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CASS!
Behind me, Derrick yelled, “Cass!”
There was murder in his voice, and his footsteps came bam-bam-bam right behind. It was only three steps to my bathroom.
That also meant I was free and clear. It was three steps from my refrigerator to the front door, too. Cass had bought me time enough to run, God-bless-her. But Derrick was going to kill her for real.
Moving on pure instinct, I left the gun and took the Pepsi. I dropped the gun on the glass shelf and palmed the full bottle. Then rising, turning, I hurled myself after the bully in my apartment.
He had his back to me. I shifted the two-liter bottle into a two-handed overhead grip and jumped on him. I smashed the butt of the bottle at the back of his head with my full strength.
He said something like, “Oonf,” and collapsed like a ragdoll.
His face bounced off the fan housing. I pretended not to notice.
Upstairs, Cass said, “You did good. Now run.”
“I know where your sister is!” I shouted.
“Too late,” she said. “It’s time to run.”
And she did. True to her word. Never breaking character. Her footsteps went thump-thump, and I tracked her with my eyes for a moment like an idiot.
Then I broke for the door. I was out in the parking lot just in time to hear police sirens in the distance. There was also the pat-pat-pat of a lithe young woman sprinting around the corner of the upstairs landing.
South and east. Cass was making her escape. I slipped back inside to grab the gun, then headed north toward the admin building.
I still had a job to do.