Every Breath You Take
Page 72
Chapter 41
"You know, Tee, your Shauna is a beautiful woman, it's really going to be a shame." Pepper could only struggle against his bonds and groan into the gag as he watched McTavish standing next to Shauna, a syringe in one hand while his other gloved hand traced its way down her body. "Such gorgeous red hair, pretty face, lovely breasts. Yes, it's too bad you'll never know her that way again, but at least you can watch as I give her what she deserves."
A door burst open behind Pepper and he saw McTavish look past him, his eyes opening wide.
"Put the syringe down, Ian." Pepper heard Chin's voice and turned his head as much as he could. She stepped into his range of vision, slowly side-stepping closer, her gun up and trained on McTavish, her hands shaking.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" McTavish said, not moving an inch.
"It's over, Ian. I don't want to have to tell you again-put down the syringe." Chin's voice was forceful, but Pepper could hear the tremor in it, and if he could, he knew McTavish could too. Pepper turned his eyes back to McTavish, who seemed to visibly relax after the initial shock of Chin's entry.
"Just relax, Elizabeth," McTavish said calmly. "We all know you're not going to shoot anybody. You've never fired your weapon in the line of duty before."
"There's a first time for everything," Chin said, taking another step into the room. Pepper could see her arms quivering like a plucked guitar string, and her voice was shaking.
"You don't understand," McTavish said, his voice smooth as glass. "I had to do this. He took something from me and I had to take-"
"Shut up and put down the fucking syringe, Ian." Chin's voice cracked as she kept the shaking barrel of the gun trained on McTavish.
"All right?.all right," McTavish said, holding the syringe up for all to see. "I'm just going to put it down over here, right on this shelving unit." He took a couple of slow steps to the side, keeping his eyes on Chin the whole time.
Pepper watched as Chin took another step to the side, the shaking barrel of her gun following McTavish as he slowly set the syringe down on the shelving unit.
"There now, nothing to be worried about," McTavish said calmly as he turned to face Chin. His arm came up from his side in a flash, the hand that held the syringe was now holding a gun. He didn't hesitate, his shoulder and arm flexed as he fired. The gun shot echoed loudly in the enclosed space. The blast of a second shot going off after the first split the air.
At the last second Chin had seen what McTavish was doing. She dove to the side as his gun went off, firing her own gun in return. She crashed into the video camera, knocking it to the ground.
"Aaahhh." Pepper looked over as McTavish grabbed the shoulder of his shooting arm, blood seeping around his fingers where Chin's bullet had caught him. He raised his gun to fire again, but Chin was on him, launching a side kick to the middle of his chest. He staggered backward, and Chin moved closer, driving a punch into his solar plexus.
McTavish twisted away and lashed out, catching Chin on the side of the head with his gun. Stunned for a second, Chin stepped back, her ears ringing. She saw the smile on McTavish's face as he started to bring his gun up. She quickly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick, catching him on the arm, the gun dropping from his hand and sliding across the floor. He made a move towards it, but Chin sprung like a cat, pivoting around and launching a powerful side kick high, catching him in the jaw. His head snapped back, the force of her attack driving him into the shelving unit. Objects flew everywhere as he fell. From the top shelf, Pepper watched as the jug of bleach teetered for a second before falling. The jug hit McTavish in the chest, and the lid he'd been toying with earlier popped off. The bleach gushed out, the pungent smell filling the air instantaneously.
"Aaarrrgghhh," McTavish's loud scream shook the room. Pepper wrenched himself as far over in the bed as he could, seeing McTavish rolling on the ground, his hands covering his face. "My eyes," he yelled, rolling back and forth, his face wet with bleach.
Chin spotted a big bottle of water on one of the shelves and grabbed it. She twisted off the top as she ran across the room. She kicked the bottle of bleach from beside McTavish into the corner and knelt down, dousing his face. He groaned loudly, continuing to rock from side to side. Pepper could see his face already turning pink and blistering as the bleach soaked into his skin. Chin splashed more of the water onto his face, giving him some relief. She doused him again, washing away more of the bleach. Seeing the worst was over, she grabbed his arm and rolled him onto his stomach. She pulled one arm behind him as she reached into her pocket for her cuffs, kneeling on his back as she clamped one end onto his wrist. She jerked his other arm from beneath him and slapped the other end of the cuffs into place, leaving him lying face down and gasping, his hands locked behind his back.
Chin stood up, her chest heaving, her hands trembling. She turned to Pepper, reaching forward and undoing the ball gag as he lifted his head.
"Thank God," Pepper said as he gasped for air, the aroma of the bleach almost making him nauseous.
"Let's get you and Shauna out of here," Chin said, stepping over to one of the shelving units and finding a pair of scissors. She snipped off the zip ties holding Pepper in place, keeping an eye on McTavish, who continued to moan. As Pepper hopped off the bed and went to check on Shauna, Chin pulled out her phone, dialling 9-1-1.
"This is Detective Elizabeth Chin, we have an officer down and two others that need medical attention." She gave the address of McTavish's house, slipping the phone back into her pocket once she ended the call. She realized that when she'd attacked McTavish, for some reason, she'd dropped her gun. She spotted it on the floor near Shauna and picked it up, slipping it back into the holster on her belt.
Wallace burst into the room, his gun in hand. He looked around at everyone, then slowly lowered his weapon. "Is everybody okay?" he asked, specifically looking at Shauna's inert form as Pepper lifted her off the bed.
"She's fine," Pepper said, walking across the room, the unconscious Shauna cradled in his arms.
"We're better than he is," Chin said, gesturing to McTavish.
Wallace stepped forward, looking past the bed Pepper had been in. "What the hell happened?" he asked, turning to Chin.
"He had a little accident with the bleach," Chin said, nodding to the jug lying on its side in the corner of the room.
"A little accident?" Wallace said, emphasizing the word 'little'. "Jesus, Chin, the stuff is everywhere." He reached down and dragged McTavish to his feet. His face was a mess, one eye shut, the eyelid blistered. Blood had soaked his shirt where Chin had shot him in the shoulder. Wallace pulled McTavish forward, and the three of them went up the stairs and out the front door into the cool night air. Pepper was sitting on the front steps, holding Shauna in his arms.
The piercing sound of sirens started to draw closer as Wallace let a slumping McTavish sit with his back against the house. Wallace turned to Chin, "Hey, Black-haired Ninja, care to do the honours?"
Chin took a deep breath and nodded to Wallace as she stepped forward, looking down at the ravaged face of her partner. "Ian McTavish, you're under arrest. You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay."
As Chin continued to read McTavish his rights, Wallace looked over at Pepper holding Shauna, rocking her back and forth slowly like a baby. He turned back to Chin and McTavish, wondering how all this had come about, but knew it was over-finally. The Sandman sat slumped against the wall of the house-defeated. Wallace looked at him, knowing he wouldn't be sprinkling stardust on anyone anymore. He thought about the three dead girls, and looked over at Shauna, wondering how close she'd come to being the fourth. As the sirens drew closer, Wallace felt himself overcome with emotion. He turned and looked at the flashing red lights, the tears rolling down his face.
PART SEVEN
BROTHERS IN ARMS
Dire Straits