Adam reloaded.
The train came towards them, pulling up short, so that the last carriage could be seen from either platform. A group of passengers alighted, an elderly couple walked arm in arm towards the stairs.
“What the hell’s going on?” Adam looked around. “How did this train get in here?”
Everyone on his team looked equally surprised. The alighting passengers looked across the platform in morbid fascination at the destruction around them.
“Ellie, go through to the driver, check out how this train got in here,” Adam directed.
Ellen crossed the platform via the rails and lifting herself up on the other side, ran up the side of the train out of sight.
Adam saw Richard Sinclair, one of Lawrence’s directors, step from the last carriage.
“What the hell?”
Richard came up behind the elderly couple and pulled a gun, holding it to the old man’s head.
“How the hell did you get in here?” Adam snapped at Richard with a subtle glance to Officer Kent in the ceiling.
Got to get a message to Kent … buggar, if Sam was up there on intercom. He gritted his teeth.
“Surely”, Richard answered, “you’ve learned by now that money can buy you anything – love, security officers, train drivers,” he smiled enjoying the joke. “But you’re on a policeman’s salary, how would you know? Untie Lawrence now – or else we’ll give these two an early departure,” he pushed the gun into the neck of the trembling old man.
Lawrence yelled out to his director. “There is one in the carriage still, Richard.”
Richard bent to look, not removing the gun from his hostage. Officer Skinner was moving around in the carriage on the opposite track, trying to get an angle on Richard. Pushing the elderly couple in front of him as a shield, Richard stood on the edge of the platform and yelled, “Drop your weapon and get out here now!”
Good, he doesn’t know about Kent in the ceiling, Adam thought.
Skinner emerged with his hands in the air. Richard ordered him to move next to Samantha and Adam.
Stay at the front of the train, Ellie, Adam willed her in his thoughts.
“Release Lawrence,” Richard ordered Adam.
Adam swore. No bloody way. This is my show. His mind was clicking over looking for a solution.
“Hurry up!” Richard snapped.
Adam pulled Lawrence to his feet and pushed him into a sitting position on a platform bench.
“Richard, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Lawrence beamed.
“Me either,” Richard agreed.
“Please …” the old man begged.
“Shut up,” Richard ordered.
I need a distraction, a miracle. Adam’s eyes searched the station and the faces of Samantha and Skinner.
Then, it came in the form of the elderly hostage. His heart gave out with shock and he collapsed to the floor.
Nick could see Mitch was almost at the water’s edge near the South Dock. It was under a minute away. Nick sprinted faster than he thought himself capable of doing. He had almost caught up; the stopwatch told him twenty seconds remained.
Mitch was limping, not moving fast enough.
Twenty seconds before the bomb blows!
“Throw it!” Nick yelled, struggling to catch up.
Seventeen seconds.
Charging at full speed, Nick yelled again from behind Mitch, “Throw it, Mitch.” He groaned as his shirt rubbed the burnt skin with every movement.
Fifteen seconds.
Mitch glanced back.
“Get away, Nick!” he gasped.
“Mitch, it’s going to blow, throw it, now!” Nick yelled panting, his words escaping him. “Now!”
Nick could almost touch him. Panic was overpowering him. In ten seconds the bomb would go off in Mitchell Parker’s hands.
“Get … off … Nick … get … back!”
Nick had him.
Five seconds.
He grabbed the brief case from Mitch’s hand and cast it high into the air towards the river.
Three seconds.
Hurling himself at Mitch in a side tackle, they went sprawling down onto the concrete pavement. The bomb exploded in mid-air, hitting the water in a huge fireball. They stayed covered while the explosion peaked, feeling the heat above and random bits of debris hitting them. For a few seconds, neither of them moved. When the debris stopped flying, they raised their heads and exchanged looks.
“You had a little less time than you calculated,” Nick gasped.
Mitch, breathing erratically, looked shocked.
“That stupid bastard,” Mitch spat.
“You OK?”
Mitch nodded. “That was close.”
“Too close,” Nick agreed.
They pushed themselves up and began running back to the station.
“Help him,” the elderly woman screamed as her husband gripped his heart and gasped for oxygen.
“I said shut up!” Richard pushed the gun against her temple.
The elderly man lay on the platform, clutching his chest.
Adam glanced towards the ceiling at his last remaining sniper.
Take him, Kent! He thought. Then he saw Ellen rise inside the carriage. One shot rang out, the elderly lady screamed – beside them, Richard fell backwards, dead.
“Beautiful work, Ellie.” Adam looked over to Lawrence. “Any other directors you want to pull out of a hat?” he demanded reaching for his phone to call an ambulance.
“Carriages are clear,” Ellen advised him.
Adam saw Samantha run across the platform to help the couple.
“Sam, I needed you in sniper then.”
