario: Officer Ryan Cooper sitting parked inside his police car with his German Shepherd k9 companion Zeus near a church in Orlando, Florida Zeus starts barking frantically and Ryan questions what's wrong and eventually he lets Zeus out and Zeus runs towards the church Ryan lets him in and he enters as well stopping the service, Zeus had detected a bomb that had been imp
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I’m parked outside a church in Orlando, Florida, with my K9 partner, Zeus.
The service has already started, and I can hear the choir singing from where I’m sitting in my patrol car.
I’m not a religious man, but I like to keep an eye on the local churches.
They’re often the target of thieves and vandals.
I’ve even had to break up a few fights in the parking lot after services.
It’s not that I don’t believe in God; I just don’t think you need to go to church to be a good person.
My mother would disagree with me on that point, but she’s never been one to force her beliefs on anyone.
She’s content to pray for me and hope that one day I’ll see the light.
I doubt that will ever happen, but I appreciate her love and acceptance of who I am.
Zeus is lying in the backseat with his head resting on his paws, staring out the window at the people walking into the church.
He’s a large German Shepherd with sharp eyes and ears that can pick up even the faintest sound.
I’ve had him for a little over three years now.
He’s saved my life more times than I can count and we’ve become quite the team.
I know him almost as well as he knows me, which is why I’m surprised when he suddenly sits up and starts barking.
I take his behavior seriously and open the door to let him out of the car.
He immediately starts sniffing around the front of the church, pulling at his leash and barking like a maniac.
I try to hold him back, but he’s twice my size and too strong for me to control.
I look inside the windows of the church and see that the choir has stopped singing and everyone is looking around nervously.
Even the preacher seems confused by Zeus’s behavior.
The dog has never reacted like this before, so I know something is wrong.
I grab my radio and call dispatch.
“Cooper to dispatch,” I say, trying to stay calm.
“Dispatch to Cooper,” the dispatcher replies.
“Cooper to dispatch,” I say again.
“The church on 5th street,” I reply.
“Zeus is acting strange.
I think there might be something wrong inside.”
“Copy that,” she says.
“I’ll send backup.
Stay in your car until they arrive.”
I hang up the radio and keep an eye on Zeus, who is now barking and howling like a madman.
He’s never acted like this before, and it’s making me nervous.
I know he can sense things that I can’t, but I’ve never seen him go this crazy over nothing.
I look back into the church and see that people are starting to get up from their seats and walk toward the exits.
The preacher is shouting something, but his words are muffled by the closed doors.
It looks like everyone is leaving, so I take a deep breath and try to calm down.
It’s probably nothing, I tell myself.
Or maybe someone left a bag of food in there and he can smell it.
I’m still trying to convince myself that everything is fine when Zeus suddenly stops barking and sniffs the ground in front of him.
He looks up at me with wide eyes and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.
I don’t know what’s going on, but my instincts are telling me that something is very wrong.
I take another deep breath and walk toward the church, pulling Zeus along with me.
It’s hot as hell outside, but I’m not thinking about that at the moment.
My mind is focused on what might be waiting for us inside the church, and I can feel the sweat dripping down my back as I pull the dog toward the front entrance.
Zeus is straining at his leash now, whining softly as he tries to get closer to whatever it is that has caught his attention.
I can feel my heart racing as I see the outline of a small object on the ground in front of us.
I immediately stop walking and pull Zeus toward me, dropping his leash on the ground and motioning for him to stay put.
He doesn’t like being told what to do, but he knows better than to ignore my commands.
He lies down beside the leash and watches me with alert eyes as I pull my gun from its holster at my waist and walk slowly toward the object on the ground in front of us.
I’m not sure what it is yet, but I don’t want to take any chances.
I’ve dealt with enough bombs in my time as a cop to know that you should always approach them with caution.
There’s no sense in taking unnecessary risks if you don’t have to.
I stop a few feet away from the object and crouch down, keeping my gun pointed at it as I inspect it more closely.
It looks like a small metal box with a red light on the top, which makes me think it might be a bomb or some other type of explosive device.
I can feel my heart pounding harder now, but I take a deep breath and try to stay focused as I reach for my radio and call dispatch again.
