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He slammed the steel door shut behind him with a clang, leaving Matt and me sitting in the middle of the room, alone for the first time.
“We need a plan,” I said as calmly as I possibly could. Hearing my voice break the tense silence gave me an edge of boldness as I continued, “We need to get out of this cell and rescue my parents. I’m not letting them go again.”
“What about the Snake?” Matt looked at me suspiciously. “We do we do about him?”
“Let Chris deal with him.” I shrugged as I stood and tried the door. I was surprised to realize how little I did care. Lord, help it stay that way. “All I want is my parents back.”
“Funny, I kind of wanted a little revenge myself now,” Matt admitted sheepishly, standing also. “Here I was thinking I’d need to be calming you down.”
“The Snake did that already.” I laughed harshly as I faced him again. “Back there, I saw myself becoming like him. I don’t want that, ever. All I want is to get my parents back and forget this whole thing as soon as possible.”
“How are we going to do that?” Matt looked at the locked door critically. “The Snake’s chief tormentor will be back here any minute.”
“Last time we clobbered the guard when he came to get us,” I remembered, running my fingers through my hair thoughtfully. “We could try to do that again.”
“Won’t he suspect? Surely the Snake has warned him to watch out,” Matt pointed out. “Besides, last time Trinity pretended to faint to distract the guard. I doubt either of us could get away with that stunt.”
“No.” I began to pace the small cell thoughtfully. My eyes stopped on the door again and I paused. “That door opens to the inside.”
Matt looked at the door, then back at me. “Your point?”
“What if I hide against the wall behind the door and you stand against the wall on the other side of the door.” I began talking faster. This actually might work. “When Scarface opens the door, I’ll slam it back on him, catching him off guard.”
“And I’ll hit him before he can recover.” Matt nodded. “It could work. What then?”
“We go after my parents,” I said simply, taking my place against the wall.
“How are were going to rescue them?” Matt asked, taking his place as well. “Do you have a plan?”
“Not yet.” I sighed. “But I can’t leave them. Perhaps we can keep them from leaving long enough for Chris to get here with SATURN.”
I heard footsteps coming down the hall. “I think he’s coming,” I whispered urgently. “Get ready!”
The footsteps stopped outside the door. Keys rattled as he hunted for the one that would fit the lock. I raised my hands in front of me and braced myself against the wall, my body tense with anticipation. Scarface cursed loudly. He must have looked inside and thought we were gone. I heard a hurried scrape and click as he stuffed the key into the lock and turned it. Sweat beaded on my forehead. Any moment now...
The door swung right into my waiting hands. I shoved it back at Scarface with all my strength, throwing my body into it for added impact. The door, followed by my body, slammed into Scarface with a bone-jarring thud. I cried out in pain. I’d forgotten to guard my side. Scarface’s own cry of pain was cut short by a nasty right to the jaw from Matt. Another thump and a pair of clatters followed as Scarface, his gun, and his keys hit the concrete floor.
I waved off Matt’s concerned look, then helped him drag Scarface all the way into the cell. My side hurt terribly. Every breath made my chest feel like it was on fire. Between the door and Scarface’s earlier blow, I suspected that I had undone all the healing from the past week, but I didn’t want Matt to know that. I stooped carefully to pick up the gun while Matt went after the keys. The pain from even bending that much made me dizzy. I straightened my back and paused to recover.
“Come on,” Matt whispered urgently as Scarface groaned and stirred. “He’s coming around.”
Ignoring the pain, I jumped to my feet and followed Matt out to the hall. He slammed the door and locked it as soon as I got through. I looked back through the narrow window in the door. Scarface pulled himself groggily to a sitting position, rubbing his jaw. He stopped with a roar of rage when he saw me, and lunged toward me. I stepped back away from the door quickly as his massive hands tried to reach me through the window. Still screaming, he began to shake the door furiously.
“Let’s hurry.” I gasped, crossing my left arm across my chest to put pressure on my side. “That racket will bring the others fast. I don’t want to be around when they get here.”
“Scott, your ribs...” Matt began worriedly as he followed me down the hall.
“If we stop to wait for me, we’ll probably die.” I cut him off grimly, gritting my teeth against the pain. “I’ll be fine.”
We needed to get to the garage and rescue my parents, or at the very least, detain them until Chris arrived. I wasn’t about to let the pain slow me down.
“I’m going after my parents.” I kept running as I spoke. “You go up and wait for Chris. Bring him down as soon as he arrives.”
