The atmosphere between everyone was tense.
It showed in the set of the groups' shoulders, the way their mouths were set into a hard line, and the way they clutched their weapons tightly.
"On my command," Tommy said quietly to the group, although his words were soft, they carried across the small space to everyone gathered around him.
They were all standing inside of an armored vehicle, parked behind the same row of trees Tommy had hidden behind earlier in the day while scoping out the warehouse. Only now, they were cloaked by the night. Similar vehicles with other tactical teams were parked in other nearby areas, waiting.
Everyone watched Tommy while Tommy's eyes roamed over the assembled group. He had a good team of people that he had handpicked, both for their set of skills and because of their nerves of steel. He knew they wouldn't back down from this dangerous mission; no matter what happened.
All they were waiting for was for the agreed upon time of ten o'clock, and Catherine's code word. Once she gave it, the various tactical teams would make their way, cautiously, towards the warehouse. Before they even reached its doors, George, with a few strokes, would take down any alarms and security cameras, and Derek's entire computer system—including any backups. It was some virus that George had created and was especially proud of because it could completely override any system, change its codes, and make them his own to command. Any recovery codes that Derek's team would attempt to use to regain access to the system would fail.
Tommy looked down at his watch. The seconds seemed to drag on slowly, but finally the hour hand was in place.
"Plague."
It seemed fitting that their code word to proceed matched so well with Derek's alias of Bubonic. And like the plague, they were about to bring down Derek's empire.
Tommy took a deep breath and raised his hand. His fingers ticked off, three…two…one. He gave a sharp nod and opened the back doors of the armored vehicle, the night air swarming in to cool them. His team, including Yeager, moved in behind him. He was leading them into this. All of his focus was centered on their shadowy path towards a door right next to the metal entrance of the warehouse.
As far as he and Pascal had been able to determine, it was only made of fortified wood and was used for individuals to come and go from the warehouse. Unlike the large metal entrance, which was used for cars and semis to drop off supplies and materials.
When they reached the door, Tommy signaled, and two SWAT officers holding a battering ram took his place at the head of the group. With three well placed hits, the door splintered, and they were in.
The two officers drew back and Tommy led his team in. With the commotion the battering ram had made and with the confusion George's hit on their computer systems had created, they had to move fast. No doubt that Derek was already making orders to have anything important—information that would incriminate him—placed somewhere safe, including Sara and Lindy. He had to get to them first.
The first floor of the warehouse was empty. There were only old rusty machines, moldy cardboard boxes, and a bunch of other junk laying around. Tommy had no doubt that this first floor served as a means to deter anyone who happened to come into the warehouse. If somebody did, they would only need to look around, and they would immediately assume it was abandoned and it was not worth exploring the other floors.
Another team came in right behind his and secured the first floor. He knew there were others that had already secured the outside perimeter, just in case any of Derek's cronies managed to make it out.
He led his team up the stairs, his gun trained in front of him. When they reached the second floor, the team behind them—Pascal's—continued on to the third floor. Her team's objective was to subdue and arrest anyone up there, including Bubonic. They would also confiscate any computers, servers, or paperwork found. These were Catherine's priorities. Tommy had no doubt that there would be plenty of incriminating evidence for her to dig through.
His team stayed on the second floor, their objective being to get Lindy and Sara out. He led his team cautiously forward. When the hallway branched out to the left, and the other continued on, Tommy signaled for his team to split off. He and four other men and women headed left, while Yeager and four others headed straight.
One minute later they heard the sound of rapid gunfire coming from upstairs. Pascal's team must have run into trouble. Soon after, they heard gunfire coming from the hallway that Yeager and his team had just gone down. Tommy fought the urge to run back and help his friend. He knew that Yeager could handle himself, but it didn't make it any less hard.
As they reached a corner, a bullet whizzed past where Tommy's head would have been to determine if the coast was clear. He drew back as a woman on his team, Larson, he thought her name was, dropped down to one knee, stuck her head around the corner and fired. He heard a grunt as someone was hit. Tommy didn't wait for more bullets to follow, he looked around the corner and saw another guard aiming at her head. Tommy aimed, and shot. His bullet hit the guard's hand before he could fire. With a howl of pain, he dropped the gun, next to a guard who was on the ground clutching his leg. Apparently, Larson had shot him in the knee.
