Chapter 110
867 Words
Sam Phillips shook his head. “No way. Nobody can make that shot.”
“You or Finn have to, man,” Pete Anderson told him. “It’s the only choice we’ve got.”
“No, I know. I get that. But I’ve never curved a bullet that dramatically in this kind of wind and cold. If the air was still and a few degrees warmer, sure. But we only get one chance to take this shot, and if I f**k it up, the woman is dead.”
Everyone sighed.
“Well, what if you went inside the office?” Sully said. “There’s a window there too… much narrower, but no elements to contend with.”
Finn Callahan grimaced. “I already checked it out… they’re too far in the room, on the other side of the table. No way to hit him from that side.” He gestured down at the window of the conference room. “This is the best shot, I promise you. Sam’s right.”
“Dallas?” Griff said. “What do you think?”
Dallas’ blue eyes were staring at the flag that Sam and Finn had used to gauge the wind, he looked through Finn’s binoculars, reading the specs on the shot, calculating the angles. He stared at the video feed from the hidden conference room camera, figuring out exactly where Olivia and Greg were in relation to the place he’d want Finn or Sam to set up.
He sighed. “It’s one hell of a shot. The curve is crazy.”
“Can you make it?” Mark asked quietly.
Dallas froze. “I haven’t taken a kill shot in three years, man. You know that.”
“I didn’t ask when you'd last looked down a rifle scope, Dallas.” Mark stared at him. “I asked if you can make the shot.”
Dallas looked at the flag again, ran through the numbers one more time. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
They heard Olivia scream then, and everyone turned back to the video in time to see Greg cutting her chest. Dallas shook with rage, then took control of himself again.
“Dallas.” Selena’s eyes were steady. “Your ‘maybe’ is better than everyone else’s ‘no way’. You’ve got to try, boss.”
“f**k,” he said softly.
“I know,” she said. “I know. But if you don’t try, Olivia’s got no chance whatsoever. With you? She has a prayer.”
Dallas stared down at the window one last time, then reached for his cell. He dialled and they all waited.
“Dean? Yeah. I need you to get something for me from my office safe. Get some paper to write down the combination, man.” He took a deep breath. “And you need to haul ass, Jessop. No f*****g lie.”
He hung up, and his eyes met Pete’s. “You need to buy me some time, Pete. Please.”
****
Greg rolled his eyes and sighed heavily as his cell rang again.
“Sorry about that,” he said to Olivia as she lay half-conscious on the floor under him. “I should have turned it off.”
He answered with a note of impatience in his voice. “What?”
“Greg? This is Captain Peter Anderson of the Denver PD. Can I ask how things are going in there?”
Greg glanced down at Olivia. The cuts on her upper body were glorious, he thought: all different lengths and depths, which made them interesting. He had just decided that his hands were steady enough to attempt a very long one, and she was so far in shock now that she was much more still. The most recent cut started at her breastbone, ran between her breasts, and stopped just above her navel. It was perfect.
“Things are going well, Captain, thank you for asking.”
“We heard screaming.”
“Yeah. She’s quieter now.”
“Is she alive?”
“Of course.” Greg was indignant. “I’m not going to cut this short.” He paused. “No pun intended.”
“Greg, look. I know how frustrating it is to have feelings for a woman who doesn’t return them…”
“Spare me, Captain. I already had my heart-to-heart bonding session with Foreman, and he empathized nicely. I’m good. Thanks anyway.”
“Greg, do you really want both of you to end up dead? Why not just give up now? No need to take it all the way, man.”
“But there is a need.” Greg gazed down at Liv, brushed her hair off her beautiful face. “If I can’t have her, nobody can. And I know if I let her go, she’ll go straight back to Dallas. I can’t accept that, you understand? I can’t live knowing that she’s f*****g him. It’s me, or it’s nobody.”
“Greg...”
“Nice talking to you, Captain. I’m going now.” He paused. “And don’t bother calling back, OK? I won’t answer next time – I’m turning off my phone now.”
- Writer
