Melting Steele

by Kimberly Amato

  I nod simply. She kisses my forehead and leaves the room. I know she’s gone to get those plastic tubs we use to store old decorations in. My hideaway, my safe haven where I can air out my demons, it’s being taken from me. My heart is racing and I really wish I could control it. This is what it feels like to rip off the Band-Aid. Maybe I am still that young girl whose mother took away her pacifier one night. I cried for hours every night until I learned to suck my thumb. Still have a scar on my thumb from that. Found solace in it until I was about ten. Mom never broke me of that addiction. Frankie is forcing me to go cold turkey.

  This is going to be hell.

  Chapter Eleven

  Imagine about fifty young kids at a small park are vying for the slide. It’s chaos. That’s what the ground floor of Bridge the Gap’s building looks like. There are trucks outside with the powers that be barking orders. Will and I are up front of the main barrage of personnel. Our case, we walk in first. Normally they wouldn’t let me do shit, but you don’t mess with a Marine.

  The vest is a bit tight on me, and I hate it. Will made sure it was as snug as could be. Something about protecting my body as much as possible. I get it, I do, but a girl has to breathe. He’ll deny it, but since we’ve been working together he treats me like his baby sister. I know we’re equals, that isn’t it. You just try telling a Marine that you’re not a family when you head into enemy territory. You won’t win that argument. He’s my partner in crime and the big brother I need. I just seriously wish he would understand a woman’s right to have her boobs only squished for a mammogram.

  “Okay, the teams are sweeping floor by floor.” The captain says calmly.

  “Heat signatures,” Will pipes up.

  “That’s where we run into a slight issue. He’s got someone with him.”

  “Any idea who they are? Kiernan? Another employee?” Depending on who that is, might alter our plan of attack.

  “I wish I could tell you. Whoever it is hasn’t left his office. We’ve got a team checking the cars in the parking garage. If we find a visitor’s pass, we’ll run the plate. Might give us the information before you get to the top floor.”

  “If someone’s in there, we need to get eyes on them.”

  The captain looks at me and I can see the cogs moving in his brain. I know he wants to let me do my job, but the concern for my safety is holding him back a bit. Like I’ve said a million times before, we’re family.

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Will and I go inside. We take the elevator and go inside like we’ve done many times before.”

  “Captain, Steele and I can relay information back to you. It might help move things along.”

  “Fine, whatever you do, the two of you do not engage the suspect. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir,” Will and I both utter quickly. We know we’ll probably break that request, but what can you do. Life throws curve balls but sometimes you have to swing.

  “Pay attention to the voices in your ear. You hear anything you don’t like, you get the hell out of there. Remember, you are only our eyes on the floor. We do this by the book.”

  The captain walks away from us. Will turns to me and starts pulling on the damn Velcro of my vest. Nervously, I start doing the same thing to him. I don’t want to explain to his wife why his vest slid and a bullet hit him. Not a conversation I want to partake in, ever.

  “You coming?”

  Without thinking, I start the walk to the building. My mind goes through random check lists. Leg holsters tight. My hands check the belts as I walk. Check. Guns are loaded, check. Earpiece in ear, chatter understood, check. Push all thoughts of Frankie and Chase out of your mind. It’s then that I hear them laughing together. I’ve heard it so many times before, but right now that laughter makes me want to turn around and go home. I take a deep breath, push the sounds out of my head. Mind clear, check.

  The elevator doors open and we both enter. Backs to the wall, facing the door. Will hits the floor number. He cracks his knuckles and then his neck. I can tell he’s running through his random checklist now. It’s calming knowing I’m not alone in this.

  “Steele, Everts, mic check.” The captain’s voice echoes in our ears.

  “Everts here.” Will states. His tone militaristic, emotionless.

  “Steele here.” I’m surprised that my voice sounds the same. Although the throat mic feels funny. I know Will said it was the best for this situation, but it feels like I’m choking.

