Which meant drawing the police away from the doors.
Thinking of a plan, Ben stayed put. Let the police do a little of the work for him. They had started opening boxes, going from the front to the back. Cops had arrived by the dozens, the action concentrated near the front doors. The back doors were harder to open, harder to escape from. And they were guarded by two cops with high-powered rifles. But there was still way less going on in the back than in the front. And since the cops were working from front to back, it meant they were pushing Barnes to the rear of the building. If Barnes had any brains in his head, he had to know that his only hope was through the back.
Silently, Ben turned on his heel as he inched toward the rear of the warehouse. There was a cop at the foot of the metal staircase he had climbed, and several cops on the second story in front of the staircase.
Again, Shanks called out his name.
The posse kept searching.
If something was gonna happen, it had to happen quickly. He loaded his gun and stuck it in his back pocket. He squatted down.
Looking around for just the right implement to make the right amount of noise, he spotted a piece of a two-by-four about twenty feet away.
That would work.
Creeping toward the fragment of wood, moving with stealth and silence until it was within grabbing distance. He stretched out his fingers, seized it, then gripped it in his hand. Still hidden behind the boxes, he stood up, listening to the police clear one area after another. Inching toward the railing of the catwalk, he stationed himself close to the edge, but still blocked from the view of the cops.
Ben hurled the two-by-four across the room until it crashed on the opposite side from where he stood. The noise was a magnet, everyone running to the spot. The backdoor guards temporarily stepped forward and away from their positions.
And that’s when the mouse darted out, seconds away from making it to the locked door.
Now or never.
Ben flung himself over the railing—a cat in a tree leaping on its prey. Maybe they’d shoot him in the process, but he was so amped he didn’t care.
Flying, flying, flying. His body airborne for what seemed like hours.
His mind at peace with his decision.
Chapter 14
Falling on him with a thud, both of them now on the ground. Immediately Ben tried to land punches but Barnes fought back like a wounded animal, scratching, clawing, biting, punching, kicking. The dance of life and death. A few moments into the fight, Ben felt a sharp stab in his ribs, but it did nothing to slow him down. He clawed at Barnes’s throat, getting his hand around the monster’s neck. But Barnes bit back, hitting him in the face. He got free and rolled over.
Ben saw the gleam of a knife, but kept going, falling on Barnes, pinning him down. Barnes managed to slip away and tried to get to his feet, screaming for help from the police. But the monster had nowhere to go; he was backed up against the wall. Ben grabbed his waist and took him down, the knife clanking to the floor. Ben quickly kicked it away.
The police were closing in.
Ben had to act and act now. He managed enough leverage to wrap his arms around Barnes’s neck. He pulled out his gun, and with that, three years of pain, agony, and fury came spilling out.
“You ruined my life!” He whacked Barnes over the head with the butt. “You ruined my fucking life!” Another whack. “You ruined my sister, you ruined my family, you ruined me!” A final whack until Barnes went limp in his arms.
Ben still had Barnes in a headlock. He jammed the gun into Barnes’s mouth, bracing himself for exploding brains.
But then time suddenly stopped.
He looked around.
There were weapons drawn toward his face, and people yelling, screaming at him to put the gun down.
Not just yet, my friends.
Ben used Barnes’s body as a shield. With his back to the wall, the police couldn’t come from behind. And with the gun down Barnes’s throat, Ben knew they wouldn’t move on him until they thought they had no choice.
He realized he was enjoying himself. Exhilarated, in fact. Barnes started stirring, then struggling when he found that the gun was down his throat.
“Make a move and I’ll turn your head to pulp.” Ben was whispering. “You liked when they were all helpless. How do you like the feeling now?”
He pushed the gun down Barnes’s throat until he gagged. “Do it now, Barnes. Beg for mercy like they did. Tell me about your wife and kids and all the other shit. Just maybe I’ll change my mind.”
Gurgles were coming from Barnes’s throat. Ben’s voice was a hush. His hands were steady, his mind was clear.
“Nah, I don’t give a solitary fuck about your kids and your wife. And I certainly don’t give a solitary fuck about your worthless life! I’m just thinking how to do it.
“See, this is what I’m thinking. I’ve got this little gun with little bullets that’ll kill you if I put enough of them inside your brain. But if I only do one or two, they’ll rattle around your skull, turning all your gray matter to scrambled eggs, but your lower brain’ll still be working. So you’ll exist but you won’t live. What’ll it be, Kev? Death or vegetable?”
A wall of uniforms was slowly advancing. Ben noticed and yelled out, “Get back or I will shoot him.” When no one stopped, he fired the gun at Barnes’s feet and screamed, “Back! Now!”
That did the trick.
Shanks’s voice cut through the silence, his body emerging from the crowd. He said, “Son of a bitch, Vicks, you did it. You got him. You made a promise to your sister and you kept it. Everyone else failed, but you did it, kiddo. Now just drop the gun and everything will be okay. We’ll take it from here. It’s over, Ben.”
Silence.
Shanks moved a step closer. “You’re about to become a hero—”
“A hero? Are you out of your mind?” Ben hoisted Barnes to his feet so that he continued to act as a shield. “This piece of shit is still breathing, Sam. So it ain’t over.”
Shanks tried another approach. “Ben, you want justice, right? Justice for Ellen and the others. How do you think she’d feel about a justice that sent you to jail? Ben, you can’t do this to your parents. You can’t do it to your mom and dad and your sister. They need you.”
“Nah, they don’t,” Ben said. “Their lives are ruined anyway. This is exactly what they want. They want him dead just like I do.”
“Ben, that’s ridiculous—”
“Don’t fucking tell me I’m ridiculous.”
“Sorry . . .” Sam took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re right, Ben. That was a rotten thing to say. I’m nervous, dude. I’m really, really nervous. I’m nervous for me, I’m nervous for you. Sorry.”
The warehouse went quiet . . . Barnes was now awake; with the revolver in his mouth, his breathing was labored. Ben knew the SWAT team would charge him in a matter of minutes, so he had a real decision to make.
He heard Ro’s voice this time. “Ben, don’t do it. I’m begging you.”
Ben saw tears on her cheeks. Ro sure cried a lot.