“Adam …”
“Save it,” he said angrily. “We’re done people, stand down.” He looked back at Samantha. “That was the only order that should have seen you leave sniper position.”
He watched as Officer Kent lowered himself from the ceiling.
“There is an ambulance on the way,” Adam told Ellen as she moved to assist the elderly man. He looked down at the Italian who moaned loudly, holding his bleeding arm. “Shut up, you’ll be the last to get treatment.”
On the platform, three of Lawrence’s security men lay dead.
Mitch vomited; the pain from his chest restricting his breathing and movement.
“Feels like a knife’s been wedged in my ribs,” he wiped his mouth.
Nick stopped with him and waited. Mitch looked up, noticing the blood on Nick’s shirt.
“You’ve been hit!”
“The vest stopped it, knocked me out with the force. I think I’ve got a slight concussion, I feel a bit groggy.”
“I think you broke the land speed record catching up to me,” Mitch told him with an attempt at a smile.
“Helps that you’re a slow runner,” Nick ribbed him.
Mitch gave him a wry glance as the pair kept moving, hurrying to the Underground entrance. An ambulance could be heard coming down the street. Mitch’s heart caught in his throat and he quickened his pace.
God, no!
The officer at the Underground entrance let them through. Mitch and Nick raced down the stairs, clinging to the outer walls until they surveyed the scene. It was clear; the battle was over. Samantha, seeing him at the entrance, called out his name in relief. Mitch looked around; everyone was alive. He looked to Adam.
“OK?” he asked bending over to catch his breath, relief coursing through him.
“We’re all done here,” Adam patted him on the back. “Glad to see you though.”
“See, we needn’t have come back,” Nick joked to Mitch, his hands on his hips, taking deep breaths.
“No dramas?”
“A few, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” Adam answered.
Mitch had stopped listening; he was staring straight ahead, recognizing Andrew Kenny. He bolted across the platform and dragged Andrew up from the bench, knocking him to the ground with a powerful punch. Andrew, his hands tied behind his back, was screaming when Adam pulled Mitch away from him. Blood poured out of Andrew’s broken nose.
“That’s for Anthony Jenkins,” Mitch spat a mixture of blood and saliva at Andrew’s feet.
Pulling away from Adam’s grip, Mitch massaged his hand. “Before you start thinking I’m out of control, I want you to know that I planned that,” he glanced back to Andrew lying on the ground.
“Fine by me,” Adam assured him, “he had it coming.”
Mitch walked past Nick. “Don’t say it.”
“What?” Nick turned to follow him.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
Nick grinned. “I wasn’t going to say anything about you being wound too tightly or being too tense.”
“Good.”
“Seriously, though, I wonder how you survived this long without me,” Nick joked.
“One of life’s great mysteries,” Mitch agreed.
The Chief of Police, William Irwin, entered followed by a number of uniformed officers. Mitch went over to meet him. The two stood in the corner debriefing.
Lawrence watched the events unfolding from where he sat, propped up on a bench, his hands cuffed. He passed his cuffed hands under his backside, and succeeded in pulling his arms in front, his cuffed hands now on his lap. He looked down at his Armani suit covered in dirt and frowned.
Time to play another card. The thought made him smile.
Mitch watched Lawrence from a distance as one of Irwin’s officers began to lead Lawrence away. He heard Irwin order the trains to be moved out of the station to clear the debris. Mitch walked over to Adam. He turned, hearing someone yell behind him and saw Lawrence break away from the police and bolt towards the tunnel. At the same time, the two trains began to slowly move out.
Mitch watched amazed.
What’s he doing? Shit! He’s going to … Samantha’s near the tunnel!
Mitch ran down the track in pursuit, Adam beside him.
“Sam!” Mitch yelled.
Before Samantha could react, Lawrence leapt, knocking her over and pulling her in front, restraining her around the throat with his cuffed hands.
“Nice to see you again, that’s one point for your team,” Mitch heard Lawrence say. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
Samantha fought to breathe. Mitch’s gut instincts about Samantha being at risk came back to haunt him.
“Stay back,” Lawrence jeered, pulling himself and Samantha to standing position and keeping her firmly in front of him, as she gasped for air.
“He’s not armed,” one of the officers said, charging at Lawrence.
“No!” Mitch yelled as Lawrence, leaping to avoid the officer, fell over the edge of the platform, taking Samantha with him, directly in front of the train gathering speed along the line.
Mitch leapt from the platform, slamming into Samantha and wrenching her from Lawrence’s grips. His body engulfed Samantha as they cleared the track, and he felt the rush of air from the carriages passing within inches of them.
Lawrence fell onto the rails directly under the front wheels of the train. Mitch reached for him, missing him and feeling the fabric of Lawrence’s suit brush his fingertips.
Mitch and Samantha lying level on the parallel tracks, watched as Lawrence met his death.