  He’s rubbing off on me in a good way. The elevator doors open. Will steps out first, gun raised. I follow behind him. We quickly clear the lobby, with tactical precision. He turns to face me and motions with his eyes. Anyone else would be lost, but not me. I am in awe at how easily our friendship has transcended words. We understand each other’s moves.

  Will and I each grab a handle on each side of the double door. I nod and we quickly slide inside them. The two of us fall to the ground and hold our hands out. We catch the doors and help them close quietly. Will waves his hands, points to the main office and holds his hand level. I nod in understanding.

  Keeping as low as possible, we walk around the wall and into the main area. Just as we enter the area, shots ring out shattering the glass of Harry Brandt’s office. The two of us drop down with our backs to the desks.

  “What’s going on up there?” I hear the captain asking, but it barely registers.

  I look over at Will before leaning around the corner of the desk to get a better look. The long alley path between the rows allows me clear view of Brandt’s office. The lawyer sits tied to a chair crying. Her distinct moans muffled by the duct tape over her mouth. Leaning back I realize we’re in trouble.

  “He’s got the lawyer,” I whisper over to Will.

  “Call it in,” he replies quietly.

  “This is Steele, we have a situation up here.”

  “Go ahead Steele.”

  “Brandt’s lawyer is being held hostage. Full restraints. Shots were fired from his gun shattering the office’s glass walls.”

  “Do not engage,” the captain says calmly.

  “Sir, we feel…”

  “Everts, I sent you and Steele up there to be our eyes, nothing more.”

  “Sir, he’s acting like a rat backed into a corner. I’m concerned about the welfare of the hostage.” I say mechanically.

  “We are in position to negotiate, sir.” Will offers.

  “Everts, I understand you want to help this woman, I do, but we don’t know what we’re facing. If what you two said is true, this guy is really good at covering his tracks. Let us clear the floors before you open your mouths. Udall out.”

  Will closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. This is not what the two of us signed up for. Well, it sort of is, but on paper only. You never really want to be a part of it. This is no longer a simple wait and see to us. The simple arrest isn’t an option. I hit my head against the desk, causing something to fall and hit the floor. The shattering noise fills the room. I look over to Will and mouth I’m sorry. Even now I can easily make a mistake.

  “Who’s out there? You the fucking cops? I won’t come easily. You want to take me in, you have to go through this bitch first!”

  I look over at Will and he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I’m rather thankful for it considering this large pile of shit we find ourselves knee deep in. He shakes his head at me and I turn away from him. I know what the rational side of my brain is telling me.

  “Captain, cover is compromised. We need a negotiator to call or get up here ASAP.”

  “Negative, we are evacuating the building. All personnel are to retreat to the lower floors.”

  “Sir,” my voice raises slightly, “we need someone to help diffuse the situation.”

  “Jasmine,” his voice is soft, “I need you and Everts to take the stairs and get out of the building now.”

  “Captain…”

  “This is not an option. This is an order.”

  “E
xplanation?”

  “The building is wired. Bomb squad found no trigger box. We had images sent to Pevy and the team. It’s a secure wireless setup. They are trying to access the feed but it will take time.”

  “Brandt has to have the trigger.”

  “It’s a risk we’re not willing to take.”

  “Then what’s the play?”

  “Nearby buildings are being evacuated. Once clear, we’ll call Brandt. Meanwhile, tech is trying to isolate the signal and disrupt it.”

  “Steele out.”

  “Jasmine, you and Will…” I pull out my earpiece and ignore the rest. Will looks at me and does the same. I know the boss is in control and he feels the best course of action is to wait. Will and I know it isn’t, because we’re up here. Brandt’s deranged and running off the deep end. We both understand one thing clearly, the lawyer’s time is limited.

  Will tilts his head and looks at me. One of us has to do this. It just depends on who stands first. It’s like a stare down at high noon, who is going to draw their pistol and fire. I take a deep breath and stand up. I look to my left and Will is standing as well. He pushes me to the ground and makes sure to stare at me for a second. He’s in the open so I have to have his back. I motion to the outside route around the desks. He nods and walks toward the office. I pray he knows what he’s doing, or we both might end up on a table. Then our significant others would bring us back to life just to kill us again.