Just as Tommy and his team made their towards the men, four more guards rounded the corner, having heard the commotion. He and his team incapacitated all of them before they could fire. His team handcuffed five of the guards, all of whom were only injured, as Tommy walked over to the man he had shot in the hand, who was now on his knees.
"Where are the women that are being held here?" The guard acted like he hadn't spoken, but Tommy did not fail to notice how the guard's eyes briefly flickered over to a door just behind one of the men—Ramos—on his team.
Tommy stood right in front of the man, bending down so he was closer to his eye level. "Are they in there?" Tommy nodded towards the door.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," the guard responded, before spitting in Tommy's face.
Before the guard could react, Tommy had him laid out on the ground, his face pressed against the floor.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about," Tommy growled, pushing him harder against the floor as the guard struggled. "It's all over anyways. We're bringing down this whole operation. You may as well tell us where they are."
The guard stilled. He seemed to know it was fruitless to lie now. "The younger one is around the corner, in the last door on the left. There are two other guards stationed there who've been ordered to take her to another location. At least that's what I think their orders are since that's what we were instructed to do with the older one in that room, there." He nodded towards the door he had looked at earlier.
"Handcuff him and grab his keys," Tommy ordered one of his team members. He did as he said. Once the handcuffs clicked around the guard's wrists, he handed Tommy the keys. "Larson and Ramos, go back up Yeager's team and make sure they got Sara out." They nodded and left. "The rest of you, while I get Lindy out, radio in for backup. We need to get these guys," he nodded his head towards the injured guards on the floor, "out to the squad cars that should be there by now, and to get medical attention." Before they could voice their assent, Tommy wiped his face and walked to the door, that according to the guard, held Lindy behind it.
He looked through the ring of keys he held. There were several. He really didn't want to struggle through all of them right now with time pressing in on him and the gunfights still being heard around the building. He quickly picked a long silver one and hoped it was the right one.
He stuck it into the lock. It turned, and Tommy breathed a sigh of relief.
His eyes quickly lit upon the figure that was frantically pacing around the room. Her head whipped up, her expression agitated, surely having heard the struggle that occurred right outside her room. She was fidgeting with her pinky finger which Tommy had long ago realized she did when she didn't trust someone or a situation. She stopped pacing abruptly when she registered that the door to her room had opened, and her hands fell to her sides when she realized who the tall figure at her door was.
"Tommy," she breathed.
Swiftly, he closed the distance between them, took her into his arms, and crushed her to him. "Lindy." The last three days without her had been absolute hell. He felt his entire body relax in relief now that she was in his arms at last. He cupped her face and kissed her hard, trying to communicate in that kiss how worried he had been about her, how much he needed her. She kissed him back just as hard, as if she felt the exact same way, and for a minute, everything else fell away and it was just the two of them held tight in each other's arms.
When they finally came up for air, Tommy planted a kiss on the top of her head, his hand rubbing circles against her back.
"I heard the gunshots," Lindy whispered. "I was so worried."
"It's okay," he assured her. "I'm okay."
"You found me," she murmured, holding him tight, her hands fisting the back of his jacket.
Tommy loosened his hold on her so that he could look into her eyes, but he didn't dare let go of her. "I made you a promise, Lindy. I told you that rules didn't matter to me when it came to you. I would do anything and everything to get to you." His face turned sad and she found herself stroking his cheek. He leaned into her touch. "I'm just sorry that I broke my other promise. I told you I would never let anything happen to you," he said softly, "and here you are. That's on me. I am so sorry, Lindy."
She drew back. "Do not blame yourself, Tommy," she said firmly, staring hard into his hazel eyes. "Okay? It wasn't your fault. Derek did this not only to hurt you, but because he needs me to do something for him, and he used Sara to get to me." She suddenly tensed in his arms. "Tommy, Sara—she—"
"Shh, shh, it's okay." He gripped her arms. "Yeager's probably gotten to her by now. I sent two members of my team to make sure." Lindy looked relieved, but Tommy didn't miss the way she flinched at his touch.
