Tumbledown

by Cari Hunter

  It seemed safer not to answer, until he slapped her.

  “No, I knew you’d see it,” she said.

  “How the fuck did someone as pathetic as you manage to kill my father?” He punctuated his question with another slap.

  “I didn’t.” She tensed, expecting to suffer for the denial, but he merely leaned back a little and waited for her to explain. “We both went into the river,” she said. “I got out.”

  “You got out.” His voice was dangerously quiet.

  “Yes.”

  “And you left him in there.”

  She closed her eyes, knowing there was nothing she could say to make this better. Like father, like son. Nicholas Deakin had also held a gun to her head. Forcing him into the river with her had been an impetuous gambit to try to spare Sarah’s life; she had never expected Sarah to haul her out of there alive.

  “You left him in there,” Deakin whispered, his mouth brushing her ear. He shifted, and she felt him press something against her thigh, heard a click and a crackle of electricity an instant before her entire body snapped rigid, every muscle seeming to lock and seize. She smelled her own flesh burning and lost consciousness to the raucous sound of his laughter.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Caleb had used the Taser on Leah once. It had been a weapon new to his repertoire and he had decided that she would be his guinea pig. She had woken in a puddle of her own urine, utterly disoriented and whimpering at the residual spasms that coursed through her body.

  Having endured a more prolonged shock, Alex now lay insensible, her limbs twitching intermittently. Caleb had left her to it and turned his attention to the wiring on the door.

  “Get me the screwdriver,” he snapped.

  Leah edged over to his bag to retrieve the tool. The bag was closer to the weapons than her corner had been, so she lingered there as if waiting to assist him further. From her new vantage point, she could hear Sarah doing something in the next room: a faint, repetitive brush of movement accompanied by tiny pained gasps. As she continued to listen, she noticed Alex curl soundlessly into a fetal position. Caleb didn’t react, and Leah took advantage of his distractedness to take another two steps toward the metal crate. She thought she saw Alex’s eyes tracking her, but she couldn’t be sure.

  *

  Sarah opened her eyes to find her forehead flush against the concrete floor. Several long moments passed as she tried to work out where she was and why she hurt so much. It came back to her in disjointed fragments, her brain refusing to arrange the parts in any semblance of order. She must have fainted, somehow managing to prevent the metal from falling to the floor but bending her injured leg awkwardly beneath her in the process.

  “Alex,” she whispered, remembering at last why she was doing this. “Shit. Shit.”

  She had no idea how much time she had lost. The other room was quiet, bar the odd curse from Deakin, mere abstract mutterings that did not seem to be directed at anyone in particular. Beneath the edge of the blindfold, she could see only orange and black, the colors rapidly swapping places. It made her dizzy, but when she closed her eyes, she was still dizzy and she knew she couldn’t go any farther.

  A whoop from Deakin brought her head up again. His footsteps approached, then halted, and the pause was swiftly followed by a yelp in a voice that Sarah would recognize anywhere, even when it was so distorted by pain. She closed her eyes and tightened her fingers around the metal.

  Now or never.

  *

  Alex could feel Deakin tugging at her shirt, trying to unfasten the buttons to get at the Kevlar, so she tucked her arms tighter together to make things difficult for him. He broke off to punch her twice, once in the face and once in the abdomen, driving his fist low under the vest. She gulped for air, instantly forgetting everything other than trying to breathe. It gave him the opportunity to tear her shirt open, buttons pinging across the floor as he started to rip at the Velcro fastenings. He leaned over her, working on the shoulder straps, his face inches from hers. The barrel of his gun nudged her ear, a constant reminder to lie still and behave.

  A long piece of metal suddenly careered through from the next room, crashing across the floor. It startled him badly enough that he swung his gun toward it. Sparks flew where the bar connected with the concrete. Leah dodged out of its path, and Alex reared up to head-butt Deakin with all the force she could muster.

  Already wrong-footed, he went down hard, only just managing to turn in time to prevent his head from hitting the ground. He cried out, shock and anger bringing him back to his feet far sooner than she expected.

