COMMANDER ESTER PETERSBURG peered into her binoculars from the main road, scanning at the milieu of all the three buildings in the vicinity — the old Cathedral, the abbey-orphanage house and the Convent cloister at the furthest end. She then thought she saw — something, or someone — moving fast among the trees in the enclosed greenery. She focused a beat longer at the verdure — but, gave her curiosity up, when she next saw ahead on the sentry setup road, at the arrival of the backup unit.

Petersburg was the commanding leader of the SWAT team which was now known as the e-SWAT (Elite-SWAT) after their recent tactical revamp — ever since President Madeline Cory had in-cooperated military tactics to combat the transgression gangs fighting in the inner cities — battling in the urban drug and crime war-zones.

The paramilitary unit was also known in several states by other cognomens such as — The Elite Police Force, The S-Cops-U (The Super Cops Unit), The Urban Soldiers' Unit and The Special Police Force — before finalizing it as e-SWAT.

Her team utilized the advanced military technology facets — and Petersburg was gallant to be a pioneer member in the outfit to lead her elite squad, who were assimilation trained in both as policewomen and the military — Petersburg was a leader with an impressive track record of successful busts and kills in urban warfare against the growing drug wars with gangdoms.

Her assignment today seems to be 'a piece of cake' — to accomplish a top-secret Washington mission in Cleveland — which was to extract over thirty Intersexual monk-boys alive, from the custody of a hostile group of 'rebel' nuns at St. Mary's. An Elite-force soldier was cutting the multiple padlocked chains on the main gate before the troops would have access to the church grounds.

The two riot police truck arrived — outside the locked-down, facade main gate of the Cathedral compound. Women cops in Riot-police uniforms alight from the truck — and among them was Sergeant Roberta Jensen.

Roberta noticed that the entire area had been besieged by the e-SWAT squadron. She was not briefed much about the operation details but could sense something major was going on in clandestine — because the entire sector was sealed from public access.

Since stepping into her sergeant promotion, this was her first major ambulatory assignment, after some months of doing desk-job because of the injuries she had sustained. Roberta had always been volunteering in the reserve Riot-police unit assignment in the past for the overtime — but, she was not so keen to be selected here today, to playing backup for the SWAT mission.

Roberta too cogitated with antipathy that the newly partition e-SWAT outfit, whom to her opinion were just some haughty over-salaried cops, doing the same job in the streets like her, as a regular police division like hers, in crime-fighting.

Her mind was also too pre-occupied back in Columbus — thinking of Laura's safety from the danger of the psychotic albino stalker — but, it was her Captain Miller's intent to pick her to lead the task-force today, in the inter-departmental, joint-mission special-detail with Washington D.C. — so to assess her leadership skills, as a newly promoted unit sergeant.

The roisterer Commander Petersburg spoke aloud — and panache forward to Roberta's team...

"Which one of you are Sergeant Jensen and Sergeant Wilkins?"

Roberta saluted, "I am Sergeant Jensen, Sir!" — and, Sergeant Olivia Wilkins from Cincinnati PD did the same.

Petersburg nodded at both the saluting reserve riot-unit sergeants — and she soon recognized Roberta — she responded cynically with a mocking smile...

"Oh, it's you — The-Jensen— that Columbus hero-cop from hospital bedside interview, in the TV news — sorry to say, there will not be any TV crew around today to make you look pretty, so you don't cry, okay?"

Commander Petersburg's elite team had been fighting hardcore criminal gangs on the street battle-front — and now, Petersburg despised this cop who was awarded an undeserving hero-bravery medal — and also received the nation's cynosure admiration in the media, for gunning down four mere lowlife nigger-pimps at some back alley.

"Okay, both of you girls follow me."

Petersburg soon briefed both the sergeants, as the three of them paced towards a group of Elite-force platoon members gathered ahead...

"Both your teams are our reserve back-up for the e-SWAT — and you will be stationed outside the Cathedral's perimeter. Our mission today is to go in and extract 37 girlie-freaks that are hiding inside the premises — which are barricaded by 22 'armed' Catholic nuns...

"This mission is classified — and our orders are to get the freaks away from those revolting nuns — who will be going to be posing some resistance later. We were also gonna make sure that these religious extremists will not leak this mission to the public or the press — so, it is our objective also, to put all those 22 penguins to sleep — while we pull out as many of those she-boys alive, from their custody..."

"Finally, we are gonna torch this entire goddamn place down to the ground — and make it fucking look like it was an unsuspecting incident from the public — with that all done by my e-SWAT team in no time — while you two, the backup units — you can go singing the damn Kumbaya at the meantime, when you secure the outer premise from any external intrusion — with all that done by the hour, you girls can then head right back to your respective home-sweet-home — is that clear — or do you both have any problem with that?"

"Yes Sir, everything's clear, Sir!"

Roberta replied attentively with a poker-face — after being insulted earlier of her acclaimed national hero recognition, for someone who was in tears during that TV interview.

Sergeant Desiree Brown of the Elite-SWAT came and intercepted them — and she whispered something circumspect into her Commander's ears — Roberta and Wilkins stepped aside.

The nervous Cincinnati sergeant who was a devoted Catholic whispered out...

"Rob, did she say that those nuns are not walking outta here alive?"

"That is what I heard too," Roberta nodded and murmured back.

Sergeant Brown left — and the three women in diverse uniforms proceeded on towards the group of female Elite-force SWAT, all suited in black — they were instructed by Agent Wolfe of Washington, in her Secret Agent dark suit with a Kevlar jacket strapped on. She was wrapping up the briefing...

"Remember this, our operation is highly classified — and no word of what so ever we do here should leak out to the media. Keep everything elusive, understood?"

The SWAT team echoed yeses, and they left following their Commander Petersburg. Agatha Wolfe turned to both law enforcement officers, who were of different uniform accouter from the Elite-force...

"So you the reserve unit, step up." She too recognized Roberta...

A few couples of months ago, Wolfe was still a bodyguard for Cory, when she was still the senator — they had arrived at Columbus for Roberta's hero award presentation ceremony.

"Oh you, the hero-cop — it is good that you are here too — I am Agent Wolfe, the President's Head of Secret Service, and I am heading this mission here today."

Wolfe checked into a file that she held. "Wilkins, you and your team will be stationed here in front and left and right of the Cathedral premise." She then tapped Roberta's arm with the clipboard...

"Jensen, I want your team are manning the back of the Cathedral. There is a big river running there — and also the possibility that the shemales may use it as an escape route outta here...

"Those monk-boys should be captured alive, at all cost."

*

Sister Margaret spied from the window in Mother Superior's office, on the second floor of the Convent. She saw the uniformed militarized police outside the Cathedral gates and remarked...

"Mother, they have sealed the traffic off the whole street in front of the Cathedral."

The old nun slammed the receiver in dander on the cradle. "The lines are dead, even the corrupted Justice Dept. office is not picking up any of my calls. Those cowards from D.C., have now sent their top best soldiers to scare a bunch of debile old nuns."

"Should we get outside help, Mother?'

Mother Superior sighed and she sat heavily on her seat behind her desk, seeing the repercussion of Washington's surreptitious moves — after the refusal of the church to voluntarily hand the monk-boys over, on their request.

"Nobody can help us, Sister Margaret. They have cut the phone lines and jammed all telco-signals in the area. We are isolated from the outside world. We are now, all alone with God."