Tommy's eyes grew concerned. "What, what is it? What's wrong?"
It's just—" she stepped back from his touch, her eyes going to her arms, where he had gripped her. Tommy followed her gaze and stilled at the finger shaped bruises on her bare arms. His eyes roved further down and he noticed another large bruise on her side, exposed where her shirt had rucked up while they'd embraced.
Tommy's face darkened in fury, his face a thunder cloud. "What did he do?" Tommy demanded, his voice low and strangled with rage.
"Tommy, calm down." She didn't like the look in his eyes. It screamed murder. "I tried to go after Hamish for what he did to Sara, and for calling her a 'ravishing little vixen.' Derek forced me out of the room before I could do anything."
"You want me to calm down? He hurt you. And that's besides the other bruises you must have all over your body from when they kidnapped you." His voice was choked with fury. "I saw the security footage. And, where was I while it was happening? I was in the shower. You were out there fighting, trying to get back to me, and I couldn't even hear you."
"Stop it," Lindy said forcefully, pulling away from him. "It's not your fault, and besides, this isn't the time. We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to get out of here."
Tommy sighed, forcing himself to clear his mind of the images of him beating Derek senseless for ever having dared lay a finger on Lindy. "You're right." Of course, she was right. "Let's go." He took hold of her hand and together, they rushed out of the room where she had been held prisoner.
Lindy hesitated when they reached the hall, looking down at the floor. "There's blood."
Tommy squeezed her hand. "They were shooting at us and we had to subdue them. It's okay though. They're all alive. We made sure of that."
Tommy could see the remainder of his team, alongside other officers, leading the injured guards that had shot at them, down the hall, where they would be led outside.
"Sara's down there," Lindy said, her gaze down the opposite end of the hall.
"I know," Tommy said, trying to sound soothing, despite the fact that he could still clearly see the bruises on Lindy's arms. He was going to make Derek pay.
"Did they get to her?"
Tommy tapped his earpiece. "Status on Sara?" he questioned.
Yeager's voice came over the earpiece. "Secure. On our way out. What about Lindy?"
"Secure." He turned to Lindy. "Yeager and my team have her. They're on their way outside. Now, let's get you out of here."
They followed a short distance behind the officers. Tommy held his gun out in front of him, still alert while Lindy gripped the back of his jacket. No way was he going to risk an ambush this close to freedom.
When they reached the stairs, Tommy could hear shouts coming from above, but no more gunfire. Despite that, he had no doubt that the third floor was still full of chaos. Chaos that he would be joining as soon as he led Lindy outside into a squad car. There, she would join Sara, and they would be whisked away, safe, back to the precinct. Tommy moved to go downstairs, but immediately felt Lindy loosen her hold on his jacket. Tommy looked back at her, alarmed.
"What is it?"
She was gazing up the stairs, where all of the chaos was. He could see the gears turning in her mind. "Lindy, no."
Her gaze met his. "Tommy, I could—"
"No," he said firmly.
"Tommy—"
"Lindy I know what you're thinking. I know you want to help us, but my priority is to get you out of here, safe." They were so close. They only needed to head downstairs and out the door. "Let us handle this."
Her gaze quickly went back to the stairs leading up. "I have to Tommy. I know where everything is. With me you could get all of the information you need about Bubonic—and Hamish."
"Lindy—"
He didn't get to finish his sentence. She turned on her heel and ran up the stairs. Tommy swore and ran after her, dodging officers who were starting to lead Derek's cronies in handcuffs downstairs. "Lindy!" He yelled after her. It didn't help that she was small and could easily weave her way past everyone. He had to mutter hurried apologies as he bumped into people and tried to keep her in his sights. Damn it, why couldn't she ever listen to him? "Lindy, wait!" She ignored him and kept running. Tommy reached the top of the stairs, but she was already halfway down the hall. "Damn it, Lindy," he muttered.
He ran past officers handcuffing more of Derek's goons, but didn't see Derek among them. He must have already been taken out to a squad car, Tommy reasoned. He received curious glances from his various team members, including Pascal, but nobody stopped him.