  “You’re that cop who’s been up my ass,” Brandt aims his gun at Will.

  “Harry, I’m just here to talk.” He holds his weapon above his head so Harry can see it.

  “Take out the clip and toss it to the side.”

  Will slowly does as he’s told. I hear the clip land by my feet. It’s standard issue. I pick it up in case I’ll need it.

  “Empty the round in the chamber.”

  Once again, Will is obedient. The bullet hits the carpeted floor.

  “Now toss your gun away.”

  Will tosses the gun to his right, in the path I plan to take. Smart Marine. Doing the one move Will taught me that I hate, the snake crawl, I slowly navigate the desks unseen. I look at the floor and see Will has moved closer to the room. He’s gotten way too far ahead of me. Not good.

  “Stop. You stay there now.”

  “Okay, tell me what you want.”

  “This bitch was supposed to make it all go away. Was gonna hire someone to fix things, but no she’s letting me go down alone. ”

  “We know you didn’t act alone Harry. Kiernan, she was helping you?”

  I reach out and grab Will’s gun, reload it and place it in my empty holster. I hear the pause in Harry’s voice. He didn’t know his receptionist was in on it.

  “What does she have to do with this?”

  I go back to the snake crawl and maneuver my way around the floor. Coming to another desk, I sit up and take a peek. I’m about level with Will, but I still don’t have a clear shot if I need to take one.

  “She was seen at the park many times, at your drop off point.”

  “No one knew about that.”

  “Her cell phone pinged the tower there several different times.”

  “That bitch.” He pulls on his lawyer’s hair, she whimpers. “Did you know about this?” She frantically shakes her head in the negative.

  Crawling on the floor again, I manage to get myself into position quickly. A pretty damn good job, if I do say so myself. I look around and see some officers with riot gear waiting where Will and I started out. I try to get their attention carefully, but no one is paying attention to me. If they rush in, everyone is as good as dead.

  “I had nothing to do with that shit. Whatever she did, I have nothing to do with it.”

  “She killed Jake Morris at the hospital.”

  “That alcoholic was dying anyway, what does it matter when he died?” Brandt laughs.

  “She injected air into his IV tube. He didn’t stand a chance. That’s homicide. It’s on her, not you.”

  “I had nothing to do with it but I don’t feel bad the bastard is dead. He wasn’t worthy of life anymore.”

  I’ve got a clear shot, but my hand is shaking. I could shoot him in the leg. I could end this right now, but I can’t. This is why I should have been the negotiator. Will could be sitting here right now, wondering to hit the tibia or fibula. He would never hit the femur since he had a buddy with that fracture. You’re never the same again. Me I’m just trying to aim and hit the man. Right now it’s worse than trying to hit the damn ducks at a carnival.

  “Whatever happened, we can sit and talk about it. Just let her go.”

  “You think I’m an idiot? I want an untraceable car out front. She comes with me. When I get to where I want, I’ll let her go. Free and easy.”

  Brandt holds his gun on Will. I watch him cut the restraints on the hostage. He pushes the knife into her neck and forces her to stand up. He pulls her back to his front. If Will wanted to overpower Brandt, it just became more difficult.

  “Let me talk to my captain and I’ll see about the car, but I can’t let you take her with you. My boss won’t allow it.”

  Will slowly puts the earpiece in as Brandt watches him closely.

  “Captain, Mr. Brandt here has a request for an unmarked vehicle…”

  “Untraceable too,” Brandt screams.

  “As well as untraceable.”

  “We need the hostage in return, and we need time.”

  “Harry, my boss says the car might take a bit of time, but when it gets here we need the hostage as an act of good faith.”

  “I’m not stupid, detective. Tell your boss if he tries to screw me over I’ll kill everyone here and whoever is outside.”

  Will’s face doesn’t change. I’m sure Brandt noticed this because he’s slowly moving to a back door. The hostage is blocking my shot.

  “You know about my backup plan.”

  “Yes.”

