Author's Note: Thank ya'll so much for reading! I'm trying to update as fast as I can. I appreciate everyone's feedback. Thank you for reviewing! I appreciate it so much, and it helps me out a great deal!
Special thanks to Bloodsuckers37 for reading and helping me get the medical 'stuff' right, and correcting my myriad of mistakes.
Bad to Worse
Chapter 8- The Show Down
1:19 PM Vacant Room
O'Brian and Don were locked into a stand-off, and neither of them had moved since O'Brian put the gun next to Charlie's head. That is exactly what Alan and other agents were watching on a TV screen. A tactical station had been set up in a room directly above the morgue. Several agents had discreetly drilled a hole into the floor and threaded a small camera through the hole. David Sinclair was directing the whole operation.
"How can we hear them?" Alan asked David.
"Before Don went down, we hid a small microphone in his vest and put a small earpiece in his ear so we can talk to him," David said.
"Why aren't there more officers down there?"
"Don said specifically, that he be the only one down there. He said something about not risking the safety of the hostages."
By then the morgue and the area surrounding it had been blocked off by armed police officers. Alan was also watching Don, and Don's pain was evident. Dr.Andrews had only allowed Don to go down there only if he would be down there in case something bad happened. Alan continued to watch as the stand-off continued.
1:20 PM Morgue
"What is Charlie to you?" O'Brian asked, never taking his eyes off Don.
Don didn't respond to the question. Charlie's eyes were locked onto Don, pleading for help.
"Since he won't answer, what are you to Don?" O'Brian asked Charlie.
"H-He's my b-brother," Charlie stammered out.
"Oh, well isn't that nice, two Eppes."
"If you harm Charlie, I will kill you, you son-of-bitch," Don said advancing towards O'Brian.
"No you won't because you're going to put your gun down, and if you don't, well let's say that Charlie may only have a few more seconds left to live."
Don stopped immediately. He debated what to do for a second, and he slowly bent down and dropped his gun on the floor. Don winced as he bent down, the pain becoming more obvious as he rose. There was layer of sweat already on Don's face.
"Good, now kick it over here."
Don kicked the gun to O'Brian's feet.
"Charlie, why don't you get that gun for me."
Charlie slowly bent down and retrieved the gun. Charlie handed O'Brian the gun, and O'Brian pointed it at Don. Now O'Brian had two guns, one pointed at each of the Eppes.
Terry was watching from behind O'Brian, knowing that if she moved, someone would probably die.
"Now, Don and Charlie, move over to the other hostages."
O'Brian let go of Charlie, and he quickly walked over to Terry. Don followed suit standing in front of Terry and Charlie, protecting them. O'Brian walked over to the phone, and looked at it.
"When will they call?"
As if on cue, the phone rang.
"Now," Don said.
O'Brian picked up the phone.
"Yes," O'Brian said turning to face the hostages in the corner. "Nope, everyone's fine. I got what I want. Food?"
O'Brian looked at the hostages and questioned them if they wanted something to eat; several people nodded 'yes'.
"Yea, I'll give you four hostages for four large pizzas and drinks. Make sure you tell the D.A. that I fed and did not harm the hostages."
About 15 minutes later there was a knock on the door. O'Brian sent Charlie to retrieve the pizza and drinks. Once O'Brian saw that everything was there, he let three women and the little boy go, which left 9 people. Dr.Andrews, Charlie, Terry, and Don sat together with a pizza. Everyone was eating except for Don.
"Don, you need to eat," Charlie said taking a drink from his bottle of water.
"I'm not hungry; you go ahead and eat it." Don's said adjusting the Kevlar vest.
"At least drink," Dr.Andrews said handing Don a bottle of water.
Don accepted the bottle of water and took a few sips. Terry just stared at Don.
"More than that," Terry said.
Don only took another sip and put the cap back on the bottle.
"Are you okay?" Terry asked, putting down her slice of pizza.
"Sure," Don said eyeing O'Brian, who was also eating.
Terry saw that the bandage on Don's neck was tinged with blood.
2:35 PM Morgue
Nothing had happened for the past hour. Alan was getting worried about his sons, and that this situation showed no end. David had given up trying to contact O'Brian, since he never answered the phone again. After an hour, Don had had enough of O'Brian doing nothing.
"What do you want O'Brian?" Don asked standing up slowly.
"You," O'Brian said pointing his gun on Don.
"Why don't you let the others go, and why did you feed them?"
"I may need them for something and I don't want to hurt anyone else that doesn't need to be. Who knows, I may get a reduced sentence for taking care of the hostages," O'Brian said laughing. "Why are you so interested all of a sudden?"
"Because it's been an hour and you haven't done or asked for anything. Why did you want the weapons software in the first place?"
O'Brian tensed up when Don asked about the software. He hesitated a moment before answering.
"I was going to sell it."
Everyone, including those in the tactical room, took notice and listened.
"To who?" Don asked moving closer to O'Brian.
"Hey, stay where you are."
Don stopped immediately and put his hands up.
"I'm not going anywhere. Now who were you selling the software to?"
"I don't know exactly, but I know I was to ship the software to Jordan once I got it."