"Is this floor secure?" Tommy called out as he ran past her.
"It is," she confirmed, "but Tommy, we still—"
He missed what she said next as he ran out of earshot. At least he knew they had secured the floor.
This was so clearly the floor that housed Derek's offices, maybe even where the guards were housed too. He ran past what had to be the control room since it was full of computers and workstations. Its floor was littered with papers that must have scattered when his team stormed in. Tommy even caught a glimpse of the view outside the window of Lady Liberty.
Ironic.
He chased after Lindy as she turned a corner. He saw her hesitate just outside of a room, and with a resolution he could feel, she swung open its door and disappeared inside.
Tommy felt his chest tighten in fear now that she was out of sight. He put on a burst of speed and practically slid in front of the door she had disappeared through.
He stepped into a large carpeted room that looked like an office. Derek's office, he was sure of it. There was a table with its accompanying chairs near the entrance to the room and a wall and table full of various security monitors, all blank thanks to George's good work. Against the wall nearest to him, there were cabinets and drawers that had been thrown open by Pascal's team. They were full of documents and computer parts. There was even a closet against the far wall, also having been thrown open, exposing a few sets of clothes in their hangers.
Tommy's eyes immediately sought out Lindy. She was standing in a corner of the room, closest to the security monitors, having gone straight to the nearest computer.
"Lindy, what the hell?"
"What took you so long?" she asked, barely sparing him a glance.
"You cannot just take off like that," he protested. She had scared the hell out of him.
"I knew you'd follow me." She glanced over her shoulder at him, half a smile on her face, placating.
"Of course, I would."
She typed a few commands into the computer. "This is a lot easier than I thought," she murmured distractedly. "It's almost too easy."
"That may be because George knocked out Derek's online system, servers, and any backups." Tommy smiled ruefully at the way her fingers hesitated on the keyboard. She was more used to challenges. "Please, just get the information and let's go. I don't want you here longer than you have to be."
She nodded, her eyes not leaving the computer. She instinctively reached for her neck.
Tommy knew what she was looking for. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her USB necklace. He had been carrying it everywhere, waiting for the moment he could return it to her. Technically it was supposed to be evidence, but there were only so many times Catherine could tell him that before she gave up, knowing he was too stubborn to do as she said.
A soft smile graced Lindy's face when she saw what was in his hand. "So, you did find it."
"Yeah, thanks to Boris." His voice cracked ever so slightly. "He must have heard the struggle outside of the apartment and was barking like crazy when I got out of the shower. When I went to investigate, he found it for me. It was a smart thing to do. We knew you were missing and were already looking for you by the time that Derek made contact to gloat." He took her hand and placed the necklace in her palm. "This belongs to you."
Her fingers wrapped around the smooth metal. It had served her well and would keep on doing so. She stuck it into the computer's USB port, typed in a few commands, and it immediately started to download what Lindy knew would be incriminating data.
"Step away from the computer," came a voice behind them.
Their heads whipped around, their eyes widening in horror as they saw Derek coming out of an opening in the wall where the closet had once been. Now the closet was swinging outward into the room, like a door. An escape route. Of course he had one, Tommy thought in dismay.
Pascal's unfinished sentence as he had run past her slammed into his mind. "But Tommy, we still—" Still haven't found Derek. And now he had found them. Tommy swore internally when he saw that Derek hadn't come alone.
Derek had an arm wrapped around Sara, who Tommy recognized as a slightly older version of the girl from the pictures and video he had seen of her. Derek had a gun pressed hard against her temple. Sara, Tommy could tell, was trying to remain calm, but he could see the fear in her eyes clear as day.
How was she even here? he thought desperately. Hadn't Yeager said he'd gotten her out? He risked a glance in Lindy's direction and saw that her face had turned deathly pale. She was absolutely rigid. Nothing scared her more than something happening to her sister. Especially if there was something she could do to prevent it. It was the exact same way he was when it came to Lindy.
"I said step away from the computer!" Derek shouted. The sound startling Lindy into doing what he said. Tommy did too, but he stepped in front of Lindy, making sure he was shielding her from Derek's view. No way in hell was he going to let her get hurt again.
