by Pawan Verma
Which was why she couldn’t even call for backup. It was too risky that Brenner would kill both of his hostages, and probably himself too.
She mashed the gas pedal to the floor, making lane changes at high speeds and forgoing police pursuit protocols. Fred had said he wanted someone who could think outside the box, and yes, she knew exactly what that meant. She raced through the city streets for ten minutes, Michael’s voice shouting directions from back at the precinct. After another five minutes of driving, Detective Shelton informed her that Andrew’s GPS device was still transmitting, but it was no longer moving. They’d stopped somewhere.
“Where?” Jessica asked.
“Industrial area. Factories, empty warehouse. Perfect place to dispose of a body and hide out. It can’t be more than a few hundred yards from you.”
Jessica knew exactly what warehouse the detective was talking about. She cut the siren off to avoid alerting the killer and continued towards the facility’s direction.
Quietly, Jessica tucked the phone into her pocket, stepped out of the police cruiser, and hit the street. The area was abandoned, its access points no longer restricted to the public. There was a chain-link fence with barbed wire on top of it, but most of the fence had been damaged by vandals.
Jessica kept moving, staying low, her gun outstretched, her eyes and ears alert for any sign of danger.
She heard hushed cries somewhere in the distance. Probably the doctor. Then she heard loud grunts of pain. Something that sounded like someone was being beaten. She hurried towards the sound.
Jessica stayed alert, her heart racing, adrenaline pumping so hard she nearly felt sick. The industrial area was larger than she’d thought and no matter how hard she tried, there was no way she could single-handedly cover every angle with her weapon.
Backup is not an option, Jessica convinced herself. She was confident now. She kept moving, straining to hear the sounds she’d heard earlier. But there was nothing but the sounds of traffic rushing along the highway over a hundred feet from her location. There was no cavalry coming to the rescue.
Jessica heard a sound to her left. Too late, she turned. A heavy object struck her on the side of the head and she fell to the ground. Dazed, she tried to get a grip on her surroundings, to try to find a way to fight back. Through hazy vision, she could see the doctor sitting on the ground, her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag stuffed in her mouth. Next to her lying on the ground unconscious was Andrew.
And standing over top of her, grinning like a maniac was Patrick Brenner himself. He looked far different than before. Just as overweight and unattractive, but a lot stronger looking. From experience, Jessica knew that anger sometimes made people appear stronger than they actually were.
Patrick laughed loudly and launched a sharp kick into Jessica’s ribs. The pain was excruciating and took her breath away. Patrick moved in and kicked her gun away.
“I warned you, didn’t I Detective. But you don’t listen, do you? I knew you wouldn’t!”
He laughed again and reached behind his waist and pulled out an ugly looking firearm. “You don’t want to do this,” Jessica said, raising her hand.
All she saw was a sneer across his face.
“If you knew you were going to kill me all along, then why didn’t you do it when you killed Irene.”
“You little rat !” Brenner said with a cold jeer. “I wanted you to realize how it feels when someone you love is taken away from you. Now beg for my pardon. Beg for mercy. And I won’t grant you that.”
Jessica wanted to keep him engaged hoping to get an opening.
“What are you going to get by killing us? Look, you killed Irene and now you’re a fugitive from law.”
He laughed. “She destroyed my whole life the moment I met her. But at least I can leave the country with millions in cash.”
“You kill a cop and they’ll hunt you down from hell. With all your stolen millions.”
“Killing a cop? A rogue cop?” There was a flash in Brenner’s eyes. Continuing to point his gun at Jessica, he moved forward and picked up her gun from the ground.
“You giving me ideas. I’ll kill Andrew with your gun and you with mine. A gun battle between a rogue cop and her ex-boyfriend! How does it sound?” He jeered.
“No, please don’t—”
“You want me to kill you now or should I do Andrew first?”
With a gun in each hand, Brenner moved the guns back and forth between Jessica and Andrew, who was now just beginning to return to consciousness. “Oh, he’s getting back. Okay, the boyfriend goes first.”
Brenner took a step forward, aiming both the guns at Andrew’s head.
And Detective Jessica Galloway mustered all the courage she had and launched a hard kick to the back of Brenner’s ankles. His legs flew up from underneath him and he fell to the ground on his back, both his guns also falling to the ground around him. Without hesitating, Jessica rolled to her left and delivered the hardest punch she’d ever thrown right to his jaw. While Brenner’s hands were groping for the guns, she hit him three more times in quick succession before flipping him onto his stomach.
Quickly, she cuffed his hands behind his back. Ignoring his enraged screams, Jessica got up from her feet and ran towards Andrew.
“Andrew!” she shouted.
“I’m okay,” he muttered through clenched teeth. Then he looked over at Brenner who was still lying on the ground screaming. “Whoo, you really took him out didn’t you?”
Jessica smiled, reached down, and helped Andrew to his feet. Then without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him long and hard on the lips. She removed the GPS device from inside the hood of his coat, then used her cell phone to call for backup.
“So Andrew, remember that night back at the hotel? I told you I’d save you, didn’t I?”
“Liar!” Andrew shouted in mock anger. “I’m the one who said I was going to be doing the saving!”
Surrounded by a barbed wire fence, an empty warehouse, and the high-pitched sounds of approaching sirens, Jessica and Andrew laughed softly and held hands.
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Pawan Verma
Pawan Verma – Author Profile
What started as a hobby for creative writing in his early days clearly became a passion for Pawan who has taken to writing and publishing on a regular basis. He now publishes both fiction and non-fiction on the digital platform. He loves telling stories which are replete with high drama, deep passion and intense emotions. This is his first work in the fiction genre.
Currently, he is also writing a book on leadership for an international publishing house. He also writes a blog http://www.pricksandpunches.blogspot.in.
Pawan has been a senior management professional from India’s financial services sector. He also works as a Professional Speaker and covers areas like Leadership & Management, Innovation & Creativity, etc. He has been a frequent speaker at various industry forums and corporate events in India and abroad.
In March 2015, Pawan was awarded the REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship 2015 and the REX Karmaveer Award for his thought leadership, innovative ideas and relentless pursuit of alternative action for social transformation.
Connect with Pawan Verma
Website :
www.pawankverma.com
Face book :
https://www.facebook.com/pawan.verma.54379
Twitter :
@pawankverma
Mail :
[email protected]
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