by Ben Follows
With that, the woman launched herself at Debra, not giving her a chance to react as the gun snapped across Debra's face, sending her spinning.
Blood sprayed from Debra's nose.
She recovered quickly and punched the woman across the face.
Debra tried to raise her gun, but the woman knocked it from her hands.
Debra tackled her. The gun in the woman's hand fired and hit one of the ceiling lights, sending shards of glass falling.
Debra landed on top of the woman, straddling her and holding down her arms. The other woman clawed at her and cursed, but Debra was able to pin her arms down.
"Curtis!" Debra screamed. "Get Gillian!"
Curtis moved toward the scared girl.
"Stop, Curtis," said Raymond.
Curtis looked up. Raymond was pointing the gun at him.
"I told you FBI people to stay away," said Raymond. "I called in every favor I had! And yet you still showed up. You're Lassiter's partner, aren't you?"
"Yeah," said Curtis, pointing his gun at Raymond. "She told me all about you. I suppose they didn't check here for the girl?"
"Why are you here, Curtis?" said Raymond.
"I made a promise," said Curtis.
"Well," said Raymond somberly. "So did I."
Raymond moved his gun, so it was pointing toward Gillian.
The small girl ducked behind the couch, her lips quivering as though she was about to cry.
"Do it!" screamed the woman from the ground. "Do it, Raymond! Prove that you're not the weakling your father thought you were!"
"No!" screamed Debra, letting go of the woman and lunging toward Raymond.
Raymond pulled the trigger.
Chapter 62
Frankie drove past the front gate of the house, trying to figure out where Curtis had gone.
She almost drove past the dirt road, but then she saw a car in the distance, beside a small cottage. It took her a moment to recognize Debra Coleman's car.
She turned and drove down the dirt road, her car bouncing along the uneven road.
The sound of a gun echoed from the house as Frankie drove up to the house.
"Shit," she muttered. She sped up and parked beside the other car. She jumped out of the car, praying nothing had happened to Curtis or the girl.
She pulled out her gun and ran to the front door. She tried the door and found it was locked. She stepped back and kicked in the lock.
The door swung open and smacked against the wall.
"Everybody freeze!" she said, stepping into the room and looking around.
It took her a few seconds to figure out what was happening. Debra and Meredith Baker, Raymond's secretary, were grappling with each other on the ground, neither giving an inch. There were two guns on the floor within their reach.
Raymond was standing in the middle of the room, a small wisp of smoke coming from the end of his gun.
Frankie's eyes traced the path the bullet would have taken and saw Gillian standing in the path of the gun. Gillian's eyes were wide with fear, but she didn't appear to be injured save for a few splashes of blood on her.
Frankie's looked at the ground her and gasped.
Curtis was lying on the ground, half slumped against the couch, holding his right shoulder. He looked like he had dived in front of the bullet. There was a bullet hole through his shoulder, and he was bleeding profusely. The bullet embedded itself in the wall to the right of Gillian, as though Curtis's shoulder had been enough to deflect the bullet away from Gillian.
"Frankie!" Curtis said through clenched teeth. "Get Raymond!"
Frankie didn't need to be told twice. Raymond seemed like he was stunned and unable to speak. He turned as Frankie punched him in the face.
He crumpled to the ground, the gun slipping from his fingers.
His eyes were vacant, like he couldn't face reality.
Frankie kicked his gun away and into the corner.
"Get on the ground!" she screamed.
Raymond crumpled onto the ground. He was muttering something Frankie couldn't quite make out. He laid down on the ground and wrapped his fingers together behind his head.
"Raymond!" shouted Meredith, still grappling with Debra but gaining some ground. "Get up, you spineless piece of shit! Get up and shoot that girl!"
Frankie turned and pointed a gun at her. "Let go of her!"
Meredith looked at the gun and backed away from Debra, who was sweating and bleeding from a cut above her eye.
Frankie reached behind her and grabbed a pair of handcuffs from her waist. She tossed them to Debra and indicated for her to cuff Meredith.
Meredith looked between them; her eyes filled with anger.
"Raymond," she said, backing up against the wall. "Get up, you piece of shit! If your father could see you know, he'd be so ashamed!"
"Fuck off," said Raymond from the ground. His voice was monotone.
"What?" said Meredith.
"I almost shot a kid," said Raymond, his voice calm and genuine. "I tried to shoot a kid. I can't...I'm done."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Meredith lunged for the gun sitting on the floor.
Debra spun and kicked Meredith. Her foot connected with Meredith's right cheek and sent her falling against the wall. She spat blood onto the ground.
"Come on," said Debra, picking up the gun and pointing it at Meredith. "Give me an excuse to shoot."
Meredith slowly raised her hands and webbed them together behind her head.
Frankie cuffed Raymond then turned to Curtis.
"Are you okay?" she said.
Curtis looked up at her. He had been looking back at Gillian and reassuring her that everything would be okay.
"Not really," said Curtis, although there was a pride in his eyes she hadn't seen since Blind River.