Derek chuckled when he noticed what Tommy was doing. "You can't protect her, Calligan. Haven't you realized that already?" he asked mockingly. "Kick over your gun and earpiece."
Grudgingly, without taking his eyes off Derek, Tommy pulled his gun out of its holster, set it down on the floor, and kicked it towards Derek, followed by his earpiece. In turn, Derek crushed the earpiece under his boot, and kicked the gun towards the door Tommy and Lindy had come in through, clear on the other side of the room.
"As you can see, as much as we try to protect those we love, we can't." Derek's eyes turned hard. "You were the one who taught me that when you killed Melanie."
Tommy opened his mouth to speak, a surge of anger going through him. He was so tired of Derek putting him and everyone he loved in danger because he refused to believe the truth.
"Tommy didn't kill her and you know it," Lindy retorted, as she came around to Tommy's side. Tommy put a hand out to stop her from advancing any further. "You know damn well that it was because you'd threatened to kill Melanie if she ever gave away any information regarding you or your operations. She thought she wouldn't be able to make it through any interrogations without cracking. She loved you, but she was more scared of you than anything in the end."
Tommy stared at Lindy in shock. What she said made sense. It was within Derek's character, but to hear the reason why Melanie did what she did…it truly showed Tommy that the person responsible for her death wasn't really him, like he had been tormenting himself over. It was really Derek. It always was.
"You have no idea what love is," Lindy continued. "If you really think that threatening to kill someone is a solution to your problems or it'd force them to do what you wanted. She made sure she would stay out of your influence forever."
"That is not true!" Derek roared, his face turning red. His arm tightened around Sara's neck, the gun pressing harder against her temple. Sara squeezed her eyes shut in terror. Tommy pulled Lindy closer. "I loved her!" He turned the gun on Tommy. "It was your fault that she died. You put too much pressure on her. You think that I didn't hack into the Cyber Unit's system to look at the video of the interrogation you conducted?"
"I know you did," Tommy said quietly, taking a step toward him. Lindy clutched his arm to stop him, but he took yet another step closer, figuring that as long as the gun was trained on him then Lindy was safe and Sara could have a chance to escape. If Sara could get it together, all she had to do was lift up Derek's arm swiftly, duck under it, and elbow him hard in the stomach to incapacitate him, and she could get away. He glanced over at her and saw that her eyes were following his every move—as were Derek's.
Despite the near hysteria in Derek's voice, the arm pointing the gun directly at Tommy's heart was steady. Tommy risked another glance at Lindy's sister, imploring her to act, but she stayed stock still, never taking her eyes off of him or Lindy. Tommy hoped that she was just biding her time and wasn't paralyzed with fear.
"I know you looked into our system. I figured that would be the first thing you did to find out what happened with Melanie. I let you. And I know that you have to take my word for it that I didn't kill her, since the cell she was in apparently had a blind spot. Neither of us will really know what happened in the last hours of Melanie's life, but believe me when I say that her death doesn't just haunt you."
He took a slight step closer. "It haunts me too. I've always wonder if there was anything I could have said or done. I didn't even bother to go by her cell after we booked her there. I was angry that after hours of interrogation, she'd revealed nothing. I have to live with that. But going around in circles and blaming ourselves isn't going to get us anywhere. Revenge won't bring her back." Tommy was now standing three feet away from the barrel of the gun.
"A noble sentiment, but it won't get you anywhere, Calligan. You decided your fate that day in the interrogation room. I am not only going to bring you or the love of your life down through her sister, but I'll bring the government to its knees. Everyone will know of the injustice that you and the Cyber Crimes Unit committed. Everyone will suffer and I'll make sure they know why. The name Calligan will be associated with the crumbling of their country when I bring down the entire nation's grid."
"You can't do that," Tommy said firmly. "We've already warned the necessary authorities and they've taken measures against one of your cyber attacks."
"Of course, I can. I have the power to do it. And the best part is that it was Lindy who helped me do it."
