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by Lauren Wood

  Judson didn’t like that this man decided to come here of all places. He had a one track mind and that was taking this a man out with extreme prejudice.

  The man not even thinking anything of it decided that maybe it was time to take matters into his own hands. Samantha looked on horrified, as the man pulled a gun with a silencer affixed to the end of it. He pointed it at Judson with no regard for any innocent bystanders that might be in the line of fire.

  Chapter 2

  Judson saw the gun, but he couldn’t fully register that this was really happening. These things only occurred in movies and on television shows. It really didn’t happen in real life. Fights were one thing, but guys with silencers were what made those Block Buster movies in the summer. Actors and stuntmen put on a show that gave the audience what they wanted for an hour and a half of escapism.

  For the first time in his life, Judson was completely shocked and was barely able to move a single solitary muscle. He was amped up with the adrenaline rush of the moment, but that didn’t negate the fact that he was staring down the barrel of the gun. Instead of fighting, he backed away with his hands up in a kind of surrender. His life flashed before his eyes and this was one of those very telling moments in his life. He began to see how he was treating others and how his mother would feel about his behavior. He was appalled that people actually took his kind of abuse. He was even upset by his behavior towards women and how he treated them like they were only there for a one night escapade with both parties quite satisfied at the end of it.

  “Don’t move and I may not kill you for being such a pain in the ass.” The man wavered, but then he saw that the police officer was reaching for his own gun in self defense. There was blood dripping from his eye. It was from the cut that had formed from the man’s head making contact with officer’s face. “I don’t have time for this. You’ve done the only thing that has never happened to me and for that you will have to pay.” Amazingly, the elevator had arrived at precisely that moment. Thankfully, there was nobody inside and this behemoth of a man backed away from Judson with his eyes narrowed and keeping a careful watch on what Judson was thinking inside of that head of his.

  Samantha stood near one of the doors watching all of this and then she reached out her hand and touched Judson’s shoulder in a comforting motion. “Let him go…for god sakes let him go and let the professionals handle this. I don’t want anything to happen to you and you’ve become very important to me in a very short amount of time.” “I want to go after him myself, but I don’t think that that’s the right thing to do. I’ve never been one to play it safe, except for when it comes to relationships. I shy away from that kind of commitment, because I don’t think that a man is capable of giving his heart freely and openly. I might be wrong and I sense that Judson has changed for the better.”

  “She’s right, young man. You really shouldn’t mess with a man like that. I’ve been in the military and I know how these men think. Let’s say that we have been built from the same cloth and leave it that. I don’t know who he is, but his eyes told me that he was willing to kill anybody to get at his target. I’ve already called downstairs and the guard that is there has informed me that he will be more than happy to take care of the situation. They may be rent a cops, but I know that most of the security guards have training that goes beyond just the normal prerequisite few hours on the job. Stay here and don’t move, until I come back and find out what the hell all of this is about.” Officer Mills went down the stairs, having no idea that Judson and Samantha were sharing a very knowing look.

  “I know how you’re feeling; Judson and I don’t see any reason why we can’t be a fly on the wall. You’re probably thinking the same thing that I am. It’s not like anything is really stopping us.” They both took off down the stairs, but Judson was a little distracted by the open flap in Samantha’s gown. Her bare backside and the taper of her lower back was making it a little difficult to move in the condition that he found himself in. It didn’t stop him from leaping into action, but he had to find some way to cool his jets, or walking out onto the floor in the lobby would’ve been like putting a neon sign pointing towards his crotch.

  Samantha stopped on the second floor to catch her breath, but unfortunately she had come to that stand still a little bit too quickly. Judson slammed into her from behind pressing her body against the door with his magnificence steed nestled in between her ass cheeks. “I really don’t think that we have time for this. I know that I’m irresistible, but this is taking things a little bit too far.” She was only teasing, but his obvious arousal was not exactly hidden anymore. “There’s a huge part of me that wants to let him unzip and take me right here in the stairwell. I’ve never felt like this before with any other man and I have to admit that it scares me in a way excites me. He’s handsome, but his attitude is one that needs major adjusting. It’s possible that he’s seeing me more than a conquest and maybe something that he could rely on in the future.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by it and let’s just say that you running down the stairs didn’t exactly help matters any.” They were still standing there pressed up against each other, when the man in the surgical scrubs walked by. He didn’t even notice that they were staring at him through the window. The police had been on the lookout for him in the lobby, but he had fooled them by getting off on the second floor.

  “Don’t even think about doing what I think that you’re thinking about doing. It’s too dangerous and you’ve already seen that he doesn’t take kindly to interference. I wish there was a way that we could inform the police that he’s up here and not down in the lobby where they expect him to emerge.” Amazingly, Samantha noticed that the man in question was not running in a hell bent way to get away. He was calm and collected and moved like someone from the staff. He didn’t attract attention and he was busily blending in to an environment that was more apt to show restraint in the face of danger.

