A/N- Hello readers! I am very, very sorry this took so long to get out. University has been a major bitch...and it has taken over my life. Hopefully those of you who've been reading this, remember this story. Sorry for such a long delay...
Rated: Strong T people!
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The rain struck the window, creating a tap dance of an uneven tempo.
Sara's eyes were drawn to the window. It was perhaps symbolic, she thought, that it would rain. Only an hour ago it had been blue skies and a shining sun.
Sara rolled her left shoulder, trying to work out an irritated muscle, she hissed as her raw wrists rubbed against the rope binding her hands behind her back. Sara sighed, her shoulder unabated, leaning back against the wall behind her. Her legs stretched out in front of her, the convenience stores cool flooring had leeched her warmth away over the past hour.
Shifting her head to the right, Sara tried to smile at the mother and son sitting a foot away. The mother and child grasped each other, desperate to hold onto the one thing that let them feel a false security.
There were three others then herself, the mother and son sitting on the convenience store's floor. A teenage boy who made Sara increasingly nervous as time passed; he had become jittery in the last half hour, making Sara fear he was going to try to do something very stupid. An older lady whom was quite collected, her lips a thin line, her eyes alert and aware of every movement. Lastly, the aged man whom had been manning the counter; he had a nasty black eye appearing. When his store was first being robbed, he had tried to attack the perpetrators, which only resulted in a fist to the eye and a crunching kick to the shin.
Sara had deduced that the two males who stalked around the store were probably in their early twenties. They both wore ski masks, but their movements and voices belied their ages. The shorter one, who Sara guessed was the older of the two, had already chain smoked through almost three packs of cigarettes.
It was probably supposed to be a simple robbery, Sara snorted inwardly, simple robbery indeed. However, it quickly snowballed into something neither robber had obviously anticipated. The aged clerk had hit a silent alarm before being kicked to the floor, resulting in three police cars, and more coming outside the store's front door.
Sara's eyes were again drawn to the window. Something in the harsh tune of the rain comforted her. She felt it was hugely ironic, that she a highly educated (and at times, she felt, highly underpaid) crime scene investigator could possibly meet her end in a convenience store by two punk kids with guns looking for cash. Sara had seen how much they grabbed from the till…probably not even a hundred dollars.
She closed her eyes for a moment. She really didn't need the milk or eggs. It was just a whim to turn off to the convenience store…
"You're sure this is what you want to do?"
Sara clasped then unclasped her hands. "Yes."
Dr. Slemski nodded, "Okay."
"I…I've thought about it. And that's what I decided." She glanced away from his warm gaze.
"Okay." He repeated.
Sara blinked sharply when the yelling began.
"God damned fucking geezer pressed the fucking button!" Chain-smoker shouted into his accomplices face.
"That doesn't mean we can kill him, man! Fucking hell..."
"I can damn well do whatever the hell I want."
"Goddammit… we can't start killing people, Harry! I'm not going to jail!"
Harry grabbed the other ski-masked man by the front of his shirt, "Don't fucking use my damn name! God, have you ever seriously done this before?" His cigarette hung from his lips, at that moment forgotten.
"Jesus Christ, Harry…have you looked outside? They're fucking cops everywhere!"
Sara watched the exchange curiously. Her money was on the unnamed one cracking first.
"This is all his damn fault." Harry punctuated his statement by pointing his gun at the clerk. Sara heard the others gasp around her, the clerk mewled pathetically, tears of appeal dripping down his cheeks.
"Harry, put that down, man. You fucking want to go to jail for the rest of your life?"
Harry had stopped listening to the other man. His arm hold the gun had started to tremble, not from fatigue or fear as Sara first thought, but rage.
"If you hadn't…hadn't pushed the fucking…button…" he cocked his gun, causing the mother next to Sara to cry out.
"Harry?" Sara's voice was calm, neutral. She hadn't realized she had spoken until Harry's gaze was driven from the clerk to her. Harry stared at her stunned for a moment, as though he had forgotten there were other hostages in the store.
"Come on, Harry. You don't want to do this."
"Who the fuck are you to tell me what I want to do?"
"My name is Sara, Harry. I just want to help everyone get out of here alive."
"I say who lives or dies!"
Sara nodded, keeping eye contact. "Yes, you do."
Harry's gun was trained on her, but lax.
"Harry, there are a lot of cops outside. You know you won't be able to get away. You will be going to jail, Harry, but right now you can decide whether it's for only a couple years, or for life. Life is a long time Harry, and you're very young."
Harry's accomplice shifted to stand next to Harry. "She's right, Harry. Let's just surrender, man."
Harry ignored the unnamed man, glaring at Sara. Harry stiffened his hand. "Are you a fucking cop?"
"No."
"Are you lying to me, bitch?"
"I am not a cop."
Harry growled out another profanity.
"Think about what you're willing to lose here, Harry. A few years, or the rest of your life?"
The unnamed man walked to the stores front window, peering out. "Fuck, Harry! There's six police car out there!"
"Please Harry, let everyone go home." Sara blinked back the tears she felt burning behind her eyes.
Harry stared at her for another moment, studying her eyes as though they would hold what path he should take. He was giving in…she could feel it. He was giving in.
And that was when it all went to hell.
"Okay, Ms. Sidle. I'm going to start you on a prescription 400 micrograms of folic acid to take daily."
Sara nodded, taking the small piece of perscription paper from the doctor.
"I want you to come in for your next checkup in four weeks, does that work for you?" Dr. Slemski looked up at her, his eyes questioning.
"Yeah…um, I'll work it out."
He smiled kindly, "Everything will be alright, Sara."
Sara smiled back, timidly. "I think it will, too."
It was almost like slow motion. But she couldn't do anything to stop it. Everything happened so fast.
One minute Sara was certain Harry was going to give up, the next moment the teenage boy had leapt up trying to grab the gun from Harry's grasp.
A shot sounded.
Sara felt burning…a burning pain.
Several voices screamed and cried out…and a door was kicked in.
Her vision dimmed.
Then nothing.
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tbc