"I had to!" Lindy exclaimed, angry. "You threatened Sara. You held her over my head, just like you're doing right now! Even with your supposed change of heart with that fake deal you gave me. I told you your word means nothing to me. You think I didn't know that you'd double cross me in the end and hand her straight over to Hamish once I helped you?"
Sara gave a small whimper while Derek only raised an amused eyebrow at Lindy, which only seemed to make her angrier. "Did you really think I wouldn't take the first chance I could once I got my hands on a computer to send for help, even with your supposed deal?"
"I knew you would. In fact, I was counting on it," he replied calmly.
Lindy's eyes widened in surprise. "You knew about my e-mail?" she asked, the confusion clear on her face.
"Of course, I did. I let it happen. Nothing here happens without my knowing about it. I make sure of that. I just needed to confirm. That's why I came over to your workstation to check on the pretext of praising your work earlier today."
He held Sara tighter to him and turned his attention to Tommy. "I admit, I underestimated how quickly you could gather your forces. I figured that once Lindy sent you her e-mail, I'd have another day to prepare. I never thought you'd strike on the same day. I thought that the Cyber Unit would lead a dual assault. One here—although there would no longer have been anyone or anything here for you to take by then. I do love taunting you and your unit after all. And another strike at the location I sent you to meet me at tomorrow night."
Tommy had known that Derek had sent him that text.
"So that was the real assignment," Lindy interjected, making air quotes around the word, "that you wanted me to join you for tomorrow night. Not to test out some of your servers, but to use me to torment Tommy before you tried to kill him."
Derek didn't even bother with a half smile, it was a full blown one he directed at Lindy. "I wouldn't have tried. I would have succeeded." He glanced down at Sara. "I've had to change my plans around, but they're still feasible to accomplish. Your sister here, will be going off to the new life that awaits her in the Netherlands with Hamish. He's paid me, and that's all that matters to me. I have no concern where she ends up." Sara said nothing, and neither did Lindy, but Tommy could feel the anger coming off of her in waves. He could feel it raging in himself too. "Before I hand her over to him though, I need to do what I came back in here to do."
He looked straight into Tommy's eyes and Tommy felt a sense of dread fill him. He knew that Derek's next words would be aimed directly at him. He could already feel the full force of their impact and he knew Lindy could too by the way she stiffened next to him.
She was next to him. Not behind him, Tommy realized too late in alarm.
Derek's eyes held a satisfied gleam in them. He had them where he wanted them. "I am going to hurt you the way you hurt me, Calligan." He swung his gun towards Lindy, aiming at her chest.
Tommy saw Derek's finger tighten on the trigger.
And all hell broke loose.
Before Derek could tug his finger back, Sara lifted the arm he had against her throat, up so fast, that all Tommy saw was a blur. Sara followed it through with an elbow to his stomach. Derek grunted in pain and Tommy took advantage of the situation to rush forward, push Sara further aside, and forced the arm with the gun up towards the ceiling, away from everyone as it went off in a deafening boom in the enclosed space.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy saw Sara run to Lindy. She was immediately wrapped in Lindy's arms. "Duck!" Tommy shouted, as the gun went off again, raining plaster down on them.
They ducked under the table holding the various security monitors that Derek had used to keep track of what was going on inside and outside of the warehouse.
As Tommy grappled with the gun, he briefly wondered why nobody on his team had rushed into the room sooner with all of the shouting and threats that had been made here. The only reason he could think of was that everyone else was either outside, putting the people they had arrested into squad cars, or they were on the first floor, both places too far away to have heard their commotion. Hopefully, with the shots that had gone off, they were on their way now. Tommy estimated that he had roughly another three minutes to try to subdue Derek alone if his team had heard them. It would take them that long to come back inside of the building, reach the third floor, and find them in Derek's office. He just had to do his best to hold Derek off until then.
He slammed his shoulder into Derek's chest, knocking him hard into the wall behind them. The gun went off again, this time it blew a hole above the table where Lindy and Sara were, shattering a monitor. Sara gave a shriek.
Derek was grunting in pain, but he still wouldn't release the weapon. Suddenly, Tommy felt Derek's foot connect squarely with his abdomen and he felt the air whoosh painfully out of his lungs. In the next instant, a pain exploded from his temple as the butt of the gun smashed into it. He crashed onto the floor, his vision turning blurry.