  “Fucking bitch!” he screamed, his fingers pawing at the wound she had opened up on his forehead.

  Blood streamed down his face as she barreled into him and drove him backward. He slammed against the wall, knocking over a metal crate as he did so. She heard the breath whoosh from his lungs, felt his fist pounding against her even as she ground his cheek into the bricks. Then a sharp, familiar sound that should have been a warning, and a blast that sent her staggering away from him.

  Then nothing.

  *

  “Stop!”

  Leah put everything she had into the command, but she still needed to repeat it.

  “Caleb. Stop. Don’t move. I mean it.”

  He turned to look at her, his expression incredulous, and actually started to laugh. “You stupid fucking whore,” he said. “You even know how to fire that?” His arm was still by his side, his gun aimed benignly at the floor. It was clear that he didn’t consider her a serious threat.

  “Yes.”

  The certainty of her response seemed to give him pause. When the falling crate had scattered the weapons, she had picked the one most familiar to her. Her finger touched its trigger in an unsubtle warning.

  Lying halfway across the room, Alex coughed and then moaned, a terrible, agonized sound. Next door, Leah could hear Sarah sobbing inconsolably.

  “Put the gun down, Caleb,” she said. “Please, put it down. No one else needs to get hurt.”

  He scoffed, his eyes flitting to the side, to where he had left the detonator for the door.

  “Don’t.” She stepped forward.

  “Gonna stop me?”

  She nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.

  His lips curved into a cocksure grin. “Don’t think you’re gonna stop me,” he said, and brought his gun up an instant before she fired hers.

  *

  Already half-deafened by the first gunshot, Alex barely heard the second. She saw Caleb drop to his knees, blood beginning to seep between his fingers as he pressed them to the hole the bullet had just punched in his guts.

  “I’ll fucking…” He sagged back against the wall. “I’ll kill you, you Godless…”

  The threat tapered off into nothing, his mouth working soundlessly. When he coughed, flecks of claret sprayed out to stain his shirt.

  Leah’s chest heaved as she stared at him, her body shaking so violently that the gun in her hand was little more than a blur.

  “Leah.” Unable to draw a deep breath, Alex could only wheeze out the name, but she saw Leah nod. “Leah, keep it steady, honey. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Leah’s teeth chattered as she answered. She shifted her grip on the gun and widened her stance, her gaze never leaving Deakin, who lay slumped and motionless in front of her.

  “Good, you’re doing real good.” Alex clawed at the straps on her vest, the heavy padding suddenly too constrictive. She let it fall to the floor. “Oh shit,” she muttered, sweat breaking out on her forehead. The bullet had hit her in the chest. It had gone no further than the Kevlar, but it still felt like it had snapped a few of her ribs. She didn’t bother to look at the injury. She supported the fractures with her hand and pushed herself to her feet, trying to order her thoughts when all she wanted to do was run to Sarah.

  “I need his cell,” she said, approaching Leah tentatively.

  That the gunshots hadn’t prompted the SWAT team to launch an assau
lt suggested someone had heeded her warning about the door. The sooner the FBI were given the all-clear, the sooner they could get an explosives expert into the building to defuse whatever Deakin had rigged, and get them all out of there.

  “It’s in his pocket.” Leah pointed to Caleb’s jacket but didn’t attempt to retrieve the phone.

  “Right.”

  Alex crouched by him, acutely aware that she was placing herself in the line of fire. She jumped as something skittered toward her and stopped at her leg.

  “Tie him up,” Leah whispered. “Please tie him up.”

  The anguish in her voice set Alex on edge, even though it was clear that Deakin no longer posed a threat. He was unconscious, his abdomen distended with internal bleeding, and he didn’t react as Alex picked up the length of rope Leah had thrown, bound him with it, and then patted him down for concealed weapons.

  “Where’s Sarah?” she snapped, dialing Castillo’s number.

  “In the other room.” Without needing to be told, Leah threw down her gun and retreated to huddle against the far wall. Alex tucked the weapon into her belt; she trusted Leah enough not to restrain her, but it felt better to be armed.

