I mean to say this sooner...but....MJ and no Farrah on the Oscar memorium thing? Man, what's up with that?


Chapter 28

"No, Russ, don't do this!" Sabrina frantically reasoned. "I haven't told them anything! Let them go!"

Piper shook his head and eyed his four hostages, mentally selecting the order in which they would die.

"Let the kid go, Russ. She doesn't know anything!" Kelly pleaded desperately, pushing herself to a kneeling position. "Let her go!"

"You can still walk away from all of this. Help us find John! We can work out a deal!" Sabrina continued.

Piper snorted a laugh. "You idiots. There is no John." he sneered. "I'm John. They wouldn't take orders from me when I was Russell Piper."

Kelly and Sabrina stared at each other in shock. So much for that plan of action.

"You become a mysterious man in charge and it's amazing who will listen to you." he said with a cold laugh. "They did everything I said when they thought I was someone else. Mindless sheep. I didn't need them. Russell Piper doesn't need anyone."

Though caught off gaurd by the news, Kelly thought quickly. "They don't have to know that. Just give any information. Make it look like you're helping us. Then we can help you!"

"C'mon Russ! Do yourself a favor!" Kelly rambled. She edged forward on her knees and Piper quickly shoved her back with his big foot before she could get too close. She toppled backwards into Jill, who was still stunned speechless.

Piper glared at them. "Shut up! No more talking!"

"Ok! Ok!" Sabrina chanced. "Just let the little girl go! She's not a threat! She's just a kid!"

Piper again shook his head, their cries lost on him. The gun quavered in his hand. The little girl would die first. That was as merciful as he could be at the moment. She would be spared what had to come after. Ignoring the girl's pleas, he stepped forward decisively and aimed his gun between Kelly and Jill, right at the cowering little girl.

"No!" Jill cried suddenly. The stupor she had been in abruptly ended and she leaped forward and, mindless of the great risk to herself, latched onto Piper's wrist. Her action wasn't a moment too soon. Piper pulled the trigger just as Jill took hold of his wrist. Her momentum shoved his arm off target and the bullet lodged itself harmlessly into the wall four feet above the girl's heads amid their terrified shrieks.

While her friends watched in horror, Jill desperately tried to wrestle the gun away from their captor.

Kelly was on her feet an instant later, hurling herself at Piper while he was occupied with Jill. He flung Jill to the ground with a cry of fury and angrily leveled his gun at her. He didn't get the chance to pull the trigger. Kelly slammed into him, knocking him off balance. He sent an elbow flying back into her jaw, which she endured without a sound, refusing to loosen her grip on him. Her attack caught him by surprise, but her one hundred and fifteen pounds wasn't enough to bring the tall man down.

Jill's heel to his knee, however, was.

Piper roared in pain, Jill's swift kick knocking his right leg from under him. Kelly's weight bearing down on him brought them both crashing off balance to the ground on top of Jill. Kelly landed awkwardly, rolled herself away and both girls made a desperate grab for Piper's weapon. The three twisted and thrashed on the floor, each wildly determined to walk out of the situation alive. Piper thrashed his arm, and the gun fired again as his hand made contact with the ground, shattering the big front window. The window fell in on itself with a loud crash and broken bits of sharp glass tinkled to the floor. Jill and Kelly shrieked in surprise and instinctively yanked their hands away.

The momentary distraction offered Piper a chance to get his long legs out from under Kelly's weight, and with a foot planted firmly in her stomach, he gave her a powerful shove that sent her flying into a barrel of pecans. Her ribcage struck the lid of the barrel with enough force to flip the heavy container over onto it's side, spilling her over the edge and head first to the hard floor. The pecans exploded in every direction and bounced noisily across the floor as Kelly skidded to a loud and painful halt against the nearby wall. She coughed and gasped, the wind knocked out of her and momentarily disabling her.

Sabrina watched in horror as her friends made a vicious bid for their survival. They needed her help. She shook off her shock and sprung into action.