"Tommy!" he heard Lindy scream.
He wanted to call out to her, to tell her to take Sara and get away, but he couldn't make a sound. He wheezed trying to force air back into his lungs.
Derek wiped at a trail of blood gushing from his split lip as he leaned heavily against the wall behind him. Tommy just managed to make out the beginnings of a black eye.
"Nice try, Calligan," Derek rasped. He raised the gun towards a spot behind Tommy. Tommy followed his gaze, and saw to his horror that Lindy was right behind him, having rushed over to help him. She was completely exposed.
"Lindy," he gasped, trying to lift himself up on one arm.
"Tommy, just stay there." Her eyes were troubled as she gazed down at him, but her voice was steady. She cut her gaze back to Derek. "It's me he wants."
"Don't!" he managed to wheeze. She held out a hand towards him to stop talking.
"It's me you want, Derek. Let Tommy and Sara go. You can tell Hamish that during the raid she took off on her own and you don't know where she went."
"Lindy, stop!" Sara pleaded.
"As for Tommy, it's not really him you're angry at—it's yourself. Take it out on me like you wanted to and let them go. Let them live."
Derek took in the chaos around him and regarded her carefully. "You would be willing to sacrifice yourself for those you love?"
She didn't hesitate. "Yes."
Tommy saw something move out of the corner of his eye, but didn't turn, entirely focused on the scene unfolding in front of him.
"Why?"
Tommy could tell the question caught Lindy off guard, but that she knew exactly how to answer it. "Because I love them. I would rather see them live than get hurt, even if it's at the cost of my own life."
"Lindy, don't do it!" Sara cried.
"Stop talking!" Derek bellowed. "I've heard enough, and I do not accept. You are all finished here."
He lifted the gun and pointed it directly at Lindy's heart.
Before any of them could react, a figure rushed past Tommy and slammed into Derek, knocking him to the ground. Lindy ducked at the same instant the gun went off. A fist struck Derek across the face and his hold on the gun finally fell. Another strike across the face and a kick to the ribs and Derek was out cold. The figure plucked the gun from where it had clattered to the ground, put the safety on, tucked it into the waistband of his jeans, and handcuffed Derek.
Lindy let out a sigh of relief. "Yeager."
Yeager took in the scene around him. Sara was still half out from under the table, Tommy was now standing, though unsteadily, and Lindy was making her way over to help him. The room was in complete disarray, with fallen plaster from the ceiling on the table and floor, drawer dressers knocked to their sides, and papers strewn everywhere from the earlier struggle.
Lindy's eyes flew to the spreading red stain on Yeager's shoulder. "Yeager, you're hurt!"
Yeager glanced at it, seeming surprised to see it there. The adrenaline pumping through him keeping the pain away for now. "I'll be okay once I get this looked at. Don't worry, Lindy. Get your sister and that flash drive that I can see plugged into that computer over there. I'm assuming its yours, and let's get out of here." He places one of Tommy's arms over his shoulder since he was still unsteady. Another concussion I'll bet, Tommy thought resentfully.
Lindy nods at Sara to tell her it's okay, that they could trust Yeager. She grabbed her USB necklace, seeing that it had downloaded all of the information from the computer's hard drive into it. She fastened it back around her neck, enjoying the familiar weight of it.
"I could use some help here," Yeager grunted, straining to hold Tommy upright. Before Lindy could make her way over, Sara rushed to his side and placed Tommy's other arm over her own shoulder.
Just then Pascal entered with a group of officers behind her, guns drawn, but they lowered them once they saw it was them.
"Get Bubonic into a squad car and take him straight to the interrogation room at Cyber Crimes," Tommy told her in as clear a voice as he could, having gotten most of his breath back. He nodded towards the still crumpled figure on the floor.
"Will you be okay?" Pascal asked.
Tommy nodded, wincing at the pain it caused him. "Just get Derek out of here and confiscate all of his equipment. We need everything we can get on him."
They made their way slowly out into the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door into the night.