“Cooper to dispatch,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“There’s a bomb inside the church.
I need backup, and I need it now.”
I sit back on my heels and wait for someone to respond, feeling like a sitting duck as I stare down at the small object in front of me.
I’m not sure how long it takes for someone to reply, but it feels like hours before I hear a voice on the other end of my radio.
“Dispatch to Cooper,” she replies.
“The bomb squad is on their way.
Do you need medical assistance?”
“I’m fine,” I reply, relieved to hear her voice.
I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to hear me inside the church, but I guess my radio was working just fine.
“Just make sure they get here quickly.”
“We’re doing everything we can,” she says.
“Just sit tight and we’ll be there soon.”
“I copy that,” I reply, hanging up my radio and turning my attention back to Zeus, who has been watching me intently from his spot on the ground.
A few minutes later, another patrol car pulls up behind mine and Jenna Hayes steps out of the vehicle, closing the door quietly behind her.
She’s an athletic woman with short blonde hair and an intense gaze that can be quite intimidating at times.
She’s also a former Marine and one of the best cops I know.
We’ve been partners for a little over six months now, and I trust her with my life.
She’s tough, resourceful, and quick-thinking, which makes her the perfect person to have on hand in a situation like this.
She doesn’t hesitate to walk over and join me at the front entrance of the church, where I’m still crouching beside the small metal box.
“What’s going on?”
she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“There’s a bomb inside,” I reply.
“I called for backup, but the bomb squad hasn’t arrived yet.”
“We need to evacuate the church,” she says.
“But we can’t cause a panic or the bomber might set it off before we have a chance to get everyone out.
Do you have any idea how many people are inside?”
I shake my head and stand up, glancing back at the church.
“I was sitting in my car when Zeus started barking.
“Do you want me to go in and do a head count?”
“No,” I reply.
“If someone sees you inside the church, they might get suspicious and start asking questions.
We need to move slowly and make sure we have enough officers on hand in case something goes wrong.”
Jenna nods and turns back toward the church, doing a quick visual sweep of the parking lot and surrounding area to make sure no one else is on their way inside.
As she does this, I walk over to my patrol car and grab my radio, calling dispatch back to see if the bomb squad has made any progress on their way here.
In the meantime, Jenna walks back over to her car and grabs a small orange traffic cone from the trunk, setting it down on the ground near the front entrance of the church so people know not to come inside.
Once she’s done with this, she walks over and joins me at my side.
“What do you want me to do?”
she asks quietly.
“I need you to go inside and start moving people out,” I say.
“But do it slowly and make sure no one realizes what’s going on.”
Jenna nods again, watching me carefully as I give her instructions.
“I’ll take them out the side door by the bathroom,” she says.
“It’s not as noticeable as the main entrance, so hopefully no one will see us.”
“That’s perfect,” I say, giving her a quick pat on the back.
“Let’s do it.”
Jenna heads back to the church, and I move over to the side of the building to wait for her to lead the next group of people outside.
She does exactly what I tell her, moving people out in small groups so they don’t attract too much attention.
Most of them are too busy talking to each other to notice anything is wrong, which makes my job a little easier.
While Jenna is busy working on the inside, I focus on keeping an eye out for anyone who might be on their way into the church.
A few cars pull into the parking lot, but I wave them down before they have a chance to get out of their vehicles.
“We’re having some problems with the air conditioning,” I tell them.
“There’s a gas leak inside the church, so we need everyone to evacuate right away.”
The driver of one car looks at me skeptically, but there’s not much time to argue.
When another patrol car pulls up behind mine, I call the officers over and have them help me direct traffic.
One of the first things I do is make sure someone is on hand to take care of the kids and elderly, who are the most vulnerable in a situation like this.
Then I go back to my original post and wait for the next group of people to come outside.
It takes a few minutes, but Jenna is finally able to get everyone out of the church, including Pastor Mike himself, who is one of the last people to leave.
He’s a tall man with graying hair and a calm, authoritative voice that always gets your attention when he speaks.
Right now, he’s standing outside the front entrance of the church, making sure no one tries to go back inside too soon before turning around and leading his congregation out into the parking lot.
“Thank you for coming today,” he says, giving everyone a polite smile as they walk past him.
