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“Scott!” Matt took a step toward me, a horrified look in his face. “What are you...”
“Stay out of this, Matt!” I snapped. I felt like I really was about to snap. God, help me! “This is between him and me.”
A smile curled the corners of the Snake’s mouth. “They were gone, weren’t they? You failed, like I said. Now you don’t even have the courage to shoot the man responsible for stealing them from you.”
“Don’t even tempt me.” I clenched my teeth against the rage rising inside me and tightened my grip on the gun.
“Scott, please,” Matt pleaded, his voice laced with fear. He raised his hands in front of him and stood his ground, as if afraid to come any closer to me. “You can’t shoot him. Chris will be here soon. Please!”
I was angry, furious actually. The temptation to kill the Snake was strong, but my God was stronger. Only the grace of God could give me the strength to resist that temptation.
Dear Lord, please. A sob caught in my throat. Protect my family. Give me the strength to stop the Snake without seeking vengeance. Help me remember that vengeance belongs to you.
Peace took the edge off the rage gripping my soul. I caught my lip between my teeth and looked from the Snake’s wary face to Matt’s ashen one. Revenge or not, I didn’t dare lower the gun. The only way I knew to keep the man who could lead me to my parents from escaping was to scare him into staying. I felt a little bad about scaring Matt, but I couldn’t have the Snake walking out on me like he had on him.
“Where have you taken them?” I snarled at the Snake. Playing the part brought the anger back in full force. Lord, give me strength.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at me.
I took a threatening step toward him. “Do not play games with me.” My grip on my temper slipped slightly. Lord, please... “I am not in the mood.”
The sound of footsteps echoed down the dark hall. Chris’s voice called our names faintly.
“Time’s up, brat.” The Snake glanced nervously down the hall, and back to me with a glare. “I’m not telling you anything. If you want to shoot me, you’ll have to get it over with before SATURN can stop you.”
“Chris is here, Scott.” Matt sounded infinitely relieved. “Let him take care of this.”
I didn’t answer. The temptation to shoot the Snake still nagged at the edges of my mind - the part of me that wanted him to pay for hurting my parents - and my side hurt so bad I thought I might collapse,. But I only had to keep him there a little longer, perhaps get him to talk before Chris took him away. Without giving into vengeance. I need you, Lord.
“You have five seconds to tell me where they are. Five...” I took another step toward the Snake and held the gun mere inches from his face.
Chris emerged from the darkness ahead of the other agents. “Scott, stand down!”
“Four...”
“Do it, McCully.” The Snake flicked his eyes to Chris and back to my gun. “Do you think I want to go to jail? You don’t have the strength to pull the trigger.”
“Three...” I barely had the strength left to stand. My anger ebbed. Chris was nearly close enough to take over. Just a minute more. I wasn’t going to get him to talk now anyway.
“Scott, don’t!” Matt sounded like he was about to crack. “Oh, Lord, don’t let him do this!”
“Two...” Don’t worry, Matt, I won’t.
Chris approached slowly, as if he were afraid he’d push me over the edge. I was pretty sure I looked like I’d already gone.
“Do it now!” the Snake cried as the other agents pulled their guns and circled around us. They’d probably shoot me rather than lose the Snake. He clearly hoped I’d save him from having to go to jail “For your parents!”
“Scott, give me the gun.” Chris stepped toward me with his hand outstretched and his voice gentle. “You’re parents would not want you to do this.”
I let out a long breath. My legs were weak and my chest burned. I hadn’t gotten The Snake to talk, but I had kept him for SATURN. Lord, let Chris be able to get the information out of him.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked Chris tiredly, never taking my eyes off the Snake. “He’s all yours.”
The Snake screamed threats and curses at me as the SATURN agents rushed him away.
I ignored him, letting the gun drop from my hand to Chris’s. It hurt to move, and every breath burned. Weakly, I sat down right where I was, drew my knees to my chest carefully, and rested my head on them.
It was over. Thank you, Lord.
