His hands were shaking, palms sweaty, his heart racing in manic fury as Steve slowly opened the bedroom door, grateful that Davis had been careless enough to keep it unlocked.
With Mike's eyes on him the entire time, he peeked his head through the small crack, immediately hearing the commotion going on down the hall, where Sarah's moans of pain were drowned out by the demeaning insults and heavy breathing of the two monsters raping her.
The air in the small cabin was thick with sweat and bodily fluids, disturbing odors that put all his senses into overdrive.
He couldn't see weapons anywhere in the living room or entrance area, dreadfully realizing that Davis and Cassidy probably brought them along when they walked off to rape Milan.
Drawing in a final, shallow breath, Steve snuck around the corner, keeping his back pressed against the inner wall as he approached the living room, seeing glimpses of the horrific commotion going on in the other room through the partially ajar door.
Milan was tied to the bedposts, naked and powerless to fend off her attackers. Cassidy stood with his back to the door, his upper body unclothed, his pants slid down to his knees. Davis was on top of Milan, completely undressed, going about his business just like Mike figured he would.
Knowing that his sole chance to interfere had come, Steve walked up to the door without anybody noticing, then took in the perimeter as best as he could, grateful to see a .38 lying on the small end table right inside the room.
Pressed against the doorframe for cover, he reached around until his fingers traced the outline of the table, then the barrel of the gun, then the grip.
Clenching his jaws, he used his left foot to open the door wider, the subsequent squeaking signaling his arrival before he could ever shout orders.
Freezing in their respective spots, Cassidy and Davis glared back at him, the Lieutenant's head quickly turning crimson as the situation unfolded.
"Get off her and stand in the back corner. Both of you.", Steve hissed, his voice nearly breaking as he trained the barrel of the .38 at Cassidy's chest, the detective a bigger threat due to his proximity.
"Now, why would you want to do something like that?", Davis returned in the most charming voice he could muster, a fake smile on his face as he slowly moved off a visibly shaken Milan, before carelessly draping a blanket over the naked woman, "You could join us and have some fun, young Inspector. Why ruin the game for everybody…if you could be part of it?"
"Don't make me order you again.", Steve growled between clenched teeth, then pointed his chin toward the back corner, "Move."
Awkwardly pulling his pants back up, Cassidy glared at him, then stumbled backward to join Davis by a nearby dresser, both men staring back at him like school boys caught smoking.
Keeping one eye on the detectives and one on Sarah, Steve carefully inched over to the bed, hearing the woman whimper in fear as he approached; understandably horrified of any danger he might pose.
"It's going to be alright, just…just relax. We'll get you out of here…you're going to be okay…", he said soothingly and glanced across the room for anything to cut the thick cotton ropes holding her in place.
When nothing could be found, he carefully walked to the head of the bed, using his left hand to untangle the tight knot, keeping the .38 aimed at Cassidy and Davis while he did so.
When the rope finally gave, he moved away again, trying to give Sarah some privacy in hopes to calm her down, as he watched her wince in pain and disbelief.
"See if you can…if you can get the rest of those ropes off…", he instructed calmly, then walked over to Davis in rigid precision, "Where are the keys to the handcuffs?"
"What? You freed yourself and left the Lieutenant behind? Running this show all by yourself? Well…that's so unlike you, Kid.", the MP Lieutenant sneered, then smiled deviously, never even bothered by the fact that he stood there completely naked, his hands behind his head, "What's in it for us if we give you the keys, hm?"
"Nothing. There is only one outcome for you guys in all of this. And I can guarantee that you won't like it. And I couldn't be happier about that.", Steve hissed in unmasked anger, his hand holding the revolver trembling slightly, a detail both of the other men picked up on.
"Well, since we are shaking in fear, we better give the good Inspector the keys, what to you say, Frank?"
Chuckling like a hyena, Cassidy nodded hastily as he began to dig into the pocket of his disheveled grey dress pants, resurfacing a small key chain. Then, with a wily smile, he tossed it on the ground next to them, just far enough under the bed that Steve would have to get on his knees to retrieve them.
"Oops."
Sharing a gleeful smile with the Lieutenant, Cassidy shrugged and took a symbolic step back.
"I am so sorry, kid. I guess my hands were shaking so much that I dropped the keys. I don't know what I was thinking…"
Steve wasn't going to fall for the trick; and the fact that Sawyer and Mahoney could show up again any second only furthered the tension of this situation. With both, Mike's and Sarah's lives depending on his actions, he clenched his jaws, then pointed toward the far corner of the room.
"Into the armoire. Both of you."
As if he couldn't believe his ears, Davis raised his eyebrows and turned toward the impressive wooden credenza that nearly reached the ceiling.
"Us? In there? We won't fit in there, young man."
Next to him, Sarah was busy untying the restrains holding her hostage to the bed, her frantic breaths the only other noise in the small room. Steve tried hard to ignore the bloodstains on the sheets and the disturbing assortment of discarded condoms on the floor, as his eyes drifted back to Cassidy and Davis.
"I said move."
His order given in irrefutable authority was drowned out by the shuffling of bed sheets, as Sarah slowly climbed out of her prison and reached for her clothes carelessly thrown onto the floor.
Keeping one eye on the severely traumatized and shaking woman, Steve took a small step back, protectively positioning himself closer to her.
"Well Kid, I just don't think we're going to do that.", Davis answered cheerily, and slowly lowered his hands to his sides again, "You see, we both know that you don't have the guts to shoot us. And clearly you don't have the guts to join us. And the Lieutenant isn't here to protect your sorry behind, which means…we're going to kill you."
Cassidy followed suit, a smug grin spreading on his face, his hands balled to tight fists.
Swallowing his unease and attempting to come up with a plan that would do both, protect Mike and Milan while stopping the two detectives, Steve exhaled slowly, then cocked the hammer of the .38, a move that made the other two men hesitate instantly.
"You guessed wrong."
"Awww…look at that display of outright…bravery. Such fortitude in the face of mortal peril. Think about that though, Stevie. You can only shoot one of us, before the other one comes for you. So, who are you going to choose?" Davis tried again, hoping to mess with his mind as he took a cautious step toward him, "Frank here is going to snap your neck like a toothpick. Me? I'll wrestle that gun out of your hand faster than you can blink, then drag you into the other room to have Mike watch me put a couple rounds into you. Either way, you'll die."
Forcing his hand to remain calm and his aim steady considering the challenging situation ahead, Steve shook his head determinedly, his lips pursed to a thin line. Regardless of how many years he'd spent at Mike's side, and how many similar scenarios they'd mastered together, he suddenly felt woefully alone without his mentor and best friend by his side.
And it began to scare him.
A fact that was becoming painfully obvious to his foes.
"A bullet to the heart will kill you long before you ever get close to me. I wouldn't recommend it. Believe me, you don't want to die."
Davis' faint chuckle changed to a bellowing laugh, when the purring of an engine disrupted their tense standoff, the sound of doors being opened, then shut, causing the Lieutenant's smile to grow broader.
"Whoopsie. I'd say you just ran out of time, Stevie."