Charlie took a few experimental steps. He could tell that he was in some sort of hallway, possibly between two offices. There were only a few feet, then a heavily padlocked door, and a few more feet. The walls had lost much of their paint; he guessed they might have been a bright white at one time or another. The distressed cinder blocks looked like the entryway on some sadistic video game one of his students might play.
Light was barely dripping in through the circular windows at the end of the hall. On old hinges hung a pair of those thin metal doors that one might see when walking into a cooler or a meat storage locker. Every step was tentative but very resigned, and when his hand touched the door frame, there was a chill he couldn't explain.
Once he pushed the door open, he noticed the enormity of the room. Two small tables were bolted to the floors on either side of the room. The room was lined with windows, letting in enough moonlight to see the graffiti covered walls.
Charlie took a glance to his left, his unprotected side and saw nothing. He propped the door open and listened hard. Over near to the back left of the warehouse, something moved. Without thinking it through entirely, he moved away from the safety of the hallway entry.
"Dr. Eppes, I'm glad you kept your promise." The voice was still synthesized.
"Where's Amita?"
Surprisingly a flashlight lit up the figure of Amita back where Charlie had seen something move. She was bound to a chair, gagged, and blindfolded.
"Amita?" He called, and she lifted her head in his direction.
"Charlie?" Came her muffled reply.
"Okay, you got me, now let her go!" Yelling his request to an unknown person, he was praying that Don and Megan were at least inside the hallway.
"She's right there, Dr. Eppes. I promise you I won't interfere."
Still looking around him, he raced to the back of the warehouse and began working on the knots around Amita's feet. They came undone almost too easily and he moved around to those restraining her arms around behind her and the chair. When they finally were loosed, he untied her gag and blindfold.
When the cloth of blindfold finally slid off and fell to the ground, Amita lunged forward and kissed him. Only a few seconds later, she shoved him hard and both of them fell backward.
An axe came crashing down, cutting the chair into two parts. Both Amita and Charlie got up quickly and sprinted to the other side of the warehouse.
"You said you wouldn't interfere!" Accused Charlie, as he rejoined with Amita and they ducked under the far table.
"I said I wouldn't interfere. That man isn't me."
The axe wielder turned around slowly, "There's only two places to hide in this room, do you think I don't know where you are?" He held the axe in one hand and tapped the blunt end in his other hand menacingly.
"I'm guessing you didn't come armed, Dr. Eppes."
Charlie whispered to Amita, "Stay here." He then made a dash for the back door, only to find it locked with two different types of chains.
Looking up, he saw the axe wielder running toward him, his weapon raised and glinting in the moonlight. Despite being overwhelmed by fear, Charlie remained in place.
It wasn't until the weapon came down that he finally ducked to the left and moved back into the shadows. He watched, expectantly, but his plan had failed.
The axe had struck too high, merely cutting into the door and missing the chains completely.
"Shit." He whispered, but kept watching. The masked man struggled to remove the axe from where it had become lodged.
Running toward the front door, he began to yell, "Don! Hurry!"
The pair needed no further encouragement, and Don and Megan burst through the swinging doors.
"FBI! Freeze!" Don shouted in his most commanding voice.
The synthesizer came again, "Dr. Eppes, you broke our deal. Now I can't be responsible for what happens to your girlfriend."
A single shot was fired and it struck the table that Amita was hiding under. She shrieked in fear.
"Amita!" Charlie yelled and began back across the floor.
"Charlie, don't!" Megan called after him, but the warning was too late.
A second shot hit the young brother square in the back, and sent him falling forward. Don's eyes went wide when Charlie didn't get up.
His partner nudged him, "Where'd the axe guy go?"
A deep gash in the door was the only reminder that a psychotic madman had been there.
"Damnit. Where the hell are Colby and David?"
"I don't know." They stood back to back, guns ready.
The crack of a gunshot rang out, and Don felt a searing pain in his shoulder. The bullet had managed to bypass his shield and struck his dominant arm. He tried to steady the gun with his other hand, but the effort, to say the least, was excruciatingly painful.
Out of nowhere, another chair came flying at Megan, and it knocked her to the floor. Landing on her back, she fired into the darkness. There was a grunt and someone hit the ground. She was on her feet again in no time, ready to shoot again.
Amita looked out from her vantage point. Charlie was lying on the ground only a foot out from the table. She crawled forward onto the floor and grabbed his hands. Quickly, she pulled him backwards underneath the safety of the table. Flipping him over onto his back, she stroked his cheek, "Charlie?"
His eyes opened rather quickly and he looked back and forth.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm wearing bulletproof armor." He whispered.
Her hand covered her mouth in surprise, "You scared the hell out of me."
"Don't say anything; I want them to think I'm dead."
She nodded and huddled down next to him.
Megan turned to Don, "I called backup, they should be coming."
"When?"
"A few minutes maybe. If Colby and David were here…"
"I know." He gripped his injured shoulder. The psycho synthesizer voice was laughing in the distance.
"I think she's up on that balcony, but I can't see her."
Don saw his only chance, "C'mon." He and Megan ran and dove under the second table.
Two bullets struck the ground in their wake, nearly missing Megan's legs.
"We can't hide under here for long." Remarked Don.
"Just until backup arrives."
"No." He pointed upwards. Whoever was on the balcony was messing with the metal grids that were already hanging precariously over them.
"Move!" Megan shouted as she and Don took off at opposites directions when a large piece of metal crushed the table they were under.
Megan was grabbed from behind, and an arm wrapped itself around her neck and began to choke. She was pulled back, further into the darkness.
Don tried to shoot with his unfamiliar arm, but was already unsteady and losing the visual fast. He didn't trust himself not to hit Megan in the process.
Reaching down, he removed the gun he carried in his leg strap and slid it across the floor to Amita and Charlie.
Charlie snatched up the gun instantly and tried to remember everything his brother had ever tried to teach him about how to shot a gun.
Amita kissed him hastily and pulled him close, whispering in his ear. When the embrace was broke, he looked stunned, "You're kidding."
She shook her head, "I saw them myself. Maybe it'll distract him long enough."
He studied the angles on the floor, "If we were struck here, and here, and the shooter managed to hit Don accurately from that vantage point…" Charlie trailed off, his brain working overtime, "Then the only place the shooter can be is – "
The younger brother jumped out from under the table, aimed quickly and took what was literally a shot in the dark.
There was a scream of pain and a metallic screech. Part of the balcony was suffering under a sudden stress of weight. If Charlie had to guess, he would have said that his hit had placed the shooter into an unsafe area.
Silence filled the room again, the only sound being the gasping voice of Megan as she was deprived of more and more oxygen.
Charlie aimed the gun again, and there was a pause while he found his voice. He swallowed and gestured at the masked axe wielder.
"Davidson, let her go."
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