  “Mike, it’s me,” she said, as soon as Castillo answered. She grabbed a flashlight and ran toward the gap in the wall.

  “Alex? Jesus, fuck. Are you all right?”

  “Fine, I’m fine.” The temperature dropped noticeably when Alex stepped through into the next room, but it was fear, not cold that made her shiver as she moved the flashlight beam in a wide arc. She tried unsuccessfully to control the tremor in her voice. “Leah shot Deakin and he’s bleeding out. He wired the door, so SWAT will have to use the window.”

  A metal chain glittered in the light. At first, she couldn’t really work out what she was looking at. When she did, she almost lost her grip on the phone.

  “Oh God.”

  “Alex?”

  “Get the medics in here.” She could hardly speak, but still it felt like she was screaming. “Please, Mike, we need them in here.” Ignoring his attempt to keep her on the line, she disconnected the call. “Sarah?” she said, too scared to move any closer. “Sarah?”

  The metal chain lifted slightly, as Sarah raised and then waggled the fingers on her right hand.

  “Fucking hell.” Alex gave a short laugh of disbelief; Sarah had just waved at her.

  “Hey.” Sarah hardly made a sound, but it was enough to bring Alex to her side.

  “Hey, yourself,” Alex said, her resolute facade shattering as Sarah began to cry. “You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re okay, you’re okay.”

  Maybe if she said it enough times it would be true.

  Her fingers fumbled with the knot holding the blindfold in place. She rocked back on her heels, unable to loosen the tie. “God damn it,” she whispered. The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, Sarah was so pale her face looked ghastly in the light, and Alex couldn’t get a simple fucking knot unfastened.

  “Use this.”

  The quiet instruction made Alex’s head snap up. She hadn’t heard Leah enter the room. She took the knife and nodded her thanks as Leah placed a first aid kit and blanket within easy reach.

  “I’ll get her some water,” Leah said, leaving them alone again.

  Alex stroked a finger down Sarah’s cheek, murmuring softly to calm her. What Sarah had survived during the last twenty-four hours must have been traumatic enough, but for Deakin to have bound her eyes seemed beyond cruel. She would have had no way of knowing who had survived the gunshots until Alex spoke to her. Now, as if still uncertain, her hand reached out, fumbling for Alex’s and then holding it clumsily.

  “Are you…” She had to stop to take a breath, obviously distressed by her own weakness. “You hurt?”

  “No,” Alex said, and smiled at Sarah’s immediate frown. “Not much,” she allowed. She touched the blindfold, drawing Sarah’s attention to it. “I need to cut this. Stay real still for me.”

  “Okay.”

  The knife made quick work of the cloth. Alex shielded Sarah’s eyes as it came away. “Keep them closed for now. You can check me for bruises in a few minutes.”

  Despite everything, Sarah managed to arch an eyebrow.

  Alex chuckled. “I know you too well.”

  “I know you tell fibs,” Sarah countered, but her attempt at levity was ruined as she began to shiver violently.

  Alex had never felt so useless. There was no way she could lift Sarah off the cold concrete without hurting her; she could only tuck the blanket around her and hope that would make her more comfortable. Desperate to keep doing something, she picked up the first aid kit, whose lid jammed as she tried to remove it. Snarling beneath her breath, she wrestled it off, to find two small bandages, gauze, scissors, and half a pack of Advil. The sheer inadequacy of the contents made her want to launch the box across the room, but she hesitated as Leah ran back in.

  “They’re coming through the window: medics and bomb disposal. They said to tell you five minutes.” Relief seemed to have taken years off Leah’s face; she moved purposefully, unwrapping a piece of gauze and soaking it in water. “Her mouth is so dry, but this helps,” she said. She put the gauze in Alex’s hand and nodded encouragement as Alex carefully bathed Sarah’s lips.

  “That better?” Alex asked Sarah. She used more water, squeezing a few drops onto Sarah’s tongue, making her smile and open her eyes. It took a moment for her to focus on Alex’s face, but when she did, her smile broadened.

