Despite the brief lull of active fire, Maddy was barely able to test out the integrity of the fire escape before Curran was rounding the corner, composed and in charge and signaling the calvary. Ken slaps Josh encouragingly on the back, saying, "I guess we're about to see how good of a shot you are, man."
Mark fails to return, even if handcuffed, and Maddy refuses to consider what that means. Besides, a hail of bullets has started raining down so all she can do is seek shelter and not break down emotionally. Maddy shields Zoe's body with her own. The small girls are tucked against the exterior corner opposite the fire escape when a bullet zooms past their heads, burying itself three feet away in the wall. Zoe screams but all of the air knocked out of Maddy's lungs, making it impossible to articulate. She simply throws herself completely on the ground, her only priority at this point to keep Zoe's head sheltered.
As Maddy slips a sweaty, dirt-covered hand over the child's mouth to muffle her screams she remembers that it is her these gunmen want, and the gunfire would cease, momentarily at least, if she gave herself up. It might be enough of a pause for the others to get away. Afterall, she was able to pull down the fire escape latter earlier and it seemed adequate if rusty.
The truth is that when her brother got hurt at school protecting her, her father was incarcerated, and it finally dawned on her she couldn't see Mark ever again, Maddy realized could not keep relying on other people to come to her rescue. She needs to make sacrifices herself.
"Stop!" Maddy screams over the consistent bangs of firearms and blasts of sonic weapons. Armed only with traditional guns, Maddy knows her brother and Ken must be running low on ammunition at this point, despite the progress they've made advancing forward beyond the dumpster.
With another blast Josh is sent flying through the air. He lands on his back, skidding another foot before coming to a stop. He is visibly groggy but luckily able to at least try to get up, though his weapon is nowhere to be found. Josh. Maddy's heart feels like it's physically cracking. Her big brother is supposed to tease her about boys and stand up for her against school bullies, but he certainly is not meant to die for her.
A soldier charges toward Ken to disarm him, but Ken sees it coming and fights back, shoving him to the ground and firing.
"I said STOP!" she yells fiercely, and the commotion pauses. "I'm coming out," Maddy says loudly though her voice shakes. "I am unarmed, I swear." She leans down to her little sister's face, tear tracks stark against dirt-stained cheeks, and whispers that it will be okay. "I need you to run to your brother on the count of three, Zoe. Can you do that for me? You're going to run to Josh, and he and Ken are going to help you up the latter."
"No!"
"Zoe!" Maddy snaps and Zoe's eye's grow wide, never hearing her sister so angry. She nods quickly.
"Okay, one, two … three."
Zoe dutifully darts toward Josh who musters strength to catching the barreling girl in his arms as he yells for their other sister. Maddy walks briskly toward the mini brigade with her head held high though her limbs tremble. She reaches the nearest officer before Ken can stop her. Ken retreats to the remaining Shannons, pulling the kids off the ground and toward the roof while Maddy barely protests the large strange men grabbing her by the arms to take her into custody.