Frankie nodded and took out her phone.
She looked around the room and smiled.
She called the FBI and told them where they were.
It was over.
Chapter 63
"Lights out!" shouted the guard.
Sam Marino looked up from his book and into the darkening prison. The lights went out one at a time as guards walked through the prison, looking into each of the cells and making sure the prisoners were locked down.
Marino had to respect the guards in this prison. They were nothing like the guards at the Blind River Penitentiary. They were professional and deliberate, none of them ever giving the slightest indication they would be open to friendship or even a conversation.
Sam Marino looked back at his book, trying to finish his chapter before the prison lights shut off.
The lights shut off a few moments later and he was plunged into almost complete darkness. He hadn’t finished his chapter.
He climbed off the bed and walked to his small desk. He wondered whether Natasha Nolowinski had managed to use the information he had given her. There had been a lot of useful information about the Mackley clan, and she should be able to do some damage with it.
He wondered how he had let himself get so heavy. He had always said that he would use his time in prison to stay in shape, but instead all he ended up doing was eating, sleeping, and watching TV.
He placed his book on the desk then turned back to his bed.
Something in the dim light of the prison caught his attention.
He walked up to the cell door, frowning.
It was slightly ajar.
He looked back and forth.
This wasn't like the Blind River penitentiary, with old technology that should have been replaced ages ago. This place had state of the art tech, including automatic locking mechanisms that had never failed or even gotten jammed in all the time that Marino had been there.
He tried pulling the door shut, but it refused to lock.
He slowly pushed the door open and stepped out.
It couldn't be this easy, could it?
He would be lying to himself if he hadn't thought about escape a few times.
<
br /> He knew he shouldn't. Every fiber of his being told him that this was a bad idea.
But he had to try. He might never get another chance to escape.
He stepped out of the cell. Even though he was just on the walkway outside his cell, he felt free.
He almost didn't sense someone walk up behind him.
Something sharp slid between his ribs and into his heart.
"What--?" he started to say before he collapsed to his knees.
He reached to his chest and felt blood spreading out on his white shirt. He grasped at the object that had penetrated him. He felt something in his back, and it took him a few tries to figure out what it was.
It was a toothbrush.
Just like the one he had used to kill Harry Ochre in the Blind River prison.
He turned and looked around. There was no one around him. Most of the other prisoners were sleeping, although a few were watching him.
He fell onto his stomach as his strength disappeared. A pool of blood began forming around him.
This isn't how Sam Marino goes out, he thought.
He tried getting up on his front arms and crawling, but he wasn't able to muster any strength.
"Fuck!" he screamed out as he crawled.
It was only then that he heard the shouts of the guards.
He heard them shouting about how a prisoner was out of their cell, but it was only a few moments later that they added that someone should call a doctor.
Marino grinned as he realized what had happened. The world was becoming fuzzier, but he was able to articulate what he was thinking.
"This was no accident," he said under his breath. "Someone called in a favor."
The guards walked up and looked down at him. None stepped forward to help him. He received no reassuring words or guards trying to remove the sharpened toothbrush from his back.
Was this the pain Harry Ochre felt as he died?
The final thought he would ever have was that he was happy Harry Ochre had experienced this pain.
He had deserved it.
Chapter 64
Frankie Lassiter walked into the offices of the FBI early the next morning. She was emotionally and physically drained.
The FBI was moving through the Eaton estate with a fine-tooth comb. It was an investigation that didn't have to justify itself to anyone. The members of Eaton Enterprises were, for the most part, letting the FBI do whatever they wanted. The D.O.J. was already making a plan to divide it into multiple smaller mercenary contingents, reducing its power.
Raymond Eaton and Meredith Baker were in the holding cells in the basement of the FBI building. They would be interrogated and undoubtedly convicted of countless crimes in the coming days.
Gillian Wilson had been put into the care of Child Protective Services, who would do their best to supply her with a welcoming home and environment. Debra Coleman was making a case for taking over custody, but she had her own legal issues to sort out first.
Curtis had been taken to the same hospital where his daughter was being operated on, smiling from ear to ear as he was lifted into the ambulance.
Frankie knocked on the door to Johnson's office and walked in.
Mason and the other agent were once again sitting there.
"We get it," said Mason. "We'll get out of here until you two are done."
"No," said Frankie with a smile. "You two stay here. This isn't a rush."
She smiled and retreated out of the office.
It was fifteen minutes until the two agents came out of the office.
They nodded to her and walked into the bullpen. Frankie watched them for a moment before stepping into the office and falling into one of the chairs across from Director Johnson.
"You did a good job," said Johnson. He leafed through a few sheets of paper and looked up at her. "We're finding a lot of information at the mansion, and we're solving quite a few unsolved cases from over the years. A few other agencies are requesting access."
"What else?" said Frankie. "I'm sorry to be blunt. Will and I made plans, and I don't want to miss them again."
Johnson smiled. "You must be thrilled you'll be able to take some time off and not have to worry about this case."