  “Perfect,” she whispered.

  *

  For two minutes, Sarah had done little else but study Alex. She had relearned the curve of her lips and the color of her eyes and the way the splash of freckles fell across her nose. Cuts and bruises stood out brutally against her pale skin and stress had left her face haggard, but Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off her.

  High above the next room, voices were calling urgently to one another, the commotion rising and falling amid a series of bangs and cracks, but no one seemed to have made it to ground level yet. Sarah simply held Alex’s hand while she had the chance and let everything else fade into the background.

  “I guess that was you who threw the javelin, then?” Alex’s voice seemed to come from a long way away. Her fingers stroked through the sticky strands of Sarah’s hair.

  “Mmhm.” Sarah had to force her eyes open. Judging by Alex’s expression, Sarah had just scared the wits out of her by drifting off. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Tired.”

  “I know you are,” Alex said. “Just try to talk to me or something.”

  “’Bout what?”

  “Anything. Tell me about your day.”

  It was a suggestion ridiculous enough to make Sarah smile. “Bit crap, if I’m being honest with you,” she said. Alex’s laugh gave her the impetus to continue; she tried to concentrate on the original question. “Thought I could get up.” She gestured vaguely toward the dividing wall. “Bash Deakin with the metal. Didn’t make it very far.”

  “Why, where were you?” Alex shone the flashlight around as Sarah pointed to the pipe. “Jesus, you got far enough.”

  “Just had to chuck the bloody thing in the end.” Sarah shook her head, thinking of that last, somewhat delirious decision. “Half expected it to bounce back off the wall and clock me on the nose.”

  Alex bent to kiss her forehead. “You saved the day.”

  “I did?”

  “Made sparks fly and everything. You were brilliant.”

  “Don’t feel too brilliant,” Sarah muttered. Her vision seemed to be failing, even though she was sure her eyes were still open.

  “Sarah, stay awake. Please stay awake.” There was sudden panic in Alex’s entreaty. Sarah felt her shift as if turning away, and seconds later heard her start yelling for someone to come and help them.

  Strangers shouted back, then Leah’s voice, tense and insistent. “In here, they’re in here.”

  Heavy footsteps were followed by the slam of equipment hitt
ing the concrete.

  “Can you give me some space here, ma’am?” a man’s voice said.

  Sarah didn’t catch Alex’s response, but the grip around her hand tightened and Alex didn’t move an inch.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  The sounds and sensations were disturbingly familiar to Sarah: pain breaking through despite the drugs, a thin supply of oxygen that made her nose cold, footsteps and the murmur of voices behind a closed door. An unnatural flushed feeling in her cheeks told her she was running a fever, and every time she breathed she could feel the answering vibration of something cumbersome affixed to her broken leg.

  In the ICU after her car accident, she had often woken up alone, terrified and hurting, her buzzer summoning an ever-changing parade of strangers. She wasn’t alone now; a warm hand was wrapped around hers, its fingers tightening in response to the first signs of her regaining consciousness.

  “Sarah?” Alex kept her voice low. “You awake in there?”

  Sarah worked her tongue around her mouth, searching in vain for moisture. Instead of a coherent answer, she managed only a pathetic-sounding moan. She sensed Alex move, then seconds later the touch of chilled metal and liquid against her lips. The skin there, abraded by the gag Deakin had used, tore and bled as she opened her mouth, but the relief from the ice was more than worth that irritation.

  “You gonna open your eyes for me?” Alex asked. Her breath whispered across Sarah’s cheek and her lips touched just below Sarah’s left eye. “This one, at least. I’m not sure the other side will cooperate.”

  It didn’t. The swelling kept it firmly closed, but by tilting her head, Sarah was able to see the smile that brightened Alex’s face.

  “Hi.” Afraid to make anything worse by moving, she lay still and took advantage of the improved lighting to check Alex for injuries. She lifted a cautious hand to trace the sutures closing a gash through Alex’s eyebrow. “Ouch,” she said. “Think you’re going to have a new scar there.”