  “I can’t help myself. They won’t get here in time. He most likely had a plan for getting out of here.” Pulling away from Samantha was the hardest thing that he had ever had to do. He was worried that he would never see her again and that almost made him take a step back from doing something foolish. Unfortunately, he was wired a different way and his training in football had given him the courage to take things to the enemy that they wouldn’t expect. “I don’t want to worry about you, so I implore you to go down to the lobby and tell the police what is going on.” He didn’t give Samantha the chance to say anything, before going out that door and following from a discreet distance. He didn’t want to risk having that gun pulled on him again, so waiting until that opportune time was the best course of action.

  Samantha wasn’t about to be denied. “I know that I should stay, but there’s absolutely no way that I can. I would feel terrible if something happened to him and that I could’ve done something to prevent it. This way, we can both put our heads in the Lions’ den and hope to god that this guy doesn’t swipe it off and take it home for a trophy. I’m sure that the police will realize that he didn’t make it to the lobby and begin a floor to floor search.” She knew that she was taking a huge risk and it was possible that she was going to make things worse.

  Samantha saw down the hall that Judson had hugged his body inside a room, as the man seemed to get a sense that he was being watched. He stayed there for some time, but then he finally opened the stairwell and disappeared within.

  Judson stepped lively, not making too much noise by running on the balls of its feet. He came to a stop at the door and opened it slowly. He stood there, not even aware that Samantha was staring at him through the window and waiting to see what he was going to do. He heard something, but it wasn’t coming from below. It appeared that this man was making his escape by going to the roof. He must have known something that they didn’t, but that wasn’t going to stop Judson from coming out, as the hero. He probably should have thought better of it, but his main concern was to make sure that nobody was able
to do this again to Samantha.

  Samantha saw him begin to climb the stairs going towards the roof and she decided that it would be best not to injure herself further. There was no way that she could make the journey of the eight floors going up in her current condition. Instead, she made her way down to the elevator and waited patiently with her hands drumming on the console. The towel had become crimson wrapped around her arm, but she did notice that the blood had ceased. She was a little woozy, but she had a feeling that blood loss had a tendency to do something like that.

  Chapter 3

  Judson was in remarkable shape, but he didn’t hold a candle to the guy that was trying to get away without having the police corner him like some kind of animal. Judson was leaping two stairs at a time, feeling a little winded for the effort, but nothing that he couldn’t handle. He had done a lot more on the obstacle course in football training. He was one that everybody was looking towards to make a statement. The town wanted him to bring the championship back to where it belonged.

  Judson heard the door to the roof and knew that he was not going to stop, until he got his hands on the man responsible for making Samantha fear for her life.

  He swung the door open and found the brisk cool air from this altitude somewhat jarring. He wasn’t wearing a jacket and the chill wind went through his bones like that of a freight train. He looked around, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of the man. He listened carefully, hoping that he could overhear the scuffle of his shoe or some form of a foot step in the distance. There was nothing there. He could not believe for the life of him that he had gotten that far behind.

  It wasn’t until he felt the presence of another that he realized just what kind of mistake he made. “I have to admit that you are tenacious, but sometimes it’s better to live to fight for another day. You’ve made my job that much easier by coming to me. This will send a message and hopefully those that I work for will be satisfied with the result. This isn’t exactly what they asked for, but I think it’s better than nothing.” He pushed Judson with the barrel of the gun up to his neck. He could’ve placed it into the small of his back, but he wanted Judson to really know that death was at hand.

  “Do you know who I am?” Judson really believed that once the man realized that he was dealing with a celebrity that he might think differently about his next step. “I don’t think that you fully understand how stupid you are acting. My name is Judson Nielsen. I’m sure that you’ve heard of me. If you haven’t, then you’ve been living under a rock for the last a couple of months.” He should have been terrified, but something inside of him had broken and now he was adamant about getting his pound of flesh.

  “I know who you are, Judson and believe me I’m not impressed. I’ve seen flash in the pans like you come and go. It’s only those that are loyal and know the meaning of teamwork that sticks around for the long haul. I don’t think any of your teammates will miss you. There’s not going to be many that are going to shed a tear at your funeral. “I would rather that it doesn’t come back on me, so we’re going to make it look like an accident. You came up here in pursuit of me and you slipped over the edge to the pavement below. You know what they say about it’s not the fall that kills you… It’s the landing.”

  Samantha had come onto the roof and the elevator had taken a little bit too long by stopping at every floor to pick up people that had no idea what was going on. They were lost in their own little world. She showed her impatience by the constantly tapping her forehead followed by these deep sighs that were coming out of her mouth. “I don’t know what Judson was thinking about when he decided to do this on his own. According to the officer at the door, he’s a professional and he knows how to adapt to any situation. He’ll probably see Judson coming, even if Judson is being careful about being discovered. I fear for his safety and I hope that I can get there in time.” The elevator made it to the last floor, but unfortunately there was still another landing in the stairwell to make it to the roof.