"You mean the country, right?"
"Yes, I was to be paid 10 million dollars to get the software and ship it to Jordan. I was almost done, until you showed up. You killed most of my family and closest friends."
"Hey, it's my job to protect…"
"If it's your job, stop me," O'Brian said as he fired his gun into the crowd of hostages.
Don had no time to react before O'Brian sent a round hurdling towards the hostages. The round hit a man in his upper left chest. Bright red blood spread across the man's left chest.
Vacant Room
Alan came back just as O'Brian fired his gun. All Alan saw was Don standing in front of O'Brian, and O'Brian firing his gun.
"Shots fired, shots fired."
The shots sent the agents and police officers into a frenzy. David put his headset on, which was hanging around his neck.
"Don, is everyone all right?"
"One guy was hit," Don said softly.
David cursed under his breath. He went into action immediately.
Morgue
Dr.Andrews rushed over to the man that was shot. O'Brian aimed his gun at Dr.Andrews.
"What are you doing?" O'Brian asked Dr.Andrews, who was trying to stop the bleeding.
"Trying to save this man's life."
"Step away doctor."
"If this man doesn't get help, he'll die," Dr.Andrews said, continuing to work.
"I said step away doctor."
O'Brian squeezed the trigger slightly when Dr.Andrews didn't move. The round soared towards Dr.Andrews. The bullet went straight through the side of Dr.Andrews head and was lodged into the wall. Dr.Andrews slumped over the man who had been shot. Don was powerless to stop O'Brian. The other hostages moved away from the two men. Charlie stared at the two men, never having seen someone die before. Don saw Charlie's anxiety.
9 people, 2 shots fired, 2 guns; 10-15 bullets each, 1 bullet for each person.
"Was that necessary?" Don asked.
"I told him to step away."
"He was a doctor."
"Hey, if you don't shut up and sit down, I'll shoot Charlie next."
Don backed away and sat next to Terry.
2:45 PM Vacant Room
"Shots fired, shots fired."
Everyone watched as O'Brian shot Dr.Andrews. Alan watched in horror because he knew Don was not able to stop this man. David picked up the phone and called the morgue. There was no answer, so he tried again. Again there was no answer. David repositioned the microphone attached to his headset.
"Don, are you and the others okay?"
"Yes," Don said softly.
"Do you need a doctor?"
"Not anymore, the other guy just died."
"We're going to get everyone out, is everyone away from the double doors?"
"Yes, we've moved to another corner."
David turned around to the other people in the room.
"Get a team down there now; I want all of the hostages out. They've moved to another corner away from the double doors."
David got up and went with the several agents and officers that were going to go retrieve the hostages. Alan sat in the chair in front of the TV screen.
2:50 PM Morgue
The tactical team was waiting around the corner. Don knew they were coming so he was trying to think of a way to subdue O'Brian. Don saw his gun tucked into O'Brian's pants on his side.
There's no way I can get that.
Don put his hand on Charlie's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Charlie squeezed Don's hand back, both of them not saying anything. Don saw someone's feet as they ran by the morgue. Unfortunately O'Brian saw the person too. O'Brian took his other gun out and took the safety off.
"If you come in here I'll shoot someone," O'Brian shouted aiming one gun at Charlie and the other at the door.
The lights went out and the doors burst open with smoke billowing out. O'Brian fired his gun, the flash of light piercing the darkness. Don took the opportunity to lunge at O'Brian and grabbed the other gun. Several people in tactical gear filed into the room, their weapons trained on O'Brian. When the lights came on, Don and O'Brian had their guns pointed at one another. No one dared to move.
"Don," a voice called from the hostages.
Don looked to see Terry hovering Charlie who had been shot in the arm. Charlie was lying on the ground unconscious. O'Brian saw Don take his eyes off him, and he squeezed the trigger, launching a bullet at Don. In a split second Don turned around and fired his gun. The bullets hitting their targets precisely in the chest, and both men fell to the ground.
Vacant Room
Alan dropped his cup of coffee when he saw Charlie and Don fall. He sat there and watched for a few seconds, not knowing what to do.
No!
Alan jumped out of the chair and ran to the morgue
Morgue
Terry rushed over to Don.
"Don," Terry said, trying to keep Don from passing out.
Terry noticed that Don's breathing was becoming labored. She pulled Don's shirt off, and she pulled the bullet out of the vest. She took the vest off and threw it to the side. The entire upper left side of Don's t-shirt was soaked with blood.
"What the hell," Terry said ripping Don's t-shirt and ace bandage open.
All of the bandages were soaked with blood. There was a faint bruise forming on Don's left chest. David Sinclair rushed over to Terry and Don. Other people were rushing to O'Brian and Charlie.
"Shit, hey Don! Stay with us!" David said, trying to keep Don awake.
Don's head rolled to the side, his eyes focused on Charlie. Charlie was being attended to by several agents. All Don noticed was that Charlie's pale face stood out from his dark hair.
"Charlie," was all Don could say before losing consciousness.
I hope you enjoyed! More coming soon! Sorry this chapter was so long, there were no good places to stop.
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