"Yes," agreed Frankie. "It will be nice."
"Alright," said Johnson. "I've got a few important things you should know before you go on vacation."
"What's that?" said Frankie.
"The first is that Natasha Nolowsinki is dead. Her body was found in one of the bedrooms of the Eaton estate. We couldn't find any of her personal belongings."
Frankie sighed. "Her book is still coming out next week?"
"Yes," said Johnson. "I've heard from my connection at the Times that Natasha had a lot of leftover information from Marino, which she asked be published on the condition anything happen to her."
"Shit," said Frankie. "I suppose there's no way to stop that?"
"Not without pissing off a lot of journalists and the first amendment."
"Alright," said Frankie, rubbing her eyes. "What else?"
"Sam Marino is also dead."
"What?" Frankie stared at him.
"Sam Marino is dead," repeated Johnson. "He escaped from his cell last night and was stabbed in the back by a sharpened toothbrush."
"How?" said Frankie. "Did another prisoner attack him?"
"No," said Johnson.
"Who stabbed him? That seems strangely similar to how Marino killed Harry Ochre in Blind River."
Johnson shrugged. "The warden is investigating. Like I told you before, he owes me a few favors."
Johnson smiled, and Frankie felt a chill go down her spine. "Did you--?"
Johnson shrugged again. "I look after my agents."
Frankie stood. "You killed Sam Marino. You called in a favor and had him killed, didn't you?"
Johnson looked out the window at the Hudson River. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I love being here early enough to watch the sunrise."
"Oh my God," said Frankie. "You did this for Curtis, didn't you? You did this because you see yourself as some kind of surrogate father?"
Johnson turned back to her. "Take your vacation, Frankie."
"Curtis doesn't need another father," she said sternly. "Stop trying. You've made everything worse. This is going to blow up in our faces."
"Have a good vacation, Frankie," said Johnson. He picked up a few pages from his desk and began reading them, indicating the conversation was over.
Frankie stared at him for a few seconds, then walked out of the office.
Chapter 65
Curtis was lying on his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. There was a bandage wrapped around his shoulder where the bullet had gone through. He couldn't help but smile. He looked outside at the sun. He had spent most of the night in surgery to fix the bullet hole in his shoulder.
Eaton Enterprises had been taken down. Gillian was safe.
He was the hero he had always known he was.
He had accomplished everything he wanted.
He was the person he wanted to be.
He had just gotten off the phone with Frankie. She had told him Natasha and Marino were dead, although she had declined to go into any specifics about Marino.
A nurse walked into the room.
"Mr. Mackley," she said. "Your wife and daughter want to see you. They're recovering."
"Sophie's alright?" said Curtis, smiling.
"She's alright," said the nurse with a smile. "Come with me. Your bandages will be fine as long as you don't overexert yourself."
Curtis smiled and pushed himself off the bed. His shoulder hurt a bit as he stood but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
He took a few steps to find his balance, then nodded to the nurse. He pulled on a sweater and walked out of the room.
The nurse stayed beside him as he walked with down the hall, ready to step in at a moment’s notice if he looked like he was stumbling.
He managed to make it to the room where Sophie and Mel
anie were staying.
Melanie was lying on the bed with Sophie in her arms, cradling her back and forth. She was whispering something Curtis couldn't hear. Dr. Patel was standing on the other side of the bed.
Curtis stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at the angel in Melanie's arms. Sophie was sleeping. Her chest was moving up and down in a gentle rhythm. It seemed like everything was going to be alright.
Melanie noticed him and smiled.
"Hi, Curtis," she said.
Curtis walked into the room, the nurse a few feet behind. He pulled up a chair and sat down. His walk had exhausted him. He supposed it must be the blood loss and the drugs he was on.
"Can I see her?" said Curtis.
Melanie leaned over and passed Sophie to Curtis. He took her delicately. He held her in his arms as she nestled into his chest. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"She's beautiful," said Curtis. "Is she okay?"
Dr. Patel nodded. "There was nothing in the spinal fluid to indicate anything worrisome. We've ruled out Meningitis and Encephalitis, which is what we were most worried about. A few checkups in the coming days and we’ll be able to send her home."
"That's great to hear," said Curtis, cradling his daughter.
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Curtis felt the joy of being a father at that moment, a pleasure he couldn't express but knew he understood.
"Hey, Curtis," said Melanie. "Do you mind if we have a talk?"
"Sure," said Curtis, looking up at her. "About what?"
"Alone, I meant." Melanie turned to Dr. Patel. "Do you mind taking Sophie? I need to talk to Curtis."
"Of course," said Dr. Patel. She took Sophie from Curtis and walked out of the room. The nurse that had come with Curtis followed her out.
Curtis watched Sophie disappear from view, then turned back to Melanie.
"What did you want to talk about?" he said. "Did you hear I saved the girl? I took a bullet to save her."
"I heard that," said Melanie. She took a deep breath. "I haven't changed my mind, Curtis. We're done."