  Samantha had made it, but she was feeling a little exhausted and most likely, as a pale, as a sheet. She heard mumbles and knew that there was somebody up here, but getting close was a matter of a cautious approach. She stepped slowly, matching the wind whistling around her to mask the fact that she was getting closer to the source of those voices.

  She turned around a vent and pulled herself back, as she realized that the man had Judson pushed up against the ledge. “I was worried about this, but it doesn’t look like I can come up behind him without him realizing that I’m there. I have to come up with some kind of distraction to make him turn his attention away from Judson. It might give him a moment of reprieve. Hopefully, he’ll take that opening, as a way to get away from his clutches.” Samantha looked around for anything and she picked up a rock and tossed it without even thinking.

  The man was nudging Judson to the edge, but then he heard the rebound of a rock to his right. He turned abruptly, not realizing that his training had told him in no uncertain terms that it was a ploy to get him to look the other way. It was almost instinctual and then Judson kicked back with his left heel and caught him in the face. He teetered on the ledge on one leg, but he didn’t go over. The man’s gun actually left his hand. For the first time in his career, he found himself with only his hands to do what needed to be done. He only landed on one knee and then he looked up to see that Judson had leaped off the ledge and on to him. His weight alone knocked him to the ground and they started this fight all over again.

  Samantha was rushing to the aid, holding a steel pipe that she had found lying haphazardly against one of the vents. She had no idea how it got there and really didn’t care. It could’ve been a way to prop the door open for the rest of the hospital. It didn’t seem likely considering it was a little bit too far away to do any good. It was then that she came to the painful conclusion that the door going back into the hospital was now secured. They were trapped up here with a homicidal maniac and the only way out was for that man to be taken care of. “I’ve never killed anybody in my life and I really don’t want to start today. That kind of thing can haunt you and follow you into the rest of your life. It can affect your work and the way that you do deal with daily life. They say that you remember the first on. I’m terrified that I will lose myself to the act of killing.”

  The man tried to reach for the gun, but what he got instead was a swift kick in the hand. He heard the bone in his right finger snap and he knew that there was no way that he could pull the trigger, even if he wanted to. He ran across the asphalt with the rocks sticking to his shoes. He wasn’t stopping and even coming to the edge was like a revelation in itself. He leapt from the top and found himself flying like some sort of super hero in a comic book. He knew that it was a long way down and one misstep could be his undoing.

  Judson saw this man’s heart stopping motion and for some reason he decided to follow suit. He jumped onto the ledge and didn’t even hesitate, as he found himself flying like that of a bird in the sky.

  Samantha screamed “NOOOOOO… Not like this… Oh my god…what the hell were you thinking.” She rushed out of breath over to the ledge to see that the man was hobbling into the stairwell of the next building over. He stopped momentarily and made eye contact with her.

  It was the way that he pointed with his thumb stretched to the sky and his finger pointed directly at her that made her aware that he could easily find her and put one between her eyes. She had her hands on the ledge looking across and then she spied Judson hanging precariously with his hands trying to hold onto the edge of the building. “I will never understand why a man would do such a stupid thing without any regard for his own life. I will also not understand how a woman like me can find that absolutely attractive that he would protect me like that. It’s a vicious cycle. It’s been that way throughout history and I doubt that it’s going to change anytime soon. I need to find a way to get to him, but I have no idea how to go about it. There’s no possible way that I can make that same leap and
the roof is locked. Maybe there is another door that I can use to get downstairs and over to the next building. I just hope that he can hold on for that long.”

  Judson could hear Samantha cry out and did not want to be the reason for her crying, until there were no more tears left to give. He was using his upper body strength to hold himself by only his fingertips. He could feel that it was only a matter of time before he would hit the pavement. The best that he could do was hold on, until hopefully somebody came to the rescue. His feet were dangling and he was trying his best not to become a footnote in the news on the late edition. It wasn’t the way that he wanted to go out. He was looking forward to retirement with the woman he loved.

  Samantha saw a door open and was heading toward that when she heard an audible gasp from across the way. She looked over to see that Judson wasn’t there and her brain literally shut down with the shock of his imminent demise.

  Chapter 4

  Judson didn’t think that he could hold on for much longer and decided that maybe getting closer to the ground might be better than falling at this distance. He looked down to see that next ledge was about 10 feet away. He could stay like this, but it wouldn’t be long before his fingers would become numb. He was beginning to see that playing a police officer was different that being one. Breathing deeply, he let the world know that he was responsible for his own life. His prayer was quickly made and then the rest was in the hands of the man above.

  His only regret was that he didn’t spend more time with Samantha. The time that they did spend together was amazing and he didn’t want to change anything. He let go and his body felt like it was suspended in midair, before it finally began to plummet in that of slow motion.