Chapter Nine?
Sophie sadly looked at the blonde as Dr. Crane possessively had his hands on her shoulders. They needed to buy time, but the more time they wasted, the more irritable their marks were going to get.
Eliot walked in, tension covering his body. "This is everything we have on you."
Cowl looked over the file, "This is nice. If we hadn't figured you out, you would've got concrete evidence," Cowl smiled, giving the folder over to Crane. "Who told you about us?"
"No one. We wanted to know how the most successful mental hospital in Portland can have no dirt on them. We spent less than a month here, yet we found out more about you than the police have in years."
"What dirt?"
The hitter peered over to Parker. She was shifting away from Crane, but Eliot didn't see any physical signs of pain. The thief gave him a reassuring nod to tell him that she was okay.
He needed to buy time so Detective Bonanno could arrive.
"We know you covered up the wrongful murders of fourteen patients, and you buried their families in lawsuits — a pretty decent job for a hospital. The only thing I couldn't figure out is why. Why kill these patients?"
"They were sick," Crane stepped in, "I didn't kill them. I tried to make them better."
"Like what you did for your daughter?"
Crane gritted his teeth at the comment. "Not everyone is ready for my help."
Eliot frowned, "What type of help could 'you' give them?"
"I was going to cure these patients. No one else cared enough to help them. Do you know what it is like to live with someone with a mental illness? Every morning you wonder what they would do next. No matter how much you want to help them you are worthless. Veronica tried to end her life four times before the doctors put her in my ward. Just like these patients' families, I had no other choice. Their psychiatrists spent years talking to them, but they're still here. Yet, in seconds I could do something for them that no one else could. I can help them. I only took the ones who needed me. The ones who I could ease the burden they put on everyone around them. I was not only doing them a favor but their families."
The hitter clenched his jaw, stopping himself from 'helping' Crane.
"They didn't need your help. Neither does Alice," Sophie said as she blocked Eliot from getting a clear shot to Crane's face.
Crane raised an eyebrow to her, smiling slightly. "Parker," he exaggerated her name, "does need my help. You can't play crazy unless you're crazy yourself."
"She's not crazy. The deal was the files for Parker."
"She needs me," his grip tighten on her shoulders.
The thief remained stiff under him. "Sophie," she mouthed.
"I'll give you ten seconds to let her go," Eliot threatened, pure hatred in his eyes.
Cowl smirked, "You'll give us?" he pulled out a gun and pointed it to Parker's temple. "Your team tried to steal everything from me. If you honestly think I'm letting you walk out alive, then you're more insane than these patients. Even with your skills, are you quicker than a bullet?"
Parker fearfully peered at the hitter. 0.01 seconds for the bullet to leave the barrel and connect to the blonde's temple. It'll take me 1.7 seconds to process and grab Parker. I can't be faster than a bullet. But I won't have to. It'll take Parker 0.7 seconds to get out the way, which might be quicker than 0.01 if she knows when to get down. Eliot thought.
"I'm not faster than a bullet, but I can still get over there before you shoot Dr. Tanner or me."
"You'll let me kill your thief?"
Eliot shrugged, "You're right, she is crazy. Maybe by stabbing her in the back, she'll know how much of a burden she is."
It's Wednesday. Parker thought. She took out the sharpen spork from her pocket then lunged it into Crane's abdomen. The man screamed in pain, dropping her to the floor. The faster you travel, the slower time moves. The time slowed as Parker dropped to the floor, and Eliot ran towards Cowl. Sophie was on the ground crawling to the thief when the thundering sound of two bullets rang from the barrel. Eliot grabbed the 9mm from Cowl and sent a hard blow to his face.
Crane ran once the gun didn't stop Eliot from fiercely pounding into Cowl. Nate ran towards the hitter and pulled him off.
"I'll take care of him. Sophie got shot. Take them back to the van,"
Eliot got off of the administrator. He noticed Sophie trying to limp Parker and herself out of the room.
"Stop, you'll make it worse," he said as he picked her up. He turned to Parker, "Did you get hit?" She lied when she shook her head. "Don't lie to me, Parker."
"She's shot in her stomach, she's more important. I can take care of myself."
Eliot looked over her, but Sophie began to lose consciousness. He had to make the decision to ignore Parker's wounds. "Put pressure on it, Parker," he said, hoping it'll aid the blood flow that started to stain her t-shirt.
Nate glared down at the cripple bleeding body.
"I was trying to help you, but since the fact, you just shot two of my teammates. One which you threaten to kill. I'm not so sure."
Cowl spat out the blood from his mouth, "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
Nate kneeled to the administrator's level, "I'm dealing with someone I have leverage over. Someone who'll rather let a few patients die than fire one of their best doctors. You managed to fire Rebecca, but I guess Crane has more of a soft spot for you," a hard kick went to the man's abdomen, "I'm not the one who's going to be scared. If my partners don't make it out alive, I will find you, and I won't make it look like a suicide."
Bonanno touched the mastermind's shoulder. Cowl smiled at the man.
"Detective Captain Bonanno. Massachusetts State Police. Are you Mr. Cowl?" the cop said to the administrator.
"Yes, this man just tried to kill me."
Bonanno looked over to Nate, "Really?"
"He tripped down some stairs from what I saw. Might've been pushed by that crazy doctor," Nate said as he casually joined his team in the van.
Bonanno handcuffed the man, "Aster Cowl, you're under arrest for fraud, obstruction, hindering an investigation, and an accomplice in multiple counts of manslaughter. You have a right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be appointed to you. Anything you say or do will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand your rights?"
Bonanno sat the man in his squad car. The administrator stared at the team. Nate smirked at the man as Hardison pulled off aside the detective and Cowl.