Second to last chapter. I don't want the story to go on too long. Eight chapters of intense, bloody, and violent action will be enough. Please review as always.

Chapter 7

Nick Miller scratched his head as he looked down at the two dead bodies. Thirteen-year-old Kevin Morrow stared up at him with dead eyes, blood all over his face. The other victim, Esteban, had three bullets in him. The bodies had been discovered by a maid. Annie White was leaning against the wall.

"Kevin Morrow was the key witness in an upcoming murder trial. Not Dennis Murdock," said Annie.

"Who's on trial?" asked Nick.

"His stepfather. A man named Lionel Hutchinson. He beat Kevin's mother to death with a crowbar. Kevin was watching from a closet. He escaped and ran to a neighbor's house where he called the police. We put him here so he'd be safe." She let out a long sigh.

"Guess we fucked up," said Annie. A detective ran into the room.

"Nick, the manager just found another body upstairs. It's the candy counter girl. She's been shot to death," said the detective.

"What the fuck is going on?" asked another detective. Nick sighed and leaned against the bathroom wall.

"Call the FBI. The Archangel is inside the hotel. My guess is he's posing as a guest. I want this hotel shut down."

Eddie Fenton never made mistakes. He found he survived longer that way. But he made his first and final mistake that night when he let his guard down while walking past Carey to go get a magazine from a far table. Carey had overcome one of her captors. She had saved one of her boys from being raped. Now she was going to save them all from being executed. She had slipped a letter opener off a nearby table. She had used it previously that night to threaten Cyrus. Later she stabbed Cyrus to death with a piece of glass. Now she jammed the letter opener into Eddie's shin. Eddie cried out and fell to the floor. Carey took his gun away from him. She stood above him, the gun aimed at his face.

"Go to hell," said Carey. She pulled the trigger. Eddie's face exploded in a shower of flesh and blood. She turned around to find the boys looking at her their mouths wide open.

"We're getting out of here. Cops must be all over this place. I can see the lights on the street from up here. I'm going to take down Vincent and then we'll go find a cop." Zack and Cody nodded their eyes darting back and forth from their mother to Eddie's mangled face. Carey kissed both boys on the forehead and the three of them embraced. It was them against a psychopath. The worst of the gang. Carey had a sick feeling that neither of them would walk away from the showdown with Vincent.

Marion Moseby continued to cry as he sat in the hallway. Poor Maddie. She had never done anything wrong to anyone. Who would want to kill her? Detective Brenda Parker knelt down next to Moseby.

"Mr. Moseby, I've sorry about Maddie. But I need to ask you some questions. The killer may still be inside the hotel." Moseby nodded.

"Did any of the staff have anything against Maddie?" Moseby shook his head.

"She was loved by every employee. She was such a sweet girl. My God, who would want to hurt such a wonderful person?" He broke down and started sobbing. Brenda sighed. She motioned for one of the officers on the scene to come over.

"Take Mr. Moseby downstairs and get him something to eat and drink. I want this hotel cleared out soon too."

"Nick Miller is taking the lead on a double homicide upstairs. He thinks he knows who killed Maddie."

"I'd like to speak to good ol' Nick." Moseby was lead down to the lobby. Brenda sighed. This was going to be a long night.

Carey looked up as Vincent opened the door to the suite.. She raised the gun. She had turned the lights off in order to get an advantage over Vincent. Carey fired. Vincent groaned and slumped to the ground, the door closing behind him. His gun flew across the room. Carey slowly approached Vincent. She never saw it coming. Vincent kicked an overturned chair at her. The bullet had grazed his shoulder. He stood up and turned on the lights. Carey lay on the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Vincent drew his spare gun.

"You got brave. Killing Cyrus put you in psycho mode. Good for you, Carey," said Vincent. He kicked Carey in the side. Carey cried out in pain. Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"Now you can watch as I complete my final job," said Vincent. Carey raised an eyebrow. Vincent pointed the gun at Zack's head. Zack's eyes widened.

"Me? I'm just a kid," said Zack.

"Who won too many basketball games? Guess Coach Rollins is a fucking psycho," said Vincent.

"He coaches my school's rival basketball team," said Zack.

"He wants you dead," said Vincent. He cocked his gun.

"This won't hurt," said Vincent. Carey's instinct took over, despite the throbbing pain in her side. She kicked Vincent as hard as she could between the legs. Vincent grunted and slumped to his knees. But not before he pulled the trigger. The bullet missed Zack's head. But it managed to hit his ear, mangling it and sending blood everywhere. Zack fell to the ground screaming. Vincent went to blow his brains out. Carey grabbed the gun. It went off, this time hitting the wall. Cody tended to his screaming brother. Carey was wrestling on the ground with Vincent. Shots went off as they struggled for the gun. If Carey could get the silencer off, then one shot would bring a swarm of cops. Soon the gun was empty. Carey kneed Vincent in the groin again. That gave her a few precious seconds. The two had rolled to the far side of the room. By a bookcase. Carey stood up and brought the bookcase down on Vincent. He cried out for just a few seconds. Then silence. Carey limped over to Zack and Cody. Cody had ripped part of his shirt off and used it as bandage on Zack's ear. Zack was crying softly. Carey picked him up, cradling him in her arms. She slowly walked out of the suite, Cody following her. Vincent lay motionless under the bookcase.

It didn't them long to find a cop. They weren't interrogated right away. Zack needed to get to the hospital pronto. Before they knew it, they were with Zack in an ambulance racing towards the hospital. Zack was taken into surgery the second they arrived. He needed serious work on his mangled ear. Cody was given an x-ray on his hurt leg and doctors decided to operate to fix the damage. Carey was taken to a waiting room, where Nick Miller was waiting to question her. Carey spoke calmly and slowly as she told Nick what had happened.

"They're all dead. Murdock. John. Cyrus. Eddie. Vincent. They're all dead," said Carey.

"You say there were five of them?" asked Nick. Carey nodded. Nick rubbed his chin.

"There were only four bodies in your suite. This man Vincent. How did you kill him?" asked Nick.

"Crushed him with a bookcase," said Carey. Nick sighed.

"There was no body under the bookcase. Seems he got away. No worries. He's a professional. He'll get out of town. You'll never see him again," said Nick.

"If John was FBI, how come no one came to help us?" asked Carey.

"John wasn't able to contact his colleagues without risking your lives. He was trying to protect you," said Nick. Carey nodded. Nick sighed and left the room. Carey closed her eyes and gladly let sleep take over.

The elevator doors opened. The elevator had come up from the hospital's sub-levels. This late at night, anyone could sneak in undetected. Anyone who didn't want to be seen. His instinct told him to go catch his flight. But his fury was greater. He was going to finish what he started. Vincent Lassiter cocked his gun, getting ready for the final three kills of the night.