  Without saying another word, Brandt fires directly into Will’s vest. It knocks him down hard. Brandt hits the hostage over the head with his gun and rushes out the back door. I jump out from cover and rush to him.

  “I’m fine! Get him!”

  I rush out the back door and fly down the steps as fast as I can. Looking down the railing I see Brandt a floor below me. I continue rushing down lower and lower. No matter how fast I seem to go, Brandt stays one floor ahead of me. Finally I hear a door open and slam shut. It’s the last floor down, but not the basement. This was not on the blueprints.

  Pulling open the door, I enter the dank room gun first. The walls remind me of my nightmares. Paint peels from the walls. The musty smell sours my stomach. I can feel the fear from my dreams creeping up on me. There’s a flickering light at the end of the hallway half blocked by a door. There’s no telling where Brandt is down here. I can’t see too far in front of my face to tell if there are any offshoots from this main hallway.

  I keep my stance firm, small steps, gun aimed straight towards the light. I hear Hadley’s screams in my head. I know they aren’t real, but they feel it. The light ahead flickers and goes out. I’ve got a flashlight in my cargo pocket, but I’m unsure if I should use it. If I click it on, Brandt will know here I am. If I don’t, Brandt can get the jump on me. I wish I had night vision goggles.

  I place my left hand on the wall. My gun still facing forward in my right hand. Slide left foot forward, slide right foot to meet it. I continue to do this while taking deep calm breaths. I don’t want to think about what my hand it touching on the wall. Mold, urine, feces, lead paint or maybe even dried blood - all the options dash though my mind. Any normal human being would let go of the wall, but I’m not normal.

  My left foot kicks the wall in front of me. Using my left hand I feel around for the door and push it open. There’s a small glimmer of light from the back of the room on the ceiling. Walking over to it, I kick a set of steps. I slowly climb up two steps. I grab my flashlight out of my pocket. Switch hands with m
y gun and take a swing at the light. The wood pops up and crashes back down. Using all the force I can muster, I ram my shoulder into the cracks and I hear a click. I push it open all the way. Sunlight floods the room from an alley. Brandt never left this way but the light will help.

  An arm quickly wraps around my throat and pulls me back down off the steps. I swing my gun backwards and hit nothing. I drop the flashlight as I try to put the arm away. It’s an interesting high when your brain starts to feel the loss of oxygen. He could snap my neck right now. My arm feels like I’m swinging through water, but my gun connects with his head. I fall to the floor hard. My brain desperate for air and not focusing on Brandt crawling up the stairs.

  I drag myself to my feet and stumble after him. I hit the ground again, my body fighting me. Brandt struggles ahead of me, holding his head. I raise my gun and take aim. Focus sucks, looks like two of them. I need to relax and breathe.

  “Just aim slightly above your target,” I whisper to myself. “Look for the back of the rim and let the ball go.”

  I fire. Time slows. My gun recoils, but I handle it. A scream pieces the air and Brandt falls to the ground. My brain finally catches up and allows me to slowly stand. I drag myself to his fallen form. His left leg bleeding from the wound. I hear him laughing at I approach. That’s when I hear it. The sound of bombs exploding a slight distance behind me. I look at his hands, but they are firmly holding the wound.

  I kick his leg and force him to roll over. I slam my cuffs on him and drag him to his feet. He’s going to hobble to a cop car. I’m not going to think about Will right now. Not until I know for sure he was still in there. I can’t.

  “How’d you set it off?”

  “I didn’t,” he winces in pain, “it was on a timer.”

  “You knew we’d try to disrupt it.”

  “You cops are always predictable. You might think you’re one step ahead but you never are. Just like I know I’ll never stand trial,” he says confidently.

  I wordlessly accept his comments. If I was younger with less experience, I’d probably argue with him. Sadly, he knows too many people. He’s too valuable. He’ll either end up in federal custody or dead. Even if he does stand trial, the government might be flipping the bill. In other words, they would stage it to look like a conviction followed by a prisoner killed by another inmate. It isn’t uncommon and people would think the score was settled. In the meantime, he’d be on some beach drinking Corona while I was hunting down another psycho.