The Archangel Drones by Joe Nobody Read Free Book Online Page B

third ring. “Precinct Four, is this an emergency?”
    “No, no emergency.”
    “How may I assist you?”
    “I just received a call from a friend that my son had been arrested. How do I find him?”
    The less than interested voice on the other end replied, “He will be allowed a phone call after the booking process is completed, sir. At that time, he’ll be able to inform you of his location. Is there anything else?”
    “How long does that take?”
    The woman on the other end exhaled loudly, annoyance evident in her response. “That depends on quite a few factors, sir. It could take several hours, depending on the number of suspects being processed.”
    “Can you tell me where he is being booked?”
    “No, sir. Depending on where he was apprehended, the charges and circumstances, he could be at any one of three facilities. Is there anything else?”
    A thought occurred to Gabe. “He’s a minor; he’s only 17. Does that make any difference?”
    Again, the impatient voice exhaled before launching her retort. “In Texas, sir, suspects 17 years of age and older are treated as adults. Most likely, he’s being processed at the main Harris County Jail, downtown at 701 San Jacinto Avenue. But he might also be taken here, or to the hospital. I advise you to wait until your son calls with specific information, sir.”
    The woman’s uncaring attitude, curt responses, and partial information had the desired effect – Gabe wanted to end the call despite not knowing much more than he had before dialing. “Thank you,” he responded, shaking his head.
    Turning to Sandy, he explained, “I have a really bad feeling about this. If that phone call was any indication of what Jacob is facing, we’re in for a rough ride.”
    “What are we going to do?”
    “I’m going to try and find out where he is. They said we should wait for a phone call with further information, but I’m not going to be able to do that. I want to be wherever Jacob is or as close as they’ll let me get to him. I’m going to start looking up phone numbers and making calls.”
    Sandy nodded, bending to kiss the top of her husband’s head. “We’ll get through this; we always do. Jacob is smart and strong,” she reassured him. “He’ll be fine.”
    Gabe nodded blankly, a victim of cognitive overload, the chaotic barrage of thoughts tangling as each message competed for the forefront of his attention. “You’re probably right, but I won’t be able to just sit here and wait. Our son has been gobbled up by a very large, very uncaring machine that is designed to deal with the absolute worst society can produce. I just pray they don’t chew him up and spit out a damaged young man.”
    “Do we need to call a lawyer?”
    “I thought about that, but I don’t know one. We’ve used attorneys at the office before, but they do contracts and business things. I don’t even know a criminal lawyer. Besides, it’s nearly 3 AM in the morning. I’m sure they don’t list their home phone numbers in the yellow pages.”
    Sandy took a bit to digest her husband’s words, her own nervous energy suppressing the need to do something… anything. “How about I make some coffee? It sounds like we’re going to have a long night.”
    Gabe stood, pulling his wife close, the parents drawing comfort from the embrace. “The java sounds like a great idea. We’ll be fine. I bet we have this all cleared up by tomorrow evening.”
    The now-motivated father hit the internet with a vengeance, dialing a long list of often contradicting phone numbers displayed on overlapping law enforcement websites. A few lines were disconnected, some rang on for eternity without answer by human or machine, and the remainder led him into a bottomless abyss of automated attendant menus boasting vague descriptions and dead ends. Within an hour, the frustration was driving him to thoughts of committing his own criminal activity.
    “I can’t believe this,” he spouted to Sandy in