"Run! Hide!" Sabrina shouted at little Marla, giving her a frantic shove in the direction of the counter. The little girl clambered towards a hiding place, stumbling against the guiding push Sabrina gave her. As soon as the child was on her way, Sabrina stood and raced to where Kelly's gun lay beside the door. This could be their only hope.

Now both standing, Piper and Jill desperately wrestled for the gun. Jill's terror stricken blue eyes locked on the cold steel gripped tightly in all four of their hands. Piper was yanking their arms side to side, trying to loosen her grip on the gun and she went with it, letting him swing her left and right like a rag doll. She couldn't let go. Absolutely couldn't or he would bring his arm down and put a bullet between her eyes. She gritted her teeth, trying with both arms to keep Piper's weapon arm raised. Their arms swung to the left and the gun fired again into the ceiling, raining bits of debris onto their heads. Jill began to panic. She wasn't nearly as strong as Piper and was slowly and steadily losing the battle. Her eyes flitted across the room to where Kelly was trying to pull herself off of the ground. She saw Sabrina rush past her, but couldn't spare the effort to wonder where she was going. This was all on her.

She was suddenly struck with a desperate, wild idea.

She let one hand slip upwards until it was on Piper's trigger finger and with a cry of frustration forced his finger down on the trigger, trying madly to waste the possible three bullets left in his gun. She shut her eyes tight as the gun fired once more, littering the floor with more debris.

"Police!" came a shout through the broken window. "Hold it right there!"

Sabrina, who had been just about to grab the gun that lay under the window, jerked to a halt and scrambled backwards out of the line of fire with a frustrated curse. She glanced up at Kelly who had to throw herself to the floor to get out of the way just as she had managed to get on her feet. Both girls darted their eyes to the window, hoping the extra backup had turned the situation into their favor.

Jill also turned to the source of the shout, grateful to see at least five officers trying to come through the broken window. Piper took the distraction as an opportunity and wrenched the gun out of Jill's grip. He swung his arm in a wide arc and brought it down solidly against the side of her face. Her head rocked to the side and she fell with a cry of pain, but Piper was no longer concerned with her. He roared in fury and fired a shot towards the open window.

The officers, seeing his intentions, ducked out of harm's way a split second before the shot blasted into the night air, shouting out frantic coded orders. Piper growled and yanked Jill up by the back of her neck. Dazed and disoriented from the blow to the face, Jill struggled weakly and uselessly against him. With Sabrina and Kelly screaming in horrified protest, he rammed the gun into her forehead and pulled the trigger.

A joyous hollow click emitted from the chamber.

Piper screamed his outrage and flung the useless gun across the room and pulled Jill into his chest. The police would try the window again and they wouldn't shoot if she was so close to him. They wouldn't risk hitting one of theirs. Jill kicked and punched angrily, trying to get free.

Both paused for a split second, simultaneously remembering an earlier occurence.

Jill's loaded gun was in Piper's jacket.

Jill rushed forward, tearing at his front jacket to get to it before he did. Piper turned his body and easily slapped her away, sending her to the floor in a twisted heap. Jill landed hard on her elbow and and immediately scrambled away, knowing with sickening certainty that she had lost. Piper would shoot to kill.

Sabrina, aware of where the bullets might be flying, threw herself to the ground past the window and slid into the door, snatching up the fallen gun as she flew by.

"Stop! Don't move!" she shouted loudly, aiming Kelly's gun at Piper.

Piper whirled around, his eyes wild and desperate. His hand went into his jacket for Jill's gun and, seeing that there was no more time to reason with him, Sabrina steadied her hand and expertly fired off a shot. The blast rocked her backwards in her weakened state and she fell back against the wall, panting loudly. The room seemed to go dead still. Her eyes darted to Piper.

Piper's eyes were wide open in shock. He stared down at his abdomen in disbelief at the dark crimson stain that was spreading across his white shirt. With a cough, he fell to his knees, both hands clutching the bleeding hole in his stomach.

"Back up!" Jill called out in a strangled shout, pushing herself away from Piper. Kelly hurried forward and slid on her knees to Jill's side, one arm clutching her sore ribs.