I heard footsteps and the sound of someone sitting down next to me. I could hear Chris’s voice down the hall as he called Mr. Jackson on his cell phone. There was only one person left with me.
“Man, Scott.” Matt’s voice shook. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life. I was so sure I was going to witness my best friend murdering someone.”
“I wasn’t going to shoot him,” I said softly, looking up at Matt’s pale face. “But if he knew that, he’d have walked out on me like he did you.”
“You sure had me convinced.” Matt smiled weakly.
“Me, too.” Chris closed his phone and sat down in front of us. He looked at me with a mixture of concern and relief. “It was all a bluff?”
“Not all of it,” I admitted quietly. “I did want to shoot him, and I really was mad enough to. It took the grace of God to keep me from hurting him.”
“You’re just lucky my men didn’t get to you first,” Chris said. “What would you have done if it had come to a stand off with them?”
“I’d have given them the gun and backed down.” I shook my head. “By that time I was just ready to give him up.”
“Well, we’ve got him now,” Chris assured me. “It shouldn’t take us long to find out where your parents are.”
“He mentioned someone higher than him.” I straightened out with a groan. My cramped position was killing my side. “He sent my parents to him.”
“I’m not surprised. We’ve suspected for some time that he might not have worked alone.” Chris looked at us reproachfully. “Winston called me after the attack. I’m not sure if I’m impressed with how you handled it, or irritated you went off on your own.” He barked a short laugh. “Both, I guess.”
Matt and I looked at each other in surprise. Winston had actually come through.
“By the time Dr. Roger called me, I was already at the crime scene,” Chris continued. “It didn’t take long to get here from there.”
“Speaking of Dr. Rogers, are he and Gene all right?” A worried look crossed Matt’s face. “The Snake said he sent men out to recapture them.”
“Don’t worry, they’re all right, and all the men that were hunting for them are in custody.” Chris looked us over critically, his searching gaze scanning Matt’s bandaged arm and stopping on me. “My bigger question now is, are you guys okay?”
We looked at each other silently, then at ourselves. In addition to the scrape he’d gotten in the attack outside the Academy, Matt had a black eye and a tear in his pants. I had blood smeared on my sleeve and probably more on my face.
“I’m fine, honest. I’ve gotten worse injuries on my four-wheeler.” Matt held up his bandaged arm and nodded to me. “Scott injured his ribs again, though.”
“I wondered.” Chris looked me over with concern. “How’d that happen?”
“Scarface hit me intentionally. Then I ran into a door.” A small smile tugged at my lips as I remembered taking him down. “Speaking of Scarface, he may still be in the cell where we left him.”
“I’ll have my men check.” Chris stood. “We should get you to the emergency room to get x-rays.”
Again. They’ll probably think I’m some dopey teen who can’t stay out of trouble. I grinned to myself. I probably am.
“I’ll need Matt to help me up,” I admitted with some embarrassment.
“That bad?” Chris asked.
I nodded grimly as Matt helped me to my feet. Now that my adrenaline was gone, I felt the pain more acutely than before. I walked gingerly toward the exit, Matt by my side in case I needed help.
It seemed to take forever for me to get to the top of the ladder. Every time I pulled up with my arms, excruciating pain shot through my side. In the end, Matt had to help me up. The sun had long since sunk below the horizon by the time we stepped out of the shed. Chris led us through the woods to the parking lot, where he had parked his car next to mine. Beside it was another car. Two SATURN agents sat in the front; Gene and his dad were in the back.
Gene noticed us as soon as we stepped out of the woods in to the well-lit parking lot. He began to wave excitedly, a big grin on his face. As we drew near the cars, Chris nodded to the agents in the front. I heard the pop of the car’s doors unlocking, then Gene swung his door open and jumped out.
“Scott, Matt, you’re back!” He looked back at his dad who was also climbing out of the car. “See, Dad, I told you they would be back.”
“Of course we are,” Matt teased. “We couldn’t leave you to face Winston all by yourself.”
“About that.” Gene’s face fell. “Dad says it’s not safe for me to stay here. We’re moving somewhere the Snake’s boss can’t find us.”