“Gene’s up there.” Matt jogged beside me. “You need me here. Chris has to get here soon.”
I didn’t argue. I was sore, tired, and slightly irritated to notice that he only had to jog to keep up with me. The pain was slowing me down a little more than I’d thought. Besides, I really didn’t want to face the Snake alone. I’d done it once before and had almost gotten myself killed.
“I hope that truck hasn’t left yet,” I muttered worriedly as I neared the massive garage door. I was so intent on getting to my parents in time; I didn’t notice the Snake coming out until I nearly ran into him.
We all froze in surprise for a split second. The Snake recovered first and reached for his gun.
I recovered faster and aimed the gun I had taken from Scarface at his chest.
“Don’t move.” I held my hand as steady as possible. I’d never fired a gun before, and I doubted I could actually bring myself to pull the trigger, no matter how much I hated the Snake, but I didn’t need for him to know that.
The Snake raised his hands slowly, his eyes fixed uncertainly at the gun in my hand.
Matt looked at me uncertainly, too, as if he were afraid I might forget my resolve against revenge and shoot the Snake anyway. I didn’t dare reassure him in front of the Snake. If the Snake had even the slightest doubt of my seriousness, he wouldn’t bother to obey me.
“Using only your thumb and forefinger, take your gun and set it gently on the floor.” I’d seen a guy make the villain do that in a movie once. It seemed to work for him.
The Snake slowly complied, his eyes never leaving the gun I held.
“Matt, get his gun,” I said, careful not to take my eyes off the Snake, either. If he got free, we were right back where we started.
As Matt bent to grab the gun, the Snake looked up at me defiantly.
“Wouldn’t you like to pull that trigger,” he taunted. “I wouldn’t have even waited this long if our roles were reversed.”
“I’m not like you,” I responded coolly. My side ached and I needed to shift positions badly, but I was afraid the Snake would notice my weakness. I pulled myself straighter and gritted my teeth against the pain. “I’m just going to keep you for SATURN.”
“You do realize that in the time it has taken you to subdue me, your parents have been loaded into the truck.” He smirked. “They should be pulling out now. You can’t hold me and rescue them.”
Fear tightened around my aching chest. He was right, but if I let him go, he would sound an alarm and get us all killed. “Matt, watch him. I’m going after them.”
“By yourself?” the Snake prodded, grinning. “I’ve got eight men in there.”
“Scott,” Matt protested. “Not by yourself, please. Chris will be here soon.”
“Not soon enough,” I snapped, harsher than I meant to. He was just concerned about me. “Watch him.”
I turned and ran the last few feet to the garage door as the muffled rumble of a truck engine filled the hall.
“Too late!” The Snake cackled. “They’re gone! You failed them again.”
Desperately ignoring the terrorist, I hurried through the door and just in time to watch a couple of thugs slam the rear doors of the truck. As the doors closed, I caught a brief glimpse of my parents standing inside. The men climbed into the truck and began to pull away. Panic seized me. I had to stop them. I raised the gun I had taken from Scarface and aimed at the tires. I squeezed off three shots, the kickback of the gun making me re-aim each time. All three bullets went wide. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Every time I fired, I risked a stray bullet piercing the truck and hitting my mom or dad.
“Mom! Dad!” I screamed pointlessly. Hot tears burned my eyes as the truck sped out of reach. I let the tears run down my face. No one could see me, and I doubted I would care even if they could. I had lost my parents again, and it was all the Snake’s fault.
The Snake! Shaking with anger, I brushed the tears away and turned back toward the hall where the man responsible for all this was waiting.
“You wouldn’t dare use that on me.” The Snake’s arrogant voice reached me before I even reached the door.
“Stay where you are.” Matt’s voice wavered. “I know how to use this.”
The Snake laughed harshly. “I don’t believe you.”
Yeah, Matt wasn’t really convincing me either. I stepped into the hall just in time to see the Snake turn and walk away.
“Don’t take another step.” I stepped into the middle of the hall, spread my feet slightly, and pointed the gun at him with both hands. My face felt hot with anger and my body was still shaking. I didn’t try to stop the shaking. I wanted him to see how mad I was.
“Your friend didn’t have the guts to stop me.” He tried to sound confident, but fear crept into his eyes. He was afraid enough to stop walking. “You don’t either.”
“Don’t bet on it,” I snarled, raising the gun slightly and pointing it at his head.