"Are you ok?" she asked quickly. Jill was wild eyed and bleeding from a gash on her cheekbone. She latched onto her friend's arm for support.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." she answered breathlessly, her eyes still fixed on Piper. The injured man fell forward onto both hands, coughing up clots of blood. Jill tore her eyes away, and though she was a compassionate person, she felt unwilling to give him another thought. She absently wiped her wounded cheek on her shoulder and hissed at the dull throbbing pain in her head. If Piper died, so be it, she thought coldly. She wouldn't be the one to try to ease his suffering now.

"All clear!" Kelly yelled at the window. She looked back at Jill and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jill's shoulder was shaking, Kelly realized. But then so was her own hand.

Kelly helped pull her friend to her feet, still wincing at the pain in her side. It felt like she had cracked a rib. She ignored the pain, content at just being alive and reunited with her two friends. The two girls watched Sabrina reach up and unlock the door to let the waiting police stream inside. At least ten uniformed officers came barreling in, shouting more orders and spreading around the building. The girls gratefully backed away and let the police take over, visibly shaken by their ordeal.

"You ladies alright?" one of the officers called to the girls. Kelly, barely hearing and hardly understanding, nodded her head wearily. "Yeah, fine. Get him out of here."

Three officers descended on Piper and rolled him onto his back. He was limp but still alive, his breathing labored and ragged.

Sabrina sighed in relief and let Kelly's gun rest against her knee. A policeman nearly tripped over her as he passed and annoyed, she scooted over and rose shakily to her feet. "You guys ok?" she asked weakly. Jill and Kelly nodded wearily and being careful to avoid the broken glass, Sabrina made her way to them. The girls hugged each other tightly before Kelly suddenly pulled away, looking distressed and frantic.

"Marla?" she called urgently, her eyes darting around the room. In all the excitement, they had almost forgotten about their little friend.

"Behind the counter." Sabrina whispered. The girls rushed over and threw themselves at the counter, desperately seeking the frightened little girl. To their delight, Marla was curled up in a quivering ball, sobbing silently but safe and unhurt.

Kelly sighed in relief and without thinking of her ribs, jumped up on the counter and swung her legs over to drop down by the little girl's side.

"Marla, sweetheart, are you alright?" she gasped, running her hands over the little girl's body. Marla sobbed loudly in response, her little face pale and stained with tears. To her immense relief, Kelly's search for a wound came up empty. Marla was ok.

"It's ok, baby." Kelly soothed as she gathered up the little girl in her arms. Marla instinctively flung her arms around Kelly's neck and buried her face in her shoulder. Kelly gently ran her hand over the girl's hair and tried her best to calm her down.

"It's ok. Everything's ok now." she whispered, rocking the little girl in her arms. She looked to Jill and Sabrina and nodded her head wearily. They were all safe.

Kelly carried little Marla back to where Sabrina and Jill were standing and the three watched emotionlessly as the police picked up the bleeding and half conscious Piper.

"We need an ambulance!" one of the lieutenants shouted in a bored tone. A younger officer jogged away to fulfill his request. The officer's glared at Piper resentfully, one of them holding a bloody towel to his wound. Piper wheezed his protest loudly. His face was pale, sweating, his eyes glazed and bloodshot. He turned toward his former hostages and let his face twist into a cold, hate filled sneer.

Without anyone noticing, he snaked his hand into his jacket and felt around for Jill's forgotten gun that he had placed inside. It was all over for him. His plan was destroyed.

But that didn't mean he couldn't take at least one of them down with him. He smiled a sinister, twisted smile.

Jill's eyes went wide. She was the only one that realized what was happening and frantically threw herself backwards into her friends in a desperate attempt to get them out of harm's way.

"No!" she screamed shrilly.

The warning was too late. The girls didn't have time to react. With his bloody hand, Piper whipped out the gun and blindly fired into the crowd of women.

Kelly cried out sharply and jerked backwards. With Marla still clutched in her arms, she stumbled backwards and crumpled through Jill and Sabrina's arms to the hardwood floor.